AJ wright.

I stopped by this morning as i was picking up some stuff at Giant. Ever been to the TJ Max up in friendship heights? AJ's a bit nicer and seemed less expensive.

Still, it is somewhat depressing the see the growth of this strip mall. Someday it will be a wasteland.

Envisioning the hood, thinking a-blog.

What would you like to see come to bloomingdale?
Where would you like to see it?
What are they types of business that you think are an asset to neighborhoods in DC?

-I would like to see a farmers market, perhaps in Crispus Attucks Park.

-I would like to see a nice bar that occasionally has live music. Maybe along north capitol.

-I would like to see a small grocer in the lot at north cap and florida.


-I would like to see more representation of local art in the neighborhood, perhaps as public art, perhaps as a gallery or other art space.

-I'd like to see some of our liquor stores evolve into shops that can accomodate the wants of all residents. For me, that would be a better selection of micro-brews and no bullet proof glass.

-I'd like to see frager's hardware open up a store in our area.

-A bookstore would be nice.

Dear Wonkette

Dear Wonkette,

How is it that my little blog about my little neighborhood got on your radar?
Thanks for linking here. Seriously, that's pretty terrific. I've gotten about a zillion hits.... Maybe there is someone that dreams of opening that perfect little restaurant in the middle of dc amongst your readers!


thanks again,

The Begging Bloomingdalian.
(see... that could be a good name for a place!)

Bloomingdale Photostream

i have updated some pictures on the bloomingdale photo stream. Please join the group to share your photos of our neighborhood. Joining Flickr is FREE

McMillan Sand Filtration Plant.

I took the tour of the sand filtration plant this morning and have some pictures of it.

HERE is the slideshow


HERE is the page of individual photos

empty #2

Here is another building that i'm suprised is sitting empty. Its across the street from the other empty building.

Hellers bakery is going in on the other end of the block. There is foot traffic, and tons of car traffic here. Have i convinced you restauranteurs yet?




Englert? Buehler? anyone?




I'll give you a good deal on some faux finishing!

empty

I'm actually very suprised that this place hasn't been turned into a restaurant of some sort. Seems perfect. It has the possibility of sidewalk seating. Neighbors will flock to it. A diner anyone? La Loma 5?

Big news in Eckington

Fairfield Residential will construct three large buildings ranging in height from 11 stories, stepping down to 9 and 7 stories as it approaches Eckington Place NE. There will also be townhouses on the portion of the site that borders the Wholesale Flower Market. There will be 625 to 675 units, which will be a mixture of condominium and rental units. The final condo/apartment mix will be dependent on market conditions as the units come on line. There will be 750 - 800 underground parking spaces. 8% of the square footage, or 65-70 units interspersed throughout the building will be affordable workforce housing, affordable to households earning less than 80% of area median income.

Q Street NE will be extending through the middle of the site and dedicated to the city as part of the Office of Planning's goal to rebuild the L'Enfant grid, when possible. There will be a lighted walkway connecting Q Street NE to the Metropolitan Branch Trail vis a vis a dedicated easement through a Pepco-owned site. That connection to the Branch Trail will allow residents to walk directly to the metro station without having to cross New York and Florida Avenues at street level.

There will be 15,000 square feet of neighborhood-serving retail space with preference being given to restaurant/deli use. That will be located at the corner of Eckington Place NE and Harry Thomas Way NE, providing a good retail location to serve FedEx, ATF, XM, and the community, as they come and go from the metro.

Bloomingdale Center

event at crispus attucks park

MOBILIZING DC YOUTH TO…

STEP UP!

B-READY

MOBILIZING DC YOUTH TO…

Saturday, September 30, 2006

Games ~ Prize Giveaways ~ Refreshments

Yayah’s Inc.

Crispus Attucks Park
Between 1st Steet to North Capitol and U
to V Street NW

11:00am – 3:00 p.m.
Call (202) 291-5538

Sponsored by
The D.C. Department of Health
Addiction Prevention & Recovery Administration
Office of Prevention & Youth Services
and Neighborhood Youth Organizations

Attendance at and/or participation in any Blitz Event grants consent to use photo, audio or video images of all attendees.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------



This Bloomingdale-based event is part of the city-wide youth drug prevention Blitz that's taking place on September 30th. Organizations all over DC will be sponsoring youth gatherings at parks and other facilities in every ward that day. The focus of the Blitz is for the youth to have some fun while also getting some positive messages about drug prevention. The target audience is youth ranging from 8 to 16, but ALL are welcome!

Yayah's is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to serving DC's youth. According to its Web site, "Yayah's, Inc.'s primary focus is on giving at-risk District of Columbia youths what they require to adapt to, acquire, and appreciate a healthy, productive lifestyle. We actively reach toward those who have fallen off the path and work to prevent others from doing the same. We've incorporated unique beneficial components into our programming. Yayah's, Inc. is more than another average group home. Our mission, vision, and methods are significantly different." Much of Yayah's funding comes from DC's Addiction Prevention Recovery Agency. For more on the organization, go to www.yayahs.org

Units of affordable housing in DC by ward

according to a post on the eckington yahoo group

Units
Citywide

9,657

Ward 8 (Anacostia, Congress Heights)

4,520

Ward 7 (Capitol View, Benning Heights)

2,266

Ward 1 (Crestwood, Mount Pleasant)

1,231

Ward 5 (Eckington, Brookland)

1,145

Ward 4 (Manor Park, Barnaby Woods)

139

Ward 2 (Georgetown, Dupont Circle)

136

Ward 6 (Capitol Hill)

97

Ward 3 (Wesley Heights, Tenleytown)

0

still arguing in Eckington.

Here is a post by ANC candidate Kris Hammond concering the St. Martins vs. The Eckington Community affordable housing conflict.

-Kris talks with Neal Drobenare and he makes a lot of promises about the project.
-Apparently the Edgewood Civic Association speaks for Eckington, since its "official".
-The application for historical status for the convent building got circumvented with a deal and concession by St. Martins.
-The number of units has slightly decressed.
-Its still messy and disruptive for our community.

links added and such....

i've added a bunch of links over to the right there ---->
neighborhood blogs and some governmental stuff.


check out this blog .

McMillan sand filtration site

here is a big 40 page PDF of the site.

and hey! there's a tour on friday.



go here for more info and liability waivers.

You must reserve your space by Tuesday.

Metropolitan Police Department 5th District PSA

ANC -5 website and commisioners

http://www.anc5c.org/

James D. Berry, Jr. (5C 01)
Cleopatra Jones (5C 02)
Tom E. Fulton (5C 03)
Robert V. Brannum (5C 04)
Bertha Johnson (5C 05)
Mary Lois Farmer (5C 06)
Celia Dianne Barnes (5C 07)
Marshall R. Phillips, Sr. (5C 08)
Debbie Smith (5C 09)
Vacant (5C 10)
William Jentarra (5C 11)
Derrick O. Holloway (5C 12)

Bizarre comments over this ANC post

Check this out on the Kris for ANC blog.

then theres the junk over over in shaw HERE and HERE and even threaded here

5th District Polic Information

Contact info as of August 2005

Fifth District (5D) Police Station
1805 Bladensburg Road NE
Washington DC

Commander Jennifer Green
Jennifer.greene@dc.gov

5th District new numbers

Main Numbers
(202) 698-0150

Commander Greene's
(202) 698-0111

Captain's Number
(202) 698-0121

Lieutenant's Number
(202) 698-0268


Sergeant's Office
(202) 727 4494


Fifth District US Attorney Community Prosecution Office
(202) 727 9711

Anita LaRue
Assistant US Attorney, Grand Jury
Anita.larue@usdoj.gov

John D. Davis
Community Outreach Specialist
John.d.davis@usdoj

eckington yahoo group

i added a button on the bottom of the blog to join the eckington forum.


alt="Click here to join Eckington">
Click to join Eckington

...from the bloomingdale garden club.....

“The Nation’s Capitol Among the Green Guide’s Ten Greenest Cities in America ”

No, that isn’t a current news headline. But, it could be one you’ll see in the future. Join other citizens of like mind at a meeting at 7:00 p.m. at Windows Café & Market next Wednesday, September 27th to begin putting together an agenda for the greening of DC using Bloomingdale as the proverbial lab rat.

Citizens of Green cities can boast of cleaner air, water, and all the other things that go to make up a healthy ecosystem. Green cities also provide safe, reliable, and non-polluting public transportation options, walkable streets, loads of green space, broad access to and use of renewable energy resources. They also seek to pioneer the use of green building techniques in public buildings and to encourage green building among industries, businesses, and private citizens through effective legislation, building codes, and targeted funding opportunities.

Being Green can be all that has been mentioned and so much more. Every citizen of Bloomingdale wants and deserves a green neighborhood and a green city for themselves, their children, and for future generations of Bloomingdalians.

Have your say about what you’d like to see and learn from others as we begin the work of charting a greener path for DC at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 27th at Windows Café and Market. For more information contact Cassandra Costley at 202-462-3737 or sandysan55@hotmail.com.

Bloomingdale photo group

I just started a bloomingdale photo group on Flickr.

Please check it out and post some images

3 years in bloomingdale 1 year blogging about it.

It was three years ago today that my wife and i moved into our house.
One year ago i started this blog... is that all? damn.. it's been a big year.

gun buyback

Does anyone else out there think that the Gun Buyback program is just an excuse for the thugs to trade up?

not that they did
Officials said that most people turning in weapons were law-abiding citizens
from THIS article


Curfew for kids? i'm all for it. Gun Buyback? i dont think so.

this is pretty funny

a comical blog concerning the "eckington theater" and a notorious ruse.

fire on new york avenue

anyone have links to the fire on new york avenue yesterday? it was apparently quite large.

making bloomingdale more beautificated

The Bloomingdale Civic Association
Beautification Committee is meeting Monday 18 Sept at 6PM at Windows Market & Cafe - prior to the main BCA meeting at 7PM at St George's Episcopal Church. The BCA Beautification Committee is working on some exciting ideas to make Bloomingdale bloom even more.

Attend the meeting or contact Cassandra Costley at sandysan55 (@) hotmail.com for more information

Mr Fenty, Mr Thomas.

A neighbor allowed me to post these images he took of Adrian Fenty and Harry Thomas on wednesday morning thanking the city and ward for voting for them. generally there are drugs dealers hanging on that corner. One well dressed gentleman asked me if i would perchance care to purhase some very fine smoke/blow on that very corner, the very same evening of Fenty's thank you showcase. Once there was a guy in a wheelchair selling out of a tackle box.

maybe it was nightcrawlers.




This is on the sw corner of New York and Florida NW.








"people first", right? we'll see.

ANC 5c meeting

This Tuesday, September 19, 2006, is the ANC 5C meeting to be held at the Harry Thomas Recreation Center, 1743 Lincoln Road NE, beginning at 7:00 PM.


The invited guests include:
1) a person to speak on the community amenities package for the consolidated PUD-Florida & Q Street LLC (1600 North Capitol Street NW),

2) a person to speak about the community amenities package for the Fairfield project at Capitol Commerce Center,
3) a person from Holland + Knight to speak on the PUD for the Washington Gateway (Florida & New York Avenues NE) hmmmm... i just posted about that last week.....

4) Maybelle Bennett, Director of the Howard University Community Association, regarding the HU Living and Learning Center,

5) Craig Parker, General Counsel, Catholic University Project,

6) Robert Taylor, Thoron Development (14 O Street NW) and the Fifth District.

BID in adams morgan

I'm interested in BID's and what they have done to improve neighborhoods. Still, i am a bit uneasy about the privatization of public services.

here is a washington post article about adams morgan with this quote

I don't think we should be doing the work that we're already paying taxes for," said Bill Duggan, owner of Madam's Organ, a popular bar, who wants the improvement district to dissolve. "It's insulting to the community to have to pay for security or trash removal. It's a testament to the inefficiency of the government.

Fenty and tommy thomas.

Harry Thomas Jr. won the democratic primary for ward 5. Fenty for the mayoral race.

lets hope they can both help in making our city a better place.

If the number of signs and supporters i saw today indicates election results

the Adrian Fenty will win hands down.

I was all around today on errands and his supporters were freakin everywhere.

i was cut off by a van plastered in Orange signs . warning: If you are advertising something on your van; drive courteously. that goes for you contractors too. Mr Flood, you know who i'm talking about.


Anyway. I saw what must have been the fenty victory party tent on u street. Or something akin. It looked like a Fenty family renunion, what with the t-shirts and all.



I saw a large moving billboard/sound board of Marie Johns driving around preaching her message.

The line was really short over at Dumbar and there were about 100 people handing out information. mostly holding green signs.

find your polling place

GO VOTE

in Bloomingdale it's either

Precinct 135

Polling Place Name Mt. Bethel Baptist Church

Address 1901 1st St. NW, Washington DC, 20001

Description Church Hall

or

Precinct 19

Polling Place Name Dunbar Senior High School

Address 1301 New Jersey Avenue NW, Washington DC, 20001

Description Gymnasium/Armory

voters guide in the post

here is the washington post section on the dc primaries

downtown retail

here is a washington post editorial about retail in downtown dc.


One of the disappointing things about downtown Washington is how limited and boring its retail offerings are, particularly considering the wealth and sophistication of the millions of people who live and work in the District or visit here each year.

big bear

word on the street is that the big bear cafe is up to three months away. hopefully less.

my sarcasm worthy of Express

here

but there was a good piece of anon sarcasm in todays bloomingdale community email
I can’t wait ...to shop for all my off-brand and seconds/reject clothing at the Brentwood Shopping Center while my car gets stolen from the parking lot.

I really don't understand why dc is so inept.

1. four years ago the company contracted to print out the voters guide sent it AFTER the primary.

2. DC used that same company again. When some business screws up something that affects ( insert number of registered voters) NEVER hire them again.


Please go here to find your correct polling place, rather than trust the guide you received in the mail.


i think DC's new motto should be

DC- the little engine Dat Couldn't.

shopping in brentwood. More Strip Malls!

The new 58,000 square foot shopping center will be home to 8 new stores:

AJ Wright - 24,000 sf,
Downtown Locker Room- 5,000 sf,
Rainbow Women - 5,000 sf.
Anna's Linens - 5, 500 sf,
America's Best Optical 3, 750 sf,
Radio Shack - 2, 500 sf and
Citi-Bank 5,000 sf.

AJ Wright is scheduled for opening on September 28th. Construction for Citi-Bank is complete and fixtures are being installed. Construction for all other stores will be completed by September 15th. All stores will open by the end of October in time for the holiday season.



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All this does make me think of the more intelligent and better designed plans that are happening in Columbia Heights... but here in ward five we're happy with the scraps, huh?

i know i'll go. i mean radio shack coolness. how retro!

a blog by a neighbor thats running for ANC

check it out here.

The privatization of public services.......

read this post over at frozen tropics

Apparently H streets got its own private public works force hitting the streets.
I exagerate, of course, but i am saddened and impressed by our city government that fails us and our businesses that are trying to make up for it. NoMa is working on a BID, but the restaurants/bars over in the Atlas District are a bit more admirable since they are just doing it without the officiousness.

If only North Capitol had a Joe Englert. Perhaps one of our neighbors could fill the niche?

a BID for NoMa?

Here is an article about developements in NoMa. The area for the Business Improvement District is proposed to be roughly the area north of Massachusetts, south of R Street NE, west of Third Street NE and east of New Jersey Avenue NW.

That doesn't really give a clear idea where the northern boundary in NW is, though it may extend into the very southern section of Bloomingdale. This seems like a promising move for the area and for business along these corridors.

we'll see.