Community Responds to Proposed Change of PSA 306
As soon as early fall, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy Lanier proposes to shift Police Service Area 306, which encompasses 23rd Street to 15th Street and G Street to U Street, from the Third Police District – 3D – to the Second District – 2 D. Under the plan, most PSA 306 officers and their cars would move to 2D and patrol the same area under its new designation as PSA 208.

The change would shift some cases in 3D, one of the city’s busiest police districts, to 2D, which has a much lighter caseload. According to 2006 MPD data, 2D had 4.5 percent of the city’s priority one calls, and 3D had 21.2 percent; during that same time, 2D dealt with 3.2 percent of the city’s violent crimes, and 3D handled 24.2 percent.

After holding several public meetings, MPD made changes to the plan in response to community concerns, such as increasing the Focus Mission Unit in 2D, shifting detectives over from 3D, and resolving new parking demands on the 2D station.

During a July 18 community meeting at St. Columba’s Church in Tenleytown, Asst. Chief Peter Newsham, with MPD’s regional operations command for 2-4 Districts, said improving the quality of policing in 306 would benefit the whole city.

“If you don’t think it’s the same people committing thefts from autos in 306, as in 204-206, 207, it’s not true. [They] don’t know PSA or district boundaries.”

The high volume of radio traffic in 3D was cited as the biggest problem. Officers calling for backup or records checks often face slow response times, and supervisors are unable to monitor officers’ whereabouts. “In 2D, at night, on the radio, nothing is going on,” noted a police officer who attended the meeting and spoke in support of the change. “I wouldn’t want an officer getting hurt cause they can’t get on the air.”

“Crime doesn’t stay put,” added Chris Baumann, chairman of the Fraternal Order of Police, who said he is “100 percent supportive” of the change. Also endorsing the plan at the meeting was Rob Halligan with the Dupont Circle Citizen Association.

Still, not everybody was pleased.

“It sounds like putting a band-aid on a major citywide problem,” said one resident, who asked why the city does not invest in its communications center to resolve the radio problems.

Reforming the communications system will require time and money, yet the PSA change can be done relatively easily, said Newsham, who added that “maybe it’s not putting on a band-aid because resources are not being distributed evenly.”

Some argue that the current and proposed PSA boundaries are flawed. “When the PSA boundaries were redrawn [in 2004], the businesses on U Street and 14th were not in support of these new boundaries as they resulted in drawing PSA lines right down the middle of these active business corridors,” wrote Scott Pomeroy of the Mid-City Business Association in an e-mail.

“I would recommend at the very least that the properties facing U Street from 14th to 18th, and on 14th from S to U, remain in 3D. These would include those that are directly across the street from the 3D headquarters,” wrote Pomeroy, who also recommends a one or two block extension south along the U Street commercial district to encompass residential areas.

This perspective is the “minority opinion,” explained Newsham, based on his conversations with affected community groups. Instead of an intensive redrawing of the PSA boundaries, “the chief wants to do a quick fix and shift an unequal workload.”

Yet at the community meeting, Newsham also noted, “As long as the city changes demographically, PSAs will change.”

In addition to Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh (D), Ward 4 Councilmember Muriel Bowser (D) attended the meeting because PSA 201 is in Ward 4.

While not requiring approval from the DC Council, Bowser said the council has oversight authority over the MPD and will be making sure the change doesn’t affect 2D residents negatively, such as in reduced patrols and response times.  

MPD set-up an e-mail address for public comments: psa306.move@dc.gov

Community Writes another Tardy Slip for Interim Shaw Library
On a hot July afternoon, kids walk past the interim Watha T. Daniel Library in disarray, near Shaw Junior High School, at 10th Street and Rhode Island Avenue NW. The locked-up facility was supposed to be operating this summer as the branch library on Seventh Street undergoes renovation.

“This was just the latest in a long line of scheduled opening dates for this facility,” fumes Alexander M. Padro, ANC 2C01 commissioner. “DC Public Library has failed to meet every self-imposed deadline related to the replacement of the permanent library in our neighborhood, as well as the establishment of temporary facilities. Unfortunately, having a new chief has not had any impact on performance at DCPL. Ginnie Cooper talks a good deal but can't deliver any better than her predecessors.”

DCPL would not provide DC North with an opening date for the interim branch or name the specific agency responsible for the delay. “What I can say about the delay is that it was caused by difficulty in getting a permanent electrical source to the building,” explains Monica Lewis, a DCPL spokesperson. “They should be nearing the end of those complications, which is why the building will open in a few weeks.”

Without library services since January 2005, except for what residents call a poorly-stocked bookmobile, Shaw residents are talking about unjust treatment. “The Georgetown Branch Library, which was severely damaged by fire, is expected to open years sooner than the new Watha T. Daniel/Shaw Neighborhood Library, which was to open last fall,” notes Padro. “It's clear that DCPL and Mayor Fenty feel it's more important to get library services fully restored for Georgetown residents, most of whom can afford computers and their own books, or have the ability to travel further to get those services, than for the low- and moderate-income residents of Shaw.”

The executive office of the mayor decline to comment on what Mayor Adrian Fenty is doing to resolve the matter and referred DC North to DCPL’s communications spokesperson.

Advisory Neighborhood Commission News Briefs
ANC 2F – Logan Circle, Thomas Circle, Old City, Blagden Alley, Franklin Square and parts of Shaw and downtown.

According to Commissioner Michael Benardo (2F06), at the July 11 meeting, the commission approved street closures for the Nation's Triathlon (Sept. 29), approved a voluntary agreement for Stoney's and Park Place, and voted to write a letter to the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration supporting ANC 2B's opposition to a roof deck on the Black Cat.