Neighbors,
On Thursday, April 1, 2004, the kick-off event for the Keep America
Beautiful Great American Cleanup will take place at 1st and O Streets,
N.W.,
commencing at 10:00 a.m. I know that this is a workday and a weekday;
hence, it is not terribly convenient for most. Nevertheless, I
encourage you
to attend and participate, if you can.
Best,
Jim Berry
ANC 5C
Neighbors,
Below please find important information concerning Hazardous Waste
Collection events scheduled to occur in April 2004.
Best,
Jim Berry
ANC 5C
HAZARDOUS WASTE COLLECTION – 4/3 & 4/24
The DC Department of Public Works (DPW) will hold its bi-annual
household
hazardous waste event at two
locations on Saturday, April 3 from 9 AM to 3 PM.
Residents may bring household chemicals and other materials to the
Carter
Barron Amphitheatre parking lot at 16th and Kennedy Streets, NW or to
the
Penn
Branch Shopping Center parking lot at 3220 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE.
This
drop-off service is free and open to all District residents.
DC residents can bring items including old cleaning and gardening
chemicals,
small quantities of gasoline,pesticides and poisons, acids, varnish,
oil-based paints, solvents, aerosols, wood preservatives, spent
batteries of
all kinds, roofing tar, chemistry sets, automotive fluids, even
asbestos
floor tiles to the collection site for environmentally safe disposal.
A professional hazardous waste contractor will remove materials
from residents’ vehicles. The materials will then be taken to an
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-approved facility for processing.
Electronics recycling, normally conducted in conjunction with the
household
hazardous waste collection, will instead take place at the Carter
Barron
parking lot on April 24, from 9 am – 3 pm.
Residents are asked to bring computers, cell phones,television sets,
office
equipment and other electronics to that special collection event.
Iems that will not be accepted during the Household Hazardous Waste
Collection Day include munitions, explosives, bulk trash, wooden TV
consoles, propane tanks, microwave ovens and other appliances, as well
as radioactive or biologically active wastes.
For more information on household hazardous waste,visit the DPW website
at
http://www.dpw.dc.gov/info/house_haz_waste.shtml
Here is the content of a recent fact sheet on nuisance vacant properties.
For a copy of the fact sheet, (electronic or via fax) reply to this email.
Who to contact regarding nuisance vacant or abandoned properties.
Report Vacant Homes:
1) Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs
Ø Neighborhood Stabilization Program – 442-4610
(Contacts the owner and enforces codes to ensure
that the house is brought up to standards. Also imposes fines for unkempt
homes.
http://www.dcra.dc.gov/about/index_hra.shtm
2) Office of Tax & Revenue fax# 442-6691
http://cfo.dc.gov/services/tax/forms/tax_forms/pdf/vacant_prop_reporting_for
m.xls
Higher tax fines for owners of abandoned/vacant homes- 5 times the normal
rate
3) United States Attorney’s Office/Fourth District
Report Nuisance Properties (for abatement action)
Ø Michelle McIver, 576-5255, Community Specialist
4) DC Office of Corporation Counsel (Neighborhood & Victims Services
Division)
Ø Nicholas Majett, 727-4171, Legal Counsel
5) Jose Sueiro, 671-2338, Ward One, Neighborhood Services Coordinator,
Office of the City Administrator
6) Office of the Fire Marshal (to have homes posted with unlawful entry
sticker), 727.1600
7) Report People in Vacant Homes: AUTOMATIC ARREST IF HOME IS POSTED BY FIRE
MARSHAL FOR NO ENTRY
Ø Metropolitan Police Department/Fourth District/ 3-1-1
8) Yvonne Smith, MPD Community Outreach & Ward One Mayor’s Core Team
ysmith@mpdc.org ? 202.576.8227 phone
9) Operation Crackdown- Bar Association of the District of Columbia
(Volunteer Lawyers)
http://www.badc.org/html/ylocd.htm
(202) 293-1348 opcrackdown@aol.com
In an effort to reduce crime and social disorder in the local Patrol Service
Areas (PSAs), officers of the Fourth District Substation have begun working
on the “Board Up and Lock Up” project. Vacant properties have long
contributed to quality of life issues in the District. Metropolitan Police
Department have partnered with its fellow members of the Ward One Mayor’s
Core Team to begin addressing the issues associated with vacant properties.
All vacant properties will be reported to the Department of Consumer and
Regulatory Affairs (DCRA). Officers will make sure each site has been
reported to the Office of the Fire Marshal to determine if they are eligible
for posting. Once homes are posted (though postings may be illegally
removed), officers will make arrests. This means anyone caught inside,
without official permission from the owner (i.e. making repairs) will be
immediately arrested. A hotline will be provided to neighbors, surrounding
vacant homes to report any violations. We will not tolerate vacant nuisance
properties in our neighborhood! This effort is another way officers and
neighbors can do their part to help “Take a Bite Out of Crime.”
Yvonne Smith, Community Outreach
Metropolitan Police Department
750 Park Road, NW
Washington, DC 20010
202.576.8227 phone
MEETING NOTICE
The D.C.DEPT.of HEALTH’s VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ADVISORY BOARD MEETING
is
Friday April 16,2004 9:30 a.m. 825 North Capitol St.N.E. 4th Floor Room
4131.I chair the sub-committee on CHILD MALTREATMENT. pass the word.
Bishop
Imagene B.Stewart www.houseofimagene.org
Housing and Home Ownership
Tax Assessments Public Meeting: Sposored by Councilmember Phil Mendelson’s Office
Community Meeting on Property Tax Assessments, sponsored by At-Large Councilmember Phil Mendelson’s office.
Date: Thursday March 25, 2004
Time: 7:00 PM
RE: Tax Assessments & understanding the Appeals Process
Location: Watha T. Daniel Library, 1701 8th St. NW @ RI Avenue, for residents of Shaw, LeDroit Park, and Eckington.
Questions, contact the Councilmember’s office at: 202.727.8274.
Drugs
I would like the drug dealers in the neighborhood if they sold Codine instead of crack. I like codine.
Car
The abandoned car is gone. Not but a memory now.
SHAW ECO VILLAGE NEEDS SPACE
Hello!
Shaw EcoVillage (SEV), a 501©3 non-profit, operating in the Shaw
neighborhood, is looking for space and we need your help!
Shaw EcoVillage trains youth to be catalysts for sustainable change in
Washington, DC’s urban neighborhoods. We do this through two programs,
EcoDesign Corps and Chain Reaction. EcoDesign Corps empowers youth by
engaging them in hands-on community based projects and providing them with
the design and organizing skills necessary to create sustainable economic,
environmental, and social change in DC. Chain Reaction educates youth about
the role of the bicycle in sustainable communities, equips youth with job
skills, and provides residents of Washington, DC, with safe, affordable, and
pollution-free transportation.
If you know of any space available, within the boundaries of Shaw, meeting
the following specifications, please contact Noel Petrie at 202.265.2019, or
sev.noelpetrie@verizon.net.
1. Rent: SEV cannot afford more than $2,200 a month for any new property.
Our current rent is $1460 per month.
2. Retail Space: The new location must have at least 1500 square feet of
1st floor retail and storage space.
3. Program and Education Space: A new location must have adequate space for
onsite Chain Reaction Programs and School Year EDC Programming. This means
400 square feet for Chain Reaction classroom space and 400 square feet of
EDC classroom space. Totaling 800 square feet.
4. Office Space: 600 square feet of office space is needed.
5. Outdoor Space: 400 square feet of parking / outdoor work space is needed
6. Utilities to Code: All utilities must be to code and able to handle the
demands of the retail and office equipment.
If you have any questions, would like more information, or would like to
contribute to our efforts, please do not hesitate to call.
Thanks for your time, attention, and support!
Best,
Noel
Noel Petrie
Outreach and Development Coordinator
Shaw EcoVillage
202.265.2019
1701 6th St., NW
Washington, DC 20001
sev.noelpetrie@verizon.net
www.shawecovillage.com
Racist or being careful?
East of Easy Street (washingtonpost.com)
I really liked this article, of course it takes place in the cool section of Shaw but it tells the story of all Shaw. I especially liked “date me, date my hood.”
Yet the thing that got me thinking was the author’s (white) accusation of his friends’ racism towards the neighborhood, in their attitude and comments.
Quote:
As I related the story to friends, one said, “Well, at least he had the courtesy to look before shooting you.” If my friends were being racist, they didn’t think they were. In their view, they were simply being suitably cautious about where they lived and drove.
The rest of the article just talks about how, as a white guy, he assimilated into the neighborhood and the 7-11 at the corner of 7th and Rhode Island. I know that 7-11, I know of the Calvin of whom he speaks. I know it is where the cops hang out when they are ignoring things or taking a break.
But back to the main topic. I hear it all the time in little code words. “Safe neighborhood”, “good neighborhood” and other things. In a discussion group for swing dancers someone announced an event on U Street, towards 14th Street. Someone else, an upper-middle class girl from Mt. Vernon, VA, said the neighborhood wasn’t safe and you should watch out. It’s the frickin’ city. Yes, there is more crime, might have something to do with the higher concentration of people. But does it deserve to be written off as an unsafe neighborhood.
Then I got to thinking some more. Is there a safe, good black neighborhood? I’m sure there are places in Upper Marlboro, PG County that are, but they aren’t near a metro, so they don’t exist. Then that’s another factor, class. Upper Marlboro is/was a very upper and middle class black area. I know my own relatives (black, in case you didn’t know), living in Laurel and Riverdale dislike my neighborhood (which is why my will has a non-relative inheriting my house). In their case I call it classism. Lewisdale, is okay, working class, safe enough but it doesn’t scream safe from outward appearances. And is that what a lot of it is? Outward appearances?
My hood. Okay for me, bad for cars, really bad for people buying drugs (it increases your chance of getting shot), and crappy for quality of life issues, but it’s mine.
Brief Notes from PSA 312 Community Coalition Meeting 3/10/2004
Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2004 21:09:10 -0500
Neighbors,
I attended the PSA 312 Community Coalition Meeting last night. In
brief,
Lt. Dennis gave us an overview of the “Operation Fight Back” plans that
she
is implementing in the PSA, along with DPW, DCRA, DOT and other members
of
the Ward Five Neighborhood Services Programs Core Team.
A lot of attention was focussed on the persistent problem of “open air”
drug
activity along Q Street, N.W. and I reiterated my request for the more
frequent use of the Drug Free Zone strategy to assist in the MPD’s
ongoing
efforts to abate this problem.
The need to supplement the efforts of the Office of Property Management
to
keep the building that formerly housed the Armstrong Adult Education
Center
secure and free from the destruction of vandals, is also a goal that I
asked
Lt. Dennis to give some special priority to.
With respect to the ever-increasing sound of gun shots in the
neighborhood,
Lt. Dennis advises that we contact the police every tme we think that
we
hear gun shots so that the volume of calls that we place, can bump our
concerns up to a higher priority for the police who cover our area. I
know
that the coming of the summer months will further complicate this
situation
(what with the constant sound of fire crackers, cherry bombs, and other
minor explosive devices that we begin to hear from May through August).
However, we must continue to call to make our record as well as to
justiy
our need for more police coverage for our area.
Finally, it seems that Lt. Dennis is having a measure of success in
getting
the city to come by to pick up abandoned cars; hence, please email her
when
you discover abandoned vehicles on our blocks. And, please include in
that
email as much relevant informtation about the color, make, model, year
and
current location of the abandoned vehicle as you can compile. Lt.
Dennis’
email address is ADENNIS@MPDC.ORG.
Best,
Jim Berry
ANC 5C
