To: Mayor Adrian Fenty, Councilman Jack Evans,
From: Neighbors and Voters of Shaw
CC: Chief of Staff Carrie Kohns, Deputy Mayor Valerie Santos, Office of Planning Director Harriet Tregoning, Real Estate Services Director Robin-Eve Jasper, Community Affairs Director Sarah Latterner, Consumer and Regulatory Affairs Director Linda Argo, Chief Building Officer Don Masoero

We the undersigned ask you to address the following serious concerns regarding ongoing new construction at 605 P ST NW
•         Erecting a nine-room boarding house will bring too many transients and not enough stewardship to our neighborhood struggling with drugs and crime. The construction’s location on the grounds of a former rooming house which devolved into a famous crack house, was the site of major fires caused by squatters, lies at the center of several blocks actively struggling with gangs and drug-dealing, and is across the street from the JFK playground is particularly alarming, as is the contractor’s admission that “I would not want to live next to it either.”
•         Blatant lies on the building permit application misrepresented the raze & new construction as a relatively small “$36K” “renovation,” and “repair,” rather than the “more than $1 Million” the owner publicly estimates spending, denying the city the opportunity to conduct ADA disability, parking, environmental, neighborhood impact and other relevant reviews of the project that are important for any project to be a productive part of our community.
•         Owners and their representatives should be held responsible for all serious violations and nuisances committed including stealing water and electricity from neighbors, failing to follow city regulations regarding working hours and parking regulations, and repeated “false statements [and] misrepresentation of facts on their permit application and plans [which] is subject to criminal penalties pursuant to DC Law 22-2405,” as stated on the permit application.

We would like to see a truthful, clear, productive, and consistent plan for this development before further work is allowed to continue.

Thanks for your attention to this matter.