Green Valley leaders are once again asking for more county support in addressing issues with crime in the neighborhood.
Yordanos Woldai, first vice president and public-safety chair of the Green Valley Civic Association, called for more police and government efforts to address alleged drug dealing, gambling, noise, loitering and even shootings.
“These aren’t isolated nuisances. They are degrading our quality of life, threatening our safety and eroding community spaces,” Woldai said at a County Board meeting on Saturday.
Some residents of what during the segregation era had been an exclusively African-American enclave long have felt Green Valley is left to fend for itself.
“Children can’t walk home without witnessing this behavior. Local businesses have either closed or are closing,” Woldai said. “Many families avoid the area entirely.”
The community “deserves to have the same level of safety, dignity and investment as any other Arlington neighborhood,” Woldai said.
She requested “not more meetings but real action.”
As they have before, county officials said they are aware of concerns and are attempting to address them.
“Historically, there’s been some significant issues on public safety — we are charting a course to do things better,” Board member Julius “J.D.” Spain Sr. said.
County Manager Mark Schwartz said the Arlington County Police Department began foot patrols through the neighborhood in May and has taken other steps to address concerns.
“That doesn’t mean that the situation has gotten where we want it to be. That doesn’t mean we have solved all the issues,” Schwartz said.
Board Chair Takis Karantonis said a coordinated government response is being undertaken, but he asked for patience.
“This is not going to be a sprint. It is a long march,” Karantonis said.
Woldai’s remarks during the public-comment period may have been a case of déjà vu for several Board members.
In December 2023, after a number of shootings in the Green Valley community, she made essentially the same requests of Board members that she did on June 14.
At that 2023 meeting, Woldai received a similar response from elected officials: we are trying to address the situation.
“Our responsibility is to be able to look everyone in the face who lives in Green Valley and say, ‘We’ve done everything that we could,’ and that’s the responsibility that I don’t think that we have met to this moment,” said Christian Dorsey, then the County Board chair.
