Sunday, March 30, 2008

PSA- crime

PUBLIC SAFETY MEETING
TUESDAY, APRIL 1 (no joke!), 7:00 P.M.
ST. GEORGE'S EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 2ND & U STREET NW


Neighbors,

The time has come for us all to take a stand about public safety in our area. Although crime in the Bloomingdale-LeDroit Park area has diminished considerably this decade, we still face more threats to public safety than any of us should have to deal with. And only by working together can we make the changes that will make Bloomingdale safer and even more livable than it is now.

Here is the first of several opportunities for us to act. On Tuesday, April 1st at 7:00 p.m. at St. George's Episcopal Church at U and 2nd Streets NW (enter from the alley), I am convening a meeting of neighbors who will determine the steps we want to take, what we will do to implement those steps, and what the timelines will be for getting things done. We will discuss strategies for bringing in other players.

For example, we will ensure that what comes out of this meeting integrates seamlessly with the upcoming efforts of the Bloomingdale Civic Association (Crime Prevention Strategies & Workshop, Saturday, April 12 at 9:00 a.m. to XM Satellite Radio). We will also be working closely with Commander Lamar Greene and the Fifth District, the Fifth District's Citizens Advisory Council (whose current chair is former ANC Robert Brannum), and the Police Service Area. Once we have set a course, we can then meet with these other players to discuss what neighbors want and are willing to do and develop a plan to achieve those goals.

We also bring to the neighborhood Mayor Fenty, Councilmember Thomas, Chief Lanier, the Executive Office of the Mayor and other District agencies that we will need to handle all the issues that go into a full-bore public safety effort. And that is also when we will all need to make our presence and our feelings known. The District will act if people come together with passion, with unity of purpose, and with clear action requests. We have the power, if we choose to wield it.

To do that, we need to work together. We need to 40-50 people to come out and say that they want change and will put out some time and effort to see that change occurs. And we will get people involved by giving neighbors enough options for what they can do that any of us can find something we can feel comfortable doing. Whether it is working on dealing with the city, setting up security cameras, writing letters to courts when people convicted of committing crimes in the neighborhood are sentenced, listing all the vacant houses that become attractions for criminal behavior, establishing relationships with youth, setting up a system where people can walk together to and from the Metro, checking where trees need trimming to help light the street, and on and on. We have things we can do. We will have a clear list of actions for us, for the police, and for the District to do.

And Together, We will Build a Better Bloomingdale.

John

P.S. If you can't come, drop me a line or give me a call. Let me know if you want to be involved and what you might be interested in doing.

John T. Salatti
Commissioner, ANC 5C04
Recording Secretary, ANC 5C
(202) 986-2592
jsalatti@earthlink.net
"Together, Building a Better Bloomingdale"

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Come with us, Bloomingdale!

Bloomingdale, Eckington, Truxton Circle, Old City 1, 2..... a rose by any other name would still smell as sweet...or as pungent in the case of parts of N. Capital Street. Everyone is included in this discussion. If you have an idea, let us know. Our goal is to help N. Capital Street improve....to make it something we would all like to stroll down. Sure, it's a busy street... and almost as wide as parts of Connecticut Avenue. But, maybe we can improve it. Maybe we cannot....but what would you do if you didn’t even try. Come and try.

Last night a group of neighbors, and even some considering moving to our neighborhood, got together at Nellie’s sports bar. The purpose was to meet each other and recognize that all the ideas that we have to improve our neighborhood are shared by many of us. Perhaps we knew that, but it was good to meet each other. FABULOUS IDEAS. Wow. Come join us next time.

To recapture some of the ideas:

1. Most agreed that we would like N. Capital to be organic in its development (no big box stores) . . . we feel that NOMA can take care of the bigger development. Ideally we would like places that we can walk to, that are unique to the neighborhood, and/or fill neighborhood needs. Yoga, community theater space, bars, sit down restaurant, baker, butcher, etc. In a perfect world we would have a movie theater and bookstores . . . and that would indeed be perfect (at least in my world).

2. There is an organization in Adams Morgan called Cool Town Studios. They have identified something called ‘beta communities’ http://www.cooltownbeta.com/ It turns out that a "beta community" project was started in Mt. Vernon Square. Is this something that we would want to consider? http://www.cooltownstudios.com/mt/archives/001021.html

3. one person has a lot of experience in theater. Her suggestions were to contact theater groups in DC (the second largest community theater venue in the country). These organizations are always looking for places to host productions and/or house actors. We could get a list of theaters and start contacting their community outreach (if they exist?) and at a minimum invite them to walk around the neighborhood.

4.Another great idea was to contact the community relations departments of FedEx and XM Radio. Both of these companies benefit from being in this neighborhood and may be interested (and able) to donate money to a neighborhood organization. If you know contacts, start hustling them. :)

5. We should look for other like-minded organizations in our neighborhood so that we are not duplicating efforts. The North Capital Main Street Initiative is one which comes to mind.

6. talk to friends, neighbors, friends of friends . . . people always know someone who knows someone and they may be interested in what we are doing.

7. Think about coming up with more concise ideas about how we could implement some good changes. Do we approach shop keepers to offer solutions on facades (does this mean volunteering to paint a building) . . . do we plant flowers on N. Capital so that people start to notice? North Capital Main Street Initiative may have grant money for these types of things.

8. another idea was advertising the neighborhood. Whether we hire a firm or do it ourselves, we could put together a “North Capitol” website that contains information about residents within Bloomingdale/Eckington, and pictures to remind investors of the amazing panorama that already exists. It could be done with little to no money and could be used as a resume for the neighborhood....anybody know how to create a website? interested?

Think about it. It could be great. It could be fun. Be positive.

2008 SunTrust National Marathon on Saturday, March 29

Dear Ward 5 Neighbors:

Councilmember Thomas is hosting a Motivation/Cheering Station for the 2008 SunTrust National Marathon on Saturday, March 29. The Motivation/Cheering Station will be located at North Capitol and R Streets, which is Mile 10 of the race. North Capitol Street will close at approximately 7:15am, and the first runner should go by at around 7:30 am. The last runner will pass by at around 9:15 am.

The CM invites you, your friends, and your neighbors to join him at the Motivation/Cheering Station between 7:15 am and 9:15 am to cheer on the runners. Our Cheering Station will also have a Channel 4 reporter on the scene, the Catholic U cheerleaders, the Harry Thomas Recreation Center football players and cheerleaders, and the Ward 5 Councilmember and his staff. Please spread the word and join us!

Call me at 727 8204 with any questions.

Vicky Leonard-Chambers
Office of Councilmember Harry "Tommy" Thomas, Jr.
1350 Pennsylania Ave., NW
Washington , DC 20004
202.727.8204 (work)
202.683.9053 (cell)

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

NoMa BID To Host James Bond Film Festival

NoMa BID To Host James Bond Film Festival

In Summer 2008



Festival Kicks Off May 8 With “Oddjob Challenge”
The NoMa (north of Massachusetts Avenue) Business Improvement District (BID) will host a summer-long James Bond Film Festival from May 8 through August 28, 2008. Free and open to the public, the outdoor festival will feature 15 of the best Bond flicks from 1962 through 2006. Each film showing will be preceded by an Oddjob look-alike contest,
with all Oddjobs given the chance to toss their bowler hats at a statue. Viewers also can dress up as other Bond film characters.


The Bond films will be shown each Thursday night, rain or shine, on the site of the future Washington Gateway mixed-use development at the intersection of Florida and New York Avenues, N.E. The site is located directly across Florida Avenue from the New York Avenue Metro station and the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) headquarters.


“Along with Artomatic, which opens in NoMa on May 9, the James Bond Film Festival will bring tens of thousands of visitors to this exciting new neighborhood that is currently in the process of rapid transformation,” said Elizabeth Price, President of the NoMa BID. “The film festival will be held on the site of what will soon become nearly one million square feet of office, retail, residential, and hotel space, known as Washington Gateway. In addition to having a lot of fun watching old James Bond movies, visitors will experience NoMa’s great location and rapidly developing vitality.”



The film festival is being organized by Georgetown Film Festival. For more information, see www.georgetownfilmfest.com.

Schedule:
Thursday, MAY 8 | DR. NO | (1962)
Thursday, MAY 15 | FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE | (1963)
Thursday, MAY 22 | GOLDFINGER | (1964)
Thursday, MAY 29 | THUNDERBALL | (1965)
Thursday, JUNE 5 | YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE | (1967)
Thursday, JUNE 12 | DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER | (1971)
Thursday, JUNE 19 | LIVE AND LET DIE | (1973)
Thursday, JUNE 26 | THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN | (1974)
Thursday, JULY 10 | THE SPY WHO LOVED ME | (1977)
Thursday, JULY 17 | MOONRAKER | (1979)
Thursday, JULY 24 | FOR YOUR EYES ONLY | (1981)
Thursday, JULY 31 | OCTOPUSSY | (1983)
Thursday, AUGUST 7 | A VIEW TO A KILL | (1985)
Thursday, AUGUST 14 | GOLDENEYE | (1997)
Thursday, AUGUST 21 | TOMORROW NEVER DIES | (1997)
Thursday, AUGUST 28 | DIE ANOTHER DAY | (2OO6)

Saturday, March 22, 2008

interested in helping out with artomatic? today 2 pm!

Artomatic
is having an open meeting today at 2 pm if anyone is interested in helping out and taping into the arts community in DC.
There will be introductions and small presentations about each committee. Come and see the ways you could be involved.

First and M NE.
2 PM.
in the lobby.

timor bodega

See this message from Kim Wee, proprietor of the Timor Bodega, 2nd & Rhode Island Avenue NW.


What's New:

Eco-Friendly Foods--run by a protege of Joel Salatin for those of us who are familiar with The Omnivore's Dilemma--has restocked the store with quite a variety of cuts. Included are pork ham steaks, loin roast, pork belly, beef ribeye steak, london broil and even a big 100-day aged Red Devon Ribeye roast.

There is also ground chicken, lamb and beef and various sausages. The beef and pork are from breeds of heritage, are not available in grocery stores due to limited supply. But you can get them in your own neighborhood alright.

Beer: Samuel Smith's Organic Ale is a must-try for a fruity, almost cidery ale. Plenty of choices for the "hop-heads" though: Double-Daddy IPA, Lagunitas Maximus and Stone IPA among others.

Wine: Organic Pinot Grigio and Cote du Rhone are back, along with a Chardonnay from Bodega Lurton, whose Malbec and Pinot Gris were well-received.

Coffee: We're getting through the last of the syrupy, earthy Balinese coffee this weekend. Up next: a Brazil estate batch.

Weekend Schedule:

Saturday:
Whatsa Bagel Bagels, store open 8:30am-8pm

Sunday:
Atwaters bread, store opens at 9:30am-7pm

Produce from Truck Patch Farms: spring mix, baby spinach etc.

Other organic produce all weekend:
Green beans, celery root, parsnips, rutabagas and mushrooms.

Friday, March 21, 2008

zaatar w zeit, is DC ready for a 24 hour man'oushe place?



man'oushe is one of my favorite foods in the universe. sadly there is no place i know of to get them hot and fresh in dc. i keep encouraging my brother in law to open up a franchise of Zaatar w Zeit, my favorite place to eat in Beirut. Its a really terrific 24 hour restaurant when you can get great man'oushe.
here is a good description of Man'oushe
or the wikipedia page






I really cant imagine a better lunch place for all those NPR, XM, ATF and DOJ workers, or an afterhours grub place after Ibiza or Fur. Its far better than Jumbo Slice.
Surely someone wants to open up a place on North Capitol.

its a gold mine waiting to happen.


*sigh*
i know someone, somewhere in dc clicked on this page, all excited they could get their fix locally. maybe hundreds of thousands. its just that good. Not yet, man, but someday.








i'd take a Barbar too, but its not as cozy.

Windows Cafe Wine Tasting

Mr. Abeje advises that there will be a wine-tasting event tomorrow afternoon, Saturday, March 22, 2008, at Windows Cafe -- from 4 pm to 7 pm.

There will be both red and white wines.

Plus cheeses and other snacks.

So stop by and participate!

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Artomatic in NoMa!


For immediate release

NoMa BID media contact: Artomatic media contact:

Leslie Braunstein Marina Reiter

703-234-7762 202-271-4748

info@lhbcommunications.com reiter.marina@gmail.com

Artomatic Comes to NoMa May 9–June 15, 2008

Up to 800 artists and 50,000 visitors expected in
D.C.’s most exciting new neighborhood

The NoMa (north of Massachusetts Avenue) Business Improvement District (BID) will host this year’s Artomatic, the Washington, D.C. area’s homegrown art extravaganza. From May 9 through June 15, 2008, up to 800 local and regional artists will exhibit their works on eight floors of the Capitol Plaza 1 building, located at 1st and M Streets, N.E., just one block from the New York Avenue Metro station.

Held regularly since 1999, Artomatic transforms an unfinished indoor space into an exciting and incredibly diverse arts event that is free and open to the public. In addition to displays and sales by hundreds of artists, the event features free musical, dance, and theater performances; holiday celebrations; films; educational presentations; and much more.

This year’s Artomatic, occupying 200,000 square feet at Capitol Plaza 1, will be the largest to date. Designed by renowned architect Shalom Baranes and owned by an affiliate of The Polinger Company, Capitol Plaza 1 offers 293,000 rentable square feet of Class A office space, with dramatic Capitol and city views from the upper floors.

“We are thrilled to partner with Artomatic in an event that will bring tens of thousands of people to NoMa,” said Elizabeth Price, president of the NoMa BID. “It is a great opportunity to showcase the transformation that is underway in NoMa and infuse it with the energy and creativity of the artistic community.”

"Artomatic has come back to its roots in D.C. with our largest event ever,” said George Koch, Chair of Artomatic. “We are excited about our partnership with the NoMa BID and their help in bringing this new space to our attention. Artomatic 2008 will have an abundance of exhibit and performance space that will be open to all — from recognized artists to undiscovered talents.”

Registration for artists and performers who wish to participate in Artomatic will be open soon. To stay up to date on the event details and schedule, visit www.artomatic.org and sign up to receive the Artomatic newsletter.

###

About the NoMa BID:

NoMa is an emerging mixed-use neighborhood north of the U.S. Capitol and Union Station in Washington, D.C. Private developers have invested almost
$2 billion in 2007–2008 alone, with plans to develop more than 20 million square feet of office, residential, hotel, and retail space in the 35-block area covered by the NoMa BID over the next 10 years. For more information about the BID, including an interactive development map, see the BID Web site at
www.nomabid.org.

About Artomatic:

Artomatic is a creative community that collaborates to produce and present a free arts spectacular. Participation is open to all, from recognized artists to undiscovered talents, who work in a variety of arts forms. In partnership with the development community, Artomatic transforms unused building space into a playground for expression, serves as a catalyst for community growth in up-and-coming neighborhoods, and helps to grow our creative economy. The nonprofit Artomatic organization is headed by a volunteer Board of Directors and is funded in part by the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, an agency supported by the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information, visit www.artomatic.org.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Walk around the block, Bloomingdale

Bloomingdale.....N. Capital Street, on a nice day, it is a great street. The other day, as I waited for the light to change, I ran into T, the fellow who wanders around aimlessly. He asked how my husband was, I asked him how his morning had been... a white car pulled slowly up to the curb and with his hand low by his side, T motioned, rapidly waving back and forth. The car turned onto Quincy. Then Tony abruptly said ...got to go. Hmm. A close friend.


The other night my husband and I had dinner with a friend of ours who is a banker. She has worked closely with a number of developers. I told her our ideas to help N. Capital Street...perhaps neighbors could form an LLC and purchase a building and fix it up. Perhaps businesses on N. Capital could partner with Catholic Univ School of Architecture to help design new enticing facades, or perhaps we, as a neighborhood, could court deep pocket investors.
She felt that an investor or developer would not be interested in purchasing a single building, but rather a block. I indicated that I did not think we wanted big development like 7th street, but rather something more small-business oriented, like 14th street. Admittedly, this is my preference.


On a lark, I decided to do some investigating. I found a building between R and Quincy NE on N. Capital with a wrinkled, crumbled, hidden Caldwell-Banker FOR SALE sign. What if we could entice a developer with this block. So I walked around the block and took some pictures. My next step is to meet the current business owners and find out if they would be interested in selling, or if they would prefer to stay, and if so, would they like some help to improve the facade of their building.


My idea is to provide a short report to anyone interested on just this block....the current buildings, the status of those building, and what they might become...perhaps with renderings of how fabulous building in lovely Bloomingdale, with a glimpse of the Capital and thousands of cars driving by each day could be....does anyone know of an artist or draftsperson who would like to help?


But Bloomingdale, what do you think? Is this a good idea, should I even be trying to pull in a developer, what do you think? This is our neighborhood...and it is a good one....but I think N. Capital needs a hand. Neighbors and I are meeting on Tuesday, March 25th 7:00 at Nellie’s Sports Bar. Can you join us?


Take a walk around the block with me. Think about it.

bike sharing in ward 2

Bike Sharing Program in Ward 2

See this 3/17/2008 post from the blog of ANC 2C02 Commissioner Kevin Chapple:

From Paris to Shaw: Bike Sharing Comes to Ward 2

According to a Ward 2 News District Beat article (pdf only), Shaw, Logan, Mt Vernon Sq, U St, Dupont and other neighborhoods will soon be served by a "free" bike sharing program. The program is one way that the District Department of Transportation and Clear Channel Outdoors Smart Bike program are trying to better serve residents and visitors by offering a carbon neutral and generally healthy way to get around the District. If you plan to make use of the program often, it would be wise to also invest in a bike helmet.

Apparently, according to DDOT's bike crash summary, it also helps to avoid accidents if you are female, under 25 and over 35, stay away from vehicles with non-district license plates, and avoid biking on Thursdays.

Initially, the program will make 110 bike available at local kiosks throughout the greater downtown area between 6am and 10pm. The program will require a $39 fee for an annual membership card that, at least initially, will allow users to rent a bike for free for up to 3 hours. The cost per usage may increase to $2 at some point.


Use of a bicycle helmet is the single, most effective preventive measure of reducing head injuries 85%, and brain injuries or serious disabilities by 88% from bicycle accidents.
-- DDOT's 2002 bicycle laws (http://www.ddot.washingtondc.gov/ddot/frames.asp?doc=/ddot/lib/ddot/information/bicycle/laws/bicyclelaws.pdf)

"We are just extremely excited and proud that this is going to be the first system of its kind in the country. DC is really ahead of the curve on this one."
-- Eric Gilliland, Executive Director of Washington Area Bicyclist Association [WABA - www.waba.org]

Officer of Cultural Tourism DC's Neighborhood Heritage Trail

See this message from Bloomingdale Civic Association President Cassandra Costley:


Ledroit Park and Bloomingdale have a wonderful opportunity to become a tour of choice in a city of wonderful touring options. Earlier this month the Executive Committee of the Bloomingdale Civic Association had dinner with Ledroit Park Civic Association president Robert Sullivan, ANC 5-C Commissioner John Salatti, and Jane Freundal-Levy, Chief Program Officer of Cultural Tourism DC's Neighborhood Heritage Trail to discuss how that could happen. Ms. Levy and her assistant explained the process by which Ledroit Park and Bloomingdale can become part of the city's ever expanding network of neighborhood heritage trails.

Those who don't already know about these trails can go to www.culturaltourismdc.org to learn more. Completed trails bring positive attention to the neighborhoods they grace. The process of putting the trails
together brings neighborhoods together to talk, to research, to learn, to listen, and to laugh. Long-time residents get an opportunity to preserve for posterity all the things they have loved about the place they live. Newer residents get a chance to do research on their new home and to meet neighbors they might otherwise never get a chance to befriend. "Building" these trails has given whole communities an opportunity to learn more about their physical space and the people who once lived there. If you'd like to capture a bit of that magic for Bloomingdale and yourself, please volunteer to support this effort when the collaboration with Ledroit Park begins in May.

No particular skills or abilities are required. An abiding interest in people, history, and storytelling will come in handy. Otherwise, we'll find something for you to do if you can walk, talk, cough, or smell nice. We'll use the time between now and when our collaboration begins to plan how to involve everyone in our community who wants to play a role and to determine how to collect all of the stories of all of those who have stories to tell.

Email us at BloomingdaleCA @ gmail.com to volunteer, ask questions, or comment on this initiative.

Thanks,

Sunday, March 16, 2008

harris teeter in NoMa

you know, every time i go to the Giant at Brentwood Shopping Center i vow to never go there again.

i like cooking a lot and i like shopping for food. i go to lots of different places and am not really a big fan "one stop shopping". i try to go to area farmers markets, the florida avenue markets, trader joes, grand mart, shoppers, safeway, whole foods, even costco, glut, a couple of the indian markets in langley park, timor bodega, etc.. i hit them all. but really i only go to the giant when i'm already picking up stuff from home depot, or if i need something quickly, because its the most convenient grocery store to my house.

But at the end of 2010 i wont have to make my convenient runs to giant anymore. i'll have a new grocery store thats closer that i can complain about:

Harris Teeter. will be opening a store at First and M NE.






hopefully it wont be as expensive as the ones i've been to in virginia. ; )

any way check out the great renderings of Constitution Square here
and the official announcement on the NoMa BID site

this is the lot in this picture

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Meet Bloomingdale!

Ever wonder what it would take to change the direction of North Capital Street? Specifically the area between Rhode Island Avenue and New York Avenue. In the past few weeks I have found neighbors with an interest/curiosity about how we, as Bloomingdale neighbors, can help North Capital Street regain it’s footing as a great street. Imagine, the power of a group of neighbors to buy one vacant building on North Capital Street. Daunting and exciting.

Let’s meet.

My agenda is to meet you. ....and,
  • Talk about what is needed to form an LLC. How is an LLC different/better than a 503c. Is there a better option?

  • How would we start? Would we have an initial investment amount per person? $1000, $10,000. More, less?

  • Do we organize the seed money first, and then find the property....that seems to make sense.

  • What is our mission? Is it solely to clean up North Capital? Is it to entice more businesses? Is it to make money? Are we only considering those buildings for sale, or do we approach other businesses....would SAVEMORE be interested in a new facade? Would that be something we would want to think about.


So let’s meet Bloomingdale! Tuesday, March 25th, 7:00pm at Nellie’s Sports Bar (9th and U Street). Please email me if you would like to be included: Karen_and_Howard at verizon dot net.

Think. Think. Think about it.

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

I hear you, Bloomingdale!

You hear my plot to get North Capital in shape...maybe another 14th Street...cool shops, restaurants, wine bars, galleries...maybe some Dupont Circle excitement with sweet yoga, bookstores, tea houses...perhaps some Columbia Heights and taco joints and gala stages. And then there is H Street with all things possible. Something, something, something. What is it?

And Ahhh..yes, we may need 20% down on a commercial building. And Yes! we can do this. And Yes! It does take a lawyer to navigate the waters of an LLC v. 503c. And we can think about risks, (dollars and otherwise), and rewards, (dollars and otherwise). And we are smart, Bloomingdale...we can figure all this out!

In the past week, I attended a lecture on Great Streets held at the Building museum... what makes a street a ‘great street’...is it a change of scenery every 20 paces? Diversity of architecture, people, atmosphere? I stood and asked why North Capital Street is only a great street to buy drugs. Why is that? It has nice architecture, it has a view of the Capital (certainly that must be great), it has diversity, the scenery changes. The audience laughed. Sigh. Is that the response that we should get? East Capital Street is great. Why isn’t North Capital Street.

After the lecture, I cornered one of the speakers. He was one of the early proponent/investors of the revitalization of 14th street. He sits on a committee called the retail committee. I asked if the retail committee would like to visit Bloomingdale and see what we have. He invited me to the next meeting. And so, I will go. Maybe I can talk them into visiting our piece of the pie. What would it take to get investors interested.

I would like to meet you, my Bloomingdale neighbors. Let’s think about what we can do. Let’s do it. Things like this have been done in urban neighborhoods in Philly, Detroit, Seattle...all over. We can do it too. I am not exactly certain how at this point, but I think we can figure it out.

Washington is a lovely place to live...and we all have friends who know things, big things...like how to form an LLC, where to get investors. Tomorrow night we are having dinner with our friend the banker. Maybe we can find those investors... Ask your friends what their ideas are...they know big things. You know big things.

And so, Bloomingdale. Ready?

more stuff coming to noma.

NPR to Relocate to NoMa in Washington, D.C.

NPR has acquired the 165,000 square foot building at 1111 North Capitol Street, N.E. from J Street Development of Washington, D.C. Built in 1927 as a warehouse for the old Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company, it is currently used as warehouse space by the Smithsonian Institution.


All of NPR’s 600 Washington-based journalism, multimedia, business and executive activities will be housed in this new facility, with occupancy planned for 2012.

read about it here

interesting footnote about the Washington Gateway Project here
the city allowed the developer to measure the building’s height from New York Avenue, which soars up above surrounding street level to leap the train tracks. From the rest of the neighborhood, therefore, the building is going to look like one of the tallest in the city.

30 People Cleaning 7th Street

30 People Cleaning 7th Street

The next TreeboxVodka monthly clean up project is Saturday, March 8th. We are looking to have 30 volunteers out there - help us make our goal. The more people means the more litter we can can clean up and we can clean out the dirty treeboxes. Our target area is 7th street. Starting at Rhode Island Ave/7th and working our way down and hitting the connecting streets as well.

Details
Date: Saturday, March 8th
Time: 10:30 AM
Where: 7th & Rhode Island Ave. NW
What: We'll be starting at 7th and RI and working our way down 7th street picking up Velicoff and Steel Reserve.
Bring: Gloves, friends, any additional tools you want to use for cleaning.
I'll Supply: Trash bags, I'll have a few extra gloves, and some trash picking tongs.

What else do you need?
Truly, I don't know. Hanging out on Saturday picking up beer cans and fast food wrappers seems like reward enough. But for those inclined to incentives, then we have you covered. Come out and join us three Saturday's and you'll receive a Shaw goodie. Past 3-time litter-pickers walked away with an I (heart) t-shirt. They were very happy.

Crispus Attucks and the Boston Massacre.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

TODAY'S LABOR HISTORY: British soldiers, quartered in the homes of colonists, took the jobs of working people when jobs were scarce. On this date, grievances of ropemakers against the soldiers led to a fight. Soldiers shot down Crispus Attucks, a black colonist, then others, in what became known as the Boston Massacre. Attucks is considered the first casualty in the American Revolution (1770).

Bloomingdales very own secret park in named in honor of Crispus Attucks.

another volunteering opportunity.

Volunteers needed:

4 DC hospitals in Washington ( Washington Hospital , Children's, National Rehab and Veterans Affairs) are conducting an exercise involving a dirty bomb scenario and we will need about 100 victim volunteers. Please feel free to announce this volunteer opportunity through your network and ask that those interested in volunteering contact me prior to March 26.

The volunteer duty would be on Friday, April 4, 2008, 008:30-12:30. Refreshments would be provided.

Volunteers will receive a briefing and receive "role assignments" describing their injuries and condition. Some would be bomb blast victims, some would be existing patients requiring transfer due to facility damage, and some would be designated as "contaminated" and would require decontamination via a "dry run' through the VA hospital's Decontamination Shower System. A few may play roles as concerned friends or family members.

Please contact me at via e-mail (preferred) or phone if you wish to register as an exercise volunteer. Provide your cell phone number or other contact number. We request that if you have a cell phone that you bring it on the day of the exercise so we can communicate.

I will contact all those who register a week or so prior to the exercise.

Stephen Mabley, MS, CIH
Area Emergency Manager
Emergency Management Strategic Healthcare Group (EMSHG)
Veterans Affairs Capitol Health Care Network (VISN 5)
50 Irving Street, NW , Washington , DC 20422
Steve.Mabley@ va.gov
202-745-8181 office
720-240-7725 cell
877-385-2138 SkyTel pager
202-745-2282 fax
intranet: http://vaww1. va.gov/emshg/
internet: http://www1. va.gov/emshg

CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS!

CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS!

WHAT: Ward 5 Community Assessment
We are going door-to-door in the Ward 5 Focus Improvement Area, to ensure that all residents are informed about this initiative and have access to government services.

WHEN: Saturday, March 8th, 11:30am-2:30pm

WHERE: Meeting location is the Harry Thomas Recreation Center, all volunteers should meet here at 11:30 for a briefing. We will start the canvassing at Noon.

CONTACT: Please contact LaToya Moore 202-330-2894 OR by email latoya.moore@dc.gov

Monday, March 03, 2008

Washington Flower Center, Eckington

Info from Cassidy and Pinkard


Summary

For sale is the Washington Flower Center, a 52,740 square foot industrial/flex building constructed in 1987 and currently occupied by a group of wholesale florists. The building sits on a 1.9 acre development site and is located in Washington, DC’s most exciting submarket, NoMa (North of Massachusetts). The site is currently zoned M with a 6.0 FAR, which allows matter-of-right use as office, industrial or hotel. Through the Planned Unit Development (PUD) process, an owner is likely to achieve C-3-C zoning, providing for an FAR of 6.5, or as much as 538,616 square feet of development.

With three hotels, a grocery store and approximately two million square feet of office development delivering by 2010, NoMa is quickly becoming the area’s preferred mixed-use neighborhood. Union Station, only one Metro stop from the site, abounds with retail and dining options, and extensive retail is planned along 1st Street, NE, the primary commercial corridor of the submarket. The area’s growing commercial base also will support residential development, and Trammell Crow Residential is currently in the planning stages for a 650-unit rental project adjacent to the Washington Flower Center site. NoMa’s future is a “24-hour” mixed-use environment, and Washington Flower Center is well-positioned to capitalize on this dynamic transformation.

Size
52,740 square foot industrial/flex building located on 1.9 acres (82,864 square feet)

Location
Located in Washington, DC’s dynamic NoMa submarket, the property is only a five minute walk from the New York Avenue Metro Station, part of Metrorail’s Red Line, the most heavily traveled in the Washington, DC region. The site enjoys convenient access to major arteries including 1st Street, NE, New York Avenue (Route 50), Florida Avenue, North Capitol Street and I-395. The site is also proximate to the Metropolitan Branch Trail which, along with the New York Avenue Metro station, will encourage pedestrian and commuter access to and from the site.

Market
NoMa submarket of Northeast Washington, DC

big and empty


big and empty
Originally uploaded by Scenic Artisan
second and florida nw.

Sunday, March 02, 2008

REMAX: when realtors steal

now, its pretty irksome, not to mention illegal, when someone steals your pictures for monetary gain, but its just preposterous that they add a copyright to your own snapshot.


here is my photo:


webpage



here is my stolen photo:


a copyright on MY PICTURE!



here is the page i found it

oh. and here



now, i dont really mind my snapshots being used in a way that promotes the neighborhood, but if you're going to be making money off of that usage, please have the common decency to ask. and definitely dont claim you hold copyright.

Open Houses.

Here is a list of open houses in the neighborhood today.