The views expressed on this blog are of the individual posting and are not official positions of the Mount Vernon Square Neighborhood Association (MVSNA)
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May Newsletters


the May MVSNA Newsletter is posted:
 
 
if anyone is available to deliver to the condo & apt buildings in the Triangle, please post a response to the yahoo group.
 
(yale, 555 mass, city vista, museum sq, 200 k, sonata, madrigal, golden rule...)
 
also ESS has posted another wonderful edition of the 7th Streeter.  Give it a read, you will learn much!
 
 
have a great weekend!

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Next MVSNA(/DNA) meeting


 

Please join us for a joint MVSNA/DNA forum on homeless issues & housing plans, on our regular MVSNA meeting date, May 20th, 7pm, Mt Calvary Baptist Church - 755 8th St. NW  

Dear Neighbor,

Special Neighborhood Meeting - May 20th (update)

Questions concerning homeless neighborhood residents are regularly asked at our monthly meetings. Over the years, the District has made commitments directed at this issue. More recently, Mayor Fenty has made his own commitments towards the District's affordable housing crisis and growing homeless population. Among them is the closure of Franklin School Shelter by October, providing 400 housing units for downtown homeless, the move of Central Mission to the Gales School on Mass Ave, and the development of land at 4th and L Streets NW for a Catholic Charities facility that will provide affordable housing, transitionary housing, and homeless services.
 
For some, these changes reflect long-term commitments. The Gale School was originally slated to become a homeless shelter in 2000 and Franklin School was to be a temporary shelter. Now, eight years later this may happen. The 400 units will be dispensed based on some kind of scoring model. What this model is, who it identifies, and where the housing units will be located is not known, though there are many rumors. This ambiguity creates its own set of possibilities that raises concern among many in terms of neighborhood impacts. In short, there is a lot we do not know. What we do know is that many residents do not feel that they are part of the dialogue behind the current plans - and what those plans actually are.
 
We hope to address this with a joint discussion session sponsored by DNA and the MVSNA on 7PM Tuesday, May 20th at Calvary Baptist Church. We have invited several professionals to lead our discussion. It is our hope that they can enlighten us on what the facts are and what the current plans actually are. We, as residents and neighborhood associations need to decide what our role is in dealing with the issues of affordable housing and the homeless.
 
Our discussion leaders include:
 
Chet Grey, Director of Housing Services with the Downtown BID
Chet has been responsible for the BID program since inception.
 
Chapman Todd, Division Director of Housing Programs at Catholic Charities
Chapman has been with Catholic Charities for over 15 years and oversees their many efforts in this area.
 
David Treadwell (invited), Executive Director at Central Union (http://missiondc.org/)
David is the CEO of Central Mission
 
Jose Sausa  attending representing Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development
Responsible for identifying homeless housing
 
Miles E. Groves
Downtown Neighborhood Associaiton

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Last Chance to weigh in on 5th & I


 Hey everyone!
 
The comment period for the 5th & I Parcel will close May 16th so if anyone would still like to weigh in, please do so before 3pm tomorrow (Friday).
 
The proposal presentations can be viewed here:
 
 
Several neighborhood blogs have posted regarding this parcel.  Comments may be left directly on those blogs or on this post.  Though the DMPED office has these links, MVSNA will compile and send them directly to DC Gov.  Here are the Blog links:
 
 
 
good ANC 6C recap from last night:
 
various related posts:
 
 ANC 6C wishes to hold a special meeting on May 28th.  We will post the location if it is scheduled.
The Mayors office will be narrowing the field to 2 proposals then making a final decision around June 1.  Hopefully soon after that we will see some dirt fly!

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Keep “CityMarket at O” Moving Forward


Sign the support letter for CityMarket at O

petition: http://www.chappleanc.com/petitions2007/public/survey.php?name=CityMarketAtO_TIF_Support

ANC2C02 Commissioner Kevin Chapple's comments/update at: http://ChappleANC.com/public/

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Free Hospitality Training: Session 2 this Saturday


UDC/HAWDC Hospitality Training: Second Session
10 am, Saturday, May 17
Mandatory recruitment and pre-screening session

9am-2pm, Saturday, May 31
Classes for front desk and housekeeping services

Walter E. Washington Convention Center
801 Mount Vernon Place NW
1-888-643-9994

The University of the District of Columbia and the Hotel Association of Washington DC are conducting their second in a series of free training programs for local residents. This program is meant to prepare District residents for a variety of exciting careers in the hospitality industry.

If you need a job or know someone who needs a job, pass it along. These jobs offer great opportunities for advancement and learning a diverse skill set for those who really want to apply themselves. And it couldn't be more convenient.

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Sanctuary 84?


Has anyone heard anything more about/fro"Sanctuary 84", the NFL Player Club "lounge" that is operating on M Street? For the first time in a long time the website is fully functional thenflplayerclub.com/

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OCC Site North End Plans Finalized


Just heard on the radio - Mayor Fenty has announced that the north parcel of the Old Convention Center Site that sits between NY Ave, 9th, 11th & (I) will be leased the Hines Archstone Smith for development into a 400 room 4 star hotel with 100k sq ft of retail.  Washington post has the details.  Hines is also the developer of the larger south parcel of the OCC site so they are developing it all (it was planned this way).  This pretty much kills the fancy new library idea that former Mayor Williams was so into.  The south part will be housing, office and more retail.  First dirt should fly in January!  Until then, tennis.

Speaking of Hines, they do support the community.

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Review - Ida's Idea


For the ladies! I just visited that little boutique down 7th St, Ida's Idea, for the first time ever despite walking past it many times.  Ive got to tell you all this place is delightful and totally worth checking out! I took my mom there and she tried on all kinds of fabulous clothes from the US, France & Italy.  They have a very interesting selection of colorful, airy & flowy couture pieces.  I say pieces as they do because each one is pretty much a work of art.  Its a family business, warm and inviting.  Though its a little pricey, go.  You'll have a great experience and you might end up with something very special to wear.  Even if you arent exactly a skinny minnie, they are a good fit as they do have big girl sizes.  My momma went with a full length grey strapless dress with a subtle diagonally striped A-line skirt and she looked HOT!

Ida's Idea

7th Street between Mass Ave & I Street (east side - old ATF Building)  Monday – Saturday, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.

Happy Mother's Day!

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One way to Avoid Vacant Property Taxes


Avoid them on practically the whole rotting block!!! Now we know why Jemal gets to skate on those pesky Class 3 taxes.  10 years of staring at funk & broken windows on the most prominent corner in our neighborhood as the odd campaign slinks by.  This stinks and smacks of a big fat FU to the neighbors, activists, and the tourists who visit the convention center and get to stare rotting urban decay as soon as the walk out the door.  Enough! Develop it already! Tax it up the wazoo! Do something!!!!  I've got to just paste the whole thing on here. 

Evans Campaign to Occupy Legendary Political Address

Jack Evans 2008 Campaign Office

One of the District’s hardiest political addresses is once again occupied: Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans will be locating his campaign headquarters at 1005 7th St. NW, on the highly visible northeast corner of 7th and New York Avenue.

Evans, who is being challenged thus far by Mount Vernon Square lawyer and community activist Cary Silverman, follows in the footsteps of numerous other city politicos—many who had checkered experiences on the premises:

  • In 1998, the building housed one of At-Large Councilmember Carol Schwartz’s failed mayoral runs.
  • In 2000, Schwartz ran her successful re-election campaign out of the building—a rare unqualified success for the edifice.
  • In 2002, Mayor Anthony A. Williams also ran a re-election campaign out of the building. You know, the one with all the fake ballots and the write-in votes.
  • In 2004, incumbent At-Large Councilmember Harold Brazil’s campaign occupied the space. He was overthrown by insurgent Kwame Brown.
  • In 2006, mayoral hopeful Michael A. Brown moved his campaign in. He ended up with a mere 650 votes after throwing his support to Linda Cropp less than a week before the Democratic primary.

Red-and-white Evans signs appeared all over the three-story building, owned by developer Doug Jemal, earlier this week; Evans campaign manager Keith Carbone says phone lines still need to be installed and furniture ordered for the storefront. A kickoff event for the office, he says, is scheduled for later this month.

Perhaps Evans will be able to avoid any bad juju on the premises—he is, after all, the first non-citywide candidate to move in (the office is located in Ward 2’s eastern flank—the area Silverman considers his base). Carbone says he’s not worried about any of that. “We’re not going to be superstitious,” he says.

And BTW I dont give a crap where Evans has his office.  As long as its in legitimate commercial property.

 

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House History Research & Report


I'm rotating an offer to certain neighborhood groups in DC like Mount Vernon our summer promotion for a complete "house history" report! 
 
Hopefully, you are already familiar with our thoroughly researched house history reports that document all aspects of your old house; who built it, who designed it and when, and who has owned or rented it over time.  We combine research on deeds, genealogy, building permits, biographies, city directories, census, the Washington Post archives, and other resources for a well rounded and cited booklet.  Sometime, we can even locate living relatives of your first occupants that have those rare, historic pictures of you house when it was first completed.  By focusing on several homes in one neighborhood such, we can offer this for only $450 complete!  Visit WashingtonHistory.com for samples and more information.

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