The New Ward 8? How about a NEW neighborhood?

One thing that constantly baffles me when I see Barry's green and white campaign signs is his campaign slogan for a "new Ward 8". It would seem to me that that slogan would be better suited for lets say...a NEW candidate. In my opinion (and bear with me I am just a lowly constituent) if Barry is anything he is NOT not new. his own campaign slogan is direct slap to his previous terms as Ward 8 Council member.

When I think of a NEW candidate with NEW blood and NEW ideas MB doesn't exactly come directly to mind.

Perfect example. If anyone has every taken a ride out to MB's current digs on Orange Street you can see the markings of what was once a really great neighborhood at some point. Large single family homes with plenty of yard space. Homes that had been in families for years. Tall large beautiful trees. The type of neighborhood that you could imagine living as a child. Then there is the neglect. The several eyesores that are not only a slap in the face of a once really great neighborhood but which are threatening to breed more eyesores...more neglect.

Barry's modest single family home sits on the corner of Orange Street SE and 4th Street SE directly in front of a bus stop. From his front porch he would have a direct view to the River Hill apartments - a very well maintained apartment complex. Very suburban looking in nature but directly to the left of the River Hill complex comes the rental properties that time (and landlords) forgot. There they are 4 sad little multi family matchbox rentals in a row. 3 vacant (one due to a long ago fire) and one occupied but from the looks of how it is maintained is but a moment from being condemned. Sad little properties with broken windows, dilapidated fences, unkempt grass awash in a sea of litter. Each with it's emerald green "Marion Barr for Ward 8 Council" campaign sign. No better commentary than the sight of a campaign sign in the yard neglected home in a neglected ward.

Anyone who lives in this neighborhood is familiar with the blight, drugs and generally unrest that is that side of Orange Street SE. You have dealers and their customers walking up and down Orange Street across to the 500 b/o Oakwood and back. Drug trafficking is one of the worst kept secrets in the entire neighborhood. It's its own soap opera and drama played out on city streets there is the villain, the sidekicks, the innocent bystander but where o' where is our hero?

A walk down Orange St is an illustration of what could be and what has become. On one side of Orange Street (the MB) you have these lovely single family homes with well kept yards and potted plants , the hallmark of homeowners who still take pride in maintaining their homes...their community. Then on the other side of the street you have the typical matchbox "4 in one" rental units that are what comes to mind when one thinks of Ward 8. Transient, dirty, unkempt. The byproducts of two many people and too few jobs. The type of neglect that flourishes when t here is no accountability, of landlords who reside in the suburbs - their properties allowed to rot and become an eyesore and health hazard to the residents that remain. The community has petitioned DCRA, ANC 8C and Barry's office for some time for some assistance with these properties as well as the several known drug houses in that neighborhood (all within a 1 or 2 block radius of Councilman Barry's home) with NO luck. On the one occasion a resident was able to reach someone in Barry's office in regards to getting litter cans installed on Mellon street (FYI - MB has one right in front of his house) the staffer chose to ignore the litter can request and instead thanked the resident for "experiencing firsthand the fine works of Councilman Barry" (what?) and invited the resident to participate in MB's "campaign for a new Ward 8". Where is this new ward 8 and where can I find it?

On Barry's own street on the corner of Orange Street and 5th Street SE there is a "Deaf Pedestrian" sign that has been lying on the sidewalk for the better part of 8 months. Calls to 311 or DPW for service go unanswered much like the calls to Barry's office. The residents in his community have all but resigned themselves to the fact that the once great MB is either no longer as great or as involved (at least in a non election year). When one mentions MB in regards to neighborhood issues it is not to look to him for assistance but as merely a landmark to that current issue (ex. the vacant building closest to his house) or as a testament how Ward 8 constantly gets the short end of the stick - even from their own leaders.

Take a trip over to the 500 b/o Oakwood Street and on one side of the street you see progress. Homeowners (some new) who actually live in their homes, who raise their families and who go to work every day and then on the other side of the street you have a collection of properties that residents call "disharmony lane". Here you have several single family homes which are well known in the community as being known drug houses most if not all section 8 properties. It is not unheard of to hear fights or loud music coming from their properties weather it is 3pm or 3am. Despite the constant stream of dealers and their customers in and out they are still in business - less than 2 blocks away from the Ward 8 Council member...the "champion" of the people. Residents have seen MPD's Assistant Chief Groomes on the block more than MB and he lives there. When one asks when was the last time MB attended an ANC 8C meeting there is always a long pause followed by an even longer pause while one tries to recall.

There is a running joke in the neighborhood that the traffickers are MB lobbyists and they have more money and clout than a hard working, law abiding resident and until that changes hardworking residents who seek change are own their own.

MB if you are truly serious about a NEW Ward 8 why not start in your own backyard? There is PLENTY to do.