Month: August 2003

Community meetings suck!
Just got out of a baaaad meeting. Heck at lest the ANC 2? meetings in Logan were entertaining with the catty gay men. What made the meeting bad:
1. Snide comments from the peanut gallery
2. A fill in speaker (the one scheduled was on vacation) couldn’t speak on the topic of interest and spent time talking on another topic. Meeting attendees beat the topic speaker couldn’t talk about to death.
3. Peanut gallery did not show up on time missing information that they bitched about later.
4. Every speaker received hostility. Basically making sure that any future returning of said speakers is nil.

Basically tons of negativity.

What is a good meeting.
Well it started as a good meeting.
A speaker, speaking as an individual trying to get tree boxes on Q St from 1st to 3rd St talked about how she was attempting to get grant money from Garden Resources of Washington (GROW). She spoke of iron fencing and pledges she had gotten from neighbors. Then a board member of the Co-Op on Q St said that her group was already in the process for putting iron tree boxes up on her side of Q St.
Good. Informative. Civil.

Then we got on the North Capital Farmers Market (see speaker who didn’t know topic). And downhill we go.

Summary of Bates Area Civic Association Meeting

7PM 8/4/2003

Moderator: Jim Berry

Tree boxes for 100-300 blocks of Q Street. A community citizen is collecting pledges of treasure and talent to get a GROW grant to get treeboxes along Q St. The Co-Op between R & Q Sts will also be improving their tree boxes.

Mr. Berry announced the 5th Annual National Night Out and PSA 312’s involvement. Please see ( http://mpdc.dc.gov/news/news.asp?sid=2235 ) for more information. There will be a gathering around about the park on Florida and 1st (green space not the concrete park).

Fill in speaker for Mr. Matthew Payne, Coordinator for the North Capitol Neighborhood Farmer’s Market spoke of the other projects his group is working on for the youth of the community. Meeting attendees gave comments about the Farmer’s Market and suggestions to make it better. This continued for a while.

Mr. Todd Douglas, the Ward 5 Neighborhood Services Coordinator, spoke of the several projects and concerns of the community.

Meeting continued after 8:59 PM

Drama Mamma
Drama Mamma and I are sort of back on speaking terms. Whatever.

Apparently she’s doing a last harrah with hanging over at the neighbors before they ship out after selling. At the most 30-60 days and she’ll have no excuse to come down the block. The taxes on the yellow house are too high to make it Section 8 (which is probably why the landlord kicked the renters out), the white guy doesn’t talk to anyone, nor does the guy below him; Sandra doesn’t like that crowd; the Hispanic family they are friendly but I don’t see them hanging with DM; the Howard students are a heavy Jesus-loving crowd and … nah, I don’t see them hanging with her either.

MONTHLY Meeting Notice

Invited Guests Include Representatives from the Following:

Third District, Metropolitan Police Department

D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation

D.C. Office of Neighborhood Action

North Capitol Neighborhood Farmer’s Market

Monday, August 4, 2003

Mount Sinai Baptist Church

3rd and Q Streets, N.W.

Rooms 1 and 2

7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.

—–

NEIGHBORHOOD UPDATE

<<...OLE_Obj...>>

NATIONAL NIGHT OUT: TUESDAY, AUGUST 5, 2003

National Night Out (NNO) is an annual event sponsored by the National

Association of Town Watch. NNO is designed to (1) heighten crime and

drug

prevention awareness; (2) generate support for, and participation in,

local

anti-crime programs; (3) strengthen neighborhood spirit and

police-community

partnerships; and (4) send a message to criminals, letting them know

that

our neighborhoods are becoming organized and are taking steps to fight

back.

In Police Service Area 312, the following activities are taking place

on

NNO:

3D Mini -Station:

PSA 312 Lt. Alveta Dennis is locating an “open-air mini station” in the

1700

block of First Street, N.W. at which residents may come to meet and

greet

one another as well as MPD officials; public safety information will

also be

distributed and community concerns can be registered with Lt. Dennis.

(From

6:00 p.m. until ?)

Cook Out:

Bishop Imagene Stewart is sponsoring a “community cook out” in the 200

block of P Street, N.W. and she has asked that I let residents know

that

everyone is invited and encouraged to attend. (Event begins at 6:00

p.m.)

Candle Light Vigil:

For the second consecutive year, the Bates Area Civic Association, Inc.

is

sponsoring a “candle light vigil” at First and Florida Avenue, N.W. –

in

Florida Avenue Park. The purpose of this vigil is to emphasize the

need for

residents to reclaim and protect safe places for our children to play

and

spend their leisure time. As many of you did last year, please come

out and

show our children how much we care about them. The vigil will take

place

from 7:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.

“NNO 2002”

Trading Up – Neighbors move

Trading Up
I told my neighbor I wouldn’t tell anyone how much she’s selling her house for, so I won’t. But it is a sh*tload of $$. She deserves every single cent of it. She lived in the house for a little under 9 years. She’s going to trade in a townhouse with leaky basement and no parking for a house with a yard and a garage in BFE Maryland. All the cool stuff in the city that is attracting people means nothing to her. She has a car and kids. Metro and clubs don’t mean squat. Good schools and no shooting and no (as my Daddy would put it) dumbas$ n*ggas hanging out, that is what she wants and needs.
At the price the house is going for apparently only whites can afford it, so the demographics of the block will head in a particular direction. Called ET and told her to score one point for her people. Last month a white couple moved in on one end of the block, changing the trend of houses on the north end changing demographically from black renters to white homeowners and renters, so now the Euro-Americans are coming from both ends.
I am so thankful she did not decide to rent the house out to get Section 8 money. I pray to G-d above that Mr. Mesfin will sell his house too. Last I spoke to him he STILL had not decided if he was going to rent or sell. I hope he sells because I can tell he’s cheap and will be a slumlord.