Town Topics

Georgetowner • June 18, 2013

February 28 at 6:30pm, ANC 2E will hold a Committee of the Whole meeting to consider a recommendation to the full commission regarding the Georgetown University proposed 2010-2020 campus plan, followed by a meeting of the Commission.

6:30pm
Georgetown Visitation School
35th and Volta Place
Heritage Room, first building on the left by the gatehouse, 2nd floor.

Robert Devaney •

Georgetown’s advisory neighborhood commission (ANC2E) approved, six to one, a resolution that opposes Georgetown University’s 2010-2020 campus plan and adds 15 recommendations of its own at a Feb. 28 meeting. The resolution, which has no legal binding but does have influence, has been sent to DC’s Board of Zoning Adjustment, which has the power to amend the university’s plans. The ANC’s resolution underscores the sour state of Georgetown’s town-gown relationship. “The context for examining the current proposed campus plan begins with G.U.’s severe adverse community impacts over the past 10 years,” the ANC wrote. “In a nutshell, G.U. has conducted itself so that what was supposed to happen over the past 10 years – a steep reduction in undergraduates living off-campus and in adverse community impacts – demonstrably did not happen. In fact, the situation that was considered objectionable by the BZA 10 years ago has become worse.” The commission went on to state: “G.U.’s conduct-enforcement measures are loophole-strewn, sporadic and demonstrably inadequate. Inexplicably, G.U.’s own conduct rules are considerably more lax for students living in off-campus housing than they are for students living on-campus, a disparity that only encourages the disruptive off-campus situation we are experiencing. While G.U. touts its ‘new’ enhanced enforcement, the fact is that all of the measures it cites except one (the off-campus ‘contract’) are already in place – and they do not work.” Many of the recommendations hit upon students’ presence in the neighborhood, whether living off-campus, boisterously returning to the campus from the M Street bars, or taking up parking spaces on residential streets during the day. A cap on enrollment and off-campus housing was advocated, as was satellite parking; and any additional land purchases in zip code 20007 would have to be approved by the community. Shuttle buses are also recommended so that students do not walk through neighborhood streets in the wee hours, disturbing the peace. Top neighborhood leaders spoke at the meeting. Jennifer Altemus, president of the Citizens Association of Georgetown, said, “We cannot continue to live like this. The viability of Georgetown and Burleith as residential communities is being threatened.” Lenore Rubino, president of the Burleith Citizens Association, added, “G.U. has behaved like a stealthy corporate Goliath.” Linda Greenan, the university’s associate vice president for external relations, defending the proposals as a “very modest plan,” said, “We are disappointed that after two years we couldn’t come to an agreement with the community.” She then added that the university would not put a cap on its students living off-campus: “Our students have a right to live in the community.” A student newspaper, The Hoya, ran an editorial on the resolution, headlined “ANC Proposals Beyond Reason.” ANC3D – Foxhall Road and MacArthur Boulevard and northward from the campus – also voted against the plan at its March 2 meeting. The Foxhall Community Citizens Association will meet March 16 at Hardy Recreation Center to discuss the plan. BZA hearings are set for April 14, May 12 and May 16.
Visit ANC2E.com to download the PDF to read the full resolution.

Robert Devaney •

Work has begun on a project many public leaders and residents thought would never happen in their lifetime. The long-desired makeover of the 19th-century tracks for O and P Streets began Feb. 28 at 36th and P, as the District Department of Transportation waved the green flag to the Temple Group project manager. The construction – road rehabilitation, track restoration and water main replacement – includes 37th Street between O and P and runs to Wisconsin Avenue; parts of 36th, 35th, 34th and 33rd Streets are also on the list. Completion is expected in late 2012 and at a cost of more than $12 million. “Over many years, O and P Streets have greatly deteriorated due to vehicular traffic and sinkholes from damaged water mains,” said Mayor Vincent Gray at a Feb. 24 groundbreaking. “Today marks the exciting start of our work to ensure public safety and repair the structural integrity of these roadways, all while preserving this neighborhood’s indelible character and history.” The tracks on O and P Streets are the last visible evidence of the District’s citywide streetcar system, which operated until 1962, according to the Mayor’s office. They are set on 350-pound cast iron yokes beneath the center of the roadway, and besides a small section of conduit system streetcar track in London, the streetcar tracks on O and P Streets are believed to be the only surviving examples of this type of track system. DDOT will remove the streetcar wheel rails and slot rails and other historic elements including the granite street pavers, blue stone curbs and sidewalk brick and then reinstall them on O and P Streets. Archaeological monitoring will take place during all construction activities to ensure the historic resources are handled properly. The rehabilitation will include many other enhancements, from streetlight and drainage improvements to the installation of crosswalks, curb ramps, tree boxes and tree rails. Additionally, the effort will reinstall old police call and fire alarm boxes, while also planting new trees. Ed Solomon and Jeff Jones of the ANC will serve as neighborhood contacts.
Visit DDOT’s FixingOAndPStreets.com for details and updates.

Robert Devaney •

No late night shots for DC’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. It has put Prospect Street’s 20-something party spot, George, on its March 23 list of meetings, according to the Glover Park Gazette, to answer charges that it violated its voluntary agreement. Specific charges cite a March 2010 fight at George. During a Feb. 9 ABC board hearing, the bar petitioned to drop its voluntary agreement – which limits capacity to 99 and restricts noise – to make end’s meat. George, situated where Georgetown Billiards once was, is on the inside ground level of Georgetown Court, the complex which includes condos, offices, Cafe Milano, Peacock Cafe, Neyla and Morton’s. At the recent hearing, co-owner Ki Jun Sung defended George’s kitchen, which consists of a microwave (special events provide their own catered food) and its private list-only parties on the weekends which are announced in e-mails to thousands who can get on the list. Other George co-owners Hunter Campbell and Reed Landry have also bought into Glover Park’s Gin & Tonic with its co-founder Fritz Brogan. Predicting more bad behavior on the sidewalks and noise around the complex, the Georgetown ANC and Citizens Association have stated their opposition to George’s request to break its voluntary agreement.

Robert Devaney •

Drunk driving contributed to a hit-and-run death on the Key Bridge, Feb. 27, as well as a second incident where a Metropolitan Police Department officer from the Second District, putting down road flares, was hit shortly thereafter. The officer landed on the car’s windshield, injuring his head, according to the MPD (The second driver stayed on the scene and was charged with DUI). Eliester Elizardo Pineda-Medrano was found unconscious in the Virginia-bound lanes of the bridge shortly before 10:30 p.m., police said. He was pushing his scooter, which had broken down in the right lane. The alleged hit-and-run driver was arrested in Maryland. Pineda, who worked at Martin’s Tavern and Tony & Joe’s, was the father of a two-year-old. Martin’s Tavern has set up a memorial fund for Pineda to return his body to Guatemala. The police officer is recovering and expected to be okay, the MPD said.

Robert Devaney •

Another weird crime on Prospect Street: According to Georgetown University’s Department of Public Safety, a student reported that at 12:45 a.m., March 1, he was walking from Loyola Dormitory toward Prospect Street when one of four Hispanic males in a black sedan flashed a badge, demanded that the student empty his pockets, and announced that he was under arrest. Realizing that the four suspects were not police, the student pulled out his cell phone and called the MPD. The four suspects then sped away in the sedan. D.C. police searched the area but did not locate the suspects.

DPS can be reached at 202-687-4343.

Lisa Gillespie •

Celebrate Halloween With Some Culture

Day of the Dead / Los Días de los Muertos, a Mexican custom honoring and remembering those who have died, begins on midnight on Oct. 31, the night of Halloween. At the National Museum of the American Indian from Oct. 29 to Nov. 1, they will hold a festival that includes live entertainment and hands-on craft activities including demonstrations of traditional papel picado (“cut paper work”), Sugar Skulls, Ofrenda (“Altar” or “offering”) featuring Guatemalan kites, paper sculpture and paper mache. Across the river at the Torpedo Factor in Alexandria on Oct. 29 from 8 to 11 p.m., there will be a costume dance party including music, dancing, a costume contest, miniature altar project and bubble gum painting.

Running For Office May Have Gotten Easier

There are hundreds of empty seats on D.C. city commissions. Nearly one in every seven of the city’s boards and commissions that help run the District’s business sits empty more than nine months into the new mayoral administration as few resources have been funneled to the massive effort, according to the Washington Examiner.

Just one full-time employee staffs the city’s Office of Boards and Commissions, which is responsible for finding and vetting the mayor’s nominations to the city’s more than 150 boards and commissions.
“I walked into an administration where the previous administration had left a large number of board seats unfilled,” Ron Collins, the office’s director, told the Examiner.

Some boards, essential to conducting the business of serving city residents, remain empty. Most recently, the council extended the Oct. 1 deadline to form the new Real Property Tax Appeals Commission, which hears and makes decisions on taxpayer appeals. Members of the former appeals board were granted a service extension.

The new board was pushed for last year by then-Mayor-elect Vincent Gray, who has created full-time and part-time salaried positions to professionalize the board. However, the new requirements also make it harder to fill seats on the board.

For example, commissioners must be licensed appraisers. But, according to the Appraisal Institute’s database, there are only 130 MAI-certified appraisers in the D.C. area.

There’s No Where to Hide

Adverse to parking tickets? Then you better watch out: the District Department of Public Works is now taking photographs of some parking infractions that led to tickets. It’s called evidence. The agency is using TicPix, a tool that allows drivers to see images of an alleged violation online 72 hours after a ticket is issued, and up to 90 days afterward. TicPix could help reduce and resolve disputes over parking tickets, of which DPW wrote 1.5 million in fiscal 2010. Images will not be posted for more than a dozen violations, including overtime at a meter, snow regulation and excessive idling.

Celebrate LGBTQ Community With ARace

The DC Drag Queen Race is one of the Washington, D.C. area’s more unique Halloween events. Each year on the Tuesday before Halloween, thousands of spectators flock to Dupont Circle to watch costumed drag queens show off their elaborate outfits and race down 17th Street. The informal block party lasts a few hours and attracts a diverse crowd. Join the crowd on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 6 p.m., on 17th Street between P and S Streets, N.W.

Any Animal Lovers Out There? This Show Is For You.

The Washington International Horse Show is a championship event with approximately 600 horses and riders competing for more than $400,000 in prize money and championship titles. Highlights of the event include adrenaline-fueled show jumpers, dancing dressage horses, classic equitation, picture-perfect hunters and action-packed barrel races and humorous terrier races. This year, the opening night trainers party will be held at Zaytinya on Tuesday evening and on Wednesday evening, there will be a welcome party at Oyamel Cocina Mexicana. The show lasts from Oct. 25 through 30 at the Verizon Center and generally go from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. with tickets ranging from $15 to $70. VIP seats include premium arena-level seating and a complimentary WIHS program book. Visit Wihs.org for more information.

No More Worries About Being Mugged While Adding Money

Adding money to your SmarTrip card just got easier. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority now allows customers to reload their SmarTrip cards via the Internet. All you need is a registered SmarTrip card and a SmarTrip account on Metro’s website — Smartrip.wmata.com. The system accepts all major credit cards, and transactions are completed once you touch your card to a Metrorail fare gate, vending machine or bus fare box. You must, however, allow up to one business day for the money to be transferred when using the fare gate or vending machine, and up to three business days at the bus fare box. Well, two out of three ain’t bad: you can avoid using cash and standing in line. Have questions? Call 888-762-7874 for more information.

Run, Run, Run!

The Marine Corps Marathon, the annual race known as the “The People’s Marathon” brings together runners from all walks of life to participate in a patriotic race and a day of family-friendly activities on Oct. 30 at 7:50 a.m. The traditional Marine Corps Marathon course is 26.2 miles and a 10K race also allows runners of all ages to join in a shorter 6.2-mile event. The race field is limited to 30,000 participants and is expected to fill up quickly. An $88 registration fee includes all race materials, bib, mock neck participant shirt, goodie bag, a three month subscription to Runners World, courtesy of Saturn and single use souvenir commemorative chip. Runners will also receive a free subscription to the online virtual trainer, designed by Olympian Jeff Galloway. Participants will opt-in for daily or weekly emails featuring training tips to achieve a variety of finish time goals, plus health, fitness and nutrition messages. The weekend includes additional events including a Health and Fitness Expo, the Healthy Kids Fun Run, Crystal Run (a festival in Crystal City) and the Marine Corps Marathon Finish Festival.

Readers Can Still Get Books for Free on Sunday

Forget about Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial Library (901 G St., N.W.) being shuttered on Sundays because of fiscal 2012 budgetary concerns. In the 11th hour, the city announced that funding will be available to keep the library open seven days a week, as it has continuously operated since 1972, the year it opened. Sunday hours are 1 to 5 p.m. For more about the library, visit DClibrary.org.
Bustling Downtown Adds More Bustle

A lot is coming to downtown retail. Opening this month: Anthropologie (950 F St.), the women’s apparel and accessory chain; Le Pain Quotidien (975 F St.), the casual French eatery and Corner Bakery Café (777 6th S.), offering hearth-baked breads, sandwiches, salads, soups and home-style sweets. By year’s end Leica Camera will join Le Pain Quotidien in the Carroll Square building and Seaton Benkowski & Partners. Both retailers have signed 10-year leases, filling the last available retail bays in the building, now 100 percent leased. Leica’s boutique — the company’s first stand-alone store in the country — will include a product showroom, image gallery, and a studio.

Jimmy John’s to Open This Fall Downtown

Jimmy John’s (1101 14th St.), the sub franchise, will open this fall, as will The Federalist (1177 15th St.), which will be located in the Madison Hotel and serving up dishes inspired by 18th century American food lovers. In addition, Caldo (300 Massachusetts Ave.), an Italian restaurant, plans to open in the Mass Court apartment building. No word yet on a date. Already up and running: Hard Times Café, the award-winning chili and wings eatery that opened as a concession stand in the Verizon Center (601 F St.) last month.