3/26/26 UPDATE 
Join us for a Community Meeting with NPS on Sunday 3/29!
More than 3,600 of you spoke up, and it made a difference. Our first demand was heard: Rock Creek Park Superintendent Brian Joyner and Deputy Shayna Scott are joining for a public meeting this Sunday before the park closes next week, and it’s important we show up strong to demonstrate how much this park and its thoughtful, community-informed care means to all of us. We will meet at the 15th & Euclid park entrance at 6:30pm for a walk around the park, then head to the Josephine Butler Parks Center around 7pm to have our questions answered. Please join us, and bring your friends and neighbors. 

--- 3/20/26 UPDATE -- 
A PARTIAL VICTORY: NPS HEARD US, BUT THEY STILL AREN’T LISTENING!

Thank you to everyone who signed and shared our petition. After the massive outpouring of concern from park patrons, community members, and local officials, it seems that the National Park Service has decided to reduce the duration of Malcolm X Park / Meridian Hill Park closure. According to Washington Parks and People, NPS will now…

…close public access to the entire upper area on Monday 3/23 for “2-3 weeks” to begin lawn restoration. After this initial closure, the walkways will be re-opened while the two lawn panels remain closed until “mid-June”,

…extend the ongoing Lower Gardens closure to include the lower walkways through mid-June, and 

…not provide any other areas for community use while this work, conducted by 8 different crews, is underway.

This change is a testament to the power of grassroots organizing, but our demands for transparency and accountability remain. Hastily and unilaterally changing a bad plan to a slightly better one is not the same as meaningfully engaging community members in decisionmaking. 

We have updated our demands of NPS as follows:

Provide Opportunity for Public Input Before Closures Begin Convene a forum for NPS officials to present the full updated timeline and to allow community members to ask questions and voice concerns.

Commit to Reopening Timeline Make every effort to reopen walkways, each upper lawn panel, and the Lower Gardens by the time frames communicated to the public, and provide accessible and prompt information to the public about any changes to the project timeline.

Provide Public Transparency and Accountability through:
An online web page with the full restoration plan and ongoing updates on progress, delays, and contingency measures, with all updates posted to social media accounts for increased reach;

Clear and accessible signage posted in and around the park;

Communication with local elected officials such as Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners or members of the DC Council.

Restore Community Involvement NPS must demonstrate a genuine commitment to restoring Malcolm X Park / Meridian Hill Park as a fully accessible, community-centered space — including full and timely transparency on all decisions, plans, and changes that affect public access and park operations.
It is encouraging that NPS is willing to adjust their plan. While the complete loss of public access to the park for a period of weeks is not ideal, we acknowledge that this is a marked improvement from the original plan to significantly reduce public access for the entire spring and summer seasons. We look forward to meeting and working together with our federal decisionmakers soon.

Finally, to our Malcolm X Park community, congratulations! Let’s continue building as we celebrate this partial victory at the “Party on the Lawn” event tomorrow afternoon.

- Keep Malcolm X Open Coalition

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ORIGINAL CONTENT

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 asking for phased restoration or partial access so the community can still use the park this spring and summer.

More information here: https://linktr.ee/keepmalcolmxopen

--------------------

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: 

1. 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,
2. Adjusting the project timeline so that full closure, if necessary, does not occur during peak spring and summer use,
3. 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.