A Message to Our Community About COVID-19
Tuesday March 17, 2020
The Mount Vernon Triangle Community Improvement District (MVT CID) extends its best wishes to our residents, business owners, employees and neighbors during this difficult time. And while our organization continues to deliver essential clean and safe, public works and place management services, we also are fully committed to not conducting operations in a way that contributes to the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and avoiding potential harm to our staff, team members and community.
With that in mind, here are some of the adjustments we’ve made to our operating posture in response to this unprecedented public health emergency:
- MVT CID Administrative Operations. We have limited in-person office interactions and all administrative team members are authorized and equipped for remote work if necessary.
- MVT CID Clean Team. In addition to enhancing our cleaning and sanitation protocols, our Clean Team operations manager attended a mandatory training session with our contract street cleaning services provider on March 6, at the very start of the coronavirus spread in the United States. The purpose of that proactive measure was to provide current and accurate information about the coronavirus and precautions that our Clean Team – all of whom have both health benefits and paid time off therefore no one must come to work sick – can take to limit exposure to both themselves and others while in service to our community. A second national training was held yesterday, March 16 to update best practices in response to this evolving public health crisis.
- MVT CID Marketing, Communications & Events. Considering the latest Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines regarding group gatherings, all MVT CID-sponsored events have been canceled or postponed through May 10, 2020. We will continue to monitor and adjust this timeline as needed. We’re also sensitive to the amount of COVID-related communication that our stakeholders are receiving and have therefore significantly limited the frequency of our messaging. Important communications highlighting neighborhood-specific news and resources will be shared as necessary so please follow us on social media @MVTCID or join our mailing list for those updates.
- MVT CID Small Businesses. Our MVT businesses need your help. Please show your support during this uncertain time for our shops, restaurants, and service providers by considering the purchase of gift cards or certificates and placing to-go orders from the restaurants that remain open. Delivery options are also available for those who choose not to leave home. Let’s do all we can to ensure that we weather this storm together. We suggest that you visit individual restaurant and service retailer websites and social media channels for the latest updates on their current operating status. A list of our Mount Vernon Triangle retailers can be found on the Restaurants and Retail Services map on our website.
MVT CID will continue to be a resource for you throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. On behalf of our retail owners and workers, we recently joined colleagues on the DC BID Council and other local leaders to advocate for some of the immediate relief measures contained in the emergency legislation passed earlier today by the DC Council. Looking ahead, we will continue to point residents, businesses and workers to resources as they become available while also planning for our community’s financial recovery, social health and civic cohesion once this current emergency subsides. We commit to doing all that we can to achieve these objectives in a substantial and significant way.
Please feel free to reach out to us directly at info@mvtcid.org for any questions or suggestions. For up-to-date local information about the coronavirus including how to protect yourself, what you should do if you believe you have symptoms, updates regarding the operating status of DC government programs and agencies, and a list of frequently asked questions, visit the DC government’s official website: https://coronavirus.dc.gov/.
Thank you and sending positive thoughts your way.
The MVT CID Team
