Tenants Demand CM McDuffie Put Call for Equity to Work for Affordable Housing in Ward 5
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 22, 2021
Washington, DC, Ward 5 — What does equity in housing really mean for residents when affordable housing is replaced with luxury apartments? As their elected official, Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie talks a good talk but does not support action to preserve, let alone expand, affordable housing in Ward 5. In fact, development in Ward 5 usually means that affordable housing disappears and Black families, among DC’s most vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic, are displaced.
Kenyan McDuffie’s record was the subject of last Thursday’s episode of “Community Thru Covid.” Cheryl Brunson, Treasurer of the Brookland Manor/Brentwood Village Residents Association (BMBVRA), and Beth Wagner, organizer with the Brookland Manor Coalition, joined host Virginia Avniel Spatz to discuss the situation at Brookland Manor, a 535-unit historically Black apartment community in Ward 5. It is slated for redevelopment that will triple density on the property while significantly reducing the number of affordable units, potentially displacing more than 100 low-income Black families.
A study commissioned by CM McDuffie himself found that the Brookland Manor project would harm Black families. Yet with CM McDuffie’s support, the developer MidCity refuses to commit to a no-displacement policy for voucher holders and is stonewalling requests for information about how many people now still live on the property and who will be displaced.
BMBVRA President Ms. Minnie Elliott says CM McDuffie has not stepped up to support residents in this struggle to keep their homes and that his racial equity plan falls flat when it comes to protecting the ward’s longtime Black residents.
“Brookland Manor is exactly the kind of community that Kenyan McDuffie should be protecting, but where is he? We have large 3, 4 and 5-bedroom units for low-income families but we are getting no help from our elected officials.”
Other constituents have recently accused CM McDuffie of neglect as well.
“We knew a change was coming, but we had no idea we wouldn’t get a commitment from the development or management that we’d be able to come back,” said Ms. Brunson. “Many of our neighbors have lost their jobs and have to choose between paying rent and putting food on the table. Our families don’t have enough, and our seniors, in particular, are isolated and can’t get what they need, especially with MidCity trying to break up the community.”
In addition to fighting for their homes, BMBVRA is partnering with groups across the District to meet the material needs of the community.
About Brookland Manor Coalition:
The Brookland Manor Coalition is a citizen’s group of organizers and volunteers working alongside the Brookland Manor Brentwood Village Tenants Association in their fight against displacement. Brookland Manor is the largest remaining affordable community in the nation’s capital and its 3, 4, and 5-bedroom units are some of the last places for families in the District. The pending redevelopment plan will displace hundreds of families by eliminating desperately needed family housing. Join Ms. Minnie Elliott and the Brookland Manor community in the fight for common sense housing policies in Washington and help combat the displacement of lifelong DC residents at brooklandmanorcoalition.org, @BrooklandManorCoalition on Instagram and @BManorCoalition on Twitter.
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