Return of Ward Two Parking Permits for Ward Six Residents in Shaw

DC City Councilmember Charles Allen (D-Ward Six) has introduced legislation that will enable certain Ward Six residents in Shaw to get Ward Two parking passes. Allen told a meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6E/Shaw last night he was "working with" DC City Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward Two) on this matter.

Charles Allen at last night's meeting

This action fulfills a promise Allen made during last year's campaign -- see SALM blog post of June 6, 2014. Allen's promise to re-introduce the legislation came after a similar bill introduced by Allen's predecessor, Tommy Wells, went down to defeat against unified opposition in the DC Council.

Allen told the meeting he "wanted to make sure the neighborhood was connected" with Ward Two parking.

As far as parking elsewhere in Ward Six goes, Allen said: "Other parts of Ward Six doesn't do as much good."

Commissioner Rachelle Nigro (district 04) gave Allen some advice on how to get the legislation passed in the face of probable opposition from Evans.

"Don't work with Jack [Evans]. Work with the rest of the council."

Allen backed away from any suggestion he would not be fully cooperating with Evans.

"He is my colleague," Allen said.

"I need to respect that he is the Ward Two Councilmember," Allen said later.

Residents here want to park in Ward Two

Ward Two parking permits for Ward Six residents first became an issue in 2011, when a large section of Shaw was re-districted from Ward Two to Ward Six. The area is in question is bordered by New York Avenue NW in the south and (mostly) by New Jersey Avenue in the east. At some points, it extends as far as Florida Avenue in the north and 11th Street in the west -- see map.

Shaw residents fought a successful rear guard action for several years before action to change the street signs and residential parking requirements started last year. At the meeting last night, one audience member said the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) managed to miss one block near his home, which still enjoyed Ward Two parking privileges.

"DDOT has not done the greatest job," Allen said. "I've found them to make mistakes."

Other SALM blog posts on Ward Two parking for Shaw residents were published on May 14 and June 2, 2014.

At last night's meeting, Allen spoke on a number of other issues of concern to the neighborhood, and took questions from the audience. Allen emphasized his new "Books from Birth" initiative, and got several questions and comments from audience members who were eager to participate.

Charles Allen, Jack Evans on Ward Two Parking for Shaw Residents

Emergency legislation to allow Shaw car owners to retain their Ward Two parking privileges went down to defeat on June 3, but that's not necessary the end of the matter. Charles Allen, Democratic nominee for the Ward 6 City Council seat, pledged to re-introduce legislation if elected. However, messages on Twitter indicate the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is already replacing resident parking signs in Shaw.

Newly-installed parking sign in Shaw

Meanwhile, DC City Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward Two) told Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2F/Logan Circle why he opposed the bill.

Shaw residents were redistricted from Ward Two to Ward Six as a result of the 2010 census. Since that time, they have been able to retain Ward Two parking permits. They wish to continue to do so -- see SALM blog posts of June 2 and May 14.

Allen at 6E/Shaw

Charles Allen visited the regular monthly meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6E/Shaw on June 3 -- a few hours after the emergency legislation was defeated by a voice vote. The purpose of Allen's visit to ANC6E was to "say hello and listen in", he said.

Allen reported the failure of the emergency legislation. However, he said, the the bill would be re-introduced this session as permanent (i.e., not emergency) legislation, and there was a possibility that it could pass in this manner.

If it does not pass, Allen promised to re-introduce the legislation if he is elected to the DC Council in November.

According to a DC Council web site faq page, "An emergency bill is a proposed new law or an amendment to existing legislation that takes effect immediately and is effective for 90 days.  Because it does not follow the committee process, a vote of a super majority (9) is required for an emergency to be considered."

The path of permanent legislation is slower and more complicated, including potentially a visit to the US Congress, but it will not require a super majority. See an explanation here.

Signs already changing

About four hours before the emergency legislation failed in the DC Council, a Shaw resident reported on Twitter that Ward Two resident parking sign were being replaced with Ward Six resident parking signs. A DDOT worker said the sign change was being fast-tracked, the resident wrote in a separate tweet.

Rachelle Nigro, ANC6E Commissioner for the area in question (district 04), instructed the resident to take and send a photo of the sign in question -- see above. Nigro said she had sent an email to DDOT Director Matthew Brown about the matter.

Evans at 2F/Logan Circle

Jack Evans was at the regular monthly meeting of ANC2F on June 4. His main purpose was to talk about the recently passed city budget, but he touched briefly on the parking bill. He said he understood why Shaw residents wanted Ward Two parking passes.

"I understand wanting to continue to park in neighborhoods that you used to be able to park in," Evans said. "But the purpose of residential parking passes is to park in a residential neighborhood. And, frankly, this neighborhood would have been impacted by having people from Shaw parking in a residential area."

Evans' position might be, in part, a result of trying to park near his home in Georgetown.

"I can't even find an illegal parking spot," he told ANC2F.

Other matters discussed by Evans and ANC2F at the June 4 meeting will be the subject of one or more future SALM blog post.

Shaw Car Owners Ask to Retain Ward Two Residential Parking

"This issue is not dead yet," said Rachelle Nigro of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6E/Shaw. "We'll fight to the very end for my constituents."

Ward Six, north of New York Avenue

The issue is the residential parking permits (RPPs) of about 1,100 car owners living north of New York Avenue NW in Shaw, surrounded on three sides by other wards (see map). Up until 2011, these car owners lived in Ward Two. As a result of redistricting, they now live in Ward Six. They have lobbied successfully to retain Ward Two RPP up until now. Currently they are resisting an attempt by the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) to change the street signs in their area so that they will be required to have Ward Six stickers on their windshields to park on the street.

Nigro said the majority of people in this area wished to retain Ward Two residential parking permits. She said she would need to have some organized show of support, like an online petition, to demonstrate this.

The ANC passed a resolution at its regular monthly meeting May 6 asking the city council, and specifically Councilmember Tommy Wells (D-Ward Six) to introduce the necessary legislation to implement this. The resolution passed with one vote against, by Commissioner Marge Maceda (district 05).

Ashamed of Ward Six?

Earlier, during the debate, Maceda asked Nigro: "Are the people in your area ashamed of being in Ward Six?"

"No, it has nothing to do..." Nigro began.

"It certainly is," Maceda said.

A member of the audience resisted Maceda's tendency to interrupt.

"I've been living in this neighborhood all my life...," the audience member began.

"And it's changing," Maceda said.

"Excuse me, let me finish," the audience member said. "One of the things that's happened now is this new little piece of carve-out. If I go one block east, I'm in Ward Five. If I go one block north, I'm in Ward 1. If I got four blocks west, I'm in Ward Two. I can't even go to a restaurant, my cleaners, and park there anymore."

At the end of the debate, Nigro said of the request for legislation: "If it works, great. If it doesn't, we will just move forward as Ward Six, but at least we're trying our best."

Who needs Georgetown?

ANC6E Chair Alexander Padro (district 01) said he expected City Councilmember Jack Evans (D-Ward Two) to oppose the legislation because he doesn't want more people parking in Georgetown.

"We don't need to go to Georgetown anymore to go to restaurants and clubs," an audience member said. "We've got our own neighborhood now. We just can't park there."

ANC6E has a Youtube channel, on which it posts its monthly meetings in their entirety. The discussion on this matter can be seen on video 00048 here, starting at 5:15.

See a current map of Ward Six from the D.C. Office of Planning here.

(Map from D.C. Office of Planning website)

Dupont Outlobbies Shaw for SW Circulator Bus

Dupont Circle and Shaw are candidates for new Circulator Bus routes from Southwest. But Dupont Circle is mounting a more vigorous lobbying campaign.

Map of possible DC Circulator expansion

At its regular monthly meeting March 12, Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B/Dupont Circle passed a resolution calling for the creation of two new Circulator bus routes. One route would run from Southwest to Dupont Circle. Another would run from the Lincoln Memorial on the Mall to U Street, home of Ben's Chili Bowl -- spawning the nicknames "Abe to Ben's" and "A to B" for the proposed routes.

Perhaps more importantly, Commissioners from ANC2B and ANC 2A/Foggy Bottom have been actively lobbying for the Dupont Circle routes. The Commissioners have been advocating for the Abe to Ben's route on the blog Greater Greater Washington. These same Commissioners -- Mike Silverstein (2B district 06) and Patrick Kennedy (2A Chair, district 01) -- also testified at a DC Circulator public meeting held by the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) February 25 at Eastern Market (see result of the meeting in 25-page .pdf here).  

There is no comparable campaign from the Shaw neighborhood. Both candidates in the April 1 Democratic primary for City Councilmember from Ward Six have promised to advocate for a Southwest-Shaw line if elected -- see SALM blog post of March 13. But the general election is not until November, and the winners will not be seated until January 2015. By that time, decisions may have already been made.

The effect of the Dupont effort can be seen in the report of the February 25 meeting. At the meeting, participants were asked to post stickers on a map to show where they would like to see Circulator go. The results were then weighted and tabulated. Interest in the Dupont Circle alternatives scored twice as high as the proposed route from Southwest to the Convention Center in Shaw. The comments section of the report also shows much greater interest in another Dupont Circulator route.

See a summary of the February 25 meeting made by goDCgo using the tool Storify here.

(photo credit: from DC Circulator website)

March 7 Shooting in Shaw: MPD Youtube Video of Persons of Interest

D.C.'s Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) has released a video on Youtube showing two persons of interest possibly connected with a March 7 shooting at Fifth and Q Streets NW. At a community meeting last night (March 20) at KIPP DC Public Charter School (421 P Street) in Shaw, the MPD shared information about the case and urged members of the public to come forward to aid the investigation, particularly people who were walking around the neighborhood at the time immediate prior to the shooting at 8:45pm.

The video, from the night of the shooting, is below. If you have trouble viewing it, find it in the MPD Youtube channel here.

Detective Scott Guthrie of the MPD reviewed the public facts of the case. Two 22-year-old men were shot at the intersection of Fifth and Q Streets. The victims survived and were released. The victims did not reveal the identity of the shooters. Guthrie said the two victims do not reside in the area but "have ties". Police are looking for a slim African-American, between 6 feet and 6 feet 2 inches tall, who was seen fleeing the scene, in connection with the case.

There have been no related incidents since then, Guthrie said. As a result of increased police presence in the area in the days following the shooting, a man was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon, but there is no evidence this arrest has any connection to the shooting.

The police took questions from the roughly 30 members of the audience. There were many details the police said they could not reveal, for example, placement of video cameras, number of shell casings found, and possible criminal backgrounds of the victims.

Someone asked if the shooting was gang-related.

"Everybody jumps to that conclusion," Detective Kenneth Arrington said. "But we haven't established any connection."

Some people complained about local policing. One person said police can be "very disrespectful".

"The residents here do not trust the police," said another.

Toward the end of the meeting, mayoral candidate and D.C. City Councilmember Tommy Wells (Ward Six) appeared. Wells did not comment or ask the police any questions. 

Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to contact the MPD at 202-727-9099 or via the MPD text tip line 50411.

Raising "the Tommy Wells flag" at the Ward Six Candidates Forum

Charles Allen and Darrel Thompson, candidates in the April 1 Democratic primary to replace mayoral candidate Tommy Wells as Ward Six representative, met for a forum in the basement of Watha T. Daniel Library (1630 7th Street NW) in Shaw on March 12. The forum was moderated by Andrew Lightman, publisher of MidCity DC and other hyperlocal news outlets.

The candidates were urged to take off their ties.

The candidates agreed on many things. For example:

• There is an ethical crisis in DC government.
• They support new legislation on campaign contributions.
• They want to improve public transit in Ward Six.
• They will not seek outside employment if elected to the DC Council.
• They are against neighborhood preferences for charter schools.

"These wonderful men are very well behaved," Lightman said at the beginning of the evening. Throughout the forum, the candidates spoke respectfully to one another and the general tone remained civil.

Tommy Wells: absent but present

The most discordant note was when Thompson accused Allen of either adopting or rejecting the legacy of Tommy Wells according to political expediency. Allen has been Wells' Chief of Staff for more than six years.

"You can't raise the Tommy Wells flag when it helps you and lower it when it doesn't," Thompson said.

Thompson cited two instances when he thought Wells was insufficiently attentive to his constituents. The first involved the former Shaw-Southwest Circulator Bus, which discontinued service in 2011.

"It got yanked largely at your mentor's [i.e., Wells'] request," Lightman said.

Allen said he would fight for its reinstatement.

"You were there when we lost Circulator in the first place," Thompson said.

The second involved a question about increased demand for "walk-to" neighborhood schools.

"That's a difference between Tommy and me," Allen said. "I'll be a stronger fighter for neighborhood schools."

Thompson said Allen should have started fighting sooner as Chief of Staff.

"You have the ear of your boss," Thompson said.

The Culture of Corruption

The forum took place at the same time as Mayor Gray's State of the District address, and Gray's recent problems were a subject for discussion. In answer to a question about legislative initiatives to curb corruption, Allen suggested a complete elimination of corporate contributions.

As it stands now, a limited liability corporation (LLC) in D.C. can donate to a campaign, so people can and have anonymously established multiple LLCs to enable large but quiet donations.

"When someone is able to give once as themselves, and once for each corporation, that's wrong," Allen said.

At another point in the evening, Allen said: "The way you make sure you have accountability is that you have one name on the check."

Thompson did not come out for elimination of corporate contributions, but instead said "the [D.C. city] council should have some say so."

"We should hold corporations responsible," Thompson said.

Later, Thompson said, "We need new fixes and legislation. This comes back to integrity and character."