WaPo: "Growing pains test residents in Brookland"

Bloomingdale residents might wish to read this Washington Post item from nearby Brookland.

Click on the link to read the entire article.

Growing pains test residents in Brookland

By Clinton Yates, Updated: November 20, 2013

On the surface, Brookland is one of the city’s most integrated and harmonious communities. Middle to upper income blacks and whites live alongside lower income residents and a largely white population of college students. The leafy Northeast enclave was described in The Post recently as a place that “prides itself in its diversity and amity.”

So when Tony Tomelden thought of opening a neighborhood establishment on 12th and Jackson Streets in the tree-lined neighborhood, he stayed close to home. The way he saw it, his restaurant, which he would call Brookland’s Finest Bar & Kitchen, could be a community watering hole where young families bring their kids for a bite and a beer while transforming the existing vacant building from a persistent eyesore to a gleaming new restaurant.

“I got three kids right here. I want a place where my friends and I can go, with my kids and have some dinner. We’re not looking to open a rock club or lounge,” said Tomelden. “Or anything loud. I’m getting closer to 50 than anything else.”

But for neighbor Jeanna Cullinan, Tomelden’s plan was over the top: to her it sounded like the place would host a non-stop party. Indeed, the owners were seeking a license allowing them to serve alcohol from 8 a.m. until last call.

“I love my street, I love being able to sit out here in my night clothes. I love having a pretty calm street. In a way, I don’t want that to change,” Cullinan, a graduate student said.  “I’ve worked in bars and restaurants all my life and I just don’t want to live across from a party bar.”

It’s a familiar sentiment in Washington these days, but the fight over Brookland’s Finest is more than just the story of one potential owner and his partners hoping to open a sit down establishment in an historically quiet neighborhood. It’s the story of a community that is battling itself, where differences between residents have re-surfaced even as Tomelden, who is white, sought his opportunity. It caps a nearly eight month battle between the two sides that has involved hours long community meetings and public forums, a stop work order levied against Tomelden, a lawsuit, as well as letters filed to the Department of Regulatory Affairs and Freedom of Information Requests filed with the city.