ANC2f meeting this Wednesday--Ghana Cafe protest continues

This month's ANC2f meeting will take place on Wednesday, February 2 at 7 PM at the Luther Place Memorial Church (NOT the usual ANC2f meeting location). The full agenda can be found below.

It's a rather quiet meeting agenda (pending any last-minute agenda items), but one thing worth mentioning is the unresolved protest against 14th Street restaurant Ghana Cafe and their plans for an outdoor summer garden. By some accounts, negotiations with owner Tony Opare have not gone particularly smoothly. Wednesday night's meeting promises an update on the status of the summer garden protest.

Also on the agenda is an update from the Arts Overlay Committee (to discuss the new banners that have recently been hung throughout the neighborhood) as well as a scintillating discussion about trash pickup in the alleyway between CVS, Logan Hardware and the Whole Foods.

ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION 2F REGULAR MONTHLY PUBLIC MEETING
Wednesday, February 2, 2011 – 7:00 PM

LUTHER PLACE MEMORIAL CHURCH – 1226 Vermont Avenue, NW
The Church is directly across the street from Washington Plaza Hotel,
and may be entered on the Vermont Avenue side.

AGENDA

COMMUNITY FORUM

Call to Order – 7:00
Commissioner Announcements – 7:00
Report from Executive Office of the Mayor – 7:00
Report from Office of Jack Evans, City Council Member, Ward 2-0 – 7:00
PSA 307 Report – Metropolitan Police Department, 3D – 7:10
DDOT Report – Ward 2 Transportation Planner – 7:25
Community Announcements – 7:30
- 10 Minute Recess -

Business Meeting

Approval of Agenda – 7:40
Approval of Minutes of Meeting of January 5, 2010 – 7:40
DCHSEMA/Street Closures – 7:50
Bike DC

ABRA – 8:00

Ghana Café status of protest against summer garden

Education Committee – 8:10


DDOT – 8:20


Crime and Public Safety Committee – 8:25


Community Development Committee (Mike Benardo, Chair) – 8:30

1513-1521 14th Street, NW Application for Variance
1432 Q Street, NW – Application for Variance
1211 10th Street, NW – Application for Variances

Arts Overlay Committee – 8:40


New Business – 8:45

P Street Greenway Project
Amendment of Bylaws and appointment of CDC member
Trash pick-up alley way between CVS, ACE Hardware, and Whole Foods

Treasurer’s Report (Matt Raymond, Treasurer) – 8:55

Approval of Expenditures
Approval of 1st Quarter 2011 Report

Adjournment - 9:00

Ready, Set, Run! P Street Retail Shuffle

Many is the time that I have commented to Mrs. 14th & You that I wondered how stationery store The Written Word managed to remain in business in such a high-rent location as the 1400 block of P Street. They hardly ever seemed to be open, and the selection was a bit strange.


Well, as it turns out, they no longer are open have moved to a new location at 1926 17th Street. Coming in July to the space next to Logan Tavern is the latest branch of local running store chain Pacers. Combined with female athletic apparel chain Lululemon a little further down the block, you will be able to have most of your athletic apparel needs met on P Street (guys may have to do a little searching)--thus allowing you to burn off the calories you are no doubt putting on during your frequent trips to Pitango and the new Whole Foods Grill. (And if all of that credit card swiping has got you stressed out, head across the street to Flow Yoga for a little peace of mind.) DC didn't earn the title of America's Fittest City for nothing, you know.

Speaking of Whole Foods, they are in the midst of some rather significant renovations to their store. You've probably already noticed the change to the outdoor sidewalk seating arrangements, which actually took their seating capacity down by about 30 people (believe it or not), but actually makes for a more enjoyable experience. Next on the agenda: significant interior renovations, including a new mezzanine level cafe, new prepared food stations, an artisanal pizza oven (which is all the rage these days), and other store improvements. Borderstan has the full run-down.

According to the store's GM, the renovations should be complete by November. In the meantime, they will be kicking up some dust in their store, and warn that "some items might not be in their normal location". Which means you may have to go a bit out of your way to find the Weird Spiders section.

SweetGreen Opens Tomorrow

The latest entry into the Logan dining scene opens tomorrow. SweetGreen, the DC-based salad and frozen yogurt shop, will be open for business as of noon tomorrow at their new P Street location, located across from Whole Foods in the Metropole building.

SweetGreen's menu consists of a variety of gourmet salads, such as "the bondi" (arugula with chicken, avocado, sweet corn, hearts of palm and wasabi peas) and "la scala" (romaine, salami, mozzarella, chick peas, grape tomatoes and chopped basil). The frozen yogurt comes in one flavor--tart--and can be dressed up with any number of combinations of fruit and other toppings. The Logan location is their fourth; other locations are in Georgetown, Bethesda and Dupont.



It will be interesting to see whether SweetGreen will be able to carve out a niche for themselves in their new location. With Pitango Gelato right next door, it's questionable how much P Street needed a fro-yo place, and the presence of Whole Foods and their salad bar presents options for diners looking to pick up some greenery. But SweetGreen's salads have drawn rave reviews, and the prospects of being able to get a healthy dinner option that doesn't involve fighting the masses at Whole Foods is indeed enticing.

Curious to find out for yourself? Stop by starting tomorrow and see what you think.

Snow Ridiculousness, Ch. 1

The line in front of Whole Foods at approximately 8 PM this evening. These people were waiting to get into the store. (Apologies for the crummy shot...it was from my cell phone.)

In preparation for the white death, Whole Foods is closing early

So, over here at 14thandyou we have to confess to getting a modicum of perverse pleasure out of the coming snowpacalypse. Two double-digit snows in one season? It's like I never left Ohio. 16" - 24"? That's ridiculous, but survivable provided you have enough hot cocoa, snacks and and acceptable NetFlix supply.

It's impossible to say what local businesses will or won't be open this weekend. During December's snowgasm, the businesses that were open was mixed: as a general rule, those that pulled their employees from nearby were able to open, whereas those whose employees had to commute in had a much tougher time of it. As always, the best advice is to place a call before heading out anywhere.

And speaking of heading out, if you were planning on making a P Street Whole Foods run this evening, beware: the store is shutting down an hour early for a staff meeting. This staff meeting probably couldn't come at a worse time, what with everyone racing out for their milk and rock salt.

The January ANC Meeting: Inauguration Madness!

It was a dark and stormy night, but that didn't stop a standing-room-only crowd from attending the first ANC2f meeting of 2009, and with good reason: with the inauguration now less than 2 weeks away, and a multitude of questions surrounding issues related to parking, business operating hours and security the community has a lot of interest in the discussion and decisions that will be coming down this evening.

We've already written about the decision by the ANC not to protest the applications of businesses in good standing with the ANC who wish to partake in the extra hours for the inauguration, so I'll cover some of the other issues that came up at Wednesday night's meeting.

People Who Live Near the Convention Center Are $%#@ed

Sorry to be Debbie Downer here, but that was really my only take-away from the information we were getting this evening. It seems that, due to the 400-or-so inaugural balls that will be held at the Convention Center, the Secret Service will be setting up security checkpoints around the Convention Center and areas where Obama will be showing up (such as Union Station); residents in these areas must provide proof that they live in area: a driver's license, utility bill, mail, etc. will suffice. If you have people from out of town staying with you, you will need to stay with them, otherwise they won't be allowed into the secure area. Mike Bernardo mentioned that during past inaugurations there have been problems with residents getting to their own homes without IDs. In other words, don't expect the Secret Service to follow you back to your house and watch you try your house key.

The official line from the city is that they are now anticipating 2 million people coming into District--better than the 4 million we had been hearing earlier, but about four times the number of people that typically show up for the 4th of July celebration. The District will be closing several bridges and making one all bridges pedestrian- and bicycle-only into and out of Virginia.

Also, if you live in Logan Circle--or pretty much any place in the central city--parking is likely going to be a nightmare for you. In case you've been living in your cave (or poorly lit English basement) for the last three months, you've probably heard that the parking restrictions in the central city will run north to P Street, which is bad news for the people who live south of P and will need to relocate their cars, and for those of us who live north of P who will likely be the recipient of said cars. Our suggestion: park your car by next Wednesday, and don't touch it. Otherwise, you may end up having to park in Deanwood or something. And nobody wants that.

Believe it nor not, there were other topics addressed other than inaugural/end-of-life-as-we-know-it issues, including

Dustin Cole's Vendetta Against Whole Foods

OK, we'll admit that "vendetta" might be a tad strong, but really--the oddest point in the night had to be when Commissioner Cole interrupted the otherwise-routine approval of the agenda to request that an item be added to discuss Whole Foods' "violation of the District's single-sales ban." Visibly perplexed, ANC Chairman Charles Reed inquired with Commissioner Cole how he knew tht Whole Foods was violating the single-sales ban.

"Because I've seen them." came the response.

At this point, two things were noted by Reed and Commissioner Matt Raymond: that the ANC and Whole Food were parties to an agreement that allowed Whole Foods an exemption to enforcement of the single-sales ban, and that ABRA was respecting that agreement.

It's unclear whether or not Cole was aware of the agreement before moving to have the item added to the agenda, but at this point it should have been obvious that a discussion on the matter that evening would serve no real purpose. Undeterred, Cole pressed on, asking for the item to remain because we wanted a "discussion" followed by "possible action" against Whole Foods. Reed inquired as to whether a representative from Whole Foods had been notified that Cole was planning on raising the issue this evening; Cole responded that he had spoken with the store manager, but had not specifically notified them that a potential for action against the store would arise at the ANC meeting.

More back-and-forth continued, with Raymond reminding the Commission of the importance of "due process" and of having a representative from Whole Foods at the meeting to answer any charges that may be leveled. Reed reiterated that he wasn't sure why there needed to be a discussion to begin with. Still, the discussion pressed on, eating up nearly 15 minutes of time at the meeting.

Ultimately, the issue was tabled until the February meeting. It was truly one of the odder events I've seen transpire at an ANC meeting--and I've seen a number of them. Maybe Cole had a similar experience at Whole Foods as we did, getting a "fresh" turkey for Thanksgiving that ended up being frozen?

"The Space" Is Not a Good Neighbor

"Imagine coming home on Thursday evening and knowing that you won't sleep again until Sunday."

That was testimony from one of the many neighbors of Shaw nightclub "The Space" who came to protest the club owner's behavior--and ABRA's lack of enforcement against it.

It seems that the "private" club operating at 9th and and N streets isn't quite so private. The club is over-capacity most evenings, ignores noise regulations and, perhaps most annoyingly, operates an illegal outdoor deck the resides mere feet from the bedroom windows of its neighbors. The owner of the club is an Australian with a bad temper (he has been arrested for assaulting one of the neighbors whom he thought called the police against him) who doesn't--or doesn't care to--have a good grasp of the protocol necessary for keeping his club operational. (For instance, he failed to show at an ABRA hearing on the aforementioned deck, leading to a dismissal of the application.)

Even more infuriating was the fact that an ABRA inspector visited the property over the summer, took pictures, admitted that there appeared to be violations, then...nothing.

Unfortunately, problems arose when the discussion turned to potential actions that the ANC could take against the club. The voluntary agreement that the residents brought with them was between their building's landlord and the club owner--the ANC was not party to it. It could not be determined whether or not the ANC had an agreement with the Space.

Everyone agreed that the current situation was untenable, and the ANC agreed to move forward to find out if they did have a VA with the club, and also to explore possibilities for filing an emergency protest to get the club's liquor license pulled immediately. Chairman Reed however was not optimistic about this line of action, and wanted the ANC first to determine the existence of a VA with the club and to follow all proper channels so that ABRA "wouldn't have a reason NOT to follow through on a protest."

This matter will certainly be raised again, likely at the February meeting. In the meantime, The Space's neighbors are looking at a minimum of several ore weeks of obnoxious and antagonistic behavior from the club. We'll be following up with a later post on this issue as things develop.

There were other matters addressed at the meeting, but by this point Mr. 14thandyou--who hadn't yet had dinner--needed to excuse himself from the proceedings. It was certainly a fun night for all involved...