an example of the great fight in eckington.

this is an email from the eckington listserve.


I received a copy of the outrageous emails that have been bantered about on the Eckington egroup and I was shocked by the tactics these "new homeowners" have used to try to stop St. Martin's from building workforce and affordable housing in Eckington. Their venomous attack on the project smacked of thinly veiled discrimination against people of moderate and low income, against people in recovery and against people who happen to rent rather than own a home.

At first, they were too transparent and argued that they had a problem with St. Martin's Apartments because they did not want people of "certain income levels" renting in their neighborhoo. Now, they've gotten a little more sophisticated in the jargon and have formed "Eckington Citizens for Smart Growth, talk welcomingly about diversity and then started complaining about "density." This past week, a group of Eckington folk joined the Ward 5 egroup to spew their venom in an egroup that they had heretofore deemed unimportant.

Let's set the record straight immediately. . .we, who are long-term residents of Ward 5, want workforce and, yes affordable housing in our Ward. We are not going to sit idly by and watch new entrants to the neighborhood attempt to change the complexion, density, income levels and culture of our Ward. The 'historic' homes that you refer to in Eckington, only became historically significant to you when you could no longer afford to purchase in Dupont Circle, Logan Circle and the list continues. We want entry-level housing close in for our sons and daughters, nieces and nephews as they start their careers and we want it in the District -- not Prince Georges County.

We support ANC 5C, Manna, the 7 churches in the Ecumenical Council, the 17 working class men living in St. Martin's and the effort to build workforce and affordable housing for 407 District, tax-paying residents who happen to qualify for workforce and affordable housing. There is room in this big tent for all of us.





Also, apparently listserves are "elitist" according to other emails. and apparently church congregations aren't.