The NorThwesT CurreNT
Wednesday, October 11, 2017
Vol. L, No. 40
Serving Communities in Northwest Washington Since 1967
Leaf blower legislation is still pending
Panel approves larger proposed Zoo garage
FREE LUNCH
■ Transportation: Traffic
mitigation also under review
By BRADY HOLT Current Staff Writer
By GRACE BIRD Current Staff Writer
As leaves begin to fall across Northwest, leaf blowers have been revving up to combat them. Autumn also brings an annual cacophony over complaints about excessive noise from the gas-powered machines. A bill pending before the D.C. Council would ban the use of gaspowered leaf blowers within the District starting in 2022, as requested by various community members who have cited concerns regarding both noise and pollution. But in the time since Ward 3 member Mary Cheh first introduced the measure in January 2016, it has never made it to a committee hearing. The 2016 bill was referred to the Committee on Business, Consumer, and Regulatory Affairs, which had tentatively planned a hearing that fall. But leaf blowers were lost in the shuffle after the committee’s chair, Vincent Orange, lost his re-elecSee Noise/Page 13
The National Zoo can proceed with a larger parking garage than originally planned, after winning approval from the National Capital Planning Commission last Thursday. The 1,285-space, six-level parking garage would be located in the northeastern area of the Zoo, across North Road from the Great Ape and Small Mammal
City to study options for Fletcher’s Cove sediment Recreation: Group says river access is in jeopardy
■
Brian Kapur/The Current
The American University Bhakti Yoga and Vegetarian Club hosted a Festival of India, a free outdoor event on the school’s quad last Wednesday. The event featured a tasty Indian vegetarian feast, yoga and a meditation tent.
Projects to spruce up Franklin Square area By GRACE BIRD Current Staff Writer
After years of neglect, renovations are in the works for two storied District relics — Franklin School and the adjacent Franklin Square park. The vacant Franklin School, located at 13th and K streets NW, is set to become a museum, while the park will be revitalized with various new amenities. The 1869 school building had operated as a 300-bed homeless shelter until its abrupt closure in 2008. Years of uncertainty about its future ended in January when Mayor Muriel Bowser selected Planet Word, a language-related museum, to lease the property
houses. Estimated by Zoo officials to cost $50 million, the garage is slated to replace an existing surface parking area, Lot C, and a general services building that’s built into the hillside along North Road. The proposal also allots 166 spaces for employees and volunteers at the two retained surface lots: Parking Lot E and Research Hill. The latest proposal expands upon a planned 1,119-spot garage that was approved nearly a decade ago as part of the Zoo’s 2008 master plan. The new garage would have one underground level and See Zoo/Page 13
Susann Shin/Current file photo
The historic Franklin School is slated to become a museum.
from the city. Bowser’s administration had nixed earlier development plans for the site soon after
By ZOE MORGAN Current Correspondent
taking office. Former reading and writing teacher Ann Friedman has pledged to fund the cost of the museum’s $25 million renovation and to offer free admission. If approved, the city will provide the school building to Friedman on a 99-yearlease at a rate of $10 a year. “We know that people are reading less, especially for pleasure,” Friedman said in an interview. “I thought if I could find a new, exciting, innovative way to attract people to reading and speaking and listening, it would bolster democracy because we’d have a more educated, literate citizenry.” Ward 2 D.C. Council member Jack Evans expressed support for See Franklin/Page 17
Amid concerns that sediment buildup could imperil Potomac River access at Fletcher’s Cove, the D.C. Department of Energy & Environment is taking early steps toward dredging the riverbed at the popular boat launch. Located near the corner of Reservoir and Canal roads NW, Fletcher’s Cove serves an estimated 100,000 people per year for river access, according to the park’s friends group. Mike Bailey, the organization’s spokesperson, said he estimates that ongoing sediment buildup would consistently prevent watercraft from entering the Potomac via Fletcher’s Cove within three to six years. “To lose that access would cut off many thousands of people who enjoy the resource,” Bailey told The Current. Although the city’s environment department hasn’t conducted a study of the sediment’s effects at Fletcher’s Cove, the agency’s
Brian Kapur/The Current
Fletcher’s Cove provides access to the Potomac River in Ward 3.
Daniel Conner said in an interview that it is already evident that access is becoming increasingly limited. “I see Fletcher’s Cove as a major access point to the Potomac River, and [it] provides recreation to so many people on a yearly basis,” Conner said. Sediment has built up because an area of manmade land blocks the natural flow of the river from flushing out the cove, Bailey said. In the 1960s, when a sewer system was being dug nearby, excavated debris was dumped near the cove — which has allowed sediment to build up ever since. See Sediment/Page 13
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For its 10th anniversary, public art initiative funds works in 11 locations across D.C. / Page 3
Cadets football grounds Falcons in fierce arsenal attack, taking 31-9 win in WCAC opener / Page 9
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