Commentary: ANC 5D Meeting November 2020

Calendar of upcoming events:

• 11/17 Fundraiser for Barbara Jones, 2-4pm, 816 21st Street (more info below)
  
  
• 11/20 Turkey giveaway, 10:30-12:30pm, 1150 Varnum St NE, “Wear a mask, get a turkey while supplies last.”
  
  
• 11/21 Ivy City Food Drive hosted by EmpowerDC, 11:30-12:30pm, 1832 Central Place

Last night’s ANC meeting was a typically busy and interesting one, with last minute additions, special guests and a small amount of community pushback. Every current commissioner was in attendance except Motley (absent for the second month in a row), and four of the new Commissioners-elect briefly introduced themselves. Again, there were no representatives from either Mayor Bowser or the Metropolitan Police Department present. 

Silas Grant, from Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie’s office, touted a major accomplishment — the unanimous passage of the REACH Act by DC Council earlier in the day. Councilmember McDuffie wrote the racial equity bill, which creates the Office of Racial Equity and requires a Racial Equity Impact Assessment for new bills.

Carver-Langston’s new violence interrupter contractors, J&J Monitoring, introduced themselves. I plan to write about the violence interruption efforts in the area at length soon. Commissioner Linehan asked — as he has every time violence interrupters have spoken before the ANC — if there were any plans to bring interrupters to Ivy City. As usual, the answer was basically that the contractor was interested in the work but that it was up the city. 

Commissioner Moore is partnering with the group to host a fundraiser for an elder living in Carver-Langston, Barbara Jones, who needs a new roof. Moore described Jones as “a violence interrupter before there were violence interrupters.” See the calendar at the top to attend in person, or donate here to the online gofundme campaign.

Edens Development Director Sohael Chowfla and STUDIOS Architecture Principal Brian Pilot presented plans for a new residential and commercial development near Union Market on the site of the PNC Bank. Returning with an update, the developer noted changes in response to community feedback at a previous ANC meeting, including more affordable units, keeping the PNC Bank in operation and a $25,000 grant towards the rehab and maintenance of Lewis Crowe park that the ANC supported last meeting. The previous design had included a bold bridge high over the street, which has been scaled back in favor of the current design, which Pilot described as a “glass building with articulated fins” and “chamfer corners.”

In perhaps a sneak peak of dynamics that might play out on the ANC next year, Commissioner-elect Hoffman commented that the ten percent of the building set aside for affordable housing units (38 apartments in this case) seemed insufficient to him. Chowfla defended the developer’s plans, noting that they exceed the minimum of eight percent law required by law and that they had accommodated requests for more family-sized, three bedroom affordable units. The ANC passed a motion to support the PUD, or planned unit development.

The last portion of the night was related to education. DCPS presented its plans to fill a lot next to Phelps Architecture, Construction, and Engineering High School with modular trailers as a “swing school” for schools under construction through at least August 2022. Neighbors, including Commissioner Blacknell, bristled at what they said was insufficient notice of construction plans. Diane Halbstein of DCPS apologized for what she characterized as a miscommunication over email.

Ward 5’s representative to the State Board of Education, Zachary Parker, also briefly presented to the ANC. He noted that the abandoned Spingarn High School, infamously filmed in its disrepair back in February, had been budgeted for renovation by the Mayor. He did not have any update about in-person school reopenings, and also encouraged families in need of donated school supplies to contact him directly.

The consent calendar, the new members of the Transit and Grant Committees, as well as Commissioner Linehan’s resolution on renovating the Crummell School, were all approved unanimously. A fairly straightforward zoning case at 1215 Holbrook Terrace was also approved.

All images are screenshots from the livestream of the meeting, which you can watch on YouTube. Drawn meeting notes by me.