Riggs Park

Riggs Park (Lamond Riggs)
Neighborhood of Washington, D.C.
Riggs Park within the District of Columbia
Coordinates: 38°57′14″N 76°59′39″W / 38.9539°N 76.9942°W / 38.9539; -76.9942Coordinates: 38°57′14″N 76°59′39″W / 38.9539°N 76.9942°W / 38.9539; -76.9942
Country	United States
District	Washington, D.C.
Wards	Wards 4 & 5
Government
• Councilmember	Kenyan McDuffie
ZIP code	20011
Area code(s)	202

Riggs Park, also known as "Lamond Riggs", is a residential neighborhood in Ward 4 of Northeast Washington, D.C. in the Rock Creek East area element^[1]. Riggs Park is bounded between Eastern Avenue NE to the east, WMATA/CSX railroad tracks to the west, Laurel Street NW to the north, and Riggs Road NE to South Dakota Avenue NE to Kennedy Street NE to the south. Riggs Park is adjacent to the Northeast Washington D.C. neighborhoods of North Michigan Park, Queens Chapel, and Fort Totten, as well as the Northwest Washington D.C. neighborhood of Manor Park. Riggs Park also borders the neighborhood of Takoma Park, which straddles both Montgomery County, Maryland and Northwest Washington D.C. as well as the neighborhood of Chillum in Prince Georges County, Maryland.

Riggs Park is home to Jessie La Salle Elementary School, Riggs La Salle Recreation Center, Lamond Recreation Center, Blair Road Community Garden, Legacy Memorial Park (designed to honor the 80 victims who were injured and nine victims who died in the June 22, 2009 Washington Metropolitan collision that took place between two Red Line trains as they were traveling between the Fort Totten and Takoma Metro stations), Riggs Park Baptist Church, Fort Circle Park, Riggs Plaza Apartments, Michigan Park Commons Apartments (Formerly named, "The Parkview Apartments"), The Aventine at Fort Totten Luxury Apartments (Formerly named, "Fort Totten Station Luxury Apartments", which was constructed in the middle of 2007) Riggs Road Playground, Hellbender Brewing Company, Faith Moravian Church, Bethlehem Church of God, Unitees Screenpoint and Embroidery business, DC Teachers Federal Credit Union, SELA Public Charter School, Capitol Hill Supportive Services Program, Inc., P&D Drywall Contractors, Taller De Antonio Worship Center, Mount Calvary Church of Deliverance, Washington D.C. Christian Reformed Church, A&R Accounting/ Tax Services, Washington Door and Hardware, Flat Rate Moving Estimates, Flow Box Movers, Minute Key Inc., Born Champions Boxing and Fitness, the C.H.I.L.D. Center, and Food and Friends Inc. Socioeconomic Group organization.

In 2015, a new Walmart store opened on 310 Riggs Road N.E.. Shortly after that, a Five Guys Burger Joint opened right next to it. In terms of commerce, there is very limited access to grocery stores as well as restaurants in general other than fast food restaurants. There is mainly an abundance of fast food restaurants, liquor stores, and convenience stores. The Hunan Shrimp Boat Chinese Carryout Restaurant, Riggs Dry Cleaners, and Riggs Liquor Store are pretty much the highlights of the Riggs Park neighborhood. Other fast food, convenience, and liquor stores include Rex's Subs, KFC, Taco Bell, Seven Eleven, an Exxon Mobil Gas Station/ Convenience Store, and a Shell Gas Station/ Convenience Store, the Takoma Park Liquors Liquor Store. Residents of Riggs Park have to travel to the nearest Giant Food grocery store in Chillum, MD, which is located at the intersection of Riggs Road and Eastern Avenue. That store has been in operation there since July, 1997. Previously, there used to be a Giant Food store in the Riggs Park neighborhood itself located on 300 Riggs Road N.E. in the District of Columbia, but Giant closed its store there in 1997 as it was very cramped up and did not offer the amount of space Giant needed in order to be able to expand its variety of grocery item offerings there. Its new Chillum, MD location offered much more space and lower taxes so Giant chose to move its store there as a result. Since Giant left, its building has been vacant until its space has been destroyed to make way to construct a new Walmart store and set of luxury apartments. The project was named, "Fort Totten Square". The project started in 2009 and was completed in 2016.

As for nightlife, festivals, and to do any other major activities, such as seeing movies, or eating at dine-in restaurants, residents of Riggs Park are required to either drive, or use public transportation to travel to Downtown Washington D.C., or the suburbs in Maryland. This is not at all a problem for Riggs Park residents as each of them have live within very close proximity to the Fort Totten Metro station. The station has been serving the Riggs Park and Fort Totten neighborhoods in the District of Columbia, in addition to the Chillum, MD area, ever since it opened on February 6, 1978. Initially the train station was only served by the Washington Metropolitan Red Line. The Red Line operated on what used to formerly be Washington's B&O Railtracks. When the Green Line initially started serving the Fort Totten Metro Station on December 11, 1993, it only served between the Fort Totten and Greenbelt Metro Stations. Between 1997 and 1999, the Green Line commuter shortcut switch was used to bypass the Fort Totten Metro Station and get onto the Red Line train tracks when making rush hour trips between Greenbelt and Farrugut North. The Green Line during this time would serve all stations from Greenbelt to West Hyattsville and then from Brookland-CUA to Farrugut North. This shortcut was used until the Georgia Avenue-Petworth and Columbia Heights Metro Stations were completed in September, 1999 and then discontinued. During this time period, both segments of the Green Line between Anacostia and U Street, and between Fort Totten and Greenbelt were seamlessly connected. The Green Line traveled from Greenbelt to Anacostia until January, 2001 when the extension to Branch Avenue was completed. As of that point, the Green Line seamlessly traveled between the Greenbelt and Branch Avenue Metro Stations via the Fort Totten Eventually in May, 2006, the Washington Metropolitan Yellow Line train was extended from the Mount Vernon Square Metro Station to the Fort Totten Metro Station during peak periods/ weekday rush hours. In December, 2006, however; the Yellow Line has been permanently extended to serve the Fort Totten Metro Station even during non-rush hours and weekends as well. Since the Yellow Line began serving Fort Totten Metro Station, it used the Green Line commuter shortcut switch to turn back to Huntington after reaching Fort Totten. During June 2012 as part of Metro's Rush Plus Initiative, the Yellow line has been extended past the Fort Totten Metro Station all the way up to the Greenbelt Metro Station which was previously only served by the Green Line, during rush hours and peak period times. The other main method of transportation residents of the Riggs Park neighborhood have access to is Metrobus service at major intersections such as Galloway Street NE, South Dakota Avenue NE, Sargent Road NE, Riggs Road NE, North Capitol Street NW, New Hampshire Avenue NE, Kansas Avenue NE, and Blair Road NW.

History

In the 1950s, residents successfully fought a proposal to build an interstate highway through the neighborhood.^[2]

Most of Riggs Park's residents were Caucasian/ Jewish until the 1960s. Riggs Park's combination of affordable housing and convenience/ proximity to Downtown Washington D.C. and many other places around Washington D.C., attracted many middle class African-American residents to move in.^[3] As African-Americans began to move in, many of the Caucasian/ Jewish residents moved out/ settling in the suburbs of Washington D.C. Although a majority of Riggs Park's population continues to be a majority African-American population, there has been a steady increase in the Hispanic/ Latino population in Riggs Park between the 1990s to 2010. Even between 2010 and today, the Hispanic/ Latino population continues to be drawn towards Riggs Park's combination of having affordable housing and being located conveniently to Downtown Washington D.C. as well as other areas around Washington D.C. as well.

The Lamond-Riggs Citizens Association (LRCA) was established in 1948 in the neighborhood. The LRCA is an active civic association of residents of the Lamond-Riggs neighborhood that exists to share information affecting the Lamond-Riggs neighborhood, promote a sense of community, preserve and enhance the assets of the neighborhood and provide leadership and advocacy about neighborhood interests.^[4]

In 2001, Chevron told residents of Riggs Park that gasoline had spilled just across the Maryland state line 12 years prior and that the fuel had seeped under 169 residents' houses, an elementary school, and a church.^[5] Residents filed a lawsuit in United States District Court.^[5] Chevron said it had complied with laws by informing the state of Maryland about the leak after its discovery and that it was pumping the gas out of the ground and removing the contaminated dirt.^[5] In 2007, the Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to clean up leaked gasoline, to be paid for by Chevron.^[6] In 2009, the District of Columbia released environmental test results, and perchloroethylene and methyl tert-butyl ether were detected in shallow groundwater samples.^[7] Gasoline was detected in soil samples.^[7] Chevron settled a lawsuit with the District of Columbia Department of the Environment in 2011.^[8] Chevron agreed to pay for the installation of Vapor Mitigation Systems into 43 homes in Riggs Park.^[8]

References