2724 11th Street: Tenants and Neighbors Mobilize Against Landlord

A group of 20 tenants and neighbors of 2724 11th Street NW travelled Friday afternoon, August 1, to the offices of SCF Management LLC (1433 T Street) to hand-deliver a report about the condition of their building. The condition of the building is very poor, with evidence of vermin infestation and neglect everywhere. There is also a large hole in the side of the building, as a result of an unauthorized, and then abandoned, renovation.

The front entrance last Friday

SCF Management LLC met with the delegation. There was a brief discussion in the corridor outside the management office. Representatives of the management company said the group did not have the right to be in the building or to speak on behalf of the tenants. Members of the delegation disagreed. Management company representatives said they would try to arrange a meeting between tenants only and the building's owners. Eventually, the group delivered the report and left the building without incident.

An ad-hoc group called Save 2724 11th Street organized the delivery of the report. According to an email from Amal Mimish, a member of the group, Save 2724 11th Street is a coalition of two groups. The first group is 35 tenants of the building, representing about 90% of the current residents. The second group are neighbors, "an active working group of about 20."

Save 2724 11th Street has a web site, a Facebook page, a Twitter feed, and online petition.

As reported in the SALM blog post of June 23, the owners of 2724 11th Street are currently not allowed to raise rents due to rent control restrictions. The owners have presented a "hardship petition" to DC authorities which, if approved, would allow them to raise the rent on all apartments by more than 31 percent, or between $200 and $300.

"Almost all the tenants are making very low wages, though working 2 or 3 jobs, and the others are on fixed retirement or disability incomes," Mimish said. "I would guess that maybe 10-15% could handle a small increase in rent if given adequate notice. The others would have to move out."

Save 2724 11th Street's on-line petition asks that the current owners sell the building to someone more willing to maintain it. Until that happens, the petition asks that owners make the necessary repairs.

After the visit to the management company, the group met on a T Street sidewalk near the management company's offices. Members of the group pledged to come back "every single month" until the situation improves.

Meanwhile, information from the web site of DC's Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) indicates the owners of 2724 11th Street requested a postponement of consideration until October 21 of an application for a handful of zoning variances. The proposal met with a frosty reception at a committee meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 1B/U Street in June -- see the same June 23 blog post referenced above. The request says the postponement will "allow more time for the ANC and the [owners] to work together."

The variances, if approved, would allow the owners to convert unused basement space 2714 11th Street to 11 apartments which would rent, initially, at market rate. Mimish, in her email, says the tenants would be asked to move temporarily while the new living space is prepared.

Save 2724 11th Street tweeted about the visit. I assembled the tweets into a narrative using the web tool Storify here.