July 31, 2015

Want to be an ANC commissioner?

July 31, 2015/ Drew

Have you ever wanted to be an elected official in Petworth working with no pay? Yeah? Cool, then it might be your time to shine. If you live in the area bounded by 4C02, there's an open Commissioner seat. Joe Maloney, who held the commissioner seat, resigned from the ANC as his family is moving out of the area.

The map on the right shows the areas that 4C02 covers. (Basically, 16th Street on the west, Georgia Ave on the east, Buchanan on the south and Morrow Drive on the north.)

To be eligible for the Commissioner seat, you must live within the boundaries of 4C02. The full map of ANC 4C is available on the ANC4C.org website.

If you do live in that area, you will need to pick up nomination papers at the Board of Elections (441 - 4th Street, NW, Room 250N). You will need to get a petition signed by 25 people who also live in 4C02.

Candidates must live within SMD 4C02 boundaries and be registered to vote. Plus the people who sign the nomination petition must also be registered voters in 4C02.

Once you turn in your signatures, then you wait to see if you have an opponent. All petitions can be challenged, and once that period ends in September there will be a special election. ANC special elections are held in the back of the room at a regularly scheduled ANC 4C meeting, with the winner announced at the end of the meeting. If there is no opponent, then there won't be an election and you're in like flynn.

Petition Circulation Period: Monday, August 3, 2015 thru Monday, August 24, 2015
Petition Challenge Period: Thursday, August 27, 2015 thru Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2015

For more information, call the Board of Elections at 202-727-2525.

Good luck!

July 30, 2015

Sweet Mango Cafe to become 21-unit apartment building (updated)

July 30, 2015/ Drew

If you were wondering what was going to happen to the Sweet Mango Cafe after it closed earlier this year, wonder no more. Looks like it's going to be torn down to build a 21-unit apartment building at 3701 New Hampshire Ave.

According to DC UrbanTurf, "the 65-foot, five-story residential development will have one and two-bedroom residential units on floors two through five and there will be retail on the ground floor."

And of course, the developer wants to get a variance to reduce the amount of required parking spots down from the 13 the zoning laws call for (not sure what the final desired number is). The developer will need to go before ANC 4C and ask for a letter of support, and then the DC Zoning Board will have to approve their request for the variance.

Considering it'll be an apartment building with 1-2 bedroom units located across the street from the Petworth metro and a block from Safeway, etc, I would image that they'll get that variance approved.

7/31 Update: For those lamenting the loss of Sweet Mangos Cafe, bear in mind that the restaurant closed in March 2015 due to financial troubles (the building went into foreclosure). It was subsequently purchased by Rooney Properties for $2,430,000. There had been rumors of a new restaurant, but since the lot is zoned for residential as well, it's not a surprise that it's being redeveloped into a larger building. This redevelopment into a new mixed-use building is not the cause of Sweet Mango's demise.

According to a Park View blog post from April:

"The property is zoned GA/C-3-A. C-3-A permits matter-of-right medium density development, with a density incentive for residential development within a general pattern of mixed-use development to a maximum lot occupancy of 75% for residential use and 100% for all other uses and a maximum height of sixty-five (65) feet. Additionally, the Georgia Avenue (GA) overlay stipulates that the ground floor level of each building shall have a uniform minimum clear floor-to-ceiling height of 14 ft. To accommodate this, buildings permitted an additional five feet of building height over that permitted as a matter-of-right in the underlying zone, meaning that any new development on the site could be up to seventy (70) feet."

Chuck Brown mural on the side of the former Sweet Mango Cafe

It will be a shame to lose that awesome mural, though. The mural was put up in 2012 to honor iconic DC musician Chuck Brown (the mural was drawn from a 1992 photo taken by Washington City Paper) who passed away that year (here's his Washington Post obit). Sounds like a great opportunity for ANC Commissioner Timothy Jones (4C08) to reach out to the developer and work with them to get a new mural created at that location.

There's been some lively discussion on this topic on the Petworth News Facebook page. Feel free to add your thoughts on FB or below.

One resident posted this option on the Petworth News Facebook page:

Sources: DC.UrbanTurf, ParkViewDC

July 28, 2015

Ward 4 public safety meeting notes

July 28, 2015/ Drew

Ward 4 Councilmember Brandon Todd held a meeting at the Fourth District Headquarters last Thursday night, July 23rd. The meeting was an opportunity for residents to get a quick update on crime in the Fourth District and asks questions of Chief Lanier and 4D Commander Manlapaz.

Brandon opened the meeting by thanking everyone and mentioned that he was now 60 days into his term as councilmember. He called the Public Safety Meeting to make sure residents were able to share their concerns and to discuss the recent uptick in break-ins and robberies in the area.

Read my full notes and see pictures after the break:

July 28, 2015

Petworth Park needs work (updated)

July 28, 2015/ Drew

The wilderness that is the Petworth Spray Park

I got a bee in my bonnet about the condition of Petworth Park. Talk about long grass! Petworth Park is in dire need of a hair cut.

I've been emailing the Department of Parks & Recreation (DPR) about the spray park signage since end of May, trying to get the sign replaced. The sign was ripped down and tossed on the ground at the back of the spray park (slowly being swallowed up by the untended grass). After getting tagged with a few choice vulgarities and three months of emails from me to the Aquatics Director, DPR finally removed the sign yesterday and has committed to getting a new sign with updated information (like the correct hours of operation) as soon as possible. According to John Stokes, the deputy director of DPR, it should be installed by mid next week.

My other concern is that grass! It's overgrown throughout the park, and insanely high in the spray park, which presents more concerns. The tall, wet grass inside the spray is a haven for mosquitos. Toddlers and blood-sucking, welt-forming insects are not a good match.

I'm pleased to say that according to emails this morning from Donny Gonzalez from the Department of General Services (DGS), the mowing of the grass is going to be expedited and should be done by tomorrow.

I hope so -- public parks should be a haven for happy kids, not mosquitos.

Updated 9pm 7/28/15: The park has been mowed and all the grass is pretty short.

July 25, 2015

Gallery from July Petworth Jazz Project

July 25, 2015/ Drew

With a minor rain delay starting things off a bit slowly, the Petworth Jazz Festival was a great show of youth talent and the extremely smooth sounds of the Mark Meadow Quartet.

I've posted a bunch of the personal and posed shots I took on the Petworth News Facebook Page to make it easier to share those. Feel free to tag yourself or people you know in the pictures. If you see a photo that you want as a high resolution version, contact me

See all the photos after the break:

July 24, 2015

Notes from ANC 4D meeting from July 21

July 24, 2015/ Drew

I wasn't able to attend most of the July meeting for ANC 4D as I was participating on a neighborhood walk-through along Kennedy Street with a large group of residents, DC agency heads and CM Brandon Todd. However, I'm grateful for Sarah Levine, who volunteered to attend the ANC meeting and take notes. The only things that's probably missing from the notes below is a bunch of my snark. In that case, you should really enjoy these! Big thanks Sarah for being awesome!

Read the full notes and see some pictures after the break:

July 24, 2015

What’s next for the Riyad Market?

July 24, 2015/ Drew

I spoke with Michael Aniton from the DC Office of the Attorney General about the Riyad, the inconvenience store at the corner of 8th and Upshur St NW. Mr. Aniton has been working with MPD, DCRA and residents for the better part of a year to get this store to either conduct business above board or to close. After a recent hearing and a failed mediation, the Riyad looks to be headed for an eventual closure. Read more about the OAG's actions and next steps with the Riyad:

July 23, 2015

Petworth Jazz Project on Saturday, July 25th

July 23, 2015/ Drew

The next Petworth Jazz Project is this Saturday, July 25th at the Petworth Park (8th & Taylor St NW). This ongoing series is a gem in our local cultural crown. Each month it gets more crowded with people enjoying some of the best musicians in DC, starting with kids' music at 6pm and award-winning jazz performers at 7pm.

This upcoming Saturday is no different. The evening starts with "Planet Swagg" (a teen hip hop duo!). This artist duo is comprised of brothers Rasaan (aka Rasaan Tha Don) who's 15 years old and Master (aka Master Roc) who's 13 years old.

Grown-up music starts at 7pm, featuring the Mark Meadows Quartet. Recently named both “Artist of the Year” and “Composer of the Year” of 2014 by the Washington City Paper, Mark Meadows is a jazz pianist, vocalist, composer and jazz educator. He performs throughout the Washington-Baltimore region and across the US. He's an exciting modern jazz pianist and composer whose versatile musical background allows him to interconnect every walk of life.

It's sure to be a really fun evening. Plus, the Orange Cow Ice Cream Truck will be on site. (Summer = the right time for ice cream trucks.) They serve great ice cream by the scoop, ice cream sandwiches, sundaes, floats, and frozen banana on a stick coated with Belgian chocolate, heath bar crunch and coarse sea salt. Yowza.

July 23, 2015

A developer sues Petworth residents

July 23, 2015/ Drew

WAMU reporter Martin Austermuhle published an article today about Grant Circle residents being sued for $25 million dollars. The developer, Jay Gross, is accusing residents Oscar Beisert, Thomas Woodruff and Stephen Wright of "conspiring to stop him from renovating and expanding" three rowhouses located on Grant Circle (7, 14 & 15 Grant Circle).

Read more about the lawsuit and the developer's complaint:

July 22, 2015

Gosh, what size are those?

July 22, 2015/ Drew

Walking along Illinois Avenue with a friend yesterday. We stop to admire this car, and she says, "Gosh, what size rims are those?"

I look over at her and say...

July 21, 2015

"A 2-year process for DDOT"

July 21, 2015/ Drew

While at a community event this evening, I met and spoke with DDOT Director Leif Dormsjo about some resident concerns that I've heard recently, as well as the issue of how DDOT conducts traffic safety analyses.

You may not know this, but Leif Dormjso is new to the job. He's been the Director of the DC Department of Transportation for only six months and already has a full schedule of work and changes identified. "There's a lot to do fix the department and make it more effective than it has been," he said. "I think it's a 2-year process for DDOT to improve."

I brought up the concern outlined in my article that DDOT may not be using the most complete set of traffic collision data possible. Mr Dormjso told me he read the article, "I agree with you," he said. "I don't think we're getting all the information we should be. It's something that I'm working to fix."

Read my full impromptu interview with DDOT's Director:

July 21, 2015

All I can think about is Tonka

July 21, 2015/ Drew

I was watching DPW working in the alley this morning, clearing out the old concrete (they're all about Alleypalooza and what not).

First they used a massive jackhammer to drill holes into the concrete, then they brought in the excavator to dig up said concrete, carting it away in a large dump truck.

All the things I loved when I was a kid. You know, big trucks making a lot of loud rumbling noise, shaking the house and breaking things apart? Yes!