Category: Uncategorized

COMMUNITY UPDATE

By Commissioner J. Berry, ANC 5C

CSOSA Sponsors Fifth District CJAN Meeting on 11/29/2006:

The Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia cordially invites you to the Fifth District Community Justice Advisory Network (CJAN) meeting on Wednesday, November 29, 2006, from 7:00 p.m. until 8:30 p.m., at the CSOSA Field Office, located at 910 Rhode Island Avenue, N.E. The topic of discussion for the evening is “What CSOSA is doing to help fight crime?” Tours of this relatively new facility will take place from 7:00 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. For more information concerning the CJAN and to RSVP, please contact Alice Harper, Community Relations Specialist – 5D, at (202) 220-5320.

Mayor-Elect Fenty’s Ward Five Town Hall Meeting on 11/30/ 2006:

Mayor-Elect Adrian Fenty invites you to a Town Hall Meeting to talk about our future and the work of his Transition Team. The theme of this meeting is “From Ideas to Action.” The meeting will take place at the Joseph H. Cole Recreation Center Gymnasium, 1200 Morse Street, N.E. , this coming Thursday, November 30, 2006, commencing at 6:30 p.m. Mayor-Elect Fenty encourages you to come out to “Be Part of a Bright New Vision for a Brighter Future.” Ward Five Council Member-Elect Harry “Tommy” Thomas will also be on hand. For more information regarding this meeting and/or the Fenty Transition, please contact Joshua Lopez at (202) 478-9268. The Transition Team’s web address is www.fentytransition.org.
Daytime Residential Street Sweeping Suspended From 12/4/2006 to 3/ 31/ 2007:
Every winter, the Department of Public Works (DPW) temporarily suspends weekly, (signed) residential street cleaning. This year’s sweeper hiatus will start earlier than usual, on December 4, 2006, and will extend to March 31, 2007. This longer period will allow 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 will also be lifted. 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.

Center City Action Agenda 2007 Stakeholders Meeting on 12/6/2006:

The DC Office of Planning, in conjunction with the Downtown Business Improvement District, is leading a planning process to develop a new action agenda for Washington ‘s center city. The purpose of this new agenda is to develop a list of key strategic initiatives that need to be implemented over the next 18-months in order to reach a new set of five-goals for the center city – an area stretching from Dupont Circle to the SE-SW Waterfront and from Foggy Bottom to Capitol Hill. A “Stakeholder’s Meeting” is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, December 6, 2006 at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Rehearsal Hall, 641 D Street, N.W. The meeting will take place between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. As residents of the District of Columbia , we are all “stakeholders” in this important and fairly massive planning effort. For more information concerning the meeting and/or the Center City 2007 Action Agenda, please contact Kevin Brady at (202) 741-5241 or at Kevin.Brady @ dc.gov. Additional information re. the work of the planning group to date can be found on the DC Office of Planning’s web site, i.e., www.planning.dc.gov.

Last Call for Leaf Collection:

The DC Department of Public Works has been collecting leaves since November 6, 2006 and will continue to do so through January 6, 2007. Three options have been made available to us during this time. They are as follows:

1. Rake loose leaves into piles in your curbside tree box space. They will be collected with a vacuum truck;

2. Place bagged leaves in your curbside tree box space and they will be collected by a packer truck; or

3. Because we have alley trash collection, you may place bagged leaves where we put our trash and those leaves will be collected with the trash.

For our area of Ward Five (i.e., Area B), our final opportunity to get our leaves collected during the DPW’s regular scheduling of such services is rapidly approaching. Specifically, we are to rake leaves into the tree boxes closest to our homes by Sunday, December 10, 2006 and they will be collected by the either by the vacuum truck or, for bagged leaves, the trash truck, between December 11 and December 16, 2006.

The option of placing bagged leaves in the alley on trash collection day is always available as an alternative to the above two.

Tips from the DPW:
1. The DPW strongly encourages us to take advantage of the vacuuming option, as it is easiest for their trucks and it allows the leaves to be composted for reuse.

2. Rake leaves into a pile in the tree box in front of your property, not into the street. Leaves in the street create parking problems and fire hazards.

3. Rake leaves into tree box spaces by the Sunday prior to your areas scheduled collection.

4. Please — leaves only. No tree limbs, bricks, dirt, rocks, etc. They will damage the equipment and slow down collection.

5. Leaves from the rear of your property may be bagged and placed in the front tree box area or wherever your trash is normally collected.

6. DPW will vacuum leaves at least twice from each street during leaf season.

7. On the first pass, crews will focus on vacuuming tree box spaces and clearing potentially hazardous situations. A more thorough cleaning will occur on subsequent passes.

8. Keep catch basins clear of loose leaves and debris.

9. Neighborhood schedules have been developed based on past leaf falls but no two seasons are exactly the same. Please be patient.

10. If DC gets an early snowfall, scheduled service will be delayed. Leaf collection crews and trucks are also used to clear streets of snow.

Public Safety Coordinator Position Available for Northwest One Community:

The Perry School Community Services Center, Inc. is seeking a Public Safety Coordinator for the Northwest One Community, working under the supervision of the Northwest One Council to improve public safety and prevent and reduce crime in the Northwest One Community. Studies by the Urban Institute and D.C. Government in the mid-1980s revealed that the local community had high percentages of welfare dependency, unemployment, school dropouts, juvenile delinquency and single parent families and was considered clinically poor. Other poverty-related conditions exist. In response, the community created the Perry Center , the most comprehensive human services center in DC, with 10 autonomous but collaborating organizations providing a continuum of human services from prenatal care to elderly assistance. To address poverty and crime in this area and others in DC, the local government created the New Communities program and joined with the Northwest One Council — a consortium of tenant associations, churches, and community organizations — to create a mixed income community with human services. The salary of this position is $35,000 plus benefits. This position is funded by a grant from the DC Department of Housing and Community Development and, as such, continuation of the position is dependent upon the availability of continued funding. For more information about the position and/or to acquire an application, you may contact Jerry Coleman, Executive Director, Northwest One Council, at 128 M Street, N.W., Suite 15 , Washington , DC 2001 or you may email him at jerrylcoleman@aol.com. The deadline for the submission of applications for this position is Friday, December 8, 2006.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Sharon Cooke
November 17, 2006
District Department of the Environment

Energy Office (DDOE)
2000 14th St., NW, 3rd floor Washington, DC 20009
(202) 528-8549

FREE Home Energy Audits Available

The District Department Environment’ s (DDOE) Energy division, in partnership with Honeywell Corporation is offering FREE Home Energy Rating System audits (HERS). DDOE offers free home energy audits to DC single family homeowner’s interested in addressing energy efficiency. A Honeywell certified energy auditor will identify a home’s energy deficiencies and provide homeowners with cost- effective recommendations, that when installed will reduce energy loss in the home.

Along with the audit, interested homeowners will be provided a list of DDOE’s partnering financial institutions (Industrial Bank, DC Government Federal Credit Union, or the Operation HOPE Center) to apply for an energy efficient mortgage and/or loan (EEM/loans) enabling the purchase of audit recommended measures or improvements.
Standard credit requirements are a determining factor to qualify for an EEM.

The only program eligibility requirements are District residency and District homeownership. Interested persons are encouraged to call the Energy Hotline at (202) 673-6750 to schedule a FREE audit.

For more information on the HERS program please visit the DDOE website at www.ddoe.dc. gov.

I was so proud of myself.
I biked to work, early enough to get out before some of the more annoying drivers hit the road. I could see the Capitol building as I biked down New Jersey Avenue, and it dissappeared and reappeared behind the buildings as I wandered in the direction of Judicary Square. Note that I was on the one speed ugly bike, the one that I can bike in a skirt in, so not having to deal with heavy traffic is a goal.
So I get to work in about 15ish minutes. I lock up the bike and head towards work reaching for my badge. No badge. I forgot it and I could picture where it was sitting. While I padded myself hoping that I might have misplaced it in a pocket, I pondered working without it. Unfortunately, I have to deal with 3 layers of security (human, mechanical and electronic) to get any work done and all the methods to get through those layers were back home. I could wear the temporary badge of shame and get an electronic pass but to chase down all that down would take just as long to bike back home and get my stupid badge.
This was the slight upside of living close to work. Of course the better upside is that my biking commute is about 15-20 minutes, a vast improvement over the 45 mins -1.5 hour commute I had previously.

I’ve been informed that Leroy Thorpe requested a recount.
So much for the Lord giving and taking away. Admittedly the 5 vote diff was too small not to pass up. Remember this for next year when you don’t think your vote counts.
UPDATE: The Mt. Vernon Sq blog has a wee bit more info.

Over on the main site where I have announcements I posted something that our ANC Jim Berry sent out yesterday. It’s about the Armstrong School over on P Street. CAPCS, the organization that bought the school and is renovating it so that sometime before the Second Coming it will be an arts school, is requesting DC bond money. What does this mean? I have no clue, complex finances this early in the morning makes my brain hurt.
However the problem our Great Leader (until Anita takes over) has was he didn’t get notice of the bond hearing until this weekend, for a hearing TODAY. The letter was dated on the 21st. He got it on the 25th. Yes, there was Thanksgiving in the middle of it so that mucked things up.
Anyway, if you are a stakeholder (ie you live close to the Armstrong school) and you’re not doing anything today around noon, you may want to scoot on down to a Committee on Finance and Revenue meeting at the Wilson Building, room 120.
UPDATE:
Neighbors,

I contacted the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development the first thing this morning and learned that the hearing proposed for today at Noon would be postponed. According to Mr. Gregory Johnson, the hearing was noticed in the newspaper on Saturday, November 11, 2006 and the notice that was sent to me on November 21, 2006, was a reminder. Nevertheless, he told me that the DC Revenue Bond application from the CAPCS would not be considered today, largely because of issues admittedly related to the inadequacy of the notice to the general public. In this regard, he asked me to share the below notice with you.
Because I haven’t had an opportunity to review the application, I don’t know how I feel about its contents. On the one hand, if the CAPCS wants to borrow money from the city in order to renovate the historic Armstrong building and open the originally proposed charter school, then I can live with that request. On the other hand, if the CAPCS wants to borrow money from the city to build housing in order to finance the renovation and opening of the charter school, then I am strongly opposed to this strategy.
As you know, I have a little more than 30 days to continue to serve as commissioner from Single Member District 5C01; hence, I am developing a transition document for Anita Bonds that will include a list of the issues I have been working on as well as an outline of the status of each issue. My desire and my plan is to make the transition process a seamless one, so I also plan to sit down with Anita and Kris Hammond, the Commissioner-Elect for Single Member District 5C02, to discuss the transition document with them as well as to pass along to them copies of any files or documents that they might be interested in retaining for their respective records. Perhaps needless to say, the ultimate disposition of the Armstrong School building will be near the very top of my list!
Best,
Jim Berry
ANC 5C

See Frozen Tropics for more details.

Neighbors,

As you will note in the attached, The Community Academy Public Charter School (CAPCS) has submitted an application to the District of Columbia Revenue Bond Program for tax-exempt funding up to $24 million to renovate Armstrong School as well as to make major improvements to two other CAPCS Campus properties. A hearing on the CAPCS application is scheduled to take place tomorrow at Noon. Curiously, the letter notifying me of the hearing was dated November 21, 2006 and it did not arrive at my home until Saturday, November 25, 2006.

While the Armstrong School does not fall within the boundaries of my Single Member District, it resides on our southern border and, of equal importance, for many years it has been a topic of great interest to the Bates Area Civic Association, Inc. as well at to a number of my constituents who live in very close proximity to it. While I am on record as being supportive of the placement of a CAPCS at this site, I am not supportive of any plan that includes the construction of housing (of any kind) at this location in order to make the financing of the proposed school work.

Perhaps needless to say, I am concerned that notice of this hearing would be sent to me within less than seven days of its proposed occurrence and during a span of time that is interrupted by one of the most significant and distracting holiday periods of the year. Because I am not able to make an adjustment to my pre-existing schedule of professional commitments in order to make the hearing tomorrow, I am equally disturbed that the deadline for the submission of written testimony was on Monday, November 20, 2006 (or, the day after the letter was drafted and,.presumably, placed in the mail to me notifying me of the scheduled hearing).

I plan on contacting the Mr.. Gregory Johnson, Program Analyst, DC Revenue Bond – Enterprise Zone Program, to voice my strong objections to the total inadequacy of the notice given to me (as a representative from an adjacent ANC). In addition, I am going to express my concerns to Mr. Eric Goulet, Clerk of the Committee on Finance and Revenue of the Council of the District of Columbia, and (at a minimum) demand that the record for public comment on this application be extended until December 4, 2006 so as to give myself and other interested residents of our community a reasonable opportunity to review and comment on the CAPCS application, should the Committee on Finance and Revenue proceed with the hearing in spite of the objections aforementioned.

I will keep you posted of future developments concerning this situation as I learn about them.

Best,

Jim Berry
ANC 5C
Armstrong_Bond_Review_Hearing.pdf

It’s the start of the season when people ain’t around and I got take in folks’ mail because the Post Office is hit or miss and the Washington Post doesn’t always remember what days not to to deliver the paper. Lucky me I have family in the area, and I volunteered to host the Thanksgiving dinner. Mainly, so I won’t have to deal with this next year (the location circulates btwn relatives). So I am going to take a wee little break from the posting this week.
I’ll be back to blogging (but physically, not going anywhere) Monday. Then I may chat about ANCs, buildings that need to be torn down the 1st chance you get, metro, old houses, the 1900 census, and maybe tackle the most sacred season in all of Capitalism, Black Friday to the After Christmas Sales.
Drive, cycle, metro and walk safely.

Neighbors,

As you know, I have been involved with a protest of the renewal of the Alcoholic Beverage Control license of Walter Johnson’s Liquors for the past number of months. In this regard, I have been to several status hearings regarding the protest and, in recent months, to two sessions that were formally mediated by a representative from the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration. The owner of this establishment has been in attendance at the last couple of meetings of the Bates Area Civic Association, Inc, where we have discussed a number of the concerns about the operations of the business. Indeed, I hope these meetings have helped this business owner to understand how strongly we object from some of he practices that emanate from his business and, of equal importance, some of the improvements that need to be made to its physical structure and “feel, ” if it is to attract a clientele beyond those who support the business via their serial purchases of half-pints of Odessa Vodka, as an example, throughout the course of each business day. I also circulated a copy of the existing Cooperative Agreement for this establishment, soliciting your feedback.

The current owner of the store is in the process of selling it to a new owner. It seems that the current owner is recuperating from heart by-pass surgery and he has decided that he no longer has the physical stamina to operate the business. The new owner appears interested in and serious about the goal of working with the community to make certain recommended improvements to the store and we are in touch with the owner of the building (a different person than the operator of the business) to encourage him to do the same to the facade of the premises. As you know, I will be retiring from ANC 5C in another month, so I will no longer have the formal standing the be a lead person on the continued protest of this license, moving forward. Given this reality, I have gotten the owner to agree to work with a “committee” of the ANC throughout the current renewal term in order that the improvements agreed to at this time as well as those that might be recommended by the ANC “committee” in the future will be tied to the legal force of the instant agreement.

I attach a copy of the agreement that I am proposing for adoption by ANC 5C at our meeting tomorrow for your information. If we, residents of the community, help my successors on ANC 5C to hold the new owner and operator of Walter Johnson’s Liquors accountable for its terms, I am inclined to believe that the community will derive significant benefit from the agreement and, to a major extent, we will be able to exercise some measure of control over its existing negative impact upon our general quality of life. At some point in the future, it is my prayer that we will see a desired alternative to a liquor store in operation at this prime location. However, for now, the following is the best that I am able to commend to you.

Best,

Jim Berry
ANC 5C

GOVERNMENT OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION 5C

POST OFFICE BOX 77761

WASHINGTON , D.C. 20013

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
TELEPHONE: (202) 832-1965/1966 – FAX: (202) 832-1969

www.anc5c.org

Cooperative Agreement

between
Walter Johnson Liquors and Advisory Neighborhood Commission 5C

(ANC 5C)

WHEREAS, C& B Incorporated., (“Licensee”) has applied to renew an Alcoholic Beverage Control Retail Class A license for the business trading as Walter Johnson Liquors, located at 1542 North Capitol Street, N.W.; Ret. –Renewal Application No.: 1711-03/032P; and

WHEREAS, the Licensee and ANC 5C have discussed the concerns of the neighborhood and have reached an understanding relating to the operation of the Licensee’s business, as well as the level of cooperation that shall exist between the Licensee and ANC 5C;

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the Licensee’s commitment to fully comply with the terms of this Cooperative Agreement, as set forth herein, ANC 5C agrees to withdraw its protest of the renewal of its license. Specifically, the Licensee agrees to the following:

1. That the Licensee will comply with all laws and regulations governing the operations of the establishment at 1542 North Capitol Street, N.W., within the District of Columbia, including the laws and regulations governing the Class A (Retail) license to which this Cooperative Agreement applies, as applied for and previously approved by the District of Columbia in the name of the Licensee;

2. That the Licensee and its officers and employees will cooperate with Advisory Neighborhood Commission 5C (“ANC”) to address any alleged violation of the laws and regulations referred to in Item One (1), and in any request by the ANC that the appropriate enforcement agency investigate any alleged violation.

3. That the Licensee will not sell alcohol before or after ABC regulated hours.

4. That the Licensee will keep the public space surrounding its business free of debris and trash.

5. That the Licensee will take reasonable measures to ensure that the immediate

environs of the location are kept free of litter and debris. The “immediate environs” is defined in Section 720.2 of the ABC regulations as including “all property on which the premises are located; all property used by the licensee to conduct business, whether part of the premises or not; including parking lots and portions of alleys, sidewalks, or other public property immediately adjacent to the premises or adjacent to the property used by the licensee to conduct business.”

6. That the Licensee will prohibit loitering in front of the business and that they take whatever actions are necessary to enforce such a prohibition and will post No Loitering signs in a prominent place on the exterior of its establishment.

7. That the Licensee will not provide “go cups” to customers. A “go-cup” is defined in Section 709.7 of the ABC regulations as a “drinking utensil provided at no charge or a nominal charge to customers for the purpose of consuming (alcoholic) beverages.”

8. That the Licensee will not sell or provide miniature bags of ice to customers. The Licensee will use clear plastic bags when making single sales of beer, malt or fortified wines and other alcoholic beverages.

9. That the Licensee will not sell single cigarettes; nor rolling paper, crack bags, or other drug paraphernalia to customers.

10. That the Licensee will not advertise alcoholic beverages on the exterior walls of the property used by the licensee to conduct business.

11. That the Licensee will promptly remove or paint over any graffiti written on the exterior walls of the property used by the licensee to conduct business.

12. That the Licensee will post signs in English, advising its customers that the licensee will not sell alcohol to intoxicated persons.

13. That the Licensee, in consultation with a committee to be formed by the protestant, shall make improvements regarding the appearance of the business. Appended, hereto, as “Attachment” is a preliminary list of suggested improvements. Such improvements shall be completed no later than May 1, 2007. Lastly the committee will remain in place to work on recommended improvements to the appearance of the business with the Licensee and the owner of the building throughout this renewal period.

14. That the Licensee will not sell or deliver alcohol in any form to any intoxicated person, any person who appears to be intoxicated, or to any person whom the Licensee knows to be an abuser of alcohol.

15. That the Licensee will not sell of deliver alcohol in any form to any person under 21 years of age.

16. That the Licensee will take all precautions to avoid the sale of alcohol in any form to anyone accompanying a person who has been denied service, if it appears that an attempt is being made to buy alcohol for the person who has been denied service.

17. That the Licensee agrees to work with the ANC 5C to resolve problems that the commission brings to its attention. Specifically, the Licensee agrees to respond within seven (7) business days to any written complaint that it receives from ANC 5C and further agrees to document its efforts to respond to such complaints.

18. That the Licensee will provide the community (via ANC 5C) at least ninety (90) days notice of any intention to place the business on the market, i.e., should the Licensee make a decision to sell or transfer its business.

19. That the Licensee agrees to post this Cooperative Agreement, alongside his ABC license.

20. That the Licensee give their assurance that all of its employees will adhere to the provisions of this agreement, particularly with respect to the sale of alcohol in any form.

The provisions of this Cooperative Agreement shall become part of the conditions of the ABC license and shall remain in force upon renewal or transfer of the liquor license. Violations of this Cooperative Agreement by the Licensee, or the Licensee’s failure to implement measures called for in this Cooperative Agreement, shall be considered just cause for the ABC Board to immediately suspend or revoke the ABC license granted to its establishment.

AGREED:

For the Licensees:

_____________________________________ Date: _________________________

_____________________________________

_____________________________________

For Advisory Neighborhood Commission 5C:

_____________________________________ Date: _________________________

_____________________________________

_____________________________________

JDB

ATTACHMENT:

1. Replace flooring with new floor tiles.

2. Improve lighting inside and outside of the establishment.

3. Paint interior walls and counter faces with a light attractive color.

4. Improve retail display areas so that they are more inviting to customers..

5. Make certain that exterior glass is clean and free from obstructions at all times.

6. Erect security cameras on the exterior of the facility that would provide a view of loiterers and vagrants who might be inclined to congregate outside of the establishment.

..I can see Dunbar High School from the corner of Florida and North Capitol. It is part of the skyline of the neighborhood. Now keep that in mind when someone wants to fiddle around with zoning rules to make a tall building. What is it? Nine or ten stories tall? A little further downtown a tall building next to a bunch of other tall buildings really don’t matter much. However, a tall building surrounded by a bunch of 2-3 story small homes, sticks out.