The Foggy Bottom Current
Wednesday, August 2, 2017
Push for LED street lighting sees resistance
Wilson High budget sees local objections
STEPPING UP
■ Education: Council funds
may not reach Ward 3 school
By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer
Amid the city’s plans to replace its more than 71,000 streetlights with energy-saving LED bulbs, widespread disagreement remains between involved agencies and some neighborhoods about the most prudent approach. The D.C. Office of Public-Private Partnerships, established by Mayor Muriel Bowser in 2015, has been working with the city’s Department of Transportation and Office of the Chief Technology Officer since January on a project that would retrofit all of the city’s streetlights with LED bulbs and incorporate “smart city” technology that includes Wi-Fi internet access, broadband cellphone service and other built-in features. At least seven advisory neighborhood commissions and five citizens association groups citywide have already requested that the city only install lights at a color temperature of 2700 Kelvin or less. That figure is in line with recommendations from a task See Streetlights/Page 10
By GRACE BIRD Current Staff Writer
Frustrated by what they saw as an underfunded education budget, D.C. Council members cobbled together $11.5 million to add funding for city public schools. But advocates are worried that Wilson High School won’t see any of that money, despite three years of funding cuts and more than 30 layoffs. For the upcoming fiscal year,
Brian Kapur/The Current
■ Recreation: Organizers
Rain couldn’t put a damper on the Kennedy Center’s National Dance Day event on Saturday. The activities simply moved inside to the Millennium Stage. Groups like the Howard University Step Team performed and then walked attendees through the dance moves.
By GRACE BIRD Current Staff Writer
Brian Kapur/The Current
The Argentine-owned property at 2136 R St. NW sits abandoned in tony Sheridan-Kalorama.
eyesore and a health hazard,” Alan Wurtzel told The Current. It’s infested with rats, he said, and he fears the crumbling facade could easily collapse onto his property. Similar issues have swirled around properties owned by Ser-
Wilson — the largest high school in the District — saw $340,000 in cuts, advocates say, adding that they’d consider the sum to be closer to $1.3 million when the salaries of laid-off employees are accounted for. About nine Wilson teaching and administrative positions have been eliminated even as the school’s enrollment of about 1,800 students has fluctuated by a few dozen at most. While Wilson’s academic reputation is relatively strong — 88 percent of its students graduated in 2016 — it is classified as a “focus” school under the Elementary and See Wilson/Page 4
Adams Morgan Day aims to close 18th St. this year seeking donations for event
By ALEXA PERLMUTTER Current Correspondent
Neighbors battle over vacant foreign missions When Alan and Irene Wurtzel purchased a Sheridan-Kalorama town home in 1993 next to a vacant building owned by the government of Argentina, they were assured their neighbors would return soon. Twenty-four years later, neighbors are nowhere to be seen and the once-opulent home at 2136 R St. NW has fallen into a state of disrepair. It’s a surprisingly common sight in the highly desirable neighborhood, where abandoned diplomatic properties sit starkly juxtaposed with sprawling mansions and elegant gardens. “The Argentine property is an
Vol. XI, No. 34
Serving Foggy Bottom & the West End
bia, Sri Lanka, Egypt and Pakistan, among others, and are a source of frustration for neighborhood leaders. When the Wurtzels complained to Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2D (Sheridan-Kalorama) in May, commissioner Ellen Goldstein expressed little optimism based on fruitless meetings with U.S. State Department and D.C. government officials about a Serbian-owned property at 2221 R St. NW. “[The officials] just keep saying, ‘We’ve talked to them and they say they’re going to fix it up.’ I know that’s not going to happen, and even the State Department probably knows that’s not going to happen,” Goldstein said at the See Vacant/Page 22
For the first time in three years, Adams Morgan Day is planning a return to its roots as a true street festival, with organizers launching a crowdfunding campaign to finance the closing of part of 18th Street NW. Taking place on Sunday, Sept. 10, the event will bring together community members and local businesses for a day of outdoor fun. The envisioned street closure would extend along 18th Street between Kalorama and Columbia roads NW. For many years, Adams Morgan Day was run by the Adams Morgan Main Street community group, and the street was always closed to accommodate the festivities. But the group racked up thousands of dollars in debts to the city, and thus couldn’t secure a permit for the 2015 day. Community volunteers then took over, putting together a small festival on short notice.
Lindsay Hogan/Songbyrd Music House
Last year’s event took place only on sidewalks, but organizers have loftier ambitions for 2017.
“That first year was a cheaper budget. We paid for balloons and a couple of posters; it was really tight,” said community volunteer Kara Davis. “But last year we got some more sponsors and worked with the city to permit it. We stuck with sidewalks because our understanding is that it costs quite a lot of money to shut the street down.” After last year’s festival, organizers put out a survey, asking residents to indicate their preferences and share their ideas. “We offered a few options to see what people preferred: not closing the street down; closing down part of Columbia Road; See Festival/Page 15
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