Catania Bakery Folks Are Leasing Office Space

Down on North Capitol Street near O St N.W., there are many dilapidated buildings up for lease. The owner of Catania Bakery is leasing newly-renovated office space located above the bakery, with an address of 1402 North Capitol Street N.W.

Here's the listing (interior photos were taken by Jessica):

3,000/1300sq ft ~ AMAZING ~ Office Suite (5 rooms) with windows in each room. Beautifully renovated office space that includes five separate office spaces with windows in each room and new carpeting as well as a kitchen area. This space is perfect for a small business. It's two blocks from the New York Avenue Metro Station.

Feel free to contact Jessica at 703-462-8642 to schedule an appointment for viewing.

I viewed the space myself recently and it has a nice feel to it. There's a skylight overlooking the staircase when you walk in that lets in a lot of light. I think this office would be a healthy, cheerful place to work.

MPD Fifth District and Citizens' Advisory Council Awards Dinner

Last night I attended the annual awards dinner sponsored by the Metropolitan Police Department and the Fifth District Citizens' Advisory Council (CAC).

This year's theme was "Remembering the Future" and the emcee was Nikole Killion, an anchor for ABC 7/NewsChannel 8.

All of the local dignitaries attended, including City Councilmember Vincent Orange, Police Chief Charles Ramsey, Commander Jennifer Greene, and various ANCs (Marshall Phillips and Robert Brannum sat at the head table).

Meanwhile, ANC candidates, including John Salatti mingled in the crowd before the ceremony began and during dinner. I missed the photo-of-the-night, the moment when Brannum and Salatti were consulting with each other over a big roll of raffle tickets on how each might distribute the tickets to the crowd.

Jefferey Taylor gave the keynote address. He officially became the United States Attorney (lead federal prosecuting attorney for the district) for the District of Columbia only two weeks ago. Although I work for the Department of Justice, I had not heard of this appointment until last night. Officer of the Year is Arthur Hopper, and Rookie of the Year, Officer Alexander Mac Bean, received a particularly warm applause.

Meanwhile, I sat at the same table as Salatti, Earth Isaac (head of the Eckington Civic Association), and Tom Usselman, the corresponding secretary for the Fifth District CAC.


Tom is throwing a big Halloween party at his home-- the Nightmare on First Street . . . A Halloween Bash Part IV --on Saturday October 28th. E-mail Tom at Tom@isfamily.com to get on the Evite.

Campaign Signs Are Up and the Sign-Vandal Zombies Are Out

Early Sunday morning, I began putting up my campaign signs in the public space, just like every city council candidate did before the primary (in fact, signs from Kathy Patterson and Agent Orange never came down in some places). The Council candidates' signs were largely untouched and a School Board President candidate's and Eleanor Holmes Norton's signs are currently up. Unfortunately, the sign-vandal zombies have awakened from their long sleep.

Most of my signs are torn down within 24 hours. The sign-vandal zombies leave my signs on the ground, contributing to our trash problem. Perhaps the large signs are distracting. Or perhaps they don't want my campaign theme of Progress in Pursuit of Justice to spread. The sign-vandal zombies are particularly prevalent on North Capitol Street between R and T Street.

If people can be strongly motivated to tear down every sign they see, why can't they also be motivated to pick up all the trash they see? Instead of tearing down someone else's free speech, why don't they contribute their own free speech? If you see a sign zombie, ask them.

Report from the ANC Meeting

I attended the Advisory Neighborhood Commission meeting tonight. It was far tamer than the last meeting. I have secured video footage of the meeting last month, filmed from a vantage point outside the Harry Thomas Recreational Center. You can view that footage here (it should start playing automatically).

The 7 p.m. meeting tonight was more of the standard fare that those of us who have attended several meetings in the past have come to expect. Nature abhors a vacuum, so although the meeting easily could have ended by 8 p.m., it lasted until nearly 9 p.m.

A police officer from PSA 501 gave a report. He said that manpower is increasing, and therefore there are opportunities for neighborhood policing. "The foot beat is a strange concept to a lot of officers," he said. I will do my best to normalize this "strange" concept, because it is what the residents want from their police department.

Edgewood Civic Assocation member Rashidi Christian questioned the usefulness of the new police cameras. He argued that although his law-abiding movements are filmed every day, the criminals simply take their businesses around the corner. He has a good point, although I was able to verify that the cameras are not monitored in real time, so police officers are not taken off the street to monitor the cameras.

A while later, Rashida engaged in an extended, heated exchange with all of the council members concerning whether the ANC received or will receive cash payments from developers. I think he is concerned about the ANC being "bribed" to provide its approval to various development projects. ANC members assured Rashidi that the ANC had not received any payments.

A representative from the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Developement gave a brief presentation on the Neighborhood Investment Fund (NIF). I think this is a concept that could do wonders for our neighborhood with strong leadership. Currently, $15,000 is available for small projects (completion within 6 months) and $75,000 for large projects. ANC 5C-02 is wholly within the NIF's target areas.

After 8 p.m., Commissioner Cleopatra Jones robotically read various announcements in a monotone voice for twenty minutes straight. She read the Fall leaf pickup flyer that she acknowledge that everyone was supposed to already have received in the mail. She read an extended portion of a bureaucratic announcement stating that translations of something are available for nonEnglish-speaking folks.

I began to wonder whether violations of the Geneva Convention were occurring when Jones read a listing of every single matter set to come before the Historical Preservation Board at its October 26 meeting. Very few people here are interested in a variance to install new windows in a historical townhouse on the other side of town. It's about prioritizing, and I will streamline meetings to the extent possible.

ANC announcements should be distributed via flyers or by providing the details on overheads, so that people can read as much as they wish to comprehend while the highlights are given orally. Here are the critical announcements in my view: two liquor store applications (stores located at 322 Florida Avenue NW and 1522 North Capitol Street N.W.) are up for review on October 25th at 9:30 a.m. at 941 North Capitol Street NW, 7th floor.