Security, parking, garbage irk Ivanka Trump's DC
neighbors
Ben
Nuckols
yahoo.com |
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Residents of a posh Washington neighborhood
say Ivanka Trump and her family don't make for very good neighbors, taking up
much of the parking on an already crowded street and leaving trash bags at the
curb for days. A big part of the complaint: a huge security presence, with even
a trip to the playground requiring three vans.
Neighbors of Trump, her husband Jared Kushner and their three
children have groused that sidewalks have been closed, public parking overrun
and that the family and their staff haven't learned the trash pickup schedule
outside their $5.5-million home.
"It has been a three-ring circus from the day that they've
moved in," Marietta Robinson, who lives across the street, told with The
Associated Press.
The house in the Kalorama neighborhood was bought in December by
a company with ties to a Chilean billionaire. The company is renting it to
Kushner and Trump, who moved in just after the inauguration of her father, Donald Trump. Both work in the White House as
advisers to Trump.
Residents of the enclave of four- and five-story townhomes and
elegant single-family properties about 2 miles north of the White House are
accustomed to VIP neighbors. Former President Barack Obama and his family have
lived there since he left office, and the Secret Service closed off their
entire block to traffic. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos bought a home there, and
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson also moved in recently.
Yet no one has raised the ire of the community like the Trumps.
At a recent neighborhood commission meeting, Fox News anchor Chris Wallace was
among those who showed up to complain about parking problems.
Some in the neighborhood have also complained about the family's
rental arrangement. The company that owns the house didn't obtain a rental
license for two months, securing one just this week after it was warned by city
regulators.
"Maybe some of the upset has to do with politics a little.
I couldn't say for sure, but I know that people don't seem to be upset about
Tillerson's situation. It's much less intrusive," said Ellen Goldstein, an
elected neighborhood commissioner.
The Secret Service has sole responsibility under law for
protecting the family, but neighbors have noticed what they describe as an
unusually large and aggressive security presence. Ivanka Trump arrives and
departs in a four-vehicle motorcade, Robinson said.
"There are more of them than I have ever seen,"
Robinson wrote in a letter to Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser and other city
officials. "Frequently several of them are milling outside of the house at
all hours having conversations and staring meanly at anyone in view."
The letter — which also complained about parking, trash and
noise — spurred the city government into action. On Friday morning, District
transportation crews were outside the house, removing "No Parking"
signs.
The department said no permits had been sought for parking
exemptions or sidewalk closures on the street since Trump moved in. Yet
vehicles associated with the Trump-Kushner house have been seen parking in the
restricted areas for hours at a time, and barriers have been erected on the
sidewalk in front of the house, forcing pedestrians to cross the street,
next-door neighbor Rhona Wolfe Friedman said.
Even without extra restrictions, street parking for
non-residents is limited to two hours.
"The parking patrol on Tracy Place has always been
ultra-vigilant," Robinson wrote to the mayor. "Suddenly, the parking
enforcement has disappeared."
A Secret Service spokeswoman, Nicole Mainor, said agency
officials met with neighbors and city officials on Friday morning and addressed
their concerns about parking and other disruptions. She declined to answer
specific questions about the level of protection the family receives, citing
agency policy.
It's not clear whether Ivanka Trump is aware of any complaints,
saying in a statement emailed Friday afternoon by an aide: "We love the
neighborhood and our family has received an incredibly gracious welcome from
our neighbors."
Christopher Chapin, president of the neighborhood council — who
doesn't live as close as the neighbors who've complained — said all the
attention is good for Kalorama.
"We are delighted to have political figures like the
Obamas, the Kushners and the Tillersons living in our neighborhood," he
said.
___
Associated Press writer Catherine Lucey in Washington
contributed to this report.
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