The Foggy BoTTom CurrenT
Wednesday, June 28, 2017
Vol. XI, No. 29
Serving Foggy Bottom & the West End
Ivymount program loses Stevens site
FRENCH FUN
■ West End: School system
to seek new path for project By CUNEYT DIL
Current Correspondent
The District has quietly scrapped five years of planning to house a special education program at the vacant Stevens School, a reversal that frustrated both program leaders and community
members. Ivymount School, a Rockvillebased nonprofit that provides special education services, was selected in 2012 to run a program at the now-vacant historic building at 1050 21st St. NW in the West End. Akridge and a team of developers plan to renovate the historic three-story school building in exchange for the rights to construct a 10-story office building on part of the city-owned
property. The decision to move away from Ivymount — which will leave the Stevens School vacant until the city can strike another deal for the space — followed months of uncertainty and funding cuts. According to Deputy Mayor for Education Jennie Niles, D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Antwan Wilson balked at the program’s cost after assuming the See Stevens/Page 13
Dupont ANC looks to end moratorium By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer
Brian Kapur/The Current
Alliance Française de Washington and Dupont Festival celebrated Fete de la Musique with music and a storytime for kids last Wednesday at Dupont Circle Park.
The 17th Street strip of Dupont Circle could start seeing more taverns and nightclubs after decades of restrictions, as some neighborhood leaders push for lifting the existing liquor license moratorium on such establishments. Beginning in 1990, a moratorium restricted all new liquor licenses in the eastern portion of Dupont Circle — 600 feet in all directions from the intersection of 17th and Q streets NW. In 2014, neighborhood leaders petitioned for the D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to loosen those restrictions to allow more restaurants. The existing moratorium, currently set to expire on Aug. 21, caps the number of taverns in the zone to two and prohibits new nightclubs. At its June 14 meeting, Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2B (Dupont Circle) voted 4-1 with two See Licenses/Page 13
Brian Kapur/The Current
The area 600 feet in all directions from the corner of 17th and Q streets NW is currently subject to a moratorium that caps tavern and nightclub licenses.
Shelter residents don’t share critics’ concerns
After budget cuts, streetcar debate on extension remains
Current Staff Writer
■ Transit: Some ANCs push
By MARK LIEBERMAN
Critics of the family homeless shelter planned for the 2nd District Police Headquarters site in Ward 3 have cited a number of concerns — some about how the site will affect the neighborhood, and others about whether the shelter will prove satisfactory for its residents. The former concerns are familiar to numerous development projects, generally boiling down to the juxtaposition of a tall building against nearby singlefamily homes. There were also complaints about a D.C. Council site-selection process that critics said allowed inadequate time for community input. But neighbors concerns’ for the shelter’s future residents are also numerous, if hypothetical. The shelter’s proximity to the police station at 3320 Idaho
for council to restore funding
By MARK LIEBERMAN Mark Lieberman/The Current
Jessica Odom, 28, has lived at the D.C. General family homeless shelter since April and hopes the replacement facilities will provide more services.
Ave. NW raises worries that families will feel like they’re being monitored. The dearth of affordable restaurants in the area could prove alienating to residents without substantial means. And the distance from the nearest Metro station might be inconvenient, especially for parents who need easy access to See Shelter/Page 10
Current Staff Writer
In the weeks following unexpected cuts to the DC Streetcar’s expansion budget — which the D.C. Council adopted earlier this month — some Ward 2 community leaders have begun criticizing the last-minute change. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson stripped more than $40 million from the $160 million that Mayor Muriel Bowser had
requested for the streetcar over the next six years. Much of that money would have funded extensions of the existing line eastward to the Benning Road Metro station and west along K Street NW into Georgetown. With reduced funding, the westward expansion faces particular peril. Mendelson argued that the current line — covering a 2.4mile stretch of H Street and Benning Road in Northeast — isn’t popular enough to justify an extension into Ward 2. But not all community leaders agree. Two Northwest advisory See Streetcar/Page 15
SHERWOOD
NEWS
CURRENTNEWSPAPERS.COM
INDEX
Julian Bond honored
Klingle Trail
Check out our new website, where you’ll find more of the communityoriented news, features and sports you read weekly in The Current.
Calendar/16 Classifieds/22 District Digest/4 Foggy Bottom News/9 Getting Around/15
In a ceremony Monday, bench dedicated in memory of local civil rights activist / Page 6
Long-delayed project provides connection between Woodley Park and Rock Creek Park / Page 3
In Your Neighborhood/12 Opinion/6 Police Report/8 Real Estate/11 Service Directory/20
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