[from Julie Christenberry]
Does anyone know if there are plans for a Trader Joe's in the Petworth/Columbia Heights area? I thought I had read about it at some point but was not sure.
Petworth News
All the news within walking distance
September 28, 2006
Petworth Dogs
Petworth Dogs is a non-profit community-based group promoting safe green spaces for dogs and their owners in the Petworth community. Check out their website and Yahoo group.
Plant a tree or 20
[from Carol Herwig]
Casey Trees has set Oct. 28 as the planting date for our triangle parks at Georgia Avenue between Upshur and Taylor and at 7th between Taylor and Shepherd, and we need everybody’s help. If DC Parks and Recreation accepts our plan as submitted, we will be planting 21 trees and changing the way our neighborhood looks.
Three crape myrtles, three honey locusts and two rose of sharons will go into the Georgia Avenue site. The 7th Street park calls for three locusts, three hornbeams, three crape myrtles and three Carolina silverbells. In addition, a week or so before the planting, most of the shrubs will be removed from the 7th street park. Maps of the site proposals will be made available at the Petworth Library by early next week.
On Oct. 28, we will need seven planting teams to man the shovels and mulch – at least 50 volunteers. Because this is such a large project, we need to create a sign-up list and are looking for team leaders, too.
Contact Carol Herwig by email or at 202-722-4385.
September 24, 2006
Great Streets meeting recap
[from Michelle Escumbise]
GREAT STREETS meeting (held 9/19 @ at Raymond ES)
Derrick Woody and Michael Jasso of the District’s Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Development hosted a forum on the proposed Great Streets “Tax Increment Finance” (TIF) initiative for redevelopment of the Georgia Avenue corridor from Kenyon to Varnum Streets NW. DC’s aim is to make a Georgia Ave. that is a vibrant “18 hour environment”, with unique retail markets, more sit-down eateries, and rehabilitated existing buildings and facades. All issues discussed are pending and will need to be put forth to the DC City Council and implemented. The projected start for the initiative, if passed, is fall of 2007.
A small group of Georgia Ave. residents and small business owners, real estate agents and one developer were in attendance. Several of the small business owners voiced concerns about not being eligible for grant funds, being pushed out of the area and not being able to compete with new business.
It was stressed in the meeting that TIF is not an additional tax on current residents, but is actually based on projected taxes for a given time frame. Jasso estimated that the projected TIF investment for Ga. Ave. would be in the neighborhood of “$2-8 million”. Once the funding is passed by the city council, a call for grant applicants would be made.
For more info please contact:
[email protected] (202.727.2981)
[email protected] (202.724.7014)
Summer home sales
[from Lesley Aranha]
Petworth has about 118 listings at this time. Homes that are well-priced are selling well. Rates are still reasonable.
There are buyers out there looking but there is much more property to see at this time, so it's taking longer for most buyers to make a decision. Petworth is a vibrant growing community and we are looking forward with anticipation to all the plans and growth we see in the future of the Petworth community.
If you want particular information please don't hesitate to contact me.
Lesley Aranha, Long and Foster
202 327-4502 cell
email
JUNE
Address Sold Price / List Price BR / BA
4718 9th St 514500 / 514500 4 / 3
5122 New Hamp Ave 400000 / 399999 3 / 2.5
514 Buchanan St 560000 / 569000 4 / 3.5
27 Sherman Circle 389000 / 389000 3 / 1.5
705 Varnum St 579000 / 579000 3 / 3
4602 8th St 490000 / 490000 5 / 2.5
4517 Illinois Ave 610000 / 629900 4 / 3.5
4511 7th St 405000 / 419000 3 / 2.5
415 Emerson St 350000 / 398000 4 / 2
5009 4th St 325000 / 345900 3 /1.5
313 Jefferson St 390000 / 399999 3 / 2.5
727 Rock Creek Ch Rd 380000 / 395000 3 / 1
5509 8th St 350900 / 324900 3 / 1.5
614 Ingraham St 412000 / 429900 3 / 2
914 Longfellow St 420000 / 420000 5 / 3
JULY
Address Sold Price / List Price BR / BA
4011 4th St 449000 / 449000 3 / 2
521 Longfellow St 365000 / 365000 3 / 1.5
314 Webster St 365000 / 400000 4 / 2.5
5620 8th St 400000 / 330000 3 / 2
923 Decatur St 413900 / 419900 3 / 1.5
919 Kennedy St 330000 / 340000 3 / 2.5
313 Upshur St 480000 / 484900 3 / 2.5
408 Crittenden St 405000 / 395000 4 / 2
606 Gallatin St 385000 / 385000 3 / 1
428 Taylor St 375000 / 375000 3 / 1.5
731 Kennedy St 620000 / 630000 5 / 3.5
312 Taylor St 415000 / 415000 4 / 2
839 Longfellow St 349111 / 349911 3 / 1
4926 1st St 425000 / 449000 4 / 2
4113 Illinois Ave 595000 / 595000 3 / 3.5
5114 8th St 350000 / 349900 2 / 2
AUGUST
Address Sold Price / List Price BR / BA
918 Longfellow St 530000 / 549000 5 / 3.5
5314 8th St 374000 / 374000 4 / 2
521 Kennedy St 340000 / 340000 3 / 2.5
427 Delafield Pl 535000 / 525000 4 / 3.5
5412 Kansas Ave 479000 / 489900 4 / 3
4927 9th St 434000 / 439900 4 / 2.5
512 Jefferson St 380000 / 380000 3 / 1.5
5110 8th St 424000 / 424000 3 / 2
922 Hamilton St 322000 / 335000 3 / 1.5+
807 Longfellow St 399000 / 399000 3 / 2.5
5021 8th St 420000 / 419000 3 / 2
826 Crittenden St 390000 / 389000 3 / 1.5
810 Missouri Ave 454000 / 459900 4 / 2.5+
4110 Illinois Ave 505000 / 499900 3 / 3.5
5108 Kansas Ave 405000 / 389000 3 / 1.5
705 Hamilton St 280000 / 335000 2 / 1
5134 8th St 460000 / 449000 4 / 3
September 21, 2006
City Paper article
[excerpt from 9/15 City Paper cover article]
George Pelecanos has set his gritty tales of murder and mayhem in neighborhoods across the city. But there's no area Pelecanos has shown himself to be more fond of than the middle-class Northwest neighborhoods east of the park. Places like Brightwood, Park View, Petworth, Manor Park - it's in these spots, up and down Georgia Avenue NW, that Pelecanos' DC is most real, a place with tight families and tidy houses alongside dingy bars and the occasional pit-bull fight.
It's home to decent yet flawed characters like Derek Strange, the black, Ennio Morricone–lovin', one-time cop who grew up in Petworth and stayed there, opening a private-eye business on 9th between Kansas and Upshur. He coaches his stepson's pee-wee football team on the field behind Roosevelt Senior High, and he's not above the occasional trip to a neighborhood massage parlor for a happy ending. In Pelecanos' latest, The Night Gardener, upstanding homicide detective Gus Ramone makes his home in a yellow colonial on Rittenhouse Street NW. He does his best to raise his son right, though he makes sure young Diego's well-versed in the code of the streets, growing up half-white in tough Manor Park.
Pelecanos' fictional turf is also where Adrian Fenty built his political career, in no small part by promising to rid Georgia Avenue of its liquor stores, massage parlors, and all the other gritty details Pelecanos so treasures. And, yes, the novelist has noticed - as one junkie informant muses in The Night Gardener, "Now you had politicians, like that ambitious light-skinned dude, councilman for that area up top of Georgia, trying to make laws about loitering and stopping cats from buying single cans of beer… The light-skinned dude, he didn't really care about folks hanging out, and he didn't care if a man wanted to enjoy himself one beer on a summer night. But he was running for mayor, so there it was."
And now he will be mayor, so there it is. You can bet Fenty will make redeveloping Georgia Avenue one of the cornerstones of his mayoral legacy. Condos are already going up next to the Petworth Metro, complete with a Mocha Hut below. It's only a matter of time before Ward 4 goes the Starbucks-infested way of "Silver Sprung," a development Silver Spring resident Pelecanos has long hated. And once that happens, it won't be too long before the Ennio Morricone–lovin' private dicks get priced right out of the neighborhood.
September 20, 2006
Parkland at Soldiers Home
[from Sandy Hoffmann]
The Mayor's draft comprehensive plan has major sections relevant to Soldiers' Home and the creation of park space to serve our area.
SoldiersHome.pdf
ParkElement.pdf
The new plan recognizes that our central part of the city is very underserved by parkland. We have about 1.9 acres of park (District AND Federal) per 1000 residents. The standard for suburban areas is about 4-5 acres per 1000 people. The area west of Rock Creek Park has about 12 acres of park per 1000 people.
The draft plan contains some very strong, specific provisions for creation of park on the Soldiers' Home campus and the McMillan Reservoir. These provisions should carry weight in federal decisions about land development in the District.
We've really accomplished quite a bit by getting these into the language. The next step is that the Council will vote on these provisions. The Council is holding a public hearing on them next Tuesday.
We need to have people say they want this. There are three things they can do:
1) Sign up by this Friday to testify at a hearing on the Comprehensive Plan that will be held next Tuesday afternoon and next Tuesday evening.
You need to call 202-724-8196 or e-mail [email protected] by September 22 (this Friday). The hearing will be held in the Council Chamber. The Committee staff have been very nice when I called and understand that ordinary residents aren't used to doing this kind of thing. They try to make you feel comfortable.
2) Call, email or write their Councilmember
Adrian Fenty 724-8052
Jim Graham 724-8181
2) AND call their at-large Councilmembers
Linda Cropp 724-8032
Carol Schwartz 724-8105
David Catania 724-7772
Phil Mendelson 724-8064
Kwame Brown 724-8174
All Councilmembers email addresses and mail addresses can be found here.
Flip It
[from Jenny Chow]
Does anyone know when the Flip It Bakery and Deli is going to open? I believe it's on the corner of Georgia and Buchanan. I saw it as I was driving towards Silver Spring the other day. It has a nice bright and colorful exterior. Looks like a good addition to the neighborhood!
September 18, 2006
Organic market?
[from Maria Barry]
I heard a rumour that a My Organic Market is coming to Petworth? Is this true? I heard it was coming where the Shell station is across from the library?
Domku News
[from Kera Carpenter]
First of all, thanks to all of you who signed the petition for getting a farmers' market in Petworth. I'm still waiting to hear back from the Fresh Farms people on an exact date for a site visit. They are apparently behind in their schedule.
Thanks also to those who came in to show support after the incident involving a large firecracker a few Wednesdays ago. The police still have made no progress toward finding the youths responsible.
IN THE PRESS
Did you know that Domku was given the 2006 Washingtonian Best Bargain Restaurant award. Yea!
MENU
It's almost autumn, and for us that means it's time to put out the fall/winter menu. Look for winter favorites like bigos, hot borscht, and goulash in early October, along with a number of other new and updated items. This fall we're also starting our monthly "Weekend Getaway" menu when one weekend a month we'll offer dinner specials with foods from other regions of the world. So, just as the Swedes migrate to warmer climes during those dark and frigid months, our menu will take a weekend getaway of its own - one month Thailand, another month Mexico -- who knows?
HOURS
Another piece of exciting news is that Domku will begin opening for dinner on Sundays in mid-October.
STAFF CHANGE
Sadly, I must announce that Eric Evans will no longer be chef at Domku. His last day with us was this Sunday. We wish him well and are grateful to him for all his hard work and long hours.
*** ARTS FAIR 2006 ***
Domku and Shaka King Fine Menswear will again host the Upshur Street Arts Fair on Saturday, December 9. Last year's turn out was fantastic, and we hope to do as well, if not better, this year. If you are interested in being a participant -- we accept any form of art or craft -- you've got plenty of time to stitch, paint, or hammer together your fabulous creations. Seriously, you've got no excuse.
Forum on school changes
[from Reyn Anderson]
For those of you who might have missed this in the Post, a meeting will be held this Friday, September 22 at Clark Elementary School (4501 Kansas Ave. NW) regarding future closings and other planned changes to the public school system. I know that more and more of the public schools are getting active parent groups who are trying to help reform the public schools and get them running well. Clark Elementary has a new principal who is very willing and interested in working with parents and the surrounding community.
September 17, 2006
Car fire
[from Annys Shin]
Does anyone know what happened Saturday night at 8th Street and Delafield Place? A car burst into flames. The fire department came and put it out and towed it away, but I have no idea how the car caught on fire in the first place. It's the second burned out car I've seen in the neighborhood. At 8th and Decatur several months back, there was another burned out car parked at the corner which was removed after a few days. I'd like to know if there is an arsonist on the loose.
September 15, 2006
Rec Center update 9/15
[from Reyn Anderson]
Here's the latest on the rec center from yesterday's ANC meeting:
Good news (dare I say it)! The DC Dept of Parks and Recreation and the Office of Contract Procurement have finally awarded the contract to build a spray park and two new playgrounds at the Petworth Recreation Center. The ball is finally out of the government's court. Keystone Plus Contractors, Inc. won the contract, and they have received a Notice to Proceed from the OCP; assuming all goes well with obtaining the necessary bonds, insurance and lining up sub-contractors, the actual (not ceremonial, that is) groundbreaking should happen in the first week of October. Be on the lookout for a Community Day soon thereafter, when residents should come out and join in the initial construction efforts.
Wi-fi at Petworth Library
[from Joe Martin]
Free, wireless internet service is now available at the Petworth Library and through the DC Public Library system.
Petworth Library hours:
Mon, Wed: 9:30am-9pm
Tues, Thurs, Fri, Sat: 9:30am-5:30pm
Anthony Porter, Branch Manager at the Petworth Library, also told me that the Friends of the Petworth Library is looking for additional people to help with their projects. If interested call the library at 202-541-6300.
September 13, 2006
ANC 4C September meeting
[from ANC 4C Chair Joe Martin]
Advisory Neighborhood Commission 4C meets this week on THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14TH, rather than the usual Tuesday, at 7pm at the ROC-North building, 801 Shepherd Street, in the community room.
The Metropolitan Police provides reports usually at our monthly meetings. In addition, items on the agenda include:
- DC Parks & Recreation Status Report on Petworth Recreation Center proposed new playground
- Status report of development project of 3703-3711 14th Street NW by residents of SMD 4C05
- Motion to approve grant application submitted by the Shepherd Street Block Association
- Motion to approve grant application submitted by Washington Central Parks
- Status report on distribution of gator bags and garden hoses by Petworth Garden Club
- Status Report on Sweet Mango Café Voluntary Agreement
September 06, 2006
Farmers Market petititon
[from Kera Carpenter]
Everyone, please try to drop by Domku and sign the petition to support the market. Fresh Farms has us on their list of potential new sites and will be doing site visits this month.
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