The last time that I attended a community meeting in Providence Park I was a newly elected ANC commissioner, more than eager, after taking my oath of office in early January 1993, to tackle whatever difficult issue put before me. In a sign of how much has changed, the burning issue then was whether to put high intensity lights in Providence Park because of repeated muggings and robberies taking place under the cover of darkness as residents made their way home on its crosswalks.

We learned two things: that the park is considered part of the Capitol grounds and is under the jurisdiction of the Congress and administered through the Architect of the Capitol; and some of our neighbors objected to the bright lights under consideration because they wanted the park to stay dark to allow for star gazing as they walked their pooches late in the evening.
A more recent threat to the park, which produced an ad hoc community meeting in late June, is the rumor that the Architect of the Capitol’s office is going to close part or all of the Park for use as a staging area for large pieces of equipment for required asbestos abatement in the tunnels that run under Second St. between E and D Sts. 

These days Providence Park bustles with kids at recess from both St Peter’s and Capitol Day school, Congressional softball, and Soccer on the Hill, as well as the usual community use by joggers, dog walkers and, in warmer weather, limited sunbathing.

Providence Park is so named because it once was the site of Providence Hospital founded by the Daughters of Charity in 1861. Having opened as the Civil War began, the hospital held many of the thousands who were wounded at the Battle of Bull Run on July 21, 1861 when the wounded were set up in tents that stretched from the Capitol grounds along First and Second Sts. over to the site of today’s park. After the hospital was closed in the 1950s, Congress purchased the land for use as the site of a page school.

Current Neighborhood Advisory Commissioner David Garrison (ANC6B.org) is on top of this issue and has cautioned that the community needs to take a deep breath and “keep their powder dry.” Many neighbors , knowing who on their streets are members of Congress, have pressed them into this fray. Garrison suggests that may not be necessary.

Meantime Eva Malecki, Communications Officer of the AOC has issued a statement that “there are no specific plans for the site at this time. As future projects are planned the AOC will work with Congressional leaders and will meet with the community to provide information with regard to any impacts on the Capitol Hill community.”

 The rest of the statement issued reads:

“…various uses of the site are under consideration including its use to support major construction projects , such as utility tunnel repairs. Many options are being considered . However, there are no specific plans for the site at this time. “

Having read that statement there should be a sigh of relief that there are no immediate plans that will disrupt the use of the park.

Earmarks for the Metro Plaza
Gerry Lewis, a retiring 15-term member of Congress who lives on Third St SE and who has lived on the Hill since the 80s, is being bashed for a $500,000 earmark that seemingly advances the appreciation on his home, valued at near one million dollars.

The earmark, not directed to his California district, will benefit the Hill community instead and will be used for the repair and beautification of the Eastern Market Metro plaza. Lewis’ previous earmark history notwithstanding, this is a rare instance of a member of Congress doing something for the residents of the District who have no vote in the Congress.

Lewis is not new to helping his adopted  community with his unreported role in an effort that helped raise $35,000 for Children’s Hospital some years ago. And with a history as Chair of the Appropriations Committee, Lewis has developed a finer sense of the city’s needs.

I contacted the Barracks Row Main Street group which has been working on getting this federal land transferred to the District with the hope of linking Barracks Row commercially with the Eastern Market, once the land transfer is complete. Tip Tipton, a member of the board says that Lewis has worked hard to see that Barracks Row’s revitalization has moved forward. “It is important to remember, ” Tipton reminds us, “that there have been millions appropriated in this area ( the Hill) including for the Marine Barracks and the Navy Yard. The notion that Lewis stands to gain living on Third St. is preposterous.”

Americans for Prosperity, a non partisan group that draws inspiration from Ronald Reagan’s notion of limited government, has gone after Lewis on this matter. The whole idea of increasing the value of their property which is closer to the Capitol grounds than the Metro is a far cry from a Denny Hastert-like purchase of land that will be on or next to a federal interstate where the land value will immediately and substantially increase when votes are taken for such projects.
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One very knowledgeable and savvy real estate source suggests that improving the Metro plaza would be a good thing and a benefit for the whole community, but that what drives home appreciation as a separate issue are “good schools, security and location, location and location.”

The Lewis’s, like millions of home owners nationwide have been riding the wave of quadrupling home price appreciation, which is now engaged at best in a soft landing. The latest quarterly figures published by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight Home Price Index for Metropolitan Washington are showing a 3.65% annual increase in value after a lusty five years of averaging 16%. These statistical guides seem a more determinative gauge of the current value and projected appreciation of the Lewis’ home.

Take Me Out To The Ball Game
I was born and raised on the south side of Chicago, and previously viewed a visit to Wrigley Field as tantamount to committing a mortal sin. So with some mild discomfort , I found myself at RFK on July 5th watching my first Cubs game. Although the North Siders prevailed, the Nats had been doing just fine until their manager, Manny Acta, pulled starting pitcher, Jason Bergmann. He had given up two hits and one run through six innings.

But it was not the game itself that caught and held all my attention. Instead it was the constant blaring of music and the in-between-innings activities which I found so distracting, although I must confess that my long ago hero and owner of the Chicago White Sox , master showman Bill Veeck of the late 50s, started all of this including once having a midget bat in a ball game. (He walked).

The scoreboard blared with quizzes (I answered three out of four on the All Star game trivia). Thank God I’m a Country Boy was the only song we weren’t asked to sing. The beginning notes of Volare were played on the public address system periodically and then for no apparent reason cancelled. Young men and women simulating cheerleaders were constantly lobbing rolled up tee shirts into the stands. Screech the mascot was ever present in the aisles blocking the view of those who did stay in their seats. And four Presidents, also mascots, held a race in between innings from the right field bullpen down to home plate. Teddy (Roosevelt) stopped half way and shook hands. I guess ’08 looms closer.

But most remarkable of all was the constant stream of people who moved endlessly in the aisles to the rest rooms or the concession stands or both, though there were vendors aplenty. Or were constantly on cell phones throughout the game. Of course our nation’s capital is home to many important people doing many important things, so you can only imagine that some percentage of the 22,594 in attendance were multitasking even as they relaxed at the “ol’ ball game.”

And up till the fifth inning people were still arriving for the game even as the dawn of the sixth produced its equal exodus as a steady stream now headed for the exits. One father pulled two crying eight or nine year olds from their seats, the decision clearly having been made to return home with the game still on the line. Bad form, Dad.

And as far as I could tell, no one was keeping score. I called Glenn Szymanski, Retail General Manager of the Nationals, after the game and asked how many programs with score cards are sold on game day. “About five hundred” he said. The score card has evolved into a glossy promotional piece. In fact Szymanski conceded that pre-printed lineups and the rosters are no longer printed but are added as a blank insert a few days before a game.

Nevertheless the game was enjoyable. The Nationals, a stone’s throw away if you live on the Hill, struggled as they will for the foreseeable future while team President Stan Kasten’s master rebuilding plan unfolds.