Shawington

420 and 420 M Street NW, middle houses, hosted an illegal after hours club since March 2008 that was recently shut down due to neighborhood action.Today’s Examiner reports that, working with the DC government, we have successfully shut down an illegal after hours nightclub that was operating on a residential street without a certificate of occupancy, business license, or alcoholic beverage license. The article, which does not appear to be online, is below (the hyperlinks are mine):

SANCTUARY NO MORE
City enjoins activity of Clark’s NFL club

Back in April, we told you about the NFL Players Club, a members-only organization to which former Redskins great Gary Clark had attached his name in the past. At issue was Sanctuary 84, the club’s self-described “private establishment” in the Mount Vernon Square area that had been riling its neighbors with noise and activity late at night.

Spurred by complaints from the Mount Vernon Neighborhood Association over whether anyone at the address was permitted to serve alcohol, or even operate a business at all, the city on July 29 issued a temporary restraining order against six residents who are listed as living on the property. It prohibited them from serving alcohol, having more than four nonresidents as guests after midnight or conducting any business activity until they obtain a certificate of occupancy and a business license.

The city followed that with a preliminary injunction on Aug. 8 that said much of the same thing, but extended the curfew for guests until 2 a.m.

Clark’s name no longer appears on any of the club’s Web pages, not was he mentioned in the documents. A spokeswoman would not tell us whether he remains affiliated with either the club or the properties.

Neighbors we spoke with said the problems of the spring have abated.

My appreciation goes to the attorneys at the Office of the Attorney General, Mayor Fenty’s Ward 2 Service Coordinator Mark Bjorge, and all of the neighbors who documented the illegal activity and submitted affidavits to bring this situation to a conclusion. Residents of the block can sleep in peace again.

(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

 Loading ...

A new park is quickly taking shape for the Mount Vernon, Penn Quarter, and downtown area.

Located at 2nd Street and Massachusetts Avenue NW, this park was all but abandoned by the District government for years until residents of the Sonata and the Mount Vernon Square Neighborhood Association, made it their mission to transform it from an unsafe eyesore into an asset for the community. We began our efforts last month when I organized a meeting with Council Member Tommy Wells, Department of Parks and Recreation officials, and interested residents. We all agreed that it was time to fix this sad park, one of many forgotten around the city, which is located at the gateway to downtown, D.C.

Last night, thanks to the Mount Vernon Triangle Community Improvement District (CID), we had another meeting to move the process forward. In the long term, the District is seeking funding to undertake a major renovation to the park through funding from a developer who is negotiating to obtain air rights over I-395. Short term, however, the District is submitting today a grant proposal to the federal Department of Transportation for a transportation enhancement grant that will be used to fix the crumbling retain walls around the center point, repave the sidewalks, and install benches, lighting, trees, and irrigation. In addition, they plan to move plantings and furnishings from the Old Convention Center’s artwalk to the park. In addition, the city will attempt to make the intersections leading to the park more pedestrian friendly by restriping, lengthening the walk signal time, installing way finding signs, and possibly narrowing the width of the street. Since this park is at a major intersection, it qualifies for transportation funding. If U.S. DOT awards us the grant, funding will be available as soon as FY 2009, which begins this October! That’s exciting.

This is all great news and kudos goes to the Department of Parks and Recreation and Office of Planning for helping make this happen. They need your support. Please send a letter of support for the USDOT grant via e-mail to Sarah Moulton by Friday, August 8. Please also e-mail me if you are interested in joining a friends of [park] (to be named) group. This group will begin community discussions on long-term plans for the park, advocate for it, and plan beautification and clean up days.

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

You may have missed them, but there were recently two interesting articles on the retail in and around the Washington Convention Center.

In its July edition, The Intowner featured a story noting some of the challenges nearby small business owners face, such as Azeb Desta, owner of Azi’s Café, who says, “Business is getting better but is not okay,” noting that “maybe twice” have conventioneers come to her business just a block away. Chatman’s D’Vine Bakery & Café owner and baker Debra Chatman, agrees that “it is really hard getting people to come in.”

Wednesday’s Washington Times reports on lawsuits stemming from the Convention Center’s retail space, which, five years after opening, still is not completely filled. This week, the Convention Center was hit with a half million dollar verdict for conspiring to keep local disadvantaged small businesses out of the retail space within the building in order to favor a politically connected businessperson. According to The Times:

The dozen retail spaces that line the outside of the convention center have been a sore spot for the five-year-old complex. At least four tenants have filed lawsuits against the WCCA over problems with construction on their spaces. In addition, eight neighboring retailers have filed a joint suit against the convention center charging that it hasn’t lived up to promises made before construction started.

Once touted as economic development catalyst, the 12 spaces still haven’t all been leased.

My opponent routinely hails the Convention Center as one of his achievements for Ward 2. It cost the taxpayers of this city $850 million in public financing, just short of the baseball stadium, and it’s not delivering. We are paying about $36 million each year alone on debt service associated with its construction. But that’s ok, because it created jobs and brought in more conventioneers to the city who spend money here, right? Wrong. According to a Brookings Institution report, “After building an entirely new
convention center with almost double the exhibit space, the Washington Convention Center Authority has seen effectively no increase in attendance or hotel use.”

The fact of the matter is, the Convention Center has truly become the great white elephant that some feared. It is a convention center designed solely for conventioneers, not as a means for neighborhood revitalization. The first of the retail spaces were not ready for occupancy until three years after opening, and are still not finished today. Conventioneers enter through Massachusetts Avenue or are dropped off and picked up by bus on L Street, giving them no incentive to visit neighborhood businesses. Even the retail spaces inside the convention center don’t actually connect to convention center space. Seventh and Ninth Streets are mostly lined with a long wall, providing no street life. A Convention Center hotel, long planned, is still several years away. It’s an unforgivable case of poor planning and a tremendous missed opportunity.

There still is a chance to reclaim some of the lost potential. Let’s get way finding signs with maps and directories of neighborhood restaurants and shops up along Massachusetts Avenue and L Street. Let’s take action with respect to long vacant commercial properties that line 7th and 9th Street. Let’s finish filling the retail spaces and resolve outstanding lease disputes with small business owners. Let’s get our priorities back on track.

(3 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

 Loading ...

When I walked by early this morning, yellow tape still marked the “park” on the 600 block of N Street NW. Later, police officers were conducting their roll call, preparing for the day ahead.

Last night, at about 10pm, a teenager was shot multiple times and killed on what Fox 5 called a basketball court (there are actually no hoops in the park). I was there immediately after the shooting to find out what occurred and how we can make sure this doesn’t happen yet again.

This is not an unfamiliar occurrence. Almost two years ago to the day, neighborhood activist Chris Crowder was gunned downed in his wheelchair in this precise location. Only a few months ago, the DC government removed the makeshift memorial of stuffed animals that marked the spot. There have been numerous other shootings in and around the park.

Questions need to be asked and we need a Council Member who will ask them and move us forward.

1. Why is this unnamed park still a concrete jungle? Our Council Member pledged back in November 2007 that he would obtain funds to renovate the park in the 2009 budget. Did he do so? Mr. Evans, along with Department of Parks and Recreation Center Director Clark Ray, also stated at a community meeting that about $200,000 in funds would be reprogrammed from the current budget to immediately begin the design process. Only months later, however, after controversy arose as to whether he should sell off the public land, Mr. Evans responded “we are going to move forward without moving forward.” Why is the design process not underway?

Since September 2006, residents of Shaw and Mount Vernon Square have attended meeting after meeting (usually coinciding with the latest round of shootings) and completed surveys with their ideas as to what might be included in a new park. Nevertheless, the design process has yet to begin and, to my knowledge, no money is specifically allocated for renovation of this park. As Council Member, I will work to make our neighborhoods safer by improving the environment. We should begin redesign of this park right NOW, today, to make it an asset to the community rather than a graveyard.

2. Did ShotSpotter work? Two weeks ago, ShotSpotter went online in the Third District, which includes the Shaw neighborhood. Apparently, the response time in this case could not have been fast enough to save the victim. Did it at least reduce response time and provide information on the number of shooters and type of weapon used?

3. Do we have an adequate police presence in the area? How is it that the shooters, even with ShotSpotter, crime cameras on both 5th and O and 7th and O, and what is supposed to be a substantial number of officers stationed in the immediate area are able to shoot and get away? What measures are police taking to address the continuing gang violence?

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

Today, I received confirmation from Assistant Chief of Police Diane Groomes and Captain Michael Eldridge that SpotShotter, after a test run yesterday, was officially up and running as of today, July 16. This is great news for our neighborhoods, which are now a little bit safer because police officers will be able to immediately and with pin point accuracy respond to gunfire. No more reliance on 911 calls that say it sounded like it came from here or there. No more questions as to whether it really was gunfire. And the criminals who put our lives in jeopardy should be placed on notice that if they fire a weapon on our streets, the police will surround their location in seconds.

It’s been a long effort to get this technology in Ward 2. The neighborhoods surrounding the Convention Center, plagued by gang warfare, pushed for it as far back as 2006. In early 2007, we received our first pledge that the technology, already in use in some other areas of the city, was soon on its way to Shaw. Nearly a year later, in November 2007, after a rash of shootings in Mt. Pleasant and Columbia Heights, Mayor Fenty and Jim Graham announced that they had secured funding for ShotSpotter in MPD’s Third District. I urged them to make certain that its range included Ward 2. At a Shaw Crime Task Force meeting in March 2008 organized by our councilmember, residents were assured ShotSpotter would be operational within the month of April. We were also told, however, that the four-month delay between the November announcement and the meeting was because District Chief Financial Officer, Natwar Gandhi would not release funds for its installation until completion of the the District’s delayed audit (a result of the theft of millions of property tax dollars). I urged the CFO to permit this vital safety measure to move forward, and he responded by approving the $1.6 million necessary to proceed.

The final chapter in the quest for a safer neighborhood was, after securing the technology, MPD needed to gain the consent of private property owners to place the rooftop sensors in the optimum locations. That process took longer than anticipated.

My thanks to all the community activists who pushed this issue for so long and to the Metropolitan Police Department for their perseverance in bringing it online.

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

Today, I received confirmation from Assistant Chief of Police Diane Groomes and Captain Michael Eldridge that SpotShotter, after a test run yesterday, was officially up and running as of today, July 16. This is great news for our neighborhoods, which are now a little bit safer because police officers will be able to immediately and with pin point accuracy respond to gunfire. The ShotSpotter system uses rooftop sensors to direct police within five feet of where a shot was fired. The technology can determine the caliber of the weapon fired, and has proven effective in responding to crime.

No more reliance on 911 calls that say it sounded like it came from here or there. No more questions as to whether it really was gunfire. And the criminals who put our lives in jeopardy should be placed on notice that if they fire a weapon on our streets, the police will surround their location in seconds.

I am glad that after our years of pushing for this new technology, ShotSpotter is finally up an running in our neighborhood. This tool will help police more quickly catch shooters, and medical personnel more quickly reach victims. It is certainly not a cure-all, but when combined with additional foot beats, bike patrols and greater MPD resources, it will go a long way toward reducing crime.

It’s been a long effort to bring this technology in Ward 2. The neighborhoods surrounding the Convention Center, plagued by gang warfare, pushed for it as far back as 2006. In early 2007, we received our first pledge that the technology, already in use in some other areas of the city, was soon on its way to Shaw. Nearly a year later, in November 2007, after a rash of shootings in Mt. Pleasant and Columbia Heights, Mayor Fenty and Jim Graham announced that they had secured funding for ShotSpotter in MPD’s Third District. I urged them to make certain that its range included Ward 2. At a Shaw Crime Task Force meeting in March 2008 organized by our councilmember, residents were assured ShotSpotter would be operational within the month of April. We were also told, however, that the four-month delay between the November announcement and the meeting was because District Chief Financial Officer, Natwar Gandhi would not release funds for its installation until completion of the the District’s delayed audit (a result of the theft of millions of property tax dollars). I urged the CFO to permit this vital safety measure to move forward, and he responded by approving the $1.6 million necessary to proceed.

The final chapter in the quest for a safer neighborhood was, after securing the technology, MPD needed to gain the consent of private property owners to place the rooftop sensors in the optimum locations. That process took longer than anticipated.

My thanks to all the community activists who pushed this issue for so long and to the Metropolitan Police Department for their perseverance in bringing it online.

(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

 Loading ...

Cary meets with the new principal and assistant principal of Shaw Middle School at Garnet Patterson, Brian Betts and Kimberly Douglas.

This is an exciting time for the DC schools and there is rightful optimism for the future of the District’s children. This week, I met with Brian Betts, the new principal of Shaw Middle School at Garnet Patterson, and Kimberly Douglas, the assistant principal. Tonight, Ms. Douglas will introduce the new leadership of the school and its aggressive plan for moving forward at the Mount Vernon Square Neighborhood Association’s monthly meeting. I’m encouraged by their outreach to the community.

I was impressed with the drive of the new leadership, who are on a mission to raise the quality of education at the school. They are in the process of hiring a team of highly qualified teachers from across the country, and a candidate arrived for an interview as our meeting concluded. The staffing at Shaw/Garnet Patterson will almost entirely change.

Mr. Betts knows the neighborhood well. A former resident of French Street just blocks from the school, Betts spent the last several years in the Montgomery County Public Schools. He certainly fits the “Army of Believers” hired as new principals by Chancellor Rhee. Last year, test score significantly increased at the school, but Principal Betts is on a mission to drive them up much more. When asked whether he is concerned with the rise of enrollment of DC’s charter schools, Mr. Betts predicted that the improved scores, new facilities, highly-qualified teachers, and neighborhood outreach would bring students back into neighborhood schools, reversing their declining enrollment.

How can the community help? Principal Betts notes that its school activity fund, which helps fund trips for Shaw Middle School’s famous marching band, is empty. A google search reveals this interesting tidbit about Principal Betts: As a teacher in Germantown, Maryland, Betts took two cream pies in the face and was dropped in a tank of water, all to raise money for the school’s Principal’s Discretionary Fund. Truly, this new principal is one who will get it done. We can help as well, by identifying potential corporate sponsors for school activities.

We’ve also got to keep pressure on the DC Council, as well as the school administration, to move forward. I am concerned that the DC Council has delayed $50 million in funds for school modernization, which will hurt Ward 2 schools such as Francis Junior High, which is being combined as a K-8 with Stevens Elementary. Francis must be redesigned to meet the needs of younger children. While the Council is right to demand that the school administration be more forthcoming in sharing information, there can be no speed bumps as the new school year quickly approaches. The Council must support the new principals and teachers by releasing the funds or our students will pay the price.

Likewise, while we’ve heard political pledges to rebuild Shaw Middle School, which has been combined with Garnet Patterson, my meeting with Principal Betts confirmed that there is no plan and no time line. I’m very concerned that if it takes over seven years to rebuild our libraries, how long will it take to construct a new, state of the art school to serve Ward 2 neighborhoods? Let’s start the design process, with community input, and set a firm schedule for moving forward. I’ll make sure we stay on track past the political promise season.

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...

That’s the sign that recently appeared on this Ward 2 property. Oddly, the strewn trash in front of the house, the weeds arising from cracks in the concrete front yard, and the previous “for sale” sign that has been up for months remain.

This property has been vacant for quite a while. Yet, according to the District of Columbia records, it was purchased by the current owner over two years ago, is being taxed at the occupied rate, and is receiving the Homestead Deduction. (The property to the right, which is advertised for sale with the same phone number, is apparently under different ownership and properly recorded as vacant.) I wonder if these new for sale signs appeared as an attempt to evade imposition of the significantly high property tax rate imposed on vacant properties. $757,490 doesn’t pass the straight-face test.

Folks, it’s time to get serious about vacant and nuisance properties. While your taxes go through the roof, derelict owners take tax cuts while allowing their vacant properties to deteriorate, get dumped on, and become magnets for crime. I will push for enforcement of our tax laws, demolition by neglect laws, dumping laws, and laws requiring housing be kept in “habitable condition,” and, where needed, public nuisance actions, as a comprehensive approach to addressing properties that are a blight on our neighborhoods.

(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

 Loading ...

The Gales School is located at 65 Massachusetts Avenue NW.

The DC Council is considering legislation to move the Central Union Mission from 14th and R Street NW in Logan Circle to the Gales School, which sits between Union Station and Mt. Vernon Triangle, just north of Chinatown, on Massachusetts Avenue. Central Union Mission is in Ward 2. The Gales School is currently situated on the Ward 6 side of the 2/6 border.

You may recall that Central Union Mission, which provides shelter for homeless men within a structured program, was originally slated to move to a Petworth location on Georgia Avenue. Under the proposed legislation, the District will purchase the four Petworth properties (18,552 sq ft) from the Mission for $7 million (2009 assessed value is $3.79 million). The government will use the Petworth properties as part of Mayor Fenty’s plan to place 400 of the city’s homeless into permanent supportive housing units. The Petworth properties will provide 50 of these units.

According to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Gales School, built in 1881, last served as a school in 1944. Since that time, it was used for government offices and a winter hypothermia center for the homeless. In 2003, it was slated to house Safe Shores, a children’s advocacy center. Those plans changed and Safe Shores is now supposed to move into the Bundy School located on the 400 Block of O Street in Shaw. (That move is long delayed, leaving Bundy vacant, to the frustration of neighborhood residents). Now, Central Union Mission has committed to provide emergency shelter for 150 men on the site for the next 40 years.

The Franklin School, located at 13th and K Street NW, is also part of this mix. The Franklin School, which provides emergency shelter to about 400 men downtown is viewed by just about all in the District, including homeless advocates, as not helping the homeless as it should. It lacks structure, services, or programming, and simply provides a free hotel at night and kicks everyone out into the parks and libraries during the day. The Franklin School is slated to close in October 2008, or whenever the new Central Union Mission and sufficient permanent supportive housing comes online.

The future of the historic Franklin School is uncertain. Two years ago, there was discussion of turning the building into a boutique hotel, a deal orchestrated by politically connected developer Herb Miller. That proposal ultimately got nixed, but that didn’t stop Mr. Miller from suing the District for cutting off the deal. Yesterday, the Washington Post reported that the District paid Mr. Miller’s Western Development $500,000 to settle the lawsuit. The planned use or disposition of the Franklin School is not addressed in the legislation pending before the DC Council. It will be an issue to watch very closely as the Gales School transfer moves forward to make sure that this historic public building is put to an appropriate use.

Documents of interest:
Office of the Mayor’s Analysis of Economic Factors, Disposition of Gales School Site
Gales School Disposition Emergency Declaration Resolution of 2008 (PR17-0898)
Gales School Disposition Emergency Approval Resolution of 2008 (PR17-0899)
Discussion of meeting I jointly coordinated among the Mount Vernon Square Neighborhood Association and the Downtown Neighborhood Association, homeless advocates, and the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Economic Development to further a dialog on homeless issues: MVSNA, campaign website, Mt. Vernon Triangle blog.

(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)

 Loading ...

Today, Mayor Fenty held a press conference to tout legislation that will finance the O Street Market revitalization, called “CityMarket at O.” Finally, the end is in sight. This project began in 2001 when Roadside Development purchased the historic market. Then, in 2003, the market’s roof caved in under a heavy snow storm.

Unlike the quick citywide action we saw earlier this year when Eastern Market went on fire, the O Street Market, which will provide extraordinary boost for the Shaw community, got stuck in red tape: hearing after hearing from historic preservation to zoning. It’s final (hopefully) two hearings are coming up in July before the DC Council, as it considers the tax increment financing package (TIF) to move it forward. It’s about time. Actually, it’s way past due.

City Market at O will bring the largest Giant in the District, retail and restaurants, affordable senior housing and market-rate apartments and condos, and a significant amount of underground parking. The project will also reopen 8th Street (currently an island in the Giant parking lot) to traffic.

It’s not quite over yet. After approval of its financing package, Roadside will need to obtain the necessary permits to begin construction, a process that is expected to take an additional year. After groundbreaking, construction is expected to take 12 to 18 months. During that time, Giant will provide free shuttle bus service to nearby stores.

I’ve supported and cheered for this project for years — as an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner in adjacent Logan Circle, as a board member of Shaw Main Streets, and as president of the Mount Vernon Square Neighborhood Association.

The real hero in this battle is Roadside Development. How many others would have held on after so many years?

This is a big step forward and there is much more work to do. Onward and upward to addressing vacant and nuisance properties, bringing retail, and making the neighborhood a safer place to live.

(No Ratings Yet)

 Loading ...