City agency reps assembled to address envioronment and quality of life issues around 15th and Independence on Thursday afternoon included L-R Byron Johnson, Office of the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice; MPD 1D Lt. Seth Anderson, MPD 1D Captain David Augustine, and representatives of DPW, DOB, FEMS, DOH, Parking Enforcement, DOT, and the Department of Hired Vehicles.
ANC6B Commissioner Chander Jayaraman, who lives on the Ward 6 side of 15th Street, lent his voice to the effort, pointing out some of the issues in the surrounding streets and alleys.
The house at 201 17th Street, SE, which neighbors say is the frequent target of gunfire.
Hill East “Nuisance House” Attracts Gunfire – City Agencies Join Response to Hill East Shootings
by Larry Janezich
Posted April 12, 2023
As was announced on Wednesday night, representatives of numerous agencies convened at 15th and Independence, SE on Thursday afternoon for a walking tour of the alleys and streets near Independence Avenue between 15th Street and 17th Street, SE. The mission was to address in real time environmental and quality of life issues as well as to look specifically at what neighbors say is an illegally occupied house on 17th Street which is a target for drive by shootings
The walk was led by MPD 1D Captain David Augustine and the house in question at 201 17th Street was the final stop. Neighbors say the house is occupied illegally – perhaps by a relative of the deceased owner. The occupant, they say, changed the locks and the legitimate owner was not able to gain access. The house shows evidence of having been struck by rounds fired from passing vehicles. MPD says that the gunfire involves a small munber of individuals and is apparently the result of a dispute with residents of another neighborhood.
City officials say that the address of the corner house has been referred to the Office of the DC Attorney General (OAG) for possible declaration as a nuisance house. OAG can sometimes file legal actions against property owners in cases involving drugs firearms or firearms related nuisances. These actions are aimed at forcing owners of properties where criminal activity occurs to make changes that improve safety and security.
There are specific criteria which must be met for the property to be declared a nuisance – illegal activity is one. The Public Advocate Division of the OAG deals with vacant and nuisance properties. Here’s a link to the list of Divisions of the Office of the DC Attorney General – and emails of the key personal of the Public Advocate’s Office to whom questions regarding vacant or nuisance properties and evictions can be directed. https://oag.dc.gov/about-oag/our-structure-and-divisions
City officials have also initiated a request for a building inspection by the Department of Buildings to determine if the property is habitable. The building would seemingly have to be condemned in order to take action against an occupant and condemnation would require the building to be found to be a public health hazard.
Eviction of an occupant – even a squatter – can be a lengthy legal process and requires initiation by the property owner. Any eviction must be pursuant to a court order, and must be scheduled and supervised by the US Marshals Service.
MPD is currently maintaining a heightened presence near the house to deter additional shootings.
The rest of the walk to correct envioronmental and quality of live problems in real time involved a tour of nearby alleys where city officials found ten abandoned cars, accumulated alley trash, and lighting issues. Though tow trucks were on hand, officials determined that abandoned vehicles on private property had to be inspected and ticketed before they could be removed and requests were submitted to DOT. But DPW had no reluctance in trashing and crushing 8 abandoned Safeway shopping carts which had found their way to an alley off Independence and abandoned on public space.
Regarding the attention law officials are giving to community outreach, it’s noteworthy that US Attorney for DC Matthew Graves will give a presentation to ANC6B’s Public Safety Committee at a hybrid meeting on April 24 at 6:30pm. ANC7D’s Public Safety Committee will schedule a virtual meeting later in the month – TBA – to hear from criminal justice and public safety individuals. And the MPD D1 Commuity Advisory Council will hold a virtual meeting at 6:00pm on the first Tuesday of the month, May 7. https://anc6b.org/ and https://1dcac.com/
Here’s a link to MPD’s District Crime Data at a Glance: https://mpdc.dc.gov/page/district-crime-data-glance
CAPITOL HILL CORNER 
Another insightful article by Larry J on a very disturbing situation. Although it’s being played out on our doorstep most of us would be unaware of it were it not for his deep research – time consuming investigative work.
Slightly of topic…but isn’t there a better way to deal with runaway shopping carts than to have DPW.crush them? Doesn’t Safeway have any interest in retrieving them?
Absolutely– those carts are the property of Safeway and should have been returned to Safeway.
That is a highly irresponsible act against Safeway and the environment.
Why do we carefully sort our bottles and bags and make appointments for yard waste to be collected only to see these valuable carts destroyed and sent to landfill.
😦