The Georgetown Metropolitan

                                                            Photo by Jenn Wurzbacher.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Breaking news: Georgetown has a lot of rats.
• GM was researching an article and came across this piece by a Glover Park resident about the “Georgetown Market War“. It’s a fascinating read.

1400 block of 33rd St.

As GM has written been covering, the Deputy Mayor for Education, Jennie Niles, is dead-set on sending Hyde-Addison school children to Meyer Elementary for two years during the school’s planned renovations. The primary complaints about using that building relate to its location: it’s about 4 miles away across the heart of the city and will cost children hundreds of hours of time every year traveling on a bus from the Hyde-Addison campus. But a video released in September calls into question the quality of the Meyer building as well.

Currently the students of Duke Ellington School for the Arts (DESA) attend the classes at Meyer while their campus is being renovated (to the tune of roughly a quarter billion dollars). At a conference run by the education non-profit XQ America, DESA students challenged the DCPS Chancellor, Kaya Henderson (who has since stepped down), over the state of their temporary location.

The video is located here and the relevant section starts at 46:00. Katie, a DESA student, asked Chancellor Henderson the following:

I go to Duke Ellington School for the Arts…our two buildings [Meyer] are falling apart. They’re dirty. A ceiling collapsed. Twice. A woman fell through the floors and we’re still in this building. Innovation in the other schools is amazing but what about the schools that you already have?

Henderson blames the problem on 40 years of deferred maintenance and the difficulty in catching up to the needs. But they key part of her response is this: Continue reading →

Photo by Mike Maguire.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Das gets Michelin recognition.
• Some speculation on the location of the proposed gondola station.

Montrose Park

Deputy Mayor of Education Jennie Niles should be fired.

That is the only conclusion you can reach after considering the shameful manner in which DCPS has handled the Hyde-Addison expansion project. The most recent disaster was well summarized in the Current this week, and GM recommends you pick up a copy and read it.

In short, as discussed by GM last week, Niles appeared before the Hyde School Improvement Team (SIT) last week to announce a decision on the location of a swing site for the school during the construction. Despite word from Jack Evans’ office that the mayor had decided to choose Hardy as the location, Niles announced that in fact the horrible choice of Meyer Elementary school–nearly four miles away across town–would be the location.

Oh, and the project itself was going to be significantly reduced, with the cafeteria and gym sharing an underground space.

The Current put a little more meat on the bone reporting that the mayor had indeed decided on using Hardy before Niles talked her out of it. Why? Niles didn’t say at the SIT meeting and she won’t say now either. Continue reading →

                                                           Photo by Marc Andre.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Georgetown Hospital angling for a new helipad.
• The (GU) kids are alright.

Montrose Park

This week on Now and a Long Time Ago, GM is traveling up to the northern edge of Georgetown for the long-running flea market.

The photo is care of Old Time DC (which apparently got it from the Burleith Citizens Association). The post says it’s from 1997, but it sure looks older than that to GM. It could be as old at 1972, the year the flea market was started.

Anyone have a guess based upon the cars?

Photo by Mike Maguire.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Independent shops in Georgetown join up to form “Georgetown Row”.
• Jackie Kennedy’s former home on N St. has slashed its price all the way down to a measly $9 million (from $10 million)