Gt 02 22 2017

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The Georgetown Current

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

City to tweak parking rates in Chinatown

Dupont ANC criticizes LED streetlight project

GEORGETOWN GROOVES

■ Environment: Concerns

echo Georgetown complaint

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

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

New buyer seeking to raze blighted house in AU Park ■ Development: Neighbors

Susann Shin/The Current

applaud long-awaited cleanup

The Georgetown University Dance Company last weekend performed a diverse program of works by professional and student choreographers, ranging from classical ballet to high-energy contemporary selections.

By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer

Legendary organic chef prepares to move on By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer

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. XXVI, No. 29

Serving Burleith, Foxhall, Georgetown, Georgetown Reservoir & Glover Park

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

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 blighted house in American University Park appears to be heading toward its final days as a developer prepares to raze the building, long a source of headaches for its surrounding neighbors. For more than four decades, the house at 4316 Fessenden St. NW, locally known as the “Northwest Dump,” accumulated enormous waste piles, rat and mosquito infestations, illegal and ramshackle additions and even a pungent odor, neighbors say. Residents and city agencies have been working since last fall with the family of the property owner, who moved out last year, to begin abatement efforts. But a new twist might render those actions moot — developer BlueWater Capital is under contract as of last month to purchase the property, according to the company’s Kyle Price, and requested a raze permit from the

Mark Lieberman/The Current

City officials have been working to address conditions at the 4316 Fessenden St. NW property. D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs on Jan. 27. Price declined to comment further on BlueWater’s plans, though the developer’s website lists the house under “Future Projects” as “ground-up development of a new single-family home in Friendship Heights.” The raze permit is still under review by the city and might require sending letters to notify adjoining neighbors if the raze will require working on the property line, according to regulatory affairs agency spokesperson Annie McCarthy. See Fessenden/Page 4

NEWS

SPORTS

SHOPPING & DINING

INDEX

LED streetlights

Drive for five

James Beard

Calendar/16 Classifieds/25 District Digest/4 Getting Around/11 In Your Neighborhood/14 Opinion/6

Dupont Circle ANC is latest critic of planned citywide lighting overhaul / Page 3

St. John’s captures fifth straight wrestling city crown, edging out Wilson and Gonzaga / Page 9

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

Police Report/8 Real Estate/13 School Dispatches/5 Service Directory/23 Shopping & Dining/15 Sports/9

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