Residents Demand Answers as DC Council Debates $47 Million Housing Trust Fund Overhaul

As the DC Council edges toward a pivotal vote on restructuring the city's Housing Opportunities Commission, residents from East of the River are making their voices heard—and their frustration is palpable.

The proposed overhaul would redirect roughly $47 million in funding away from community-based development projects, according to budget documents reviewed by The Daily. For residents in neighborhoods like Congress Heights, Deanwood, and Barry Farm, the move feels like a betrayal at a moment when affordable housing remains increasingly out of reach.

"We've already been waiting years for promised renovations in Barry Farm," said one longtime Deanwood resident during a packed community forum at the Woodridge Park Community Center on U Street Northwest last week. "Now they're talking about moving money somewhere else? We need to know where our resources are actually going."

The median rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Ward 7 now exceeds $1,400 monthly—a 23 percent increase since 2020, according to recent data from the DC Department of Housing and Community Development. Homeownership rates in East of the River neighborhoods remain among the lowest in the city, hovering around 32 percent compared to the citywide average of 44 percent.

Council member Charles Allen, whose ward encompasses parts of Southeast DC, acknowledged the concerns during a June 24 hearing. "We cannot balance budgets on the backs of communities that have the fewest resources," he said, though he stopped short of committing to voting against the measure.

The push for fiscal restructuring comes as the city faces a projected $277 million budget shortfall through 2028. Deputy Mayor John Falcicchio has publicly stated that "difficult choices" lie ahead, but residents question whether those choices should disproportionately affect wards already grappling with systemic disinvestment.

Community organizations, including the DC Tenants Advocate Union and the Anacostia Watershed Society, have mobilized responses. They're planning a coordinated public comment push for the next council vote, scheduled for mid-July.

"People need to understand that this isn't abstract budget language," said one activist from the Trinidad neighborhood. "This directly affects whether families can afford to stay in their homes."

The council's executive committee will reconvene on July 8 to hear final community testimony before advancing the measure for a full chamber vote.

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