Ivy City Community Meeting

Every third Thursday of the month the Ivy City Civic Association holds its community meeting.  Since October of last year (before closing on my home) I have been present at every meeting and last night was no exception to the rule.

Last night's meeting was about getting to know your neighbors.  We all introduced ourselves, gave two adjectives about ourselves and then shared our greatest accomplishments.  Sharing my greatest accomplishment was a question I opted out of because there are so many "firsts" I have achieved in my family that I could not just call any my greatest achievement :)

After introductions Smokey Stevens and local Ivy City youth performed a dramatic presentation.  Youths were also given certificates of appreciation from Andria Swanson for being a part of the "Ivy City Players Group" with Mr. Stevens and for their summer employment with Empower DC sponsored through DC Youth Employment Services.

Invited guests on the agenda were Johnny Barnes, attorney for the lawsuit with the city and Gary Durand of 5D police station.  Mr. Barnes shared the latest updates on the case and energized the room in believing the plaintiffs would prevail in court.  Gary Durand did not show up for the meeting.  This was extremely disheartening considering I met with him, the precinct commander, our local sergeant and our two main patrolers last week with the current ANC commissioner and a representative from Mi Casa and he said he had the meeting on his calendar and would be in attendance.  I suggested every resident in the room contact Mr. Durand and request his presence at our next meeting so he can be aware of everyone's issues and give us the most up-to-date crime statistics for our neighborhood.  Mr. Durand or a representative on his behalf should ALWAYS be present at our community meetings.  After my suggestion to the residents, Mr. Corey Griffin, a representative from Kenyan McDuffie's office who was in attendance of our meeting, immediately contacted Commander Solberg about the lack of representation from the precinct and within about 10 minutes Sgt. Fox and our two main patrolers were at the meeting.  They were ill prepared with no crime data however I am glad they made it out eventually.

Cory Griffin, I do not believe was officially on the agenda however shared with community residents Councilman McDuffie's support of the community in the lawsuit against the city and the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation and all that they are doing to assist our community in receiving equitable living standards similar to those of other city residents.

Additional topics discussed at the meeting was a back-to-school book bag drive and haircut fair being sponsored by Trinity Baptist Church, Neighborhood Watch formation, committees and boards that needed volunteers, closing with general questions/input from the residents.