Brian Flahaven

• ANC 6B’s Executive Committee meets tomorrow evening  (Tues., Oct. 25), 7 pm, at the Hill Center (921 Pennsylvania Avenue SE) to set the agenda for ANC 6B’s November meeting.
• Commissioner Jared Critchfield and I are hosting a DC Water Clean Rivers Project Community Meeting  on Wed., Oct. 26, 7 pm, at Word of God Baptist Church (1512 K Street SE). As I’ve written in a previous post, construction for this project will most likely affect residents near Barney Circle SE in my district. If you live near the circle, I encourage you to attend.
• ANC 6B and the Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee are hosting a Joint Information Session on Eastern Market Legislation on Thurs., Oct. 27, 7 pm, at the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS (522 7th Street SE). ANC 6B will not vote at this meeting – the purpose is for commissioners and the community to learn more about Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells’ legislation to change the governing structure of the market.

With the Liberty Baptist Church doors locked, about a dozen residents huddled outside last night for a brief PSA 107 meeting. MPD Sargeant Michael Curry filled in for an absent Lt. Michael Thornton. Here are the highlights:

• PSA 107 has seen a big reduction in violent crime in 2011. Sgt. Curry said violent crime is down around 60 percent year-to-date in 2011 compared to 2010.
• Theft from autos have increased this past month, though MPD did make an arrest last week. Since that time, thefts from auto are down.
• Sgt. Curry encouraged residents to avoid keeping any valuable items in their parked cars, such as GPS devices. He also said that storing a device in the glove compartment is not enough…all cords and plugs should be stored as well.
• As the holidays approach, Sgt. Curry reminded residents to secure their homes if they are traveling. While burglaries generally have been down in the PSA, they tend to pick up during the holiday season.
• A number of residents talked about the speeding issues on 17th, 18th and 19th Sts. SE. I shared with the group that I’ve been working with MPD’s photo enforcement division on potential solutions to the speeding issue on  17th St. MPD plans to introduce some promising new photo enforcement technology in early 2012, and  I’ve asked them to consider deploying the technology on 17th St. SE.
• Sgt. Curry said that residents should always call 911 when they see suspicious activity…do not call 311 and do not call the MPD substation.
• The next PSA 107 meeting will be on Thursday, Dec. 17 at 7pm. Hopefully we will meet inside Liberty Baptist Church!

Last week, the DC Water and Sewer Authority (DC Water) broke ground on the Clean Rivers Project, a massive, multi-year construction project designed to capture and clean water during heavy rainfalls before it reaches the Anacostia River. Over the next few years, construction crews will be building a system of large tunnels that will capture combined sewer overflows and move the water to the Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment facility.

One major tunnel will run along the northern bank of the Anacostia River from Near Southeast to RFK Stadium. Construction (noise, etc.) will potentially impact residents living south of Pennsylvania Avenue SE and near Barney Circle SE.

Commissioner Jared Critchfield (6B06) and I will be hosting a community meeting on the project next Wed., Oct. 26, 7:00 pm at The Word of God Baptist Church (1512 K Street SE). Representatives from DC Water will be there to provide information, listen to resident concerns and answer questions about the project. If you live near Barney Circle SE or south of Pennsylvania Avenue SE, I encourage you to attend.

You can read more about the Clean Rivers Project on the DC Water website.

ANC redistricting, a proposed Hine redevelopment subcommittee, Eastern Market legislation and a contentious public space case took up the bulk of Tuesday’s ANC 6B meeting at National Community Church.  Here are the highlights:

• Chair Glick announced that ANC 6B has officially moved into an office at the newly renovated Hill Center, 921 Pennsylvania Avenue SE (formerly the Old Naval Hospital). All future full commission meetings will also be held at the Hill Center. It was great to see Commissioner Glick back leading the meeting after a health-related hiatus. 
• Albert Karcher of City Year shared information about the organization’s upcoming service day at the DC General Shelter on Reservation 13. The service day will be on Saturday, Oct. 22 from 8:30 am – 4:00 pm.  Service projects will include painting murals, organizing the donation room and preparing the shelter for the winter season. If you are interested in learning more or participating, contact Mr. Karcher at akarcher@cityyear.org.
• On an 8-0 vote, the commission approved a redistricting resolution (pdf) urging Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells and the DC Council to enact an ANC redistricting plan that maintains East Capitol Street as the boundary between ANC 6B and ANC 6C. The plan submitted by the Ward 6 Redistricting Task Force would shift the boundary to Independence Avenue SE between 3rd and 8th Sts. SE, moving 1,275 current residents of ANC 6B into ANC 6C. As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, moving the boundary from East Capitol to Independence is a bad idea.
• The commission approved the creation of a Hine Redevelopment Subcommittee by a 5-3 vote (I voted in favor). In addition to commissioners, the subcommittee will include representatives from various community groups and residents and will work towards a unified community position as the project enters the Planned Unit Development (PUD) phase. The subcommittee will forward recommendations to the planning & zoning committee and then to the full commission. Ultimately, the full commission will have the final say.
• I also voted with the majority (5-3) in support of an at-large councilmember outreach plan and talking points. One of the lessons of ward redistricting was that ANC 6B needs to build stronger relationships with our at-large councilmembers.  The talking points will allow ANC 6B commissioners to share the commission’s general position on a number of issues (Reservation 13, traffic on 17th, etc.) with the councilmembers. Commissioners opposed (Green, Metzger, Oldenburg) voiced concern about having commissioners speaking on behalf of the commission to at-large councilmembers and about the talking points. In response, I noted that the commission needs to be proactive in reaching out to our elected officials.
• The commission unanimously approved hosting a joint community meeting with the Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee on Eastern Market legislation introduced by Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells. The meeting will be informational only – ANC 6B will not take any official actions during the joint meeting. ANC 6B will likely consider a resolution on the legislation during the full commission meeting or a special call meeting in November. You can read more about Councilmember Wells’ legislation on his website.
• On a 7-0-1 vote (Commissioner Glick abstained), ANC 6B voted to oppose a public space permit for the installation of a fence on public property at 768 13th Street SE (next to Jenkins Row) . The fence already exists on public property and was in place when the current owner bought the adjacent rowhouse. Neighbors would like to see the fence removed and the property developed into a community garden. While I’m sympathetic to the adjacent owner’s argument that the fence existed when he bought his property, the fence was clearly built on public space that should be open to use by the community.
• The commission had planned on hearing the 18th Amendment Bar & Restaurant’s (613 Pennsylvania Avenue SE) request to expand the size of its sidewalk cafe. However, the owner said that the DC Department of Transportation’s Public Space Committee had already heard the case and approved the request without notifying ANC 6B. The commission unanimously approved  a motion offered by Commissioner Ivan Frishberg  to request that DDOT Director Terry Bellamy attend ANC 6B’s November meeting and explain why ANC 6B is not receiving proper notice on public space permits.
•  I provided a report on the October 5 Hill East Task Force meeting on the future of the Eastern Branch Boys & Girls Club Building. I noted that there is interest in hosting a community tour of the building in the near future.
• ANC 6B’s next full commission meeting will be on Tuesday, November 8, 7 pm at the Hill Center, 921 Pennsylvania Avenue SE.

On Oct. 5, ANC 6B's Hill East Task Force discussed the future of the Eastern Branch Building.

Around 30 residents joined the ANC 6B Hill East Task Force on Wed., Oct. 5 for an update on the Eastern Branch Boys & Girls Club Building.

Before I share some of the meeting highlights, I encourage you to subscribe to the Eastern Branch Yahoo Group, a list that will be used to provide periodic updates on the building to interested residents. The Eastern Branch Yahoo Group will not be like newhilleast and other neighborhood listservs – updates will only be sent out when new information is available about the Eastern Branch Building. 

Now for the highlights:

• Due to financial difficulty, the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Washington closed Eastern Branch in 2007 and sold the building, located at 17th and C Streets SE, to the DC government. At that time, Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells formed a task force to consider future uses of the building.
• The building is managed by the DC Department of Real Estate Services (soon to be merged into the new DC Dept. of General Services). Adenegan Olusegun, a project member with DRES, provided a brief update on the condition of the building, which has been vacant for four years. He said that an individual in the department would have responsibility for monitoring and maintaining the building.
• The building itself is enormous – around 45,000 square feet – and contains a basketball court and swimming pool. The pool has a large crack and is in need of significant repair. A number of famous athletes – Michael Jordan, Shaquille O’Neal – autographed one of the building’s walls.
• Chuck Burger, chair of Councilmember Wells’ Eastern Branch Task Force, provided an overview of findings included in the task force report. He also acknowledged the other members of the Eastern Branch Task Force in attendance. View Chuck Burger’s meeting handout. (pdf)
• Burger said that the task force identified a number of hurdles to future development of the building, including:
  1. Maintenance work – one estimate suggests the building needs $13 million in maintenance work to get it in leasable condition
  2. Lack of Accessibility – the building would need to be brought up to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance
  3. Lack of Parking – there is no dedicated parking lot at the building
  4. Operational model – the city needs a combination of three or four organizations that will be financially sustainable in the building
• The Eastern Branch Task Force report (pdf) lists a number of potential uses for the site, including:
  • Administrative offices
  • Adult services
  • Community center
  • Conference center and meeting rooms
  • Dance school
  • Daycare center
  • Office space for municipal departments
  • Recreation and sports center
  • Senior center
  • Special education

  The task force vision is a building that will provide services and activities for the spectrum of residents living in Hill East and on Capitol Hill.

• According to Burger, charter schools, individuals, daycare providers, and youth organizations have all expressed interest in the building. Burger and Eastern Branch Task Force members want to get feedback from the neighborhood on what uses would be the most valuable for residents.
• Residents expressed concern about the potential impact of the site’s development on the immediate blocks surrounding the building. The main concern identified was parking. Potential solutions to the parking issue include providing satellite lot within walking distance of the site and/or designating street spaces for building use during specified hours.
• Attendees voiced support for a building that primarily served the surrounding neighborhood and the Capitol Hill community as a whole, as opposed to serving Maryland residents (one of the criticisms of the final years of the Boys & Girls Club).
• A few attendees also urged the community to support youth-related programs in the building. Youth in the neighborhood currently lack the recreational facilities that Eastern Branch used to provide.
• As a next step, there was clear support for a community tour at the building. A number of residents have either not been in the building or have not been in it in a long time. A tour would allow residents to learn about the site and its history and could generate some “buzz” for potential tenants or uses.
• Attendees and the Hill East Task Force also supported keeping interested residents engaged with the Eastern Branch Task Force and its future work. The creation of the Eastern Branch Yahoo Group is the first step in the process. Neighborhood action and support can help provide the momentum and energy necessary to redevelop the site.
• Since the Eastern Branch building is located in my single member district, I plan to continue to keep the neighborhood updated on its status. I also asked attendees and all residents to keep an eye on the building and to report any problems and concerns immediately. We want to make sure the building’s condition does not deteriorate further.

Please post your comments and questions on the meeting.