Recent Messages Regarding Monday's Meeting

[Elise Bernard]

I'd like to take a moment to respond to some of the dialogue regarding
the meeting on Monday. What I say holds true for all residents,
police, and representatives of city agencies as well as ANC
commissioners. Right now I am focusing this specifically on those of
us in lower 5B, by which I mean Trinidad, Carver Terrace, Langston,
and Ivy City. We all need to work together. Most of us have the same
goals [e.g. safe clean streets, well run recreation centers, good
relationships with neighbors and agencies, and generally a community
of which we can all be proud]. Notice I say A COMMUNITY. While ANC
commissioners have their own SMDs it is way past the time that we
transcend these boundaries and all work together. The issues in my SMD
[5B08] do have ramifications for other commissioners like India,
David, Rosetta, and Wilhelmina. They also have ramifications for Bill,
Raphael, and the other guys just south of me in 6A. We have political
boundaries, and they are real, but we cannot pretend that the
boundaries are anything more than political lines. We should keep each
other in the loop and work together, but let's please not be petty and
territorial. We all lose out when that happens. Those of you who know
me know that I actively follow and am somewhat involved in happenings
on H Street. I watch that area closely not only because it is two
blocks from my house, but also because it is already having a profound
impact on all of us. We ignore things like this to our own peril.
Let's try to remember why we all got involved in the first place. Our
community cannot move forward under our direction until we do that.
I regret that I cannot attend Monday's meeting because I have class at
that time. I am spreading the word about the meeting, and plan to
follow up with a few attendees to learn what transpires. I also hope
someone will post a summary of the meeting here.
Peace,
Elise Bernard
5B08 202-631-8254
inked78[at]hotmail.com