Tues, May 4th 6pm -7:30pm Peaceoholics answer questions about their plans for the "Independent Living Facility" for youth offenders at 1300 Congress Street.
FYI - The contact Love Mitchell listed on the flier as the POC is a contractor for the Peaceoholics.
The Advoc8te hopes that community stakeholders attend this meeting and aren't afraid to ask real questions and expect honest answers. The Advoc8te is very encouraged to see residents across all socio-economic, racial and financial lines work together on this. White, black, first-time home buyer, renter, young and old are working together fighting for their community. They refuse to lay down. That is a beautiful thing.
In other Peaceoholics news it appears the Peaceoholics have followed through on their threat to sue ANC 8E Chairperson, Sandra Seegars for slander. The Advoc8te has no idea what the basis of the slander suit against Commissioner Seegars is but in the WCP article that was posted last week it was alluded to that the lawsuit was based on a claim made by Ms. Seegars that one of the Peaceoholics supporters pushed a meeting attendee at the ANC 8E meeting which quickly. The Advoc8te was at that meeting and while I didn't see that particular push myself I can attest that the meeting quickly disintegrated into acts of intimidation and I did have a serious concern that someone was going to get hurt. It was one of those situations where you could tell it had a great deal of potential to end badly with someone physically hurt. I did see several Peaceohlics supporters yell, put their fingers in people's faces and step "into them". It was very intimidating and speaking for myself , very frightening. At the risk of being sued myself - for telling the truth - I had serious concerns for my safety and as such suggested that several of us opponents to the group home walk out together for safety reasons.
On the flip side of the slander coin Commissioner Seegars suggests she should be the one suing the Peaceoholics after a community member allegedly overheard one of the founders of the Peaceoholics state at the meeting at DHCD that "they should have just paid Sandra off and this whole thing would have went away." Including Commissioner Seegar's letter below and a copy of the docket where the Peaceoholics are suing her for slander.
Far be it for me to offer my advice but this seems like the absolute worst way to go to try and foster some type of community cooperation. Residents and opponents of this "independent living facility" for youth offenders age 16 - 21 should not feel intimidated or worried about their safety. ANC Commissioners should not be sued for slander for asking legitimate questions and advocating for their communities, especially after being kept in the dark on most of the project.
My suggestion (and again - no one asked) is that the Peaceoholics drop this lawsuit immediately, it serves no purpose and is only adding further proof for those in the community who say that the Peaceoholics get their way through intimidation. Whether it's true or not this lawsuit for slander doesn't paint a very pretty picture for the Peaceoholics as a group trying to work IN the community - not bulldoze it. They should stop construction now until they have done what they should have done in the beginning - sit down with the community and have a dialogue about their concerns and real solutions and not try to literally and figuratively bulldoze them over.
I've met these concerned residents and their numbers are growing not just on that block, or on that street or in Congress Heights but from within and outside of Ward 8 and they are not going to give up. They are fighting for their homes, their community, their families, their safety and their American Dream and they aren't going to stop. Word on the street is that they have already been in contact with Chairperson Gray's office to investigate this 5 million dollar loan from DHCD. Word on the street is that the Peaceoholics got the loan through a no-bid contract. Inquiring minds definetly want to know.
I hope residents on both sides of the issue (relocating the group home to another block) come out to tomorrow's meeting and engage in a respectful, honest and informative dialogue on what is happening in their communty now and in the future. We can not continue to keep doing the same things and expecting a different result.
If you want to sign the Online Petition Against The Peaceopholics Group Home on 1300 Congress Street please go HERE. FYI - Opponents aren't against the program per se, they just feel that you can't have 4 group homes/special needs facilities on the same residential block and that the current law (Title 11) needs to be enforced which says you can't have one group home within 500 feet of another. The law needs to be enforced - even East of the River.
Email from Commissioner and Chairperson Seegars:
"FYI- Comm. Seegars, one of the Condo Members overheard Jauhar say if they had just paid you they wouldn't be having this problem."
This is slanderous and defamation of character. I don't sweat the small stuff. No one in the whole wide world believes this. Jauhar, I am glad the lady (Ernestine Copeland) came to my car and told me before we left and we had the conversation in front of you and your son: whereas, you admitted what I actually said.
Your ignorance precedes you. I understand you are trying to retaliate [because that is what you all do] because I gave a blow by blow account of the ANC meeting to everyone I had an email address for. This is not going to work. I don't break under pressure. All eyes need to be on this situation.
When you tried to get thehumorrumor flying, you couldn't do that with a straight face.
Let me repeat the statement that you are trying to frame as bribery. The statement I have stated more than once. "If you had come to me first with your plan, I could have presented this to the community differently and set this up with the community and it could have been different."
PLEASE FORWARD THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW. I WILL NOT APOLOGIZE, I ITERATE, I WILL NOT APOLOGIZE TO YOU OR ANYONE LIKE YOU WHO TELL BALD FACE LIES IN AN ATTEMPT TO HAVE THEIR WAY IN MY SINGLE MEMBER DISTRICT.
I must say you are consistent in your retaliatory behavior with your slanderous characterization of me. You continue to misrepresent the facts regarding my statement about the proper process as it pertains to the role of the ANC, the community and businesses desiring to do business in a particular district. I have a witness to you clarifying what you ignorantly said was bribery. I will not be intimidated by you when it comes to me performing my duties as a commissioner. I will not cease or desist revealing your poor conduct as you attempt to receive public funding for self gratification under the umbrella of saving the world from itself. As a public official, I shall reveal and report for a full investigation any activity that I deem illegal and/or unethical practices. You will not stifle my me in any form or fashion.
It’s evident that you are not used to being treated like a normal citizen, and it is evident that you think you can have your way in this community, disregarding the current residents. Let me reiterate what I said to you, Moten, to the public, and in the meetings, if you had come to me first, told me your plans, I could have presented you to the public differently.
You really and truly have me confused with other elected officials that you may have been able to pay off.
Monday cannot come fast enough. Whatever it is you are attempting to do, do it. You or the likes of you will not intimidate me.
When you attend meetings you need to know how to conduct yourself; you must realize that others do not have to agree with you; you should know that your clients/customers are feared; you may face guns and gang members, but you need to know how to curtail your behavior as you meet with different people; at any time you have a problem understanding what I am saying, you need to ask for a clarification; now you know, everyone is not intimidated by you; as an elected official, my duties include being involved in anything in my single member district, which includes you and your project at 1300 Congress.
I shall be forwarding this email to all law enforcement agencies so they are aware of this situation in case your followers, that you cannot control, attempt to approach me in a menacing, violent manner.
No Neighborhood Left Behind
Mayoral Candidates' Forum 4-29-2010
3924 4th St., SE, DC 20032
6 pm to 8:30 pm
Commissioner Sandra "S.S." Seegars, Chairperson ANC 8E
Commissioner of Single Member District 8E02
202-561-6616
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