The Georgetown Metropolitan

Hello and welcome to your October northwest Georgetown ANC update! If there’s a theme to this month’s report, it’s progress!

Volta Park

The first quantum of progress we accomplished recently is with Volta Park. This past month the city finally installed a whole bunch of new “big belly” trash cans in the park:

This came primarily from the diligent efforts of (and financial contributions from) the Friends of Volta Park. The group has been asking for these rat-proof cans for years and it’s great to see those efforts pay off.

The city also added a new food waste bin that can collect both leftovers from picnics in the park (within certain limits) and residents who don’t use the pick-up service (or those that do and don’t want to wait):

Here is a video on how the food waste bins work:

https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/1BuJHZsKWnY?rel=0&autoplay=0&showinfo=0&enablejsapi=0

All good progress for humans! (I like to imagine that a rat ANC commissioner is right now drafting his own constituent report complaining about this terrible development.)

The Lobby

Opening a little over a year ago, the Lobby bar at 1660 33rd St. became a nuisance to the immediate area almost immediately. When it was first proposed the year prior, the neighbors, the Citizens Association and I all were nervous about the impact the rear patio would have on the nearby residences. But rather than fight the license all the way to a hearing (a hearing we could lose), we negotiated a comprehensive settlement agreement that limited the hours that the bar could use the patio and put other restrictions on things like speakers and televisions.

But when the bar opened, it was as if that agreement didn’t exist. The patio would regularly remain open hours past the required closing time. The bar would sometimes use loud speakers that could at times be heard a block away. And it installed a large screen television in the patio to broadcast sports.

Let me linger for a second on that last part. The agreement was crystal clear that no screen of any sort was allowed on the patio. Despite this, the bar erected the TV shortly after opening. During the protest hearing described below, the owner, Rassam Rad, claimed that the TV was just there to show the bar’s logo and didn’t even have a connection to allow sports to be shown.

This was clearly not true, as shown by a photo taken by a neighbor1:

Despite repeated complaints to both the bar and the city, the behavior continued unabated.

Then soon after these problems arose, the bar’s license came up for renewal. (It came up for renewal so quickly because all tavern licenses get renewed at the same time). The neighbors, CAG and the ANC decided to protest the renewal given the record of noncompliance.

Long story already not short: We eventually participated in a hearing in the spring describing all the bad behavior of the bar and asked the ABC board to cancel the patio from the license entirely. (I’ve had basically zero complaints about the interior operation of the bar, other than how they manage trash, and have no issue with it continuing). After months of delay, the board finally issued an opinion last month somewhat in our favor.

The board did not eliminate the patio entirely, unfortunately. But it did reduce the hours by one for each day. So under the original license, the patio was supposed to close 10 pm Sunday through Thursday and 11 pm Friday and Saturday. Now it will have to close at 9 pm Sunday through Thursday and 10 pm on Friday and Saturday. They also will have to actually have the trash collected every day from the front of the bar, as it originally agreed to, and stop using the alleyway to store trash.

Of course this only matters if they actually live by it, or the city holds them to it. So maintaining diligence is essential. But a marker has been put down. Any further bad behavior could mean the license is revoked entirely. Let’s hope the bar takes the message to heart.

Cannabis Store

Speaking of that block, another ABCA issue is now brewing there. Next door to the Lobby someone is seeking a license to open a retail cannabis shop. The ANC has generally been amenable to these applications as they undercut and mostly destroyed the unlicensed pot shop market. Like with liquor licenses, we seek a comprehensive settlement agreement that establishes clear responsibilities for the licensee and has so far resulted in few problems.

The issue with this particular location is that it is too close to another licensed cannabis retailer at 1641 Wisconsin Ave. Under the law, no cannabis retailer can open within 400 feet (as a crow flies) of another one. These locations are about 375 feet apart, as the city’s own mapping software shows:

I pointed this out to ABCA when the establishment was first “placarded” (i.e. they published their intent to get a license). The ABC board agreed with me and the application was revoked.2

But then the applicant appears to have hired an architect (but not a surveyor) to submit a report that refutes both a basic Google Maps measurement and the city’s own geographic data. This new report concluded, conveniently, that the two buildings were actually 400.4 feet apart. This was submitted to the ABC board, which decided to defer any ultimate geographic assessment to a protest hearing and re-authorized the application.

I am certain this architect’s report is flawed. I am also confident that it constitutes a violation of DC law, since only licensed surveyors can do surveys, particularly surveys that are intended to be submitted to the DC government.

So in consultation with my ANC colleagues I’ve decided to hire our own (actually licensed) surveyor to prove once again that these two properties are too close to allow two cannabis retailers.

It’s important to stay firm on this. We need to send a message to individuals seeking to open here that this sort of BS won’t be tolerated. It’s unfortunate that the ABC board has already fallen for it. So it’s up to us to actually enforce that law as written.

Reservoir Road

And last in the list of progress is the paving of the 3300 block of Reservoir Rd. Until this last week, as far as I can tell it hasn’t been paved in at least 17 years. After incredible advocacy and diligence from its residents, the block was finally paved!

This will be more than a small improvement. Residents on this block have long complained that large trucks using the street create huge banging noises when they go over the many potholes. Residents were even worried about their foundations, the shaking was so bad.

And this week the city is planning on repaving the 3400 block of Reservoir Rd., which was also in rough shape.

So now it will be like riding on a silk carpet from Wisconsin to 35th St. Progress!

1

I attempted to have this photo entered as evidence during the hearing. The board refused. Their reasoning was that at that point Rad had conceded that there was a TV there and had agreed to remove it. I tried to argue that aside from that, the photo demonstrated that Rad had been lying earlier in the hearing when he said it wasn’t even able to broadcast sports. The Board didn’t see it my way and kept it out of evidence. But you can see for yourself.

2

How it got that far you ask? ABCA sent out an inspector with a measuring wheel. Since the direct line goes through the African Embassy and runs diagonally across Wisconsin Ave., the line he measured wasn’t as straight as it should have been.

Photo by M.V. Jantzen.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s your weekly news round-up:

• Mt. Zion Church marks its 210th year.
• More on that Hulu show that was filmed in Georgetown.

The DC Council is finally moving forward on a proposal that would potentially increase the reliability of parking enforcement in neighborhoods like Georgetown. The bill, the Strategic Parking Enforcement Enhancement Act of 2026, would create a new reimbursable detail program for DPW ticket enforcement officers. This would allow organizations like Georgetown University and the Georgetown BID to pay for additional targeted ticket enforcement in designated areas. After years of fairly toothless enforcement since Covid, this could finally send the message that it’s not worth it to come and park all day on the residential streets.

How Would it Work?

Reimbursable details already exist for MPD officers. The way it works is that businesses, like a dance club, pay to have MPD officers come and work directly at the club’s location to provide extra targeted policing. It’s a win-win because the club gets added protection and the officers–who are working overtime when they participate–get extra money.

The idea with the new bill is to import this idea to parking enforcement. Since Covid there has been a steep drop in parking enforcement and (consequentially) a huge spike in people routinely ignoring the parking laws. My personal theory on this is that when the city completely stopped any parking enforcement during the early months of Covid, a lot of people who previously took transit decided that actually they liked driving better, so long as they weren’t getting ticketed. While enforcement was restored, it never reached the level it did previously, so the newly learned behavior stuck.

Wait, Why is Enforcement Still Down?

That’s somewhat of a million dollar question, but the main explanation I’ve heard is simply a question of manpower. We’ve learned that on most days there are only one or two ticketing agents working across all of Ward 2. (And none on Sundays). It would be impossible for a staff so small to ticket people often enough to actually dissuade them from parking all day here.

Think of it this way: if you park over the two-hour limit in Georgetown and you actually get a ticket, the fine is just $35. A monthly parking space in a garage in Georgetown probably costs around $250. Do the math: You’d have to be consistently getting 7-8 tickets a month before you’d start to question your approach.

DPW has a personnel shortage. It’s something we keep seeing across their operations, included trash and snow removal. So there are only two ticketing agents because that’s all there is, apparently.

So How Would it Work in Georgetown Specifically?

What would happen here would likely include Georgetown University and, possibly, the BID participating in the program. The idea would be that one or more ticket agents would be working only in Georgetown during certain hours. This could provide for the targeted and consistent enforcement that would make those scofflaws finally reconsider.

Of course there are a lot of questions and unknowns about this. The most obvious is, of course, if there aren’t enough agents to work the normal shifts, where would the new ones come from? The hope would be that the possibility of earning a lot of overtime could help DPW actually hire more officers (or get the existing ones to work more hours). This is obviously a big “if”.

Another question that came up at the ANC meeting the other night is whether this would benefit only parts of residential Georgetown. In other words, if Georgetown and the BID participate in the program, will that mean enforcement will only be directed at west Georgetown and the commercial areas? That’s possible. But as I pointed out at the meeting: the bill allows for organizations, such as citizen associations, to seek mayoral approval to participate. So CAG could possibly also participate in order to spread the enforcement around the whole neighborhood.

Another question is whether the next Mayor will embrace or even put this program into effect. Of the two “no” votes on the Council against this bill, one was from Janeese Lewis-George, the likely next mayor.

So there is lots to still flesh out, but I am hopeful that if this program is given a chance, it could dramatically improve the parking situation.

After years of a major overflowing trash problem (and, consequentially, a rat problem) the Department of Public Works installed new trash bins at Volta Park. This was accomplished in partnership with the Friends of Volta Park.

Unlike the previous open top trash bins, these new bins are fully enclosed and open with a pedal at the bottom. They are as rat-proof as a trash bin can be. Although it should be said that if they also become too full, people may continue their past behavior of placing trash on top of the bin, which will then attract rats anyway. So regular service from DPW or DPR is essential for their success.

You’ll also notice from the photo above that the city has also installed a food waste bin. This enables food waste to be diverted from the trash stream and eventually composted. Lots of residents current participate in the curb-side collection of food waste (they’re the small orange boxes you may have seen on the sidewalk). This is a popular program but participating is strictly limited due to capacity. With the new food waste bin, however, anyone interested in composting their food can participate.

Here’s a video explaining how it works:

The two bins shown at the top are located right off of 34th St. in the northwest part of the park. There are other new big-belly trash bins around the park as well, like by the ballfield:

This will hopefully bring a huge improvement to the trash and rat situation in Volta Park (and the surrounding blocks). But, as I mentioned above, that success is absolutely dependent on the city adequately emptying these new bins. To that end, if you notice any of them overflowing, please contact 311 or email me at 2e02@anc.dc.gov.

And thanks again to the Friends of Volta Park for being instrumental in getting these bins installed!

The ANC will be meeting for our October session next Monday night. The draft agenda is above. Some topics we’ll discuss include: dockless scooters, the proposed pot shop I mentioned yesterday, and AirBnb rule enforcement. So it should be a lively discussion! See you there.

Last June I reported that there was a new permit application for a retail cannabis shop at 1658 33rd St. This confused me because there is another licensed cannabis shop at 1641 Wisconsin Ave. Cannabis retail shops are not allowed to open within 400 feet of another licensed cannabis shop. And by a quick look at Google Maps, it’s pretty clear the buildings are well under 400 feet apart:

I complained to ABCA and they duly responded that: “yes, you’re right these properties are too close” and the application was revoked. Here’s the board’s decision on that:

ABCA doesn’t rely on Google Maps, they use the city’s geographic software. But it came to about the same number:

First, how come the application even got this far? Well the board’s decision sheds some light on that. Instead of using a map, they sent out an inspector with a measuring device. He couldn’t walk a straight line between the buildings because the African Union building is in the way. And moreover, it’s pretty hard for a hum to walk a straight line diagonally across a busy street like Wisconsin Ave. So he meandered a bit and ended up over 400 feet. The board disregarded his measure and relied on the mapping software and tossed the application.

No harm, no foul, right? Well it seems the applicant decided to take matters into their own hands. They hired an architect to make his own measurements, and wouldn’t you know it, he somehow discovered and extra 25 feet. As you can see from his report, he utilized the pythagorean theory (i.e. a^2+b^2=c^2) to conclude that the two properties are actually 400.4 feet apart:

Basically this report claims that if you overlaid a right triangle where the two points just touch the two properties, the hypotenuse would be 400.4 feet long. Therefore the applicant’s location is permissible.

A couple things about this report: The long blue line of the report is supposedly 384.1 feet long. I attempted to recreate this line in Google maps and I got a much shorter figure: 363 feet. (For what it’s worth, I arrived at the same figure for the other blue line.)

That’s not remotely close. So when I plug my own numbers into the Pythagorean theory I get: 379 feet, i.e., basically what I said it was in the first place! These two buildings are definitely not 400 feet apart!

But how could a licensed surveyor make this mistake? I don’t know, but perhaps it’s because the person hired by the applicant isn’t a licensed surveyor in DC. He is only a licensed architect and that’s how he signed the report. This is where I’ll note that it’s against the law to perform survey work in DC without a license.

Did he make an honest mistake when he magically reached a conclusion that the two properties are exactly far enough apart or was it something else? I’ll let you decide!

Despite the fact that this report flies in the face of the city’s own geographic data, the ABC Board decided to reinstate the application and leave the dispute to the protest hearing to decide. This is unfortunate, since it will require time and, likely, money to have this obviously invalid application thrown out again.

In any event, I plan to recommend that the ANC protest this license and I will recommend that we hire an actual surveyor to submit an actually legal survey report that tells us what we already know: these two buildings are within 400 feet apart.

This week for Georgetown Time Machine, I’m swinging down to the waterfront. The photo, from the DC Historical Society archives, shows “a group of fishermen” at a boathouse on the water, across from Analostan Island (the old name for Roosevelt Island). The photo is dated to 1921.

There’s not much more I can add, really. The scene is fairly ramshackle, which is what the waterfront was like for most of its existence. There were docks and warehouses, shanties and boathouses, just like these humble structures.

At least that’s all I thought I could add until I took a closer look at the photo’s record. It mentions that the photographer was J. Harry Shannon, who wrote as “the Rambler” in the Sunday Star newspaper from 1912 to 1927. Armed with that info, I dove into the Library of Congress’ newspaper archive and found the photo:

It’s from April 10, 1921. You can read it here. It was part of a surprisingly long series he was writing on the history of Analostan Island and the Columbia Athletic Club, which maintained a clubhouse on the island at the time. This particular article is more of the same, with a fittingly rambling account of a rowing regatta in August 1888 that was interrupted by a sudden storm that threatened to drown the boaters. It seems no one died, thankfully.

The article goes on to describe the various rowing clubs along the river, including Columbia, Analoston, and Potomac Boat Club. Even then Potomac Boat Club was spoken of as the old man of the river, having already existed over 60 years.

As for the picture itself, its connection to the article appears to tangential. It’s labeled “Some of the Rambler’s Friends at Reynold’s Boathouse.” That’s a bit different from the label in the DCHS file, which claims they’re “fishermen”. I would guess that to the extent they’re fishermen, it was more of a pastime not a profession.

Reynold’s Boathouse appears to have been located just upriver from the Aqueduct Bridge and was run by Captain William Reynolds. It seems to have specialized in renting out boats and selling fishing supplies to anglers. It’s mentioned in this 1912 piece describing old Washington fishing holes:

And just for fun, here’s the photo colorized:

Photo by M.V. Jantzen.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s your weekly news round-up:

• Friends of Rose Park holding their gala at the Alsop House.
• Nice review of the new Alfie’s restaurant.

New architectural plans are in this month for Old Georgetown Board review. As is usually the case that also includes plans that include new stores. This month it’s two stores I haven’t reported on previously.

The first, above, is Adriana Hoyos (not Hoyas) at 3328 M St. It’s an expensive furniture store that will fit in perfectly at Cady’s Alley, where it’s going (or perhaps has already open?)

The next store is Spicewalla, going in to 1317 Wisconsin Ave. It’s a spice store, which is genuinely a refreshing change from what we normally get! We haven’t had a proper spice store since the spice store one Wisconsin south of M closed a while back. So welcome!

A Hulu show will be shooting some scenes around Georgetown next week. The crew’s rep won’t say exactly what show it is, but based on the few things they did say (Hulu show shooting its third and last season) I can confidently say it’s Paradise.

The scene will be shooting a car driving around west Georgetown. There’s even a map:

The scenes are modern day, so there’s no need bring in old fashioned cars. There will be some no parking for a day or so, but most cars can stay. So if you want your car to maybe get a split second of Hulu exposure, park your car on O st. next week.

Speaking of movies filmed in Georgetown, here’s an article I wrote a while back about some of the more notable films shot here:

To compensate for the fact that no clips of Georgetown made it into the first trailer for Wonder Woman 1984 (despite lots of filming here) GM thought he’d take the opportunity to run through some of the other notable movies filmed in Georgetown.

The Exorcist – 1973

Arguably the most famous movie filmed in (and about) Georgetown, The Exorcist still brings tourists to those iconic steps. The movie itself is a treasure trove of scenes of Georgetown in the early 70s:

Notice how much shorter the trees are here compared with today.

And of course the famous house next to the steps. The whole left side of the house in this photo was just a set built for the movie in order to have a window of the house open out right to the steps.

St. Elmo’s Fire – 1985

Close behind The Exorcist in terms of famous Georgetown movies is St. Elmo’s Fire. GM wrote about it awhile back and here are some of the outdoor scenes shot around the neighborhood:

The Man With One Red Shoe – 1985

The exact same year another film was released with a notable Georgetown locale: The Man With One Red Shoe. Despite having a red hot young Tom Hanks fresh from Splash and Bachelor Party, the film was a box office failure. GM wrote about that one even further back. Here are some notable shots:

No Way Out – 1987

This Kevin Costner movie is famous for depicting the non-existent Georgetown Metro Stop, which was actually just the southwest corner of the Georgetown Park Mall:

The movie also has a couple other scenes shot around Georgetown:

A Few Good Men – 1992

This movie shot a couple scenes on Dent Place:

The money given by the production helped establish the Dent Place Association, a community group that sadly is no more.

Georgetown also has a brief cameo in Wedding Crashers, Burn After Reading, and True Lies. Any other notable movies?