Date: Tue, Aug 6, 2013 at 10:35 AM
Subject: PR: Mayor Gray Ignores Thousands Opposed to His McMillan Development Plan
To:
Friends of McMillan Park
For Release: August 6, 2013
Contact: Beth Johnston, 857-205-1708, friendsofmcmillanpark@gmail.com
Mayor Gray Ignores Thousands Opposed to His McMillan Development Plan
DC Mayor Vincent C. Gray seems unaware of the widespread opposition to his plan to overdevelop the McMillan Park Sand Filtration Site and turn it into a suburban-like shopping center reminiscent of Tyson’s Corner. Specifically, last Friday, in response to a listener question on The Kojo Nnamdi Show (The Politics Hour), the Mayor said: “I’ve followed McMillan and I haven’t seen thousands of people who have indicated a resistance to [the plan], or overwhelmingly come forward saying we want to see parks at McMillan.”
This statement ignores the widely publicized petition signed by over 5,200 people against the Gray Administration’s plan to destroy McMillan Park, a local and national historic landmark. Friends of McMillan Park has presented the petitions to the DC Council and to the Historic Preservation Review Board, and informed the Mayor's office of these actions. The Mayor is also apparently unaware of the overwhelming opposition to declaring the site “surplus” public real estate expressed at a recent meeting called by his Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. Either his staff is keeping him in the dark or he is deliberately ignoring the thousands of signatories.
“How can Mayor Gray be unaware of the 5,000+ signatories against his plan to build a suburban-style development that would devastate the surrounding Ward 5 and 1 communities?," said Gwen Southerland, former Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for the McMillan site. "To rectify this glaring gap in the Mayor's knowledge, the Friends will this week hand-deliver all 5,000-plus signatures to Mayor Gray."
The Friends of McMillan Park and the 5,000 signatories reject the Mayor’s plan for high-rise office buildings, condos, gridlocked traffic, and minimal open space. “His proposal must be replaced by a new vision for McMillan Park,” added John Salatti. “We want a plan that re-opens our grand city park, stabilizes our neighborhoods, and stimulates businesses that are integrated into the historic structures at McMillan and invested in and co-exist within our community. Think of The High Line in New York, only better.”
The 5,000 signatories and the Friends urge the Gray Administration and the City Council to consider creative alternatives for McMillan Park, such as the Collage City Studio plan, that build on the site’s integrity as an engineering marvel and a national landmark park designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr. The Friends and their supporting signatories want to preserve and adaptively reuse McMillan Park’s historic resources, especially its majestic underground sand filtration caverns. The Mayor’s plan would sacrifice all but one of the existing 20 unique vaulted one-acre caverns, offers little affordable housing, lacks any plan for reusing the above or below ground structures, and excludes any effective strategies for managing the significant increase in traffic that would cripple the surrounding neighborhoods.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMayor Gray has ignored this group and their petition due to very valid reasons. Let's take for example this very press release. You would think FOM would list a local number on the press release instead of a new resident's cell number from Washington State! This is just one of the many reasons this group has no cred's! On top of the lies and misinformation they put out in the media and various outlets. Not even CM McDuffie will deal with the FOM any longer, due to the lies and BS they peddle over and over even when it's pointed out they are WRONG!!! I mean really what a freaking liberty these people take! They have used a campaign of lies and misinformation along with deceitful and outrageous tactics to try to win over support from various group and have consistently failed. The petition has lack any real substance and credibility because they present misinformation in order to obtain signatures. FOM is has put selfish wants of mostly new residents over the needs of the REAL DC residents. They seem to think they now can steam roll the process and get their way. IT's hasn't worked and it's why the Mayor and all the CM are supporting the plans for McMillan! They know what DC really needs! SO "Build Baby Build!" The Real DC needs housing, jobs, taxes and yes a very nice 8 acre park where on has ever existed! We (DC) cannot allow a selfish misguided and deceitful special interest group to control what DC has been trying to accomplish for 30 years. It's time to get our act together and make this 3rd attempt happen. Otherwise the Federal Gov should take the land back due to breed of intention and put up a new nuclear power station just to piss off all these naysayers and at least get a valuable asset that has produced nothing for 30 because of groups like FOM!
ReplyDeleteMayor Gray will not be re-elected. Like Harry Thomas Jr, his corruption is so apparent, he will probably be behind bars in a year or two. People tell me he looks like a funeral director, but I think he looks more like a corpse.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of rotting flesh, I see that Barry Daneker's brain continues to decay. This is what you see from the real estate people who already have side deals with the people who paid off Harry Thomas Jr.
Barry, we all see your race-baiting BS. You and VMP like to use the phrase "REAL DC" residents. Your name-calling, exclamation points and poor grammar reveal a desperation that can only be explained by the fact that you have been working with this pre-selected development team behind closed doors.
I hope you will continue your blog posts as they are further evidence of the arrogance and bullying this development team has displayed each step of the way. I hope folks will compare your diatribes and personal attacks with the civil discourse we see from the McMillan Park Committee, the Historic Review Board, the Sierra Club, the Olmstead Park group, and, yes The Friends of McMillan, made up of volunteers who live in this neighborhood and care enough to stop this corrupt process and ensure that this special park space is not turned into another Shirlington.
PS--Barry, as soon as people got a taste of your hateful politics, they voted you out of office in favor of a complete stranger. During your campaign, you played the race card and accused Fournier of being anti-gay. If I were you, I would get a new screen name so that people might forget what a failure you were as an ANC commissioner.