WASHINGTON, D.C. - General Karl A. Racine today announced the resolution of three cases including one in which the owners and property managers of two apartment buildings in Ward 4 will pay the District more than $2 million for public safety and housing code violations and remedy those conditions, and two other resolutions requiring owners in Wards 7 and 8 to make needed updates to the properties to make them safer for residents.

The Office of the Attorney General also brought two separate lawsuits, one against the owners of a shopping center in Ward 8 to address gun violence and drug activity around the property, and the other against the owner of a real estate company for persistent housing code violations and for failing to address lead-based paint hazards in their apartment complexes in Wards 4 and 8. These efforts aim to improve public safety and health around these sites.

“DC residents should not have to jeopardize their health and safety when they shop, work, go to school, or try to enter their home. If a property owner neglects to address persistent criminal activity or health hazards on their property, our office will step in and take action,” said AG Racine. “Today’s resolutions and lawsuits reinforce that no matter what type of property you own—a shopping center, gas station, or residential building—you must prioritize the health and safety of DC residents.”

Resolution of Repair Lawsuit
1450 Somerset Place NW & 1451 Sheridan Street NW:
The Somerset Apartments and the Sheridan Apartments are two residential buildings located next to each other in Ward 4’s Brightwood neighborhood. They contain a total of 59 rent-controlled apartments and are home to many Amharic speakers. Multiple tenants have suffered assaults, robberies, and attempted home invasions as a result of unsafe conditions at the properties. OAG filed suit against 16th St. Elijah, LLC, the owners and managers of the Somerset and Sheridan Apartments, for failing to maintain the properties in safe and habitable conditions, leading to serious threats to the safety of tenants. The owners and managers previously agreed to make security improvements. In addition to maintaining these security improvements, as part of the settlement, the owners and managers of 1450 Somerset Place NW & 1451 Sheridan Street NW will be required to:

• Pay more than $2,000,000 to the District: A portion of that amount will be devoted to tenant restitution.
   
• Undergo inspections: The owners will be required to undergo inspections by the District of Columbia’s Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (“DCRA”). Any housing code violation identified by that inspection must be mitigated by the owners. An exterminator will inspect all units and common areas for entry points for rodents and pests and will install covers over each identified point of entry.
   
• Maintain security measures: Because of the lawsuit, the owners were required to hire an armed security guard that will be on duty seven days a week, ensure that all exterior doors are tamper-proof, maintain bars on the windows of all basement and ground floor units, maintain adequate light fixtures around the building and the entrance doorways, and maintain security cameras. The settlement ensures that these measures will remain in place for the next three years.

A copy of the complaint is available here.

A copy of the settlement is available here.

Resolutions of Public Safety Lawsuits 
422 Chesapeake Street SE:  
The property is a 13-unit apartment building that sits steps away from Hendley Elementary School in Ward 8’s Washington Highlands neighborhood. OAG filed suit against the building’s owners and managers, 422 Chesapeake Street SE, LLC, alleging that the building was plagued by persistent violence linked to drug activity that has endangered residents, community members, and students at the elementary school across the street. As part of the settlement, the owners of 422 Chesapeake Street SE will be required to:

• Pay $5,000 in civil penalties to the District.
   
• Implement a comprehensive security plan: The owners must implement a comprehensive plan to improve physical security and keep area residents safe. These efforts include maintaining adequate exterior lighting fixtures around each building and the entrance doorways; maintaining exterior and interior security cameras; providing proof of “No Trespassing” and “No Loitering” signs; providing janitorial services that ensure the property’s interior and exterior common areas are maintained free from the appearance of blight; maintaining secured doorways to all entrances of the building; and, for as long as there are tenants within the property, providing and maintaining armed security coverage with roving security officers inspecting the property at random.
   
• Bar individuals engaged in criminal activity: Individuals who have engaged in criminal activity at the property that jeopardize the health, safety, or security of the community or tenants must be barred from the property.

A copy of the complaint is available here. 

A copy of the settlement is available here. 

2801 Alabama Avenue, SE:
The Property houses a BP gas station in Ward 7 and has become a site of frequent gun violence and drug-related activity. From March 8, 2021 to March 8, 2022, there were 232 calls made to Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) related to the property, and in 2021, MPD generated 35 incident reports at the property involving gun violence, illegal drug use, theft, assault, or other dangerous activity. Since October 2021, there have been three murders near the property. On February 15, 2022, OAG served the owners with a notice alerting them to alleged violations of the Nuisance Abatement Act. As part of the pre-court settlement, the owners of 2801 Alabama Ave SE will be required to:

• Implement a comprehensive security plan: The owners will be required to hire and maintain an armed special police officer who works a minimum of 30-hours per week, maintain adequate exterior lighting so that all areas are well lit during evening and nighttime hours, maintain exterior and interior security cameras, and install and maintain “No Trespassing” and “No Loitering” signs. 
   
• Bar individuals engaged in criminal activity: Individuals who have engaged in criminal activity at the property that jeopardize the health, safety, or security of the community or tenants must be barred from the property.

A copy of the settlement is available here.

New Lawsuits Against Property Owners
2209 Alabama Avenue, SE (“Alabama Plaza”):
OAG filed a new lawsuit against Alabama Plaza, LLC, the owners of a shopping center in Ward 8’s Douglass neighborhood that is home to a daycare center, a grocery store, a barbershop, a mobile phone store, and several other businesses. The shopping center is located within 1,000 feet of both the Apple Tree Institute-Douglass Knoll Campus and Garfield Elementary School—making it a drug-free zone.

OAG alleges that the shopping center has been plagued by persistent drug-related gun-violence and crime, including seven shooting incidents in 2020, two armed carjackings in 2020 and 2021, and a shooting on September 21, 2021 that wounded five people—including a 13-year-old boy—when an individual fired a loaded handgun blindly into a crowd. In 2020, MPD also arrested four individuals at the property for possession of controlled substances, including three with intent to distribute. These arrests were in addition to the 11 reported incidents in which people in various states of consciousness and cognition were urgently transported to the hospital to treat the effects of drugs likely sold to them or consumed at Alabama Plaza.

Despite an October 2020 warning from OAG and advice from OAG and MPD about necessary security improvements, the owners failed to take action. Through this lawsuit, OAG is seeking a court order to compel the owners and managers of the shopping center to implement basic security measures to address the dangerous illegal activity taking place at their property. The suit also seeks civil penalties for each day since the owners were first put on notice about these problems.

A copy of the complaint is available here.

Adolphe Edwards Building Complexes on 13th Street and Missouri NW and Alabama Avenue, SE:
OAG filed a new lawsuit against Adolphe Edwards and A.J. Edwards Realty (“sole proprietorship”), the owner of nine multi-family residential apartment buildings that are spread across two complexes. These defendants have forced tenants to live in apartments for decades with collapsing roofs, mold, chipping and peeling lead-based paint, rat and racoon infestations, and other substandard conditions. One complex, which has five buildings and 70-units, is located near the intersection of 13th Street NW and Missouri Avenue NW (“Missouri Avenue Complex”) in Ward 4. A second complex, which has four-buildings and a 53-unit complex, is located on Alabama Avenue SE near the road’s intersection with Suitland Parkway (“The Alabama Avenue Complex”) in Ward 8. All of the buildings at both complexes were built before 1978 and, therefore, are presumed to have lead-based paint.

OAG alleges that at the Missouri Avenue Complex’s (1301 Missouri Avenue NW, 1309 Missouri Avenue NW, 1315 Missouri Avenue NW, 5906 13th Street NW, and 5912 13th Street NW) illegal conditions include, in part:

• Chipping and peeling lead-based paint: Since at least 2018, District inspectors consistently identified chipping and peeling presumed and confirmed lead-based paint in multiple buildings, units, and common areas of the complex.

• Water damage and plumbing leaks: Since at least 2019, District inspectors consistently identified water damage and plumbing leaks in multiple buildings, units, and common areas of the complex.
   
• Fire and safety violations: From September 2019 to May 2021, District inspectors observed the property lacked smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, fire alarms, and fire extinguishers. It also had broken glass windows, an actively leaking pipe over electrical panels, defective electrical wires and outlets, an electrical panel with corroded and rusted wiring, no safety railing on exterior stairs, and insufficient lighting in common areas. In May 2021, inspectors observed a gas leak accompanied by no carbon monoxide and smoke detector.
   
• Unsanitary conditions in the common areas: In October 2019, District inspectors saw a heaping pile of trash, old mattresses, and used paint cans in the basement of 5906 13th Street NW. In October 2020, District inspectors smelled strong odors on multiple floors of 5906 13th Street NW, smelled strong urine odors on multiple floors in 1315 Missouri Avenue NW, and observed trash and debris on floors throughout 5912 13th Street NW.

OAG also alleges that at the Alabama Avenue Complex (2425 Alabama Avenue SE, 2327 Alabama Avenue SE, 2429 Alabama Avenue SE, and 2431 Alabama Avenue SE) illegal conditions include but are not limited to:

• Chipping and peeling lead-based paint: Since at least 2019, District inspectors consistently identified chipping and peeling presumed and confirmed lead-based paint in multiple buildings, units, and common areas of the complex.  
   
• Water damage and plumbing leaks: In May of 2019, a District inspector observed damp walls in one unit. In December of 2019, a District inspector observed a unit’s bathroom ceiling collapsing from water damage. In March, May, July, and October of 2020, and in February and May of 2021, District inspectors observed water damage in units and common areas of the complex.

• Fire and safety violations: From May 2019 to May 2021, District inspectors observed broken glass windows; inoperative door latches and unsecure and missing entry door locks; inadequate heating in multiple units; no carbon monoxide detectors, smoke detectors, or fire extinguishers; defective and faulty electrical outlets; exposed electrical wires; and electrical hazards such as an out-of-date fuse box and a faulty electrical system that caused a fire in one unit’s bathroom.

In its suit, OAG is seeking restitution, civil penalties, injunctive relief, and attorney’s fees.

A copy of the complaint is available here.

Fighting Against Nuisance Activity
OAG has authority to take action against owners and operators to remedy drug and firearm nuisance activity at a property under the District’s Drug-, Firearm-, or Prostitution-Related Nuisance Abatement Act. OAG investigates properties referred to it by MPD and community groups and works collaboratively with property owners whenever possible to solve the problem. However, when property owners fail to implement basic security measures, even after warnings, OAG files lawsuits to help ensure that residents of all income levels, including those who may have limited means to relocate, are safe in their neighborhoods.

Protecting Tenants from Toxic Lead Paint and Other Hazardous Conditions
As part of OAG’s focus on protecting tenants, the office enforces District laws, including the Tenant Receivership Act (TRA) and the Consumer Protection Procedures Act (CPPA), Lead-Hazard Prevention and Elimination Act (LHPEA), and DC Human Rights Act (DCHRA). Under the TRA, landlords can be forced to fix health and safety issues at a rental property. The LHPEA protects tenants from exposure to toxic lead paint, and the DCHRA prohibits discrimination, including housing discrimination. When landlords fail to provide safe and habitable housing or violate other laws, OAG also can take action under the CPPA, which prohibits a wide variety of deceptive and unfair business practices and protects consumers, including tenants. OAG has continued to use these laws to aggressively stand up for the rights of District tenants, resulting in significant recent victories.

Resources for Tenants 
OAG’s resources to help renters and tips on how to report problems with your landlord or your housing conditions. Access specific guidance around tenant rights now that the public health emergency has ended. If you have a complaint related to the safety and security of your rental housing, you can report that to OAG’s Social Justice Section at SocialJustice@dc.gov.

If you believe you have been a victim of discrimination, you can report it to OAG’s Civil Rights Section by calling (202) 727-3400 or e-mailing OAGCivilRights@dc.gov.