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Tell DC City Council to say NO to Verizon's giant Jumbotron Billboards

UPDATE:  The hearing on this bill scheduled for January 23 has been canceled.  No new date has been set as of yet.  However, we encourage you to add your name to the petition (at the bottom of this page) opposing giant Jumbotron billboards on the Verizon Center.  We will keep you updated when new information becomes available.
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The DC City Council will soon consider Bill 19-0517, which would allow for enormous full-motion Jumbotron billboards to be placed anywhere on the exterior of the Verizon Center.  The bill will exempt these billboards from most of the regulations that apply to all other billboards in the city. 

Movie banner hangs at Verizon Center
Imagine this banner was a full-motion Jumbotron billboard playing ads just like you see on TV.  If this bill passes it could happen!

This bill represents the worst kind of "spot zoning" in that it will only benefit two entities: the Verizon Center and the sign company that will profit from the advertising revenue. The bill shows no regard for how the billboards will affect the historic Chinatown neighborhood over which they will hover.  Nearby buildings include a mix of residential, commercial and government uses, and many are on the National Register of Historic Places.

This bill allows for LED billboards of unlimited size, including signs that could wrap around the Verizon Center and cast light 7 or 8 blocks down G Street, meaning they would be visible from the Treasury Building, which sits right next to the White House.

Proponents of the Jumbotron billboards have said they will attract more people to the area, but the reality is that Washington does not have or need a Times Square, and this will not bring any additional people or dollars to this part of the city.  In fact, the billboards may hamper the residential development that the city is actively trying to encourage in the area.  A recent study showed that billboards negatively impact the value of neighboring residences.  This, combined with a decline in tenants interested in having their bedrooms bathed in glowing LED lights, would ultimately discourage residential development and result in a loss of property taxes collected by the city.

Further, when the Center was approved in 1995, an agreement with the National Capital Planning Commission established a procedure for considering changes in signage, reflecting a serious concern about billboard proliferation from the very beginning.  Those agreements and the process they outlined must be followed.

DC's billboard policy should reflect the city’s unique status and character and properly balance our historic and contemporary elements. It needs to be addressed by all the stakeholders, not established unilaterally by the Verizon Center.

TAKE ACTION:  Tell DC City Council to reject this bill.  Add your name to the petition opposing giant Jumbotron billboards on the Verizon Center.

I oppose Bill 19-0517, which would allow enormous full-motion Jumbotron billboards to be placed anywhere on the Verizon Center.

These billboards would only benefit two entities: the Verizon Center and the sign company that will profit from the advertising revenue, while adversely impacting the neighboring residents, businesses and historic areas.

I ask the DC City Council to oppose this kind of "spot zoning," which would carve out exceptions to the city's billboard laws to benefit the Verizon Center at the expense of the neighborhood.
Optional Member Code


1-25 of 519 signatures
Number Date Name Add a comment:
519 Tue Mar 06 16:15:55 EST 2012 Suzanne Johnson Jumbotrons in Chinatown is a ploy to make more money for the owner of Verizon Center, and no value to the residents of DC -- especially those of us who travel regularly the 7th Street corridor. Washington, More....
518 Fri Feb 24 19:21:09 EST 2012 Mysti Degani
517 Mon Feb 06 07:02:28 EST 2012 Lorraine Lewis
516 Sun Feb 05 22:56:29 EST 2012 Laura Kakuk DO NOT LET DC BECOME A SELL OUT. People live here, work here, and work out here. The Verizon Center makes enough money. Leave well enough alone.
515 Thu Feb 02 08:26:18 EST 2012 David Hui Billboards have negatively affect the values of neighboring properties. The December 2011 study by urban planner Jonathan Snyder is believed to be the first study on the economic impacts of billboards More....
514 Wed Feb 01 23:00:53 EST 2012 Mallory Corlette The idea of Gallery Place turning into a Times Square is completely unappealing and unnecessary.
513 Tue Jan 31 13:21:02 EST 2012 Elaine Donohoe Why should Verizon Center have a special exemption from the law? I oppose Bill 19-0517 because it undermines the interests of residential property owners and residents of the area.
512 Tue Jan 31 13:16:00 EST 2012 Jerome Donohoe I oppose Bill 19-0517. There is no justification for granting a special favor benefiting a single entity at the expense of neighbors.
511 Mon Jan 30 22:08:34 EST 2012 Mosmi Shah No - this is unacceptable.
510 Mon Jan 30 16:13:09 EST 2012 Dhaval shah This does not benefit anyone except the ownership group of the sports team. Let them put anything they want inside the area, I do not want any more signs or billboards that create insane amount of light More....
509 Wed Jan 25 15:24:28 EST 2012 Kami Wilwol
508 Wed Jan 25 11:50:49 EST 2012 Michael Noone We live a block away. The proposal won't benefit the Verizon Center's commercial and residential neighbors. How can the exception be justified?.
507 Tue Jan 24 22:44:42 EST 2012 Jerald Chau Too much advertising will ruin the look and feel of Chinatown.
506 Tue Jan 24 15:24:54 EST 2012 martha goodman
505 Tue Jan 24 13:51:30 EST 2012 Elizabeth Merlo I work downtown near Gallery Place and am a member of VIDA gym. Their windows are one of the reasons I chose to join their gym. I already find the billboards near the AT&T store to be tacky and uncalled More....
504 Tue Jan 24 12:43:45 EST 2012 John Pearis
503 Tue Jan 24 11:48:25 EST 2012 Kristy Hawley
502 Mon Jan 23 21:31:10 EST 2012 Heather Krause
501 Mon Jan 23 14:46:52 EST 2012 Maria Ortiz One of the reasons I like this location is because of the
windows. The sun, all the light that comes in while working out. It is really a delight. You take that away and it will not be the same. More....
500 Mon Jan 23 08:07:32 EST 2012 Paul Schaper
499 Mon Jan 23 08:02:31 EST 2012 David Wheadon Enough already. Penn Quater should not become another Times Square!
498 Sun Jan 22 20:34:46 EST 2012 George Bednar As a resident of the community I am opposed to the proposed addition of these "jumbotrons." Progress is key to any community however, eye-sores and gaudy signage is not...
497 Sun Jan 22 19:59:01 EST 2012 Anne Sellin I am outraged by the crass proposal. I thought the defacing of our city by these huge billboards had been defeated several years ago by the council.
496 Sun Jan 22 10:15:32 EST 2012 David Wolff
495 Sun Jan 22 09:30:01 EST 2012 Jeshu Weerasinghe DC has a very unique vibrant night life in the China town/Verizon center area. People come here NOT to experience Times Square. As a vibrant city we have to create our own uniqueness not duplicate other More....
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