Catching Up: ANC, Bathrooms, Mail, Arboretum, Trash

I wanted to do a few updates this week before the May ANC meeting next week, and I’m also calling for your comments and questions on a number of issues.

First, I missed doing a timely recap of last month’s meeting, where Department of Public Works Director Christine Davis spoke and answered questions. Commissioner Sydelle Moore pressed Davis on problems including regular trash pickup and illegal dumping. “We’ve been having issues getting consistent DPW service for years,” said Moore.

Davis was apologetic, and blamed some of the recent issues on Covid. Commissioners strongly communicated their frustration, with Commission Zachary Hoffman saying, “I feel like I’m lying to people when I say, ‘please use the 311 app.’” Davis promised change, including an upcoming social media campaign about illegal dumping, and blamed Maryland and Virginia residents for the majority of dumping.

Commissioner Latoya Moore also brought up persistent mail problems in Carver-Langston, and later appeared in a local TV news segment about the issue.

There was a brief update about the southern entrance to the National Arboretum on M Street that has been closed for 29 years, and how everyone seems to universally support its re-opening, but money must be budgeted, possibly on the federal level, in order to physically rebuild the entrance. 

Last a week, a report was released listing possible sites for building stand-alone public restrooms in the city. 17th Street and Benning Road was identified as one of the six agreed-upon sites for a bathroom. A map accompanying the report identified Starbust Plaza as a potential site, and the intersection of Mt. Olivet Road and West Virginia Avenue was also suggested by MPD:

So, I want to know what you think! Please tweet at @DCTrinidadian, comment below, or email me at joshkramercomics(at)gmail.com. What can be done to curb illegal dumping? Should there be public restrooms in or around Trinidad? Would you use the M Street gate to the National Arboretum? Are you getting all your mail normally? 

Sincerely, please do send me a question or comment if you’ve ever found this blog useful or enjoyable or interesting. This is a labor of love, but I need your energy and ideas to sustain this blog and keep it going, and I will really appreciate all the neighborly help I can get, and may use your comments in future posts. Thank you!

Arboretum photo courtesy of DC Gardens through Creative Commons license