Posts about Shaw

Megan McArdle and Matthew Yglesias blame the government. Yglesias says that there's plenty of demand for bars and lots of vacant storefronts, but ABRA policies are "a sign to would-be entrepreneurs everywhere that their potential investments are much riskier than a superficial read of market conditions would suggest." McArdle says,

Punishing a restaurant owner for a liquor license violation with an open-ended maybe-we'll-give-you-a-license-maybe-we-won't delay is equivalent to giving someone the death penalty for a parking violation. Moreover, it punishes the neighbors and the employees right along with the owner.

Their arguments, though, ignore management's responsibility for the pickle they're in, and instead push the idea that the city should turn a blind eye to the situation rather than acknowledge any infractions. McArdle, Yglesias, a number of City Paper commenters, and others seem to believe we should simply let bygones be bygones and give Shaw's its license.

We'd like to see Shaw's obtain a liquor license. The building it occupies was vacant for years, and was an eyesore on Florida Avenue. Today, it's a handsome façade on the edge of the Shaw and LeDroit Park neighborhoods. And there's no doubt the restaurant struggled to stay open without a license. But the fact remains that the ownership is solely at fault for the delayed licensing.

To gain insight to the liquor licensing process, we spoke with Matt Ashburn, who owns Capital City Diner in the Trinidad neighborhood. Ashburn has had extensive experience dealing with city agencies to get his restaurant up and running. He's not afraid to speak his mind regarding problems that come from dealing with the city, but has nothing bad to say about ABRA.

Ashburn says they are the most professional, straightforward city agency he has dealt with, and challenged us to find one more customer-friendly. He described the agency as one that's "run like a business," and that the process to obtain a "stipulated" liquor license, which is the temporary license that an establishment can get if there is no community protest, is quite fast and simple.

ABRA employees are available to walk you through the process if you need help, and the 20-page application form (PDF) is only that long because of the helpful, step-by-step instructions embedded in it to make the process as simple as possible. Capital City Diner received its stipulated license by going before the local ANC (5B), requesting a letter of support, and then filing the application. The restaurant was able to legally serve beer after a 3-day turnaround.

Is Ashburn's experience typical or is ABRA's process an impediment? When it comes to fights with neighbors, Phil Lepanto has said ABRA is too reactive instead of proactive, and Natalie Avery argued ABRA needs to work to be more collaborative. But in this case, neighborhood opposition was not an issue.

Shaw's Tavern is located within ANC 2C. The minutes of their April meeting report a unanimous vote to provide a similar letter of support for the tavern.

It's not clear what happened between the April meeting, when the ANC gave their blessing for a stipulated license, and the July 16th "soft launch" that got Shaw's in hot water.

More than 3 months passed with no license, while Capital City Diner got one in just 3 days. What did the management do regarding the license in that 3 months? Why didn't they have a stipulated license as quickly as Capital City Diner did?

Since then, the ABC Board had a hearing on August 10th, with the understanding that a ruling would come down regarding the license within 90 days. In the end, we don't know how the ABC board will rule regarding the restaurant's liquor license.

If we had to hazard a guess, we'd wager that they'll be given a slap on the wrist and a license. All of the hand-wringing we're reading and writing about now could be a small bump on the road when looking back in a few months. But make no mistake, as chef John Cochran told Eater, "All I can tell you is that the alcohol board was making their decision and they had every right to take their time. Shaw's was in the wrong."

The same Post article notes that "the Park Service figured that renovation and development of exhibits and a visitors center would cost $2.9 million and that the historic site, which could draw 10,000 to 30,000 visitors annually, would cost about $100,000 a year to operate."

But where's the money?

The Park Service's plans identify community partners and charitable organizations as potential supporters. Possible partners might include the University of Virginia's Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American & African Studies, the African American Experience Fund, the United Negro College Fund, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library's Black Studies Division, and sponsors of the $1oo million Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial. Some organizations could help by lending their support in name only, while others could help to raise capital.

One important partner may be the Shiloh Baptist Church, which sits at the corner of 9th and P, NW on the same block as the Woodson home. The church has been an important center of social services for decades, but it has also not always been a good neighbor. The church owns several vacant properties in the area, and is sometimes called a slumlord.

The good news is that the Omega Psi Phi fraternity recently made a $5,000 donation towards renovations at the Woodson home. Unfortunately, while generous in ceremony and sentimentality, $5,000 is akin to the ceremonial first pitch at the beginning of a baseball game. First pitches start the game, but don't impact the game played or the final score. The Woodson house will need millions more.

Meanwhile, the Woodson house and the 1500 block of 9th Street wait. The house has the potential to become an important destination for cultural tourism and education, but it needs funding. How long will it be before there is serious movement? Hopefully, where there's a will, a way will follow.

In the above map, thick yellow lines represent current ward boundaries. Medium burgundy lines represent tract boundaries. Wards are colored red (1), green (2), purple (5), and blue (6). Areas moved are dark blue (from 2 to 6), dark green (from 6 to 2), and dark purple (from 6 to 5).

To address population changes since the 2000 Census, wards 7 and 8 both had to grow and 2 had to shrink. The most logical change to Ward 8 reunited the Fairlawn neighborhood, and the committee chose that. To grow Ward 7, they made the widely-anticipated yet very unpopular choice to move much of Hill East from Ward 6 to 7. Residents of that area fought against the idea hard, and are expected to continue doing so at a hearing tomorrow.

The bigger surprise came in the boundary between Ward 2 and 6. To make Ward 2 smaller, moving Mount Vernon Square and/or Shaw to Ward 6 was the most logical change. But the committee also made substantial other changes, moving big chunks of the Penn Quarter and Judiciary Square areas from Ward 6 to Ward 2 and the southwest federal buildings from 2 to 6.

This is particularly odd since most of the changes directly contradict principles in the committee report. The report rejects the option of moving Carver-Langston from Ward 5 to 7 because it "draws new neighborhoods into redistricting" and is "not as compact" as the other option.

However, the proposed change draws many new neighborhoods into redistricting and is not as compact. Had the committee only moved the tracts east of 7th Street to Ward 6 and left downtown alone, they would have ended up with a more compact map. Likewise, they could have moved the western Shaw tract and just the Penn Quarter area west of 5th Street and again ended up with a more compact map that affected fewer neighborhoods.

The committee report pats itself on the back for several changes that reunite some split Census tracts. Moving the southwest federal buildings to Ward 6 does make sense, since those are in the same Census tracts as the neighboring parts of Southwest Waterfront and are in ANC 6D. Likewise, the plan moves the small piece of Ward 6's "chimney" northeast of New York and New Jersey Avenues to Ward 5. That also reunifies a Census tract and makes geographic sense.

Why do Census tracts matter? For one, the law requires redistricting to try to keep Census tracts together. The current committee seems to have ignored that dictate. Also, a great deal of data is reported on the Census tract level. When government agencies compute statistics for wards, they save time and money if ward boundaries primarily conform to tracts.

Yet the plan leaves 3 blocks from 9th to 11th between P and O in Ward 2 while moving the rest of tract 49.01 to Ward 6. It moves 2 other blocks from 7th to 9th between N and O into Ward 6 despite not moving any more of tract 49.02. And it grabs an arbitrary-seeming half of tract 59, around Judiciary Square, excluding the small triangle between 5th, H, and Massachusetts.

Jack Evans represents Ward 2, and was the only ward-specific member on the 3-person committee. He always has coveted having downtown in his ward, because of the many businesses in the area. Representing the region gives him fundraising power and some authority over more of the city's activity out of proportion to his ward's size.

Evans even admitted much of this at the markup on Thursday. The boundaries move most of ANC 2C and the Mt. Vernon Square Neighborhood Association (MVSNA) to Ward 6, but circumnavigate the Convention Center. Jack Evans said at the markup, "Nobody has done more for the Convention Center than me."

Convention Center Community Association head Martin Moulton posted this picture, advocating for the Convention Center to be kept with the Shaw neighborhood as it moves to Ward 6:

It seems that the other two members of the committee, at-large councilmembers Michael Brown and Phil Mendelson, simply let Evans draw his own lines. Evans even introduced two amendments during the markup the day after the map was released. Brown and Mendelson simply let them through without discussion or debate, even though one of the amendments as Evans explained it on the dais mistakenly moved part of Ward 1 into Ward 6. Mendelson is usually the most attentive to detail, but that day, he seemed to be napping.

On committees I serve on, such as the WMATA Riders' Advisory Council, many members are extremely careful to avoid doing anything that benefits one member in any way. Members have even been reluctant to do things that might benefit this blog, even though I get no remuneration from the blog and its goals are aligned with those of the RAC. There's just a strong aversion to even allowing an appearance of a conflict.

Having a ward member on the redistricting committee is already a dicey proposition. Members justified it because Evans is the longest-serving member of the Council and has participated in two redistrictings. But it should have been obvious to Brown and Mendelson that they must avoid an appearance, let alone the reality, of letting Evans manipulate the decisions for his own gain.

They should have identified some objective criteria for choosing the 2/6 boundary, whether that's keeping Census tracts whole, or neighborhood associations whole, or changing the fewest blocks, or maximizing the happiness of residents using the metrics in our own Redistricting Game analysis (which they used in the report to justify some changes while making other changes directly contrary to the data).

They should have kept Evans out of that part of it, and decided on the Ward 2 boundaries without giving him an extra voice. Instead, they apparently outsourced all decisions about the 2/6 boundary to Evans himself, oblivious or uncaring about the clear conflict of interest.

Douglas Development Corporation currently owns the property. A search of the city's property records show the property was purchased in October 1997. It is currently assessed by the city at $6,810,580.

According to the evening's program, the property "is currently being marketed for adaptive reuse." Numerous people I spoke with and a report last fall in City Paper indicated condos are coming, but there seems to be no immediate timeline.

The long-awaited development of the northeast corner of 7th and S Street is now finally underway with Progression Place, which plans offices, flats, and shops. Construction teams have been working steadily since December and have now nearly dug out and secured the foundation. When this project begins to take tenants it should increase the desire and ability to secure financing for the Wonder Bread Factory site for similar uses or for residential units with commercial on the first floor.

Memories of the Wonder Bread Factory

"When I would take the streetcar to Griffith Stadium as a child from my Northeast neighborhood, you knew you were getting close when you began to smell the bread and the bakeries. You could close your eyes and know when you were within three blocks," said Dr. Sandy Berk, distinguished by his white shirt and jacket adorned with the same small tri-color circles that mark a loaf of Wonder Bread.

"DC wasn't known as being an industrial city. This building is an example of one of the few early 20th century examples in the middle of a residential neighborhood," said Howard Berger, a former DCPL trustee and current architectural historian.

"This is a really great and strong structure. You don't see this type or cast iron work anymore," said Wilford Williams, a member of the large security team that protected the entrances of the factory and were asked by nearly everyone who passed by on the street what was going on inside. "When it closed it was a sad event. A lot of people depended on them. Wonder Bread has always been a number one seller. It beats Sunbeam and Giant brand. You know that Wonder Bread makes the best sandwich and their prices are reasonable," he said.

At a table Eric Wingerter, 6th and S Street NW, and Martin Moulton (the 39th citizen recently arrested by the Capitol Police), 5th and P Street NW, spoke about their memories years ago of being excited when a restaurant would open on 14th Street NW. They agreed the neighborhood continues to lack a variety of food options and would like to see a restaurant included in future development plans.

"It's great to be here and have it alive. For too many years this has been a landmark in the neighborhood for the wrong reasons," said Wingerter.

DCPL pulled it off

Founded in 1971 as "Don't Tear It Down," DCPL hosts its annual gala in a dormant city building, warehouse, theater or other site ever year. There was open discussion and anticipation by gala goers that next year's party will be thrown in Dupont Circle's underground trolley station which in recent years has drawn the attention of local artists.

Despite concerns that the building would not be ready in time for the party and a city inspector declaring the property "structurally unsafe" last month, more than three hundred DCPL supporters joined leaders of the city's development and preservationist communities to celebrate the former bakery. The building has been out of commission for the past 25 years, according to the league.

"It was pulled off with a lot of work by Douglas Development getting the space ready for the event. Four solid weeks of fixing a failed beam, holes in the flooring and water damage," said Rebecca Miller, DCPL's Executive Director.

One new DCPL member, who joined the organization after seeing a recent ad on Groupon, said, "I thought they might be handing out hard hats."

ANC 2B09 covers the southwest corner of 14th and U, and Commissioner Ramon Estrada has formed one-third of the triumvirate exerting the most pressure against new restaurants and bars in the neighborhood. We support Sunit Talapatra, who is challenging Estrada.

Estrada opposed any increase in the ARTS Overlay's limitation of 25% restaurants and bars, and has had a hand in many a liquor license protest. He also has gotten himself into hot water on a few occasions with his flair for creatively interpreting the votes of his ANC. When he was chair of ANC 2B in 2008, he sent a few letters to zoning boards that other commissioners felt took a few liberties with the wording of the resolution they had passed.

Talapatra would represent the district in a more inclusive and collaborative way. He's not in favor of unlimited restaurants and bars by any means, emphasizing his desire to maintain peace, order and quiet, but he also recognizes that 14th and U is a growing neighborhood and that successful businesses, as opposed to vacant storefronts, is best for residents. He walks to and from his office at the Georgetown waterfront most days.

To the south, three of the four seats in Shaw's ANC 2C have contests. 2C has been split for many years between two clear factions. One, which dominated the ANC for many years, is led by former ANC chair Leroy Thorpe, who many charge ran the commission in an opaque way that excluded most residents and catered to the interests of very few.

In 2006, Kevin Chapple beat Thorpe in 2C02 on promises of greater transparency and inclusiveness, but he and ally Alex Padro only had half the votes on the ANC, leading to constant deadlocks. Thorpe has tried to reclaim his seat each year, and this is no exception, using alleged dirty tricks during this campaign and in the past.

The 2008 election unseated another Thorpe ally, 2C04's Barbara Curtis, and there was hope for a new day in ANC 2C. Unfortunately, for reasons that remain mysterious, the new Commissioner Theresa Sule allied herself with remaining old guard member Doris Brooks (scroll down), keeping Brooks as chair and again deadlocking the ANC.

Sule promised new leadership, a Web site, and conversations with the neighborhood, but has not followed through. Facing strong criticism from betrayed supporters, Sule has shut herself off from neighborhood events and email lists.

Rachelle Nigro is the best candidate trying to fulfill the promises Sule made two years ago. She is known as something of a stickler for rules, which this ANC sorely needs to move beyond the fast and loose days of Thorpe and Brooks. Derrick Barrett seems to be a Thorpe ally possibly running to try to split the anti-Sule vote, and Cary Shieh has not been present on the campaign trail or in neighborhood discussions.

Meanwhile, Rickey Williams is running to unseat Brooks herself in 2C03, and has been a very involved member of the Mount Vernon Square association. That district, which encompasses blocks north and south of the square including most of the Penn Quarter, has changed substantially in recent years, and it's time for more residents of the Penn Quarter to get involved in selecting the leadership of their neighborhood.

We hope ANC 2C will develop a clear 3-1 or even 4-0 majority in favor of cleaning up its act and embracing participation by the many new residents as well as longtime ones in this changing part of the city.

In between, in the oddly-shaped 2F06 district from the old convention center to Vermont Avenue northeast of Logan Circle, current commissioner Mike Benardo faces a relatively unknown challenger, Kate McMahon. Bernardo has a good record of responsiveness to constituents and is well liked, while McMahon has not submitted statements to area blogs and has little information on her Web site. We hope she will try to get involved in the neighborhood in other ways.

Upon his death, his three sister's took over operation of the business which continued to grow and expand. By 1927, a new plant had been built taking up nearly the entire block bounded by 11th, 12th, U and V Streets, NW. At the time of its opening on November 7th, the plant handled 5,000 gallons of milk a day.

The modern plant at 2012 11th Street, NW, consistently received numerous awards from the Health Department for the quality of their milk. To encourage the highest standards of milk production, the dairy offered incentives to dairy farmers to produce richer and cleaner milk. The dairy was described in 1930 as supporting a large fleet of motor trucks and horse-drawn delivery wagons to serve all sections of Washington and adjacent territories.

Over the years, the firm grew and expanded from 41 employees to 580 workers in 1965, making it one of the largest private firms in the Washington area. Dairy routes had also grown by 1965 to include 535 routes using a fleet of refrigerated trucks.

The Dairy closed in 1971 and the property was ultimately redeveloped.