You just missed your exit

I've commented about this before but never had the picture needed to seed a full blog post discussion.

The sign for the Massachusetts Ave NW exit from I-395 isn't visible until it is far too late to matter. As a resident you learn where the exit is and the poor signage is of little consequence. But friends, family and other visitors cruise right past the Mass exit without noticing then dump out onto New York Ave where they can only turn right. At this point their printed turn-by-turn directions become useless and your cell phone receives a frantic phone call...


The photo is courtesy of Si Kailian from the MVSNA. I've been looking around for a photo like this one for awhile but didn't want it quite badly enough to take a picture while driving. The Inauguration's half day conversion of I-395 into a pedestrian walkway produced this rare photo opportunity.

WCP: How much does a Square Foot cost?

The Washington City Paper's Housing Complex blog has a new posting entitled How Much Does a Square Foot Cost in Adams Morgan, Penn Quarter, Etc.? The blog author met with real estate research firm Delta Associates to evaluate 2008Q4 condo sales. In the posting Mount Vernon Triangle gets stacked up against the competition...

First Blogiversary

Today is The Triangle blog's one year anniversary. The first post was written by our founder Mediocre Bad Guy (aka MBG) on January 28, 2008. It wasn't until a month later than I had ever heard of the Mount Vernon Triangle. =)

Unfortunately MBG has been a casualty of The DuMont's ongoing limbo status.

Chinese New Year Parade

The Chinese New Year Parade will take place this Sunday, February 1st.

Image from flickr user justhtml

From the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association website:

The Chinese Community of the Greater Washington Metropolitan area is going to celebrate the "Chinese Lunar New Year" in Washington, DC Chinatown on H & I Streets, NW, between 6th and 8th Streets from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.

This year will be the year 4707, the year of the OX.

In Chinese legend, people born in the year of the Ox are known to be a born leader with patient, dutiful, reliable, practical, in addition of determined, honest and loyal; more importantly, they are like their animal sign symbolizes patient and tireless in their work. They are quiet dependable and capable of enduring any amount of hardship. As a result, they are capable and able to achieve great goals. This OX year will bring stability and growth where patience and diligence pays off.

Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association (CCBA), Chinatown Revitalization Council (CRC) and Chinatown Chamber of Commerce are very proud to sponsor this event. The festival includes folk dances, musical bands from various genres, local high school, cultural exhibition and a parade. The popular lion and dragon dances, as well as a five-story high firecracker that will be lit at 3:45 p.m. will also be featured in the program. Please bring your friends and family to join us for this exciting and joyful event which routinely attracts more than 40,000 patrons/tourists.

MVT CID Website redesign

The Mount Vernon Triangle Community Improvement District (MVTCID) has updated their website this week. While the website roughly maintains the same navigational flow, the stock images of people who don't live here and random triangle graphics are gone. The website now features photos of our neighborhood businesses, buildings and streetscapes.

Snow removal

The MVTCID Clean Team shoveling sidewalks this morning in the Triangle.

January MVSNA meeting

From Si:

We shall be meeting at Busboys & Poets on the upper level. Tuesday, January 27th, 7:30pm, 5th & K NW. Come on out, meet your neighbors, have a drink, have a bite and enjoy the ambiance.

We will be covering some business: Officer nominations (election is in February), a draft Voluntary Agreement for B&M food store on the 200 block of M. (The last item will not address the single sales issue as the ban has not gone into effect for Ward 6 yet), and other items of interest to the community.

Google updates satellite images

ImagineDC noticed that Google Map's satellite images now include Nationals Park. The update extends to the Triangle below as City Vista and Madrigal Lofts now appear as completed buildings.

View Larger Map

The new satellite images were taken prior to September as the buildings demolished on 3rd Street NW still appear in the photo.

Buddha Bar Banner

Buddha Bar now has a banner at 455 Mass making their presence known on the streetscape.

DC Circulator hours don't extend here

Last night at about 9:40 I saw a couple waiting at the 5th and Mass DC Circulator bus stop (Map). Unfortunately I had to bear the bad news and explain that after 9pm the Georgetown to Union Station Circulator shortens its route to Farragut Square (17th and I) to Georgetown (Whitehaven).

Image from flickr user tom.arthur

Maybe one day the extended hours can serve the full route.

Jury Duty

I've got petit jury duty service on Thursday. DC doesn't mess around. I was informed of this impending obligation very shortly after I reached 6 months of residency. :(

MVT Inauguration photos

I am a realist and conceded I wouldn't be able to compete with other blog-o-sphere Inauguration coverage of the big day. What I have done is capture the day in the Mount Vernon Triangle (and surrounding area) in pictures. Road closures and charter bus parking aren't as interesting, but hey, my 'hood is my niche! =)

Big banner on Lux Lounge (649 New York Ave)

Carnegie Library at Mount Vernon Square

Military vehicle posted at 4th & K all day

MLK/Obama shirts sold behind National Portrait Gallery

Click on thumbnail image to visit the rest of the flickr set

All in all the craziness didn't spread much into the Triangle. Charter Bus parking didn't spread beyond a few street segments: 1000 block of New Jersey Ave NW , 200 block of H Street NW and the K Street overpass over I-395. While one impromptu parking lot at 4th and L was packed the big lots on K Street remained mostly empty. Vehicle Access was limited greatly below Mass and in certain segments of New York Ave. The Convention Center area had extensive use of temporary guard rails and used several double decker buses to block off access points. A row of memorabilia tents were set up on the 600 block of Mass Ave at the parking lot owned by Gould. The photos I took down by D Street in Penn Quarter is where the large frustrated crowds who wanted to be on the parade route were centered.

Pre-Inauguration roundup

Inauguration is nearly here! Below are a few links Triangle residents may find helpful.

• Downtown BID Inauguration Update
  
• WaPo Inauguration Central
  
• GoG's Inauguration Nightlife Agenda
  
• Open late for Inauguration (via Capitol Spice)
  
• Convention Center Inauguration Lockdown (MVSNA)
  
• PQLiving's Inauguration Guide
  
• Detailed Inauguration Traffic, Parking, and Pedestrian Information (The Other 35 Percent)

All the Triangle's coverage can be accessed using the Inauguration Label.

If over the course of the festivities readers have stories or photos to share please contact us.

On notice

The Triangle is in the heart of the Inauguration Charter Bus Parking Zone. Because notices have been posted throughout our streets issuing warning that idling will be subject to $500 fine. The notice states that idling will not be permitted more than 5 consecutive minutes if the temperatures are below freezing.


Notices have also been posted to declare a Prostitution Free Zone (PFZ) from 1/16/2009 to 1/25/2009. The zone spans 4th Street NW to 5th Street NW east to west and L Street NW to I Street NW north to south. The 10 day period is the maximum duration for a PFZ. The way it's been explained to me that a PFZ is tantamount to an anti-loitering law and therefore has to be targeted rather than indefinite.

Obama "wax replica" at City Vista Safeway tonight

Picking up a news item from the Lifein MVSNA blog, City Vista Safeway will be hosting the Barack Obama wax replica tonight.

Tonight from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., the City Vista Safeway will be hosting the Madame Tussauds life-like wax replica of President-elect Obama. They are inviting all neighbors to stop by the store tonight (1/16/2009) and have your picture taken standing next to our next President.

[image: zimbio.com]

ANC 6C discussion on Good Libations

Wednesday night I attended the January ANC 6C meeting. Yesterday I touched on the Triangle related transportation item and this posting will cover the discussion around Good Libations. Voice of the Hill attended the meeting and we can expect a recap on the entirety of the meeting's topics from them in the near future and when it is published I will link to it.

---

Good Libations, ANC 2C, 5th and M Streets NW request for single sales exemption

Commissioner Charley Docter outlined concerns about a recent exemption endorsement by ANC 2C of a liquor store just 1/10 of a mile north of the ANC 6C boundaries. He raised the question what standing does the ANC 6C have in the matter and how would the commission want to proceed. The floor was given to Good Libations owner Ron Green and those representation opposition from Madrigal Lofts, 555 Mass and the DNA.

I can't possibly recap the entirety of the discussion but I think I can hit the major points:

Ron's statement focused on the two premises.

• He does not believe that selling singles has to be an all or nothing venture. He appealed to the audience that he does not sell the lowest caliber of products such as Steel Reserve 211s or half pints of liquor but wants the exemption to continue to sell mid-scale and premium beers as singles.
  
• He has approval from ANC 2C and the MVSNA which are the stewards of his neighborhood.

Thais from 555 Mass spoke out in opposition to the exemption

• Described the volume of substance abuse problems in the neighborhood and provided a spatial portrait outlaying proximity of 555 Mass to the 5 area liquor stores and the social service providers including shelters, soup kitchens and AA meetings.
  
• Outlined the migration of public drinking to Subway Liquors (5th & K) since the ban went into effect at Chinatown market. Expressed concern that exemptions shift the problem around and undermine the effectiveness of the ban

I also raised reasons for my opposition:

• Reiterated the quality of life issues that are linked to single sales which plague our neighborhood
  
• Cited the ABRA criteria "Impact of an exemption to the effectiveness of the overall ban"
  
• Challenged the notion that the moratorium needs to change (through exemptions) before affording people the opportunity to change
  
• Included my research on Mt Pleasant's 8 year ban to my written testimony

Miles Groves spoke on behalf of the DNA.

• Reiterated the quality of life issues that are linked to single sales which plague our neighborhood
  
• Stated that the DNA urged ANC 2C to defer their decision on Good Libations until discussing the exemption with ANC 6C but the request was not honored.

Commissioner Anne Phelps, named chair of the ANC's licensing committee earlier in the evening, expressed that it was not wise to take a stance until the committee deliberated and devised a process for which all upcoming exemption requests would be uniformly evaluated.

The commissioners discussed the ABRA timelines for the Good Libations exemption request. The outcome was the following (wording emailed to me by RobA):

Move to send a letter to ABRA stating we [ANC 6C] believe we have standing as the immediately adjacent ANC and that we request that ABRA action be delayed until 45 to 60 days from ABRA's receipt of the application for exemption from the single sales ban. This 45-60 day delay is requested to allow ANC 6C to meet at the committee level to decide a consistent policy for all single sales in 6C and to have that committee decision come before the full Commission for a vote.

REACT: I'm satisfied with the outcome. I'm against single sale beers for all the reasons we've been talking about on the blog since December. But the most maddening aspect of all this is the lack of a well defined objective and transparent process to apply across the board in evaluating exemptions.

My feeling is that the MVSNA should have discussed their global approach to evaluating exemptions before having hearings for individual establishments. This process could have started internally in within their BoD, included an open forum for community feedback, then ultimately vetted by ANC2C and ANC6C to ensure a consistent paradigm with the entities they will ultimately be making their recommendations to. Instead their process has been very reactionary and flying by the seat of their pants.

It began at November MVSNA meeting with an endorsement of Modern Liquors, which lies outside their borders, based on only a brief discussion that lacked the context of the ABRA regulations. In December, Good Libations was approved by MVSNA membership 17-3 with far more discussion however there is still disagreement on what precedent was set other than the clause for a 1-year probation period and a popular vote. Listening into the discussion brands seemed to be implicitly part of the decision even if they are not explicitly part of the voluntary agreement. However when B&M Market, which sells cheaper beer, inevitably comes before MVSNA will brands still be powering peoples decisions? Many of us feel the membership will just find a different focal point to emphasize and justify an exemption. That's not acceptable. These decisions need both consistent criteria and consistent weighting applied to that criteria.

Modern Liquors SSM exemption

Editor's Note: This posting is older news from November. I've intended to recap it for awhile but between the holidays and a frantic amount of January meetings this blogger has been SWAMPED.

---

The November MVSNA newsletter was published electronically on the afternoon of Saturday November 14th. I first opened the PDF on Sunday night and saw that the "Modern Liquors Single Sales Exemption" was on the agenda. The headliner agenda item was that Douglas Development finally was going to share their development concept for Squares 450 and 451.


No details were promoted about the nature of the Modern Liquors Single Sales exemption agenda item on the Lifein MVSNA blog or elsewhere. I assumed exemptions would not be considered in a positive light given that MVSNA President Cary Silverman made a Ward 2 Singles ban a priority topic in his campaign to win Jack Evan's council seat.

When the topic was discussed at the membership meeting on Tuesday November 18th, Silverman recited external testimony exalting Modern Liquors as a well loved store that had already packaged together endorsements from ANC2F and two other neighborhood associations. The testimony touted the store as being under the same ownership (not in attendance) for 20+ years and selling only the belgian and microbrews as singles. One couple spoke up about attending tastings at the store.

I kept waiting for the devil's advocate. It never came. The vote began. I expected some division. Seemingly everyone (25 people) voted "Yes" but me. SHIT, I was shell shocked!! Did I want to take on twenty-five people by myself to object to a store that I had never been to? Am i possibly going to make a dent? I'm hardly a persuasive public speaker and I was armed with no ammunition (aka research & notes). I just didn't vote.

Had I thought a little more quickly on my feet I still wouldn't have voted "No". I would have just asked "Why are we ruling on this at all? We've not discussed the policy in depth. This will be viewed as a precedent setting decision by some and we've not considered the ramifications of that the endorsement will have on future requests.".

After this November meeting I learned more details that further stoked my disappointment with the vote on Modern. While the MVSNA did have a copy of the exemption application form that outlined certain core criteria a business needs to meet for consideration, they put forth this vote six days before receiving the full ABRA regulations on 11/24. Only at that point was it learned that neither brands of alcohol nor price points may be included in a voluntary agreement. It's basically all or nothing.

Additionally in a December 1st sit down with Ron Green from Good Libations he informed us that Modern Liquors does carry Steel Reserve 211 - aka King of the Hobo brews. I later visited Modern and did not see the 211's but Ron says they are in a case in the foyer. Because I was buzzed in immediately and did not linger in the foyer I apparently walked right past them into the main area without noticing them.

Since that November MVSNA meeting I've realized that I need to challenge the inertia that has been created towards endorsing exemptions primarily via adhoc 'make it up as you go' criteria and straw polls of 20 members.

ANC 6C urges DDOT to improve pedestrian safety on NY Ave

At last night's ANC 6C meeting, following the recommendations of their transportation committee, the commissioners voted to urge DDOT to take measure to improve pedestrian safety in the section of New York Avenue NW between 6th Street and New Jersey Ave. Specific focus was paid to the intersection of L Street, 5th Street and New York Ave NW adjacent to the new Safeway where the current pedestrian crossing allows 20 seconds to cross ~10 lanes of traffic.

View Larger Map

The recommendations from the transportation committee have the support of the MVSNA, MVT CID, DNA and neighboring businesses. I do not yet have a copy of ANC 6C's letter. However the below excerpt is from the letter drafted by the MVSNA.

There are several very simple, zero or low-cost changes that DDOT could make immediately:

• Provide at least 45 seconds, preferably 60 seconds, to cross New York Avenue at 4th and 5th Streets NW. This change costs only the time it takes a technician to change the traffic signals. Other nearby intersections along New York Avenue provide comparable crossing time. In addition, cars turning north onto 5th Street from the 400 Block of L Street NW (in front of the Safeway) cannot make it fully through the New York Avenue intersection before the light turns red.
  
  We were pleased to learn from you on December 18 that DDOT has completed a design to rephrase the traffic signal at 4th Street and New York Avenue, NW to improve the safety measures of pedestrians. Our understanding is that DDOT will reconfigure this signal by the end of January 2009. We appreciate this progress. We hope the plan will remain on track and that DDOT will implement similar changes at the 5th Street crossing as soon as possible.


• Make the crosswalk across New York Avenue at 5th Street NW more visible. The cost to repaint the crosswalk is negligible. Raising the crosswalk, or adding bricks, lights, and signs would further enhance pedestrian safety.


• Install a green arrow signal allowing vehicles heading eastbound on New York Avenue to turn north onto 5th Street without finding themselves stuck at the island or forced to run the red light into speeding New York Avenue traffic as it veers off onto L Street under the Convention Center.
  
  We appreciate your sharing with us in an e-mail received in December that DDOT agrees that a fully protected left turn phase is needed at the intersection of 5th Street, L Street and New York Avenue, NW for the eastbound to northbound movement. Our understanding is that the city has approved funding for the turn phase creation, along with other safety improvements at this intersection. Please keep us posted as DDOT moves forward with obtaining the needed equipment and preparing work orders so that implementation can begin. We hope that this can proceed as soon as possible.


• Remove some or all of the large highway signs along New York Avenue NW between New Jersey Avenue and 6th Street NW. Residents hold similar concerns with respect to signage on Massachusetts Avenue. There are already smaller signs in place indicating the entryway to I-395, and the directions to downtown and Route 50. We know of no other place in a residential community in the District of Columbia that has such a concentration of highway signs, which sends a signal to drivers that New York Avenue and Massachusetts Avenues are freeways.
  
  From our initial correspondence, our understanding is that DDOT favors keeping this highway signage in place, but the Department is willing to reconsider this stance in light of strong community support for changes in signage. As we discussed, the primary reason for urging scaling them back is pedestrian safety, not aesthetics. The signage sends a message, which dwarfs any improvements installed by DDOT, that this stretch is a superhighway, not an area where people live and cross. The signage is completely unnecessary.

My hope is that, if and when, the large highway signs are changed that the new signs no longer refer to Fourth Street as ALT-395.

January ANC 6C Draft Agenda

Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6C
Wednesday, January 14, 2009, 7:00 pm
Heritage Foundation, 214 Massachusetts Avenue N.E.

DRAFT Agenda

Call to order
Quorum
Approval of agenda
Election of 2009 officers and committee chairs
Approval of December minutes
Treasurer’s report

• Approval of 2009 budget
  
• Approval of D.C. security fund participation, $25
  
• Approval of website domain renewal, PairNic domain provider, $65
  
• Approval of ANC 6C ad in 2009 Hill Rag Community Guide

Brief community announcements

• Gannon Center for Higher Achievement, poetry contest - Jessica Thomas
  
• Chinese New Years Parade - Raymond Ho
  
• Chair and treasurer training Saturday, February 7, 10 am - 1 pm - Commissioner Wirt

Old Business

Public Safety Committee report (Comm. Dixon)

Grants Committee (Comm. Brown)

• Application to provide carbon monoxide detectors - Ron O’Day
  
• Application from Ludlow Taylor PTA to provide school uniforms for needy children

Licensing Committee report (Comm. Dixon)

• Good Libations, ANC 2C, 5th and M Streets NW request to sell 20 oz. singles - Charley Docter

Transportation Committee report (Comm. Phelps)

Youth and Education Committee report (Comm. Hamilton)

Zoning and Planning Committee report (Comm. Velasco/Rob Amos)

• Sale of firearms in D.C. establishments, hearing February 26
  
• AOC intention to take down 10 fourteen-year-old elms on Second St. NE to erect security bollards
  
• Historic preservation for 1309 and 1311 H Street NE - ANC 6A Comm. David Holmes
  
• Tax abatement for downtown and NoMa residential development - Charley Docter

New Business

Adjournment

DCNorth on SSM exemptions

Reporter Amanda Abrams from DCNorth has wrote a piece on Single Sales Moratorium exemptions in the publication's January Edition.

Click to visit full article which is on page 3

Amanda Abrams was given my contact information and a link to our coverage but never approached me. It is clear she decided the story was big bad government being punitive towards small business owners. It also is perpetuating the idea that these liquor stores are just selling microbrews - how is a 22oz Corona a microbrew?

In fact, I find the subtitle of "Ethics and Exemptions" a bit confounding? Where is the Ethics argument? Is it when Rob Amos cites the need for objective criteria? Because Rob made that statement as an advocate against exemptions yet it was taken out of context by Amanda to suit her own slant.

From Rob:

It was pointed out to me that the article reads as if I were pro-exemption. That is far from the truth. It seems that the author took selective bits and pieces from the interview to give the story a pro-exemption, pro-small business slant. I was one of the few who voted against the Good Libations exemption at the MVSNA meeting and my "objective" comment was in regard to using the same set of rules and standards against other businesses as they did Good Libations. Since you can't discriminate on the types/brands of beer sold, then the same standards that applied to Good Libations to give them their exemption have to also be applied to B&M to grant their exemption request by the neighborhood association.

January DNA Meeting

From DNA president Miles Groves:

Dear Neighbors,

It has been a busy year for your DNA volunteers. There is a note on our site www.dna.org that outlines many of our activities for past year. This was possible only due to your support, activism, financial contributions, and "showing up" when we needed to represent our concerns with neighborhood issues. Please check out the note and share it with your neighbors.

January Meeting
Our January meeting will be on Tuesday, January 13th at Calvary Baptist Church. The meeting will start at 6:30PM and end at 8:00PM in Kendall Hall. The entrance is on 8th Street between G Street and H Street. The address is 733 8th Street NW. With the exception of December and August, when we do not meet, we regularly meet on the second Tuesday of the month.

PSA - Our meeting will start with the PSA 101W update on neighborhood safety issues and the inauguration.

BID - We will have a presentation from the Downtown Business Improvement District on the Downtown Streetscape project. This project needs our support since it provides upgrades and repairs for several sections of our neighborhood. This is our opportunity to understand the scope of this project, how it is being funded, and how we can support its adoption.

Martha’s Table - Lindsey Buss, the president of Martha’s Table (www.marthastable.org) will join us to discuss the efforts of his organization to serve Washington, DC. I urge you to check out their website and contribute to their great work. Martha’s Table has many programs, including feeding the hungry with a seven-days-a-week mobile soup kitchen that feeds weekly more than 1,200 homeless and hungry people in locations throughout Washington, DC.

Miles E. Groves
Downtown Neighborhood Association

Open Late for Inauguration

Props to Capital Spice for their Google Map of 213 Restaurants, Bars and Clubs with Extended Hours for Inauguration.

Click map to visit the interactive mashup

Within the Triangle it's just Busboys and Poets. Just north of NY is the Eritrean Center, Warehouse Cafe, DC Eagle and Lux Lounge and to the south many establishments in Penn Quarter.

The CAAB has a new tenant

In November Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) moved out of the CAAB building to relocate in SW DC.

Predictably the homeless have found the sunken patio a nice place to crash. In fact, my condo has a direct, if distant, view of the stairs that lead out of the patio. I can safely state that in this case it is a homeless transvestite prostitute.




So much for the claim by those who support Single Sale Moratorium exemptions that vagrants don't drink Heineken. I don't doubt they prefer Steel Reserve 211's due to price but to suggest they wouldn't drink a Heineken has always seemed absurd to me.

First Peace, now Statehood

On Friday I posted Yoko's Imagine Peace ad on the Hampton Inn. Well, this morning it seems the DC Statehood cause is going quantity over quality with propaganda for the Inauguration visitors to gaze at.


There were 5 or 6 of these signs at the intersection of Mass Ave, H Street and Fourth Street.

Yoko spreads peace in the Triangle

New ad on the side of the Hampton Inn at 6th & K courtesy of Yoko Ono.


Hat tip to DC Metrocentric for spotting this first.

WaPo: Inaugural rentals begging for takers

David Nakamura of the Washington Post writes that Inaugural rentals begging for takers.

When Tim Tate heard that a neighbor had rented out his condo in the trendy Mather Studios in downtown Washington for $3,000 for inauguration week, he and his friends hatched a plan to rent out their own units and use the profits for a week-long jaunt to Morocco.

But nearly two months after listing his condo on an inaugural housing Web site (one bedroom, one bath, $2,000 for the week), Tate has gotten nary a nibble. Neither have his friends. He dropped the price twice. The only inquiry came from European parents who wanted to rent it for their daughter's semester in the District.

"We all started to list, and then the silence ensued," said Tate, a glass artist and founder of the Washington Glass Studio.

I remember shortly after the election the DC blogosphere was a flutter about opportunities for locals to rent their places on Craiglist for a one or two grand a night. My relatives in Connecticut even asked if I was doing it - so the claims of limitless rental opportunities must have made the Today Show or Oprah circuits... I thought the hype was overstated. Sure, some people likely did connect with renters but supply far exceeded demand.

Central Parking at 455 Mass

With tenants moving into 455 Mass the parking garage is now open. For the same price as a Subway footlong you can now get daily parking. Atleast for now...

ANC 2C endorses Single Sale Moratorium exemption

In addition to the calamity surrounding voting on a chairperson, ANC 2C also voted to endorse a Single Sale Moratorium exemption to Good Libations (1201 5th St NW). The ANC 2C voted 4-0 to endorse the exemption using the same voluntary agreement based condition drafted by the MVSNA.

DNA president Miles Groves was in attendance and outlined his objections to the endorsement. Good Libations falls just 1/10 of a mile outside of the DNA boundaries. The downtown neighborhood has had an ongoing problem with public drinking and loitering.

A corner by corner ban is not a sufficient approach. Vagrants who loiter around all day have all the time in the world to walk the extra 3 blocks to get their single beer. A 555 Mass resident has already witnessed former Chinatown Market (6th & H) single buyers going to Subway Liquors II (5th & K) were the singles ban is not yet underway.

Currently, the Chinatown Market single serve moratorium has gone into effect while the Subway Liquor moratorium is still in process. The impact of this is that there has been a significant increase in public drinking on our block in the last couple of weeks. It is hard for MPD to enforce because the guys keep their drinks in their jackets.

Last Saturday morning, I watched a procession of guys who usually drink at the Building Museum come into our part of the neighborhood to buy their alcohol. Many tried to stay and loiter on our building (they were run off). Others bought at Subway and returned to 5th and G NW. That being said, our neighbors in ANC2C are trying to get a single serve exemption a few blocks to the north of us. If this happens, the Subway moratorium will be undermined as these guys will still have a place nearby to buy their singles.

ANC 2C chaos

Wednesday night ANC 2C had it's January meeting. Check out the recap and the fallout on the Lifein MVSNA blog.

ANC 2C has long been considered dysfunctional. Recently elected SMD 2C04 commissioner Theresa Sule campaigned on change yet nominated and voted to keep Doris Brooks as chair of the ANC.

For those unfamiliar with Doris, hears what MVSNA VP Si Kailian had to say:

Doris is not competent to be chair. period. She does not return phone calls, she does not read her mail, she has trouble attending meetings, she never writes her own letters and she never uses email. She does not share any information with the community or her fellow commissioners. This is absolutely unacceptable and I ask the 3 other commissioners, particularly ANC 2C04 Commissioner Sule - who nominated Commissioner Brooks as chair, voted for her, and thus ensured that she retained the leadership position - to please consider the will of the constituents of ANC 2C and find a solution other than what transpired tonight. We want representation, we want to know what is going on in this community and if the business of the Commission is flowing to Commissioner Brooks it stops there. We, including the Commission will be in the dark with no voice because we will never see a scrap of paper. Commissioner Brooks' history is very clear.

Reading the recap it sounds like the resident who volunteered to conduct the election was so distraught she got up and left in the middle of it.

The DuMont's retail space

With the DuMont recently opening up the Mass Ave sidewalks I've been able to get some close up photos of the DuMont's sole retail space.

The first thing you notice is it is not a big space. Probably around 950sf and no bigger than the typical 2BR condo unit. I have a hard time imagining anything over than a small coffee shop filling the space.

Small patio in front of space:


Interior looking East to West:


Interior looking West to East:



Stairs to rear service exit:


Could those stairs possibly also lead to a lower level?

No More Wasted Space

I've enhanced the blog to use a new wide 3 column format. Big thanks to Jaime from Stop, Blog and Roll for the help.

Vapiano to open Feb 24

News from the WBJ today:
Vapiano to open in Chinatown this February.

“A year later, but we’re there.”

That’s what Vapiano Chairman Kent Hahne has to say about the long-in-development Vapiano restaurant headed to 623-625 H St. NW in Chinatown. After about a year of construction delays, the place will open with a VIP party Feb. 24 and begin serving lunch and dinner the next day.

For a history of Vapiano related neighborhood news follow this link to a PQLiving search.

WaPo: A Towering Disappointment

The Washington Post is running an article today about The DuMont called A Towering Disappointment. While not mentioned by name, The District Chatter blog and it's role mobilizing contract holders to seek counsel is alluded to.

Excerpt:

A number of buyers who put down deposits in 2006 have sought refunds, under a contract provision that allows them to withdraw if their units are not ready within two years. Broadway's attorneys, in a letter in May, blamed the delays on weather, the developer's inability to quickly obtain construction permits from the District, and problems with Pepco and a window supplier.

"As you might expect, the Seller does not have in its files any statement from Pepco, the D.C. government or the window supplier acknowledging and taking responsibility for the delays," the lawyers wrote. "Each of them would not wish to provide a paper trail leading to monetary claims which might be made against them."

Safeway, Shuttles and taking back the Libraries

Mount Vernon Square: Lifein MVSNA readers vent about the City Vista Safeway

H Street NE: Frozen Tropics reports that a new H Street shuttle service starts this month. The free shuttle will run between the Gallery Place station and the Minnesota Ave station each evening from 5pm until the Metro closes. Readers comment that the free nature of the shuttle could attract too much volume from the X2 line.

Citywide: WaPo's Raw Fisher reports on new policies aimed to discourage homeless encampment in our libraries. New rules will prohibit sleeping in the libraries or carrying more than two bags into the branches.

DuMont's Fourth Street sidewalks

Yesterday's post showcased the reopening of The DuMont's Mass Ave sidewalks. But many may wonder why does Fourth Street look like crap?


The asphalt and elevated curb are temporary fixtures until Fourth Street is restored to two way traffic later this year.


The sidewalks at the corner of Fourth and Mass are quite narrow. I believe the plans to alter Fourth Street also involve redesigning the traffic island - at which point the sidewalk will become wider.

DuMont's Mass Ave sidewalks reopened

Late last week (Saturday?) the Mass Ave sidewalks in front of The DuMont were reopened.


The DuMont's Mass Ave frontage features two small u-shaped driveways in front of the condo entrances. I'm not a big fan of senseless curb cuts. However if they were doing this for symmetry with 400 Mass perhaps one larger consolidated driveway featuring parking for Zipcars, as the Meridian does, would have been more appropriate?


The sidewalk in front of Ledos (433 Mass) is still not open. So pedestrians must walk into traffic for 10 feet to go around the fence. There does not appear to be any suitable reason for the entirety of the sidewalk in front of Ledos to be closed off. No work is currently underway at the property and the on-site dumpster could be barricaded without blocking all the sidewalk. The condo board at 555 Mass has sent correspondence to the MVT CID and Tommy Wells office about this needless obstruction. Hopefully the fencing is adjusted this week.

The Year Ahead

The natural follow-up to our recap of 2008 is a preview of the year ahead.

The next twelve months will pose many new transformations for the Mount Vernon Triangle. We can speculate on some of the big stories for the year ahead:

News on current space

• Will The DuMont go apartment?
  
• Monitoring sales at Madrigal Lofts and City Vista
  
• Buddha Bar to open in late 2009?
  
• City Vista retail space for lease
  
• One small retail space still available at 455 Mass
  
• Space for lease at 400 Mass and Mass Court
  
• When will Ledos open?
  
• Will Paramount begin upgrading the CAAB building to Class A office space?

New Development

• Yale West construction will continue
  
• Mount Vernon Place may break ground on an office building
  
• The Arts at 5th and Eye will continue assemblage and begin permit and zoning processes
  
• Douglas Development will continue to refine the concept for Squares 450/451
  
• Will MRP initiate any progress on 6th and K?
  
• Will Steuart Investment begin to discuss concepts for Squares 483 and N-515?
  
• How much progress will Dreyfus make on engineering studies to build over I-395?

Public Space

• The restoration of Fourth Street to two-way traffic
  
• When will the Mass Ave sidewalks in front of DuMont ~AND~ Ledos reopen?
  
• Will progress begin at the park at 2nd and Mass?
  
• Will the planned public art be installed in front of Busboys and Poets?
  
• Will any improvements begin at the Chinatown park at 5th and Mass?

Quality of Life

• What will happen with Single Serve Moratorium Exemptions?
  
• Will DDOT finally listen and increase crossing times at 5th and New York?
  
• Will the homeless problem improve?
  
• Will the prostitution issues improve?

While all this is happening around us we hope we can continue to grow online community through participation with new blog contributors and readers.

The Punch Club

Check out the press release from the Warehouse Cafe (1021 7th St NW) about a weekly event called The Punch Club which will be held on Thursdays 6pm-midnight.

NEW WEEKLY PARTY AT THE WAREHOUSE TO BEGIN NEW YEAR'S DAY

With the future of the Warehouse Theater and Cafe still up in the air, owners Paul & Molly Ruppert were looking for ways to enliven the space in the new year. So Paul and his partners in the coming-soon-but-still-under-construction Columbia Heights wine bar Room 11, have created a weekly event to help chase the winter blues.

Along with Room 11 partners Dan Searing, Nick Pimintel, and Ben Gilligan, we have hatched a weekly party to take place on Thursday nights at the Warehouse, starting on New Year's Day, called Punch Club. Anchoring a tightly curated beverage selection will be classic and original punches.

Joining the punches on the menu will be a small rotating selection of classic and original cocktails, wine and beer. Searing promises a first taste of some of the house-made ingredients, cocktails, and wine that will make their way to Room 11's menu.

Reanimated New Year's Eve revelers can leave their bow ties and cocktail frocks at home, however. The hosts promise an atmosphere both convivial and casual. Value will be a focus of Punch Club, as well, with no cover charge and drinks ranging from $5 to $8 and food from $1 for bar snacks up to $10 for sandwiches.