Local Launches Petition to ‘Protect Hill East Citizens’ Safety’

A Hill East resident is turning up the heat on D.C. officials over crime in his neighborhood, with help from hundreds of backers.

Riccardo de Marchi Trevisan, who lives near 15th and A streets SE, started a petition yesterday, calling on Mayor Muriel Bowser and D.C. police Chief Cathy Lanier to improve safety in Hill East. Posted on Change.org, the “Protect Hill East Citizens’ Safety” petition has more than 220 supporters so far.

The petition says Hill East residents “don’t feel protected and safe” and “are afraid to walk down the street, commute to the Metro and take our kids to surrounding recreational parks.”

ANC 6B, which represents Hill East and some of the surrounding area, has seen an overall decrease in crime within its borders so far this year, according to D.C. crime statistics. But armed robberies, assaults with guns, burglaries and car thefts are up.

Since April, bullets have flown in Hill East on at least four occasions. Most recently on May 7, two people were shot a block from the Stadium-Armory Metro station.

Numerous suspected thieves also have been caught on video around Hill East in the past couple months. Three of those individuals allegedly attacked and robbed a man in the neighborhood last week.

Trevisan said he hasn’t been a victim of a crime in the neighborhood. But the 34-year-old software development company executive said he’s troubled by reports about Hill East crime.

“I am very concerned because, as it happened to several neighbors, it can happen to me, to my wife,” Trevisan said in an email, noting he has a 2-year-old son.

Representatives of Bowser and Lanier didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Chart via the Metropolitan Police Department