January ANC6A01 Neighborhood News
Happy 2024! Happy MLK Day! Happy Snow Day!
January is a long and dark month that has also been very wet and now a bit snowy, so I’ve latched onto this article in the NY Times about the great things about January. Another great thing about this January is that we live in an awesome neighborhood and have had and still have so many opportunities to gather with neighbors this month!
H Street NE and Public Safety
On Sunday neighbors gathered at noon to talk about public safety. Shoutout to Paul Spires (ANC COC committee), Joal Mendonsa (ANC EDZ committee), Robb Dooling (ANC 6A06), and Lauren Mendonsa for gathering neighbors, and H Street Liquors for hosting! I’m so sorry I had a health issue (I’m fine now!) and couldn’t make it, and I’m so glad so many people came out…
And came up with a list of interventions to increase public safety!
Next Wednesday, January 24 Councilmember Allen will kick off the H Street Alliance at Atlas Theater to give momentum to all our separate efforts to make H Street into an even more vibrant, safe, fun, and loving community. Let me know if you want to attend and need information!
Restaurant Week
I meant to take a photo of my delicious Maketto Restaurant week lunch yesterday, but I ate it before I remembered to document it! Three courses for $25 is a great deal, and it’s available up and down H St NE!
A big part of achieving public safety is having a vibrant neighborhood with lots of eyes on the street. Restaurant Week is a great chance to bring people back to H Street! H Street has more restaurants participating in Restaurant Week than any neighborhood, and is highlighted in DCist as a hotspot neighborhood! Please make a reservation and participate in the specials this week Jan 15-Jan 21!
ABCA
Thanks to emergency legislation put forward by Councilmember Allen, the Alcohol Beverage and Cannabis Administration (ABCA) now has the authority to shut down unlicensed cannabis shops as well as license medical cannabis shops. A few other changes we got were the ability to protest establishments across the street but in a different ward, and also we now have a little more time to review applications. Our hope is that with this new legislation, we will go from twenty plus I-71 ‘gifting’ establishments, many of which have been in violation of DC law and not carrying a Basic Business Licence… to seven or eight licensed establishments that are more committed to integrating into our neighborhood and working with us if any issues arise. Huge thanks to our ABCL committee for taking that work forward and to our ANC6A01 rep to that committee Joe Kirsch!
Our Schools
JO Wilson Elementary
On January 20 there will be a DC Summer Camp Fair at JO Wilson. It’s a great chance to check out the school. “The event brings together the finest camps in DC, Maryland, and Virginia, ranging from traditional camps to academic, arts, music, and special interest camps. Parents and caregivers will have the opportunity to meet camp representatives and learn about the diverse options awaiting your children this coming summer.”
Also, parents at JO will have already noticed a new traffic pattern on K St NE. There are bike lanes now! THANK YOU to all the families that I know are already walking rather than driving a few blocks to school; it makes drop-off and pick-up times so much smoother. We are slowing down K St NE to make it safer to walk by narrowing the car lanes. Seeing kids walking every day is a great inspiration for all the work we put into that! Finally, you can weigh in on the upcoming building and school modernization here: https://www.research.net/r/CLQZZ68
Stuart Hobson Middle
The snow day canceled the open house at Stuart Hobson Middle School (where I have been a parent for three years, full disclosure!). The next one is February 13 from 6-7:30. If a self-directed Open House experience is appealing, here is a shared folder with an FAQ sheet, the slides and recording of a recent virtual Open House, and a list of all staff email addresses for any follow-up questions.
Eastern High School
The Eastern open house is on Saturday, 3/24, from 11 am-1 pm. Students and staff will be on hand for discussions and building tours, and it is open to the public if anyone wants to check out our amazing in-boundary high school.
School Boundaries
As I mentioned last month there is a discussion underway about school boundaries. Only a block of 6A01 has Miner Elementary in-boundary, but I still want to share the situation. Maury Elementary has become too full for its space and lacks the diversity most schools in DC have. There is a proposal on the table to bring it together with Miner Elementary into a paired school with Maury so that the younger kids will attend Miner and the older kids Maury. I support this proposal as I currently understand it. Both are great schools within a half mile of each other, but Maury is oversubscribed and Miner is undersubscribed. Maury is majority white and Miner is majority Black. If they don't combine, Maury will likely lose their pre-K program for lack of space which will also be unpopular. It makes more sense to me to pair them. Those on the 6A listserve will have seen petitions both for pairing and against pairing circulating. Here is the petition for pairing and a flyer that I was asked to share since one block of 6A01 is zoned for Miner Elementary School. You can view and sign the petition supporting the pairing idea here: https://forms.gle/c7HVjty7gCaUo5GF7. You can choose ‘other’ and say that you are a neighbor and list your ANC Single Member District (6A01 for most of you). Also, if you didn’t see those emails, you can sign up for one or both of the ANC6A listserves here: https://anc6a.org/join-listserv/
Transportation Equity and Safety
The STEER act, which Councilmember Allen put forward has passed its first vote unanimously! It’s a relief to see the DC Council moving also on preventing dangerous driving by drivers in cars with temporary tags. It’s not done yet, but it’s moving!
Florida Ave NE
I’m frustrated to report that some of our neighbors have had their homes flooded due to the construction on Florida Ave NE combined with the heavy rains and have been struggling with DC Water’s work in front of their homes. Please continue to flag all dangerous issues and public space issues on Florida Ave NE here: https://floridaavene-streetscape.ddot.dc.gov/
I’m also extremely frustrated that DDOT is insisting on trying to remove the crosswalks at Florida Ave NE and M St NE that connect Gallaudet University to Gallaudet Metro Station.
AND I’m extremely frustrated by DDOT failing to be responsive for years to our request for safety at 12th and K and Florida Ave NE.
Huge thanks to Shaun Lynch, our ANC representative and chair of the TPS committee for taking on all these issues. Unfortunately, I think we are going to need help! Please sign this petition, and if you’d be willing to come out one evening and hold signs and demand safe passage on Florida Ave, NE please let me know!
K St NE and West Virginia Ave NE
The bike lanes on the 700 block could potentially now connect with a slower and improved traffic pattern on West Virginia Ave NE, and we will be discussing that at the next ANC TPS committee meeting. We have been asking for traffic calming on this block for many years and plan to make an extra push on DDOT this year again.
Year-Round Farmers Market on H st Ne?!???
The H Street Farmers Market is interested in becoming year-round, but to do so needs to have a 5’ x 10’ place to store tents. Would you be willing to rent out a shed in your yard? Do you have any hot tips on a business that would be willing? Please let me know!
THANK YOU for being awesome neighbors and doing all you do to help out the kids on your block, pick up trash, and put in those 311 requests to get things fixed. I see you and appreciate you. Also, I’d love to see you in person! In my personal capacity, I’ll be co-hosting a meet and greet for Councilmember Robert White. I can only be there for the first 30 minutes, but I hope to see you there! Here's a flyer with a little more information, and you can RSVP here.