BNCA Meeting Minutes
February 17, 2026
Officers present: Dawn Amore, John Leibovitz, Rene McCray, Josh Bercu, Elise Scott, Kinyofu Mlimwengu, Kathy Jacquart
DCTV Program Manager – Ms. Julia Reardin gave an overview of the mission and programs of DCTV, which is located in the historic Brooks Mansion. She said that DCTV is open to collaborating with community members.
Councilmember Parker’s Office – Adriana Lovelace, Community Liaison for CM Parker’s office made the following announcements. For more information, see the Ward 5 Weekly.
- Ward 5 residents dealing with missed trash and recycling can share their 311 service requests with Parker’s office so they can escalate them.
- Ward 5 budget forum will be held on Feb 26, 5:30pm at Dock 5 in Union Market
- Rally for DC Families will be held on Feb 18 at the Wilson Bldg
- Ward 5 award nominations open until March 2. The nomination form can be found on CM Parker’s website. The awards ceremony will be held on April 1.
- Performance oversight season is happening now. DC citizens are welcome to weigh in on performance of agencies.
- The DC Council had decoupled DC’s tax code from the federal tax code. Congress voted to overturn the decoupling, which would be a disaster for the city and cause delays with tax returns. Those who have already filed will have to refile. DC will lose approximately $600m and the earned income tax credit will go away. The President has until Feb 24 to sign it into law.
MPD update – Captain Dave Augustine, 5th District patrol; Steven Miller PSA 504 provided the following update on crime in the neighborhood.
- 22% decrease over last year; 43% decrease in crime so far over last year
- MPD made two big arrests of crews that were carjacking and stealing ATMs
- Theft from autos ticking up
- Honda airbags are being stolen. MPD is distributing free vehicle locks to deter thieves.
- MPD encourages residents to participate in the Camera Connect program, which provides a rebate to households that purchase and install security cameras. MPD would have access to camera footage for investigative purposes.
- Office of Police Complaints investigates complaints against DC officers
- Complaints against federal officers should be directed to the Office of the Inspector General.
- Crime Suppression Team
- Due to MPD’s low number of officers (less than 3100), MPD partners with Federal task force that includes 28 agencies. This task force adds 1500 additional officers to conduct proactive police work in areas of the city experiencing high crime (e.g., homicide, narcotics). There are 2 shifts per day. The task force has made 7,000 arrests in the city. The task force does not include ICE, but MPD does follow an Executive Order on cooperation with immigration enforcement agencies.
BNCA 2025 Year in Review for March 2025-February 2025
BNCA Officer Elections – Members voted by acclamation to elect a slate of current officers Dawn Amore, John Leibovitz, Rene McCray, Josh Bercu, Elise Scott, and Konyofu Mlimwengu, plus Verna Clayborne, who will replace Kathy Jacquart as Recording Secretary. All other officers will retain their offices.
Social media – BNCA Communications Director Elise Scott encouraged members to like Brookland Civic on Instagram and follow BNCA on Facebook.
Brookland resident Eddie Johnson shared his experience after a fire at his house in December 2025. He and his wife were safe but lost almost everything. Luckily, Mr. Johnson had recently updated their homeowners policy. Had he not, the insurance company would have reimbursed them for the value of when they purchased the house. Mr. Johnson encouraged everyone to check their policy to ensure you will be compensated based on the current value of materials.
How will you say no? – Newly elected Recording Secretary Verna Clayborne provided information about ways citizens can get involved and protest without marching that she learned on the MSNBC program with Lawrence O’Donnell on January 29.
President Amore closed the meeting at 8:10.
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