The Georgetown Metropolitan

Photo by M.V. Jantzen.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Kiehl’s reopening.
• Speaking of stores returning, Warby Parker is opening back at its original Georgetown location this weekend.

This week for Georgetown Time Machine, I’m checking out a photo of Georgetown Presbyterian Church from the DC Historical Society. It was taken around 1950 by John Wymer, who has an extensive collection of street shots from this period.

This is the same Presbyterian Church as currently stands on P St. But of course, this isn’t what the current church looks like. This is how the building looked when it was first constructed in 1873. And it reflected the Victorian style of the time. The facade was changed to the current federal style just five years after the photo in 1955. The current design is fine, but I wish they kept the old style.

The congregation itself is quite a bit older, dating to 1780. It was founded by Stephen Bloomer Balch. Its first chapel was built two years later and was the first protestant chapel in Georgetown. The congregation moved to its M St. building in 1821:

Fifty years later it moved to the P St. location of the first photo. The M St. chapel was demolished in 1878. Looking at its style you can see perhaps what the congregation was inspired by when it changed the P St. faced in the 1950s.

Photo by M.V. Jantzen.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Details on restaurant replacing Shouk space.
• Farewell to Joe Sternleib.

The Georgetown BID has announced its new CEO. Deborah Bilik will replace longtime CEO Joe Sternleib, who just stepped down.

Here is the BID’s announcement. Welcome Deborah!

The Georgetown Business Improvement District (BID) is pleased to announce Deborah Kerson Bilek as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Bilek is an executive leader with over 20 years of experience in policy, planning, and public and nonprofit management in the Metropolitan Washington Region. She most recently served as the Executive Director of ULI Washington, a member organization with a mission to shape the future of the built environment for transformative impact.

“We believe Deb’s mix of public and private experience and strong strategic visioning will prove invaluable as she leads the Georgetown BID in its next chapter,” said Terese Wilson, Chair of the Georgetown BID Board of Directors. “She is a consensus builder, and we have no doubt she will bring BID members, the community, and city partners together to further initiatives that will benefit Georgetown.”

In her role at ULI, Bilek viewed herself as the “Chief Relationship Officer” for the organization’s 2,100 members who span a diverse network of private and public professionals in the real estate and land use industry. Bilek worked at ULI for over a decade in progressively senior roles, including as ULI’s Vice President, Advisory Services, where she supervised and managed the operations of the global Advisory Services Program through COVID.

Prior to her time at ULI, Bilek worked as a planner at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, supporting the National Capital Regional Transportation Planning Board. She has also served as staff in the Legislative and Executive branches of the Federal Government. She began her career in Washington, D.C., as a Presidential Management Fellow with the Federal Transit Administration.

Bilek holds an Executive Certificate in Facilitation from Georgetown University. She earned her master’s degree in public administration from New York University, and her undergraduate degree in anthropology magna cum laude from Washington University in St. Louis.

As CEO of the BID, Bilek will be responsible for shaping Georgetown’s future as Washington’s premier mixed-use neighborhood, advancing initiatives across retail, office, hospitality, entertainment, and residential sectors. She will report to the Board of Directors and will be responsible for the guidance and management of the BID’s staff in administration and financial reporting as well as directing the day-to-day activities of the BID.

“I am passionate about building community, and I enjoy working across sectors and with multiple stakeholders to achieve a common purpose,” said Bilek. “I am also a firm believer in the power that BIDs can have as drivers of economic vitality and growth—both for the neighborhoods they serve and for the larger cities in which they are located. Georgetown is an amazing and unparalleled neighborhood—its location, history, character, and corridors draw local, national, and international visitors every day. I am so excited about the opportunity to serve the community as the BID’s CEO and look forward to getting started!”

Bilek will officially begin as CEO of the Georgetown BID in mid-April.

Photo by M.V. Jantzen.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Eastbanc files for zoning relief extension to move forward long delayed building at Pennsylvania and M St.
• Leadership changes around the neighborhood.

Hello and welcome to your March Northwest Georgetown ANC update!

Leaf and Tree Pickup Update

Last month I discussed the atrocious job the Department of Public Works (DPW) did in terms of collecting leaves and Christmas trees. Based upon reports I’ve heard and from walking around, the city did finally come and collect most of the leaves and trees in the past week. But I’ve observed at least a few spots that they still have overlooked. At this point, I don’t believe they will be back with large crews. So if there are still leaves or trees outside your house, I would recommend you call 311. I’ve also noticed that they missed some wreaths or garlands. I would recommend just throwing those in the trash at this point. Of course it would be better if they were composted, but I wouldn’t count on the city taking them away.

I generally try to cut DPW some slack. It is a hard job, particularly for the front line workers themselves. But the performance of the agency has definitely slipped over the last year or so. I recently expressed that concern to our Councilmember, and I encourage others to reach out to the mayor and council to let them know what we have been seeing from this critical agency recently. Hopefully some more attention to this will lead to improvements.

Dealing With Chronically Dangerous Drivers

Several weeks ago two cars collided in the intersection of 33rd and Q. I was there to observe the immediate aftermath. It appears that there were no serious injuries, but the incident points to the difficulties that the city faces getting dangerous drivers off the roads. The car that hit the other car has a long string of unpaid speeding and red light tickets. With the adoption of the STEER Act, the city has moved to make it easier for cars like this to be booted and towed (read more here on that). But bizarrely, the law does not require that the police to check whether a car is subject to towing when that car is involved in a crash like this. The police can do so, but they aren’t required. And it appears that in this case they didn’t. The car with all the tickets is still sitting on the street. I’ve called 311 myself to report it, but it still remains.

The DC Attorney General’s office used the STEER ACT recently to sue some Maryland residents for have ridiculously large unpaid fines. That’s great progress, but this crash demonstrates how a great number of dangerous drivers are still moving around DC with impunity.

Restaurant Changes

A couple new restaurants are opening in our neck of the woods. The first is a familiar name. The former Oki Bowl has moved up the street to the former Jaco Taco space. It will now be called Oki Shoten. I am working through their liquor license application. One possible concern is that they are seeking the ability to host live music. I am still trying to ascertain what they have in mind and will seek a settlement agreement that will address issues like noise, trash, hours, etc.

The other restaurant is from the same group. It is a high end sushi restaurant called Koryouri Urara. It will served omakase sushi, which is basically chef’s choice sushi. They are seeking a liquor license as well, and I will be working with them on also securing an appropriate settlement agreement.

Oki Shoten is already open. Koryouri Urara will not be open until closer to summertime, I believe.

French Market Road Closures

As part of the popular French Market in late April, the organizers are proposing a few small road closures. They are designed to give the crowds a bit more space and to limit dangerous car/pedestrian interactions.

The closures would be during the day on Saturday and Sunday and would include 33rd St. (between Dent and Wisconsin) and Reservoir Rd. (between Wisconsin and Caton). It’s always a hassle to lose parking like this, especially on a weekend when a lot of people come to Georgetown. But I think it is a worthwhile and fairly limited change. Moreover, the organizers are exploring finding nearby satellite parking for residents during this weekend. That would make a huge difference on a weekend when our few blocks feel like the center of the world.

Embassy Parking

Speaking of parking restrictions, I want to provide an update on a request for diplomatic parking. The Embassy of Romania is temporarily occupying the former Long and Fosters building at Reservoir and Wisconsin. They are requesting several on-street parking spots in front of the building on Wisconsin be reserved for diplomatic parking during business hours.

I passed a resolution through the ANC last month objecting to this request due to the fact that the building already has about ten off-street parking spots. I have since learned more information about the request. The request for the spots is primarily related to security. The State Department generally requires embassies not have non-diplomatic cars park outside its entrance. The city liaison offered to me to not have the diplomatic parking, but instead just have no parking spots at all. That would satisfy them on the security side. But that seemed like the worse of both worlds. The embassy doesn’t get parking and the residents lose the ability to park there completely. With the diplomatic parking, at least residents and visitors can park there during off business hours and the weekends. So I agreed to let the request be approved.

I mentioned that the embassy is moving here temporarily. Apparently their main building on Sheridan Circle is being renovated, which is why they need to use this building. I understand that once the work is done, they will not need the Georgetown building anymore. I was not given a time frame, but I suspect it will be at least two years.

Quick Bites

Here are a couple more quick items:

• What the future of the streateries could look like.
• Great new documentary on the history of Black Georgetown.
• ANC meeting next Monday night.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Q&A Cafe takes a deep dive into Washington protocol next week.
• Georgetown students seeking to end legacy admissions in DC.

This week for Georgetown Time Machine I am returning to the DC Historical Society archives and lookng at another painted depiction of the neighborhood. The painting is by John A. Bryans and was created in 1956. The file description claims that it’s O St. But like with last week’s painting, I think that’s not right.

The towers in the distance are obviously Healy Hall. The steeple right near the center of the painting is St. John’s. While that church is in deed located on O St., to view it from this angle you’d actually be on Dumbarton. It’s hard to see with the foliage, but this streetview is basically the same as the painting, despite being almost 70 years apart:

The painter was from Ohio originally but lived for many years in the DC area. He passed away just last November.

The ANC is meeting for its March session next Monday night at 6:30 pm at Visitation. The agenda is below.

There is one item I wanted to flag, but only because it makes me laugh a little. The subject is the Potomac River Tunnel Project from DC Water. This absolutely massive project will someday make the Potomac so clean you can safely swim in it. (Unlike now, when people like me can only slightly dangerously swim in it….)

This project has been long in coming. A very, very long time coming. I first wrote about this project in one of the earliest articles I ever drafted, way back in April 2009. That was back when DC Water was still called WASA. Also, two of my ANC colleagues were barely out of diapers at the time. And even that date was far from the beginning of the project. It’s origins date back to a lawsuit in the late 90s targeting WASA’s practice of simply dumping raw sewage directly into the river. (Until this project is complete, DC Water still does occasionally dump raw sewage in the river, hence the slight danger swimming in the river right now.)

The project is finally coming to Georgetown (although some smaller parts of the project have already come). DC Water will be at the ANC meeting to discuss the next phase. Hopefully it won’t take another 16 years to complete.

Here’s the full agenda:

Photo by M.V. Jantzen.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Cool spy tour coming up
• Restauranteur who owns two restaurants in Georgetown was sued by the DC AG for wage theft at a third restaurant.