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Posted on Thursday, January 5, 2012

Evans Reflects on 20 Years of Service to Shaw

It is with great nostalgia that I look back on my years of service to the Shaw community and the many great relationships I developed over the last twenty years.

Since I took office in May 1991, I’ve seen enormous strides in this community. Our initial efforts in Shaw focused on reducing crime and promoting economic development. To that end, we founded the Shaw Task Force in 1995 and set-up three committees which would focus on immediate community concerns: 1) affordable housing; 2) economic development; and 3) crime prevention. The Task force met on a monthly basis for many years and proved to be quite successful.

The location and construction of the new Walter Washington Convention Center and the Verizon Center were another couple of early successes. The complete rebuilding of the Kennedy Recreation Center and the Watha T. Daniel Library were other steps forward. Additional projects that are currently in various stages of development such as O Street Market, Kelsey Gardens, Square 42, Radio One, the 7th and N Streets park, Shaw Junior High School, and the new Convention Center Hotel which is expected to be completed by the Spring of 2014, are all on-going testaments to a changing and thriving community.

Although we still have a way to go, we have seen a dramatic decrease in crime in Shaw. The Task Force was instrumental in pushing for and getting passed legislation addressing prostitution and gang violence. Shaw was the first community to receive shot spotter and MPD video cameras.

I am proud of the many things we have accomplished in Shaw over the past 20 years, none of which would have been possible without the hard work and dedication of the community. Shaw is a neighborhood that has always supported me and I will continue to support Shaw and remain involved to ensure completion of the projects which we’ve started.

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