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On Tuesday night, ANC 8B accepted an offer from the DC National Guard is help clean up. Some welcome the support, others question its purpose and long-term impact.
WASHINGTON — Commissioners representing part of Ward 8 have officially accepted an offer from the D.C. National Guard to help with neighborhood beautification efforts. It’s a move that’s been met with both praise and skepticism from community members.
During Tuesday night’s Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 8B meeting, members voted to allow Guard members to assist with cleanup projects across the area.
Ahead of the vote, WUSA9 spoke with two commissioners along Alabama Avenue SE who pointed out areas they say have long been neglected.
“It’s good people that live over here,” said Betty Scippio, one of the commissioners.
But she and Commissioner Joseph Johnson pointed to excessive trash and overgrown bushes littering parts of the community.
“We are the dumping ground over here in Ward 8,” Scippio said as she highlighted the scope of the issue. “Look at this field over here across the street.”
“Excessive trash, overgrown bushes,” said Johnson while gesturing to a trouble spot.
Marcus Hunt, a representative from the D.C. National Guard, told attendees the guard’s involvement is part of a federally funded beautification team initiative. Because D.C. is not a state, the local guard operates under different guidelines than in other jurisdictions, he explained. The personnel involved in this effort are unarmed and focused solely on supporting cleanup projects.
“We live here. We work here. We serve here. We are your neighbors,” Hunt said.
The guard previously helped with a cleanup in Ward 8 earlier this month, collecting more than 20 bags of garbage, with another cleanup scheduled for Saturday.
Still, not everyone supports the idea.
“Beautification is fine, but you know the drug dealers is lined across the street and they just sell their drugs,” said Roshelle King, who lives in Ward 8. “It’s unnecessary,” she added, referring to using the guard members for trash cleanup. She’d rather see them addressing crime.
Others, however, welcomed the effort.
“People take more pride when they see a clean environment,” said Ward 8 resident Johncie Cherry. “So hopefully it increases pride.”
Some residents raised concerns about the long-term sustainability of the program, which is expected to end as early as the end of November.
“Let our tax dollars work for Ward 8 like they do in Ward 3,” said Anthony Muhammad, the president of the Citizens Advisory Council of MPD.
The work, he says, should continue once the guard is gone, and he told WUSA9 that he believes the city needs to step up its efforts.
The next clean-up will be Saturday, Sept. 20, at 10 a.m. Neighbors will meet at the 7th District MPD station on Alabama Avenue in Southeast.
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