While many neighborhood associations busy themselves with planning holiday parties and regulating paint colors, the Manor Park Citizens Association — and its president, Carroll Green — has broader goals.
The association works to “improve the quality of life for not just our neighborhood, but for everyone in our city,” said Green, who has been at the helm of the Manor Park organization for eight years.
Manor Park is a Northwest Washington neighborhood tucked between Takoma and Brightwood, and historically bounded by Whittier Street on the north, North Capitol Street on the east, Missouri Avenue to the south and Georgia Avenue to the west. It’s a quaint collection of small bungalows, colonials and row houses. The Manor Park Citizens Association was established in 1923 and many of the neighborhood’s original residents — or their grown children — still reside there.
After a lapse in activity, the association revived in 2000 and Green has since lobbied the D.C. Council on many different issues aimed at improving Manor Park.
For example, a few years ago, when the city was working to pass a bill that would tighten restrictions on used car dealerships in the District, Green testified on behalf of Manor Park. He said that many of the car dealerships were actually selling temporary vehicle plates to criminals, making it harder to trace them.
Green argued this should stop because it was affecting Manor Park and the surrounding areas.
“You could see criminals going to and from on the way to crimes with these battered cars,” Green explained. “They were all over the place.”
The city eventually put a moratorium on the plates, many of the car dealerships went out of business and the Manor Park Citizens Association considered it a victory.
But the neighborhood isn’t all about fighting city hall.
Manor Park is, at its heart, a neighborhood of long-time friends. House after house on street after street boasts big front porches and neighbors who have known each other for years. It’s a front yard — not a backyard — culture.
In fact, the South Manor Park Civic Association (the neighborhood has several neighborhood associations that work together) does plan the aforementioned holiday parties and summer barbecues. A block party with a moon bounce is on the calendar for September as is an annual holiday party, said Ronald Austin, president of the South Manor Park Civic Association.
The neighborhood also boasts public schools within walking distance and the Takoma Community Center, which has an Olympic-sized swimming pool. At Fort Slocum Park, there is a kiddie playground and ample green space is also available.
Today, as the original residents age and move on, young families are starting to move into the neighborhood, giving it fresh energy and more people to take advantage of Manor Park’s recreational offerings.
But it remains, possibly thanks to the Manor Park Association, a “quiet neighborhood by any standard,” Green said. “Other neighborhoods have problems that we don’t,” he said. “So we feel very fortunate.”
