Dp 05 10 2017

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The DuponT CurrenT

Wednesday, May 10, 2017

Vol. XV, No. 49

Serving Dupont Circle, Kalorama, Adams Morgan & Logan Circle

Two parks due for new play surfaces

V-E DAY

■ Accessibility: Lafayette,

Kalorama don’t meet ADA By BRADY HOLT Current Staff Writer

The D.C. government is preparing to replace the playground surfaces in Lafayette and Kalorama playgrounds following months of complaints that the wood chip play areas don’t meet Americans With Disabilities Act standards for wheelchair accessibility. In Chevy Chase, the D.C. Department of General Services will soon replace Lafayette Park’s “engineered wood fiber” surface

with artificial turf, agency spokesperson Jackie Stanley told The Current. Work at Kalorama Park, 1875 Columbia Road NW, will begin after further community engagement, Stanley said. Chevy Chase resident Jamie Davis Smith, whose daughter uses a wheelchair, has been raising concerns about the Lafayette play surface since the playground’s $1.5 million renovation in early 2015. Her complaint about the park at 5900 33rd St. NW was bolstered by a January 2016 opinion by the D.C. Office of Disability Rights and a July 2016 legal challenge by the independent Disability Rights DC agency — both of which said the wood chips

Brian Kapur/The Current

The city plans to replace wood chips at Lafayette this spring.

failed to meet current ADA standards for playgrounds because wheelchairs can get bogged down in the loose pellets or even tip over on the uneven surface. See Playgrounds/Page 5

Racine says Sunoco was closed illegally By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer

Brian Kapur/The Current

On Monday, Friends of the National World War II Memorial and the National Park Service held a wreath-laying ceremony to mark the anniversary of the Allied Forces’ victory in Europe. On May 8, 1945, the Allies formally accepted the unconditional surrender of Germany, thus ending the war in Europe.

The Sunoco service station at 22nd and P streets NW in Dupont Circle has been closed since January, to the chagrin of the surrounding neighborhood and officials such as Ward 2 D.C. Council member Jack Evans. New York-based developer Marx Realty announced plans in 2016 to construct a nine-story apartment building there, but the project hasn’t advanced since late last year. All year, an unusual question has hung over the development plan: Was closing the service station legal? On Friday, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine issued his answer: No. In 2014, the D.C Council instituted a ban on closing and converting service stations — and according to Racine, the Sunoco station should not have been

an exception. In a May 5 letter to Evans obtained by The Current, Racine wrote that the Sunoco station owner broke the law by closing, which he did when Marx unexpectedly declined to renew his lease at the end of December. The Department of Energy & Environment can fine the station owner up to $20,000 for this violation, according to Racine. But despite the legal protections against such closures, the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs does not have the authority to require the service station to reopen, Racine wrote. “I was disappointed that there’s nothing more that we can do,” Evans told The Current on Monday. Evans is among the stakeholders decrying the diminishing number of service stations in the city, particularly downtown. Two other nearby stations — See Station/Page 3

Apple’s plans for Carnegie Library draw early support By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer

Plans to convert part of the Carnegie Library building downtown to an Apple Store drew enthusiastic support from neighbors and community leaders on Monday night, marking a win in the first step of a lengthy regulatory process for the ambitious project. Last fall, Apple Inc. announced plans to build its second D.C. facility within the 801 K St. NW building, while leaving ample room for the Historical Society of Washington, D.C., which currently occupies the second floor of the two-story, 63,000-square-

foot facility. Unlike the existing Apple Store in Georgetown, this location will offer more than customer service and product sales. On top of those offerings, developers envision the building as a refined community space for concerts, art exhibits, science workshops and workday hangouts. Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2C (downtown, Penn Quarter) voted 2-0 to support the plans from a preservation perspective in advance of the project’s May 25 consideration by the Historic Preservation Review Board. ANC 2C member Kevin Wilsey either consciously or accidentally invoked one of Apple’s buzzwords while praising the designs.

“I think it’s absolutely genius to bring the public and the private together like this,” Wilsey said. “I think a lot more people will visit the historical society than ever, and it’s going to bring in people who never would have dreamed of going to the historical society.” Apple real estate and development executive Aracibo Quintana attended Monday’s meeting to describe the project. Once work is complete, the first floor will serve as Apple’s main hub, with event space situated in the former reading room area and a Genius Grove assistance space and seating area occupying the area that formerly housed the library stacks. Quintana — an

Rendering courtesy of Apple

Apple plans minimal exterior changes to the historic Carnegie Library building at Mount Vernon Square.

Oyster Bilingual Elementary School graduate whose father Harry served on ANC 1C (Adams Morgan) in the 1980s — described the first floor as “a very serene place with nice beautiful natural trees.” He added that See Apple/Page 14

NEWS

SHERWOOD

DIGEST

INDEX

Walter Reed

Disability parking

Wilson High budget

Calendar/15 Classifieds/22 District Digest/4 Dupont Circle Citizen/9 In Your Neighborhood/12 Opinion/6

Long-awaited redevelopment formally breaks ground along upper Georgia Avenue / Page 3

The city is at last enforcing ‘red top’ meters, but are the fines enough of a deterrent? / Page 6

Cheh says school’s allocation would force the elimination of vital counselors / Page 4

Police Report/8 Real Estate/11 School Dispatches/10 Service Directory/20 Shopping & Dining/14 Week Ahead/3

Tips? Contact us at newsdesk@currentnewspapers.com


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