Read the latest Ward 5 news in the
Councilmember’s weekly newsletter:
Read the latest Ward 5 news in the Councilmember’s weekly newsletter:
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LATEST WARD 5 WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
September 27, 2024
Dear Ward 5 neighbors,
As you may remember from a newsletter I sent back in August, the District is facing a crushing combination of pressures threatening affordable housing. These pressures are not merely “bringing construction of low-income housing to a virtual halt,”they are also jeopardizing existing affordable housing buildings, their current tenants, and the investments that the District has made in affordable housing units.
The reasons for the crisis are complex, but the pressures facing landlords big and small are simple: not enough rent is coming in to pay mortgages and for the upkeep of buildings. When a building goes underwater and there is no prospect for recovery, the likelihood that a creditor will cut its losses and seek foreclosure goes up. When a building is foreclosed, tenants do not immediately lose their right to live in the building; however the affordability covenants that limit the cost of their rent are likely to be swept away permanently, which means that many tenants—including those who have been paying rent—would be unable to afford their units. It also means that the District would lose millions of dollars that we invested to keep those units affordable.
LATEST WARD 5 WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
The Affordable Housing Crisis
September 27, 2024
Dear Ward 5 neighbors,
As you may remember from a newsletter I sent back in August, the District is facing a crushing combination of pressures threatening affordable housing. These pressures are not merely “bringing construction of low-income housing to a virtual halt,”they are also jeopardizing existing affordable housing buildings, their current tenants, and the investments that the District has made in affordable housing units.
The reasons for the crisis are complex, but the pressures facing landlords big and small are simple: not enough rent is coming in to pay mortgages and for the upkeep of buildings. When a building goes underwater and there is no prospect for recovery, the likelihood that a creditor will cut its losses and seek foreclosure goes up. When a building is foreclosed, tenants do not immediately lose their right to live in the building; however the affordability covenants that limit the cost of their rent are likely to be swept away permanently, which means that many tenants—including those who have been paying rent—would be unable to afford their units. It also means that the District would lose millions of dollars that we invested to keep those units affordable.
The District faced many challenges in 2023: rising crime, Congressional interference, and looming budget pressures just to name a few. Yet in all of this, I witnessed time and again the resilience of Ward 5 neighbors and your commitment to working with my office to build healthy communities. I invite you to explore the 2023 Year in Review report to see all that we were able to accomplish together.
COUNCILMEMBER ZACHARY PARKER
Since taking office in January of 2023, Zachary has delivered for Ward 5 residents through responsive constituent services and significant budget wins. He has introduced dozens of transformative pieces of legislation, including bills to establish the District’s State Superintendent of Education’s School Support Office to improve low-performing schools, and the District Child Tax Credit which provides low-income and middle-class families fully refundable tax credits for children 17 years of age and younger.
LEGISLATION
Since taking office, Councilmember Parker has introduced more than 30 pieces of legislation, and co-introduced more than 150 additional bills. Learn about Councilmember Parker’s legislation, co-introductions, and committee assignments on the Legislation page.
COUNCILMEMBER ZACHARY PARKER
Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker is an educator and a public servant. He taught 7th-grade math in New Orleans, post-Katrina, with Teach For America, and spent nearly a decade supporting DC school administrators at Ward 5 schools like Dunbar High School and Mundo Verde PCS.
Zachary sees firsthand the human impact of a system that leaves our most vulnerable behind. He grew up watching his oldest brother struggle with a one-size-fits-all school system that did not have the resources to support him, and now sees the challenges he faces in life because of it.
And Zachary suffered alongside his middle brother through a long and exhaustive battle with a healthcare system that treated him more like a problem than a patient before he ultimately passed away at 36 from kidney failure. These shouldn’t be the experiences families have when interacting with our public institutions. Zachary has dedicated his life’s work to transforming the systems that failed his brothers and so many like them.
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