LISTEN TO ME!!! PART DEUX

From Commissioner Brown:

An update on the public space violation at 4908 Jay Street NE as provided by DC Dept. of Transportation. 

I understand there is a fine line government aides have to walk--give the resident too much detail and overburden with information or just do the work and get the results to the resident.   I've been there.   There is a level of trust, though, inherent in government operations.   I, generally, trust my government.  However, periodic communication doesn't hurt.  In fact it's a critical piece in relationship building.  Periodic communication also helps the staff not get thrown under the bus.


On Wed, Oct 26, 2011 at 12:18 PM, Lisle, John (DDOT) wrote:

Commissioner Brown,

I know it hasn’t looked like it, but our inspectors report they have been working on this issue for several weeks now, writing citations and communicating with the seller of the property and the utility companies who apparently did the work. That effort is still underway – and as you know has not yielded the desired result - so today the inspectors solicited the help of Street and Bridge Maintenance to temporarily repair the roadway and make it safe.

Attached are photos of the work performed at the site today.

Thank you for your perseverance and your patience.

John

BEFORE 4908 Jay St NE

DDOT Street & Bridge Maintenance mitigating

4908 Jay St. NE public space violation

LISTEN TO ME!!!

We've emailed, tweeted, reported to 311 and the Office of Neighborhood Engagement, cajoled, and prodded.  What's happened?  NOTHING!!  The public space violation at 4908 Jay Street NE is STILL there & has now attracted illegal dumping.  What does it take to get this cleaned up after nearly two months??? 

A stop work order issued on September 12 by the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA).  Instead of trusting that the DCRA inspector would inform the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the District Department of the Environment, there should be a check-off/prompt automatically within the stop work order process to initiate fines and a removal period.  It is inefficient and redundant to require residents to hope there was verbal communication within the agencies or to generate a complaint. 

City unresponsiveness breeds cynicism in and distrust of government in residents.  City unresponsiveness breeds boldness in construction companies, litterers, and others to blatantly disrespect Deanwood and the city.  I'm sick of it! 

4908 Jay St. NE

 

Vision and placemaking...

Friend and fellow East of the River blogger Nikki Peele made an astute obeservation a few days ago--women in the community are leading (and blogging) the transformation of DC's neighborhoods.  Think about it, there are JD Land, Life in the Village, Congress Heights on the Rise, and The Brightwoodian to name a few.  Yet as I discovered thanks to a Real Estate Bisnow post "The Key to Cities" men are at the table "making" the plans.  According to the featured post, economic development planning should be about women and, incidentally, that woman-centered vision is about placemaking and smart growth. 

A leading voice on placemaking Project for Public Spaces describes the concept as breaking "through [institutionalization] by showing [developers] planners, designers, and engineers how to move beyond their habit of looking at communities through the narrow lens of single-minded goals or rigid professional disciplines."

This finding is shockingly clear in the development landscape in Advisory Neighborhood Commission 7C (and north Ward 7).  In testimony about extending the disposition agreements on three critical north Ward 7 parcels 7C04 Commissioner Sylvia C. Brown asked about the development teams' visions and efforts "to create a sense of place—enlivening streetscapes, engaging current community members, and getting future residents excited about the developments' and surrounding communities' potential."  The question was discounted.  (With only one woman among the development team members is there a correlation???) 

New buildings don't magically make blight disappear.  New buildings don't magically reduce crime.  New buildings don't magically produce an improved quality of life. Vision does. 

PROACTIVE vision does.

Proactive, progressive vision with a real commitment to the broader community's bottom line does.

DC Council Ward 7 Land Disposition Hearing... Commissioner Brown's testimony starts at 4:25.  The exchange with Chairman Brown is at 11:37.

ANC7C Holiday meet 'n' greet

In a break from the norm, which is usually no meeting in December, Advisory Neighborhood Commission 7C hosted a holiday meet and greet.

In recent weeks, the Commission has been faced with news of Wal-Mart's arrival at the Capitol Gateway site at East Capitol and Southern Ave.  With the Commission facing this and other high profile community and economic development plans, we felt it was critically important for residents, developers, and stakeholders to meet in a social and informal environment.

The development community certainly came out in full force with refreshment donations from Beulah Community Improvement Association and its partner UrbanMatter's Ray Nix and 4800 Burroughs Avenue.  New deli owner Eun Sun Kim profiled her eatery's new menu with a spread of three types of salad--chicken, seafood, and tuna, chicken wings, sandwiches, and potato wedges. 

Mark your 2011 calendars for the 7C meetings on the second Thursday, 7p, 5109 Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue NE basement! 



Commission Chair Khaliq Elhillali welcomes attendees to the holiday meet and greet.



Neighbors partake in the spread donated by Uncle Lee's Seafood deli owner Eun Sun Kim.  The deli is located at the starburst at Eastern Ave-Division Ave-Sheriff Rd.



Chair Elhillali and 7C Office Manager Ginger Jevne share a laugh.

Ward 7 Councilmember Yvette Alexander chats with neighbors and stakeholders about prospects for Wal-Mart and other community happenings.  7C Commissioner Mary Gaffney is pictured to the right.

Neighbors in 7C07 SMD engage Chair Elhillali about the Commission's operations and how to get involved.

Rev. Turner, pastor of Beulah Baptist Church and head of its community development organization, talks with development partner Ray Nix.

Liquor Store Alley: Is Your Neighborhood on the Edge?

For much of the year the process of granting liquor licenses has been debated from working class Ward 5 to hipster Ward 2 to tony Ward 2.  The overwhelming opinion is that the District's liquor license process which is administered by the Alcohol Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) is broken.  The common thread in these license debates, however, has been on-premises liquor consumption at bars, restaurants, and taverns.  Alcohol licensing for liquor stores is not, however, considered a part of the ABRA reform. 

In too many neighborhoods in Wards 7 and 8 there is a concentration of liquor stores--both beer and wine (Class B) and beer, wine, spirits (Class A).  Generally, there is an automatic expectation that a voluntary agreement and/or monetary donation can be made and the ANC will acquiese to the inevitable, ABRA granting the license.  This underlying tone favors the business instead of favoring the community and lets the business off the hook for actually having a business plan that doesn't leech off predominantly low-income neighborhoods.  In many cases in Wards 7 and 8 a VA will not be sufficient because the concentration of liquor stores is too high; we're saturated. 



Google Maps. Uncle Lee's left, Jock's Liquor right

 I am contending with this very issue right now with Uncle Lee's Seafood.  There is a new owner who is "just trying to survive."  The owner has a background in operating a deli with a speciality in breakfast.  She has changed the menu to include breakfast and lunch.  Unfortunately, survival is based on the lottery and liquor sales and not using her talent and skill on meeting an unmet market--an eatery with quality food and not typical carryout. 

No liquor license issuance is the only option for Uncle Lee's Seafood. Vibrancy and sanity of the neighborhood will not be enhanced with six liquor stores within a half mile radius! 



Google Maps. Liquor Store Landscape

 While I appreciate my neighbors west of the River writing about making the liquor license process less contentious, it is important to note the impact of concentrating licensees, specifically liquor stores.  Maybe there's room in ABRA reform to separate liquor stores from the licensing for restaurants, taverns, and nightclubs to take these matters into consideration.  Maybe even 7C should pursue a moratorium like Georgetown.  Otherwise, we'll continue to pick at the contention of "who is in the catbird seat--the licensee business owner or the Advisory Neighborhood Commission/community?" 

A Walk With: Sylvia Brown, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, Deanwood - Housing Complex - Washington City Paper

A Walk With: Sylvia Brown, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, Deanwood - Housing Complex - Washington City Paper

For someone who follows Twitter fairly closely, Sylvia Brown—@ANC7c04—is an outsized presence. She nudges councilmembers and narrates press conferences, corrects journalists and vents about the latest political outrage.

Turns out Brown is a large presence in real life, too. She’s tall, basketball player tall, though the resemblance might also have been due to the track pants and sneakers. Brown ... immediately pointed out something I’d never noticed before: The Lederer Youth Garden, which has dozens of small plots for children, complete with a beehive.

“It’s a hidden gem,” she says.

Deanwood's Energy Revolution Continues

The slots have been filled with innovative teams to compete in the biennial international 2011 Solar Decathlon.  Our beloved Deanwood's stake is clear--we will have an energy-efficient, modern and AFFORDABLE housing unit.  The Parsons team with help from the District Department of Housing and Community Development and Habitat for Humanity of Washington, DC have selected an ideally situated two lot area on Gault Place, just off Nannie Helen Burroughs and abutting the Marvin Gaye Park trail.  The school along with neighbors, guests and other celebrants will gather on Sunday, September 12, 2:00 p.m. to mark this milestone in the development and construction of EMPOWER HOUSE!

It is DONE!

I filed my petitions for Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner 7C04.  (Big hugs and shoutouts to neighbors who enthusiastically signed the petitions AND took them to neighbors for me!) 

I am a second-termer; I've come back for more.  But why?  I'm being honest, why do I: take the let down of 10 residents coming to a meeting or deal with getting chewed out or contend with the push-and-pull called getting service from OUR government??  WHY, WHY, WHY?  Because:

5) Hmm... Hold on! I'm still thinking...
4) I'm a glutton for punishment.
3) I like being the center of attention.
2) I'm an overachiever.
1) Helping people understand we can make things better for ourselves is pretty gratifying.

Don't talk about it!  Be about it!  Join me (or your nearest Advisory Neighborhood Commission) in making government work with us and for us.