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They appeared Sunday night while the NPA party was in full swing.

They announced that they had some questions they wanted answered.

They displayed credentials, which identified two of them as FBI agents and the third as a U.S. Marshall.

They had to shout to be heard above the loud dance music coming from the Omni Shoreham hotel ballroom.

Agent: "Are you part of this NPA group?"
Answer: "Yes"
Agent: "What is NPA?"
Answer: "Everyday people who come from all over the United States to Washington, D.C. to fight for making their neighborhoods a better place."
Agent: "It seems that your group went to the home of General Barry McCaffrey. He is very angry about that. Why did you go to his home?"
Answer: "We invited him to our plenary session this afternoon. He ignored our invitation and did not even send someone from the Drug Czar's office to represent him. We have a rule that if we invite a public official and they don't come to us - we go to them. We don't like being ignored."
Agent: "Do you intend to do him bodily harm?"
Agent: "We will be going now but I have a word of advice for your group. If you keep doing this kind of thing in the Washington area, your group is going to get a bad reputation."

During that same spring national neighborhoods conference, NPA paid a visit to the home of Alan Greenspan, the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. He too did not respond to our request for a meeting. NPA wanted to talk with him about the Fed being more stringent in its regulation of banks. At that time, the banks were in a merger mania and moving further away from reinvesting in our neighborhoods.

NPA thought that the reason he ignored us was due to the fact that he had become a newlywed and was still celebrating his honeymoon with his bride - the NBC network television correspondent Andrea Mitchell. At his front door, the NPA leadership had a pleasant chat with her. She did not appear to be pleased and told the NPA delegation that he was not at home. She also asked that we be careful not to step on her flowers in the garden.

Shortly thereafter, NPA received a letter written on the official stationery of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The letter stated:

". . . I was extremely disappointed at the tactics employed at my home this weekend. You cannot invade the privacy and rights of others and presume to maintain the moral authority which is the strength of your case."

Sincerely, Alan Greenspan

It seems that politicians, policy makers and corporate executives who are movers and shakers in the world of Washington DC have a very difficult time understanding that neighborhood people do not have the same kind of access to decision makers as they do.

They represent big time organized money and have hot shot well connected lobbyists.

NPA is everyday neighborhood people who take time off from their jobs, leave their kids and pay their own way to Washington DC. NPA believes that people power can make a difference and uses demonstrations, chants, cheers and visits to the homes of the big shots who ignore them. That is now NPA has won victories over the last 30 years. NPA doesn't worry about what others in power think about its reputation. NPA doesn't worry about maintaining its moral authority. NPA gets things done. NPA is the real deal.

In our 30th year, we are in Washington, DC - stronger than ever. NPA will have a hard-hitting conference, which raises hell and lets a new administration know that they have to deal with NPA.