The Georgetown Metropolitan

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• New ramen bar coming to former Via Umbria space.
• Like Dylan, the 1310 Kitchen is having a rock phase.

Breakfast with Santa returns this Saturday morning to Volta Park! Come by at 10 am and enjoy coffee, donuts, and of course a chance to grab a pic with St. Nick himself!

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Poliform signs lease for Cady’s Alley.
• Georgetowners of the year.

Monday night, the ANC met for our last public meeting in 2023. While it (thankfully) lacked some of the discord of some of our recent meetings, it nonetheless covered a lot of ground. Here are the top take aways:

Update from the US Attorneys Office

Perhaps the most substantive item on the agenda for the night was a visit from Wendy Polhaus of the US Attorney’s Office for DC. For those not familiar with our unique structure, in DC we do not have a District Attorney to prosecute criminal actions. All cases (against adults) are brought by the federal US Attorney’s Office for DC, no matter whether the actions are brought in local DC Superior Court or federal District Court. Thus unlike any other city in the country, DC is dependent upon a arm of the Justice Department to enforce most serious laws. (The DC Attorney General’s office handles juvenile cases and certain lower level misdemeanors.)

So in effect, our “district attorney” is an unelected official chosen by the President and approved by a Senate in which we have no vote.

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Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Despite reports that Nike was going to move into Aerie’s space, the clothing retailer refused to move and now Nike’s must look for other options.
• The former Wing women-only co-working space is being taken over by a PR firm.

Welcome to the December Northwest Georgetown ANC update! Happy Holidays!

Leaf Collection

As noted previously, DC has changed its approach to leaf collection for the fall. Rather than instruct people to collect their leaves at the beginning of the collection season, DPW broke up each ward into four zones and notified each zone just before their collection began. Here in northwest Georgetown, we’re in Zone D. The city just announced that our collection will begin December 11th. So please rake up the leaves in front of your house into the tree boxes by December 10th. If possible try to rake up the leaves from the street as well. These leaves were leftover through much of the winter last year and created quite a mess. If you’re unable to rake up the leaves, please let me know! I’ve got a rake and can take care of it for you. Email me at 2e02@dc.anc.gov.

I do not believe that the crews will be collecting leaves put in garden bags. For that you will still need to put in a 311 request. Let me know if you need assistance with that. Also, if there’s a bag on your block that has been there a while, the resident probably did not put in a 311 request. You can submit one for them, or again, let me know and I’ll take care of it.

Volta Park Update

The Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) provided an update to the community this month on the planned renovations of Volta Park. The update addressed timing and scope. Here are the highlights:

• The construction was delayed (it was supposed to start this fall) due to extensive archeological work that needed to be performed to ensure the work wouldn’t disturb any graves left over from the old cemetery.
• Thankfully this archeological study determined that the work could move forward.
• The bulk of the project is aimed at reducing the erosion and water run-off. And to that end a large French drain will be constructed across the field, ultimately linking with a proper storm drain near Volta Place.
• The grass near the baseball infield will receive brand new sod. The grass further out will be aggressively aerated and re-seeded.
• The backstop will be fixed up but stay as is.
• The dirt areas along the first and third baselines will be replaced with a wood chip surface that will be bound with an adhesive to remain in place.
• The benches will be also fixed up but stay basically as is.
• There will be a new ADA ramp that will go from the upper 34th St. entrance down to the northwest corner. It will be gradual enough that it will appear more like a path and not need hand-railings.

DPR also address the proposed fence, which has drawn complaints from many in the neighborhood. The agency justifies this fence several ways. The first is that it states that while the community largely feels that this is a grass park that happens to have a baseball field in it, the city considers it a baseball field that happens to have some extra grassy areas. As such, DPR believes that a fence delineating the field from the other grassy area is necessary.

This is especially true, DPR argues, because so many people treat the northwest corner of the park as a de facto dog park. Erecting a fence, in DPR’s reasoning, provides a measure of division between the “dog area” and the field. Under DC law, whether leashed or not, dogs are completely prohibited from sports fields. By erecting a fence, DPR argues that it is making it legal to have a dog in the park at all.

The proposed fence would have two 10 foot wide gates that could be open for events such as Volta Park Day. I was disappointed to learn at the meeting that they will otherwise be locked shut. I will push back on this and try to leave (at least one) unlocked to allow for easier passage around the park. At the very least I expect DPR to adopt an idea that came from the crowd to put in one or two small (unlocked) gates.

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Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• GLOW shopping crawl this Wednesday.
• New Jack the Bulldog.

This week for Georgetown Time Machine, I’m digging back into the 20 year old photos. This particular 1993 photo is of the former Hatum Valet at 1661 Wisconsin Ave.

Hatum Valet appears to have been a straightforward cobbler. The store later moved up to the 1800 block of Wisconsin. At least that’s what I wrote in 2011. I also wrote that they became Sky Valet. But I can’t actually find any evidence for why I thought that was the case. So maybe I was way off base!

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Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• More on the new fence at the old Aqueduct abutment.
• A peek inside the new GU hospital wing.

Representatives of DPR provided an update on the Volta Park renovations Monday night at the library. About seven hardy souls braved the elements to attend and at least an equal number logged in virtually.

The presentation was led by Chris Dyer, DPR community engagement manager, and Peter Nohrden, a DPR landscape architect. Nohrden provided the substantive bulk of the presentation, which included the following main points:

• The construction was delayed (it was supposed to start this fall) due to extensive archeological work that needed to be performed to ensure the work wouldn’t disturb any graves left over from the old cemetery.
• Thankfully this archeological study determined that the work could move forward.
• The bulk of the project is aimed at reducing the erosion and water run-off. And to that end a large French drain will be constructed across the field, ultimately linking with a proper storm drain near Volta Place.
• The grass near the baseball infield will receive brand new sod. The grass further out will be aggressively aerated and re-seeded.
• The backstop will be fixed up but stay as is.
• The dirt areas along the first and third baselines will be replaced with a wood chip surface that will be bound with an adhesive to remain in place.
• The benches will be also fixed up but stay basically as is.
• There will be a new ADA ramp that will go from the upper 34th St. entrance down to the northwest corner. It will be gradual enough that it will appear more like a path and not need hand-railings.

Which brings me to the fence. The plans still call for a new fence running across from the tennis courts to 34th St. DPR justifies this fence several ways. The first is that it states that while the community largely feels that this is a grass park that happens to have a baseball field in it, the city considers it a baseball field that happens to have some extra grassy areas. As such, DPR believes that a fence delineating the field from the other grassy area is necessary.

Continue reading →