Friends:

Calvin Woodland, John DeTaeye and myself have been organizing the tenants and working closely with Clark Realty (property managers for Columbia Heights Village) and local and Federal  law enforcement agencies including MPD, US Attorney, and  Federal offender program (CCOSA)--all of whom have attended the meetings. We are working  on a comprehensive approach to end the drug market and provide public safety for residents and neighbors. 

We have had three large meetings in the last two months with the tenants and others. We have also brought in HUD and DCHFA both of whom have provided low income financing for this property. They most definitely share our concerns about the quality of management at CHV. Last December's DC Housing Finance Agency inspection failed management. HUD at about the same time gave Clark Realty a 67% score, which is barely passing.

On January 9, Paul Jones was shot dead on the 1300 block of Columbia. And--thanks to Mayor Fenty and Chief Lanier-- the permanent police post and light tower followed.

Simply put, there is too much violence on and around the Columbia Heights Village property.  The death of Rahiem Moore on Wednesday night is but the latest crime. He was reportedly shot five times at about 9:30 PM in the back of 1308 Columbia. And as we have seen in incident after incident, the persons being shot and those arrested, do not even live on the property.

(Today--Friday--Chairman Gray and I  are holding a press conference on a newly released blueprint for action on the gang prevention strategies, which was funded by the council last year. The press conference is at 11 AM in rm 412, Wilson Building,  1350 Pa Ave NW.)

Regarding the homicide on Wednesday, MPD was posted nearby.  Cmdr Kucik has said that he is checking the precise location of the officer. There is also an officer living on the property with reduced rent. What has he been doing?

But Clark Realty has been failing in its job. Clark Realty can do much more to secure the property and protect the residents of Columbia Heights Village and their neighbors.  That process must include the elimination of drug dealing on the property.

Key questions need answers--

Management has cameras there, Clark says they work.  But the facts reported to me are different. Of the three cameras that could have recorded Wednesday's shooting, MPD tells me that one was turned to face the wall. And the other two were not working at all. There is a central monitoring device at the office, so why weren't these defects observed and the cameras fixed right away? Is anybody at Clark Realty paying attention?

Management has security there, but we are not sure what they were doing that night. Were they making rounds?

Is it time to secure the parking lots, where a great deal of the violence has occurred?

Residents have increasingly been stepping up in a number of ways. They participate in our meetings, they have demanded improvements, they are active in other ways as well.

We will stay on this.

Councilmember Jim Graham