Brian Flahaven

A couple of quick updates on the Eastern Branch Boys & Girls Club Building, the city-owned building located at 17th and C Streets SE:

• Community Tour Delayed – During the October 5 ANC 6B Hill East Task Force meeting, the task force agreed to work with the DC Department of General Services and Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells’ office to set up a community tour of the building. Unfortunately, the Dept. of General Services has determined that the building can not be opened for public tours due to the presence of bird waste on the building’s upper floors (pigeons were flying into the building through an open window that has since been boarded up). Hopefully, we will be able to host a community tour at some point next year after the building is cleaned.
• Follow Up Meeting – ANC 6B’s Hill East Task Force will hold a follow up meeting to discuss the future of the Eastern Branch Building on Saturday, December 10, 10 am – 12 pm at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church, 1636 East Capitol Street NE. The goal of the meeting is to get additional feedback from residents on potential uses. I’ll post the meeting agenda next week. If you are unable to attend the Dec. 10 meeting, please e-mail me or post your comments/feedback below.

The DC Department of Public Works will begin leaf collection in Hill East next Monday, Nov. 21, with leaves on all blocks collected by Saturday, Dec. 3.  You can rake leaves into your treebox space or easement for collection. Bagging is not necessary, but if you do bag your leaves, please use paper bags.  Branches, dirt, bricks, rocks, etc. will not be collected – only leaves.

DPW will conduct at least two collections in our neighborhood. The second collection will begin on Monday, Dec. 19 and conclude by Saturday, Dec. 31.

You can read more about the leaf collection program on DPW’s website.

It was great to be back at the Hill Center (formerly known as the Old Naval Hospital) for our monthly commission meeting. Around 40 residents packed the Benjamin Drummond Room Tuesday night as the commission discussed redistricting, Reservation 13 and liquor license renewals. Here are the highlights:

• Councilmember Michael Brown (I-At-Large) shared his thoughts on ANC redistricting, Reservation 13 and Statehood. Commissioner Francis Campbell (6B10) reiterated his concerns about the DC Council’s decision to move Reservation 13 to Ward 7 and urged the Councilmember to support the master development plan for the site approved by the Council and the neighborhood. I also shared my concerns with the Councilmember about plans to build a Redskins training facility on Reservation 13. He assured attendees that discussions around a training facility were in an “exploratory” phase and that he fully supported a mix of uses for the site. I encouraged Councilmember Brown to work closely with ANC 6B and Hill East residents in the coming months.
• Councilmember Brown was also asked by Commissioner Jared Critchfield (6B06) about internet gaming (iGaming) legislation and the process by which it was enacted. Brown said that iGaming was passed in an open and transparent manner, and that the goal of the legislation is to raise revenue and ensure that an unregulated activity was regulated in DC. He also reminded attendees that the Ward 6 iGaming community meeting will take place on Monday, Nov. 21, 6:30 pm at the Eastern Market North Hall. Councilmember Brown also talked about his efforts on DC Statehood and provided a quick briefing on some of the budget challenges facing the DC Council.
• As part of the consent agenda, ANC 6B unanimously approved sending a letter to Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy Lanier requesting that MPD deploy new photo enforcement technology on 17th Street SE. The letter also urges the DC Council to approve the contract for the new photo equipment expeditiously. During commission announcements, I thanked my colleagues and 17th Street SE residents for supporting this effort and for their continued advocacy with the city and MPD on 17th Street speeding. MPD expects the DC Council to consider the contract soon. ANC 6B’s Letter to Chief Lanier on 17th Street SE (pdf). 
• District Department of Transportation Deputy Project Manager Matthew Marcou, who oversees public space permitting at the agency, said that DDOT is in the process of correcting problems related to ANC notification of pending public space permits. Commissioners told Marcou about numerous instances where ANC 6B received notice of pending public space permit application after DDOT had already approved the permit. Marcou said the agency is committed to fixing the problem. In response to a question by Commissioner Carol Green (6B07), Marcou said that the DDOT Public Space Committee gives individuals three opportunities to show up to a hearing on their case. Commissioners gnerally felt this “3 strikes and your out” policy was unreasonable, particularly since it inconveniences concerned neighbors who have to attend multiple hearings on the same case.
• The commission voted to protest liquor license renewals for the Pennsylvania Avenue Market (1501 Pennsylvania Avenue SE) and the 7th & L Street Market on issues related to peace, order and quiet and clear violations of voluntary agreements with ANC 6B. The cases will likely head to mediation stage, where the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration, ANC 6B and the owners will try to come to an agreement on how concerns can be addressed at the establishments. If no agreement can be reached, the liquor license renewals will ultimately be decided by the ABC Board.
• I shared new information on complaints I had received from residents about  Southeast Market (1500 Independence Avenue SE), which is located in Commissioner Neil Glick’s district (6B08). While the owner appears to be complying with the terms of his voluntary agreement,  I noted that the store is selling two-packs of beer as a way to get around the singles ban. The owner agreed to review an updated voluntary agreement that would prohibit the selling of “two-packs” at the store. The commission voted to support the liquor license renewal pending the owner’s signature on the updated voluntary agreement. If the owner decides not to sign the agreement, the commission will protest the liquor license renewal.
• During the Hill East Task Force report, the commission unanimously approved a letter to the DC Protective Services Police Department requesting crime statistics from Reservation 13 (Protective Services is in charge of security and safety at Res. 13). In the letter, ANC 6B is also requesting that Protective Services work with MPD to provide updated Res. 13 crime statistics at monthly PSA 107 meetings. Letter Seeking Data on Reservation 13 (pdf).
• ANC 6B unanimously approved an amended resolution on ANC redistricting. In the resolution, which will be sent to the full DC Council, ANC 6B voices support for Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells’ decision to keep the boundary between ANC 6B and ANC 6C at East Capitol Street. ANC 6B also supports a seventh commissioner for ANC 6C. ANC 6B’s Revised ANC Redistricting Resolution (pdf).
• ANC 6B’s December meeting will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 7 pm at the Hill Center.

Please post any comments or questions below.

Here is a quick run-down of the Hill East-related issues on ANC 6B’s Tues., Nov. 8 meeting agenda. If you haven’t been to a commission meeting this year, you may want to consider attending this one – we have a lot on the agenda affecting our neighborhood. The meeting begins at 7 pm in the Benjamin Drummond Room on the first floor of the newly renovated Hill Center, 921 Pennsylvania Avenue SE.

• ANC 6B’s Request for Photo Enforcement on 17th Street SE will be considered on the consent agenda. If you have questions or concerns about the letter, please attend and speak up during the community speakout portion of the agenda. Community speakout happens immediately before consideration of the consent agenda.
• Councilmember Michael Brown (I-At-Large) will stop by the meeting at 8:15 pm or so to talk about his latest initiatives and to take questions from the audience. I plan to ask  the Councilmember about a proposed Redskins training facility on Reservation 13.
• Liquor License Renewals for two area liquor stores – Southeast Market (1500 Independence Ave. SE) and Pennsylvania Ave. Market (1501 Penn Ave SE) – will be on the agenda. I visited Southeast Market over the weekend and asked the owner if they would be willing to stop selling 2-packs (two connected single cans of beer). I’m hopeful the commission can work with the owners of Southeast Market to update the voluntary agreement with the store. If you have concerns about these or other stores up for renewal, e-mail me or post them below.
• A Request for Crime Data from Reservation 13 will be considered during the Hill East Task Force portion of the agenda. Letter Seeking Data on Reservation 13 (pdf).
• A Planning & Zoning case on a property at 1200 Potomac Avenue SE, where the owner wants to change the use of a building from residential to retail. The retail would be a coffee shop and pet supply store.

Hope to see you on Tuesday night!

Since my last post on the subject, I’ve been talking with the Metropolitan Police Department about options to reduce speeding on 17th Street SE.  In those conversations, I learned that MPD is finalizing a contract to secure new mobile-enhanced photo enforcement devices that will allow MPD to enforce speed limits and other traffic laws on difficult to monitor, heavily trafficked commuter corridors….like 17th Street SE.

At our Tuesday, Nov. 8 full commission meeting, ANC 6B will formally vote on whether to send the letter below to MPD requesting the deployment of the new photo enforcement technology on 17th Street SE. Since the letter has already been discussed by and received unanimous support from the ANC 6B Transportation Committee, it will appear on the consent agenda. Note that any item on the consent agenda can be removed by a single commissioner.

Please post any comments or concerns below.

Special thanks to former ANC commissioner Keith Smith,  the current 6B09 resident member on the ANC 6B Transportation Committee, for his help and support in drafting the letter.

—Letter—-

November X, 2011

Lisa Sutter
Program Manager
Photo Enforcement Program
Metropolitan Police Department
3165 V Street NE
Washington, DC 20018

Dear Ms. Sutter:

Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6B (ANC 6B) strongly supports the Metropolitan Police Department’s efforts to procure new mobile-enhanced photo enforcement equipment and urges your office to deploy this new equipment on 17th Street SE. We also urge the DC Council to quickly approve all contracts and expenditures related to MPD’s procurement of this new technology in an expeditious manner. 

Speeding on 17th Street SE has been a problem for a number of years. The street, called the “17th Street Speedway” by residents, is a heavily trafficked commuter corridor that drivers use to travel from I-295 to the Southeast/Southwest Freeway. Vehicles frequently speed down 17th Street between East Capitol St.  and Barney Circle SE with only two stoplights at Massachusetts Ave. SE and Potomac Ave. SE to slow them down. Making matters worse, drivers crossing Massachusetts Avenue SE can see the Potomac Avenue stoplight and tend to speed up to avoid the red light. The result has been a number of major accidents, causing the destruction of property and parked vehicles.

There is also a significant amount of pedestrian traffic on 17th Street SE. Children who attend Payne Elementary School or use the playground at Spielberg Park often have to dodge speeding vehicles. Residents also walk their dogs down 17th Street SE to access Historic Congressional Cemetery, which has an extremely popular dogwalking program. It is only a matter of time before speeding along this corridor leads to a serious pedestrian injury.

Unfortunately, traffic calming measures on 17th Street SE are limited. Since the street is an evacuation route, the District Department of Transportation cannot install speed humps nor stop signs on the corridor. Rumble strips placed on the street do little to slow traffic down and instead, increase noise. And a few years ago, your office determined that there was not a safe place to deploy MPD’s existing mobile photo enforcement devices along the corridor.

ANC 6B is aware that your office is working with the Office of Contracts and Procurement to finalize the procurement of new mobile-enhanced photo enforcement equipment that will address traffic enforcement on arterials such as 17th Street SE. The equipment will include the following:

• Portable cameras capturing intersection violations, including red light running and speeding
• Portable cameras capturing stop sign violations
• Portable cameras capturing crosswalk violations at non-signalized intersections
• Laser-based speed enforcement equipment to be used where radar is ineffective, such as in tunnels and on hills
• Devices to detect overweight commercial vehicles and oversized commercial vehicles, including in “no thru truck” areas

ANC 6B strongly supports MPD’s efforts to procure and deploy this new technology, and we request that your office deploy this technology as soon as possible on 17th Street SE. In particular, we encourage MPD to consider the following intersections for deployment of the new technology:

• 17th Street SE and Massachusetts Avenue SE
• 17th Street SE and Potomac Avenue SE
• 17th Street SE and Barney Circle SE (stop sign violations)
• 17th Street SE and Independence Avenue SE

ANC 6B also understands that since MPD expenditure on this new equipment will cost in excess of $1 million, the DC Council must approve the expenditure before a contract can be signed. ANC 6B urges the DC Council to approve the necessary expenditure and contracts in an expeditious manner.

Thank you for your consideration of this request, and for MPD’s continued commitment to keeping our neighborhood streets safe. ANC 6B also thanks MPD for the recent placement of photo enforcement cameras on 19th Street SE and Independence Avenue SE.

Sincerely,
cc:
Cathy Lanier, Chief, Metropolitan Police Department
Daniel P. Hickson, First District Commander, Metropolitan Police Department
Kwame Brown, Chairman, Council of the District of Columbia
Tommy Wells, Councilmember Ward 6, Council of the District of Columbia
Michael Brown, Councilmember At-Large, Council of the District of Columbia
David Catania, Councilmember At-Large, Council of the District of Columbia
Phil Mendelson, Councilmember At-Large, Council of the District of Columbia
Vincent Orange, Councilmember At-Large, Council of the District of Columbia