Budget Wins & Clean-up Tomorrow!

Dear Ward 5 neighbors, 

As we inch closer to the Council’s budget votes in June, a number of funding gaps still remain that my office is working to address. At the Council’s budget work session on Wednesday, we talked through many of those concerns, including the gap between funding for DC Public Schools and Public Charter Schools, Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund, Childcare Subsidy funding, housing vouchers, healthcare funding including Alliance, Paid Family Leave, Family Success Centers, and the Credible Messengers program.

As you can see from that list, we have no shortage of challenges to address.

While we collaborate on these with Council colleagues in the coming weeks, I want to take a moment to highlight some of the important budget wins we’ve been proud to secure. Each of these wins reflects months (sometimes years!) of community advocacy, committee collaboration, and real investment in everyday Washingtonians. 

• Committee on Human Services
  • $33 million investment in a new Edgewood/Eckington library, which includes a $9 million enhancement to allow D.C. Public Library to sign a long-term lease  
  • $250K to establish FY27 retail grants for Rhode Island Avenue and 12th Streets NE as well as dedicated funds to advance priorities identified by my office’s Rhode Island Avenue Task Force
    
    
• Committee on Transportation and the Environment
  • $750K in capital funds for quick-build safety interventions on Rhode Island Avenue to complement the Mayor’s proposed $9 million investment in a long-term capital project to improve the corridor
  • $750K in additional funds for construction of the South Dakota Avenue Corridor Safety Project
  • $430K in capital funds to begin the design of a trail connection between the Metropolitan Branch Trail at Fort Totten and the planned Prince George’s County Connector Trail 
  • Preserved the Mayor’s proposed investments, including:
    • Funding for trail improvements including the Arboretum Bridge and Trail (Arboretum Bridget to Maryland Avenue) Connection, and new funding for the design of the off-street Metropolitan Branch Trail Alignment between First Place NE and Oglethorpe Street NW
    • Full funding ($57.5 million over the Capital Improvement Plan) for the Bladensburg streetscape project, including $5.5 million for the design phase in FY27 (construction in FY 30-31);
    • Full funding ($55 million) for reconstruction of the New York Avenue NE Bridge in FY 30
    • Full funding ($50 million) for a new entrance to the NoMA-Gallaudet Metrorail Station (FY27-28)
    • $9 million for the New York Avenue streetscape project in FY 28-29 to begin a long term redesign of the corridor
    • $5.8 million for design phase of the existing North Capitol Street streetscape project (Massachusetts Ave to Michigan Ave)
    • $3.6 million in new funding to launch a streetscape project for the northern segment on North Capitol Street (Michigan Ave to Kansas Ave)
      
      
• Committee on Facilities
  • Secured an additional $14.5 million for Langdon Park and Community Center modernization to ensure the project meets community needs
    • Established a Budget Support Act subtitle to ensure DPR makes community-supported design decisions at Langdon Recreation Center and Harry Thomas Recreation Center
  • Preserved the Mayor’s proposed $11.6 million investment in Turkey Thicket Recreation Center (FY 27-29) to address aging infrastructure and improve functionality. Planned upgrades include replacing damaged doors, flooring, ceiling tiles, and corroded aquatic components, installing a new security system, and reconfiguring interior spaces to increase accessibility, efficiency, and community use. 
  • Secured an initial $1 million investment in New York Avenue Recreation Center (FY28)
  • Preserved small enhancement to fully fund the Crummell Community Center, which is already under construction
    
    
• Committee on Health
  • $1.5 million to help fund the expansion of Food & Friends, which will help them serve more neighbors in Ward 5 and across DC
    
    
• Committee on Public Works
  • Recurring funding for two public restrooms in Ward 5 at Alethia Tanner Park (Eckington) and Starburst Plaza (Carver-Langston)
    
    
• Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety
  • Secured funding to continue Safe Passage programs in Union Market, Eckington, NoMa, and Brookland.  
    
    
• Committee on Youth Affairs
  • Redirected $29 million toward a Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility at New Beginnings (juvenile justice facility), addressing a critical treatment gap in the District, as well as modernizing the Langdon Park Community Center and the New York Avenue Recreation Center
  • $1.35 million for Safe Shores, the District’s coordinator of child sexual abuse investigations
  • $975K in FY27 to fund three Family Success Centers (Congress Heights, Deanwood, Carver-Langston)
  • $500K for the Credible Messengers program in FY27
  • $500K to the Committee of the Whole to create a new independent DYRS facilities oversight body under the Council
  • $385K in FY27 to fully pre-fund implementation of SOUL Amendment Act
  • $150K one-time enhancement in FY27 for hiring incentive bonuses at CFSA
  • Fully funding the Strengthening Transparency and Capacity at DYRS Amendment Act of 2025 to preserve DYRS population data reporting, standardize juvenile recidivism metrics across agencies, and direct the Mayor to produce an action plan to reduce the overcrowding at the Youth Services Center
    
    
• Committee of the Whole
  • Preserved the Mayor’s proposed DCPS modernizations, including:
    • $114 million for the modernization of Langley ES (construction in FY29-30)
    • $97.5 million for the modernization of Bunker Hill ES (construction in FY 28-29)
  • $3 million to install central air conditioning at Wheatley Education Campus and working on reallocating an additional $5 million
  • Preserved funding for the expansion of the Advanced Technical Center in Eckington, which will include a new pediatric urgent care facility in partnership with Children’s National
  • Preserved the Mayor’s proposed investment in the Bryant Street Phase 2 TIF (tax increment financing)
    

This list isn’t exhaustive, but it gives an overview of the many investments we are working to secure on everything from parks and recreation, to traffic safety, to business development, to education, to public safety and more. More to come!

Clean-ups and Community Meetings

Tomorrow is the Healthy Communities Spring Cleaning event! If you haven’t yet, there’s still time to sign up to join a site near you here. My team will join ANCs, civic associations, and community organizations at clean-up sites across Ward 5 to help keep our neighborhoods beautiful. The forecast couldn’t be better, so why not spend an hour or two outside tomorrow connecting with neighbors and giving back to the community? Hope to see you there!

I also want to remind neighbors of important upcoming community meetings where your presence and feedback are requested. On June 4, the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) will hold their next Ward 5 Projects Update meeting. Join to learn about DPR’s capital projects across the Ward. On June 11, my office will join the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) for two walks along South Dakota Ave as they share the two segments slated for construction as part of the South Dakota Ave Corridor Safety Project. You can find more details, including how to register, for these and other community meetings in the Ward 5 Updates section of the newsletter below.