ANC 6E

from Mid City DC Magazine – January 2022

At The Movies • Pleasant Mann

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6E held its monthly meeting for December 2021 on Tuesday evening, Dec. 7. Due to the restrictions on public meetings caused by the Coronavirus crisis, the meeting was held as a virtual conference. Chair Rachelle Nigro (6E04) called the meeting to order with Michael Eichler (6E01, vice chair), Alex Lopez (6E02, secretary), Frank Wiggins (E03, treasurer), Patrick Parlej (6E05), Denise Blackson (6E06) and Kevin Rogers (6E07) in attendance. There was a quorum to conduct official business.

Police Service Area (PSA) Reports

Capt. Dorrough of the First Police District reported that crime had gone down 30%, with theft being the only category that had an increase. There were still violent incidents. On Nov. 7, there was a shooting at Fourth and L streets. One person was shot and there was an arrest. There was also an incident on Dec. 4, where an argument resulted in someone being shot in the head. The victim is in critical condition, with Homicide taking over the investigation. Parlej asked if the shooting was gang-related. Dorrough replied that DC does not have well-organized gangs but loosely connected groups called crews.

Dorrough noted that there were more guns on the street than ever before. There is still a problem with officer attrition, with force levels going down as there are no new hires coming in to replace officers who are retiring.

Rogers stated that there should be more officers on K Street. Dorrough replied that one officer is assigned to K Street. Nigro asked about a reported kidnapping. The captain said that the incident was unlikely to have been a kidnapping, but that he could research it further.

Dorrough mentioned a proposed revision of the DC Code, which would remove drinking with an open container of alcohol in public as a crime, that could affect how police deal with issues on the street. He concluded that the neighborhood is safe, with historic lows for violent crime, although there are still notable incidents.

Capt. Small of the Third Police District reported a 33% percent reduction in violent crime in 3D. There had been an increase in property crime over the last month. Nigro inquired about the investigation of a robbery that occurred on M Street. Small said that the case is still open. Nigro added that she continues to advocate to put an officer on foot patrol. There was a question about the shots fired on the 1400 block of Seventh Street. Small replied that one person was arrested and that the police have gotten information from nearby video surveillance cameras.

by Pleasant Mann

Zoning and Development Committee

456 Ridge St. NW. Support was requested by the property’s owners going before the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) for a change in the status of an existing building from historically contributing to the Mount Vernon Square Historic District to non-contributing, which would allow the owners to seek a raze permit. Tony Brown, chair of the committee, said that this is a tricky project since historic preservation limits demolition in historic districts. He said the committee concluded that, based on precedents, they could not support the request. Alex Padro added that since the building was declared a contributing building when the historic district was established, the committee could not justify a reclassification as non-contributing without further documentation. Nigro said that regardless of the what the commission decides, she would send her own opinion to the HRPB. Nigro then moved to not support the owner’s request, which failed by a vote of three in favor, three opposed and one abstention. A motion by Lopez to support the request also failed by the same vote. Therefore, the commission took no action on the matter. 1552 Eighth St. NW. Brown explained that the project, which called for a three-story addition in the rear, had gone before the HPRB before, where a proposed slanted roof drew objections. The latest plan calls for a flat roof, and the committee supported the concept. The commission passed a motion to support the plan. 1612-1616 Seventh St. NW. Plans call for renovating three historic buildings and building a three-story addition at the rear, with ground floor retail and upper story residential. The owner mentioned that his plans had been approved in 2016 by ANC 6E and the Central Shaw Neighborhood Association, but that due to the amount of time that had passed, HPRB wanted to rehear the case. Brown said that the committee supported the project. The request for support before the HPRB was approved by the commission.

1510 10th St. NW. The owner was requesting support for plans before the HPRB to add a twostory addition in the rear of this row house, with a set of exterior stairs and a roof deck. Brown said that the committee had reviewed the plans and suggested modifications, resulting in the latest set of plans. Eichler noted that there the community had expressed concern about the project in the past. A motion to support the plans before the HPRB was approved by a vote of five yeses.

Alcoholic Beverage Control Licensing Committee (ABC)

508 K St. NW (Rebel Taco). Rebel Taco is a fast casual restaurant moving into the Waffle Shop space. It is applying for a new restaurant license. This will not be a nightlife establishment. The request was for support for new permanent and stipulated licenses. The request for ANC support for the license and stipulated license was approved by the commission. 508 K St. NW (Stellina Pizzeria). Request for Class C license for a new restaurant and a stipulated license. A motion to support the request passed. 449 K St. NW (Melange). Melange is asking for a liquor license with an entertainment endorsement, plus a stipulated license. The request for support was approved by the commission.

Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC)

New Jersey Avenue Traffic Calming Project. The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) presented

about their plans for tra c calming measures on New Jersey Avenue from Florida Avenue to N Street NW. ere have been crashes on New Jersey Avenue, particularly at O Street. Warner Street was an example of a particular hazard. A tra c light is planned for the intersection of O and New Jersey. e plans suggest a road diet for New Jersey, with one transit lane instead of two, turn pockets and a protected bike lane.

Nigro said that it was important for the problems on New Jersey Avenue to get attention. Lopez, the chair of the Transportation Committee, gave a list of suggested improvements developed by the committee. A resident asked how many parking spaces will be eliminated in the plan. e answer is that there are currently 78 parking space, which would be reduced to 18. e advantage is that the current parking spaces are rush-hour restricted, while the remaining 18 under the plan could be used at all hours. Lopez made a motion for the commission to support the plan, and to include the committee comments on DDOT’s 30% drawings. e motion passed.

KIPP DC: Grow Academy. e committee requested that DDOT conduct a safety study to address cars speeding in front of the KIPP Grow Academy on the 400 block of P Street. e request suggested installing raised crosswalks at the intersections around the school and adding speed bumps to Fifth Street. e motion to request a safety study from DDOT passed unanimously.

ANC 6E will hold its next meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022, at 6:30 p.m. Plans are to hold this meeting as a virtual conference. Visit www. anc6e.org for more information.◆