In 2015, the National Park Service (NPS) lost a fight with the General Service Administration (GSA) and was forced to hand over eight acres of Shepherd Parkway to make way for an access road leading from 295 onto the new U.S. Homeland Security campus at St. Elizabeths. Under federal environmental law, the GSA must pay NPS "mitigation" funds to compensate for the lost of parkland.
Throughout 2016, National Capital Parks-East (NACE) refused to tell us how much they were getting in mitigation or how they planned to use it. We filed a Freedom of Information Act request and learned that NACE had received around $500,000 and earmarked it for improvements to the heavily used area of Shepherd Parkway near the corner of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Avenues, which they refer to as Parkland.
When we met with the new superintendent Tara Morrison in early 2017, she told us that before using mitigation funds to spruce up the park, they would contracting with the Department of Sociology at Howard University to conduct a study of who uses the park, what it means to them, and what they would like to see there.
Yesterday we received the following announcement of a public meeting to get input from residents.
Although the notice is short, this is our chance to be heard. Please register and attend if you are able.
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TELL US ABOUT YOUR PARK
Through the Cooperative Ecosystems Studies Unit Agreement (CESU), the Howard University Department of Sociology and the National Park Service are seeking a better understanding of the resources and experiences of neighbors and visitors of Parkland, a unit of Shepherd Parkway.
Please join us for an intimate community conversation about Shepherd Park/Malcolm X, including activities that occur or that you would like to see at the park, facilities, safety, and the significance of the park to you, the community and the neighborhood.
Monday, March 26, 2018
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
Bellevue/William O. Lockridge Library
115 Atlantic St SW
Washington, DC 20032
115 Atlantic St SW
Washington, DC 20032
A4, A2, and W1 buses run near the library
*Food and refreshments provided*
To register, please visit http://bit.ly/2CiOTcQ.
**Must be 18 years of age or older
**Must be a DC resident or business owner in a zip code near the park. The park is located on the corner of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Avenues, SE.
For more information contact Naomi Adams at naomi.adams@bison.howard.edu or (708) 846-1943.
