Repeated encampment closures at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library displaced at least a dozen people in the last month and closed one of the last places people regularly sleep outside downtown.
While weather and resident relocations slowed encampment closures in late May and early June, the MLK Library and the surrounding G Street NW encampments were cleared May 29, then again on June 5. People experiencing homelessness have long slept under the awning outside MLK, which protects them from the elements. According to a Deputy Mayor’s Office of Health and Human Services (DMHHS) spokesperson, both closures were scheduled due to “bulk hoarding on public space, the presence of significant biohazards, and the extensive need for rodent abatement treatment.” Five people living at the encampment were connected to items left behind, according to the DMHHS spokesperson, but Street Sense confirmed at least a dozen people were regularly sleeping under the awning.
Though the encampment was cleared by DMHHS, the library also announced last summer it would enforce rules against sleeping outside the building, partially because it did not have the staff necessary to provide services for people experiencing homelessness. Most people who sleep beside MLK do not set up tents and pack their things up each day, often leaving to spend time throughout the city. Community members protested the library’s initial announcement as well as this year’s closures.
While DMHHS tossed tents and items that remained along the sidewalk during the May 29 closure, a handful of residents moved across the street from the library near the “Homeless Jesus” statue in front of Catholic Charities and the St. Patrick’s Catholic Church next door. Jesus has slept outside Catholic Charities since 2015. Reverend Monsignor John Enzler, former CEO/president of the organization, told the Catholic News Agency in 2015 that Catholic Charities hoped the statue would be “a specific reminder that we are about the homeless, the poor, the vulnerable.”
As outreach workers and local volunteers helped residents move their bags and suitcases in front of the statue, Reverend Msgr. Salvatore A. Criscuolo, a retired pastor and chaplain to the Metropolitan Police who is in residence at St. Patrick’s, walked up to them. According to multiple people present, the reverend told a group of outreach workers, volunteers, and residents he lived in the church. He then asked if they lived in the neighborhood. This was followed by him allegedly saying that he didn’t think they would want people experiencing homelessness in front of their house, and he did not want them in front of his. Street Sense reporters then witnessed the reverend walking up to MPD officers on site and repeatedly gesturing to the bags by the statue and church.
Residents who moved from MLK to the sidewalk outside of St. Patrick’s after the closure said no one from the church offered them food, water, or invited them inside. A friend of the residents who frequently hung out outside the church told Street Sense reverends from the church called them “nuisances” on multiple occasions.
Hira, a community volunteer who helped people move their belongings, said her interaction with Criscuolo was “very disappointing for a man of God.”
Other community volunteers on site May 29, advocates from Food Not Bombs, said they frequent the MLK Library but were disappointed by the encampment closure. Instead of the city shuffling residents around and closing encampments, Adam and a volunteer who gave their name as Cheese said they thought their tax dollars would be better used providing access to social services and food. While encampment closures and cleanups are scheduled and performed by the DMHHS Encampment Team, not the library, many people at the closure voiced anger with the library.
“Martin Luther King is rolling in his grave right now because they’re running out the homeless,” one encampment resident, who declined to give their name to protect their privacy while living outside, said.
A week later, DMHHS returned to clear the space again. Over the week between clearings, many residents returned to the space in front of MLK Library or remained across the street in front of Catholic Charities’ “Homeless Jesus” statue and St. Patrick’s. St. Patrick’s staff complained to outreach workers about the presence of people experiencing homelessness outside the church, according to emails shown to Street Sense. St. Patrick’s was not involved in the scheduled engagement, according to a statement from a DMHHS spokesperson.
Criscuolo was on site again on June 5 and stood outside St. Patrick’s, making comments to outreach workers as they helped residents pack up their belongings. Street Sense witnessed the reverend ask outreach workers if this was their job. On both May 29 and June 5, Criscuolo declined to speak with Street Sense reporters. St. Patrick Catholic Church did not respond to multiple email requests for comment by the time of publication.
The encampment closures come at the same time as the library is beginning to enforce its bag policy more strictly, limiting many people experiencing homelessness from bringing their possessions to the library. The rule allows people to carry a maximum of two 36-inch bags and two handheld items when entering the library. This rule is not new to the library, a spokesperson from the MLK library at the May 29 clean-up said, referencing a sign at the entrance. But, he said, while in the past the library has been lenient on bag sizes, they’re moving towards enforcing a four-bag total rule. When asked about the clean-up specifically, the spokesperson directed all questions to DMHHS.
Many people who sleep outside the MLK Library pack up their items each morning and disperse throughout the city to places like D.C.’s Downtown Day Services Center at 1313 New York Ave. NW until nightfall. Sam, one of the residents who falls into this category, voiced frustration at the mayor’s office over the clearing and the library’s bag policy.
The enforcement of the library’s limited bag policy means Sam’s unable to go inside to buy his morning coffee without having a friend watch his things outside. The coffee at Marianne’s inside the library is significantly cheaper than the surrounding coffee shops. “We need more people who make action instead of promises,” Sam said. “Bowser can go on trips illegally, while this is what happens to us,” he continued, referencing ethical complaints filed against Mayor Muriel Bowser concerning trips to Qatar, Mar-a-Lago, and more.
The city also closed encampments across the city at Pennsylvania Avenue SE/Souza Bridge, 555 South Capitol St. SW, Georgia Avenue and Sheridan Street NW, and 2230 Adams Pl. NE. A DMHHS spokesperson cited bulk hoarding and biohazards as reasons for closure at all these locations. Many of the residents relocated to new encampment locations prior to the closures, so DMHHS staff just removed trash and left behind items during the closures. Two sites, 2417 9th St. NW and 3178 Mt. Pleasant St. NW, were set to be closed but were delayed because of rain and residents moving to new locations, according to a DMHHS spokesperson.
Upcoming encampment enclosures include: June 18 at 26th and Pennsylvania Avenues NW, June 24 at 6th and H Streets NE, June 25 at North Capitol Street and Massachusetts Avenue NE, June 26 at 2900 K St. NW, July 1 at 2160 Queens Chapel Rd. NE, and July 1 at 2521 Park Ave. NE.
Sachini Adikari and Sam Belmar contributed reporting
This article originally appeared in Street Sense’s June 18, 2025 edition.
