Monthly Archives: March 2022

Ward 7 Task Force Approves Redistricting Map – CM Silverman Makes Surprise Visit

by Larry Janezich

Posted March 29, 2022

The Ward 7 Redistricting Task Force approved a final map of new ANC and Single Member District boundaries for Ward 7 last night, with only minor changes in the discussion map it considered in recent meetings.  The only change for Hill East was the carving out of a separate Single Member District for the DC Jail in an amendment offered by Task Force member Max Richman.  The final vote on the map as amended was 14 ayes – 3 nays.  Two members were absent.  The amendment increased the number of SMDs west of the river from two to three.

Afterward, some Task Force members expressed concern that the City Council’s Redistricting Subcommittee might make changes in the map before forwarding it to the Council.  That fear was prompted by the surprise appearance at last night’s virtual meeting of the Task Force by the City Council’s Subcommittee chair CM Elissa Sllverman.  Silverman had scheduled the appearance with Task Force Co-chair Tamara Blair, earlier in the day. 

At the beginning of the meeting, Silverman said that the Subcommittee was expecting a report by the end of the week including a map that met the principles of redistricting and the statutory requirements.  The law requires ANC populations to be 2000 plus or minus 5%, with some discretion outside of those limits if rationalized.

She said she wanted to refresh everybody’s memory on the principles of redistricting:  first and foremost, equal representation and no dilution of minority voting. 

Then, she said, what she would be looking for in the map drawings:

• Are your boundaries compact and contiguous?
• Are they geographically sensible?
• Are communities of interest kept together?

Task Force member Dr. Marla Dean asked if Ward 7 was the only Task Force visited by Silverman.  Silverman said no, that she had joined other task forces, including those in Wards 3, 4, 8, and would join the Ward 2 meeting tonight.

The Task Force went on to consider and adopt 5 amendments adjusting ANC and Single Member District boundaries.  Three Hill East or near Hill East Task Force members voted against the proposal for a separate SMD for DC Jail and against the final passage of the map as amended, apparently in protest against the configuration of the cross river ANCs and/or the lack of a standalone ANC west of the river. 

Afterward, near the end of the meeting, Dr. Marla Dean said that for her the process ended on a negative note and she was disheartened.  She felt the councilmember’s comments at the beginning of the meeting and her presence “were not neutral.”  Dean said she was concerned about what would happen at the next level – that the Task Force’s efforts would be undermined.

Task Force member and discussion map sponsor Keith Hasan-Towery joined Dean in expressing concern, stating that he felt Silverman’s comments reflected a feeling that a disservice had been done to some communities.  He said he was losing confidence in the process that looked like it was being undermined.  

The concerns seemed related to the controversy involved in the cross river ANC boundaries and Silverman’s emphasis on the redistricting principle that ANCs have compact and contiguous boundaries.  A look at the map shows at least one Ward 7 ANC which does not appear to meet those criteria, despite the assertion of some supporters of the final map that it does.  The proposed ANC7F sprawls awkwardly across the river with a narrow bridge connecting three single member districts west of the river with five single member districts east of the river in a three lobed configuration

The Task Force will meet again on Thursday at 5:00pm, to vote on the report which will accompany the map when it is submitted on Friday. 

ICYMI.  Change in command at the MPD’s First and Fifth Districts.  March 18 saw a change in command for both MPD First and Fifth Districts.  Fifth District Commander William Fitzgerald has retired from the Metropolitan Police Department.  He will be succeeded by former First District Commander Ralph McLean.  Inspector Tasha Bryant has been promoted to the rank of Commander and assumed command of the First District.  Contact: tasha.bryant@dc.gov and ralph.mclean@dc.gov

The Week Ahead…& Some Photos from the Past Week or So

by Larry Janezich

Posted March 27, 2022

Monday, March 28

ANC6A Community Outreach Committee will hold a virtual meeting at 7:00pm.

For info on joining the meeting, go here:  https://anc6a.org/community-calendar/

Among items on the draft agenda:

• Presentation:  Friends of Kingman & Heritage Islands, Lora Nunn, Vice President.

                                                                  ***

Ward 7 ANC Redistricting Task Force will hold a virtual meeting at 6:00pm.

Agenda:

• Final vote on Ward 7 ANC and Single Member District Boundaries

For info on how to join the meeting, contact Sheila Bunn:  sbunn@dccouncil.us   

                                                                   ***

Tuesday, March 29

ANC6B Executive Committee meets to set the agenda for the April meeting of ANC6B.

Go here for info on joining the meeting:  https://bit.ly/3iX6UVT

                                                                   ***  

Wednesday, March 30

Ward 6 ANC Redistricting Task Force will hold a virtual meeting at 6:00pm.

Register to watch the meeting here:  https://bit.ly/3KVtQAA                   

Agenda:

• Final approval of the ANC and SMD redistricting map and report

                                                                 ***

Thursday, March 31

Ward 6 Budget Town Hall Live and Virtual Meeting at 6:00pm.

Limited in-person seating available at the Southwest Library, 900 Wesley Place, SW.

RSVP for either in-person or live here:  https://www.charlesallenward6.com/budget23

Out and About – The Acme Mood Regulator on Independence Avenue – A Photo Essay

by Elizabeth Eby

Posted March 26, 2021

Here’s the Acme Mood Regulator.  It’s located on the north side of Independence, 1700 block. An unexpected joy.  Somebody spotted this metal box full of electronics to regulate traffic and not only imagined the Mood Regulator, but painted it to invite contemplation by passersby. 

To my 1950’s mind it recalls images of computers and fear of how in the future they would control everything, including us.  However, a friend sees it as a symbol of our ability to master our moods and the triumph of science over mythology.  Whichever way you go it is a triumph of imagination and filled with enough details such as the Start Keyhole to launch you on your own journey as you walk around it.  Note the Ward 6 designation which causes me to wonder if it is a commentary on local rather than universal humanity.

However you interpret it, it is an invitation to interact with the environment.  A reminder to look at the objects we usually walk by without a thought and possibly do not even see.  I started to think of this in terms of a question: how does the object look back at me?  A question I started to toy with when I lived in Chicago and a potential boyfriend suggested we meet “at the North Lion.”  He was way too cool for me to risk asking exactly where that was.  Fortunately I figured it out in the nick of time—the northernmost of the two lions that guard the entrance to the Art Institute.

Here are some photos to stimulate your thinking. And if you choose to give it a pass you can pick a book from the adjacent little library.

Out and About is an occasional photo feature by artist, photographer, and Capitol Hill resident Elizabeth Eby.  She finds vignettes while out and about on Capitol Hill. 

 

Ward 7 Task Force Moves Redistricting Map Forward – Final Vote Next Week

by Larry Janezich

Posted March 24, 2022

The Ward 7 Redistricting Task Force met Wednesday night and began the tweaking Keith Hasan-Towery of ANC7E’s discussion map setting new boundaries for Ward 7ANCs and single member districts (SMDs).  Despite the protests of west of the river Task Force members Francis Campbell and Brian Alcorn there was no inclination to further consider a standalone ANC for Hill East. 

Task Force member Mandla Deskins said that what he was hearing was similar to what he heard when the Task Force was looking at the ANC 6A and ANC6B area in a previous meeting and sounded like a re-litigation of the cross river ANC proposals.  At that meeting, he noted, there were a lot of negative comments from Hill East residents, adding “We have a map in front of us that we are supposed to be tightening up – not re-litigating … we have already voted on this map.”  He asked that the conversation be about how to make this map work

As the map stands, the former ANCs of 6A now part of Ward 7 will be incorporated into ANC7A in a 4:4 split with four SMDs on each side of the river.  ANC7A has RFK within its boundaries. 

On the south side of Hill East, the former ANCs of 6B or parts of them which are now part of Ward 7 will be incorporated into ANC7F.  The number of SMDs is not settled yet but it appears that there will be 6 SMDs on the east side of the river and either two or three on the west side. 

There is considerable tension within the Task Force over what many members see as an attempt by Hill East to assert control over development of Reservation 13. There is concern among residents of Hill East that commissioners from east of the river will not care about the issues (homeless encampments, traffic issues, bike lanes, etc.) that Hill East residents deal with on a day to day basis. 

Underlying these tensions are suspicions that the real issues concern race and class.  Dr. Marla Dean spoke eloquently of how those issues have played out in her own ANC on the east side and their “unwillingness to send a message that 7B01 does not want people of a certain means in our community.”  She said, “You cannot pretend that issues of race and class are not playing out in front of us, because they are.” 

The meeting adjourned without making progress on the configuration of 7F single member districts west of the river around Reservation 13.  There is uncertainty about the number of residents in the area and growing awareness that it may not be possible to meet all of the criteria regulating the setting of boundaries in these SMDs.  Keith Hasan-Towery invited the stakeholders in Hill East SMDs to “have a real conversation about how this can be done.”

The Task Force will convene again on Monday, March 28, at 6:00pm for final consideration of and vote on the map.  Following the meeting the co-chairs and select Task Force members will write the report to accompany the map which must be submitted on April 1 to the City Council Subcommittee on Redistricting. 

Ward 7 Redistricting Task Force Splits Hill East into Two Cross River ANCs

by Larry Janezich

Posted March 21, 2022

Monday night, the Ward 7 Redistricting Task Force expressed a strong preference for absorbing the former Ward 6 ANCs east of the Anacostia into two ANCs lying east of the river.  The decision came as the Task Force voted on the three outstanding maps which had not been yet considered.  Task Force members were asked to vote to accept a whole map for advancement, or to accept a map in part for further advancement, or to decline to advance a map. 

The comprehensive map which was advanced for further consideration was named “Ward 7 Strongly Together,” (above) offered by Keith Hasan-Towery of ANC7E.  The proposal received 11 votes to advance it vs. 7 to accept it in part.  The concept is to have two ANCs – A and F – each with single member districts on each side of the river.  (Ed. Note.  Update.  Originally this post reported that the intent was to have four SMDs on each side of the river for 7A and 7F.  While this was true for 7A (7D02 is mislabled and should be 7A01), 7F has only two SMDs on the east side of the river.  One of those, 7F07 has too many residents for one SMD and not enough for two.  If 7F can form three SMDs on the west side of the river and everything else remains the same, 7F would have a total of six single member districts on the east side of the river in a very irregularly shaped ANC7F.  The Task Force will consider this map again on March 23.)  

A partial map (above) by Ebony Payne of Kingman Park named “West of the River,” received 11 votes to decline vs. 5 to accept in part. She told the Task Force that the city would like a cross river ANC and made a case for keeping Hill East, Kingman Park and River Terrace together as sister communities with the same environmental impact interests. 

Rob Coomber of Kingman Park’s comprehensive map named “Minimum Change” received 14 votes to decline vs. 3 votes to accept in part.  The map would keep Hill East together and like Payne’s map, include Kingman Park and River Terrace in one ANC.  Coomber said that community familiarity was critical, people without cars will have trouble attending cross river ANC meetings, and that cross river ANCs “sounds like it might be a good idea but one which we have seen doesn’t work.” 

Prior to the votes, Task-Force co-chair Tamara Blair advised the Task Force that none of the proposals were perfect and that any maps which were advanced were subject to further modification. 

Also prior to the vote, Task Force member Dr. Marla Dean said that the redistricting had been a process of adjusting to community feedback.  She added, that “many people are upset in many parts of the Ward – that means we did a good job, because every part of the ward has sacrificed.” 

The Task Force will continue its work of tweaking the map when it meets at 5:00pm on Wednesday. 

…and across H Street and on the corner, The Big Board’s liquor license remains indefinitely suspended.  After raising about $58,000 on two fund raising sites in the past 6 weeks, donations have slowed to a trickle. 

The Week Ahead….& Some Photos from the Past Week

by Larry Janezich

Posted March 20, 2022

Monday, March 21

ANC 6A Transportation & Public Space Committee will hold a virtual meeting at 7:00pm.

To join the meeting, go here:  https://anc6a.org/community-calendar/

Among items on the draft agenda:

• Review and Discussion of DDOT Notice of Intent for North Carolina Avenue NE from 13th Street to 14th Place, including Separated Bike Facilities, Raised Crosswalk, and Parking Changes
• Protected bike lanes connecting the 1400 block of Maryland Avenue NE to National Arboretum/Bladensburg Road project
• Traffic calming at 300 block of 15th Street NE
• Traffic calming at West Virginia Avenue NE
• Capitol Hill Classic race permit and street closures
• Closed session to discuss Committee business

                                                                      ***

Ward 7 ANC Redistricting Task Force will hold a virtual Roundtable at 5:00pm

• This Roundtable will determine the ANC and SMD boundaries for Ward 7 for the next ten years. Current Ward 6 residents who live east of 15th Street will be affected.

Go here to register in advance to watch this webinar:  https://anc6a.org/community-calendar/

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinars.

                                                                     ***

Tuesday, March 22

ANC6A Alcohol Beverage Licensing Committee will hold a virtual meeting at 7:00pm.

To join the meeting, go here:  https://anc6a.org/community-calendar/

Among items on the draft agenda: 

• Discussion of application by Taqueria Al Lado II at 809 12th Street NE for a Class C Restaurant License.

                                                                ***

Ward 6 ANC Redistricting Task Force will hold a virtual meeting at 7:00pm

Register to watch the meeting here:  https://bit.ly/3KVtQAA

Agenda:

• Final approval of the map and report

                                                                ***

Wednesday, March 23

Ward 7 ANC Redistricting Task Force will hold a virtual meeting at a time TBA.

Info on how to join the meeting:  TBA

Out and About … Privacy and Romance – A Photo Essay

by Elizabeth Eby

Out and About is an occasional photo feature by artist, photographer, and Capitol Hill resident Elizabeth Eby.  She finds vignettes while out and about on Capitol Hill.

Ward 7 Redistricting Task Force Members “Decline” to Advance Standalone Hill East ANC

by Larry Janezich

This is complicated, but stick with me. 

Members of the Ward 7 Task Force on Redistricting held a virtual meeting Thursday night to make some preliminary decisions on proposed maps for ANC and single member boundaries in Ward 7.  The members declined to advance four full or partial redesigns of those boundaries.  Among them was Task Force member and former ANC6B commissioner Francis Campbell’s plan for a standalone Ward 7 ANC east of the river.  Task Force Members were asked to indicate whether to advance a whole map proposal, a partial map proposal, or decline to advance a proposal at all.  The group declined to advance Campbell’s proposal when 9 task force members declined and 7 supported it.   

The procedure was somewhat muddled.  At the Task Force’s virtual roundtable last Monday, after getting bogged down in considering the ten maps in front of them, the consensus was to divide the Task Force into two groups, A and B.  The two groups were to meet on Thursday; each group was to be assigned half the maps and determine which ones were worthy of further consideration and to make that recommendation to the full Task Force.  The goal was to only bring two maps back to the full Task Force. 

But what happened instead was this.  A public meeting of the Ward 7 Task Force – characterized as a round table – was announced shortly after 11:00am on Thursday. 

(Under DC’s Open Meeting Act, “Except for emergency meetings, notice of meetings must be provided in advance or not less than 48 hours or 2 business days prior to the meeting, by posting on website or in the office, and in the DC Register.)

At the meeting, four of the proposals were considered by the entire group, which then determined as a whole which maps to move forward.  None were.  Watch the meeting here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiCCnh-WMIU

It was also the consensus at last Monday’s meeting that the public will be permitted to submit additional maps for Task Force consideration until 6:00pm on Saturday, March 19.  In reality, few members of the public submit maps.  The map tool is not user friendly, and most users of the tool made available by the City Council’s Redistricting Committee need the training given to Task Force Members to operate it.

The Task Force will meet at 5:00pm on Monday, March 21 to continue considering maps, and again on Wednesday, March 23. 

One of those likely to be considered is a comprehensive map for the entire ward created by Rob Coomber, former commissioner, ANC 7D01 and current Board Member of Friends of Kingman Park.  See below for the portion affecting Hill East: 

The Week Ahead…& Some Photos from the Past Week of So

by Larry Janezich

Posted March 13

The Week Ahead…

Monday, March 14

ANC6D will hold a virtual meeting at 7:00pm.

To join the meeting, go here:  https://www.anc6d.org/virtualmeeting/

Among items on the draft agenda:

• Among items on the agenda:
• Public Safety Report – MPD.
• DCRA, Reporting illegal construction.
• Petalpalooza update.
• Redistricting Update, Wards 6 and 8.
• Game Day Traffic Operations and parking plan.

                                                                 ***

Ward 7 ANC Redistricting Task Force will hold a virtual roundtable at 6:00pm. 

Register in advance for this webinar:  https://anc6a.org/community-calendar/  (After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinars.)

Agenda:

• This Roundtable will determine the ANC and SMD boundaries for Ward 7 for the next ten years. Current Ward 6 residents who live east of 15th Street will be affected.

Tuesday, March 15

Ward 6 Redistricting Committee will hold a virtual meeting at 7:00pm. 

Register in advance for this webinar: https://bit.ly/37rXjUo

Agenda:

• Final Approval of the Map and Report.

Wednesday, March 16

The ANC6A Economic Development and Zoning Committee will hold a virtual meeting at 7:00pm.

For information on how to join the meeting, go here: https://anc6a.org/community-calendar/

Among items on the draft agenda:

• 1207 H Street, NE. Zoning Application.   Request for a map amendment to change the property from its current NC-14 zoning (Mixed Use: Medium Density Residential and Medium Density Commercial) to NC-15 )medium density mixed use) which permits a height of 70 feet and an FAR of 4.8, and will be subject to the enhanced affordability requirements under the IZ+ program.
• 647 16th Street, NE. Zoning Adjustment Application.   Request for special exception zoning relief to permit construction of a third story and rear addition, and convert to a flat, an existing, attached, two-story with cellar in a principal dwelling unit.   
• 15th Street Alley. Zoning Adjustment Application.   Request for an area variance to construct six, new, attached, two-story with cellar and roof deck, principal dwelling units in the RF-1 zone.
• 242 11th Street, NE. Historic Preservation Application.  Historic review of the construction of a ten foot (by right) addition on the rear of building while also adding a 3rd floor addition, and a second floor addition to an existing one story garage.
• 1108 Constitution Avenue, NE. Historic Preservation Application.  Review of the construction of a rear yard addition and cellar addition which will fill in the dogleg.

Legendary Song Artist Robert Flack Honored in Capitol Hill Ceremony

by Larry Janezich

Posted March 13, 2022

Yesterday, on a snowy Saturday afternoon, legendary songstress Roberta Flack came back to the Capitol Hill neighborhood Victorian Pub where she performed before becoming famous.  She was the honoree at a fire callbox restoration commemorating her talent, her work, her contributions, her legacy and her connection to Mr. Henry’s neighborhood bar a block away.

The callbox is in front of the Capitol Hill United Methodist Church – where the ceremony was held – at 5^th and Seward Square, SE. 

The restoration was undertaken by the Constitution Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution which hosted the ceremony.  A reception for guests followed at Mr. Henry’s.

Ms. Flack was also awarded the DAR Women in American History Award – presented during Women’s History Month to honor women who have made or are making an outstanding contribution to their communities.