Southwest Voice Request for Public Interest and Discrimination Investigation into Hoffman and Associates
Christopher Williams
201 I St SW Apt 526
Washington, DC 20024
Desk of Christopher Williams
Editor-in-chief, Southwest Voice
June 16, 2022
Office of Attorney General
Attn: Attorney General Karl Racine
karl.racine@dc.gov
cc: kathleen.konopka@dc.gov, jimmy.rock@dc.gov, toni.jackson@dc.gov, brian.flowers@dc.gov, Emily.Gunston@dc.gov, Vikram.Swaruup@dc.gov, christina.manning1@dc.gov, DC Council
Subject: Request for Public Interest and Discrimination Investigation into Hoffman and Associates
Dear Attorney General Racine,
The Office of Attorney General (OAG) has committed to “defend and promote the public interest” (In the Public Interest: Attorney General’s Midterm Report, 2017). Yesterday, the OAG announced that four housing discrimination lawsuits resulted in a total over $360,000 in civil penalties and fines. On The Politics Hour with Kojo Nnamdi in December 2021, you said, "I think the development arm of this city has acted intentionally with great purpose, and we see the result. The highest level of displacement of anywhere else in the United States of America...We're going to work as hard as we can for the next 13 months to ensure that zoning laws and other actions actually don't hurt longtime DC residents and vulnerable people."
I am writing to remind OAG of my March 2021 email providing an analysis of Hoffman developments over a 16-year period and the racial disparate impact (Attachments – Letter, Analysis). I am requesting that 1) OAG immediately initiate an investigation into Hoffman and Associates based on OAG’s legal authority under protecting the public interest and to enforce the disparate impact rule codified under the Department of Housing and Urban Development discrimination housing practices and 2) intercede now to prevent Hoffman from further construction activity and building occupancy in Southwest to prevent further harm to Southwest residents, especially its Black population.
Sincerely,
Christopher Williams
Editor-in-chief, Southwest Voice