Petworth News

What do you love about DC?

[press release from Rebecca Pawlowski, WCTC Director of Communications]

Marketing Organization Wants to Know: What Do DC Residents Love About DC?

(Washington, DC) - The Washington, DC Convention & Tourism Corporation (WCTC) has launched a new website, www.shareyourdc.com, designed to give local residents the opportunity to answer the following question: What do you love about DC?

Launched on January 26, 2007, the site is part of a greater research initiative coordinated by WCTC to determine the city’s position in the mind of those who live here and from travelers around the world – with the ultimate goal of creating a more vibrant experience and generating more resources for the city, its residents and businesses through destination marketing.

The public site offers the community the opportunity to “share their DC.” Residents can log on to www.shareyourdc.com and participate in the process by responding to a brief survey, answering weekly polls and uploading images of their favorite things and sites around the city. The website will also track the progress of the research initiative and its findings. The information gathered from residents will be used as input in creating an inclusive destination brand for Washington, DC. “Residents and workers are the greatest ambassadors for the city, so we need to hear what they think about DC. What they tell friends, family members and potential visitors helps to shape DC’s overall reputation and often impacts whether someone chooses to visit,” said William A. Hanbury, President & CEO of WCTC.

Marketing, branding and positioning a destination is just as important as any other consumer product. The image of a city can determine whether people choose to visit, live, attend a university or locate their business there. The stakes for destination marketing are high - particularly in Washington, DC - where visitors pump more than $5 billion annually into the local economy, generating $543 million in local tax revenues for vital city needs.

The goal of the project is not to create a particular tagline, logo or advertising campaign, rather, it is to create a common vocabulary of images, words and emotions that will guide collective marketing efforts for the city. Everyone's opinion is important in this process. For those without internet access at home, work or school, the DC Public Library offers free access to the internet at all of its neighborhood locations.

Pet multiservice store

[from Fannie Norwood]

My friend, Francisco Johnson, just opened a pet grooming and multiservice store at 3535 14th Street just 5 blocks north of the Tivoli. He is originally from a small town in Cuba, Vereda Nueva, which is famous for cattle grooming. He did that for many years before emigrating here where he got certified as a pet groomer, worked in Maryland and then for many years at the Adams Morgan Clinic.

He's now out on his own and could use your support. He is really kind and gentle, great with animals, and offers a full array of grooming services that range from $55 to $85. We are taking requests for supplies. If there is something you need that we can stock, let me or him know. Veterinarian services will soon be available on Mondays.

Also coming in January-February -- pet portraits by outsider artists with disabilities at Art Enables. You will be able to buy awesome paintings of dogs and cats or commission your own pet portrait.

Vereda Pet Multiservice Store
Francisco Palmore Johnson, owner
3535 14th St NW
(5 blocks north of the Tivoli)
202-421-3622

Mon-Wed 10am-7pm
Thur-Sun 7am-1pm

No. 64 bus route

[from Joe Martin, ANC 4C Chair]

Mr. David Erion, bus specialist for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, called to note that they will restore the No. 64 Bus, Georgia/Petworth to Ft Totten, essentially to its original route: staying on New Hampshire Avenue NW north and southbound between the two subway stations. The change will take place "within days."

Watch for changes in bus-stop signs in the northeast-bound lane on New Hampshire below Grant Circle. [The bus has been continuing on the original southbound route on NH, as we know.]

WMATA will also remove the new bus-stop it placed on the east-side block of NH Avenue between Grant Circle and Upshur. There was unanimous, neighborhood opposition to placing the bus stop in that particular block, denying residents there of parking spaces on a tight block with too few parking spaces as it is.

Special thanks to our neighbors and friends, James Rayford, Juanita Wade, Dorothy and Kevin Blackwell, for their active roles in this issue. Ms. Wade was especially articulate at Advisory Neighborhood Commission 4C's last meeting in expressing her outrage over the insensitivity of Metro's making the changes without neighborhood consultation and notification.

ANC 4C joined in registering our strong opposition to Metro's actions to Mr. Erion (who participated in the January ANC 4C meeting at the ANC's request).

Mr. Erion apologizes to the Petworth neighborhood for the oversight. He told me that Metro wants to hold a community meeting sometime soon to discuss public transit issues in the area. At this month's ANC meeting, I, my fellow commissioners and community members discussed holding a town hall for the same purpose.

Stay tuned. I am pleased at the response to ANC and community pressure. Special thanks to our many vocal, vigorous neighbors. Metro's disregard for the Petworth neighborhood should never have happened in the first place.

Georgia/NH improvements

[from Garrett Pressick]

DDOT is going to present its new design for the Georgia Ave/New Hampshire Ave intersection at next month’s North Columbia Heights Civic Association meeting. Also included in their presentation will be plans to finally add a planted median on New Hampshire Ave from Park Road all the way to Grant Circle! Construction is expected to begin in the early spring of 2007.

The meeting is on Wednesday, Feb. 7th at 7:00pm at the Mental Health Building (1125 Spring Rd).

Finally some progress!

El Limeño

[from Siobhan Roth]

Hi Petworth neighbors, I'm happy to report that El Limeño, the Salvadoran restaurant on the corner of 2nd & Upshur, has opened, and it's terrific! We ate there last night, we had tacos - one each of beef, chicken, and shrimp - that were fat and tasty. Also a cheese pupusa, perhaps the yummiest I've ever eaten, and at $1.75 for a six-inch disk with a big serving of curtido on the side, an incredible bargain.

Tablecloths, cloth napkins, and a half-dozen chandeliers set on dim give the place a pretty cozy feel. Also, at least on weekends, the kitchen is open LATE. We walked in at 11:15pm and weren't the last customers to order food.

Newton Place condos

[from Brenda Jackson]

New condos in Columbia Heights/Petworth Area starting in the low $200’s:

The Prasada
739 Newton Place NW

Grant Circular - Issue 3

The Jan/Feb issue of Grant Circular is now online. Just download the PDF file and print. Email any suggestions and submissions for future issues to Jacqueline Arendse. 

Georgia Ave workshop

[from Gillian Cook]

From the Washington Post:

DC Council member Jim Graham (D) and the District Department of Transportation have scheduled a community workshop Saturday (1/25) from 9am to 4pm to discuss the development and future of lower Georgia Avenue.

Residents, business owners, community leaders and others are being asked to participate in the Lower Georgia Avenue Transportation and Streetscape Study, an effort to seek public input on improving transportation and revitalizing Georgia Avenue between New Hampshire and Florida avenues and Fourth Street and Sherman Avenue NW.

The meeting will be at the DC Housing Finance Agency Building at 815 Florida Ave NW. For information, contact Callistus Nwadike at 202-671-2308 or by email.

December home sales

[from Lesley Aranha]

Address    List Price    BR/BA    Sold Price    Days On Mkt

4600 8th St    $367,000     3/1    $350,000     19
4912 Illinois Ave    $399,000     4/2    $399,000     53
4012 7th St    $375,000     4/1    $395,000     4
524 Varnum St    $450,000     4/1.5+.5    $450,000     198
5008 7th St    $396,000     3/2.5    $390,000     95
411 Upshur St    $315,000     3/1.5    $319,500     5
4841 Kansas Ave    $299,900     3/1.5    $282,000     6
5030 5th St    $385,000     3/1.5    $390,000     91
5304 1st St    $400,000     4/2.5    $345,000     191
303 Taylor St    $327,000     4/1    $340,000     305
3926 Illinois Ave    $350,000     3/1    $300,000     7
723 Hamilton St    $266,950     3/1    $266,950     15
5232 5th St    $259,000     2/1    $259,000     39
5415 5th St    $309,900     2/1    $310,000     114
312 Varnum St    $579,000     3/3.5    $565,000     95
727 Taylor St    $387,500     3/2    $392,500     109

Ladybug

[from Astrid Schulte]

Come meet your neighbor and Petworth’s newest author, Melanie L. Marshall, at:

Domku Bar & Cafe
821 Upshur Street, NW
Tuesday, January 23, 7:00pm–8:00pm

Melanie will be reading excerpts from her new book “Ladybug”. If you love fantastic stories, and don’t mind a bit of squirming, Melanie Marshall has them for you right here. Click here to read more about the book.

Books will be available for purchase at Domku as well.

RedRocks update

[from Beth Guerard]

Official press release to follow, but here is the scoop:

James O'Brien, the former owner of Staccato in Adams Morgan has changed venue and flavor. O'Brien's new venture will focus on brick oven pizza and other cafe fare at the corner of Park Road and 11th St. NW in Columbia Heights (near the Tivoli and the new Giant).

The new place is called RedRocks and is scheduled to open in February. Along with brick-oven pies at a reasonable price-point, RedRocks will also feature a full bar with tasty beer (look for some good Belgians) a brunch menu and outdoor patio seating.

January Weekend Getaway Menu

[from Kera Carpenter]

January Weekend Getaway Menu at Domku:
INDIA
January 18-20

Cachoombar Salad with Lentil and Curry Crackers
Raita
Potato Curry
Paneer Simmered in Spicy Tomatoes
Coconut Mung Dal
Spicy Chick Peas
Breads: Chapatis & Nan
Drinks: Sweet Lassi, Cardomom Chai

* Menu is subject to change

Post article 1/14

[from Susan Minnemeyer]

Georgia Ave. Awakening
Outdoor plazas. Affordable housing. A revamped Metro station. An infamous nightclub turned into luxury lofts.

"One of the biggest projects, the one District officials hope will be the catalyst, has been started: Park Place, a $60 million development of 156 condominiums and townhouses at the Georgia Avenue-Petworth Metro stop, near the midpoint of the four-mile road. A Mocha Hut and a sit-down restaurant will top the station, catty-corner from a check-cashing store. One Metro entrance closed Dec. 11 for the construction, which should be completed in two years.

As the shovels go into the ground, residents and merchants have a range of emotions. Excitement and anxiety pierce the blended scent of Jamaican beef patties, Chinese takeout and fried fish. Careful what you wish for."

Also see the interactive multimedia here (there's a panorama shot taken at the Petworth metro).

Ward 4 candidates - Muriel Bowser

[from Dan Silverman]

Just wanted to let everyone know that the interview with Muriel Bowser has been posted on Prince of Petworth.  Thanks.

Hattie's Work and Learn

On Thursdays from 10am-2pm, Petworth United Methodist Church (32 Grant Circle) hosts Hattie's Work and Learn, an employment program for teens and young adults between the ages of 15-25.

For info call 202-607-6601 or 202-723-5300.

New bakery & deli

[from Susan Minnemeyer]

I stopped by Flip It last night at Georgia and Buchanan. It's a bakery with cakes, pies, cookies, tarts, etc. The owners are Latino; the selection was a little similar to what Heller's in Mt. Pleasant sold. They also have a small lunch menu (soup and sandwiches). It was very clean and bright, and the people were super nice; I bought some eclairs (yum) and they added a free coconut cookie hot from the oven to say thanks. Their hours are 7am-7pm Mon-Sat and 7am-3pm Sunday. Definitely worth checking out!

Ward 4 candidates

Next in the series - an interview with Renee Bowser, candidate for Ward 4 City Council, is now posted on the Prince of Petworth blog.

From the Editor

After a holiday hiatus, we now resume your friendly neighborhood blog.

2006 brought a lot of positive change to the neighborhood. The Park Place development broke ground at Petworth metro. Work finally started to renovate Petworth Rec Center at 8th and Taylor. Plans moved forward to bring a Yes! Organic Market to an upcoming building at Georgia and Taylor. Temperance Hall restaurant and bar opened to rave reviews. Kera Carpenter, owner of Domku, won a preliminary grant for a redesign of the 9th and Upshur shopping strips. And the radical transformation underway in nearby Columbia Heights, including a new dance school and major shopping outlets to open soon, means more perks of city life within easy reach.

Residents in ANCs 4C and 4D voted for energetic new (and incumbent) commissioners, building on progress made two years ago. Joe Martin has been tireless and steady at the wheel as 4C Chairman. Michelle Escumbise, who lost her bid to unseat 4C08 incumbent Timothy Jones by only 10 votes, nonetheless raised the bar through a different kind of coup - the first-ever yard signs for a local ANC campaign. Michelle also spearheaded a great and inclusive Halloween block party that will hopefully become a yearly institution. Right around the corner at the same time, new 4C10 commissioner Kevin Hummons was throwing a street party too. Imagine if Halloween became the day of street parties every other block, across the whole neighborhood!

The local (really local) media landscape saw the welcome additions of Grant Circular newsletter, the brainchild of Jacqueline Arendse, and the witty and spirited Prince of Petworth blog by Dan Silverman.

Carol Herwig won a grant from Casey Trees and led the effort to plant new trees at Georgia and Upshur and New Hampshire and 7th. A group of residents, led by Reyn Anderson and Sandy Hoffmann, has been quietly gathering steam to ensure that park space is included in any Soldiers Home development.

Amid this quiet avalanche of change, relations between old and new residents seem to have held steady. As I've said before, people who move to Petworth seem to take on the character of the neighborhood, not the other way around. The "hi, how you doing?" between neighbors remains quintessentially Petworth.

Some trends are still troubling. While petty crime like mugging seems more rare than in areas like Dupont Circle and Adams Morgan, 3am gunshots can still be heard on occasion. Drug dealing is largely under the radar but persists in certain blocks. Police responsiveness has improved, but many feel it is still not good enough or pro-active enough. A proposed large homeless shelter has provoked debate about its potential impact on long-awaited Georgia Avenue development.

Despite the gains, or maybe because of them, I sense a creeping complacency among too many residents (both new and long-timers). My new year's wish is that every single resident will find some way to contribute to our wonderful and changing area. There are plenty of people leading by example. But they can't do it alone. It literally will take all of us, together.

Cheers, Bill Crandall