The notice posted on the bus stop |
The vote took place last night (October 23).
The owner of the Ghana Cafe appeared before the committee in support of the
request. He said local homeless people used the bus stop as a "living room", often after begging for money in front of the nearby 7-11 and then buying alcohol from the liquor store across the street.
"It's a place where a lot of nefarious activity takes place," said Commissioner Walt Cain (district 02). Cain is also chair of the CDC.
At the June ANC2F meeting, the owner of the Ghana Cafe complained that homeless people were using the bus stop as a place to have oral sex and also to harass his customers.
Another member of the community testified in favor of the elimination of the stop. He said that the stretch of 14th Street between P Street and Thomas Circle (which includes this bus stop) is the only place in the area with a bus stop every block for three blocks. The bus stop in front of the Ghana Cafe is the middle stop of the three.
"This is a redundant bus stop," he said.
Prior to the meeting, ANC2F posted a notice on the bus stop (see photo) and attempted outreach in the area likely to be effected by the proposed bus stop elimination.
The matter will likely be voted on at the next meeting of the full ANC, which is scheduled to take place on November 6 at 7pm at the Washington Plaza Hotel (10 Thomas Circle).
This seems like a reasonable request. Especially with all the construction that's been going on around this block, the bus stop isn't that useful and it does seem to be a crime magnet.
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