Brooke's Briefing - Why Downtown Recovery Matters and Earth Day

Posted by

Z. Ades

April 19, 2023

Dear Neighbor,

Last week, I published a Medium opinion piece explaining how Downtown recovery affects every resident in our city and why it is so important that we invest in making Downtown a vibrant, mixed-use neighborhood. Investing in the future of Downtown by passing and funding my RECOVERY Act is necessary to achieve our goals of inclusive prosperity and improving public safety. I hope you will take the time to read my post and share with your friends and neighbors. Check it out here!

If you support the RECOVERY Act, it’s important that your at-large Councilmembers hear from you. You can find contact information for your at-large Councilmembers here. Please consider voicing your support!

This weekend I am joining with Shaw Main Streets and District Cleanups to host an Earth Day Community Cleanup around Shaw starting at Bundy Dog Park (on P St between 4^th and 5^th P Streets NW) on Saturday April 22 at 11 AM. You can sign up here to join us! We’ll have tools available but if you have reusable gloves and water bottles, make sure to bring them to be extra eco-friendly.

Budget season continues! Next week, the Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety will be releasing our committee budget report which will outline funding for our public safety agencies. I’m working to ensure that our public safety agencies have the resources to meet our urgent public safety needs and that investments are being made in proven strategies to reduce violence and support survivors. I look forward to sharing our common-sense, safety-focused investments next week.

My best,

Brooke

Female Genital Mutilation: Councilmember Pinto introduced the Female Genital Mutilation Prohibition Act to prohibit female genital mutilation and put an end to a practice with no valid medical purpose and that causes extensive, lifelong harm to the physical and mental wellbeing of victims.

Joining with Colleagues to Stem the Flow of Guns into Communities: Councilmember Pinto joined Councilmember Zachary Parker to co-introduce legislation to implement common-sense controls on the firearm industry. The bill will create accountability for gun manufacturers by empowering the Office of the Attorney General and residents to sue manufacturers for harms caused by failure to take precautions regarding the manufacturing, marketing, and sale of guns.

In the last few weeks, Councilmember Pinto and Team Pinto have been out and about in Ward 2 and across the city including to:

Meet with neighbors and business owners from Ward 2 to discuss plans for improved public safety

Visit School Without Walls Francis Stevens as students engaged in the Food Prints program - an exceptional food education program

Meet with the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington

Attend the monthly meetings of ANCs 2C, 2B, and 2D

Washington Business Journal: Added security, office-to-residential conversions and the woonerf could breathe life into Gallery Place-Chinatown. “’Resilient communities are the ones that were most able to withstand the storm of Covid-19,’ Pinto said. ‘And that resiliency was really reflected in our neighborhoods that were mixed-use neighborhoods, which we don't see in downtown.’”

Washington City Paper: Jan. 6ers and Marjorie Taylor Greene Drive Attention to the D.C. Jail. Real Reform Remains Elusive. “’One of my biggest focuses with the jail is around the creation of a new facility that has habitable living conditions,’ Pinto says. ‘That was a major budget priority of mine last year. And so now that the construction of the new facility is planned a couple of years out in our budget, one of my responsibilities this year is to make sure that we have everything in place to plan for that construction and make sure it stays on schedule.’”

Washington Blade: D.C. Council approves Swann Street LGBTQ designation bill. “The bill, the William Dorsey Swann Street Designation Act of 2023, was introduced Feb. 28 by D.C. Council member Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) along with 10 other members of the 13-member Council who signed on as co-introducers.”

Washington Informer: D.C. Council Member Parker Targets Gun Manufacturers in New Legislation. “If passed, Parker’s legislation, titled the Establishment of Reasonable Controls for the Firearm Industry Act, will allow District residents and the D.C. Office of the Attorney General to sue firearm industry members for harm caused by production or sale of guns that cause harm in the District... D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2), chair of the D.C. Council Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, signed on as a co-introducer of Parker’s bill.”

Washington Post Editorial Board: Why police officers need to be in D.C. schools. “Four D.C. Council members introduced a bill last month to reinstate the police department’s School Safety Division, which is where school resource officers work. They are Trayon White Sr. (D-Ward 8); Vincent C. Gray (D-Ward 7); Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2), the public safety committee chair; and council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D). Mr. White said students often tell him that school safety is their top concern.”

Team Pinto is going on neighborhood walks with each of our amazing Ward 2 Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners! This week, we’re highlighting ANC 2E02 and Commissioner Topher Matthews. Brian from Team Pinto met with Commissioner Matthews to walk ANC 2E02 in the Georgetown neighborhood. Some of the topics they discussed included Volta Park rehabilitation, parking enforcement, and pedestrian safety. If you live in ANC 2E02, you can reach Commissioner Matthews at 2E02@anc.dc.gov.

Did you know? ANC 2E02 is home to Book Hill Park. Councilmember Pinto advocated for funding for upgrades to Book Hill Park to be included in the budget. The Mayor included this funding in her proposed budget and now Councilmember Pinto is working to ensure it remains in the final budget.

We’re introducing a new section of our newsletter, highlighting the Ward 2 wins our office has secured for residents and how our office can help you navigate government agencies and advocate for your neighborhood.

Thanks to Aukima on Team Pinto for helping to solve this critical safety issue! If you need help fixing dangerous traffic conditions in your neighborhood, please contact our Constituent Services team here!

DC Water’s contractor is continuing demolition work at the R Street NW periodically over the next few months. Residents will be notified as demolition and restoration work is scheduled. Work hours are 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM on weekdays with occasional work on Saturdays.
Francis Pool at 24th and N Streets will be open this summer! The pool will open Memorial Day weekend.
The DC Tax Reform Commission is hosting three town hall public input sessions in the coming weeks to allow public engagement on reforms to the tax code. The more local, diverse voices they hear from, the better able they will be to reflect the values, perspectives and ideas of the entire DC community. Join them at one of the following upcoming events: Monday, May 1 at 6:30 pm, which will be in-person at THEARC, Thursday, May 4 at 6:30 pm, which will be virtual (RSVP link HERE), and Saturday, May 6 at 12 pm, which will be in-person at MLK, Jr. Library.
OUC is hiring 911 call takers! Apply today to become a first, first responder: https://careers.dc.gov/. JOB ID: 21545. Application period ends July 7, 2023

DC Jobs for Justice is hosting two workers’ rights training sessions on May 3 and May 4. Join to learn about the District's upcoming minimum wage increase and laws governing paid sick leave and overtime pay. Translation can be provided. RSVP at www.tinyurl.com/OurRight2Work.
Sunrise GW is hosting their annual Fossil Free DC Festival this weekend celebrating local organizations, artists, and musicians with a commitment to climate justice and ending the era of fossil fuels. The event is free to attend and there will be live music, free food, and over 40 on-campus and local DC organizations sharing information.