Perhaps this response to this 05-03-2013 Bloomingdale Neighborhood blog entry on the Friends of McMillan Park deserves its own post:
Ok I really wish that they would stop saying `The Neighbors of McMillian Park`. First of all this is a very small very loud group of people in the neighborhood who DO NOT represent everyone in this neighborhood. Everyone in Bloomingdale and around the park are not against the current plans so don't make statements to make it sound as though everyone in the neighborhood is in agreement with them.
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While i agree with Mona that not everyone opposes development, i also agree that there is quite a broad cross-section of the community that still doesn't support this particular plan. I think that it is a minority that want it completely preserved in its historical state. Most people want development of some kind...either as a public park or as a mixed use development. I was virulently against the previous plans put forward by VMG since i can't remember. Then when the floods occurred and VMG had to adapt to the new order, it inadvertently (I see now) resulted in a much better layout with the park to the south where it should have been all along. So I was for the current iteration plan when it first came out. Then when VMG released it's architecture plans, it was so evident that they still are not at all interested in the historical aspects of the site or in creating a really high quality space. All their architecture is huge poured concrete surfaces, soul-less office parks. I, and I think quite a few others, found that more than just in poor taste, but just outright disrespectful. Happily the HRPB also had that same feeling and VMG will again have to adjust again. But what is pretty clearly evident is that this team has no interest in creating a great place for DC...it's more about minimizing costs and maximizing revenues for themselves and the city..and then treating the community as chumps as if we can't discern the quality of what they are putting in front of us. So in the end, anything good that comes from this is what the surrounding community and the HRPB claws back from these jokers...not what they themselves are setting their sites on. And remember all this is illustrative...it's not set in stone (or cement)...so you can bet what they'll actually build is only a pale shadow of the crap that they propose. So, after a momentary lapse of reason, I am back on the side of opposing this plan.
The Friends of McMillan have never claimed to represent all people.
However, through our petition drive of less than a week, we can claim to represent over 400 DC residents who are calling on the Mayor and City Council to reject the current VMP plan and to consider better alternatives. Not only is the number of signers increasing each day, we expect it to grow far higher.
Our strategy is straightforward. We 1.) show folks photos of the McMillan Reservoir Park Historic District (its official name as listed on the National Register of Historic Places), 2.) explain to them what it was, 3.) show them the VMP plan using VMP's own illustrations, and 4.) offer an example of the type of creative thinking we would like the city to engage in -- www.mcmillanpark.com.
This simple act of telling the truth is resulting in a clear groundswell of support across DC for the goals of our petition. In just three hours, we collected 140 signatures from DC residents who were appalled by the VMP plan.
The McMillan Reservoir Park Historic District is a treasure that belongs to the people of DC and DC's visitors. We can do better than a plan that, according to the Historic Preservation Review Board, will result in the destruction of 80-90% of the historic structures, leave the survivors as "tombstones of what was there," and replace them with something akin to "Tyson's Corner or Rosslyn."
We intend to make sure our leaders get this message.
You can read the very moderate and reasonable language of our petition here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/RG8TZH8
400 people....from the whole city of > 500,000. That is .08 percent of the city. That is not a groundswell of people in the city. This is the very language I am talking about. You have less the 1% of the city signing a petition and you call it a "GroundSwell". Your not being straightforward, your not telling the truth. 140 signatures in 3 hrs means nothing if it isn't sustained over days. The leaders will get the message that a very small percentage of the people of the city ,< 1%, are opposed to this. I for one resent the fact that you use numbers like this and think I am to stupid to work the numbers and see what they actually are. By doing things like this your not working in your favor, your are coming off as very smug and telling a lot of people you think they are stupid.
If the 400 people who already signed are from the neighborhoods directly adjacent to McMillan then this would be a large representation of community opinion.
But it's not. As he stated it is from all over the city, and he failed to mention how many were actually people from the neighborhood around the site so I have to assume the numbers aren't 'groundswelling'
Well as far as i know none of the major community associations have come out in favor of the plan...i know that the Bloomingdale Neighborhood Group is not currently in support of the plan. I think this is the case with others too. In fact, it's hard for me to think of a group in Vmg's corner...which they didn't create i mean. People simply want a better proposal than this one. And once this opportunity is gone, we're stuck living in another Pentagon City/Tysons/Rosslyn...which is not the reason i moved to Bloomingdale.
Community groups are created so that a particular group of people can press their agenda. Just because some "groups" aren't supporting VMG doesn't represent the opinion of the entire neighborhood. Not everyone thinks it looks like Tyson's corner. You can't expect it to look like the Victorian homes in Bloomingdale. No one builds like that any more and the expense it ridiculous if you do. As for these groups, of the 400(tiny number) people who have signed the petition I would like to know how many actually live in this neighborhood. I would also like to know how many don't. I really don't appreciate people who haven't come east of Rock Creek Park, much less North Capital, in years dictating what amenities I can have in my neighborhood or what a space should look like. How dare someone who lives in some tony neighborhood with all the conveniences you can imagine at their doorstep tell the people of this neighborhood what we can and can't have because they don't like the design of the buildings. I brought in Bloomingdale because I liked the grand architecture of the homes not because of run down old water filtration site, and yes that is what it is. You can like the structures and the aesthetic sense of the place but it is a water filtration plant. So unless we intend on declaring Blue Plains and every other water filtration site across the country a historical site let this development proceed and stop coming up with excuses on why is shouldn't so as to satisfy the overall agenda of so many of these "groups" which is to do nothing with the site.
Well, the people i know involved in this effort actually live in the community. As do i (four blocks from McMillan. Again, i really want to see this parcel developed into something for everybody. So keeping all the historical structures for me is a nonstarter and not really a convincing arguement. But what is a convincing arguement to me is the fact that when this parcel is gone, it's gone forever (at least in our lifetimes and that of our kids and possibly their kids). And so i want to be proud of whatever is built on that land when it's finished...something like other cities like Chicago and NYC have done in the past....great spaces. Sure, that can and should include a grocery store and even some office buildings and rowhouses. But I'm not going to be proud of an Tyson's style office park and that's what this is...it's pretty hard to look at their rendering and say otherwise. Looks at what EYA proposed and built at Chancellor's row....why not that here? Answer: dollars. And sorry if that's an expensive way to build...i guess it is...but i think it's rather worth it if it's going to be here for a the next 100 or 200 years.
BTW, why are you so eager to settle for less? it's not to your advantage...believe me, VMG isn't about to walk away from this even if it costs them 3 times more.... this is a limited time only opportunity and the city will be more than happy to give it to another bidder. Who may or may not be any better than VMG (probably not). But, it's not in the community interest to settle for less than optimal design and it's just not there yet.
Settle for less.....Just because you don't like the plan and I do doesn't make it less. This is the sort of language that is constantly being used concerning this site. If someone has another opinion it is seen as "settling for less" It is not "Less" because I don't agree with you. Who decides what is of optimal design, not people on the other side of the park and not a small vocal group of people who have made it very clear what their agenda is concerning this site. EYA can and has done some great work around the city, but lets all be clear the "groups" who are so very vocal do not want EYA or anyone else to develop this site. It isn't about aesthetic or as you put it "Tyson's corner". Look up some of the people who put out this survey and see what their true agenda is. They don't want this site developed at all. One of the sponsors has some pretty wild ideas on what should be done with this site and have no problems dictating to you or anyone one else what you should and shouldn't be doing in your neighborhood and they don't live near by. No one is settling for less, I am just sick of the very obvious delay tactics that are going on. It isn't about the design, it is about delaying with the hope that EYA or any other developer will see this as just a hostile neighborhood and go away so that they can get closer to what they really want done. What is funny is they think that their groundswell of 400 signatures (< 1% of DC population)is actually going to stop this from happening.
Well, i guess we'll have to agree to disagree about the design. I find it a soul-less span of white concrete with touring buildings of steel and glass accompanied by pre-fab rowhouses. I guess that's just how it see it. I want something like the Eastern Market complex or like Falls Park in Greenville, SC. Something using bricks. Something with a more organic feel. But what irritates me is their sales pitch: they say it's takes unique inspiration from the site and uses materials from the site? The structures on the site are primarily red brick and clay tile. I don't see any of that here. So what are they talking about? I'm also convinced that they'll do much better if we make them do it. But once HRPB approval is given there are no other constraints .... I'm just glad HRBP is holding their feet to the fire. If this site had not been historical, you can bet you'd already be living next to an office park.
As for the others, i suspect that they are using this Historical Designation as leverage to get a better design. Maybe not, but I know that the majority of the community wants to develop the site, just with greater care than is being proposed.
do the friends of mcmillan group discuss how they strong arm the people into signing their surveys and completing them a certain way? Do they say how the ANC leaders walk up to them on the sidewalk and say how bad the development plan will be and how they should oppose it because it will destroy their neighborhood and raise their taxes?
Have you seen this happening? Every survey that has gone out has been accompanied by propaganda to oppose the development. It is unbelievable. can there be a real neutral survey that doesn't have a certain ANC rep or two pushing people to vote a certain way?
This is completely biased coercion and scare mongering of the real neighbors of mcmillan into "voting" with the FOM minority group.
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