WASHINGTON, DC (WUSA9) — About a dozen protestors staged a rally outside DC Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Northwest, D.C. home demolishing a tower of cardboard boxes meant to symbolize DC General.
They even threw flour in the air to make a point: Advocates believe dust from lead and asbestos could poison hundreds of kids living at the old hospital turned shelter.
One building on the property is slated to be taken down as early as Wednesday with a plan to have it removed by the fall.
“This plan is really reckless and once again the voices of the families at DC General are being silenced,” said Sequnely Gray who works with DC Jobs for Justice.
Gray is one of a dozen advocates asking folks to sign a petition to slow down the demolition.
“The mayor just adopted a baby girl what if that was her a home beside her that was being demolished and no one told her if it had asbestos or lead or what the plan on how they were going to demolish that building,” she said.
The DC Department of General Services said they are taking all precautions including hosing down the building to abate any known contaminants, but that still doesn't sit well with these protestors.
“They are already in a building that is dilapidated and infested with rodents, bed bugs and mold this act is wrong because we’re putting hardships on families that are already destitute,” said Gray. “It’s a human right, a basic necessity - families are asking to make sure that we’re safe.”
The DC Department of General Services posted their Environmental Study in order to ease concerns of residents.
