Dp 02 22 2017

Page 1

The Dupont Current

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

City to tweak parking rates in Chinatown

Dupont ANC criticizes LED streetlight project

CHASING FREEDOM

■ Environment: Agency says

opponents should be patient

By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer

Parking meter rates in Chinatown and Penn Quarter will soon vary more widely based on demand, as the D.C. Department of Transportation moves into the second phase of its ongoing “dynamic pricing” pilot program downtown. Beginning last fall, drivers in the two neighborhoods saw meter rates fluctuate depending on location and time of day. Agency analysts conducted a year-and-a-halflong study of parking statistics in the area bounded by 3rd, 11th, E and H streets NW, adjusting prices up from the standard $2.30 per hour to $2.75 at high-demand times and places, and down to $2.00 in low-demand times and places. Starting this month, drivers in that area will see hourly rates adjusted to as low as $1.50 and as high as $3.25, Soumya Dey, an associate director for the Department of Transportation, said at the Feb. 13 meeting of Advisory See Meters/Page 11

By CUNEYT DIL

Current Correspondent

A citywide effort to modernize more than 71,000 streetlights continues to be divisive, as Dupont Circle neighborhood leaders this month added their voices in opposition. Residents across the city have expressed periodic concern since 2014 over the impacts of harsh LED streetlights on the eyes. On Feb. 8, Advisory Neighborhood

Susann Shin/The Current

■ Development: Event faces

Marcia E. Cole performed original poetry and monologues at West End Interim Library last Thursday, sharing accounts from the Underground Railroad and highlighting how the collaboration of black and white sympathizers led to the freedom of many slaves.

By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer

Photo courtesy of Carol Joynt

Carol Joynt, right, interviewed Nora Pouillon about her career.

But then, in the early 1970s, Pouillon ordered organic beef from a farm in Pennsylvania, and was surprised to learn that she would have to retrieve the delivery on a side street near Chevy Chase Circle. Women in station wagons

Commission 2B (Dupont Circle) voted unanimously to oppose the proposed streetlights because of the potential negative effects of blue-colored LED lighting. Commissioners voted on behalf of concerned constituents like Wayne Savage, who identified himself at the meeting as belonging to a task force opposed to the city’s proposal. Savage said he’s not against LED lights on principle, but he’s wary of the possible harmful effects of the proposed lights’ color. The city is seeking a privatesector partner to undertake the See Lights/Page 3

St. Thomas’ Parish project celebrates groundbreaking protest from some neighbors By ANDRIA MOORE Current Correspondent

Legendary organic chef prepares to move on Nora Pouillon, a venerated organic chef with some 40 years of experience in D.C.’s culinary scene, recalls an odd moment early in her career that convinced her she was going down the right path. Since she was a child, Pouillon has sought organic foods even if it meant paying more or enduring greater difficulty. That wasn’t so strange in Austria, where she spent her childhood and early adulthood. But when she moved to the U.S., she said, she was surprised how little Americans seemed to care about the additives and hormones in their store-bought food.

Vol. XV, No. 38

Serving Dupont Circle, Kalorama, Adams Morgan & Logan Circle

lined up in the minutes before the tractor trailer arrived, hopped out to collect the beef, returned to their cars and sped away. “It was like a drug deal,” Pouillon said. This instance helped solidify her belief that organic food ought not be a secret any longer — and it later became a mainstay at her Dupont Circle eatery, Restaurant Nora. Now, at age 73, the Georgetown resident is working to retire and sell her restaurant. At a “Q&A Cafe” event in the George Town Club on Thursday, Pouillon appeared reflective on her impact on the city’s food culture — and slightly restless about her postrestaurant future. Restaurant Nora has been See Pouillon/Page 15

A crowd of around 50 people gathered in their Sunday best this past weekend for the groundbreaking ceremony of St. Thomas’ Parish’s long-anticipated new church building — while a few protesters stood outside the fence, holding signs reading “Honor thy Neighbor” in opposition to the project. The historic Episcopal church at 18th and Church streets NW in Dupont Circle was destroyed in a 1970 fire, leaving worshippers to use their parish hall while the rest of the property served as a de facto public park. Over the past decade, the property was subject to intense debate as church leaders sought to redevelop the space into a large building that could accommodate a new sanctuary. Plans for a seven-story apartment building that will include a new church space for St. Thomas’ won city approval just over a year ago, despite concerns from nearby residents that the project threatens

Susann Shin/The Current

The Rev. V. Gene Robinson, right, and the Rev. Alex Dyer took part in Sunday’s festivities.

aspects of the neighborhood’s quality of life. The Rev. V. Gene Robinson said, though, that St. Thomas’ was overdue to move out of the dilapidated, maintenanceintensive parish hall. “There was only so much we could do,” said Robinson, who officiated Sunday’s groundbreaking ceremony. “We were taking money to repair the old building that could have been put aside to invest in a new building.” See Church/Page 3

NEWS

SHOPPING & DINING

EVENTS

INDEX

Sidewalk repairs

James Beard

Hirshhorn reflections

Calendar/16 Classifieds/25 District Digest/4 Dupont Circle Citizen/9 Getting Around/11 In Your Neighborhood/14

West End block that’s been the subject of years of complaints is due for upgrades / Page 3

Semifinalists for prestigious awards include slew of D.C. restaurants and chefs / Page 15

Museum to feature immersive exhibits of Yayoi Kusama’s ‘Infinity Mirror Rooms’ / Page 17

Opinion/6 Police Report/8 Real Estate/13 School Dispatches/5 Service Directory/23 Shopping & Dining/15

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Dp 02 22 2017 by Current Newspapers - Issuu