Last month, a coalition of residents of D.C.’s Buzzard Point, where D.C. United wants to build a new stadium with about $178 million in city subsidies, presented their list of community benefits they’d like to see the city provide them as compensation for putting up with a whole lot of soccer fans landing on their doorstep, including traffic improvements, job development, a small business incubator, and housing preservation programs. Projected cost: $5 million or so.
Yesterday, it was revealed that the city and United had responded with a joint letter saying, in effect: The city already has programs for all that stuff, what makes you think you’re so special?
For instance, in response to the community’s request for a revolving $500,000 workforce training fund to benefit residents of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6D, [City Administrator Allen] Lew and [D.C. United COO Tom] Hunt wrote that “it does not make sense to create a separate and standalone employment program for ANC 6D residents. The District is, however, committed to working with the CBCC to ensure that ANC 6D job-seekers are successful in accessing these existing programs.”
Similarly, in response to the request for a $750,000 small business incubator fund, Lew and Hunt wrote that “it does not make sense to develop a separate standalone program” from the city’s current small business programs.
On the one hand, sure, the city should be providing money to help all residents, not just those who happen to live in Buzzard Point. On the other hand, helping out residents of a specific neighborhood affected by a development project is pretty much the whole point of community benefits agreements — and if that sometimes leads to community groups just trying to get what’s in it for them instead of thinking of the big picture, the principle is still sound: If the community is going to put up with the headaches of a big construction project, it should get helped out in other ways in exchange.
Plus, maybe more to the point, this kind of response is a great way to build enemies. “For you to basically slap us in the face and tell us to go away…I don’t see where they’ve left us any type of room for negotiation by telling us no to every last thing that we asked for,” Felicia Couts, a coordinator of the horribly named Near SE/SW Community Benefits Coordinating Council, told the Washington Post. Seems somebody really doesn’t get how this works.
Not that I think MLS stadiums are any good as an economic catalyst, but it’s good to see someone say no to the “community” shakedown artists.
DCFPI and it’s “community partners” cried foul when it was revealed that the city was covering the costs of infrastructure improvements to the area, at a cost of $150M–but they see no problem DEMANDING the city tack on $5M more?
Matthew it happens a lot with all types of legislation. You have people opposed who have some traction and might be able to derail something so they get thrown a bone.
Why would the United’s ownership consider supporting any public spending in the local community when that’s money not being spent on the stadium? In any case, living over in Indonesia, he couldn’t care less about the locals.
PowerBoater69 – He (1 of 3 owners) may or may not care but United’s main mission statement is to “win championships, and serve the community”. They do a ton of things in the community for schools etc.
Dan: I was referring to the guy with controlling interest, but the other owners aren’t local either, and you don’t know if there are three, five, or 35 owners of this team because they won’t disclose that information. Even after it was exposed in the media that they had a minority owner from Indonesia who bought in with embezzled funds they won’t tell the city who actually owns the team. This group is shady and only bought the team in an effort to make a money grab from DC.
Having the city spend a hundred million dollars to support a team that plays less than 20 home games a year and still has terrible attendance is insane, and to make this gift to owners who have no connection to DC is just stupid.