The NCPC did discourage development on the Northwest corner after vigorous public opposision (frankly, i never heard a comment in favor of the development at any meeting). But the last time I reviewed their minutes, they also approved development of the Southwest corner.

This will never stop until congress or DC steps in and designates (or buys, if DC) the space back for preservation.

I love the obnoxious "our concrete will create jobs for neighborhood residents"... as if we are desperate for low-paying temp construction jobs. Having lived in the neighborhood for many years, my neighbors are now a thoroughly bourgoiesified/gentrified bunch. Houses now go for $500-700k. Very few working-class families remain, given the exploiding tax rates and benefits of cashing out. I don't know any neighbors who are looking for a part-time learned trade in the construction industry. I have one neighbor who owns his own construction business.

Perhaps some of the few men (there aren't many) I see in the evenings outside the Park-Morton public-subsidized housing complex might be a better demographic? But what's to say they aren't working already? I don't see them during the day. And what's to say they are unemployed construction workers? Not everyone knows how to operate a backhoe, jackhammer, set concrete molds, etc..

Destroy one of the last native soil parcels in DC... we'll give you some 6-month long shit jobs. And traffic and congestion and noise and a whole bunch of nothing.

This and Jim Graham's damn publically paid-for CVS make me want to spit.