Addressing Youth Gun Violence Top Priority for Ward 5 Leaders
A Ward 5 leadership group summoned by Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr. agreed that intervening to stop a recent surge in youth gun violence should be a top priority for the community.

One idea for intervention floated by Thomas at the first-time Jan. 26 leadership meeting at Woodridge Library is to extend the “Friends Of” groups that support libraries to each neighborhood recreation center. A similar set of groups that help to raise money and coordinate programs for libraries could do so at rec. centers. “Friends Of” groups at both rec. centers and libraries could coordinate reading, job preparation and other programs that could aid young people who may need guidance, he said.

The recent increase in incidents of shoot outs, targeted killings and threats is the expression of “frustration of young people mired in a mentality of hopelessness,” Verna of Friends of Woodridge Library said at the meeting.

Several Advisory Neighborhood Council commissioners, neighborhood activists, civic association leaders and others active in Ward 5 attended the leadership meeting, where a recent shootout in Trinidad and other incidents of gun violence were discussed.

DC saw an overall increase in homicides in 2007, with 181 compared to 169 in 2006. But the homicide rate in the Fifth Police District dropped to 21 in 2007, from 24 in 2006, according to official statistics compiled by the Washington Post. Shootings and other nonfatal gun crimes also went up across the District last year.

“Shootings have become commonplace, and we cannot accept these things going on in our neighborhoods,” Thomas said. “But are we outraged to the point at which we are stopping it?”

Intensive intervention programs unified across the city are needed to address youth violence, several people said.

Program ideas discussed include life skills trainings in every neighborhood for youth aged 11 to 13, an intervention program specifically aimed at young women aged 7 to 18, and financial literacy as part of the summer youth program. Hearing directly from youth should also be a priority, several people said.

One person at the meeting questioned whether the serious issues young people are facing can be solved simply with more programs and meetings, even as Thomas is considering to regularly schedule the new Ward 5 leadership meeting.

But Thomas responded that he is not trying to create “a whole other layer of meetings,” given that there are already 37 standing monthly community meetings in Ward 5, in addition to other meetings that get scheduled in a given month. What is needed is a unified strategy to strengthen public safety and education in Ward 5.

“We should have a unified system. We’ve got 20 different programs that all do the same things,” Thomas said.

Thomas said that significantly more progress could be made in Ward 5 on the big issues if a cross-section of community leaders from all the various groups, like those who came to the leadership meeting, could come together to agree to pursue a unified strategy.

Council Eyes Major Tax Aid for Hecht’s Warehouse Redevelopment
The City Council is considering major tax breaks for redevelopment of the historic Hecht’s Warehouse into a retail area for big box stores like Home Depot and Costco.

The financing package in legislation before the council includes freezing property taxes at the current rate and exempting taxes on building materials up to $6 million. The Hecht's Warehouse Economic Development Act of 2007, bill number 17-0506, was introduced by Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr.

Hecht’s built the 6-story warehouse on New York Avenue in 1937, and it is still regarded as one of the greatest examples of art deco in the country. After Hecht’s, Macy’s owned the building until shutting it in fall 2007.

The current owners, Patriot Equities, bought the building in December for over $80 million, according to Jan. 25 testimony before the council finance committee.

If passed, the bill would freeze the property taxes at the current rate of $152,000 per year. Otherwise, property tax increases are set to force up the annual bill to $1.5 million. Thomas says the city would receive $23 million in annual sales tax revenue from the project once complete, in addition to hundreds of additional jobs.

“This project is vital to the economic development of Ivy City and Ward 5,” Thomas said in a statement at a Jan. 25 finance committee hearing on the bill. Thomas was absent from the hearing due to a surgery.

Patriot Equities is also citing the long term benefit of the redeveloped property to the city to argue against the short term loss of tax revenues. However, the company is warning that the process “will take time,” as the first businesses won’t open their doors until 2011.

John Ross of the Office of the Chief Financial Officer testified that he expects the entire $6 million of missing tax revenues to be felt in the current five-year budget cycle and urged some changes to be made to the legislation to ease the fiscal burden on the city.

Lindsay Clarke of the DC Fiscal Policy Institute said that the bill should include living wage assurances and first-source agreements that job candidates from DC should be considered first once the project is completed.

Other suggestions for modifying the bill include making the tax abatements contingent on the actual completion of the project and making the relief non-transferable if the building is sold mid-project.

Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans suggested at the hearing that the council is committed to carry through with the tax measure and that the city and the developer will work together on modifying the bill.

“I really think this is a good project and is something we need to do. So whatever assistance we can give them within the scope of our operating here, I think we should,” Evan said. “We’ve done this all over as you know with quite a bit of success . . . . [and] we’ve been trying to get New York Avenue revitalized forever.”

The neighborhood council, ANC 5B, has yet to pass a resolution in support of the tax breaks for the warehouse located in their community, but it is likely to do so at its next meeting Feb. 7, ANC 5B Chair William Shelton said in hearing testimony. Shelton says Ivy City in particular is excited about the opportunities for more jobs and services in the underserved neighborhood.

Summer Youth Program Registration Opens
2008 Summer Youth Program registration opens Feb. 4 and runs though April 26.

The program gives young people aged 14 to 21 an opportunity to participate in a 10-week job readiness and academic enrichment program.

To register, youth must bring proof of DC residency, date of birth, citizenship or permanent residency and Social Security Number. Students in grades 7 through 12 need to bring a copy of their current report card, for information purposes only.

The ten-week summer program will begin on Monday, June 16 and end Friday, August 22. Youth who have registered and are hired will receive worksite notifications before the June 25 start date.