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VNSTA Sends Petition to Vivmark Seeking Restoration of Giant SUPERMARKET and Metro Access

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The Van Ness South Tenants Association today sent a letter to Vivmark Residential building manager Dan Burkes, accompanied by a petition signed by more than 100 residents of 3003 Van Ness, calling for permanent repair of the electronic fob readers that provide underground access to Giant supermarket.

The underground passage has been an important amenity of the Van Ness complex for more than 50 years, but residents of 3003 Van Ness have been deprived of this access for months. With winter approaching, restoring access is particularly important for older residents and residents with disabilities who depend on the passage to get groceries during cold or inclement weather.

The letter from tenant president Harry Gural conveys residents’ “substantial anger and frustration” over the prolonged failure to restore underground access to Giant. VNSTA requests that Vivmark Residential respond by Friday, October 23, with a timetable for completing repairs.

Read the letter to building manager Dan Burkes

Read the petition signed by more than 100 residents of 3003 Van Ness

See video of the broken fob readers on the door to Giant

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FOB readers for Giant door still not working - residents launch petition

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VNSTA tested the electronic fob readers at the underground passage to the Giant supermarket on Saturday, October 3, 2026, and found that they are still not working and do not permit residents of 3003 Van Ness to open the door from either side.

For decades, the passage provided residents with convenient underground access to Giant and the Van Ness-UDC Metro station. It is especially important for older residents, residents with disabilities, and anyone carrying groceries, particularly during cold weather, rain, and snow.

Building management has repeatedly said that the fob readers would be repaired or replaced, but residents of 3003 Van Ness still do not have reliable access through the passage. By contrast, the fob readers serving Van Ness North and Van Ness East continue to work.

VNSTA recorded two short videos during yesterday’s inspection showing the current condition of the doors and fob readers.

The continued loss of this long-standing amenity has become a major source of frustration for residents, many of whom chose to live at 3003 Van Ness in part because of easy underground access to the Metro and Giant supermarket.

VNSTA believes the prolonged loss of access represents a significant reduction in services.


Residents asked to sign petition

VNSTA has launched a petition calling on Vivmark Residential to act promptly and make whatever repairs or replacements are necessary, using durable, commercial-grade equipment, to permanently restore reliable access to Giant and the Metro through the underground passage.

Residents of 3003 Van Ness can sign the petition online.

Signing the petition does not require membership in VNSTA, but membership is encouraged. There is no cost or obligation. Any resident of 3003 Van Ness can join the tenant association online or update their membership information if they haven’t done so recently.

If reliable access is not promptly and permanently restored, residents reserve all rights to pursue any remedies available for the continuing reduction in services.

SPREAD THE WORD

Residents of 3003 Van Ness who want to help spread the news about the petition can print a copy and post it in the laundry room on their floor.

Residents who want to help collected handwritten signatures can download and print the form here.

Tenant associations meet with MPD Second District leadership

Representatives of the three most active tenant associations in northwest Washington met with MPD District Commander Christopher Dorsey, Captain Charles Barnes-Tutt, and Lieutenant Bobbette Williams, to discuss public-safety concerns affecting residents along the Connecticut Avenue corridor. Participants included members of the Van Ness South Tenants Association, the Brandywine Tenant Association, and the Sedgwick Gardens Tenants.

In recent years, all three buildings have experienced a very high volume of 911 calls for help from MPD, including for serious incidents.

The tenant representatives thanked MPD for its work addressing crime in the Van Ness neighborhood, specifically citing the recent drug arrest at 3003 Van Ness and multiple arrests in the three buildings. In the past, MPD has at times taken forceful action to combat crime at 3003 Van Ness, including in 2021 asking the DC Attorney General to consider prosecuting the building owner under the Drug-, Firearm-, or Prostitution-Related Nuisance Abatement Act.

The discussion covered several issues of particular concern to residents, including building security, drug dealing and other illegal activity, and the placement of additional MPD security cameras in the Van Ness area, including near 3003 Van Ness.

Some tenant representatives expressed frustration that management in their buildings has not taken security problems seriously. At 3003 Van Ness, for example, some security doors have been broken repeatedly for years, allowing unauthorized individuals easier access to the building.

Tenant representatives also discussed ways to improve communication and cooperation among MPD, residents, and tenant associations. We asked MPD to maintain a more visible presence at our properties, including periodically meeting with residents and walking through the buildings and grounds with tenant representatives.

Representatives also requested faster access to information about serious crimes when they occur. MPD expressed its commitment to share information, and it also pointed to its Crime Cards website as a useful resource for information and statistics about crime and arrests in the area.

The three tenant associations plan to continue working together and maintaining direct contact with MPD on issues affecting the safety of residents and the surrounding neighborhood.

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VNSTA files opposition to Equity Residential's Motion to Dismiss TOPA challenge

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On September 25, the Van Ness South Tenants Association filed its formal response to the Department of Housing and Community Development opposing Equity Residential’s effort to dismiss VNSTA’s appeal of Equity’s claim that its proposed transfer of ownership of 3003 Van Ness is not subject to the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA).

VNSTA is challenging Equity’s claim that its merger with AvalonBay did not trigger tenant rights under the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA). The merger assigned more than $111 million in value to the ownership interests associated with 3003 Van Ness, and former AvalonBay shareholders emerged as the majority shareholders of the combined company, now known as Vivmark Residential.

TOPA generally gives D.C. tenants the opportunity to purchase their building when it is sold. But TOPA can be important even when tenants do not ultimately buy their building. The process gives organized tenants a seat at the table and can provide leverage to negotiate commitments from owners or buyers—including improvements in living conditions. That leverage is particularly important at 3003 Van Ness, where residents have experienced what VNSTA describes in its filing as a serious deterioration in conditions under Equity Residential’s management.

The filing points out that this is not the first major ownership change involving 3003 Van Ness. When Charles E. Smith purchased the property in 1996, tenants exercised their TOPA rights. VNSTA investigated the proposed buyer, negotiated directly with the company, and ultimately agreed to waive its purchase rights in exchange for a detailed Memorandum of Understanding providing extensive protections and improvements for residents.

Since then, control of the company that owns 3003 Van Ness has passed from Charles E. Smith to Archstone and then to Equity Residential, while the same property-holding company remained in place. Despite those major changes, tenants have not received another TOPA offer in nearly 30 years.

VNSTA argues that the case therefore has implications well beyond 3003 Van Ness. Vivmark now lists 18 apartment communities in the District with approximately 5,500 rental units, and many other large landlords hold individual buildings through layers of subsidiaries and affiliated companies. If ownership can repeatedly change at higher levels of those corporate structures without triggering TOPA, tenants could lose an important voice when ownership of their homes changes.

At its core, the case asks a simple question: Can ownership of a major apartment building change again and again through a corporate structure while the tenants who live there never receive TOPA rights? VNSTA’s filing argues that this question should be decided on its merits rather than dismissed without a hearing.

Read VNSTA’s September 25, 2026 filing.

Also see:

August 25, 2026: Equity Residential’s Motion to Dismiss

July 27, 2026: VNSTA’s Motion for Declaratory Relief

June 10, 2026: Equity Residential’s Notice of Transfer of Ownership Interests

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Rental Housing Commission reverses key rulings in 3003 Van Ness rent case

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The D.C. Rental Housing Commission has issued a decision reversing important parts of an Office of Administrative Hearings decision in the 10-year rent-control case brought by VNSTA President Harry Gural against Equity Residential.

The case began in 2016, when Gural and other tenants were fighting efforts by Equity Residential to impose extremely large rent increases on residents, some exceeding $1,000 per month. Equity justified those increases by claiming that the residents had only temporarily received a large discount (“concession”) from the actual rent, and calculating subsequent rent increases on the basis of the “pre-concession rent,” which was far above actual market prices.

In order to help stop the practice, in August 2016 Harry Gural filed a tenant petition in the DC Office of Administrative Hearings, arguing that Equity had overcharged him by basing an annual rent increase on a fictional amount that was substantially higher than the actual rent paid.

At the same time, the Van Ness South Tenants Association blew the whistle on this practice to DC Attorney General Karl Racine, who subsequently filed suit against Equity Residential. In 2022, a Superior Court judge decided against Equity, awarding $1 million to residents of 3003 Van Ness.

OAH ruled against Gural in 2017 but he subsequently appealed to the Rental Housing Commission, which overturned the OAH decision and remanded it for further hearing. OAH subsequently decided in favor of Gural, but ruled that Equity had not deliberately overcharged him, therefore penalties would be limited to the cumulative amount of the overcharges.

Gural appealed an OAH decision for a second time in 2025, arguing that Equity’s overcharges were obviously in bad faith and therefore subject to triple penalties because they continued for several years after Equity lost several court decisions on the issue.

In its Sept. 25, 2026 decision, the Rental Housing Commission ruled that OAH improperly limited its consideration of whether Equity acted in bad faith by continuing to demand the disputed rent for years after the Commission had rejected Equity’s interpretation of D.C. rent law.

The Commission also reversed OAH’s ruling concerning Equity’s 2016 eviction lawsuit against Gural over approximately $300 in disputed rent. Because Gural had been actively advocating for other residents over rent increases, D.C. law created a presumption of retaliation. The Commission found that Equity had not presented substantial evidence that it routinely filed eviction cases over similarly small amounts.

The case now returns to OAH to determine whether Equity’s continued rent demands warrant treble damages and whether the filing of the eviction case constituted willful retaliation subject to a civil penalty.

The full decision and additional background on the case are available at FairRentDC.org, a website dedicated to explaining how DC landlords used “rent concessions” to circumvent rent stabilization laws and overcharge tenants.

Read the Rental Housing Commission Decision and Order - Sept. 25, 2026

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VNSTA asks Vivmark Residential to fix longstanding security door problems

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The Van Ness South Tenants Association has sent a new letter to Vivmark Residential asking management to address the longstanding problem of broken and insecure security doors at 3003 Van Ness.

The letter follows a September 4 inspection in which the tenant association again found several doors leading from the underground garages into the apartment buildings that could be opened without a fob.

VNSTA has reported many of these same doors repeatedly over several years. The association has now posted almost 150 YouTube videos documenting broken security doors at the property. The letter sent to Vivmark included numerous examples of earlier warnings to management dating back to 2021. 

The association noted that the continuing security problems are especially concerning in light of recent incidents at 3003 Van Ness, including a September 10 arrest in the West Building involving possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine and another arrest the following day. 

VNSTA asked Vivmark to regularly inspect all exterior security doors and doors leading from the garages into the residential buildings, repair those that are currently broken, and develop a plan to permanently correct recurring problems.

The letter also notes that although these problems predate Vivmark Residential’s assumption of management, that the current management team were already working at the property when many of the same security failures were repeatedly reported. Examples of many past emails and letters are attached to the letter sent today.

“Vivmark now has responsibility for correcting these longstanding problems and ensuring the security of the residents of 3003 Van Ness,” the letter states. 

Update — Thursday, September 17

Vivmark Residential’s Dan Burkes responded via email to the tenant association’s letter about broken security doors at 3003 Van Ness, claiming that staff and security doors inspected the doors daily. At the same time, he blamed the tenant association for not quickly reporting such problems.

The tenant association responds — Thursday, September 17

Tenant association president Harry Gural responded to Vivmark Residential’s email via another formal letter, reiterating the request to repair all broken security doors using industrial-grade hardware and for working with the DC Metropolitan Police to increase security at 3003 Van Ness.

TENANT ASSOCIATION GENERAL Meeting — Thursday, October 1 at 8:00 p.m.

The Van Ness South Tenants Association will hold a residents meeting on Thursday, October 1, from 8:00 to 9:00 p.m. in the Social Room on the first floor of the South Building.

All residents of 3003 Van Ness are welcome, whether you live in the South or West Building. There is no cost or obligation to attend.

Likely topics for discussion include:

The meeting will also provide residents an opportunity to raise questions and discuss other issues affecting life at 3003 Van Ness.

Residents who are not yet members can join the Van Ness South Tenants Association at vnsta.org/membership.

Current members who would like to help promote the meeting can download the meeting flyer and post it on the bulletin board in the laundry room on their floor.

Van Ness South Tenants Association
Geneeral Meeting
Thursday, October 1
8:00–9:00 p.m.
Social Room, 1st Floor, South Building

ADD TO GOOGLE CALENDAR

Court records provide new details about RECENT drug arrest at 3003 Van Ness

The Van Ness Tenants Association has recovered court records from DC Superior Court providing substantially more information about the September 10 police operation and felony drug arrest at 3003 Van Ness.

According to the filing in the DC Superior Court Criminal Division, members of the United States Park Police Narcotics Unit, Criminal Investigations Task Force and SWAT executed a DC Superior Court search warrant at an apartment on the seventh floor of the West Building of 3003 Van Ness at approximately 6:44 a.m. on September 10th.

The filing states that officers encountered the person later arrested inside the apartment. According to the report, a search of the apartment resulted in the seizure of suspected crack cocaine, powder cocaine and amphetamines, along with digital scales, numerous small plastic bags, capsules, measuring equipment, $285 in cash and other items. The report states that field tests were positive for cocaine or cocaine base and that suspected amphetamines also tested positive. 

The report says the person arrested was charged with possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, cocaine and amphetamines. Officers wrote that, based on the quantity of the drugs, the way they were packaged, the scales, packaging materials and other items recovered, they believed the evidence was more consistent with possession with intent to distribute than with simple possession.

The court records confirm that the substantial police presence residents observed at 3003 Van Ness was part of a planned search-warrant operation involving a tactical team, rather than simply an arrest that happened to occur at the property. 

VNSTA will continue to seek additional information about the incident and its implications for security at 3003 Van Ness.

The charges and statements in the court filing are allegations. The person arrested is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

VNSTA Asks Vivmark Residential for information about felony drug arrest at 3003 Van Ness

The Van Ness South Tenants Association has sent a letter to Vivmark Residential regarding the September 10 police operation and felony drug arrest at 3003 Van Ness.

The letter asks Vivmark for any additional information it has about the arrest, including where in the building it occurred and whether the person arrested is a resident. VNSTA also asked that senior management be made aware of the arrest and the history of similar incidents at 3003 Van Ness.

The letter again raises VNSTA’s concerns about security at the property, including broken security doors and inadequate screening of visitors at the front desk.

VNSTA has also submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to MPD seeking additional records about the police operation.

DC police make felony drug arrest at 3003 Van Ness

The DC Metropolitan Police Department this morning released information about an arrest yesterday (Sept. 10) at 3003 Van Ness.

According to MPD’s public arrest listing, the offender, age 54, was arrested at 3003 Van Ness Street NW at 7:31 a.m. on September 10. MPD listed the offense as possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, classified as a felony.

The publicly available information does not identify the controlled substance involved, the quantity allegedly possessed, or the circumstances that brought police to the property. It also does not indicate whether the man arrested is a resident of 3003 Van Ness.

The police presence appears to have been substantial. Photographs taken that morning show a tactical officer carrying a rifle on the property and a large armored vehicle nearby. One resident reported seeing many police officers on site.

VNSTA is submitting a Freedom of Information Act request to MPD seeking the incident report and additional records concerning the police operation. VNSTA also will request information from Vivmark Residential, the real estate investment trust that manages 3003 Van Ness. We will provide an update when more information becomes available.

Residents who have additional information about the incident should please share it with the tenant association by sending an email to vnsta@vnsta.org.