The Washington Post reported on Friday that 4 post offices that were formerly being considered for closure are no longer on the list. Unfortunately, neither the Petworth nor the Columbia Heights Finance (Park View) post offices have been saved at this time. The list of current post offices being considered for closure is below.
I would be the last person to argue that either the Columbia Heights Finance or Petworth offices are models of good service … but I will argue that there needs to be an area post office.

According to the Post article, the eight post offices being examined for closure are all “within reasonable distance of other post offices or postal branches.” I can almost go along with this if either Petworth or Columbia Heights Finance are closed … BUT NOT BOTH.

In using the post office locator on the USPS Web site, the alternatives identified should the 3321 Georgia Avenue station be closed are below:

No. 1 is 3321 Georgia Ave (being considered for closing) and No. 3 is Petworth (being considered for closing) … so should both of them be closed, the nearest postal facility would be No. 2 (the one at Howard University) which is .6 miles to the south. While this doesn’t sound so bad, it is hardly an easy post office to get to.

In wrapping Petworth into the mix, you get the following locations:

No. 1 is Petworth (being considered for closing), and No. 4 is — of all things — the Soldiers’ Home. Outside of Lincoln’s Cottage, residents are not allowed on the grounds, so it hardly seems like an alternative. The closest post office would then be No. 2 (Brightwood), which is a mile away.

I’m sure that low usage and proximity to Howard University and the Soldiers’ Home locations are impacting the data that make Georgia Avenue and Petworth appear to be attractive locations to close … but to those that have used these stations it isn’t that our neighborhoods don’t need a post offices, but rather, we need ones that actually have a focus on customer service and are efficiently run.

The Georgia Avenue location doesn’t need to be closed … it needs an overhaul. In deciding which post offices to close, it would benefit those tasked with making this decision to actually visit the locations in question and determine what is going wrong with them. For some, the answer might be the location. For others, like 3361 Georgia Avenue, the location might be the only thing that is currently right with that post office.

The November issues of the Pleasant Plains and ANC4C newsletters are both available for your reading enjoyment.

Considering how interrelated our neighborhoods are, I often find it informative and useful to know what’s going on across the area.

Of particular note for Park View readers will be the spotlight on ANC 1A10 Commissioner Lenwood Johnson in the Pleasant Plains newsletter.

The ANC4C newsletter contains information on the 2010 Census, H1N1 Vaccine Clinics in the District, and the NPS Deer Management Plan for Rock Creek Park.

The following was sent to me by the DC Youth Power Network. Considering how important our local Rec Centers are to our communities, this promises to be an interesting tour and opportunity to find out what’s planned for the future of them. You can view the accompanying flyer here>>

DC Youth Power Network (YPN) and Washington Interfaith Network (WIN) invite you on a special youth-led bus tour of the sites in the lower-Georgia Avenue corridor where we are organizing for new Recreation Centers and permanent supportive housing for DC’s homeless residents.

Support young leaders fighting for a brighter tomorrow for DC’s youth!
To accommodate for different church service times, we are organizing two separate tours:
Sunday, November 15^th
Tour #1 – 1pm
Tour #2 – 3pm
We will pick up and drop off outside the Georgia Ave-Petworth Metro Station

Please RSVP to james.ypn@gmail.com no later than Friday, November 6^th. Include which tour you plan to attend and the names of the people who will be joining you.  Feel free to bring friends, family, or colleagues.  Each tour will last 90 minutes.

Washington Interfaith Network – www.windc-iaf.org
DC Youth Power Network – www.dcyouthpowernetwork.org

With the Columbia Heights Heritage Trail opening tomorrow, and the Georgia Avenue/Pleasant Plains Heritage Trail in the works, it leads me to ask this question: Are Heritage Trails assets every DC neighborhood should strive to have?

From a conversation I had with Cultural Tourism DC, it would be at least two years before a new trail could be undertaken. Additionally, it was suggested that a good trail could be a northern Park View/southern Petworth loop that starts and stops at the Georgia Ave/Petworth Metro.

I know Park View and Petworth both have enough history to support separate trails of their own, so would it be better to have one trail for both, a separate trail for each, or no trail at all?

The neighbors along Rock Creek Church Road have been working diligently with MPD, DDOT, and elected officials over the last several months to address the excessive speed on Rock Creek Church Road. The City, and in particular MPD, has been very supportive and have been monitoring the traffic and speed conditions by various methods.

To further the goal of getting measures in place to reduce speed on RCCR, Ward 4 resident Rob Mandle, along with neighbors Mehl Penrose & Eddie Suarez, has put together a petition which outlines what actions the community would like to see put in place. Upon reviewing the proposal, they all seem very reasonable and have potential for making a huge impact with minimal cost to the City.

The chief traffic calming measures the petition lists are:

• Install one stop sign on the northeastern approach towards Illinois Avenue NW on Rock Creek Church Road NW
• Install one stop sign on the southwestern approach towards Illinois Avenue NW on Rock Creek Church Road NW
• Convert the intersection of Quincy Street and Park Place/5th Street NW to an all-way stop
• Alter the signal timing at Park Place/5th Street and Rock Creek Church Road NW to be an all-way stop

The deadline to sign the petition is Tuesday, October 27, at 6 pm. To sign a petition, there is a copy at Rob’s house (303 Rock Creek Church Road NW), or, you can print of a copy of the petition and get it to Rob by the deadline. If you have questions, you can also email Rob Mandle.

To read the entire petition or get more information, click on the image below (petition and image supplied by Rob Mandle).
 

FORESEE, the newsletter of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 4C, started this month with its premier issue, which was distributed at last week’s ANC 4C meeting. The 4C Commissioners voted for this newsletter to inform constituents of news, meetings and information about the neighborhoods within the ten, single-member districts making up 4C.

I have included it here and will attempt to include future issues since much of the news is relevant beyond the 4C borders. In the first issue, you will find information about the Petworth Library renovation, development on Georgia Ave., and other items of note.

My appreciation goes out to the ANC 4C commissioners for making the digital copy available.

This weekend was the first time I noticed the Park Place development above the Georgia Ave/Petworth Metro all lit up. The neon certainly makes a statement.

Speeding on Rock Creek Church Road and Park Place has become a focus of MPD lately in response to repeated complaints by residents along these roads. While it’s a complex situation due to the multiple police districts and Wards these roads are in, residents from both Petworth and Park View have been coordinating and working together successfully so far.

The latest sign that area voices are being heard is the speed monitor posted on Park Place at Princeton Place. The speed monitor is gathering data in a short term study which will be used to help find a long term solution.

Additionally, a photo radar speed car has been deployed to Park Place and will be on varying tours. There is also an analysis of the 3800 block of 5th Street underway.

I’ll keep track of this issue as it develops.

I noticed this morning that ADT was doing work at Rock Creek Market. While the recent acts of vandalism have delayed the market’s opening, its nice to see that progress is continuing.

It was brought to my attention earlier today that Sweet Mango has enclosed its upper deck. Beyond that, I don’t know any more at this time.

Qualia Coffee, one of the newer businesses to open on the Georgia Avenue corridor just north of the Metro, was featured recently in the City Paper.

According to the article:

Roasting …  is [Joel] Finkelstein’s true obsession. Two years ago, he launched Fresh Off the Roast, which produces small batches of micro-roasted beans that he sells through farmers markets and the One Acre Farm CSA. Fresh is the key word in the business title. On my first visit to Qualia, I chatted up Finkelstein in the back of his shop on Georgia Avenue NW, where he was (what else?) roasting beans.

You can read the entire article here>>

A reader alerted the Prince of Petworth about a stabbing that occurred last Friday (8/21) around 10:00 pm near the Metro station. The actual location is identified as New Hampshire Avenue and Quincy. The victim received a non-life-threatening wound and was robbed of his shoes.

The All Hands on Deck call to water trees this morning was successful. Including Petworth organizers Jeff Green and Carol Herwig of Casey Trees, a total of six residents from both Petworth and Park View showed up to water the trees.

Watering started at 7 a.m., and due to the strong turnout, we were able to be drinking coffee at Qualia Coffee by 9 a.m.

During the dry summer season, watering needs to occur about once a week. If you have time and would like to assist with the watering in the future, you can contact Jeff Green or Carol Herwig.

Following up on my earlier post that the Old Soldiers’ Home is finally repairing their fence that was struck by a car on July 4, 2008, yesterday workers were on site installing the fence itself.

I love it when I’m able to find the story behind the pictures. Here, I’ve been able to match up the photographs of the Petworth 1921 July 4th festivities with the Washington Post’s account of the event.

The Post article, published the following day, reads:

Petworth Citizens Take Part in All-Day Program

An all-day program of patriotic exercises and athletic events featured the thirteenth annual celebration of Independence day in Petworth under the auspices of the citizen’s association. A gorgeous display of fireworks at Grant circle last night brought the celebration to a close.

The celebration began at 10:30 o’clock with a parade. Flag raising exercises were held at noon, when a naval field piece was fired in salute to the flag. Singing of the patriotic songs was directed by Charles L. Wengerd.

Sports began at 1 o’clock with a baseball game between the Petworth boys’ baseball club and the Petworth married men, who won by 4 to 2. Track events were held at 3 o’clock.

Patriotic exercises were held at 6:30 on Grant circle. The Rev. F. Paul Langhorne presided. An address was delivered by Representative James W. Dunbar, of Indiana. He was introduced by C. J. James, former president of the Petworth Citizens’ association. Brief remarks were made by J. L. Carr, president of the association and A. D. Sartwell, general chairman of the celebration committee. The Declaration of Independence was read by Oscar J. Randall. Community singing was led by Charles E. Wire. The Rev. W. F. Harkey, assistant pastor, Wallace Memorial Presbyterian church, gave the invocation.

The committee in charge of the celebration was A. D. Sartwell, chairman; Gilbert I. Jackson, A. B. Caldwell, J.F. Newport, Horrace J. Phelps, Walter H. Criswell, J. L. Carr, C. J. James, R. J. F. McElroy, Jay B. Smith, J. G. Yaden, William T. Bookhultz.

The following images are from the Library of Congress, and capture some of the events of the day (images #npcc 04490, #npcc 04492, #npcc 04493, #npcc 04491, #npcc 004494)

Left: Built ca. 1907, 702 and 704 Quincy are shown here ca. 1920. Right: Other than being brightly painted, the row of four that 704 belongs too is still in fairly good shape. As you can see below, each house has been painted to make it separate from the others. The only major change viewable from the street is that the corner house has been popped up and converted into multiple units. You can get a better idea from the second photo below.

One day shy of a year, the fence is being repaired at the Old Soldiers’ Home along Rock Creek Church Rd.

On the evening of July 4th, 2008, a SUV lost control and hit the fence. Until now, it’s been nothing but a pile of scattered brick and bent ironwork.

I noticed the iron fencing is gone. I presume it is being straightened and restored for installation.

But, the stone and brickwork is currently being restored. In talking with the guys from P and P, they had to rebuild everything because the mortor was no longer holding.

From what I saw of their work, it is very good and historically accurate.

I thought it was also a good sign to see P and P doing the work. They have a good reputation in town and generally do good work from what I’ve seen and heard.

One day shy of a year, the fence is being repaired at the Old Soldiers’ Home along Rock Creek Church Rd.

On the evening of July 4th, 2008, a SUV lost control and hit the fence. Until now, it’s been nothing but a pile of scattered brick and bent ironwork.

I noticed the iron fencing is gone. I presume it is being straightened and restored for installation.

But, the stone and brickwork is currently being restored. In talking with the guys from P and P, they had to rebuild everything because the mortor was no longer holding.

From what I saw of their work, it is very good and historically accurate.

I thought it was also a good sign to see P and P doing the work. They have a good reputation in town and generally do good work from what I’ve seen and heard.

For those of you that live in northern Park View or southern Petworth, you may have wondered what was up with the police helicopters last night. It’s my understanding that a liquor store on Georgia Ave. was robbed there was a robbery and the helicopters were part of the police response.

If anyone knows more about this incident, please share what you know.

June 23, 1954: The Soldiers’ Home governor, Gen. Wade Haislip, and seven church and community organizations testified in opposition to sale of liquor within half a mile of the Soldiers’ Home.

Last night, Park View got tagged with the word “Cronies” along Warder Street. In all there are 8 taggings, 4 in ANC1A08 — the others just north of Park View. I’ve been told this could be the sign of a new gang trying to take hold.

Neighbors are asked to report any graffiti they find by calling 311. You can also read more about the city’s graffiti removal program here.  

Among the victims of last night’s spree are the coming Rock Creek Market at the corner of Warder and Rock Creek Church Rd. and the wall in front of the pool at the Park View Recreation Center.

According to the Washington Business Journal, there may be new life in the former Billy Simpson’s House of Seafood and Steaks located at 3815 Georgia Avenue, NW.

From the Washington Business Journal:

Eric and Ian Hilton and the team behind the tremendously popular Marvin restaurant on U Street are eyeing a parcel in Petworth to open another restaurant concept.

Developer Chris Donatelli, who is working on the property along with Mosaic Urban Partners LLC, confirmed that he is in talks with the group for a new restaurant at 3815 Georgia Ave. NW. Donatelli and the city recently negotiated a land deal for the spot.

Many of the old commercial buildings that are along the Georgia Avenue corridor have long ago ceased to be what they originally were, or are just sitting vacant. This often leads me to ponder what these structures were like back when this part of the city was bustling.

One sleepy little structure is just off the corridor to the east on Rock Creek Church Road. Its a handsome enough building, and still has all its original detail and charm in tact … at least from the facade.

Currently, its functioning as the Faith Deliverance Center, but it was originally a grocery store.

From the scant records I can find, it was listed among the locations operated by United Grocers’ Company in May, 1912, when the company went into receivership.

From product ad listings, I’ve also been able to find that P.F. Carley operated a grocery out of this building in 1916, George E. Miller ran the grocery there in 1920, and it was the Nimetz Brothers Market in 1921. You can see ads for some of the products sold there after the jump.