The District Board of Elections has proposed changes to almost every voting precinct in the city. At our October ANC2B meeting, the Executive Director presented the plan and discussed how it may impact our residents. The plan will change precinct boundaries to match Single Member District boundaries throughout the city. For residents of 2B09 the proposal is to share a voting location with those in 2B04. 

You can read the full proposal from DCBOE here.

Many have concerns with the plan, including the timing of any change and how some voters may be confused about which is the correct polling place. There are, however, several positive effects of the proposal for our neighborhood:

1.       Shorter lines to vote: Previously, we have voted in the same location with four or five other SMDs and lines were dependably long. Under the proposal, 2B09 would share a voting location with only residents of 2B04.

2.       For many, a shorter walk to vote: The proposal right now is to vote at the Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church at 15th and R. For many, this would mean a shorter a walk to vote, while for others it would be slightly longer. Either way, the maximum distance is shortened from five blocks to four.

3.       Leaving the Reeves Center for good: Saying goodbye to a location that required photo ID and a security checkpoint to vote is a win for our neighborhood and for civil liberties.

4.       Cost savings to the city: the DCBOE claims the proposal will save approximately $80,000 in ballot printing costs per general election.

So what do you think? We have another month to submit comments and I’d love to hear from you about how the plan may impact you and your neighbors. In addition, we can request a different polling place if the Fifteenth Street Church is too inconvenient – what might be better? Let me know!

On behalf of over 20,000 residents of Dupont Circle, ANC2B submitted a Community Impact Statement to the sentencing judge for the case of a serial robber who has been arrested almost 50 times. 

According to our MPD District Commander, Gregory Teal is the most likely suspect for any theft from auto in our neighborhood. He has been arrested and convicted of dozens of crimes, but he seems to consistently wind up back in Dupont, Logan, Foggy Bottom and U Street smashing windows and stealing from cars. Recently, he was once against convicted of a felony and MPD asked us to submit a statement to the judge requesting a tough but fair sentence. 

Kishan Putta and I requested comments from neighbors who have been victims of these types of crimes and submitted the statement below to Judge Stuart Nash. Mr. Teal could face up to ten years in prison and though he was not convicted of a violent crime, we thought a significant prison sentence was just. In the end, we requested: 

You can read the full statement, which includes neighbors testimony, after the jump. 

Prince of Petworth has a story about a man walking his two dogs at 14th and S this morning when a car struck them and dragged one his dogs for "30 or 50 feet". Miraculously the dog survived and no people we injured, but he needs witnesses who may have been there to come forward for insurance reasons. He explains:

He thinks the costs for his dog's treatment could be in the thousands and that her "best bet at this point is to have firm witness accounts documented in the police report so the driver’s insurance company might be compelled to cover the costs.”

Please email him if you know anything about this incident. Thanks and be safe out there! 

The Louis project’s construction is progressing nicely and scaffolding is actually starting to come down! Soon, the roof will take shape and construction on the 14th Street sidewalk and public space will begin. The timeline shows that the sidewalk will be completed next month and apartment and retail spaces will be available in early 2014.

If you have any concerns or questions about the project, please e-mail the project atJBGlouis14@jbg.com. You may also contact Andrew Hennemuth, the construction manager for the project, at ahennemuth@jbg.com or 240-333-3723.

Finally, Project Managers send out monthly construction updates and October’s is available here:

The Dupont Circle ANC will have its monthly public meeting tomorrow, October 9th at 7:00 p.m. at the Brookings Institution (1775 Massachusetts Ave).  The agenda is available here.

Some highlights from the agenda for our neighborhood include:

1.       Request from Policy Restaurant at 1902-6 14th Street NW to allow for additional holiday hours.

2.       Application to HPRB and BZA for proposed zoning variance for renovation of 1421 Swann St NW.

3.       Neighborhood Impact Statement for the sentencing of Gregory Teal – a serial burglar who has been connected to over 40 thefts from automobiles in our neighborhood.

Hope to see you there!

Today the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board stood with the vast majority of residents and business owners in our neighborhood and unanimously rejected a proposal to limit the number of restaurants and bars in the 14th and U Street corridor. All four affected Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, which the Board clearly afforded great weight, had voted to oppose the moratorium proposal.

ANC’s from Dupont, Logan and U Street worked together for months to gather neighborhood input and draft resolutions that reflected the views of the community at large.  I can’t say enough about how wonderful it was to work with folks like Jeremy Leffler (ANC1B), Matt Raymond (ANC2F) and Kevin O’Connor (Chair of the ANC2B Alcohol Policy Committee). Even if the decision of the Board were different, the process built lasting relationships and proved how important it is to collaborate across arbitrary neighborhood lines.

Back in May, I testified at the ABC Board on behalf of ANC2B – you can read our resolution here.  

With its decision today, the ABC Board confirmed that the influx of new liquor licensed establishments has been positive for the neighborhood, which we heard over-and-over again in our listening sessions. As I’ve shared before, a moratorium is a blunt tool that cannot distinguish between good and bad actors – it assumes any establishment selling alcohol will be detrimental to the community. It also unfairly favors incumbent businesses, turning their licenses into commodities that can be sold and traded.

As I’ve also said, we cannot ignore the concerns of neighbors who live near these businesses. They have legitimate complaints and there are reasonable controls that the ABC Board (with advice from the ANC) can implement to protect neighbors, including the negotiation of Settlement Agreements that require soundproofing, rat abatement, parking considerations, and limits on outdoor operation hours.

THANK YOU to all of the neighbors who called and emailed, met for coffee, and spoke up at meetings. This remains an important and emotional issue and no matter your viewpoint, I hope that you felt your voice was heard in the process.

UPDATE: The ABC Board has published a press release on the decision, including a copy of their 32 page signed order.