January 15, 2000
Mayor Announces Progress Made on Promise at Citizen Summit
District Makes Headway on Renovation of Recreation Facilities
(Washington, D.C.) - Today, Mayor Anthony A. Williams made a down-payment on good government and announced the first installment of his commitment to respond to concerns raised by residents at his Citizen Summit last November. The Mayor, joined by members of his cabinet and the Council, outlined his short-term actions in response to citizen's concerns about recreation, during a press conference at Banneker Recreation Center on Georgia Avenue, NW.
"One of the major messages of the summit was to improve recreation. We heard this message loud and clear, and are aligning our efforts in the short and long term to provide the improved services residents want," said Mayor Williams.
Three major messages about the recreation and parks system came out of the summit including dissatisfaction with the general state of the city's recreation facilities, frustration with the pace of improvements, and the need for greater neighborhood input on recreation centers.
Banneker Recreation Center and Kennedy Playground were two of the facilities that were mentioned specifically by Mayor Williams during the Summit last November. Renovations to Banneker include demolishing existing structures, grading the ball field, installing dugouts, a backstop and irrigation system, paving the parking lot and erecting fencing throughout the site. Renovations are underway around the city at other community centers and work on Kennedy playground is slated to start this Spring.
"All of this is a down-payment. It is our good faith effort to show that we are listening, and I have a serious commitment to empowering and supporting neighborhoods," said the Mayor.
A preliminary report summarizing the findings from November's Citizen Summit was released. The Mayor highlighted some of the findings include the strong message of concern from District residents of the need to improve our schools.
The Mayor announced that he would go into detail about how the city has incorporated comments from the Citizen Summit into their long-range City-Wide strategic plan during the upcoming Neighborhood Action Forum on January 27 at the University of the District of Columbia.
To register for the Neighborhood Action Forum at U.D.C. call 727-0882 or go online at neighborhoods.washingtondc.gov.
