The News Review presents highlights from last year’s news
stories. The reviews were prepared by Deanna Dawson, Anna Bedford-Dillow, Cathie Meetre, Diane Oberg and Pat Scully.
Ric Gordon
The city was saddened by the sudden death of 41-year-old Councilmember Ric Gordon, who had been reelected just weeks before to his second term. A shocked and grieving council cancelled all significant action at its November 27, meeting, opting to devote it to memorializing their late friend and colleague. With strong ties to Franklin Park and as an advocate for LGBTQ rights and increasing diversity in city government, Gordon brought a new perspective to council. Council then embarked on a search for a new councilmember, deciding to accept applications on a very tight timeline with an application process lasting just eight days. Council will conduct interviews during the first two weeks of January with a goal of appointing the new councilmember on January 22.
Murder of Madame Sylla
On September 1, the news broke of the brutal death of Mariam Toure Sylla, a teacher at Greenbelt’s Dora Kennedy French Immersion school and Greenbelt East resident. The first intimation of the unfolding tragedy was on July 30, when police were notified that she had not returned from her walk the previous evening in Schrom Hills Park. Despite appeals and efforts by many in the community and particularly by teachers, parents and students from her school, no word of her whereabouts was received for over a month. Only on September 1 was a dismembered body (originally found August 1 in a park in Clinton) identified as being hers.
Harold Francis Landon III, 33, of University Park was arrested and charged with her murder and was formally indicted on October 6. He had been seen and photographed with his truck as he dumped the body, and his phone records placed him in Greenbelt at the time of the abduction. He had been in police custody on unrelated domestic violence charges since August 1, the date the body was found.
New City Manager
In August, Greenbelt City Council announced the appointment of a new city manager. Josué Salmerón took the post after a successful stint as city manager of a somewhat smaller city in Ohio and has subsequently moved into a GHI home in the city. He defeated several applicants (including Interim Manager Tim George) vying for the position.
Salmerón’s willingness to live in the city was fortuitous, as it made moot an earlier issue when council amended the city charter to give council the power to decide, on a case-by-case basis, whether or not a city manager would be required to live in the city. This had been a tenet of the city charter since the city’s founding.
This charter change was deplored by a group of citizens who petitioned to force a referendum on the question of whether or not the city manager must be a resident rather than having the decision rest with council. With a requirement of 20 percent of eligible voters signing the petition (over 3,000 residents – almost as many as all who voted in city elections), the attempt was unsuccessful, but over 800 residents signed, indicating their dissatisfaction with council’s pre-emptive move.
FBI HQ May Come to Greenbelt
On November 8, the General Services Administration (GSA) announced that it had selected Greenbelt over Landover, Md. and Springfield, Va., as the site for the new headquarters for the FBI, the culmination of a 14-year process. Jubilant federal, state and county representatives extolled the 7,500 new jobs and the economic boost to Prince George’s County (issue of November 16). Within a week, FBI director Christopher Wray and Virginia elected officials challenged the selection, alleging that impropriety and political considerations fouled the selection process. GSA is reviewing the selection.
New Deal Café
The New Deal Café had another bumpy ride this year when the arrangement with the Greenbelt Co-op Supermarket, which had run the food service aspect of the Café, posted a significant loss from running the operation. The Café, exercising due diligence, and with the support of the Co-op board, began a preliminary search for a new vendor in case the two boards were unable to negotiate a mutually beneficial contract.
At the moment, the Co-op is still on deck but its contract, originally ending June 2023, was first extended to October 31, 2023, and extended once more to January 31, 2024. The Co-op’s ongoing losses were almost eliminated when the New Deal picked up paying the rent (which had been paid by the Co-op), but the current arrangement so far benefited neither the Co-op nor the New Deal. (Editor’s Note: The boards of the Co-op and Café are currently in negotiations for a new contract. Again exercising due diligence, the Café board is keeping its options open for a new vendor, should that become necessary.)
In a lively open quarterly meeting in August (issue of August 31), New Deal Café President Michael Hartman hoped more sales could be generated and Treasurer Dorian Winterfeld reported reserves were being whittled away from paying the rent and there was also over $100,000 in long-term debt to consider. He appealed to supporters for help.
Juvenile Crime
In February, we reported on a “TikTok Challenge” fueling car thefts by juveniles. Begun in 2022, it exploited a security loophole in Kias and Hyundais that enabled certain models without push-button ignitions to be hotwired using just a USB cord. It drove a spike in car thefts by juveniles in 2023.
In September (the most recent monthly crime report currently available) the total year-to-date motor vehicle thefts in Greenbelt was 429, which compares to 75 for the same period in 2022. Greenbelt Police Department reported 51 arrests of juveniles from January to September 2023, up from 12 for January to September 2022.
In August, we reported that Greenbelt’s Chief of Police Richard Bowers feared police were prevented from interrogating youth and breaking up carjacking rings. “He is concerned that a nonviolent youth offender can be arrested in the morning, released to their parents and rearrested again that same evening,” reported Lois Rosado (see page 1 of the August 3, 2023 issue). Three recent Acts – the Maryland Juvenile Justice Reform Bill of 2021, the Interrogation Protection Act of 2022 and Child Safe Harbor‒Abuse-Trafficking Act of 2023 – are designed to protect juveniles from exploitation and over-policing but are cited by some as impediments to curbing juvenile crime. In October four teens died in a crash in Bowie in a vehicle that was stolen at gunpoint in Greenbelt earlier that day (see page 8 of the October 5 issue).
Wildfire Smoke Impacts Air Quality
Air quality was poor in Greenbelt on several days in June as smoke from wildfires in western Canada drifted in on the prevailing winds. A code-red air quality warning was issued on June 7, upgraded to code purple on June 8 when the smoke was particularly dense. The city advised everyone to limit outdoor activity and close windows and doors. The outdoor pool closed for a day and the Greenbelt Police Station, Community Center, Youth Center and Springhill Lake Recreation Center offered indoor space for residents who needed to escape the unhealthy air. Prince George’s County Public Schools cancelled outdoor activities and groups planning outdoor events cancelled or moved them inside. Those who work or exercise outdoors curtailed their activities, wore a mask or wished they had.
Musical Highlights
Greenbelters had expanded opportunities in 2023 to both listen to and perform music. In February, the Baroque music ensemble Relic, of which Greenbelt resident Natalie Kress is a member, played free concerts at the Community Center, Greenbelt Community Church and New Deal Café, nearly filling each venue.
These concerts inspired Greenbelter Anne Gardner to organize a local orchestra. The newly formed Greenbelt Community Orchestra started rehearsals in July with more than 50 members and played its first concert in November.
The street band Greenbelt Honk! Situation, which formed in 2022, enlivened many Greenbelt events, including the Green Man Festival, Pride Fest, Summer Camp Showcase, Labor Day Festival, Blues Festival, HUG Walk, Halloween, Krampus Festival and a winter solstice parade and gathering.
The long-established Greenbelt Concert Band always welcomes new members. The band or its wind and brass ensembles played concerts on Greenbelt Day, July 4th, for the holiday tree lighting and at the American Legion Hall, Green Ridge House and some out-of-town venues. And the New Deal Café hosted live music most nights of the year.
Green Schools, More Secure School, Maybe a New School?
In May, three Greenbelt schools – Eleanor Roosevelt High, Greenbelt Middle and Springhill Lake Elementary – were recognized by Prince George’s County Public Schools for their environmental accomplishments. Recognized also were teachers Danielle Todd-Jones of Springhill Lake and Martha Leighty of Dora Kennedy French Immersion School.
The 2023-24 school year saw the introduction of new security measures in county middle and high schools, in the wake of several guns being found on school property over the past year. Students were required to carry clear backpacks from the start of the school year. In mid-December, weapons detectors were implemented at ERHS for all students and visitors.
Under Phase Two of the County’s Public Private Partnership (P3) Blueprint Schools, used to more rapidly build new schools using private funds, a new building for Springhill Lake Elementary School is among the eight schools planned. Rancorous Board of Education meetings ensued, putting the project in jeopardy. Debate raged over language in the memorandum of understanding with labor unions. At a special meeting on September 28, the Board approved the Phase Two funding.
City Council
By year’s end there had been unprecedented turnover on council. Councilmember Colin Byrd resigned in August; council appointed former Councilmember Konrad Herling to finish out Byrd’s term. Councilmember Judith Davis declined to run for reelection after 30 years on council. The new council was majority female, represented all three areas of the city and had three Black members with Councilmember Danielle McKinney becoming the city’s first Black woman on the council. These statistics changed quickly with the death of Councilmember Ric Gordon at the very beginning of his second term on council.
The electorate will likely also look different in 2025 as a ballot question asking if noncitizens should be allowed to vote was overwhelmingly approved. This vote was nonbinding but council is expected to honor the referendum results.