http://theother35percent.blogspot.com/
My new blog focusing on life in DC and other random musings is up and running with its first two posts. The blog will follow the local news and events, the D.C. Council and neighborhood politics, and occasional personal stories or other observations.
You can view it here: http://theother35percent.blogspot.com/
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(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
Loading ...The campaign may be over, but there’s more work to do. Stay tuned for the launch of my new blog on news and notes on life in DC.
This website will automatically redirect to the new blog in the near future.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...On Thursday, we had a very strong showing in the debate co-sponsored by the Dupont Circle Citizens Association and Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2B, which was moderated by Davis Kennedy of The Current Newspapers. There was an outpouring of support at the debate, which highlighted key differences between my opponent and me.
Focus. I an running to be a true Ward Councilmember, committed to working on quality of life and public interest issues – from restoring library services, rejuvenating schools and public parks, and improving public safety. My opponent made little mention of such issues during the debates.
Tax relief. I will focus tax relief on small businesses and long-time residents who have experienced a steep rise in property taxes. My opponent supports across-the-board cuts that would favor big businesses over those who need help.
Quality of life. For example, I strongly support placing reasonable limits on daytime noise, while my opponent voted to strip the noise bill of its effectiveness.
Fiscal responsibility. My opponent has saddled District residents with the highest per capita debt in the nation due to his sponsorship of hundreds of millions of dollars in corporate giveaways. His failed oversight has allowed scandals in the DC Office of Tax and Revenue. Yet, he continues to discuss more publicly-financed stadiums and earmarks.
You can read reaction to the debate on the Penn Quarter Living, OffSeventh,
and Washington CityPaper blogs. The Washington Post also wrote about the race today.
Over the past several weeks, I’ve gone door-to-door in every neighborhood in Ward 2. I recently met voters in Georgetown with Tom Pursley, who served for many years as president of the Dent Place Association. We continue to receive a very positive and warm response. That’s why community leaders and activists from across the ward in every neighborhood have endorsed my candidacy.
Onward to September 9!
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...This morning, I participated in a candidates forum hosted by the Penn Quarter Neighborhood Association. While my opponent focused his remarks almost solely on past development (which resulted from a combination of the Abe Pollin’s risky and visionary decision to invest $200 million of his own money in what was then the MCI Center and a housing boom), I discussed my vision for making Penn Quarter a true neighborhood, not just a commercial area that now happens to have more people living in it. Penn Quarter residents will have the opportunity to make that same choice on September 9.
Specific actions I would take to make Penn Quarter a stronger, more livable, and vibrant neighborhood include:
Strengthening community policing. Penn Quarter is currently in a police service area (PSA 101) that stretches officers from the White House to Capital Hill. I’ll make certain that Penn Quarter and Chinatown has its own PSA, so that closer relationships develop between officers and the community they serve.
Penn Quarter deserves political representation. Penn Quarter is currently represented by two Advisory Neighborhood Commissions - one whose Commissioners all live in Shaw. The other primarily represents Capital Hill. ANCs make very important decisions for neighborhoods on zoning, licensing, permits, and quality of life issues. As councilmember, I’ll create a single ANC that will represent residents in the area between North Capital and 15th Streets between the mall and New York Avenue. I’ll also place Penn Quarter in a single ward, rather than minimize its voice and the ability to get things done by dividing it down the middle between Wards 2 and 6.
I take noise seriously. I would not have voted, as my opponent did, to severely weaken noise legislation’s application to Penn Quarter. If noise impacts the ability for you to enjoy your own home, I’ll take action. As Council Member Mary Cheh said during the hearing at which my opponent gutted the noise bill, “Penn Quarter, I hope you are listening, you are being written off.”
Penn Quarter is not the “Times Square of the Metropolitan Region.” That’s my opponent’s view. I don’t want to see the noise, traffic congestion, billboards, and trash that is Times Square brought to DC. Times Square may be fun to visit, but would you want to live there? My vision is a Penn Quarter that is a vibrant, diverse neighborhood, where small businesses can flourish. I’ll also support efforts to draw international businesses to Penn Quarter, a project on which I am working with the Chinatown Revitalization Council.
I’ll focus on the neighborhood issues important to you, not just big development projects around the city. Pedestrian safety, the ability to unload your car in front of your condo, revitalizing parks, enforcing idling laws applicable to buses, and no-nonsense quality of life enforcement of the law.
Let’s work together for a better Penn Quarter!
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5) Loading ...As an Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner in Logan Circle, I enjoyed working with our small, local businesses to help them succeed. Over the years, I have watched them struggle with permit and license paperwork, loss of pedestrian access during periods of construction, and rising property taxes. Throughout the city, our small businesses are facing difficult times and we are losing more and more to chain stores. At least one study has ranked the District, when compared with states, dead last for small business survival.
We are doing something wrong. When I’ve visited San Francisco or growing up in New York, I’m astounded by the amazing diversity of small shops and restaurants, even in the heart of downtown. But in DC, you have to look quite hard to find a place to buy a newspaper in Chinatown or a slice of pizza or lunch to do from a local spot downtown. Earlier this year, I was sad to see Candida’s World of Books in Logan Circle close, a long-term result of the cutting off sidewalk access to her store, soon after it opened, during a prolonged period of surrounding development.
This week, we held an event at Rice Restaurant, just across the street from the former Candida’s, which is now an empty storefront. I had the chance to work with owner Sak Pollert when he opened, helping him navigate the process of applying for a liquor license and sidewalk cafe. Now, his property taxes have skyrocketed. He basically has to sell a month’s worth of Pad Thai to cover the costs.
The DC Council has not taken adequate steps to help. Last year, they passed legislation to provide $11 million for small business relief. That may sound like a lot, but considering there are between 20,000 and 25,000 small businesses in the District, it amounts to about $500 each. That’s an insult. It’s not worth the time and paperwork for a small business, and, of course, it would cost the DC government money to administer the program. Predictably, the election-year “plan” fell apart.
Then, the DC Council tried something else… a reduction in the commercial property tax. Ultimately, they settled on reducing the tax rate for the first $3 million of assessed property value (amounting to $21 million in savings for commercial property owners, and amount that was significantly scaled back as soon as the budget tightened). The problem with that approach… it is billed as helping small businesses, but it actually applies to all owners across the board. In other words, as Council Member Jim Graham recognized, it provides greater relief to the Marriott and large land owners than to small businesses.
As a Council Member, I’ll make sure that small businesses get the attention and tax relief they deserve. That’s why I will introduce the following measures to address these issues before we lose more of our small businesses:
Create an Office of the Small Business Advocate
As I discussed, it is tremedously difficult for small business owners to navigate the government bureaucracy. No organization is currently dedicated to assisting and advocating for small businesses in DC. My proposal is that DC adopt a program that borrows from cities such as Chicago and San Diego, as well as the federal Small Business Administration. In fact, in 2007, San Francisco voters, by referendum, called for such a program. The DC Office of Small Business Advocate would:
Include a staff member for each of eight Wards responsible for building relationships and outreach to each small business in their ward.
Provide ombuds assististance with licenses and permits, zoning, and regulatory applications; assist with impact of street and sidewalk construction.
Disseminate information regarding grants and other financial assistance.
Provide impartial analysis of the impact of legislative and regulatory programs on small businesses. Testify before the DC Council and government agencies to present the affect on small businesses of various proposals.
Prepare annual report on issues facing small businesses in the District, provide recommendations for addressing them, and analyze effectiveness of existing programs.
Examine potential avenues for tax relief and reduction of fees.
Provide Needed Tax Relief
I am committed to enacting a reasonable cap on the percent that property taxes can rise in a single year, similar to the limit placed on residential properties. There is currently no limit to the size of the increase.
I would develop a tax credit targeted very specifically to small, local businesses who have faced steep rises in rent or property taxes in past years.
These proposals are meant only as a beginning. I value your thoughts and suggestions.
(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 ...On July 1, I visited the firehouse at 13th and L Streets N.W. to introduce myself, tour the facility, and listen to questions and concerns from firefighters.
Engine 16 is among the top five busiest engines in the city, responding to 18,000 calls per year, and is the first to report to the White House in the event of an emergency. It serves all of Ward 2. Nicknamed the “Midnight Express,” Engine16, Tower3, Amb16, and BFC6 received the Company of the Year award in 2007.
I discussed issues of importance to firefighters and public safety with Battalion Fire Chief Kenneth L. Crosswhite. Firefighters are particularly concerned that their facilities, many of which are 70 years old, are in desperate need of renovation. According to Chief Crosswhite, renovations are delayed due to lack of available funds and restrictions imposed by historic preservation regulations. Firefighters are also concerned that disability benefits are inadequate and that their pay that is lower than the regional average. Firefighters are told by the city government to do more with less, according to Chief Crosswhite, who hailed the effectiveness of DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services Chief Dennis Rubin.
Although many firefighters would like to live in the District, most cannot afford to do so. According to Chief Crosswhite, nine out of ten firefighters live outside of DC. Most live about 25 miles of the city, which would make it difficult for them to assist should there be an emergency.
I also spoke with Chief Crosswhite about inoperable fire hydrants around the city, which fall under the responsibility of DC WASA. Inoperable fire hydrants are supposed to be repaired within 5 or 10 days. In addition, DC’s hydrants need to be fitted so that they will work with the equipment of neighboring states, which is particularly essential in case of a disaster or terrorist attack. This process is underway.
As a full-time council member, I will protect public safety and ensure that the needs of the fire department are understood and met.
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...You may read Life in Ward 2 regularly, but have checked the “Out and About” section lately?
As I regularly attend community association, Advisory Neighborhood Commission, and other events around the ward, I post information on the website. The Out and About section is a good way to keep up with the issues and concerns in your area. If you would like additional detail on any meeting or event, or have any questions as to what occurred, always feel free to contact me.
There’s also handy links to neighborhood blogs, websites, and e-mail lists here. It’s one of the ways I stay up to the minute on what is going on in our neighborhoods and how we can help.
Stay tuned for a new feature on the website coming soon: a weekly profile and interview of a Ward 2 resident or business owner.
(No Ratings Yet) 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 ...This morning, I joined concerned residents of Logan Circle at a special meeting of the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA). The meeting was called at the urging of the neighborhood’s Advisory Neighborhood Commission, which had withdrawn its support for the Morrison Clark Inn’s expansion project. The ANC requested that the BZA reconsider its approval after the community realized that the planned expansion would bring the hotel within 3 feet of the windows of the adjacent Quincy Park condominium. The ANC and Quincy Park residents felt they were misled by the developers, who showed them plans that did not accurately illustrate the impact. While the BZA decided to reconsider its decision, it did not reopen the record or take additional evidence. It merely reaffirmed its decision, permitting the expansion to proceed, and disregarding the “great weight” that it must accord ANC’s by law. It is not yet known whether residents will appeal the decision in court.
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