DC NORTH

Ward 2 Reports

by: Susan Ruether

Mayor Postpones New Parking Enforcement at Logan Circle

Calling it a rally for religious freedom, dozens of church leaders made energetic calls for unity through the sound system set up in Logan Circle on a Sunday afternoon, while hundreds of parishioners and onlookers gathered on the sidewalks. Church members cheered as their congregation names were called and ministers from as far as Southeast stood in the afternoon sun to give a warning: do not attempt to block us from parking here.

The issue of illegal church parking has been hot-button in Logan Circle since last December when a group of residents decided to organize in the area, citing safety concerns and the repeated hassle of being blocked-in by church-goers. For years, the police acknowledge they have basically looked the other way when it comes to double parking by parishioners.

City-wide attention was drawn to the issue after the Williams administration announced in a March press release that city police would begin ticketing illegally parked cars starting in May.

At the April 23rd rally however, the Mayor’s office had changed it’s tune and the chairman of the mayor's interfaith council, Bishop Michael Kelsey of New Samaritan Baptist Church showed up to announce a moratorium on the new enforcements. A task force will instead study the issue for 4 months before taking any actions.

Because of the rapid changes taking place in Ward 2 and throughout the District, the issue of parking has taken on racial and class issues as homeowners have been pitted against the city’s congregations.

“The city has implied that raising condo and tax levels is sufficient, “ remarked Pastor Graylan Hagler of the Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ. “We are quite aware that a city requires more than just those tangible things: it requires a spiritual and religious fervor that only the church can provide for it. . .We have a right to be here. We have been here for years and we’re not going to let our city go down just by allowing newcomers to come and not allow us to have our fellowship.” Hagler also commented that the churches have served the District through the years and that without them there could not have been “any neighborhoods to revitalize and gentrify.”

“I think what needs to happen is there needs to be a cooling off period and everyone needs to immediately sit down and start talking about the issue and develop a process where in fact we enable people to get in and out of their homes, but also a clear understanding that people should be able to worship” said DC Council Chairman and Mayoral candidate Linda Cropp who also attended the rally.

The process Cropp referenced could be the Mayor’s new commitment to create a task force to study the issue for another four months.

Though for some, that study has already been done. “Why is the city creating a new task force when the issue has already been studied for four months by a task force of city officials (including police, ANC members and DDOT), church leaders, and residents?” commented Logan resident Todd Lovinger, one of the residents who began a series of complaint letters last December. “Isn’t this a blatant disregard for the work and agreements of that task force?” he asked in a letter dated April 24 to the Mayor. Among the details negotiated in Logan Circle was making parking legal along the medians of Vermont Avenue and allowing for the creation of 150 new angled parking spaces.

“Let’s do it the right way, let’s regulate it: -- let’s make double parking legal, let’s let people apply for permits,” said Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner 1B04 Dee Hunter who attends the nearby Vermont Baptist Church and attended the rally. “If someone parks [illegally] in those lines, it doesn’t hurt anyone for a few hours on Sunday. . . No one should be blocking a hydrant and you really shouldn’t block anybody you don’t know, but there’s a way to do this where everybody can win and that’s really all we’re asking for” he commented.

New Central Library Pushed by Mayor Williams

Controversial New Plan Would Lease Current Building to Developers to Generate Funds

“The transformation of the library system begins with the rebuilding of our central library which has proven in other cities to be the engine that pulls the whole system forward. It’s the first step in rebuilding the entire branch system,” said Mayor Anthony Williams (D) at a recent town hall meeting held in the lobby of the current Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library (MLK).

The Mayor, who released an ambitious plan in his budget last month to build a $180 million new branch, went on to explain that building a new building on the old convention center site would send a message that the city has “great pride in our democracy.”

Sitting to right of the Mayor was Library Board of Trustees President John Hill who offered his support for the plan and explained the difficulty in renovating the MLK building. Built in 1971, Hill cited the library’s inadequate wiring for computers, a street-level air louver system that pulled in exhaust often requiring air quality testing and temperature regulation problems that have meant valuable collections like the Washingtoniana have been exposed to temperatures as high as 95 degrees. The Mayor’s plan for the building would involve leasing the building to a private developer for a period of 99 years for a total sum of $60 million to be put toward renovation costs.

Not everyone thinks that a new central building is the answer to the library systems woes however. Many condemned the city’s prolonged disinterest in upkeep as the real problem. The library system has been plagued by inadequate funding, lack of maintenance and the closure of four branches.

Several speakers preferred renovation as a difficult but workable solution that would maintain the historical legacy of the building designed by Dutch architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The building is currently under consideration for historical landmark status designation.

“It seems strange that the [Mayor’s library task force] recommends abandoning MLK because it ‘was designed and constructed before computers became a key resource.’ On that basis, we should abandon the entire Library of Congress. If MLK can be leased to the private market and converted into an office building, hotel or condos, it can also be adapted as the 21st century library . . .” remarked Stuart Gosswein, member of the Historic Preservation Subcommittee of the Committee of 100.

Alex Padro, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner in neighboring Shaw and a former library board member was incensed that the building would be abandoned. He said instead that the government must be held accountable for failing to make upgrades to the building over the years “If we had made no upgrades to our homes over a period of 30 years it would not be surprising that this home would be unlivable” he said by way of comparison. Padro also cited a study done by architects in 2003 in which a complete renovation was detailed for MLK.

DC Council Member Kathy Patterson (D) who led the meeting as chairman of the council's Education, Libraries and Recreation Committee said that her recommendation would be to remove the new library proposal from the budget support act, calling it an issue that needs to be “thoroughly vetted.” She said that more time for public comment was needed.


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Ward 2 Reports

by: Susan Ruether
Mayor Postpones New Parking Enforcement at Logan Circle Calling it a rally for religious freedom, dozens of church leaders made energetic calls for unity through the sound system set up in Logan Circle on a Sunday afternoon, while hundreds of parishioners and onlookers gathered on the sidewalks. Church members cheered as their congregation names were called and ministers from as far as Southeast stood in the afternoon sun to give a warning: do not attempt to block us from parking here. The issue of illegal church parking has been hot-button in Logan Circle since last December when a group of residents decided to organize in the area, citing safety concerns and the repeated hassle of being blocked-in by church-goers. For years, the police acknowledge they have basically looked the other way when it comes to double parking by parishioners. City-wide attention was drawn to the issue after the Williams administration announced in a March press release that city police would begin ticketing illegally parked cars starting in May. At the April 23rd rally however, the Mayor’s office had changed it’s tune and the chairman of the mayor's interfaith council, Bishop Michael Kelsey of New Samaritan Baptist Church showed up to announce a moratorium on the new enforcements. A task force will instead study the issue for 4 months before taking any actions. Because of the rapid changes taking place in Ward 2 and throughout the District, the issue of parking has taken on racial and class issues as homeowners have been pitted against the city’s congregations. “The city has implied that raising condo and tax levels is sufficient, “ remarked Pastor Graylan Hagler of the Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ. “We are quite aware that a city requires more than just those tangible things: it requires a spiritual and religious fervor that only the church can provide for it. . .We have a right to be here. We have been here for years and we’re not going to let our city go down just by allowing newcomers to come and not allow us to have our fellowship.” Hagler also commented that the churches have served the District through the years and that without them there could not have been “any neighborhoods to revitalize and gentrify.” “I think what needs to happen is there needs to be a cooling off period and everyone needs to immediately sit down and start talking about the issue and develop a process where in fact we enable people to get in and out of their homes, but also a clear understanding that people should be able to worship” said DC Council Chairman and Mayoral candidate Linda Cropp who also attended the rally. The process Cropp referenced could be the Mayor’s new commitment to create a task force to study the issue for another four months. Though for some, that study has already been done. “Why is the city creating a new task force when the issue has already been studied for four months by a task force of city officials (including police, ANC members and DDOT), church leaders, and residents?” commented Logan resident Todd Lovinger, one of the residents who began a series of complaint letters last December. “Isn’t this a blatant disregard for the work and agreements of that task force?” he asked in a letter dated April 24 to the Mayor. Among the details negotiated in Logan Circle was making parking legal along the medians of Vermont Avenue and allowing for the creation of 150 new angled parking spaces. “Let’s do it the right way, let’s regulate it: -- let’s make double parking legal, let’s let people apply for permits,” said Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner 1B04 Dee Hunter who attends the nearby Vermont Baptist Church and attended the rally. “If someone parks [illegally] in those lines, it doesn’t hurt anyone for a few hours on Sunday. . . No one should be blocking a hydrant and you really shouldn’t block anybody you don’t know, but there’s a way to do this where everybody can win and that’s really all we’re asking for” he commented. New Central Library Pushed by Mayor Williams Controversial New Plan Would Lease Current Building to Developers to Generate Funds “The transformation of the library system begins with the rebuilding of our central library which has proven in other cities to be the engine that pulls the whole system forward. It’s the first step in rebuilding the entire branch system,” said Mayor Anthony Williams (D) at a recent town hall meeting held in the lobby of the current Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library (MLK). The Mayor, who released an ambitious plan in his budget last month to build a $180 million new branch, went on to explain that building a new building on the old convention center site would send a message that the city has “great pride in our democracy.” Sitting to right of the Mayor was Library Board of Trustees President John Hill who offered his support for the plan and explained the difficulty in renovating the MLK building. Built in 1971, Hill cited the library’s inadequate wiring for computers, a street-level air louver system that pulled in exhaust often requiring air quality testing and temperature regulation problems that have meant valuable collections like the Washingtoniana have been exposed to temperatures as high as 95 degrees. The Mayor’s plan for the building would involve leasing the building to a private developer for a period of 99 years for a total sum of $60 million to be put toward renovation costs. Not everyone thinks that a new central building is the answer to the library systems woes however. Many condemned the city’s prolonged disinterest in upkeep as the real problem. The library system has been plagued by inadequate funding, lack of maintenance and the closure of four branches. Several speakers preferred renovation as a difficult but workable solution that would maintain the historical legacy of the building designed by Dutch architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The building is currently under consideration for historical landmark status designation. “It seems strange that the [Mayor’s library task force] recommends abandoning MLK because it ‘was designed and constructed before computers became a key resource.’ On that basis, we should abandon the entire Library of Congress. If MLK can be leased to the private market and converted into an office building, hotel or condos, it can also be adapted as the 21st century library . . .” remarked Stuart Gosswein, member of the Historic Preservation Subcommittee of the Committee of 100. Alex Padro, Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner in neighboring Shaw and a former library board member was incensed that the building would be abandoned. He said instead that the government must be held accountable for failing to make upgrades to the building over the years “If we had made no upgrades to our homes over a period of 30 years it would not be surprising that this home would be unlivable” he said by way of comparison. Padro also cited a study done by architects in 2003 in which a complete renovation was detailed for MLK. DC Council Member Kathy Patterson (D) who led the meeting as chairman of the council's Education, Libraries and Recreation Committee said that her recommendation would be to remove the new library proposal from the budget support act, calling it an issue that needs to be “thoroughly vetted.” She said that more time for public comment was needed.