DCPL, Ward 1 Residents Disagree about Changes to Library
by Amanda Abrams

For a moment, the Feb. 24 meeting on the future of the Mount Pleasant Library appeared to be on the verge of spinning out of control. After a presentation by DC Public Library staff that seemed to be stonewalling rather than answering questions, a restive crowd began shouting out specific accusations about how DCPL had failed to engage the community.

But to their credit, library staff remained cool. And with the help of Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham as mediator, the meeting regained a civil tone and even closed with an agreement among various stakeholders to hold discussions over the next month before moving forward.

It’s a positive step in a process that has been largely characterized by dissention. Residents and library officials alike agree that the Mount Pleasant Library – which serves all of Ward 1 – needs to be upgraded: it’s cramped, crowded and could use more computers. But community members claim that DCPL officials set new priorities for the library and chose a renovation design this fall without seriously seeking local input.

“The library staff is doing things backwards,” said Robin Diener of the Library Renaissance Project, an advocacy group. “The public is being engaged on the back end.”

By all accounts, Mount Pleasant is a fractious community with a number of vocal groups that frequently disagree with each other. On this issue, however, they are unified against the current design, which adds a large glass wing to the western side of the library.

“This is the most significant building in our historic district, and yet the library people proposed an unsympathetic and totally inappropriate design,” said Fay Armstrong, president of Historic Mount Pleasant. Her group prepared the application that led to the building – a Carnegie library built in 1925 – being designated a historic landmark and feels that the glass addition wouldn’t harmonize with the rest of the building.

Like many others, Armstrong claims that community meetings to review the design plans were poorly advertised and sparsely attended. By the time she finally met with DCPL in January, she said, the design had already been determined.

Also unhappy is the Mount Pleasant Condo Association. The group says that the library’s new wing would block the fire escape of a condo building next door, but the residents weren’t notified of the plans until a few months ago.

“Their outreach efforts have been deplorable,” said Sean Gannon, president of the condo association. The group met with DCPL officials in October, but according to Gannon, the discussion was largely superficial. “They were gracious, but it soon become apparent that they’d invested in their plans already,” he said.

DCPL staff, for their part, claim they have conducted extensive outreach. “We mailed postcards, put notices on listservs, and sent e-mails to elected officials,” said George Williams, a library spokesman. He added that DCPL hired a Spanish-speaking consultant to do outreach with the broader community; that report was recently finalized.

Williams also pointed out that, despite residents’ impressions, the design process isn’t finished yet. “We’re still pulling together the design that best represents the community’s needs,” he said.

That recently turned out to be truer than DCPL staff may have hoped. On Feb. 19, the federal Commission on Fine Arts, which has jurisdiction over some government projects in DC, ruled against the library’s new plans and encouraged more community involvement in the design process.

In a sense, then, the Feb. 24 meeting at the library was a chance for DCPL to start over and solicit fresh input. The room was packed with ANC commissioners and representatives of local groups.

Councilmember Graham opened the meeting by encouraging DCPL to listen to community grievances. “I’ve learned the hard way that if you believe people have been engaged, but they don’t believe they’ve been engaged, you have a problem,” said Graham.

Even Graham’s conciliatory presence didn’t prevent the discussion from heating up. But Henry Myerberg, a New York-based architect whose firm created the new design, gave a presentation outlining his decision-making process, and the audience was welcome to comment at length. And gradually, the frustration in the room dissipated.

At the end of the meeting, Graham suggested that the design process pause for 30 days to allow groups and DCPL to together come up with a design that the community would be satisfied with. DCPL and residents agreed to give it a try.

Phil Lepanto, the ANC commissioner of a neighboring Mount Pleasant district, actively followed the dispute over the past few months and attended the meeting. “It’s exciting to see how the neighborhood has come together over this issue,” he said optimistically. “Now let’s try to get this process back on track through open and honest dialogue.”

Curtis Chevrolet Plan Backfires
by Tanya Snyder

In February, neighbors of the old Curtis Chevrolet on 5929 Georgia Ave. NW caught wind of what the city was planning to do with the site. And they went ballistic.

A public meeting Feb. 11 and another one two weeks later were filled with angry residents who felt they hadn’t been consulted in the planning.

Ruth Rucker, who lives two blocks east of the 3.5-acre development site, said she was inspired by the efforts made in other development projects [see “Tiger Mart Area Gets a New Life”] to “make sure the community’s needs are being met by the developer, to make sure that the community is in the room when decisions are made.” She declared that in this case, “We were not in the room.”

She said she and her neighbors are not opposed to the development of the site. But they are opposed to what the developer – and Ward 4 Councilmember Muriel Bowser – want to put there.

The developer, Foulger-Pratt Development Inc., plans to build more than 400 multifamily units and 20,000 square feet of restaurants and retail. They plan to install underground parking. Neighbors worry about the density and congestion such a development could bring to the area.

But more than anything, they just don’t like being taken by surprise. Wanda Oates, who’s lived in Ward 4 since 1965, was grateful that people were at least trying to do something constructive. But she was unimpressed with the outreach.

“You have to get out in community and let people know,” Oates said. “Don’t say it can’t be done. If you want the community to know, get me the flyer. I will get it out. Any meeting that you have on this project, I will personally see to it that everybody involved will get a flyer.”

Meanwhile, resident Donna Ellis urged calm. She reminded the group that the banks don’t have any money, the projects aren’t yet fully financed, and it would likely take a very long time before any actual construction moves forward in this economic climate. She encouraged people to form a task force and “stop talking about foolishness.” The idea of a task force gelled into a strategy for moving forward.

Commissioner James Sydnor brought to the ANC 4B meeting a proposed letter to be sent to the Office of Planning, with 27 bulleted concerns about the project. But after hearing the outrage from the community, Commissioner Idriys Abdullah changed the tone of the meeting by suggesting the ANC “squash” the effort and let it “sit on the shelf.” He said the city’s and developer’s effort should focus on having a dialogue with the community most affected. “Even to go forward with the best intentions,” he said, “would leave a bad taste in folks’ mouths.”

Walter Mallette agreed. “Everybody here is saying table this discussion,” he declared. “Whatever you turn in, say, ‘Don’t go forward with this project.’ This can’t move forward because the neighborhood doesn’t want it to happen.”

The ANC decided to submit the letter with an opening paragraph stating that they want the project put on hold until the community has input.

Tiger Mart Area Gets a New Life
by Tanya Snyder

In other development news, a less controversial project is underway at the corner of Riggs Road and South Dakota Avenue. In this case, the neighborhood citizens’ association was the instigator of the project.

Ellis Denning Development and Construction is developing a large area, but the development project extends far beyond their property. The whole area is getting a makeover.

A large supermarket will anchor the shopping center, and there will be market rate apartments and condos – up to 1,900 new units in the area. Some affordable units will also be available to those making less than 50 percent of the area median income, which is around $94,000.

The plans call for retail below the housing units, focusing on neighborhood services that have been lacking in the area including banks, a neighborhood restaurant and a dry cleaner.

Mark Weller of Ellis Denning, admits that the project would be further along if it weren’t for problems with the financing. Another holdup is the fact that the developer is working with the District Department of Transportation to make some of the roads more urban and pedestrian-friendly. The highway ramps that cut off the corners will be history.

But it hasn’t happened yet. Weller says no one wants to move into a construction zone, so the roadwork should be done before the housing or retail units are filled in.

The Lamond Riggs Citizens’ Association established a task force to bring development to the area, and task force co-chair Rodney Foxworth is glad to see the plans moving forward. “The development team has been very responsive to us,” he says. “They included 85 percent of our recommendations in their plans.”

However, the one sticking issue is density. The developers and the Office of Planning want “medium” density, while the Citizens’ Association wants “moderate” density. Though no one could precisely define the difference, each side is sticking to its guns. Foxworth worries that going from a vacant lot with “zero density” to “medium density” is too much of a change.

“There’s not the city infrastructure to support medium scale development,” says Foxworth. He worries that with the 800 units included in Ellis Denning’s plan and another several hundred units planned for New Hampshire Ave., there could be several thousand new residents in the neighborhood. He says it would affect everything from public safety, as police response times lengthen, to overcrowding at the recreation center, to longer lines at the library, to compromised water pressure.

Future of Trinidad Recreation Center in Doubt
by Jenny Johnson

Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas is meeting with Trinidad residents to mobilize resistance to what he says is Mayor Adrian Fenty’s plan to close the Joseph Cole Recreation Center in the troubled neighborhood.

The plan comes as the neighborhood is still reeling from a large number of shootings and homicides last summer that prompted emergency intervention from DC police. Other shootings have also occurred recently in the neighborhood. As a way to tackle the systemic problems that lead to such violence, Thomas pledged last summer to step up public services in the community, with a special emphasis on young people, who are often both the victims and perpetrators of the violence.

The city’s reported plans to close the center would deal a blow to the councilmember’s efforts to make a positive change in the neighborhood, particularly in light of Thomas’ role as chair of the Parks and Recreation Committee.

Thomas said Fenty recently called him into a meeting, where the mayor “mentioned plans to destroy this recreation center without a transition plan,” Thomas told neighbors at a Feb. 10 meeting at the Cole center. “It is a disrespect to this part of Ward 5. The plan doesn’t include the community.”

Thomas said the Cole Center has been chronically underfunded, with no maintenance person and three staff people salaried at only temporary employee status. Despite that, several people at the meeting praised a dynamic cheerleading program at the center that draws girls from all over the city. Tutoring and other programs are also happening due to dedicated volunteers. The Feb. 10 meeting drew about 50 people from the neighborhood to the center’s gymnasium, many of whom had to stand because there weren’t enough fold-out chairs available.

In his just-announced effort to combat the mayor’s plan for closure and bring services to the center, Thomas is asking the neighbors to come up with a 10-point action plan for saving the long-underserved community asset. Thomas said he needs community pressure to help keep the center open. Neighbors have been charged with agreeing on a list of amenities they would like to see at the center, such as parenting classes, computer labs, mentoring and tutoring.

“The Cole center has been slated to be torn down, but this is the beginning of the discussion with the mayor,” newly elected ANC 5B Commissioner Tina Laskaris said at the meeting. “We are committed to doing renovations here … there needs to be myriad programs.”

The action plan from neighbors will also serve as pressure to make the mayor deliver on a transition plan in the event the city does decide to bulldoze the center, Thomas said.

Neighbors stressed the need to come together to help raise the community up out of violence, but some also noted that they are tired of coming to meetings when the needs in the community are already obvious.

The mayor's office did not respond to a request for comment by press time.

Columbia Heights Residents Reflect on the First Anniversary of DC USA
by Amanda Abrams

Columbia Heights’ new Target – the anchor of its DC USA shopping center – opened one year ago on March 11. Love it or hate it, the development has undeniably changed the neighborhood for good.

Steve Terrell is a fan. Now a guest service team leader at Target, he was walking past the Latin American Youth Center on Columbia Road last year and saw people filling out Target job applications. He applied and within six months had been promoted to a management position. “About 350 jobs were created for people in the community,” said the Columbia Heights resident, watching customers stream into the store. “I do like it. It gets quite busy daily, but I get to meet lots of different people.”

One of those, Cristina Bunton, was happily pushing a shopping cart into the store. The Howard University medical student confessed to liking Target. “I come when I can. I’ve only been in the neighborhood since July, but this is part of why I moved here,” she said.

Down in the shopping center’s circular foyer, a security guard spoke firsthand about the area’s changes. He worked in the neighborhood in 1991. “The Columbia Heights post office was right here,” he said, pointing to the area directly beneath his feet, “and I worked there.” He doesn’t miss the old neighborhood. “It was really messed up then. This is a nice development.”

But around the corner on Park Road, a number of small groceries and convenience stores are languishing in the shadow of the new mega-mart. Shiren Akther, a Bangladesh native, may be suffering the worst fortune. She moved her shop, DC Discount and Grocery – which, almost like a mini-Target, has a little bit of everything – to that location just a year ago. Needless to say, business hasn’t been good.

“Every day I’m thinking I have to close. I don’t sell nothing here – I make maybe $50 or $60 per day,” she said plaintively.

A gentleman who gave his name as Leroy was buying a mop at Akther’s store and had sympathy for her. He isn’t a fan of Target. “They need to give something back to the neighborhood,” he grumbled.

But some invested community members are taking the new development in stride. “Yes, it’s gentrification, but there are still a lot of options,” said Darrell Duane, who bought a home nine years ago that’s now just a block from DC USA. “Overall, it’s positive. I’m loving the gym, and it’s easy to do some shopping.”

Duane added that traffic, his main fear about the increased development, hasn’t been a major problem. Nor does the neighborhood feel more dangerous. “I thought that crime might be bad, but it hasn’t been noticeable,” he said. “Actually, I feel safer at night.”

Thomas Eyes Stimulus for Ward 5 Development
by Jenny Johnson

Councilmember Harry Thomas says he is looking to attract funds from the new federal stimulus measures to advance a host of projects in Ward 5, in an effort to create jobs and keep planned development moving forward amid tough economic times.

Thomas says federal funds can be used for community initiatives in Carver Terrace, property tax breaks to spur renovation of the Hecht’s warehouse, and expand workforce training at Phelps high school in Trinidad.

He is also looking to apply for federal funds for use in the District’s tax increment financing (TIF) program, in which the local government sells bonds backed by a development's future taxes, with the bond money helping to pay the developer's construction costs. The TIF funds could go to prop up planned development at McMillan reservoir and the Florida Avenue Market, he says.

As evidence of how the current credit crunch is limiting development plans in Ward 5, the developer for the Armed Forces Retirement Home recently pulled out due to lack of financing for the major project.

Another initiative Thomas is floating is transforming the now-closed Bertie Backus Middle School into a community college and workforce training institute, according to a Feb. 12 statement.

“The District’s budget gap and tight credit markets have bruised the momentum of a number of projects planned for Ward 5,” Thomas said in the statement. “Stimulus funds can help us get back on track.”

Thomas said in an interview that he is also putting his focus on advancing development projects that “can survive with or without city funds.”

Within a year, the District is projected to have a $500 million budget shortfall, according to Thomas. The shortfall means the council will be “squeezing every penny in a different way” to keep residents’ jobs, housing, transportation and other priorities moving forward.

In Shaw, a Night of History
by Amanda Abrams

The concept of history is a fickle one. Just when it seems like it’s relegated to people and events in the distant past, something happens that reminds us it’s being made every day.

Shaw residents took a dip into recent and distant history at the “Blacks in Wax” museum hosted by the Kennedy Recreation Center on Feb. 25. For one night, dozens of young people took on the personas of prominent African-Americans. Standing frozen in the rec center’s rooms, they came to life and presented their accomplishments whenever someone from the milling crowd tapped a red button at their feet.

“I thought it’d be a good way to get the kids fired up about education,” said Pamela Pugh, Kennedy’s site manager and the creator of the event. “They did all the research, and then they had to sit down and write their own scripts.”

“I am Langston Hughes,” said Serenity Hunter when an observer pushed her button, and began to recite the story of his life. Nearby were a number of other well-known African-American historical figures like Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr.

But the event highlighted the significance of contemporary history, too. Obama, of course, was there, standing shyly against a doorway near his beaming parents. Doug Williams, the first black quarterback to win the Superbowl with the Washington Redskins, was represented too, and so was Mayor Adrian Fenty, played by Tyree Bethea with a serious air. Nearby, his twin brother, Cyree, was Prince, complete with purple leather vest and shaggy wig.

In another corner was an even more unorthodox historical figure: Ibrahim Mumin, a longtime Shaw resident and booster. “Can you help me make the Shaw community a better place?” asked Aaron Gerald, who played Mumin.

Nearby, the real Mumin – alive and well – was chatting with parents and neighborhood residents in the buzzing foyer. Pugh’s request that his personage be included in the event had taken him by surprise, but he helped Aaron with the presentation and was enjoying the evening. True to form, he measured it by its significance for Shaw. “This is good because of the energy it brings to the community,” he said. “Sometimes it’s hard to see positive things, but you can’t help but feel good watching the young people.”

A video playing on a corner television underscored Mumin’s key role in the neighborhood’s history. It showed a crowd of people standing around Muhammad Ali, made back in 1982, it was shot the day Mumin had invited Ali to visit Shaw and meet its residents.

Watching it, Mumin appeared to be simultaneously flustered and tickled. He said he hadn’t known that the moment had been recorded on video but remembered it and how animatedly Ali had interacted with customers in the Giant supermarket.

Mumin wasn’t sure if his actions – that day, or in general – constituted “history,” but he took a philosophical perspective. “Sometimes you make history, and you don’t even realize it,” he said.

An Easier Way Downtown
by Tanya Snyder

If you were ever tempted to give up on the 16th Street bus, check out the new express service Metrobus is adding to its third busiest line. A new S9 bus, which could make its debut as early as March, will dramatically reduce the number of stops from 82 to 16 stops between Silver Spring, Md., and downtown Washington.

The service is modeled on the Metro Extra service on Georgia Avenue, which one Ward 4 rider claims “managed to single-handedly change my opinion about buses in DC and WMATA.”

Sixteen thousand riders use the 16th Street bus line every day, and many complain that the buses arrive late and “bunched” together – meaning after you wait 20 minutes for a bus, four arrive all at the same time. Heavy traffic congestion on the street contributes to the problem.

The new S9 buses will be a blue and silver hybrid-electric model with "express" branding and are scheduled to run every 10 minutes, only during morning and evening rush hours. The limited “express” service is expected to save six to eight minutes along the route.

The S9 is a demonstration project, and the DC government will cover the $3.6 million cost over the next two years. If the project is successful, it could eventually be incorporated into the regular Metro budget.

In other transportation news, the DC government is proposing major changes for over several streets and intersections in Ward 4. Included in the plan:

• New sidewalks on the southwest side of Blair Road between Piney Branch Road and Geranium Street.
  
• A new left turn lane for east-bound Piney Branch traffic at Blair Road.
  
• A new median in the intersection at Blair Road and Dahlia and Fifth streets.
  
• Redesign of the intersection at Cedar Avenue, Fourth Street and Blair Road that would make Fourth Street one way between Cedar and Butternut.

McMillan Plans Raise Questions on Historic Preservation
by Jenny Johnson

Plans to develop the 25-acre McMillan sand filtration site are raising questions among some residents over the lack of detail on preserving the historic nature of the site.

The filtration site is an important piece of the city’s early history, as the availability of clean water rid it of typhoid and other diseases. Today, the monument to public health is set to be transformed into housing, office space and retail under plans being developed by the city and the Vision McMillan developers, with the input of the community.

Some community members are raising concerns that the historic preservation piece of the development plans are getting short shrift, with not enough of the site being left intact.

Developers say the preservation piece is an important part of the project, however. “We are looking to recreate the history of the site along with the new development,” EYA’s Aakash Thakkar told residents Feb. 7 at the latest community meeting on the development.

Thakkar said they are considering reconstructing some of the original buildings on the site, along with partial preservation of three silos in different places on the site. Long rows of the silos characteristically mark the site from the intersection of Michigan Avenue and North Capitol Street. The plan for the three silos marks an increase in preservation from plans announced at the previous public meeting to partially preserve only one silo. The developers also want to “program” the silos in different ways, using them to tell the history of the site, house a children’s museum or other uses, according to Thakkar.

Brookland resident Mary Pat Rowan said at the meeting that she didn’t “see anything great” in the historic preservation plans and argued that the current plan doesn’t include enough preservation of the current site.

Clint Jackson of the mayor’s office responded, “The city’s goals did change a bit … the city wants to provide more retail,” and that would come at the cost of open space and preservation. “That was the trade-off,” he said.

Bloomingdale’s Scott Roberts also expressed concern on the preservation front, saying, “Preserving some of the cells partially doesn’t cut it.” Roberts says he hasn’t seen a grand plan for preservation.

“They are not paying attention to historic preservation,” ANC 5A Commissioner Phillip Blair said.

A Comeback for a Neglected Building at Ninth and T
by Amanda Abrams

With its boarded up windows and dilapidated façade, the derelict building at the corner of Ninth and T streets NW is an eyesore. But like a homeless person who turns out to have been a celebrity in an earlier life, the property once had a prominent place in Washington’s history. And finally, it’s scheduled to be cleaned up and returned to productivity: this spring, the Neighborhood Development Company will begin renovating the building. Eventually, the sprawling corner house will become three condo units, one of which is slated to be affordable housing.

Standing at the end of a block of tidy row houses, the property at 902-904 T Street clearly has an enormous amount of potential. It’s huge, with a large corner turret that must have once been quite majestic. In fact, the building was once home to the Washington Conservatory of Music, an African-American institution founded by Harriet Gibbs Marshall, the first African-American to graduate from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music.

Marshall initially established the school in the True Reformer Hall on U Street in 1903; less than two years later, she moved to the T Street building. Cultural Tourism DC’s website says that by 1906, the conservatory had “nearly 300 students who studied piano, voice, pipe organ, string and wind instruments, the general history of music and Negro music.”

According to Hari Jones of the African American Civil War Museum, the school housed the largest collection of compositions by African American musicians in the country. But after Marshall died, the conservatory gradually declined, and in 1960 it closed. After that, like many of the surrounding houses, the property sank into disrepair under a succession of absentee landlords.

But the building will have a new life as a result of the District’s Home Again program. The city bought the building from its former owners then sold it to NDC a few years ago.

Kevin Brown, a vice president at NDC, said the renovation will consist of virtually a complete demolition inside, with a new roof and floors put in. “Nearly the only thing remaining will be the façade,” he said. Brown and his partners are excited about participating in the ongoing transformation of a neighborhood that has taken big steps in the past decade. “On that block, it’s one of the few abandoned buildings left,” he said. “It’s a great opportunity to restore a very good building to productive use.”

Group Takes Proactive Approach to Help DC Needy Thrive
by Amanda Abrams

In sketchy economic times, ensuring that society’s most down-and-out members are still being helped requires a variety of strategies. On Feb. 27, the Dinner Program for Homeless Women (DPHW) took a proactive approach by holding a celebratory fundraiser that culminated in a name change for the organization.

After decades of helping both homeless men and women with not only meals but also counseling, crisis assistance and job training, DPHW finally decided it was time for a better name. To celebrate, it held a fundraising party in the True Reformer building at 12th and U streets NW. After hors d’oeuvres and a drumroll, the organization announced its new name: Thrive DC.

The evening’s short, upbeat program – which included the testimonials of two homeless clients – energized attendees and highlighted the organization’s distinctive emphasis on reinforcing the humanity of each individual it helps. And in the process, it served to remind the audience of the group’s continued need for their support.

Speaking from the podium, Executive Director Erika Barry commended supporters in the audience for their commitment. “You believe that whatever challenges this community faces, we all deserve to live lives of dignity,” she said.

After the event, Barry elaborated on the organization’s current situation in more detail. “We ended 2008 in a good place: our individual donors dug deep,” she said.

But the rest of the group’s funding, which comes from grants, local government funds, and corporations, is more tenuous, she said. Foundations have lost endowments, the District’s budget is in the red, and corporations are pulling back. And yet the number of individuals needing assistance has increased. “In 2008, we served 1,000 more meals per month than in the year before,” said Barry.

Whether that need continues to increase – and whether the organization’s strategy of facing tough economic times head on succeeds – depends largely on the economic fortunes of 2009.

To learn more about Thrive DC, call 202-737-9311 or visit www.dphw.org.

Correction: A story in the last issue of DC North, “DC's Largest Affordable Housing Project Planned for Ward 5,” incorrectly stated that 50 units for formerly homeless were allocated as a part of the mayor's Housing First program. The units were in fact allocated and approved before Mayor Fenty's program was enacted.