Bloomingdale Civic Association meeting
Monday, 07/20/2015
St. George’s Episcopal Church, 160 U St NW
Meeting commenced at 7:03 am
BCA board members present: Teri Janine Quinn, Austin Pearl, Derrick Jones, Sheryl Lewis, Angela Prentice, Bertha Holliday, Scott Roberts
Public Safety
Ms. Quinn advised that she and Mr. Pearl met with Fifth District Commander Fitzgerald and advised him of the current set of public safety issues in Bloomingdale.
A neighbor reported loitering at North Capitol Street & Florida Avenue NW, northwest corner.
Ms. Quinn provided an update on Aida Electronics, 209 Florida Avenue NW, which has been selling synthetic drugs. She said that the business violated its prior settlement agreement. A new settlement agreement has been crafted and will take effect on August 10, 20015, at which time the store must be closed.
DC Water 1st Street Tunnel Post-Construction Traffic Planning
Ms. Prentice is seeking volunteers to work on traffic planning.
A resident asked about the status of pursuing a roundabout along 1st Street NW. Ms. Prentice reported that DDOT has advised that it responds to the residents.
Ms. Howard reported that DC Water’s idea of extending work hours has been abandoned. She also advised that the July 2015 DC Water 1st Street Tunnel Forum meeting has been cancelled. The next meeting is Thursday, August 27, 2015.
Sergeant Nelson of PSA 501 reported that burglaries have dropped. A large number of auto thefts has been occurring. He suggested that residents be sure to lock windows and doors. He suggested increasing lighting around your homes. Sgt. Nelson said that he cannot ask loiterers to move on. Another neighbor asked about panhandling at the BP-Amoco station at 3rd & Florida Ave NW. He provided his Email address: Gary.Nelson@dc.gov.
Bloomingdale Village Center grant
Dr. Holliday listed what the DC Humanities grant will address. The work will center around the 1st & Rhode Island Avenue NW. The grant must be used by October 2015. The three grant committees address:
- Oral history interviews
- Landscaping and streetscaping
- History component
Volunteers are also needed for a digital community bulletin board. Zach Sherif & Paul Cerruti are coordinating.
North Capitol Main Street update
NCMS’ Simone Ellison advised that NCMS is offering grants, seeking memberships and is expanding its social media. Upcoming events: Art All Night on Friday, September 25, 2015. The storefront improvement program (SIP) has resulted in exterior improvements to Pub and the People and other NCMS-corridor businesses.
Bloomingdale Wine & Spirits mural
Dr. Holliday advises that the artist named Nessar who designed & painted the exterior wall mural at Bloomingdale Wine & Spirits did it without compensation. Dr. Holliday proposed compensating the artist with a token honorarium of $200.00. The same artist will be painting the DC Water doors. A vote passed to provide him with $200.
A neighbor advised about the increase in tagging throughout the neighborhood. Ward 5 MOCR Tommie Jones commented that there has been increase in graffiti throughout the ward.
BCA Bylaws
Ms. Quinn reported that the BCA board worked on updating the bylaws. The document is incomplete. The updated bylaws need to be distributed to the BCA members 60 days in advance. The intention is to send out the updated bylaws during August 2015.
Bloomingdale House Tour
Dr. Holliday advised that the house tour theme this year is “historic, hip and happening.” Houses are still being solicited for the house tour. Event promotion will commence in about a month. The architectural history of Bloomingdale will be a focus of the house tour program guide. The art show will be returning. Photographers, a freelance writer, a publicist and grant writers are still needed. The financial fundraising goal for the event is $25,000. The proceeds are primarily for student scholarships.
BCA Scholarship
Lauren Linville of the BCA Scholarship Committee advised that one of the two recipients was Miranda Woods, who will be attending University of Miami studying Mechanical Engineering. The grant award amount is $1500.
DC Federation of Civic Associations
Ms. Quinn advised that the DCFCA awards ceremony centers on a few categories, one of which is Grassroots Leader. Ms. Quinn asked that nominees for DCFCA awards be sent to reachbloomingdaleca@gmail.com.
Nationals Game on August 9, 2015
The Eckington Civic Association is providing tickets for the Sunday, August 9, 2015, game. The contact person in the ECA is Adam Duffy, whose Email address is adambduffy@gmail.com
Laisha Dougherty of Ward 5 CM McDuffie’s office
Ms. Dougherty said that the CM is aware of the Metrobus G8 service reliability concerns. The CM will be following with WMATA.
Honorary Street Renaming for Mr. Jackson
CM McDuffie has agreed to work on legislation to establish the 100 block of Rhode Island Avenue NW with an honorary name after Mr. Jackson, the late owner of Jak & Co Hairdressers.
Tommie Jones of the Mayor’s Office
He mentioned the Mayor’s Alleypalooza effort includes two alleys in Bloomingdale.
The Mayor signed the emergency legislation regarding the sale of synthetic drugs.
The meeting commenced at 8:45 pm.