ANC1c06

2010-12-07T00:28:00.000-08:00

Last ANC1c Meeting of This Term

2010-12-01T23:53:00.000-08:00

Neighborhood notables include Vincent Orange, Denis James, Kristen Barden, Matt and Ben from The District,John Z and Lacy Macauley.

Left to right: Bryan Weaver, leaving office, Mindy Moretti, leaving office, Kathie Boettrich, reelected for3rd term, Wilson Reynolds, reelected for 4th term, Stacey Moye, reelected for 2nd term, and Chris Otten, leaving office after one term.

ANC 1c Passes Resolution on Unity Park

2010-09-01T22:43:00.000-07:00

After much discussion and a bit of fanfare over the Vendors Market in Unity Park, the Adams Morgan ANC passed the resolution* with two "friendly" amendments. (See resolution passed below).

The diversity was heard in the comments from business owners, homeowners, apartment renters, and everyone else who spoke up.

The conversation is far from over. In fact, the two most vocal anti-vendors' market individuals were gaveled down for shouting after an hour of discussion and the question was called. They'd both already spoken and had ample opportunity.

The BID has called stakeholder meetings with the affected parties: the ANC, OLA, 4 businesses on the same block, the Department of Health, the GHCOC (greater hispanic chamber of commerce), and the two grumpy men. The press is there to cover it. Progress is being made. Bringing the parties to agree is not an easy project to take on.

The one conversation missing in the discussion was any concrete plans to help the Latino small businesses in this block of Columbia Road. They are hurting and their expenses are high. I believe in special marketing and the BID has some new ideas in motion. Hispanic businesses have been a part of this block of Columbia Road long before I arrived in 1972. The economy is bad now; the rents are high; but we keep getting thousands to drink here on Saturday nights. Look for more diversity to come from these discussion.

Next meeting of the Stakeholders of the Vendors Market in Unity Park will be in the Offices of the College Summit, 1763 Columbia Road, NW, basement meeting room, Monday, September 20, 5:00 PM

**********************************************************

ANC resolution:

Resolution Regarding Office of Latino Affairs (OLA) Incubator Microbusiness Program at Unity Park

Whereas in October of 2008 ANC 1C voted is support of the Office of Latino Affairs establishing an incubator microbusiness program at Unity Park in Adams Morgan; and

Whereas the District Department of Parks and Recreation has with great foresight and cooperation allowed this program to be established at the location known as Unity Park in Adams Morgan at the intersections of Columbia Road, Euclid Street and Champlain Street; and

Whereas this program has provided a legal, regulated, sanctioned program for vendors to become productive, compliant, and tax paying small businesses; and

Whereas this program provides affordable food and crafts of services to those of low income and others; and

Whereas, OLA is seeking community input to continue this program in FY 2011; and

Whereas, ANC 1C wishes to take a position on this program:

Now therefore be it resolved,

Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1C does strongly support and encourage OLA to continue the Incubator Microbusiness Program at Unity Park; and Further Resolved,

Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1C does strongly support and encourage the District Department of Parks and Recreation to continue cooperation with OLA to continue this program by renewing the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for FY 2011;

And Further Resolved, Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1C does request and advise OLA to adhere and provide assurance of the following:

1) That proper Department of Health licensing and inspections, including the posting of such licenses are complied with;

2) Confirmation that vendors benefiting from this program are bone fide, confirmed District of Columbia residents.

3) Assurance that this is indeed an incubator program and not a permanent subsidy. That participation in this program carries clear objectives and time limitations to vendors with the assurance that other, new people can be given the opportunity of the incubator microbusiness program.

4) Vendors remove the trash from the park when they leave at night.

5) Vendors obey parking rules and regulations.

And Further Resolved.

Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1C congratulates both the District Office of Latino Affairs and the Department of Parks and Recreation for the creation of a program that removes illegal vending operations and provides individuals and opportunity for entrepreneurial individuals to improve their lives while adding to the diversity of the Adams Morgan Community; and Further Resolved

Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1C does recommend to OLA that the success of this program be built on by seeking additional locations in Ward One to expand and establish other new and diverse continuing markets in other communities in Ward One; and be it Finally Resolved

This Resolution be communicated to the Mayor, the Office of Latino Affairs, DPR and Councilmember for Ward One as an expression of support by ANC 1C for this program.

So moved:

September 1, 2010

Family Night at Horizons - - Quite a show

2010-08-05T00:08:00.000-07:00

WIN Forum: Fenty or Gray--Who has more energy (to get the job done)?

2010-07-26T20:16:00.000-07:00

Washington Inner City Network (WIN) held a campaign forum last night in Asbury Methodist Church at 11th and K Streets, NW. In addition to the forum, those attending were treated to a few mini-sermons and a couple of prayers. The energy was high. These were church people, and they were there to get things done. The top candidates for Council Chair and Mayor were there. Every candidate said yes to every policy request made. No more usuary. Jobs for DC residents. Affordable housing for long-time DC residents. Everyone promised to do what WIN wanted them to do. So how do WIN members decide who to vote for? Well, might I suggest they vote on body language.

The presence of mind of a mayor is critical. "Be here now" should be a way of life for any big city mayor who often must respond to crises in little or no time.

The two videos attached are one-minute clips from the 5 minute statements given by Mayor Fenty and Council Chair Vincent Gray.

Overview: North East 2400 block 18th Street Northwest

2010-07-19T22:41:00.000-07:00

Motorcycles occupy several parking spaces in front of Madams Organ, Asylum and The District. It's more than a parking lot; it's a party lot.

Boom boxes run amok in the parking spaces in front of the Marie Reed Learning Center.

This is 18th Street at one-thirty AM Sunday morning. There is so much movement in the street and on the sidewalks that it would be difficult for any armed force to say they have it completely under control. MPD likes to call it "controlled chaos". It's more like mildly contained chaos.

And if that didn't bore you enough, here's the same places on a different night.

Walking in the MPD's Shoes during Club Zone hours

2010-07-18T11:46:00.000-07:00

Commissioner Stacey Moye and I arrived at Third District precinct about 15 minutes before our 2:30 a.m. scheduled appointment time with Sgt. Williams. We arrived early in order to fill out required paperwork and because we were pretty darned excited to see what was going on in the Adams Morgan Club Zone at the most intense time.

The sergeant was not there, so we sat and waited next to the front desk. Even the wait had an element of excitement because it was a front row seat to 3^rd District at the crazy hour. An Ethiopian couple came in to give a pair of shoes to a sister, who had been arrested while wearing no shoes. We heard a woman's story about how her car got attacked and trashed on 18th Street by a carful of hoodlums while she and her friends were inside the car. They had to drive up a one-way street the wrong way to get away. She said the police on 18th Street told her to go to 3rd District because they couldn't make a police report out there.

Sgt Williams arrived about ten minutes late and full of adrenaline. There had been a change in her duties; the day before, she'd been moved off the Club Zone for the next two weeks. I never got the email. Since we were there and waiting, she requested and received permission to do the walkaround as scheduled. Her car was in the back of the station. We walked out onto the top floor of the police parking lot. I got to ride shotgun. When she got into the car and we were all ready to go, she asked about the paperwork. We told her we never got it. So she drove around to the front of the precinct and brought it to us in the squad car. While we were filling it out, she turned up her radio so we could hear the jibjab coming out. We heard about an unconscious person at the corner of 18th and Columbia. It was time to get up the hill.

When we pulled away from 3rd District it was 3:00 AM. Crossing 17th Street and then Florida Avenue, sirens were blaring. 18th Street was waiting. We got as far as Kalorama Road, where the Sergeant squeezed her squad car by a police motorcycle, and then parked her car, right in the middle of the street. The street was being closed to northbound traffic. We got out to walk.

The street was definitely hopping, but the crowds were not so large and rowdy. Heaven and Hell was closed because of an ABRA violation, according to the sergeant, and that kept a lot of people from being out there at closing time. As we walked further up, the crowds got bigger and the people got rowdier, especially outside the pizza places. There was a horrendous mess all over the sidewalk in front of pizza places; the worst was Adams Morgan Pizza Mart. The trashcan was piled up with pizza boxes to about 3 feet higher than the rim of the trash can. How is it that the owners who are raking in the dough, no pun intended, for their unending pizza sales can be so irresponsible about the pizza trash they create right in front of their store? Not to mention trash created when people take the boxes and eat pizza on neighbors’ front steps, then leave trash behind.

How hard can solving the problems be if we all work on them together?

As we walked up 18^th Street, the sergeant kept keen vigil on the crowds.Occasionally she’d intervene in someone’s fun and tell them they can’t have a tailgate party with their boom box blasting. Basically, she let the crowds stay and didn’t move people along because she knew there were at least 15 officers in the vicinity who were taking care of their stations.

Sgt Williams introduced us to all the police personnel on the block. There are two types of MPD deployed on 18^th Street during the club zone hours. The first are the regular police from MPD, including Sgt Williams. The second are so-called “reimbursibles”. The BID (Business Improvement District) hires approximately ten MPD reimbursibles and pays them time and a half to keep a lid on the explosive situation. A few business establishments also hire and pay for their own reimbursibles. The BID gets a grant from the city to help pay for the reimbursibles. In addition to the reimbursibles, the BID pays a security director a hefty sum each night to help keep a lid on it. He is Officer Greg Frank, a certified MPD bicycle officer. We ran into a plain clothes Greg toward the end of our walk to Columbia Road.

When we got to the top of the hill (18^th & Columbia), there was an emergency vehicle parked almost directly in front of McDonalds on 18^thStreet. Inside was the unconscious person the radio call was about. The sergeant went into the EV to determine the person’s condition. When she came out, she told us the patient is conscious and alert. As we lingered, I peeked into the back of the EV to see the patient; she was laughing and looked to be in no pain. The EMS were taking her to the hospital for observation. The sergeant wanted to wait until the EV moved before we continued the walk.

By the time we started back down 18^th Street it was almost 3:30 AM. The hanging-out crowds were still around, but thinning. There is no anti-loitering ordinance in DC. The police cannot just bum rush the loiterers -- yes, there were many loiterers -- and make them move. The one statute the sergeant relies on to move people along is a statute against incommoding, blocking passage on a sidewalk. Even that statute was applied extremely sparingly as we walked down the street. This was good policing, because none of the loiterers were disturbing the peace. She worked with fearless coolness and great respect for everyone. It was easy to see why Sergeant Williams was given this beat in the first place. I certainly hope she will be back by August 1^st as promised.

As we continued back down 18^th Street, the sergeant got a call for something happening in the garage. We walked down into the garage with her and waited while she straightened out the mishap. The garage seemed to be about twenty degrees hotter than it was on the street. It was easy to see how tempers could flare down there. When we walked out of the garage, it was 3:55 AM. We walked to Sergeant Williams car for one short last ride.As she was picking up speed, she got a phone call and pulled over to the corner of California and 18^th to take the call. Coincidentally, this was where we wanted to be let out.

We walked two buildings up California, until we got to Stacey’s building. I got my bike and left. I rode up the west sidewalk of 18^th Street.The west sidewalk is never as crowded or messy as the east side, a safer bike ride than up 18th Street. The whole street scape was calming down. At the corner, I took the bike lane up the hill and got home by 4:10 AM. Indeed it was a night to remember.

With greater insight into the MPD perspective, especially of the officers and “reimbursibles” who maintain order on 18^th Street, I am hoping that this commissioner and others will be able to work more easily with MPD (and other relevant agencies) to reach an informed solution to the perennial problems the 18^th Street Club Zone presents the police and the community.

I did not take any photographs during this walk because I did not find it necessary. Commissioner Moye and I walked down 18^th Street earlier in the wee hours, and I took photos then. They’ll be posted in the following article. There was not a whole lot to show because it was a relatively calm night on 18^th Street.

Maybe due to the calmness of this particular night, the walk helped us see more easily the roots of the problems on 18th Street. Another night and another walk-around/ride-around might be a whole different story.

Many thanks to Sergeant Sherrelle Williams for sharing her time and insight with us.

New Tent City Survives Three Days and Counting . . .

2010-07-14T22:33:00.000-07:00

The group of determined activists who on Saturday took over Parcel 42, a piece of city property in the Shaw Community, are still at it.

Take Back The Land After Mayor Fenty's Broken Promise

2010-07-12T13:40:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, July 10th, One DC neighborhood organization and their friends and neighbors had a fabuloso block party with singing and dancing, yoga and community organizing, free food and books.

This was on S Street between 7th and 6th Streets NW, deep in the heart of the Shaw Neighborhood. Also in the heart of the Shaw Neighborhood is Parcel 42, a piece of vacant property at the corner of 7th and Rhode Island Avenue, NW. Four years ago, Mayoral Candidate Adrian Fenty made a promise that this parcel of land would be used for low-income "affordable" housing. Four years later, the land is still vacant, and the promise is unkept. (See below for details.)

During the block party, Green Party candidates came through to rally the troups.

Green Party Candidate for US House of Representatives (Eleanor Holmes Norton's seat) Joyce Robinson was there with her very creative and unfortunately true campaign sign.

Annother candidate running on the Green Party Ticket is Ann Wilcox, the People's Lawyer, running for the Chair of the DC City Council.

To the left, Green Party candidates include Joyce Robinson for Representative to Congress, Ann Wilcox for Council, Adams Morgan Commissioner Chris Otten, and David Schwartzman, cancidate for DC Council At Large.

Faith, the perennial Mayoral candidate, was also there asking for votes and blowing her bugal

In the backyard of ONE DC, activists gathered to share last minute details about the march.

While the block party continued the organizers began to rally for the march.

At the end of the block party, the people gathered up their signs and banners and marched to Parcel 42, went around to the back to get in, and began erecting a tent city to take back this land that was promised to the poorest of the poor in our city.

The police have not removed them yet, chances are because the mayor does not want a spectacular confrontation with poor people on the evening news.

As the mayor ponders his options, the tent city grows. The atmosphere is a bit more serious than the block party, but the fun is still ongoing. There are collective meals during the day and movies at night.

Everyone who is sober and nonviolent is invited to join the little city in the making.

Walk with Vince Gray Along U Street Northwest

2010-07-06T11:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, in the 95+ degrees weather, I had the privilege of walking along U Street with the Chairman of the DC City Council. Chairman Vincent Gray is running for mayor against the incumbent, and he was out there pressing palms and glad fisting most people who wanted to talk to him. Chairman Gray is a listener.

Many people, especially those exiting the subway, did not want to stop to talk, but no-one heckled or was in any way overtly disrespectful. Chairman Gray has earned this city's respect, if only for the long hours he toils at his job as Council Chair in the District Building.

The following is a photo essay of who he was talking to and how well he was received.

Marcia Shia collected signatures outside in the heat while Vince's entourage followed him inside the airconditioned establishments.

Happy 4th . . . . . View from an Adams Morgan Rooftop

2010-07-04T23:21:00.001-07:00

Horizons' Hats and Biking and Rollerblading

2010-07-02T23:09:00.000-07:00

Summertime Summertime Sum Sum Summertime

Every year the children in the Horizons at Maret Summer Program receive 4th of July hats. This year the hats were quite Uncle Sam dandy.

Columbia Road is Full of Alternate Means of Transportation

Even the Bike Ambassador was out on Columbia Road letting cars know to watch out for bikes.

Dancing Round the May Pole at May Day Celebration

2010-06-30T21:25:00.000-07:00

MayDay Celebration in June at the HD Cooke Elementary School

2010-06-06T22:49:00.000-07:00

Cooke Elementary carries a tradition back to the old new school. May Day Celebration. They did it up well.

Testimony in Council on AntiCrime BIll

2010-04-20T20:48:00.000-07:00

I am Nancy Shia, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner 1c06. My single member district covers the 1600 and 1700 block of the south side of Columbia Road and the north side of Euclid Street. The ethnic, racial and economic diversity of my SMD is probably greater than anywhere else in DC.

I will speak specifically about three gangs, whose presence has been ongoing in my SMD and who have operated with seeming impunity for many years. My constituents and I are looking for creative solutions to the problems associated with these gangs. If they have been able to operate so freely for decades, it’s time to try something different.

The first gang is the phony identification paper sellers. I’m told the paper sellers are from two gangs in Mexico, each one taking a different side of Columbia Road to sell on. Their presence invites other legally questionable activities to the neighborhood. At our monthly ANC meetings, MPD has given us conflicting information about why this problem is not being dealt with and how it is being dealt with. Those cases are not being papered by the US Attorney; no, wait they’re being papered now. We’re told it’s an immigration problem, but we know selling fake ID is a crime.

The second gang is the ongoing “beef” between the gang near 14th & Girard and the young people who live in and near my SMD, the 17-U crew. It’s been going on for almost three generations. Last October, I witnessed a murderous fight erupt between these two gangs at an ANC-sponsored basketball tournament in Kalorama Park. MPD had agreed to post several officers on site that afternoon but did not live up to their agreement. If they had, there would have been several arrests and allegedly a weapons recovery.

The third gang is a very small number of MPD who abuse power, violate the Constitution and victimize the population. Of course I know most police are honorable and brave people. My brother was a good officer until he retired. I am not talking about the good ones. I am talking about a few in Adams Morgan, but surely there are others escaping accountability in other parts of the city. There is no accountability for police who perjure themselves in court. False charges are rampant on 18th Street. Is there anything in the bill that strengthens the systems’ accountability of rogue officers? The thin blue line and code of silence work against police accountability and ultimately against the community. The community is not willing to share information with the police due to lack of trust. If legislation is needed, it’s needed to support young people’s right to sit on park benches without police harassment. If you don’t know, I have my own story to tell about false charges, false imprisonment and false prosecution, all paid for by DC taxpayers.

I’ve included photos of each gang’s activities to bolster my testimony.

Gang #1’s image is a little hazy because they move through the neighborhood furtively and do not want their photo taken. They work with a legitimate business that does photos for the fake IDs.

Gang #2 photos were taken when the fight broke out at the basket ball tournament. It took under two minutes to end the tournament. The gang was gone long before MPD showed up.

Gang #3 photos are predominantly of one Officer Greg Kurtz, known in the Hispanic community as anti-Latino because of his aggressive behavior against Latinos. Three Adams Morgan ANC commissioners have witnessed this officer illegally searching young people. Clearly, Officer Kurtz is a brave officer, willing to put his life on the line for his job. However, this community is multiracial and multiethnic and probably not the best use of this officer’s assets.

Does the bill rely too heavily on police to solve the social problems gangs create?

Before the council presents new legislation, it needs ask the community for its input on solutions. Crime problems in Columbia Heights are not the same as crime problems in Anacostia. So why legislate as if they are?

DC Scores in Young Minds and Bodies

2010-03-12T08:58:00.000-08:00

Oyster-Adams won first prize for the best poetry in the elementary school category

H.D. Cooke students wait for the competition to begin. One theme the students wrote poetry on is "Who Am I?"

H.D. Cooke students perform the group poem with style and class.

Eighth grader from Lincoln-Bell sang for her individual performance. She won the SHINE Award for the middle school category.

DC Scores teaches individual and group performance.

Asia of the HD Cooke Elementary School soccer team finds it hard to contain her enthusiasm.

Ever wonder why poetry is making a come back with the elementary school set?

It's all because of DC SCORES, the local branch of the national organization AMERICA SCORES, a soccer league with the purpose of providing boys and girls with an alternative to spending after-school time on the streets. An equally important part of the DC SCORES program is teaching the soccer players how to write and recite poetry. When the season is over, the teams in the league come together and have a Poetry Slam. The competition is fierce. The spirit often surpasses that seen on the soccer field. The experience for the young people is priceless.

Daniela Shia-Sevilla won the SHINE Award for the best individual poem in the elementary school category

SMD 1c06 in the snow storm

2010-02-07T12:23:00.000-08:00

Snow Time---The Ontario Apartments through the blizzard

2010-02-06T08:27:00.000-08:00

HD Cooke's Girls Basketball Queens

2010-02-04T10:51:00.000-08:00

It's the first season for the HD Cooke Bulls Girls Basketball team. In the beginning of the season issues abounded. When the opposing team failed to show up, the team scrimmaged with its own players. The attitude was so thick, you could cut it with a knife. Why were they fighting each other? Because that's what they did normally. Playing sports together was just a way to trigger the fights faster. Teamwork was a foreign concept to the Bulls' girls team when they started working together.

As the season progressed, so did the players. They learned passing, guarding, shooting foul shots, and just about everything a team needs to know to play basketball. Their record is good enough for them to go to the playoffs. Keep posted for the playoff schedule.

In the end, several players came out looking outstanding. Daniela was my favorite. She never showed any bad attitude, just a hint of annoyance at the girls who did. Destiny could dribble and move the ball. Thelma was a beacon of great athleticism. Leila was good for comic relief with her far out shoes and socks.

Ward One Non-profits Seek Self-Help

2010-01-22T18:28:00.000-08:00

Ward One nonprofit organizations gathered today on the first floor of the Columbia Heights Recreation Center to begin sharing resources and working together in order to survive stronger in these times of cutbacks and economic hardships.

The event was sponsored by the Shaw Columbia Heights Family Collaborative. It was called, "Strengthening Ward One Together" or SWOT. After a few supportive words from the Ward One council member, the organizing work began with Timothea Howard, who works at Centro Nia.

Everyone broke into smaller groups with an assignment of four relevant questions. 1 What are the current needs of the Ward 1 community? 2. What are the primary assets of the Ward I Community? 3. What could an organiztion of all of us be doing to better address the needs and strengthen the assets described? 4. How could you be involved in the future of the SWOT initiative?

When the groups came back together to the whole gathering, each one had several suggestions for future actions. Creation of a blog and listserv to improve communication arose the most. Improved communications in Spanish and English and other languages as needed. See last image for a detailed list.

Kalorama Citizens Association Meeting, Jan. 21, 2010

2010-01-21T21:21:00.000-08:00

At the KCA meeting tonight the new Commander of 3rd District was the featured attraction. By 9:15 PM, the commander was a no-show.

The meeting was called to order by Denis James, the President of KCA.

The first order of business was to introduce Vicky Beasley, the mayor's nominee to the position of People's Council. The office has a staff of 33, and its budget is $5 million dollars, which is funded by the consumers of DC utilities.

The KCA voted to protest two licenses, El Tamarindo at 1785 Florida Avenue, and the Grill From Ipanema, 1858-62 Columbia Road.

There was a long discussion about the new parking bill, proposed by Councilmember Jim Graham, called "The Residential Parking Protection Pilot Act of 2009, and it was basically decided that this act does nothing to improve the situation of parking in Adams Morgan, and has the possibility of making it even crazier.

Ann Hargrove brought forth a resolution titled ELIMINATING BILLBOARD BLIGHT, to end the perpetration of humongous billboards in DC. The KCA resolved to urge the Council of the District of Columbia to hold a hearing on the proposed billboard blight "removal" resolution proposed by the Mayor, on a schedule that will allow adfequate time for public response to the proposal but also ensure Council action before expiration of the mandatory period for Council Review of the proposal.

Lisa Duperier announced that Sunday from 6 to 11 a new wine shop in Adams Morgan at 2122 18th Street will be having an opening for the community.

The meeting was attended by three commissioners, two news media people, the executive director of the BID, the president of Adams Morgan Main Street, and a many longtime Adams Morgan residents

Cooke v Lafayette Girls Basketball

2010-01-19T10:04:00.000-08:00

HD Cooke has a mean girls basketball team, only a little out of control. First string is Destiny, Taren, Daniela, Thelma and Destiny. Those girls can shoot, but can they pass? Can they deflect? Can they dribble without double dribbling? Why don't you see for yourselves?

All you people running for higher office in DC should come see these girls play basketball. What about you Mayor Fenty, Cooke played your boys' school last week, and where were you?

What about you Jim Graham, Bryan Weaver and Jeff Smith, you're running for City Council in Ward One? Why don't you come see a home game of H.D. Cooke Elementary School, the Amazing Bulls? You can all visit the new school and see how great it is for the students learning in a green and healthy environment.

The schedule for the remaining games at home is:

January 26th Adams at HD Cooke

February 2nd Murch at HD Cooke

CityPaper's Loose Lips Let Loose

2010-01-17T22:40:00.000-08:00

Is Jim Graham Behind an ANC Coup?
Posted by Mike DeBonis on Jan. 20, 2010, at 3:32 pm

ANC1c06 speaks in italics to respond to Mike Debonis' statements in this article.

For three years, Bryan Weaver has been elected chair of the Adams Morgan advisory neighborhood commission.
Comment: Yes, Bryan Weaver ran unopposed and was elected chair of the Adams Morgan Advisory Commission. There was no contest for three years. It was a 'fait acomplit' before the election. This year, we finally got to choose.

That run came to an end on Jan. 6, when he lost his re-election bid by a 4-2 vote of his fellow commissioners.
Now LL doesn't delve too often into such parochial affairs, but this particular internecine feud carries greater significance: Weaver is currently exploring a run against his councilmember, Ward 1's Jim Graham. And replacing him as chair is Wilson Reynolds, whose day job happens to be as Graham's constituent affairs director.

So did Boss Graham execute a ruthless power move to force a key neighborhood critic to the margins?
SUCH HYPERBOLE????

Correction: Bryan Weaver will never be forced to the margins in Adams Morgan, just like Bill Duggan. When the press needs a good quote, them's who they go to, no matter how much power wield. They have name and face recognition.

If so, he covered his tracks well. Graham's spokesperson, Brian DeBose, says that "no one knew" about the move until the meeting. Reynolds says "absolutely not," and a fellow commissioner, Nancy Shia, says that Graham had "nothing to do" with the ANC vote.
To wit: I asked Wilson Reynolds before the vote if the Councilmember knew about it and Wilson said no. I trust Wilson Reynolds.

Not directly, anyway: "It hurt the commission for the chairman...to have such a contentious relationship with the councilmember. That happened long before he decided to run," Shia says. "I believe in the Rodney King way of looking at life: Why can't we all just get along?"

Add to that some communications issues, she says: "Why did they think it was OK to win an election without asking anyone to vote for them? ?"
Correction: I actually said, "Who runs for election without asking voters to vote for them? What were they thinking"

Weaver says he may not have actively solicited his colleagues’ votes, but he says none of the members mentioned any dissatisfaction with his continued tenure.
Elaboration: Apparently, mention of dissatisfaction was grounds for dismissing a commissioners pleas for improved working relations.

He admits he charged hard and "was not the easiest of chairs to get along with,” but stands on his record of stepping up the commission’s activism and cleaning up its books (no small feat in ANC-dom).
QUESTION: Isn't it the ANC leadership's responsibility to maintain clean books?.

Not enough for Reynolds, Shia, and two other commissioners (all listed as Graham supporters on his campaign literature), who plotted an ambush. Weaver and his vice chair, Mindy Moretti, found out about their plan to unseat them not more than five minutes before the meeting began.
FYI: Actually ANC1c06 asked the vice chair about 3 weeks before the election to run for chairman of ANC1c, and she declined.

Though Weaver realized he didn't have the votes, he went through with the roll call anyway. "I thought I would give them a certain amount of satisfaction in knocking me off and let them know that I'm not fazed by it," he explains.
Comment: Wow. That's kinda sad and creepy. I would have supported Bryan because I always liked his politics, but this kind of thinking is wrong-headed. It is political paranoia.

This weekend, on her blog, Shia wrote that Weaver and Moretti had un-friended their fellow commissioners from their Facebook accounts. (The post has since been removed.) (It is returned in this article.)
It was removed at the urging of the most leftist commissioner of 1c, and because i did not want to engender additional animosity. Fat chance.

To that, says Weaver, "I am friends with some of them and I am not friends with some of the others."

Friendship among commissioners may not be possible with everyone but it helps. If friendship is not possible, you'd at least expect camaraderie.

Adds Moretti, "Facebook is for my friends."
Implying that the Adams Morgan commissioners are not her friends, obviously.

Loose Lips asked if I'd vote for Weaver. I told him I'm Green, but if I could, I'd vote for Bryan out of respect and loyalty to our commission, besides Jim Graham will win anyway.

The Neighborhood Year in Review In Pictures and Video

2010-01-02T23:23:00.000-08:00

Sun rises on 18th and Columbia New Year's Day, seen through the window at Starbucks.

Swearing in at the Walter Washington Convention Center took place on January 2nd.

In February, ANC 1c was looking for office space and found this 4th floor walk-up on Columbia Road in SMD 1c06. Only problem is it was zoned commercial. We still don't have office space. WIth all the empty space in the neighborhood, you'd think some landlord would give us a good deal for all the good we try to do. I guess the landlords of the neighborhood don't care about the good we do.

In March
Speaking of landlords of the neighborhood, they are represented by the Adams Morgan Partnership, otherwise known as the BID (Business Improvement District), represented at this meeting by Kristen Barden, the Adams Morgan Partnership. Also in attendance are Ted Loza, the councilman's former chief of staff, and Bryan Weaver, ANC1c's chairman. The BID was trying to run the FIDMI market out of the neighborhood, and Loza and Weaver were there to make sure that didn't happen. In this class struggle between businesses and vendors, the vendors won this round, only to be attacked later by rogue cops entering the market bent on disruption. The same officers creating the disruption have a cozy relationship with certain members of the BID. One particular officer was removed for various alleged acts of aggression especially intimidating to undocumented people. The BID circulated a fraudulent petition to bring the officer back. He's been returned as an RDO (reimbursable detailed officer), paid for by the BID on the weekends, but thankfully not to our community to continue his erratic behavior.

Daniela and I are on lunch break here. In April, I had a date with Superior Court, to face allegations of a certain rogue cop who'd been torturing our community for a long time. His abusive behavior as an RDO was legendary, often written about on the Adams Morgan listserv. He'd accused me of some heinous behavior on 18th Street six months earlier, and continued his lies throughout the misdemeanor trial in Superior Court. I was exonerated of any criminal behavior but found guilty by a judge of "failure to obey". The case is on appeal. What was most amazing was amount of times the cop perjured himself. It was a great lesson in police corruption.

In May, the FIDMI-Mi Tierra Market marked nine months of its existence and held a ceremony of thanks to everyone who helped make it happen. Here are some of the vendors who sell at the market.

In June, the mayor, chief of police and councilman celebrated the installation of a crime camera at the corner of Champlain and Kalorama Streets, and held a press conference under the breezeway just a few feet away from the garbage bins. These public relations events can be strange when you know the real deal behind the politics. The councilman wanted the roadway opened up under the breezeway. The mayor wanted to look like he's hard on crime, but the crime camera was taken from another hotspot and put here. The chief of police wanted to look like she's into community policing, yet commended the very officer who the community complained about as being insensitive and committing unconstitutional acts.

In July, the interim director of DPW came to the ANC meeting to discuss Kalorama Park. THe community was outraged about the use of geoblock.

In August, the long awaited opening of the HD Cooke Elementary School finally came about. With all the fanfare the school deserved, it was opened with a press conference attended by the mayor, the chancellor, the secretary of education and the secretary of health.

In September, hearts sprung up at 18th and Columbia for two weeks. They were gifts from the government of Colombia, to make us believe Colombia has a heart. People protested about the treatment of workers in COlombia.

In October, the ANC basketball tournament went horribly wrong. A member of the crew near Girard and 15th came into the territory of the crew from 17th and Euclid, and all hell broke loose. It was six on one. I stepped in to try to stop it, but backed off immediately. Mindy tried, but was slightly more effective than I was. Others bigger and stronger helped stopped it, and the police came five minutes after it was over.

In December, the City Council traditionally gives the ANC commissioners a party. The Council Members stand in front of the commissioners and thank them for their service. There is no wine, but commissioners are dined with a catered dinner and lots of deserts.

DCPS Community Forum at the New HD Cooke Elementary School

2009-11-20T16:58:00.000-08:00

There couldn’t be a better place to hold a forum about how a physical learning environment impacts student learning. H.D. Cooke Elementary School opened in August this year as a 100 years old, brand new state of the art elementary and preschool learning facility. The school was closed for five years awaiting renovation completion. It was once labeled DC’s worst school facility by the Army Corps of Engineers, the entity then responsible for maintaining DC Public Schools.

What a difference five years makes. The fits and starts HD Cooke went through to get where it is today would fill a book, much of it about the incompetence and lack of accountability of DCPS. Construction finally began in 2007, just as the Office of Public Education Facilities Modernization was beginning the long-neglected job of managing DCPS facilities.

Today, HD Cooke Elementary School is an amazing facility. What used to be Precinct 35 voting place in the basement of Cooke is now a media center/library with a skylight beaming from the high ceiling, surrounded by restored columns that stretch the full three stories from floor to ceiling.

This could never have happened this well under the old system of running the schools. This is certainly why some may think the new chancellor is working miracles in the DCPS.

Celebration in Mt. Pleasant, Saturday October 31st

2009-11-03T21:36:00.000-08:00

How nice, members of MPD intermingling with members of the community. This is community policing at its best.

Community policing is what we need now, more than ever. In my single member district, gang violence continues; illegal paper sales continue; people on stay-away orders from the court are not staying away. If the police came to dinner in the community more often, they may get some insight on how to dislodge the semi-hidden crime.

To their credit, MPD is listening. I was informed that before I arrived, the Mt. Pleasant community requested two officers be removed from their streets because of misconduct, and MPD responded to their request

It appears MPD also responded to the Adams Morgan request. The officer in question has been posted elsewhere lately. Seems live attestations of a dozen residents hold more weight than a petition with 35 alleged signatures, some obviously fraudulent, collected by the businesses. The commander of 3rd District did the right thing. We continue watching the locations of the officer(s) in question.

God Bless Our First Responders and vigilant volunteers who keep us safe

The Pumpkins of Ontario and Lanier . . .always fun

2009-10-31T20:34:00.000-07:00

What's the deal with Officer Kurtz?

2009-10-25T22:38:00.000-07:00

Back in July several members of the Latino community paid a visit to Councilmember Graham's office to explain what Officer Kurtz had been doing that made them feel unsafe and discriminated against by an MPD officer they considered abusive and intentionally aggressive.

Councilmember Graham got Chief Groomes on the speaker phone in his office, and members of the delegation took turns telling her of their first hand knowledge of incidents of abuse Officer Kurtz had committed. They spoke of his carrying a video camera into Unity Park where many Hispanics go and alleged he purposefully shot video of people he thought were illegal. Councilmember Graham's visitors believed that their relatives had been deported because Officer Kurtz was working with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). Chief Groomes was very receptive to the people's complaints, but asked for proof. The people in the councilmember's office agreed to write up statements to describe the incidents they were talking about; but, when it came to signing those statements, people backed off because of fear of exposure to immigration authorities.

However, Chief Groomes took the people's testimony seriously, and the same day they were in the councilmember's office, Officer Kurtz was reassigned to another PSA away from Columbia Road and a large Hispanic population.

Since that time, the Business Improvement District circulated a petition to have Officer Kurtz returned to Columbia Road. Members of the BID never reached out to the Hispanic Community or the people who made the original complaints about the officer. Nor did the BID reach out to ANC commissioners who represent the blocks the officer patroled to learn more about the bases of the allegations. The BID simply dismissed their complaints and circulated a petition among the businesses in the 1700 and 1800 blocks of Columbia Road NW. They allege to have the signatures of 35 businesses. The truth of the petition is that the BID's daytime ambassador got a few signatures. The rest were were printed in the same handwriting, not signed.

Officer Kurtz was returned to Columbia Road, but he's also been working in other PSAs . Officer Kurtz is under greater scrutiny these days. There have not been any reports of abuse of his power since his return, but unless he's had sensitivity training or classes in diversity when he was away, it's only a matter of time before he uses his power to violate the Constitution, the Supreme Law of the Land.

Clearly the First Amendment to the Constitution is second in Adams Morgan to the BID's unfettered right to commerce.

Freedom is a constant struggle. Vigilance is its price.

Seniors Protest Plans for Extended Handicap Ramp at the Renovated Mt. Pleasant Library

2009-10-20T16:40:00.000-07:00

Seniors and disabled residents gathered in the front of the Mt. Pleasant Library today to protest the new plans to increased the proposed new ramp from a 40 foot long ramp with a less than three foot decline to a 120 foot long ramp with a seven foot incline.

Speakers included Commissioner Chris Otten of the Adams Morgan Advisory Neighborhood Commission, Commissioner Greg Edwards of the Mount Pleasant Advisory Neighborhood Commission and several members of the senior communities around the library. One handicapped woman spoke of a nightmare scenario if someone were to lose control of a wheel chair going up or down the ramp, the long incline would be a recipe for disaster.

For more information, please call 202-536-4065 or go to www.districtdynamos.org

The Deauville Apartment Building in Mt Pleasant

2009-10-02T23:27:00.000-07:00

Latest on the Deauville is that the city is going to buy it from the negligent landlord for four million dollars. What is wrong with that picture? Then what? Not sure.

Also latest on the church that burned behind the Deauville: Looks like a lot of interest in turning it into a place for community artists. Wouldn't that be nice?

The photo was taken at the Latino Festival on Mt. Pleasant Street. The festivities in front of the Deauville belie the struggle it represents. Hopefully the people and street life depict the Deauville's future.

Planting a vegetable garden in a violent neighborhood .

2009-09-29T18:15:00.000-07:00

neighborhood where gang violence often turns deadly, planting a vegetable garden next to a basketball court right outside the local recreation center could be considered an exercise in futility. The naysayers abounded when the seedlings were put in the ground.

"That's the wrong place, they'll get trampled by the kids playing basketball." "The rats are going to eat all the vegetables, if anything grows." "In two weeks, this recreation center will have 500 kids coming in and out. The kids won't pay any mind to it and run all over it."

I have to admit I had my own doubts,

but they came after I'd committed to growing a garden with the seniors in the wellness class at the Columbia Heights Recreation Center. When the coordinator of Senior Activities of DPR asked us if we'd participate in DPR's Beautification Day, some of us agreed to plant and cultivate a vegetable garden. DPR provided the seedlings and some tools. We provided the grunt work of digging out a garden bed in an area we knew nothing about. We found a lot of rocks and roots, but we kept digging and created two garden beds.

The garden was planted in early June. It had a two-week head start before the kids showed up for summer camp. The garden also had a lot of rain early on. After the initial planting, there was no set schedule of who would water it. Some commitments made were not kept. We had the wellness class Tuesday and Thursday morning, so we used watering the garden as weight training exercise. Some seniors came more than twice a week and took it on themselves to water when they came.

The garden grew and grew, and grew a little wild because no-one staked the tomatoes until late in July, but they still grew, producing cherry tomatoes for almost two months and counting. Eggplants grew and are still growing. They didn't grow as big as they could have but they were picked before full growth. They're still trying to grow with pretty purple flowers harking the new one "coming out".

Growing gardens gives you lessons for the next time you grow one. Two lessons from this year's garden: The first: Don't it always seem to show that you don't know what you got til it grows. The second: Always stake up the tomatoes to keep them off the ground.

Two Days After Obama's Election to the Presidency

2009-08-20T22:31:00.000-07:00

Two days after Obama was elected president, I met a man named Rene at a bus stop in New Haven. Rene was originally from Canada, but served in the US military in the Navy during World War II.

Rene was concerned that the state was going to declare him incompetent by reason of insanity. So he was eager to have someone listen to his story. I had 45 minutes to kill til the next bus, so it worked out well.

As soon as I saw him, I wanted to photograph him. He had a peaceful yet powerful message to the world, and it was a message not far from how I’d been thinking about our country for a long while. For the past eight years, the country had gone to the dogs. Rene put it better than I could. His sign reads, “Good bye America. I didn’t leave. You did.”

When I asked if I could take his picture, Rene got very excited, almost beside himself with glee. He said he was going to shave his beard off that day, for the sake of the psych boards, and he’d really like to get a photo of himself with his beard. How convenient. He posed for several shots, then gave me ten dollars and an address and phone number to send them to. When I called the number the next day, it turned out to be the number for Amistad House, a home for homeless people in New Haven. The person at the other end said Rene had not lived there for over a month.

These are the three photos that best represent this semi-well-known stranger. A crusty old man, did time in the service, on his own and in his 80s. He said he never did drugs in his life. You be the judge. I ended up missing the next bus and waiting an additional hour.

©2009 ShiaPhotos/words

3/4 Photos for NPC Members' Photo Exhibition

2009-08-09T11:20:00.000-07:00

These photos were taken the night I was arrested on 18th Street, handcuffed and locked up.

One of the two women arrested before me was roughed up needlessly when the handcuffs were put on.

"Roughing Alicia" 10/12/08 This is Officer Jevric assigned to Adams Morgan for over a year and (says he) doesn't remember anything from that night.

"Corrupt MPD Sergeant" 10/12/08
Corrupt is defined as making up a story that didn't happen and lying about it numerous times on the witness stand in front of a Superior Court Judge. That is what Officer Johnny Tubbs did on April 3rd this year in Judge Cushenberry's court.

Sergeant Johnny Tubbs tells me to get on the sidewalk here while he arrests two women. Two minutes later, I was in handcuffs too.

The sergeant said I opened a squad car door and photographed a juvenile inside in the middle of a crime scene. The prosecutor called this area "a crime scene" and with that fiction got 5 witnesses to agree. One witness was impeached on the stand when she claimed to be the arresting officer but had filled out PD forms to the contrary. The sergeant lied 178 times on the stand to back his original story. The judge said that story "made no sense."

"Alleged Crime Scene" 10/12/08

January 1st 2009 when the sun came up on Adams Morgan

2009-08-08T10:33:00.000-07:00

6:00 AM
Looking down 18th Street from the window of Starbucks Coffee Shop at the corner of 18th and Columbia.

Adams Morgan was trashed that night, more than usual. Why? Because the Adams Morgan revelers had one more reason to trash and they knew they could get away with it.

In an old town house on 18th Street, Madame's Organ offered revelers space at a hefty rate. Perhaps those who paid so much expected to be picked up after, even where the space was public.

After the revelers left and the rats feasted, the birds move in.

Why is littering taken for granted here? Got any ideas?

It didn't make history, but it made us happy.

2009-07-30T22:47:00.000-07:00

Mayor Fenty Cuts Red Ribbon; HD Cooke opens for a quick tour.

The school is not finished yet, but it will be finished before the students return at the end of August.

Jubilee Jumpstart/Ontario Courts Ribbon Cutting

2009-04-24T06:35:00.000-07:00

April 23, 2009

They waited for the mayor to arrive. He was late. It was a ribbon cutting for a newly renovated low-income apartment building and 24/7 daycare center.

Well, symbolic ribbon cutting time. The ribbon was held by a Jubilee worker while the mayor smiled and cut it on the rent-a-stage.

On Police and Community Relations

2009-04-24T05:49:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

After the ANC1c Public Services Committee, I was walking east on Columbia Road with Commissioner Mindy Moretti. We came upon an arrest in progress of a juvenile on Biltmore Street. The police were enmassed, 3 cars, several officers, including Officer Kurtz, our not-so-friendly until-you-get-to-know-him bicycle officer. After some time of scurrying around Biltmore, Officer Kurtz let us know that the young man was being held for a robbery. I am sure all that scurrying was important and related to the case at hand. However, isn't informing the community of the crime that occurred just as important? Mindy and I both knew they were busy and did not impede. We didn't even speak; just watched. Shouldn't the neighborhood officers know and communicate with ANC commissioners and vice versa? That kind of self-imposed separation from people who walk our streets seems counterproductive. It idoes not engender trust and understanding, two elements important to effective community policing. Gone are the days when Officer Friendly would know all the kids in the neighborhood because he met them in kindergarten. Maybe we can move forward to the days when community leaders can meet and know all PSA officers, and officers naturally inform the people about crime in the community. With greater trust and understanding the community would find it easier to share ongoing crime and public safety issues with police.

On Patriotic Hats, Private Property and Barking

2008-07-06T13:40:00.000-07:00

The time was 3:15 pm in the 1700 block of Columbia Road Northwest. It was the day before the Fourth of July. Passing by the old Ontario Theater (now an unoccupied space) I noticed a man selling things outside the front door. Things they call chatchkis, a used football, two soccer balls and some dolls. I thought, “Hmm, private enterprise at its very basic best, long live capitalism.” I was on my way to pick up Daniela from the Horizons bus. On the day before the 4th, all the Horizons kids get red, white and blue hats. All those kids with patriotic hats, it's a great photo opportunity.

Walking from the bus stop with Daniela and me were a whole lot of the Bennett kids.

We stopped at the man’s corner of the empty building to look closely at what he was selling.

When I took my camera out, the man selling the stuff did not like it and began speaking unkindly. “You can’t stay here if I don’t want you to,” he said, “This is private property. I’m on private property. You can’t take pictures here if I don't want you to. This is private property.” The kids were all standing away from his stuff, just looking, not bothering him. I was photographing them with their cool hats on.

Turning to our annoyed ad hoc entrepreneur, I said, “Yes, it’s private property, but it’s not your private property.”

He accused me of disrespecting him. I told him I was not disrespecting him, and then asked the kids, “Was I disrespecting him?” They said no. I asked, “If anyone is being disrespectful to anyone here, who’s disrespecting whom?” Kia said, “He’s disrespecting us.”

When the man continued his rant, it sounded like barking. All of a sudden I heard real barking.

It was Juwan barking at the salesman as he was barking at us.

That gave us a rip-roaring laugh.

The poor fellow did not see the humor in Juwan’s barking. He started to talk (bark?) about Mississippi, and how he was treated there but he said he’s not going for it up here. He was standing up for his civil rights right there at the corner of Columbia and 17th.

The children were happy they got a good laugh without being disrespectful. As they were leaving the salesman complained one of them kicked his stuff. “Did you get a picture of that?” he asked. “Sorry,” I told him. “I wasn’t watching.”

“I know who you are,” he informed me. “I know who you are,” he repeated. “I’m your commissioner,” I told him. “I know who you are,” he repeated again, as we left.

“Happy Fourth of July”

HD Cooke graduates 6th graders, June 6, 2008

2008-06-09T18:29:00.000-07:00

Mayor Adrian Fenty came to the graduation of H.D. Cooke Elementary School, arriving a few minutes early, which left time for photo opportunity with the graduating class. Also in the picture is Mr. Steve Aupperle, the 6th grade teacher, and Ms. Kathleen Black, Principal of H.D. Cooke Elementary School

Under the direction of Ms. Lisa Leopold, the HD Cooke band played and the choir sang.

Students were honored for their achievements.

When the graduation was over, the students went outside to release butterflies, a symbol of their song, "I believe I can fly."

Mayor Fenty Goes To Press Club

2008-04-04T22:13:00.000-07:00

Greeted by the President of the National Press Club Sylvia Smith and several Press Club board members, the Mayor went to the Club to share a Proclamation.

The National Press Club Board of Directors greeted the mayor in the lobby of the National Press Building.

The Mayor greeted many Press Club workers and a lot of members who came out to meet him. The mayor asked who was the worker who'd worked the longest. Waiter Andrew Price told him he'd been there forty years.

He read the Proclamation, making Saturday, April 5th 2008 National Press Club Day in the city.

Sylvia Smith posed with the Mayor showing the Proclamation.

Sylvia gave the mayor a copy of the book, Press Club at 100 years.

After the formalities were dispensed with, the mayor continued greeting the people of the Press Club.

The last to be greeted was David Crawford, the daytime security guard at the Press Club.

2008-04-04T21:51:00.000-07:00

LET THEM EAT CAKE!! Happy Birthday National Press Club

The National Press Club First 100 Years, the film, played tonight at the Press Club. Tomorrow is National Press Club Day in the District of Columbia.

The kids were bored through the movie. Getting the cake was the reward for sitting still to the end. They were first in line to get cake. When Sylvia Smith, the Press Club President, came in to cut the cake, there were Kelvin Velasquez, age 12, 6th grade H.D. Cooke Elementary School in the District, and Daniela Shia-Sevilla, age 8, 3rd grade at Piney Branch Elementary School in Takoma Park, Maryland.

Sylvia enlisted their help. Kelvin helped cut the cake and held plates for her to serve into. Daniela passed the plates.

They ate cake. . .

. . . and ate cake.

Community Policing Comes to Adams Morgan Tonight

2008-01-24T21:36:00.000-08:00

Community Policing came to Adams Morgan tonight when Sergeant Aceto brought his friends from the Latino Liaison Unit to the Mary Center to meet with the tenants of 2359 and 2401 Ontario Road, NW.

The buildings of 2359 and 2401 Ontario Road have been under siege for a long time from a lot of sides. The landlord is an absentee slumlord. The city levied fines against the buildings’ owners for housing code violations, but the city has not begun the collection of the fines. The hallways were lined with gang graffiti and solid waste for a long time before ANC Commissioner Wilson Reynolds got involved, at the request of the tenants and neighbors. The buildings are in his single member district. The tenants came to the Adams Morgan Advisory Neighborhood Commission meeting in October 2007. One mother showed video of a shower from the ceiling in her kitchen that happened nightly at 8:00 pm. The Commissioners decided to help the tenants clean the buildings, starting with painting the hallways and plugging up rat holes.

The landlord decided to retaliate by suing one commissioner for a hundred thousand dollars, claiming destruction of property. The DC Office of the Attorney General, under the former OAG, refused to take the case. ANC commissioners are by law indemnified against these kinds of lawsuits. Four of us took part in the clean-up. The only commissioner being sued is the one who “led the charge” to address the problems the tenants were dealing with daily. It’s his Single Member District and his responsibility.

Tonight the tenants met with the police to address the issues of crime in their buildings. Jose Sueiro translated while Officer Rodriguez spoke to the tenants of how to be safe from ATM robberies and telephone scams. After the scripted issues came issues of the building: Michelle goes out every morning early and sees a police car parked across the street with an officer sleeping inside. Sergeant Aceto told her to get the number of the car and report it and told her where to find the number of the car. There was a discussion of a homeless person living on the top floor of 2359, and marijuana smoking in the hallway and possible prostitution going on in one of the apartments. The tenants were given directions on what to do. There were ten tenants, 3 commissioners and 5 MPD representatives at tonight’s meeting.

The group of people who came to the ANC in October have now incorporated into a Tenants Association. That makes the situation more viable, more believable, more reason to hope for a bright outcome for the people who live in the two buildings.

A campaign for the Adams Morgan ANC (Advisory Neighborhood Commission)

2007-11-03T19:13:00.000-07:00

October 2006

In August of 06, I was sitting with friends in a group house in Adams Morgan. One of the friends was running for mayor for the Statehood Green Party. I ruminated on running for ANC but didn't relish the responsibilities that go along with winning. It's an unpaid position, a neighborhood commissioner. You have the possibility of 2000 constituents calling and asking for help with a myriad of problems, mostly with the city and its government.

I decided to run because the woman running was a recent import to the neighborhood and couldn't possibly understand the single member district in all its complexity of problems. The biggest, or at least most visible problem in my single member district was the H.D. Cooke Elementary School at 2525 17th Street, NW. The children of the school were getting bussed from in front of the school to a swing space near Howard University. Bussing cost the city a million a year. H.D. Cooke was supposed to have been under renovation, but the project stood still for the 3 years the children had been bussed.

My friend the mayoral candidate suggested I organize a rally in front of the school demanding DCPS start renovating. After the DC Primary in September, I gathered outdated political lawn signs and covered them with campaign posters to start the renovation and fix the school. There was a colorful array of posters, many done by the HD Cooke students, asking for renovation to begin, and more. As the children gathered in front of their school each morning, they saw the buildup of posters announcing the rally.

Traffic @ 17th and Kalorama

2007-01-31T21:13:00.000-08:00

The streets are thirty feet wide. Right now, there is parking on both sides of both streets, and both streets are two ways. This will change some time this year, a month or two before the new Harris Teeter Grocery Store opens up at this corner.
If the Harris Teeter sign represents the front door of the grocery store, some neighbors in the Dorchester House next door are right up under that front door. This little crowded street called Kalorama Road is expected to withstand, put up with and extend a welcoming hand to what is alleged to be 40 to 50 more trucks and 1,500 more cars per day when the store opens.

What the neighborhood looks like now

The building is called The Citadel. It used to be a skating rink way back when. Other uses have been made of it, but none has lasted. It sits next door to the Dorchester facing Kalorama Road and spans the entire block to the corner of Kalorama and 17th Street, NW.

Flowing into Kalorama from the south is a one-way 17th Street. This street is proposed to change to two ways between Belmont and Kalorama, but closed to trucks.

Flowing down into Kalorama from the north is a two-way 17th street, scheduled to change to a one-way 17th Street before the store opens.

Looking up Kalorama Road from 17th to 16th Streets, you see the road the traffic will flow down. This street is scheduled to turn from two-way to one-way going east in this block.

Right now, the only big vehicles coming down Kalorama and turning north onto 17th Street are the large (Trailways size) school buses picking up and returning the students at the H.D. Cooke Elementary School two blocks north of the proposed Harris Teeter project. Three large buses make travel this route three times a day.

Making the approach to the turn up 17th Street . . .

. . . the corner has to be clear of all traffic.

Even when clear of all traffic, the busses have to back up and maneuver boing back and forth to make the turn at this corner.

When the bus clears, the corner and makes its way on up 17th Street, NW, the Cooke students have to hope that there isn't much traffic to delay the end of their school day.