Month: January 2007

Be safe

It was weird because I got the same message in about 10 minutes of the other. I was in Mt. Vernon one night and went to buy from one of the liquor stores that has worked with the community (y’all need a sticker “neighborhood approved liquor store”) and as I leaving the proprietor said “Be safe.” I wished him the same and left. My fear in the city isn’t getting shot or mugged (and those things could happen) but rather getting hit with a car. I walk, I ride my bike and there are too many idiots running around with SUVs who can’t stay in their lane, dismiss traffic rules, and essentially can’t drive. That was running through my head when heading down 5th Street, by a notorious corner and one fellow standing on the street said hello and then “be safe.” Weird.
But things haven’t been that safe. On the Eckington listserv, this weekend, there is the story of the XM employee robbed. This week there have been a few shootings in Shaw. Just as I was hoping that things were starting to look up….

Death Notice

From Jim
Neighbors,

Below please find the death notice that appeared in The Washington Post on Sunday, January 7, 2006 regarding Sgt. Thomas W. Sweeney — a longtime veteran of the Metropolitan Police Department and of its Fifth District. Sgt. Sweeney has been assigned to the Edgewood community for many years and throughout this term of service, he was a friend, mentor and guide to several generations of youths whom he helped to shepherd into adulthood as well as responsible lives. Ironically, he gave the Fifth District Police crime report at our most recent meeting of ANC 5C on December 16, 2006 and now, in less than a month, he is no longer with us.

Be good to yourselves and those whom you love. Tomorrow is not promised to any of us!!!

Best,

Jim Berry
President, BACA

Thomas W. Sweeney
SWEENEY
THOMAS W. SWEENEY, SGT.
Metropolitan Police 5th District

suddenly on Wednesday, January 3, 2007 at Southern Maryland Hospital. He was the beloved husband of Thelma J. Sweeney and the loving father of three daughters, Kelvina, Jennifer and Stephanie. Also leaves two grandchildren, one sister Lislie English and a host of other relatives. Family will receive friends on Wednesday, January 10, 2007 at 9 a.m. until time of funeral, 11 a.m. at Pennsylvania Avenue Baptist Church, 3000 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E., Washington, DC. Private interment Arlington National Cemetery. Services entrusted to B.K. HENRY FUNERAL HOME.

BACA meeting tonight

MONTHLY MEETING NOTICE

Invited Guest:

Harry (Tommy) Thomas, Jr.

Council Member, Ward Five

Agenda for the Evening also Includes a Discussion of Goals relating to the Following Committees:
Public Safety

Youth Services

Transportation

Land Use, Planning and Economic Development

Membership

Monday, January 8, 2007
Mount Sinai Baptist Church
3rd and Q Streets, N.W.

Rooms 1 and 2
7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m.

For more information regarding the meeting and/or the Association, contact J. Berry at (202) 387-8520; email him at jamojam@msn.com; or visit www.dcbaca.org

Community Update
Happy New Year:

As we enter into 2007, please know that the Bates Area Civic Association, Inc. acknowledges and sincerely appreciates the contribution of each and every resident to make and keep our community a clean, safe and productive place in which to live, work, worship and raise our children. Indeed, it is our hope that 2007 is the best year ever for you and your family members!!!

Christmas Tree Collection Reminder: January 2-13, 2007

Residents who have not disposed of their trees yet are encouraged to put them – without ornaments or tinsel – in curbside tree boxes. Trees are being picked up during a special two-week collection from January 2 – 13. Residents who wish to keep their trees longer should put them out at their normal point of trash collection (curbside or alley) after January 13. DPW will then collect the trees along with the regular trash, as truck space permits over the following weeks.

Mechanical Street Sweeping Suspended From 12/4/2006 to 3/ 31/ 2007: A Reminder!

Every winter, the Department of Public Works (DPW) temporarily suspends weekly, (signed) residential street cleaning. This year’s sweeper hiatus started earlier than usual, i.e., on December 4, 2006, and will extend to March 31, 2007. This longer period will allowed DPW to shift personnel sooner from street sweeping duties in order to focus on fall leaf collection, and will keep employees in place longer to cope with any late season snow removal. During this time, “no parking/street cleaning” restrictions has also been lifted. As such, residents and visitors who park along posted, alternate-side, daytime street sweeping routes will not be required to move their cars on street-cleaning days during the sweeper hiatus. Posted residential street cleaning resumes Monday, April 2, 2007.

Next Meeting of ANC 5C: Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Please be advised that the next meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 5C is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, 1/16/2007, from 7:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m., at the Harry L. Thomas Recreation Center, 1743 Lincoln Road, N.E. Because this is the first meeting of the year, the annual election of officers will be the first order of business on the agenda. BACA member and longtime community activist Ms. Anita Bonds will be representing Single Member District 5C01 for the new term and representing the southern portion of our service area (5C02) will be Eckington resident Mr. Kris Hammond. The BACA looks forward to working closely and cooperatively with these two new members of ANC 5C. Indeed, we have no hesitancy in predicting that the next two years will be highly productive and fruitful ones for the residents of our area.

A Profile of Ward Five Council Member Harry “Tommy” Thomas, Jr.:

Council Member Thomas is a third generation Washingtonian. He was born and raised in Ward Five and educated in the DC Public School system. He is currently the Founder and Director of D.C. First Swing/Team Thomas, Incorporated – a grass roots organization that is committed to making the District of Columbia a world technology leader and providing quality community development and youth programming. He is the former Vice President for Public Affairs at DC General Hospital . Mr. Thomas is a graduate of Bowie State University , with a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Relations/Journalism. Mr. Thomas is married to Diane Romo Thomas, M.S.W. and is the proud parent of three boys and two girls. He volunteers his time as a youth mentor and sports coach in the Ward Five community. (This profile was taken from Council Member Thomas’ campaign website.)

ANC 2C meeting

Off Seventh has posted You Tube footage of the Wednesday meeting.
Commentary can be found at Le Slum, 5th & O, and the Life in Mt Vernon Sq blog.
I have to say, you guys over there in 2C have done a lot to keep your neighbors informed and I applaud you. With the strokes from your keyboards you have brought down a tyrant, brought together neighbors, highlighted businesses and events for our little corner of the city. You have done what no major paper, radio station or TV channel could ever do. Keep doing it!

1,000th post: I should write something deep

Technically this is post 1,000 according to blogger.
I was intending on writing on the bruh-ha-ha I saw at Florida and North Cap at around 3:30pm. Lights, cops, traffic moving slow, and lots of people milling around. Then it occurred to me that I’ve seen a similar scene around about the same time on a different day, fewer police cars, no ambulance and traffic seemed to move at a normal pace, so could this be a regular after school scene? But yesterday about three DC Officials (cops and fire rescue guys) were standing around a few bums seated on a stoop, appearing to be asking questions.
But 1,000 posts. That’s a lot for a blog focusing on one little house in a little neighborhood, part of a bigger neighborhood in the capitol of the Free world. I’ll probably write the state of the blog a little later in the month. Thanks for all the support.

Adventures in Diversity: Trash

This weekend I spied that the neighbors put their big green trash bin out and their blue bin was overflowing with trash in bags. For those of you who don’t know, the blue bin is for recycling. Also we don’t have trash pick up on the weekends.
This is where I became the buttinsky neighbor. I took the trash bag on top and threw it into one of the other neighbor’s not-so-full trash cans. Then I grabbed a brochure from DPW I had stuck to the fridge and walked over to the recycling offender’s house. I knocked on the door and the kids answered. I said that the city wasn’t collecting trash that day and they won’t take trash from the recycling cans. I got a wide-eyed saucer look and they yelled something back to their mom in the rear of the house. Mom came to the front, I tried to explain myself and then handed her the brochure.
I should mention, Mom does not speak English. Or Spanish, that other great American language. I’m not really sure if the kids speak English either. Dad speaks perfect English, however, Dad wasn’t home.
Also this is not the first time I have made attempts to explain the trash/ recycling system to the family. When they first moved in their trash can never got to the curb. They would fill it. But it never moved to the spot where the garbage men would take it. I mentioned it to the son, but he just smiled and nodded. It still did not move until I moved it. Once that was done, they figured it out.
I have no idea what language the family speaks. I understand that their native land is diverse with several ethnic groups and a couple of languages…. Well that’s what I sort of remember from a speech given at some street fair in Adams Morgan.
The DPW brochure has a bunch of big pictures showing what kinds of materials go into the blue bin. Hopefully, this will help in my evil plan to impose my western recycling values. Next, imposing my anti-littering values on the native population.

Where did the parking go?

Things didn’t go as planned New Years Eve. We started off at Glen Echo and finished the night in College Park playing show tunes on the piano as the hired band packed up. Anyway it was late and rainy and the chauffeur didn’t think he could get to Springfield to drop off the rest of the party. So they decided to crash at my place.
I thought at one or two AM, there would be plenty of parking on my street. Nope. The chauffeur had to park in an empty church owned lot or either the parking lot of G&G’s. This is one of the annoyances of neighborhood progress, lack of parking. Normally, parking, not much of an issue for me since I don’t own a car. But I do become more aware of it when I have to host car-people. Particularly, suburban car people for whom parallel parking is no easy task.
I understand as the neighborhood fills up, parking becomes dear. Also it may have been a fluke of a midnight church service running long, because as I look out my window, there is now parking. Yay.