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| Brookland Manor resident Cheryl Brunson speaks at the press conference on August 25, 2016 |
As you have heard, the proposed redevelopment of Brookland Manor will eliminate and reduce family-sized housing for nearly 150 families. This redevelopment will eliminate significant affordable family sized housing in the Brentwood neighborhood and force ONE DC members and residents to move from the community in which they have long resided and which they call home. The exclusion of these families from Brookland Manor destroys their community and will disrupt their children’s education and the networks of services and supports that many residents rely on. Medical doctor Mindy Fullilove calls this health condition “root shock”—a phenomena which tears up primarily Black working class communities. ONE DC’s organizing is designed to resist these conditions, and our legal team supports us in these efforts.
The developers wrote to the tenants that large families must be excluded from the redeveloped property because large families are “not consistent with the creation of a vibrant new community.” They justified the negative impact that the elimination of large units would have on families by telling the Zoning Commission that “housing very large families in apartment complexes is significantly impactful upon the quality of life of households as well as their surrounding neighbors.” These statements reflect a hostility towards families that violates both federal and District of Columbia Fair Housing laws, which prohibit discrimination based on one’s familial status. ONE DC supports our legal team through our organizing to make “the developers obey the law.” If the residents and ONE DC members don’t make the developers obey the Fair Housing laws, they will violate them. We join the families of Brookland Manor who are bringing this lawsuit in demanding that the developer obey the Fair Housing laws!
Our members and our legal team support the choice of Brookland Manor residents to have a large family or a small one, to live with multiple generations or to live alone which is protected by law. Click here to read Dominic Moulden's full remarks from the press conference.
Media Coverage of Brookland Manor
The Mysterious Private Police Force That’s Killing People In The Nation’s Capital Carimah Townes, Think Progress, August 31
DC Residents File Housing Lawsuit Against Developer Mark Segraves, NBC4 Washington, August 26
D.C. Developers Accused of Pushing Out Poor, Britain Eakin, Courthouse News Service, August 26
Brookland Residents Sue Owner Of Massive Complex Over Redevelopment Plans, Rachel Sadon, DCist, August 25
Northeast Tenants Sue Owner for Alleged Discrimination, Andrew Giambrone, Washington City Paper, August 25
As the nation’s capital booms, poor tenants face eviction over as little as $25 Terrence McCoy, Washington Post, August 8