It’s all about the neighborhood
With the Prince of Petworth no longer living in Petworth, I've been repeatedly asked by people, and a couple of DC media outlets, over the past two days if I see this as an opportunity to "take over the Petworth blogging scene." First thing I'll say, as I've always said, is that Dan and I aren't rivals, and I don't believe our blogs compete. Others may disagree.
Read my full thoughts after the break:
Read MoreDCPS sent out an email update on Roosevelt High School and MacFarland Middle School, what they've accomplished so far and the names of their new Roosevelt Community Cabinet.
At the community meeting on June 18th, DC Public Schools (DCPS) and the Department of General Services (DGS) committed to looking into improvements to the MacFarland building to ensure it will provide a warm and welcoming learning environment for Roosevelt Senior High School students as they await the completion of their new state-of-the-art facility. Together, we conducted a walk-through of MacFarland with several community members to identify specific concerns, and we are happy to announce that we have been able to address those concerns with the following improvements...
Read their full message after the break:
Read MoreWalking across Grant Circle can be a risky choice, one that has been frustrating residents for many years. Emails have been sent to DDOT, the DC Council and others for several years, looking for improvements to the circle that will ensure better pedestrian safety and greater traffic calming measures. Previously, the DC Department of Transportation (DDOT) hadn't been as responsive as it should have been to resident emails.
I've been in communication with DDOT's Acting Director of Communications, Keith St. Clair, about this issue and he's done a good job of following up with me and with ANC Commissioner Joe Martin about Grant Circle. As a result of resident and Councilmember Brandon Todd's attention (and perhaps a blogger article or three), DDOT is now planning on implementing the work outlined in their recent Notice of Intent (see my previous article, "Painting safety into Grant Circle")...
Read about the changes coming to Grant Circle after the break:
Read MoreThe Petworth Dance Project third performance was on Saturday, July 11th at Petworth Park (8th and Taylor St NW). This time was a bit unusual, even for Petworth, as the first performance was in the spray park. And it was a cool experience.
"It's all about community," Sara said after the show with a big smile. "It's great to be able to do this in Petworth."
Read more and see a gallery from the night after the break:
Read MoreAccidents will happen, especially when you’re not prepared or forewarned. Otherwise they’d be called "on-purposes." But what happens when you — or in this case, DC agencies — are forewarned? Then it’s not really an accident, is it? Two collisions in one day at the intersection of Quincy St and Kanas Avenue NW sheds light on a long-standing frustration of residents and ANC 4C.
Read more and see pictures after the break:
Read MoreI was down at Dunkin Donuts this afternoon with a friend when EMS, the Fire Department and MPD roll up and converge on the store. Five patrol cars and even a Segway officer responded to a passed out person, and after a few minutes they rolled a man out on a stretcher.
Read MoreYeah, in the spray park. How cool is that?
According to Dance Project organizer Sara Herrera-Kopetchny, the timeline for Saturday's (July 11th) activities featuring Light Switch Dance Theatre will be 7-7:30pm performance in the spray park, followed by Rainbow Joe doing a drum and dance party for kids from 7:30-8pm. Then the Light Switch Dance Theatre begins the second half of the show at 8:05pm.
I highly recommend coming to the Petworth Dance Project. It's a wonderful addition to our cultural activities in Petworth. (Here's my previous article about the Dance Project.)
"This is the first site specific performance of the season, with the first half of the show performed in the Petworth Spray Park. You do not want to miss this beautiful and thought-provoking performance," said Sara.
Light Switch Dance Theatre (established in 2012) is a sites-specific project based contemporary dance company dedicated to multi-disciplinary performances in non-traditional spaces. Sandra Atkinson, MA (Artistic Director) creates work in a collaborative manner inspired by the human condition, social justice, matters for science & technology and art of all mediums. LSDT strives to provide performances to the general public making any place a performance space.
The Girl Child Project: Private/Water & Traffic
Sextet: 25 minutes
Private/Water focuses on the lack of water, indoor plumbing, and privacy for women and children in certain parts of India. These elements have been sited a reason for the rise in sexual assault of women and children.
Water/Shed
Produced from research on the sustainability of the Patuxent River and the community this body of water serves in Maryland
"I hope you will join us for this performance! It's outdoors! It's FREE! It's dance! What's not to love!"
ANC 4C met at the Petworth Library meeting room on a rainy Wednesday evening and brought a smaller-than-usual crowd (it was raining). On the agenda were discussions about DC Water Green Rivers program, ABRA agreements for Timber Pizza and Taqueria Habanero restaurant, a grant application for Cease Fire Don’t Smoke the Brother and Sisters, a vote on the parking exception request for Latney’s Funeral home and a letter of support for Grant Circle safety efforts. My biggest takeaway from the meeting — ANC 4C needs to do a much better job of communicating and being transparent about topics before residents show up at a meeting. It’s confusing.
Read the full notes and see photos after the break:
Read MoreI’m happy to introduce another new sponsor for Petworth News, Kevin Wood.
Kevin approached me about sponsoring the blog a couple of months ago out of an interest in supporting local initiatives like Petworth News, much as he was one of the first sponsors for Popville.com when Dan Silverman first started out years ago.
As an experienced real estate agent, Kevin has been working in Petworth for many years. Originally from Maryland’s Eastern Shore and received a Bachelor’s Degree from Hampden-Sydney College (in Virginia) in French/Political Science and a Master’s Degree in French Literature from the Catholic University of America. He bought his first condo in Columbia Heights in 1999, and a row house there in 2001 (but I won’t hold that against him). He can be seen walking his two dogs, Walter the dachshund and Seamus the hound, around the area.
Kevin is experienced working with all types of buyers in all price ranges and areas, and has been told that his patience, enthusiasm and ability to clearly explain the details of buying a property have been particularly welcomed by first-time buyers. “My goal is to make the buying and selling of a home a happy experience for all involved,” Kevin said.
Kevin is a member of the Greater Capitol Area Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors. Known for his extensive local real estate knowledge, Kevin has been quoted in the Washingtonian magazine, Urban Turf and The Washington Post. Kevin also produces the monthly real estate sales numbers for Popville.
Plus, Kevin speaks fluent French and German, and is proficient in Spanish and Irish (gaeilge), so he's got you covered if English isn't your primary language.
You can find him online at kevinjosephwood.com.
Why are so many realtors sponsoring Petworth News? Because people know that Petworth is an awesome neighborhood to live, whether you’re renting or buying.
OK, Petworth News readers, this one is for you. What advice do you have to share on owning a bad flip?
I got an email from a reader who lives in Petworth. About a year ago, she and her husband bought a newly flipped / renovated house and now... problems, lots and lots of problems. Unfortunately, this isn't a unique story, but maybe one of you smart peeps have good advice (and the name of an attorney) that you can share to help this couple find a way to resolve the issues.
The reader's email:
Thank you for all your Petworth news - my husband and I follow your news religiously! I have a question, we are new to Petworth, one year, and think we may have been scammed.
We feel like schmucks and bought a flipped house and we are having many many problems with our home. We still have holes in our ceiling, the skylights and basement leak, there has been water leaking into our electrical panel and the sub-flooring in our kitchen is unfinished...anyways, we are looking for some recourse against the seller.
Do you know any real estate attorneys that have been a part of litigation against these LLCs that flip houses? We are desperate for consult and help.
Please comment below or send me an email and I'll pass along your response to the reader. You can also comment on Facebook.
When ANC 4D04 Commissioner David Sheon was campaigning as a first-time candidate for ANC last Fall, he spent a lot of time walking from house-to-house in his Single Member District (SMD) asking every person he could find what they would like to see changed in their community.
And like any dedicated community leader, he kept track of the responses. Improving how traffic and speed on Illinois Ave was managed was at the top of the list of concerns.
Read about the concerns, and what DDOT is proposing to do to resolve them:
Read MoreI’m pleased to say that Lighthouse Yoga is now sponsoring Petworth News.
I’ve known studio owner Julie Eisenberg for quite some time, and have always appreciated her involvement in the Petworth community, supporting and being personally involved in local events. I also appreciate that she took a terrible-looking building on 9th and turned it into a nice location for a now popular yoga studio.
Julie has been practicing yoga for nearly 20 years. She and her partner Glen Sperling (of Harmony Remodeling, who has renovated many homes in the area) live in the home she purchased near Sherman Circle in 2006 with their two dogs and one cat. She loves being in easy walking distance to the studio.
Lighthouse Yoga Center, located at 4203 9th Street NW, is a community yoga studio that strives to meet the needs of our diverse Petworth neighborhood. They specialize in alignment-oriented Hatha Yoga, where they teach people from the ground up how to practice yoga safely and effectively. They offer all levels of classes, from their very popular Fundamentals series to several weekly classes for yoga teachers who want to continue to develop their skills.
“Lighthouse Yoga is also DC’s only Kundalini Yoga studio,” said Julie. “Our Kundalini classes draw students from all over the region.” (Kundalini is a form of yoga that emphasizes dynamic movements, breathing, and meditation).
“Some of our other popular classes are prenatal, kids yoga and Yoga for Larger Bodies,” she said. “Many of our teachers live here in Petworth, and we run some of the most highly-acclaimed teacher training programs in the DC-area for students who want to learn to teach yoga.”
“Our goal at Lighthouse is to provide a space here in Petworth where neighbors can come together to have fun, learn and evolve,” Julie said.
There are a ton of new classes and workshops happening this week at the studio that you should check out.
Get a Petworth News Discount!
Julie is offering a discount to Petworth News readers: Use coupon code “PNews5” to save 5% on purchases of $75 or more. (Definitely use the coupon to give me street cred.) ;)
Thanks for supporting Petworth and the blog!
A terribly designed pop-up conversion on Sherman Avenue. The house looks perpetually surprised to me.
Look, I'm not against pop-ups if they're done well. Being able to add more livable space to a house built 90-100 years ago in a city that doesn't have much in the way of expandable space is a great idea.
My neighbors "popped up" their attic into a full, usable floor that you don't notice from the street and can only see from the rear, and even then it looks great and fits into the design.
Even the conversions where a developer (or owner) converts a house into a two or three unit condo can be acceptable (within reason, and that can be argued). If done well, as in this example in my opinion, I think the building can fit in with the existing visual design of the street (not talking about parking or other issues here):
New Hampshire & Randolph pop-up condo conversions. For me, these look acceptable.
But THESE pop-ups on Kennedy Street... damn. This is why we can't have nice things.
I need this outfit. Thanks for posing for the pic!
This awesome guy knows how to enjoy Independence Day!
Hope everyone has a safe (and dry) evening.
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.
Volunteer with the Friends of the Soldier's Home!
