“The District wants to work with organizations that are professional and have the capacity to deliver,” Neil Albert, deputy mayor for economic development, said after news broke that the administration had threatened to end its relationship with the Anacostia Economic Development Corporation (AEDC) and the East of the River Development Corporation (EREDC), unless the groups finished government-supported projects and resolved complaints from homebuyers.
“The District wants no role with mediocre organizations,” Albert added.
Hallelujah!
That the two organizations survived more than a decade is testament to the waste and abuse that have been allowed to thrive in the District government.
Community development corporations (CDCs) were established during Mayor Marion Barry’s administrations back in the late 1970s and 1980s. There was one for each of the city’s eight wards; Ward 8 had two. Folks, including D.C. Council members, asserted that these nonprofit groups were better equipped to develop blighted communities. Tens of millions of local and federal dollars — mostly through block grants — went to them. Except for Ward 7’s Marshall Heights, they were perfect examples of throwing good money after bad.
Years ago, I wrote about the People’s Involvement Corporation. It was one of the biggest land speculators in the city. Among other things, it purchased but never developed the former Dunbar Hotel near 7th and Florida Ave. During Mayor Anthony A. Williams’ administration, some CDCs were suspended from the program for failing to file required financial reports. Pressure from politicians helped them return to the trough.
As a development model CDCs have yielded questionable or no results. Tax dollars are fritted away by the directors who spend hours upon hours in meetings, at conferences, and at luncheons. Plans are drawn up to build a housing complex, or an office building, or some shopping center. When those plans aren’t realized-and they rarely have been-more plans are made.
As political appeasement, CDCs are terrific: Money is passed out throughout the city under the guise of serving residents. Elected officials can hold up a budget, point to the CDC line item and praise themselves for giving attention to various “poor and working class” communities. At election time, those officials remind voters of their largesse. Meanwhile, the same boarded, vacant, ugly neighborhood eyesores remain.
Albert “Butch” Hopkins of AEDC had the audacity to tell a reporter his group couldn’t find a tenant for an office building in Ward 8 because there are no sit down restaurants. He has headed the AEDC for nearly 30 years. If he couldn’t build and sustain one restaurant during that period, what good is he?
Truth told, CDCs are passé. Private developers, like Douglas Jemal for example, have done more to revive neighborhood commercial corridors. That’s reason enough for Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, Deputy Mayor Albert, and city council to pull the plug on AEDC, East of the River Community Development Corporation and the whole lot.
Jonetta Rose Barras, an author and political analyst, can be reached at [email protected].
