Month: January 2005

Be careful of what you wish for….

The citizens of Wards 8 & 7 have sent a message that they want the good that has been happening to the rest of the city to come to them. Well I got a question for them, do they REALLY want what has happened and is happening to Shaw, LeDroit, Eckington, and other north of the river neighborhoods to happen to them? I know they want the good, but what of the bad? What of the growing pains?

The growing pains I’m thinking about is gentrification. I think the citizens of Ward 8 are mistaken to believe the development/gentrification genie that has been working it’s magic in NW parts of DC can be controlled. Never, ever, underestimate the power of market forces. If an area is made attractive enough for enough urban pioneers with the financial power to jack up housing prices, private developers will get wind of it, fix up some places and start a snowball effect that will only help homeowners planning to sell. Twenty one percent of Ward 8’s homes are owner occupied. Would the 79% of renters be able to ride the higher rents and deal with owners cashing in on better prices? I think some would, but there are plenty who would not.

The solution I have heard floated around is to have developers build affordable housing, or set aside units for low and moderate income families. Listening to what has been going on with Arlington, VA it seems easier said than done. Then there are the developers who work on a smaller scale, one house at a time or a small number of units, who have little incentive to sell at lower prices.

Maybe if the real estate values weren’t so crazy and there wasn’t this housing pressure that forces people to live all the way out in BFE not-even Northern Virginia gentrification wouldn’t be an issue. But then again, it is the crazy housing pressures and gentrification that is making places like Shaw more attractive.

BACA meeting correction

Neighbors,

In a previous email sent to you concerning the postponement of this

month’s meeting of the Bates Area Civic Association, the rescheduled date was

incorrectly listed as Monday, 1/8/2005. However, the meeting will be

held on Monday, January 10, 2005, between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 9:00

p.m., at Mount Sinai Baptist Church, 3rd and Q Streets, N.W.

Please take due notice of this correction and govern yourselves

accordingly.

Best,

Jim Berry

ANC 5C

Why I live in the city

Crime, bad schools, a government that doesn’t seem to work, blah, blah, blah, blah.

I live in the city because I wanted to not have a bad commute.

I live in the city because DC made it easier to buy my home.

I live in the city because it is easier to get around to Maryland and Virigina.

I am close to learning opportunities, cultural events and other high minded stuff I am too lazy to leave the house for. But should I sum up enough energy to drag my butt out of the house it is not that far away.

I live in Shaw because it has 3 metro stations, has many bus lines and in theory I can walk to the Greyhound bus terminal and Union Station. In theory. On a warm sunny day.

I live in Shaw because I could afford it.

I live in Shaw because of its history, because of Duke Ellington, and its past as a Black neighborhood.

I live in Shaw because, despite what you see from the inside of your car at 30-40 mph it really is not that bad.

No BACA meeting tonight

from a e-mail from Jim

Neighbors,

Due to a last minute glitch in the availability of space at Mount Sinai

Baptist Church, the Bates Area Civic Association, Inc. is postponing

tonight’s meeting until Monday, January 8, 2005. Please note that this

departure from our first Monday of the month meeting schedule is for

January

2005 only. That is, we will return to this schedule on Monday,

February 7,

2005.

Please accept my apology for any disruption that this change may cause

for

your schedule this evening.

Best,

Jim Berry

Taxis

Jimbo this is for you.

Okay folks a little something somethin’ about cabs and the city. First DC is split into zones. I think of them as 4 zones that are then split into smaller ones, but the subzone split is meaningless and only serves to confuse, so there are just 4 zones.

Please open another browser and use this link to the DC Taxicab Commission and find the zone map or open the PDF file of the taxicab map at this link. You may recognize this map from the back of a dark cab when you couldn’t make anything out to save your life. Lucky you this is your chance to see the map and figure out where those friggin zones are.

Most of Shaw is squarely in Zone 1. Zone one is from Florida Avenue and U Street and Florida again, down 2nd Street NE, then E Street and Constitution after 17th St, and then 22nd Ave NW on the west. If you stay within these borders, your fare is $5.50, tip whatever you want.

Some of you are on the otherside of Florida, that puts you in zone 2 and paying $2.10 more. If you are cheap like me and your starting point or destination is 1 or 2 blocks near or on the border, you move or stop short of crossing over. So when I’m in Dupont Circle or Foggy Bottom I make sure I catch a cab on 21st St. when heading back home.

Now I am so cheap I have only once traveled more than 2 zones, and that was a long time ago so past two zones my judgment is iffy. I gather that if you travel from zone 2D in Capitol Hill over to mainstreet Georgetown in zone 3A then your base fare is $11.40 because you might travel through zone 1 & zone 2A to get to your destination, traveling through 4 zones. Anyway the maximum that one person picking the cab off the street could be charged (not traveling during rush hour) is $17.20 if traveling through 8 zones. I’ve played with the map the max appears to be just 8 zones. You can play with the fare calculator and see what you come up with. There are other add ons. Each extra person is $1.50. Rush hour is 7-9:30AM and 4-6:30PM and that’s $1 extra. Calling the cab will cost you $2.00 if they bother to show up.

Now that you have the map, study it, use it, it will come in handy when arguing with the cabby.