The Georgetown Metropolitan

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• Nice write-up from the Children’s Pride Parade.
• Great time had by all at the Volta Park fundraiser.

Over the weekend, the New York Times published an article on the Transformers saga. I am quoted in it responding to the author’s question about how much average Georgetowners were concerned about the matter. I told her that it wouldn’t make my list of “top five dramas” for the neighborhood over the last ten years.

This got me thinking after the fact about what I would put on a list like that. So here is my list of topics that have animated a lot of discussions around the neighborhood over the last ten years (or so):

Georgetown Campus Plan

I really would have to put the Georgetown Campus plan on the top of this list. When it came up for renewal in 2010, it was very clear that a fight was at hand. The previous campus plan from ten years before had ended up in the courts, and there was no reason not to think this next one would too.

The state of relations between the school and the surrounding neighborhoods really were pretty bad. Part of the reason for that is that tensions would build up over the years between plan renewals and then explode.

But through a virtual miracle, a new model emerged. The Georgetown Community Partnership was formed with representatives from the school, students, and surrounding neighborhoods. The group would meet regularly with active sub-committees addressing long standing issues, like transportation or trash. And it worked. Town-gown relations in Georgetown have likely not been this good in at least a lifetime. It has worked so well that late last decade, the school submitted a campus plan for 20 years, instead of for 10, and it was approved. For that reason the “dramas” have happily receded, but getting there took one big, last drama.

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Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• A report on our ANC meeting last week.
• Georgetown Cupcake’s national footprint continues to shrink.

This week for Georgetown Time Machine, GM is dipping back into his 1993 photos. This time he’s stopping by Wisconsin and O St. Now it’s the site of a recently departed bank. But thirty years ago it was a riot of colors and served as the home of Nobody Beats the Wiz.

Nobody Beats the Wiz was an electronics store that was primarily based in the New York/New Jersey area. To those not from the area, they may have remembered it from a Seinfeld episode:

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Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• The New York Times chimes in on the Transformers issue. (I was quoted in the online version, but sadly for me, the paragraphs with my quotes didn’t make it to the paper edition…)
• New earring shop on M St. opens.

This is you Northwest Georgetown ANC update for June!

ANC Meeting

The ANC met in person for the first time since February 2020. We offered attendees the option to also attend online, and good thing that we did because the commission easily outnumbered the in-person audience. To those that attended in-person or online, how did you find the experience? Let me know!

In terms of topics, we had a relatively tidy evening. Here are some of the news items:

• Crime continues to trend lower in the neighborhood, with two notable exceptions: car theft and burglaries. On car thefts, the main contributing factors seem to be delivery drivers leaving their keys in the car as they complete their deliveries and the ease by which Kias and Hyundais can be hot-wired. Of the seven cars stolen in the last month, five have been recovered. On burglaries, MPD reported that arrests had been made in each case except one.
• Capital Fringe is returning to Georgetown this summer! The month-long theatrical festival will feature plays in spaces across the neighborhood. The productions represent a huge range in terms of vision and style, so surely you can find something that appeals. Shows are just $15. Keep an eye out for the schedule.
• WMATA’s Better Bus Network is proposing some dramatic changes for bus service across the city. In Georgetown specifically, the plan would eliminate the G2 and significantly alter the D2 route. The ANC adopted my proposed resolution to object to these changes due to the impact they would have on bus riders (particularly Georgetown University students and staff) and the fact the changes would significantly reduce the overall bus service through the neighborhood.

Streateries Future

One of the most visible changes in Georgetown since 2020 has surely been the introduction of streateries (i.e. outdoor dining on expanded sidewalks) to the neighborhood. But their future is in doubt, and I am interested in hearing what people think about them (and outdoor dining generally) and whether they would like it to remain or not.

In short, most of the streateries in Georgetown are scheduled to disappear by the end of 2023. It’s for a somewhat technical reason, but essentially they all use a permit issued directly to the BID, and that permit is not being renewed (as of right now, at least). The city is planning on rolling out a new streatery program through which restaurants across the city can apply individually, but the system is likely to make getting one on M St. or Wisconsin Ave. extremely difficult, if not actually impossible. Even some of the ones off of M St. and Wisconsin Ave. would face difficulty remaining under the likely rules. That would eliminate the vast majority of the new outdoor dining in Georgetown.

On one hand, the streateries have been a smashing success. The tables are often full and they bring a vibrant buzz to Georgetown. Before they arrived, it was quite clear that the dining scene in Georgetown was on a decline, and our streets were becoming ghost-towns after 5 pm everyday. That’s not the case anymore.

On the other hand, though, there is no doubt that many dislike the streateries, at least as they currently exist. The objections vary in reasoning but they often boil down to concerns over the appearance of the streateries (particularly the barriers, but not only the barriers), parking and traffic lane reductions, and the fact that the lane could be used for something else instead, such as a bus or bike lane.

Laying my cards on the table, I will say that I like the streateries and would like to explore ways to keep some version of them in Georgetown, ideally in an improved form. But I would like to hear from my constituents how they feel. Would you like it if streateries stayed in some form? If so, what form of them would you like to see? Or should we just go back to the ways things were in 2019? Something in between? Let me know at 2e02@anc.dc.gov!

Quick Bites

Speaking of food, here are some quick bites:

• Pools are open for the summer! They will be only open on weekends 10am – 6pm, until June 26th.
• The Friends of Volta Park are holding their annual spring fundraiser on June 3rd. I hope to see you there!
• Only one trash pickup switch this month with the Juneteenth holiday falling on a Monday.
• The couple behind our our beloved Dent Place Market has reopened Sara’s Market in the east village.
• The Georgetown Circulation and Access Study has begun and is soliciting the public’s ideas for how to improve transportation to and through Georgetown.
• Make sure to water those young street trees on your block! If there’s a new tree on your block, please try to coordinate with your neighbors to make sure someone with a hose can take care of it all summer long.

Reminder, tonight is the June ANC meeting, which will be held in person (and online) at St. John’s on O St. It begins at 6:30 pm. If you want to log in via Zoom, access this link. I’m really hoping people come out to the first in-person meeting for the ANC in over three years. I’m also interested in hearing people’s experiences logging in from home.

The agenda follows. For my part, I will be proposing resolutions concerning the bus network redo by WMATA and a new alley dwelling.

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Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• The public space permit hearing on the Transformers got really weird.
• GU’s reconstruction of Henle Village dorms gets the nod to move forward.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• There was a scary, early morning break in on 34th St. yesterday morning. MPD responded quickly and arrested two suspects, one of who had an outstanding warrant from Texas. Great job with the quick response MPD!
• Great old photo of when the former Nike Store was a giant crab house.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

• A woman was charged with second degree murder in connection with the car crash in Rock Creek next to Rose Park in March. Infuriatingly, she had been previously charged with drunk driving three times (in one case while she was still on probation from another time), and yet was still driving.
• On a more cheerful note, Capital Fringe returns this summer.