Monday, March 25, 2013

Bloomingdale resident Paul Cerruti: "stop the McMillan development lobby now"

See the Emails below from Bloomingdale resident Paul Cerruti and Brookland resident Daniel Wolkoff:
      

To The New York Times:

This story merits being published - This is not just a DC neighborhood
fight for the preservation of a truly historic location in our
nation's capital.

It is about government overriding the clear desire of the people -
for their own interests (many of the DC city goverment officials have
been tied to the developer)

It is about city government corruption and how the lure of developer
money is turning elected officials that are supposed to represent us -
the community - into servants of those from outside the community with
money.

It is about real estate and the micro real-estate boom of Washington DC.

It is about developers seeking to make enormous profit at the expense
of the community

It is about how a massive open space has miraculously survived to this
day in the heart of the District of Columbia, with incredible vistas
of the Nation's Capitol and skyline, with truly unique underground
vaults reminiscent of the famous Byzantine cisterns of Istanbul, which
was originally created to be a permanent open space reserve and park
for the people and designed by the creative genious of Fredrick Law
Olmsted Jr..

Visit: http://friendsofmcmillan.org/

We have a grassroots/neighborhood community David vs Goliath fight -
However, it should not be this way!  It is the people of the entire
country that should be involved in this cause.  The District of
Columbia is the Nation's Capital after all and belongs to the people!

Please consider this story!   Please feel free to contact me for
further information and facts.

We must prevent this outrage from being carried out.

Sincerest regards,
Paul J. Cerruti
T Street NW
Washington, DC 20001

message from Daniel Wolkoff,,

Councilmember Cheh and Grosso, I am forwarding this email from Paul Cerruti on stoppping this theft of McMillan. We need council members to be brave enough to save a park for our city. Where all of it is experienced  for our recreation, and jogging, and a place to build community on, so many things we need. This hand off to the developers is WRONG, just completely wrong, artificial! Our council has to show some courage. Please read Paul's sincere effort to get the New York Times to recognize the mistake and failure going on here. It is your job to protect the health of our land, and our residents. Stop selling us out! Save McMillan Park. The citizens own it,,who gave you this license to transfer it to developers? Where does this entire paradigm come from,,,our park, period.
I particularly find it hard to accept how poorly educated the council has been and ignored the needs of the people for so long. The city council is our council,, not EYA, or even the Mayors Office of Economic Development. You are our council, not the development conglomerate that got control of McMillan, our park! You are our council, act like it!  Who gave the DC govt. the right to close off this park in the first place, and so miserably mishandle it, until these developer came along. This is a scandal.

         If I can put so much time and effort in to having a decent park here in our area.
 The least you can do is stop the demolition, and get the issue properly exlpored for saving this park.
Living in NW for 20 years, I took parks for granted. Only moving to this side of DC , did I find out what is really happening. The government should be ashamed of itself. Let's get real. You are participating in the clogging off of the city, but keeping all of your nice upper NW neighborhood  so green, it is not fair. You are in power, and this is being abused, get some guts.
We will work with you, and all kinds of trusts, and foundatons and universities like Howard, and the city youth,, with Michelle Obama, as we provide healthy recreation, and urban agriculture, and all the benefitial classes, and activities,, just like Glen Echo. Why do they have  Glen Echo and we have this development on our Registered Historic Place? Thanks you for your help, and conscious efforts for the city parks, and youth.

Daniel Goldon Wolkoff
Adams Morgan Stained Glass
1231 Randolph Street, NE
Washington, DC 20017
Tel: 202-232-8391
www.adamsmorganstainedglass.com

--- On Sun, 3/24/13, Paul Cerruti wrote:

From: Paul Cerruti
Subject: Re: Stop the McMillan Development Lobby NOW
 Stop the McMillan Development Lobby NOW |
 Historic Preservation Review Board - HELP !
 To: publisher@nytimes.com

 NY Times:

This story merits being published - This is not just a DC neighborhood
fight for the preservation of a truly historic location in our
nation's capital.

It is about government overriding the clear desire of the people -
for their own interests (many of the DC city goverment officials have
been tied to the developer)

It is about city government corruption and how the lure of developer
money is turning elected officials that are supposed to represent us -
the community - into servants of those from outside the community with
money.

It is about real estate and the micro real-estate boom of Washington DC.

It is about developers seeking to make enormous profit at the expense
of the community

It is about how a massive open space has miraculously survived to this
day in the heart of the District of Columbia, with incredible vistas
of the Nation's Capitol and skyline, with truly unique underground
vaults reminiscent of the famous Byzantine cisterns of Istanbul, which
was originally created to be a permanent open space reserve and park
for the people and designed by the creative genious of Fredrick Law
Olmsted Jr..

Visit: http://friendsofmcmillan.org/

We have a grassroots/neighborhood community David vs Goliath fight -
However, it should not be this way!  It is the people of the entire
country that should be involved in this cause.  The District of
Columbia is the Nation's Capital afterall and belongs to the people!

Please consider this story!   Please feel free to contact me for
further information and facts.

We must prevent this outrage from being carried out.

Sincerest regards,
Paul J. Cerruti
T Street NW
Washington, DC 20001

----- Forwarded message ----------
From: Paul Cerruti 
Date: Sat, Mar 23, 2013 at 10:02 AM
Subject: Stop the McMillan Development Lobby NOW | Historic
Preservation Review Board - HELP !
To: steve.callcott@dc.gov
Cc: pmendelson@dccouncil.us, kmcduffie@dccouncil.us,
jgraham@dccouncil.us, dianne_brns@yahoo.com,
ronnieedwards.5c11@gmail.com, Mark Mueller ,
5e07@anc.dc.gov, 5e08@anc.dc.gov, 5e06@anc.dc.gov

Ms. Catherine Buell, Chair
Historic Preservation Review Board
1100 4th Street, S.W., Suite E650
Washington, DC 20024

Dear Ms. Catherine Buell:

rvoir, Sand Filtration sites), overriding clear majority
community support for preservation of the intrinsically historic
character and elements of the site and the community's desire for more
park space.

I completed a survey, along with many of my neighbors, that resulted
in the demonstration of overwhelming community support for greater
preservation of the historic structures (including the very UNIQUE
underground vaults) and more park space - why is the voice of the
community being so blatantly disregarded?  Are the potential financial
opportunities for the developer group(s) more important than the
concerns of the residents of the communities that are to be directly
impacted?

I am astounded that in our nation's capitol, a location of such
significance (historic landscape architect, unique historic
structures, open space, incredible setting and vistas) is even under
consideration for development, let alone threatened with being
completely obliterated!

McMillan merits and deserves more consideration!   McMillan should AND
could be Washington's equivalent to NY's Central Park!

When there are so many existing empty/vacant building lots and city
center development fill-in still required - why destroy this amazing
open space, historic asset to the local community, city and public at
large by building at McMillan?

I am pleading for a halt to this developer goldrush madness - The
consequences of the current VMP Master Plan, if carried out, will be
severe and permanent for the surrounding communities.  From an
explosion of vehicular traffic on the narrow streets of Bloomingdale -
especially First Street with its many stop signs - to the massive
increased sewage volume that will be forced through an "ancient"
over-burdened, out-dated sewer infrastructure that is already
overwhelmed and beyond capacity (Note: 2012 Flooding of Bloomingdale).

I can only imagine what will follow if the current VMP Master Plan is
carried out... First Street will have to be widened and turned into a
major thorough fare with traffic lights?  Parking nightmares?  Traffic
gridlock?  Noise pollution?  Increased sewage flooding for 20 more
years?  The very quality of life that has kept residents in our
neighborhood - even through the darkest days of drug and gang warfare
 - and which has been attracting a waive of new residents - the quite
stillness at night, the charming alleys and side streets, the almost
small town feel of Bloomingdale - is threatened with being turned into
a car-congested, noisy, polluted thorough fare for the thousands of
residents that will have to travel back and forth to the McMillan
 site.

Please consider the above concerns and those of my neighbors and
residents of the surrounding communities!

Sincerest regards,
Paul

1 comment:

VN Campbell said...

I've read some of these posts and they don't strike me as representative of the community at large. I don't live in Bloomingdale, I live in Stronghold, and it seems to me that the people in my neighborhood have much more complex views of McMillan than those reflected by Mr. Cerruti and Mr. Wolkoff. I respect their opinions, but I do want to point out that there have been plenty of people at the SCA, ANC and MAG meetings that seem to think that some development of McMillan is OK. For example, when the new park was introduced at a meeting in February, there was actual applause. This was not from developers or politicians, it was from people who live around here.

So, I just wanted to point that out.