By Nikita Stewart
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 15, 2009

D.C. Mayor Adrian M. Fenty's announcement Friday that the city would shut down a Masonic lodge in Northeast Washington might have been a bit premature.

The King Solomon Grand Lodge remained open Monday after a news conference to announce its closure was postponed less than an hour before its scheduled start. The lodge on Rhode Island Avenue NE has come under fire from neighbors who say events there have led to disturbances and violence.

Mafara Hobson, Fenty's spokeswoman, said a scheduling conflict prompted the postponement of the news conference. But some lodge leaders said an overzealous Fenty, anxious to please a voting base in Ward 5, might have acted too quickly. They said the lodge was being wrongly held responsible for noise and fights in the mostly working-class Woodridge neighborhood.

"There have been incidents in the area. Not in here," said Dorothy Douglas, 71, an Eastern Star and lodge member.

Leaders of the lodge said they would cease renting out the building for special events until they can review a leasing policy, a move prompted by Fenty's actions.

The stately 79-year-old building at 2245 Rhode Island Ave. NE shares a worn block with a Family Dollar store, several other storefronts and Dudley's Beauty School.

Inside, the building has some wear and tear but enough room and furniture for banquets and meetings. The walls are adorned with photos and portraits dating back years, some in black and white, showing lodge members distributing food baskets and awarding scholarships.

On Friday nights, however, when lodge members hand the building over to party promoters, the building bumps with go-go music and the crowd spills out onto the sidewalk, according to city officials.

During the summer, police had to increase patrols on Friday nights.

Although the lodge plans to address residents' complaints about unruly parties, leaders said they were not told about the mayor's news conference or the threat of closing the lodge down. William Mends-Cole, chairman of the lodge's trustee board, said the lodge received a notice that its public hall license was set to expire but "nothing has been revoked or anything."

On Sept. 1, the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs informed the lodge that it would have to reapply for its public hall license, which had been automatically renewed in the past.

The community will have the opportunity to weigh in. If the lodge does not get its license renewed, it would not have to close its doors, but it would no longer be able to rent out the facility.

The news conference about the lodge's closure was rescheduled for Thursday, a city official said.

Kevin McGill, 22, a party promoter, said his events probably spurred the city's actions. The Friday go-go parties were aimed at getting young people off the street at night, he said. "The neighbors were saying there were problems. It's crazy how people right next door don't complain, but neighbors all down there complain," he said, pointing to a more residential area a couple of blocks away. "We evacuate by 11:30 [at night]. Things happen at 2 a.m. How can they put that on this building?"

Council member Harry Thomas Jr. (D-Ward 5) said the parties were the source of the disturbances, despite McGill's claims. "They were in the neighborhoods having fights after the events," he said. "They were serving alcohol."

Thomas added that the actions of his office and the mayor's administration to crack down on the parties was not a reflection of lodge members. "This is not the Masons or the Eastern Stars," he said.

But lodge members said they were disappointed by the lack of notice about the closure, particularly because they provide social services and charity to the community.

Luther Parker, 78, wore his Mason's jacket, rings, hat and necklace while he talked about the history of the lodge, which was built in 1930, according to property records.

The building serves as one of the few places in Northeast where large groups can meet. "We don't only rent to parties. We rent to churches. We rent to people trying to have dinner functions," Mends-Cole said.

"Sometimes people will wander outside, but you can't keep up with everybody," said Barbara McCoy, 76, also an Eastern Star and lodge member.