Beltway Area Indymedia

Don't say protest doesn't work-just the threat of another resident-organized Franklin Shelter protest was enough to get the DC government to begin installing air conditioning in the building over the weekend of July 21-22.
Audio: 3 min 53 seconds, 18 sec, 1 min 25 sec

At a victory celebration outside the Wilson Building, Mayor Fenty passed by-and promised to keep the shelter open, saying "You guys are happy, or I'm not happy." He promised that Franklin Shelter would not close until and unless another DOWNTOWN building was found, and seemed in public to be OK with this meaning a new building would have to be built from the ground up.

Doing that would supposedly allow the expensive to renovate but very valuble as historic Franklin School to be leased(or sold, of course by Fenty) for more money than the cost of erecting a dedicated shelter building.

Meanwhile, only part of the New York Ave shelter has air conditioning-and this in a building where windows cannot be opened, so this one isn't over yet.