Tag: BACA

Fenty Scheduled to Show Up @ BACA meeting

Some of the chatter in the beauty shop a few days ago was on how the older women did not like that Fenty. And yes, I admit he’s less than popular but unless the Superman/Batman ticket is running against him, he still has my vote. Mainly because he comes to my hood. On a regular basis. And because he’s not Marion Barry, which face it, for some of us has been a major selling point for Fenty and Williams.
Anyway, the BACA meeting is in the basement of Mt. Sinai Baptist Church and starts sometime about 7. Sadly Heroes starts at 8 (used to be 9) and mixed with my slight souring of local politics lately, I’ll be departing at 8. No I don’t have TIVO, nor a VCR or any recordable do-hicky.
Anyway, since Fenty is showing up I gather a whole gaggle of people will appear, probably Harry Thomas Jr (D-Ward 5) and some cops. On the agenda is the John F. Cook (no ‘e’) School. At the ANC 5C meeting that topic took up a huge amount of time, I expect the same at BACA. However, Jim Berry is a gentle leader who is very aware the church will kick BACA out at 9 (and they do) so time to spend on topics may be limited and when Fenty shows up, cut off.
Lastly for you newbies, BACA is the Bates Area Civic Association, which covers the northern half or essentially ANC 5C01, part of Truxton. The southern half is covered by the Hanover Civic Association, part of ANC 5C02. Hanover isn’t as active on the web as BACA.

BACA meeting with puppies for everyone

Okay, you won’t get puppies but pups will be a topic.
This next BACA meeting which is today (Aug 3rd) in the basement of the Mt. Sinai Baptist Church at 3rd & Q has some rather interesting topics. One of those topics being, the dog park idea @ Bundy. Please people if you are in the northern (above P)and you want to support a dog park over at Bundy get your butt to the meeting. I’m sure that the voices against such an idea will be there, and no one is going to speak for you but you.
The guy who is doing up the old Bates Market, Mamuka Tsereteli, is coming to speak. Come on admit it, you’re curious of what exactly he’s going to do on that corner. For those of you getting to the party late the old Bates Market is on the corner of 3rd and P, and when it was open as a ghetto mart, young men, old guys would hang out there. Or just hang, almost constantly on that corner. That corner even hosted a big ole shooting. The story is that it is to become a Georgian social club. Georgia as in homeland of Stalin, former soviet republic. Not the state above Florida.
Also BACA is gathering any information about illegal activity occurring at the billboards at 4th/Islamic Way and P.

1300-1600 blk of Hell, NW

Well it appears that North Capitol from New York Ave up to somewhere around Florida is doomed, doomed to heck. As far as commercial ventures go. From the BACA notes:

Comish Pinkney said the Urban Land Institute said that North Cap wasn’t suitable for development because developers would not want to invest in an area laden with so many social services.

There are several social services concentrated in that spot around NY Ave and North Cap. Because of their individual missions and management style some of those social services (not all) attracts a population whose acts are a negative force. I throw in management style because I remember the Emory Shelter on Lincoln Rd NE, which is still there. But a few years back it took in all kinds of men without checking sex offender status. It was a few feet away from the Harry Thomas Rec Center, where children congregated. Well a change was made so that only homeless men with jobs would reside at Emory and that cut down on the crowds of men just hanging out around the shelter.
A few block south of Emory back in our area, around NY Ave and North Capitol, you have several homeless services and a methadone clinic. S.O.M.E. is one of them and I do remember the really bad complaints residents had with some when I first moved around here. Homeless where littering like crazy and using neighbors’ basement apartment entryways for toilets. I’m hearing few complaints these days about meal related litter and poop at your basement door, and that has come with some back and forth between residents and S.O.M.E.
However, with the volume of people served by SOME and the other places there is a portion of that population that makes development along North Cap, ‘unsuitable’. These are the loiterers, the extortionists/ beggars, the window breakers, and the weirdos who wander up and down the street. I hear that men are begining to lay around in front of the new Subway sandwich shop. The police come and shoo them away and then they come back to block entry. Hopefully the Subway can survive and not suffer the problems that closed down Luciana Cafe with multiple window breakings, vadalism, and loitering (Jemal raising the rent didn’t help either).
It was brought up in the BACA meeting that the person who owns the building with the liquor store at FL and N. Cap, owns that whole corner of buildings on that corner, including the Subway. The owner was approached with the idea of matching funds to improve the facade, but refused because it would be like throwing money away.
So getting development along the NW side of North Cap is going to be hard.

Also forget about the old firehouse becoming a restaurant.

Random Things

There seems to be some confusion about a shooting that took place near the Florida Avenue Park and a petition regarding the Bloomingdale Farmers Market . Not related to the shooting that took place during rush hour on North Capitol. I was at the market, and there was a petition going around regarding a show of appreciation to the neighbors for allowing the market to return for a 3rd year.
And joy-joy from the BACA blog of speed humps and a stop sign coming around 3rd Street and 4th.
Speaking of BACA, there is still time to a- buy a ticket from me for the Flower Power Walk, which raises funds for neighborhood beautification. Those rose bushes on 1st Street…. BACA, not the City, BACA. And b- nominate your neighbors’ BACA yards for Flower Power.

BACA Clean up May 9th & Flower Power Walk 6/13

Okay, I got a couple of BACA Flower Power tickets to sell. Flower Power is the Bates Area Civic Association garden walk, and this year it is going to be on June 13th. It is a good opportunity to look at others yards, see what grows well around here and steal ideas. The tickets are $10 and I take PayPal. Money goes to fund other BACA beautification projects.
Also this weekend as a part of the build up for Flower Power is a BACA clean up, with a focus on tree boxes. May 9th between 9 and 11 or noon, at the corner of 1st and P, neighbors will be gathering together to spruce up the area. It is suggested that you bring your own tools and keep them in your sights.

Rambling post

WSIC 3rd and PWell there is a BACA (Bates Area Civic Association) meeting tonight, same place, same time. Mt. Sinai Baptist basement, 7pm.
As far as the slum history goes, right now I don’t have much to piece together to make a decent or readable post. I am still making notes in The History and Development of the Housing Movement in the City of Washington, D.C. which describes the company that built the houses along Bates, Q, and 3rd Streets, NW. I was looking to explore something I read on modern 3rd world slums and cottage industries that form from them. However, my big source, The Washington Post of the mid 20th century, focuses on the illegal gill joints and sex trade industries. So I guess I’m not going to explore that.
In the meanwhile, here’s a picture of the corner of 3rd and P. Compare with old picture of 3rd and P.

BACA meeting TONIGHT 1/5/09

It is the first Monday of the month, which means it’s BACA (Bates Area Civic Association) time. BACA is the civic association for the northern half of Truxton Circle, but is open to anyone who wants to pop by. Hanover Civic Association is for the southern half and I have no idea when they meet. We do see some Hanover area people in attendance occasssionally.
And as usual the BACA meeting is at 7pm in the basement area of the Mt. Sinai Baptist Church at 3rd and Q. The way to get in is either through the brown door on the 3rd St side, near the bottom of the big stairs or the door on the ground level near the double glass doors also on the 3rd St side.
I got a flier this morning from BACA (as well as several of my neighbors judging from their mailboxes) and the agenda items are crime, neighborhood beautification, residential parking, charter schools, traffic calming (aka bumps) and economic development.