Eckington Beautification Day

This morning I worked with the Eckington Civic Association at a beautification project organized by Charlene McCullers.

I picked up trash along portions of Lincoln Road and T Street N.E. It's interesting to see what people throw or drop on the ground. Single-serving potato chip bags are everywhere, but I also found denture adhesive and a baby pacifier. Cognac bottles were prevalent, followed by vodka and soft drink containers. In the T Street alley, there were several automobile-related items.

I've noticed folks, who appear to come from outside the neighborhood, congregating in the past at the vacant former business located at the corner of Seaton Place and Lincoln Road. About five cognac bottles had taken up residence there.

T Street, towards the schools, was the worst-hit of all. But there were no liquor bottles.

Two Weeks Until a Greener Eckington-Truxton Circle Neighborhood

The November 7 election is only two weeks from today. Hard to believe how fast the past two months have gone. The flowers you see here are my attempt at landscaping the front of my house. At least it's better than I found it.

On Saturday, I sat down with Sarah, who lives in Le Droit Park, at Windows Cafe to lay the groundwork for an organization that will have two objectives: (1) street cleaning teams and (2) promoting energy efficiency and conservation. I raised the subject of defining the organization's geographic boundaries by using the local single member district ANC boundaries of 5c-02, 5c-03, and 5c-06.

During our meeting, Merrit Drucker from the D.C. Office of the Clean City joined us. He provided some interesting admissions, such as "Street sweeper is a broken program." We've been moving our cars and searching for parking on sweep days for only marginal benefits, apparently. In addition, street sweepers may in fact incentivize littering because people may think that the sweeper will clean the streets, regardless of where the trash is dropped.

Merrit raised the possibility of a bottle deposit bill, and also stressed that commercial recycling needed to be "radically increas[ed]."

Campaign Platform Announced at Catania Bakery Event

On Saturday morning, I hosted an event for the residents of 5C-02 at Catania Bakery, featuring the croissants and coffee. I am hoping that the bakery will expand its very limited public hours and adopt a cafe-style business approach. Many people did not know that the bakery existed.

Former ANC commissioner Joyce Robinson Paul attended and spoke on behalf of statehood for the District of Columbia. Ward 5 City Council candidate Harry Thomas, Jr. was a surprise attendee, and also spoke.

I used the occasion to announce my campaign platform and take questions from the audience. It is an ambitious platform, but it summarizes what the residents want. I hope that, if I am elected, neighbors will come forward and help me make this vision a reality. Like most people, I have a full time job and will be much more affective if I can count on other people to help out.

November 2006 Platform

As Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner, I will:

1. Hold monthly meetings with residents of 5C-02 in order to maintain knowledge of community concerns;

2. Encourage businesses to relocate or initiate in our North Capitol Street business district and thus bring economic vitality to our neighborhood;

3. Seek to maintain our streets free of trash by organizing regular community cleanups and promoting self-responsibility in the community;

4. Address parking and signage issues and combat the unresponsive bureaucracy;

5. Organize citizen crime teams and build bridges between police and citizens;

6. Work to secure suitable funding from the ANC for recreational opportunities for our children;

7. Advocate affordable workforce housing that is geared to serving our neighbors and respects our community’s heritage.

Additional Photo - Technical Issues

Blogger is having issues. Here is another photo from the Catania Bakery event, this one includes Thomas.

Another Day on N Street N.W.

Late this afternoon, I spoke to residents on the unit block of N Street NW.

I spoke with one family for about 15 minutes about issues in the neighborhood. They said that kids on N Street are being harassed by Sursum Corda children. But when the police are called, the trouble children "escape" to the other side of New York Avenue (Ward 6 territory), and the police say they don't have jurisdiction. These foks are dissatisfied with police response time to incident reports (one incident occurred shortly before I arrived at the scene), approximately 30 minutes.

One of the individuals at this home witnessed the Hoffman police incident. New facts from this witness include: that the Hoffman child had been involved in a fight, had been handcuffed by police, and then tried to run. According to this witness, the police slammed the kid's face down onto the concrete after grabbing him.

I walked to the next house and found a gentleman sitting on the front steps, although he did not live there. Jeffrey, 51, lives at the North Capitol Street shelter. Something caused me to ask "Are you okay?" He was not.

He asked for my hand to help him up, and I did so. He grabbed it very tightly and trembled a bit. He couldn't walk, he explained. After further discussion, I decided to call 911. The paramedics arrived on the scene in a firetruck within only a few minutes minutes. (The photo here is of a paramedic removing Jefferey's jacket in order to take his blood pressure.)

An ambulance arrived shortly thereafter and took him away.