The new neighborhood bakery, BakeHouse, is planning to open this Wednesday morning at 1407 T St NW.
 
I walked by this morning and saw their new furniture is out on the patio. I like the orange! (Also, don't mind my index finger on the bottom left).

Their listed hours are:

Mon - Thu: 7am - 9pm
Friday: 7am - 11pm
Saturday: 8am - 11pm
Sunday: 8am - 9pm

UPDATE: Check out the menu and interior pictures from Borderstan: here

In December, a group a residents petitioned the District government to enact a moratorium, or temporary cease, on the issuance of liquor licenses in the 14th Street and U Street corridors. The petition, which discusses a number of critical issues like public safety and noise, asks for a five year halt on all new liquor licenses, for all classes of establishments, in an 1800 foot radius around 1211 U St NW. 

After three public meetings and dozens of phone calls and email exchanges with residents, I have written a draft resolution opposing the moratorium. I will introduce it at our May 8th ANC 2B meeting.

This is the culmination of months of effort from colleagues like Kevin O’Connor (2B02) and Will Stephens (2B08) and me who have tried to set up a process that is fair and reasonable for collecting input and making a decision.

I welcome your thoughts on the draft resolution – there will not be a ton of time at the May 8th meeting for public input and deliberation, so please let me know what you think as soon as you can.

Finally, thank you so much to everyone who participated in this process, no matter what your opinion may be. We have some of the most thoughtful, intelligent and dedicated residents in our neighborhood, which makes it such a great place to live.

The draft resolution is available at the Dupont ANC’s website: here

One of several local theatre options in the neighborhood, the Spooky Action Theatre is performing Optimism! Or Voltaire’s Candide and tonight’s performance is Pay What You Can. 

The show runs April 25 to May 19. Shows are Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 8 pm; Sundays at 3 pm. Regular tickets go for $20-25.

Spooky Action Theatre is located at 1810 16th St NW – Please use the Church entrance on 16th St. 

This is a great chance to get some of the potholes in our neighborhood repaired quickly. The easiest way I've found to report issues is by using the DC311 app. You can take a picture of the concern and upload it right from your phone.

I'll be walking around the neighborhood this weekend looking for potholes and sidewalk issues to report and I encourage you all to do the same.

From a DDOT press release this morning:

The Dupont Circle Advisory Neighborhood Commission's Alcohol Policy Committee will host a listening session on the proposed liquor license moratorium for 14th and U Streets. The Dupont ANC (2B) will vote to support or oppose the moratorium petition at its May 8th meeting. This listening session is an opportunity for residents and business owners to speak directly to the 2B Alcohol Policy Committee, which may formulate a recommendation for consideration by the ANC.
 
More information on the proposed moratorium can be found here, including a map of the proposed impacted area for ANC 2B.
 
2B Moratorium Listening Session
Wednesday April 17, 2013
7:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Chastleton Cooperative Ballroom 
1701 16th Street NW

(Location tentative and will be confirmed next week)
 
This is not your only chance to have your voice heard! You can always email me directly or send a note to the Alcohol Policy Committee with your thoughts on the proposal.

Hope to see you next Wednesday!

The Dupont Circle Advisory Neighborhood Commission will hold its monthly meeting on Wednesday April 10th at 7pm. The agenda is published on our ANC website.

Some highlights include:

• Every liquor license is required to be renewed once every four years. Currently restaurant, hotel, and specialty licenses are renewing and the ANC will consider 25 of them on Wednesday.
  
  
• Application by the Embassy of India to erect a statue on public space near 2020 Massachusetts Ave.

• Consideration of a resolution to request a one month delay in the historic review of new construction at 1412 T St NW.
  
  

The ANC meets on the second Wednesday of the month at the Brookings Institution, 1775 Massachusetts Ave. 

This week, a nearby resident posted on twitter a picture of shattered glass around a broken bus shelter near 14th and T Streets.
 
It took exactly four words in a tweet to notify WMATA and the District Department of Transportation, who came out hours later to repair the shelter and clean up the sidewalk.

It was great to see social media and our government agencies at work. If you see something in the neighborhood that could use fixing, call 311, submit a request online, or just give me a call!

By the way, the bus stop looked great this morning. Check it out:

Yesterday morning, I testified along with two other ANC Commissioners and six members of the public before the DC Council Committee on Transportation. Councilmember Mary Cheh held a hearing on the Bicycle Safety Amendment Act of 2013 as well as broader bicycle and pedestrian safety issues.

My testimony is available here and a video of the hearing can be viewed on the Council website. (I think I begin around minute 17). 

This was my first time testifying as an ANC Commissioner and it was truly an honor to represent the Dupont neighborhood on something so important as transportation safety. Our ANC supports the bill and continued traffic safety efforts, though I was very glad to have the opportunity to offer suggestions to Councilmember Cheh on the legislative language.

In particular, we had concerns about the term “safe accommodation” as it relates to the proposed requirement for construction projects blocking sidewalks and bicycle lanes. This is an important safety measure for pedestrians and bikers and Councilmember Cheh recognized at the hearing that the language was “a little nebulous”. I hope to work with her staff to develop a statutory definition of the term to better protect walkers and bikers.

I had a great time testifying today and I hope to represent our neighborhood more regularly before the Council as well as city boards and commissions.

Earlier this month the Dupont Circle ANC passed a resolution in support of the Bicycle Safety Amendment Act of 2013. I previously posted that resolution, which included suggestions for improvements to the legislative language.

This morning, around 11:30, I will be testifying before the DC Council Committee on Transportation in support of the bill on behalf of the neighborhood and providing those suggestions directly to Councilmember Cheh.

Much of my perspective on bike and pedestrian was shaped by the two listening sessions on public safety that our ANC hosted last year, as well as several years of experience biking through the District.

You can read my prepared testimony below: 

I have significant concerns about the enforcement of proposed rules to require a construction project to provide “safe accommodation” to pedestrian and bicyclists when it uses a sidewalk or bike lane. This morning I will use an example in our own neighborhood, at 14th and U, to illustrate how DDOT is not enforcing current rules and may have difficulty with the new law.

You can watch me testify, live, this morning here. The hearing begins at 11:30 and I think I will present around noon. It’s an honor to represent residents of Dupont and U Street before the Council and I hope this is first of many such opportunities. 

Last night, ANC’s from U Street, Logan Circle, and Dupont Circle came together to host a listening session for the community to discuss a proposed liquor moratorium in the 14th and U St corridors. Approximately 150 people were present and almost half of them provided comment to the three ANCs.

I was extremely proud of the neighborhood turnout and the thoughtful input that individuals provided, both for and against the proposal. Those in attendance were predominantly against the moratorium, by a count of about 6 to 1. The following stories have been posted so far in local media:

Borderstan

Dcist

Washington City Paper

Greater Greater Washington

Nick Baumann

Only one question was posed to the ANC Commissioners: how will the input received be used to guide next steps? What I heard last night will weigh heavily on my decision to either support or oppose the moratorium. This is especially true of the statements made by several residents and business owners of 2B09. It was great to hear a range of views and several points were expressed that I had not thought of.

Our ANC will be voting on the matter on May 8 and I’m going to hold several “office hours” sessions in the neighborhood to offer folks another chance to speak with me, in person, about the issue.

I was proud to be at the table last night and to have helped organize the event. This is a perfect example of how our ANCs and our community can work together on issues that impact us all.  Look for announcements of future meetings here and please contact me anytime to chat!