Town Topics

Caitlin White •

The end of July is a busy month for possible openings and closings in Georgetown. Check out this list of retail changes in the area.

Tenative Store Openings:

Calvin Klein Underwear
Georgetown may see a store dedicated entirely to men’s underwear move into the building which used to inhabit The Body Shop at 3207 M St., according to the Georgetown Metropolitan. Only one other Calvin Klein Underwear store exists in the U.S., but there are over a dozen in Hong Kong.

CB2
The store is a more modish and younger version of the parent store Crate and Barrel, leaning toward more modern furniture. CB2 is still negotiating its move into Georgetown with EastBanc. If the store gets the go-ahead, it will occupy a space at 3307 M St., next door to the temporary Georgetown public library, and could open as early as 2011.

Allsaints
British clothier Allsaints may replace Club Monaco, 3253 M Street, according to the City Paper’s Lydia DePillis. Allsaints currently has no stores in D.C. but is already in Boston, New York, Miami, Chicago, San Francisco, L.A. and Santa Monica.

Store Closings:

Georgetown Belle Pet Boutique
A local pet store is closing its doors just a few months after its opening on P Street. Todd Walderman purchased the pet store, which was originally on O Street, in 2009 and renamed it the Georgetown Belle Pet Boutique. The store offered anything related to pets and even had pet salon services.

Garrett Faulkner •

Try this sometime: hang around some Georgetown locals for a while, and you’ll notice the word “village” gets tossed about quite a bit.

In everyday usage, it’s probably not a throwback to a time when Georgetown was a village in the literal sense, and it’s certainly not a offhand suggestion that Washington’s most famous district is dusty or parochial. And it’s not just an earthier, more lustrous synonym for dry buzzwords like “community” or “neighborhood,” though that’s a little closer to the truth.

The “village,” in this sense, is about the people who make it tick, the movable parts, the folks who greet each other on the street by name and raise their children together and meet every month in churches and schools to determine their common destiny as neighbors and friends.

The Georgetown Village, as in capital-V Village, owes much to that school of thought, while bringing something quite unprecedented to the table. Conceived largely by Georgetowner Sharon Lockwood and based on a similar concept in affluent neighborhoods such as Boston’s Beacon Hill and, in the District, Capitol Hill, the Village would form a kind of local volunteer cooperative to keep an eye on its aging citizens — helping seniors change a light bulb, drive to a doctor’s appointment or simply keep them company, all while allowing them to “age in place” at home rather than a nursing facility. While less expensive than traditional assisted living programs, beneficiaries will still be required to pay an annual membership fee to cover the non-profit’s operating costs.

An informal meeting of Georgetown residents — who, the Village leadership hopes, will be among the project’s first brigade of volunteers — was held on July 21 at the N Street home of Angie Leith. Sharon Lockwood, a retired World Bank employee who is now carrying the torch for the concept in Georgetown, conceded that at present, though the Village has pulled together advisory and officer boards, the project is little more than a gleam in the eyes of a few handpicked committee members, including Lockwood herself, who will spearhead the fundraising effort. The project is still zeroing in on a final membership fee, and volunteers still will require recruiting and training. Even securing office space is still on the to-do list.

But, as Lockwood and her committee chairs pointed out, the tasks that still need doing haven’t hindered their progress so far. The project is already finalizing its 501(c)3 non-profit tax status, and has been given a green light to begin accepting donations (Lockwood has wasted no time here, already having corralled $25,000 since the first meeting in March). While Georgetown will be the top priority, the project will also cover Burleith, and possibly Glover Park. The organization’s Web site, though still in its infancy, is now online. The Village has also come up with a logo and a catchy slogan: “Neighbors helping neighbors.”

The central focus of the meeting was a presentation by Capitol Heights residents Mike and Judy Canning, who founded a village project in 2007 spanning four square miles between the Capitol and H Street. The Cannings, who have mentored Lockwood extensively on the Georgetown project, described an uphill but successful battle to kickstart the concept in Capitol Hill, which managed to raise $160,000 from neighbors alone by launch day. Even more challenging than fundraising was recruiting dedicated, effective volunteers to perform house calls and services, which now number as many as 200 per month. Keeping volunteers enthusiastic, Judy Canning said, means preserving the village theme, the camaraderie that, when cultivated, blossoms even between strangers.

“Keep it personal,” she reminded the Georgetown gathering. “You may find out there’s a person around the corner who you’ve never met who’s willing to take you to a doctor’s appointment.”

That idea might sound crazy in a big city, but it’s getting noticed. The day after the meeting, the Washington Examiner, which did not attend the meeting but had spoken earlier with Lockwood, ran a short write-up about what’s next for the non-profit. Even Georgetown University, often at loggerheads with neighbors over town and gown spats, has expressed interest in the project. The University’s community relations execs, Linda Greenan and Brenda Atkinson-Willoughby, pledged support for the idea at the meeting and offered to brainstorm closely with the Village leadership.

In order to launch in early 2011 as planned, the Village hopes to recruit enough volunteers in the fall to begin providing tangible assistance to residents. The project will also need to secure $200,000 in donations by the end of the year.

The next recruitment and planning meeting will be held Wednesday, Aug. 25 at the home of Rose-Marie Catonio, 3139 N St., 6 to 7:30 p.m. Twenty-three neighborhood homes have volunteered to host informational meetings this fall before the project takes off.

Garrett Faulkner •

The Georgetown Library, ravaged by fire in 2007, is one step closer to its long-awaited capstone ceremony.

In a way, though, the capstone has already been laid in. The rebuilt cupola, the familiar tube-shaped dome crowning the library and a widespread collection of other federal and colonial buildings in the city, received its finishing touches last week, perhaps the surest sign that the library is on track for its reopening this October. The tower is nearly identical to the original structure, save for some slight modifications to the copper roof and other nominal changes.

“I’m thrilled beyond belief that the cupola has been recreated,” said Jerry McCoy, special collections librarian for the library’s Peabody Room, which houses historical documents and artifacts and sustained considerable damage during the fire. “It’s beautiful to behold.”

There was a little less pomp this time around, and certainly no formal celebration, unlike the cupola framework raising in January, which turned out dozens of Georgetowners, Mayor Fenty, Councilmember Jack Evans and the bulk of ANC 2E. But that was just the skeleton of the library’s most recognizable symbol, and though the crowd signed the cold piping in marker and waved their hard hats when it was finally plunked into position, there was still a feeling that the end was a long way off. The neighborhood needed a little extra levity.

Now, the end is in sight. The newly renovated library will feature an expanded children’s library and ample community meeting space downstairs. The Peabody Room will also be revamped, and McCoy will contribute its first new artifact: the burnt, twisted weathervane from the original cupola.

“[It] was bent by the 2000-degree heat,” he said. “It’s in two pieces and I plan to install it on the wall some place in the new Peabody room. It’s pretty dramatic looking.”

Garrett Faulkner •

Wisconsin Avenue restaurant and nightclub Third Edition was shut down temporarily for a liquor license infraction from Aug. 8 to 10 after a meticulous six-month investigation by the city. At press time, the doors were shuttered and chairs stowed with ABRA notification placards posted in the windows.

According to ABRA community resource officer Cynthia Simms, the popular restaurant, which draws substantial crowds to its upstairs dance floor in the evenings, received the three-day suspension following multiple violations of its security plan and voluntary agreement after a felony assault occurred on the property in February. The owners were also ordered to pay a fine of $1750.

Representatives from Capital Restaurant Concepts, the owner of Third Edition, did not return phone calls for comment.

Garrett Faulkner •

So long, Blue Bus — we hardly knew thee.

Actually, many of us knew it well, especially those with a penchant for riding Metro and who are so over the walk to Foggy Bottom. In that case, it’s a safe bet you’re pretty familiar with the slot-machine jingle of coins in the fare box and the bumpy, trundling ride of what sometimes seemed like a giant Advil mounted on axles. Whatever your thoughts on its aesthetics, though, you just couldn’t beat the shortcuts by which is swiftly ferried passengers to Rosslyn or Dupont stations.

But, lest anyone start to panic, let’s be clear: this is no eulogy. The Blue Bus, officially known as the Georgetown Metro Connection, is here to stay — it’s just enjoying a slight makeover. Beginning Aug. 29, the popular D.C. Circulator will take over the route, offering greater capacity, support for SmarTrip cards and, well, the little buttons that let passengers open the back doors (you have to admit, they’re pretty cool).

The biggest change, though, is behind the scenes: with the switchover the Georgetown BID, which has tenaciously funded the Blue Bus program since 2001 despite citywide slashes to transportation budgets, will relinquish control of the route to DDOT.

“The Georgetown BID is glad to see that bus service will continue to flow seamlessly through Georgetown between Dupont Circle and Rosslyn, via the new Circulator line,” said John Wiebenson, Deputy Executive Director of Operations for the BID. “The [Blue Bus] has served the community well over the past nine years and we’re happy that commuters and visitors alike will benefit from the integration of the Circulator into this bus line.”

It’s a transition that will, no doubt, be a load off for the BID, but carries with it the risk that the service could later be scrapped entirely if the transit agency deems it too much of a cash drain. Circulator’s route up Wisconsin Avenue, in fact, was given the chop last year before an explosive public outcry forced DDOT to backpedal and reinstate it.

The city is unlikely to try such a bold reduction in spending for a while, at least within the borders of Georgetown. For now, residents can cash in their quarters for SmarTrip credits and ride to their heart’s content. The new Circulator will make stops every 10 minutes at the Rosslyn Metro station, the intersections of M Street and 33rd, Wisconsin and 31st, and several others leading up to Dupont Circle. For the full list, visit www.dccirculator.com.

Garrett Faulkner •

ANC 2E’s September meetings typically aren’t any more cantankerous or combustible than the other 10 neighborhood huddles it puts on a year (though it has happened), nor do the issues typically spark any greater controversy among neighbors (the Hurt Home and Campus Plan wrangles of this spring probably win that category). The September gathering’s notoriety — at least among Georgetown’s political set — is born of the sheer length of the darn thing, something akin to a constitutional convention colored by troublesome pizza parlors and bike communes and such.

All right, all right — it’s not that bad. (But hey, after a two-month pileup of to-dos and a three-hour slog through it, a little levity’s always in order.) To be honest, there was nothing truly fearsome staring down the ANC at the Aug. 30 meeting, not even, if 2008 was any indicator, the commissioners’ own upcoming elections. Still, though, that’s three hours of material to get through — whew, what a hike.

MPD Lieutenant John Hedgecock was happy to report that crime in Georgetown took a slight dip since his last report in July, which he attributed partly to the arrest of three individuals that month, one of whom was armed. Hedgecock was more tight-lipped about a sexual assault that occurred on Aug. 29 in Burleith, skimping on most of the details but saying that patrol routes have been modified to provide more thorough coverage of the area.

The big ticket item of the evening was bikes, or more accurately, where to find space for the brand-new clutch of the two-wheeled contraptions coming Georgetown’s way. The commission invited DDOT’s Chris Holbin to deliver the pitch for the four Capital Bikeshare stations planned for the neighborhood, which will serve as pick-up and drop-off points for subscribers to the program, one of the first of its kind nationwide.
Bike sharing goes like this: you offer subscribers, who pay an annual fee, access to a bicycle at dozens of locations across the District. Riders check out a bike for 30-minute increments (longer rentals cost extra), then return it to any drop-off station when their time is up. Take that, gas prices.

Commissioners gave their blessing to most of the locations proposed, with one exception. Holbin explained that the University’s bikeshare station, originally intended for the sidewalk outside the 37th Street gate before DDOT deemed it too tight on space, is now planned for a section of Prospect Street above Car Barn, near 1789 restaurant. Six of seven commissioners immediately hedged, citing the potential for noise complaints, and urged DDOT to find a new site, preferably on University turf.

Also on the docket was the glut of liquor license proposals (eight in all), none of which ruffled many feathers among commissioners. Ever since ABRA granted seven additional licenses earlier this summer to Georgetown — a wide swath of which is under a moratorium, or cap on permits — the neighborhood has seen a dramatic rise in applications for licenses, which, given the restriction, had become such a rare commodity that the average price tag of an existing license soared into the tens of thousands. When ABRA issued the handful of new licenses at the request of ANC, fledgling eateries answered the call in droves. On the night of the meeting, the commission gave a green light to Paul Bakery (opening this fall), Come to Eat (a tenant that’s actually moving into the Georgetown Park Mall) and Hu’s Wear, the popular local clothier who will set up a yet-unnamed Mediterranean establishment at what is now Bartleby’s bookstore on 29th Street. Another Mediterranean eatery, M Street’s Morso, was denied a request to install patio seating on its front sidewalk.

Concerning zoning, the design concept for Serendipity 3, the New York ice cream icon and the latest store to create a sensation in Georgetown, earned an enthusiastic thumbs up from the ANC, which voted unanimously (with one recusal) in favor of the exterior awnings proposed by owner Britt Swann. The language of the committee’s written resolution, however, was a little less sanguine — drafted by 2E06 Tom Birch, the document urged the Old Georgetown Board to closely scrutinize the window awnings for any detriment to the neighborhood historic fabric. The OGB, a federally appointed panel of architects with authority over all building proposals in Georgetown, requested slight alterations to the window awning design, which will set the construction process back for at least another month until the next review meeting. Looks like that frozen hot chocolate will have to stay on ice a little while longer. Though Swann and his wife are staying mum about a firm opening date, rumors of an early to mid-fall opening persist — political hang-ups notwithstanding.

And, in the midst of the breathless race for the District’s mayoral seat, the ANC 2E itself will also be up for election this year — or reelection, as it seems to be turning out. With the exception of 2E04 Aaron Golds, who will graduate from Georgetown this coming spring, and 2E03 Bill Skelsey, who confirmed to The Georgetowner that he will not seek reelection, none of the incumbent commissioners are facing stiff competition, if any.

Skelsey, who has served on the commission since 2003, called his tenure a “fantastic experience,” but said balancing work, family life and his community involvement has proved an ever-growing challenge. Though he’ll be taking a breather over the next two-year term, Skelsey hinted he may run again in the future.

He also had a few nice things to say about P Street resident Jeffrey Jones, who will run against Michael Savage of O Street, calling Jones a “terrific candidate.”

Coming up in Georgetown:
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September 10
The Georgetowner Mayoral Forum
Don’t forget The Georgetowner’s mayoral forum at Tony and Joe’s, hosted by Carol Joynt and featuring the big three — incumbent Mayor Adrian Fenty, Vincent Gray and Leo Alexander — vying for the District’s executive branch and answering questions by you, the general public. 12 p.m. Free admission, $10 box lunch courtesy of Tony and Joe’s. RSVP at rsvp@georgetowner.com.

October 9
Fashion’s Night Out in Georgetown
Be there or be square—yes, we’re serious—at the Georgetown BID-sponsored “Fashion’s Night Out” event, originally conceived by Vogue magazine to widespread acclaim in New York City. Over 80 Georgetown shops and boutiques will stay open after hours, offering up tantalizing deals for fashionistas of all stripes. 6-11 p.m. See page 28 for a list of participating shops.

September 20
CAG meeting, featuring Kitty Kelley
The famed Georgetown author will discuss her wildly popular — and controversial — novel “Oprah” at the Latham Hotel, 3300 M St., 7 p.m.

October 9
Taste of Georgetown, Wisconsin and M
Another event popular with locals, the BID is now an old hand at Taste, bringing in over 30 Georgetown restaurants to dazzle visitors with chef specials hot and cold, sweet and savory. Perfect for a fall afternoon. 11 a.m. $20.