Wine Tasting & Art Opening at Big Bear Cafe -- Friday, April 2

See this 3/29/2010 message from local artist and Bloomingdale resident Lenora Yerkes regarding an event at Big Bear Cafe this Friday, April 2, coordinated by 52 O Street Studios resident artist Lisa Marie Thalhammer:

Friday, April 2nd
Wine Tasting and Art Opening
6pm – midnight
Trade Winds Spanish Wineries
and
O Street Studios

at Big Bear Cafe

This Friday, April 2nd, the Big Bear Cafe will be hosting artists from the 52 O Street Studios for an opening evening reception of their work. Fifteen artists will be exhibiting at the Big Bear, preceding their April 24-25 open house. 52 O Street is a local artist collective that has housed inner-city working artists for the last 32 years. They are fantastic.

Also, during the reception Trade Winds Spanish Wineries, headed by Bloomingdale resident Estebe Salgado Agirreazaldegi, will offer wine tastings to the neighborhood as we solicit community feedback on the potential wines for the BBC's expanding menu. Estebe imports from select family wineries in his native Basque region of Spain.

It will be a beautiful evening and the cherry blossoms will be blooming inside and out. We hope to see you there.

seeking housekeeper referrals -- for this Friday

See this request from a 1st Street NW resident:

I am looking for someone to clean my house - hopefully Friday of this week. I did use the referrals at the DC BACA blog (http://dcbaca.wordpress.com/home-services/housecleaning/ ). One of the two referrals is busy all week.

So I am still looking for references for a housecleaner this week.

CM Thomas holding Bloomingdale Town Hall meeting Tuesday night, 3/30/2010

See the text of an announcement from Vicky Leonard of Ward 5 Councilmember Thomas' office:

Bloomingdale

Town Hall Meeting

with

Ward 5

Councilmember

Harry Thomas, Jr.

Share your issues and concerns with the Councilmember!

When: Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Time: 7:00 pm — 8:30 pm
Where: St. George`s Episcopal Church, 2nd and U Streets, NW

For more information, call the Ward 5 Council Office at 202. 724. 8028.

"Sunset Liquors destroying the park at 1st & Florida Ave NW"

Recall that CapitalSpace plan has been released. This is an effort by the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), the National Park Service and the DC Office of Planning.

Want to actually read the plan? There are references to Bloomingdale, LeDroit Park, Eckington, Truxton Circle, the McMillan Reservoir and the Armed Forces Retirement Home (AFRH) site.

Here is the link to this CapitalSpace plan document: http://capitalspace.gov/Draft_Plan/FinalDraftCapitalSpacePlan.pdf .

A Florida Avenue NW comments:

I just reviewed the March 27 Bloomingdale e-mail regarding the CapitalSpace plan and its references to “transforming small parks.” Let's hope that Bloomingdale is not defined by the Park at First and Florida NW . I don't know what community they are talking about as using that Park, it certainly isn't the residents of Bloomingdale.

With all this talk about bringing liquor establishments into Bloomingdale, I thought I might offer a sobering thought. A couple of weeks ago we had Beautiful weather. Florida Avenue and the surrounding streets were besieged by drunks. There were no seats available in the Florida Avenue Park. The alleys were full of people urinating (and using drugs). Loiterers were on every corner. Broken bottles and empty cans littered the sidewalks and Streets. People were staggering around everywhere. Sunset liquor did a land office business in single beers, nips and ice cups.

Contrast that with noon on Sunday, there were only two people in the Park, there were no loiterers on the corners, no drunks walking up and down the sidewalk, the alleys were clear and there weren’t any cans and bottles being strewn around. It was quiet, it was clean and it was nice. Why, because Sunset Liquor was closed. No source of liquor, no drunks, no problems. I believe we should be very careful about embracing liquor establishments until the existing problems caused by liquor in our neighborhood are resolved. Until Sunset Liquor disappears, Our Park will not define the residents of Bloomingdale and will continue to be a nuisance.

Open Houses in and around Bloomingdale for 03/28/2010

Here is the list of Open Houses for Sunday.

Pat Mitchell: Thank you from North Capitol Main Street

See this message from Bloomingdale resident and North Capitol Main Street Executive Director Pat Mitchell:

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here: http://campaign.constantcontact.com/render?v=001Xj-HQOIjbAUERlK77OYhPLOq_GkHmVfq7oVez1EYc3SQM6wTvPH-nFXD2jxUnTnR0nVP8wO_1euRIm3sOKi1M2pkm9OhhJyu9yrj7QylC_M%3D

THANK YOU

FROM NORTH CAPITOL MAIN STREET

Carla Merritt, President LeDroit Park Development

Columbia Enterprises, Inc.

Giant Food

James W. Miller, Manager Greenebaum & Rose Associates

NoMa Business Improvement District Bruce Baschuk, Chair

The Linda Greene Group, LLC

Union Center Plaza Management Corporation

Sam Rose, Owner Washington Gas

Youngblood Capital Group

AND . . . . . . to each of you who helped North Capitol Main Street make its 5th Winter Blues Party & Silent Auction a success through donations and ticket purchases, we say simply . . . thank you for allowing us to earn your support.

We, at NCMS, will continue to give our best to improve the business environment in your neighborhoods.

armed federal marshalls at 2nd and V St NW this morning

See this Friday, 3/26/2010, message from a resident on the unit block of V Street NW:

Does anyone have any info on what was happening at the corner of 2nd and V Street NW this morning?

There was a lot of police activity with armed federal marshals.

Du Vin Osteria at 14th & Florida NW: not on my list of local retail to patronize

I like to patronize and promote local retail whenever possible.

After reading this post at the U Street Girl blog, I am not sure that I will be patronizing this Du Vin Osteria wine bar at 14th & Florida Avenue NW when it opens.

Read about it here:
http://ustreetgirl.wordpress.com/2010/03/22/removing-a-comment-from-my-blog/

and, from DCist:
http://dcist.com/2010/03/local_blogger_removes_comment_after.php#comments

back to brick sidewalks

From a resident on the unit block of S Street NW:

We have had the brick sidewalks for a couple of years now and my opinion on brick sidewalks is that they are highly overrated. If any work has to be done on piping below ground the bricks are torn up and when they are re-laid they do not match. Weeds grow in between the bricks and that is OK for those homeowners that do maintenance but too many just let the weeds grow. Shoveling snow is harder because of the unevenness. The bricks crack and break and I don't know when or if they will be fixed. It would be better if they city could use a colored concrete (cement?) and stamp to look like bricks.

Boundary Stone

A hearty crowd stopped by this evening for the open house at 116 Rhode Island Avenue NW provided by the hosts Gareth Croke, Matt Croke and Colin McDonough. Nearly everyone who attended exuded great enthusiasm.

First off, the name of the place is Boundary Stone, which sounds totally cool.

There were some three-fold handouts distributed with info about the vision for the business, a sample menu and brief bios of the Croke Brothers and Colin. There is no website yet, but they will be working on Facebook and Twitter in the short-term. I hope to scan the three-fold into a PDF and post it somewhere for everyone to see.

The interior will sport a bar of some sort, with some tabled seating elsewhere. There was chat about having mezzanine-level seating above the kitchen area in the rear. Plus, there is the option of outdoor seating in the front. The sidewalk is broad enough there to accommodate it. Above the dropped ceiling are the original tin Sylvan Theater tiles, which look great. I am hoping that they can incorporate the tin ceiling tiles into the final design.

Regarding the liquor license -- the intent is to pursue the tavern-class liquor license -- the same class of liquor license that Baraki pursued and obtained. The tavern-class liquor license makes more sense than the restaurant-class license, since the requirements for the percentage of food sales to satisfy the restaurant-class of liquor license is simply too steep of a bar to realistically achieve.

They will soon have the official ABRA liquor license application notice posted on the front window.

Note that the business has already been before the Bloomingdale Civic Association and ANC 5C to provide a courtesy advisory that they would be returning to actively solicit support for the liquor license. So there has been no "vote" yet. That will come soon. Expect the voluntary agreement process to play out.

Timetable? Perhaps the Boundary Stone will open first quarter of 2011.

Did we mention that our trio are also Bloomingdale residents?

"eat, drink, gather" open house at 116 R I Ave NW tonight

Those of you clamering for a restaurant / bar (??) in Bloomingdale better be at this open house tonight at 6:00 pm.

read me! open house at 116 R I Ave NW this Wednesday, 3/24/2010

See this message from Bloomingdale resident Gareth Croke:

Wouldn't you like to see this space -- 116 Rhode Island Avenue NW -- transformed into a place where you could eat, drink and gather with friends and neighbors? Please come and share your comments, concerns and suggestions with the partners of Bloomingdale Hospitality LLC on Wednesday, March 24th between 6pm and 8pm. Or email us at oldblooms@gmail.com.

We look forward to seeing everyone and sharing our exciting plan!

OPEN HOUSE AND Q&A

116 RHODE ISLAND AVENUE NW

Bloomingdale Hospitality LLC Mission Statement:

"Bloomingdale Hospitality LLC is crafting a neighborhood establishment created to foster a warm, welcoming environment where people can gather to enjoy food, drink and the simple pleasures of music and good company. It is a place where the genuine care and comfort of our guests is our highest mission. We support our community and embrace the powerful role that business has in environmental and social responsibility. We are resolute in our desire to achieve a sustainable business and be a positive force in our community." -- BLOOMINGDALE HOSPITALITY, LLC

Open Houses in and around Bloomingdale scheduled for 03/21/2010

Yay, Spring! This is so much better than people slogging through the snow to go to Open Houses. Here is a list of Open Houses scheduled in and around the neighborhood for Sunday.

I have a great new listing at 37 Seaton Pl NW that will be open Sunday from 2-5pm (it's in the link above). It's priced at $535,000. and here is a virtual tour.

I also wanted to bring attention to another one of my recent listings in the neighborhood. The Urban Turf blog (www.urbanturf.com) did a If I had a Million Dollars... post on The Bloomingdale Inn!

"not all of Bloomingdale has had drug crime rooted out"

From a resident of S Street NW in ANC 5C03:

I could not let this go by uncommented. From ANC 5C04 Commissioner John Salatti's exhortation to pull supercans off the street:

"Although we have rooted out most of the typical drug crime from Bloomingdale, we still have some."

I think John is the best of the best as an ANC commissioner, but this is a ridiculous statement. Making progress, staying on top of it, keeping thugs on the run, sure, all true. But "rooted out"? If he meant to say "typical drug crime" (which is what: sales? public use? robbery? assault? prostitution? burglary? or everyone's favorite, public urination?) has been "rooted out" of his district, let him be reminded that there are other parts of Boomingdale that remain yet unrooted.

Seriously unrooted.

seeking locksmith recommendations

From a resident of R Street NW:

We are seeking locksmith recommendations. We live in Bloomingdale and need someone to install a doorknob and change several locks throughout the house.

addressing a notice of violation of trash in the rear of one's property in the alley

See this message from a property owner in the Stronghold:

As a property owner in the Stronghold), I would like to know if anyone in the community has had experience with getting a notice of violation for trash in rear of their property. And how they were able to resolve it without paying the penalty, if so.

It is fairly clear to me that someone other than myself or my tenants chose the alley right behind the fence of my property as the dumping ground.

So two things -

1) I’m curious, if as property owner if I am responsible for this – it does appear to be in the alley, which I understand to be public property

2) Who I can contact (with the least amount of time/effort/money) to resolve.

Any help from the community is appreciated!

"Almost a 100% increase in our property tax bill"

From a 1st Street NW resident in Truxton Circle/Bates area/East Shaw/Dunbar:

I received my first half year tax bill. It is almost twice what my first half tax bill was last year. It is almost equal to what my whole tax bill was for last year (first and second half year bills combined). I thought they could only require you to pay 10% above what you paid the previous year. This is almost a 100% increase in payment. When I called the tax office they said that we are now required to pay taxes on 40% of the value of our homes due to something the city counsel had voted on last year. I don't recall hearing about our tax bills going up like this. The value of my home went down. Anyway, I think it is unfair to hit us with almost a 100% increase in our tax bill.

U Street NW resident falls into wet concrete

See this message from a U Street NW resident:

I fell into half a foot of wet concrete in front of Big Bear Cafe at lunch today because someone didn't mark the "don't walk" sign anywhere. Although I'm responsible for carelessly and hastily walking in the concrete, it wasn't something I ordinarily think about.

Please let the neighborhood know to be careful walking around because they might ruin all of their favorite clothes and shoes like I did. Construction Workers are a red flag.

Beware,

Also, I was walking on a crosswalk. What genius decided to forget the "do-not-walk-in-front-of-this" sign?!

Open Houses in and around Bloomingdale scheduled for 03/14/2010

The Spring Market is here but lots of Sellers seem to be staying put this year. Once again, we're seeing lots of qualified buyers out there and decreasing inventory. Here is what is being held open in and around the neighborhood on Sunday.

"I need to take some cabinets to the local dump. Where should I go?"

See this Email exchange from a T Street NW resident and John Salatti, ANC 5C04 commissioner who represents a chunk of Bloomingdale:

On Fri, Mar 12, 2010 at 5:45 PM

John and Scott;
Greetings gentlemen.

Hate to bother you both but have a question as I have not had a need for it before.
If we have some cabinets, wood and other stuff that we need to take to a dump....where is ours located? Are they open on Saturday and what are the hours for the week also? Would my driver`s license suffice to be able to dump some stuff there?
Thank you for your help and guidance.

From John Salatti:

I have an answer, but it is not absolutely clear. The cabinets can definitely go to the Fort Totten Transfer Station at 4900 John F. McCormack Road NE just north of Catholic University. The wood may or may not be something they will take. The transfer station does not accept "construction materials" (usually things like drywall and concrete). The transfer station is open Saturday from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm and the number there is 576-6803. Someone at that number should be able to give you a more definite answer about the wood ad anything else that you want to get rid of.

Please let me know what you learn!

Here is the URL: http://dpw.washingtondc.gov/dpw/cwp/view,A,1202,Q,517961.asp

Good luck,

John
--
John T. Salatti
Commissioner, ANC 5C04
(202) 986- 2592
"Together, Building a Better Bloomingdale"