A frustrated homeowner says her dream home in Washington D.C. has turned into a nightmare.
Vicki Moore says her home on Franklin Street Northeast is slowly sinking, and the city isn’t doing anything to stop it.
Since the church next door put a construction project on pause last year, leftover dirt has slowly pushed onto Moore’s property. Moore is afraid the slow-moving mudslide will eventually make her lose her blue house that sits atop a hill.
“It’s sleepless nights because you’re concerned about this retaining wall, and no one is willing to help or even talk to me,” Moore told News4 through tears.
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“It’s a mess,” she said. From down the street, you can see why.
When the retaining wall collapsed in March, she says things really started shifting.
“You can’t even walk properly because you’ll fall,” Moore said, gesturing to a gaping trench on the ground.
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Moore showed News4 where a piece of concrete at her home has become detached.
“My foundation is pulling away,” she said.
And it’s not just outside. Moore says the mud is also coming into her basement.
“It’s heartbreaking, it’s heartbreaking knowing that I’ve been a Washingtonian all my life. I purchased this house in 1993. I worked hard,” she said.
Moore says she’s reached out to several city agencies, including the Department of Consumer Regulatory Affairs (DCRA), but so far nothing has been done.
News4 reached out to DCRA, and a representative for the department says they’re looking into it.
A spokesperson for Moore’s councilmember’s office says they are working with several city agencies to resolve the issue.
The church next door did not respond to requests for comment.
Now that the season is changing, Moore says time is running out and she’s worried she may lose her home.
“Wintertime coming, snow is heavy. More sinkholes, more foundation problems… I need help,” she said.
She says estimates to fix the foundation and landscape are already well over a half-million dollars, but no one will start work until problems at the lot next door are addressed.
“I need help, I need help from the city, because the city could have stopped this a long time ago,” she said.
