Serving Foggy Bottom & the West End
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Vol. VIII, No. 47
The Foggy BoTTom CurrenT
ANC hopefuls bring variety of experiences
Kennedy Center unveils more expansion details
H E A LT H y H A L L O W E E N
■ Arts: Environmental study
examines riverfront pavilion
By BRADy HOLT Current Staff Writer
During a general election featuring a rare hotly contested race for mayor, a bid to be the District’s first elected attorney general and a whopping 15 candidates for two at-large D.C. Council seats, it’s easy to overlook the advisory neighborhood commissions. With each commissioner representing about 2,000 people, they’re the entry level of the District government. Hundreds of commissioners across all areas of the city weigh in on civic issues affecting their neighborhoods and help their constituents advance government service requests for things like new stop signs and enforcement of blighted property rules. Most residents won’t have a choice of candidates in their singlemember districts, and several districts have no one running at all. But many others will see contested races, with two or more neighbors competing for the chance to put in long hours debating arcane issues without pay. See Election/Page 30
By KAT LUCERO Current Staff Writer
A two-story floating structure on the Potomac River and two new pavilions connected underground are among the recently revealed details of a proposed major Kennedy Center expansion. Announced last fall, the project would add the three new facilities to accommodate education programs, rehearsal space, offices and more.
Pre-Civil War row house saved in revised hotel plan Brian Kapur/The Current
The Washington Wizards hosted a healthy trick-or-treat party at the Verizon Center on Monday. The kids got to enjoy snacks, face painting, pumpkin decorating and other activities while dressed in costumes. Several Wizards players, mascot G-Wiz and Wizard Girls signed autographs and posed for photos.
By ELIZABETH WIENER Current Staff Writer
NEWS
Brian Kapur/Current file photo
Proponents of the bill say it will boost pedestrian safety.
el. She said the current law, which requires the city to clear sidewalks for scofflaws and then go to court to recover the cost, is unenforceable. This year, Cheh introduced an array of changes to her proposal to
By ELIZABETH WIENER Current Staff Writer
gather support from her colleagues. Some of the last-minute tweaks would limit fines for homeowners to just $25 for each infraction, allow them to apply salt or sand if it’s too difficult to remove ice, and provide a 24-hour notice to clear snow before a fine is imposed. A volunteer “snow team” would be organized to help out frail homeowners, or those who are away during a snowstorm. Still, there were objections, as in previous years. Ward 4 member Muriel Bowser said she was concerned about “creating more fines and tickets,” and she said many people in her ward “are simply not able” to clear their sidewalks. She argued that people would report their See Council/Page 18
EVENTS
At-large candidates split on chancellor’s education reforms
‘Fiddler on the Roof’ revival comes to Arena Stage
— Page 2
— Page 23
■ Shaw: Board OKs concept
for convention center hotels
Council backs fines for not shoveling snow The D.C. Council Tuesday tentatively — and narrowly — approved a bill that would require property owners to pay a small fine if they don’t clear snow off an adjacent sidewalk within eight daylight hours of a snowfall. The legislation allows an exemption for those over 65 and people with disabilities. Commercial property owners would face higher fines. Ward 3 member Mary Cheh has been pushing the measure for years, arguing it’s unsafe for citizens to have to walk through snow and ice, or in the street, because homeowners and businesses don’t bother to shov-
The latest version of the plan was unveiled this month as part of the project’s environmental assessment review. It fleshes out the development on the river, which officials are keen on constructing as a tribute to the original vision of Edward Durrell Stone, the late architect of the 43-year-old Kennedy Center. “There’s a push to re-connect with the water,” said Claudette Donlon, executive vice president of administration for the Kennedy Center. Currently, that vision calls for a 6,500-square-foot floating pier with See Expansion/Page 18
What quick results. On Oct. 9 the D.C. Preservation League placed a pre-Civil War row house in Shaw on its “most endangered places list.” Less than two weeks later, developers agreed to preserve most of it as part of a big hotel and apartment complex that will rise just west of the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The revised preservation plan for a house that had been targeted for demolition helped win over the D.C. Historic Preservation Review Board, which unanimously approved the entire project last Thursday. Now the red brick house at 911 L St. will be incorporated into Quadrangle Development’s plan for two Marriott hotels and a new apartment building at the southern edge of the Shaw Historic District. The project must still be reviewed by the Mayor’s Agent for Historic Preservation, as well as the Zoning Commission. But now, with only
SHERWOOD
Will Catania’s eager followers be enough to defeat Bowser? — Page 8
Brian Kapur/The Current
This red-brick row home dates back to the pre-Civil War period. Updated plans will incorporate it into a planned hotel complex.
one of nine historic buildings on the site slated for demolition, it is expected to face less opposition. The preservation board agreed the revised design — as a whole — is compatible with the historic district. The mayor’s agent could OK it as a “project of special merit,” based on the argument that it would bring convention and tourist dollars into the neighborhood, and more taxes into the city’s coffers. “Pre-Civil War buildings are increasingly rare” in Washington, said Rebecca Miller, director of the preservation league. “911 L St. is See Hotel/Page 5
INDEX Calendar/20 Classifieds/29 District Digest/4 Exhibits/21 Foggy Bottom News/11 In Your Neighborhood/6
Opinion/8 Police Report/10 Real Estate/17 School Dispatches/13 Service Directory/27 Theater/23
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