Temporary Liquor License for New Dupont Custom Fuel Pizza

At its regular monthly meeting on June 11, Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle approved a stipulated liquor license for a new branch of Custom Fuel Pizza. Custom Fuel Pizza advertises that it makes individual pizzas to order in a few minutes.

The store will be located at 1635 Connecticut Avenue NW, near the corner of R Street, the former site of a Potbelly Sandwich Shop. The owners could not tell the ANC when they expected the new store to be open.

Not quite ready to open as of last week

Granting a stipulated liquor license is one of the few actions an ANC can take that is not only advisory in nature. If an ANC votes to grant a stipulated license and there are no other protesting parties, a liquor licensee can start to serve alcohol while the permanent liquor license application is processed through the DC bureaucracy.

DC shadow senator Paul Strauss, in his paying job as an attorney, represented Custom Fuel Pizza before the ANC.

"They are seeking a full [liquor] license although they probably won't use it," Strauss said.

Strauss told the ANC Custom Fuel was seeking a restaurant liquor license, but they planned to serve "mostly beer and wine". They also planned to serve frozen margaritas and a drink that sounded something like an iced rum punch, but no other forms of hard liquor.

The license will allow Custom Fuel to stay open until 2am weekdays and 3am weekends. It will have no outdoor space.

Commissioner Leo Dwyer (district 07) asked about trash pickup. It will be daily. Dwyer noted the restaurant has several neighbors that are also restaurants. He urged Custom Fuel to join together with its neighbors to obtain a trash compactor, which might help with vermin control.

Another commissioner said, "A close neighbor of yours is the dirtiest restaurant and never shovels their sidewalks when it snows."

"I hope you will set a good example," he said.

The commissioner received some prodding, but refused to name the restaurant outright. He said, however, that it was "to the left of yours" and "on the corner".

Custom Fuel will have to appear again before the ANC with its permanent liquor license application.

"See you again in July or August," ANC2B Chair Will Stephens (Commissioner for district 08) said.

The motion to approve was unanimous except for Commissioner Mike Silverstein (district 06). Silverstein recuses himself from all liquor license matters because of potential conflict of interest with his day job. His day job is as a member of DC's Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) Board.

Custom Fuel has four other DC locations as well as seven locations in or near Charlotte, NC, and one in New York City.

See the letter ANC2B wrote in support of Custom Fuel's stipulated liquor license here.

Long-term Street Lane Closures in Shaw Starting 2017

Good news first: a massive DC Water project will ease chronic flooding in Shaw, LeDroit Park, and Bloomingdale. Bad news: to complete the project, it will be necessary to close traffic lanes for periods of 18 to 36 months on and near Rhode Island Avenue NW, starting 2017.

(from DC Water web site)

One closure is in Shaw. The other is very near Shaw and will severely affect east-west traffic in Shaw.

Want to know more? DC Water will hold a Ward 6 town meeting tonight (Tuesday, April 15) at 6:30pm in the Multipurpose Room of Eliot-Hine Middle School, 1830 Constitution Avenue NE. The meeting will address all aspects of the DC Water project, including street and lane closure both in Shaw and elsewhere in D.C. This meeting is part of eight ward-wide town meetings DC Water is holding this month.

If you can't get to the town meeting

DC Water presented the outlines of the ambitious project to Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6E/Shaw at its regular monthly meeting on April 1.  The street lane closures are only a small part of the plan to build the Northeast Boundary Tunnel, a hole 23 feet in diameter, located 100 feet underground. The tunnel will not only reduce flooding but also is necessary under a 1998 multi-party consent decree designed to clean up water in the Anacostia River and beyond. The district ratepayer is footing the bill for the project.

The projected closure in Shaw will be one lane for 24-36 months around the perimeter of Cooper Park (a "pocket park" made from a triangular patch of land bounded by Rhode Island Avenue NW, 6th Street, and R Street). The projected closure near Shaw will be two lanes at Florida Avenue and Third Street NW (near Rhode Island Avenue) for 18 months.

Some work at the Florida Avenue site should have started already. The plan is for this work to be completed by April 21. Later, DC Water will also have to drill holes in the ground at this site. There is no projected date to begin, but, once begun, work will take "two to three months", according to the presenters at the ANC meeting.

The presentation said the final design and construction phase of the project will start in December 2016.

Cooper Park

Cooper Park (left) at RI Avenue, seen from 6th Street

Since the Cooper Park site is in ANC6E, it got the more attention at the April 1 meeting. Like the Florida Avenue site, DC Water will, at some uncertain date in the nearish future, drill some holes in the ground at Cooper Park. This work is exploratory and there will not be any lane closures. This phase of the work will take two or three months.

During the 2017 construction phase, the park will be used as a staging area. The complete restoration of the park is included in the budget for the project. DC Water has hired a landscape architect and has a conceptual design for the park restoration. It solicited comment from the Commissioners on this point. ANC6E Commissioner Alexander Padro (district 01) suggested public art for the new space, and asked DC Water not to forget a water source in the park. Commissioner Marge Maceda (district 05) asked DC Water to include "playable art".

It is difficult to drive across town now. The lane closures will make it even more difficult. Padro worried about the impact the closing of a lane on R Street at Cooper Park. R Street carries a lot of crosstown traffic, Padro noted, and cannot be completely blocked.

"You must have some carrying capacity there or all hell's going to break loose," Padro said.

Padro also asked about the piles of sandbags around the vent on the median of Rhode Island Avenue at 7th Street, next to the Watha T. Daniel Library (1630 7th Street NW). The sandbags are there to prevent flooding on Metro's Green Line. Padro would like to see the sandbags removed. DC Water said the removal of the sandbags was not part of the DC Water project.

ANC6E videos its meeting and puts the videos on YouTube in 30-minute chunks. The presentation by DC Water can be view by following this link, starting at the beginning of the video, which is part two of the meeting. However, you cannot see the accompanying slideshow presentation. I was unable to find a copy of the slideshow presentation on DC Water's web site.

The Committee unanimously voted to send a letter to DC Water summarizing its concerns as articulated at the meeting.

Red Light Dessert Bar Seeks ANC2F Endorsement, Is Told It Doesn't Need It

Restaurateur Aaron Gordon appeared before a committee of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle on March 26 to ask for endorsement of a public space use application for a sidewalk cafe at R and 14th Streets NW. Gordon will soon open Red Light Dessert Bar at 1401 R Street NW, the former site of his Bar de Bari, which closed in January.

Already OK for Red Light to use this space

ANC2F's Community Development Committee (CDC) told Gordon he doesn't need to file a new public space use application. Gordon already has a valid public space use permit for the same space from the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) from the time Bar de Bari was open. He will not change the number of outdoor seats (44), move the fences, or change the footprint of the sidewalk cafe, so doesn't need new permission. The CDC Chair Walt Cain (Commissioner for district 02) thanked Gordon for his appearance and wished him the best of luck.

Gordon told the committee his lawyers recommended he appear before the CDC because he was planning to change the arrangement of the tables and chairs on the patio. The CDC is not empowered to manage outdoor cafes to this level of detail, he was informed.

Committee members asked Gordon why he had closed Bar di Bari.

"It was a daytime concept in a nighttime area," Gordon replied.

Red Light Dessert Bar will be more of a nighttime spot, he added.

The establishment is scheduled to open in April and will have 27 seats inside and 18 places at a bar. It gained some publicity because of its planned red-light-district theme -- a reference to 14th Street's "colorful past". Read more coverage of Red Light Dessert Bar from Eater DC here, and Washington City Paper here.

Carlyle Suites Roof Deck Moves Forward

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle will likely support the request by the Carlyle Suites Hotel (1731 New Hampshire Avenue NW) to add a roof deck. At the November 5 meeting of the Zoning, Preservation and Development (ZPD) Committee, Chair Leo Dwyer (Commissioner for district 07) indicated the committee would recommend that the full ANC support the project. The other Commissioners and committee members present seemed to agree.

Carlyle Suites opened in 1939

The Carlyle Suites Hotel's request is on the recently-published agenda for the next meeting of the full ANC, scheduled for tomorrow, November 13, 7pm, at the Brookings Institution (1775 Massachusetts Avenue).

The proposed roof deck was the subject of community interest and lengthy debate at the previous month's ZPD Committee meeting -- see the October 5 SALM blog post.

Still skeptical

The people living in the neighboring apartment buildings are still skeptical of Carlyle Suites Hotel's intentions. Specifically, they believe the roof deck may someday host a noisy late-night bar/restaurant operation. Although hotel management have repeatedly assured the neighbors there are no present plans for outside eating and drinking, they have also clearly said they can not completely rule out a change in their plans.

"It's clear that the hotel doesn't want to be fettered," said one neighbor at the meeting.

Carlyle Suites manager Scott Dawson argued there were practical reasons why the hotel would not want to operate a bar on roof.

"They'll be a couple of hundred people sleeping right underneath," he said.

Much community consultation

There had been a great deal of community consultation in the last few weeks. ZPD Committee Architect Michael Lee Biedler counted four community hearings and eight or nine meetings. ANC Commissioner Stephanie Maltz (district 03) tweeted the hotel had hosted five community meetings, and said at the meeting there had been "countless emails".

The Carlyle Suites Hotel is in Maltz's ANC district.

Although the neighbors still were suspicious of the ultimate use of the roof deck, they seemed to understand there was little point forcing a confrontation at this moment. The Carlyle Suites Hotel seeks design approval only for its roof deck from D.C.'s Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB). HPRB's brief is preservation only and is extremely unlikely to take into consideration, or even listen to, talk about future noise or liquor consumption in the space, whether the talk comes from an ANC or individuals.

Designed to minimize noise

There had been some changes made as concessions to neighborhood concerns about noise and privacy. The edge of the roof deck had been pulled 3 - 4 feet back from the edge of the roof.

The plan had also been changed so that the deck now has an five-foot-high wall of frosted glass on its perimeter. The glass wall will reflect sound toward the inside wall of the area, which there is a sound-absorbing stucco trellis. Outside the walls, there would be greenery in planters.

Why was the greenery on the outside? someone asked.

"To keep people from throwing [stuff] into the planters," was the reply.

Since the previous ZPD meeting, HPRB had looked at the design and recommended, for aesthetic reasons, the trellis not extend all the way around the interior wall. However, the ZPD and the neighbors seemed to agree noise considerations should trump aesthetics in this case.

Commissioner Dwyer said he would recommend ANC support for the project with the trellis extended.

Commissioner Maltz said she would circulate a draft letter to Commissioners before the next meeting of the full ANC.

ANC Crime Statements on the Increase?

Following the apparent success of a initiative by Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle, the use of ANC-drafted community impact statements may be on the rise, with the US Attorney's office asking another ANC this week to make statements on three other cases.

Community impact statements are filed by ANCs and detail the effects of a convicted criminal's activity on the community and urge that the criminal receive a stringent sentence.

Dupont smash-and-grab man gets three years with ANC help

A report on the website of ANC2B Commissioner Kishan Putta (district 04) states that Gregory Teal, a man arrested over 40 times for theft from automobiles, has been sentenced to three years in prison. The sentencing occurred after ANC2B filed a community impact statement requesting Teal receive a sentence of 2 - 3 years. Previously, Teal had never received prison sentences of more than 90 days.

Lanier addresses ANC2F October 2

Putta reports he received thanks from DC Police Chief Cathy Lanier.

"This is a prime example how well we do when we work as a team," Lanier wrote.

Assistant Chief of Police Cathy Diane Groomes wrote to credit the ANC's statement for the unusually long sentence.

"[W]e are so happy that community came out to support this effort … truly it resulted in the sentence issued," Groomes wrote in an email.

See the October 21 SALM blog post for more on the Teal case and the ANC statement.

Logan Circle ANC asked to weigh in on three cases

At its regular monthly meeting November 6, ANC 2F/Logan Circle voted unanimously to file community impact statements in three separate cases of local crime. The statements were requested by Roger Kemp, a community prosector at the US Attorney's office. Kemp sat through a long meeting about other matters before he had the opportunity to request the ANC's assistance.

The first case Kemp mentioned is that of Jahlani Brown, 21, who pled guilty to first-degree sexual abuse on October 25. The incident took place at the Lincoln Westmoreland Apartments (1730 7th Street NW), just north of the Shaw metro station.

According to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice:

According to the government’s evidence, on Sept. 17, 2013, at about 9 a.m., the victim reported to her office in the Shaw area of Northwest Washington and began preparing for her workday.  Brown, who was captured on video surveillance, entered the office and locked the door. He sexually assaulted, threatened, and robbed the victim before leaving the office.

Following the attack, the police released screenshots of Brown from the video surveillance footage. He was arrested two days later and was not released.

Brown will be sentenced on January 10, 2014, and will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

The second case involves Carlito Bailey and Rickey Watkins, both 22, who were convicted on October 11 of aggravated assault, assault with a dangerous weapon, and related firearms offenses, after a jury trial in D.C. Superior Court.
From a U.S. Department of Justice press release:

Johnson Avenue and R Street (photo credit below)

According to the government’s evidence, on the night of May 5, 2012, Bailey, Watkins, and a third unidentified shooter traveled to Northwest Washington armed with firearms.  The three men approached the intersection of Johnson Avenue and R Street NW, where they opened fire, shooting at least ten bullets into a block crowded with adults and children gathered to celebrate a birthday party.  One of the adults was shot several times in the legs. After firing the shots, the men fled on Johnson Avenue.

Bailey and Watkins were apprehended approximately 24 minutes after the shooting in a car with two firearms. One of the firearms was a ballistics match to six shell casings and a bullet from the crime scene, and a swab from the slide of that weapon yielded DNA that matched the DNA profile of Bailey.  Cell site data placed Watkins at the scene of the shooting.

Read another report about the incident here.

Bailey and Watkins are scheduled to be sentenced on December 10, 2013, by D.C. Superior Court Judge Robert I. Ritcher.

The third case is that of Gregory A. Cole. ANC2F Commissioner Peter Lallas (district 01) said at the meeting he had specificially requested this case be put on the agenda. Lallas described Cole as a crack dealer who operated on 14th Street, especially around R Street. This area is in Lallas's ANC district.

ANC2F's Crime and Public Safety Committee will draft the statements.

The full ANC is next scheduled to meet on December 4, 7pm, at the Washington Plaza Hotel (10 Thomas Circle).

There is a good explanation of community impact statements about half-way down this page from the US Attorney's Office.

(Photo credit: Borderstan, used by permission)

Embassy of Georgia to Move to R Street

Staff from the Embassy of Georgia appeared November 5 before a committee of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle to request support for a planned move of the Chancery to 1824-1826 R Street NW. The Embassy of Georgia asked for endorsement by ANC2B's Zoning, Preservation and Development (ZPD) Committee because the proposed new chancery location is not zoned for this type of use. It is zoned for residential use.

1824 R Street (left) was built in 1911 for $15,000

Even though it is zoned residential, it has been decades since the either of the two adjacent buildings have been anybody's home. The building has been on the market for several years. Before that, it was the Artists Inn Residence, a bed-and-breakfast, for more than five years. The Artists Inn Residence closed in 2009.

Before that, the building housed the Embassy of Singapore. A document from DC's Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) indicates the Embassy of Singapore first moved into the 1824 R Street property in 1971. In 1981, the Embassy of Singapore acquired the adjoining property and successfully petitioned the DC government to expand and use both properties as a chancery.

Georgian diplomats and a representative told the ZPD Committee sixteen employees would work at the sight. Most carpool together to work from their residences in suburban Maryland. There are at least five parking spaces associated with the property, possibly more if compact cars were used. The diplomats said they might request two spaces on the street be reserved for diplomatic cars during business hours. When told that the chancery's future neighbors might object to that, the Georgians said the request was "not necessarily mandatory".

It was reported the Embassy Singapore had ten reserved parking spaces on the street in the period they used the property.

The Embassy of Georgia currently rents its chancery building and wishes to buy a property, according to testimony at the meeting. The chancery is currently located at 2209 Massachusetts Avenue.

According to the presentation at the meeting, the combined structure is about 12,000 square feet. The asking price for the property in 2011 was over $15 million.

Although no vote was taken at the meeting, the committee members seemed inclined to recommend that the full ANC support the request of the Embassy of Georgia. The ANC recommendation will accompany the Embassy of Georgia's request for zoning relief when it is processed by the Foreign Mission Board of Zoning Adjustment (FMBZA). The FMBZA is an agency which provides foreign embassies and missions with a "one-stop shop" for all legal aspect of local property ownership and use.

At the same meeting, the ZPD committee also considered a request from the Embassy of Oman to endorse a handful of zoning variances. This was reported in the SALM blog post of yesterday, November 6.

ANC2B Public Space Protest against Sette Osteria

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle voted unanimously to protest a new public space application by Sette Osteria (1666 Connecticut Avenue), a pizza restaurant located at the corner of R Street. The vote took place at ANC2B's regular monthly meeting on October 9.

Sette Osteria's sidewalk cafe

Sette Osteria made a request for ANC endorse of their request to increase the size of their sidewalk planters, but then did not show up at the ANC meeting to explain why.

"We have a history of this establishment saying one thing and doing another," said Commissioner Kevin O'Connor (district 02). Sette Osteria is located in district 02.

The ensuing discussion mentioned previous dealings the ANC had had with Sette Osteria. The story is summed up nicely in a February 2009 post from the blog Greater Greater Washington, which reads in part:

In November [2008], Sette Osteria, the pizza restaurant at Connecticut and R in Dupont Circle, proposed putting a retractable awning over their outdoor seating. The awning would enable service in a wider range of weather. The restaurant's manager initially told the community that they planned only to request the awning, not a complete enclosure. However, only a few months after receiving approval for the awning, they have requested permission to install removable panels that would completely enclose the space during the winter.

Members of the ANC at the October 9 meeting said they would try to get Sette Osteria to move their sidewalk cafe back.

The motion passed 7-0. Commissioners Mike Feldstein (district 01) and Kishan Putta (district 04) were out of the room at the time of the vote.

Chief Lanier at ANC2F about Logan Circle Shootings

The community turned out to see Cathy Lanier, Chief of DC's Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) talk about local crime at regularly-scheduled October monthly meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle on October 2 at the Washington Plaza Hotel (10 Thomas Circle NW). 

Chief Lanier listens to her introduction

About recent shootings

Lanier announced there had been two arrests the previous evening in a stun gun robbery in Petworth. There have recently been a series of stun gun robberies in DC, including one in Logan Circle. Chief Lanier told the Washington Post the MPD did not know if the Petworth incident is tied to the other stun gun robberies.

Lanier reminded the audience that crime was down dramatically in the area, which was why the stun gun robberies got police attention.

There was little indication of progress on two other recent shooting incidents in the Logan Circle area. This was in spite of reported email assurances from the MPD more than ten days ago that the police "know who did this" and "were looking to make an arrest".

Lanier said the person shot during the September 12 incident on 14th Street was not cooperating with the police, which was making the investigation difficult. She also said there was a lot of misinformation "out there" about the shootings and there was "nothing to support these theories".

Community Q-and-A

During a question-and-answer session, a pastor of the Asbury Methodist Church (11th and K Streets) asked about prostitution and human trafficking in the neighborhood. In the subsequent discussion, it was said that prostitution seemed based on Internet advertising was now more common, as opposed to solicitation on the streets. Potential johns made appointments online and then met on street corners. The intersections of 5th and K, 12th and I, and 12th and M Streets were noted as frequently-used meeting spots.

An attendee from the 1400 block of R Street reported there was a lot of drug dealing and drinking on his block, and his car had been broken into twice this year. This is thought to be the work of a small group of juveniles. Some of these don't live in the neighborhood, but have friends who do. Others live in the neighborhood, so the police cannot use a "stay away order".

Another attendee from 13th and R complained that "follow through is lacking" in the case of the Logan Circle shootings. One witness saw the car and the shooter but was never interviewed by the MPD. Another woman, whose car windshield had been shattered by gunfire in the incident, had been asked three questions by the police, after which she had heard nothing.

Over 80 community members came to hear Lanier speak and listen to questions for about 40 minutes. All the seats were filled and people had to stand.

Lanier was introduced at the meeting by DC City Councilmember for Ward Two Jack Evans. Remarks by Evans to the meeting are the subject of a separate blog post.

Carlyle Suites Roof Terrace: Thin End of the Wedge?

Carlyle Suites Hotel (1731 New Hampshire Avenue NW) management tells Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle there is no rooftop bar or restaurant in the works. But neighbors are skeptical.

The proposed deck (credit below)

At the October 1 meeting of the ANC2B's Zoning, Preservation and Development (ZPD) Committee, Carlyle Suites Manager Scott Dawson said the planned roof deck will be primarily for yoga, sunbathing, and the occasional special event.

"There are no plans for bars or nightclubs," Dawson said.

"But you're paving the way," a neighbor replied.

The hotel today (credit below)

The supporting presentation on behalf of the Carlyle Suites was made by Dawson and Michael Lee Beidler of Trout Design Studio. Beidler is also a member of the ZPD Committee. 

How aware are the neighbors?

Beginning their talk, the presenters made an assertion that there were no objections from abutting properties. One attendee spoke up to claim this was not accurate.

Later, another local resident said most of the people in the area were unaware of the intended construction.

"Some of these folks are going to be really surprised," he said. "The neighbors need some time to figure it out."

Proposal details

The proposal will create deck space on the rear of the Carlyle Suites property, away from New Hampshire Avenue. The proposed addition would not be visible from New Hampshire Avenue, but it would be visible from 17th Street and Riggs Place. Beidler said the view from 17th Street would only be in winter -- trees would cover it the rest of the year.

The deck will be set back ten feet from the roof edge, but will still be larger than the roof decks of neighboring buildings. There will be no setbacks at certain interior parts of the building, which might cause noise problems.

"It's going to be echo alley," one neighbor said.

While repeating that there were no plans for a bar, restaurant, or nightclub, Dawson refused repeatedly to categorically state the hotel would never seek to have one there in the future. Dawson also refused to rule out the possibility of outside seating on the roof deck. Similarly, the presenters could not say exactly what the capacity of the deck would be.

Dawson said nothing could prevent people from consuming food and drink on the roof deck. But the roof deck space was not shaped and sized correctly for on-site food preparation, he said. Everyone agreed it would be possible to set up a bar on the deck.

Dawson said the security arrangements necessary to get non-guests through the hotel lobby and up to the roof was an issue. This was a reason why the hotel was not considering regular food or drink service on the roof deck at this time.

Still, the neighbors were suspicious.

"Couldn't it easily be converted?" one asked.

"No, there isn't the infrastructure, there isn't the space," Dawson said.

The paperwork

The planned roof deck expansion requires approval from DC's Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) because it lies within the boundaries of the Dupont Circle Historic District. The Carlyle Suites Hotel is seeking ANC2B endorsement on its petition to the HPRB.

It does not require a zoning variance or any other type of approval at this time. In addition, if the hotel decided to serve food and/or drink on the roof deck, it would require one or more new rounds of public space permits and liquor license amendments, all of which would normally be subject to citizen comment through the ANC before a decision was taken by the DC government. There are no such permit requests pending at this time.

Members of the committee pronounced themselves comfortable with the historic preservation aspects of the renovation, but urged the Carlyle Suites Hotel management to further consult residents of nearby apartment buildings before moving forward on the project.

"Continue to reach out to the neighboring properties," said ANC2B Commissioner Leo Dwyer (district 07). Dwyer is chair of the ZPD committee.

(Photo credit: from documents prepared by Trout Design Studio and presented to the ZPD committee)

Police Tell ANC2F about Logan Circle Shootings

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan was briefed last night (Wednesday, September 18) by the police about the recent shootings in the Logan Circle area. Detective Scott Guthrie of the Third District and other members of the DC's Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) gave an account of their publicly-releasable information to ANC2F's Crime and Public Safety Committee. They also handled questions from ANC commissioners and members of the public.

Attendance up at public safety committee

First incident: 9/12, 14th and Riggs

Guthrie told the committee the first shooting occurred on September 12 at 8:53pm, near the corner of 14th Street and Riggs Place NW. Police are classifying it as an assault with a deadly weapon. There were multiple gunshots, and two vehicles were struck. A 45-year-old man was shot in the buttocks. The man has been interviewed but police cannot release details. There are no suspects or known motives. Police are seeking cooperative witnesses.

See a Washington Post report on this first incident here.

Second incident: 9/17, 13th and R

The second incident occurred at 7:22pm on September 17 on the 1700 block of 13th Street, at the corner of R Street. There were multiple gunshots but no victims. Two parked cars were hit by gunfire. One car had a windshield destroyed. The shooter, the intended target, and the motive are all unknown. Contrary to online rumors, it is not certain if the shooting was drive-by or by a pedestrian.

A revolver was recovered near the crime scene under a parked car. It is being sent for analysis to recover fingerprints and/or DNA.

This same revolver was being examined to see if this incident and the September 12th incident were connected. It will take about two weeks to get ballistics results.

There is no evidence that the second incident is gang-related, but it cannot be completely ruled out.

There is a nearby on-street video camera on 13th Street which may provide some useful information. A request to view video from the time of the incident has been made. The camera reportedly points away from area where the incident took place.

At the meeting, two members of the public reported their parked car had received dents and scrapes during the second incident. They believed the damage took place when the shooter stood behind the vehicle. It was unclear whether their vehicle had been photographed by the police already.

A resident of the 1400 block of P Street reported he had been in email contact with Third District Commander Jacob Kishter about the second incident. Kishter reportedly said "they had an idea who did this". Kishter also said the motive was a "neighborhood beef" and the police "were looking to make an arrest".

The MPD representatives at the meeting said they could not confirm this, but sometimes senior management has better information than lower-level police.

After the report, the meeting continued with a long discussion on community involvement to reduce gun crimes.

Attendance at the committee meeting was much higher than average due to the shootings.

ANC2F Commissioners leading the meeting were Peter Lallas (district 01) and Chris Linn (district 03).

7th & R: 105 Apartments + Retail, 40 Parking Spaces

Shaw 42 Developers told Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6E/Shaw about plans for a proposed multi-story building to be erected on the corner of 7th and R Streets, NW. The building will be near the corner of Rhode Island Avenue and across the street from Shaw/Howard University Metro station.

Artist's rendition of the proposed building

The empty site now

The presentation by Marullus Williams took place at ANC6E's regular monthly meeting on September 4. Williams said construction was planned to start in 2015 and conclude in 2017.

Parking always an issue

The planned building will have 105 rental units and retail space, and 40 parking spaces for both purposes. The developers have not decided how many spaces will be allocated for residents, and how many for retail, Williams said.

The presentation led to a debate about the appropriate number of parking spaces for the neighborhood, given the changing demographics of the neighborhood and the current shortage of spaces. Commissioners and member of the public made statements on both sides of the parking issue. Some urged more parking in the development. Others advocated making this new development near Metro less car-centered.

"Being close to a metro station will not alleviate parking problems," said Commissioner Kevin Chapple (district 02).

ANC6E then voted to recommend to Victor L. Hoskins, DC Deputy Mayor for Planning and Development, that the Parcel 42 development have at least two levels of parking. No specific number of parking spaces were recommended. The vote was 5-1. Commissioner Marge Maceda (05) voted against the resolution.

Affordable housing

The building will be only rental units -- no condos.

Of the proposed 105 units, 21 will be designated as affordable housing. Fourteen units will be priced as to be affordable to those at 50 percent of Average Area Median Income (AMI). Four will be priced for those at 30 40 percent of AMI. Three units will be priced for those at 20 30 percent of AMI.

Recent census statistics state that AMI overall in the District of Columbia is $75,807.

[NOTE: See comment below for an explanation of Area Median Income and what it would mean for the cost of apartments in this building. Thanks to commenter for setting me straight.]

There was no discussion of exactly how much an apartment might rent for, or about the cost of parking spaces.

The average unit size will be 700 square feet. Two bedroom units will be 1000 square feet. The building will be divided nearly equally between efficiency, one-bedroom, and two-bedroom rental apartments, according to Williams.

This piece of land, called "Parcel 42", was the site of a long-term protest about affordable housing in the summer of 2010, described here and here. 

Retail

Two retail operations have been chosen for the development.

One is Old City Farm and Guild, a garden store currently operating at 925 Rhode Island Avenue. Old City Farm and Guild will also move and do business on the land while the planning process is in progress.

The other is NURISH, described as "a restaurant and culinary entrepreneurship incubator". The operation will have an educational function for those who wish to enter the retail food industry. The developers have not decided how many seats the restaurant portion of the establishment will have, or the amount of free or paid parking.

Design

The architect will be Sasha Rosen of Georgetown-based R2L Architects. Rosen has recently attracted attention as the architect behind the restoration and development of the Wonder Bread building on the 600 block of S Street in Shaw.

Bernard Demczuk, African-American studies expert and Assistant Vice President for District Relations at George Washington University, made an enthusiastic presentation about the work he is doing on the project. Demczuk described his vision of the building's lobby, which will also function as a map and museum of the 7th Street corridor and its contribution to local African-American and Jewish history.