Having lived in Arlington for 3 years....there are 2 ways of viewing ‘SE DC’:
1. Once you exit Bolling...anything east of the gate is a area to avoid. You drive to the interstate...avoiding Anacostia and Congress Heights.
2. The Nationals Park/Naval Yard (across the river, northward)...are SE, but huge amount of development over 25 years. Lot of GS employees live there. Fairly safe to walk around this area...with the local subway state fairly safe to use.
On the whole of no-go and safe-zones....I’d say from my experience....there are probably 6 to 8 areas of DC you should avoid (day or night). With 3 areas that you’d be better off to avoid (RFK Stadium is one of those).
It's close to Bolling AFB. Last I heard that those serving at Bolling were forbidden from walking off base into the surrounding neighborhood.
When I PCS'd to the Pentagon in 2006, I stayed at Bolling until I found an apartment. The Bolling front gate is at the intersection of Malcolm X and MLK Jr.. We were warned about leaving the base after dark.
I had just left Maxwell AFB in Montgomery, AL where we had the same warning.