VNSTA sends letter to Equity management, setting the record straight

The Van Ness South Tenants Association today sent a letter to 3003 Van Ness manager Josh Luper, responding to his recent letter discounting resident complaints about maintenance, security, and other problems in the building. The VNSTA letter corrects some of Equity’s key assertions.

Thank you for your letter of August 5th, which responds to our letters of July 20th and August 3rd. Our first letter described some of the chronic, extensive problems that residents have reported to us. The second letter expresses concern about the lack of a full-time security guard on the property, and it poses questions about the part-time service Equity appears to have hired.

 Your recent letter would lead a reader to believe that it has been smooth sailing at 3003 Van Ness and that residents have no cause to complain. However, many of the claims in the letter are misleading or they fail to respond to the points raised in our letters to you.

Read the entire letter in printer-friendly format.

VNSTA sends letter to Equity Residential about security at 3003 Van Ness

The Van Ness South Tenants Association today sent a letter to Property Manager Josh Luper, asking him to provide specific details about the presence or lack of a security guard at 3003 Van Ness.

After Attorney General Karl Racine pressed Equity Residential to increase security at the property or risk being designated as a “nuisance building,” the company told the tenant association that it would hire a security guard. However, since that time, it appears that a security guard is on site part-time if at all.

The letter provides a brief outline of security problems at 3003 Van Ness, then poses these specific questions:

• What days and hours is there a security guard on the premises at 3003 Van Ness?

• What company provides security guard services?

• What are the qualifications required of such guards?

• Is the guard required to do rounds of the building? If so, where and how often?

• Does the security service keep detailed logs? Can the tenant association review them?

• Under what circumstances does the security guard contact MPD?

• What is the phone number at which residents can reach the guard on duty?

Read the entire letter in printer-friendly format at this link.

Read the VNSTA report on security failures at 3003 Van Ness


VNSTA sends letter to Equity Residential about deteriorating conditions

Harry Gural, president of the Van Ness South Tenants Association, today sent a sharply worded letter to Josh Luper, property manager for Equity Residential corporation for 3003 Van Ness.

The letter describes worsening conditions at the building, including extremely loud work on the exterior facade that likely will go on all year, frequent disruptions in hot water, serious problems with elevators, building cleanliness, security, front desk staff, new food and package delivery protocols, and other issues.

The letter concludes:

“As long as the Equity Residential corporation continues to treat its customers in this way, the tenant association will continue to report its behavior to the proper authorities – whether to the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, the DC Council, the DC Attorney General and the relevant federal authorities. The company cannot treat tenants this way without paying a reputational price. We strongly suggest that it begin to treat residents as valued customers, and quickly reverse the serious deterioration of conditions at 3003 Van Ness.”

Tenant association presidents release letters to City Council regarding voucher approval process

The presidents of eight Northwest DC tenant associations, joined by other area residents, today released letters to every member of the DC Council, asking them to vote no on fast-tracked “emergency” bills that would prohibit the DC Housing Authority from conducting criminal background checks on applicants for taxpayer-subsidized housing vouchers. The DC Council will vote on the legislation on Tuesday, July 12th.

The letters specifically ask councilmembers to consider such legislation through the normal legislative process, including hearings, testimony, debate, markup and final vote. The letters state that it is inappropriate to fast-track legislation that may jeopardize public safety without thorough deliberation.

Letters to the three cosponsors of the legislation

Letters to other DC Council members

The letters are signed by the presidents of eight northwest DC tenant associations, along with other active members of their working group. The signers are:

  • Harry Gural, President, Van Ness South Tenants Association

  • Carren Kaston, President, Sedgwick Gardens Tenant Association

  • David Luria, President, Brandywine Tenant Association, co-founder, DC Area Tenants Association Consortium

  • Bill Hawkins, President, Kenmore Residents Association, co-founder, DC Area Tenants Association Consortium

  • Amy Schussheim, President, Connecticut House Tenants Association

  • Iris Lipkowitz, President, 4000 Mass Tenants Association

  • Karen Mitchell, President, Saratoga Chesapeake Tenants Association

  • Armande Gil, President, Parkwest Tenant Association

  • Kim Farmer, co-owner, 4600 Connecticut Avenue condominium

  • Teri Huet, resident, Avalon the Albemarle

Tenant association presidents release letter to DCHA regarding approved rents for housing vouchers

The presidents of eight tenant associations in Ward 3, including the Van Ness South Tenants Association, today sent a letter to DC Housing Authority Deputy Director Victor Martinez, following up on issues raised on a recent video meeting with him concerning the agency’s extremely high approved rents for housing vouchers.

The following is an excerpt from the letter, which also appears in printer-friendly form at this link.

“As we explained during our brief meeting, these high rates have distorted the market, given housing providers incentives to prefer voucher holders over non-voucher holders, wasted money that could serve others who need housing assistance, cheated taxpayers, and created windfall profits for housing providers. In addition, the extremely high approved rents drive up rents on residents who don’t have housing vouchers, including seniors on fixed incomes, working- and middle-class renters, graduate and undergraduate students, and others. As a result, some of them will be driven out of Rock Creek West.”

“We appreciate your offer to create a working group for residents of apartment buildings like those we represent. However, we also are deeply concerned that renters, who have suffered from the extremely damaging effects of the very high approved rents, were not included in the first place. As we stated in initial communications with Mayor Bowser and with DCHA, we think it is critical that we have a seat at the table with other stakeholders to enable fair and open discussion of the issues. Both renters and non-absentee condominium owners should have equal representation with the other stakeholders. Our understanding from our meeting is that you strongly agree that these groups should have equal representation with the others.”


Van Ness South Tenants Association will host Ward 3 candidates for DC Council

There will be a special meeting of the Van Ness South Tenants Association on Tuesday, June 7th at 7:00 pm, featuring almost all of the Ward 3 candidates for the DC Council.

This will be an opportunity for residents to share their concerns about rental housing and other issues with the candidates. It will be an informal event, not a debate, with ample time for small-group conversations.

This special meeting of the Van Ness South Tenants Association will be open to residents of other rental apartment buildings in the Van Ness area. However, non-residents of 3003 Van Ness should please RSVP for planning purposes.

Residents who are willing to help out with the event should please email us. We need people to help meet attendees, help collect membership forms, and other light duties.

Those who would like to help promote the event can print this flyer and post it in the laundry room on their floor. Alternately, they can forward the URL for this news item to friends at 3003 Van Ness or other local apartment buildings.

We hope to see you there!

VNSTA asks the DC Housing Authority to reverse its rejection of FOIA request

The Van Ness South Tenants Association today sent a letter to Brenda Donald, Executive Director of the DC Housing Authority (DCHA), requesting that she override the agency’s recent rejection of a FOIA request by VNSTA.

The request, sent on April 1, ask for aggregate data on the number of housing vouchers used at 3003 Van Ness Street in the years 2015-2022, as well as the current rents paid by DCHA and the amounts received by Equity Residential for the apartments rented. The reason for the FOIA request is that there is substantial evidence that DHCA pays very high rates to landlords, driving up rents and discriminating against non-voucher holders, undermining rent stabilization, and providing huge profits to landlords.

Dear Ms. Donald,

I am writing in response to DCHA’s recent rejection of our FOIA request for aggregate information about the number of DCHA vouchers used and the rents paid for apartments at 3003 Van Ness Street, NW. DCHA refused to provide any information whatsoever, stating “we thoroughly searched the applicable agency records and found that there were no documents responsive to this request.”

It strains the imagination to think that the DC Housing Authority has no records whatsoever of how many households it sponsors at a given address and at what cost. For this reason, we ask that you overturn the blanket rejection of our request and that take action to quickly provide the information requested.

I and many other residents of 3003 Van Ness and the surrounding community support the use of vouchers to subsidize housing for low-income individuals and families. However, the DCHA list of approved rents reveals extremely high rates – $2,648 for a one-bedroom apartment in our area. (cont.)

Read the entire letter and attachments in printer-friendly PDF format

VNSTA asks the Washington Housing Conservancy to halt efforts to circumvent TOPA

The Van Ness South Tenants Association today sent a letter to Kimberly Driggins, Executive Director of the Washington Housing Conservancy / Washington Housing Initiative, requesting that her organization halt efforts to pass an “emergency exemption” to the Tenants Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA).

Equity Residential and the Washington Housing Conservancy (WHC), along with Amazon developer RBG Smith, have been in discussions about a possible sale of 3003 Van Ness to the Conservancy, which would deny current residents their legal TOPA rights.

Last Friday, members of the Van Ness South Tenants Association spoke with WHC Executive Director Kimberly Driggins by phone, who provided general information about her organization’s plan to purchase the property. On the call, Ms. Driggins did not say that she would give up efforts to deprive residents of their rights by get the City Council to pass an “emergency exemption” to TOPA.

In a follow-up letter, VNSTA president Harry Gural asks Ms. Driggins to give up efforts to convince the City Council to pass an “emergency exception” to TOPA, while expressing a willingness to discuss the Washington Housing Conservancy’s plans to develop 3003 Van Ness and two other properties held by Equity Residential.

Dear Ms. Driggins,

Thank you for a good introductory phone call last Friday.

Our organization share some common interests – particularly, preserving existing and providing more affordable and workforce housing in Washington, DC. For years, the Van Ness South Tenants Association has been fighting on behalf of a diverse population of seniors, students, young professionals, essential workers, families and others to preserve rent stabilization against aggressive assault, achieving important successes with more to come. The Washington Housing Conservancy, backed by Amazon developer JBG SMITH, presents a novel and interesting concept for providing more affordable and workforce housing.

We also have some differences. For example, we strongly oppose any effort to circumvent the Tenants Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA), depriving the residents of 3003 Van Ness of our legal rights. TOPA provides the appropriate framework for discussing any possible sale of the building. For this reason, we request that you halt attempts to circumvent TOPA so we do not have to take public steps to oppose your efforts, including seeking an injunction if necessary.

(cont.)

Read the entire letter in printer-friendly PDF format

VNSTA asks City Council Chairman Phil Mendelson not to allow "emergency exemption" to TOPA rights

The Van Ness South Tenants Association today released a letter to City Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, requesting that he not allow an “emergency exemption” to the Tenants Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA), which would deprive residents of 3003 Van Ness of their legal rights. This follows reports that the nonprofit Washington Housing Conservancy, backed by Amazon developer RBG Smith, has lobbied the City Council for an exemption to TOPA that would allow it to purchase 3003 Van Ness, circumventing existing tenants.

VNSTA and other tenant advocates oppose attempts to deny tenants of their legal rights.

Dear Chairman Mendelson,

As the president of the Van Ness South Tenants Association, I am writing to urge you not to support any “emergency” effort to circumvent TOPA in the possible sale and purchase of 3003 Van Ness Street or other properties currently held by Equity Residential.

The apartment buildings at 3003 Van Ness Street are rent-stabilized, and they provide affordable housing opportunities for a diverse population of seniors, families, young professionals, students, and low-income voucher holders. The Van Ness South Tenants Association has fought for many years against Equity Residential for violating DC rent stabilization laws and overcharging tenants. Attorney General Karl Racine recently won a suit against Equity Residential for these violations.

When Equity purchased the building in 2013 it violated TOPA, depriving residents of their legal rights. The tenants association expects that Equity Residential soon will put the building up for sale.

A new nonprofit, the Washington Housing Conservancy, apparently is petitioning the City Council for an “emergency” exemption from TOPA in order to purchase a portfolio of apartment properties in Northwest DC, likely including 3003 Van Ness. The organization’s efforts are backed by the $3.75 billion real estate investment trust JBG SMITH, the developer Amazon HQ2 and National Landing. Such a transaction effectively could transfer control of the property from one REIT to another.


Read the entire letter in printer-friendly PDF format

VNSTA submits FOIA to the DC Housing Authority regarding rent payments

The Van Ness South Tenants Association today sent a letter to the DC Housing Authority, requesting data on the number of units at 3003 Van Ness rented using DCHA vouchers and the rents paid to Equity Residential for those units. There have been anecdotal reports that DCHA pays higher than rent-stabilized rates or higher than market rates for apartments, driving up prices and squeezing out other renters.

The letter from VNSTA president Harry Gural begins:

“I and many other residents of 3003 Van Ness support the use of vouchers to subsidize housing for lower income individuals and families. However, the Bowser administration appears to have vastly expanded such programs in our area without providing any information about them.”

”Residents are concerned about the effect these programs on rent-stabilization, which helps make housing affordable for many DC families. The DCHA website shows that it pays up to $2,648 for a one-bedroom with utilities in the Van Ness neighborhood – more than $500 per month more than a typical one-bedroom at 3003 Van Ness. If DCHA pays any amount greater than the rent-stabilized rent it undermines rent stabilization and makes housing less affordable for other residents.”

Read the entire letter in printer-friendly format