Brian Flahaven

Join the community and the Marine Band in a celebration of American composer and conductor John Philip Sousa on his 157th birthday this Sunday, November 6, 11:30 am at the Sousa grave site at Historic Congressional Cemetery. The Cemetery Association will also be holding their annual awards ceremony.

No RSVP is necessary – just enter the main Cemetery gate at 18th Street SE/Potomac Avenue SE/E Street SE. If possible, bring a chair.

Earlier this week, Deborah Simmons at The Washington Times reported that DC Mayor Vincent Gray and Councilmembers Jack Evans (D-Ward 2) and Michael Brown (I-At-Large) took a trip to Florida to view the state-of-the-art training facility of the National Football League’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. According to a source in Simmons’ article, DC officials hope to encourage the Washington Redskins to build a similar year-round training facility at Reservation 13.

Now I’m a HUGE football fan, but I’m not a fan of this idea for a number of reasons:

• Community Benefit – How will Hill East residents benefit from living next to a large  facility that will be used exclusively by a private entity? Certainly the Washington Redskins will benefit. But what about bringing new community amenities to residents?  And why should DC give away a prime piece of riverfront property with Metro access to a use that will benefit few?
• Cost – Who is going to pay for the training facility? Are DC taxpayers going to subsidize all or a portion of the cost?  It is difficult if not impossible to argue that taxpayers should subsidize a private training facility that will not bring development nor be accessible to the public.
• Current Development Plans – The Tampa Bay Buccaneers training facility covers 33-acres. A similarly sized facility at Reservation 13 would cover almost half the 67-acre site. Constructing such a large facility would radically alter development plans supported by the neighborhood. One likely casualty would be the natural extension of neighborhood streets to the waterfront, continuing the current separation of our neighborhood from the Anacostia River.

The only benefit of the training facility would be the potential end of the aggregation of social services at Reservation 13. But how would the rest of the site be developed? NBC4’s Tom Sherwood has reported that sources say the plan may also include “year-round attractions” such as a Redskins Hall of Fame. Such attractions may draw some pedestrians and development to the site, but would they draw more than the fully developed, retail/residential plan currently envisioned, particularly since half of the site would be dominated by the training facility? I don’t think so.

I understand the strong desire by many to see the Redskins move back to the city. But why do we need to give the team prime real estate to build a training facility? Before decisions are made, city officials need to reach out to neighboring residents and explain why this is in the city’s and the neighborhood’s best interest. I’m certainly not convinced.

Please post your thoughts below. Do you support building a Redskins training facility at Reservation 13? Am I missing the potential benefits of such a facility?

ANC 6B will consider liquor license renewals for liquor stores during our November commission meeting. Each renewal case will be first be considered at ANC 6B’s ABC Committee meeting this Thursday, Nov. 3, 7:00 pm at the Southeast Library (403 7th Street SE).  

While there are no liquor stores in my single member district, the following three liquor stores are located close by:

• Harris Teeter, 1350 Potomac Avenue SE
• Pennsylvania Avenue Market, 1501 Pennsylvania Avenue SE
• Southeast Market, 1500 Independence Avenue SE

If you have any concerns or complaints about these three establishments, please attend Thursday night’s ABC meeting or e-mail me. Be sure to include the name of the store and your specific concerns in the e-mail.   

The commission will also consider liquor license renewals for the following establishments:

• 7th and L Street Market,  7th and L Streets SE
• Congress Market, 421 East Capitol Street, SE
• P&C Market (Lincoln Park Mini-Market), 1023 East Capitol St SE
• Marvelous Market, 301 7th Street SE
• Motts, 233 12th Street SE
• Rolands of Capitol Hill, 333 Pennsylvania Ave SE
• Yes! Organic Market, 656-658 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE

Hope everyone had a happy and safe Halloween! I’ve posted some photos from around the neighborhood on my Facebook page. And yes, pictured is my ANC 6B colleague Commissioner Francis Campbell!

As I’ve discussed in a previous post, DC Water is set to begin construction on a massive tunnel project aimed to ensure that combined sewer overflows are treated before entering the Anacostia and Potomac Rivers. During Wednesday night’s community meeting, DC Water representatives shared more details on the project and how it will directly affect Hill East residents.

Here are my key takeaways from the meeting:

• The Anacostia River Tunnel  contruction will likely begin in late 2013 and end in 2017. The 23-foot diameter tunnel will be built 100 feet underground and will run from the parking lot south of RFK along the western shore of the Anacostia River until it crosses under the river and connects with another tunnel that will move water to the Blue Plains Water Treatment Facility. Residents should see little impact from construction of the main tunnel – it will be constructed in unpopulated area near the river.
• Residents will be most affected during the construction of a drop shaft just south of Barney Circle. The drop shaft will take overflows from our neighborhood to the main tunnel down by the Anacostia River. Construction crews will be staging and storing equipment on the grassy lot just east of McDonald’s, and crews will likely be using Pennsylvania Avenue and the freeway to haul away “muck” from the tunnel construction. DC Water estimates that construction on the Barney Circle drop shaft will begin in 2015-2016.
• Residents living on the 1500 block of K Street SE soufh of Pennsylvania will be the most affected by construction of the drop shaft. DC Water plans to survey and inspect homes on the 1500 block both before and after construction to ensure that homes are not damaged. In addition, DC Water expects that workers will be drilling the drop shaft 24/7 for a month or so sometime during the construction period. The contractor will be responsible for abiding by all DC laws and regulations regarding construction and noise.
• Residents living north of Pennsylvania Ave. and Barney Circle may experience some noise and/or traffic issues during construction of the drop shaft, though they will experience much less than the residents living south of Pennsylvania Ave.
• DC Water plans to continue holding community meetings and providing information as the construction date approaches. DC Water representatives said they are committed to making sure that disruption to residents is kept at a minimum.

Below are links to the meeting handout and a YouTube video of how the tunnel drill works:

• Presentation on Anacostia River Tunnel – DC Clean Rivers Project (pdf)
• How the Tunnel Boring Machine Works – YouTube video

You can also learn much more about the project at the DC Water website.