To: Darrell Pressley, Department of General Services, District of Columbia Brian J. Hanlon, Department of General Services Cc: Vincent C. Gray, Mayor of the District of Columbia Phil Mendelson, Chairman, Council of the District of Columbia Kenyan McDuffie, Councilmember Anita Bonds, Councilmember David Grosso, Councilmember David Catania, Councilmember Vincent Orange, Councilmember Kaya Henderson, Chancellor, District of Columbia Public Schools We are close neighbors of Turkey Thicket Park, many of us residents of 10th Street Northeast directly across the street from the park. On February 26, 2013, neighbors went to a meeting at the recreation center in the park expecting to discuss promised Playground/Park renovations, but instead were blindsided by a proposal to erect a 540-student middle school on 10th Street. Immediate neighbors were never consulted. The lack of neighborhood participation was only outdone by the lack of transparency. The plan was roundly rejected by virtually all present at that meeting and several subsequent ones. Nonetheless, with a few changes and “co-location” officially withdrawn, we find pretty much the same plan being offered again, with 10th Street bearing all the building, drop-off, and parking burden. Those proposals, called “Stand Alone School at 10th Street” and “Stand Alone School at South Point of Park” are not acceptable to the local community. They have great negative impact on those homes closest to Turkey Thicket. 1. They are only minor variants on the roundly rejected co-location scheme, geared toward exploiting the resources of the successful but heavily used recreation center at Turkey Thicket. 2. They replace green space facing much-loved homes with an enormous building and a heavily used parking lot, displacing street parking that is already fully used, too. 3. They add dangerous traffic to a minor street already stressed as (a) a bus route, (b) an important way to a major hospital (Providence), and (c) a shortcut for getting to the Taylor Street bridge over the industrial area and rail tracks. 4. The “School at 10th Street” proposal attracts nighttime crime and drug use by hiding basketball courts and a playground area behind large institutional buildings, far from well-patrolled streets. 5. They have the biggest new impact on existing neighbors of all plans being considered. In contrast, other plans being considered continue longstanding interrelations of school and neighborhood. We recognize the regional need for a middle school. We are puzzled by the rejection of the Bertie Backus campus on South Dakota Avenue, which is large enough, relatively modern and ready for renovation, and better connected to public transportation—on both the red and green-yellow lines of Metrorail as well as numerous bus routes. If Turkey Thicket is the only possible locale, the project should be restricted to the area of the existing elementary school. That is the only section that has had public scrutiny because it was the site investigated by citizens and parents in the multi-year exploration that settled on Turkey Thicket. There was no transparent or wide public consultation on using larger portions of Turkey Thicket Park or its recreation center before a couple of weeks ago. If Turkey Thicket is the only possible locale, the project should be restricted to the area of the existing elementary school. That is the only section that has had public scrutiny because it was the site investigated by citizens and parents in the multi-year exploration that settled on Turkey Thicket. There was no transparent or wide public consultation on using larger portions of Turkey Thicket Park or its recreation center before a couple of weeks ago.