District Mayor Adrian Fenty reached across his cubicle Wednesday and into another to shake a supporter’s hand.
“Before,” he told the woman, “I wouldn’t have even been able to see you.”
That’s the message of Fenty’s $134,000 operational headquarters on the third floor of the John A. Wilson Building, a stark contrast to former Mayor Anthony Williams’ private sixth-floor offices. There is no hiding in the so-called “bullpen.”
Inspired by a similar layout in New York City, the bullpen has 33 cubicles, home to Fenty’s top administrators and deputies, policy aides, schedulers and communications team.
Fenty’s desk — the largest of the bunch — is horseshoe-shaped, already scratched and within reach of a small refrigerator filled with Vitamin Water, the new mayor’s favorite beverage.
“I don’t ever have to leave this room to get all the work done in the District of Columbia government,” Fenty said. “I think it’s motivating to my employees to have me right there working with them instead of holed off somewhere far, far away.”
Meeting rooms to each side of the office, one with shaded windows and a locking door, offer some measure of privacy for Fenty.
But a ceremonial office on the fifth floor, often used by Williams for one-on-ones with dignitaries, will serve as a private meeting room, said Mafara Hobson, Fenty spokeswoman.
City Administrator Dan Tangherlini’s desk is one of the first you reach after coming in the door. The immediacy of the office, Tangherlini said, and the “ability todirectly interact with folks,” allows work to get done much faster.
