front page - search - community

WARD REPORTS
(Published March 7, 2005)

WARD 1

GETTING ORGANIZED: The North Columbia Heights Neighborhood Association is seeking block captains and assistants for every block within its boundaries to begin a new Neighborhood Watch anti-crime program. Residents of the area also are being invited to subscribe to an online message-posting service for the neighborhood at http://lists.columbiaheights.com/listinfo/neighborhood-watch.

Persons interested in signing up to be block captains are asked to e-mail Larry Ray at dclarry@aol.com. More information about the neighborhood association's efforts also is available online at http://northcolumbiaheights.org.

CLUB U UPDATE: The D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Board voted unanimously March 4 to take the next step toward permanently revoking the license of Club U, a nightclub housed inside the D.C. government's Reeves Center. The board scheduled a hearing for 10 a.m. on April 13 at which the owners of the troubled club, located on the first floor at 2000 14th St. NW, may present arguments against the loss of the nightclub's license to sell alcoholic beverages.

Club U's license has been suspended since Feb. 14, the day after a 31-year-old club patron was found stabbed to death in the first-floor hallway of Reeves Center, outside the club. During three days of hearings over the suspension, lawyers representing owner Levelle Inc. argued that the club is not responsible for a series of violent crimes that have occurred near the nightspot and which police officials have attributed to an environment created by the go-go club.

Police Chief Charles Ramsey and Ward 1 Councilman Jim Graham have been urging city officials to close Club U and have contended that a nightclub is an inappropriate business to be housed in a government building.

DEVELOPER SELECTED: The last major publicly owned parcel of undeveloped land in Columbia Heights has been awarded to a development team that plans to build an $18.4 million residential/retail project on the northwest corner of 14th Street and Florida Avenue NW. The Board of Directors of the RLA Revitalization Corp., a subsidiary of the quasi-public National Capital Revitalization Corp. which manages a portfolio of public land in the District, voted Feb. 23 to begin negotiating a land disposition agreement for Parcel 34 with the "Gateway 34" development team. The team includes Jair Lynch Companies, Manna Inc., Gilford Corp. and Sorg & Associates.

The planned project includes 48 residential condominiums, including nine "live-work" units intended for artists. Thirty percent of the housing units will be aimed at households with incomes ranging from 30 percent of the area median income (AMI) -- about $26,000 for a family of four -- to 120 percent of AMI. The proposed 4,800 square feet of retail space will include two retailers currently located on U Street NW -- Trade Secrets, a clothing store, and Zawadi, an African art importer. Additional space is intended for a café with outdoor seating.

RLA Revitalization Corp. already has signed an exclusive rights agreement with the development team as part of a pre-selection process that included four teams of developers. Terms of the land disposition agreement are expected to be completed within four months, and groundbreaking for the project is anticipated by the end of summer 2006.

WARD 2

BANKING ON D.C.: A new local bank is expected to open in late March if its charter application is approved by the D.C. Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking. Efforts to open the Bank of Georgetown, which would become the second D.C.-chartered bank, are being spearheaded by two longtime local banking executives – Michael Fitzgerald, who will act as chief executive officer, and Curtin Winsor III, who is the bank's chairman.

Before joining with Winsor to open the bank, Fitzgerald was the senior vice president of commercial banking at Sequoia Bank, based in suburban Bethesda, and before that spent 15 years with Riggs Bank. Winsor was director of Riggs Investment Management Corp. and a founder of Columbia Partners.

The bank plans to open at least two branches in the District, one in Georgetown and another in Friendship Heights. The Bank of Georgetown will open with initial capitalization of $15 million, which reportedly was raised from 160 private investors. D.C. law requires a minimum of $6 million to be raised to open a bank.—By Jeffrey Behrens

NEW PLAN FOR GW COMPLAINTS: Foggy Bottom and West End residents who have concerns about late night or early morning activities at George Washington University have a new way to complain. University officials announced March 1 that the campus police department has created a Neighborhood Action Team specifically to respond to neighborhood complaints about drinking in public, disorderly behavior and noise or problems with delivery and trash trucks serving the campus.

"Three new (University Police Department) officers are being hired for this initiative to supplement GW's Community Concern Policy, which was refined last year to improve our ability to track and respond to allegations of misconduct," campus police Chief Dolores Stafford said in a written statement.

Neighborhood complaints can be called into (202) 994-6110 for immediate response or anonymous tips may be communicated by leaving a message at (202) 994-8477 or using an online form at http://gwired.gwu.edu/upd.

University officials also vowed to work closely with the Metropolitan Police Department to resolve neighborhood concerns about GW student behavior that occurs on off-campus private property.

HISTORIC DISTRICT EXPANDS: The Historic Preservation Review Board voted Feb. 24 to expand the boundaries of the Dupont Circle Historic District. The extension adds 118 buildings and seven landmarks to the historic district, including Codman Carriage House and Stable at 1413-1415 22nd St. NW and the Embassy Gulf service station at 2200 P St. NW. The historic district expansion extends west of Dupont Circle to 23rd Street, between Q and N Streets, and east of the circle, about half a block shy of 16th Street, between Rhode Island Avenue and about half a block short of R Street.

Structures built in or before 1931 are considered historic by the D.C. Office of Historic Preservation. Residents and contractors wanting to make changes to the exterior of homes or buildings in historic districts have to make sure their designs fit with the traditional theme of the neighborhood. This caused some Dupont Circle residents affected by the boundary extension to express concern that the restrictions of historic preservation would prohibit them from altering their homes or making changes to other buildings in the neighborhood, possibly hindering new businesses.

During last month's Historic Preservation Review Board meeting, Chairman Tersh Boasberg said that 50 percent of building permits for renovations are granted to individuals who live in the city's 26 historic districts. Denise L. Johnson, who represents D.C. residents on the board, said she could not think of any time when homeowners could not accomplish what they wanted through compromise. She said that buildings in other historic districts show the variety of "modern" designs the board has approved.

In response to residents' complaints that historic preservation would keep unattractive, old buildings in the neighborhood, Boasberg said that the historic district designation does not address aesthetics. "We are not talking about a building, whether it's ugly or not -- we're talking about the history of an area," he said.

Individuals who wish to find out if their home or business lies within a D.C. historic district can call the Office of Historic Preservation at (202) 442-8800.—By Stephanie Brinson

WARD 3

SPRING VALLEY HEALTH STUDY: D.C. City Council has allocated $250,000 to study the impact on residents' health of a World War I munitions dump discovered 12 years ago in Spring Valley. The money was included in a bill approved March 1, which allocated $35 million from the city's cash reserves to specific activities, at the urging of Councilwoman Kathy Patterson, D-Ward 3, and Councilman David Catania, I-At Large.

"We already know land in Spring Valley is contaminated with lead and arsenic," Catania said. "With this money, the Department of Health will expand its investiagtion to provide a better understanding as to how residents' health may have been compromised."

Since the dump was discovered by an excavation contractor in January 1993, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has removed more than 140 ordnance items, with some believed to contain mustard gas and fuming sulfuric acid. At least 19 lots in the area, which includes American University and about 1,200 private homes, have shown elevated levels of arsenic in soil samples.

The 661 acres of Northwest Washington comprising Spring Valley were used during the World War I era by the federal government for research and testing of chemical agents, equipment and munitions.

WARD 4

NEW POOL: The city's new Takoma Aquatic Center, featuring an Olympic-size indoor swimming pool, is expected to begin regular public hours March 15 after several limited access events allowed officials to smooth out some of the building's rough edges. The new facility hosted its first major event Feb. 19-20 when the D.C. Department of Parks and Recreation moved its annual Black History Month Swim Meet from the Capitol East Natatorium to the new center.

In addition to the new pool, the long-awaited expansion of the 70-year-old recreation center at 300 Van Buren St. NW features a weight room, an aerobics room, meeting rooms, a concession area and locker rooms. More information about the new center is available by calling (202) 282-0758.

AUTHOR! AUTHOR! Shepherd Park resident Mark Pattison's curiosity about the number of neighbors, besides himself, who have published books has led to the creation of a "Shepherd Park Authors Speaker Series" at the Juanita E. Thornton-Shepherd Park Library. The idea grew out of an early February event, when 13 authors gathered at the library to donate copies of their books and videos. So far, more than two dozen authors have been identified among the neighborhood's residents.

Starting next month, and continuing into the summer, the local author series will be held at 12:30 p.m. Saturdays at the library, 7420 Georgia Ave. NW. Featured authors will discuss what motivated them to write their books and a lobby display will highlight their books.

The first event in the series on April 2 will feature Harold B. Confer speaking on "Poetry About and From Shepherd Park." Other confirmed dates and authors include Rhonda Davis Smith, April 16; Mark Pattison on "Baseball Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow," April 30; Alex Kincannon, May 7; Rovenia "Dr. Ro" Brock, May 14; Esther Iverem on "D.C. Poets Against the War," May 21; the Rev. Cheryl Sanders, May 28; Cynthia Lee, June 11; and Rosemary Reed Miller, June 18.

WARD 5

EXPANDING CATHOLIC U: Officials at the Catholic University of America are asking the Board of Zoning Adjustment to modify the university's Campus Plan to allow the construction of a variety of new facilities on 49 acres of currently unzoned land near the U.S. Soldiers' and Airmen's Home that the university obtained from the federal government.

The university's new "West Campus" would be bounded by North Capitol Street, Irving Street, Michigan Avenue, Harewood Road NE and the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center. The university plans to use the area for a pavilion for outdoor performances and an event field, an unpaved cross-country track, an environmental research area, two areas of "spiritual repose," a maintenance truck and material storage structure, and temporary housing units.

The Board of Zoning Adjustment has scheduled a public hearing on the university's application for 6:30 p.m. April 14 in Room 220-South at One Judiciary Square, 441 Fourth St. NW.

WARD 6

DEMOCRATS EXPLORE DISCLOSURE: Ward 6 Democrats this month will present a panel discussion on the District's controversial campaign law that allows unannounced candidates for political office to form "exploratory committees" that are not required to disclose their financial receipts and expenditures. The monthly Issue Forum will begin at 7 p.m. March 15 at Calvary Baptist Church, Sixth and I streets NE.

The panel will feature Ward 2 Councilman Jack Evans, the only Democrat who has officially announced his candidacy for mayor in 2006, and four others who have formed mayoral exploratory committees: A. Scott Bolden, Michael Brown and Councilmen Adrian Fenty, D-Ward 4, and Vincent Orange, D-Ward 5. Also expected to participate are council members Sharon Ambrose, D-Ward 6, and Phil Mendelson, D-At Large; Ed Davis vice president for policy and research at Common Cause; and Doug Patton, a former ex-officio member of the Federal Election Commission who helped draft the federal campaign finance law. Washington Post columnist Colbert King will moderate the discussion.

WARD 7

MEMORIAL DINNER: Tickets are now available for the Ward 7 Democrats' second annual Lorraine H. Whitlock Memorial Dinner, which will be held from 7-10 p.m. April 8 at St. Luke's Center, 4923 East Capitol St. SE. A student scholarship and the Lorraine H. Whitlock Award will be presented during the dinner celebrating the life of the Ward 7 civic activist who was slain several years ago at her home. Tickets are $25 and may be purchased by calling (202) 584-8477.

STUDYING THE KENILWORTH CORRIDOR: Three public workshops have been scheduled this month to discuss the Anacostia Waterfront Initiative's ongoing Kenilworth Avenue Corridor Study. The study, which city officials began last October and expect to complete in September of this year, is intended to evaluate traffic and safety issues and consider options for improving neighborhood accessibility to the thoroughfare.

The three upcoming workshops, which will have identical agendas, are scheduled for March 8 from 6-8:30 p.m. at Kenilworth Elementary School, 1300 44th St. NE; March 10 from 6-8:30 p.m. at Fort Dupont Ice Arena, 3779 Ely Place SE; and March 12 from 9 a.m.-noon at River Terrace Elementary School, 420 34th St. NE. More information is available by calling (202) 610-0005 or e-mailing info@jsallc.com.

WARD 8

TOWN HALL MEETING: Councilman Marion Barry, D-Ward 8, will be joined by Councilman Kwame Brown, D-At Large, in sponsoring a Ward 8 Town Hall Meeting on March 9 to hear residents' concerns. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. in the basement community room of the Anacostia Professional Building at 2041 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE.

BOYKIN PLEADS GUILTY: The former Ballou Senior High student who was convicted last December of three firearms charges related to the fatal in-school shooting of a fellow student pleaded guilty March 3 to killing Knights' star running back James Richardson. Thomas Boykin, 19, entered the plea to a voluntary manslaughter charge before D.C. Superior Court Judge Robert I. Richter. Boykin has remained jailed since a jury convicted him Dec. 13 on charges of carrying a pistol without a license in a school zone, assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. He faces a maximum of 65 years in prison when he is sentenced June 16.

Boykin was acquitted of second-degree murder during his week-long trial, but the jury deadlocked on a voluntary manslaughter charge. At his trial, Boykin testified that he feared for his life on the morning of Feb. 2, 2004, when he fired a gun in a crowded first-floor hallway of the Southeast Washington high school during a fistfight that erupted as part of a longstanding feud between Boykin's and Richardson's neighborhoods. Prosecutors had planned to re-try Boykin on the voluntary manslaughter charge.

Copyright 2005, The Common Denominator