Brookland resident Daniel Wolkoff: "WashPost says $45 million to restore Mcmillan is too much??"

--- On Tue, 6/25/13, Daniel Wolkoff <amglassart@yahoo.com> wrote:
  

Washington Post editorial McMillan"Industrial Jungle is vine-covered and in varying states of disrepair. In 2000, the cost of preserving and reinforcing all 20 cells was estimated at $45 million." SO WHAT? There are parks, and historic properties and house museums where the vines are being cultivated by expensive gardeners and maintenance staff, we get them growing for free! It's fine to build NOMA with no plan for park space, and then spend $50 million to eek out some kind of marginal allowance "here or there" for greenspace, so how is $45 million too expensive for 25 acres nearby at McMillan.? Let's just simply add up some of  the money DC govt. has wasted to date at McMillan. $9.3 million to purchase when Feds offered for free.. If put into trust for the park in 1986 at 5% interest would total atleast $24 million or more. $250,000 wasted on lawn mowing each year , at least $7 million How much wasted on NCRC, on VMP and all their numerous rotating consultants???????????___X_____$millions How much has the Deputy Mayor spent ??_________$millions Was Kwame Brown or Michael Brown or Harry "Tommy" Thomas Jr. paid-off in some way??legally or illegally? The biggest expense that has to be included that the city govt. has wasted completely is.---- The value lost to this community, and the DC visitors, our families and children having this awesome recretional facility fenced off from access since 1986. How do you calculate the value of 27 years of NO RECREATION, NO ACCESS TO PARKLAND, How much travel and where di the residents go to enjy outdoors and parks?? 100's of Millions in quality of life barred, ripped off, and arrogantly kept back for NOTHING!!!!  The deterioration (not really described in the National Park Service Nomination by HPRB), and of course increasing year after wasted year, greater and greater expense of restoration, who's fault is that?This awesome park would have been restored in 1986, if located in a white neighborhood, when restoration would have cost a fraction of $45 million. Washington  Post- Don't blame the park for the evils of the DC govt.s discrimination against people of lower income. I have no doubt the total amount of $millions wasted by the city govt. is so much higher than this estimate by Wash Post of $45 million to restore. That is the ISSUE and the city officials who have made their careers like Clint Jackson, Tania Jackson , and all the fancy development teams like EYA, and Jair Lynch, and Trammel Crow, and Byrd, and Lessard ,,HAVE NOBODY TO BLAME BUT THEMSELVES for their wasted investment.  WE know this would not have happened in a white upper income neighborhood, period.This property is available to them through blatant racist discrimination.These vultures would not have had a go at this property, or a chance to feed at this PIG TROUGH, if located where the city govt. provides parks to people. Cause $45 million to restore is a drop in the bucket when  we spend how many millions each year on the priveledged classes. How much has DPR spent since 1986 on parks in upper NW? how little on parks in ward 5? I recall it was a shock to ward 5 residents when HTJr was chairman of the Parks and Libraries  Committee and there was nothing in the budget for his ward. The biggest problem we are faced with on Mcmillan is the people are not holding the DC govt, accountable for this atrociuos record of waste, and demanding for ourselves the things they provide everyone else with clout. Daniel Goldon Wolkoff Adams Morgan Stained Glass 1231 Randolph Street, NE Washington, DC 20017 Tel: 202-232-8391 www.adamsmorganstainedglass.com