Can I boycott a place I'd probably never get to
Some of ya'll are aware of the
kerfuffle regarding U Street Girl and the owner of a wine bar
threatened legal action. She has recommended that others join her in not patronizing or promoting the 14th Street business. Okay.
I totally agree on principle, but honestly I haven't even gotten to the wine bars I actually want to go to, like Cork, so I don't know what use that would be. Also as a fan of redemption and forgiveness I hope that the owner of Du Vin Osteria, David Shott, will make an honest effort to undo the damage done.
Hopefully, we'll have none of that in nearby (to me) Bloomingdale. Tonight there is going to be an
open house Q&A for a proposed bar/pub/wateringhole at 116 Rhode Island Ave NW between 6 and 8pm. I guess it would be a good place to unwind after some
yoga 'round the corner. Seriously, I'm looking forward to the development, growth and appearances of all the small businesses in the Bloomingdale and eastern Shaw area.
Labels: blog, business, development, events, food/dining
Feh, PUDs and other complex development deals
I just rejected a SPAM comment for a old post (any post older than 14 days is moderated) about
the Radio One deal. That was back in 2007. It is 2010. So 'cuse me if I'm not as hopeful as some of you about the other projects proposed back in 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004.... You get the idea.
So far, in my mind, which means you're welcomed to disagree (and I'll just ignore you), anything requiring financing more complicated than a credit card form is something you shouldn't hold your breath for. Yes, complex projects do get built. You know that National Harbor thing in PG built over a year or two ago? Yeah, they started that in the 1970s. I know where the paperwork for that is to prove it. So O Street Market may be done sometime in 2020 at this rate.
Yes, yes, I hear things are moving with O St. I will believe it when the machinery arrives, then a bunch of guys in hard hats are there 4-5 days a week for 3 or more months and something like framing. Real framing, not just stuff to keep the walls from falling down, forms. Don't just adjust the fence and move the bricks around and call that progress.
Labels: development
Don't hold your breath
Mt. Vernon Square lists all the
stalled/ held up/ and snailed projects in Shaw. And another project that is snail or sloth-in-a-coma type projects, the Howard Theater, had its
marquee fell down.
Labels: development
ex-Shiloh Property under some renovation
PoP reports
here, with a hopeful picture that work is being done on this former Shiloh Baptist property. If I have the address right (1600 8th St NW?) the property was sold 12/30/2009, so if the new owner is starting now, three months later, the future is lookin' good.
Labels: development, real estate
A few things revisited
a grocery store in neOn the Eckington listserv there is all this back and forth about the old Safeway and hoped for replacement. Please take the Harris Teeter off the list. According to an
old press release HT is scheduled to open Winter 2010/2011. According to a recent
DCMUD post (hat tip
eckington blog), that date could be November 2010.
Honestly Eckington/Edgewood area, I don't see what that area has to attract the kind of store y'all think you deserve. The two favorites according to Debbie Smith's poll were Trader Joe's (which tends to like small spaces with hidden parking) and Wegmans. What no
Balducci's? I left the Logan Circle are a few months after the Whole Foods opened, and from what I remember the civic authorities of that area showed how the population of Logan/Shaw (and Dupont) could support a Whole Foods. The Soviet Safeway, the O Street Giant, and the no-name grocery in the area were no competition for the kind of shopper that would support WF. If y'all can prove that a national or regional grocery chain can thrive there despite a Giant nearby that happens to be very convenient to a metro station with many buses, go for it.
and regarding sidewalks and the problems for those in wheelchairs (from Scott Roberts list)See this 2/17/2010 message from ANC 5C04 Commissioner John Salatti:
Bloomingdale does it again: another resident is helped!
Once again, Bloomingdale residents have shown their concern for their neighbors and done it with more than just words. This past weekend I heard from Angela xxxxxxx who uses a motorized wheelchair to get to and from college in Rockville, MD. She makes that daily trip using Metro. That trip is long and difficult on the best of days (Angela has some hairy stories of having to drive her wheelchair down Michigan Avenue from the Brookland Metro Station when the buses have not run), her trip became impossible after the snow storm because she could travel barely 20 feet from her property before the sidewalk became impassable for her wheelchair.
After meeting with Angela and hearing her situation and what she needs to go back to school, I called on a number of residents for a major operation: get Angela from her home in the xxxx block of Flagler Place to the bus stop at North Capitol and W Street, about a third of mile. And once again Bloomingdale responded. Many, many thanks to Sara Kaufman and Mike McNeil of the Unit block of W Street, and Dodd Naiser, Alastair Pakiam, and Brandon Skall of Flagler Place for joining me to widen the path on the sidewalk and for chopping out a lot of ice so that Angela could make her way safely to the bus stop and back. We went with her on a test drive back and forth. She couldn't believe that people would do so much to help her.
Thanks everyone!
Please clear the sidewalks.
Labels: ADA, Bloomingdale/Eckington, development, weather
Waltha Daniels Shaw Library
Slowly it is coming together.
Labels: city services, development
News from other blogs or Friday Misc.
Over in Bloomingdale The Yoga District is having a mommy & me, but with a more inclusive title of
Family Yoga and Community Playtime.
The Great Scott Roberts also mentioned some
tasty info he got from a Bloomingdale restaurant hopefully to come at NJ & R.
According to WashBiz Journal, Beau Thai, a carry out, is due to open in March, hopefully, maybe, fingers crossed.
Speaking of restaurants on R, anyone know what's going on with 6th and R for the proposed
Toque Cafe? I've noticed a change of windows and the application of paper over the windows, so I hope there is something good going on behind the paper.
Over here in the TC, the
BACA blog tells that there will be a grand opening of the
Eckstine and Ellington Theatre at the Dorothy I Height Community Academy Public Charter Schools (CAPCS)school, also known as Armstrong, this weekend.
have a great weekend y'all.
Labels: Bloomingdale/Eckington, business, development, events, food/dining, kids
Change in the corner of my eye
Last night I spent some quality time with the Help, the Help's landlord, the landlords' dogs, and another guest in Beltsville. The Help made some comment about the drug dealers on my corner, to which I responded that the dealers have cut back their hours and days of operation and laid off staff, and are hardly there [pause & sigh]"it's the economy." I got a chuckle from that. The friendly neighborhood drug dealers are less of a problem then in years past and that's a change for the better, which only Spring can tell. Sadly they have been replaced by
bored violent teens picking fights and robbing adults. Not sure which is worse.
I measure change by the situation I came into when I arrived on my block nearly 9 years ago. Drug dealers were at the corner or near the corner day, night, weekends, weekday, hot days, or cold weather, they were there. The Giant on O St was the best grocery option. There were quickie marts and liquor stores selling 40oz every 2 blocks and no decent wine.
But lately I have sensed another change, that is to come, and I see it out of the corner of my eye. Walking home I saw the
Josephine (the recently built condos on Rhode Island Ave) off the side, in the background a tad, and I sensed a greater density has been added to my low density neighborhood. A density that the
Monique, on the same block but on R St didn't add on its own, but the two together seems to signal a change. Also, when peered at from the corner of my eye, off in the background the new Waltha Daniels/Shaw Library getting built. Now provided no bullets mar the shatterproof glass (that's what I hear these modern architects are using for glass boxes these days) in the 1st 6 months, that will definitely signal a change provided that we see through the glass, a diverse library patronage that reflects the diversity of the neighborhood.
And the hope of change for the better is still alive and well. There is some excitement about a proposed bar near the Yoga District, and the SMD ANC/ businessman Stu Davenport is
aware and seems positive. This is something new to think about while some still remain hopeful about Baraki (1st and T) and wonder what's going with the
old Bates Market, which seems to be chugging along. And speaking with the BAANC blog editor and Ray 'o' Sunshine, it seems I should keep an eye out this year for the O Street Market.
Labels: business, development
Where are the Warrenton Condominums?
Not too long ago we were informed of the Warrenton Group and their million + contract with the city to assist in the development of Northwest One. Then other bloggers noted that they had listed as their office the shuttered liquor store on 7th and Q here in Shaw. Then their website went down. Well now their
website is back up and shiny and telling me to update my Internet Explorer. And they say their offices are
on Wisconsin Ave.
Now I found some of their completed projects.
Warrenton West is over on Missouri Avenue NW and the
Taylor Flats on Taylor St NW. Both seem to be fairly small project compared to what is proposed for NW 1 and the other large projects.
Labels: development
Friday Misc
Good morning. As you can see it appears things are just chugging along at the Waltha T. Daniel-Shaw library. Sparks a flying, cranes and trucks blocking traffic, good stuff.
A few blocks over at
7th and Q is the location of the Warrenton Group, (apparently spelled with and 'e', occasionally spelled Warranton with an 'a') which
according to DC Mud is joining developer William C. Smith and Co. to rebuild the Sursum Corda Area aka Northwest One. Problem is, as far as some of us can tell the
Warrenton Group is a fake front, as they have been awarded million dollar contracts but haven't built shyte. They own shyte, but haven't built or developed anything so far that one can point to. Unless someone out there knows something that we can go look at, besides the senior wreck center that is the shuttered liquor store at 7th and Q.
On a personal note this week I discovered the importance of a dehumidifier when my cellar flooded with 4 inches of water.
Lastly, sort of because I swear I meant to write something else, trick or treaters. As common on my street, we give out candy to small people who knock on our door. I'm guessing the prime time will be 5-7pm, because around 7:30-8 the sullen teens knock on the door and that's when I turn off all the lights and hide in the rear of the house, or go over to someone else's house. So check with your neighbors if you're new since last year and join in the custom.
Labels: development, events
Playground near Bundy & Middle Eastern Food
Shamelessly stolen from
BACA blog, who got it from the
CCCA-Blog.
Item #1- There is going to be a
children's playground at Scott-Montgomery. They broke ground, there is equipment awaiting installation, and even better.... a edible learning garden! I love edibles. I love it even better when other people, including small people with growing brains, get to learn that food does not come from the supermarket. It comes from the good earth. Yay! According to the CCCA, "Access to the outdoor tot lot in the small courtyard on 1500 Fifth St NW will be made available local families and age-appropriate children in the neighborhood outside of regular school hours." I hope this means they can keep out cursing, dope smoking adults who tend to take over playgrounds. Yeah, I'm talking about the guys around the block, who used to haunt the basketball courts that where behind KIPP/Scott-Montgomery. And hopefully this space will appreciated by some of the anti-dog park people who say children need a park. Well it's coming and that is a good thing.
Item #2-
Toque Cafe- Middle Eastern restaurant to be at 6th and R. One word, falafel. Some more words- the former Chain Reaction space is going to serve food and G-d and city government willing, there may be outdoor seating. My only concern is the corner of R and the alley running behind it seems to attract bulk trash on a regular basis, I swear it is some dumping ground. I think today I saw a headboard and some other furniture. But that shouldn't keep me from falafels. I pray they make good falafels with a decent tahini sauce. Last local mid-east place I went to (now out of business) put ranch dressing on the falafel. Bad. Bad. Bad.
Labels: business, development
Prevent a Pop-up
Well we can make this a test case. Can you kill a pop up without one of those pesky historic district doohickies?
Here's the situation, there is to be a BZA hearing for 1721 4th Street, N.W. It's the blue house that's being worked on that's across the alley from the Fourth Street Cleaners. Anyway, the owner, a nice guy I'm told, has an application #17934, for a variance from the nonconforming structure provisions under subsection 2001.3, to allow a third story addition to an existing flat (two-family dwelling) in the R-4 District. Third story addition, read Pop-up.
Now pop-ups can be cool, or they can be complete pieces of crap. It could be the house near the corner of R & 5th (cool) or the monstrosity on the unit block of P St NE, or the 1/2 done thing on the 300 block of P NW.
TRIVIA- 1721 4th St NW sits on the block that was owned by the Glorius family from the 1880s to the 1900s, which was
later sold to
Harry Wardman.
** Public Hearing***
Start Time : 7/28/2009 10:00 AM
AGENDA
Case Number : 17934
Case Name : Application of Behzad Hosseinkhani
Case Summary : (Area Variance) pursuant to 11 DCMR § 3103.2, for a variance from the nonconforming structure provisions under subsection 2001.3, to allow a third story addition to an existing flat (two-family dwelling) in the R-4 District at premises 1721 4th Street, N.W. (Square 516, Lot 54).
ANC : 5C01
Labels: development, historic districts, houses
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.
Labels: BACA, development
From the Pile: Bundy School & Park
The pile knows all, and the pile is very, very disorganized and headed for the recycle bin. I find stuff of interest and it goes into the pile.
Here's something from the pile, a 1968 report on public facilities. The most interesting stuff is about DC medical clinics in Shaw that are no more. Not counted are non-DC government clinic such as Children's Hospital (still over in northern Shaw). Anyway amongst that stuff is a listing of DC government land and US Government land in Shaw.
I'm going to cut to the chase, in 1968 Bundy Elementary School and Bundy Playground were understood to be two separate things. When I heard the Director at the meeting mention the post Home Rule land confusion something didn't sound right. It's an understandable error, and so I don't fault the Director on this, and you can say it is all up to interpretation or it doesn't matter. And even the report I'm looking at seems a little confused at times about the Bundy Playground, which on the map includes the lot were the soccer players play and the vacant lot proposed as the 1968 playground. On several pages it says the 2.40 acre Bundy Playground is owned by the US government and operated by the Recreation Department, but on one page says it is owned by the Recreation Department. A paragraph about Bundy Playground reads, "This property contains 104,595 sq. ft. owned by the U.S. Government, but under the control of the D.C. Recreation Department. The playground contains a multi-purpose playing field, 2 basketball courts and elementary apparatus for small children."
Of course, this is just a snap shot from 1968. Heavens only knows what understandings, change of responsibilities, etc occurred with Home Rule in 1973 (just 5 years later) or disorganized administrations.
Labels: city services, development, neighborhood history
Bundy Lot Meeting
By golly I hate meetings, but you wouldn't know that because I keep attending them.
These are my quick points to keep from rambling. The rambling will be in another post:
* Office of Property Management (OPM) won't be handling how the land will be used. It will be Park and Rec's problem.
*There is approximately 37,000 sq ft in the building.
*OPM will have a clearer assessment of the building's parking needs in 30 days.
*OPM Director stated that she was, "not trying to over park anything."
*The land transfer from the Federal to the District government is expected to go through sometime this fall.
*After several promises of other locations, the DC government settled on the Bundy School as a location for the multidisciplinary team response to child abuse in 2004.
*Prior to Home Rule in 1973, DC school land was owned by a mix of the municipal body and the federal government, so the assumption that the lot belonged to the DC government was a natural error.
*(not from the meeting) Up until recently the DC government had no clue as to what land it owned, best illustrated in the case of vacant residential properties.
*Si, from MVSQ neighborhood association stated that we welcome Safe Shores and (okay memory fuzzy) as a neighbor? hoping they will be a good neighbor? Regardless, we welcome Safe Shores, and her comment got a good round of applause from the pro-parking and pro-green space folks.
*Martin of the CCCA neighborhood association mentioned there are plans in the works for playgrounds/parks (didn't write this down) at Scott-Montgomery and NJ and O.**
*The proposal for a dog park was pushed forward by a group, not the ANC.
*When the land transfer occurs then Parks & Rec can evaluate the dog park application.
Now if there is anything factually wrong with my notes, please inform me with comments. No anonymous comments, those are deleted at whim.
**It will be interesting to see how the proposed people parks/ playgrounds get used. There was play equipment in the park near the other Northwest Co-Op here in the TC. However, no parent in their right mind would let their kids play on it because of the bad adult behavior in and around that equipment. That's changing, but still more adults, hang out in that area than kids.
Labels: animals, city services, development
Lunch options in Penn Quarter
Dear Wagamama,
How dare you make me wait until 2010 for tasty ramen.
Love,
Mari
I thought I took a picture but apparently, no. Yesterday I spotted signage on 418 7th Street stating that the noodle chain I fell in love with in London will be coming in 2010. Better yet, it will be close enough and priced about right to make a regular lunch spot.
Labels: development, food/dining, other neighborhoods
Latin American School for JF Cook
Anyone know anything about
this?
Labels: development, schools
7th & RI- only a matter of time
Blocking off the sidewalk on Rhode Island & 7th St is an accident waiting to happen. There is a bus stop there and the bus lets people off. Those few traffic barriers are an island unconnected to safe passage. Okay, say the bus lets you off at the stop there and you're in the barricade island. How do you get to the metro station? You have to walk out into traffic.
Today I spotted the G8 stopped at the corner of 7th and RI to let people off, blocking cars coming north on 7th. It looked like a safer course of action than deserting them in the barricade island.
Its only a matter of time before someone gets hurt as long as that sidewalk is blocked with no connection to a safe path.
Labels: development, transportation
Howard Theater
IMGoph has a
post up about the presentation for the streetscape around the Howard Theater area.
I've kinda lost general interest in the Howard because in the early 2000s I attended the meetings and heard the presentations for saving the Howard Theater, and then nada. Nothing. Zip. The Howard, the O Street Market, and anything else I was waiting for to get going during the real estate boom years, didn't. So now I'm jaded.
I got to thinking, if the Howard is restored and turned into a working theater, wouldn't it be in competition with the Lincoln up the street?
Labels: development
Constructing a Courtyard Marriott
The hotel over by the New York Avenue Metro station is coming along and seems to be going at a pretty good pace. As you can see there are windows. Windows that can peer into the souls of the ATF workers across the way.... or not.
Waiting hotel visitors, once the joint opens, is the Sisters Pizza and Mussels, the 5 Guys, Pound Coffee, and Heidi's Deli. Hopefully success on NoMa's 2nd St NE, will trickle some smaller scale development (think 14th St Shaw not 14th St Columbia Heights) over on to North Cap.
Labels: development, other neighborhoods
