Bloomingdale already has its share of crime.

Below is today's listserv offering from Bloomingdale's intrepid Scott Roberts. Adding more than a thousand low-income housing units to our neighborhood would certainly tip the delicate balance we have regarding crime here in Bloomingdale. This neighborhood has enough taxpayer-subsidized housing. It's about time other neighborhoods, like Georgetown and upper Northwest shoulder some of the burden of supplying housing for people that don't have jobs. There are already enough people walking around all day and night with nothing better to do than loiter, rob, steal, deal drugs, assault and murder us. It is not my opinion that low-income housing is a magnet for these people, it is a well-documented fact of life in the city. In fact, we live in a microcosm here in Bloomingdale with violent crimes more likely nearer to Florida Avenue and less crime to the North. Bloomingdale has a chance to become a safer neighborhood thanks to the efforts of John Salatti and others. Adding 1,200 of units of taxpayer-subsidized housing in Bloomingdale will create new opportunities and destinations for criminals that tend to hang around Florida Avenue.

Here is Scott's listserv:

+ See this 12/28/2008 message from a resident on the 200 block of Flagler Place NW: "I would like to report that my car was vandalized this evening. My car was parked a couple doors down from my house in the 2000 block of Flagler Pl NW. The rear left passenger window was broken. If someone seen anything please respond to the listserve."

[ 1 ] Micro Mart Store Robbed & Owner Beat Up Sunday Afternoon, 12/28/2008

Your moderator was visited by a neighbor Sunday afternoon, who advised that the Micro Mart at 2007 1st Street NW -- the former A & LK Market -- had been robbed. So I walked over to the store and spotted three MPD officers who were interviewing witnesses. The store owner and her brother were out front with a few other residents..

Apparently, a number of young boys -- sorry, I didn't get the possible age range of the guys -- came into the store mid-afternoon and tried to steal some beer. The store ownerr tried to stop them and they beat her up a bit. There was another male patron in the store at time time. And another male patron came into the store after the boys had entered. So it appears that there were two witnesses to the crime.

The young boys had been in the store before They had tried to steal beer about a month ago, said that brother who was working at the store at the time. He was able to stop the theft back then. I guess that the boys had decided to try again yesterday.

The store owner was upset because she was "looking after them after like a mother would" and felt betrayed that they would turn around and do this to her.

Other residents were around at the time while we were all out front with the police. Some other residents said that they think the boys live in the neighborhood. Another resident commented that he thought the boys sometimes hung out at the corner of 1st & U Street NW.

In any event, I was glad that the store owner was not seriously physically hurt. But she certainly was shaken up.

No, there were no working cameras in the store. I suggested to tthe brother than they work on getting operable cameras in the store.

[ 2 ] John Salatti: Public Safety Announcement & 1^st Neighborhood Safety Walk of 2009 -- Friday, 01/02/2008

See this 12/29?2008 message from Bloomingdale resident and ANC 5C04 Commissioner John Salatti:

PUBLIC SAFETY UPDATE AND ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE FIRST NEIGHBORHOOD SAFETY WALK OF 2009

Happy Holidays, Everyone,

Before the year closes, here is a public safety update.

The very good news is that crime is DOWN!! For the year 2008, in the northern half of Bloomingdale, total crime is down about 20% compared with 2007. Violent crime is down about 5%. So overall we continue to do better. I commend 5D for all Commander Greene and his officers are doing to help us. They are responsive to our requests and have helped us cut down on some drug crime and have closed a number of problem houses where drug crime was beginning to take root. Many thanks to neighbors who alerted me to problems early. That helped us keep the problems from becoming big trouble.

Also, note that 5D is aware of the drug activity centered around the north end of the alley that runs parallel to the 2100 blocks of Flagler Place and 2nd Street . Nevertheless, if you see something, either call 911 or let me know and I’ll get 5D involved.

But while we have done pretty well concerning crime, all has not been well. We have had two homicides in the north Bloomingdale and others not far away. Some of those cases are making real progress. For example, in the case of Delfa Hercules, who was stabbed at a bus stop on the 1700 block of 3rd Street , police are confident that they know who committed this murder and are building their case to ensure conviction. Regarding the most recent killing, which occurred at the corner of 1st and U Streets at 2:45 in the afternoon in front of many witnesses, the victim was Orlando Carroll who has lived at a couple of places in the neighborhood including the 100 block of Rhode Island Avenue and on Flagler Place. According to police, Mr. Carroll was involved in drugs and was a suspect in a few murders. Because of the witnesses, police hope to arrest a suspect.

Because we still have a ways to go before Bloomingdale is the safe place we all want it to be, I am organizing the first public safety walk of the year for this coming Friday. Although many will be away for the holiday, we neighbors who will be here can set the tone for 2009 by walking the streets and letting everyone know that we will not be complacent about crime.

So dress warmly, bring a flashlight, and meet at 1st & U at 6:30 p.m. this Friday, January 2nd.

If you have any questions or ideas, please let me know.

I look forward to seeing you!

John

John T. Salatti

Commissioner, ANC 5C04

Recording Secretary, ANC 5C

(202) 986- 2592

Jsalatti @ earthlink.net

"Together, Building a Better Bloomingdale"

Bloomingdale already has more than its share of traffic.

This graphic is from Appendix B of the Needs Assessment done by the Washington Metro Area Transit Authority as part of the now defunct DC Transit Future project. Their website has been pulled, but thanks to the Web Archive folks, the site can still be accessed here:

http://web.archive.org/web/20060511104657/www.dctransitfuture.com/.

This graphic shows that the Washington Hospital Center, and Bloomingdale, are one of the city's most congested traffic problems in the City. Of the three darkest blocks on this map, the eastern most block in this diagram includes Children's Hospital, Washington Hospital Center, VA Medical Center and Nat'l Rehabilitation Hospital. The blue blocks to the south include Bloomingdale.

Washington Hospital Center is the most dense commuter destination not served by transit rail. Another study done shows that WITHOUT additional development at the Armed Forces Retirement Home and McMillan, traffic in Bloomingdale is already severely stressed and will get worse. The developer's response to this concern is to have we taxpayers foot the bill for timed traffic lights up and down First Street, the heart of Bloomingdale.

Let me add that if the city had a role in designing this site, they certainly would never dream of adding only cross street between First and North Capitol. (There would be four if the standard city grid were followed.) Since the developer is a private corporation they are maximizing profits and could care less about the mess they will leave behind.

So, if you like North Capitol Street, you will love the developer's vision for timed traffic lights for First Street. I am very interested in hearing from folks in Bloomingdale that like First Street the way it is, especially those with pets and children.

City Paper Story - an explication

Following is a posting that appears on the City Paper site. There are many interesting details that betray the developers emphasis on maximizing square footage and falsely suggesting the developer has any control over which types of business will appear after the developer disappears. Comments are numbered and appear in red.



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A Bit More on the McMillan Sand Filtration Site

Posted by Ruth Samuelson on Dec. 17, 2008, at 5:50 pm

An artistic rendering of the amphitheater at the McMillan site.

1) The developer is required to keep some of the towers, so the tower space and that immediately surrounding are counted as open space, despite how useless this space is regarding recreation. Any other city would insist on making running trails or bike trails, or sport fields or gardens. Because the developer is in control, maximizing profits and square footage are the highest priority. That is why there is only one cross street, which will quadruple traffic on Channing, and that is why 'open space' includes the towers, which they are required to preserve anyway.

I wanted to post a few more details about the McMillan site plans presented on Saturday.

(For those that don’t know, the McMillan Sand Filtration site is 25-acre parcel of land at the corner of North Capitol Street and Michigan Avenue, Northwest. A water filtration plant operated there until the late 1980s. Now, a development team is looking to turn the area into a mixed-use community including up to 1,200 units of “mixed-income and multi-generational” housing.) So here are some more elements of the design scheme:

• The land use plan shows several residential buildings with three to four floors up to buildings with five to eight floors.

2) Residential buildings that are four stories high? Just how many low-income units are intended for this project? I have nothing against low-income housing, I just think this neighborhood is already shouldering enough of the city's burden. Let's see Georgetown and upper Northwest take on more responsibility.

• There’s plans for a public amphitheater close to the corner of First Street and Michigan Avenue.

3) Why not a garden? How much will this ampitheater be used? By whom? Who will manage it? Is there really a demand for an ampitheater? If the developer had put a nickel into hiring someone that knew something about designs, the audience of the ampitheater would be able to see the reservoir rather than sitting in a hole next to First Street.  The reservoir is a unique vista offering stunning sunsets.  My 15 year-old nephew would come up with a design that allowed views of the reservoir from public space on the McMillan property.  How about a raised pedestrian foot bridge to join Children's, the reservoir and the site?  That would provide views of the reservoir and the City.  But, it would take time, and the developer has no interest in delaying erection of the eight-story office buildings.  By the way, how long will it take the skateboarders and bums to deface the "ampitheater"?

• A merchandising plan calls for three types of retail on the northern end of the community by the corner of North Capitol Street and Michigan Avenue: Restaurant/Food & Beverage, Neighborhood Goods and Services, and Grocery.
• The merchandising plan lists some possible restaurants and businesses that the developers would like to conceivably see in the community. Some of those listed under “Restaurant/Food & Beverage”: Ray’s the Steaks, Cactus Cantina, Sala Thai, Busboys and Poets, and Ceviche. The merchandising plan also names Neighborhood Goods & Services: CVS, Griffin Cycle, Logan Hardware, Sports Zone. Additionally, there’s space for a grocery store. I asked Aakash Thakkar, Vice President of Development at EYA, to further explain the meaning of this list, and how it was compiled. Were these businesses that his development team intended to reach out to, or just ideas—or a mix? Here’s what he said: “Some of the restaurants, our team has relationships with.” However, no one is signed up now, and they won’t be approached for quite some time. “[The names] are concepts, ideas, and we will pursue them at the appropriate time.” The first tenant to be signed on would likely be the grocery store, and hopefully that would happen within six to nine months.

This is the where the rubber hits the road. All of this talk about sushi restaurants and a Trader Joe's is complete propoganda. The developer has NO control over who pay rents here. This community is fragile. It is possible that enough people have invested enough to make Bloomingdale a more attractive place to live and that our crime walks and efforts to keep our streets and alleys clean will contribute to a neighborhood that is safe and attractive to new homebuyers. It is also possible that adding hundreds of low-income housing units will tip the current balance towards more crime, vagrancy, and dirty streets. For this developer to dangle sexy fantasy retail in order to sell low-income housing and massive development is evidence of the developer saying whatever it takes to sell this project. This is public space. This neighborhood should wake up and get involved. The developer will disappear after this is done and will not have to deal with traffic jams, loiterers, and check-cashing stores. We will.