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I am one of the many residents here at the Lofts at Adams Morgan, and I would like to make some comments about “Suite Deal” (1/10), by Brian Montopoli. My points are directed at him for writing an underresearched article that is definitely not doing anything at all for community relations. I guess I thought differently of the Washington City Paper.
Basically, there was a negative vibe going on in Montopoli’s article with no real positive value. The article was also very misleading: “Most of the people moving into the new luxury digs are much like Erting and Kinner: highly paid white professionals without kids but with disposable income to burn.”
Yes, some are highly paid professionals and many have no kids…but mostly white? I’ve read similar things in other articles mentioning the Lofts. This is a very misconstrued statement. I live there and I am a minority, and I come from a background that is very familiar with the low-income life. As a matter of fact, many of the other residents here are also minorities. Many come from other countries/cultures, and all have different backgrounds. Many of us have worked and still work hard in our lives to get to where we are.
It is true that a large percentage of low-income families in D.C. are black or Latino, but writing up an article like this makes people believe that most of their neighbors are exactly what you say: “highly paid white professionals.” Thus, the article adds fuel to the fire of racial tension that already exists. It makes us look like a bunch of mostly rich white snobs, to put it in simple terms, which we definitely are not.
We truly do reflect what Adams Morgan is supposed to be made of, a melting pot or cultures and colors, but I guess Montopoli never bothered to find that out. Yes, the Lofts is not an inexpensive place to live, but that doesn’t mean that no one else can do it. It is hard, you have to struggle, and it takes a lot of patience, but often the media represent minorities as always being poor and having it hard, and whites as rich and having it easy—and that’s the way it seems things will stay.
The whole racial rich man/poor man schism among D.C. residents may be real, but it’s also a ridiculous thing for this city to have to live with. The City Paper, as a member of the media, seems to promote the kind of racial name-calling and squabbles that are foundations of other serious issues. Why don’t you put your power to something that helps the community instead of creating more anger?
On the bar/club note, I don’t know what some of those restaurants are so worried about, especially the ones that do not even graze remotely close to the Lofts, such as the Diner and Tryst. Why the hell would Lofts residents want to shut down all of 18th Street? I think all the businesses are in pure paranoia at this point. In all fairness, there is noise—and then there is noise.
Not all residents living here are complaining about the businesses/noise on 18th Street. The issue with some residents and the noise at the Lofts concerns three or four clubs that are close to a section of the building. It probably would be fair to say that 20 percent of the building is affected by the noise. The problem is that many clubs don’t abide by D.C.’s laws and noise ordinances. As long as the nightclubs abide by them, they have nothing to worry about. Only those establishments that blatantly disrespect their neighbors’ right to peace and quiet should be worried.
Please get the story right before you misrepresent the facts to the public.
Adams Morgan