Nightmare On N Street
For 20 years, Damian Ford stood up for his Logan Circle neighbors. Now they’re the reason he wants out.
Twenty years ago, Damian Ford would hear pimps beating up prostitutes in the alley behind his N Street NW townhouse. He’d grab a baseball bat and scare them off. He was 20 or 30 pounds bigger then—an imposing guy in a neighborhood that was not defined, as it is now, by yoga studios and Whole Foods.
Ford saw himself as a protector of Logan Circle and the surrounding neighborhoods. He had insomnia, so he would walk the street at night with his dog, patrolling. He says he once caught a robber in the late ’80s trying to steal from a cabbie sleeping in his car near Thomas Circle.
He believed people appreciated him—and that they would return his favors.
In 2004, his building was converted into four condominiums. Contrary to most gentrification tales, he was not pushed out. Ford became the proud owner of the first-floor unit-which he estimates to be 1,500 to 1,600 square feet with lofty 16-foot ceilings.
In the beginning, he and the other residents had cordial relations. Then last year, they descended into a battle about a missed payment for some construction work. The fight eventually turned into a $5,000 suit filed against Ford in the Small Claims and Conciliation Branch of D.C. Superior Court.
“I’ve never been treated this way in my entire life,” says the 47-year-old Ford.
Before his building went condo, Ford was listed as a partial owner on the deed. In the mid 1990s, friends of a friend had money to buy the building. They needed him to help them get a deal, and they gave him a deal in return. When he purchased his unit, he paid under market rate-$275,000-while the other condo-owners paid in the $400,000s and $500,000s.
When the board of directors was formed, Ford opted out, he says, because he figured his neighbors had a larger stake in the building. The board now consists of every condo-owner except Ford.
The conflict about construction costs began when Ford, who did not attend meetings of his building’s board of directors, says he was blindsided by a request for roughly $2,260 between November and December 2007. At the time, he was trying to fix his furnace (he says he lived without heat the previous winter) and didn’t have the money at hand.
While David Copeland, the president of the condo board, contends Ford was invited to two meetings to discuss building repairs, Ford claims he had no opportunity for input, and no advance warning about the upcoming bills.
Ford went to the board asking for a flexible timetable, but he was rebuked.
The way Ford saw it, his fellow homeowners were not living by his neighborly code. “I said, ‘Guys, when did you decide you were going to do this? They said ‘We sent you a letter in August.’ I said ‘August?’ You guys have seen me since August.”
Ford has taken the rejection hard. When talking about the situation, he says the words “hopping mad” enough times to notice. He’s depressed and, he says, demoralized. He’s seriously considering leaving Logan Circle, where he’s lived most of his adult life. He says he’ll rent out his place first, and move back to his hometown of Mount Holly, N.J., for a year. Then he’ll see if he can stomach a return to Washington.
Regarding the lawsuit, Ford’s neighbors say they followed protocol outlined in the board’s bylaws. Second-floor resident Jennifer Trock says Ford was treated like any other tenant.
“It’s a hard time for everyone. And we understand that. We’re not insensitive to that at all,” she says. But Trock says Ford was invited to participate in meetings, and he didn’t come. Meanwhile, water leaks were damaging paint in Trock’s unit and that of third-floor resident Timothy Douglas. The board decided it needed to remedy the problems immediately-they didn’t want to wait until after the spring rains.
“The truth is these were not unreasonable fees, and we all decided this is what we needed to do,” she says.
Copeland says he empathizes with Ford, to an extent. He lives in the basement apartment, which doesn’t utilize some of the building’s common areas upstairs-yet he still has to pay for certain fixes that don’t affect him.
“I’ve had frustration, too,” he says. “But two-versus-three or three-versus-four-however it turns out-rules. And you just live with it.”
Copeland says he and his fellow board members felt they had no choice but to file the suit. The building has rules, and Ford wasn’t paying up.
“It’s just scary to think. A building a few doors down from us-apparently their condo association was mismanaged. So they had to replace the roof, and it was some [large] assessment to every person. And that was just poor planning. And it’s like, geez: I don’t want to have to come up with that. I don’t think that I can come up with that,” says Copeland.
In July, Ford showed up for a small claims hearing expecting to talk with the board’s lawyer and a judge. When he realized his three neighbors and a member of the management company had come to testify against him, he “lost it,” he says. His father had passed away that summer, and he says he was emotionally drained. He ended up ranting in the courtroom for a few minutes, and then agreed to settle with the lawyer.
Ultimately, Ford was required to pay $2,627 to the board. But his anger has not subsided. In the last year, Ford hung up a protest sign in his window that he has since taken down. It read: gentrification, right of entitlement and narcissism are alive and well at 1217 n street, n.w.
These days, he wonders aloud (repeatedly) if his neighbors are racists-if they’re acting this way because they’re all white, and he’s black. Trock says she finds it “offensive that he would even suggest that,” and contends her neighborhood and building is diverse.
In the last year, Ford has fought with two management companies hired by his building’s board. He asked them to assist him in dealing with his fellow condo-owners, but says his requests went unanswered. Chatel Real Estate, a property management outfit, dropped the building, claiming Ford threatened the company’s representative. Ford disavows having threatened anyone but confirms that’s the reason cited for Chatel dumping his building.
He also purposely vandalized the building at one point: After the board voted to paint his back door white to match the windowsills, Ford spray-painted a black streak on it. He says his dog scratches at the white door and a darker hue would have been more sensible.
Recalling these details, Ford starts to talk very fast. He knows he gets frazzled, and he apologizes constantly. He’s talked about “thrashing” his top-floor neighbor Douglas, who added a rooftop deck that Ford believes is causing water damage.
Back in the day, it used to be “hell” outside in Logan Circle, and heaven inside 1217 N Street, he says. Now he claims it’s the other way around.
Inside his sparsely decorated unit, he’s collected a few things he wants to share: a note from a former renter, a picture of his back taken for an ad that appeared in the City Paper in 1993. His arms are flexed-and they are humongous. The ad was for his services as a personal trainer, which is still his occupation. But he’s down to a few, irregular clients: When the economy sinks, people lose their high-end fitness gurus, he says.
“It used to be I walked the neighborhood, and people thought I was a cop,” Ford says. “Now I walk the neighborhood, and people think I’m selling drugs.”
Over and over again, he says he’s had enough. He’s getting out of here soon.
“I’m sorry to hear that Damian’s still going through this,” says Trock. “From our perspective, these issues have been resolved. It’s just a matter of complying with the payments that are due when they are due.”
Photo by Darrow Montgomery. This article will appear in this week’s newspaper on the street Thursday January 8.
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5:23 pm
I don’t get the point of publishing this. The guy is some combination of irresponsible and unbalanced. That’s neither unusual nor interesting. He tries to solve the problems he brought on himself as a result of refusing to attend meetings or open his mail by threatening people and vandalizing his own building. He is clearly perceived as a physical threat by his neighbors (because he threatens them) and wonders why they don’t just talk to him directly? There must be someone else CP could write articles about.
6:35 pm
Nate, you don’t know sh*t of what you’re talking about. I lived blocks from Damian in the Logan Circle neighborhood for over 20 years and Damian has always minded his business and never caused harm to anyone ! He is absolutely right about the gentrification and entitlement perspective – The yuppies & sissies in that neighborhood keep more sh*t going than what the law allows ! If it ain’t the dog park issues, it’s the beer cans on the ground or the church parking or the traffic, or the poor service at the Giant orthe lack of police protection or the shotspotter or the “Nat Turner-fication” of Leroy Thorpe or the teenagers hanging out invoking fear in the we’re-here-now-it’s-time-for-you-undesirables-to-leave whiteys who think that they have a God-given manifest destiny. They are racist and I know first-hand. They have hidden agendas and their latest antics in the neighborhood associations and ANC’s are to pit former residents against newer residents to fulfill their interest in gaining predominance in the Shaw area. It’s something all the time. Years ago, those fake assed, covetous, conniving yuppie bastards wouldn’t be caught dead in Shaw. Now they want to push everyone down and out in order to have their ways. It’s sickening & I’m sooooooooo glad I moved away from it to another part of the city – it was just sickening !!! I’ve seen Damian & I know him & I know he’s probably done his level best to get along with these people, but he should have known that they were snakes from the beginning.
8:00 pm
Wow UNC-G, that lithium isn’t helping much is it? Of course if you want to live in the ‘hood, you can always move to Oxen Hill. We’ll even chip in for the moving van.
8:51 pm
Hey, I’m a neighbor and I didn’t recognize him with a shirt on and without a cigar! :)
I’m sorry….this guy’s an idiot…for those of you that didn’t get that already.
8:55 pm
UNC-G — let me guess….moved to PG COUNTY??
10:43 pm
I have seen this guy in the neighborhood,and he is crazy!. I would hate to be his neighbor.
5:56 am
UNC-G: why should we homeowners care about beer cans and dog parks(versus drunk druggies who live in the park), out of state church goers who think they can double park on the street and block us in. Glad you moved.
I feel sorry for Mr. Ford but don’t think he has a case for racism — everyone needs to follow the rules. Check the Real Property website — he doesn’t even pay D.C. property taxes.
9:22 am
UNC-G,
So by your logic just because someone lived there a long time means they don’t have to pay their bills? A condo isn’t an apartment building, there are different responsibilities. If Mr. Ford can’t handle it, he needs to move. That’s not racist. Also it’s not a white thing to want to live decently, you asserting that it is just shows how ignorant you are and how shackled you are by your self-created ghetto mentality.
12:03 pm
Jeff: Where is OXEN Hill ? amongst the oxen. If your’re going to attempt to be a smart-ass, don’t be a dumb-ass. For the record, it’s O-X-O-N Hill.
N Street: reading comprehension is essential: if you read what I posted, you wouldn’t be so beguiled by your attempts at being facetious and refrain from asking a stupid, not-funny-at-all question
and
Michael: last i checked you don’t know me, so you can go fuck yourself, if your boyfriend will let you.
2:08 pm
In the interest of full disclosure it should have been noted that City Paper publisher, Erik Wemple, is a Logan Circle resident not above putting the newspaper at the service of his and his neighbor’s mostly parochial interests. He seems focused on exposing the fringe quacks in Logan Circle (to wit the wonderful expose of the basket case proclaiming a rat infestation on the 7th floor of the Newport West) while turning a deaf ear to more subtle textures in the fabric of our neighborhood. I will never get over, and it admittedly still colors my perception of the City Paper and the quality of its leadership, the way Wemple handled a small but resolute tragedy in our community some years back. That incident being the cold and heartless City Paper response to the killing of a young Afro-American neighbor boy’s beloved dog by a suburban commuter in Logan Circle traffic. “Get over it” is not something an 11 year old typically responds to well when coping with an emotional crisis.
Secondly, Jennifer Trock too is not simply some interested party but is in fact President of the Logan Circle Community Association. The LCCA has a long record of championing the interests of property owners but it has been my experience that Jennifer Trock is an honest and able broker.
That being said though it is equally true that the Logan Circle community has crafted an effective relationship between it’s historically activist ANC and the business and residential communities. The ANC is beholden to the voters and reflects that in an equanimous balance of property owner and tenant interests. In short, there exist appropriate mechanisms for dealing with such matters. In Logan Circle these mechanisms are further enhanced by sophisticated and well executed processes.
I have observed Mr. Ford for years strutting his stuff through this neighborhood and have found him to be, charitably, moody and mercurial. His claims of being some incarnation of a caped crusader fall mute against his utter lack of involvement in the more mundane labors of community building. In my personal long observation these labors have fallen to and been borne by a, pardon the cliché, rainbow of engaged neighbors.
In short reading this article I come away thinking of Mr. Ford as some hopelessly lost narcissist circling his glory years endlessly in his mind, barking at anything or anyone daring to intrude with realities. Doing simple math belies the fact that someone with a 125K gain on a real estate investment who chose to live without heat (or more accurately, most probably, on the residual effects of his neighbor’s heat) may enjoy the special status bestowed on the victim. This is a status imbued without regard to race.
A narcissist circling the ephemera of his glory years in a cold, wet, devalued apartment in post-racial Obama Washington might do better then Logan Circle, indeed. Without professional psychiatric help though, a person may be taking his baggage to Mount Holly with him. Should he care to come back to earth for a minute there is mental health counseling available for the asking. He might contact it though any number of venues should he choose to take responsibility for his own well being and get into the process. Call the Mayor’s hotline, or Councilmember Evan’s office, or the ANC or even the LCCA could probably affect a referral.
4:30 pm
UNC-G Grad, in all seriousness, it doesn’t seem ironic to you that Mr. Ford’s neighbors are treating him like the equal co-owner that he is, and you are accusing them of racism based on that? He refused to join the condo board because he clearly sees himself as a tenant rather than an owner. He wants to negotiate a payment plan with his co-owners like they are his landlord or his bank. I am somewhat sympathetic to his low self-esteem, but that’s his problem, not his co-owners’.
7:30 pm
I’ve seen Damian in the neighborhood for the 15 years that I’ve lived here… and he’s always been pleasant and neighborly. And while it’s clear that he has brought most of this upon himself, I do find Ms. Trock (et al)’s attitude to be sadly uncharitable.
So many people who have moved into Logan/Shaw since they built the Whole Foods are only interested in the value of their real estate.
12:21 pm
UNC-G read these white Queens on here. The worst thing I dislike is a racist white sissy. Most whites are racist regardless of their sexual orientation. Jews are white and many of them are racist. You go boy or girl!!!!
1:19 pm
With his oral fixation for big cigars and his love of showing off his body, he may very well be a closet “sissy”.
8:29 pm
I lived in the building adjacent to Damian’s for roughly a year in 2004. At first, he could not have been nicer. We typically exchanged pleasantries when I would come home from work, and he would be out sitting on his front steps smoking a cigar…things changed though. In the middle of the year, someone – presumably a homeless person – had rifled thrugh my trash, which ultimately was left behind his house/back steps. Included in the trash was a bill that had my name and cell/work numbers. He proceeds to leave a voicemail on both numbers, and, when I returned the call, he – in a very aggressive and accusatory manner – yells at me for dumping my trash behind his place. I explained that I had no part in that occurring, but, at his request, would clean it up when I got a chance (and this is a kinder/softer summary of the conversation). When I had yet to clean it up by 7 p.m. that night, he called for a second time that day – with the same bullying attitude – and told me in a not so nice way to take care of it asap.
The guy is unreasonable, likely unstable, and obsessed with appearing as the alpha male. And just so you don’t think I’m being completely subjective in my opinion, I was not alone – he had similar unpleasant run-ins with other tenants in my building. The sympathy I have for him is somewhere between jack and squat.
11:23 am
To Grace Jones: one of these days you will be in real trouble and the only person who will be able to help you will be the very type of people you hate so much. Moreover, whatever group you belong to, you dishonor your own people with your comments. The real Grace Jones herself would slap you for your idiocy.
UNC-G: I hear you, I think you have valid points to make, it is frustrating to see outsiders take over and appear so callous (I’m sorrounded by them too, they just communicate poorly and don’t understand, yet). However, that noted, let’s fix the problem and not just throw our hands up like Grace Jones and start blaming all jews, whites, and gays for a problem that really has to do with Damian himself and which he would have no matter where he lives. That problem is he is facing tough times, he needs help. Here is a website that could help start the process: http://www.mental-disorder.net/wb/pages/city-info/washington-dc-mental-health.php Another thing, if you know him so well and are truly concerned, make the effort to find him and try and talk him about this, figure out a solution. So, again, Damian is a good person, sure he’s having tough times who doesnt, but he needs help so let’s get it to him. Grace Jones, again, shame on you.
4:47 pm
I am Damian’s sister and reading these comments is very disheartening. I know my brother can be very boisterous in trying to convey what he is communicating to others when he is frustrated. He is not suffering from mental illness it could be just a lack of eloquent communication skills when trying to convey displeasure with a troublesome situation. His reaction comes from emotions and not a state of mental incompetence.
He had a tough life as a black male coming up in the 70’s. One case I’d like to point out that could make him a little leery of people in “so called” authority positions. He was a teenager in Northern Virginia when he was walking down the street. Police officers stating he fit the description of a male black who robbed someone at gunpoint detained him. After the true offender was apprehended, it was noted that the appearances of neither men matched. The offender was indeed male black; however, he was of a darker complexion, height and body composition, which was put out during the APB. My brother is and has always been so fair in his complexion; you could mistake him for any other type of race or nationality. I do not say these things to excuse his behavior for being indignant in his communicating. I say this only to shed some light on what could be part of his reasoning for not trusting those in certain positions. He is a wonderful person who would stand up quickly for the underdog. He has even put his life on the line to protect others.
Another point I’d like to bring out, he is not acting as if he is working with landlords and not acting as part owner. It is easier to deal with people out right rather than to get legalistic in some instances. He was reaching out to people he considered neighbors that he could work out an issue with. For one, that does cut down on an unneeded expense if everyone could talk to each other instead of bringing in a third party to govern how they could and should deal with the building they call home.
Before trying to pass judgment and trying to diagnose someone with any mental disorder, you should truly get to know that person. He, like I had, has a bad and explosive temper in certain instances. Unlike him, I have a deep belief in Jesus Christ as my savior. If it were not for that change in my life, one might think I had a mental disorder based on how I would immediately become boisterous and confrontational when I felt challenged or wronged in any capacity. Moreover, before anyone says anything to discolor my comments, my brother does not believe in God, so in the event someone would think to come back with he should be converted is not an option. I love my brother and though he does not have the type of faith I have, I know that my prayers and unshakeable faith in MY GOD can work all wonders. So those of you, who believe in the power of prayer, pray with me for him to be able to deal with these issues at hand and for an equitable resolution for all.
4:37 pm
I long ago moved from the area and Damien was once my personal trainer when the gym Muscle Beach was in Adams Morgan. He’s a decent guy. I think he doesn’t accept change well…and he’s got a bit of a temper.
But he’s a decent guy with a good heart.
I hope that he can find a way to work it all out.
And neighborhood spats like this is one of the reasons I moved to Montgomery County. Everyone keeps to themselves. You go into your own house…and you don’t see anybody else unless their house – or yours — is on fire…and everyone comes out to watch it burn.
3:52 pm
HisSister,
Dealing with people outright and not getting legalistic is another way of saying, “joining the condo board.” That’s where people talk about things. Refusing to talk to your neighbors at board meetings and refusing to read letters they send you is the opposite of “dealing with people out right” and “reaching out.” Add to that an explosive temper and making statements about “thrashing” his neighbors and causing not one but two management companies to drop his building’s account, and any reasonable person would be hesitant to approach him directly. So, as sympathic as I am, and I am a little bit, your characterization of your brother’s behavior is clearly not rooted in reality.
Also, based his statement that he believed his neighbors had a larger stake in the building (and apparently he had no stake whatsoever, or that is what he implied by not joining the board) I maintain that there is a least some tenant mentality at work here.
9:44 pm
i’m damian mother just a few words. first. you don’t know my son. don’t trash him. second don’t hate, be a helper as he is. third get your facts right. i don’t know all of you so i won’t judge you. ask me raised him
11:57 pm
I don’t know much about Logan Circle, just hit this after reading an article re: the Inauguration. But this upset me so much I had to comment.
Most of you commenters (and Miss Trock) come across as racist, self-righteous monsters to the casual reader. And publicly declaring someone mentally ill because he makes *you* uncomfortable. Because you’re afraid of this guy. You moved into his neighborhood! You expect someone to pay up 3k, you live in the same building, and you resort to sending letters instead of talking to the guy? Y’all should be ashamed; I’m ashamed just reading the article and the comments here. Surely you can find something better within yourselves.
11:45 am
Nate
Now you have decided to question my ability to be realist in my characterization of my own brother. So are you now trying to assume that I might have a mental diablity as my brother has been characterized with? Are you an expert in mental disorders? Having a bad temper does not mean that a person is mentally unstable. A bad temper, if utilized correctly, can be a plus if the it is handled in a positive manner. It was anger that started the Civil Rights movement. It was done properly and in good fashion. I do not dispute the fact that he needs to use his anger in a more positive fashion to get his point across. Screaming and threatening people does not solve any issue that I can agree.
10:20 am
I think everyone is talking past each other here. It seems to me that the important point is this: Damien’s neighbors saw the condo board as the appropriate and correct and open way to communicate. Damien saw it as impersonal and legalistic and closed. Now people are seeing either the condo owners as racists or Damien as insane. Probably neither is true. They just have different views of how to communicate. Unfortunately, faced with this difference, Damien tends to get angry and talk about thrashing people, which makes them disinclined to seek a resolution, preferring that he move out.
11:53 am
Damien needs to become active in his buildings Board and pay his assessments on time. It is that simple.
1:27 pm
man, it does seem like they could have worked with him a bit, and talked to him face to face.
seems cold and neighborly.
even if the guy is crazy it just seems like people could be a bit more helpful.
blaming race or gentrification is plain ignorant though.