The Issue: A new tavern is set to move into Ward 1–and just in time, as there's nothing better than ice and boozing after a 9:30 Club show in this sweltering heat. The American Ice Company has taken over the 2,375 square foot lot once occupied by Madden Roofing, at 917 V Street NW. The owners intend give the existing warehouse, complete with a rolled-up garage door, slight renovations before opening in late summer or early fall. The tavern will be a “small neighborhood gathering place with entertainment to include dancing, DJ’s and occasional 3-piece combo band,” says the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration’s notice of a public hearing.

The bar will have a maximum occupancy of 143 with 44 seats outdoors in the summer garden, and live entertainment until close. Indoor and outdoor operating hours will be: Sundays from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m., Mondays through Thursdays from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m., Fridays from 4 p.m. to 3 a.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 a.m.–with alcohol served during all hours of operation. Some residents at Rhapsody Condominiums though, located behind the tavern at 2120 Vermont Avenue aren’t buying the “small gathering place” sell. Between the music streaming out of the garage door to the drunks on the patio, they’ll never sleep again, they argue.

It’s Just a Peaceful Patio: When the American Ice Company met with about 30 community members in early June, there seemed to be overall support, Advisory Neighborhood Commission commissioner Peter Raia said at last Thursday’s ANC 1B meeting. Joe Rivas, a LeDroit Park resident and tavern representative, says they’re going to add a perimeter wall around the front patio to keep the noise in. “We don’t have any plans for live music, any DJs or the like,” he said. They plan to work with the company that installs all the sound for Marvin and other taverns with similar complaints from neighbors. In the summer, the garage door will remain open, but when temperatures fall, the door will close, he says. “If there’s umbrellas and people want to stay outside, they’re more than welcome,” but he adds, “we’re not going to try to keep it open. I mean­—it’s a patio.” Also, a bar beats an empty lot. “Vacant buildings can be a serious ‘neighborhood health’ issue. Sure, a bar may not be the ideal substitute for all audiences, but Duffy’s is just around the corner,” writes commenter Mitchell over at Prince of Petworth.

Loud Drunks All Night: At last week's meeting, one resident of Rhapsody Condominiums (who didn't want to give her name) argued that most of the people who came to the early June meeting weren’t directly affected. Since the condominium is U-shaped, there are around 30 residents whose units directly oversee the bar, she said. The tavern’s plan to build a brick wall around the patio will only cause the noise to rise up—making it worse for residents. “When there’s two people in the alley, you can hear the whole conversation, I might as well talk back to them," she said. "So 44 drunk people, 20 feet from my bedroom…I think it’s a much bigger issue than we’re making it.” She already has two white noise machines to muffle out sounds from the alley.

If it weren’t for the outdoor space, another resident says she wouldn’t be as concerned. “I used to live in Langston Lofts, and…the noise from Marvin on the roof deck was a lot to deal with. It still makes me worry I’m going to be in my house at 11 o’clock during the week…and I’m hearing ‘boom boom’…and the idea of that is really disheartening because our neighborhood is really quiet right now,” she says. “I live in the Rhapsody and selected that building for peace and quiet, not for some dumb rowdy ghetto club,” writes PoP commenter Neighbor.

What’s Next: Some residents of Rhapsody Condominiums and the local ANC plan to protest the ABRA application in order to negotiate a voluntary agreement with the establishment later this month. A public hearing before the ABC Board is set for July 26.

Photo by d'n'c'. Creative Commons Attribution License.

The Issue: Summertime calls for cold beers, cheap burgers, and outdoor relaxin'. In steps Thaddeus Curtz's new burger joint, Standard, which is set to open at 1801 14th St. NW, reports 14th & You (guess Crepes on the Corner won’t be moving in). As a cook at the Neapolitan pizzeria 2 Amy’s, he must know what he's doing. Burgers, fries, and everything else will run under 6 bucks. And the 15-seat restaurant will open out onto a sidewalk cafe and a summer garden with seating for 130. The "problem"? Curtz plans to serve alcohol and stay open until 1:30 a.m. on weeknights and 2:30 a.m. on weekends–leaving nearby residents and two local Advisory Neighborhood Commissions up in arms.

Recipe for a Block Party: Standard would essentially transform the former outdoor garden center into a beer garden. “It seemed that large of a crowd outside, so close to residential homes…would be inviting problems,” says local ANC 1B commissioner Eduardo Ferrer. Curtz’s liquor license proposal was met with resistance by both the local ANC and neighboring ANC 2B, with ANC 2B voting unanimously against it. The ANCs expressed concern over the late weekday hours and outdoor noise. Commissioners noted that no other business in the area had ever requested so much outdoor seating.

For the Love of Burgers: A casual, cheap-eats joint to grab a beer on any given weekday is precisely what the neighborhood needs, wrote one commenter at 14th & You. “Residents have got to realize that if they want to live the ‘New York style life’ they so desire by buying these condos in the city that they will have some noise…from time to time,” wrote another. “If you want suburbia, move out to Reston!”

What’s Next: Curtz says he isn’t worried about disputes over his liquor license. “I think that it’s just a natural part of the process. It’s nothing unusual,” he says. The local ANC may be willing to negotiate if Standard's weekday outdoor hours are scaled back. The issue isn't the burger joint, but rather the business plan, Ferrer said.

Photo by davidgsteadman, Creative Commons Attribution License

Whether you're a member of the D.C.  Council or one of Ward 8's ANC Commissioners, you have rendered an opinion about the conduct of Councilmember Marion S. Barry, as laid out in the Bennett Report.

Yet one constituency has yet to speak out on the politician's ethics: Jewelry merchants.

Their voice must be heard in this matter, given the centrality of their wares to the latest Barry flare-up. As City Desk outlined, Barry had given his former girlfriend Donna Watts-Brighthaupt gifts–clothes, yes, sundry items, yes. And jewelry!

"Gifts," in this context, is a kind construction. What the councilmember  actually did was secure $15,000 in contract work for her. Then, after purchasing the items, he made her repay him out of the contract funds. Was this a kickback? Barry claimed to Bennett investigators that those gifts were really just, um, loans.

Kickbacks, loans, repayments, repossessions, whatever—the gallant men of the jewelry industry are saying that it all runs counter to their core values. “I just think the whole thing is fishy," says Jonathan Mervis, the digital strategist for Mervis Diamond Importers. "I hate to be quick to judgment, but I don’t think there’s real commitment there."

Local jewelers say Barry violated all kinds of relationship ethics.  They've never heard of anyone giving jewelry, and then claiming it as a loan.

David Boone, vice president of Boone & Sons, explains that when jewelry is exchanged it's supposed to be a deep, maybe even relationship-saving, moment. "It makes the guy feel good and hopefully the gal feels good or guy-guy or gal-gal whatever the case is. I always tell people, if you take guilt out of the equation, there’s going to be a lot of jewelers out of business. Guilt has something to do with it, but love has more to do with it.”

Boone says that hypothetically Barry's jewelry-as-loan is a really bad boyfriend move. "That's a message that you shouldn't be together," he says. It's so bad, he's not quite buying it.

The loan? Well, Boone says: "That doesn't make sense."

Says Mervis: “You’d have to ask why. Why did he not say this from the outset? He has to have a reason. Maybe he lost his job. Maybe there’s a reason why his portfolio went to nothing and he can’t afford it. This girl shouldn’t be quick to jump to conclusions. But she should certainly start asking some questions.”

“It defies the meaning of gift," Mervis adds. "If you give a gift and you later ask for money then you never gave a gift.”

*file photo by Darrow Montgomery.

And another point of consensus: The M Street Safeway is better than no grocery at all, which is what Southwesterners are bracing for this spring. During about two weeks in April, the company plans to close down the existing store while it puts the finishing touches on a brand new Safeway, set to open April 16 as part of a redevelopment of the same parcel.

A two-week closure might not be a big deal in neighborhoods with abundant shopping options, but it’s going to be a hardship for waterfront residents, says David C. Sobelsohn, secretary of the 6D Advisory Neighborhood Commission.

“This Safeway is not only the largest retailer in Southwest; it’s our only source of food. For many people without cars, there is really no other option,” Sobelsohn says. “We are looking for assurances that Safeway will do what it takes to make sure people in this neighborhood have access to food.”

The old store is slated to close on April 4. The new one will open on April 16, according to Craig M. Muckle, spokesman for Safeway’s Eastern Division.

Among those concerned is Tserha Gebreamlak, 41, who moved into the neighborhood a decade ago, partly because of the supermarket a few blocks from her apartment. She suffers from a chronic syndrome that often leaves her exhausted, so she tends to shop two or three times a week to cut down on number of items she has to lug at any one time.

“I moved here depending on Safeway,” she says. “Now I may have to take a train to Harris Teeter,” on Capitol Hill, near the Potomac Ave. Metro station.

Safeway also has another store near Kentucky Avenue SE. But both of those supermarkets are located on the other side of the Southeast Freeway, more than a mile away. That leaves a 7-Eleven, a few variety stores, and not much else by way of shopping options.

Sobelsohn and other residents would like the store to remain open and wonder whether Safeway executives are just trying to save a few bucks with the temporary shutdown.

But Muckle says the company needs the time to move existing equipment into the new store located directly behind the old store and demolish the old building. Besides, Muckle says, Safeway has already gone out of its way to keep its doors open during construction.

“This isn’t about creating a hardship. We want to do what’s right for the community,” says Muckle, pointing out that things could be much worse: Safeway’s Georgetown store has been closed for renovations for about a year now.

But those two neighborhoods make for a lopsided comparison. For starters, Georgetown is one of the city’s wealthier neighborhoods, while the area around the Safeway is still one of the District’s poorer sections despite new construction in recent years. Not only is there a Whole Foods Market a few blocks from the closed Safeway on Wisconsin Avenue NW, Georgetown residents are more mobile. According to 2000 Census figures, the most recent available, 83 percent of households in the Georgetown, Burleith, Hilldale area of the city owned cars, compared to 60 percent of households in the Southwest-Waterfront section of Ward 6.

“Southwest is an older, established neighborhood. It’s mostly seniors and may don’t drive,” says Clarence Brown, executive director of the District’s Office on Aging, who also happens to live next door to the Safeway. “Ten days, I can live with that. I go to Harris Teeter,” he says, “but it will be a concern for a lot of people.” (Safeway originally estimated a 10-day closure but revised that yesterday to12 days.)

“I’m still driving,” says Sandra Butler-Truesdale, 70, the secretary of the residents’ association of St. James Mutual coop building, on O Street SW. “I’m just concerned to know what those seniors will do and what plans are being made” to help them get to the supermarket during the closure.

Neighborhood residents have been pushing Safeway officials to discuss their plans to make sure no one goes hungry during to the 12-day closure. Shuttle bus service to another grocery store, moving a small retail operation into a temporary trailer on the property, or offering free delivery service are among the ideas buzzing around the neighborhood.

Muckle says Safeway officials are working on alternative "shopping opportunities” but declined to go into detail about what they might be.

“We are working on those and will have something in place by the ANC meeting in March,” Muckle says.

That’s not much comfort for Gebreamlak, who says she could probably cope for a couple of weeks but “it would be nice if I knew in advance, so I can make a plan.”

Anger over the closure just adds to resentment Southwest residents feel about the way they say the store has been run over the years, concerns that prompted the ANC to launch a special task force to work with store management to improve cleanliness, security and a litany of other issues.

“Items advertised on sale are so often out of stock that I have begun to think ‘on sale’ is a euphemism for ‘out of stock’ at that store,” Sobelsohn says.

Anger boiled last September at a community meeting to discuss Safeway’s application to sell beer and wine at the new store. Hundreds of residents packed the meeting and bombarded Safeway district managers with complaints, recalls Robert Sockwell, chair of the SW Safeway Taskforce. [CLARIFICATION:  Sockwell emailed to say the meeting was called to discuss the problems at the store but the liquor license was also discussed.]

“The meeting probably never would have ended if we hadn’t cut off the questions,” says Sockwell, who also chaired the September meeting.

Susan Henriques-Payne has lived across the street from the store for 31 years but, like Brown, hasn’t shopped there in ages. only shops there on "an as needed basis." Instead, she makes road trips to Virginia to buy her groceries. She’s looking forward to the prospect of shopping closer to home once the new store opens, but her expectations are low.

“It’s a culture of mediocrity,” she says. “They really aren’t customer focused.”

“I know we have to regain some credibility with the community,” Muckle says. “But this is in no way an attempt to place some hardship on them. We see the new store as an opportunity to turn the page completely.”

City Desk did a survey of ANC commissioners this morning to find out: What does your street look like? Have you seen a plow? Are you snowed in?

William Schultheiss, of ANC 6A, who lives on F Street NE near 12th: His street is not clear. "They haven't done the side streets," he says. "They never had it cleared from the first storm." He's been able to make it out with his four-wheel drive, but he has a Golf that's staying put. "The Golf is trapped, at least until June." He reports that Maryland Avenue has two of four lanes open and passable.

Faith Wheeler, of ANC 4B, who lives in the 800 block of Whittier Place NW: Her street hadn't been plowed as of 10 a.m. today, but she's not surprised. "It shouldn't be," she says. The order should be "major arterials, minor arterials, then collector roads and then local roads." The neighborhood took to shoveling the alley itself after the first storm—"We shoveled the whole freaking thing, so anybody who wanted to get out could get out," she says—finally getting it clear on...Tuesday night. She has heard of uneven plow service, with folks east of Piney Branch Road generally happy with the attention they got and residents west wondering where the plows are.

Ben Thomas, of ANC 7E, who lives in the 1100 block of Chaplin Street SE: A plow came by sometime last night, he reports (the second of two times a plow has made an appearance during D.C.'s three snowstorms this season). "They don't really do anything but pile the snow against peoples' cars," he says. But the street is at least passable. "I saw a car go by a little while ago," he says. He can't get out of the house himself; the snow drifts are three feet. "We can't even get off the porch, because the snow has drifted up on the porch."

Raphael Marshall, of ANC 6A, who lives in the 800 block of 10th Street NE: He's still snowed in. Asked how much snow is on the street, he reports, "Quite a bit." But he's not really stuck per se. He doesn't drive. "I've tried to lower my footprint on the planet."

Mary Wright, of ANC 6B, who lives in the 600 block of C Street SE: On her way to an appointment this morning, Wright reports that the road is at least "passable." "I think it's difficult all over the city," she adds. "It took a while, but, yes, we did" see a plow.

Mindy Moretti, of ANC 1C, who lives in the 2600 block of Adams Mill Road NW: A plow had been by "at some point in time" during the storms, "but it's not been great since Sunday night." Her bigger concern has been Columbia Road. "Columbia Road, until the other day, was a mess." The email listserv was flooded with complaints, and finally it got some attention. "I think people's expectations were low to begin with," she says. "I lived here in 1996 so I didn't expect anything." Still, conditions for pedestrians are treacherous, she says. She has a special complaint about the Exxon station near the corner of 18th and Columbia, which she says "never, ever, ever shovels." The station finally plowed its lot—then dumped all the stuff on the sidewalk. "They erected this three-foot tall, four-foot wide snow wall. Unless somebody gets a pickaxe..."

Stephen Slaughter, of ANC 8E, who lives in the 800 block of Barnaby Street SE: "Barnaby Street is plowed all the way down to the pavement," he reports. "I guess it's one advantage of living on the main roads." The street is a bus route for the M8, M9, and the A2, and he suspects that's why it got attention—for when the buses start running again.

Gladys Mack, of ANC 6A, who lives in the 700 block of 18th Street NE: She says 18th "could be a little bit better," but that it had in fact been cleared from the last storm. "I haven't had any problems in past storms," she says. "They always come through at least twice." She has a conspiracy theory about it, though: "Don't they usually hit in front of the ANC houses because of surveys like this?"

Charles Reed, of ANC 2F, who lives on Q Street NW near 13th: He reports that cars are using the street, though it doesn't look like it's seen a plow. "Cars are just beating it down," he says. It took him and his neighbors half a day to shovel out an alley, which allowed him to get out in his car, but that alley is now covered again. He thinks he pinched a nerve and hasn't been out shoveling today. "Someone has shoveled all the way up to my doorstep," he says.

Gary Thompson, of ANC 3G, who lives in the 2800 block of Northampton Street NW: "My own street's been plowed very well," he says. "They've done an excellent job plowing, especially under the circumstances. There have been a few forgotten streets here or there, like a dead end culdesac," but the city is catching up. "People are very quick to complain," he says. "But Mother Nature is what it is. It's a pretty powerful storm."

Photo by Darrow Montgomery

"Before the Thanksgiving Break, I attended a DCPS workshop on Phonemic Awareness. It was actually a pretty good workshop that I found useful and wanted to share....This workshop was really interesting, because a lot of the teachers that were attending taught higher level elementary, middle or high school. Most of these teachers were a bit in the dark about how to teach reading, since most of that happens in the younger years. Unfortunately, a lot of older children really need help with the basics even as they get older."

Frozen Tropics has big ANC news: "Commissioner Wilhelmina Lawson has resigned from her seat in Trinidad. Lawson represented the southwestern portion of Trinidad, and all of the Capital City Market."

Rebuilding Place In The Urban Space considers safety/crime on public transit. The post has the usual thorough rundown of links, articles, and cites an interesting study.

The Heights Life has info on how to become a block captain for Columbia Heights' neighborhood watch program.

In Bloom wants Vegetate to move to their neighborhood: "Wouldn't it be great if they could relocate to Bloomingdale? The big yellow building on the corner of First Street NW and Seaton Place NW is just crying out for a restaurant to occupy the ground-floor space."

The 42 has the scoop on a cheap art sale that benefits an area nonprofit.

*follow me on twitter.

The Issue: The community is already, um, barking about a dog park that opened last month on 17^th and  S Street. The astroturf park was established by the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) and is maintained by the non-profit Circle Dogs DC, which opened it before a set of rules was established. At an Advisory Neighborhood Commission meeting to deal with the canine-related backlash this week, issues raised included: the number of dogs allowed in the park (optimal number was calculated to be 12.2), the distinction between dog toys and tennis balls, and whether humping is an owner-control issue or a reason to keep out un-neutered dogs. But according to Borderstan, the meeting hasn't yet resolved two important questions: Why are children still allowed to play in the park? And who exactly will be dealing with neighbor's complaints in the future? 

Dogs, Dogs, Dogs! The original petition for the dog park states: “We do not believe that dogs are more important than people, but we do believe that dog owners are equal to other park patrons.” On that note, Circle Dogs DC has supported the notion of a “culture of responsibility”—making sure dog-owners (who preferred to be called “guardians”) respect hours, curb barking, etc. The group says that once more people are involved on its board, it shouldn’t be difficult to enforce rules. The park is undoubtedly a success, at least by one measure: ANC 2B commissioner Bob Meehan told City Desk: “Sometimes there are 20 to 30 dogs in the park at one time.”

Rules, Rules, Rules! But neighbors are concerned that dog-owners are failing to self-police, and DC Circle Dogs isn’t big enough (i.e., four volunteer board members) to handle all the issues. This has left DPR National Park Service to pick up the slack—a solution that, as in the case of opening and closing the area, doesn’t always work. Others contend dogs aren’t the real issue, children are. Says Meehan: “Sometimes parents treat it like a petting zoo.” Matt, commenting on Borderstan, adds: “So…it’s just fine for parents to place toddlers on the ground with strange dogs running around in all directions. Have we lost our minds?”

Next Step: ANC 2B passed a resolution this week dealing with the opening/closing hours issue, and there's a proposed meeting in one or two months. In terms of children, “it’s against the rules for dogs to be in children parks. It’s not against the rules for [supervised children] to play with dogs," says Meehan. He adds that, "The [Tuesday meeting] was the first one where dog-owners and neighbors were listening to each other! It was also the most constructive meeting in which nothing was accomplished.”

Photo of park by Jess Erfer, Creative Commons Attribution License

The Issue: What should be done about raucous revelers and their search for drunken munchies?  Last Tuesday, the 2E Advisory Neighborhood Commission met with the owner of Philadelphia Pizza Company to discuss the antics of the late-night bar crowd—which consists largely of Georgetown Students—that gathers on Potomac Street NW for pizza. Georgetown residents complain that they are unable to sleep—but owner, Matt Kocak tells the Georgetown Voice that it’s the students, not the restaurant, that’s causing the problem.

Go to Bed! Residents argue that the pizza place is in a mixed zone, and needs to abide by residential rules: Ward 2 Commissioner Bill Starrels told City Desk, “The pizza place established itself as a sit-down restaurant, and the occupancy is only seven people. On the weekends, you get crowds going in—it’s messy, noisy and people [in the nearby condominiums] literally cannot sleep.”

Party and Pepperoni! Due to the fact that the establishment does not serve liquor, Kocak maintains that the ANC is not able to dictate his hours (the restaurant currently closes at 3:30 AM on Friday and Saturday nights). Additionally, he places the blame on the students, saying the issue should be brought up with the school or the police. As far as the pizza-munchers themselves: Keon D, blogging on foodie site Yelp says, “Ranch dressing on a pizza... GENIUS! Eww dude, please don’t vomit on me…DUDE!”

Next Step: Starrels says the ANC has contacted “friends in the Mayor’s office” to make sure that the restaurant is abiding by the appropriate laws. There also might be another meeting with the stakeholders down the road. In the meantime, kids, keep it down.

Photo by Leedav, Creative Commons License

The Issue:

Cast Again Please: According to a Bloomingdale blogger, the community climate at the meeting on Monday—which Mayor Fenty attended—was emotional and discouraging: Advisory neighborhood commissioner Anita Bonds told City Desk: “The neighbors feel they were not included at all in the decision-making process.” She also fears that the school won’t have a positive impact on the neighborhood: “Kids trying to establish themselves in new neighborhoods tend to generate friction.”  Bates Area Civic Association (BACA) president Jim Berry took that a step further, saying at the meeting that the school will “push back neighborhood retail development 30 years.”

It's a Catch: Mai Fernandez, LAYC’s legal and strategic director said at the meeting that the program has been operating in Columbia Heights for 35 years, and they have successfully provided job training and diplomas for youth between the ages of 16-24. In terms of addressing the community’s fears about the negative impact on the neighborhood, she promised 24-hour security, and both she and Mayor Fenty defended other program’s success at meshing with the neighborhood.

Next Step: BACA has put together a resolution opposing the school, and there will likely be another community meeting with LAYC. According to the Bloomingdale blogger, Mayor Fenty promised to have his staff walk through the community in the next 30 days to address issues such as drug dealing and homelessness. Bonds says that if the school is already a done deal, “there will definitely be some trials and tribulations getting used to the new neighborhood.”

Photo of Youth Center by Elizabeth Thomsen, Creative Commons License

The Issue:

Fire Sale: SOME says they have opened same-model housing in wards all over the city, including Logan Circle and Capitol Hill, and in the past the housing has raised property values. Richard Gerlach, Executive Director of SOME, told City Desk, “That property was on the market for a long, long time, so to say it’s a golden opportunity is just not true. The buildings we take over are a blight…we fix them up and they become a positive influence that promote growth.”  He also stressed that the housing is independent and non-transitional.

Missed Opportunity: Some Ward 8 residents argue that the space should be used to encourage higher income residents to move to the neighborhood: Resident Brian Townes told City Desk, “The area is prime redevelopment for the [Department of Homeland Security] alone... how many of these types of housing developments are within a three-mile radius of the Pentagon?” Congress Heights on Rise also says the community wasn’t notified about the project by the Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC), despite the neighborhood becoming, in his her opinion, “the designated social services arm of the entire district.”

Next Step: Construction is slated to begin in October, although Gerlach says the housing’s opening date has not yet been determined due to the economic climate. Disgruntled residents still have time to voice complaints to their local ANC.

Photo by Lydia, Creative Commons Attribution License

The Issue:

Burger, Hold the Booze: Former commissioner Kathy Henderson told City Desk that the area is “out of control with public drunkenness, drug dealings, and robberies—the police are doing a lot, but we need alternative solutions.” She says that the chain restaurant exception is a compromise: “If you are not a chain with a proven track record, such as T.G.I. Friday's or Ruby Tuesday, you will not be welcome to come.”

Burger and a Beer, Please: Others argue the proposal discriminates against locally owned businesses; plus, you can loiter just as easily outside Ruby Tuesday. Some think the proposal is aimed at Matt Ashburn's Capital City Diner, but he appeared at an ANC meeting this month to reassure the commission that he didn't even want to sell liquor. A resident commenting on the blog We Love DC says: “This is clearly targeted at them....The diner is the one hope that there won’t be bullet-proof glass between you and your food.”

Next Step: There is a public hearing on Oct. 21. Mark, also commenting on the blog, says: “Please attend, this promises to be excellent sport.”

Photo by Roadsidepictures, Creative Commons Attribution License

The Issue:

No More Pitching: Some community members think horseshoeing is contributing to the park's problems: The blog Congress Heights on the Rise says, "Despite their [the club's] best efforts, the horseshoe players do not attract children to the park – only adults. And most of those adults are drinking." Additionally, there are already pits set up in nearby Oxon Hill Park where the club could relocate.

Pitching Isn't the Problem: Many argue that public drinking is the real problem: In an informal online poll conducted by Southeast Socialite blog on what Congress Heights residents would like to see on MLK Avenue, 75 percent said what they really wanted was "10 less liquor stores."

Next Step: An advisory neighborhood commissioner, William Ellis, told City Desk: "What to do with the park is a big deal in the neighborhood. It has been the center of drug addicts and shootings in recent years, and the Park Service hasn't made the changes needed." He added that the ANC is reaching out to the community for suggestions on using the space; the park could include a community garden or Martin Luther King Jr. memorial.

"Memo to everyone: DC is not a safe place. That home that sold at 14th and Fairmont for $499,999 was not a good deal. In all of these recent shootings, and Oh, I forgot about the murder outside the Mt. Vernon Square metro–the police have been close enough to hear the shots and respond immediately. Still no arrests in any of these homicides. I'm not about to criticize the officers on the scene, but clearly there is a failing at some level of administration here. Obviously. You don't need someone who rarely updates a blog to tell you that.

My speculation is that things are only going to get worse as summer drags on, with the economy still in the pisser, and gang rivalry flaring up. You can tell me that violent crime is down and all of that (and maybe it is), but we'll see how those statistics work out once it's August. I've lived here long enough (in the grand scheme of things, not very long) to know that we haven't done anything magical to put a lid on crime in DC."

In case you don't trust bloggers who rarely update their blogs, how about the latest crime news from Borderstan. Crime is all the blog appears to be reporting on lately. And while we're hating on ourselves, 14th & You would like cleaner streets like they have in London.

New Columbia Heights notes that the Circulator bus is now on youtube. I prefer DCRA on twitter.

The New Teacher On The Block scolds one of their aides for letting one of her students wander off: "Seriously, people, DCPS does not ask much of you...but if you could not lose my students, that would be excellent. And I know kiddos are prone to wander sometimes, but the fact that you didn't even notice one of your kids was gone is awful. Especially because [if] something had happened to him, it would certainly have come back on me."

Congress Heights on the Rise makes more great points about a bad ANC.

Our own Black Plastic Bag breaks big news on the upcoming Sonic Circuits 2009 lineup. And Young & Hungry breaks the news on Spike's eviction from his Cap Hill rental.

Maryland State Del. Bill Frick (D-Montgomery County) sent a letter Monday to the superintendent of Rock Creek Park as an appeal to close Beach Drive to car traffic for an extended period. Currently, the park road popular with cyclists, Rollerbladers, runners, etc., opens at 7 p.m. That's all well and good when it's winter, but with an early Daylight Savings upon us, Frick wanted to throw his weight, or at least his letterhead, behind keeping cars off for longer.

This is not an original idea. Frick came to it as a regular reader of everyone's favorite anti-car blog, Greater Greater Washington. The blog aggregated a rant from Mount Pleasant ANC Commissioner Jack McKay:

Who decided on 7:00 p.m., and why? Why not 8:00 p.m., or even later, to make certain that recreational users are off the road before the cars are turned onto it? It’s Sunday, there’s no weekday rush of traffic, and there are no large numbers of automobile drivers needing to take Beach Drive through the park to the Maryland suburbs. The cars can take 16th Street and Connecticut Avenue, and don’t need Beach Drive on Sunday evening. Let the cars stay on those roads, and keep Beach Drive safe for weekend recreational use, at least until darkness falls.

Frick says he was moved by McKay's logic. In a phone call, he says he grew up in Kensington, "a stone's throw" from the park and Beach Drive, and has many happy memories of riding the road on a bike with his parents. "We should let other families enjoy their time there," he says. Plus: "It didn't take much effort on my part" to send the letter. (Read: ANC Commissioners' letterhead=not that impressive.)

Posniak's family does not want to comment at this time. A neighbor who did not want to be named out of respect for them said by phone this morning that Posniak never struck anyone "as a person who would ever act in a malicious way." Another neighbor who spoke to the Grand Forks Herald said Posniak, who lived in his neighborhood for many years, “spent a lot of time outdoors, walking, in all types of weather.”

Posniak's lawyer in Minnesota, Mark Larsen, told the press Posniak camped in the area that burned nearly every year for 20 years and "cherished his time" there. He also told the Washington Post that Posniak was "a gentle, kind, caring individual" and that the indictment against him was "an exercise in overcharging."

His trial was set to begin in Duluth next month. When reached by phone following the charges, Posniak—whom City Paper had interviewed regarding a fight he led against cutting bus routes in Tenleytown—said he could not comment, but promised to call when he could.

A personal note: As someone who camps and loves the woods, I have been thinking a lot about him since that brief conversation. It's unfortunate he did not have the chance to tell his side of the story publicly. We send condolences to his family and friends.