WAMU 88.5 FM – Kojo In Your Community: People And Public Spaces In Columbia Heights

Two miles north of the White House, Columbia Heights boasts a diverse population, a growing business core and a blossoming restaurant scene. But it’s also a neighborhood in transition. As housing prices rise, young professionals are moving in, while some long-time residents and businesses can’t afford to stay. Kojo in Your Community explores the debates over public space, personal safety and mapping the future in changing neighborhoods like this one.

LEDC Director of Affordable Housing Preservation Farah Fosse was one of three panelists in Part One of the community conversation exploring issues related to public space, diversity, and housing affordability in Columbia Heights.

“With more taxes, we should be able to address [housing, shelters and homeless services] better,” Fosse said. “As people are coming into DC, become a registered voter here, become a resident of DC, which not everyone does, and support progressive policies that support making sure that everyone has a home.”

To listen to the complete audio recording of the Kojo in Your Community edition for Columbia Heights, click here.

 

Univision – Factor Económico Determina la Vivienda (Spanish)

New Census figures show that many Latinos in the District have left the Mount Pleasant and Columbia Heights areas over the last 10 years and relocated to areas along Georgia Avenue, including Petworth and Brightwood.

Statistics show that the overall Hispanic population fell by nearly 25 percent in Columbia Heights and Mount Pleasant while it grew by nearly 50 percent in the Georgia Avenue neighborhoods.

To watch the full Univision video clip in Spanish that talks about the new figures and the role of rising housing costs in this shift, click here.

 

 

DC Residents Today Share Stories of Affordable Housing Victories, Struggles on “Before and After” Neighborhood Tour

In the District of Columbia, the journey that many residents embark upon to ensure they have a decent, affordable place to live for the future often starts with a finely-worded letter and a 45-day window of opportunity.

For Lynn Welters and Oscar Moreno – presidents of the Brightwood Gardens Cooperative and the 1333 Euclid St NW Tenants Association, respectively – both received the letter explaining that their apartment buildings had been put up for sale and that they had 45 days to respond and declare their intention to take control of their housing.

For Lynn, it was an opportunity to save the home where she had lived since the age of 11 with her parents. For Oscar, it was a chance to save the home where he had lived for almost 10 years and continue living in the neighborhood.  

 

Tenant Advocates Host “Before and After Tour” of Affordable Housing Struggles in NW DC Neighborhoods

MEDIA ADVISORY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 7, 2011

Contact: Lead Tenant Organizer Anna Duncan (for Columbia Heights)
Director of Affordable Housing Preservation Farah Fosse (for Petworth)
(202) 590-4320, (202) 590-4369
aduncan@ledcmetro.org; fosse@ledcmetro.org

Reality Tour to Show Results of Gentrification and Community Organizing in Columbia Heights and Petworth

WASHINGTON – On Monday, July 11th, residents of Columbia Heights and Petworth will open their homes to share stories of their struggles to preserve affordable housing in rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods. Washington, D.C. is the only city in the country with a unique law (the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act, or TOPA) that gives tenants the right to determine what happens to their apartment building when it is for sale. The Before and After Neighborhood Tour will visit four multi-family buildings (two where residents utilized TOPA to buy their buildings and convert them into affordable cooperatives, and two apartment buildings where tenants are trying to purchase) to meet with residents and hear their unique stories. DC’s tenant purchase program is one of the major focuses of this year’s Fourth Annual Citywide Tenant Town Hall, on Saturday, July 16th at 2:30 pm at First Trinity Lutheran Church (309 E St NW, near Judiciary Square).

WHAT: Before and After Neighborhood Tour of Columbia Heights and Petworth

BEFORE: Hear from tenants who live in run-down apartment buildings that are for sale and who are organizing to prevent their displacement in gentrifying neighborhoods.

AFTER: See newly renovated, affordable housing co-ops where long-term neighborhood residents are now owners!

WHERE: 1st stop: 710 Jefferson St NW
2nd stop: Brightwood Gardens Cooperative – 941 Longfellow St NW
3rd stop: 1333 Euclid St NW
4th stop: Quest Cooperative – 1428 Euclid St NW

WHEN: Monday, July 11th, 5 to 7 PM
Meet at 710 Jefferson St NW at 5 pm; we’ll walk to 941 Longfellow St NW (2 blocks),
then drive to 1333 Euclid St NW (or meet there at 6 PM), then walk to 1428 Euclid St NW (1 block).

WHO: Latino Economic Development Corporation (LEDC), Save Our Safety Net, 710 Jefferson St NW Tenants’ Association, Brightwood Gardens Cooperative Association, 1333 Euclid St NW Tenants’ Association, Quest Cooperative Association

 

Can Tenants Organize to Preserve Affordable Housing in the Midst of Sky-Rocketing Rents? One Tenant Association Says “Yes We Can”

This is the second of two stories highlighting tenant organizing victories in 2010 in anticipation of LEDC’s Tenant Celebration, Talent Show, and Cook-off this Friday at the St. Stephen’s Church located at 1525 Newton Street NW from 6:30-9:00 pm.

Next time you’re in Columbia Heights, cross 14th street from the DCUSA Mall to the Columbia Heights community plaza where DC’s kids of Summer notoriously barrel back and forth through spurts of shooting water. Just across the street from the new luxury apartments, you will see the Kenyon St “Yes We Can” Cooperative — a symbol of what is possible when long-time DC residents exercise their rights to stay in their community and preserve affordable housing.

“We have peace of mind now,” says Ella Richardson, board president of the Kenyon cooperative. “It makes you feel safe that you have a place to live and you can afford to stay here and don’t have to worry about getting thrown out anymore. I’ve been here almost 30 years, its my birth-home really, from being here so long. We’re like a family, especially the tenants who have been here for a long time. That’s why we had to fight to keep the building, and to keep it affordable, because none of us could afford to stay here if it wasn’t under Section 8.”

Thanks to the joint efforts of tenants, the Latino Economic Development Corporation (LEDC), Empower DC and pro bono attorneys, the tenant association became the owner of their apartment building in June 2010. With rents in the District reaching their highest level in 20 years, Columbia Heights is the poster child for sky-rocketing housing costs. But 1372 Kenyon St is a shining example of how tenant associations who stick together, don’t give up and utilize the support available can preserve existing affordable housing and ensure a diverse, mixed-income community.