The January meeting of
ANC 2F was held on Wednesday, and your's truly was there for the whole proceedings. While not quite the super-speedy affair that was
last month's meeting, Wednesday's meeting came in at just about an hour-and-a-half. Not bad!
Announcements
- The ANC commissioners elected their officers for 2008. The election was done by acclimation, yielding the same officer positions as the close of 2007.
- Chairman Reed wanted everyone to know that he has received a plethora of information on free in-home Radon testing, which is being conducted by the DC Government. If you'd like more information, let him know.
- Greg Cassou (sp?) came by to talk about dog parks in the city. He's looking for good locations for dog parks in the area, and is looking to get the ANC involved in the process - as it seems most of the decisions on the matter are being delegated to the neighborhoods and community. Four sites are being considered, including Bundy Field at 5th & P, Kennedy Field, and part of the playground at Garrison Elementary. Those are all existing dog owner hang-outs, so would be a natural fit for being blessed officially.
Neighborhood Services
Mark Bjorge was on hand to give a neighborhood services report. Joe Martin was over at the Dupont ANC meeting.
- There are some problems at 1107 11th Street. The building has been shut down due to lack of potable water, and some twenty people evicted from the property. They have claims on tenancy, and are being placed in hotels by the DC Government pending resolution of their concerns. The building's owner went bankrupt, apparantly, and the building is likely to be condemned.
- Mark got a stop signed placed in the alley between 13th and 14th Street. (Somewhere. I'm not sure where...)
- A community member asked about the illegal gate on the alley on 10th Street. While either DDOT has jurisdiction to remove it, Mark suggested working with FEMS to have it removed, as he thinks it's probably blocking safe egress from some of the buildings there.
- Mark was also asked about the on-going saga of the bus stop on P & 14th. Several commuinity members, especially those from the Cooper-Lewis condominiums, have been trying to get it moved back across to the east side of 14th Street, next to the Studio Theater. They've been making no progress, though, and appealed to Mark to get the wheels un-stuck. Mark said he'd bump this up on some issue lists, to try and get things moving.
Crime Report
Lt. Smith gave the crime report, mostly a year-end summary of 2007.
- PSA 307 had an overall 13% reduction in crime for 2007. Nice work!
- There were a total of three homicides in the PSA for 2007. Two of those have been closed, but one is remaining open. It seems they "know who did it", but are going to have a hard time proving it, so it may never close. The victim was allegedly beaten to death by his wife, having a blood-alcohol level of .60 (WOW!!) at the time.
- Juveniles committing crimes continued to be a problem. The force and the AG are working to prosecute juveniles involved in violent or gun crimes as adults.
- I asked Lt. Smith about ShotSpotter, and whether it will be coming to the PSA. He said he doubted it would be coming here directly, because we seem to have relatively little need for it; but it would be coming to PSA 308 (where they clearly have some major problems), and that the areas would overlap significantly with the east side of PSA 307. Since that's where most of our problems are, anyway, it works out pretty well.
ABRA Matters
- The protest hearings for Vegas Lounge and Be Bar have been rescheduled. (The ANC decided last month to protest, based on community feedback.)
- Tony from HR-57 was at the meeting to inform the ANC of his intention to seek an application for a sidewalk café and an entertainment endorsement, changing the license from a DR (beer & wine only) to a CR (full bar). The matter was referred to Chairman Reed and Commissioner Richardson for negotiation of a voluntary agreement, for later approval.
- The ANC is looking to protest the liquor license of EL Sauce, located at 1227 11th Street, and are looking to talk to some neighbors and community members who may have complaints about the establishment. Lt. Smith mentioned that the location is a frequent hangout for MS-13 gang members, and has seen more than its fair share of crime related to their activity. He suggested that the ANC make the hiring of a reputable security guard firm a requirement of any voluntary agreement that may be reached.
DDOT Report
Chris Ziemann from DDOT came to make a report.
- The next 14th Street Transportation and Streetscape meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, February 19th at 6:30 pm, at the Studio Theater. This will be the meeting where the study makes its recommendations, and invites the community to provide feedback on them.
- The traffic analysis of the various potential redesigns of 15th Street have been completed. Chris said that they should be posted on the DDOT web site soon, but that none of the alternatives significantly reduce the traffic flow through the neighborhood.
Building at 9th and Naylor Court
A renovation and expansion of a building fronting 9th Street and Naylor Court was discussed. It's being converted into a mixed-use property, with retail, offices, and residential. The ANC voted to recommend the approval of the design, concept, and massing of the property. (Sorry I don't have more details - I missed part of this presentation.)
