The City Desk blog has posted the following image of the boundaries of the areas covered by the long-in-coming-but-finally-here Shot Spotter. Originally billed as the “Shaw Shot Spotter”, as you can see, it actually covers a much, much larger area.
On the one hand, it speaks volumes as to the overall crime picture here in […]
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Loading ...This coming Tuesday, November 4, DC residents will go to the polls to vote for a slate of candidates on all levels–from President, to City Council, to the local Advisory Neighborhood Commission representatives. It is this last and most local lev…
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Today, I met with the new principal of Ross Elementary School in Dupont Circle, Amanda Alexander, and principal Melissa Martin of Montgomery Elementary School in Shaw. It’s great to see their enthusiasm for the new school year and the progress that they’ve already made in getting their schools in shape, an attitude they share with Principal Brian Betts of Shaw Middle School at Garnet Patterson.
It was school beautification day across DC today, an effort that I led for Ward 2 in 2007 by visiting each school and delivering tools, mulch, bags, gloves, and flowers. This year, I stayed close to my neighborhood school, Montgomery, where we removed trash, raked leaves, and pulled weeds in the school yard. In a few months, work will begin to provide Montgomery with an exciting new annex. Principal Martin asked me to spread the word that they want parents in the neighborhood to send their children to Montgomery, which has already made major improvements inside and out.
Later in the day, Ross Elementary School held an open house, a chance to talk with the new principal and tour the building. Kids played in the school’s well maintained playground while parents and other neighborhood residents enjoyed a cookout. It was promising to find that some parents came out just because there were considering sending their kids to the DC public schools.
It’s this type of community engagement, enthusiasm, and effort that gives me great hope for the future of our public schools. As councilmember, I’ll make certain that school renovation, rebuilding, and repair stays on track and on budget. I’ll make schools centerpieces of their communities — where we hold community meetings and vote. I’ll make it possible for the high-quality teachers that we are recruiting to actually live in DC, rather than commute from Maryland or Virginia. Together, we’ll make the District’s schools world-class - and we’ll all be proud.
(2 votes, average: 5 out of 5) Loading ...The Watha T. Daniel Shaw Library has been closed for years now, with a temporary facility opening up only a year or so ago. In the meantime, the DC Public Library have been bandying about plans for a new library. Unfortunately, the plans have been changing for the worse, and despite outcry from […]
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Photo: DC Public Libraries. Latest rendition of the design for the new Watha T. Daniels library in Shaw. Where did all the windows go? Click for additional images.
I’ve pushed for the need for the city to build and renovate libraries for the 21st Century. But I was shocked this week by news that you might have missed.
Despite the fact that libraries are seeing increased demand, The Examiner reports that DC public libraries are planning to reduce their hours due to budget cuts, possibly shutting down on Fridays altogether. So let me get this straight. The District’s recreation centers are open only a few hours on Saturdays, closed Sundays, and not open late at night, and now the libraries are starting to close as well. And we wonder why kids have few alternatives to trouble on the streets.
Speaking of scaling back, have you seen the latest version of the design plans for replacement of the Watha T. Daniels Library in Shaw? As I reported, at the last public comment meeting, library officials noted that they would have to cut costs, due to the rising price of materials, unanticipated underground water, and the proximity to the metro line. But the new design looks similar to the old library — except made out of metal rather than concrete. So now not only is there nothing new about the services it provides on the inside, but the outside isn’t a significant improvement either. We’ve got to create inviting libraries that serve the needs of the community!
(4 votes, average: 5 out of 5) 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 ...