Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park photo by PoPville
Thanks to Mitchell for passing on the Change.org petition:
“The National Park Service plans to close the upper lawn at Malcolm X (Meridian Hill) Park from March through early September. This space is one of DC’s most important community gathering areas.
We support restoring the park—but closing the entire lawn for the entire warm season removes a vital public space.
Sign the petition (see full letter below) asking for phased restoration or partial access so the community can still use the park this spring and summer.
More information here.”
Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park photo by PoPville
From the National Park Service:
“Record of Determination for a Partial and Temporary Closure of a Portion of Certain Federal Parkland at Meridian Hill Park for Human Health and Safety
Pursuant to 36 CFR 1.5(a), Rock Creek Park, a unit of the National Park Service, is temporarily closing a portion of parkland within Meridian Hill Park (US Reservation 327) to allow the safe rehabilitation work on the cascading fountain and water features in the lower level of the park, as well as the effective restoration of the large grass panels in the upper level of the park.
Parkland in the lower level of the park, identified in the largest red polygon on the map attached to this Record of Determination, will be fully closed to all public use effective immediately and lasting through 5:00 pm September 30, 2026. The large grass panels in the upper level of the park, identified in the two rectangular red polygons on the map attached to this Record of Determination, will be fully closed to all public use beginning 7:00 am Monday March 23, 2026 and lasting through 5:00 pm September 4, 2026. The closed areas will be more specifically identified on site by fencing and signage. The closed areas will be accessible only to National Park Service employees and project contractors.
The temporary closure of this park area is necessary to protect the public from any health and safety hazards associated with this fountain rehabilitation project and to protect park resources in the restored grass panel areas. Less restrictive measures are not possible given the need to close the area to protect the public from unsafe conditions and ensure resource protection. This temporary and partial closure is not of a nature, magnitude and duration that will result in a “significant alteration in the public use pattern.” Portions of Meridian Hill Park and other nearby park areas will remain open to the public.
Accordingly, the National Park Service has determined publication as rulemaking in the Federal Register is unwarranted under 36 CFR 1.5(c). The partial and temporary park closure and public use limitation is consistent with hundreds of other temporary park closures, the legal opinion of the Office of the Solicitor, and judicial adjudications. ANSWER coalition v. Norton, No. 05-0071, (D.D.C. January 18, 2005, Mahoney v. Norton, No. 02-1715 (D.D.C. August 22, 2002), plaintiffs’ emergency motion for appeal for injunction pending appeared denied Mahoney v. Norton, No. 02-5275 (D.C.Cir. September 9, 2002) (per curiam); Picciotto v. United States, No. 99-2113 (D.D.C. August 6, 1999); Picciotto v. Lujan, No. 90-1261 (D.D.C. May 30, 1990); Picciotto v. Hodel, No. 87-3290 (D.D.C. December 7, 1987); Speigel v. Babbitt, 855 F Supp. 402 (D.D.C. 1994), affd in parr wlo op. 56F. 3d 1531(D.C.Cir. 1995), reported in full, 1995 US App. Lexis 15200 (D.C.Cir. May 31,1995).
Pursuant to 36 CFR 1.7, notice of this temporary and partial closure will be made through public outreach and by the posting of signs at conspicuous locations in the affected park area. Finally, pursuant to 36 CFR l.5(c), this determination is available to the public upon request.
Brian Joyner
Superintendent ”
Map via NPS
Current view of upper level:
Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park photo by PoPville
Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park photo by PoPville
Lower level mostly fenced off for repairs already:
Meridian Hill/Malcolm X Park photo by PoPville
Full petition letter:
“To the National Park Service and Rock Creek Park leadership,
In response to the recently updated Record of Determination for a Partial and Temporary Closure of a Portion of Certain Federal Parkland at Meridian Hill Park for Human Health and Safety [1], we are requesting that the National Park Service reconsider the planned full closure of the large grass panels in the upper level of Meridian Hill Park (historically known to the local community as Malcolm X Park or simply “MXP”) from 7:00AM March 23 through 5:00PM September 4, 2026.
As regular park patrons and stewards, we understand that restoration of park resources and rehabilitation of infrastructure are important, and we support efforts to maintain and improve the park. Indeed, many of us have personally seen to the park’s preservation for decades. However, wholesale closure of the entire upper lawn throughout the entire spring and summer will remove one of the most vital public gathering spaces in all of Northwest DC during the months it is used most.
The cited Record of Determination claims that the current restoration plan’s “..temporary and partial closure is not of a nature, magnitude and duration that will result in a “significant alteration in the public use pattern.”” Respectfully, we could not disagree more. In nature, the total restriction of access to the grass panels will significantly limit patron’s main usage of the park as a gathering space. In magnitude, the simultaneous closure of both panels will not give patrons any alternative gathering spaces during the restoration. And finally, and perhaps most importantly, the intended duration of the restoration occurs during the park’s most active season while the park’s lower area will also be closed to public use.
Throughout the warm season from March through September, MXP’s upper lawn becomes a flourishing center of community life—filled with picnics, music, reading, games, exercise, dance, and spontaneous connection among neighbors. At nearly 2-acres, it is the second-largest free open space in Northwest DC after Rock Creek Park and far more accessible; being served by eight bus routes and within walking distance to two metrorail stops. For many residents, the recreational, social, and environmental opportunities provided by this space play an essential role in daily physical and mental wellbeing.
Therefore, we, the signers of this petition, demand that Rock Creek Park Superintendent Brian Joyner, or a designee with similar decisionmaking power, meet with our coalition to discuss the following:
A phased closure plan that meets the needs of the park’s restoration while maintaining recreational access to at least one upper lawn grass panel at all times,
Adjusting the project timeline so that full closure, if necessary, does not occur during peak spring and summer use,
Hosting a community meeting where park patrons may provide public comment on the impacts of the current restoration plan and input on alternative solutions.
Malcolm X Park is more than a landscape—it is a living social space that brings people together. We believe the park can be restored in a way that protects its natural resources while also honoring the community life that makes it so special.
As tax-paying citizens, residents, patrons, families, workers, and community members who care deeply about the past, present, and future of Meridian Hill Park/Malcolm X Park, we look forward to working with the National Park Service and Rock Creek Park Superintendent. Together, we can create a temporary closure plan that balances restoration of the space’s natural resources with preservation of its social fabric.”