Petworth News

Hamilton St fire

[from Elizabeth Andrews]

Last night at around 11:00pm there was a fire in the unit block of Hamilton Street. I haven't seen anything about it in the news or the Post. Does anybody know if all of the people made it out okay?

Upshur St news

[from Kera Carpenter]

Farmers' Market Update
After much delay, the Fresh Farms representative came to Petworth for a site visit last Friday. Ms. Prince loved the proposed 9th Street area between Taylor and Upshur but she needs a bit of information.

First, we will need to provide names and contact information of the property owners along that block of 9th Street so they can be included in the discussion. 80% of the businesses/residents in the affected area must approve of the market. This "area" would include both sides of Georgia within that block area and about a 1 block radius from there, I think. The only feasible time to have the market is Saturday morning because there are just too many churches around to make Sunday an option.

Second, DDOT will have to approve the plan due to the street closure and there will be a "rent" due for its use. Fresh Farms will take care of this cost, but any help we can provide to ensure the permitting gets through would be appreciated. I presume the ANC or Fenty's office could assist. Are there any potential obstacles that anyone can think of?

Fresh Farms would also like to know if there is a homeless shelter or senior citizens home that might accept the donation of weekly produce that does not get sold. I don't know of any, but I'm sure there must be a few around here.

Fresh Farms partners with Kaiser Permanente on several health awareness initiatives centered around eating quality fresh produce and meats and healthy living. They are trying to get greater participation from African Americans because of the health trends they see. If you have any ideas about what would work in this community, please share.

Fresh Farms needs some donated space where they can store a few things at the end of each market day (tables, signs, etc). If you have an empty garage or basement with an empty corner, let me know if you're willing to offer it up for their use. It wouldn't be a lot of stuff.

There are 6 other neighborhoods/towns that have applied, but only 3 will be chosen. The timeline for a decision is Feb/March. The market itself would not start until June.

That's all I know for now. I've asked Ms. Prince to stop by the Arts Fair on December 9th so that she can see what the neighborhood is like when people are present on the street.

Upshur Street Grant
In July, I applied on behalf of the business owners of Upshur & 9th Streets for a DDOT Transportation Enhancement Grant. I received notice that I had been awarded $100,000 of the $350,000 requested to start beautification projects along the 800 block of Upshur and around the corner on 9th between Upshur and Varnum. The initial grant is for design and planning only and a memorandum of understanding is in process between Upshur and DDOT. There will be an opportunity for community input at some point, but I'm not sure when. I'll let you know as I find out more about the process.

Upshur Street Arts Fair 2006
Don't forget that the second Upshur Street Arts Fair is Saturday, December 9th from 11am-5pm. I've got a growing list of participants but there is room for a few more. If you are interested in participating or know someone who is, please let me know by the end of November.

New tailor

[from Rachel Balsham]

Do anyone know anything about the new tailor who's opened up shop on Georgia between Shepherd and Taylor, on the west side? I'd be curious to know any reviews or experiences to share on the quality of work they provide.

ANC 4D November meeting

ANC 4D monthly meeting
Tuesday 11/21, 7:00pm-9:00pm
(third Tuesday of every month)

4th District Police Station
6001 Georgia Avenue NW
202-722-6830

Post article 11/20

Retirement Home Site Tempts Developers

AFRH comment deadline

[from Reyn Anderson]

As many of you know already, the Armed Forces Retirement Home (Old Soldiers’ Home) is planning to develop over half of its 272-acre campus with about 9 million square feet of development – that is two-and-a-half times more square footage than the Pentagon! Because the Home’s campus is of such enormous historical significance - locally and nationally - it was required to prepare a Historic Preservation Plan.

Comments to this plan must be submitted by THIS MONDAY, November 20 at 4 pm. PLEASE, take five minutes to go to their website:

http://www.afrhdevelopment.com/project_info/sec106.php

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and under “Draft Preservation Plan” click on the “Preservation Plan Comment Form.” We urge everyone to make the following three general comments to the Plan:

(1)   The Home should nominate the entire campus for immediate placement on the National Register of Historic Places.

(2)   The Plan does not adequately address the role of the Home’s campus in the life of the District of Columbia, in particular its use as a park by residents and its prominent place in the 1902 McMillan Plan as such.

(3)   With respect to Character Area 5 (“The Garden Plot”), the Plan gives insufficient value to its historic significance; these fields were the first sight to greet President Abraham Lincoln as he approached his “Second White House” on the Home’s campus.

If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me. An electronic copy of the plan is available on the site given above, and a hard-copy is on the reference shelves at the Petworth Public Library. A thousand thanks to all.

Prince of Petworth

Check out the new addition to the Petworth blogosphere:

Prince of Petworth

Red Rocks pizza

Here's a thread on the Columbia Heights News discussion board about Red Rocks, a brick-oven pizza place planned for the corner of 11th St and Park Road.

Rapid Bus update

Website for Metro EXTRA, the new rapid bus line coming to Georgia Avenue:

http://www.georgiaextra.com/

Looks like it will stop in Petworth at Kennedy St, Decatur St, and Petworth Metro.

ANC 4C November meeting

[from Joe Martin]

ANC 4C monthly meeting
Tuesday November 14, 7:00pm - 9:30pm
ROC North
801 Shepherd Street NW

Scheduled agenda items include an update on development plans for the Armed Forces Retirement Home (AFRH) by Timothy Cox, Chief Financial Officer.

Special menus at Domku

[from Kera Carpenter]

Domku's first of four Weekend Getaway Menus kicks off November 17-19 with a little culinary trip to Southeast Asia. The menu will be available as a dinner special only, with the regular winter menu still on offer.

Chicken Laksa
Vietnamese Summer Rolls
Lemongrass & Coconut Seafood Stew
Green Papaya Salad
Pomelo and Peanut Salad
Sauteed Bok Choi with chili and garlic
Stir-fried Garlic Cauliflower
Khmer Pork with Yard-Long Green Beans
Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup (pho)

Menu subject to change
** Reservations for this menu are appreciated **

Each month from now until February, we'll take a weekend a month to travel outside the winter comfort food zone into the spicier gustatory territories closer to the equator.

Coming up:
December Getaway - Mexico
January Getaway - India
February Getaway - Morocco

Mayor Barry and Petworth

[from Kevin Morton]

This election marks the end of the Williams era. I came across this 1999 Post article from a series of articles on the start of the Williams administration. It looks at the legacy of the Barry years in Petworth.

ANC results

Here are the winners for the ANC 4C single-member districts in (or near) lower Petworth:

4C05  Louis Wassel (unopposed)
4C06  none
4C07  Shanel Anthony (unopposed)
4C08  Timothy Jones (def. Michelle Escumbise 203-193)
4C09  Joe Martin (unopposed)
4C10  Kevin Hummons (def. Joseph Henson 251-167)

In 4D, which covers most of upper Petworth:

4D01  Joshua Lopez (unopposed)
4D02  Renee Bowser (unopposed)
4D03  Robert Whiddon (unopposed)
4D04  none
4D05  Everett Lott (unopposed)
4D06  Lucretia Hockaday (def. Bill Quirk 212-156)

For a map of Advisory Neighborhood Commission boundaries click here. See DC Board of Elections and Ethics for full results.

Temperance Hall brunch

[from Dan Searing, Temperance Hall general manager]

Dear Neighbors,

Please join us for Sunday Social Brunch at Temperance Hall. We call it that to highlight the relaxing neighborhood atmosphere you've come to expect at Temperance. Some of you were kind enough to join us last week for our trial debut/fine tuning session. We've worked out most of the kinks but look for us to continue to make improvements in the coming weeks. Thanks to everyone for their patience. It was part of our plan from the beginning to offer brunch but for a variety of reasons it wasn't possible until now. We think it was worth the wait.

The menu should be available on our website by tomorrow but please just come down and check it out. We're serving a selection of brunch classics and a few surprises, too. We've also got great beverages from locally roasted Quartermaine coffee to Pompeii's famous from-scratch Bloody Mary mix.

As always, please feel free to communicate comments or suggestions to me in person or via email. We look forward to seeing you Sundays. We'll be serving from 11am to 3pm and then staying open after brunch but switching to the dinner menu.

Rec Center update 11/3

[from Marni Leikin]

I just got off the phone with the Dept. of Parks and Rec. Construction is actually, apparently positively going to begin on Monday Nov. 6th! The fence will go up and work will begin. The playground equipment has been ordered, community day is planned for beginning on December when the equipment will be installed. (Although it may not happen because Children's Hospital, who are the safety people, are concerned with the weather... Parks and Rec are going ahead with the plan though until further notice.) The spray park won't be set up until March/April when the weather warms up, and landscaping is postponed until spring as well.

Let's hope!

Grant Circular

Grant Circle resident Jacqueline Arendse has created a new print addition to the neighborhood media landscape: Grant Circular magazine.

It's a perfect complement to PN and the listservs, an instant institution for Petworth. Yet Grant Circular needs your submissions/contributions in order to grow. Send writings (news, local stories, poetry, whatever), photos, illustrations, or just suggestions by email to Jacqueline. Ask not what your local media can do for you, ask what can YOU do for IT...

The Grant Circular website (www.grantcircular.com) has a downloadable PDF of the first issue. Hard copies are available at select local businesses like Domku, but distribution is still being worked out.

Upshur St Arts Fair

[from Kera Carpenter]

It's time once again for the Upshur Street Arts Fair. This year's event will take place on Saturday, December 9 from 11am to 5pm, just in time to catch those early holiday shoppers. If you are interested in participating in the event, send an email to reserve a spot. Please include the following information:

Name
Email
Phone
Type of art/craft (e.g. photography, pottery, clothing design, etc)
Website URL (if no website, please try to bring in a brief write-up with some photos of
your work)

Remember, it's first come first serve with spaces available in Domku, as well as in the Shaka King Fine Menswear Boutique a couple of doors down on Upshur. The deadline for reservations is November 30.

Looking forward to seeing all of your fabulous creations! Questions? Call Domku Bar & Cafe @ 202-722-7475.