I decided to place his comment as a separate post here. (So, no -- this is not a new, second comment from George Crawford.)
George CrawfordTuesday, March 18, 2014 3:51:00 PM
I have lived in the 2300 block of First Street, NW (two blocks from the McMillan Sand Filtration Site) since 1985. I served as President of the Bloomingdale Civic Association from 1988 through 1990. In 1990 the civic association adopted a resolution supporting development of the site. The resolution supports development of the park, community facility, housing for senior citizens, a day-care facility for seniors and children, a library, police substation, and affordable housing for low-and moderate-income families.
My family and many of our neighbors have watched this community grow and change over time, and have considered many proposals for McMillan through the years. While there have been many different ideas for the site, one thing has remained constant: the fences have stood as a permanent barrier for decades.
Since 2007, this community has been working with the Vision McMillan Partners (VMP) team to create a development that will benefit the entire community – and I think we have gotten pretty close. Of course, we can’t always make everyone happy, and as we are all well aware, this has been a contentious issue over the years. But I must say that the overwhelming majority of my neighbors are excited to finally have open, usable and walkable space. We are excited for a much-needed grocery store and other local retail. We look forward to walking with our children and grandchildren in the park and appreciate the citywide housing needs that will be partially addressed with new, affordable residential buildings. And we are eager to benefit from the significant local investment that this development will bring.
My family and many of our neighbors have watched this community grow and change over time, and have considered many proposals for McMillan through the years. While there have been many different ideas for the site, one thing has remained constant: the fences have stood as a permanent barrier for decades.
Since 2007, this community has been working with the Vision McMillan Partners (VMP) team to create a development that will benefit the entire community – and I think we have gotten pretty close. Of course, we can’t always make everyone happy, and as we are all well aware, this has been a contentious issue over the years. But I must say that the overwhelming majority of my neighbors are excited to finally have open, usable and walkable space. We are excited for a much-needed grocery store and other local retail. We look forward to walking with our children and grandchildren in the park and appreciate the citywide housing needs that will be partially addressed with new, affordable residential buildings. And we are eager to benefit from the significant local investment that this development will bring.
While I understand that this project can ignite passions, it bothers me to see our neighbors verbally attacking each other in community meetings, and accusing others of being “paid off” because they support the project. This article from Jazzy Wright talks about supporters as if they didn’t exist before VMP enlisted troops to help us organize. I find it offensive that people would think that my opinion isn’t real or valid because I can’t attend every meeting or respond to every blog posting. What happened to reasonable, respectful conversation? It is a shame that because of this behavior, I have seen many neighbors feel threatened or intimidated to express their feelings at community meetings and events. There are neighbors who want to put the “Create McMillan Park” sign in their yard but are reluctant.
Neighbors for McMillan isn’t a shadow campaign created to trick the community into supporting the project. We are as genuine of a group as Friends of McMillan is, but our tactics may be a little different. Our goals are to stay positive and just ask others who support the project to make their voices heard in a way that is most comfortable to them. I hope moving forward we can keep the conversation positive on both sides. And most importantly I look forward to celebrating with everyone the day those fences come down and we’re able to enjoy the new park and amenities as a united community.
