Cheryl's Gone reading series at Big Bear Cafe - Thursday, 4-15-2010

See this announcement from Wade:

Cheryl’s Gone Reading Series – April Edition

Elizabeth Arnold
Dan Gutstein
Christy Zink
Maureen Andary

Thursday April 15 – 8pm
Big Bear Café
1st and R NW
Washington, DC

Elizabeth Arnold has received a Whiting Award and fellowships from the Bunting Institute at Radcliffe, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the Lannan Foundation. She recently learned that she has won an Amy Lowell travelling scholarship for 2010-11. Her three books of poems are The Reef (University of Chicago Press,1999), Civilization (Flood Editions, 2006), and Effacement (Flood Editions, 2010). Arnold is on the MFA faculty at the University of Maryland. She lives in Hyattsville, Maryland.

non/fiction is Dan Gutstein's first collection. His writing has appeared in more than 60 publications, including Ploughshares, Denver Quarterly, Ninth Letter, The Penguin Book of the Sonnet, and Best American Poetry, as well as aboard metrobuses in Virginia. He has received awards from the Maryland State Arts Council, University of Michigan, Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference, and other groups. He works at Maryland Institute College of Art, and prior to MICA, served as Visiting Assistant Professor in creative writing at George Washington University.

Christy J. Zink is an assistant professor in the University Writing Program at George Washington University. Her work has appeared in the American Literacy Review, the Washington Post, and in the anthology Electric Grace. She was a fellow at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and leads community writing workshops in Washington, DC.

Maureen Andary is a cabaret folk artist from Washington, DC, and one-half of the duo The Sweater Set. Learn more, and listen, at http://www.maureenmusic.com/.

www.cherylsgone.com

scooter in the alley

See this 4/13/2010 message from a resident on the unit block of U Street NW:

This Schwinn motor scooter has been standing in the alley next to 15 U street NW since Sunday afternoon. Hopefully one of your readers recognizes it.

volunteers needed for this Saturday's Bloomingdale Clean-Up

See this message from Bloomingdale resident Teri Janine:

DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF BARBARA BEST, WHO WAS COMMITTED TO A CLEAN AND BEAUTIFUL BLOOMINGDALE

Be Part of the Solution

PLEASE JOIN US – VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!!!

Saturday, April 17, 2010, 10am-2pm (Volunteers arrive @ 9:45am to sign-in) Meet @ 10 in the park across the street from Big Bear Café (near 1700 1st St NW (between N Florida Ave & N R St NW))

This year, Bloomingdale will be a proud participant in Keep America Beautiful`s annual spring event: the Great American Cleanup. The Bloomingdale Clean Up Day will include gardening and tree maintenance tutorials featuring DEREK THOMAS, the garden expert for our local Fox affiliate, WTTG, see www.thomaslandscapes.com, and our own Ward 5 Arborist, Shawn Walker. Please contact Teri Janine ASAP if you are interested in attending the presentations.

Free mulch* Limited supply of free plants* Alley, side walk and park clean up * Tree box beautification * Light yard work * Special Saturday trash pick up* Please notify Teri Janine ASAP or your Block Captain if you desire assistance with your tree box or with light yard work.

We are also pleased to announce that, in support of the Bloomingdale Clean Up Day, from Monday, April 12, 2010 through Friday April 16, 2010 from 4-8pm, Garden District, located at 1740 14th Street, NW, is offering Bloomingdale residents a special discount of 15% off annuals, perennials and shrubs purchased for this event only and a $50 rebate on trees from Casey Trees. During these off peak hours, Garden District staff will be readily available to answer your gardening questions. To receive the discount, please provide proof of Bloomingdale residency and a copy of this flyer.

Brought to you by the Bloomingdale Civic Association’s Beautification Committee

For more details, to volunteer and/or donate supplies contact Teri Janine terijanine@gmail.com or 214- 908- 1913.

Nationwide Open House Weekend

We are fortunate in DC to have a real estate market that lends itself to an active open house culture. In honor of April being Fair Housing Month, the National Association of Realtors is sponsoring the Realtor Nationwide Open House this weekend. The intent is to encourage open houses, particularly in neighborhoods that may not provide as much open market access as we enjoy. As part of this event, I will be holding my new listing in The Nebraska open at 51 Randolph Pl NW from 2-5pm on Sunday 4/11. More info on that and all the other listings open on Sunday can be found by clicking the link.

For curious neighbors, 1922 3rd St NW, the large yellow detached house designed by James McGill, will be held open on Sunday. I represent Community Three Development, who currently has the property under contract. Neighbors may be interested to see firsthand the current condition of the property, which will require extensive and expensive reconstruction. Bill Jackson from Long and Foster will be holding the property open from 1-4pm. Follow the history of the development process by visiting www.leftforledroit.com.


"

street cars in bloomingdale

I really don't anticipate retuning to add much content to this blog, and i am very happy that Scott Roberts resuscitated this site,. I did want to post this info on street cars, and i'm sure i'll post something when the first tavern opens up. ; )

I first hear talk of the streetcar project after i moved to bloomingdale in 2003,  and there was a lot of rumbling about the anacostia streetcar experiment in 2004. Shortly after i started this site i mentioned the possibility of street cars ( again) coming through our neighborhood back in 2005.  That post included its then proposed lines and routes:

This was a hopeful study and the links are now dead. ( check out the old content on this cached site) there was so little information to be found about streetcars then. some seldom updated sites and discussion boards. promised of an already past completion of the anacostia line, etc.. 

Here's one brochure i got at some community meeting, maybe even adams morgan day:

some of the ideas kept changing street cars to bus rapid transit to rapid bus to aw hell you're just on yer own.  i posted a few other things here and there when there was info, but it wasn't until early autumn last year that things got really exciting. it was when DDOT published this plan
Like the 2005 info, this plan included a route that goes through bloomingdale plus a second route!
Here is the proposed plan in its final phase

The two lines in Bloomingdale are in the Phase II portion of the plan.  i take the 90 buses very often, and i would sure like a non-transfer route out to mount rainier.  I have no idea of the time lines, or how likely this is to truly happen. i'm deeply skeptical, but i hope it does get built.

There are some upcoming meetings about the developments if you are so inclined to attend.

April 20th
6:30
Wheatley Elementary School
1299 Neal Street NE
(DDOT) Director Gabe Klein and Streetcar Project Manager Scott Kubly will update D.C. residents on DDOT’s progress toward bringing streetcars to the District.

May 6
5:00-7:00 pm
Renaissance Hotel
999 9th Street, NW
This meeting will address the current legal and environmental framework for modern streetcar systems. The seminar is free and open to the public.
Rich Bradley, President of DCST and Executive Director of the Downtown Business Improvement District, will moderate a panel of transit and urban design experts. Martin Schroeder, Chief Engineer for the American Public Transit Association, will review existing and developing streetcar technologies. Greg Baldwin, a Principal with Zimmer Gunsel Frasca, will present strategies for integrating streetcar infrastructure into urban streetscapes. A question and answer period will follow.


Resources:

Streetcars4DC
Greater Greater Washington
DDOT
d. 's facebook page
Frozen Tropics
United Streetcar ( streetcar manufacturer)

a history of the Bloomingdale Civic Association

From current civic associaton president Robert Brannum:

Dear Bloomingdale neighbors,

Your Bloomingdale Civic Association has a rich history and legacy in service to this community. During the recent Bloomingdale Town Hall, several residents identified themselves as new to the Bloomingdale community. As president of this historic community association, I welcome you to the neighborhood. I also invite you, and all other Bloomingdale residents to attend the regular monthly community meetings (every 3rd Monday at St. Georges` Episcopal Church, 2nd and U Streets, NW), which provide an open community forum for all Bloomingdale residents.

At these open community meetings, Bloomingdale neighbors talk community issues such as regarding public education, public safety, liquor license applications, economic development, neighborhood clean-up, block captains, and program services to youth. We also seek to use this as a opportunity for Bloomingdale residents to share ideas and to announce community events of interests. The Bloomingdale Civic Association believes in bringing people together in harmonious community service for all.

On behalf of the officers and members of The Bloomingdale Civic Association, you are warmly welcomed to join us. Please feel free to share this among your web community.

Robert

Robert Vinson Brannum, President
The Bloomingdale Civic Association

Historical Summary

The Bloomingdale Civic Association was established in June 1921 with Frank Coleman as its first president. The Bloomingdale Civic Association is an historic civic association organized from the interests of a group of residents of Quincy Place, NW and was reported to be of the most aggressive and progressive civic associations in the District of Columbia, this according to article written in the Washington Afro American on 4 August 1951. In a later article published in the Washington Afro American, 10 December 1955, President Dwight Eisenhower blessed the association stating,``I was particularly delighted to see this organization staring to work. It is the kind of thing that appeals to a soldier`s heart: decide what to do then do it and stop talking about it.I will follow it every step of the way, certain that you are doing a great job for the United States of America.``

The Bloomingdale Civic Association which serves the Northwest area of the District bounded on the South by Florida Avenue, on the North by Michigan Avenue, on the East by North Capital Street, and on the West by 3rd Street, west of North Capital Street, both North and South of Rhode Island Avenue. The U. S. Soldiers` Home, Washington Hospital Center, Children`s National Medical Center, the main Catholic University campus and Trinity University are to the North; LeDroit Park and Howard University are to the West.

Bloomingdale was the country estate of George and Emily Beale members of a prominent military family. In 1834, George Beale deeded land and right-of-way to springs on his Bloomingdale estate to the City of Washington as a water supply for the Capitol. Both General Ulysses S. Grant and President Abraham Lincoln were visitors to his home. In 1887, the Bloomingdale estate was divided among Emily Beale`s heirs and sold to several real estate developers.

During World War I, Washington experienced a growth spurt, and areas North, Northwest and East of the Bloomingdale area. This paved the way for African American home ownership in the Bloomingdale area despite the fact homes in some sections of the community had covenants prohibiting African Americas from owning, renting, or using the homes in any way. These covenants had been added to deeds during the wave of segregation and Jim Crow legislation in the District of Columbia during 1890`s and early 1900`s. Some areas of the Bloomingdale community remained exclusively white until the mid-1950.

African Americans began buying homes in Bloomingdale in the late 1920`s. Early African American residents of the community were drawn to Bloomingdale because as a community it was seen as a neighborhood for African American professionals - possibly because of its proximity to Howard University. The Bloomingdale community gradually became one of the first stable African American communities in Washington, and section of Washington where many African American lawyers, teachers, pastors, physicians, dentists, professors at Howard University and other African American professionals were able to buy homes in area. The community spirit is deeply embedded along the streets of the Bloomingdale Community.

Today, the Bloomingdale community remains a densely populated area with primarily Victorian classic brick single-family row homes with their original architecturally ornamentation and brickwork. Today the neighborhood is returning to full swing. Longtime residents live next to young professionals and their families. The streets are abuzz with the laughter of children. Passersby are greeted warmly by residents sitting out enjoying what Bloomingdale has to offer -- a sense of community.

Over the years, Bloomingdale Civic Association has been a leader in revitalizing and improving the quality of live for residents of Bloomingdale. The goals of the Bloomingdale Civic Association are: to create a process and environment of revitalizing its cultural and heritage needs, inspire and motivate everyone to discover and express their values, talents and strengths; to develop a stable community with resources assuring the survival and protection the residents and visitors in the Bloomingdale community against displacement other unjust or overwhelming interferences and disruptions in their lives; to achieve economic vitality with full employment adequate and available consumer goods and services, quality education for young people of the community, sufficient income to meet their needs and the resources necessary for the continuance health of the community.

Today, in 2010 the Bloomingdale Civic Association seeks to maintain and continue its presence and ability to enhance the quality of life for all residents of the community. It also continues to emphasize beautifying its neighborhood, education, affordable housing, employment, and targeted business expansion and development.

Brian Brown responds

See this message from Brian Brown.

(And please -- no more anonymous comments.)

Dear residents,

While I typically don`t respond to inflammatory emails, I frankly have gotten tired of having ``stones`` thrown at me so I am choosing to respond to this email. I want to remind residents that I am a 22 year resident of the Shaw/Ledroit Park/ Bloomingdale area. I would also like to respectfully suggest that there are more constructive ways to reach out to developers other than email flames. These kind of public emails to listservs are the very reason many small and medium sized developers won`t talk to residents unless they have to. I think most large developers talk to the neighborhoods because they have to because they need zoning changes. I would like to think that I am more open than most developers as I have tried to share as much information as I could publicly without endangering my projects. In some cases this has been only with recognized community leaders (ANC, etc), as the nature of negotiations on particular projects have required signed non-disclosures. It is also interesting to note that of all the emails over the years from people publicly complaining about an issue they had on one project or another as far as I can remember I have never been contacted directly by the same people to directly ask any questions. Here is my response.

Regards,

Brian Brown
Nextgen

I didn`t put the note on the vehicle because if I had, I would have signed it and included my phone number. That said, we have a project manager who is at the firehouse almost daily, getting quotes on the new scope of work for the revised project. The project manager says he did not put that note on your vehicle. That said, it is private space and we need access at irregular times. As a result we are particular about vehicles parking there as they frequently pull too close to the building and block the door we use to access the building. The other vehicle that has been parked at the firehouse for the last couple of months is licensed, insured, and tagged and is owned by relatives of mine who are out of town. They usually keep it on the street, but we all know how difficult it is to keep vehicles on DC streets when traveling.

As for the 4-6 pickup trucks parked in my yard, that is BS. I own two small Toyota pickup trucks. (I want to remind everyone that this is a 9 bedroom house.) We also have 9 adults staying in the house in addition to children so, in addition to the 2 trucks, there is an SUV, a van, a Toyota Avalon, and a Ford Dump that are there regularly. (6 in total) All these are kept in a private parking area that has room for 11 vehicles. All run, have tags, and are insured.

I would also disagree about the ``pop ups`` on North Capitol. While North Capitol is not historic, the addition to the two buildings in the 1300 block of North Capital was designed fit the irregular height of the block. When I saw the original facade design by the architect (which was an ugly popup), I sought the informal advice of staff members of DC`s historic preservation office, and I used their recommendations to complete the façade design. The building on the 1400 block of North Capitol is not a popup. It is a new building from the ground up as such was designed as infill.

I would agree that the partially completed wall is not particularly attractive. We have DC Government to thank for that. When we started the wall, the intent was to finish the wall in a 5-week period. We applied for and were issued the appropriate building permit. We also applied for and were told no public space permit was required. This was partially correct. We started the project and 1/2 way through we got stopped because the local / on-site inspector said one was needed. The on-site inspector went back and forth for the next two weeks with the public space inspector at 941 North Capitol. It turned out that the front and back are not public space but the side yard is and that the person that issued the permit did not check the side yard. The public space inspector who stopped the work would not let me fill in the dirt or put in the required footer until the proper permit was issued. No fines or stop work was issued because DCRA acknowledged that it was their mistake. The time of that delay resulted in it taking me about 3 months to resubmit the public space application. It turned out that as the wall was approved by Historic Preservation, it required the application to be formally submitted to public space committee because of the design and height. This is an extended process similar to a zoning or historic review committee. This process was going to require significant time and money on my part to resolve, which frankly in late 2008 and early 2009 I didn`t have.

As a result of that snafu and the economy the public space submission dropped to the bottom of my to do list. Over Christmas 2009, I prepared the application and I went down to DCRA to discuss the application with Public Space. The person at the public space was very sharp, and she suggested a much simpler elegant solution which required me to revise the plans one more time.

This was done and I got sign off from Historic Preservation about three weeks ago on the revised design, which I believe that Public Space will allow without the extended committee review. A couple of weeks ago I went down to DCRA right before they moved to their new location. I discovered a new hurdle. Changes in the public space fee structure now require over $12,000 in permits and deposits. (Five times what I had budgeted.) I don`t know about anyone else but I personally don`t keep have an extra 10k laying in my personal accounts to throw at surprise bills.

Frankly if I had known all the pain that this wall was going to be I wouldn`t have started it. That said, I am looking at alternatives to resolve this issue.

Brian

bicyclist struck by car near Big Bear Cafe last night

See this 4/8/2010 message from a W Street NW resident:

A friend of mine was hit by a car last night at First, R and Florida Streets NW on his bike ride home from work (basically in front of Big Bear Cafe). The driver hit him on purpose...road rage we suppose. My friend did not provoke him. The driver left the scene, and witnesses got a partial plate number. Please ask our neighbors to keep their eyes peeled for a black 2000ish VW Jetta with a sport rack on top with a colorful sticker on the rack. Its a Maryland plate that begins with 9FF. Police said if they catch this guy he will probably be charged with vehicular assault due to his aggressiveness. Fortunately my friend only has few bumps, bruises and scratches, however his bike took the worst of it: back wheel is destroyed, frame may be bent, and the seat was demolished.

This is a HUGE reminder to 1) WEAR A HELMET 2) cars will always win 3) the most important thing is to get home, not who is right or wrong in a bike/car conflict!

seeking referrals for gas fireplace installers

A 1st Street NW resident has this request:

Could you post a request asking for referrals of someone to install gas fireplaces? We have been unable to locate a reputable person who is licensed in DC to install gas inserts into two fireplaces. It is surprising that it is hard to find someone who wants to do this work.

car tags stolen on U Street NW

This message is from a resident on the unit block of U Street NW:

The front tag has gone missing from my car twice in the last month. I now feel they were stolen both as I had my mechanic tighten up my tags a few days ago so it couldn't have dropped off. I'm curious if anyone else on the unit block of U or the neighborhood has had this problem.

a comment about the firehouse + more

See this message from a resident of the unit block of R Street NW:

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.

UPS slip at the door

From a Channing Street NW resident:

I found a UPS slip at my door yesterday. It said UPS was there to deliver a package to me but I didn’t answer the door so they will come back tomorrow (being today). It had the area for writing my name and signature marked. So I wrote my name and signed the area, and left the slip at the door before I left home today. When I came back the slip was not there but I didn’t see any packages either. I called UPS. They checked all their records. Called me back and said their system shows no package for me and no driver having come to my door yesterday. Obviously someone put the slip at the door and then took it away. And that person now has my signature. I wanted to let the neighbors know about this in case they get a slip too. It would safer to call UPS to confirm that they in fact have a package before signing the slip and leaving at the door.

seeking a charity that will pick up furniture in Bloomingdale

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

We have a couple pieces of furniture we would like to donate to a charity. However, we need to have it picked up from our house and we are having problems finding a group that picks up from our neighborhood. Does anyone know which charity will pick up furniture from 20001?

local business

I added a list of local business to the bottom of the right margin.
If i'm missing a place, please leave it in the comments.

i also did some general upgrading to the site, and added a "tweet this" button.
btw, you can follow InBloom's twitter feed here

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"

sidewalks being redone on the unit block of Randolph Place NW -- but/not/in/brick

The message below is from a household on the unit block of Randolph Place NW. (Moderator note: the pic to the right is a generic "brick sidewalk" pic.)

The unit block of Randolph Place NW is once again having its street and sidewalk torn up -- we were told for new gas lines. This will be at least the 2nd time in 5yrs. Each time, our trees are damaged and our sidewalks are never actually repaired. I contacted Mayor Fenty and Councilman Thomas to see if we could have our sidewalks improved. Councilman Thomas told me that there was no money available for brick sidewalks, but that I could attend a Dept of Transportation meeting on Feb. 25th. Mayor Fenty also directed me to contact his Dept of Transportation point-of-contact, Mr. Jeffrey Marootian ( jeffrey.marootian @ dc.gov ).

I spoke with Mr. Marootian this morning. He was very appreciative of our frustration. The sidewalks will be replaced with concrete. The city will take preventative action to make certain that our newly planted trees will not be damaged. He mentioned that he had spoken with several residents of the unit block of Randolph Place NW in the last few days, asking that brick sidewalks not be used. So, for those 40+ residents who signed a petition a while back requesting brick sidewalks....it looks like that will not be the case. Feel free to contact Mr. Marootian if you would like to press the point.

challenging one's DC property tax assessment

From a 1st Street NW resident:

My property tax assessment went up nearly $84,600 which is a 15% increase from last year. My question -- has anyone successfully appealed their assessment and what documentation/support did you use to argue your case? The 1st of April is fast approaching.

Moderator note: The slanted "O" symbol above is the logo for the DC Office of Tax and Revenue. And now you know that!

Fedex delivery left on the front stoop -- not there ...?

From a resident at 31 Florida Avenue NW:

Wanted to let you know that a FedEx box containing $215 worth of bicycle parts (for one of my housemates) was left on the front stoop at 31 Florida Ave NW today, with a note in the mailbox saying it was behind the potted plant. When my housemate arrived this evening, it wasn't there.

Delivery people should know to leave packages hidden under the stoop in this neighborhood.

Big Bear Cafe's pursuit of a restaurant-class liquor license

What do you think about Bloomingdale's Big Bear Cafe pursuing a liquor license -- specifically, a restaurant-class (and not a tavern-class) liquor license?

Keep in mind that Aleks Duni, owner of the not-yet-opened Baraki pizza tavern at 1st & T Street NW, went through a community process -- leading to a voluntary agreement -- for a tavern-class liquor license. So Bloomingdale has already survived the voluntary agreement process for a restaurant-/tavern-class liquor license.

See this slightly edited copy of a recent post at Mari's InShaw blog regarding Big Bear Cafe at the 3/1/2010 Bates Area Civic Association (BACA) meeting.

Tuesday, March 02, 2010

Big Bear Beer II

http://www.inshaw.com/blog/2010/03/big-bear-beer-ii.html

Sometime after all the youth/school related stuff at the BACA meeting, about an hour into it, we finally got to Big Bear and their general ideas of pursuing an ABC liquor license. There were two persons from Bog Bear, one being Matt Sellers, the other guy a blond barista.

Big Bear is aiming for a CR license. For those of you unfamiliar with the wonderful world of ABC licenses, a class C Restaurant license is one for places where at least 45% of revenues come from food sales. It is different from the class of licenses for bars or corner markets. There was one objection mentioned, coming from a Baptist minister, presenting his concerns about people getting drunk and hanging out in the park. This was countered by the Episcopalian church secretary reminding him of Jesus' first miracle at the wedding at Cana, turning water into wine.

There were questions about Big Bear expanding and the space they have. The bear is kind of landlocked and the space above is leased to tenants, so in the near future, nope. Maybe, years down the road. Another question was the issue of vagrants/ neighbor characters. Characters do drop by to get a glass of water and to use the
bathroom and for the most part they don't cause a problem.

The idea is Big Bear has a vibe as a cafe, hang out and they have no intention of becoming a bar, they just want to expand their food service options. I asked the barista (m) if the idea is to offer something like Teaism, and he answered in the affirmative. As far as I can tell despite having a small park area and a restaurant/bar across the street, the Penn Quarter Teaism fails to produce drunkards rolling out of its doors.

+++++++++++++

Some additional info supplied by your moderator:

Here is the definition of a Class C license from the DCRA ABRA ABC Licensee Handbook
http://abra.dc.gov/abra/frames.asp?doc=/abra/lib/abra/licensee_booklet_052609.pdf

Retailer – on-premises
(restaurant, tavern, nightclub, hotel, multipurpose facility, common carrier)
 Class C: may serve beer, wine, and spirits

Annual food sales requirements §23-2101; 25-101(43)(A); 25-101(43)(A); 25-113(b). Food sales for both class C and D restaurants must meet 45 percent of gross annual revenue or a particular dollar amount per seat: $2,000 per seat for class C restaurants and $1,500 per seat for class D restaurants.

helicopters flying overhead in the nighttime

See the text of an Email from a resident of Flagler Place NW from early Sunday morning at 12:29 AM.

i'm following up on our conversation last week about the helicopters flying overhead in the middle of the night every night for well over a month.

i'd like to know if other neighbors have complained and/or uncovered any additional information about why this is occurring and when it may stop.

as i mentioned, the noise wakes me up each night for the 1-2 hours that they fly back and forth overhead. i am seriously sleep deprived at this point. i borrowed my neighbors fan this week to help drown out the noise. otherwise, i would have had to sleep elsewhere.

it's now 12:30am and the helicopters have already started flying overhead.

what can we do about this?!

Moderator note: This neighbor has already contacted her ANC commissioner John Salatti.

request for contractor advice & referral

From a LeDroit Park resident on 3rd Street NW.

We are looking for a couple of things. First, recommendation on type of home repair assistance -- we are not sure if we need a contractor, or a plumber, or a jack-of-all-trades, or all of those? And second, we would like some referrals to people who have done good work in the neighborhood. Our issues: first, it seems we have a leaky heating vent, that's caused damage to part of our ceiling. We think we would talk to a plumber/heating/HVAC person, but assume they would not fix the small part of the ceiling that is damaged. And second, we need to get some concrete in the back releveled so rain water goes into the alley not against our and and our neighbor's ouse. Our question: who would I talk to, could we get one person to deal with it all, which would be ideal? We've had some spotty experience with contractors lately, and would appreciate some insight from other householders. Names of contractors and/or specialists in plumbing and concrete would be greatly appreciated! Alison, aaraab [at] gmail [dot] com.

Moderator note: Residents looking for contractor referrals can review the Home Services tab at the DC BACA blog here: http://dcbaca.wordpress.com/home-services/

feeding the defecating starlings on T Street NW

From a Thomas Street NW resident:

Someone at 115 T Street NW is feeding the starlings again. These people like sh*t underfoot since they let Ginger the dog into the alley to do so. Now she's fenced in when present and can't subject us to it, but they're making sure the starlings do it to us.

Maybe they'd like to squat in the alley and join them to make more of it. I hope they like a besmeared car with starling sh*t that damages the paint job. Not to mention the rats they're feeding. There was one on my back porch at high noon and one sitting in the yard. I guess the rats figure if they're being fed they're acceptable in daylight on people's porches.

Open Houses in and around Bloomingdale scheduled for 03/07/2010

Active listing inventory is super low, but here are open houses scheduled in and around the neigborhood for Sunday.

did your Bloomingdale property tax assessment increase this year?

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

This may be of interest to the list. We received our property tax assessment last week and for the second year in a row, they have raised the taxable value of our home by the maximum 10%. There is no way homes in Bloomingdale are gaining in value 10% each year in this economy. Last year I fought the assessment and won. Sadly, I'm gearing up to do it all over again.

Overtaxing residents is not the way to make up for budget shortfalls. I'd be curious to see if others are seeing their tax assessed values raised the maximum amount as well. Hopefully everyone pays attention to those bills.

does NO ONE think that camping out in Crispus Attucks Park with kids is a fantastic idea?

It sounds like a great community-building, family-friendly activity.


Why the silence?

camping on Crispus Attucks

See this welcome message from Bloomingdale resident Mike Giordano:

Hello Bloomingdale neighbors!

I’m Mike Giordano. I live on the 100 block of U Street NW with my partner Bob and our 5 year old daughter Kayla. I’m looking for volunteers to help organize our first Camping on Crispus Attucks.

With the guidance and support of John Corea, the Crispus Attucks Park Board and John Salatti, we’re going to have a family-friendly night out in the park – similar to what the Park Service does in New York’s Central Park.

Let’s keep it simple…set up your tents, bring your portable fire pits, roast marshmallows, sing campfire songs, perhaps even tell ghost stories. Then, go to sleep by the sounds of crickets and sirens. There may be a small fee to cover the portable toilet. I’m hoping that the campers will be willing to donate marshmallows, fire wood, and such.

Worried about safety? Don't. We have the support of the local police. In fact, an officer or two will be joining us overnight.

I’ll need help with things like: signage, renting a port-a-john, creating agreements and registering campers, post-camp cleaning, potential activities and such.

If you’re interested in helping out, email me at mike.giordano.msw @ gmail.com or call me at 202/ 234- 5178.

For registration – that will begin in a month or two.

Hope you’ll join us!

Mike

V Street NW cat found

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

Does anyone in the unit block of V Street know anything about a gray cat hanging around the street? It's gray and fluffy and I think it's been out much of the winter. If anyone has any information, can you please email me at malindabrent@yahoo.com? If no one claims it, I'm going to try to find it a home. Thanks.

homeowners have large electric bill increases in January?

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

I am interested in knowing if other homeowners received a massive increase in their electric and/or gas bill for January.

I believe the electric bills were estimates and not actual reading. My January 2010 electric bill increased by $400 and just wondering what others had? My home is heated in the winter time by electric.

female pitt/lab mix needs to find a new home

See this 2/28/2010 message from LeDroit Park resident Maria:

From: Maria and Christian
Subject:
Neighborhood Dog Needs New Home
To:
Date: Sunday, February 28, 2010, 4:49 PM

I was approached today by a neighbor, Ms. Pamela Walker, from W St. who needs to find a new home for her dog. The dog is a 1-year old female, pitt/lab mix and is NOT fixed. She is up-to-date on her vaccinations (Ms. Walker indicated that she has appropriate paperwork.) Ms. Walker indicated that she is housetrained. Ms. Walker needs to find a new home for her dog as soon as possible, as her landlord has threatened her with eviction (she is not allowed to have dogs in her apt).

If you are able to take her dog, or perhaps know of a rescue organization that may take the dog, please contact Ms. Walker, or her daughter Keyonna at 202. 528. 4522 (this is Keyonna's phone).

Let's help to keep this dog out of the dog shelter!!

--
bloomingdale.ledroitdoggroup @ gmail.com
Committed to building a sense of community and increasing safety in Bloomingdale & LeDroit Park by establishing and maintaining a dog park at Gage-Eckington.

using tax increment financing (TIF) money to allure Costco to DC

Recall the news that the Radio One project in Shaw had been axed? http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2010/02/22/daily70.html

At-Large Councilmember Kwame Brown floated a trial balloon shortly after the Radio One withdrawal announcement that perhaps that TIF money could be redirected to get Costco to come to Ward 5.

See this comment from an Adams Street NW resident:

So they want to take 6 million dollars of TIF money raised from taxing existing companies and spend it to attract a gigabucks corporation to build a big-box store and drive current merchants out of business? That's kind of putting the basket we are currently going to Hell in and mounting it on a luge!

Wouldn't it be better to spend $100,000 training people to run consumer cooperatives and start up small businesses, and give the rest back to the companies to pay their bills? Maybe just sell some lots around the Metro to builders to build houses or stores for whatever the market will pay for. Why the city thinks its politicians can decide these matters better than existing businesses has always been a puzzle to me. Why politicians think they should have large sums of money to play with has always, unfortunately, been much more clear, and undesireable.

LeDroit Park, Eckington 2010 property tax assessments decreased

Property tax assessments for 2010 have come out.

The assessments for both LeDroit Park and Eckington have decreased.

Note that Bloomingdale does not exist for property tax purposes. "North Bloomingdale" is part of LeDroit Park. "South Bloomingdale" is part of Eckington.

See here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/27513385/2011-Assessment-for-Residential-Properties

See this 2/27/2010 Washington Post article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/26/AR2010022605706.html

police called over snow-shovelled "reserved" parking space incident on Thomas St NW

From a resident on the 100 block of Thomas Street NW:

After reading so many wonderful reports of neighbors acting in a neighborly way throughout the last few weeks, I have an unfortunate (unneighborly) incident to report. On Saturday morning, my husband walked out to our car to find that it had been vandalized.

A neighbor living at xxx Thomas Street NW [near Thomas & 1st Street NW] wrote in some type of black marker all over the driver's side window of our car (I won't repeat the cursing on our window).

Not only did this neighbor admit to vandalizing our car, he continued to yell at us when asked to confirm whether he did this and freely admitted the action to the police when called. He even went as far as talking about how great all the neighbors had been during the storm and using that as an excuse to vandalize our property (ironic considering we had writing all over our car window from him).

The neighbor (although I hate to even call him that) accused us of parking in "his spot." I would like to point out that while I understand that he may have put in time shoveling out "his spot," so did we (and "our spot" has been filled since we first moved our car) and many of our other neighbors (who have also returned to first come first serve parking for the same reasons).

I'd also like to note, that not only was Thomas Street continually plowed during the storm, that as of the end of last week, the only snow restricted space on Thomas Street was the entrance way to the alley, the no parking space in front of the fire hydrant and the handicapped spot. The snow has not been a problem for parking in several days.

My note to you - Beware of parking anywhere near xxx Thomas Street.


The residents of xxx Thomas Street NW didn't bother to introduce themselves (not surprisingly). We did call the police and filed a report, but I don't believe an arrest was made. The police stopped came by about an hour after we made the report, but the marker the guys had since gotten the marker (or whatever it was) mostly off the glass. The police noted that they needed to see the window to take any further action.

It seems like such a silly matter but the fact that we had to deal with this from neighbors (grown adults too) is still a bit shocking to me.

DPW resumes recycling collections

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

I noticed that a lot of our neighbors on unit block of Adams didn't know to put their trash at the curb last week. The result has been overflowing trashcans in the alley/back yards. I did a cut and paste from the announcement in the Bloomingdale listerv newsletter and I'm circulating the note to my neighbors on the unit block of Adams. I don't know if this is something others would want to do, but it sure could help with the trash/garbage situation. I have attached what I'm putting at my neighbors' doors.

2/23/2010 8:30 a.m. Update, I just spoke to Monique of the DPW Public Information Office, she said she found out late last evening that alley pickup will resume. However, because citizens were told to put trash out front, DPW will also pick up trash from curbside.

TRASH COLLECTION – WEEK OF FEB. 22, 2010

Excerpted from an announcement in The Bloomingdale Community Email

Your neighbor at ________________

DPW RESUMES RECYCLING COLLECTIONS STARTING MON., FEB. 22

Both trash and recycling to be collected from the curb, following normal schedule. Residents are asked to use their recycling containers – blue carts and/or bins – and put the containers next to their trash containers (or dark plastic bags) at the curb. (NOTE ADDED: PUT BLEACH IN BAGS TO DISCOURAGE RODENTS.)

DPW suspended recycling collections for two weeks due to the snow; therefore, many households have more recyclables than will fit in the containers. These overflow recyclables may be put in brown paper bags or cardboard boxes and placed next to the carts or bins.

Both trash and recycling collections will follow their normal schedule. Residents are asked to put their containers out between 6:30 pm the day before their collection and 6 am of their collection day. Snow in District alleys is beginning to melt. However, not enough melting has occurred nor are temperatures forecasted to be sufficiently high to promote substantial melting to create certainty that DPW collections crews safely can collect trash and recyclables from alleys.

Linda Grant, Public Information Officer, 202/671-2375/desk
202/497-1080/cell

Open Houses in and around Bloomingdale for 02/21/2010

There are still plenty of snow mountains around Bloomingdale, but at least life is returning to some sense of normalcy. Here are the scheduled Open Houses in and around the neighborhood for Sunday.

snow removal request on 200 block of Florida Ave NW

Here is a request from a neighbor on the 200 block of Florida Avenue NW:

I live on the 200 block of Florida Ave NW- the even side.

Because half of the block has rear-facing R street NW houses and the Three D car lot there is a HUGE stretch of the block that never gets shoveled every time it snows.

I would shovel myself, but I have a herniated disk in my back and am not physically able to. I am BEGGING the residents of the 200 block of R street NW who have a back entrance onto the 200 block of Florida to PLEASE SHOVEL THE WALK.

Additionally - to the owner of 3D Motors, please shovel in front of your business. In order to get to my car (I park on the 200 block of R street), I have to walk with my back to traffic in the street....I have seen people getting off the bus and being forced to stand in the middle of the street because the bus stop is covered in three feet of snow. It is dangerous, to say the least, especially at night.

snow parking wars

See this 2/17/2010 Email received from a 1st Street NW resident:

I know there has been a lot of debate on the issue. I just wanted to send you this photo as evidence that the parking wars are still going on. I personally think it is a little ridiculous people are still doing this. I would have been marginally more understanding last week, but there is no need for it this week, as much of the snow is/has been removed.

I found this sign on the unit block of V Street NW today.

Bloomingdale being invaded by starlings ??

From a Thomas Street NW resident:

A couple of years ago, I saw on television a block on Capitol Hill that was invaded by starlings. I wish I hadn't because it is scary. These starlings took the block over and pooped all over the streets, the cars, etc. If you let your dog out, you had to clean his feet before letting him in the house. I've been seeing more starlings and seagulls here in Bloomingdale and more of their poop all over my house and adjacent houses. When these birds breed, their offspring remain and breed in the same trees (at the rate of 3 birds a season) which is why they took over that block on Capitol Hill. I wondered why there were all these newcomer birds around T and Thomas Street NW when I saw a person living at ll5 T Street NW putting out food. Please do yourself and the neighbors a favor and stop this unless you want to clean your dog's feet and your car perpetually.

Starlings can survive on anything and need no food.

Open Houses scheduled in and around Bloomingdale for Valentine's Day

Despite the snowy streets, there are several open houses scheduled for Sunday.

"reserving" cleaned street parking spaces

This message is from a 1st Street NW resident.

(Try to be nice when commenting.)

1st is a PUBLIC STREET with PUBLIC PARKING, not Private Concierge Servce

I have witnessed on several occasions over the last few days of people "reserving" their cleaned parking space along 1st street, as if they have some sense of entitlement to a specific parking space. In one case, a new resident on V street pulled his car into a cleaned spot on 1st street, did more shoveling about it and then proceeded to "reserve" HIS spot with 2 wooden chairs when he was away.

I also saw a resident of 1st street come home, kindly remove those chairs and parked in the available PUBLIC PARKING SPACE.

Sadly, the V street resident, upon returning home many hours later, felt betrayed and began shoveling snow and ice upon the parked car. A Vengeful act of unkindness based upon a false premise of entitlement.

Everyone, you do NOT own a sparking space on first street or any street, even if you spent an hour digging your car out of one. There is not enough space on first street to park and really, I think if anyone has any level of entitlement, it may likely be those who pay to live on first street...a right to park near their home.

Sure, anyone can park there and everyone is welcome to park anywhere they find a space, BUT we do not have private spots, reserved spots, or metered spots. If you want your private spot, I suggest you buy a home with offstreet parking or find an offstreet spot to rent.

In all the kind neighborly news, it is really sad to see people putting chairs and white plastic boxes, and other things in spaces to reserve for them hours later. It is even sadder to see people trashing other peoples cars because they parked on a public street in a free spot that is open to anyone.

Treat your neighbors with respect. Parking is first come, first serve. If you don't want to lose your hot spot, then walk or take the metro or taxi and leave your car there. If you move your car, the space is no longer yours. And perhaps a visit from the police department for throwing ice and snow on someone else's car will make you think before you do that again, too.

mail theft on S Street NW on 2/9/2010

See this 2/9/2010 message from a resident on the 100 block of S Street NW.

I thought it right to share an experience I had this afternoon, Tuesday, Feb 9th at 4 PM.

I had just delivered some mail including a Netflix envelope to the basement unit’s mailbox and was sitting in my bay window facing the street. I noticed a male and female walk by the path to the front door. She casually scanned the front and basement doors then walked onto my property to the basement. I observed her go down stairs then quickly return to the sidewalk and hustle to catch-up to her male friend. It seemed odd that if she were a friend of my neighbor, she would have knocked on the door and I would have heard it. I heard nothing. I looked in at the basement mailbox paper holder that was now missing the Netflix envelope. Looking down S Street, I saw her discard the brilliant red Netflix envelope that I delivered minutes before. I immediately followed after her west on S Street toward 2nd Street NW. I picked up the discarded and now empty envelope, checked the address (mine) and said to the girl "Excuse me, I think that you took my Netflix by mistake." With that she handed me the CD and proceeded to make multiple unrelated excuses. I pointed out that I watched her crane her neck to look down into the basement from the sidewalk, walk back six feet to my front walk, disappear down there, reappear and now there we were. More excuses.

Key to this is remembering the email traffic about similar experiences reported on this listserv including a missing gift card, credit cards, etc. (I also found a newly torn-up Wachovia document but could not identify its owner.) Fortunately, I had my phone and took the girl's picture. You will see that she is carrying a Scrabble board game under her arm. Suffice to say it is worth 1,000 words. Her male counterpart was African American, 6'2" 200 lbs, braided hair, three quarter length black winter coat, black pants and a black skull cap/winter cap. I didn't get a good look at his face as he only glanced over his shoulder, laughed and kept walking.

I called MPD who arrived in under 10 minutes, took careful notes and saw the picture. They checked and this is mail fraud and tampering with mail. It is a federal crime and not their jurisdiction. US Postal Inspection Service was called and a case opened. I highly suggest that the people who have experienced the same contact USPIS Mail Theft Division at 877-876-2455. You will have to navigate a couple of prompts but that is just to get your locality and the right local inspectors division. Alternatively call the general USPIS number at 202.636.2303.

helping elderly neighbors with snow shoveling, etc.

See this 2/10/2010 message from an Eckington resident on the unit block of R Street NE:

As this snow gets deeper, I am of course worried about my elderly neighbors on R Street NE in Eckington. Reasoning through it, I know that two of my elderly neighbors both live with their children, so their children will help. My neighbor immediately next door is an elderly widow who lives alone. Though she does have family in the neighborhood, we are checking on her/assisting with shoveling as needed and possible.

Could you send out a note to the list to ask everyone to do the same thing, i.e. make a mental note of their elderly neighbors, what their resources are (family wise), and go over to check on them and assist with shoveling as needed? After so many days of snow, some of them may be beginning to run out of staples and/or medications. Even if they are just fine, I'm sure they will appreciate a friendly face--and it never hurts to ask
if someone could use a little help--especially since a lot of people probably have time on their hands!

more snow plowing needed in Bloomingdale ... ?

See this 2/9/2010 message from a household on the unit block of S Street NW:

My husband and I are new residents in the Bloomingdale neighborhood - hopefully. We purchased a house on the unit block of S Street NW and are supposed to be moving in this Friday, after 6 months of renovations. I'm getting more and more concerned that we are not going to make that deadline given that none of the side streets in Bloomingdale appear to have been plowed as of 11:50am Tuesday (today, right now). He and I have been making our way via Metro from our apartment over to the house everyday to shovel snow, and have not seen any improvements in our street conditions. It's slightly disconcerting considering nearby Rhode Island Ave and Florida are both completely clear. We even went so far as to flag down a plow and ask him to make a pass through that neighborhood. He said he was going off duty but would radio it in. We don't know for sure if he did, and I understand the magnitude of this storm, but if you check out this link to the DDOT Snow Tracking page (http://snowmap.dc.gov ) you can see that there are some side streets off Eckington Pl. NE that have had multiple passes. We apparently have not had a single one. Is there someone we should be contacting about this? Any suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated.

stolen mail in Bloomingdale

Okay, there appears to be interest in stolen mail, so here is an Email that your blog moderator received today from a Bloomingdale resident:

Just wanted to add a note that on S street NW (between 1st and 2nd) we had a stolen package this afternoon. Please consider having your packages sent to work - I am currently in the process of trying to contact several outstanding orders to get addresses changed. It was left opened with insulation strewn out of the package right on the front stoop of our house in plain view, so apparently our neighbors did not notice. We happened to be at work today, but with so many people home, I'm really surprised the perpetrator is still walking right up to people's front doors to take property. Please keep your eyes open so we can stop this as soon as possible! We were considering setting up a webcam and leaving package out again but we don't have a working camera at the moment. Anyone? ;)

what to replace the closing Safeway with ?

Okay, the Safeway at 4th & Rhode Island Avenue NE is closing in March.

What next?

See this message from Ward 5 resident Debbie Smith:

There has been talk that the Safeway, located in the Rhode Island Avenue Shopping Plaza, closing on March 6, 2010. Several people in the community are considering other grocer options.

Currently, the strong interest has been, Wegman and Trader Joe's. We would like to hear your thoughts. Please email your responses to: dlsmith112@msn.com as we take this poll.

Here is a 2/7/2010 update from Debbie Smith:

Since this is our community we need to take a stand and let the decision makers know what we want as a community. If you have not had an opportunity, please take the time and vote. Results will be made available next Sunday and posted by the Moderator of the Brookland listserv. Thanks.

You need to sign into yahoo, but it's at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Brookland/surveys?id=12984788

The poll will close next Sunday and the results will be reported to the whole listserv automatically.

Safeway at 4th & RI Ave NE to close on March 6, 2010

See this article from a new story on WJLA-TV's website:

Residents Fired Up About Safeway Closing in Northeast

posted 02/03/10 6:09 pm producer: Malachi Constant
http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0210/702596.html

WASHINGTON - Store
closings are nothing new in the bad economy but on Rhode Island Avenue in Northeast Washington, a Safeway store closing is causing a big commotion.

After decades of serving one Northeast neighborhood, Safeway is shutting down its Rhode Island Avenue store where reaction Wednesday was swift and emotional.

"What are we going to do if they close the Safeway down?" asked one person.

"That's just crazy!" remarked another.

One resident asked, "What is the community going to do?"

Many residents say the supermarket is the center of their community where the elderly and others push their carts to shop, pick up their prescriptions and keep up on what's going on.

ANC Commissioner Marshall Phillips is angry. Phillips said, "They're just closing us down and leaving our community and where they going to take the money they've taken from here…"

Safeway told its employees the news Tuesday.

Safeway's Craig Muckle said, "We are closing the store effective March 6th and it's never an easy decision to close a store."

Safeway say they are losing business to a new Giant built half a mile down the street. They also say the type of stores in the nearby mall are not the kind that attract customers who would also shop at Safeway and so business is down.

One woman shared her reaction to the news about the closing, saying, "I'm like, 'good God, that's sad.' This is so sad."

One resident proposed, "They should work on keeping it open for us."

"We senior citizens don't have no place to go except up to the Giant and got a catch a bus to up there. That's crazy. Lord, have mercy, Jesus I don't know. I don't know. They treating us wrong," said one senior citizen.