Monthly Archives: October 2019

Norton in Our Neighborhood Recap

Posted by nextstoprp in Uncategorized

By Robert Oliver (Guest Contributor)

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton hosted a community meeting at Lamond-Riggs Library on September 24, 2019. This meeting was one of her many engagements during the congresswoman’s “Norton in Your Neighborhood” tour in which she engaged residents about recent Congressional activity. A diverse crowd of 30 or more attended.

Congresswoman Norton arrived at 7:30 pm and discussed the latest breaking news–the impeachment inquiry against President Trump. She explained that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi authorized the inquiry after Democratic House members in swing districts overwhelmingly chose to support an impeachment inquiry. The conduct at issue is President Trump’s attempt to involve the government of Ukraine in a U.S. presidential election. Congresswoman Norton said the president initially withheld Ukrainian military funding and only released these funds after a whistleblower’s complaint emerged. She added a “quid pro quo” does not need to be stated. She added further that the president attempted to withhold the whistleblower’s complaint from Congress.

Congresswoman Norton provided the following responses to inquiries from the audience:

  • No bipartisan support is needed to launch the impeachment inquiry.  Republican support is welcome but the Democrats control the House of Representatives.
  • The impeachment inquiry is done first since it is the beginning step of the impeachment process.
  • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi authorized six investigative committees in order to review the evidence quickly.  Also, some Mueller report material is still outstanding.
  • Congresswoman Norton has regained the power to vote in the Committee of the Whole but still cannot vote on the final passage of a bill.
  • The House will pass the Washington, DC Admission Act, Bill H.R. 51, in this session. H.R. 51 allows for the admission of Washington, Douglas Commonwealth as a state of the United States of America.

Congresswoman Norton then addressed the status of DC Statehood. She said 218 House members support DC Statehood. She added that over 100 organizations will assist DC in lobbying the Senate, but, most Americans do not support DC Statehood according to a recent Gallup Poll. The Congresswoman is pursuing giving DC greater control over its National Guard, local prosecutors, and climate policy. Also, she is removing riders that conflict with DC interests on abortion and marijuana.

On issues closer to home, Fort Circle Park was mentioned twice. First, the residents of North Michigan Park and beyond have requested a safe, paved pedestrian path that links Gallatin and Galloway Streets and leads to the Fort Totten Metro Station. Congresswoman Norton acknowledged her awareness of the project. Second, an audience member suggested using the newly available cooperative management agreements (CMAs) between DC and NPS to fund recreational amenities for Fort Circle Park. Also, the Congresswoman noted that the safety of DCTAG, a DC student tuition assistance program, is a major priority.  

Lastly, the issue of gentrification was raised along with complaints about city services, over which the Congresswoman has no jurisdiction. She will forward these issues to Mayor Bowser and Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie as appropriate.

The meeting proved to be very informative, and we hope that Congresswoman Norton visits more often.

Economic Vitality in The Parks Main Street

Posted by nextstoprp in Main Street

By Edwin Washington*

The Parks Main Street board memebers

A version of this post was first published on linkedin on September 25, 2019.

On September 19, about 25 residents, board members, and business owners representing Riggs Park and Manor Park under The Parks Main Street organization met at the Lamond-Riggs Library in Washington, DC to discuss retail findings from the two communities. 

Manor Park

  • Goods and Services such as dry cleaners, fresh convenience stores, and more, and Food and Beverage businesses are moderately viable.
  • Manor Park’s long-standing retailers and history of low vacancy demonstrate that all types of retail can thrive in the neighborhood.
  • With longtime loyal customer bases, between 70% and 80% of Manor Park patrons come from outside the immediate area to shop at these unique longstanding businesses.
  • The area is characterized by mostly neighborhood Goods and Services with only two food and beverage establishments.
  • As the retail environment in the city continues to evolve, the primary task is to keep this neighborhood’s vital retail resources by working with Manor Park businesses to ensure that each thrives in this environment and continues to appeal to a broad geographic base of people, thereby maintaining low vacancy while preserving the character and vibrancy of the nod.

Riggs Park

  • Goods and Services businesses are extremely viable, and Food and Beverage businesses are moderately viable.
  • Retail in Riggs Park has rapidly expanded over the past 10 years, with new development bringing in 220,000 square feet of retail space. The area now features a mix of auto-oriented retail that preexisted 2010 and newer retail spaces in mixed-use projects.
  • Riggs Park benefits from its location along two highly trafficked corridors with nearly 25% of all customers resulting from drive-by traffic.
  • The retail offerings are growing and are expected to continue to grow as several major developments come online.
  • The addition of cultural attractions such as Meow Wolf and Explore! Children’s Museum also will create further regional draw, boost daytime population and increase pedestrian traffic.
  • As the spaces available for retail continue to grow and additional multifamily projects are in development, the primary task is to keep the market in balance by aggressively combatting vacancy and ensuring that older, more established businesses continue to thrive as newer retail and cultural offerings come online.

Joe Carrol, Economic Development Committee chair for TPMS, led presentation and follow-up discussion about the Riggs Park and Manor Park Retail Market Analysis and Enhancement Strategy conducted by John Stover & Associates earlier this year. Follow-up questions and discussion focused on issues such as neighborhood security, rising rents affecting small businesses, foot and motor traffic patterns, and attracting consumers via enhanced streetscapes and placemaking promotions.

*Edwin Washington is the executive director of The Parks Main Street.

September 25, 2019 ANC 5A Meeting Recap

Posted by nextstoprp in ANC 5A

ANC 5A held its monthly public meeting on September 25, 2019. Jamaal Lampkin, who represented ANC 5A06, has resigned because he moved to Ward 7. An announcement about the election for that seat will be forthcoming. All other commissioners were present: Frank Wilds (5A01); Grace Lewis (5A02); Emily Lucio (5A03); Ronnie Edwards (5A05); Sandi Washington (5A07); Gordon Fletcher (5A08).

Public Safety

Usual news: Do not keep anything visible in cars. There has been an steady rash of car break-ins around 4th Street NE between Ingraham and Kennedy and 3rd and Kennedy, so do not leave anything valuable in your car. It does not appear that there are cameras in the area, so we will likely continue to see smashed windows for the foreseeable future. (Aside: My car window was smashed in early September and I had to pay $200 to have it replaced so do be careful about parking in that area).

MPD has a contact with DCRA, so if there is an abandoned building on your block that you have concerns about, contact Lt. Patrick Schaut at patrick.schaut@dc.gov. With respect to seemingly abandoned cars parked on the street, there is not much MPD can do if the car has valid registration. If it does not, MPD will contact DDOT. DDOT currently does not have enough space to tow and store abandoned vehicles though, so abandoned cars will continue to be left on the street.

MPD is undergoing its usual transition, so we might see new officers and leadership in the PSA soon.

Rocketship & Art Place at Fort Totten

Rocketship representatives returned with another presentation and answers to questions regarding the plan to open a campus at 3rd and Kennedy Street NE. They have increased the number of bike parking spaces to 30 short term spaces and 8 long-term spaces. They are coordinating with DDOT’s Safe Routes on a number of issues. The school will have a loading berth onsite. They anticipate having food deliveries in the mornings around 5:30 am and will work to have trash pickups just after morning rush. Also, the school plans to have a subtenant for just a few years.

As for the school’s interaction with the second phase of Art Place at Fort Totten (Block B), there will be a construction entrance for Art Place off Kennedy Street and South Dakota Avenue. The developer of Art Place will seek to minimize construction deliveries during morning and afternoon peak hours and will have flagmen present to direct traffic. The developer will move up construction of a paved path at 3rd Street leading to the school to 2020. Previously, the developer agreed to pave that path as part of construction of Block B. The developer has also conducted further traffic analysis, which supports a full traffic signal at South Dakota Avenue and Ingraham Street NE. A HAWK signal at that location went online on September 26.

Commissioner Frank Wilds (5A01) gave an extended monologue about how terrible Rocketship is and requested that the ANC table the vote on whether to support Rocketship’s application. That led to some discussion with residents about whether this school is necessary and whether the ANC should support the school. Some residents believe neighborhood DCPS schools should be supported, while others look forward to having other options. The ANC agreed to table the vote. The DC Public Charter School Board (DCPCSB) will vote on Rocketship’s application on October 28. The ANC previously submitted a letter to DCPCSB requesting additional time to submit a response to Rocketship’s application. It is unclear when the ANC plans to vote on this issue and submit a recommendation to DCPCSB.

Social Justice School

There was not much time for representatives of the Social Justice School to do much more than introduce themselves and their school vision very briefly. See their presentation here and learn more about their school model here. The school does not expect the DCPCSB to schedule a hearing on its plans to open a middle school at the Rocketship campus until February 2020, so the school will return to the ANC at a later date.

McDonald’s

The owner of the McDonald’s located at South Dakota Avenue and Delafield Street NE returned to ask the ANC for an updated letter to reaffirm support for its map amendment request. The ANC had previously submitted a letter of support and voted to reaffirm that support. The owner wants to completely rebuild the McDonald’s with a drive-thru. The map amendment request will change the zoning to mixed-use, which will allow the owner to install a drive-thru as a matter of right apparently. The owner opted to stop pursuing a PUD with the belief that the map amendment process would be easier, but the map amendment process has not moved as quickly as the owner had hoped. The owner did say that McDonald’s corporate office wants to have a building completed in the next 12 months, so it is unclear how that timeline will work if the map amendment is not approved in time. They are still working on how exactly the traffic will flow for the drive-thru on the site, but they do know that the curb cut on South Dakota closest to Delafield will be removed.

Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie’s Office

Silas Grant, Senior Advisor to Ward 5 Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie, noted Councilmember McDuffie has introduced the Independent Compliance Office Establishment Act, which will create a new office to hold companies accountable for Certified Business Enterprise (CBE) and workforce requriements. The councilmember also introduced the Affordable PLACE Act, which will offer support for long-term, local businesses.

I asked the councilmember’s office for assistance with DDOT on a longstanding request for an additional “no parking” sign in the 400 block of Galloway NE. Mr. Grant recommended that the ANC draft a letter to DDOT requesting that this be made a priority.

Comissioner Grace Lewis (5A02) recommended to Mr. Grant that Councilmember McDuffie look into establishing a moratorium on new charter schools in Ward 5.

Miscellaneous

A resident recommended that the ANC hire an assistant to help the ANC with website updates and meeting notices. This has been recommended more than once, so hopefully the ANC will act on this recommendation.