Fenty: Tenley Library will Be Able to Support New Development

An article in the Examiner by Michael Neibauer states that the District will commit up to $1 Million to construct supports able to hold new development atop the replacement Tenleytown library.

This is a partial win for smart growth advocates who have long sought to bring increased density to the neighborhood served by the Metro Red Line and several bus lines.

Wash Post on the State of Cleveland Park

Katherine Shaver suggests in this article that Cleveland Park has seen better days from a retail standpoint. Shaver suggests that, contrary to reports by many longtime residents that the broader economic situation is at fault, the Commercial Overlay , as implemented and enforced in 1989 is the culprit.

She cites the example of Yenching Palace, a former notable Chinese Restaurant which is soon to reopen as a Walgreens, yet is still counted against the food limit despite being closed for an extended period. Similarly a former McDonalds, vacant for several years has suffered the same fate.

Fortunately, Councilmember Mary Cheh has been able to secure monies to help improve the neighborhood infrastructure, including seed money to create a business association, or other community mechanism to better improve the situation. Further, as the article notes, the AWARE group, which was born out of frustration at continued delays for a neighborhood grocery store appears to have morphed into a bona fide community organization as the pending elections for the local community association near.

John Chelen Tosses Hat into CPCA Ring

As posted on the Cleveland Park Listserv:

My name is John Chelen and I'm running for President of the Cleveland Park Citizens' Association.

I have watched with alarm as our community has been torn apart, to some extent by personality issues, but even more so by what I've come to learn are misconceptions about what's good for our neighborhood.

Several neighbors approached me and asked me to run. But before agreeing, I wanted to get to the heart of what's really going on. I've met with dozens of people with different points of view and admittedly still don't have all the answers. However, I've seen enough to know that CPCA might come apart if we don't find a way back to the fundamental values that have inspired us throughout the years. Without a unified CPCA, we all lose.

Cleveland Park faces different challenges than those we thought about even two years ago. I think we all agree that it's time for CPCA to change, time to better reflect the variety in our community, and time to modernize the way the association is run and communicates.

What's exciting is that there's now a shared conviction that CPCA can make a difference. However, recent posts on the listservs have been discouraging. It's time to stop the factual errors, exaggerations, name-calling, and platitudes and begin to address our concerns. I think we can overcome our differences in the spirit of One Neighborhood. It's time to start a process of renewal.

We can't afford to accept simplistic answers to complex issues, nor can we afford leaders who think it's their way or the highway. Today's challenges can best be met with an open mind, in an inclusive, rather than divisive, manner. That's what I hope I can offer to you as your President.

We've put together a diverse team that represents the best of what Cleveland Park has to offer - people with experience and passion who look beyond their own personal short-term interests for greater long-term community benefit. I've asked these people to run with me and they've agreed. But I've also asked them to give me one last chance to reach out to you. If you're interested in joining our team, either by running for office, chairing a committee, or just pitching in, please contact me. I'll do my best to meet with each and every one of you, and then pick from the best and announce our Unity Team on September 8.

Here's a little info about me: I've lived in Cleveland Park for 30 years and have a long history of civic involvement. Professionally I'm a high-tech lawyer. I've helped develop advanced software for federal agencies and social networking and communications models underlying systems you may be using today. I have also incorporated many non-profits and developed model bylaws that effectively enable small groups to work together. Recently I helped organize my immediate neighbors to get essential street improvements that required resolution of competing ideas and cutting through city red tape.

I think we can all agree that Cleveland Park is a wonderful place to live. We have a unique combination of apartment, townhouse and single family residences, with walking access to stores, restaurants, entertainment, schools, parks, and public transit. There is a diversity of ages, ethnic backgrounds, and income levels. Keeping Cleveland Park a great place to live is everyone's goal. That requires maintaining a delicate balance among competing interests.

So, here are my goals:

Keep Cleveland Park safe and cordial, so that our neighborhood is enjoyable for everyone -- families, singles, couples, and empty-nesters.

Keep Cleveland Park dynamic and vibrant, harmonizing the need for neighborhood-serving shops, including restaurants and entertainment, while preserving our quiet spaces.

Restore Cleveland Park's historic reputation for civil discussion and inclusiveness, encourage more members to participate, and ensure that CPCA is open and welcoming to the entire community.

Revise CPCA bylaws to increase transparency and modernize the decision-making process.

Make sure that CPCA benefits us all, not just one interest group or perspective.

In the coming weeks you'll hear more from me and our other candidates who will run on the "Unity" slate with me. We'll focus on the issues many of you have raised, look at both sides, and describe how we think we can solve them, as a community.

In closing, I promise I'll serve as an advocate for all our interests and work for consensus solutions to both our current issues and the unpredictable challenges that, no doubt, will arise in the coming year. I'll work to make Cleveland Park better than it's ever been.

I look forward to your help and your vote.

John Chelen

Green your Home Expo in Ward 3

Green Your Home Expo
Saturday, September 12, 2009 - 10am to 2pm

University of the District of Columbia - Outdoor Plaza
4200 Connecticut Ave, NW Washington, DC
Metro Accessible: Van Ness - UDC Station
(Event Rain Location: Cafeteria B Level, Building 38)

Sponsored by Office of Planning, District Department of the Environment, Office of Councilmember Mary Cheh, and University of the District of Columbia

Come and learn about how to green your home, your neighborhood and save money!

Activities will include: a four-hour expo featuring energy efficiency and renewable energy companies, local advocacy organizations, green product distributors, District agencies and programs, and two panel discussions with experts on climate change and greening homes.

Enjoy live music by UDC Jazz Trio, bicycle eco-tours by Wholeness for Humanity at 10am, 12pm, and 2pm, entertainment for children, and the weekly UDC Farmers' Market!

Exhibitors include:

Astrum Solar
Capital Sun Group, Ltd.
CarbonFreeDC
Casey Trees
Clean Currents
Coalition for Smarter Growth
DC Greenworks
DC Office of Planning
District Department of the Environment
E2COHOUSE
Eco-Artware
Eco-Coach
Eco-Domo, LLC
Eco-Green Living
Elysian Energy
Green Brilliance
Green Living Consulting
IONA Senior Services
Little Falls Watershed Alliance
LiveGreen
Maggio Roofing
Office of Councilmember Mary Cheh
Office Go Green
Packtoozi, LLC
Sharing Backyards
Solar Solution, LLC
Switch Renewable Energy
University of the District of Columbia
Wholeness for Humanity
Zipcar
AND MANY MORE!

For more information contact Andrea Limauro, DC Office of Planning by email at andrea.limauro@dc.gov or by phone at 202.442.7605.

Learn more about the Expo and our upcoming Neighborhood Sustainability
Indicators Pilot Project (NSIPP) (PDF) or this PDF or here.

Cheh: Crime Update in the Ward

Neighbors,

My office has been monitoring the reports of crime in the Ward. In response, I asked 2nd District Commander Matthew Klein to help me understand the crime situation in Ward 3 as well as explain what actions are being taken to address these problems. Commander Klein provided a detailed message to me explaining crime statistics in Police Service Areas (PSA) 202 and 204 as well as the Metropolitan Police Department's plan to address crime in these areas. Below are some highlights from that report. Please keep in mind that these statistics refer to the last 30 days compared to the same period of time last year.

I am thankful to Commander Klein for taking seriously our neighborhood's problems with crime. Like many of you, I find some of these trends to be very concerning. My office will remain in contact with Commander Klein to ensure that crime in the Ward continues to be addressed.


Best regards,

Mary Cheh






Crime Statistics


1. There has been a reduction in burglaries: 30% reduction in PSA 202 and 12% reduction in PSA 204.

2. Instances of stolen autos have increased in both PSA 202 (18 this year compared to 11 last year) and 204 (38 this year compared to 27 last year).

3. Instances of theft from autos have increased in both PSA 202 (183 compared to 131 last year) and PSA 204 (26 compared to 20 last year).

Police Actions


1. Second District crime analysts are tracking burglaries, stolen autos, and thefts from autos to identify trends, commonalities, and other information that will aid in closing these cases.

2. The Second District is coordinating with other police districts to identify suspects and track statistics.

3. PSA Lieutenants will meet weekly to review plans and make adjustments in manpower allocations as needed.

4. Members of PSA 202 and 204 will walk door-to-door and disseminate information to residents and alert them of serious incidents that occur. This is also an opportunity for police to gather additional intelligence.

5. Officers will be focused on burglaries, stolen autos, and theft from auto incidents and suspicious individuals associated with those activities.

6. Officers will perform additional patrols in areas of particular interest to look for suspicious activity.

7. The Second District will deploy additional uniformed resources into PSA 202 and PSA 204.

8. Officers will conduct visual inspections of vehicles parked in targeted areas. When valuables are left in plain sight, officers will attempt to locate the owner and advise them of the increased potential for the theft of their property.

The Good Old Days according to the CPCA

The following was submitted to this forum from the Cleveland Park Citizens Association listserv, as former President Greg New opines about the "Good Old Days". Perhaps, as one respondent noted, this is why the organization needs new leadership (pardon the pun).

Dear CPCA Members,

I am still in the spirit of recalling the good old days before our executive committee (of which I am a part) brought itself into some predictable difficulties. In the present charged atmosphere it may be hard for some of our new members to realize there was ever a day when competition for office and voting were not overriding issues. Historically we have amiably accepted out-of-boundary members who were obviously interested in our programs and wanted to be on our mailing list, and who seldom thought of voting on issues.

Our most popular meetings were candidate forums, where obviously the voting took place somewhere else. Other popular issues-oriented meetings were largely informative panels, or presentations explaining potential public programs or private developments that were not at the stage where an up or down vote was called for. Presenters sought feedback, not decisions. Usually when the decisions were made, it was in another forum (e.g., in an advisory neighborhood commission meeting, or by a public agency after a public hearing. We should not assume that the association weighed in very often by testimony on either side. Only about once every year or two do matters become ripe for a CPCA vote on public issues, and on these occasions there is wide-spread notice, often a large turnout, and sometimes an extra large contingent of new members. It often happens that we seldom ever again see many of the members who turned out to vote on a hot issue, regardless of how the vote went, or which side the members happened to be on.

While voting is of utmost importance in principle, people who regularly attend citizens meetings very soon become aware of the fact that most members join citizens associations out of a general commitment to civic duty. Far from being eager to vote, the majority of the membership of an active association with good, responsive leadership appears to be quite uninterested even in keeping up with the issues. It is a rare meeting that attracts much over ten percent of the members, if that many.

It is my impression that our out-of-boundary members may be more apt to attend meetings than in-boundary folk, because they are more apt to be interested in issues. We have a reputation for putting on some pretty good programs, and that reputation brings the outsiders in. In short, it is an arguable presumption that most of out-of-boundary members see themselves as paying for information, not for the right to vote in a community where they do not reside. There is every reason to suppose that they do belong to, and vote in, an association representing their own community. If they do not, they should.

It is not customary in democratic societies to encourage people to vote twice on the same issue, once while living on one side of the street, and once again while visiting on the other side. In most cases the out-of-boundary people who speak of losing a legitimate right to vote in Cleveland Park are asserting a right to vote twice on the same issue.

Another matter on which some new members may have an unrealistic assumption of what motivates people centers on competition for leadership. That is, they assume not only that competition exists in citizens associations, but that such competition is the usual state in such associations. It is most emphatically not the usual state. Very few people want leadership positions in neighborhood groups. They have to be asked, and often pressured to run, and there is seldom a challenger.

I can recall my own "call to duty" in 1997 as an example of the problem. While my experience is far from typical, it reflects the spirit that drives leadership of neighborhood groups better that the present supercharged atmosphere does. Back in those good old days the CPCA nominating committee consisted of three past presidents. As the bylaws quaintly put it, "In the event the full body [of the nominating committee] cannot be constituted in this manner, the vacancy shall be filled by the Executive Committee." Heaven forbid that there ever be a competition among more than three past presidents all eager to extend their power. In reality it became increasingly difficult to find people to serve even on the nominating committee. In spite of a three-term limit (of one year each), two presidents had between them filled the office for 19 of the preceding 29 years, and the ranks of past presidents dwindled and aged. With little help coming from an aging executive committee, the incumbent president, then nearly on his deathbed, became the nominating committee by default. He managed to come up with a slate for all offices except the president. I had declined, the honor because I had a demanding (and rewarding) job, and preferred to wait until I retired (which I did five years later at age 76).

So there we were, election night, and no candidate for president. I then reluctantly agreed to accept the office, and served my three terms. If I could have served five years later, I could have devoted much more time to the office. We were fortunate in persuading Isabel Furlong to serve the next two years, and George Idelson to serve the last seven. His long service, of course, involved virtually abandoning the term limit.

A third aspect of reality involves the process of decision making that reluctant leaders chiefly motivated by an ill-defined sense of duty are able to solicit from a membership most of which tends to be unenthusiastic about any specific issue that comes up for decision. The lack of strong feeling creates another reality, often noted in democratic society, that the negative side on any issue is usually much stronger than the positive side. In a stable community like Cleveland Park, generally satisfied with the current level of development, a lot of us are weakly supportive of some additional development, but easily alarmed by the prospect of too much new development. Thus our enthusiasm for any development is apt to be muted. The opponents prove to have more fire in their bellies that the proponents in almost every case.

The leadership of neighborhood associations learns to respond to this reality by defensive policy making. One minor incident illustrates the point. A developer was asked to make a presentation to CPCA regarding plans to rehabilitate and slightly enlarge a small apartment house. The tone of our response was set by half a dozen to a dozen new members from the apartment house in question, who "packed" the meeting in opposition to plans that disrupted their haven. The result was obvious. Not even proponents of affordable housing would consider a few more apartments worth going to bat for. More people would worry about setting a precedent for some bigger development in their back yard than would commit themselves to support such a small development. The matter never had to come to a vote. The developers eventually found a way to rehabilitate their building that sidestepped an appeal to the community. The policy of the association has been set by default by a handful of people who never had to cast a vote, and who were never seen again.

Leaders soon learn that lynching parties almost invariably come from opponents, not proponents. About the only thing that will bring out support for a controversial new development is a good conspiracy theory. It is unrealistic to expect a solid phalanx of public spirited members to come gallivanting to the rescue of an impartial decision making process. But if you have dragons to slay and damsels to rescue, that is another matter. Once proponents of a development see themselves as opposed by dragons, there is no villainy that they might not learn to suspect. And, of course, they must protect the community from such obviously threatening dragons by staging a good lynching party.

Upon hearing rumors of a proposed lynching party the normally laid back CPCA leaders from yesteryear started entertaining their own visions (if we may call them that), vivid images of a hoard of greedy developers laying waste to their cherished community. After decades of deft response to community concerns, they soon lost their feel of the public pulse.

An impartial outsider could see exaggerated fears on both sides. A humorist could see the makings of a Gilbert and Sullivan opera. Fortunately we can hope that in the looming battle the community will be more amused than scarred, and the damage will be limited to the dignity and imaginations of the performers on one side or the other.

In any case, the battle on the issue has already been essentially won in the proper public forum. It was won by proponents of a modest development that they hope will facilitate a magnificent new Giant. The opponents of the PUD failed to paint the five-story building with four stories of apartments and the loss of the overlay limiting restaurants as threatening to the larger community. More importantly, most people (especially among the those who still do not like the accessory developments just named) are impatiently waiting for a new and improved Giant. Many are worried that further opposition threatens what they are eager to get. DC public officials have shown their usual willingness to downplay apparently exaggerated threats of development gone wild. Appeals of their decision are unlikely to achieve much. We are likely to get the new Giant and most of the accessory developments (unless it becomes the victim of the current credit crisis). And we would get it whether we have a lynching at the September 29 CPCA meeting or not.

The strength shown by the proponents after they turned negative demonstrates the power of the negative side in a democracy. Ironically, their triumph on behalf of a mildly supportive position on a development issue may prove to be a Pyrrhic victory.

Let us suppose that we have the lynching, what can we expect then? I suspect the new leadership will in turn learn to practice defensive policy making. When the next big development in Wisconsin Avenue offers a new ten-story apartment house where we now have a five story structure, they will likely temper their enthusiasm for development in the face of a much larger firestorm of opposition. Otherwise they might be visited by a few old friendly neighbors politely asking, "Could we borrow your rope for a party we are having?
. . . And by the way, you are invited."

Greg New
One of two living past presidents of CPCA

AWARE Announces CPCA Slate

On the Cleveland Park Listserv today, Jeff Davis, who was among the most prolific leaders of the AWARE group that advocated for the Wisconsin Avenue Giant redevelopment proposal, has announced his candidacy at the top of a slate of community activists who wish to challenge the status quo for the Cleveland Park Citizens Association.

The group has created a website which outlines their platform and goals for the neighborhood.

Stoddert Update

Courtesy of theWeLoveDC blog an update on the construction of a new Stoddert Recreation Center and the rehabilitation of Stoddert Elementary. The construction features the expansion of the school and the addition of recreational facilities which will be open for community use.

Cheh weighs in on Pershing Park case

Councilmember Mary Cheh has spoken to the City Paper about the Pershing Park case involving AG Peter Nickles. Recall that former Ward 3 Councilmember Kathy Patterson recruited Cheh to help with the case, utilizing her legal background.

Walking Tour comes to Tenleytown

September 19th, 2009
1:00 P.M.

Sponsored by Cultural Tourism DC

Come and learn about Tenleytown, the second oldest neighborhood in Washington.
John Tennally settled here before 1789 and his tavern served farmers taking
tobacco to the Port of Georgetown. Discover the Grant Road Historic District, a
step back into the 19th Century. Visit Fort Reno Park, site of the largest
Civil War fort defending Washington, and hear why it is called The Summit that
Saved the Union."

Kaid Benfield on Tenleytown

The Natural Resources Defense Council's Director of Smart Growth Programs has posted on his blog the challenges for Smart Growth going forward as needing to be greener and more community oriented. Using his home base of Tenleytown as an example, Benfield writes:


I live in a city neighborhood called Tenleytown. It is slowly picking up in residential density and commercial building activity along our main commercial street, Wisconsin Avenue. But in planning circles the neighborhood is best known for having defeated a modest and very reasonable proposal to build a condo building (reproposed even more modestly as townhouses, but again defeated) a short block from our Metro stop. I am convinced that a big part of the reason is that Tenleytown residents don't want our neighborhood to become another Friendship Heights, the area around the next Metro stop to the north on the Red Line.

Do you blame them? I don't. One of the most infuriating aspects of Friendship Heights, which has experienced a huge building boom in the last decade, is that the public has gotten zero green space out of the deal. None. Friendship Heights has great high-end shopping, and of course great transit access, but little else to recommend it in the way of public amenities.


So there are challenges going forward in better articulating the benefits of Smart Growth, but at the same time, there needs to be a more comprehensive approach to how we evaluate our community and maximize livability and sustainability across all currents of dialogue: ecological and environmental, social, etc.

How do we ask the right questions and define the terms appropriately to achieve the right balance for the community, city and region when future development proposals are announced?

Palisades Archeology

Palisades Museum of Prehistory Director Doug Daupin explains his efforts to understand the current process for preserving artifacts in the neighborhood.

ANC 3G seems confused

The issue of traffic calming seems to have reared its head again in the Ward. Earlier this spring, there was consternation when speed humps were installed on Newark Street in Cleveland Park without ANC or community discussion.

In Palisades the conversation has been ongoing regarding calming efforts in the area to the west of MacArthur Boulevard. However, in Chevy Chase, there is a repeat of erroneous information being passed as fact on the community listserv.

The issue is once again centered around Morrison Street where DDOT installed a pedestrian signal and converted it in August, 2008 to a traditional three-color light. The residents of the block must have believed that speeding was an issue and petitioned DDOT for traffic calming to reduce speeds.

In a recent Chevy Chase Listserv post, ANC 3/4G Chair Gary Thompson wrote:

The ANC voted (unanimously) to defer consideration of any such speed hump pending review of all the inter-connected traffic issues on the first blocks E & W of Conn. Ave. in the main shopping district.

But Thompson didn't mention the ANC's decision to take a vote on July 13th, and he didn't mention the ANC's failure to carry out its own decision.

At the June meeting, the ANC said it would collect petitions from all blocks and vote on them in July; According to the minutes

The Commission voted 6-0-1 (Cook abstaining) to defer consideration of the specific application for the 3700 block of Morrison St. until the meeting of July 13, and that for the next 30 days, other blocks off of the Conn. Shopping area should be informed of and invited to submit applications for speed humps (should they have 75% household support), and then when all such applications are in hand, consider them as a group. At the Commission meeting of July 13, the Commission will consider any applications received by that date and vote on the requests. The Chair made it clear that this is not a deadline and that any block could apply for humps after that date, but that the Commission believed that taking up a broader set of applications for all blocks in the Chevy Chase business area would afford a broader perspective and allow for balance.

Instead, the ANC took no vote. There was no record of opposition at the meetings or on the Chevy Chase listserv, and the agency requirement for 30 days had passed. After that point, the opportunity for ANC input with "great weight" had passed. DDOT had seemed to fulfill its obligation.

The ANC did not follow through with what it had stated it would do in June. Instead, it took a different tack once it realized that only an additional block of Morrison and the same block of McKinley submitted petitions (note: McKinley is the "collector" street for the Chevy Chase DC community and is not eligible for physical calming measures that "residential" streets can obtain).

So who is at fault here - the residents of Morrison Street who used standard city process to address a problem on their street? Or the ANC, which failed to act within the prescribed window from city agencies? Even if the ANC had chosen to oppose the traffic calming measures, DDOT would still have been able to install them if they were warranted as noted in this WTOP article,

DDOT spokesperson John Lisle says the process "has been streamlined."

In the past, the agency would require a traffic study be completed for every request. Now, residents simply have to get the majority of their neighbors to sign a petition.

Lisle says the reason for the change is to promote pedestrian safety.

"Safety for pedestrians, residents, workers and visitors is always a top priority. The District has long supported speed bumps in neighborhoods as a means to provide traffic calming. With the streamlined process we are now able to fill requests more efficiently."

Perhaps the ANC ought to have a better handle on how the city functions rather than inciting the public to clog city officials email boxes with misguided complaints.

Giant PUD Approved

The official order for the Wisconsin Avenue Giant has been released by the Zoning Commission. According to AWARE head Jeff Davis:

Great news - on August 10th the DC Zoning Commission entered a final, written order approving the Giant application to re-develop the store and add new neighborhood retail and residences on Wisconsin between Macomb and Idaho. We are one step closer in our 10-year battle for a new grocery store! Giant's desire to invest millions of dollars in this project is a well-timed vote of confidence in the continuing commercial vitality of our neighborhood. You can read the PDF.

Special credit and thanks go to the ANC for all their hard work. The ANC's unanimous approval of the Giant PUD weighed heavily in the Zoning Commission's rationale for approving the application. I'm proud to have been part of AWARE and that I had the chance to work alongside many of our neighbors to support the Giant application. I want personally to thank all those that signed petitions, wrote letters and testified at the zoning hearings.

Now is the time to heal our community and look ahead. The parties that opposed the Giant application, including the Cleveland Park Citizens Association, have the right to appeal the Zoning Commission's order. I call on them all to forego their appeals and allow this neighborhood and this project to move forward. An nappeal would drag us and the project down for another year or two or three.

Poll: Cheh is Safe

A poll released by the Washington Examiner announced that the Ward 3 Council seat held by Mary Cheh is "safe".

Ward 3 Councilwoman Mary Cheh fared the best according to the poll, conducted by Successful Capital Strategies on behalf of the National Capital Committee for Good Government. Of Ward 3 respondents, 53 percent said they would "definitely" vote to re-elect the first-term councilwoman, while 4 percent would not and 29 percent would consider someone else. Undecideds in Ward 3 were 14 percent.

"It's obviously good news, I guess," Cheh said Tuesday. "It's good to hear it."

Aquatic Center is Open

With temperatures approaching the century mark, is is of high relief that the Wilson Pool is now open.

Enjoy!

CPCA Expels Members

According to the 'Rules of the Day' for the Cleveland Park Citizens Association election to be held on September 29th,

Former residents who moved from Cleveland Park and maintained membership remain eligible (in accordance with Article IV of the Constitution). The Constitution, Bylaws and boundary street map are at www.ClevelandParkIsUs.org.

Note: CPCA always has welcomed membership from all who wished to join, appreciating their interest and support. However, with a prospect – for the first time – of a contested election, it was necessary to carefully review our membership roll in light of the boundary provisions cited above. As specified in Article III of the Constitution, residents of buildings on both sides of the named streets are eligible for membership; the citation of “immediately contiguous” in Article IV confirms this provision, but does not extend it.

Regrettably, these boundary requirements disqualify some longtime members and others who joined recently. CPCA will call and write each affected person and offer to refund current dues if desired.

This includes both new and long time members who were invited for membership, who have paid dues and have tried to participate in the organization.

So it begs the question, given the catalyst that sparked the discussion over the direction of the organization and neighborhood, was based on a development proposal that is barely (if at all) within the organizational boundaries, how can it in good conscious expel members who are more affected by these decisions by proximity, than others?

Seems like some latitude is in order, particularly since there is little or no ability to verify the work of the organization.

Countdown to Wilson Pool

The Mayor's Office, in conjunction with OPEFM is thrilled to announce the Grand Opening and ribbon cutting at the new Wilson Aquatic Center!

Join us on Thursday August 6th at TBD as we celebrate the opening of this state of the art facility.

Empty Storefronts in Cleveland Park on WJLA

WJLA, channel 7 ran this story about empty storefronts in Cleveland Park.

Something Sweet Comes to Cleveland Park

Something Sweet, the new neighborhood bakery/sweet shop, opens Thursday, July 23rd! This is a terrific development for the community at a time when small
business owners face severe challenges. Something Sweet is affiliated with
Surfside, a fine eatery and good neighbor in Glover Park.

Members of AWARE - a group of neighbors that support re-development along
Wisconsin Avenue - are planning to meet at Something Sweet tomorrow night
between 7 and 10pm to celebrate the grand opening.

We encourage you to drop by and celebrate tomorrow, and to focus on supporting
Something Sweet and other neighborhood shops in the future.