Update on that gunshots on P St. rumor: turns out they were fireworks. Merry Christmas…
About that Nextbus Link
You may notice above the masthead a link to a Nextbus page. That page explains how you can receive, right now, real-time information about when a Metrobus will actually arrive. Many Georgetown residents, including GM, take Metrobus almost everyday. Until that Georgetown subway finally opens, Metrobus is one of the only transit options for us (many also take the GBID’s “blue-now-white” bus or the Georgetown University shuttle, though they’re not hooked up to Nextbus). Getting accurate information about when buses will actually show up makes the bus riding experience much better, particularly on the weekends when the bus may only show up every 45 minutes or so.
Caveat: the 30’s series and the Circulator aren’t hooked up yet either. Hopefully they’ll be part of the final roll-out next year.
Filed under Transit
Gunshots on P?
Speaking of crime, there were reports buzzing around the Georgetown listserv today about gunshots and/or fireworks being heard around P and 31st St around 11:00 last night. There was even a report of screeching tires. GM has seen small fireworks shot off in that part of Georgetown before, which could be mistaken for gunshots and screeching tires. But this isn’t exactly fireworks season. Anyone have anything more to report?
Filed under Crime
Mapping Crime
Crime is an inevitable part of life in a city. While Georgetown is blessed with a lower violent crime rate than most DC neighborhoods, its reputation as a home to hundreds of retail stores and many well-heeled residents means that Georgetown is subject to a somewhat constant stream of property crimes, with the occasional mugging.
But besides reading the daily round-up from MPD 2D, how else can a resident get a quick idea what sort of crime lurks in Georgetown’s shadows? Crime maps can give you a pretty quick idea of the what, where, when and how of crime. There are a couple options out there and GM reviews them after the break:
Filed under Crime
Around Town
Seen at the new Georgetown waterfront park:
It’s a public art piece(slash)really easy maze. GM dubs it “The Green Electric Range”. It would be perfect if they added a huge sculpture of a tea-kettle.
It’s a fun design, although GM is a little nervous about how well painted concrete will hold up over the years. Will the green rub off? Will the concrete get stained, like all concrete does? GM notes that there is already a big bike tire tread mark on it. Hopefully NPS has a maintenance plan in place.
Filed under Around Town
More From That Survey
After posting that chart listing all the businesses in Georgetown that are on either Wisconsin or M (or just off either), GM realized there were some errors in the chart that needed the be corrected:
- The Georgetown Mall’s shops were added
- Several stores were left off simply by mistake
- The Beatles song is “Baby’s Got Me Locked up in Chains” not “Wrapped”.
With these revisions, the overall stats are not really different (the Georgetown Mall actually has many independent shops, although that may change with Lanier’s Bloomingdale’s proposal). Here is some of the revised data, with some further breakdown:
Total
Independents 298 69.79%
Chains 117 27.40%
Regional Chains 12 2.81%
427
Wisconsin
Independents 155 77.11%
Chains 36 17.91%
Regional Chains 10 4.98%
201
M St.
Independents 143 63.27%
Chains 81 35.84%
Regional Chains 2 0.88%
226
Within One Block of Wis. & M St.
Independents 39 45.88%
Chains 45 52.94%
Regional Chains 1 1.18%
85
Restaurants
Independents 76 74.51%
Chain 21 20.59%
Regional Chain 5 4.90%
102
Clothing
Independents 72 59.50%
Chain 49 40.50%
Regional Chain 0 0.00%
121
Salon
Independents 25 96.15%
Chain 1 3.85%
Regional Chain 0 0.00%
26
The revised chart is available here. Please feel free to review it and offer corrections. Whether something is a “chain” or an “independent” or a “regional chain” is not a scientific distinction, so feel free to weigh in.
Filed under Retail, Stores of Georgetown
Baby’s Got Me Locked Up in Chains
The inimitable Marc Fisher wrote a heartfelt piece the other day about the plight of Carol Joynt, her Nathan’s Restaurant, and the overall non-generic nature of Georgetown. Mr. Fisher writes:
All around Georgetown and other retail areas, struggling merchants scramble for relief, landlords sniff around for tenants with deeper pockets, and banks are holding back on loans — making it even tougher for small, locally owned businesses to survive and accelerating the trend toward the malling of America, the takeover of retail space by national chains.
GM is a huge fan of Nathan’s and eats brunch there at least twice a month. It would be heartbreaking to see the southeast corner of Wisconsin and M be occupied by anything but Nathan’s. Furthermore, there has been an increase in national chains in Georgetown, and there is a risk that our commercial district will slip ever more into an outdoor mall.
But…
It’s important to understand what assets Georgetown still has with regards to independent shops. GM conducted an painstaking survey of every shop along the entireties of M and Wisconsin (and a handful of shops just off these thoroughfares). The results are somewhat surprising.
Georgetown is still overwhelmingly populated by non-chain stores.
There are 348 stores in the survey area. 244 of those stores are independent shops. An additional 11 can be categorized as “local chains” (e.g. Five Guys). Only 93 stores are chains.
That means that 70% of all stores in Georgetown are independent. Broken down by geography: 77% of the stores along Wisconsin are independent; however, only 60% of the stores along M are independent.
The most telling statistic: Within one block of M and Wisconsin, only 45% of stores are independents. That’s where Nathan’s is, and that’s what Marc Fisher senses. At the central core, Georgetown’s business district has become increasingly “chained”. While chains can anchor a business district, they can also overwhelm them. But it’s important to have an accurate picture of the Georgetown business district. In that picture, the vast majority of stores are still independent. Let’s work to make that remain true.
And let’s save Nathan’s.
(Certainly if square footage were considered, chains would have higher numbers across the board, but for the purposes of this survey, one Barnes and Noble equals one Bridge Street Books. GM will be further slicing and dicing this survey in the near future).
Filed under Retail, Stores of Georgetown
From the Forum
The Citizens Association of Georgetown runs a listserv for Georgetown residents. GM recommends you sign up, but to spare you reading through a million “where can I find a good handyman” posts, GM will share with you the more interesting posts as they wash over the transom.
Over the last day or so, there has been a minor uproar over a sexual assault that happened on December 11. The MPD police report stated that:
Burglary occurred in the 1300 b/o 36th St. NW on 12/11/2008 630am. Citizen reports she was awakened by the suspect, a white male, 6′, no further description, standing in her bedroom. Suspect fled when citizen awakened.
Residents on 36th St. were confused and troubled by the report, wondering why they didn’t hear anything about this from their neighbors. They didn’t hear about it because it happened in a Georgetown dorm. It’s just the peculiar quirk of the MPD reports that the entire Georgetown University campus is reduced to the “1300 b/o 36th St. NW” University-owned townhouse.
To help avoid this confusion in the future, GM recommends residents sign up for the RSS Feed from Campus Safety here to receive campus alerts.
Update: As Georgetown Student points out, this incident actually did happen on the 1300 block of 36th st., but it happened in a University-owned townhouse. The fact it occured in University-owned housing still probably contributed to the lack of awareness on the part of the non-student residents. GM still recommends that non-students sign-up for the campus safety RSS feed.
Filed under Uncategorized
Only in Georgetown..
…could you have a pharmacy that is only open 8:30 to 6:00 Monday to Friday, and not at all on the weekends. If that doesn’t say “retired Georgetown Matron” enough to you, check out their offerings:
Biologicals? Vaccines? Serums? What? What exactly is a biological or a serum, and are they still legal since the pasing of the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906? Also, should you really be buying vaccines yourself? Shouldn’t a doctor be giving you those?
Morgan’s is one of those few Georgetown institutions that have survived the onslaught of modernity by continuing to provide its clients with with good old fashion customer service. And since there are plenty of Georgetown residents to whom a business day just means slightly emptier restaurants, a 9/5 pharmacy like Morgan’s will likely continue to thrive in a world of 24/7 CVS’s.
Filed under Only in Georgetown
Around Town
Seen on 30th St.: a Pinzgauer High Mobility All-Terrain Vehicle. This is like the European HMMWV. 30th St. is steep in some spots, but I think this is a bit overkill.
Also, apparently the Swiss Army is not neutral when it comes to the NFC East:
Filed under Around Town
The Georgetown Metropolitan 
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