From a father and son to having a catch on the Oklahoma Avenue lawn, to the sound of chalk hitting the pavement a stone’s throw away, it’s hard to paint a clearer picture of the simple Sunday joys neighbors share in Kingman Park.
“This is our Kingman Park meet-up for September,” community member Alexis Pazmino told 7News’ Lianna Golden.
Just behind her, a group of boys played a game of cornhole while parents and friends engaged in casual conversation. It’s become a ritual they fear could soon change.
“It’s a wonderful area, and I’ve lived here for 37 years,” Brian Silver said. “Not planning to move anywhere else, but the stadium should come to everybody that lives here.”
And there’s the catch: these neighbors worry about the impact of the incoming in their backyard.
“The Commanders talk about this as a spiritual home for them, but this is our actual home,” Pazmino said. She is part of the RFK Future coalition, which calls for legislative changes to strengthen accountability on the development deal.
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One of those changes includes moving the 2,500-space parking garage that they feel will cast a shadow, literally, over their community.
“That’s gonna just tower over this green space,” Pazmino said.
“Building a parking garage here would be criminal,” Silver added. “I look around, and I see green space. The current plans are to have huge parking garages between homes here, and that’s just not good for the community.”
The two hope the team listens to the postcards they and fellow residents have written to them, explaining their goal to work together to expand the community benefits, like jobs, housing, parking, and sustainability, to name a few.
“We wanna work with them. We are excited about the economic development that a stadium is gonna bring. We just wanna make sure that Kingman Park and Ward 7 generally are part of the conversation,” Pazmino said.
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“I mean, there are a few football games a year, maybe a few more events, but what about the neighborhood? What about the environment?” Silver said.
He emphasizes the need for better basics as part of this deal, such as transportation and food shopping.
“We need grocery stores. We should have a metro stop,” Silver said. “Oklahoma Avenue should have a Metro stop because if football crowds are gonna be coming in, it’s gonna be a nightmare at existing stations.”
The D.C. Council is set to cast a second and final vote on the stadium deal on Wednesday, September 17. This crowd will be watching with bated breath.
“I think a lot of the council members who have been very keyed on RFK are going to introduce amendments that hopefully will pass to codify some of those benefits for the community,” Pazmino said.