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The Northwest Current

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Mayor unveils sites for new family shelters

Vol. XLIX, No. 6

Serving Communities in Northwest Washington Since 1967

the pancake strikes back

Judge tosses demolition permit for old Post site ■ Development: Neighbors

fear results of narrow ruling

By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer

By MARK LIEBERMAN Mayor Muriel Bowser set in motion the next phase of her plan to close the D.C. General Family Shelter yesterday, announcing the locations for new homeless shelters that she intends to open across the city in each ward. In Northwest, the planned locations are at 2105-07 10th St. NW around the U Street corridor (Ward 1); 810 5th St. NW in Gallery Place (Ward 2); 2619 Wisconsin Ave. NW in Massachusetts Avenue Heights (Ward 3); and 5505 5th St. NW in Brightwood Park (Ward 4). The D.C. Council will review proposed legislation to commence the $22 million project beginning this Thursday. At a breakfast meeting in the Wilson Building yesterday, nearly every council member announced support for the mayor’s plans, including Ward 3 member Mary Cheh. “People are eager to embrace this,” Cheh said. “I know I am.” The mayor’s office will host ward-by-ward community meetings tomorrow to start discussion about the locations for the new shelters. Community dialogues will focus on “good neighbor” principles including maintenance of property, community safety, codes of conduct, communication and mutual respect. Once these eight shelters — together providing 271 replacement units for families, 29 apartments for families and 213 beds for women citywide — are complete, the mayor said, the city’s homeless population will no longer require the services of D.C. General at 1900 Massachusetts Ave. SE, long considered an inadequate resource for the city’s widespread homeless residents. That overcrowded shelter currently houses more than 200 families with 400 children, and the city spends $55,000 per D.C. General unit per year, for a total annual See Homeless/Page 5

Current Staff Writer

Brian Kapur/The Current

A diverse field of competition at the Washington National Cathedral’s annual pancake races including clergy members, police offices and even Darth Vader battled for the honor of winning the golden skillet. The event was part of a Shrove Tuesday celebration in the nave of the building.

An overnight demolition permit for the former Washington Post complex was thrown out yesterday, with an administrative judge ruling that there was no convincing justification for exceeding normal construction hours for 90 days. The permit had allowed construction crews to work on the demolition of 1150 15th St. NW for 24 hours a day from Jan. 18 to April 18, excluding Sundays and holidays. The Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs issued the permit in December and modified it twice, with the latest version allowing for noise of up to 80 decibels. Residential neighbors challenged the decision at a contentious hearing Jan. 29, complaining about the impacts of latenight noise and other disruptions. Judge Paul Handy from D.C.’s Office of Administrative Hearings determined that the 90-day permit violates D.C. code, which limits

Brian Kapur/The Current

The project team says delays on demolition would prove costly.

permits for temporary exemptions from noise regulations to 45 days. In his written verdict, Handy concludes that regulatory agency officials at the hearing did not adequately explain why they doubled the legal duration. According to the ruling, when Handy asked about the issue, the agency’s Clarence Whitescarver replied, “That’s a good question.” Residents at the residential cooperative The Presidential have been agitating for weeks about the disruption the project would cause to their sleep less than 500 feet away from the construction zone. The co-op’s board hired lawyers Douglas Fierberg and Doug See Demolition/Page 3

American University set to cut ribbon on Tenley law school By MARK LIEBERMAN Current Staff Writer

American University’s new Washington College of Law campus at Tenley Circle opened to students and faculty for the first day of a new semester on Jan. 11. With minimal promotion or fanfare, the campus’ new Pence Law Library opened eight days earlier. At 10 a.m. that day, numerous students were already making use of the library facilities, according to director of collection operations John Smith. “The tables hadn’t even been wired at that point,” he said. Students were in a rush to take advantage of the brand-new facilities at their disposal after years of struggling with the tight quarters at the law school’s old Spring Valley location at 4801 Massachusetts Ave. NW. American University still owns that building and plans to use it for administrative purposes going forward, accord-

Photo courtesy of Maria Mikey

The long-planned project brings law students to modern facilities close to a Metro station.

ing to law school spokesperson Franki Fitterer. But the new campus, which The Current toured during a presentation to the media on Thursday, offers a wider range of classroom facilities, a full-service dining hall and more

office space, in addition to more modern and sleek surroundings. The new location at 4200 Nebraska Ave. NW also sits just a block from the Tenleytown Metro station, so transit users won’t need to take a university shuttle to get there. The school will celebrate its first semester at Tenley Campus with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Friday at 2 p.m. in the Claudio Grossman Conference Hall, featuring Mayor Muriel Bowser and Supreme Court Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The eight-and-a-half-acre campus includes three main buildings totaling 312,000 square feet: Capital Hall, with administrative offices and study space; the Warren Building, the school’s center for research and technology with the library and other academic and office spaces; and the Yuma Building, the main home for classrooms and faculty offices. The campus See Tenley/Page 2

DISTRICT DIGEST

SPORTS

SHERWOOD

INDEX

Marshal nomination

Eagles win title

Gray eyes comeback

Calendar/16 Classifieds/22 District Digest/2 Exhibits/17 In Your Neighborhood/14 Opinion/6

White House nominates MPD assistant chief to serve as U.S. marshal for D.C. / Page 2

Gonzaga star swims through injury to help team dominate swimming championship / Page 9

Former mayor seeks road to redemption in retaking Ward 7 seat on D.C. Council / Page 6

Police Report/4 Real Estate/13 School Dispatches/12 Service Directory/20 Sports/9 Week Ahead/3

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