All we've accomplished in 2024

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Posted by
G.Hulick
on
December 31, 2024

Dear Neighbor,  

As 2024 comes to a close, we reflect on this past year – one defined by significant progress for District residents. In this newsletter, I will review much of what we accomplished for public safety, economic development, community engagement, seniors & the LGBTQQIA+ community, students and families, access to justice and alleviating homelessness, and clean and connected communities. I also invite you to view this video highlighting our work over the past year.

The end of 2024 marks the culmination of my second year as Chairwoman of the Committee on the Judiciary and Public safety – a responsibility I take very seriously and a privilege I am honored to have again this upcoming Council Period starting in January. Every day I am working for a brighter and safer future for all DC residents. I am deeply heartened by the public safety improvements we have implemented this year and the 35% reduction in violent crime District-wide that resulted from our legislative solutions and commitment to keeping District residents and visitors safe.

As Chairwoman, I have been inspired by neighbors across DC who have shared their stories and discussed public safety and economic recovery solutions at hearings and roundtables, in community meetings, and through emails and phone calls.

In March, the Council passed my Secure DC Omnibus, a historic public safety legislative package that includes over 100 interventions that collectively make District residents, visitors and businesses safer and more secure by driving down the level of crime and violence. The passage of this legislation sent a clear message that DC is united in its efforts to making meaningful and sustainable improvements to public safety for residents across the District.

Mayor Boswer signs Secure DC

Mayor Bowser signs Councilmember Pinto's Secure DC Omnibus

The Secure DC Omnibus included provisions from my Secure DC Plan of over a dozen separate bills, along with many proposals from Mayor Bowser’s Safer Stronger and ACT Now bills and from other colleagues.

Our commitment to oversight has led to improved 911 call center services for DC residents. This year, I held a series of hearings on performance at the Office of Unified Communications (OUC). My team and I also conducted unannounced biweekly visits to OUC to check on updates, speak with staff, and help inform our legislative oversight. Our progress includes these updates:  

District residents and visitors deserve a 911 call center that is fast, efficient and accurate and we will continue to build on this progress.

In addition to my work improving public safety, my small business reform legislation takes an essential step in the District’s post-pandemic economic recovery and is moving us closer to our shared, long-term goal of expanding economic opportunity for all. My “Business and Entrepreneurship Support to Thrive” (BEST) Act streamlines the licensing process for new and existing businesses. This bill received full funding in the budget this year and will lead to the creation of jobs and generation of new tax dollars which fund the programs and initiatives reflective of our city’s values. In addition, the core tenants of my RECOVERY Act are helping to reimagine our downtown with office-to-housing conversions and support for our businesses in vacant spaces.    

While I am tremendously proud of our accomplishments this year, the work continues. I am grateful for your partnership and invigorated for the year ahead fighting for the safety, dignity, and vitality of District residents, cheering on and bringing home our sports teams, and providing economic opportunity across the District. On Thursday, January 2nd, I am honored to be sworn in again to serve a second term as the Ward 2 Councilmember and I invite you to join us in person at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center or stream live here.  

Yours in Service,  

Brooke

Secure DC

This year, Councilmember Pinto continued to focus on improving the safety of District residents and visitors. She conducted a robust public engagement process and heard from thousands of residents, stakeholders, government partners and Council colleagues through more than a dozen public hearings, public safety walks in all eight wards, and meetings with residents and partners to inform and help shape the Secure DC Omnibus. Secure DC was passed and signed into law in March.

Secure DC is Preventing and Ending Cycles of Violence:

Secure DC Enhanced Accountability for Crime:

Secure DC Improved Government Coordination and Oversight:

Crime Rate Drops

We are seeing and feeling the results of Secure DC and the hard work of our public safety partners across our city through the major reduction in crime across the District.

Councilmember Pinto conducts oversight at DC's 911 Call Center

OUC Oversight

This fall, Councilmember Pinto and the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety announced plans to improve performance through oversight of the Office of Unified Communications (OUC) which manages our 911 Call Center. This oversight included:

As of this month, we received promising updates thanks to our focus on oversight:

Councilmember Pinto is remaining laser focused on oversight and working with OUC for continued improvements and sustained success on the progress to date. The heartening results are the culmination of months of work starting with the dashboard Councilmember Pinto established in Secure DC to provide the public with daily numbers from OUC on call times, dispatch times, staffing, and errors. Councilmember Pinto believes the daylight on the agency and the partnership between the public and the agencies have played instrumental roles to getting us to this place. The work continues.

Violence Interruption Programs

Violence interruption (VI)  is a critical part of our public safety ecosystem. Working in partnership with community-based organizations, VI workers do the exceptionally hard work of building relationships with community members, mentoring people at high-risk of being a victim or perpetrator of violence, deescalating conflicts, and facilitating ceasefires and mediations.  

This fall, Councilmember Pinto held public oversight roundtables focused on the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (ONSE) and its management of violence intervention (VI) grants. These hearings were especially important after the allegations over the summer that Councilmember Trayon White accepted bribes in exchange for attempting to influence ONSE’s selection of violence intervention grantees. It is important to note that employees at ONSE have not been implicated in the wrongdoing. However, oversight of VI programs and stronger adherence to consistency of best practices in issuing all of our grants remains critical to the success of VI work here in the District.

ONSE was without a permanent director from the time of former director Linda Harllee Harper’s death in May 2023 until the confirmation of Ms. Kwelli Sneed as permanent director in December 2024. Ms. Kwelli Sneed was appointed to serve as Interim Director shortly after Director Harper’s passing. In November, the Executive submitted a nomination for Ms. Kwelli Sneed to serve as the agency’s permanent director. This nomination marked a significant step toward addressing the leadership challenges ONSE faced over the previous year and a half. Ms. Sneed’s nomination was approved by the Committee on December 9, 2024, and approved by the Council on December 17, 2024.

Councilmember Pinto believes in the importance of the work of violence interruption and has the expectation that Director Sneed will stay focused on driving forward needed improvements to the agency that will benefit what the Committee believes should be the agency's number one mission: to drive down gun violence and ensure that individuals most involved in such violence get on a path to a peaceful and sustainable life.

Retention of Public Safety Employees

Over the last several years, maintaining appropriate staffing levels in our District public safety agencies has become an increasing challenge. Both Fire & EMS and MPD have struggled with staffing shortages and the significant overtime pressures that result from being short-staffed. This is not just a District issue. Staffing shortages at public safety agencies have become a major concern across the entire Metropolitan area and nationwide.

Councilmember Pinto spends time with firefighters at Tower 3

This fall, the Council held a hearing on Councilmember Pinto’s bill, “The Deferred Retirement Option Program Amendment Act of 2024,” which aims to tackle these staffing issues, specifically by focusing on improving the retention of our most experienced firefighters and police officers. Councilmember Pinto is committed to tools that will strengthen, stabilize, and support our public safety agencies. Councilmember Pinto is committed to moving this bill forward in 2025.  

Downtown is the economic engine for a financially stable and prosperous DC. Downtown generates almost one-fourth, or $2.3 billion, of all our local revenue; revenue which allows the DC government to support and invest in critical programming for all eight wards.  

Capital One Arena and Monumental Sports

This month, we unveiled the new vision for Capital One Arena where residents, visitors and fans will enjoy a state-of-the-art arena. This came after the District came together with Monumental Sports to move forward an agreement to renovate the arena and keep the Wizards and Capitals here at home through 2050. This deal also includes commitments to activate the area for entertainment spaces and festivals with increased security and safety supports in the neighborhood.

Councilmember Pinto celebrated the deal to modernize Capital One Arena and keep our Monumental Sports teams here at home in DC

Throughout her tenure in office, Councilmember Pinto has worked in partnership with Monumental Sports to ensure the success of the teams, the arena, and the surrounding neighborhood with investments in public safety, strategic economic development, and transit safety and sustainability. Councilmember Pinto was thrilled to join Mayor Bowser and her Council colleagues in the signing the $515 million agreement with Monumental Sports to keep the teams in Ward 2’s Capital One Arena through 2050 with opportunities for expansion.

Big Ideas for the Gallery Place/Chinatown Neighborhood

Councilmember Pinto serves on the Gallery Place/Chinatown Task Force, which has identified “8 Big Ideas” for the future of the neighborhoods around Capital One Arena for immediate activation and long-term vibrancy. The District is now in the process of implementing some of the immediately actionable ideas, such as activating Gallery Place with events like Open Streets 7th Street NW and the newly expanded DowntownDC Holiday Market, and planning ahead for larger capital projects. Councilmember Pinto has helped to ensure that Chinatown residents’ voices are heard throughout this process and that their needs and desires for the future of Chinatown are included in these plans.

Office-to-Housing and Mixed-Use Conversions

Councilmember Pinto funded key pillars of her bill the RECOVERY Act to incentivize the transformation of vacant offices into housing and mixed-use spaces to bolster the resiliency of our Downtown. So far, two office-to-residential buildings have been completed, with a total of 385 units. Five office-to-residential conversion buildings are currently under construction. Putting vacant office buildings into productive use will continue to be critical to ensuring a vibrant Downtown that can provide options for housing, work, entertainment while generating important tax revenue.  

Councilmember Pinto and her team have continued to be in the community to assist during emergencies, to address quality of life issues, and to celebrate milestones and neighborhood traditions, festivals and events. During our fourth year at the Council, Team Pinto answered more requests for assistance from residents than ever. Some of our work this year includes:

Constituent Services Assistance

Councilmember Pinto’s Constituent Service team helped with more than 2,000 constituent cases this year ranging from help with receiving unemployment assistance, to sorting out driver license and license plate requirements, to sidewalk repairs. If you have a concern for our constituent services team, please reach out at www.brookepintodc.com/help.  

311 Update

The DC 311 mobile app is faster and more efficient than ever. New user-friendly improvements incorporate recommendations and feedback from District residents and stakeholders and includes updates from the suggestions you shared with our Constituent Services team. Be sure to submit a 311 request before contacting our office – that ensures the fastest and most clear response from agencies. 311 makes it easy – you can call, text, message on social media, or use the app or website to track your requests. Learn more here.  

Councilmember Pinto visits Kennedy Rec Center

Councilmember Pinto visits with Shaw residents at Kennedy Rec Center

Celebrations, Ribbon Cuttings and Groundbreakings

Councilmember Pinto attended celebrations for impactful organizations and agencies that ensure District residents have the tools, resources, and homes they need to thrive, including:

Visits with Local Organizations

Councilmember Pinto visited with various community organizations to learn more about their contributions to allow all residents to thrive, such as the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW), DC Nightlife Council (DCNC), Urban Leaders Fellowship, Reading Partners DC, Capital Pride Alliance, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Fazl Mosque Iftar, Citizens Association of Georgetown, Friends of Volta Park, Burleith Citizens Association, Foggy Bottom Association and many more.

Councilmember Pinto meets with Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority sisters to discuss legislative priorities

Ward 2 Advisory Neighborhood Commission Meetings

Team Pinto attended dozens of monthly ANC meetings to share office updates and initiatives, as well as ensure ANC and neighborhood concerns are heard and represented in the Council. Thank you to our commissioners who volunteer so much of their time and talent to improve your neighborhoods. To learn more about your ANC and when meetings are held you can visit anc.dc.gov.  

Seniors

Councilmember Pinto meets regularly with senior neighbors to ensure our seniors receive the resources and support they need and deserve to thrive in our communities.  

Senior Villages

Councilmember Pinto enjoyed spending time with members from our senior villages across the District as leaders launched the new Village Collaborative to ensure seniors in every neighborhood have opportunities to build community, have physical movement, intellectual stimulation, and socialization.  

Councilmember Pinto gathered with members of Georgetown Village

Ward 2 Senior Center

Councilmember Pinto was immensely proud to secure funding for a sorely needed Ward 2 Senior Wellness Center. The Senior Center will be co-located with senior-housing and LGBTQQIA+ senior-housing and will provide rich programming, resources, and opportunities for connection so that our senior neighbors can age in place with dignity and community. We know that our senior neighbors have greater health outcomes when we facilitate structures that curb isolation and promote connection.  

LGBTQQIA+ Community

LGBTQQIA+ Community Center

Ward 2 will be home to a new first-of-its-kind LGBTQQIA+ Community Center on Wiltberger Street (between S, T, 6th and 7th Streets) in Shaw. The center aims to provide education, connection, and supports to uplift our LGBTQQIA+ neighbors through health and wellness, arts and culture, social and peer support, and advocacy and community building. This year, Councilmember Pinto successfully worked with colleagues to secure an additional $1 million in the budget to complete renovations at the new location in Shaw.  

Our LGBTQQIA+ friends, family, coworkers and neighbors are an integral part of our city. Councilmember Pinto attended several events and advanced legislation to honor and protect our LGBTQQIA+ community.  

Councilmember Pinto celebrated Pride on the steps of the John A. Wilson Building

VPART Funding

This year, we increased funding for the Violence Prevention & Response Team (VPART). VPART’s mission is to address, reduce, and prevent crime within and against the LGBTQQIA+ community. This partnership between the community and the government enables us to coordinate a community-wide response to violence.

High Heel Race

Councilmember Pinto helped kick off the 37th Annual 17th Street High Heel Race. It’s one of our favorite annual traditions and was bigger and even more fabulous this year with our community coming together for the cherished tradition in Dupont Circle.  

Trans Day of Remembrance

In November, Councilmember Pinto commemorated Transgender Day of Remembrance and honored the memories of all who we have lost too soon. There should be no doubt that here in the District, we welcome, uplift, and celebrate our transgender community. You have a home here.

Annie’s Way Street Rededication

Councilmember Pinto was thrilled to unveil the naming of “Annie’s Way” on 17th Street, honoring the legacy of Annie Kaylor at Annie’s Paramount Steakhouse. Since its inception, Annie’s has celebrated and cherished our LGBTQ+ neighbors. Councilmember Pinto enjoyed joining her family, Commissioners and neighbors.

Little Gay Pub Pride Month Office Hours

Councilmember Pinto and her team were so grateful to those who joined us for the Pride Month Community Office Hours at the Little Gay Pub. It was an honor to represent and partner with so many passionate residents who help make sure our communities can thrive.  

World Pride 2025

DC is proud to host World Pride 2025 May 17th-June 8th and Councilmember Pinto and her team have been working with community organizations and leaders to ensure a wonderful Pride experience for residents and visitors from across the globe!

Councilmember Pinto continued her work supporting literacy for our students. Ensuring our kids read on grade level is a critical part of student success in the classroom and beyond and Councilmember Pinto continues to champion this cause.  

School Readiness

Councilmember Pinto and her team met and coordinated with school principals and facilities teams as schools and educators prepared for students to begin the 2024-2025 school year. This effort was meant to make sure our faculty, facilities, students, and families had what they needed to hit the ground running.

 

Councilmember Pinto enjoyed visiting with many Ward 2 students this year

Literacy Investments

Reading and writing are foundational skills for our kids to ensure they get an excellent education and have the tools they need to thrive as adults in the workforce and in life. Following the deep impact of the pandemic on learning loss for our kids, Councilmember knew that we needed a robust solution to address the declining and concerning literacy outcomes for too many of our students.

Councilmember Pinto met with students and educators who shared the difficulties they experienced learning to read or effectively teach reading. Working closely with Ward 2 State Board of Education representative, Allistair Chang, Councilmember Pinto put forth legislation to ensure our educators and students have the resources to teach and excel at reading.  

Literacy Taskforce

The Early Literacy Education Task Force created by Councilmember Pinto in 2022 has been responsible for developing strategies to implement structured literacy training for DC teachers and instructors to strengthen student literacy. Through focused advocacy and collaboration with her colleagues, Councilmember Pinto successfully secured $5.5 million to begin the implementation of the Task Force’s recommendations. As a result of these critical budget investments:  

Keeping residents in their homes and moving neighbors experiencing homelessness into housing continues to be an important part of Councilmember Pinto’s work. All residents deserve a safe and stable place to live. Councilmember Pinto continues to promote affordable housing and continues to work to ensure there are adequate case workers and service providers to help get unhoused residents into housing. Councilmember Pinto has also been a leader in the new model of bridge housing so residents waiting for permanent housing options are not living on the street or outside in encampments.  

The Aston

In November, Councilmember Pinto, Mayor Bowser and other community leaders celebrated the opening of The Aston, a first-of-its-kind non-congregate bridge housing model to the District’s adult homeless services system. A non-congregate setting means that the bedrooms and living spaces are private or semi-private as opposed to a congregate setting which generally has larger, shared common spaces and bedrooms.  Residents at The Aston will receive individualized case management, a key resource for reaching their housing goals quickly and effectively.  

Councilmember Pinto cut the ribbon at the Aston - a new model to help neighbors experiencing homelessness

This new model will welcome up to 100 residents to live in private spaces, build community, receive 24/7 case management support, have all meals provided, and work in collaboration with the onsite team to stabilize their lives and then transition into permanent housing. This project has been years in the making and Councilmember Pinto thanks the many partners who have been instrumental in making it happen including the Department of Human Services, the provider Friendship Place, and the Community Advisory Team of experts and residents that Councilmember Pinto helped establish and that we have been working with to ensure this project is successful for those moving in and for the surrounding community.

Access to Justice Grants

To improve public safety in the FY 2025 budget, the Council under Councilmember Pinto’s leadership fully restored Access to Justice grants to provide low-resource residents with legal services and protections during crises, including for housing and unemployment issues.

Making transportation safer and more accessible is important to Councilmember Pinto’s work serving Ward 2 residents. Councilmember Pinto has also continued her committment to ensuring there are more opportunities to connect with neighbors through greater access to recreation spaces.  

Better Bus Letter to WMATA

In April, Councilmember Pinto sent a letter to Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) General Manager Randy Clarke calling for two critical considerations to the proposed changes to our DC bus network:

To encourage residents and tourists to visit and support our many vibrant neighborhoods, we must make travel in the District easier and more affordable. In her letter, Councilmember Pinto noted the District’s enhanced contribution to WMATA by $218 million to help close its funding gap and to support the agency’s capacity to improve service and maintenance of public transit options. She urged WMATA to absorb service along the Circulator routes and preseverpreserve existing service on Metrobus routes.  

Earth Day Cleanup

In partnership with Logan Circle Community Association, Logan Circle Main Street, and District Cleanups, Councilmember Pinto hosted the third annual Ward 2 Earth Day Cleanup where dozens of residents and volunteers joined to beautify our streets and parks.

Councilmember Pinto hosted the Third Annual Ward 2 Clean-Up

Council Passes STEER Act and Laws to Address Fraudulent Vehicle Tags

Council passed the Strengthen Traffic Enforcement, Education, and Responsibility (STEER) Amendment Act, which makes our streets safer by slowing down cars and getting dangerous drivers off the road. Council also passed the Fraudulent Vehicle Tag and Parking Enforcement Modernization Amendment Act, which enhances laws against expired and counterfeit license tags.

Lead Free Pipes

As the council period is ending, we are sharing an important update on legislation to ensure our pipes are free from lead. Councilmember Pinto introduced the Lead-Free DC Omnibus Amendment Act of 2023 in March 2023. It was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Environment and had a hearing last summer.  The Committee on Transportation and Environment is working on the bill and expects to move it early in the new Council period.  You can read more here.

Community Events

This year, Team Pinto participated in 7th Street Open Streets and Walk/Bike/Roll to School Day. These annual events provide safe opportunities to enjoy our public spaces and encourage exercise and transit alternatives.

Team Pinto enjoys meeting with constituents through these unique events and looks forward to more opportunities to connect in 2025.  

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