Northeast DC

DC's SoNYa District? Why Neighborhood Renamings Hit a Nerve

“Cringy.” “I think it will take root.” “We’re sort of erasing what these neighborhoods used to be called.” The name of a luxury apartment building in Northeast DC is sparking strong feelings. Here's why

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A new apartment building in Northeast D.C. offers a pet spa, its own fleet of electric scooters — and a new name for the neighborhood.

The SoNYa luxury apartment building at 40 Patterson St. NE draws its name from what its developer calls the South of New York Avenue district of the NoMa neighborhood.

The founder of Monument Realty, Michael Darby — also known for appearing on several seasons of “The Real Housewives of Potomac” — said the company named the building SoNYa to indicate its location and draw attention to a changing area.

“I think people like to have an area within an area so they can call it their own. We were very comfortable giving it that name. I think it will take root. I think it has already. We’ll continue to push it so people feel like they’re a part of a small community,” he said.

“We’re all looking to identify where we are, and who says you can’t have a subsection within a subsection within a subsection?” he continued, referencing Manhattan’s Meatpacking District.

The designation of the area as SoNYa drew criticism online this week after WTOP covered the building before its grand opening next week.

“It’s North East DC!” one critic said.

“I absolutely refuse,” another wrote.

The SoNYa name has popped up before; it was used on a Shaw neighborhood listserv in 2012 and led to coverage by PoPville, DCist and The Washington Post.

Why Do Conversations About Neighborhood Rebranding Get So Heated?

Ahmad Abu-Khalaf represents the neighborhood as its advisory neighborhood commissioner and has lived there since 2017. He said he’s never heard or seen anyone refer to the area as SoNYa. Instead, he hears references to NoMa, Swampoodle, Sursum Corda or simply Northeast.

He said he understands why attempts to rename a neighborhood spark strong feelings.

“I think folks see it as a branding attempt from folks who do not necessarily live or work in this neighborhood, and maybe it feels a little forced,” he said.

Rent prices that are too high for many longtime residents of the area add to the tensions and a feeling of exclusion. Apartments at the SoNYa were listed as of Friday starting at $1,895 per month for a studio, $2,223 for a one-bedroom and $2,935 for a two-bedroom.

Photos: SoNYa Building Developer Aims to Create South of New York Avenue District

“As a lot of these neighborhoods that were affordable for a lot of people become not so affordable, I think that’s part of the response to this. We’re sort of erasing what these neighborhoods used to be called and applying these new, catchy, trendy names,” said News4 anchor Tony Perkins, a resident of the D.C. area since childhood.

Conflicts over neighborhood names often serve as stand-ins for larger issues in a community, property lawyers Nestor M. Davidson and Dave Fagundes wrote in a 2019 Vanderbilt Law Review article.

“History, demographics, geography, architecture, and infrastructure all play roles in defining neighborhood identity, but neighborhood names often serve to focus in on and stand as a symbol for these more complex forces,” they wrote.

What’s Next for the SoNYa Name?

Abu-Khalaf, the ANC commissioner, said he wondered if only newcomers to D.C. will use the SoNYa name.

“Some folks may see it as a cringy thing,” he said.

Darby, the developer, said he hopes references to the SoNYa neighborhood will become commonplace.

“It’s like Clarendon in Arlington helps to identify a particular area within an area,” he said. “You don’t say, ‘I’m going out to the bars in Arlington.’ You say, ‘I’m going out to the bars in Clarendon or Courthouse or Ballston,’ and that’s what we want to happen here as well.”

Perkins, the News4 anchor, said he thinks many D.C. residents don’t want neighborhood names like New York’s SoHo, NoHo and Dumbo.

“We just want to be D.C.,” he said.

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