Stadium deal opponents are not moved by latest plans to redevelop RFK

Within an hour of D C Council Chairman Phil Mendelson s announcement of an updated deal with the Washington Commanders to redevelop the RFK Stadium site proponents of the plan rallied with Mayor Muriel Bowser complete with signs and pom-poms But not everyone s cheerleading the agreement Kris Furnish who is leading a ballot initiative Homes Not Stadiums advised WTOP that despite plans that include an agreement by the Commanders to provide million in area benefits her group remains opposed to the plan Our messaging is very clear she noted The District demands to put housing first This land demands to develop deeply affordable housing As laid out in the deal there s a plan for housing units with of those to be designated as affordable housing But Furnish noted If we really focused on affordable housing we could get thousands of more units than what the deal is proposing And that s truly what people need in the District Furnish announced the demands of the bulk vulnerable residents are often left out of the drive to develop stadiums and the hoped-for revenues sports franchises are expected to generate All across America where you re seeing stadiums being built and then whatever s developed around the stadium is just not affordable for low-income people to survive she commented She pointed to Nationals Park and the growth at the Navy Yard None of those apartments are affordable They re high-rise they re luxury apartments that people like we would never be able to afford The ballot initiative that Homes Not Stadiums is seeking to get on the ballot in D C would strip the mayor from the authority to make stadium deals involving taxpayer money or community land Furnish noted the group has a hearing with the Board of Elections on Aug and added that the group is trying to make sure the ballot initiative passes legal muster If denied We might have to consider taking this to court she explained A community hearing on the stadium deal will be held before the D C Council on July As of Friday onlookers had signed up to speak on the issue Source