Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6D met on Feb. 12 via Zoom. Commissioners Bob Link (6DO1, vice chair), Gail Fast (6D03), Andrea Pawley (6D04), Bruce Levine (6D06, secretary), Fredrica (Rikki) Kramer (6D07, chair) and Rhonda Hamilton (6D08) were in attendance. Ronald Collins (6D02, treasurer) was absent. Commissioner Ashton Rohmer resigned from 6D05 on Jan. 10. The seat is currently vacant.
Chair Kramer submitted a letter to the Dept. of Transportation (DDOT) addressing a plethora of transportation issues, particularly the 2024 Traffic Operations and Parking Plan (TOPP) for Nationals and DC United Stadiums. The 2024 TOPP must address the Wharf and Yards Park as well, said Kramer. It must more effectively balance the needs of residents and visitors. The agency should also hold ongoing monitoring meetings with stakeholders including the BIDS and the two commissions south of the freeway.
Commissioners Fast and Vice Chair Link objected to the letter, terming it a reiteration of past communications, which have proved ineffective. They were joined by Commissioners Pawley and Levine who advised taking a new approach.
“We need to be more forward leading and tell them what needs to be done. Clearly the TOPP process doesn’t work,” said Pawley. She advised crafting a letter offering an alternative.
“It doesn’t hit the mark of getting any response from them (DDOT),” said Fast.
The letter, Kramer countered, was not a reiteration of past epistles, but a summary of commissioners’ concerns at their earlier administrative meetings. “To not do anything and not share it seems to be a lost opportunity,” she said. Commissioner Hamilton concurred. Both Fast, Link and Commissioner Levine complemented the chair on the thoroughness of her letter.
All of the commissioners lamented DDOT’s lack of consultation over the 2024 TOPP, a draft of which has yet to be submitted to the commission.
Link proposed adding a more forceful introduction to the letter. Other commissioners concurred. They voted in favor of sending a rewritten letter with Fast remaining in opposition.
The Statue at 60 I Street
Commissioners discussed sending a protest letter authored by Chair Kramer to DDOT’s Committee on Public Space over an application it had granted for a religious statue located partially in public space in front of the newly rebuilt Bethel Pentecostal Tabernacle Assembly of God at 60 I St. SW.
The matter-of-right development built by Foulger-Pratt has proved controversial. It con-sists both of the church as well as a new 197-unit apartment building. During construction, the city permitted the company to stage its construction in a section of neighboring Lansbugh Park, which resulted in the destruction of a number of heritage trees.
The new apartment, built right to the property line, incorporates extensive exterior lighting of significant intensity and multiple color combinations. The developer did not consult ei-ther the commission or neighbors on its lighting plans.
Commissioner Rohmer, who was in office at the time of the public space application for the statue, neglected to respond to an October 2023 notice regarding the statute. So, the commission did not submit comments.
The letter under consideration simply memorializes the commission’s many objections to the project, stated Kramer.
At the suggestion of Commissioner Fast, the DC Dept. Buildings and DC Dept. of Energy and the Environment were added to the recipient list, since those agencies are responsible for lighting and the building. The DC Dept. of Parks and Recreation was also added, since it administers Lansburgh Park, where the trees have yet to be replaced. The commission unanimously approved the letter.
Public Safety
Metropolitan Police Dept. (MPD) Captains Hrebenak and Harding briefed the commission on public safety. No incidents occurred during Marti Gras at the Wharf, despite over 40,000 revelers, due to large MPD deployment, Hrebenak stated.
There were three robberies between Feb. 3 and 5 on Water Street at The Wharf. The first incident occurred at 600 Water St. SW. A man robbed a man while he was waiting for a female companion outside a restroom, he said. The second involved an attempted robbery on 1100 block of Fourth Street SW. The third robbery took place on Maine Avenue and involved a gun, he said. MPD has stepped up its daytime street patrols in Southwest, Hrebenak stated. In particular, police are conducting foot patrols on Water Street.
A women with mental health issues attacked a female jogger at Fourth and G Street SW. The victim was not seriously injured. Officers arrested the attacker.
The 1100 block of Fourth Street SW has been a hotbed of criminal activity, Harding stat-ed. MPD has now stationed a car there and is conducting joint patrols with Metro police, he said. A traffic officer has also been assigned to do enforcement at the intersection of Fourth & M Streets SW. On Feb. 4, a diner leaving Station 4 was robbed at gunpoint. A nearby officer,intervened and tussled with the suspect, who managed to flee, but left his cell phone behind.
MPD has added two crime patrols to the James Creek neighborhood. On Jan. 26, two men carjacked the vehicle belonging to a superintendent of a nearby construction site. They ditched the car a few blocks away and fled on Metro.
ABCA
ANC 6D ABCA Committee Chair Josh Perry announced his resignation effective in March. Commissioners thanked him for his service.
Chair Kramer moved to filed a protest against the liquor license application by Hen Quarter at 2121 First St. SW on the grounds of peace, order and quiet. The commission had previously voted to support a community agreement with the establishment at its January meeting. Since then, the applicant has requested an entertainment endorsement from ABCA, which is not addressed in that agreement. ABCA’s attorney’s have also asked for language be struck from the original agreement. Vice Chair Link suggested the commission move to strike the language and direct the ABCA the committee to review the entertainment endorsement. The commission then voted to file a protest with Link and Fast opposed.
Commissioner Pawley requested her colleagues to amend the Safeway Community Agreement. The amendment, she stated, expands the store’s accountability and transparency including: security levels, guard training, noise control related to live camera device, loitering in vestibule, working with MPD to bar certain people in and around premises. It has been reviewed and provisionally approved by ABCA, she said. Commissioners Fast and Link commended Pawley on work along with the ABC committee member. The amended community agreement was approved unanimously.
Other Matters
DC Dept. of Parks and Recreation (DPR) Community Engagement Manager Chris Dyer briefed the commission on the agency’s Summer Camp Lottery. Dyer also mentioned his agency’s Town Center Park Project. Commissioners Link, Pawley and Fast criticized the design of the agency’s resident survey, which involved only 172 participants. The survey did not seem connected to project, said Pawley. Questions were drawn from a standard survey tool, said Dyer.
The ANC 6D Transportation Committee is focusing on The South Capitol Street Rede-sign, M Street SW Redesign, car-bike conflicts at Fourth & O Streets SW, increasing O Street SW parking and deliveries on Maine Avenue SW. The committee has developed a tracker for 311 complaints. Secretary Levine asked the committee to examine whether the Flex posts at Fourth and M Streets can be altered to reduce bike crossovers and signaling installed. Sandor agreed to pursue the issue.
The commission voted to request the DC Dept. of Public Works (DPW) to place a new trash receptacle on O Street between Half and South Capitol to deal with trash generated by Nationals fans.
Commission voted to support:
• the Purple Stride 5K Walk;
• the renewal of SW BID Charter;
• the Cherry Blossom 5k.
ANC 6D meets at 7 p.m. on the second Monday of every month. The next meeting is March 11, 2024. For more information, visit www.anc6d.org.
