Month: February 2006

The Post has an article about the pending plans for Northwest One, aka Sursum Corda.

For residents of Eckington, this article may be particularly interesting as they can compare the plans for Northwest One with the housing proposed by St Martin’s and Catholic Community Services.

I thought the article was interesting because it lays out a lot of the services that they are planning on providing to residents in Northwest One. On paper it all sounds great. Only thing that concerns me is that Sursum Corda also sounded great on paper when it was proposed forty-odd years ago. I hope we’ve figured things out better now.

Regardless, it’s impressive to see that there’s a $558 million price tag on this effort. That’s an incredible amount of money and, hopefully, it signals to future residents– both low and high-income– that there’s substantial commitment to the project to make it work. The article mentions breaking ground this year if the DC Council approves the plans so we’ll see what this means for the area shortly.

Where was I? Please read Part 1 before Part 2.
Ms. Francine P Edmonds spoke and said that it is the RESIDENTS who bring the complaints so that the city knows what to do.
Now before I get into the rep from North Capitol Collaborative, I need to say that there have been some very negative concerns from some residents about them moving their office to North Capitol Street from Sursum Corda.
Mr. Tony Dugger from the North Capitol Collaborative (NCC) spoke. I think rather,[statement removed to clarify, once again read part 1 before part 2].
First tried to explain that there are 7 organizations thoughout the city. They are funded from the DC Govt Child Family services. Their mission is to prevent child neglect and abuse. At this point I believe Mr. Dugger has come to BACA before as this is not the first time someone has mentioned ‘child neglect and abuse.’ Their vision is to build healthy families. When needed they assist the CORE team (just know it is when various DC agencies come together) process, if the problem involves families.
NCC operates in Wards 1, 2, 5 &6. Their borders are around 2nd and D ST (south), Washington Hospital Center(north), Bread for the City (west) and 4th & Rhode Island/ McKinley High School (east).
NCC provides family services, and to do that they must have a licensed social worker.
1. NCC does not serve families outside of its geographic service borders.
2. NCC provides emergency services
3. Something about case management.
NCC partners with the Marines for their Toys for Tots, so it is NCC that one would go to for Christmas gifts for underprivileged children in this neighborhood.
NCC already has one office at 113 Q Street in the North West (forgot the rest of the name) apartment complex.
ANC Jim Berry asked a few questions of Mr. Dugger (these are not exact quotes, but close enough)
Berry: Question. Is the service area too large given the number of staff?
Dugger: ….without the NCC people will go unserviced.
Berry: Given the demographic changes, is there still a need?
Dugger: …look at the change, but there are still families that still need services.
Jim: When people hear Sursum Corda there is fear. Are you bringing Sursum Corda problems with you?
Dugger: … People do not move out of their neighborhoods for services…..
Mary Anne gave some wonderful testimony on her past dealings with NCC and how she got a grant (from them? in cooperation with them?) and ran a program out of St. George’s Episcopal (yea!) for parents and children. She then asked, “Do you have programs that service young adults?”
Mr. Dugger’s answer ran along the lines of yes, they have events such as an All Father’s Conference and a job fair. These are one time events and not something that require regular visits.
OK part 3, later on in the week.

From Karl

Well the Board met yesterday on the Mondie matter and was about to render a decision (most likely in the negative from the comments they were all making) when Mr. Mondie jumped up and withdrew his application. He cannot (if he does at all) reapply for a zoning ruling on the subject Property for 90 days — guess we’ll see what is going to happen.

Okay I wonder what he’s going to do this time? Cause really, we would like him to build something, just not an apartment building or something that will come back and bite us in the butt years down the road. Three Single Family homes, brick, 18 feet wide, the more detached from each other the better, those would sell, in the upper range.
Also, yea! Karl.

This time I had something to write with so…. yea! Unfortunately, I had dinner with wine and whoda thought one little glass of Charles Shaw (lovingly known as 2 buck Chuck) would make me a little out of it. So that’s my excuse. Also I wrote down a lot so I’m dividing these notes into 2 or 3 parts. This is part 1.

Meeting began at 7pm, with our great leader Jim Berry in charge. I noticed some new people who I’ve never seen before come out, I guess they are new residents. It is always good to see new faces.
The first speaker was Ms. Francine P. Edmonds, Neighborhood Services Coordinator for Ward 5. Her position was created by the Mayor’s office (yea mayor!) to deal with multi-agency problems. She said that something, as I didn’t write down what was the something, at 1405 1st St NW was closed down. She stressed that it takes time to build a case and though it may seem that the city isn’t doing anything, they are doing something. They are building a case. An illegal transfer station on Lincoln Road was shut down. She talked about an unpaved alley between Eckington and Q. The problem with things like that is the budget for DDOT is made a year in advance, so if the money is not already earmarked for it, or if there isn’t any extra money laying around paving problems are not tackled as quickly as residents would like. Something that was done quickly was that Hub Cap Tom’s (?) on Florida Avenue was shut down in 2 days. Apparently Tom’s was harboring rats. Rats bad. If there were other violations I didn’t write those down. The house at 13 R St NE which is vacant is on the market. It must be sold in 6 months. If not sold it has to get fixed up in 3 months.
Ms. Edmonds said that the first job is to educate THEN later issue citations and fines.
She would also like you to bring in your trash cans from the alley at night (after garbage pick up I presume). If you have an elderly neighbor who can’t bring in their can, do it for them. Trash is supposed to be in a trash receptacle, preferably those green cans. NOT just in a bag. Cats. Rats. & Dogs get into them and strew the trash all over and then someone complains about the trash being strewn all over the neighborhood. If your neighbor is not putting out the trash in the can like they are supposed to call the city to report “improper storage of trash.”
Someone in the group had a trash question about trash not getting picked up because the can is too heavy. I didn’t write down the answer.
Feb 14th ??? (ward 5?) is having an information fair at the Joseph Cole Rec Center from 12-3pm. April 8th, from 2-4 they(?) will host a listserv training just for civic leaders. Ms. Edmonds acknowledged that Truxton Circle had a pretty good listserv going on, but this is for other leaders in Ward 5 who don’t. At some point, I don’t remember, but BACA is supposed to be getting it’s own website with its own domain. The purpose is to put out static information. I didn’t really catch the name of the domain. On March 4th, Ward 5 will be having a Landlord Tenant Roundtable for landlords and tenants, mainly landlords.
To issue a complaint with the city call 202 727 1000 or you can go on to the DC.GOV website and file a complaint or request city services. It is important that you have the complaint number. If the request is not completed in a timely manner, then contact the Ward 5 services coordinator at 202 671 0726.
The next speaker was Mr. Tony Dugger of the North Capitol Collaborative which is currently on the 1400 block of North Capitol. I will have that in part 2 of the meeting notes.

There’s an article in the Post about giving private developers access to develop public land and spaces in return for sorely needed infrastructure. What’s particularly relevant about the piece is that two of the named sites are in Central/Eastern Shaw: the Watha T Daniel library and Shaw Junior High School.

Something needs to be done about Watha T Daniel. Construction was going to begin on it this year I think, but that was scuttled and we’re back to the drawing board with more plans being drawn up. That empty library looks like, to borrow someone else’s description, a refugee camp sometimes with so many camping out outside the place. Hardly the image the neighborhood wants to present to Metro passengers exiting there.

After reading the article, I think I, personally, can support idea of public/private partnerships to rebuild schools and libraries. Consider this:

With the costs of fixing schools and libraries estimated at close to $2 billion, said D.C. Council Chairman Linda W. Cropp, “I don’t believe we can tax our way out.”

Honestly, I don’t want to pay any more taxes than DC residents already do. We shoulder a pretty high tax burden because of all of the land that isn’t taxable by the DC government. Let’s create a bigger tax base and spread the burden across it.

Simi Batra, a neighborhood association president, says:

“You don’t sell your public spaces to finance school construction; that’s not how it’s done,” Batra said. “Because what happens the next time a renovation needs to be done? In a hundred years, there will be nothing left to sell.”

Actually, that’s wrong. Theoretically a larger tax base (from new residents and businesses) and a more responsible government will be able to annually fund the public buildings so that they never get back to this horrid state.

I guess I can live with some responsibly planned higher density if we get better schools and libraries.

Feb 2006
Download mp3
Intro
Holl Er Perfect (from the Podsafe Music Network)
Me, my bedroom, 2 guys and lots of latex
News:
Mondie
BACA meeting announcement, maybe, not sure
Vegetate
Tea to honor Carter G. Woodson
This Old House in Shaw
Historic Masonry
Bye-bye
Family Force 5 Luv Addict

What’s missing, news about the firehouse. Sorry. Also I have to apologize again about sound quality, computer froze up before the clean up so I lost the file I was working with, this mp3 survived.

Warning I get preachy. Second warning my delete finger will be very itchy with comments, so watch it.
The topic of parking on Sundays in Logan Circle has been rolling around on the tongues and fingertips of many for a while and the Post ran a story this weekend about the parking war. I must say biking to my own church, I noticed that the traffic I have to deal with near Metropolitan Baptist was much better. Fewer vehicles taking up the bike lane, for loading and unloading.
There was an element in the Post story that did make my eyes roll. One was the statement about the church being there since the 1800’s, well honey yours is not the only 19th century church in the District. My church also has a 19th century pedigree but no one acts as if it is their right to double park their Land Rover. Of course, my church is in a neighborhood notorious for having no parking. Besides there was a time when people carpooled to church or *gasp* walked. It is a problem when many of a church’s parishioners no longer live in the neighborhood of their parish.
I pass by at least 5 churches on my way to and from home on Sundays I notice that those churches, many of them also 19th century types, don’t have the same flavor of parking problems as Metropolitan. The parking violations I see are parking too close to the curb or too close to a fire hydrant or parking in a space clearly marked for metrobus stopping.
Can I say that the churches with severe parking problems no longer appear to represent the neighborhoods they are in? It is one thing when you draw a sizable number of your parishioner base from the immediate area. It is another when you have suburbanites with suburban expectations, especially when they have the mindset that it is their G-d given right to drive to point A and park in front of point A like it’s one of those fantasy car commercials where the perfect parking spot is there, waiting for you and only you.
The other problem I had was a belief that just because they are going to do something right (dragging self to church) gives them the excuse to do something wrong (illegally park). They give Christians a bad name. If Christians are to lead by example, in this we are doing a lousy job. We will not bring people to Christ by annoying them on a bright Saturday morning knocking on the door and dropping off pamphlets, but rather by living in faith. I remember, a cousin from my dad’s side, who was a Florida State Trooper complained that “church folk” were some of the worst drivers out there, believing that simply ’cause they go to church they have to right to speed and engage in other traffic violations. Is that a good example of living in faith? In using their church attendance as an excuse for speeding they left a poor impression on my cousin of ‘church folk’.
Matthew 22:36-40

36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?”
37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your G-d with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
38 This is the great and first commandment.
39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

The who is my neighbor thing is answered in Luke 10:29-37, which summed up means everyone is your neighbor.
I warned you I’d get preachy.
Peace.

Got an email from a reader relating his experience with getting attacked by the kids who hang out by the entrance of the R St exit. He’d like to know if others have had the same problem. I am aware of kids making a nuisence of themselves around the entrance and just figured it was kids being annoying kids, didn’t think that the little booggers would be violent and criminal.
Anyway:

Hi,

Do you know anything about a group of kids that stands
around the metro at R and 8th and assaults people when
they come out? This happened to me last night
(Saturday) around 10 p.m. I was walking out of the
Metro to an art show opening near 6th and T, and 5 or
more kids (age 13, 14, 15?) were standing on either
side of the metro, a total of maybe 10 or 12 kids.
After we had walked about a half block they ran to
catch up with us. One came up beside me, said “how
you doing?” and hit me in the face with a pipe.

After I recovered, my fiancee helped me to the seven
eleven near there and the very helpful clerks called
emergency services and gave me some napkins. The
medics cleaned me up and the cops took my report, then
gave us a ride to the art show (didn’t want to let it
spoil our night, I would have felt even worse then).

Apparently this is a phenomenon with which some
neighbors are familiar; a 30-40 year old man came by
just after it happened, and seemed angered by it in an
“oh, man, not this again” kind of way – he ran off
after the kids yelling at them. Some of the seven
eleven staff also seemed to have that attitude when we
told them where it happened and that it was a group of
young teenagers (I can’t remember their exact words;
I was groggy and bleeding). Same with the cops.

I received an e-mail yesterday about an exciting development coming to the area… a sit down restaurant. Mike Benson & company apparently won the bidding of the Firehouse on North Cap and will be proceeding with their plans. Very exciting and anxiously waited for. Here’s a snip about the proposed project from the Mayor’s press release:

Vacant for nearly a decade, Old Engine Company 12 will transform into a full-service, sit-down restaurant named “EC-12” with a second-floor cultural and performing arts space programmed by XM Satellite Radio, a marketing partner on the team, who will broadcast live music events from the location. The lounge will also provide community meeting and exhibition space. EC-12 will include a sidewalk café and a renovated roof top deck to accommodate an outdoor seating area.

So we’re getting a restaurant and an entertainment venue. Perfect. If it’s executed anywhere near as well as Café Saint-Ex or Bar Pilar, we’ve got a new hangout in the area. What would be even better is if this becomes an anchor for some more restaurants, bars and retail on North Cap around Florida Ave.

We had a very nice January. So far, so good with February but it may turn.
The weather has been so nice and relatively mild that it’s got me thinking gardening. I mean it’s been really mild because the damned passion flower vine still lives, as does the arugula, the scallions, coriander, Corsican mint and pansies in the back. The rosemary is flowering and the hanging basket of whatever still lives. It was cool because last night I had this recipe I was sort of following and it required scallions. So I went outside and harvested the little baby scallions that survived so far. That is just wonderful.
I really want to attack the front yard. I want to buy a picthfork for digging up the friggin weed that took over (and they’re good for storming Frankenstein’s castle) my whole lawn. Peas will definitely be planted before February is out. Lot’s and lots of peas, because last year they were so good. The usual front yard staples will be planted in Spring, the tomatoes, the basil, the mint (well that will just spring up on its own) and thyme. The blueberries will remain, and I plant two more bushes and at least one of them will die.
I rescued an abandoned old green recycle bin (circa Sharon Pratt Kelly) from the metro station and I think I will plant onions and shallots in that. But I would love to have, but I don’t think they exist, a Marion Barry era, with his name on it, recycle bin to plant in.
When I was out with Jimbo he was telling me of his gardening plans. Unfortunately, Jimbo is a renter so he has to convince his landlord to let him play in the dirt. However, Jim and I garden different. He’s into the attractive plants. Me, if the plant don’t feed me I have little use for the plant.