If Janet Yellen’s neighborhood were the location for the next season of “Survivor,” some of her neighbors would be clamoring to swiftly vote her out of their gated community.
The Wall Street Journal spoke with several residents of Hillandale, a secluded neighborhood near Georgetown, who were vocal about their issues with the Federal Reserve chair’s security detail for a story published Sunday. Among their complaints were that Yellen’s guards ate too much takeout pizza and that a roof-mounted camera seemed to be monitoring Yellen’s neighbors. One resident was particularly put off by the guards’ “doughnut bellies.”
In a neighborhood where the 50-page rulebook restricts a homeowner’s choice of paint color and number of pets, according to the Journal, one might expect a bit of annoyance from residents when a government official rolls in with an entourage big enough to take up its own townhouse. One neighbor was incredulous that Yellen required more protection than former FBI Director Robert Mueller, who also lives in the neighborhood.
“Bob Mueller, who you would think would have a much more dangerous job dealing with terrorists all over the world, had people who were businesslike, didn’t socialize and waited for him outside the gate,” the resident, who asked to remain nameless because she feared government reprisals, told the Journal. “Now we have this group, overweight, wearing the most ridiculous blue uniforms with the most ridiculous blue caps, and they have guns that are visible.”
Cooler heads on the block concede that their quality of life hasn’t been all that affected by Yellen’s presence, though.
“Very intelligent and articulate and expressive people live in neighborhoods like ours, and I think sometimes they over-articulate and over-express,” George Hill told the Journal.
