CI VIEW: DC's new Vandals Jerry Waldman and Lindsay Reishman set to destroy Black feminist mural #Brookland

BROOKLAND, Washington DC (BBN)  (Update on June 15 2019 to add comments by Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson and National Urban League President Marco Morial)-- West Palm Beach developer Jerry Waldman and District Quarters owner Lindsay Reishman are preparing to forever obliterate and block from view an iconic Black feminist A Survivor’s Journey mural in the Brookland neighborhood in northeast Washington DC with a three floor luxury condo pop-up for transplant suburbanites.

[West Palm Beach developer Jerry Waldman and District Quarters Evan Muchai filmed by Capitol Intelligence/BBN using CI Glass outlining plan to destroy iconic Black feminist Survivor's Journey mural by Joel Bergner aka Joel Artista of Artolution at 3740 12th Street NE in Brookland, DC during Brookland Neighborhood Civic Association (BNCA) at DCTV headquarters in Washington DC. DC. June 19, 2018]

A Survivor’s Journey, created by internationally renowned street artist Joel Bergner aka Joel Artista, was commissioned in 2010 by the Washington, DC government and the District Alliance for Safe Housing (DASH) in 2010. The purpose of the piece is to highlight the plight of abused women -- an especially timely topic with today’s #MeToo debate triggered by Hollywood magnate, Harvey Weinstein.

Waldman is also the subject of a MPD police complaint for damaging "A Survivor's Journey" mural while laying the foundation for new pop-up.

The modern day Vandals of Washington -- Waldman and Reishman – are entirely ignorant of how Washington DC is at the center of a Black Art renaissance led by the likes of The Carlyle Group co-Founder and Co-Chairman David Rubenstein; Venture House and Sirius XM (NASDAQ: Siri) co-founder Mark Ein; Mera and Donald Rubell of the Rubell Family Collection of Miami; and son of a NYC art dealer, US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

[Venture House Group CEO Mark D. Ein speaks to Capitol Intelligence/BBN using CI Glass on making DC competitive against NYC at Urban Institute forum on DC tax reform]

Rubenstein -- as a philanthropist and Chairman of Duke University's Board of Trustees -- launched south Chicago native Nina Chanel Abney in becoming the world’s foremost female contemporary artist following her first solo exhibition at the Nasher Museum of Art and becoming the first artist in residence at the USD 50m Rubenstein Arts Center at Duke University.

While one of the early investors in Sirius XM, Ein is more widely known as the financial backer of tennis greats Serena and Venus Williams through his Kastle Systems IT group.

Bergner is the key artist behind Artolution, a global community based public art organization that has painted murals in Jordan to highlight the ongoing refugee crisis that has led to the deaths of 400,000 people in Syria, which was once cultural center of the Middle East.

[Nina Chanel Abney speaks with Capitol Intelligence/BBN using CI Glass at first museum exhibition Royal Flush at Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University with collector Harris Mehos in Durham, North Carolina. February 15, 2017]

Another artist launched to global fame by arts patrons with strong Washington, DC links is Los Angeles native Mark Bradford. Originally winning the patronship of Mera and Donald Rubell, Mark Bradford has become America’s foremost contemporary artist after representing the United States at the US Pavilion at the Venice Biennale and his current exhibition “Pickett’s Charge” at the Smithsonian Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, DC.

Bradford is set to make Baltimore, Maryland the center of the art world with his upcoming Tomorrow is Another Day exhibition curated and organized by Baltimore Museum of Art's Katy Siegel and director Chris Bedford.

The exhibition -- which is scheduled for fall 2018 -- is a perfect instrument for Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh and major Baltimore-based private sector companies such as Legg Mason, Netherlands' Aegon unit TransAmerica and Under Armour to promote Rubenstein’s hometown as the global headquarters of a Fortune 100 company after Amazon, Inc's Jeff Bezos nonchalantly dismissed the city for his Amazon second headquarters.

[Los Angeles artist Mark Bradford speaks to Capitol Intelligence/BBN using CI Glass at VIP opening of Art Basel Miami in Miami Beach on December 6, 2017]

Jamea Richmond-Edwards, Detroit native and now Washington DC resident, is also well on her way in joining Abney and Bradford at the top of the global artworld.

Richmond-Edwards, represented by Leonardo DiCaprio's Chelsea, NYC gallerist Marc Wehby of Wehby/Kravits, recently sold all her paintings, except one, to the Rubell family collection.

The actor DiCaprio is one of the foremost collectors of Black American art, including works by Mark Bradford.

A Washington DC collector of Mark Bradford, Nina Chanel Abney and Richmond-Edwards said Black American contemporary has not only broke the “glass ceiling” in the United States but took Art Basel in Basel, Switzerland by storm.

The collector, who asked not to be named due to a sensitive position in the United States government, said that Washington, DC is now the undisputed capital of a new Black economic prosperity. He also noted that Howard University alumni and international hip-hop artist Sean "P. Diddy" Combs’ purchase of a painting by Kerry James Marshall at Sotheby’s for USD 21.1m puts “the African-American art market at whole different level.”

The chocolate city, as Washington DC is affectionally know by native Washingtonians, has an inevitable role of becoming the leading financial and cultural center. Unfortunately, this is being overshadowed by the arrival of vandals such as Waldman and Reishman with the complicity of an often times corrupt and inept city council (with the notable exception of former Mayor Vince Gray.)

[Sean "Diddy" Combs interviewed by US House Financial Services Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) at Financial Services Brainchild during Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference in Washington, DC. September 22, 2017]

During a brief interview with Capitol Intelligence/BBN at Washington DC's Fourth of July Palisades Parade, Ward 7 Council Member Vincent Gray said a vast majority of native Washingtonians feel they have become disenfranchised in their own city by fastbuck developers like Jerry Waldman and Lindsay Reischman.

Gray, who is credited with turning Washington DC's large budget deficit into a surplus, seriously considered running against current Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser as an independent in the upcoming general election on November 6, 2018.

Washington DC transformed itself from America's murder capital to the world's intellectual capital. The city's transformation represents the greatest new wealth creation event in the history of the United States.

[Washington DC Mayor Muriel Bowser speaks to Capitol Intelligence/BBN using CI Glass on saving "A Survivor's Journey" landmark Black feminist mural at 3740 12th Street NE and bridging the opportunity gap during early voting at Turkey Thicket in Brookland, Northeast DC. October 26, 2018]

The city's turnaround came out of the 1995 Million Man March against black-on-black murders called by Nation of Islam's Minister Louis Farrakhan and organized by Dr. Benjamin J. Chavis, Jr. that pushed DC residents to take a united stand and end the devasting violence.

Waldman -- who is the subject of a criminal bankruptcy fraud complaint with US Trustee of the Department of Justice for the Northeast property better known as the former Brookland Inn B&B -- has repeatedly said he sees no reason for the need to preserve the iconic Survivor’s mural in the historically affluent African-American neighborhood of Brookland.

Waldman is a predatory mortgage lender who seemingly targets African-American investors with the intent to foreclose on their properties. He has targeted noted Washington, DC civil rights lawyer Donald M. Temple and the original owner of the Brookland Inn and Brookland Café, Rob Ramson.

“Waldman targets lenders he knows that cannot get a hard money loan,” a veteran DC real estate financier said.

In fact, Waldman filed a Libel and Slander lawsuit against Capitol Intelligence Group – Turning Swords into Equity ? news service Black Business News (BBN) though his long-time lawyers at Kansas City-based Stinson Leonard Street for having the audacity to inform Brookland residents of the obliteration of a Washington, DC cultural landmark.

Anti-Slapp in Waldman vs Capitol Intelligence Group

Unlike the tony neighborhood of Georgetown, developers such as Waldman and Reishman are able to sneak through highly controversial developments by bamboozling, and most probably corrupting, local neighborhood Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANC) and civic organizations such as the Brookland Neighborhood Civic Association (BNCA).

BNCA president, Vermont native, and attorney with U.S. Environment Protection Agency (EPA), Daniel P. Schramm, told Capitol Intelligence he had no idea that Waldman wants to obliterate the A Survivor’s Journey mural but said developers such as Waldman and Reishman should be allowed to do so as long as "they are within existing zoning codes."

[Brookland community activist and black feminist artist Niki Davis speaks to Capitol Intelligence/BBN using CI Glass on Jerry Waldman and Lindsay Reishman plans to obiterate iconic femiist mural Survivor's Journey by Joel Bergner (3742 12th Sreet NE) at the Ascale Cafe in Brookland, DC. July 11, 2018]

While claiming to represent the historic neighborhood of Brookland, the Brookland Neighborhood Civic Association is basically a political rump group of the city's Green Party and whose main agenda is to act as a lobbyist for solar energy businesses such as Elon Musk's Tesla Solar (formerly Solar City.)   

Following publication of this news story, EPA Inspector General Arthur A. Elkins, Jr. and EPA Ethics Officer Justina Fuchs opened an investigation into Schramm's activities at the BNCA.   [Dislcosure: The author of this article is a paid-up member of the BNCA]

In fact, the BNCA’s undeclared lobbying efforts on the part of Elon Musk directly and indirectly forced Chicago-based Exelon Corporation (NYSE: EXC) CEO Chris Crane to spend an additional USD 230m to acquire DC's local utility Pepco rather than investing that money in opening much needed STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) schools in the District, including former Taft high school in Brookland.

Brookland, unlike Georgetown, is treated like children of a lesser God by city officials notwithstanding becoming one the main economic growth engines due to investment by Chicago billionaire Pritzker family and hometown neighborhood of one of America's most successful venture capitalists, Austin-based Vista Private Equity Founder and Chairman, Robert F. Smith.

The Pritzker family made up of former Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, Illinois Governor-elect J.B. Pritzker and Hyatt Hotel Corporation Executive Chairman Thomas Pritzker developed and own the nearby USD 300m plus Monroe Street Market luxury condo and retail next to the Catholic University of America.

[Exelon President and Chief Executive Officer Christopher M. Crane speaks with Capitol Intelligence using CI Glass about Entergy, STEM schools and ENEL at the Baltimore Washington Corridor Chamber Annual Meeting at BWI Marriott, May 11, 2016]

Another piece of evidence, other than the lack of mandatory notifications of the planned property development, was the appearance of a giant billboard announcing the financing by Rockville, Maryland-based Capital Bank only hours after DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson and Ward 5 (Brookland) Council Member Kenyan McDuffie handsomely won their democratic primaries, and effective re-election, on June 19, 2018.

In fact, sources at DC's Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) said that the Waldman/Reishman proposed three-story condo only has a Foundation Permit while 3736 12th Street NE building permit has been pending approval since March, 2018.

"They (developers) do this but they are not supposed to. Report it to illegal construction," advised one DRCA compliance officer. The officer was speaking to the fact that the developers were not supposed to go ahead with the foundation for the condos without having the proper building permit.

In fact, the DCRA following a spot inspection of the 3736 12th Street NE on October 3, 2018 immediately issued a Stop Work Order against Waldman/Reishman for allowing unsafe and dangerous condition on the property.

The lack of a building permit has not stopped Waldman's partner, Lindsay Reishman, pitching luxury condos for the new development, starting at USD 700,000 for a penthouse and USD 400,000 in the basement.

However, when contacted by Capitol Intelligence, Reishman said that he has not yet started marketing the nine condos as they have not been "registered with the city."

He expects to "soon" receive a building permit from DCRA and that "one comment" is holding it up at DCRA. Reishman resubmitted his building permit to the DCRA for approval on October 8, 2018.

[District of Columbia Councilmember At-Large and DC Council Committee Chair for Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization Anita Bonds speaks with Capitol Intelligence/BBN using CI Glass on saving Brookland DC iconic "Survivors Journey" mural at campaign rally on September 23, 2018]

DC Councilmember At-Large and the Chair of the DC Council for Housing and Neighborhood Revitalization, Anita Bonds, said developers such as Jerry Waldman and Lindsay Reishman need to follow the rules and show respect for the unique and diverse cultural heritage of Washington, DC.

The anti-African American sentiment of the Waldman and Lindsay Reishman development plan will likely raise banking supervision regulatory issues from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for Capital Bank Chief Executive Officer Edward Barry and Chairman James (Jim) F. Whalen. This is all as US Congresswoman Maxine Waters is set to become the next Chairman of the US House Financial Services Committee following the Democrat victory during the midterm elections on November 6, 2018.

Capital Bank Chairman Jim Whalen did not return request for comment whether the Waldman/Reishman development violates the bank's fiduciary duty under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).

OCC spokesman Bill Grassano said the regulator does "not comment on specific CRA investments of [a] specific bank.”

[US House Financial Services Committee Chairwoman speaks to Capitol Intelligence/BBN using Glass on the April 10, 2019 testimony of JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan, Citibank CEO Michael Corbat and Morgan Stanley CEO James P. Gorman following a subcommittee hearing on Community Reinvestment Act and redlining at U.S. House Financial Services Committee on April 9, 2019]

Maxine Waters issued a press release on August 29, 2018 stating:

"This week's unilateral decision to reopen the CRA by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is of great concern given that the agency has recently taken other steps on its own – without coordinating with other regulators or seeking public input – to relax its enforcement of the CRA, including by reducing the frequency of big bank exams and easing the consequences of violating fair lending laws. I urge the OCC to collaborate with the other banking regulators, stakeholders and Congress moving forward.

This is why I believe it is time to reform the CRA regulatory framework, but the banking regulators should work together and be responsive to the input of all stakeholders, including civil rights, consumer and community development groups, as they consider potential changes."

When contacted by Capitol Intelligence/BBN, a US Federal Reserve spokesperson responded:

"Community development activities are routinely reviewed in the context of CRA examinations. While the Federal Reserve does not have a process for determining whether an investment is CRA-qualified prior to the bank’s investment, our examiners do review each investment when a bank’s CRA performance is evaluated.  

If an investment is determined to be a qualified investment, examiners consider the dollar amount of the investment, the innovativeness or complexity of the investment, and the responsiveness of the qualified investments to community development needs. Examiners consider CRA activities in light of the opportunities and needs of a community. "

[US Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) filmed by Capitol Intelligence/BBN using CI Glass criticizing Comptroller of the Currency Joseph M. Otting on Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) rule making at Senate Banking hearing in Washington, DC. October 2, 2018] 

Ranking Member Waters is passionate about fairness and access to capital for America's underserved communities and especially hostile to the lack of diversity in "all-white" bank management such as Capital Bank. In fact, Waters’ push for better CRA regulations and monitoring has won over converts such as Senate Banking Committee Member Elizabeth Warren (D-MA.)

Also looking at Capital Bank's potential abuse of Community Reinvestment Act credit will be Washington DC's elected member to Congress, US Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton.

[US Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton speaks to Capitol Intelligence/BBN using CI Glass on Community Reinvestment Act abuse by Capital Bank of Rockville, Maryland and upcoming chairmanship of the Subcommittee on Aviation, Highways and Transit of House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee after Democrats won the House on November 6, 2018.]

Speaking with Capitol Intelligence/BBN, Congresswoman Holmes Norton said she will take over the subcommittee on Aviation, Highways and Transit of the powerful US House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee when the Democrats win the House on November 6, 2018.

One of the major investors in US infrastructure is DC-based private equity giant The Carlyle Group managed by CEO Glenn Youngkin. Youngkin says the fund has earmarked some USD 25bn for investment in US airports alone.

[US Congressman Maxine Waters (D-CA) speaks to Capitol Intelligence/BBN using CI Glass on becoming the next Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee following a hearing with Federal Reserve Chairman for Supervision Randal Quarles. November 14, 2018.]

Banks with weak CRA practices have been put on notice by Congresswoman Waters during the Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference when she becomes the next Chair of the House Financial Services Committee.

While Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) and Capital Bank of Rockville, Maryland do not have a good record on concrete CRA investment impact, JP Morgan (NYSE:JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon has excelled in significant, and profitable investments in Detroit, Michigan.

Capital Bank's holding company, Capital Bancorp, Inc (NASDAQ: CBNK) listed on Nasdaq Global in an initial public offering (IPO) on September 26, 2018 led by New York City based financial advisors Sandler O'Neill and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods and Washington, DC-based legal advisors Holland & Knight and Covington & Burling LLP.

In fact, JP Morgan's efforts are so successful that the bank has approved an additional USD 500m for "up-and-coming" emerging cities such as Detroit, Chicago, DC, and Baltimore as part of its AdvancingCities Initiatives.

In fact, JP Morgan's efforts are so successful that the bank has approved an additional USD 500m for "up-and-coming" emerging cities such as Detroit, Chicago, DC, and Baltimore as part of its AdvancingCities Initiatives.

In fact, Dimon led by example when he keynoted the National Governors Association Winter Meeting at panel moderated by Maryland Governor and NGA Vice-Chairman, Larry Hogan.

In his panel, Dimon noted that JP Morgan has not only opened branches in predominantly African-American communities of Prince George's County, Maryland, DC's Ward 7 and Ward 8 (Anacostia) but is also heavily investing in small businesses and sustainable development.

[Industrial Bank CEO B. Doyle Mitchell, Jr and JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon speak to Capitol Intelligence/BBN using Glass on Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and Opportunity Zones following a US House Financial subcommitee hearing chaired by Congressman Gregory Meeks (D-NY) on CRA and redlining at U.S. House Financial Services Committee on April 9, 2019]

n an interview after testifying at a hearing on CRA abuse and redlining called by US House Financial Services Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Financial Institutions Chairman Gregory Meeks (R-NY), Washington., DC-based Industrial Bank President CEO B. Doyle Mitchell, Jr. said almost all of the financial activities of America's oldest black-owned family bank can be considered for Community Reinvestment Act credits.

The hearing titled: The Community Reinvestment Act: Assesing the Law's Impact on Discrimination and Redlining was held 24 hours ahead of Chairwoman Maxine Waters hauling in megabankers such as JP Morgan's Jamie Dimon, Goldman Sach's David Solomon, Citibank CEO Michael Corbat, Bank of America's Brian Moynihan and Morgan Stanley CEO James P. Gorman to testify in front of her committee on April 10, 2019.

Industrial Bank's Mitchell said he is more than willing to help teach any financial institution of how to make effective investment that are both CRA compliant and our welcome by minority communities.

However, Capital Bank's apparent CRA abuse now on the radar of the US Securities and Exchange Commission may be an M&A opportunity for Charleston, West Virginia-based United Bank (NASDAQ: UBSI).

West Virginia Congressman and member of the US House Financial Services Committee, David McKinley (R-WV) , said he applaudes United Bank becoming the largest banking group in the DC area and would support a takeover of Capital Bank by United Bank Chairman and CEO Richard M. Adams.

United Bank Chairman and CEO Richard M. Adams has yet to respond for comment on possible interest in Capital Bank (NASDAQ: CBNK).

United Bank has rapidly become the largest banking group in the DC area by acquiring underwhelming regional banks such as McLean, Virginia-based Cardinal Bank and DC's Georgetown Bank with a history of redlining or inattentive care to minority communities. 

[Comptroller of the Currency Joseph M. Otting speaks to Capitol Intelligence/BBN using CI Glass on Community Reinvestment Act following hearing on Implementation of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act at the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs on October 2, 2018. Washington, DC]

Waters has already issued a highly critical statement on August 29, 2018 against Comptroller of the Currency, Joseph M. Otting, regarding OCC plans to modernize the CRA.

Otting, for his part, was grilled by members of the US Senate Banking Committee hearing on the Implementation of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act on what pro-active steps the OCC is taking to ensure that OCC regulated banks such as Capital Bank of Rockville, Bank of America [NYSE: BAC] and Goldman Sachs [NYSE:GS] do a better job with the Community Reinvestment Act and underserved communities.

At the hearing, the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) Chairman J. Mark McWatters told Capitol Intelligence that credit unions are exempt from the CRA as their member institution mission is to serve underserved communities.

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) calculates that between 10% to 20% of loan volume made to low-to-moderate income borrowers, or between USD 52bn to USD 105bn have been lost in the period between 2012 to 2016, of which USD 44bn to USD USD 89bn in mortgage lending and between USD 8bn to USD 16bn in small business loans.

[National Credit Union Adminsitration Chairman J. Mark McWatters speaks to Capitol Intelligence/BBN using CI Glass on Community Reinvestment Act and serving opportunity zones following hearing on Implementation of the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act at the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs on October 2, 2018. Washington, DC]

NCRC Director of Policy, Gerron Levi, said the significant decline in mortgages and small business lending to underserved communities stressed the need for significant regulatory attention to the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA).

We believe that a loss of between 10% and 20% in loan volume for loans made in low- and moderate-income census tracts is consistent with the existing research on the impact of the CRA.* Nationally, that would mean a loss of between $52 billion and $105 billion in loans to low- and moderate-income census tracts over five years.

The non-for-profit NCRC includes community reinvestment organizations; community development corporations; local and state government agencies; faith-based institutions; community organizing and civil rights groups; minority and women-owned business associations, as well as local and social service providers from across the nation.

Abusive developments such as 3736 12th Street NE highlighted by the NCRC that both harms and displaces local residents -- is something that US Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary, Dr. Ben Carson; National Urban League President Marc Morial; and US Conference of Mayors President Steve Benjamin -- all vow to blacklist from the White House's Opportunity Zones tax credit program for investment in economically depressed areas in urban and rural America.

[Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Dr. Ben Carson and National Urban League (NUL) President Marc Morial speak to Capitol Intelligence/BBN using CI Glass on how to safeguard against abuse of President Trump's USD 4.5bn to USD 5bn Opportunity Zones tax credit program to America's Urban economy at Select USA Investment Summit in Washington, DC. June 11, 2019]

Area Neighborhood Commssioner (ANC5B) Gayle Carley said she is shocked that she was never informed or formally contacted regarding the construction of the Waldman/Reishman condo unit.

Carley also said she is also shocked that ANC Commissioner 5B05 John J. Feeley, Jr, allowed his single member ANC to approve the develoment without raising the issue with other ANC member districts for vote. 

Feeley is a school teacher at the Aidan Montessori School in northwest DC.

Landon Jones, tenant of 3742 12th Street and member of Mr. Feeley’s ANC5B05 said he was never informed of the 3736 12th Street NE development, as were numerous other residents living adjacent to the property.

Speaking to Capitol Intelligence, ANC 5B Chair Ursula Higgins said: "We did get contact form the developer, and at the time that was in September of 2017. At that time, the only thing he had requested was a curb-cut. We were not made aware of the development itself. It is a matter of right."

Carley said that such a project, as it would obscure an iconic DC landmark such as The Survivor's Journey needed to have the approval of all Ward 5 ANC councils and possibly DC City Council approval.

Higgins said it was Feeley who has been talking directly with developers Gerald Waldman and Lindsay Reishman.

She also said she was shocked at the apparent violations of both DC building code regulations under DC's Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) and US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) at the building site.

[Area Neighborhood Commissioner 5B04 Gayle Carley speaks to Capitol Intelligence/BBN using CI Glass on saving "The Survivor's Journey" black feminist mural in Washington DC Brookland neighborhood on August 1, 2018]

It is West Palm Beach’s Waldman himself who provides the best example that determined citizen protest can stop any unwanted development, especially one that will destroy a mural of great artistic and cultural importance.

Already, trustees and alumni of Catholic University of America have begun efforts to oppose and block the project, including CUA President and lawyer, John H. Garvey.

One notable CUA trustee, The Carlyle Group co-Chairman and co-Founder William E. Conway, Jr. has already been directly informed about the "A Survivor's Journey" controversy. 

Chris Smith, an African-American CUA alumni and Brookland resident, said he is already distributing petitions against the condo in the neighborhood.

Also, the civic protest against the building has reached officials in the Vatican in Rome. Pope Francis has made outreach to the Black American and Hispanic community, a priority of the American church. A Survivor's Journey provides an excellent case in point as Pope Francis celebrated mass at the nearby Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception during his September 2015 historic US visit that included an address to the Joint Session of the United States Congress.

Brookland is also the site of the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land that not only physically represents pligrim sites such as Bethelem and Nazareth but also coordinates the Franciscan order's guardianship of the Holy Land and other shrines, the Custody of the Holy Land Custos Fr. Francesco Patton told Capitol Intelligence Group.

[Brookland Inn owner Gerald "Jerry" Waldman of West Palm Beach Florida speaks to Capitol Intelligence/BBN using CI Glass ahead of Brookland neighborhood meeting with DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson at the Askale Cafe in Brookland neighborhood in Washington, DC. January 14, 2017]

As the head of his Waterview Towers condominium board in West Palm Beach, Waldman was able to block the construction of a mere seven story Marriott International [NYSE: MAR] hotel that was set to be built in front of Waldman’s 23 floor condo.

Unlike Waldman and Reishman, who are attempting to build additional units of unaffordable residential housing in the already oversaturated DC real estate markets, Blue Skye Construction founder and CEO Bryan "Scottie" Irving built the new Woodbridge public library and affordable housing apartment complexes in Anacostia in Southeast DC.

[US House Financial Services Ranking Member Maxine Waters (D-CA) filmed by Capitol Intelligence/BBN using CI Glass introducting Blue Skye Construction founder and DC native, Bryan "Scottie" Irving, at panel titled "Financial Services Braintrust" during Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference in Washington, DC. September 14, 2018]

The developer of 3736 12th Street NE, Lindsay Reishman, recently sold his real estate brokerage business to New York City's Compass Real Estate founded by former Goldman Sachs banker, Robert Reffkin. Reffkin, prior to becoming founder and CEO of Compass Real Estate, was Chief of Staff to President Trump's former economic advisor and Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) COO, Gary Cohn.

In fact, the controversy surrounding the Waldman/Rieshman pop-up development already has many New York City-based advisers to the giant Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) sovereign wealth fund highly concerned as the SWF, in partnership with Japan's SoftBank, invested some USD 400m in Reffkin's Compass, valuing the company founded by Israel's Ori Allon at USD 4.4bn.

Qatar had formerly won kudos for its CityCenter development by the Mt. Vernon Convention Center into a shopping area surpassing New York's 5th Avenue with Gucci outlets and a soon to be completed Conrad Hilton flagship  hotel.

[Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani filmed by Capitol Intelligence/CI MENA using CI Glass at Tunisia 2020 Road to Inclusion, Sustainability and Efficiency in Tunis, Tunisia. November 29, 2016]

The advisers to the QIA told Capitol Intelligence that the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, is loathed to be seen in any negative light in the United States, especially among African-Americans who represent a significant number of US service members at the US biggest military base in the Middle East at the Al Udied Air Base in Doha.

In fact, the QIA are bitterly upset with their other co-investment with Softbank, such as as the bailout of Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner's financially troubled 666 Madison Avenue building in Manhattan. Softbank's US representative and former Deputy Commerce Secretary under President Obama, Bruce Andrews, said he was unaware of the widely reported bad blood between the QIA and Softbank.

Maybe Robert Reffkin and the new Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon will heed Maxine Waters's cautionary advice and use their CRA initiatives to help make DC native sons like Bryan "Scottie" Irving into the next Brendan Bechtel.

By PK Semler in Washington, DC and Miami Beach, Florida. Edited by Ariana Woodson.

For more information please call +1-202-549-3399 or email [email protected]

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