Dupont circle deteriorating

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DuPont circle has always been sketchy/dangerous. Lots of muggings. I used to hang out there a lot 20 years ago and it got really unsettling after dark really fast. Even during the day, crossing the circle with all the homeless/mentally ill people...not the greatest. A lot nicer than adams Morgan used to be but that is not saying much. I am really sad about kramerbooks closing.

I lived a block from Dupont Circle 20 years ago and would definitely not say the neighborhood was sketchy or dangerous.

I generally agree, except that "sketchy" and "dangerous" are somewhat subjective and there were indeed more homeless people in Dupont 20 years ago than there were 10 years ago. I haven't been out so much lately but my Adams Morgan neighborhood is definitely seeing more quality of life problems now than pre-pandemic. I read the NYT article with interest and found myself nodding in spite of the fact that I don't generally appreciate the author.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our mayor is a pathetic excuse for leadership.

And nobody calls her out because if you do, you must be racist.

And so DC continues to fall apart. But don’t say anything! Don’t want to offend anybody!

Specific criticisms about specific things — preferably with suggestions for improvement? Sounds good!

Generalized nastiness lacking focused concern on specific issues — probably racist. Or misogynistic. Or pathetic. Or all of the above.

[Anonymous]

And there you go.

Point proven.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And there you go.

Point proven.

Right? That didn’t take long!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Our mayor is a pathetic excuse for leadership.

And nobody calls her out because if you do, you must be racist.

And so DC continues to fall apart. But don’t say anything! Don’t want to offend anybody!

I don't know what circle you operate in that no one criticizes Bowser. Most of the people I know of criticize hair constantly. From the left

[Anonymous]

I do. If there is a Republican on the Council or Mayoral Ticket, or an indeoendent I know is central (not fringey) I vote for them hands down. Pur city needs a more balanced approach to these kinds of issues.

Me too. I vote for the most conservative democrat in the primary and then usually vote Republican as well. I have come to the conclusion that democracy functions best when there are two vibrant political parties who are capable of compromise. One party rule is a failure---whether it be far-right Tea Party state legislatures who cut taxes to the point that their schools have to go to 4 day weeks---or the far-left democrats on the DC Council. Tolerance of "disorder" in the name of liberal sympathy does nothing for anyone. There should not be tent encampments at Dupont Circle. We need all day shelters, and a substantial amount of additional supervised housing for the mentally ill, but just allowing mentally ill people and addicts to live in the tents on the street is not the answer.

[Anonymous]

I work in the Dupont area. The deterioration has sadly set in.
Lots of closed businesses, people camping near the circle in tents, drug deals in recessed areas and police nowhere to be found. The tax base has surely eroded, so the Mayor might at last face some backlash for neglecting the business base. Not to mention neglecting the residential base.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I do. If there is a Republican on the Council or Mayoral Ticket, or an indeoendent I know is central (not fringey) I vote for them hands down. Pur city needs a more balanced approach to these kinds of issues.

Me too. I vote for the most conservative democrat in the primary and then usually vote Republican as well. I have come to the conclusion that democracy functions best when there are two vibrant political parties who are capable of compromise. One party rule is a failure---whether it be far-right Tea Party state legislatures who cut taxes to the point that their schools have to go to 4 day weeks---or the far-left democrats on the DC Council. Tolerance of "disorder" in the name of liberal sympathy does nothing for anyone. There should not be tent encampments at Dupont Circle. We need all day shelters, and a substantial amount of additional supervised housing for the mentally ill, but just allowing mentally ill people and addicts to live in the tents on the street is not the answer.

I think you're confused. The far left wants to fund housing for everyone even if it means raising taxes for it. The centrist Democrats take lazy half-measures that leave people on the street.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our mayor is a pathetic excuse for leadership.

And nobody calls her out because if you do, you must be racist.

And so DC continues to fall apart. But don’t say anything! Don’t want to offend anybody!

I don't know what circle you operate in that no one criticizes Bowser. Most of the people I know of criticize hair constantly. From the left

Seriously. PP must not get out much.

Has anyone been called racist for criticizing Muriel Bowser or is this just some Republican fantasy?

[Anonymous]

There was an article yesterday in the Post about broken windows (revisiting how that approach arose) that was very interesting. It emphasized these concerns are no unique to 'rich folks'. NO ONE, I repeat NO ONE, wants the feces in the streets, the needles, the trash, the broken windows, the petty cirme, the panhandling. Quality of life is a concern for all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work in the Dupont area. The deterioration has sadly set in.
Lots of closed businesses, people camping near the circle in tents, drug deals in recessed areas and police nowhere to be found. The tax base has surely eroded, so the Mayor might at last face some backlash for neglecting the business base. Not to mention neglecting the residential base.

This plus empty buildings downtown. DC is not in the red, but I wonder if they are starting to freak out about the potential to be in the future? I am speculating this is on of the reason DC politicians have been so focused on vaccinating "essential workers" (meaning the 75% who come into the city to work) over residents. Just to rev things up again?
Once the Feds start relocating - like the FBI Headquarters--, businesses stay hybrid, I'm actually kind of freaking out at what DC will look like. I would call DC kind of business neutral to hostile (not protecting businesses from vandalism last spring for example). We have a lot of attitude about not courting businesses. The arm and leg charged to businesses like restaurants in rent (and tax write offs for the realtors when these properties lie fallow). So many loopholes for developers, but love for businesses? I see a crash coming. Do you?

[Anonymous]

OP-consider moving to upper NWDC.

[Anonymous]

We live in Upper NWDC. The city still hasn’t picked up the discarded Christmas trees from 2020. But our property taxes are due March 31.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We live in Upper NWDC. The city still hasn’t picked up the discarded Christmas trees from 2020. But our property taxes are due March 31.

So DC!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Honestly the tent encampments sprung up at the onset of the pandemic. Fair to say the authorities don’t press them to go to shelters now that have reduced capacity due to social distancing requirements. But I feel confident that will change before next winter when the capacity issue is resolved.

I live in Mt P. and you do t see too many tents, but there are lots of nooks and crannies here. One guy was sleeping in my open garage. I left a bit of room for him at the back. Live and let live. Once somebody crapped in there that pissed me off and I let him know.

No they didn’t. The people were living outside safeway and McDonald’s for at least a year before the pandemic shutdown.

+1

I moved to Dupont in 2019 from another part of DC, and the tents around the Safeway on 17th were already popping up. I heard reports from people that the homeless were getting very aggressive. 17th and R is my favorite intersection in the city, but that area is going downhill. The homeless are even more aggressive/brazen during the pandemic. I took a walk there a month or so into lockdowns and they were gathering in front of stores and accosting people/insulting them. I've seen a hint of that before, but never to that point.