Last Monday: At ANC6D former commissioner Andy Litsky put in a guest appearance to conduct the election of officers. Elected were Rikki Kramer, Chair; Bob Link, Vice Chair; Secretary, Bruce Levine; Treasurer, Ron Collins. The vote was 6 – 0 – 1. Commissioner Gail Fast abstained. There’s a vacancy in ANC6D 04. Nominating petitions are available and due to be filed no later than January 30. The ANC will schedule a special election. ANC commissioners told MPD during the Safety Report that they were feeling pressure from constituents about the presence of guns in the area and wanted to know what the strategy was for combatting gun violence. The commission said there would be a continuing dialogue with MPD on the issue. DCHA Directors Brenda Donald brought a contingent of staffers to update the commission on the Greenleaf Public Housing Redevelopment. Chair Rikki Kramer told Donald that the commission expects to be a partner regarding input on the project “as opposed to just being fed information in updates.” The commission also fired off a letter to the Zoning Commission pointing out that none of the ANC’s six recommendations regarding PUD amenities and benefits related to the mixed use project at 807 Maine Avenue had been incorporated in the developer’s proffer. The Commission will reach out again to the developer in search of concessions. It seemed to this observer that there was an unusual degree of tension during the meeting which could make for interesting future meetings.
On Tuesday, at ANC6B’s January meeting, commissioner Edward Ryder won a cordial contest with commissioner Chander Jayraman for ANC6B chair. Former Commissioner Kirsten Oldenburg conducted the election of officers. The results of the election were as follows: Chair, Edward Ryder; Vice Chair, Chander Jayraman; Treasurer, Frank Avery; Secretary, David Sobelsohn; Parliamentarian, Kasie Durkit. Sobelsohn came to the meeting armed with a portfolio of suggestions for improving the effectiveness of the ANC. Among them was the re-establishment of the long decommissioned Public Safety Committee and a Task Force on the South East Library Renovation. The latter is intended to act as liaison between residents and the library regarding establishment of interim services while the library is closed and regarding the impact of construction. Some commissioner had reservations about establishing a Standing (permanent) Public Safety Committee whose purpose was vague and impact uncertain. Southeast’s Librarian Julia Strusienski offered comments assuring the ANC that DCPL takes interim services very seriously and has every intention of interacting with the ANC on that subject and on a construction plan. In the end, the ANC voted to establish a Special Committee on Public Safety (expires in one year unless reauthorized) and a temporary Task Force on Southeast Library (which also has to be reauthorized annually). Currently, none of the four ANCs that inhabit or lie close-in to Capitol Hill has a Public Safety Committee. ANC6D receives a monthly Public Safety presentation from MPD from the First District.
On Wednesday, ANC6C elected officers with former commissioner Christine Healey conducting the election – the ANC statute requires ballots be tallied by someone not on the commission. The new officers are as follows: Chair, Mark Eckenweiler; Vice Chair, Tony Goodman, Treasurer, Joel Kelty; Secretary, Leslie Merkle. Healey noted that an on-going issue for the coming year will be monitoring of the Union Station Expansion Plan. The commission subsequently appointed Healey to represent the ANC at Union Station development meetings and file reports through the ANC6C Transportation Committee. On another matter, the ANC questioned the proffered community benefits associated with the PUD process for the development of 300 M Street, NE. At issue was whether the $225,000 in proffered community benefit funds should be used to do work which is the responsibility of the city, i.e, improvements for sidewalk and streetscape. During the period for community comments, Valerie Jablow, community activist and education blogger, raised questions about the corporate ownership of Capitol Hill residences by corporate entities and their use for purposes other than residences – an ongoing problem for both ANC6C and ANC6B. The commission’s Grants Committee’s recommendations for a $4000 grant for Capitol Hill Montessori PTSO for an Urban Food Forest and a $10,000 grant for Stuart-Hobson Middle School PTA Auditorium renovation (painting) were approved by the Commission.
Thursday, ANC6A elected new officers for two year terms as follows: Chair, Amber Gove; Vice Chair, Keya Chattergee; Secretary, Rob Dooling; Treasurer, Steve Moilanen; Parliamentarian, Laura Gentile. It was a short meeting, with the bulk of the time devoted to looking ahead at upcoming issues. Two major H Street, NE, developments are on the horizon, a mixed use project at 1000 H Street and development of the Auto Zone site. Troublesome traffic issues will continue to need to be addressed – of prime concern is the dangerous 12th and H Streets intersection, the site of recent pedestrian-vehicle accidents. Public safety is an on-going concern among residents. Chair Gove noted that the First District Citizen Advisory Committee meetings are “woefully under attended given the level of concern about crime.” The next Citizens Advisory Committee meeting will be on February 7 and residents will have 90 minutes to interact with MPD and hear details of the status of crime investigations.
Despite the disappearance of promotional imagery from the front window, Rewild looks on track to open the long empty space at 232 7th Street, SE, across from Eastern Market. Here’s a shot from a Rewild FB post of on-going work inside. Rewild has outlets in Shaw and Ballston – and in the U.S. Botanic Garden. See here: https://rewilddc.com/ The last occupant of the space back in the 1980s was Ainilian Gallery – an art gallery run by Capitol Hill artist Agnes Ainilian.
Progress at the forthcoming Manny & Olga’s Pizza over at 1430 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, is incremental. But the menu sign is up. This will be the company’s 12th outlet. Here’s a look at their on line menu: https://www.mannyandolgas.com/menus/
The Week Ahead… & ANCs Elect New Officers & Photos
by Larry Janezich
Posted January 16, 2023
The Week Ahead
Tuesday, January 17
ANC 6A Transportation & Public Space 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:
- 11th Street, NE, traffic safety concerns
- Traffic Safety Investigation (TSI ) process (Amber Gove) Discussion of TSI 2.0 process and collection of additional input on prioritized locations.
- Proposal of a 4-way stop sign at 14th Street and Tennessee Avenue NE.
- Neighbor concerns regarding ineffective speed table on 1200 D Street (Laura Gentile)
- Community discussion and input to send to DDOT re 11th Street ,NE, (East Capitol Street to Florida Avenue NE).
Wednesday, January 18
ANC 6A Economic Development & Zoning Committee will hold a 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:
- 1000–1016 H Street, NE. Zoning Adjustment Application – Request for Special Exception relief from the minimum vehicle parking requirements and from the access requirements and special exception relief from the development standards to construct a new, detached, five-story with cellar and penthouse, 80-unit apartment addition, to existing mixed-use buildings
CAPITOL HILL CORNER 