Don’t forget that tomorrow is Family Movie Night @ Kennedy Rec Center. Bring a blanket & the family. Huge thanks to the office of Charles Allen for making this happen.
Year: 2015
Mayor Bowser Addresses Violent Crime and Guns, Holds Press Conference in Shaw
Mayor Bowser and DC MPD Chief Lanier addressed a crowd of media and neighbors to regarding this year’s spike in crime and to seek additional cooperation from the public.
To incentivize public cooperation, the city is increasing rewards for tips leading to a conviction to:
$2,500 for illegal guns
$10,000 for a shooting
The reward for tips leading to a conviction for homicides remains at $25,000.
The Mayor and City Council are also exploring areas where legislation may be helpful to law enforcement activities (e.g. making it easier to execute searches when there is suspicion of illegal firearms).
The Mayor also touched on the topic of making sure that the courts were pursuing appropriate sentencing in the prosecution of violent crime.
Chief Lanier touted police efforts leading to over 900 illegal firearms being confiscated, and recent efforts to crack down on things like illegal gambling, and other activities that have been precursors to violence.
They said the cause of the uptick in crime is not due to any single factor, and that the motives of the shooters has been diverse. They said the bottom line is that they need to get illegal firearms off the streets and out of homes.
Mayor Bowser Core Team Walkthrough – Taking Stock of Residents’ Concerns
Mayor Bowser’s Ward Six representatives Frank Maduro and Seth Shapiro organized a Core Team walkthrough of our area, helping us to troubleshoot a number of problems. We were lucky to have such a strong Core Team turnout, with representatives from District Dept. of Transportation (Public Space), Department of Health Rodent Control, Department of Public Works, Parking Enforcement, Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, Metro Police Dept., ANC Commissioner Alex Padro, and Jamaal Jordan from the office of Ward 6 Councilman Charles Allen.
During the walkthrough we discussed trash removal, rodent control, broken alley surfaces, sidewalk trashcans, 4-way stop signs on 8th Street, parking enforcement, storm drain flooding, and the increase in crime along/near 7th Street NW, to name just a handful of the issues. These city agencies are now aware of our concerns on a firsthand basis.
We’d like to give a huge thanks to the Mayor’s office for organizing this Core Team walkthrough, and especially to all the agencies for coming out to witness our problems directly. We look forward to working with everyone on an action plan going forward. In fact, the Mayor’s staff have already followed up on several issues – thank you!
Volunteering at Bread for the City – 7th ST Location in Shaw
Five (and a half) members of the Central Shaw Neighborhood Association (Ray R, Walter, Ray M, Lesly, Katya, Dmitri) plus a friend (Pilar) volunteered yesterday afternoon at Bread For the City. We were joined by volunteers from the Immaculate Conception Church on 7th & N as well. We participated in the gleaning program, sorting and bagging fresh vegetables that were donated by local farms and farmers’ markets. The food will be distributed to customers and families in need at the 7th St location and the SE locations. Thanks for volunteering your time everyone. We’re looking forward to organizing more efforts like this in the future.
After volunteering we toured the 22,000 square ft facility. It was beautiful! Bread for the City offers the following services:
- Food pantry
- Yoga, crafts and salsa lessons upstairs, other community classes
- Medical and dental clinic
- Financial services
- Housing and furniture
- Legal services
- A sustainable rooftop garden
Construction beginning on final 4th tower at O Street Market at 9th and P St
And thankfully we hear that there will be retail along the long 9th St side, perhaps even a bicycle shop!
Work finally starting on new Shaw Restaurant – Ambar – at 7th and Q St, also Warrenton offices/home
Work is finally starting on this long vacant property at 1547 7th Street in Shaw. A metro bus crashed into this building in 1997. We can’t wait for Ambar to open!
Here is one of the renderings. More info can be found at the Warrenton website.
And this article has a tiny bit of history and a few points about the rare Arts and Crafts architecture.
Rodent Control Out in Force Today – 4 Trucks! – Thank you DC Department of Health
The DOH rodent control team was in our neighborhood today – in full force. We had four trucks and covered a lot of ground. We also had a lot of neighbors turn out to help DOH treat the right places. Great work everyone and many thanks to DOH for bringing it!
Parcel 42 – Public Workshop – Saturday, June 13th at Howard Theatre from 10:00am to 12:00pm
Parcel 42 is going out for another round of bidding . . . the fourth round, to be precise. The Deputy Mayor’s of for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED) is using Parcel 42 as a test case for their new “Our RFP” program. According the DMPED, that means more process and more community input. There will be a public workshop on Saturday, June 13th at the Howard Theater from 10am to 12pm, where DMPED will take community input.
There is a lot of history concerning this site, but if you have a view on its use, please go to the workshop and make your views known. Rsvp links are below.
More info from MPED Parcel 42 website follows:
Parcel 42 / Our RFP
The Government of the District of Columbia, through the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development (“DMPED”), is proud to announce the launch of “Our RFP,” a Mayoral Initiative that will incorporate community engagement early in the request for proposals (RFP) process. Early engagement with the community will ensure that the public’s perspective and priorities are understood in conjunction with the District’s goals when crafting and issuing the RFP for this District-owned parcel.
DMPED is piloting this new process for Parcel 42 located at 1707 7th Street and 639 Rhode Island Avenue, NW ( Square 0042, Lot 0106 & 0803) in the Shaw neighborhood. The process is intended to provide transparency throughout the RFP process as well as accountability for delivering public benefits that are committed through the Our RFP Process.
We would appreciate your attendance and participation in the first-of –its-kind DMPED Our RFP Public Workshop to be held on Saturday, June 13th at Howard Theatre from 10:00am to 12:00pm.
To RSVP for DMPED’s Our RFP Public Workshop, please enter your informationHERE.
The District will present information regarding this new initiative as well as provide a thorough analysis of the Parcel 42 site and neighborhood and market context. DMPED will also actively solicit feedback on how to shape the future development of this site from members of the public in attendance in the form of a facilitated break-out group session. At the end of the Workshop, an online engagement forum will be launched in order to solicit additional feedback and give those who are unable to attend the meeting an opportunity to participate.
A follow up community meeting will be held in late July to reconnect with the community on the feedback received through the process and how it will be incorporated in the RFP.
Please check this web page periodically for additional information.
To RSVP for DMPED’s Our RFP Public Workshop, please enter your informationHERE.
June 17th Happy Hour to Benefit Shaw’s New Endeavors By Women
Please join us in helping to support a great local cause – New Endeavors By Women!
New Endeavors is a nonprofit based in Shaw that helps women and children by “providing housing, fostering life skills, and promoting education and employment to end the cycle of homelessness.” Our very own Beau Thai is hosting a Happy Hour fundraiser to benefit New Endeavors on Wednesday, June 17 5-7pm. Beau Thai is creating a special cocktail for the event – all proceeds all day and all night will go to New Endeavors By Women.
Happy Hour – Happy Day! – at Beau Thai to benefit homeless women and children
Wednesday, June 17 5-7pm
Beau Thai Restaurant, 7th & P St NW, Washington, DC
Central Shaw Neighborhood Association 