The Northwest Current
Wednesday, September 27, 2017
Playing fields failed safety inspections
Community center set for earlier closing time
TENLEY ART ALL NIGHT
■ Recreation: Chevy Chase
rails against agency’s proposal
By GRACE BIRD Current Staff Writer
Synthetic fields at 16 D.C. public parks and schools were abruptly shuttered last month after failing tests to measure shock absorption, officials said last Wednesday after months of silence on the issue. The issue began in March and April of this year, when Janney Elementary School failed a shock absorption “g-max” test conducted by FieldTurf. Then, according to a Sept. 20 news release from the Department of General Services, officials hired a third-party manufacturer to retest all 52 fields in D.C. — all but one of which had passed the agency’s prior tests. In July, the contractor reported that 16 fields were insufficiently absorbent, increasing the risk of injury to players. To reassess its field testing process, the General Services Department formed an interagency working group that’s slated to report its recommendations early next year. Most of the 16 shuttered sites have reopened after repairs, See Fields/Page 7
By GRACE BIRD Current Staff Writer
Plans to curtail the Chevy Chase Community Center’s hours, shifting its closing time from 10 to 9 p.m, attracted strong community opposition at Monday’s meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3/4G (Chevy Chase). “I’ve seen no one come out and say: I agree with this,” ANC 3/4G member Abraham Clayman said at the meeting.
The plans were originally slated to go into effect Oct. 1, but the Department of Parks and Recreation agreed on Tuesday to postpone the decision to allow further community consultation, ANC 3/4G chair Randy Speck told The Current. Commissioners unanimously opposed the change, noting that the reduced hours would infringe on a number of long-running activities at the community center. An evening Scrabble club that runs until about 10 p.m. and a bridge club that goes from 7 to 9 p.m would be affected by the change, See Hours/Page 19
Tenley ANC backs plans for 4620 Wisconsin Ave. ■ Development: Mixed-use
Brian Kapur/The Current
Tenleytown was one of six neighborhoods to participate in Saturday’s “Art All Night: Made in DC,” an overnight arts festival that brought a wide variety of visual and performing arts to indoor and outdoor public and private spaces.
project faced extensive review By CUNEYT DIL
Current Correspondent
McLean Gardens celebrates its varied history By ZOE MORGAN Current Correspondent
The McLean Gardens condo complex celebrated its 75th anniversary on Sunday with a festival and series of talks on the history of the area. The Sept. 24 event included speeches by Mayor Muriel Bowser, D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, Ward 3 Council member Mary Cheh and two authors who have written books about the area’s history. Mendelson — who served as the area’s advisory neighborhood commissioner prior to becoming a D.C. Council member — discussed his own history as a member of the area’s tenant association
Vol. L, No. 38
Serving Communities in Northwest Washington Since 1967
Brian Kapur/Current file photo
McLean Gardens opened in 1942 as housing for World War II-era government workers.
in the 1970s. When Mendelson first moved to McLean Gardens, it was a rental apartment complex. He later helped convert it into the condominiums that exist today. During the 1970s, there were various attempts to convert or
demolish the site. In 1977, units stopped being rented out, and the following year all residents were told to vacate their units. Mendelson said he and others organized in opposition to this effort. By September 1978 more than 500 units were vacant and much of the maintenance on the property had stopped, with many units boarded up, he said. McLean Gardens’ residents became the second group in the city to exercise their “first right of refusal,” which allows tenants the first opportunity to purchase the property they are living in by matching another offer being considered. The tenants also held a candlelight vigil — which, accordSee Anniversary/Page 7
A proposal to build 143 apartment units above ground-level retail in Tenleytown has won the support of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3E after several months of deliberations. Urban Investment Partners is asking the Zoning Commission to approve additional density at 4620 Wisconsin Ave. NW, currently a mix of office space and retail. The developer and ANC 3E (Friendship Heights, Tenleytown) have agreed on a community benefits package — part of the planned unit development process where developers provide community amenities in return for authorization to exceed certain land-use restrictions. As amenities, developers have agreed to renovate the historic Chesapeake House in Fort Reno for community use; bury utility lines underground along the project’s stretch of Wisconsin Avenue; and create a small park at the
Rendering courtesy of UIP
The proposal would redevelop 4620 Wisconsin Ave. NW into a larger mixed-use building.
intersection of Brandywine Street, 42nd Street and River Road NW. In addition, developers will set aside 10 percent of the residential space as affordable housing, up from the 8 percent required under D.C. law. Since its initial application in November 2016, the project has since been downsized in response to complaints from some residents, who opposed the proposed height. It now stands at 88 feet tall plus a small mechanical penthouse, compared to 90 feet plus an occupiable penthouse level last fall. ANC 3E members supported the density when they voted 5-0 See Zoning/Page 19
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