6TH POLICE DISTRICT
Substation to Close Next Year in Cost-Cutting Move
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Tuesday, December 23, 2008
D.C. police will close the 6th District substation by the end of next year as a cost-saving measure, officials said yesterday.
The building at 2701 Pennsylvania Ave. SE is the only one of three substations in the city for which the city pays rent, said Cmdr. Robert Contee, head of the 6th District, which includes parts of Northeast and Southeast Washington.
The amount of rent was unclear yesterday at a Public Safety Committee hearing attended by D.C. Council members Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) and Yvette M. Alexander (D-Ward 7).
Contee said he understood that a lease renewed in February was for $180,000 a year. But Mendelson said documents from the Office of Property Management show the rent is $668,724 a year. Neither could explain the discrepancy.
Residents who appeared at the hearing said they want the substation to remain open. They said that the substation contributes to the visibility of the police presence and that its closure would be detrimental to the neighborhood.
"The substation provides our neighborhood with identifiable law enforcement officials who are accessible and responsive to the needs of this community," said Barbara Morgan, a Ward 7 resident.
Contee said the substation was used for administrative purposes, to store police records and parking permits. He said that when it closes, more officers will be free to patrol neighborhood streets.
Mendelson said costs should be balanced by needs.
"D.C. police needs to be mindful of costs, but the issues should be driven by what makes sense operationally," Mendelson said. "It shouldn't solely be driven by dollars and cents."
