Latest News

Linnea Kristiansson • March 11, 2015

The Washington Harbour Ice Rink on the Georgetown waterfront will close for the season this Sunday, March 1.

The rink is the largest outdoor ice skating venue in the region. Open annually from mid-November until March, the ice rink at 3050 K Street NW transforms from a picturesque fountain in warmer months and is open for recreational skating every day, including holidays.

With a couple of days left in February, take the opportunity to enjoy a healthy activity right on the Potomac, with a warm beverages rink-side.

Go, before the season ends! See you on the ice.

Opening hours:

Monday-Tuesday 12:00-7:00pm
Wednesday-Thursday 12:00-9:00pm
Friday 12:00pm-10:00pm
Saturday 10:00am-10:00pm
Sunday 10:00am-7:00pm

Prices:

Adults: $10.00
Children/Seniors/Military: $9.00
Skate Rental: $5.00
Season Pass: $195.00
10 Admission Pass: $85.00
Socks/Gloves: $4.00

Helmets and penguin skate aids are available, free of use, first come first serve.

Weekly events:

College Night Skate: Each Thursday, Receive $2 off Admission with a Valid College ID
Cartoon Skate: Every Saturday morning from 10:00am — 12:00pm
Rock N Skate: Every Saturday night from 8:00 – 10:00pm

For more information on ice skating, signing up for lessons, and general questions call (202)706-7666.

Robert Devaney •

In plain sight of construction workers, passers-by and 7-Eleven customers, two men, one of whom was armed, approached a parked Mercedes SUV, demanded keys from the female driver, who left her car, on the 2600 block of P Street NW at 1:30 p.m., Feb. 25, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. The men drove away from the scene. The carjacked vehicle was later stopped in the 900 block of Ingraham Street NW in Brightwood Park, north of Petworth, after a crash on the same day. One suspect was arrested. Police say another person is sought in connection to the crime.

Before the carjacking in front of the 7-Eleven, according to NBC4 News, the same suspects, one of whom showed a gun, attempted a carjacking on the 3100 block of P Street NW. The 7-Eleven on P Street was robbed twice in January.

If you have any information on these crimes, call MPD at 202-727-9099.

Robert Devaney •

Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E will hold its March meeting, 6:30 p.m., March 2, at Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School, 35th Street and Volta Place NW, in the Heritage Room on the second floor of the main building. The following is tonight’s meeting agenda, as provided by ANC 2E.

Approval of the Agenda

-Approval of March 2, 2015, ANC 2E Public Meeting Agenda Administrative

-Approval of January 2, 2015 and February 2, 2015 Meeting Minutes

-Public Safety and Police Report

-Financial Report

-Transportation Report

-DPW Report

Community Comment

New Business

-3324 Dent Place, NW – historic significance of the property and a possible archeological survey

-Jackson Art Center building, 3050 R Street, NW – future use of the building
-Proposed decrease in bus service by WMATA on the D-1 and D-2 routes

ABC Matters

-Bulldog Tavern, 3700 O Street, NW (on the GU Campus), ABRA-096001,
application for a substantial change to its license to allow live music performance, trivia, karaoke, poetry readings, comedy and vocal performances Sunday through Saturday 8 pm – 12:30 am.

Zoning Matters

1. Crumbs & Whiskers,3211 O St., NW, BZA No. 18954- exception to comply with animal boarding requirements for a cat adoption facility and café

2. 3220 Prospect Street, NW, BZA No.18977- variance relief from loading requirements

Old Georgetown Board

PUBLIC AND MAJOR PROJECTS

1. SMD 03, 3255-3259 Prospect Street, NW, OG 15-120 (HPA 15-223), Mixed use (currently Domino’s Pizza), New construction, Concept

PRIVATE PROJECTS

1. SMD 02, 1544 33rd Street, NW, OG 15-057 (HPA 15-085), Residence, One-story rear addition, Concept
(For review by the Historic Preservation Review Board)

2. SMD 03, 3252 O Street, NW, OG 15-095 (HPA 15-183), Residence, Two-story rear addition, Concept

3. SMD 03, 3301 N Street, NW, OG 15-121 (HPA 15-224), Residence, Second story and underground additions, alterations, Concept

4. SMD 03, 1513 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, OG 14-321 (HPA 14-602), Commercial, Rooftop and 3-story rear addition, Concept – revised

5. SMD 05, 1061 31st Street, NW, OG 15-110 (HPA 15-211), Commercial, Awning and signs Canal Inn – Existing, Permit

6. SMD 05, 3205 K Street, NW, OG 15-109 (HPA 15-209), Commercial, Projecting sign Mr. Smith’s, Permit

7. SMD 05, 3251 Prospect Street, NW, OG 15-080 (HPA 15-124), Mixed-use: commercial/residential, New doors, relocation of HVAC equipment to roof, Permit

8. SMD 05, 1218 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, OG 15-020 (HPA 15-033), Commercial, Alterations to rear fence for incinerator, Permit

9. SMD 05,1225 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, OG 15-112 (HPA 15-215), Commercial, Replacement front windows, repointing rear and sides, Permit

10. SMD 06, 1236 28th Street, NW, OG 15-111 (HPA 15-212), Residence, Alterations to rear, replacement windows, deck, Concept

11. SMD 06, 3044 N Street, NW, OG 15-108 (HPA 15-200), Residence, Railings / planters at roof terrace above garage – Existing.

12. SMD 07, 1624 29th Street, NW, OG 15-122 (HPA 15-225, Residence, New open garage with roof terrace, Concept

No Review At This Time by ANC 2E: The following additional projects, which are on the upcoming March 5, 2015, agenda of the Old Georgetown Board, have not been added to the ANC meeting agenda for OGB-related design review and we do not propose to adopt a resolution on them at this time. If there are concerns about any of these projects, please contact the ANC office by Friday, February 27, 2015.

1. SMD 02, 3244 Q Street, NW, OG 15-029 (HPA 15-042), Residence, Replacement windows, Permit

2. SMD 02, 1700 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, OG 15-115 (HPA 15-216), Institution (Dumbarton Oaks), Exterior lighting, Permit

3. SMD 03, 3206 N Street, NW, OG 15-012 (HPA 15-025), Commercial, Addition, alterations, replacement curtain wall, stairs, signs, Concept – revised

4. SMD 04, 3700 O Street, NW, OG 15-126 (HPA 15-229), Georgetown University, Site work for new bus turnaround, Permit

5. SMD 05, 1312 31st Street, NW, OG 15-131 (HPA 15-235), Residence, Replacement security window grilles, Permit

6. SMD 05, 3000 M Street, NW, OG 15-117 (HPA 15-220), Mixed-use, Partial demolition, addition, alterations, Concept – design development

7. SMD 05, 3330 Cady’s Alley, NW, OG 15-047 (HPA 15-075), Commercial, Alterations to masonry openings, Concept – revised

8. SMD 05, 3207 Grace Street, NW, OG 15-123 (HPA 15-226), Commercial, Alterations, light fixtures, sign – Chaia Farm to Taco, Permit

9. SMD 05, 3614 Prospect Street, NW, OG 15-100 (HPA 15-188), Residence, Partial demolition, 2-story rear/ rooftop addition, alterations to front, replacement windows, Permit

10. SMD 05, 3614 Prospect Street, NW, OG 15-129 (HPA 15-232), Residence, Alterations to 32.rear terrace, decks, Concept

11. SMD 05, 1132 29th Street, NW, OG 15-052 (HPA 15-080), Commercial, Rear additions, Concept

12. SMD 06, 1319 30th Street, NW, OG 15-091 (HPA 15-179), Residence, Alterations, Permit

13. SMD 06, 1319 30th Street, NW, OG 15-119 (HPA 15-222), Residence, Replacement fence,
Permit

14. SMD 06, 2701 Dumbarton Street, NW, OG 15-118 (HPA 15-221), Residence, Rear addition, dormer, alterations, Permit

15. SMD 06, 1215 31st Street, NW, OG 15-074 (HPA 15-118), Georgetown Post Office, Alterations to entrance ramp and sign – EastBanc Technologies, Permit – revised

16. SMD 06, 2715 M Street, NW, OG 15-127 (HPA 15-230), Commercial, Alterations – options
Concept

17. SMD 07, 1502 27th Street, NW, OG 15-063 (HPA 15-103), Residence, front porch, alterations, wall and fence, Concept

18. SMD 07, 1633 31st Street, NW, OG 15-094 (HPA 15-182), Residence, Two-story rear addition, Concept

19. SMD 07, 1650 Avon Place, NW, OG 15-116 (HPA 15-218), Residential, Alterations, replacement windows and door, rooftop HVAC , Concept

20. SMD 07, 2500 Q Street, NW, OG 15-113 (HPA 15-208), Gateway Georgetown condominiums, Rooftop antennas and equipment for T-Mobile, Permit

21. SMD 08, 1229 37th Street, NW, OG 15-125 (HPA 15-228), Residence, Replacement wood siding, Permit

22. SMD 08,1239 37th Street, NW, OG 15-124 (HPA 15-227), Residence, Alterations, HVAC equipment, Permit

Government of the District of Columbia: Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E — 3265 S St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20007 — 202-724-7098 — anc2e@dc.gov — www.anc2e.com

Caitlin Franz •

The former West End Public Library has been completely demolished to make way for a new EastBanc project. Piles of rubble and large construction equipment cover the lot. Yet it’s clear that progress is being made on the library and condominium combination development.

Architect Enrique Norten, of Ten Arquitectos, is the designer of the new 21,000-square-foot library, which will span two levels. Eight stories of residential housing will be built above it.

The new library will hold designated spaces for children, teens and adults. It will also have one large meeting area, two conference rooms and multiple study rooms. There are additional plans for a cafe and underground parking.

Throughout the construction process, library services will be provided at 2522 Virginia Ave. NW. The temporary location features separate spaces for children, teens and adults, 20 computers and a meeting room for up to 40 people. The West End Public Library will lease this space at the Watergate complex for at least three years.

Gary Tischler •

For a man who had just gotten back from New York at two in the morning, and who was in the midst of starting up a new theater company just a little bit above from the ground up,  Ari Roth was remarkably chipper, succinct, eloquent and upbeat, as he addressed a hardy group of audience members who had gathered the morning of Feb. 19 at the George Town Club for the year’s first Cultural Leadership Breakfast, presented by the Georgetown Media Group.

There were no signs of a lack of sleep syndrome, no lack of ideas and debating points, no lack of charm, no lack of energy.   Soft-spoken and articulate, Roth was looking ahead to the future with a fistful of thoughts and ideas about not only the future of his new Mosaic Theater Company of D.C. but about his 18-year tenure as artistic director of Theater J—part of the D.C.  (Jewish Community Center) on 16th Street,  its accomplishments and the abrupt end of his stay there In December when he was fired for what the JCC’s chief executive Carole Sawatsky had called “insubordination.”  Roth himself at the time said he was “terminated abruptly.”

The firing was highly publicized in the press, which detailed battles that seemed to be as much about international politics and Israel as it was about theater and plays, including controversial offerings like “Return to Haifa” and the Voices of a Changing Middle East Festival, which the JCC had cancelled.

“I have never been through a divorce,” Roth said.  “But that’s what the experience of leaving Theater J felt like.  There’s shock. There’s the fact, there’s loss—leaving behind a great group of staff members who were caught in the middle, leaving behind, in a way, all the years there, and what we—all of the people who worked on the plays, our initiatives there and starting over.

“But you know, while things got a little acrimonious, I think it’s also an opportunity,” Roth said. “That’s what you do after a divorce, you move on.  They’re actively conducting a national search for a new artistic director. I’ve got an office at the Atlas Arts Center, where our new theater will be situated. We’re fund raising. We’re looking for new plays, which is why I was in New York, among other things.  I think both parties have moved on.  We’re dating.”

“I can tell you this—we will, I believe—be in a position to start our first season in November—we’re looking at new plays, including a play about Rwanda.  I’ve been spending a lot of time the past few months finding the meaning in what happened. 

“You know, I think there was a time there, when you felt as if you were in a play, a kind of participatory melodrama, you were a character in a drama, sort of a meta-play,” Roth said.

“It’s not that easy, leaving people and things behind—I was, as director of Theater J, part of an institution, informed by artistic vision, but also being part of collaboration.  All art is collaboration, even novels and poems have editors and publishers.”

Roth recalled that Theater J had had its beginning  in a small, small space in a home that offered 25 seats. At that time, Roth considered himself a playwright, wondering what his next play was going to be about.

“When Theater J expanded into the JCC with a much, much large theater, they offered me the job, and I saw a potential there.  But being that makes you someone different,” he added. “You’re part of a much large creative eco-system—the theater itself, the center, the city theater community and establishment and even nationally.” 

What Roth accomplished there—theater with a decided Jewish viewpoint coming from a rich Jewish culture—was often remarkable in the sense that many of the productions which were specifically Jewish found a universal audience.

Roth added things, coming from his own views and growth.  “It’s funny, that  the Voices of the Middle East Festival was originally called Voice of a Changing Israel festival, but I saw that so much was going on in the Middle East, and the city as well.  The focus enlarged, became expansive.  We, with the help of Andy Shalal, who is from Iraq, a Peace Café component, and increasingly, the plays started to include  elements that were not purely confined to Israel. That is the way things are. It’s reflective of a debate going on among Israel supporters in the United States, and in Israel itself.”

The Mosaic Theater Company is not going to be Theater J, he said.  “It will still have a Jewish viewpoint and component, but it will be much more international in scope, reflecting what is going on in the world, but also  it will be be concerned with our own surroundings—our neighborhoods,  and the changes there, 14th and U, Northeast, Anacostia, Dupont Circle and so on. 

“I was very curious for instance, about who complains about parking,”  he said. “People in Georgetown complain about the lack of parking, or in Dupont, but not in Northeast.” He talked about playwrights he met, and discussed their work, some of which will likely find its way into a Mosaic season, ready or not.  “Some things need to be done and nurtured right away,” he said of plays that may not be quite ready, but need to find expression in the performance.”

Mosaic will reflect, it’s likely, and will be a theatrical mosaic of many forms, of the great mix of interests, and shifting landscapes and cultural and creative impulses.  

And who knows? The divorce may yet turn out to be amicable and mutually beneficial.

Upcoming cultural leadership breakfasts at the George Town Club  are March 13, Martin Wollesen, executive director of the Clarice Smith  Performing Arts Center; April 9, Kim Sajet, director of the National Portrait Gallery, and May 7, Steven Knapp, president of George Washington University.
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Linnea Kristiansson •

Former Seattle Fire Chief Gregory Dean was named to head Washington, D.C.’s Fire Department on March 2. He led the Seattle Fire Department for 10 years before he stepped down in December.

Mayor Bowser made the announcement at a press conference, where she said she emphasized the importance of appointing someone with a strong EMS background to the position.

“The safety and well-being of District residents is my top priority and FEMS is at the frontlines of this effort. Chief Dean is a proven, collaborative leader who led a department with an international reputation for its fire-based EMS performance. I am certain that he will work with our emergency first responders and the community to move the department forward in exciting ways,” said Mayor Bowser.

Dean will replace Eugene Jones, who last took over as interim chief. Jones took over the job from Fire Chief Kenneth Ellerbe, whose tenure was marked by complaints of poor service that endangered lives by firefighters and medical personnel. Bowser says Acting Assistant Fire and Emergency Medical Services Chief Edward R. Mills III will serve as Interim Chief during the transition.

On Monday, Dean admitted to facing challenges in D.C. He told the crowd that he plans on spending the first six months of his new job learning how to do business in the District.

According to the Mayor’s office, “Dean has a proven track record of results. Under his leadership, Seattle and King County, Washington announced in 2014 that its overall cardiac arrest survival rate had reached an all- time high of 62 percent, up from 26 percent in 2002.”

Dean is also member of the International Association of Fire Chief’s Terrorism and Homeland Security Committee. He was chair of the Region 6, Homeland Security Administration and Policy Group and was selected for the Center for Homeland Defense and Security’s Master’s Program at the Naval Post Graduate School.

Peter Murray •

Smoke and power outages plagued Metrorail the weekend of Feb. 20, while on the H Street corridor, a flash fire ignited atop a streetcar during service simulation late Feb. 21.

Problems started for commuters Friday morning when the power went out at the L’Enfant Plaza station, leaving hundreds of commuters in near-pitch-black dark. The outage occurred around 8:45 a.m., and power was not restored fully until the early afternoon. The station remained open during the outage, but the entrance at 9th and D streets NW remained closed until the lights came back on. Metro said in a tweet that the outage was caused by a “commercial power problem.” Feb. 20 was the coldest day of the year so far, with temperatures reaching as low as 5 degrees at Reagan National Airport.

Then, smoke caused delays and evacuations at three Metro stations over the weekend. Woodley Park Station was taken out of service briefly after faulty brakes reportedly filled the station with smoke on the afternoon of Feb. 21. The station was evacuated, with commuters rushing to escape a potentially life-threatening situation akin to the one that occurred at the L’Enfant station on Jan. 12.

Smoke caused by faulty brakes was also reported at the L’Enfant station Sunday. A D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department spokesman confirmed the source of the cause in a statement on Feb. 22.

Fire struck a streetcar around 11:45 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 21. Officials said, “The sparks extinguished very quickly on their own and fire suppression was not required by the first responders on the scene.” No one was injured during the incident but Mayor Muriel Bowser said in a brief statement issued Sunday that D.C. Streetcar would not open to the public until “we know it’s safe, and not a moment sooner.” The as-of-yet not fully operational streetcar has had nine minor accidents since it began simulating service in Oct. 14, with the latest occurring in early January. No one has been harmed in any of the accidents.

Also on Sunday, smoke caused by an electrical arcing event in the third rail led emergency crews to the Foggy Bottom station around 6:30 p.m. A driver alerted authorities after noticing the smoke coming from the tunnel leading from Foggy Bottom to Rosslyn. Smoke did no reach surrounding stations, but officials instituted single-tracking by closing off the tunnel until 7:40 p.m.

A number of other smoke incidents have created problems on Metro in recent weeks, notably causing evacuations at the Dupont Circle and Court House stations in early February. However, Metro officials say that smoke incidents are on the decline, with 120 occurrences in 2012 to only 40 in 2014. There is no official count for 2015.

These safety problems for Metro come at a bad time, on the heels of reports by the Washington Post that Metro’s federally funded alarm system that contacts emergency response radio does not work properly in subway tunnels. Emergency response officials say Metro never notified them that about this critical flaw; they discovered it on their own in 2014 and pressured Metro to fix the problems to no avail. The radio defect held up D.C. firefighters’ rescue efforts at L’Enfant station when smoke killed one and injured more than 80 people on Jan. 12.

Peter Murray •

Glover Park Hardware owners Gina Schaefer and Marc Friedman announced on March 3 that the store is reopening at a new location at 2233 Wisconsin Ave. NW.

The old location at 2251 Wisconsin Ave. closed on Jan. 15, after Schaefer says lease negotiations fell apart when the space’s landlord made a “last-minute” decision to lease the location to another tenant.

Schaefer and Friedman are hoping to open the new store, housed in the same building as Einstein Bagels (and only a few doors down from the old store), sometime in April. They said in a press release, “We love our Glover Park Community and we were committed to reopening in this neighborhood.”

Robert Devaney • March 8, 2015

The scene: Gaston Hall in the Healy Building at Georgetown University; a Nov. 12 lecture hosted by the Georgetown McDonough Global Social Enterprise Initiative in partnership with Bank of America. On stage: Georgetown University President John DeGioia; Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan; McDonough Business School dean David Thomas; student Ammu Menon.

Also on stage — and the main attraction — was a global activist, talking about social enterprise and advocacy, as if he were a rock star. Oh, wait, he is a rock star. He is Bono.

The program handed out at Gaston Hall proclaimed it thus: while it showed time, place and sponsors, but front and center appears one simple word, “Bono.”

The lead singer for the Irish rock band U2 was also in D.C. to meet Vice President Joe Biden and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim. Bono’s fight against AIDS and extreme poverty is legend. While his well-executed Gaston Hall speech informed and entertained, it went beyond its goals to charm, convince and claim students, professors and politicians.

Musician and activist Bono began by waving back to the student crowd, giving a shout-out to DeGioia’s son, J.T., who is learning the chords of “Sunday, Bloody Sunday.”

“At this lectern or podium, I am oddly comfortable,” Bono smiled. “Welcome to Pop Culture 101. … What am I doing in Healy Hall? I could be on my third pint at the Tombs.”

Becoming sympatico with the audience, Bono congratulated the crowd for re-electing President Barack Obama and was glad that all were now free from “the tyranny of negative ads.” He added, “I’d like to hear an attack ad on malaria.”

Acting as if a Hoya, Bono dumped on Syracuse and Duke universities and their mascots, “a fruit” and “the devil.” To wit, he concluded, “God is a Catholic.”

Bono pronounced AIDS the huge disease but said the “biggest is extreme poverty.” He called this fight a transformative element for the college-aged generation.

For this activist, the 21st century really began in 2011 with the protests of the Arab Spring along with the advent of mobile phones and other digital devices, saying the pyramid of power has flipped. “There are millions of levers of power,” said the rocker, who added that today is analogous to the rise of punk rock in the late 1970s taking on progressive rock. Bono then joked that the audience had never heard anyone link the Arab Spring with the punk band, the Clash.

Cuts in the budget can hurt, he cautioned: “Don’t let an economic recession become a moral recession.”

Bono focused on sub-Saharan Africa, talking about the success of Rwanda in reducing AIDS, thanks to American support. He talked about the dark side of expansion, as al Qaeda controls part of Mali, citing the three extremes of our times: poverty, climate and ideology.

As “an evidence-based activist,” Bono said the heart was not the most important aspect of action; it is justice. “You want data. I got data.” He mentioned the Asian Tigers — even the Celtic Tiger — but added the African Lion. “Aid is just a stopgap,” he said. “We need Africa to become an economic power.”

Bono said he could just imagine the headline: “Rock Star Preaches Capitalism.”

Asking the students for a drum roll, Bono paused to reveal a force of change: “Enter the nerd . . . it’s the era of the Afro nerd.” And another huge obstacle in the developing world? Corruption. But again with digital mobile activists—and websites like IPaidaBribe.com—it is becoming harder to do so without someone knowing.

Bono turned to the work on foreign aid by political and business leaders, thanking those sitting in front of him, such as House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Pat Leahy, D-Vt., and former Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah, the younger Barbara Bush (because of President George W. Bush’s substantial aid to Africa) among others, such as Irish Ambassador Michael Collins and singer Andrea Coor.

Still, in a politico mood, Bono jumped into a quite good imitation of Bill Clinton to the roars of laugher from the audience. “He’s more a rock star that I am,” Bono said.

As for the Jesuit tradition, he offered founder of the Society of Jesus, St. Ignatius of Loyola, warrior and priest, as the exemplar for “the conversion of the heart” and service to others.

“That’s what I’m hoping happens here at Georgetown with you,” Bono said. “Because when you truly accept that those children in some far off place in the global village have the same value as you in God’s eyes or even in just your eyes, then your life is forever changed. You see something that you can’t un-see.”

It looks like Georgetown Business School picked a perfect keynote speaker to pump up its Global Social Enterprise Initiative, which “aims to prepare current and future leaders to make responsible management decisions that yield both economic and social value.”

Now, that is wide awake in America.