Grassroots DC

This is Ridgecrest condominium. Not a luxury condominium to be sure. For many of us, Ridgecrest was all we could afford. We bought our condos because home ownership is the only way to hedge against ever-increasing rents and remain in the city we love.

We’ve been fighting for more than two years for the right to use years of condo fees (aka our own money) to make repairs to the building. Help us in this fight by donating to keep the residents of Ridgecrest condominium housed in SAFE conditions!

We were never looking for luxury condos but we do want them to be safe, clean and well-managed. The mold, leaky ceilings, a boiler at risk of blowing up and apartments without electricity is not a slum property owned by a slum lord who overcharges tenants and lets the property deteriorate. These conditions exist because the president of the Condominium Association, Marcus Little, refuses to use our condo fees to make repairs or even to pay the utility bills.

The city has cited Ridgecrest for code violations dating back to 2017 but the Ridgecrest Condominium Association (under the direction of board president Marcus Little) still refuses to make repairs. Conditions had gotten so bad that we were placed under an Order to Vacate by DCRA in February of 2022. Two seniors were living without electricity and three of the eight buildings were without heat because the boiler hadn’t been cleaned for years and was in danger of literally blowing up.

To fight this we formed a separate organization, the Independent Owners and Residents of Ridgecrest (IORR), to raise the funds needed to repair the boiler and restore electricity to residents living without it. The IORR was already in the process of suing our own Condominium Association to address the code violations, to remediate the mold, to keep the property clean and even to pay the property’s utility bills. As I write this, at least one third of Ridgecrest owners have had liens placed on their apartments because the Association hasn’t paid the Water and Gas bill.

How have things been allowed to get so bad? Since becoming president in 2016, Marcus Little has manipulated the Ridgecrest Condominium Association By-Laws and taken full control of the Association bank account. By foreclosing on owners who get behind on their condo fees and illegally buying their units at auction, he has acquired 22 of the association’s 83 units.

Some of our community members have already been forced out. Even though the apartment had been in her family for three generations, Ebonei Gladden ultimately had to sell because no matter how many times she repaired the drywall the mold just kept coming back (as seen in image below).

Many of us believe Ridgecrest Association Board President Marcus Little wants the buildings to be condemned which would force everyone to be evicted, putting him (and any financial backers he may have) in a better position to take over the entire property and sell it to the highest bidder and convert it to luxury condos.

But with your help, it won’t end that way!

In the past two years, the Independent Owners and Residents of Ridgecrest raised $24,440 to pay for legal fees, to repair the boiler and to make a temporary fix to the electrical panel. We have no money left. Now, we need $10,000 to pay legal fees and another $40,000 to pay the water bill and replace a failing electrical panel.

The District of Columbia doesn’t need any more luxury condos. Ridgecrest Community members need to stay in their homes.

Any contributions will help us stay housed and are greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance. Thank you to Grassroots DC for assisting us in running this fundraiser (they receive no funds from this)!