May 23, 2007
Shiloh Properties Watch: Day 3
Here's the view today of the front of 1536, 1534 and 1532 9th St. NW, three of the four condemned rowhouse properties owned by Shiloh Baptist Church. Yesterday I posted a rear view of some properties that are also seriously dilapidated but that had some visible yard work recently completed, and one commenter pointed out that those are not the same buildings. This is absolutely correct: those properties, located next door, are part of the historical Carter G. Woodson home and are owned by the National Park Service. I apologize for the error.
Today someone had opened up the usually locked gate behind the Shiloh-owned properties, which could well mean workers are going to begin repairs soon on the buildings. When I stopped by just after noon to check, no one was there, but I was able to snap some better shots of the rear of 1536, 1534 and 1532 9th St. NW.
These are the actual buildings in question.
This is a rear entrance between 1536 and 1534 9 St. NW. In response to some of the more vitriolic comments we've received since I began posting photos of the properties on Monday, I think it's fair to suggest that none of the neighbors of these buildings, including myself, object to the idea of turning these homes into affordable housing for seniors from the Shiloh community. It would be wonderful to have people living in these buildings. What we are talking about here is filth, left behind by people who are using these properties as a place to sleep and use drugs. I'm posting these photos as a means of keeping the church accountable for beginning the repairs the city has ordered them to complete. That is all.
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Unfortunatelly I think their "senior housing" idea is just another delay tactic. Why haven't they started remodeling and moving the seniors in there? They are not getting any younger (neither the people nor the homes). There has to be more to the story...
thank you for posting, vacant property is a huge issue in the area and deserves exposure. Many of my neighbors are paying close attention to this situation as it could also impact other problem buildings. Though I am a big advocate of mixed income housing I have no issues with senior housing. i dont think this will ever happen with shiloh, it has been 50 years and they have done nothing.
Somner et. al., feel free to count me as another Shaw resident who is sick of Shiloh's tyranny over the neighborhood. I love living in Shaw. I don't love feeling unsafe while walking past abandoned buildings. I'm a petite young woman so I'm admittedly a little jumpy. But I don't think anyone should have to feel nervous walking around their neighborhood, no matter what their skin color, sexual orientation, religion, socio-economic status or anything else and I shouldn't have to move to feel safe. And I'm not moving out of Shaw any time soon.
The DC Council is holding a hearing tomorrow on a bill dealing with nuisance and vacant properties. It's a joint hearing by Jack Evans and Mary Cheh. How about some liveblogging of the hearing? It starts at 10 am.
I'm curious: why should anyone care about this? It seems like I've seen 3-4 posts on this Shiloh Baptist Church junk over the past few days, and I have no idea why.
Alex: Not to put too fine a point on it: The DCist EIC is a neighbor. That's why.
Of course, it is also an interesting story about an interesting conflict in an interesting neighborhood, but on the other hand there is a lot of similar stuff going on elsewhere in the city that gets no coverage. Oh well, DCist is free, so I won't complain too much! Cheers.
The "senior housing" promise is getting tired! Shiloh has been running this excuse around the block for decades. Remaking Le Slum Historique posts a Washington Post article from, believe it or not, 1990, when Shiloh was already promising senior housing... what gives!? Step up Shiloh, everyone is watching.
I second Si's sentiment that how this high-profile situation turns out could set the course for future abatements city-wide, so it's worth following.
It's ironic that this is the same church that fought so hard against Vegetate's liquor license. It seems that these properties and their use for drugs and vagrancy foster a much worse element in the neighborhood than tofu burgers and white wine.
I think it is great that DCist and other blogs are pointing out the negative impact that Shiloh has had on community development. Shiloh has been able to hide behind hypocrisy and poor governmental oversight for too long. It is about time individuals had a way to push for change.
In addition to tomorrow's (May 24) city council hearing (see Cranky's post above), Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh is hosting a public oversight hearing on vacant properties and enforcement in general on July 2.
Specifically, the "hearing will explore a range of issues, including the outcomes of vacant and nuisance property cases, enforcement against serious and repeat violators, and best practices in vacant and nuisance property administration and enforcement."
Consider taking advantage of this public forum to hold the Council and District government accountable to all residents and taxpayers, beyond this issue with Shiloh.
Interesting... I live several blocks away on M Street. When we got tired of what we saw in my neighborhood, vacant, abandoned buildings, etc., we got together and cleaned them up ourselves. The city provides tools and equipment, and they pick up, whatever you need them to pick up, at the end of the clean-up day.
If you are serious about how your community looks, get busy...
Not just with the vacant or abandoned properties, but help the elderly, the poor and the young. Get them all involved and beautify your area. It's your's. Handle it. (Yes, I'll help).
I'm very familiar with Shiloh. It's wrong that they have taken so long trying to figure what they want to do. But, blasting Shiloh in the media won't help your neighborhood look better.
Luckychucky - I think I speak for many of my neighbors in saying that we are indeed busy making Shaw a better place. Seeing a neighbor painting over graffiti, picking up trash, raking leaves, planting flowers, and weeding up and down the street and on properties not belonging to them is a very common sight. It's part of my Saturday routine, and I'm sure others can say the same.
Shiloh needs accountability for its detrimental impacts on the Shaw neighborhood, and that's, in part, what this increased publicity is about. Neighbors can only do so much when one large landowner imposes such blight on an area and habitually attempts to hinder the success of much needed new businesses like Vegetate and Queen of Sheba.
Other churches have in fact built housing so working poor or elderly congregants would not be priced out of the neighborhood. How about a post on those?
I am not aware of the church protesting the liquor license of this Vegetate restaurant. I do not eat around this neighborhood mainly because all the good food places have been driven out by the newcomers. I mainly meet my old friends for a nice meal over near West Virginia Avenue. I'm sure some of you newcomers don't know where that is.
As for the Shiloh Stewards from the previous posting, I cannot and will not comment on an extremist movement within our church. If a group wants to break off, then by all means this is America they have that right. Amen. Our congregation is as strong as it has ever been and we continue to grow everyday.
We do a lot of good in the community. Come on in and see our restored Cassavant organ, our heavenly nine panel window. We offer youth minstry and counseling and even homework assistance.
I am thankful that the author of this news piece has clarifed that she is only writing about the mess and rats. If gay drug users break into our properties there isn't much we can do. The police don't respond to our calls. Crackheads routinelly have broken locks and wooden doors we have installed, gay prostitutes have also broken into our homes.
We will work with Denise Murray-Morgan in the coming months for a solution to our houses. Under no circumstances will we be forced to sell our properties to newcomers.
We have said we will condition these homes before to no avail. I am aware of this, but I am not in property management. I do know that Shiloh currently has no seniors in need of housing.
And I don't care if you refuse to take my word as the truth from Shiloh Baptist Church. You white people asked for some word from the church, now that you have gotten it you're not happy with it. This is what I am talking about, many of you newcomers and white people are never happy. Sometimes I wish you'd all just move to Virginia or where ever it is that you're from.
How dare some of you newcomers and white people think that Shiloh is a racist and bad neighbor. Do you people even know where our church started and how it started? Without the white people Shiloh Baptist would not exist today. Our original building was given to us in Fredericksburg in the 1850s but taken away by NEWCOMERS and WHITE PEOPLE in Fredericksburg in 1862 when our church was occupied and used as a hospital. My brethren were given safe passage to Washington, DC by the Union Army. We then began our church in Washington. We have a very rich history.
In the meantime, I would encourage some of you unchurched folk to come inside Shiloh and see what we're about.
Regarding providing affordable housing for senior "Shiloh congregants"-I think it would be more accurate to say that the neighborhood would support these properties being turned into affordable housing. Even if Shiloh is sincere in its stated desire to provide affordable housing for its members(which they've been saying for years), there is very little chance they could find funding for this type of housing. Most public and private sources for funding affordable housing, do not provide funds for affordable housing developments which apply a religious affiliation test.
I would just like to point out that I found the church facts that "Miss. Hazel" refers to in her post by spending five minutes on the Shiloh Baptist website (including the glorious nine story window). I'm not sure what your aim is, but it's not funny. I don't think that anyone is having a hard time expressing their issues with the church without having to resort to this.
I'm sure many of you suspected as much, but sources available to us here at DCist have made it clear that Miss Hazel is a parodist (see: nbdinz.com/house/aboutnbdinz.html). Please do not take "her" posts seriously. She does not speak for Shiloh.
Anyone ever hear of the Wolfe Street woman in Baltimore? Well, she decorated some boarded-up houses in her neighhborhood. Her work was actually entertaining...
I find "Ms Hazel's" parody ugly- and I'm no Shiloh sympathizer.
As I wrote yesterday, she comes across like the ignorant imitating the ignorant. "She" does not advance the discussion or the issue- only mocks all those involved. At the least, it's unproductive and in poor taste.
I'm glad you identified it as parody, Ryan.
modthinglet: Private philanthropy has helped churches develop housing for the working poor in many areas of the country. In Washington and (I believe) North Carolina, the United House of Prayer for all People is notable in this regard. I'm sure there is successful church-sponsored housing elsewhere, and some that didn't work out, but this really isn't my field. I am just saddened by the whole tone of this thread.
perhaps day 4 will be happier.
perhaps day 4 will be happier.
perhaps day 4 will be happier.
I can't wait til those properties finally go on the market so I can install granite countertops and jaccuzis and flip 'em!
Ryan-
That dude from nbdinz.com needs to stop with the "Miss Hazel" comments before he starts a race riot. Not everyone is going to get that its a parody, and I could see this easily escalating. Tempers are pretty hot in Shaw right now on both sides...we don't need this.
I have read nbdinz.com before. I thought his whole post on trying to catch the theives that stole his bike was pretty good. But I'll never read his site again after this...he's made a serious error in judgement.
we must have politically correct coments here! and we will out anybody with a sense of humor better than our own.
Come on, guys, if you couldn't tell from the very first post that Miss Hazel was a parody, there's a problem with the ole humour meter. If it finds something to mock on both sides, then it's doing what parodies are supposed to do.
Let's not give the comments section of a website more power than it should really have by overreacting to Miss Hazel.
a race-RIOT ???? in Cyberspace..?
rr 446:
I'm aware that Nicolas' posts as Miss Hazel are parody, but my point is that many people won't see it as such. Look at the comments on the previous article, Shiloh Properties Watch: Day 2 to see how many people took the bait.
I can take a joke as well as the next guy, but sorry...I don't find this funny at all. He's racist dick who is mocking black people and inciting white people. Just what the neighborhood needs :(
Chris L:
I Agree...
he should take it back to his "online variety magazine with many different topics."
Race riot LOL, someone has been listening to Mary Sutherland.
Lord Jesus.
I have lived, worked, played, and prayed in DC for more than 30 years. I just did not come to town and use my time and energy to bash other people particularly when they are Black/African American and not someone "white people" find exotic like foreign-born Blacks that do not totally understand racism in the US.
I do not know who Miss Hazel is but why does "Miss Hazel" real or imagined get called a monkey and equated with a Sanford and Son character. That's because those who participate in this blog really have negative feelings about Black people--we are monkeys or some other kind of pet for your priviliged enjoyment. If "Miss Hazel" is not real, it's clear he or she knows who he/she is dealing with -"racists white newcomers to DC."
A good citizen would be seeking the truth not to discredit someone or some entity like Shiloh. Like one writer suggests--be part of the solution not the problem.
I agree wholeheartedly with Miss Hazel. This site is a racist ploy to try to drive Black people and institutions out of DC and steal property out of the hands of Black for the profit of white investors. I am REAL!
How are you DCists when you seem to pander to a "white racist newcomer" element and not tell the total DC story? All you probably know is white DC and federal DC. Have you been beyond Shaw or GT to see the real world?
You need to remember the following:
1. Shiloh was here before you came. It has been on that corner for more than 100 years (So you nor I were even born or thought about when ex-slaves built something). When its sanctuary burned down it was rebuilt on that spot to continue to honor the ex-slaves who founded that church and built it from dust. If you would bother to come in (but maybe you are afraid of churches) you would see a structure that speaks of the pride of its parishioners. However to do so, might mean you hve to deal with the truth and not the fiction you seem to prefer.
What makes you more important? What have you built in DC but disharmony? In 3-5 years you will likely be gone and return to the all-white communities from where you seemed to have come.
The SBC parishioners rebuilt the sanctuary a second time from "ash."
2. You are not the only taxpayers in DC. I live in DC but not Shaw and I will fight this racism that has been allowed to creep into DC politics under our former Mayor. We got along without you and can do that again. If all you have to bring to this city is your western, mid-western, or whatever racism--please go home. The city would be better off without you!
3. While Shiloh may not have been the steward it should have been with its properties, it has made contributions in this city when white people would not even come to town. The church developed a variety of programs to try to make a better society. It has dealt with those addicted to drugs and whose bodies are ravaged by HIV/AIDS? Where were you and we are you with dealing with community problems? In the words of Cornell West in his book Race Matters, churches offer spirituality and faith. . .they combat the ideology of despair, materialism and cynicism . . . and is an antidote to nihilism.
I had the misfortune to have car problems leaving the church one evening. I had to sit and wait for AAA. After the last person left the church--the entire neighborhood changed. There was obvious drug dealing and other criminal behavior. I read nothing about this on your blogs. What are you doing about that because the church cannot fight that alone? Move out all the Black churches and see what you will get? Maybe you prefer the criminal elements to those seeking to do God's work. We, like you are human, and certainly make mistakes.
4. The church has not been talking about a senior housing for 50 years. Also, senior housing is not a ploy--it is a plan approved by the church maybe 8-10 years ago. There have been several efforts to advance this but they have failed for reasons I do not have full knowledge of. Have some suggestions or are you more comfortable discrediting people?? Have you tried to meet with the Trustees of the church to get the truth and whole truth. Maybe if we all put our heads together, we could start an efffort to at least partially renovate those structures.
5. Shiloh does clean the front of the street and pays their custodians to do that work.
I do not like the tone of this blog and will be pointing out the negative natures of this blog to the Mayor. As a taxpayer, I want to know how this blog exists and gets to represent just an elitist element of DC with no history in this town. The Mayor needs to know that this blog foments disharmony in Shaw and DC!
MISSB YOU ARE WRONG. SHILOH HAS BEEN AT THAT LOCATION (9TH AND P) SINCE 1924 NOT THE 100 YEARS YOU CLAIM.
MissB, you are a douche.
Han and rr446 that is all you got? Your parents must be so proud. MissB laid it all out in plain terms for you to understand her perspective and all you can do is call her on fudging her dates and whatever the hell Han was trying to do. These are genuine concerns and you scoff at them like you are better, but really only displaying your mental deficiencies. And then you wonder why the chasm persist between whites and blacks in this city...
she also makes a great point, this blog/site is so myopic it is almost blind... unless something personally affects the contributors (i.e. Sommer, Martin, et. al) you will never hear about it. These post are doing nothing but being divisive. Good job people, good job DCist. (give it a rest Sommer, constructive journalism this is definitely not or change the name of the site to WHITEDC.com)
Sommer, have you ever actually talked to a church rep.? God forbid you walk further than a block to find something news-worthy.
Amen to those comments. Boohoo (wah wah) to the guy that won't read my site any more. Everyone at nbdinz.com will be so sad to hear that!
Miss Hazel was part true feeling and part injecting humor into this otherwise dull and boring site that blogs about stuff that it steals from every other neighborhood blog. Okay, there are a few original stories, but this is not a very fun (or really informative) site.
When I wrote as Miss Hazel (a new character by the name of Miss Hazel Lucille Baxter) I was echoing some of the things that I have felt and heard coming from my neighbors and friends both on and off of my block. While I may never truly understand the plight of the black people in this country, I can surely stand on their side as one of their allies with a light brown skin tone. Many of you will scream that Nicholas McKenna doesn't know what he's talking about... but I assure you that I do.
Many people that are newcomers to DC are victims of self segregation. This is especially true in the gay community. Now it's not everyone, but many of the people that have arrived here from some of the southern states are very much living in the 1900s. My very unique background has allowed me to sit on all corners of the table when it comes to race... but we'll end that there.
When the double parking issue came about I was so disgusted to hear this one lisping Logan Circle guy talking absolute trash about the churches and their nonprofit status, and how the city caters to them. Oh who cares?! I'm not a very religious person, but these churches have been here for years and years... just leave them alone.
Some folks have to realize that the Federal Government and the puppet DC gubmint never passed an apartheid law creating Black homelands in this neighborhood or the District as a whole. This is the national capital of the United States. It should be an honor and a priviledge for ANYONE to live here; it should be the most beautiful city in the country. Instead we are dragged down by race politics, Third World government, and urban decay. Shiloh is the main contributor to all three on the 1500 block of Ninth Street and vicinity. Furthermore, DC did not become majority Black until the 1950s. Demographics change. Shiloh replaced Hamline Methodist church in 1924. Perhaps a move back to Fredericksburg would do Shiloh a great deal of good -- except that the original Shiloh Church is still there along the river, has a great, welcoming congregation and provides extensive community outreach and would not appreciate those uppity newcomers from DC telling them how to run their church.
I might point out that Shiloh is an equal opportunity employer. Their custodians are Hispanic. ...and they do clean up around the church but not the vacant properties unless the church gets prodded by the neighbors with irate phone calls.
Where were any of you, who are complaing about Shaw 10, 15, 20 years ago. I grew up in DC and yes it's sad to see buildings in disrepair that could be made housing for our seniors, but I have a problem with your complaints now. It seems that when the Shaw and U Sts. corridors where made up of mostly African-Americans, no one cared, including the city about how those in the communities lived or how dangerous it may have been. Why now? Is it because of your race and your ability to get loans to purchase properties that the former community residents couldn't even begin to imagine getting from any of the banks in DC. No one reached out to help them keep the home they had rented for decades. Let's stop bashing and try to work together toward a solution that helps everyone.
I agree the buildings are an eyesore and Shiloh as the owner should be asked to step up their plans and help convert these buildings into properties of value. Not one single posting says a word about the skin color of the church members, and yet, those same members immediately jump to that assumption. This is strictly a public safety issue, nothing more nothing less.
Shame on anyone who tries to turn this into a Black vs White issue, you are the true racists in this town, it is time you were told!
Inquiring Logan neighbor is curious here...has anybody seen any work being done? Any updates?
Any updates?