As a resident of Park View, I read your November 15th Q&A featuring the creators of “Petworthies” with interest. Sadly, after reading the interview and examining their blog, I have come to the conclusion that their endeavor can only do harm to the (greater) Petworth area. Through their actions and writings, they have identified themselves as the epitome of the down side of gentrification—uncaring, detached newcomers for whom change cannot come fast enough regardless of the casualties.

With little apparent regard for the deep roots our Georgia Avenue neighborhoods have, or the shared problems, successes, and challenges those of us constructively active in our communities face, newer Petworth residents Tom Anderson (2010) and Adam Mazmanian (2008) have chosen to civically engage through ridicule and “puerile and undergraduate” humor.

Their hilarity, apparently more humorous to the authors than their readers, takes the form of inside jokes and insults. With tongue in cheek, they desire to annex Park View, label Brightwood the enemy, bemoan the lack of a civic association, and criticize the Petworth Market for only being open for four hours one day a week. Enmeshed in their snarkiness, they hide from public scrutiny and comment by posting on their blog without giving their readers the ability to post feedback.

Their views are socially naive and divisive. They make it clear that Anderson and Mazmanian have not taken the time or made the effort to make the community connections necessary to build the great neighborhood they feign to desire. It is also clear that they fail to recognize Petworth, Park View, and Brightwood as the great neighborhoods they currently are.

Great communities, like those along Georgia Avenue, grow and develop when their residents come together with mutual respect and understanding to work toward common goals. This is not the approach the Petworthies have chosen to take. Instead they have decided to engage as irresponsible newcomers who hide behind humor to berate community achievements and mock those making a difference.

I encourage them to rethink their approach. It is possible to be socially responsible in a light-hearted and constructive manner beneficial to all. For them to participate in making Petworth a better place they will need to find this path.

Kent C. Boese

Commissioner, ANC 1A08

Blogger, Park View DC

Park View.  © 2011 Michael W. Hicks

#four26dc: Happy voting to those who head out to the polls and cast a ballot for the At-Large D.C. Council election today. Bryan Weaver, who snagged the City Paper endorsement, also has the favor of at least one local blog. New Columbia Heights is "leaning Weaver," describing him as "an energetic, involved [former] ANC commissioner who gave Jim Graham a good run in the last election." Commenters on the blog are presently split between Weaver and lone Republican Patrick Mara, whom one prefers because "Weaver doesn't have the people skills for the job...I ran into Mara on the street and he asked questions gallore."

The Man, the Myth, the Legend: People's District profiles Kent Boese, whose meticulous and extensive Park View D.C. blog is a excellent community resource. On why he's insistent that Park View be acknowledged as the distinct neighborhood that it is, Boese has this to say: “Park View is a smaller neighborhood that, unfortunately, tends to get misrepresented or lost  a lot. I have a tendency to go off on this, but we are not Petworth or Columbia Heights or Pleasant Plains. We are our own neighborhood with our own history. I recognize that it is a little thing that may not matter to most people, but we are all defined by where we live. We live in Park View. The good and bad that happens here, occurs in Park View and not Petworth or Columbia Heights or Pleasant Plains. Because of this identity issue, our community has two choices. We can fight for our identity and make sure that others are aware of who we are. Or, we can give up and let this place get carved up by the surrounding neighborhoods. I think that it is important to fight to preserve our history and identity."

How Does Your Garden Grow?: "We have 6-7 plastic grocery bags with large clumps of Shasta Daisies ready to be planted — they have been "over-thriving" in our southern exposure yard. Ready to be placed in the ground," offers a member of the Burleith email list. Fortunately, Burleith is far enough removed from Cleveland Park that the lilac thief probably won't make a sojourn to snatch those Shastas.

Dog Problems: For those seeking gourmet cat food, a Tenleytown email list member has the hookup: "my incredibly picky cat's loss is your cat's gain... variety of brands from basic – MeowMix, Giant to high end – Newman's Own, Blue Buffalo, Iams... all purchased within the last couple months." But if one is of the canine persuasian, the Brookland email list has something for you, too: "We have a 42 inch round dog bed from Costco that has never been used, free for the taking. Tan color, cedar filled."

These Tulips Are Not For You: Inspired by a sign on a neighbor's garden asking passerby not to pick the flowers, Park View D.C. ponders whether guerilla floristry is becoming endemic: "Has anyone else had a problem with passersby helping themselves to the flowers in their garden?" One commenter believes so, writing, "My poor wife is so discouraged that someone keeps snipping her tulips on the 3600 block of Park Place. She keeps adding, they keep helping themselves. I’d love to catch them in the act."

Domestic Issues: River East Idealist reports that the issues surrounding the Brandywine Crossing Condominiums in Washington Highlands—whose property management company allegedly stole $100,000 from the condo association—are only getting worse: "There are 3 pressing issues affecting my condo association: the vacant building across the street, stolen funds by Esquire Federal City, and now structural problems (falling ceilings and mold)." Congress Heights on the Rise goes long on when bad developers happen to good people.

Apparently, Only Old People Drive—Ever: The debate over whether the forthcoming Babe's Billiards redevelopment will have parking—and whether Tenleytown residents will be severely effected if there isn't a lot—is still raging. It's also swiftly devolved into a muddled argument for and against aging in place. One residents writes in favor of the development, saying "Yes, the Babe's redevelopment will almost certainly have a negative impact on my parking situation on 42nd Street. I'll end up having to walk a little bit further from my car to my house when I come home from work. Is that the end of the world? The benefits of a brand new development on that corner, with all it can do for quality of life and property values in this neighborhood, FAR outweigh the minor inconvenience of an extra half-block walk." But another thinks that the lack of a parking lot is a direct hit to older residents in the neighborhood and ties less on-street parking to quality of life: "No question — poor parking means a neighborhood  that is going to have much younger demographics than a neighborhood with adequate parking...Is it to be our position that no elderly people should continue to live near the Tenleytown Metro, no matter what the area was like when they bought their homes years ago?  Is it to be DC policy that the elderly have no business living in a young persons haven?"

Give and Take: One member of the Takoma email list asks, "Does anyone know where I could purchase a stack of clean newsprint paper?" The only suggestion offered is, "How much? The art supply stores have newsprint pads. You might call Pearl Paint on Rockville Pike and ask. They might have large packs. Otherwise Google." But were they looking for dirt, they'd be in luck. Another list member offers, "We're renovation our house near Walter Reed and will have about 15 cubic yards of dirt to remove. Anybody need any fill dirt?"

Hell No: "We came. We protested. We chanted. What started out as 2, became 3, which eventually became 10 and then multiplied into 20. Ward 7 needs a lot of things. Another liquor store is most definitely NOT one of them," writes Fairfax Village-based Life in the Village. The potential liquor store in question is Uncle Lee's Seafood, in Deanwood, which has applied for a Class A liquor license—much to the chagrin of nearby communities, who feel that there's a saturation of liquor stores in the area already.

A Time for Apathy: Last week, an open letter to Councilmember Jack Evans was circulated on the Dupont Forum email list. It addressed a potential conflict of interest between Evans' government job and private work for Patton Boggs: "...The Examiner newspaper reported on July 1, 2009 that Mr. Evans had recused himself from a key vote on the public subsidy for the convention center hotel because his law firm, Patton Boggs, represents Marriott. This, of course, is the law firm from which Mr. Evans has received $240,000 annually as compensation for unspecified services for the last several years..." Though one list member was disappointed the posting didn't generate much discussion—"I'm surprised this post didn't garner any comments, because this looks bigger than the rest of the city scandals put together. It's certainly bigger in what it costs the taxpayers by more than a hundred-fold"—another noted, "you should not be too surprised...we're all just kind of fed up with the some of the current crop of elected officials and actions they have taken in their own self-interest at the expense of taxpayers. Sad."

Desperately Seeking: The Brookland email list is deep in discussion of the proposed taxi medallion legislation, which would require licensed cabs to buy a pricey medallion to be licensed. A member of the list claims to be a taxi driver and dispatcher and insists that the legislation, while flawed, is a good thing because "Currently, there are 8,250 licenced vehicles. That is too many. You can see the swarms of cabs in certain areas at certain times." However, other list members don't feel that that's the case: "If there are too many taxis, why is it so hard to get one to respond to a call to pick up at home? What is the best solution to getting enough coverage for underserved areas that don't have enough street-hailing business for taxis to be cruising around?"

Pick It Up! Park View D.C. and nearby neighbors are fed up with the amount of trash in their streets. Writes Park View D.C., "I’ve long been mystified by the amount of clamshell food containers, empty liquor bottles, and general trash that can be found on our neighborhood’s streets. Often times you can find a crack bag or empty condom wrapper in the parkway in front of an otherwise well maintained row of homes." A vivid description, no? A new blog, The Park View Beautification Crew, has sprung up to address the problem.

A regular summary of irregular news and notes from neighborhood blogs and email lists around the District.

Chainification: While it's always nice to see empty storefronts filled in, new tenants can occasionally be, well, underwhelming. The former Popeye's space in Adams Morgan will soon house a 7-11, reports The 42 Bus, and a new Corner Bakery location is springing forth in Mount Vernon. Though the latter will no doubt cater to the suited-up lunch crowds, Mt. Vernon Triangle ponders whether it will provide a much-needed breakfast option.

The Counting Continues: Everyone is still turning over that Census data released last Thursday. Though the numbers have been discussed at length by various news sources (including this blog), there's still a lot to talk about. InShaw carefully examines one particular block—in Shaw, of course—and concludes that "between 1990 and 2000 a whole bunch of people left prior to the wave of gentrification between 2000 and 2010. So black folks were trending out of the neighborhood..." Park View D.C. analyzes the number of children in the neighborhood, which decreased despite an overall gain in population.

The Land Before Nellie's: Left for LeDroit delves into the photography of Addison Scurlock, whose studio was located where Nellie's Sports Bar now stands from 1911 to 1976. Featured in Left for LeDroit's post is the building at 455 Florida Avenue NW, formerly Harrison's Café, "a neighborhood restaurant and bar that attracted the various musical and academic notables of the area." More of Scurlock's work is accessible through the Smithsonian Institution.

Take Our Advice: In last week's Best Of D.C. issue, we anointed the chivito, a sandwich of Uruguayan origin available at the Fast Gourmet in the Lowest Price gas station at 14th and W streets NW, Best Uruguayan Sandwich. Over the weekend, New Columbia Heights sampled the delicacy, proclaiming it "big and delicious."

Photo by  Alex S. via Flickr/Creative Commons Attribution License 2.0.

Safeway, Alexandria, VA 12/18.

Downtown DC, 12/18.

Park View, NW DC.

Petworth, NW DC 12/20.

The Issue: In an overhaul of green spaces in the District,  residents in Park View and the surrounding area may be left without a park to view. The Armed Forces Retirement Home (AFRH), a rolling 272-acre campus, has not been open to the public since 1968—but the community still considers it the neighborhood’s primary green space, and there have been several proposals over the years to open the land to general use. But now the AFRH is planning to develop the northwest southeast part of the site to increase cash flow and the CapitalSpace Draft Plan, a collaboration of D.C. and federal agencies, has no plans to take the space into consideration. Will residents be left with concrete?

Green Trees! Because the campus has existed since 1851, and was even considered public park space by the McMillan Plan, some say the surrounding area has developed without any green space to speak of: Cliff Valenti, Advisory Neighborhood Commission 1A chairman, told City Desk: “In other parts of D.C., there are tons of large accessible parks within walking distance… [the plan] really needs to consider equal distribution of park space in our city.” He added that, instead of condos, AFRH should consider leasing the space to the National Park Service to raise revenue.

Green Money! According to the AFRH development plan website, the home was hit with a financial crisis in the 1990s and was permitted by Congress in 2002 to explore a private development option. AFRH says: “New businesses and housing will generate jobs for neighbors, enhance property values and create new tax revenue.” Ross, writing on the blog Prince of Petworth, says, “They are vastly under funded and desperate.”

Next Step: Valenti says the ANC issued a letter of opposition to parts of the plan at its meeting yesterday. In the meantime, tree-lovers have until Dec. 8 to submit comments to CapitalSpace. Jeff Hinkle, a spokesman for the CapitalSpace plan, says, “Our partner agency team is already reviewing comments and discussing responses.”

Photo by Blacknell, Creative Commons Attribution License

Trotman, 28, of the 7400 block of 7th Street, N.W., later died of his injuries. The name of the other victim, a woman who was shot in the leg, is being withheld because she witnessed the crime.

But a quick call the police didn't net anything new about whether the shooting and another incident a few blocks away the same night were part of a beef between rival gangs in the Petworth-Park View area.

“There are no updates” Officer Quintin Peterson in the police department’s Office of Public Affairs said this afternoon.