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This Deanwood mural was put up in 1991 by artist Rik Freeman. (Photo via DC Murals)

Four days after a new landlord padlocked a number of staple Deanwood businesses overnight, one of them is fighting back.

Nook’s Barbershop, which has been on this same strip of Sheriff Road for 25 years, has obtained counsel, and their lawyer, Johnny Barnes, has advised the owner to reopen the store immediately. He says the abrupt lockout last week is illegal under D.C. law, which requires landlords to obtain court orders for evictions.

“I have advised [owner Sabrina Palmer] that she should open, and if customers show up, she should serve them,” Barnes says. So far, Palmer has avoided cutting the padlock, instead entering the store from another gate. But that solution is imperfect, Barnes says, because the establishment looks closed to anyone walking by.

“The next advice I give her will be to cut that lock and open up for business. They’re bleeding money,” Barnes says.

Nook’s Barbershop has been owned by the same family in Deanwood for 25 years. It’s a popular gathering place in the community, and has also recently been the site of clashes with police, after residents accused officers of unlawfully searching men who hang out on the corner in front of the establishment.

Last week, there was yet more trouble when 1100 Eastern LLC, the new landlord of this strip, abruptly shut down all the businesses on it, including a daycare center, a liquor store, a carryout restaurant, and Nook’s. The landlord, which is slated to receive an $11.4 million loan from the District to redevelop this area, cited toxic chemicals in the soil and groundwater on the property.

On Wednesday last week, business owners received letters describing the environmental hazard (reportedly the result of a gas station and dry cleaner that used to be on the site) and ordering them to vacate their buildings. The next morning, when people tried to show up for work, there were padlocks on the gates, preventing people from entering their establishments.

Eventually some padlocks were removed to allow business owners to get inside and retrieve their belongings. But residents have been crying foul, voicing concerns that the company is simply looking for an excuse to kick out the tenants and immediately raze the property for its new development.

Barnes says he’s had issues trying to get any information out of the new owners. He claims that lawyers for the company have refused to share the study that found toxic chemicals on the site. The landlord has told news outlets that they’ll reimburse the companies for six months of losses, but Barnes says the company’s lawyers have refused to put that promise in writing.

“We were born at night, but not last night,” Barnes says. “This smells like a ruse. It’s them trying to get those people out of there faster so they can develop that corner sooner. It’s part of a pattern in D.C. of these developers believing they’re above the law.”

Barnes says that he’ll be in court by early next week to seek an injunction, unless he can get information out of the company this week that proves its claims about toxic chemicals, as well as written assurance that the company will reimburse tenants for six months.

“These merchants are not being unreasonable, they’re willing to listen to sound, prudent, provable claims about the condition of the soil,” Barnes says. “But there’s no evidence [the company] has been willing to present to me as counsel.”

For its part, 1100 Eastern LLC has asserted that the conditions on the property present a danger to tenants, and they have done the only responsible thing in shutting the establishments down.

“Eastern LLC engaged third-party experts to conduct environmental testing at the Property. Those studies revealed that the Property had previously been used as a gas station and dry-cleaning store and concluded that the groundwater and soil were seriously contaminated with numerous toxic chemicals in excess of levels permitted by federal and D.C. law. The environmental study also found that gas vapors from these contaminants were permeating the air outside and inside the buildings,” the company wrote in a statement to DCist through a law firm. “Based on these reports, Eastern LLC determined that a clear and present health hazard exists at the Property and that the responsible decision was to close the buildings and direct tenants, including a day care center, to leave the premises immediately after closing [of the sale].”

The company says it was barred by the sale agreement from speaking with the tenants until after closing, which necessitated the quick shutdown. It will enroll the property in a remediation program through the D.C. Department of Energy and the Environment.

“Eastern LLC and NDC recognize that closing the buildings is upsetting to tenants and their customers, however, we believe we have made the right and ethical decision. This is a problem we did not create. We have chosen not to expose children, tenants, and other customers to these hazardous substances,” the company says. It declined to respond directly to Barnes’ accusations that it would not share the results of the study that found the toxic chemicals.

Eastern LLC says that it will provide relocation advisory services and up to $25,000 of search and moving expenses per tenant, as is required under law, as well as compensation for lost profits for up to six months. The company adds that “tenants will, of course, no longer pay rent.”

This post has been updated with additional information. Eastern LLC declined to respond directly to Barnes’ accusations.

This post has also been updated to reflect that the developer and new landlord is slated to receive a loan from the city, not a grant.

Filed Under: deanwood, Nooks Barbershop,