Comments on: Grahamstanding Hits Home: Loose Lips Daily

By: downtown rez

downtown rez — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:48:41 +0000

"I’m waiting to see something in Anacostia, Deanwood, and a few more places East of the River before I’m convinced of this development boom."
You'll need to convince the developers those places are profitable to invest in. 14th St is an easy sell. Those? Apparently not quite so much.

By: Key

Key — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:55:53 +0000

14th Street is fine, but why all the other cheapl looking detritus stores? It's the OTHER things, that get me, and the lack of anything having to do with long-run infrastructure, LIKE schools, rec centers, libraries. All the energy went into retail.

By: Q

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:49:14 +0000

"If not 14th, then where?" That is a compelling question. From an accessibility point, 14th Street is closer to Downtown without being Downtown, if you know what I mean. It is closer to Adams Morgan without being Adams Morgan. I'd even say it's closer to Petworth without being Petworth. So with that, you've kinda proved the argument of development there. But...(you knew this was coming), there are so many other tracts of land that could've benefitted from this same development with better parking. Putting a Target, Wal-Mart etc at the 8th & Rhode Island NE Shopping Center would definitely bring more commerce to the area. Not taking away from 14th Street, but the planners of the Columbia Heights development definitely wanted to take advantage of the Adams Morgan, Petworth, Shaw, Petworth, Park View, Mt. Pleasant, Pleasant Plains, and LeDroit Park crowds. (At least according to neighborhood proximity from the following wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Heights,_Washington,_D.C. )

I'm waiting to see something in Anacostia, Deanwood, and a few more places East of the River before I'm convinced of this development boom.

By: Downtown rez

Downtown rez — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:00:15 +0000

Agreed, Fred. But it needs to be (and I think is) considered an important part of a larger package; one that includes better schools, rec centers, libraries, etc. As for the big cheap retail component, I'm still left asking: if not 14th, than where?

By: Fred

Fred — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 03:28:20 +0000

No question about it, and I'm not sure that by itself is the issue. For me, it's the rapidity of the development, robbing a place of its sense of place (and I am under no illusions that Col Hgts was a second Left Bank or anything), and so on. Yes, there can be a Target, sure, why not, but at what cost? It's also the whole vision, or lack of vision. I would say that while existing families like the Target, it's not the best way to ensure that families stay in the city and that more families move in (schools, etc).

By: downtown rez

downtown rez — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 23:30:49 +0000

Thanks, Q
I never did like safeway, trader joes, or harris teeter. Whatever, plenty of my friends do. So that's a personal taste issue.

Sure, childrens place isn't cheap, but their stuff seems to last a bit longer. Or at least it doesn't shrink the first time it gets left in the dryer. And the beginning of school sales are decent.

What I'm saying is that many locals *do* like and benefit from the new development.

By: Q

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:03:35 +0000

Downtown Rez, I applaud your niche shopping, but for some of folks "keeping it real" are shopping in DC, MD, & VA to find the best prices. Don't be duped into believing that Children's Place is the best selection out there for uniforms. Granted, you have to go to strip malls in NE & SE, far removed from the aesthetics of Columbia Heights, or should I say the *New* Columbia Heights, but they are there. Long before the development monstrocities of Columbia Heights, there was Waterside Mall (gone but partly coming back), Greenway, Hechinger Mall, and more recently shopping off of Alabama Avenue, and Brentwood Road. I guess proximity makes a difference, so I'm not going to get you to travel outside of "Downtown", Rez. The diaper situation is bad, so Target may be your bulk choice for now, since the plan to build a COSTCO's @ Ft. Lincoln seemed to fail. BTW, not counting the Harris Teeter on Capitol Hill, Safeway (my choice) has some pretty decent markets all over DC. Once they renovate the one on Georgia Avenue you might have a better choice nearer to Columbia Heights. What I'm saying (and indirectly Fred) is that all in the name of development and progress the things that make DC family-centric are being rapidly "gentrified" and as such the culture of the neighborhoods are being eroded wholesale. Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that these major chains would not see DC as taboo and put stores here, but there is a difference between DC citizens and DC consumers.

By: Downtown rez

Downtown rez — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:45:51 +0000

Heh. My 5 year old loves target. And Ritas And 5 guys.
I doubt my family of 4 would find much use for that stretch of 14th without them.
On a more serious note- There's got to be a place in DC where one can go buy 36 oz cans of infant formula and diapers in packs of 148 (target), school uniforms (Childrens Place), and shop at a decent grocery (giant).
Otherwise, all us keeping it real folks are either a) driving to MD or VA or b) paying twice as much. If a major commercial street like 14th isn't appropriate, then where is?

By: ttc

ttc — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:45:50 +0000

Al, you seem to have stopped reading any new developments in the story some time ago. Continuing to blame the MPD is incorrect. Please catch up a bit, then please continue with your idiotic posting.

By: Angry Al Gonzales

Angry Al Gonzales — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:15:29 +0000

The MPD does not enforce the laws we have - we don't need new laws, we just need the MPD to enforce the laws we have.
For example, the shooting on Friday came after a fight at the summer job orientation, a fight that police broke up, & seized a gun & brass knuckles, but the MPD failed to arrest anyone. Then the fight breaks out again a little later. We do not need an injunction against gangs, we just need the cops to enforce the laws we have.

By: Fred

Fred — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:38:45 +0000

Exactly. Polar opposites. I hope no one gets in there and destroys that.

Slow growth - so much better.

By: Q

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:36:11 +0000

"but an area of cheaply made condo buildings will not entice families of more than 2 to move and live there (let alone put down roots). So to me, DC is destroying housing stock for families." Gentrification at it's finest. Get used to it. It is not only happening in "CH", it is happening all over DC and is moving East at a steady pace. In 2-3 years, Anacostians will be complaining of the same thing. What I don't get is that Fenty & Co. aren't that stupid to understand demographics. DINKs, especially the transient ones, aren't going to stay in DC for the long haul. Thus, "lifers" have to deal with the infrastructure and continue to be marginalized in the name of progress. I agree Fred, that with all the "whiz bang" of the stores there, I'm not inclined to stay in that area for too long. It really has nothing to do with the crime, it is more of the faux "trendy" atmosphere sans a neighborhood feel. See Barracks Row to get the complete opposite. Not big growth, but smart growth changes the community every time. There is nothing that says the businesses are investing in the community either -- not monetarily, but building up a sense of a neighbor-type aura.

By: Fred

Fred — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:25:44 +0000

When DC USA came to Columbia Heights, I questioned it. I thought it would make the area uglier and more boring, and displace local businessmen and women. To those making the argument that it would change the area in terms of crime, I responded by saying, things won’t change by plonking down a water-it-and-it-will-sprout Best Buy, BedBathandBeyond, Target, Ace clump of prefab buildings (with a parking garage). And (this is important) things won’t change either if we just sit there. It’s kind of like everyone has to be involved. For me, we have to have and actively support policies that reduce economic inequality. For me, that is the only way.

Now I go to CH and I don’t linger. I used to go there and would linger a bit longer (though of course I was aware that it was not a crime free area) because it was just more…interesting. Since the DC USA clump came in, for me, it just speeded things up tremendously and changed the area. I just want to get in and get out.

Yeah, maybe the crime rate will go down once all the poor have been elbowed out, but an area of cheaply made condo buildings will not entice families of more than 2 to move and live there (let alone put down roots). So to me, DC is destroying housing stock for families.

It’s my sense that crime has actually gotten worse since DCUSA moved in. The only way to tell is to do a search in one of the databases comparing the before and after scene, on something like homicides.

By: huh?

huh? — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:25:57 +0000

Gary Imhoff says crazy shit sometimes, but here he's SPOT ON. Fenty etal must be out of their minds using Columbia Heights as a backdrop to push their ridiculous anti gang policies. These guys have absolutely no common sense and no class. This was a disgusting display.