Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2G held its first monthly meeting on Thursday evening, January 12, 2023. Due to the restrictions on public meetings caused by the Coronavirus crisis, the meeting was held as a virtual conference. All the newly elected commissioners including Anthony “Tony” Brown (2G01), Alexander M. “Alex” Padro (2G02), Alex Lopez (2G03), Steven McCarty (2G04), Sheena Berry (2G05) and Rachelle P. Nigro (2G06) were in attendance.
Election of Officers
For Chair, Commissioner Padro and Commissioner Nigro were nominated for the position of Chair. Padro became chair with five votes against Nigro’s one. Commissioner Nigro was nominated for Vice Chair, Commissioner Brown for Treasurer and Commissioner Lopez for Secretary. They were all elected with unanimous votes.
Commission Bylaws
After taking over as Chair, Commissioner Padro took up the issue of approving Bylaws for ANC 2G. Commissioner Lopez explained that the draft bylaws were based on guidelines from the Office of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions along with historical features from earlier commissions. Commissioner Nigro mentioned that some ANCs had term limits for officers. Lopez said that term limits were not in the draft, but that he would not object to having them. The edited version of bylaws with term limits added for the chair was approved unanimously.
Third Police District Report
Captain Hong of the Third Police District said that there had been an increase in thefts, but violent crime had gone down. The previous month had seen four robberies and three assaults with a deadly weapon. There was a reported unlawful discharge of a gun in Blagden Alley, with the police reviewing video from establishments there to investigate the incident. There is a trend in 3D of robberies of high-end coats, such as the Canada Goose and Moose Knuckles brands.
Commissioner Nigro mentioned the problem of students loitering in the neighborhood during the day. Hong replied that the police have a truancy team to bring students to school. Padro asked about an incident where a cook was held up when opening their business. Hong said that he will respond when he gets more information on the incident. Commissioner McCarty mentioned concerns in Blagden Alley, including a shooting at Ninth and M Streets. Hong replied that the shooting was one of the assaults he reported and that the case was closed.
Lot 803 Presentation
Bua Binite, principal of Dantes Partners, came to present their plans for Lot 803, a small site separated by an alley from the Parcel 42 building under construction by the developer. Lot 803 is too small to be developed for commercial or residential use, so it will be turned into a park. Plans are to have a garden walkway and a wall bearing quotes from leaders who lived in Shaw. The site will also feature a large sculpture, entitled “Steel I Rise” by Idaresit Ekpuk, a young artist.
Commissioner Lopez said that he liked the plan, but that he objected to having a fence with gate at the site that would be closed at night. Binite replied that the gate was a concession that had to be made for reasons of security. He noted that the site is now private property and will be paying taxes to the District. Commissioner Brown made a motion to support the plans for Lot 803. The motion passed with five yeas and one abstention.
Alcoholic Beverage Licensing Committee (ABC)
La Jambe, 1550 Seventh Street NW. Request to support the addition of an entertainment endorsement to an existing tavern license. The establishment has been there for six years and did a trial of live entertainment during Art All Night 2022 that went well. There would probably be a live event once a month.
Commissioner Lopez asked if the endorsement would allow entertainment outdoors. The answer was no. He also asked if the windows of the establishment could be opened. The owner said that they could, but the use of air conditioning has meant that they have not been opened. Commissioner Padro made a motion to support the entertainment endorsement, which passed unanimously.
Northern Liberty, 1015 ½ Seventh Street NW. Support for renewal of a tavern license. Commissioner Nigro said that they are a recent addition to the community, but that they have been good neighbors so far. She moved to support renewal of their license. The motion passed unanimously.
The issue came up of liquor license protests inherited from ANC 6E (Rito Loco, Quattro Osteria) and ANC 2F (TG Cigar). Ordinarily, work on them would be assigned to the current commissioner, which for the 6E protests would be Commissioner Brown. Commissioner Lopez asked to be assigned the former 6E cases, since he has already done work on the protests, a proposal that Brown agreed to. Commissioner McCarty will work on the TG Cigar protest. The Commission voted unanimously to send a letter to ABRA formally acknowledging 2G’s role and the Commissioner assignments.
A resident asked what the commission could do about the establishments 18th Street Lounge and Never Looked Better. Commissioner McCarty responded by outlining the considerable number of District agencies he has contacted to resolve issues arising from neighborhood complaints about the bars.
Appointment of Committee Chairs
The commission approved the appointment of the following chairs to the committees of ANC 2G. Zoning, Planning and Historic Preservation Committee: Commissioner Nigro. Transportation Advisory and Public Space Committee: Alex Lopez. Alcoholic Beverage Licensing Committee: Alexander Padro. There are provisions for a Public Safety Committee, but there is not a chair currently designated to lead it.
ANC 2G meets on the second Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m. Plans are to hold these meetings as a virtual conference. Visit www.anc2g.org for more information.
