Riggs Park

Riggs Park
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.
Ward Ward 4
Government
 • Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie
ZIP code 20011
Area code(s) 202

Riggs Park is a residential neighborhood in Northeast Washington, D.C. It is bounded by Riggs Road NE to the south and east, Eastern Avenue to the north, and Blair Road NE, Kansas Avenue NE, and North Capitol Street to the west.

History

In the 1950s, residents successfully fought a proposal to build an interstate highway through the neighborhood.[1]

Most of Riggs Park's residents were white and Jewish until the 1960s, when nearly all residents were black.[2]

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.[3] Residents filed a lawsuit in United States District Court.[3] 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.[3] In 2007, the Environmental Protection Agency announced plans to clean up leaked gasoline, to be paid for by Chevron.[4] In 2009, the District of Columbia released environmental test results, and perchloroethylene and methyl tert-butyl ether were detected in shallow groundwater samples.[5] Gasoline was detected in soil samples.[5] Chevron settled a lawsuit with the District of Columbia Department of the Environment in 2011.[6] Chevron agreed to pay for the installation of Vapor Mitigation Systems into 43 homes in Riggs Park.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Bruske, Ed. "D.C.'s Riggs Park: Scrappy, Down-Home Neighborhood: Residents Love Riggs Park But Must Fight for Services". The Washington Post. December 10, 1988. p. E1.
  2. ↑ Taylor, Ronald. "Riggs Park: Largely Untouched by War: Area Little Touched by War". Washington Post. August 19, 1973. p. B1.
  3. 1 2 3 Nakamura, David. "NE Residents Sue Over Gas Leak; Neighbors Weren't Warned of 1989 Spill That They Say Caused Illnesses, Death". The Washington Post. December 10, 2002. p. B3.
  4. ↑ Fahrenthold, David A. "Md. Gasoline That Leaked Into D.C. Set For Cleanup". The Washington Post. August 31, 2007. p. B2.
  5. 1 2 "Riggs Park: Indoor Air, Sub-Slab Vapor, Soil and Groundwater Sampling and Analysis Report". S.S. Papadopulos & Associates, Inc. via District of Columbia Department of the Environment. February 2009.
  6. 1 2 "Riggs Park - Chevron Gasoline Spill - Highlights". District of Columbia Department of the Environment. December 8, 2011.
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