Anthony Dale: City leaders need the political will to act boldly against gentrification, displacement
Sixteen years ago, I arrived in DC as a young Marine seeking to take part in shaping policies that benefited people who grew up in circumstances like mine. As a child growing up in Jersey City, my family routinely faced evictions and the absence of meals on the table. My mother, who was a lioness in my eyes, used every tool in her box to make sure we could stay afloat and have food to eat. Later, I recognized that the conditions of my upbringing were largely a byproduct of the gentrification sweeping this country — and I committed myself to fighting against this epidemic.
Anthony Dale, a resident of Southwest DC for more than a decade, is a member of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6D
Over the last decade, I have been a witness to the rapidly changing landscape in Southeast/Southwest DC. While our city has been prospering, people who have resided here for generations have been losing. A recent study by the Institute on Metropolitan Opportunity on the changes in American neighborhoods — including areas in DC — highlights what city leaders already know: We’ve failed at protecting our most vulnerable residents. Over the last 16 years, the population at the Navy Yard has grown 19 percent. In that same time, however, the Navy Yard lost 56 percent of low-income residents; meanwhile, the study’s authors noted, the proportion of white residents rose 202 percent.
We have failed at every level of government — from the executive branch to the legislature to the advisory neighborhood commissions — when it comes to thinking innovatively about addressing gentrification and displacement. Even though failing to provide for residents who need us most is not limited to just one administration, now is the time for us to take bold corrective actions. We need out-of-the-box thinkers to develop innovative ways to tackle economic prosperity in our city. We need the type of thinking that built Amazon and that made the iPhone the top-selling phone in the world. Now is not the time to play politics, but rather to look beyond the next election and fight for what we know is right.
While we should embrace our new residents, this should not be at the cost of losing some of our communities that hold mostly economically disenfranchised residents. Therefore, it is the duty of all of us to take ownership of this issue. Elected leaders must be held accountable for the policies they enact — and residents have the power to provide this oversight. In the absence of solutions proposed by our city’s leadership, residents can push initiatives such as increasing the percentage of affordable housing required for planned unit developments.
As a member of ANC 6D, I have committed to not supporting any development project that does not assist our schools in some way. To be successful, neighborhood schools such as Amidon-Bowen Elementary and Jefferson Middle must have adequate funding for capital investments, teacher development and programs. I will also continue to fight for developers to incorporate affordable family-size units in their projects and to set aside a significant proportion of units affordable to families earning 30 percent to 40 percent of the area median income.
To ensure prosperity for every Washingtonian, it is critical that we build a city that is affordable and livable for families who do not make six figures.
There are many solutions that can be deployed and piloted in our communities. However, we need the political will to put funding toward these kinds of innovations. If we can use money to create dog parks, build sports arenas and entice Amazon to come to our city, then we are more than equipped to help lift generations of Washingtonians out of poverty. I urge the mayor, DC Council and my ANC colleagues to take bold action to ensure we do not lose another generation of residents because we failed to act in their best interests.
Anthony Dale, a resident of Southwest DC for more than a decade, is a member of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6D, which encompasses Southwest, Navy Yard and Buzzard Point.
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