Stop Demolition at DC General Campus Until Families Leave

Mayor Muriel Bowser

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The exterior demolition of Building 9 stopped at the beginning of August after unsafe levels of lead were found in the ground just outside the building. However, despite refusing to provide a concrete reason for why there is such urgency to demolish Building 9 even while DC General remains occupied, the Bowser Administration has not yet agreed to stop the demolition until the families are all gone. Demolition could begin again any day.

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The Mayor of DC, Muriel Bowser, is planning to demolish a building (Building 9) on August 1. The building is 250 feet away from the DC General family shelter, where about 250 low-income, primarily black kids reside. The building was known to contain lead and asbestos. Demolition of Building 9 while the families still live in the nearby shelter increases the risk of dust, rodents, and neuro-toxins impacting the health and safety of the families, perhaps irreparably. The families are moving out, but most will be there until September or October.

The Mayor has given no reason to the public as to why she needs to demolish buildings around the families while they still live on the campus. Some have speculated that the urgency to clear the campus may be motivated by development pressures-- either for Amazon headquarters or other private development.

The petition asks the Mayor to: 1) wait until the families are gone to demolish the building, so their health is not put at risk, and 2) after that, to use the highest standards for health and safety in order to avoid putting the nearby women at Harriet Tubman shelter and people in the jail in harm’s way.

You can also contact the Mayor via phone (202-727-2643), email (mayor@dc.gov), or Twitter (@MayorBowser, using hashtag #StopDCGDemo). Let her know that no risk is acceptable when it comes to the health and safety of DC residents.


To: Mayor Muriel Bowser
From: [Your Name]

We urge you to halt all demolition and deconstruction of buildings on the DC General campus until all homeless families have moved out. We believe that no matter how committed you and your agencies are to reducing the health and safety risks from such activities, no risk is acceptable. Regardless of what the future holds for this parcel of land, the District should not engage in any activity that increases the risk of irreparable harm to the hundreds of low-income, primarily black, children and their parents who still call DC General home.

We also ask that, when you resume work on the buildings, you use the highest health and safety standards possible to reduce any risk of harm to the women living in the Harriet Tubman homeless shelter and the people staying in the jail.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.