For my beat, I’ve chosen to cover the neighborhood of Brookland, aka “Little Rome”, which has a population of 35,567 and is located in the northeast quadrant of Washington, D.C., bounded by South Dakota Avenue to the east, 9th Street NE to the west, Rhode Island Avenue NE to the south, and Michigan Avenue to the north. The Brookland-CUA Metro station on Monroe and 9th Street serves the neighborhood and the students of The Catholic University of America and could be considered the midway point between low-key neighborhood gems and a budding urban arts scene.
Brookland is a predominantly African-American neighborhood with 66 percent of its residents being black as opposed to 20 percent white. The others are an interesting amalgam of ethnicities, …show more content…
There are over fifty Catholic organizations in Brookland, and The Catholic University of America itself is stretched across one hundred and seventy-six acres of land adjacent to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the largest Catholic church in North America. It has been visited by Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis. The shrine’s Spiritual Director Fr. Raymond Lebrun knows a lot about the goings-on in the neighborhood and how the church has continued its outreach efforts despite all the recent real-estate developments around the basilica. And if you look just across the street from the basilica, you’ll likely spot a couple of young friars discussing theological doctrine on the steps of the Dominican House of Studies. Also down the road is Trinity Washington University, formerly known as Trinity College, a Catholic liberal arts women’s college. So it’s no secret that the Catholic church has strong roots in D.C., particularly in Brookland. In fact, CUA is the largest employer in the area, and before they sold out to the Bozzuto real-estate group, their students lived in the area now known as the Monroe Street Market. If this doesn’t sound compelling, what does? Profile a couple students, ask them about their living arrangements and more likely than not, one of them will be a commuter, and this will highlight a bigger narrative …show more content…
McDuffie has served Brookland residents for the past five years, and in 2014 he was elected to his first full four-year term following a special election in 2012. McDuffie has taken steps to secure more affordable housing options for low-income families and has been a big advocate of environmental sustainability programs that are focused on delivering creative uses for industrial land. McDuffie and Commander William Fitzgerald are both go-to sources that are essential to my beat. Fitzgerald’s outfit-the 5th District Police Department-has reported 74 crimes within the last year, 70 of them property crimes, which suggests that reducing theft is a top priority for the department. Frances Penn of the Citizens Advisory Council will be another go-to source for me, as will ANC 5A Commissioner Frank Wilds. Wilds, along with seven other commissioners, represents the Brookland Neighborhood Advisory Commission. They meet every fourth Wednesday of the month at 6:45pm on the campus of UDC-CC Backus to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of planning, street maintenance, social service programs, education, health, safety, and sanitation policies, and then draft recommendations of action for the consideration of the District Government. Attending these meetings will be key once I begin the tracking stories on my
Brookland is a predominantly African-American neighborhood with 66 percent of its residents being black as opposed to 20 percent white. The others are an interesting amalgam of ethnicities, …show more content…
There are over fifty Catholic organizations in Brookland, and The Catholic University of America itself is stretched across one hundred and seventy-six acres of land adjacent to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, the largest Catholic church in North America. It has been visited by Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis. The shrine’s Spiritual Director Fr. Raymond Lebrun knows a lot about the goings-on in the neighborhood and how the church has continued its outreach efforts despite all the recent real-estate developments around the basilica. And if you look just across the street from the basilica, you’ll likely spot a couple of young friars discussing theological doctrine on the steps of the Dominican House of Studies. Also down the road is Trinity Washington University, formerly known as Trinity College, a Catholic liberal arts women’s college. So it’s no secret that the Catholic church has strong roots in D.C., particularly in Brookland. In fact, CUA is the largest employer in the area, and before they sold out to the Bozzuto real-estate group, their students lived in the area now known as the Monroe Street Market. If this doesn’t sound compelling, what does? Profile a couple students, ask them about their living arrangements and more likely than not, one of them will be a commuter, and this will highlight a bigger narrative …show more content…
McDuffie has served Brookland residents for the past five years, and in 2014 he was elected to his first full four-year term following a special election in 2012. McDuffie has taken steps to secure more affordable housing options for low-income families and has been a big advocate of environmental sustainability programs that are focused on delivering creative uses for industrial land. McDuffie and Commander William Fitzgerald are both go-to sources that are essential to my beat. Fitzgerald’s outfit-the 5th District Police Department-has reported 74 crimes within the last year, 70 of them property crimes, which suggests that reducing theft is a top priority for the department. Frances Penn of the Citizens Advisory Council will be another go-to source for me, as will ANC 5A Commissioner Frank Wilds. Wilds, along with seven other commissioners, represents the Brookland Neighborhood Advisory Commission. They meet every fourth Wednesday of the month at 6:45pm on the campus of UDC-CC Backus to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of planning, street maintenance, social service programs, education, health, safety, and sanitation policies, and then draft recommendations of action for the consideration of the District Government. Attending these meetings will be key once I begin the tracking stories on my