A Community Friendly Anand?

Yesterday, I decided to attend my local Police Service Area (PSA) 304 meeting. Crime in my area has been on the rise lately, and I think that attending the meeting and becoming more aware of things going on would be a good thing.

I've been meaning to go for a long time now, but with all the things going on it was hard. Resigning from Hero has freed up about 30 hours a week and it's great! I can do the little things, like read a book, again.

After the meeting there was a community meeting mostly to discuss the development of a new multiuse facility on the 1400 block of W Street. The developer was there to let the community know about it and to take input as to what we'd like to see go into the facility. RLA Revitalization Corp is a subsidiary of National Capital Revitalization Corporation (NCRC). A quick Google search has me believing that this organization is really a solid group. A minority, and locally owned and run company, NCRC is devoted to revitalization while minimizing gentrification. For example, the building on W St will be 30% low income housing (most of their properties have some level of low income housing.) This is contrary to many of the other developers in the area who are build extreme mid to high level housing that's simply getting ridiculous. I admit that my place falls in this latter category. I also admit that I am part of the problem. I think I should at least get credit for admitting that.

Neither fortunately nor unfortunately, the meeting was dominated by a woman that was very vocal about her disdain for the gentrification of the neighborhood. She has lived in her house all her life. Her house was bought by her father in the 1920s. She was voicing the concern probably felt by many like her.

Her main point was that with all the construction of high end condominiums, property values and therefore property taxes are skyrocketing. Folks that have lived in the neighborhood for decades that own their house while earning below poverty line incomes will be driven out by the higher taxes.

Her sentiment is not lost on me, but her arguments tended to be flawed. However, the one thing I did learn from her though is a little history of the neighborhood.

Columbia Heights as we know it today extends from 16th Street in the west to Georgia Ave in the east. Florida Ave and Spring Road make up the southern and northern borders respectively. These borders are universally accepted today, but these were not always the borders. The area between 13th Street and Georgia Ave and Florida Ave and Harvard Street was once called Pleasantville. Columbia Heights, as was Adams Morgan in the 90s, has become "hot." Simply saying that a property is in Columbia Heights increases its value.

Now I haven't found any references to Pleasantville, but by the nods and "umhms" I heard around the room, it seems like many of my neighbors agreed.

I did find this historical piece on Columbia Heights. It's a little dated, (refers to a future Metro stop at 14th and Irving) but it's still relevant.