Author Archives: ljjanezich

Eastern Market Metro Park Redesign Concepts Now Online

by Larry Janezich

Barracks Row Main Street announced today that the website presenting the architectural concepts for the redesign of Eastern Market Metro Park is up and running after a week’s delay.

Visitors will have the opportunity to review the plans, make comments on features they like, and participate in an 11 question Transportation Survey.

Public comments will be used by the design team to give direction to a final plan for the park which will be revealed to the public sometime next spring.  The public comment period will last until mid-January.

The website can be found here:  www.easternmarketmetropark.org.

The Week Ahead….

Fusion to re-open as a Carry Out – same address – above Medium Rare (see photo caption)

by Larry Janezich

The Friends of Southeast Library held their annual Christmas dinner at Lavagna Restaurant on Barracks Row Sunday night.  Stephen Cheung who runs Lavagna, announced that Fusion Grill will re-open above Medium Rare (515 8th Street, SE) soon and focus entirely on Asian take-out.

Monday, December 16

ANC 6B meets at 7:00pm in Hill Center for its regular December meeting (originally scheduled for last Tuesday)

Among items on the agenda:

Letter to DDOT on alley behind 500 Block of 8th Street, SE

Liquor license renewals for:

Cava Restaurant and Pennsylvania Avenue Market

Discussion of Barney Circle/SE Boulevard alternatives

Sidewalk repair list

Revisions to Public Safety Report

Updated vacant & blighted properties list

Retention of Hine Site for Temporary Use by Frager’s Garden Store

Monday, December 16

ANC 6A Transportation & Public Space Committee Meets at 7:00pm in Sherwood Recreation Center

Among items on the agenda:

DDOT officials to update community and committee, and answer questions, regarding pending transportation projects that directly impact ANC 6A, including the C Street redesign, the 17th/19th Streets redesign, the Maryland Avenue redesign and the G & I Streets bicycle lanes/cycle track

Monday, December 16

ANC6B05 Single Member District meeting from 6:30pm until 8:00pm at the Corner Store.

Agenda:

6:30 – 7:00pm – PEPCO reps on recent outages and grid reliability improvements

7:00 – 7:30pm – Update on neighborhood projects Hine, Metro Plaza, SE Boulevard, Public Safety, 2014 priorities

7:30 – 8:00pm – Q & A

Tuesday, December 17

ANC6A Alcohol Beverage Licensing Committee meets at 7:00pm at Maury Elementary School (1250 Constitution Ave. NE) – note different location

Among items on the agenda:

Update on status of XII and Ben’s Chili Bowl protest hearings.

Discussion of new license application for Sin Bin Sports Bar & Restaurant at 1336 H Street NE

Community discussion regarding public space patio and rooftop deck hours in ANC 6A.

The majority of this meeting will be devoted to discussing the ANC’s stance on closing hours for public space patios and rooftop decks of restaurants and bars in ANC 6A.  The ANC currently asks establishments to agree to close their public space patios and rooftop decks at 11pm on weeknights and 12am on weekends.  There have been many requests for the ANC to revisit this policy, so the ABL Committee will take it up at this meeting with the goal of making a recommendation to the ANC.

Wednesday, December 18

ANC6B Executive Committee meets at 6:30pm in Hill Center to set the agenda for the January meeting of ANC6B.

Wednesday, December 18

ANC6B Outreach and Community Services Task Force meets at 7:00pm in Hill Center

Wednesday, December 18

ANC6A Economic Development & Zoning Committee meets at 7:00pm, in Sherwood Recreation Center, 640 10^th Street, NE

Among items on the agenda:

Trent Smith of Insight Property Group will give a brief presentation on the current status of the Murry’s Redevelopment project (616 H Street, N.E.)

Developer will give an informational presentation and solicit Committee feedback regarding planned redevelopment of existing church for residential use at 819 D Street, NE

Variance to permit construction of a new 8 unit apartment house at 1717 E Street, NE

Variance to permit construction of a new sports bar at 1362 H Street, NE

Saturday, Dec 21

The Official Fridge Holiday Arty Party, 7pm-12midnight (Open to the public)

Lil Pub To Close on January 6 – Fashion Boutique Opens Near Eastern Market

Popville Reports that the Lil Pub has been sold to CVS and will close January 6.  Last year, CHC reported that the sale was pending and subsequently fell through.

http://www.popville.com/2013/12/lil-pub-closing-january-6th-on-capitol-hill/

Popville also reports the opening of a new fashion boutique in the space formerly occupied by The Village Art Gallery, around the corner from City Port Java which is across from Eastern Market.

http://www.popville.com/2013/12/new-boutique-opens-near-eastern-market-in-former-the-village-art-gallery-space/

The Week Ahead …..

Alternate Plans for Redesign of Eastern Market Metro Plaza to Be Unveiled

by Larry Janezich

Tuesday, December 3

ANC6B  Planning & Zoning Committee, meets at 7:00 pm, at St. Coletta of Greater Washington

Wednesday, December 4

ANC6B Transportation Committee meets at 6:30 pm in Hill Center

Thursday, December 5

ANC6B ANC Committee meets at 7:00pm in Hill Center

Sunday, December 8

First of two community meetings to hear Amy Weinstein present her two plans for redesign of Eastern Market Metro Plaza, 1:30pm – 3:30pm at Hill Center.  Community comment will be received through January 10, and the plans will be posted at www.easternmarketmetropark.com.  The second meeting to accommodate the schedules of those unable to attend the first meeting will be on Wednesday, December 11, 7:00pm – 9:00pm, at Hill Center.  See the CHC post on the preliminary meeting last summer here: http://bit.ly/17hFOLV

Tommy Wells Falls Behind in Fundraising for Mayoral Race

by Larry Janezich

Paperwork filed with the DC Office of Campaign Finance reveals that rival candidates for mayor Muriel Bowser and Jack Evans have far outpaced Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells in their efforts to build a campaign war chest.  Evans has amassed $768,475 thus far and Bowser $708,981, while Tommy Wells has only managed to raise $319,708.

Many observers of DC politics would probably guess that the discrepancy between Wells and the other councilmembers running for mayor can be explained by the fact that Bowser and Evans accept corporate contributions, including the notoriously generous set of interests grouped around real estate development.

But this is not an adequate explanation.  A close analysis of Tommy Wells’ campaign records demonstrates that Wells accepts individual contributions from developers and related interests, and that, while his refusal to accept corporate contributions may partly account for his lag in fundraising efforts, developers and associated interests have been major contributors to his campaign.

For its analysis, CHC examined the major donors to the campaign, bearing in mind that the law permits a corporate entity or an individual to contribute a maximum $2000.  (For a point of reference, CHC calculates that at least 32% of Tommy Wells’ totals to date are $2,000 donors, while for Bowser it is 53% and for Evans it is 57%.  Wells’ ratio cannot be calculated with the same degree of accuracy because his exploratory committee records, which cover January 2013 to April 2013, are available only in paper format – rather than electronic spreadsheet.  Further, since the Wells campaign submitted the exploratory records before the DC Office of Campaign Finance began online posting, they are available only after contacting the DC Office of Campaign Finance.  Therefore, donors who contributed to the exploratory committee and to the campaign for a total of $2,000 are difficult to track, thus the 32% is a conservative estimate.  For those with further interest, Wells’ exploratory finance records have been posted in the Library at the top of the page.)

The single largest contributor to Tommy Wells’ campaign is Tommy Wells himself, with a $10,000 contribution to this exploratory committee and a total $5,747.27 to his principal campaign.  There is no limitation on what a candidate can give to his or her own campaign.

Considered as a set of interests, real estate developers account for 41% of the amount generated by large donors to the campaign: $43,500 out of $104,975.  The worksheet posted below as a separate blog entry distills these interests into three categories: the Hine Development; Restaurateur/Developer Xavier Cervera & Associates; and Other Developers/Related Interests.

Cervera and Barracks Row restaurant employees contributed $6000.  The Hine group total of $7,750 also includes real estate agents working from Caldwell Bankers’ 605 Pennsylvania Avenue address, which readers of this blog will remember generated a number of the letters (including form letters) written in support of Hine Development, and is an address still listed as a professional address for Hine principal Kitty Kaupp on her website.  Other Developers/Related Interests contributed $29,750.  For a list of the contributions associated with these three categories as well as other major contributors who gave an additional $70,500 and who can’t easily be put in (or absolutely excluded from) any category, see the Work Sheet posted as a separate entry on CHC, here:   http://bit.ly/1jmOpC7

Bowser’s and Evans’ margin of $2000 donors was 23% – 25% greater than Wells’.  Does this mean that Evans and Bowser benefited more percentage wise from corporate contributions than Wells?  The answer to this is problematic because it’s impossible to know if individual corporate officers would contribute the maximum to Wells if corporate contributions could be accepted.  However, Bowser and Evans accept that money openly, whereas Wells presents himself as without ties to development corporations and only a significant research effort can reveal otherwise.

Concerning the Hine development, Wells said in response to questions put to him by CHC, “I have received far more contributions from residents living around the Eastern Market neighborhood than I have from principals in the Hine project.”

The validity of this claim rests upon how you define “around” and who wants to make the effort to calculate it.  In a preliminary test using contributions from residents on 7th, 8th, and 9th Streets, CHC found that this was not the case.  Again, efforts to measure are complicated by the fact that Wells’ exploratory committee forms are available in paper format only. And it is clear that many of the large contributions from hard-to-categorize donors came from those who were strong supporters of Stanton/Eastbanc’s Hine bid or from those who would benefit directly or indirectly from the Hine project.  A case in point is the significant difference in contributions from Barracks Row and local businesses versus contributions from the H Street business corridor.

Wells’ efforts to build a firewall between his campaign and corporate influence may have harmed his fund raising efforts.  Still, within his own Ward 6, the record shows that there is a back door by which corporations can make their influence felt.

Wells’ contributions from the Hine development has come under scrutiny by WAMU’s reporting series: “In Fight for Deals, Developers Make Well-timed Contributions,” (http://wamu.org/news/13/05/23/timing_of_campaign_contributions_examined).  In that report, Wells justified his acceptance of $3,500 (also individual contributions) in the 2010 election cycle by noting that he had already voted on the Land Disposition Act for the Hine Development, and hence the opportunity to “influence” him had passed.

Readers of this blog will remember that 1) prior to his vote on the Hine LDA, Wells refused to intervene in the disposition process to modify the height of the development, noting that all such concerns would be addressed during the PUD process; 2) during a community meeting which drew over 200 Ward 6 constituents in 2012, residents asked Wells to use his influence in the PUD process to take down the height of the proposed development, and he refused, saying he would back what ANC6b could achieve; 3) since the LDA vote, Tommy Wells has cast votes to extend financial deadlines for the developers (December 2010; June 2013); and 4) the Hine Coalition asked Wells to investigate the public subsidy of community benefits Stanton/Eastbanc claimed for the Hine Development and he did not.

It may be that efforts to reform campaign finance will only serve to push the funneling of money further underground, creating a daunting research task for someone who would need time and extensive knowledge about city politics in order to connect all of the dots.  It may also be that using good judgment and fair play as a councilmember when considering developments in your ward, including taking ownership of and responsibility for developments located at prestige addresses in the crown jewel of your neighborhood, is the best campaign maneuver of all, one that motivates support rather than apathy, and encourages approval rather than curiosity.

The Week Ahead….

by Larry Janezich

Tuesday, November 19

ANC6A  Alcoholic Beverage Licensing Committee meets at 7:00pm in Sherwood Recreation Center (10th and G Streets, NE)

Among items on the agenda:

Announcement of community meeting regarding patio and rooftop deck hours in ANC 6A – Tuesday, December 17, 2013, 7pm, at Sherwood Recreation Center (10th and G Streets, NE)

Discussion of requests by Little Miss Whiskey’s Golden Dollar, Vendetta, H Street Country Club, Rock N Roll Hotel, and Sahra to terminate their Settlement Agreements with ANC 6A.

License renewals for The Atlas Room, Biergarten Haus, The Elroy, Little Miss Whiskey’s Golden Dollar, The Star and The shamrock, Vendetta, HR-57, Avey’s  Bar and lounge, The Pug/Toki Underground.

New License for Andy Lee Liquor Inc, (Trade Name TBD) at 914 H Street, NE (Class “A” Retailer)

Wednesday, November 20

ANC6A Economic Development & Zoning Committee meets at 7:00pm in Sherwood Recreation Center (10th and G Streets NE)

Among items on the agenda:

Developer of 1301 H Street, NE (R.L. Christian Library Site) plans to give a presentation regarding the status of redevelopment efforts for this site.

Wednesday, November 20

ANC6b Executive Committee will meet at 6:30pm at Hill Center to set the agenda for the December monthly meeting of ANC6b.  (This meeting was originally scheduled for Tuesday, November 26, 2013.)

Wednesday, November 20

ANC6b Outreach and Constituent Services Task force will meet at 7:00pm in Hill Center.

Among items on the agenda:

Review of Vacant and Blighted Properties

Wednesday, November 20

Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee (EMCAC) will meet at 7:00pm in the North Hall of Eastern Market.

Thursday, November 21

DDOT Barney Circle – SE Boulevard community meeting.  6:30pm at Payne Elementary School, 1445 C Street, SE

Thursday, November 21

PSA 108 meets with MPD Lt. Michael Thornton, at 7:00pm at Liberty Baptist Church, 527 Kentucky Avenue SE.