October 15, 2018

Press Contacts:
Anthony Lorenzo Green, ANC Commissioner 7C04 (Deanwood)
(202) 600-9834
7c04@anc.dc.gov

April Goggans, Black Lives Matter DC/ #KeepDC4Me

(202) 250-4541
april@dcblm.org

Press Advisory

Press Conference:
Location: Nook’s Barber Shop- 5214 Sheriff Rd. NE, Washington, DC 20019
Time: 12:00PM- Noon

Press Conference: Nook’s and Other Commercial Tenants Suing Developer Who
Padlocked Businesses Falsely Citing an Immediate Environmental Hazard

Deanwood, Ward 7, Washington, DC -- At the corner of Sheriff Road, Eastern Ave, and Division
Ave, NE, a retail strip consisting of Black and people of color owned small businesses and
community services have been besieged since the summer.

On October 1, 2018, the properties at the corner of Sheriff Rd/Eastern Ave NE were sold to
1100 Eastern LLC, a subsidiary of the Neighborhood Development Company (NDC). On
Wednesday October 2, 2018, they hand-delivered letters stating the tenants had to vacate
immediately as a result of "environmental hazards". On October 4, 2018 padlocks were placed
on their doors.

Employees at Nook's Barber & Beauty Shop, Little Jewels Daycare, Sunny Chicken and Fish,
and Uncle Lee's Liquor Store arrived to work but ​were prevented from entering​​. Families were
forced at the last minute to find emergency daycare services. ​Workers unable to continue to
make a living.​ Business owners were devastated. Both Nook’s and Little Jewels are Black
women-owned businesses and the other two businesses are also owned by people of color.

Mr. Johnny Barnes, attorney for the owners of Nook's Barber & Beauty Shop, Sunny Chicken
and Fish, and Uncle Lee's Liquor Store initially tried unsuccessfully to get in contact with the
new owner and the new owner’s attorney. The new owners had provided absolutely no
evidence for any of their claims or statements. In addition, “self-help” or informal eviction is
illegal in the District of Columbia and such actions must be done so legally in a court of law.

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Attorney Barnes instructed Nook’s Barbershop owner Sabrina to ​re-open her business​ and
notify all of her customers that the shop is open for business. Additionally, Mr. Barnes stated
Nook’s and its barbers have been hemorrhaging customers and losing significant profit over the
past couple of weeks due to continued harassment by police and developers and they could be
poised to lose more.

Over the last few days, and after meeting with the new owner, there have been several
significant new developments that further illuminate the intentionally misleading and unlawful
actions of Adrian Washington, Neighborhood Development Company [NDC], and 1100 Eastern
Ave. LLC. The developments include documents provided by NDC that show they were not
truthful at all in their assertion that an immediate environmental hazard existed that necessitated
closing down these businesses. Despite this, Adrian Washington had the audacity to claim “it
was the right thing to do.” in a public statement.

This morning the owners of Nook's Barber & Beauty Shop, Sunny Chicken and Fish, and Uncle
Lee's Liquor Store filed a complaint against 1100 Eastern, LLC, (NDC), and Adrian
Washington, CEO of NDC.

This corner has seen its share of difficulty since this summer. Starting with ​illegal stop-and-frisks
by Metropolitan Police Department’s violent Gun Recovery Unit (better know as Jumpouts) that
escalated after MPD continued to taunt and harass the same young Black men in retaliation for
the news and public pressure surrounding the initial incident. “It isn't lost on us that June 13th,
the day the highly publicized illegal stop-and-frisk by MPD​ happened in front of Nook's, was also
the day Mayor Bowser made her ​announcement of a $11.4M investment into redeveloping this
corner​​ (1100 Eastern Ave NE),” said Anthony Lorenzo Green who is the ANC Commissioner for
the block.

“We have a city that has nurtured a culture that allows various developers and law enforcement
entities to treat black and brown communities with blatant disrespect. It’s unconscionable that
an affordable housing project would be used as a tool to wrongfully evict minority-owned
Deanwood businesses, including businesses that have been operating in our community for
more than a quarter of a century. This is not how we treat people that have been here during the
bad times, and the good,” Green said.

Then, after the police incidents, the air conditioning unit at Nook's Barbershop initially were
vandalized, and then outright stolen. In the middle of the sweltering August weather, Black Lives
Matter ​raised money​ and organized replacing the AC unit at Nook's Barbershop with help from
the ​411 Collective​ in finding a certified HVAC secured and installed the AC Unit. They also
gathered volunteers to build a fence around the back of Nook’s which was painted by volunteers
of the DC Antifacist Coalition. Afterword, a member of the 411 Collective designed and finished
an incredible mural on the fence. Most recently, Black Lives Matter DC, Stop Police Terror
Project DC, and LinkUP held a clean up-day where volunteers cleaned and prepared for the
Mutual Aid Pop-Up​ to help stir up more business as well as additional barbers and stylists.

April Goggans of Black Lives Matter DC stated, “We are disgusted by the obvious attempt to pit
Black folks against each other for the basic things we all need to survive. The new development
appears to include affordable housing which Black and brown folks in the district desperately

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need AND the Black folks being pushed out of the property need those jobs to pay for housing
and childcare while they work as well.”

We demand that the new owner not only remove the locks they have already placed on the
property, but if they attempt to place locks on the businesses again or in any other way impede
customers from entering or receiving services they will be doing so at their own peril and will find
themself in more trouble than they already are.

Today, Black Lives Matter DC, Stop Police Terror Project DC, and LinkUP​ join ANC
Commissioner Anthony Lorenzo Green in mobilizing against this displacement and the policing
that makes it possible in Deanwood. The community refuses to allow these businesses and their
staff to be thrown away by big money developers and they will not allow Mayor Bowser (who
has refused to comment or get involved) and her administration to use the affordable housing
crisis they perpetuate and benefit from as justification for making the same people disposable.
The developers are not above the law, no matter what they might believe.

We will continue to look carefully into this and the other multi-million dollar projects NDC has
been awarded by the District as we believe this is a pattern. Black Lives Matter DC specifically
is also concerned that Bowser’s Administration May not have ensured the awards and sales
weren’t influenced by nepotism. Brenda Donald, Adrian Washington’s sister and current Director
of the Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) previously ran similar projects and
partnerships with DC Office on Aging and the Department of Housing and Community
Development and Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services (DMHHS).

Employees at Nook's Barber & Beauty Shop, Little Jewels Daycare, Sunny Chicken and Fish,
and Uncle Lee's Liquor Store and the Deanwood community against displacement, the policing
that enforces it​, and inequitable development!

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