At The Intersection of Columbia and Biltmore
How walking one street explains D.C.'s policy failures.
The intersection of Columbia Rd. NW and Biltmore St. NW, via Google Maps, Nov. 2021. The memorial for Nina Larson is still visible.
The intersection of Columbia and Biltmore streets in Northwest D.C is likely familiar to any longtime resident of the metropolitan area, even if the street names alone don’t immediately conjure up memories. At the gateway of Adams Morgan, the two streets are dotted with swanky restaurants and bars blaring go-go, a vibrant, bustling heart of culture in a city so often criticized as sterile and uncaring.
The intersection of Columbia and Biltmore is also a mausoleum, an aching reminder of how one of the richest cities in the history of humanity has failed its residents.
On Nov. 13, 2021, a car killed Nina Larson — American University grad, aspiring opera singer, lover of animals, and waitress at Mintwood Place, one of the aforementioned hip restaurants on Columbia Street — as she traversed the crosswalk. She had just finished her shift at work. She was going home when a driver, rushing to merge onto Biltmore, struck her. She never made it. In front of Mintwood Place now lies a sign, imploring passers-by to “STOP FOR NINA LARSON.” She was 24.
On the other side of Columbia Street — Nina’s intended destination — lies another memorial, one for a man who was not going home, but instead called the street itself home. Miguel Gonzales was born and raised in Adams Morgan. When his mother died, Gonzales was saddled with debt, and evicted from his childhood home. But he still called the neighborhood home, living in a tent in nearby Adams Morgan Plaza. In early 2022, the D.C. government cleared the plaza for construction of a nearby bank. Gonzales’s tent and sleeping bag were removed in the clearance.
On March 29, 2022, Miguel Gonzales was found frozen to death on a bench on Columbia Street, both of his shelters taken away from him, never having left his home. Pictures of his face now adorn the street. He was 59.
Nina Larson and Miguel Gonzales did not have much in common, besides the city they called home. Nina Larson grew up in Connecticut; Miguel Gonzales was from the District. Larson was a young white woman; Gonzales was an older Dominican man. Yet their lives came to an end, on opposite sides of the same street, through no fault on their own.
There is no crosswalk sign on Columbia Street in front of Mintwood Place, nor is there a stop sign. Pedestrians — like Nina Larson — only have the grace of God to protect them as they cross the street. There is nothing to indicate to a car, passing through one of the city’s liveliest intersections, that there may be human beings to brake for. The D.C. government is well aware of the dangers pedestrians face on its streets. In 2015, Mayor Muriel Bowser introduced an initiative called Vision Zero, looking to bring these sort of tragedies down to, well, zero. Since 2015, pedestrian facilities have steadily increased.
Whatever inertia Mayor Bowser and the city government has exhibited in establishing safer streets has been met with the issue gaining greater salience nationwide. In 2020, U.S. roadside fatalities hit a 15-year-high.
So, too, is the issue of homelessness. D.C. has long had unhoused residents dotting its streets, unable to find housing in one of the world’s richest cities. Yet whatever social safety net exists lags in protecting society’s most downtrodden from falling through the cracks. Instead, the D.C. Council appears more invested in sweeping the problem under the rug, clearing homeless encampments across the city without ensuring these people had the adequate place to stay.
The District of Columbia is not just the backyard of our politicians. It is a place where people are born and raised, live and love, grow up and die in. Until there is a shift in policy, to caring for the concerns of everyone rather than just the privileged few — say, the city’s residents who may not be troubled by the plight of pedestrians and then unhoused — then “accidents” and “tragedies” like Nina Larson and Miguel Gonzales will keep happening. But this isn’t the cruelty of fate; it is an active choice of neglect.
Arya, Excellent article. Loved it. keep up the great work.👏👏👍👍
So happy to see you back. Great article👏👏👏❤️❤️