New lawsuit alleges D.C. approved Langdon Park industrial projects without notifying residents

Langdon Park is already reportedly “overburdened” with heavy vehicles and home to over 1,000 acres of industrial land, and it might get more—that is, if a member of the local Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) doesn’t get their way. DCist reported that ANC Commissioner Kevin Mullone is suing the city after officials did not notify residents of three municipal-use properties in the works.

Mayor Muriel Bowser has already pulled the lease for the FEMs facility, but the city still continues to plan to build a new industrial facility at 2130 Queens Chapel Road NE as well as administrative offices and a storage facility for 90 Department of Parks and Recreation vehicles on the site at 2424 Evarts Street NE.

In response to the city not giving a 30-day notice to the ANC, Langdon Park resident Shaina Ward told The Washington Post, “It seems like the city doesn’t care about us.” She further told DCist, "It's nothing that anybody wants, and they'd have known that from the beginning if they had talked to anyone to begin with." Ward filed the lawsuit for Mullone in Superior Court this past Friday.

City Administrator Rashad Young admitted that approving the leases without input from residents was “an oversight,” but the two projects still continue to be passively approved.

Langdon Park resident Jeremy Wilcox told The Washington Post that “it’s like the city is telling us we’re undesirable. We are a dumping ground—Ward 5 is a dumping ground.”

In response to the criticism, the Department of General Services intends to launch an ANC Notification webpage that will publish information on new neighborhood projects.

• Langdon Park ANC Commissioner Is Suing D.C. After Officials Neglected To Give Notice About City Projects [DCist]

• Ward 5 pushes back as city moves more trucks to already industrial neighborhood [The Washington Post]