BACA meeting pt1

I’m only covering 2 things here Flower Power & Joe Mamo.
Awards for the BACA Flower Power were passed out at the meeting yesterday night by Mary Ann Wilmner and a DC official (parks or public works, I don’t remember) anyways the winners are as follows:

Front yard
1603 New Jersey Avenue 1st place
1517 First Street 2nd place/tie
210 R Street 2nd place/tie
144 Bates Street 2nd place/tie
Back Yard
408 Richardson Place 1st place
1616 4th Street 2nd place
1722 4th Street 3rd place
Entire Block
Richardson Place 1st place
1500 Block First Street 2nd place/tie
1600 Block 4th Street 2nd place/tie

Second thing, Joe Mamo, whose name makes me want to go into a slew of ‘yo mama’ jokes. A while back Mr. Mamo went to various civic meetings and the 5C ANC meetings all to get community support so he could get variances to get a condo built on the corner of North Cap and Florida. Well Art Slater went to a community meeting over in the Ft. Lincoln neighborhood and found out that Mr. Mamo had a gas station there. The Ft. Lincoln community asked that he not put a check cashing place where the gas station once stood. But lo and behold. There is a Check and Go there. So it makes one wonder if Mr. Mamo is a man of his word.

‘Everyone’ is the problem

(Hat tip to Frozen Tropics for pointing out the National Housing institute Shelter Force piece.)

I think part of the problem is everyone. Well the word “everyone”. Last year USA Today published an article Studies: Gentrification a Boost for Everyone by Rick Hampson. Recently in the NHI’s online Shelter Force Dr. Kathe Newman and Elvin Wyly wrote Gentrification and Resistance in New York City disputing the USA Today article.
Not everyone gets a boost from various things and the report that the USA Today article was based on didn’t claim that gentrification helped every single person in a gentrifing neighborhood. It was USA Today that made the error.
The USA article does not ignore that gentrification is a hardship. It just doesn’t harp on it. As with the case of Maria Marquez, who sleeps on her couch so that other family members can have the bedrooms. She stays despite the rising rents. The way I read the article is that there are more determined poor who hold on and stay on in gentrifying neighborhoods despite rising taxes and rents by doubling up, making deals with landlords, or a variety of other things. And the poor stay on because the neighborhood is improving.
I think it should be said, even though it should be obvious, the poor, like any other group don’t like living in crappy ass neighborhoods any more than anyone else. No working mother says, “hey move me somewhere with bad schools and gang bangers.” People in poor neighborhoods may be resigned to the high crime, lousy retail choices, and what not, but they don’t desire high crime, lousy retail, poor police response, pitiful city services any more than anyone else. So when it looks like better schools and safer streets come to the poor, that seems like a pretty good incentive to stick around. I felt that needed to be addressed.
And yes, I do realize that when gentrification comes to the hood the poor don’t all start going “yipee”. It is another burden, but depending if you are willing to pay the price, a burden with benefits.

Beautiful Ruins now fixed and up for sale

Back in March of this year I went on the open house for 1536 New Jersey Avenue, now it has been renovated and is up for sale. I wish I could be at the open house tomorrow (noon till 3pm), but I have another appointment. I would love to see what the investors did with it and if they actually did truly improve the property.
Back when I reviewed it the house was up for sale for $429K. After renovations, it is about $870K. As the house was huge and the amount of work needed to make the house habitable, I’m going to hold off from saying the price is crack fueled. It may be well worth it.

1617 New Jersey Ave

Dear Second Rate Construction Crew,
Last night was the last straw. Shoveling glass on concrete at 2am in the morning, there is no excuse for that. And no, I wasn’t the one who yelled out the window that hey, it’s 2 o’clock in the morning, but I do applaud whomever did.
Sincerely,
InShaw

For about a year now the house at 1617 New Jersey Avenue, NW has been under some level of crackhead construction. The house had been gutted and at one point they completely knocked out the rear wall, yes, the whole back wall. The back wall was rebuilt with concrete blocks and covered up with stucco. Then for a while nothing.
Later, construction began again with a loud and annoying crew. Sadly the loudness didn’t make them work faster. Because other projects in the neighborhood progressed at a quicker rate and went up for sale as these guys were still fooling around. Cause really, yakking on the phone to your girlfriend does not get the drywall up any faster.
As Spring turned to Summer it got worse. The loud and slow construction crew started working more and more outside the 7 to 7 rules. 7 to 7 means construction is not to start before 7AM and is supposed to end after 7PM. In the past month, the fat shirtless guy doing the ‘work’ would try his hand at hammering or sawing something at 10PM. Really, when it is dark and all you are going by is the alley light, building a deck is not the smartest thing. In the past month or more there have been signs that this is not this guy’s primary job. Apparently there is a more important job somewhere else and he get to this house afterwards, after 7 or on the weekends. That does not bode well for whomever will live in it.
I have called the DCRA’s (202) 442-STOP or 7867 number to report the illegal construction for about 2 weeks now and nothing. I’ve also called the cops, citing it as a noise complaint and that it is illegal construction. Once I got an operator questioning me wondering if the hammering at 10pm was actually ok. It’s crap like that that makes me so unhappy with the city government.
But now I’m pissed. So looking up all the information I can on the property I find that the owner,(you can find all this at the DC Govt’s website) is receiving a homestead deduction. Oh hell no. No one has been living in that house for well over a year and I suspect the folks in it before were renters. Tax fraud, nothing brings a smile to a girl’s face like discovering tax fraud. Ah!
And to any poor schmuck who decides to buy this property, go over it with a fine tooth comb and a damned good inspector because it looks like corners were cut. Or if you have a choice of another house, choose the other house.

Why did the chicken cross the road?

This is totally an Eckington thing but reported in the District section of today’s Post in the “Animal Watch” section is the strange case of a little red hen attempting to cross the road at North Capitol and S Street, NE.
The blurb does not even attempt to answer the age old question of WHY? Why did the chicken cross the road, or attempt to cross the road? I suspect a coverup because she was captured by an animal control officer, holed up in the District’s animal shelter then later whisked away to an unnamed poultry rescue group.
Then there is another question, why are there chickens in the District? It is against the law to have chickens. It’s also against the law to have handguns but apparently that doesn’t stop some people.
Well I guess we’ll never know what over at S & North Cap made the chicken want to cross the road. Or even how many roads did she cross before her final capture.

Shaw, um where’s that?

There is nothing to knock down your pride about your hood when you talk to other people and they give you this blank stare, as if you mentioned some rare medical disease, when you say “I’m from Shaw.”
Stare.
Then I go to explain where Shaw is and there is a slight effort to try to map it out in their heads. This is more depressing when the people you are talking to are other Washingtonians.
Suburbanites I can totally understand. Really, I do the same thing. My excuse is most of suburbia lacks a metro, thus I don’t go there. So anything along Quaker Lane in VA, I got no clue. Seminary Road. I’ve heard of it. I think there is a seminary on it. Duke Street? Yes, I know Duke Street, well at least the parts near the King Street metro, and Nora Bombay’s condo. Rockville Pike? Just the parts near Grovsner and White Flint. My familiarity with MD has more to do with having the stable of friends & family with cars living out there.
Maybe we gotta do more PR work to help suburbanites and Washingtonians who know nothing past 16th Street, NW. Maybe throw in phrases like, “There is a great play over in Shaw at the Studio Theater.” Or, “I’m going to Shaw to catch M.I.A. at the 9:30 Club.”

Gang recruitment?

Okay kids, don’t hang out in front of my house, late at night, talking loud, ’cause I’ll write about you.
One of the neighborhood teenage kids was hanging out last night (within curfew) with two of his school associates out on the sidewalk. Maybe the nature of their discussions was the reason why they weren’t in front of neighborhood kid’s (NK) house.
From what I could make out (ah the joy of a house with no insulation) was NK’s friends was trying to convince him that he should join up with them for his own protection against other gangs of kids who would jump him. NK was evasive and confident that he could handle his own.
The funny thing is these kids no older than 16 were calling each other ‘son’. I realize that ‘son’ is a form of address used by popular rap artists. But really, what are you? 15? 14? Calling someone son? Well it is at least better than the ‘N’ word. But they were using a lot of that too.
Anyway, I digress. NK’s mom has stepped in before to shoo gang recruiters, like the kids hanging out, away. I think, observing NK, that she has possibly instilled in him a good reason to rebuff his little gang friends.

Small business workshop

Shaw Main Streets, in conjunction with Georgetown University Law Center’s Harrison Institute for Public Law, will present the fourth in a series of Small Business Development Workshops on 10 consecutive Tuesday evenings from 6:30PM to 8:30 PM, beginning on October 4, 2005 at the Kennedy Recreation Center, 1401 7th Street, NW.
Topics covered will include:
* Developing Your Business Plan
* What Type of Business Entity to Form
* Getting Capital
* Finding, Leasing, and Buying Space
* Hiring Employees
* Permits, Licenses, Insurance, and Taxes
* Basic Accounting
* Marketing
Two graduates from the class held this spring have already opened new businesses. Perhaps you’ll be the workshop’s next success story. There is no charge to enroll in the class. A $25 materials charged will be collected upon acceptance into the program. Similar classes cost $250 or more. Advance registration is required.
Enrollment is limited, so register today! Attendance is required in order to receive a certificate of completion.
For more information or to register, call Shaw Main Streets at 202-265-SHAW or email info@ShawMainStreets.com.

Alex

Alexander M. Padro
Commissioner, ANC 2C01
1519 8th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001-3205
Voice: 202-518-3794
Fax: 202-518-0078
Email: PadroANC2C@aol.com
Website: www.members.aol.com/PadroANC2C

Aren’t you glad you live in the city?

Gas is going up and this is one of the few moments when I’m happy not to be dependent on a car. Of course the high price of gas makes everything that has to get shipped here via truck & plane higher, but I don’t fret over the daily changes in the price of gas.
I am thankful that there is a grocery store blocks from the house to complain about. Thankful that there is a bus system that can get me from various parts of the city streaming through the hood. Even more thankful for a subway system. Basically, thankful for all the things here that make it so I haven’t needed to own a car for over 10 years.

Help neighborhood school kids

From Jim

Neighbors,

A series of initiatives are being contemplated for implementation this year by the BACA on behalf of the elementary-aged children who attend John F. Cook School. In the past, you have been asked to donate book bags and other school supplies to give to neighborhood children for use at the beginning of the school year. However, this year we thought it might be useful to take another approach to this situation.

Specifically, we ask that you purchase a number of composition books, some three hole ruled paper, and boxes of pencils to donate to John F. Cook School for use by the children throughout the course of the academic year.
All too often, book bags and other materials are made available to needy children at the beginning of the year, but these essential resources become in short supply as the semester and the year wears on.

So, we will accept donations of these items (again, composition books, three hole ruled paper and boxes of pencils) at every monthly meeting of the Bates Area Civic Association, Inc. throughout the year. For those of you who don’t have children, now is a good time to purchase these items fairly cheaply because of the annual sales that normally accompany the opening of school each year.

It is our hope that this admittedly small, yet signficant, gesture of support for our neighborhood kids will eventually translate into a closer relationship between community residents and the school as well as an enhanced belief on the part of the students that we are seriously interested and invested in their productive educational growth and development.

So, please remember to bring your donations to the next BACA meeting on 9/12/2005!

Best,

Jim Berry
BACA