Southwest Voice: Women Stage Protest, Pride Stories, BID’s Money Grab

The final development team of Pennrose, EYA, and Bozzuto Development did not secure a Build First site which they controlled. The senior housing at the Westminster church site has been withdrawn from the project. From an outsider's perspective, the most obvious choice was the proposal from TM Associates, which is proceeding with two deeply affordable properties on Q Street Southwest near Audi Field. “We selected the final developer that could best meet the needs of creating the Greenleaf community and provide services,” said Thor Nelson, DCHA Planning, Design & Construction Deputy Chief and one of two on-site inspectors. Commissioner Hamilton responded that, “All finalists were capable of completing the project” because they had passed the qualification screening. The final developer should have been selected to deliver an equitable, resident-centered development. We do not have that.

Another basis for the protest was Greenleaf's rights to have greater ownership over the redevelopment by exercising a federal version of TOPA – a program that maximizes residents' ability to direct redevelopment. “We will build first,” one sign read. Still, residents struggle to secure basic human rights and dignities like clean water, habitable living conditions, and air quality. As inspectors toured Greenleaf properties with residents, they spoke about leaky roofs, rodent problems, moldy and deteriorating walls, smelly water, lead-based pipes and paint, and the smell of sewage in their apartments. One resident said that due to water issues in the apartment, her electricity was lost for days. She has had to replace the food in her refrigerator several times. In one instance, she called her emergency into DCHA only to be told that she would need to wait until Monday when maintenance staff were available. She had no electricity over that weekend.

Many in favor of immediate redevelopment point to the living conditions of Greenleaf and other public housing properties, but Greenleaf Senior and Gardens are structurally sound, well-built buildings. The issue is squarely with DCHA's lack of competency and oversight of its contractors. The contractors are notorious for doing shoddy jobs only for problems to resurface weeks or months later. Recently, Greenleaf midrise residents experienced respiratory problems from noxious fumes after a contractor used industrial products in renovating several units. After weeks of residents' complaints, DCHA finally directed the contractor to read the product warning label to provide for a well-ventilated space when applying product. Fans were introduced belatedly. DCHA is planning to spend up to $9.5 million on repairs and heating replacement for Greenleaf. This amount of money could have a meaningful impact on residents' lives, but it remains to be seen if DCHA can deliver on its plan to “stabilize” Greenleaf properties.

A native of Yonkers, NY, Jerry Blasenstein is enjoying his second stint as a Southwest resident. Even prior to moving here in 1987, he first experienced Southwest's gay nightlife while attending the University of Maryland in the early 70's. He remembers Pier 9, a LGBTQ-oriented disco, as his first gay bar where there were telephones on the table to phone a romantic interest at another table. It was located at 1824 Half St., SW, the site of Ziegfeld's-Secrets that closed last year. The industrial areas along South Capitol Street in Southwest and Southeast served as a haven for queer Washingtonians for decades, making Southwest a significant part of gay DC history. Southwest was also one of first areas, along with Dupont Circle, Georgetown, and Capitol Hill, to be known for attracting a large gay resident population.

As Jerry rattles off the list of clubs and discotheques from the time, his excitement is palpable. There was “The Hide-Away” at 9th and Pennsylvania NW which was entirely in the basement of a building across from the FBI. On the third floor was “The Rouge” – featuring major drag shows including the legendary Ella Fitzgerald (left). The first gay-owned bar with same-sex dancing in DC, Plus One capitalized on the disco era and was where Jerry first heard The Hustle, released in April 1975. He recalled others like the Grand Central, Lost and Found, and Phase One, a lesbian bar that existed from 1970 to 2016.

As much as his gay social life flourished in the District, Jerry knew that his sexuality posed problems for his professional life. He remembers when he interviewed with the State Department in the early 70's and recruiters “tap-danced around gay stuff.” They asked questions like, “Are you seeing anybody” and “Have you ever been to a psychiatrist?” Jerry had good reason to be wary. Employment discrimination against gay people was perfectly legal at the time. Further, the chilling effect of the State Department's infamous Lavender Scare, which aggressively sought to purge gays, could still be felt by the 70's. “The people at the State Department still had issues with gay people,” said Jerry. Now retired, Jerry had an illustrious career as a computer programmer. He helped to write the worldwide system that shifted the human resources department's manual paycheck system to computer-based automation. Jerry enjoys life in retirement as a jazz singer and lives with his partner in Southwest.

We also interviewed Michael, a first-generation Lebanese-American from a small town in Ohio who also experienced Southwest's legendary gay nightlife prior to moving to Southwest. He has lived here now for 11 years with his boyfriend. He fondly recalls Tracks D.C., a popular club on First Street in SE, as his “first interaction with gay life in DC.” He describes the memory that sticks out the most. He watched this guy “doing this weird thing” on the dance floor. He remembered asking aloud, “What is he doing?” Michael was young and excited by what he was seeing. Turns out, it was voguing! “For me, Tracks was the best – nice, friendly, fun.” Opened in 1984, Tracks closed in 1999 after the owner sold the building to a developer.

By happenstance, Michael shares the same employer from which Jerry retired. Michael did not have the same experiences as Jerry at the State Department and claims no anti-gay experiences. “I am very out at work,” but he admits, “State has a white establishment bias.” Michael saw immense progress as a gay federal employee. First, President Bill Clinton issued an Executive Order in 1998 prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation in the federal civilian workforce. During the Obama administration, he participated in efforts at the State Department to advance LGBT inclusion.

Raised by conservative immigrant parents who found comfort in small town America during the social changes of the 1960's, attending Oberlin College opened his eyes that gay people could be “so cool and witty.” He settled briefly in New York City where he felt that his Muslim, Arab, and small town identity did not matter. “There was something about New York. It didn't matter who you were. Just make sure you're weren't in anyone's way and get in line.” He remembers reading the gay personal ads in the back of Village Voice – a well-known gay newspaper – which could be very specific, “looking for a bald, overweight Puerto Rican.” When the AIDS epidemic hit in the early 80s, Michael was still struggling with coming out. “It was not a question of being right or wrong, it was life or death. It was a very scary time. I cried a lot.” Gay health and liberation have come a long way, but Michael reminds us of our social justice challenges. “It used to be easier to be Lebanese than to be gay. Now, it's easier to be gay than Arab.”

Photo credit (Ella Fitzgerald): Elvert Barnes

In response to a question about the BIDs' increasingly reliance on public funding during a recent public meeting, at-large DC Council member Robert White said, “BIDs are private organizations that do their own fundraising.” Indeed, their funding is traditionally based on BID taxes, contract revenue, and other sources except that BIDs can and do leverage their political and economic clout to raid the DC treasury and commandeer public assets such as parks. BID areas contain 65% of DC jobs and generate 37% of the city’s tax revenue. In 2019, the SW BID had $4.2 million in revenue. DC law stipulates how much is taxed for each square foot or property type within the boundaries of each BID. At the June ANC6D meeting, the SW BID asked the ANC to approve expansion and endorse a request to DC Council for $350,000. While the ANC declined to endorse a dollar amount, it did resoundingly support expansion south of M Street. Like many BID advocates, the ANC was uncritical of the ongoing debate about the benefits of BIDs, especially their association with gentrification and place-making.

“Place-Making”: A Tool of Social Engineering
Susanna F. Schaller, author of Business Improvement Districts and the Contradictions of Placemaking, argues that BIDs “amplify the voice of real estate interests as decision makers…thereby producing new development trends and reinforcing historical patterns of exclusion and displacement.”  Further, she challenges the “place-making” urbanism – an approach that reshapes neighborhood spaces through events, strategic engagement, and public space changes. BIDs tend to generate a vacuous narrative of a community that it then reflects back to the community. It is often devoid of the community's rich history and culture. This is especially true for historically majority-minority areas like Southwest. Like with the SW BID's efforts with the street mural at Fourth and I Street (left), “place-making” signals to new residents that their social space is safe, non-threatening, and non-minoritized while residents with longer tenure perceive cultural and racial displacement and erasure. Though ostensibly inspired by the waterfront, the street mural on I Street is a generic form of art that could be placed in almost any waterside community and says nothing meaningful or specific to Southwest. It was a missed opportunity to tell a richer, more compelling story about the Southwest community.

Place-making sometimes goes to the extreme as with the SW BID's recent self-promoting placement of a semi-permanent rock installation in the park space behind Amidon-Bowen field (see above). It later ditched “SW BID” for “SW DC.” We credit our tweet to this change. Another form of “place-making” is the SW BID's leading role in renovating park space along I street – from the Southwest Duck Pond to Lansburgh Park. These are areas of SW that are seeing major change due to Randall School redevelopment, Waterfront Station II, and the Westminster church redevelopment. In contrast, Greenleaf Park – a park that is centrally situated near public housing – is notably absent from this list. That park is the most barren of all SW's parks – a field lacking social seating and amenities.

Even the SW BID's Sunday Suppers – a gathering of residents for a communal meal in the SW Duck Pond – is a form of place-making that downplays growing inequity and the negative impact of neighborhood change occurring in Southwest while emphasizing mono-culturalism. Participants have noted that occasionally concerns about gentrification and neighborhood change have been the subject of dinner discussion, but that it can feel like a whitewashing experience.

If DC Council approves Southwest's expansion south of M Street, Southwest will be only one of a few neighborhoods entirely covered by a BID. This is a dangerous position for any community to find itself – threatening neighborhood autonomy and self-determination. As any community leader can tell you, the SW BID dominates the Southwest social scene. Few major public events in Southwest occur without the involvement of the SW BID, which can offer staffing, help with permitting, funding, or additional resources. Further, the BID's growing interest in addressing social needs will only lead to consolidating its power, not to mention that it could be positioned to receive grants and public funding on behalf of the community, even create challenges for community-based organizations to secure funding. A broader danger is that the SW BID, like many BIDs in the District, is helping to usher in a form of “corporatized neighborhood control,” in which resources and influence are centralized while community norms and traditions take a backseat to a new ethos about what Southwest is or should be. Now more than ever, DC Council should undertake an effort to evaluate the impact of BIDs and Southwest residents should critically evaluate the BID in their community. The SW BID's tepid interest in Southwest heritage and limited interest in minority perspectives and needs, including the need to cultivate a vibrant minority-owned, women-owned, and small business climate, warrants the immediate attention of the DC Council to set about reforming BIDs.
 

SUBMISSIONS: Poetry Column and Call for Submissions: Each edition will feature a poet sharing original poetry or prose. ALL POETS ARE WELCOME! Submissions should be no more than 150 words and seek to inspire and enlighten readers. Submissions must be submitted by the 5th of each month. Please include a photo (if desired) and a one to two sentence bio describing your writing passion. Youth submissions are also encouraged! Submit your work to Poetic Voice editor and Editorial Board member, P.S. Perkins at psp@hci-global.com. Authors retain rights to printed work and will be notified before publication. Inquires welcome.