It’s all about the neighborhood
ANC 4D meeting on the 16th was about tenants fighting for their rights, teachers fighting for their rights (and fighting to fix the achievement gap and poverty-related issues), a new restaurant (“best wings in DC”), Ward 4 Family Fun day on the 28th and an awesome sounding Skate Jam on July 20th. Read the full notes and see pictures after the break:
Read MoreThe 6th Grant Circle Social is tomorrow, June 17th from 6 PM to 7 PM in the middle of Grant Circle. It's a great way to meet local residents, so be sure to tell your neighbors who may not be online to learn about it.
Whether you're stopping by for a few minutes or staying the full hour, it's a great opportunity to talk with neighbors. If you are interested in co-hosting a future Grant Circle Social, please contact Rob Mandle.
About Grant Circle Socials
The Grant Circle Social series is a casual, no-agenda gathering of neighbors in Petworth's signature green space with an underlying goal of building social capital and fostering a sense of community. Grant Circle Socials are held from 6pm to 7pm the Third Wednesday of the month.
Speaking of the dangers of cars... A second grade child received minor injuries when he was struck by a car in front of Powell Elementary this morning. The boy was running across Upshur Street from the soccer field across the street and ran out between the cars. Fortunately, he's ok and is back home after a quick trip to the hospital.
It did create quite the scene with EMS, Fire and MPD. It also has created concern among parents on how to ensure drivers are aware of the children, and ensure children don't dart out into traffic. On a Powell Parents Facebook page, parents... Read more after the break:
Read MoreThere's been a lot of conversation around the neighborhood and recently on area listservs about pedestrian safety conditions at Grant Circle. The most common complaint is that drivers fail to stop for people trying to walk across the circle.
People have told stories about walking across with their kids, have a car stop to wait for them, only to have another car come zipping around the first and almost hitting the pedestrians.
Residents have been asking for DDOT and Ward leadership to made changes to the Circle for years, and there is a plan that might help increase safety for pedestrians... Read the full article and see pictures of a proposed solution after the break:
Read MoreThe draft agenda for this Tuesday's ANC 4D meeting was sent out tonight. Details after the break:
Read MoreIt might sound obvious, but sometimes the obvious is so much in front of you that you don't see it. Last night at the Petworth Dance Project, I realized that a neighborhood changes from just a place to live to a place where you want to live when the people around you work to make it a real community. It's where you feel engaged and connected with a sense of belonging.
It's when people volunteer their time to clean up streets and plant new flowers, when local businesses open their doors to local events, and when neighbors bring their passion and make their work available to all. We see this right here in Petworth with the Celebrate Petworth Festival, with the Petworth Jazz Project, the Community Market, the three Social hours happening around the area -- and now the Petworth Dance Project.
Sara Herrera-Kopetchny has put together a new summertime event for people of all ages to enjoy modern dance, for free, here in Petworth. The second Saturday of each month, a dance company will come to Petworth Park (8th & Taylor St NW) and present a free dance for everyone to enjoy. Read the full article, see pictures and a video of the event after the break:
Read MoreA great crowd at the 149th Strawberry Festival at St. Paul's Episcopal Church. The strawberry festival started in 1866 and has been a tradition at the 300 year old church for a century and a half (the history of the church is fascinating).
This time around there was a lot food, bounce houses, a pony rides on a beautiful (and hot) summer day -- perfect for enjoying strawberries. A gallery from the day is after the break:
Read MoreIt's hot, humid and overcast, and it's a great time to head over to the Petworth Community Market. Special props to new neighbor Chris Jones and his dog Queen. Chris rode over to the Market from his new home on Kansas Ave on a kickin' long board (great exercise for cute Queen).
You can pick up cool Italian Oyster Mushrooms from Good Sense Farms. Abraxas and Curt Mariah are ready to tell you how great these locally sourced mushrooms are for grilling, sautéing, stir fry and more (good vitamin D). $5 a pint for the fungus, and they're also selling a homemade Umami Spice that's made of dried oysters, salt and other spices ... Read more after the break:
Read MoreThere are 200 seeds on an average strawberry and they're a member of the rose family.
Don't believe me? You can check for yourself tomorrow at the 149th Annual Strawberry Festival at St. Paul's Episcopal Church (i.e. the church in Rock Creek Cemetery). 149 years equals a lot of strawberries.
It promises to be a great time for families and kids of all ages and sizes. There will be food, music, pony rides, arts and crafts, a moon bounce, field games and even a climbing wall.
Plus, the ever-popular tours of historic Rock Creek Cemetery.
Oh, and there will be strawberries.
Saturday, June 13, from 4-8 p.m.
201 Allison St NW
(Rock Creek Church Road and Webster St NW)
stpaulrockcreek.org
What do you do when you and your friend don’t enjoy working at a tech start-up, but love pizza? Start a pizza company, naturally.
That’s exactly what Andrew Dana and Chris Brady did a year ago. After working at a local education tech start-up and not feeling very inspired by the job, but sharing a passion for all things pizza, the two created an original food truck: a wood-fired oven pizza truck. And they’re bringing that passion and their unique pizza stylings to Petworth.
“We just passed our first anniversary as a company on May 28th,” Andrew Dana said when I spoke to him this week. “Things have happened pretty quick this year, and we knew we wanted to expand,” Andrew said.
He and his partner Chris have spent the past year taking their 1967 baby blue pickup and mobile brick oven to farmer’s markets and other events around the DC area, selling their original pizza creations, as well as doing catering for special events.
Andrew Dana, Chris Brady and the 1967 pickup
Both Andrew and Chris are local and knew they wanted to open a restaurant somewhere in this area. Andrew grew up in Mt. Pleasant and is looking for an apartment in Petworth (“Yeah, I definitely want to move to Petworth, close by,”) and Chris lives near 15th and New Hampshire Ave.
“I’ve been falling in love with Upshur and Petworth for awhile,” Andrew said. “We were looking for a location that would work for us, and when we saw the building on Upshur Street, we got ‘that feeling’ and knew it was the place.”
The new restaurant, to be located at 809 Upshur St NW, will be called the Timber Pizza Co. Andrew said their plan is to keep the restaurant simple in design, matching their overall theme of “Vermont / campy” wood minimalist, and matching with their 1967 baby blue pickup truck.
Inside, they plan to seat 49 at small tables and larger communal tables, and hope to offer outdoor seating as well. Inside there will be a large brick oven, placed where customers can watch the pizzas being made and then fired. They plan on installing bay windows on the front of the building so that the brick oven can be seen from the street. They also plan on offering craft beer from around the city, as well as wine and cocktails.
The menu looks great (see below), and they take a lot of pride in what they offer. “We’re really into collaborating with other DC restaurants and trucks,” Andrew said. “We want to showcase other local flavors on our pizzas.”
For example, Andrew told me how they thought a BBQ chicken pizza would taste great. “But it’s hard to make a great pizza AND make a great BBQ chicken — so we found a great partner who excels at BBQ, put their chicken on the pizza and it was amazing."
Andrew and Chris decided that they will rotate their menu as they partner with restaurants like DCity Smokehouse, Indigo (Indian cuisine) and DGS Delicatessen in Dupont (Andrew’s thinking a breakfast pizza with smoked salmon and capers).
And they know the area has seen an increase in little ones: “We are definitely planning on offering items on the menu perfect for kids,” Andrew said.
Andrew said they want to connect with the Petworth Community Market to set up their pizza truck at the market a few times over the season while they work on renovating the building.
“The landlord has some work to do inside before we can take possession, and then we’re hoping to open by early winter,” he said.
I asked Andrew to let me know if they do book a spot at the Petworth Market so I can let everyone know. I’m already looking forward to a pizza place on Upshur St.
Here’s a sample of their menu:
CHEESE, PLEASE
San Marzano tomatoes, low-moisture mozzarella/provolone, fresh mozzarella, fresh basil
PRETTY IN PEPPERONI
"CHEESE, PLEASE" + pepperoni
GREEN MONSTER
Pesto, fresh mozzarella, feta, kale, zucchini
NORTH SHORE
"CHEESE, PLEASE" + fresh jalapeño, pineapple, and prosciutto
The ANC 4C meeting was a contentious meeting. Lights at EL Haynes despised by residents, a new condo on Varnum despised by neighbors, a lack of parking at the proposed development at Latney’s Funeral Home and a visit by the DCRA Director Melinda Bolling rounded out the evening. Oh, and sadly, it was Commissioner Joe Maloney’s last meeting before he resigns (he’s moving to Maryland).
Read the details in the longer version after the break:
Read MoreThere's an interesting thread going on the Petworth Listserv about the shootings and increase in violence in the Petworth area... and the lack of a communicated, comprehensive plan to deal with it. Jonah Goodman sent a well-written email to the Petworth Listserv, which I quote below. He has pulled together a number of valuable resources, including a Google Map of recent shootings. Read the full post after the break:
Read More"How did restrictive housing covenants shape DC neighborhoods?"
ANC 1A Commissioner Kent Boese posted information on his Park View blog about two upcoming, fascinating research presentations on the history and impact of segregation on DC neighborhoods. As the first presentation is in Park View, the meeting tomorrow will focus on the history of the Park View area. Below is an except of the blog post; head over to the Park View blog to read the full post.
Prologue DC historians Mara Cherkasky and Sarah Shoenfeld will present the latest findings in their ongoing research project, Mapping Segregation in Washington DC. This ongoing research project looks in depth at the historic segregation of DC’s housing, schools, recreation facilities, and more. The project’s first year has focused on racially restrictive housing covenants and legal challenges to them.
Maps are used to better understand how many of DC’s “historically black” neighborhoods were once exclusively white, and how the city’s racial geography has been shaped by segregation. Maps tell stories that words cannot.
The first presentation is Wednesday, June 10 at 6:30 p.m. at the Park View Recreation Center (693 Otis Place NW) and the second is Wednesday, June 17 at 6:30 p.m. in the Great Hall of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Public Library, (901 G Street NW). Both events are free and open to the public.
Mapping Segregation is an ongoing project, so check their website for updates.
Excellent Source: Park View
The 2015 Kennedy Street Festival is coming up on June 20th, 11am - 3pm along Kennedy Street.
To help raise funds to cover the costs of the festival, they are having a Happy Hour Fundraiser at Simple Bar and Grill on June 11th from 6-9pm.
They are asking for a $10 donation at the door.
For more info, visit the festival website... or if you can't make it, you can donate online!
Petworth News, a neighborhood blog on local news, information & events about the Petworth area in Washington DC.
Petworth News is a news site about Petworth area neighborhoods in Washington DC, written by Drew Schneider and other amazing contributing writers. It features facts and objective reporting, as well as an occasional subjective point of view and opinion.
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