The Future of 14th Street

There have already been numerous announcements, postings, and emails about the 14th St. Streetscape Study, but here's one more in case you missed it:

DDOT is performing a study on the 14th Street corridor, ranging from between 13th Street to 15th Street, from Thomas Circle up to Florida Avenue. (See the map here.) A major part of this study is community involvement and comments obtained through public meetings, and the first meeting is scheduled to be held next Wednesday, June 20th.

Share Your Vision for the 14th St. Corridor

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

6:00pm - 8:00pm
Source Theater

1835 14th Street NW

Washington, DC 20009

This is the first of four meetings, and will "outline the project, discuss existing conditions and develop a shared vision for the future of the corridor." The next three meetings have yet to be scheduled.

Logan Circle in the Wall Street Journal

We made some heavy print on Monday! The Wall Street Journal ran an article on urban renewal, with our own neighborhood as the focal point. Unfortunately, the article is only viewable by subscribers, but here are some excerpts:

Drawn by the cheap housing and the beautiful
architecture, a few pioneers braved the high
crime in the 1970s and '80s and decided to go
into the neighborhood as investors. Connie Maffin
was one of them. She and her husband, Bob, bought
a brownstone in 1974. When they would come home
late at night, they would occasionally hear a
prostitute and her client cavorting under the
stairs leading to their front entrance.

Ms. Maffin united with others willing to change
the neighborhood. They spent years working with
local police and took turns standing on the
street corners on weekend nights to deter the
Johns who drove in from northern Virginia.

Slowly, as crime waned, businesses began to take
a look. Today, the neighborhood hosts a number of
successful, locally owned businesses along with
that symbol of yuppie living: a Whole Foods
Market. Houses that sold for less than $500,000
in 1997 are now selling for $1.8 million.

And:

Logan Circle residents had been urging Whole
Foods to open a store there for several years.
Finally, in 1998, Michael Besancon, the company's
regional president at the time, agreed to go in,
believing that violent crime was starting to wane
-- even though drug addicts were passed out in
the former auto dealership building where he
located the store. It became the first major
grocery store to open in the District of Columbia in 20 years.

The article covers several other success stories, too, including New York, Los Angeles's Skid Row, and even Detroit! It's a pretty good read if you can find a copy. Drop me a note if you can't find a copy, and I might be able to help you find one.

Graffiti Removal Shindig This Saturday

If you have taken a stroll around the neighborhood, you've certainly noticed the increase in graffiti. It seems like anything that is immobile for more than thirty seconds gets tagged. I was walking my dog last week in Logan Circle, and when he stopped for a break, I turned away - to respect his privacy, of course! Imagine my surprise when I turned around and found him sprayed with "MAGIC" in big, bubble-gum letters.

Well here's your chance to fight back. This Saturday, June 16th at 10:00 AM, the ANC 2F Committee on Crime and Public Safety, lead by the venerable Helen Kramer, is inviting everyone out to Thomas Circle to help clean up some of the grime. Jack Evans will even be along for the fun!

So come on out and help your friends and neighbors clean up Logan Circle!

Disclaimer: I don't really own a dog, nor was my fictitious dog spray-painted. Heck, I wasn't even in town last week!

Logan Circle Community Association Annual Summer Picnic

Sunday June 10, 2007 from 4-8 p.m.
Pepco Park, Corner of 12th & O Streets NWEntrance on 12th Street NW

While burgers and hot dogs will be provided we ask that you bring a dish or beverage to share.

We've scheduled our picnic to be the perfect way to top off a week of Capital Pride celebrations going on city-wide. As the weekend also focuses on public safety, with the Mayor's Total Deployment Days, we'd like to also take this opportunity to honor our MPD PSA 307 Lt. Mike Smith and his dedicated PSA 307 officers who protect us every day.

For questions please contact Desi Deschaine at desi.deschaine@logancircle.org.

P.S. We'll provide tables and chairs.