Last night I parked my van on the lot in front of the fire station on North sCapitol Street. This morning, to my dismay, I discovered a note which stated, “Warning! Your vehicle will be towed next time. Please do not park here. Owner!” However, I noticed that another vehicle parked beside mine, which has been parked there most of the year, did not have a warning on it. I am wondering if the “Owner” is Brian Brown, the same person who got a sweetheart deal from the D.C. Government to develop the fire station into a community restaurant, but has failed to live up to his commitment to the city and the community and now wants to sell the property for an outrageous profit. Or is this the ame person that added pop-ups on two buildings on North Capitol, totally defacing the cityscape and devaluing the community. Or is this the same person who has transformed the Anna Cooper House into an eyesore: unfinished and crumbling retaining wall, gym wquipment on the front porch, and four to six pick-up trucks parked in the yard. Maybe it’s time for Bloomingdale to consider whether the “Owner” actually has Bloomingdale’s best interest at heart. And maybe he should have the courage to leave a name with his notes.
Pages
▼
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
a comment about the firehouse + more
See this message from a resident of the unit block of R Street NW:
Love this comment. I second the call for a name on the note. I'm a huge advocate of accountability in online comments, I generally ignore people who don't have the courage to put their name behind their words. That certainly transcends to car notes as well! Its hard to respect anyone who can't stand behind their words. Put your name behind your words or keep your mouth shut.
ReplyDeleteI saw a bunch of cars parked in front with about 5 people gathered in suits and such attire. Perhaps he's getting a sales nibble now that lending has loosened up a bit.
ReplyDeleteThat said I'd love to know the ANC person responsible for this area. The fact that they're letting him get away with this is a bit infuriating.
you parked on his lot and you're indignant you got a note? at least you didnt get a $250 ticket for parking on private property.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, you park on private property and then get indignant that they told you to get the f*@# off or be towed? Doesn't matter where the property owner is or where they live, you were in the wrong. You want the rights to park in that driveway, buy the building!!
ReplyDeleteI agree that this guy was wrong to park in a private lot ... but ... brian brown is a disgrace and the deal with the firehouse is as shady as they come.
ReplyDeleteLots of issues here. Those North Cap pop-ups are horrendous, and their horridness is probably forgotten because of the record-breaking horridness of the pop-up on P Street NE. BB trying to sell the firehouse property for more than he paid for it from the city is also ridiculous. But so is parking on private property.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you all...Don't know if this person parked in front of the firehouse or by the curb cut. But if it was the the property...then shame on you...if it was in front of it or the curb cut...then you have a point....as far as the ANC representative of the area is Stu Davenport...but King Salatti has been all over this one in bed with Brown since day one...and what did we get but nothing! a lot of Bull!
ReplyDeleteI love the commentary about the Anna J. Cooper house! To think the City gave him money to help fix up the property and all that was done was a paint job! He replaced the grass with gym equipment and trucks. Looks a like a trailer park to me with a Historic Plaque in the front! Such an insult to the woman whose picture adorns the US postage, .44 cent first class stamp -- the Black Heritage edition.
ReplyDeleteI think that John Salatti is doing an EXCELLENT job. I moved to the neighborhood about 8 years ago and I was afraid to walk down my street; afraid to tell or bring people to my house! The ANC, at the time, lived on my street and she did NOTHING. So, if Salatti has to stay in "bed with Brown" to get the neighborhood safer and nicer, so be it!
ReplyDeleteUntil now, it seems that everyone has ignored the havoc that Brian Brown's incompetence has caused in this community. Every project that he has been involved with has been a disaster. I remember there was much discussion about the prospective restauranteur for the fire station space and the failings of her menu, but no one has dared mention Brian Brown's ineptitude as a developer and community leader, which begs the question - Who's in bed with who? While Scott does an excellent job engaging the community and initiating dialogue, Brian Brown's inability to deliver has rarely been mentioned on the community listserve. Other than Brian Brown being the developer, the common thread between the fire station development project, the Anna Cooper House and the buildings on North Capitol Street is that they all are a disgrace. Bloomingdale deserve's better.
ReplyDeleteCan someone enlighten me? I know Brian Brown's involvement with the firehouse (disappointing) but is he also connected to the Anna J. Cooper house and the N. Cap pop-ups? I live down the street from the AJC house, and it makes me so upset every time I walk by...what wasted potential and downright disrespect to a beautiful historic property and the neighborhood.
ReplyDeleteamanda,
ReplyDeletehere's an article about Brian Brown and the Anna J Cooper House:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/01/18/AR2006011800476.html
brian also renovated and popped up two noticeable buildings on n cap.
I'm quite surprised someone was given money and/or tax incentives to 'rehab' AJC house - what happened to the surrounding 'fence'? Is it the beginnings of the original or a historic fence that surrounded the property? The plaque being fastened to the CMU sends a message: this fence aint gonna be finished! Who's universal machine is that anyways? is the whole place a rental? its eclectic that's for sure...
ReplyDeleteHOW MUCH DOES MR. BROWN CHARGE TO USE HIS UNIVERSAL MACHINE? OR CAN I CONSIDER IT PART OF A NEIGHBORHOOD WORK-OUT CIRCUIT, JOG ON UP AND GET IN SOME REPS BEFORE I CONTINUE ON WITH MY JOG? THAT ARTICLE IS FUNNY - THE UNIVERSAL MACHINE, SUPER LONG GRASS, UNFINISHED FENCE, OTHER JUNK ON THE PORCH, AND METAL ANIMALS IN THE YARD ALL EVOKE TRUE RESPECT! "If you make a mistake, it's not like, 'Oh, well.' " HA!
ReplyDeleteBrian Brown should be ashamed. Just ashamed. We as a community need to figure out what we can do. If he indeed received monies from the City to aid in the historic restoration, he needs to repay that money.
ReplyDeleteI think that we should lobby the City Council to block the sale of the Fire Station for any more than what he originally paid for the station. Then Mr. Brown has the choice to follow through with his commitment to the neigbhorhood, for which the city sold him the old Fire Station. If he is now going to try to flip it, well, let's block it. Let him break even and allow someone to purchase it that will keep their promise. In fact, we should ask City Council to stop allowing Brian Brown to purchase historic properties, that he does nothing more than give only a half-way paint job and say that he has fullfilled his obligation.
ReplyDeleteIt's about time someone exposed the clownish behavior of this "developer"
ReplyDeleteI would agree that the city should limit the resale price of the firehouse because Brown has not lived up to his end of the bargain (the city cut a deal to sell at that price in exchange for the parcel being developed as planned). But I would NOT want Brown to follow through with the promise of a restaurant space there. All of this discussion makes it pretty clear that he is not a reliable or conscientious neighbor--why would we want him owning and running what would be (or could be) such an important establishment in our neighborhood?
ReplyDeleteAll over the wold's parking space and fee has problems not only in USA. It is just really hard to make everything perfect.
ReplyDeleteI wish that Brian Brown would be as zealous about the dumping and the trash that has accumulated in the back of the fire station. At a minimum he should have the decency to keep the property clean and secure. It has become a magnet for vagrancy and drug dealing.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, his properties on North Capitol are tacky and out of scale with the surrounding community.
this all sounds like the rantings of one person.
ReplyDeleteif more than one nut job were so anti brian brown there might be a story here, but its looking like some frothy mouthed hater.
Has this blog changed its policy on anonymous commenters? I was quite sure the author had a made a fuss in the past about having to use names and streets.
ReplyDeleteOkay, okay, blog moderator here.
ReplyDeleteHave we finished defecating on Brian Brown now?
In any event, time for me to re-assert the no-anonymous posts rule.
Please identify yourselves when you post, or else I will delete them.
Thank you for your cooperation!
Regarding the Anna J Cooper house fence, for what it's worth, that's not the original fence. One of the histories mentions that AJC donated her iron fence during the war effort in the 1940's.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sense of entitlement if I ever heard one... you park on private property and then attack the possible note giver for unrelated issues? You sir, are quite IRRATIONAL.
ReplyDelete-A North Capitol Resident