February 2, 2012 · 10:00 am

Georgetown Experiences a Net Loss in Stores for 2011

This is the time of the year when GM goes out and does an audit on all the stores in Georgetown. He walks up and down all the streets and notes whether a store is still open, or if it closed, or if the space is still vacant, etc. And while there was a whole lot of activity in 2011, both on the openings and closings side, it turned out to be a net negative year for the neighborhood. GM will have a long post slicing and dicing the numbers next week, but here’s a preview.

In 2011, GM counted 530 stores in Georgetown. (For the purposes of this exercise, a “store” is a shop, restaurant, salon, etc. Basically any commercial establishment except purely office space). This year the total tally is 509. And the reduction of 21 stores is probably slightly worse than it sounds because every year GM adds some more shops to his list that he overlooked in previous years. In fact GM counted 96 closings and 40 openings, which would suggest a net loss of 56 stores, or 10.5%. It’s worth noting that the closings were highly concentrated in the mall. Continue reading →

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February 2, 2012 · 8:00 am

The Morning Metropolitan

Photo by Dorimebemol.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

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February 1, 2012 · 2:00 pm

The Georgetown Metropolis

1300 block of Wisconsin Ave.

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February 1, 2012 · 10:00 am

Out Of Boundary Lottery Begins for Hyde-Addison

Monday was the beginning of the out of boundary lottery process for DC public schools. This is the process by which students who don’t want to attend their designated local school can get a slot at another school.

As discussed here before, for several decades Hyde has been a school mostly filled with students from other neighborhoods. This started to change over the past decade as more Georgetowners decided to send their children to the local school. This has, in turn, reduced the number of slots available to students from other neighborhoods trying to attend Hyde.

One thing parents new to the system might not realize is that even children in the neighborhood have to apply through the lottery for a slot in the pre-Kindergarten program. They are not guaranteed a slot. They do, however, get priority in the lottery. And last year there was such a groundswell of interest from neighborhood parents for the pre-K program that all the slots went to neighborhood kids. Some neighborhood kids didn’t even get a slot in the lottery, but all neighborhood kids that wanted a pre-K slot eventually got one off the waitlist. Continue reading →

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February 1, 2012 · 8:00 am

The Morning Metropolitan

Photo by Darren and Brad.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

  • From the photo above, which was taken a couple weeks ago, it sure looks like Dumbarton Oaks had to cut down that massive beech tree. What a shame…
  • Interview with Mike Isabella about his new Georgetown Mexican place.

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January 31, 2012 · 2:00 pm

The Georgetown Metropolis

1200 block of Wisconsin Ave.

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January 31, 2012 · 10:00 am

ANC Round Up: Food Fight Edition

Photo by Mr. T in DC.

Last night the ANC met for its February session (apparently they have a time machine that made last night actually February). GM couldn’t stay long due to his new paternal responsibilities, but the bits he caught are worth passing on.

DCRA

The ANC invited the Director of DCRA, Nicholas Majett, to speak about his agency. Majett took his time to describe all the ways in which DCRA touches on DC citizens’ lives. From building permits, to corporation licensing, to inspections, DCRA is likely the agency you need to call when you have a problem.

While Majett’s presentation was interesting, the main draw for Georgetown was the situation with 1424 Wisconsin Ave. This property, which until last year hosted Ashhik clothes, was undergoing construction to become a Z-Burger. But on Thanksgiving day, half the building collapsed. Some have suggested that the cause of the collapsed was unauthorized excavation. Majett, however, suggested that if it was excavation that caused the collapse, it wasn’t unauthorized since the owner had a permit to dig.

Right now the parties seems to be engaged in a blame-sorting exercise. The ANC was a bit alarmed to find out that the structural engineer hired to determine the cause of the collapse was to be hired by the building owner. Tom Birch wondered whether that wasn’t a huge conflict of interest and that won’t the engineer be inclined to say it’s not the fault of the guy who’s paying him. Majett responded that it was the opposite of a conflict of interest since it put the responsibility on the building owner, not the government, to determine the cause. GM’s not quite sure that counts as “the opposite of a conflict of interest”, and the ANC remained skeptical too. They asked Majett to consider using an independent engineer to evaluate the collapse (particularly considering that the building owner in question has a history of building collapses in Georgetown).

After wrapping up the discussion on 1424 Wisconsin Ave., the ANC noted that there was another item on their agenda that touched on DCRA: food trucks. DCRA has proposed regulations governing food trucks, which up to this point have operated under the rules for ice cream trucks. The new regulations would address food trucks more directly and allow them to operate in any legal parking spot, under certain restrictions. Continue reading →

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January 31, 2012 · 8:00 am

The Morning Metropolitan

Photo by Jim Malone.

Good morning Georgetown, here’s the latest:

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January 30, 2012 · 2:00 pm

The Georgetown Metropolis

3200 block of Volta Pl.

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January 30, 2012 · 10:00 am

Georgetown’s Vintage Wall Advertisements

It was recently suggested to GM that he go out and document the vintage wall advertisements that are scattered around Georgetown. (A topic that has attracted plenty of attention in other cities). GM could only find three still around Georgetown, but here they are preserved for posterity.

The one above is located on Wisconsin Ave. just south of Dumbarton. It is for the Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Co., a concern better known as the A&P. It’s still around, but they’re struggling and recently filed for bankruptcy protection. Where they used to spread from New England all the way to the south, the few remaining stores are mostly in the north. GM’s not sure if there ever was an A&P in Georgetown.

The next ad is on the side of 3112 M St. It appears to GM to be an ad for Quaker (as in oats). The line across the top appears to say “The World’s Greatest” (although the last word looks at lot more like “Greanast”). Continue reading →

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