BID Shuts Down Public Safety App, GroupMe
• November 9, 2015

News outlets have reported about the smart phone app, GroupMe, which was used to communicate possible suspicious behavior within Georgetown’s retail establishments by the Georgetown Business Improvement District as part of its own online group. Questions arouse about the possibility of racial profiling or bias by users, which a few GroupMe texts displayed.

The Georgetowner Newspaper was the first news outlet to report on this concern in its Aug. 8 issue.

Later, because of additional press inquiries and its own review, the Georgetown BID called a timeout on its GroupMe app and is looking over its communication process and rules for this app. No time was given for resumption of the public safety app.

The following is a message from Georgetown Business Improvement District CEO Joe Sternlieb, dated Oct.18, reproduced in its entirety and without any alterations:

“Georgetown is one of the most diverse retail districts in the region, and its merchants work hard every day to welcome visitors — regardless of race, ethnicity or income.

“Over the last several days Georgetown has received a great deal of attention stemming from a news story that evaluated the use of a smartphone app called GroupMe that the BID, Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), and retail merchant community launched as a pilot in 2014. The intent was to provide real-time communication as part of a public safety partnership to reduce shoplifting.

“While the app has been effective in deterring shoplifting, the news stories and the dialogue that followed have brought up legitimate concerns about the use of the app and its potential to wrongfully identify shoppers as shoplifters. The overriding goal of our retail community is to ensure that everyone who visits Georgetown feels welcomed, comfortable, safe, and that their civil rights and individual dignity are protected and respected. So long as there are questions about how this app is being used, this goal cannot be met.

“The BID’s Executive Committee and staff have decided to take the app off-line in order to do a top to bottom review of the public safety communication program associated with it. Our mission going forward will be to develop a new set of rules and protocols for use of real-time communication tools that may help us meet our mission; to develop a robust anti-racial-profiling training program that would be required to be completed before anyone gets access to a future version of such a tool; and an analysis of the appropriate size and membership criteria of the group. Only after this work has been completed, and we can determine that a tool like the GroupMe app can be deployed to effectively meet the highest standards of professionalism and protection of all Georgetown’s customers, will we revisit putting it back on line.”
 

Exorcist Steps, Where Halloween Meets Hollywood, Officially Recognized by D.C. Government
•

It’s official. It’s really official.

The District Council of the District of Columbia officially dedicated a plaque that recognizes the famous or infamous steps at Prospect and 36th Streets NW as a significant historic location in Washington, D.C.

The fates—and Andrew Huff, the Dupont Film Festival, the D.C. Film Office and others—got together, celebrated and commemorated the occasion. On hand were William Peter Blatty, the author of “The Exorcist,” the novel on which the film is based, along with director William Friedkin and a hundred or so fans, autograph seekers and early Halloween revelers.  They gathered at the site of the stairs, along with Mayor Muriel Bowser, Ward 2 Councilman Jack Evans, and Georgetown University President John DeGioia.

Blatty and Friedkin spent two hours or so on Prospect Street, signing autographs, programs, books, posters and other items. Also on hand were “Exorcist” fans, who remembered the filming, read the books or gather every Halloween for screenings of  “The Exorcist.” It was a film that shook up the horror movie world—and the Georgetown landscape, while it was being filmed more than 40 years ago. 

“It was strange watching the film this time,” said Bill Dunlap, artist and a good friend of Friedkin. Dunlap, who showed up with his wife and daughter, remarked about the 1973 film, “Everyone smoking, those weird telephones and the scenes of Georgetown at that time. It was pretty haunting.

On Prospect Street, promoters dressed as nuns and priests handed out containers for holy waters to hype “Exorcist Live!”  A young girl who answered to the name of Regan, in a greenish, Linda Blair-like dress was also there. 

Friedkin said he had, in one way or another, spend half of his life on this film. “It’s great to see that there are still so many people interested in the film,” he said. “It’s really appreciated.”

Smoke and shrieking noises were in evidence at the bottom of the steps as fans waited for the arrival of of Blatty, Friedkin and the rest. “Somebody should throw a dummy or something down the stairs,” one fan said. “That would really scare the hell out of people.”

Asked what kind of movies he might be directing today,  Friedkin, who is working in the opera world these days, replied: “Movies that are in focus . . . plus, movies that tell a good story.”

“This film is part of the history of Georgetown and Georgetown University,” DiGioia said. “It’s a part of our cultural history,” Evans added. 

The proclamation noted that “The Exorcist” was in the National Film Registry by way of the Library of Congress and that the steps, once known as the “Hitchcock steps”  had taken “their place in the annals of film and Georgetown history as a perennial destination for residents and visitors of the nation’s capital.”
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Halloween in Georgetown Keeps It a Little Crazy: At Least 5 Muggings
•

As a full day of Halloween occurred Oct. 31 since it was Saturday, Georgetown more than lived to its role as Halloween central for nearby residents and visitors alike. Some moms, dads and little children were dressed up along with the young adults and teenagers. Police were out in force throughout the commercial and residential parts of the town.

While a go-go band played in the PNC parking are little too long and long lines in front of El Centro and Old Glory blocked the sidewalks, the costumed revelers kept coming. It helped that a part of M Street near Wisconsin Avenue had its sidewalk extended thanks to barricades placed on the street. Some public intoxication was evident along the sidewalk, whether it was a woman face down on the sidewalk on 31st Street near the C&O Canal or two women fighting in front of George’s King of Falafel and Cheesesteak on 28th Street.

Meanwhile, sports cars revved their engines inpatient with the unsurprising heavy traffic.

There were crimes—one involving a gun—amid the Georgetown crowds, according to MPD (sent from the Second District; PSA 201-208):

= Robbery Force and Violence at 21:51 hours in the 1200 block of 28th St NW.

= Robbery Force and Violence at 22:29 hours in the 3300 block of M Street NW.

?= Robbery Force and Violence at 23:46 hours in the 3000 block of M Street NW.

= Robbery Gun at 23:06 hours in the 1100 block of 34th Street NW. ?

= Robbery Snatch at 2301 hours in the 3100 block of M Street NW.

Before the Halloween parties got in full swing, the Second District of the Metropolitan Police Department sent this advice Oct. 31 to its email subscribers:

“Citizens, please be advised that the Second District and the rest of the city have the potential for a high volume of robberies on Halloween night. Please keep your cell phones put away and your valuables kept under your clothing or in your pockets. We want everyone that is going to come out to have a good time to enjoy themselves, but there are those that come here to take advantage of innocent victims. 

“The Metropolitan Police and outside agencies are out in force tonight and your safety is our first priority and that usually involves a team effort. Our presence will be great, but robbery is usually a crime of opportunity. Don’t give them the opportunity and have a wonderful and safe night all. We look forward to seeing you and we want you to return home just as safe as you left.”?

Even at His Final Resting Place, Ben Bradlee Still Makes Waves
•

The family of Ben Bradlee and a small circle of friends and guests gathered Oct. 21 to attend the remains of the legend of American journalism. Bradlee was interred at noon in a bright, new mausoleum at historic Oak Hill Cemetery on a bright, autumn day—a year to the day of his death in 2014.

All of that moved gracefully, but it is Bradlee’s final resting place that is getting some critical notice.

The landscape “is significantly altered with the addition of this mausoleum,” said Charles Birnbaum, president of the Cultural Landscape Foundation, according to WTOP, which added, “The D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs decided Wednesday that the family needs a permit for the mausoleum.”

The story was first reported by Kriston Capps, a writer for the Atlantic’s City Lab on Oct. 20.

“We will comply with whatever the city requires,” David Jackson, superintendent of Oak Hill Cemetery, told The Georgetowner Oct. 22.

The larger-than-life Bradlee’s final resting place is front and center—not unlike the man himself in life—at Oak Hill Cemetery on R Street and can be seen from the sidewalk. Until Oct. 21, Bradlee’s remain lay in a crypt in the nearby historic Renwick Chapel also on the front grounds of the cemetery.

The Bradlee mausoleum’s inside wall is emblazoned with a bas-relief of the American flag. Its floor is etched with a stanza from Maya Angelou’s “When Great Trees Fall.” It contains space for more family members.

A slate walkway—which leads to the Bradlee vault—bisects the cemetery’s front ellipse but will likely be changed, according to Jackson of Oak Hill Cemetery. The fountain that was at the center of the ellipse has been temporarily removed but will be reinstalled. There are plans for a row of other vaults to run along the rear of the ellipse, as approved by the cemetery board five years ago.

George Hill, president of Oak Hill Cemetery Company, responded to Birnbaum’s concerns in an Oct. 13 letter. In part, Hill wrote: “We see our role as the stewards of Oak Hill on many levels and aim to be guardians of its many sacred places. It is also a working cemetery, and citizens continue to need a place be interred in Georgetown. … Oak Hill does not and cannot survive on charity alone. We have survived for 166 years by being a working cemetery, and we hope to continue. Eventually, we may need to end sales of interment spaces and become a museum, but not quite yet. …”

Born on Aug. 26, 1921, Benjamin Crowninshield Bradlee died last year at the age of 93 at his N Street home, which he shared with his wife Sally Quinn and son Quinn Bradlee. The revered and feared editor of the Washington Post was best known for the Post’s winning coverage of the Watergate scandal which led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.

Open to the pubic at certain hours, the 22-acre Oak Hill Cemetery, founded in 1849, contains monuments and mausoleums and includes such famous figures as Dean Acheson, William Corcoran, Uriah Forrest, Herman Hollerith, Philip Barton Key, John Howard Payne and Albert Pike. For a time, Willie Lincoln, President Abraham Lincoln’s son, was buried there. It has nearly 20,000 burial sites.
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The Exorcist Steps Get Official Recognition the Day Before Halloween
•

Just in time for Halloween in Georgetown, the Exorcist Steps at 36th Street—between Prospect and M Streets NW— will get an official commemorative plaque, signed by Mayor Muriel Bowser, Friday, Oct. 30.

The 75 steps down to M Street from Prospect Street figured in the climatic scene of the 1973 film “The Exorcist,” when the priest sacrificed himself for the girl possessed by the devil, leaping from a window in a Prospect Street home and tumbling down the steps to his death.

“The Exorcist,” written by William Peter Blatty, a Georgetown University alumnus, and directed by William Friedkin, is considered by many to be the greatest horror movie of all time. The filming in Georgetown occurred during October 1972.

Andrew Huff coordinated the event in collaboration with the D.C. Office of Motion Picture and Television Development, the Executive Office of the Mayor, the Dupont Festival and Councilmember Jack Evans, at whose office he worked.

On Oct. 30, the film’s director Bill Friedkin will be at the top of the steps at 36th and Prospect Streets at 4 p.m. for a talk as well as a meet and greet. Writer Bill Blatty will be at the top of the steps at 5 p.m. With the mayor expected to attend, the plaque dedication ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. at the bottom of the steps on M Street.

After the plaque dedication ceremony, the Georgetown Business Association will hold its monthly networking reception — themed for Halloween and “The Exorcist” and a short walk from the dedication—at Malmaison Restaurant at 3401 K St., NW, starting at 6:30 p.m; all are welcome.

A 7:30 p.m. screening of “The Exorcist” — with Friedkin in the audience — at Georgetown Loews AMC on K Street is reportedly sold out.
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At Penn Quarter Meeting, Police Chief Cites Rise of Encampments and Synthetic Drugs
•

Crime and policing issues wear different faces in different places in the District of Columbia, as Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier well knows.  

At an Oct. 27 Penn Quarter Neighborhood Association breakfast meeting, Lanier spoke to residents and business leaders and owners in the constantly changing Penn Quarter area, where policing, it turns out, was often not so much about violent crimes and robberies, but about noise, the homeless and a rising issue with homeless encampments, and the spread of the sale and use of synthetic drugs.

Both the rise of encampments and the spread of synthetic drug use and sales have become larger problems throughout the city as a whole. The presence of encampments—at construction sites, on door fronts of businesses and alleys—are at odds with the city government’s avowed long-term strategic plans to all but eradicate homelessness.

According to Lanier, the police now operate under an “encampment protocol,” which assesses what an encampment is, how , if and when to deal with it. Per police missives on reporting a homeless encampment, the “objective of the encampment protocol is not only to clean the site, but also to build relationships with our most vulnerable residents and ultimately bring them into housing.”

As the the protocol statement explains, “an encampment” is a set up of an abode or place of residence of one or more persons on public property or an accumulation of personal belongings that is present even when the individual may not be.”

Residents complained that  Penn Quarter also has a noise problem coming often from street musicians, gatherings of people who are shouting loudly, or gathering on the street, blocking passage.

“Some of this comprises first amendment issues,” Lanier said. “Some of these activities are not per se illegal. It’s complicated, especially in this area.”

Lanier expressed concern about the spread of synthetic drugs among the homeless.  “The trade has moved out of the stores, and now individuals are selling the drugs, one at a time,” she said. “The chemistry and chemical content of the drugs change so often, we don’t even know what’s in the drugs, or its effects. It’s one of the most dangerous drugs around now, precisely because of that.  And to make it worse, the people selling the drugs have taken to selling to the homeless one item at a time for a dollar or two dollars. That makes it more difficult to deal with homeless people who may be using the drugs.  It’s a real issue and problem.”

ANC Report November 4, 2015
• November 5, 2015

The Georgetown-Burleith-Hillandale Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC 2E) held its monthly meeting Nov. 2. The following is a selection of decisions by the commissioners at the meeting; other reports from this meeting are forthcoming.

DC Water Green Infrastructure Plans Previewed

The commission announced DC Water’s plans to install green infrastructure, which will involve utility cuts on Georgetown streets. Inspections of planned work locations will begin this month. The $30-million project to absorb storm water before it goes into the main sewer system is slated to run from 2017 through 2019.

Misuse of GroupMe App Decried

The commission offered its opinion of a local GroupMe app, shut down by its host, the Georgetown Business Improvement District, on Oct. 18: “A recent attempt by the Georgetown BID to use social media to deter shoplifting was used improperly and hurtfully by some retail employees in ways the BID did not intend, in a manner that is completely inconsistent with Georgetown’s welcoming and respectful spirit. We support the creative use of technology to bring the Georgetown business community together. However, the Georgetown BID and the community as a whole must ensure that whatever replaces this app is never used as a tool for profiling or discrimination. “

Starbucks Pulls Liquor License Application

Because of community concerns and its closeness to a school, Starbucks Coffee at 1810 Wisconsin Ave. NW withdrew its wine and beer license application, a corporate representative announced at the meeting.

Thumbs Down to Dean & Deluca, Kouzina; ShopHouse O.K.

Commissioners protested the liquor license application by Dean & Deluca at 3276 M St. NW. The fancy food store has a plan for live entertainment and outdoor seating (the side next to the store is used by customers now), as well as 10 new seats in the wine department in the back of the store, which sells beer and wine but cannot allow consumption on the premises.

The proposed Kouzina Authentic Greek Restaurant at 3235 Prospect St. NW, asking for 50 outdoor seats, got a quick thumbs-down. However, plans by ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen at 2805 M St. NW to sell beer and wine got the go-ahead.

Tudor Place’s Leslie Buhler Saluted

The commission presented a community commendation to Leslie Buhler:

“In recognition of her steady hand and creative leadership as the executive director of Tudor Place, ANC 2E commends Leslie Buhler. In the 15 years that Leslie has charted the course for Tudor Place her intelligence, her expertise, her diplomacy and her resilience have combined to elevate the value of one of our great historic treasures for Georgetown, for the city of Washington, and for the nation.

“She raised the level of scholarship and interpretation of the Tudor Place collection, maintaining the highest standards with significant attention to the preservation and conservation of the treasures of Tudor Place. Leslie’s leadership has brought national recognition and distinction to this beloved property. With her open, welcoming and inclusive manner, Leslie has won the loyalty and appreciation of the Tudor Place neighbors and the entire Georgetown community. For all this, we owe our gratitude and our commendation to Leslie Buhler for her outstanding service and contribution to our neighborhood and the city.”

Via Umbria Gets Settlement Agreement; Concerns Remain

A settlement agreement was approved for Via Umbria, an Italian houseware and food store at 1525 Wisconsin Ave. NW, however neighbors remain concerned about the use of a backyard patio. Per the agreement, the owner would not consider use of the patio until April 2016, if at all. Via Umbria intends to serve small meals, such as sandwiches, for consumption on its first floor (26 seats) second floor (20 seats) and has applied for a Class C liquor license. There will be private dinners and cooking demonstrations in the second floor kitchen, but — again per the agreement — the space cannot be rented out. Closing hour will be 11:30 p.m. Neighbors Sue Rutledge and Larry Houseman, whose homes are behind the business on 32nd Street, spoke in opposition to the ANC’s approval of Via Umbria’s application.

ANC Tonight: DC Water, G.U. Hospital Plans; Salute to Tudor Place’s Leslie Buhler
•

The Georgetown-Burleith-Hillandale Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC 2E) will hold its November meeting, 6:30 p.m., Nov. 2, at Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School, 35th Street and Volta Place, NW, Heritage Room, main building, second floor. The following is Monday’s meeting agenda, as provided by ANC 2E.

Approval of the Agenda

• Approval of November 2, 2015, ANC 2E Public Meeting Agenda

Administrative

• Approval of September 28, 2015 Meeting Minutes

• Public Safety and Police Report

• Financial Report –Approval of FY 2016 ANC 2E Budget

• Transportation Report

• Consideration of a request to the Old Georgetown Board/Commission of Fine Arts that the OGB not hold a meeting in early January

Community Commendation

• Community Commendation for Leslie Buhler

Community Comment

• Impacts of DC Water Green Infrastructure plans

New Business

• Valet parking application for Paolo’s restaurant

• Medstar Georgetown University Hospital application for a Certificate of Need for a major addition to the hospital

ABC

• Via Umbria, ABRA-100436,1525 Wisconsin Avenue NW — possible settlement agreement

• Kouzina Authentic Greek Restaurant, ABRA0099818, 3235 Prospect St (Class C license, includes 50 outdoor seats)

• Starbucks Coffee.ABRA-100546, 1810 Wisconsin Ave. NW (wine & beer license application, includes outdoor roof deck with 33 seats)

• ShopHouse Southeast Asian Kitchen, ABRA-100547, 2805 M Street NW (new Class D license)

The following ABC items have been placed on No Review by ANC 2E at this time 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, October 30, 2015:

• Dean & Deluca, ABRA-093723, 3267 M Street NW, Class D restaurant license (with entertainment endorsement and 50 outdoor seats)

Old Georgetown Board

Major and Public Projects:

1. SMD 01 OG 15-342 (HPA 15-619) 3800 Reservoir Road, NW Medstar Georgetown University Hospital Information presentation
New addition to the hospital and site work

Private Projects

1. SMD 02 OG 16-011 (HPA 15-045) 3324 Dent Place, NW
Residence
Concept
New construction
Contact: K C Price – kc@kcdcstudios.com; ; John Casey – johnfkc@aol.com

2. SMD 05 OG 16-004 (HPA 16-010) 3000 K Street, NW
Commercial
Concept
Terrace enclosure at FFB
Contact: Joe Spinelli – restconsultants@mac.com

3. SMD 05 OG 16-007 (HPA 16-013) 3403 M Street, NW
Commercial
Permit
Replacement windows
Contact: Eric Dagadu – edagadu@destinybuildingproducts.com

4. SMD 05 OG 16-013 (HPA 16-021) 3121 N Street, NW
Residence
Permit
Reconstruct front porch
Contact: Robert Hetem – rhdesigngroup2@aol.com

5. SMD 05 OG 15-317 (HPA 15-567)
1055 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW
Mixed-use
Concept
Addition/alterations – Foundry
Contact: Kevin North – knorth@jbg.com; John Nahra – john@nahradesign.com; Buji Tallapragada – btallapragada@jbg.com

6. SMD 06 OG 16-026 (HPA 16-034) 1312 31st Street, NW
Residence
Concept
Brick garden wall
Contact: Christian Zapatka – Christian@christianzapatka.com

7. SMD 06 OG 15-240 (HPA 15-450) 3029 M Street, NW
Commercial Permit
Replacement windows, sign – Moleskine
Contact: Gideon Sorkin – gsorkin@eastbanc.com; Allison Evans – aevans@interplaninc.com

8. SMD 06 OG 15-348 (HPA 15-262) 3061 M Street, NW
Commercial
Permit
Storefront alterations
Contact: Douglas Foster – expeditingservices.net; Nicholas Tricarico – info@tricarico.com

9. SMD 06 OG 15-269 (HPA 15-486) 2815 Dumbarton Street, NW
Residence
Concept
Alterations, replacement roof, site work
Contact: Carmel Greer – carmel@districtdesign.com; Ashley Adams – info@districtdesign.com

10. SMD 07 OG 16-024 (HPA 16-032) 3029 Q Street, NW
Residence
Concept
Demolition and new garage
Contact: Anthony Barnes – abarnes@barnesvanze.com

11. SMD 07 OG 15-341 (HPA 16-032) 3035 Q Street, NW, #5
Residence
Permit
Rooftop addition and deck (HPA 15-618)
Contact: Andrew Baldwin – andrew@kube-arch.com

12. SMD 07 OG 16-003 (HPA 16-009) 3029 Dent Place, NW
Residence
Concept
Rear addition
Contact: Bernard Guay – bernguay@gmail.com

No Review At This Time by ANC 2E: The following additional projects, which are on the upcoming November 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, October 30, 2015.

1. SMD 02 OG 16-009 (HPA 16-015) 1703 32nd Street, NW
Institution Permit
Alterations – pool and pool house

2. SMD 02 OG 16-002 (HPA 16-008) 3215 Volta Place, NW Residence Permit
Gas light

3. SMD 02 OG 16-001 (HPA 16-001) 3223 Volta Place, NW Residence Alterations
concept

4. SMD 03 OG 15-275 (HPA 15-519) 3252 N Street, NW Residence Permit
Replacement gate

5. SMD 03 OG 15-285 (HPA 15-531) 3301 N Street, NW Residence Permit
Rear addition, alterations – Existing alterations without review

6. SMD 03 OG 16-017 (HPA 15-448) 3331 N Street, NW Residence Additions and alterations
Concept

7. SMD 03 OG 14-352 (HPA 14-077) 3240 P Street, NW Commercial Revised permit review
Three-story rear addition with basement

8. SMD 03 OG 15-230 (HPA 15-440) 3249 P Street, NW Residence Permit
Alterations to rear

9. SMD 03 OG 16-020 (HPA 15-276) 3107 Dumbarton Street, NW Residence Concept
Raise roof, rear addition, replacement windows – Existing alterations without review

10. SMD 03 OG 16-021 (HPA 16-029) 3107 Dumbarton Street, NW Residence Permit
Removal of DEFS – Existing alterations without review

11. SMD 03 OG 15-304 (HPA 15-552) 1422 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Commercial Concept
Rear addition, alterations, sign – Boulangerie Christophe

12. SMD 03 OG 16-016 (HPA 15-527) 1254 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Mixed-use (Square 1218, Lot 814)
Concept Alterations

13. SMD 05 OG 16-012 (HPA 16-020) 2920 M Street, NW Commercial Permit
Signage – Postmodern Foods

14. SMD 05 OG 16-022 (HPA 15-546) 3104 M Street, NW Commercial Permit
Alteration – fire connection

15. SMD 05 OG 16-014 (HPA 16-022) 3509 M Street, NW Residence Permit
Replacement windows

16. SMD 05 OG 16-029 (HPA 16-037) 3210 Grace Street, NW Mixed-use Permit
Blade signs

17. SMD 05 OG 15-347 (HPA 15-625) 3225 Grace Street, NW, #207 Multi-family residence Permit
Replacement door

18. SMD 05 OG 16-023 (HPA 16-031) 1000 Potomac Street, NW Office building Permit
Alterations at entrance

19. SMD 05 OG 16-015 (HPA 15-528) 1042 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Commercial Concept
Alterations to rear – Existing alterations without review

20. SMD 06 OG 16-025 (HPA 15-615) 1213 28th Street, NW Residence Concept
Rear alterations, pergola

21. SMD 06 OG 15-349 (HPA 15-398) 1250 28th Street, NW Residence Concept
Porch replacement, new front stair

22. SMD 06 OG 16-008 (HPA 15-542) 1228 29th Street, NW Residence Concept
Brick wall, site work

23. SMD 06 OG 15-345 (HPA 15-622) 1340 29th St., NW
Residence Permit Solar panels

24. SMD 06 OG 16-010 (HPA 15-536)
1241 30th Street, NW Residence
Permit Replacement roof

25. SMD 06 OG 15-260 (HPA 15-471) 2905 N Street, NW Residence Concept
New parking pad, alterations, site work

26. SMD 06 OG 16-018 (HPA 15-471) 2905 N Street, NW Residence Concept
New parking pad, alterations, site work

27. SMD 06 OG 15-343 (HPA 15-620) 3015 P Street, NW Residence Concept
Rear addition and dormer

28. SMD 06 OG 16-031 (HPA 16-039) 3043 P Street, NW Residence Permit
Parking pad

29. SMD 06 OG 16-019 (HPA 15-616) 3045 P Street, NW Residence Concept
Replacement windows, garage door, shutters – Existing alterations without review

30. SMD 06 OG 15-269 (HPA 15-486) 2815 Dumbarton Street, NW Residence Concept
Alterations, replacement roof, site work

31. SMD 06 OG 16-030 (HPA 15-481) 2712 Poplar Street, NW Residence Permit
Replacement fence – Existing alteration without review

32. SMD 07 OG 15-346 (HPA 15-103) 1502 27th Street, NW Residence Concept
Front porch, site alterations

33. SMD 07 OG 15-344 (HPA 15-320) 1617 29th Street, NW Residence Concept
Fences

34. SMD 07 OG 16-027 (HPA 15-189) 1609 31st Street, NW Residence Concept
Alteration, addition, site work

35. SMD 07 OG 15-307 (HPA 15-556) 3058 R Street, NW Residence Concept
Side addition, alterations

36. SMD 07 OG 16-028 (HPA 15-193) 3252 S Street, NW Residence Permit
Site alterations

37. SMD 07 OG 15-321(HPA 15-596) 3001 Dent Place, NW Residence Permit
Rebuild retaining wall and fence on public space

38. SMD 08 OG 15-330 (HPA 15-606) 1221 36th Street, NW Institution Concept
Addition/alterations – de la Cruz Gallery of Art

39. SMD 08 OG 16-005 (HPA 15-458) 3700 O Street, NW Georgetown University Concept
Guard booth 2nd-10/26/15

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

Business Ins and Outs
•

IN: SoulCycle Opens

SoulCycle, “the country’s full-body indoor cycle workout,” as the company describes itself, has continued its Washington, D.C., expansion. It opened Oct. 30 at 1042 Wisconsin Ave. NW near Grace Street, with a lively reception as well as some very committed fans and star instructors. The 3,500-square-foot studio holds 55 bikes along with a clothing shop and locker rooms; classes begin at $34.

IN: Glover Park Hardware Ready to Re-open

Glover Park Hardware owners Gina Schaefer and Marc Friedman report that the store will reopen at its new 7,500-square-foot location at 2233 Wisconsin Ave. NW in a matter of days. The store is in the lower front level, next to the bar, Breadsoda. After losing its lease after 10 years, the business left its old location Jan. 15 at 2251 Wisconsin Ave. NW, which will house a Rite Aid.

OUT: Georgetown Holiday Inn to Close

According to the Glover Park Citizens’ Association, the Georgetown Holiday Inn at 2101 Wisconsin Ave. NW (at Whitehaven Street) will close by the end of November. The property has been sold. Bisnow reported last year that the Holiday Inn was on the market for mixed-use development with a grocery store in the rebuild.

OUT: EagleBank to Leave Georgetown

As of Jan. 29, 2016, the Georgetown branch of EagleBank at 1044 Wisconsin Ave. NW will close permanently, according to Joseph Clarke, senior vice president and chief deposit sales officer of the bank. Accounts assigned to the Georgetown branch will be transferred to 2001 K St. NW, about 12 blocks to the east in downtown. Contact branch service manager Philomina Gomes at 202-481-7012 or by email at PGomes@EagleBankCorp.com.

IN: Georgetown Olive Oil Co.

Now, this is special: the Georgetown Olive Oil Company, “a specialty retail store for extra virgin olive oils and aged balsamic vinegars,” as it calls itself, opened Nov. 2 at 1524 Wisconsin Ave. NW, next to the George Town Club.

The store reports that it “is set up as a tasting gallery and will offer over 65 different flavors of extra virgin olive oils and aged balsamic vinegars, gourmet salts and spice blends, pastas, accessories, handmade pottery, paintings and more.”

“We pride ourselves in having the freshest and most flavorful extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) available,” said company owner Hristina Goleva.
“Georgetown Olive Oil Company’s selection includes traditional varietals, flavor fused and infused olive oils, and specialty oils along with white and dark balsamic vinegars,” the company reported. “The retail store offers its olive oils and balsamic vinegars in decorative UV protected dark glass 200ml and 375ml bottles.”

The company will carry olive oil from Chile, Australia, Argentina, New Zealand, California, Cypress, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Mexico, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Syria and Tunisia.

Woodley Park House, Site of Quadruple Slayings, For Sale

The house in which three members of the Savopoulos family and the housekeeper were discovered slain in May is now up for sale for $3.25 million. The 10,800-square-foot house on the 3200 block of Woodland Drive NW has five bedrooms and seven bathrooms.

Daron Wint, 34, was charged with first-degree murder of businessman Savvas Savopoulos, 46, his wife Amy, 47, their son Phillip, 10, and housekeeper Veralicia Figueroa. Two daughters, Abigail, 19, and Katerina, 17, were away at boarding school at the time of killings. Wint and possibly accomplices are alleged to have held the group captive overnight while waiting for a $40,000 ransom to be delivered. He once worked for American Iron Works, one of Savopoulos’s businesses. Wint’s DNA was found on pizza crust in the home.

IN: Turkish Bakery Coming to Wisconsin & M

Simit & Smith, a Turkish bakery cafe with locations in New York and New Jersey, plans to open its first D.C. location at 1077 Wisconsin Ave. NW (near the intersection of Wisconsin & M), as first reported in the Washington Business Journal. A simit is — more or less — a Turkish bagel, a traditional bread eaten throughout the Balkans and the Mediterranean. The company’s website indicated that the shop plans to open this month, but it looks like that date may get pushed into next year.

Honoring Veterans’ Service, All Year Long
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We can’t blame you, all of you, in the thousands, who showed up for the big Concert for Valor on the National Mall last year, what with the presence of Bruce Springsteen, Rihanna, the Black Keys, Carrie Underwood, Dave Grohl, Tom Hanks, Will Smith and Oprah Winfrey.

But throughout the year, not only on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, Washington is a place where the idea of valor, service and sacrifice is honored all over the city, especially on the Mall, among the memorials and on the green spaces and miles of crosses at Arlington National Cemetery.

The cemetery seems at once simple and profound: the vast expanse of sky, the row upon row of markers, the names, the flags and flowers here and there and the annual ceremonies surrounding the wreath laying. It is hallowed ground for the men and women who have throughout history gone to places in the world where they’d never imagined they’d be, served and often died there. It is a place that speaks to a part of our history and to progress amid what often seems like perpetual conflict.

In Washington, you can bear witness to service at places that bear witness to the far-flung struggles in which we’ve engaged as a nation, to the leaders that led us through two major and tragic wars, to the different ways members of the military serve and often suffer.

The latest such memorial is the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial near the Botanic Garden, where a star-shaped fountain and an always-lit ceremonial flame pay tribute to disabled veterans.

On Pennsylvania Avenue, the Navy Memorial speaks to all the ships at sea, to the sailors (and aviators) that keep them afloat throughout the world in times of peace and war. The Iwo Jima Memorial, actually the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial, is here and, farther off, the striking sculpture for the Air Force Memorial.

But it’s at a spacious corner of the Mall itself where our wars, our soldiers and our veterans are honored by proximity. Here is the Lincoln Memorial, presided over by Abraham Lincoln, who presided over our bloodiest conflict. And it’s his presence that speaks most honorably to the conflicts of America, the Civil War and all the others. Not far off are the shiny, dark walls of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, with the 50,000 names carved on it, to remember the cost of that war. Across the reflecting pool is the Korean War Veterans Memorial, with its company of weary, heavily armed infantry trudging up a hill. Not far off is the Roosevelt Memorial to the man who presided over our critical participation in World War II.

The National World War II Memorial, a more recent addition, shines a light on the depth and breadth of that effort, where you can still see an ever-dwindling number of veterans from that war, brought there once again to still remember.

In that corner of the Mall, the cost of maintaining this democracy, always and forever, becomes vividly real.