Brian Flahaven

• The April ANC 6B meeting agenda is now available on the commission’s website. The full commission meeting will be held next Tues., April 12, 7:00 pm at the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS, 522 7th Street SE.
• ANC 6B’s Planning and Zoning Committee meets tonight, 7:00 pm at Cesar Chavez Public Charter School, 714 -722 11th Street SE. Enter on the 11th Street side of the school. ANC 6B will not hold an Alcoholic Beverage Committee (ABC) meeting this month.
• The Capitol Hill Restoration Society is also holding a special public meeting tonight to discuss the Hine Jr. High School redevelopment project. The site’s developers, Stanton-Eastbanc, are expected to present updated plans for the site. The meeting is from 6:45 pm – 8:30 pm at Maury Elementary School (13th and Constitution Ave. NE).

• If you are planning to travel around the city on Saturday, make sure you check out the National Marathon route map. The marathon begins and ends at RFK Stadium, which means it will be tough to drive north on Saturday morning.  Note that the marathon begins at 7:00 am.
• Wondering what happened to the trash cans on the Payne Elementary School grounds? A few residents on the 1500 block of C Street SE and D Street SE asked me to look into the issue. Apparently, DC Public Schools removed the cans after one was set on fire over a weekend last year. Payne’s Principal, Vielka Scott-Marcus, will ask DCPS to replace the cans with the caveat that they be removed again if problems arise. Thanks to Principal Marcus for her help and thanks to the residents for bringing it to my attention.
• According to the Prince of Petworth, the retail space on the corner of 14th and Pennsylvania has been sold. Unfortunately, Annie and Teddy’s sandwich shop is not going to happen. Hopefully a café/coffee shop/sandwich place will eventually move in. I’ll let you know if I learn anything new.
• ANC 6B has announced a second special call meeting on the Hine redevelopment project, taking place on Tues., April 26, 6:30 pm, at Brent Elementary School (301 North Carolina Avenue SE). The site’s developers, Stanton/Eastbanc, will present any changes to their design concept to the commission and community, and the commission will deliberate on recommendations to the Historic Preservation Review Board. Also note that the Capitol Hill Restoration Society (CHRS) is holding a public meeting to discuss the Hine redevelopment on Tues., April 5, 6:45 pm – 8:30 pm at Maury Elementary School (13th St. NE and Constitution Ave. NE).
• We had a great turnout for last week’s neighborhood walk. Weather permitting, we will be walking again this Sunday, March 27, 6:00 pm, beginning in the front of Harris Teeter (1350 Pennsylvania Ave. SE). I hope to see you there.

Have a great weekend!

Lt. Michael Thornton, MPD and Doug Klein with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for DC shared the latest neighborhood crime trends at last night’s monthly PSA 107 meeting . Here is a brief recap:

• Overall crime is down 27 percent year-to-date in 2011 from the same time period in 2010. Violent crime, property crime and robberies are all down in the PSA.
• Burglaries are up from the same time period in 2010 (7 in 2010, 10 in 2011). There have been 3 burglaries so far this month, including two recent incidents on G Street SE and 15th St. SE. Most of the burglaries are happening during the day while residents are at work – the burglars are bashing in back doors and/or entering through open windows.  Residents should make sure that all doors and windows are locked, bikes are stored, and all electronics are photographed and marked.
• If you see any suspicious activity happening in alleys, please call 911. MPD must catch an individual in the act of the burglary in order to charge that person with theft of property (as opposed to the lesser charge of possession of stolen property). Lt. Thornton and Klein both said when in doubt – call 911. You will not be inconveniencing the police.
• Auto thefts continue to occur in the PSA. Do not leave items visible in your vehicles, particularly GPS systems. Sometimes pocket change is enough for a thief to break-in to a vehicle.
• MPD vice units are being proactive on drug and PCP cases. PSA 107 officers worked closely with the vice units on a couple PCP and drug arrests that happened a few weeks ago. Overall, MPD has not seen a noticeable uptick in PCP or drug usage in the PSA.
• There were no assaults or major crimes reported in the PSA after last weekend’s Shamrock Fest at RFK. Lt. Thornton and PSA 107 officers were present and visible at the festival closing on Saturday night.
• On traffic, MPD has stepped up enforcement at the corner of 18th St. SE, E St. SE, and Potomac Avenue SE. In the last week, MPD has issued a number of traffic citations for running stop signs, talking on cell phones, etc.
• I thanked Lt. Thornton for the electronic speed display sign at the corner of 17th St. SE and C St. SE and encouraged him to continue to work with residents on a permanent solution to the speeding problem on 17th. He mentioned that the sign would be moving to various sections of the PSA where speeding has been an issue.
• The April PSA 107 meeting will take place Thursday, April 21, 7:00 pm at Liberty Baptist Church (527 Kentucky Ave. SE).

MPD Speed Display on 17th Street SE

• A big thanks to MPD for placing an electronic speed display on 17th St. SE. While not a permanent solution to the speeding problem on 17th, the display will help slow some traffic down.  It is located by the Eastern Branch Boys & Girls Club at the corner of 17th St. SE and C St. SE.
• Two important meetings tonight. DC Water is holding a Ward 6 Town Hall Meeting at Watkins Elementary School (420 12th St. SE) from 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm. DC Water General Manager George Haskins and Councilmember Tommy Wells will be on hand to talk about water projects and answer your questions. Also, the monthly PSA 107 meeting is at 7:00 pm at Liberty Baptist Church (527 Kentucky Avenue SE). I’m going to try to attend a portion of both meetings.
• At Tuesday’s Special Call Meeting on the Hine development, ANC 6B heard from a number of residents interested in Stanton-Eastbanc’s plans for the site. Residents with concerns about the design cited its proposed height on Pennsylvania and the massing of the proposed residential building on 8th Street SE. There were also residents and business owners who spoke out in favor of the design, noting that the residential units would include “empty nester” units for seniors. For two different viewpoints, read the recaps from Eastern Market Metro Community Association and Greater Greater Washington. Please e-mail me or post your comments on the project below. 
• My NCAA March Madness Men’s Basketball Final Four predictions: Ohio State, Pitt, Kansas and Connecticut. 

If you are interested in learning more or weighing in on development plans for the Hine Jr. High School site (335 8th Street SE – across from Eastern Market), I encourage you to attend tonight’s ANC 6B Special Call Meeting, 6:00 pm, at St. Coletta’s School, 1901 Independence Avenue SE. Meeting attendees will hear about the latest plans from the site’s developer, Stanton-Eastbanc, and will have an opportunity to ask questions and/or share their concerns with the commission. You can view the latest plans on the Stanton-Eastbanc Hine website.

Note that tonight’s meeting will focus on the project’s design, which is scheduled to be reviewed in April by the Historic Preservation Review Board (Hine is in the Capitol Hill Historic District). The commission will not vote on the design tonight – that will happen at second special call meeting in April. Zoning issues at the site will be considered by the commission later this year.

Please post any comments or thoughts you have on the Hine project below.