Category Archives: Uncategorized

September 14, 2011 · 11:36 am

NY Entrepreneur Looks to Open Upscale Pizza Outlet on Barracks Row – Seeks Exception To Ban on Fast Food Restaurants

NY Entrepreneur Looks to Open Upscale Pizza Outlet on Barracks Row – Seeks Exception To Ban on Fast Food Restaurants

by Larry Janezich

Steve Salis, a New York-based entrepreneur with four years of experience in hospitality management, consulting, and event production, announced at last night’s ANC6B meeting that he has begun the process of seeking an exception to the establishment of a fast food restaurant on Barracks Row.  He termed the restaurant – which would be at 415 8th Street in the space formerly occupied by China Wall – “a quick-casual pizza concept featuring made to order personal pizzas.”  The concept is similar to that of Chipotle Mexican Grill, which would be next door.  This is the first restaurant in what Salis hopes will be a fast-casual pizza chain.

Subsequently, Salis said, “[w]e are a fast-casual pizza concept; focused on creating customizable made to order personal gourmet pizzas, using top quality fresh ingredients. We are not in the slice game or in the take-out/delivery business. Our goal is to bring a high quality product to the customer in a timely manner.”  He estimates that ten percent of the business will be carryout.

Salis won’t reveal the name of the new establishment since it is undergoing the trademarking process.  He said he would like to serve beer and wine but understands the sensitivities in the neighborhood, “so there are some things what would have to be worked out.”  If everything goes according to plan, the restaurant could open in spring of 2012.

Mr. Salis worked for top hospitality clients before starting his own hospitality and marketing company in 2006, serving as a consultant to such organizations as China Grill Management, Riese Restaurant Corporation, and Food Scope.  He is currently a managing partner in a successful West Village boutique bar called Su Casa, where he personally handles the operations, marketing, and promotion of the business. He is also a partner and executive producer of This Is Burlesque, a riotous and racy supper club show, proclaimed “The best of Burlesque” (AM NY).

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September 14, 2011 · 1:28 am

ANC6B Update

ANC6B Update

by Larry Janezich

At its regularly scheduled September meeting on Tuesday night, ANC6B took the following actions:

Redistricting

Voted 8 – 1 to oppose ANC6C’s recommendation to the Ward Six Task Force on Redistricting, i.e., that ANC6C  absorb 1275 6B residents into a new single member district in ANC6C.  Those supporting:  Commissioners Critchfield, Garrison, Green, Frishberg, Campbell, Metzger, Flahaven, and Pate.  Opposed:  Oldenberg.

Community Action Group (CAG)

Voted 9 – 0 to support a special exception to allow parking for the Community Action Group (CAG) at an administrative/educational building to be constructed at 124 15th Street, SE, contingent upon the signing of a memo of understanding on facility operations between CAG and nearby residents.

Landscaping for Eastern Market Metro Plaza

Voted 9-0 to authorize Commissioner Garrison to support the expenditure of $100,000 in Performance Parking funds for landscaping at Eastern Market Metro Plaza in connection with the proposed Information Hub at that location.  Garrison is the ANC6B representative on the Department of Transportation Advisory Committee on Performance Parking which will meet Wednesday night to consider the funding of new non-transportation community projects.

Boxcar

Supported a new liquor license for Xavier Cervera’s new wine bar “Boxcar” currently under construction next to Tunnicliffs.

Details on these and other ANC6B news to follow.

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September 12, 2011 · 12:08 pm

Plans Emerge for Downsizing ANC6B – ANC6C’s Push to Expand Would Absorb 1275 Residents Near US Capitol

Plans Emerge for Downsizing ANC6B – ANC6C’s Push to Expand Would Absorb 1275 Residents Near US Capitol

by Larry Janezich

ANC 6C’s Special Call meeting of August 29th, which called for an expansion of its territory into the historical Capitol Hill neighborhood south of East Capitol Street, has prompted the creation of six new maps from Ward 6 Redistricting Taskforce members.  All of the Taskforce maps ratify a proposed change that would shift some 1200 Capitol Hill residents currently in 6B to ANC 6C.  The commissioner most affected would be former ANC 6B Chair, Dave Garrison, who would be a resident of ANC 6C if the change is ultimately approved.  Commissioner Ivan Frishberg would also lose some of his constituents to ANC 6C.

ANC 6C commissioners suggested the expansion south of East Capitol following the loss of 3 of its current single member districts to the proposed new ANC 6E.  The new ANC 6E will be comprised of the current ANC 2C (DC’s historic Shaw neighborhood) and the three districts from the current ANC 6C.  To justify the request to expand into 6B, ANC 6C chair Karen Wirt cited in a memo to the Task Force both the loss of three of its districts as well as the remaining undesirable even number (6) of SMDs, setting the stage for potential voting deadlock.

While the addition of Shaw to Ward 6 could have been accomplished by simply adding one single member district from 6C, which was the preference of ANC 2C, ANC 2C chair Alexander Padro noted the Redistricting Taskforce’s goal of achieving parity between and among ANCs as the reason for the more dramatic move of the three single member districts from 6C to the new 6E.

It is unclear why the Redistricting Taskforce approved a consensus map at the end of its public meeting process that did not achieve this goal – leaving them with the job of redrawing single member districts within 6B and 6C without the benefit of public comment – and it is also unclear how the newest versions resolve disparities among the ANCs to any great extent, even with these changes.  ANC 6C, for example, will be left with roughly 13,000 residents, while ANC 6B will still measure close to 19,000.

Nevertheless, the Taskforce has been quick to respond to ANC 6C’s Special Call meeting recommending the addition of one single member district to its domain.  As of this past weekend, the Redistricting Taskforce has put forward two maps proposing expanded boundaries south of East Capitol for 6C, and four additional maps that propose new single member districts within 6B, taking 6C’s expanded territory as a given.  The maps can be found here: http://w6tf.blogspot.com/

ANC 6B will react to these plans at its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, September 13th, held at St. Coletta’s (1901 Independence Ave SE) at 7:00 p.m.  ANC 6C will vote again on redistricting at its regular Thursday night meeting, scheduled for 7:00 and held at the Heritage Foundation, 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE, essentially giving them the opportunity to influence the Redistricting Taskforce two times, as opposed to ANC 6B’s single opportunity to comment Tuesday night.

After these ANC meetings, the Redistricting Taskforce will meet twice more:  first on September 19th  at 6:30pm at the Sherwood Recreation Center located at 640 10th Street, NE, and second on September 22, also scheduled for 6:30, held at 100 Fourth Street, SW, DCRA Hearing Room 2nd floor, E200. The final Taskforce plan will then go to Councilmember Tommy Wells, who appointed the Taskforce.  He will have the final say in boundary changes before the map goes to the full city council for a vote.

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September 9, 2011 · 6:16 pm

Time Running Out for Old KFC Outlet on Pennsylvania Avenue, SE – Development Garners Support from Crucial Committees

Pennsylvania Avenue Elevation of Proposed Mixed Use Building at 15th and PA Avenue SE15th Street Elevation of Proposed Mixed Use Building

Time Running Out for Old KFC Outlet on Pennsylvania Avenue, SE – Development Garners Support from Crucial Committees

by Larry Janezich

Thursday night, the Capitol Hill Restoration Society’s Zoning Committee recommended that the full CHRS Board approve Douglas Development’s request to relax two zoning requirements, necessary to allow subsequent Zoning Board approval which will permit work to begin on a 21 unit residential complex with 2600 square feet of retail on the first floor at 1442 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE.  The corner site is currently occupied by an empty Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet.  Two of the units (10% of the total) will fall under the inclusionary housing requirements for new project construction, meaning that they will be available to moderate and low income tenants or owners.  The project’s architect, Sasha Rosen, of R2L Architects, said that ideally, a café would be located in the ground floor retail space.

In response to neighbors’ concern over limited street parking, the developer requested that the requirement to provide 11 off-street parking spaces be relaxed.  In addition, with the developer’s approval, ANC6B Commissioners are working with City Council to permit the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) to remove specific addresses from the Residential Permit Parking (RRP) database in order limit the number of parking permits available to future residents of the development.  The developer feels that the transportation needs of many of the prospective tenants or owners will be satisfied by bicycles and the Potomac Metro Station, which is one block away.  The other variance involved a minor relaxing of a roof structure requirement.

The action last night forwards the issue to the full Restoration Society Board when it meets on Tuesday, September 20.  Last Tuesday night, ANC6B’s Planning and Zoning Committee approved the zoning requests of the developer, forwarding the issue to the full ANC6B meeting on Tuesday, September 13.

Following approval in those two venues, the issue will move forward to the city’s Zoning Board.  Since the location lies outside the Capitol Hill Historic District, there are no historic preservation issues to consider.

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August 22, 2011 · 2:52 pm

First Day of School – August 22, 2011

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August 18, 2011 · 1:15 pm

Condo Conversion of The Maples Underway

The 1797 Historic Structure Is On Its Way to Becoming Condos. Apparently the promised "strenuous efforts" to save the large oak were unsuccessful. (They never are.)

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August 11, 2011 · 1:31 pm

Hill Center Signals Aggressive Strategy in Status Hearing Before ABRA – No Progress Made in Mediation

Hill Center, July 29, 2011

Hill Center Signals Aggressive Strategy in Status Hearing Before ABRA – No Progress Made in Mediation

by Larry Janezich

Yesterday, the Alcohol Beverage Review Administration (ABRA) met with Hill Center and protesting neighbors at a Status Hearing to assess progress in the mediation process regarding the operations of the Center.  The opposing sides informed ABRA that no agreement had been reached.  A full hearing is scheduled for October 5.

At the hearing, the protesting neighbors informed ABRA that the Hill Center attorney had obtained without their consent private emails of the protest group’s participants.  The lawyer, Paul Pascal, declared his intent to use these emails in support of Hill Center in the full hearing if the protest continues, declaring the emails no different than the “tweets” issued by Representative Anthony Weiner which ultimately led to the Congressman’s resignation.

According to Pope Barrow, one of the protestors’ negotiators, obtaining and using the private email of others without their consent is a violation of Federal email privacy laws.  Barrow challenged their use at the hearing; Pascal responded that ruling on the question of privacy law was beyond the scope of ABRA.  The neighbors’ group requested that the Board postpone the October 5 hearing until the matter of obtaining and using private emails by the Hill Center could be investigated by ABRA or other appropriate authorities.  The Hill Center opposed granting a stay, and ABRA resolved to take the matter under consideration.  ABRA also denied the protestors request for a two week postponement of the hearing in order to allow all protestors to be present.

Following Hill Center’s initial rejection of the neighbors’ requests on July 28th, protesting neighbors made a second, more limited request on Friday, August 4th; this was rejected by the Hill Center as well.  With no successful mediation in sight, the ABRA Status Hearing presented the distance between the two sides and, in addition, displayed a level of acrimony and contentiousness not yet seen in the efforts to produce agreement on the operations of the Hill Center affecting nearby neighbors.

Hill Center Foundation President Nicky Cymrot sent the following statement to emmcablog this afternoon; “Hill Center continues to try to address concerns raised by neighbors either through the protest process before ABRA or through our operational procedures. We feel confident that Hill Center will be an asset to our community and that any issues that may arise once Hill Center opens can be quickly and effectively resolved.”

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August 9, 2011 · 6:25 pm

More Images From Ward 6 Redistricting Meeting Monday Night

Taskforce Chair Joe Fengler, Whose Vote Doomed the Attempt to Expand ANC6B into Near Southeast

Taskforce Members Ken Jarboe and Donna Scheeder. Jarboe Authored and Supported the Plan to Expand ANC6B into Near Southeast

Some of the 30 Plus Community Members and Leaders Who Attended the Meeting

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August 9, 2011 · 1:25 am

Redistricting Taskforce Votes No on Annexing Near Southeast to Capitol Hill ANC – Votes Nixes Creating “Ward Within A Ward

New ANC6B Single Member Districts Proposed by Taskforce: (6B01 David Garrison, 6B02 Ivan Frishberg (Vice Chair), 6B03 Norman Metzger, 6B04 Kirsten Oldenburg, 6B05 Brian Pate, 6B06 Jared Critchfield (Secretary), 6B07 Carol J. Green (Treasurer), 6B08 Neil Glick (Chair), 6B09 Brian Flahaven (Parliamentarian), 6B10 Francis Campbell)

Redistricting Taskforce Votes In Favor of Status Quo

Redistricting Taskforce Votes No on Annexing Near Southeast to Capitol Hill ANC – Votes Nixes Creating “Ward Within A Ward”

by Larry Janezich

The Ward Six Taskforce on Redistricting, appointed by Councilmember Tommy Wells, and chaired by former ANC6A Chair, Joe Fengler, voted against annexing Near Southeast south of the freeway to ANC6B, thus increasing the number of commissioners from 10 to 12 and the ANC district from 20,000 to 24,000 residents.  Instead, they opted for a “status quo” plan which makes minimal changes to ANC6B.

The vote was 4 – 3 in favor of the status quo plan, with Taskforce members Fengler, Marge Francese, Antoinette Russell, and Skip Coburn voting for the status quo.  Ken Jarboe (Councilmember Tommy Wells’ political organizer for Ward Six), Donna Scheeder, and Tyler Merkeley voted for the expansion.  Taskforce Members Cody Rice, Raphael Marshall and Gene Fisher were absent.

The failed proposal would have annexed the portion of Near Southeast on the south side of the Southeast/Southwest Freeway lying between South Capitol and 11th Street.  ANC6D Commissioner David Garber, whose constituents say they are oriented toward Eastern Market and Barracks Row and wish to have a voice in ANC6B, urged ANC6B  “to continue to listen to us.”

There seemed to be considerable support among the ANC6B Commissioners to incorporate Near Southeast into ANC6B, even though it would put Commissioners Frishberg and Metzger in the same single member district and pit them against each other in the next election.

The Taskforce was evenly divided on the question, and Fengler’s vote proved decisive.  Fengler stated his reasons for supporting the status quo option.  He cited former Councilmember Sharon Ambrose’s advice against creating a “ward within a ward.”  He stated his own belief, as a former ANC chair, that ANC’s should be about the same size.  He noted that the decisions of such a large ANC as proposed would “impact ANC’s 6D, 6A, and 6C.”  Finally, he wondered how much an ANC6B, oriented toward Eastern Market and Barrack’s Row, would care about liquor licenses and zoning decisions in Near Southeast.

Before the final vote, the Taskforce agreed to a motion by Ken Jarboe to post both proposals on the Taskforce website for comment.  Jarboe’s motion was agreed to 7 – 0.

Most of the changes to ANC6B single member districts were minor.  One of the more notable adjustments divided control of the Eastern Market Metro Plaza among the single member districts of Commissioner Frishberg, Metzger, Oldenberg, and Pate.  Previously, it had been totally within Frishberg’s single member district.  In addition, the new plan split responsibility for Barrack’s Row between Commissioner Metzger and Oldenburg, both of whom previously supported a moratorium on Barracks Row liquor licenses.  Until now, the west side of the 500 block of 8th Street where Chiptole’s Mexican Grill will open – which Frishberg supported – had been Frishberg’s responsibility.

The preliminary plans agreed to tonight will go to their respective ANCs for consideration and input.  Taskforce Members will attend the ANC meetings in September to answer questions.  ANCs will have the opportunity to weigh in during the first two weeks of September.  By September 18th, the plans will be made public. The Taskforce will have two meetings in September to hear recommendations and finalize the map, which will then go to Councilmember Wells on September 27th or 28th.

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August 8, 2011 · 3:06 pm

Ward Six Redistricting Taskforce Votes on ANC Single Member Districts Tonight

The Ward Six Redistricting Task Force will meet at 6:30pm tonight, Monday, August 8, in the Theater Church (formally the People Church), 535 8th Street, SE.

The meeting is for the purpose of the meeting is to adopt the initial ANC/SMD boundaries and will last about two hours.

There will be an opportunity for public comments if time permits.  Please consider attending if you can.

 

 

1.       The goal of this meeting is 2.       This will be a public meeting, lasting approximately two hours.

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