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Despite nearly two years spent battling the reopening of Oasis Liquor at 1179 Third St. NE, Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6C announced that the shop has indeed been cleared to resume business after a pair of approvals from the District’s Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) and Zoning Commission.
Still, Commissioner Anne Phelps – acting on behalf of the ANC and a group of 56 residents opposed to the project – and the Capitol Hill North Neighborhood Association were successful in negotiating a voluntary agreement (VA) with Oasis’s new management. Per the terms of the new VA, the store will be renamed the Oasis Market and drop its old tagline (“The Coldest Beer in Town”) while adding a “variety of other things,” including increased lighting and security.
“Looking at the way the [BZA] has decided protests in the past, we really weren’t going to win … because it’s a transfer to a new license holder. We couldn’t use the proximity to schools or any of the other avenues you can use for a new license, even though we tried to have it considered [as such],” said Phelps.
Due to the condition of the property, the newly rebranded Oasis still has no timeline for opening – in spite of its management’s assertion before the BZA that they had already poured some $30,000 dollars into rehabilitating the structure.
Meanwhile, word also came down that another liquor license-related problem had been resolved – this time with the soon-to-open Ethiopic restaurant at 401 H St. NE. Following a vote against the “high-end authentic” Ethiopian restaurant’s license application at the ANC’s December’s meeting, Commissioner M. Tony Richardson reported that he, too, had been successful in executing a new VA with Ethiopic’s management and would be withdrawing the commission’s letter of protest.
The ANC is currently awaiting a final approval of Ethiopic’s liquor license and a copy of the VA from the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration. The restaurant is currently projecting a “mid-to-late February” opening.
New Guidelines Coming for Community Grants
After reporting earlier in the meeting that the ANC would not be reimbursed by the Office of the DC Auditor for a $1,000 grant due to inadequate recordkeeping, the ANC’s treasurer, Commissioner Richardson, suggested a review of 6C’s policy towards such matters.
“I did want the community to know that we will be revising our grant policy, just so we don’t have the issues we’ve had in the past. … Up to this point, everything is up to par. There’s just a few things here and there we need to tweak,” he said.
To that end, the commissioners resolved to conference via e-mail in late January and return in February with “consistent guidelines for every grant.” Some, however, were skeptical that such reforms – originally proposed and subsequently shelved last year – could be achieved so speedily.
“The suggestion that this has been going on for a long time is obviously true, but the idea that we can solve the issue now over e-mail, I find unlikely … but we’ll try,” said Commissioner Tom Hamilton.
Headhunting for Community Parents, Teachers
The only news of the month from the 6C’s Youth & Education Committee came from the committee’s own founder and chairman, Commissioner Hamilton, who announced that he would be stepping down as chair, effective immediately.
“Although this committee was my idea, I haven’t been able to turn it into something that I think is valuable for the whole community. …Therefore, it really isn’t fair to the committee or to the people who we ask to come to speak to continue,” he said.
Hamilton stated that, although the committee has managed to draw many “fascinating people” from the chancellor’s office and Board of Education to make presentations, he was frustrated by its inability to attract community stakeholders or gain leverage with the city government.
At the suggestion of Commissioner Lena Brown, the ANC decided that rather than conduct an internal search, they would instead begin a flyer and e-mail campaign amongst various area parents, educators and PTA groups. The ANC is currently reviewing expressions of interest from volunteers willing to fill the seat left by Hamilton. More information can be found at www.anc6c.org/committees.org.
WMATA: No Weekend Metro for NoMa
Following a presentation from the ANC’s Transportation Committee, commission members were universally chagrined to hear of the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority’s (WMATA) plans to close the southern entrance of the New York Avenue Metro every weekend in order to help bridge their $40 million budget gap.
“This serves my residents and is their primary entrance,” said Phelps. “Also, that’s the neighborhood Metro for the NoMa (North of Massachusetts Avenue) BID (Business Improvement District) … and they have 750 rental units coming online in the first half of this year. That’s some 1,300 residents that would be using that entrance.”
At present, two large-scale residential developments in NoMa – the Cohen Companies’ 212-unit Loree Grand building at 250 K St. NE and StonebridgeCarras’s 440-unit Constitution Square project just a block away from the Metro – are scheduled to be completed during 2010. A student housing complex for interns visiting Washington is also currently under construction directly across the street from the Loree site.
Phelps said that “now is not the time to be cutting service” and noted that commuters and residents alike are increasingly opting for Metro when traveling to, from or within the District. WMATA did not provide a specific date for when the weekend closures may begin.
The ANC unanimously adopted a motion to directly contact WMATA General Manager John Cato with a letter outlining the commission’s grievances. Cato, however, tendered his resignation the following day, leaving the status of any such letter an open question that will have to be resolved at next month’s meeting. |
