I awoke this morning to find that a vehicle on the 600 b/o Rock Creek Church Road was up on blocks. The wheels were stolen during the night. I’ve alerted MPD but have no further details at this time. However, it is a reminder to us all that we need to be alert and report suspicious activity when we see it.
Vehicle on blocks on the 600 b/o Rock Creek Church Road.
The Park Morton neighborhood in the 2013 WDCEP Neighborhood Profiles publication.
If you live within a half mile radius of 640 Morton Street, NW, the Washington DC Economic Partnership (WDCEP) thinks you live in the Park Morton neighborhood, at least according to their 2013 Neighborhood Profiles publication (see full listing here). Sadly, like last year, when it comes to the Park View community the Washington DC Economic Partnership again missed the mark and got everything wrong. Last year, when they released their 2012 profiles, they completely erased Park View from the publication. After meeting with the WDCEP folks last year, they corrected the mistake by including Park View in the Petworth/Park View listing since its focus area radiated out from the Georgia Avenue Metro station.
This year, WDCEP has again included Park View in the Petworth/Park View heading of that section … but the entire profile promoting the area only describes and highlights Petworth. It seems to me that its time for WDCEP to straighten this out once and for good. The Petworth neighborhood profile does not need to include Park View in the heading since nothing in the profile is about Park View … and as there is no such neighborhood as Park Morton, simply correct that heading to Park View and, as the profile does, promote the Park View neighborhood.
This weekend marks the start of both the Petworth and Columbia Heights Marketplaces 2013 seasons.
The Petworth Community Market kicks off this Friday, May 3rd, from 4 – 8 p.m. According to an announcement by the market — you can snag fresh fruits, local vegetables, eggs and more! They will be reintroducing their SNAP and WIC programs plus the vendors take credit cards! They’ll have music, a cooking demo by Chez Billy’s Chef Brendan and friendly neighbors to boot.
The Columbia Heights Community Marketplace starts the season this Saturday, May 4th, from 9 a.m. – 1 p.m. According to their Website, the Columbia Heights Community Marketplace launched as a vehicle to bring local, sustainably grown food and art made by local artists to the people of Columbia Heights.
Their vibrant farmers market, Festibucks matching incentives program that helps low-income residents get more food with their nutrition benefits, and their urban agriculture educational work are promoting the health of Columbia Heights and its people.
Both markets are great assets to the area that you’ll want to visit repeatedly this season.
Rendering of the Petworth Safeway now under construction.
The Petworth Listserv has been having a bit of a debate over the past few days on whether or not the new Petworth Safeway should be allowed to sell beer and wine. Apparently, due to past DC Council legislation, when the new Safeway at 3830 Georgia Avenue is finished it will not automatically be able to sell beer and wine.
A D.C. Council ban from 1999 imposed a citywide moratorium on new Class B licenses – which allow beer and wine sales – to discourage loitering and public drunkenness. The coundil later carved out an exemption, but only for new “full-service grocery stores,” or those undergoing “substantial” renovation – requirements this Safeway would seem to meet.”
The problem is, another, more recent, moratorium restricts Class B licenses in nearly all of Ward 4. The moratorium does not include the exemption for grocery stores. So, absent Council action the Petworth Safeway will not be allowed to sell beer and wine.
Petworth resident Joseph Martin did some digging and pulled together the following background information on District Safeways selling beer and wine. According to Martin, there are 13 Safeways operating now in DC. When the Petworth Safeway opens, that will be 14. Of those, ten have beer-and-wine licenses:
Taking into account that the Petworth Safeway is very close to the Ward 1 border and will be the most convenient grocery store to most residents in the Park View community when it opens, I think its appropriate to weigh in on this issue. I’m very interested in hearing from the community on this issue to better understand all the pros and any possible cons.
Park View Recreation isn’t the only DPR facility in the area being improved. Raymond Recreation Center has also been in the process of being rebuilt. Tomorrow at noon, you can see the results of the city’s efforts to improve area recreation facilities when Mayor Vincent C. Gray, Councilmember Muriel Bowser, DC Department of Parks and Recreation and the DC Department of General Services cut the ribbon for the new center.
The center is located at 3725 10th Street, NW, which is just north of Spring Road. The building is done but the grounds will not be completed until mid-to-late May.
Powderly in 1915, as Chief Information Officer for the U.S. Bureau of Immigration (Library of Congress)
I recently learned that the house located at 503 Rock Creek Church Road has an interesting history. Today it is the location of the Catholic Worker- Dorothy Day House, but at the beginning of the Twentieth Century it was the home of Terence Vincent Powderly (1849-1924).
Powderly led the Knights of Labor at the peak of its power as Grand Master Workman (1879-1893), and later held important posts with the Bureau of Immigration (1897-1921).
503 Rock Creek Church Road today. It was the Washington home of Terence V. Powderly until his death in 1924.
The Knights of Labor was a labor union whose goal was to organize all workers, skilled and unskilled, into one large union united for workers’ rights and economic and social reform. The Knights also helped to organize unions for women and African American workers.
Powderly was a favorite of Republican President William McKinley, who sought a pro-labor image, and appointed him U.S. Commissioner General of Immigration from 1897 to 1902. He then served as Chief Information Officer for the U.S. Bureau of Immigration from 1907 to 1921.
Following Powderly’s appointment as commissioner general he moved to Washington, DC and live at the house on Rock Creek Church Road. He died on June 24, 1924 and is buried at Rock Creek Cemetery.
Additional information on Powderly can be found on Wikipedia and the Terence V. Powderly House Web site.
The Sunday Washington Post Magazine featured the Friends of the Soldiers Home group — and by extension the Armed Forced Retirement Home and Park View community — in Emily Wax’s article Can Soldiers’ Home residents and urban gentrifiers overcome barbed wire? I found it to be a great read and the feature includes a number of videos and side articles. It’s amazing to see what this group has done since Park View resident John Hughes first set up a meeting to discuss the possibilities of a partnership between the surrounding neighborhoods and the AFRH in November 2011.
Below are the video’s associated with the full article:
Community outreach at the Home — The group “Friends of the Soldiers’ Home” volunteers at the Home by helping with bingo nights, happy hour events and other festivities. (video by Whitney Shefte/ The Washington Post — March 1, 2013)
A gem for the nation — John Hughes, president of the community group “Friends of the Soldiers’ home” encourages people to get to know the Home in the same way they know about other national landmarks. (video by Whitney Shefte/ The Washington Post — March 1, 2013)
History of the Home –The Armed Forces Retirement Home in northwest Washington, D.C., opened in 1851. (video by Whitney Shefte/ The Washington Post — March 1, 2013)
And finally …
Park View of the Past –The Armed Forces Retirement Home grounds in northwest Washington, D.C., used to be open to the public. (video by Whitney Shefte/ The Washington Post — March 1, 2013)
It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything about construction of the new Safeway at Georgia Avenue and Randolph. As you can see below, thus far the site has been cleared and the excavation of the building is well underway.
Ace check cashing at 3663 Georgia Avenue, from flickr user rockcreek.
When reading the daily crime reports, as many residents do, it is easy to wonder what if anything ever happens to those arrested committing crimes. Yesterday afternoon the 4D listserv posted the release below about a robbery that happened on the corner of Georgia Avenue and New Hampshire on October 6, 2012. It references a check cashing establishment which can only be the Ace at 3663 Georgia Avenue.
I found the report to be more detailed than most and, as it happened in the neighborhood, it will also be of interest to many.
District Man Sentenced to Four Years in Prison
For Robbery at Check Cashing Store
-With Help From Witnesses, Police Made Quick Arrest-
WASHINGTON – Michael Mitchell, 41, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today to a four-year prison term after earlier pleading guilty to robbing a check cashing store in Northwest Washington, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.
Mitchell pled guilty to a robbery charge in December 2012 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. He previously was convicted of multiple violent and theft-related offenses dating to the 1990s. He was sentenced by the Honorable Lynn Leibovitz. Following his prison term, Mitchell will be placed on three years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, Mitchell entered a check cashing store at Georgia and New Hampshire Avenues NW at about 9:35 a.m. on Oct. 6, 2012. At the time, six other customers waited in line, including the victim. After entering the store, he approached the victim, an immigrant to the United States who worked two jobs as a nursing assistant and was in the store to send money home to her family in Uganda. Mitchell then grabbed the victim’s purse and an envelope containing money for her family.
The victim fought back and Mitchell ripped the items from her hands and ran out of the store. Multiple eyewitnesses came to the victim’s aid and helped her chase after her attacker, keeping him in sight. Members of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) were called and caught Mitchell fleeing in the 3500 block of New Hampshire Avenue NW.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Machen commended the work of the MPD officers and detectives who investigated the case, as well as the citizens who came forward to assist the victim. He also thanked Paralegal Assistant Todd McClelland and Intelligence Specialist Sharon Johnson for their work on this case. Finally, he acknowledged the efforts of Assistant U.S. Attorney Phil Selden, from the Superior Court Felony Major Crimes Section, who prosecuted the case.
Annie’s Ace Hardware owner Anne Stom (right) with her partner Lyn Stoesen.
It hardly seems possible that Annie’s Ace Hardware (1240 Upshur Street, NW) has been open a full year. I feel like it’s only been a few month since I first posted the news that the Park View/Petworth/Columbia Heights area would be getting a new, full service hardware store. Yet, a year it’s been … and a great year at that.
On Saturday, February 9th, Annie’s celebrated their year anniversary with cake and coffee for customers. I understand Ward 4 Councilmember Muriel Bowser was scheduled to stop by as well, but I needed to leave prior to her arrival. There was also a raffle customers could participate in, but I don’t know the outcome of that (perhaps someone from Annie’s can help me out here). I thought it was a very nice way for Annie’s to celebrate their anniversary and in keeping with the store’s focus on providing great customer service and giving back to the community.
Anniversary cakes prior to cutting.
Also in that spirit, I continue to notice new services and products every time I go to Annie’s. On this last visit, I read that they will begin a knife sharpening service this week and they now carry Edison style light bulbs — and not just in 40 watts, but also 20 and 60 watts (see image below for Edison selection).
So, Happy Anniversary Annie’s! It’s been a great year with a great area business!
Edison style light bulb selection now available at Annie’s Ace Hardware
"The territory comprising Park View extends from Gresham Street north to Rock Creek Church Road, and from Georgia Avenue to the Soldiers' Home grounds, including the triangle bounded by Park Road, Georgia Avenue, and New Hampshire Avenue" (from Directory and History of Park View, 1921.)
Metrorail disruptions WUSA-TV – DC News Washington Business Journal
