Commissioner Steve Holtzman (ANC 6B05) has announced a meeting of the Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6B Livable Communities Task Force. The Task Force invites residents to participate in a stocktaking and review of plans for the triangular park north of Pennsylvania Ave between Eighth and Ninth Streets SE, colloquially known as the site of “Plastic Park”.
The meeting will take place 7:00 p.m Monday March 11 at The Corner Store Arts (900 South Carolina Ave. SE), located on the corner of Ninth Street and South Carolina Avenue SE directly opposite the northeast corner of Parcel 1.
The site is part of the Eastern Market Metro Plaza (EMMP) project, set for renovation by a team led by the District Department of General Services (DGS) starting this fall. DGS has also held two community meetings on the topic.
There will be no formal presentations at the meeting of the ANC task force. Instead the meeting will serve as a lightly-structured forum for community members to come together for a pragmatic discussion of their priorities for the Parcel 1 Park in advance of the April 3rd public presentation of the final concept plan for the DGS-led Eastern Market Metro Park Plaza (EMMPP) project. The meeting will also be an opportunity to share views on the Parcel 1 design with ANC6B commissioners to help inform the ANC’s eventual formal review of the Eastern Market Metro Park Project.
Meeting Agenda
Following a brief introduction of the park and its context, the time will be divided in 20-minute segments tentatively focused on the following subject areas:
- Children and The Playground: Playground placement within parcel, design, components, accompanying adults, safety
- Multi-generational uses of the Park: looking desired activities, types of recreation, social interaction, special needs
- Dogs and their human friends: evaluating the demand for pet space, focus, and scope for a dog run
- Design and utilization of green space: including functionality, esthetics, security, maintenance/sustainability, viability/demand for a community garden space, the merits of lawn vs. astro-turf or alternatives
- Accommodating special events in parcel 1: Discussing pros & cons of doing so, and options and implications for space utilization
- Keeping the Park Safe: how can the space be kept active during the day and the evening?
- Making it OUR space: ways of associating space with community, such as installing community art, naming the park, User Associations, Friends of the Park
Follow-Up meetings on these or other identified issue areas will be demand-driven. None of the topics above can be adequately discussed within the time parameters of one meeting. There will be sign-up sheets for each of these focus areas.
The DGS parcel one designs can be found at: https://dgs.dc.gov/page/eastern-market-metro-park-project
If you can’t make it to this meeting, but want to participate in specific issue groups or have questions or comments please reach out your ANC commissioner or contact Steve Holtzman, ANC6B05 (6b05@anc.dc.gov)
The next community meeting held by the DGS Design Team on the EMMP Project is scheduled for April 3 in the North Hall of Eastern Market.
