Monday, 23 April 2012

Re: [WardFive] W5 Residents Consider Future-Post Thomas


William,
     I agree with you on all fronts.  The whole process - 901 Monroe is a great example -- is tainted by people who looked out for their selfish interests to the detriment of the community.  We got nothing, because we didn't ask for anything!!   We all have to think more broadly and much more long term, because we're all being victimized by the old game of "divide and conquer."  Everybody wants to have their little fiefdom, so they can be king or queen and in the end none of us will have anything.  Like Tupac and Biggie fighting over east vs west when neither one of them owned a square inch of real estate. 
 
I believe the problem isn't so much what the City can or will not do, but how the citizens in the area can combine their collective strength to do something meaningful in the community  -- like create a community center.  What we need is the collective will to make a difference and nobody can do that for us.  There's no room for apathy when children's futures at at stake.
 
                                          Hazel 

Hazel thank you for this information. This is so disappointing that a meanfuling package was not put in place for the community. I am really pushing in Edgewood for the 4th and RI project by H Street Development to help out with making Shaed Elementary into the new Edgewood Community Center. I have expressed to them that if they do not play fair, the community is ready protest like never before in W5. People are already complaining about the prices of the condos and apartments for rent. How can our City Council allow developers to use the Area Median Income(AMI) instead of the Community Median Income(CMI)? We know Virginia salaries almost triple the median DC salary.
 
Our ANC commissioners have to really get on board with packages that enhance/benefit the community. We have to partner with developers so they are responsible in helping the community improve the quality of life beyond construction. This is the status quo for developers all over the world now. Exxon has been in the forefront for years due to protests in Africa to change the way they do business with the community. A building should not get built without W5 contractors, W5 people employed, and  a community benefit package attached from this point forward.
 
Enough is Enough.
 
 
Boston
 
  
 
To: wardfive@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [WardFive] W5 Residents Consider Future-Post Thomas
From: thomashazelb@aol.com
Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:24:57 -0400


Please be sure to get your facts straight.  Eddie Johnson did a draft revised plan of 901 Monroe that showed how the density and height of the project could be reduced while maintaining the integrity of the project.  However, he wasn't given an opportunity to share it with the community.  He also had a suggested Community Benefits Package, because as it is, the immediate community, particularly children, will get virtually nothing from the development.  The children who live on 7th and 8th Streets need a park, but they won't be getting anything.  
 
                                       Hazel

-----Original Message-----
From: Geoffrey Hatchard <hatchard@gmail.com>
To: wardfive <wardfive@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Mon, Apr 23, 2012 11:55 am
Subject: Re: [WardFive] W5 Residents Consider Future-Post Thomas

I'm sorry, but can someone please provide facts that show higher population density (with more disposable income) means that businesses in the neighborhood will close? It's difficult to believe on its face. If you have a study that can back this premise, I'll gladly rescind my disbelief, but this thesis is counter-intuitive on its face.

Geoff

On Mon, Apr 23, 2012 at 11:48 AM, <jeromepeloquin@fastmail.fm> wrote:
I completely agree with William here.  The CUA complex (Monroe Market) and other in progress construction are effectively "12th Street Killers."   Where is the Eddie Johnson and The, so called, absentee managers of the Brookland Business Assoc?
 
Jerry in opposition
 
 
----- Original message -----
From: William Boston <w_boston@msn.com>
To: ward5 groups <wardfive@googlegroups.com>
Subject: RE: [WardFive] W5 Residents Consider Future-Post Thomas
Date: Mon, 23 Apr 2012 10:48:40 -0400
 
Hi Jerry/community,
There is only one huge problem here. I don't here anyone discussing a plan to keep 12th street alive when 901 and RI are completed. I am sure you have had some early discussions on this issue, but it needs to be broaden now rather than later. Have all the small business owners met and discuss the future of 12th street? There should be a strategy in place from RI to Michigan to support all the small businesses to continue to stay afloat. What is Office of Planning, d., and WMAT saying about this? Have all 3 of the ANCs written/adopted a resolution on the matter? Has the Small Area Plan for Brookland been updated to reflect the needs of the small business owners. In many of our neighborhoods development is planned, but there has not been a Small Areal Plan funded by the council to hear from the community. Not good.
 
I suggested to the Council that all Small Area Plans include a section for small businesses to be addressed in partnership with the community. This would be a proactive move to head off future issues with community/ANC. I would hope that all the ANCs adopt a resolution on this matter due to all the development projected in W5. I would love here someone speak on the Crowding/Density issues we will be facing. People just need to be educated about all the issues. It seems we have gone from one extreme to the other so quickly. No development/services, now a great deal in a short period of time.
 
Boston
 
From: jeromepeloquin@fastmail.fm
To: wardfive@googlegroups.com; ward5@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [WardFive] W5 Residents Consider Future-Post Thomas
Date: Sun, 22 Apr 2012 23:16:43 -0400

Good piece ... it would have been more dramatic and provided more light if they mentioned our own Rob Ramson who had the courage and foresight to build a national class luxury B & B on 12th Street and then ... to support the opening of one of the city's most popular and trendy watering holes (with a vegan twist)  ... Ramson's establishment has added both class and quality to the Michigan Ave end of Brookland and provides the potential for a 12th Street resurgence.  Now if only someone would do the same thing at R.I. Ave.
 
Jerry in opposition
 
----- Original message -----
From: Gigi Ransom <gigifor5c12@yahoo.com>
To: Ward5 <ward5@yahoogroups.com>, wardfive Google <wardfive@googlegroups.com>
Subject: [WardFive] W5 Residents Consider Future-Post Thomas
Date: Sun, 22 Apr 2012 12:33:05 -0700 (PDT)
 
"Let there be Light"
Albrette "Gigi" Ransom
 

Ward 5 Residents Consider Future-Post Thomas

 
Rate this item
(0 votes)
 
 
 
Rhode Island Row, located in Northeast next to the Metro station, boasts 274 residential units and 70,000-square feet of retail space./ Rhode Island Row, located in Northeast next to the Metro station, boasts 274 residential units and 70,000-square feet of retail space./ Photo by Victor Holt for The Washington Informer
 
As residents of a largely Northeast ward of the city prepare to elect a new member to the D.C. Council, many are asking questions about their ward and ultimately, the direction of the District.
The downfall of Harry Thomas Jr., as a member of the D.C. Council for Ward 5 has generated a great deal of discussion among the residents of Ward 5. The ward has been recognized as an economic microcosm of the city, with a solid black middle class, a growing Latino population and whites who some consider to be outsiders.
"We as a ward need to get organized because there are many changes that are taking place and we need to make sure that the views of the residents are known," said Albrette "Gigi" Ransom, an advisory neighborhood commissioner for 5C12 and a longtime activist in District politics. "There are economic development projects that are taking place on Rhode Island Avenue, North Capitol Street and Eastern Avenue and the residents need to have a say on those projects and how they are developed."
For example, Ransom cites the newly developed Rhode Island Row which boasts 274 residential units and 70,000-square-feet of retail space next to the Rhode Island Avenue Metro station. A stone's throw away from Rhode Island Place – home to the District's only Home Depot, a T.J. Maxx and a super-sized Giant Food store – which was built on the watch of former Ward 5 Council member Vincent Orange.
When Dan Mullin was transferred by his employer, the Boys Scouts of America Inc., from Virginia to the District, he shopped around and decided to make the Rhode Island Avenue area his home. Mullin, 56, who is white, said that he's happy to be in Ward 5.
"When I first came here seven years ago, I would say that the area was pleasant but there were a number of run-down businesses," he said. "Things are much better now, particularly with the development around the Metro station. We have retail, nice storefront windows and the overall appearance of the area looks better."
To some, Mullin could be considered the future of the ward because of his race. NeighborhoodInfo DC, a Web site that tracks trends in the District, indicated that the white population of the ward was 7.4 percent according to the 2000 U.S. Census Bureau report. Today, NeighborhoodInfo DC points out that in 2010 the white population jumped to 15 percent and many residents expect those numbers to dramatically increase in the coming years.
However, Mullin doesn't see himself as an outsider.
"I was born in the District," he said. "I can say that I did not encounter any hostility when I came here. My neighbors were very welcoming, and many people have moved in the neighborhood since I got here."
Ransom, 50, said that many longtime residents who are black are somewhat nervous about their new white neighbors.
"It has been a difficult conversation to have with some residents at times," she said. "You can see that when you read some of the listservs. But what it really comes down to is that we are all in this together."
While Ward 5's development prospects are positive, there are areas of concern.
Trinidad, a neighborhood known for having a high crime rate, is one of the ward's troubled spots. Despite its reputation, that didn't stop Ken Fealing from moving there from Ward 1 a few years ago.
"Trinidad is close to the 'H' Street corridor and close to North Capitol Street," Fealing, 47, said. "This is one of the reasons I moved to Ward 5. In the part of the ward I live in, people are moving into condominiums that were once apartment buildings near Gallaudet University."
He acknowledges that the Thomas scandal has taken its toll on the ward's image but he said that can be quickly repaired.
"We have to begin to repair the trust and we need to rebuild a sense of leadership integrity on the D.C. Council level," he said. "We have to be able to trust our council member."
 
 
Read 143 times
 
--
WardFive@googlegroups.com is open to WardFive residents for community discussion and information sharing.
 
To post to this group, send email to wardfive@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to wardfive+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/wardfive?hl=en
 

--
WardFive@googlegroups.com is open to WardFive residents for community discussion and information sharing.
 
To post to this group, send email to wardfive@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to wardfive+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/wardfive?hl=en
 
--
WardFive@googlegroups.com is open to WardFive residents for community discussion and information sharing.
 
To post to this group, send email to wardfive@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to wardfive+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/wardfive?hl=en
 
--
WardFive@googlegroups.com is open to WardFive residents for community discussion and information sharing.
 
To post to this group, send email to wardfive@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to wardfive+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/wardfive?hl=en

--
WardFive@googlegroups.com is open to WardFive residents for community discussion and information sharing.
 
To post to this group, send email to wardfive@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to wardfive+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/wardfive?hl=en

--
WardFive@googlegroups.com is open to WardFive residents for community discussion and information sharing.
 
To post to this group, send email to wardfive@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to wardfive+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/wardfive?hl=en
--
WardFive@googlegroups.com is open to WardFive residents for community discussion and information sharing.
 
To post to this group, send email to wardfive@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to wardfive+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/wardfive?hl=en

--
WardFive@googlegroups.com is open to WardFive residents for community discussion and information sharing.
 
To post to this group, send email to wardfive@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to wardfive+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/wardfive?hl=en
Posted by at

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)