Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2G met Wednesday, April 12, 2023. Commission Chair Alex Padro (2G02) called the meeting to order. Commissioners Anthony “Tony” Brown (2G01, Treasurer), Alex Lopez (2G03, Secretary), Steven McCarty (2G04), Sheena Berry (2G05) and Rachelle P. Nigro (2G06, Vice Chair) were in attendance.
Third Police District Report
Lieutenant Steven Miller of the Third Police District reported that numbers for all categories of crime were down from last year. The numbers were up for 3D overall, but down for ANC 2G. Four juveniles were arrested for committing a total of 17 robberies in DC, three of them in the Third Police District. They have also successfully closed a bank robbery on the 1900 block of Seventh Street NW that occurred last year with an arrest.
Allen Lew Memorial
Claude Bailey of the Allen Lew Memorial Committee came to the commission seeking support for the renaming of Mount Vernon Place, NW, the street at the front entrance of the Washington Convention Center, to Allen Y. Lew Place. Lew, who died in 2020, started his work in the District managing the construction of the new convention center, completed in 2003. He then became responsible for the construction of Nationals Ball Park and later the renovation of a number of District schools and public libraries. He was also City Administrator during the administration of Mayor Vincent Gray, who introduced the memorial legislation. Bailey, who characterized Lew as “the Robert Moses of Washington, DC,” said that the committee debated the best way of honoring Lew and decided that renaming Mount Vernon Place after him would be most appropriate.
Commissioner Padro spoke in support of the proposal noting his familiarity with Lew’s work and its benefits for the District. Commissioner Nigro also expressed full support. Commissioner Berry said that she had heard good things about Lew and made a motion to support renaming Mount Vernon Place to Allen Y. Lew Place. Bailey noted that the resolution should be sent to Evan Cash, Director of the DC Council Committee of the Whole with a copy to Ward 7 Council member Vincent Gray.
The motion passed unanimously.
Alcoholic Beverage Licensing Committee (ABC)
Petite Cerise, 1027 Seventh Street NW. Renewal of license for a newly opened French restaurant. The license also has a sidewalk café endorsement. They plan on serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Commissioner Nigro made a motion to support the license renewal. The motion passed unanimously.
600 T, 600 T Street NW. License renewal. The owner described the establishment as a speakeasy. Padro said that since they already had a settlement agreement with the commission, the ABC supported the renewal. A motion to support renewal of the license passed 6-0.
Ambar, 1547-49 Seventh Street NW. License renewal. The applicant told the committee that the establishment would be applying for a substantial change to the license soon, seeking an entertainment endorsement and also had an outdoor patio under construction. The committee recommended protesting the license, since there was no settlement agreement in place and the restaurant has a retractable roof and operable windows. This was supported by the applicant’s counsel to get additional time to work on the agreement and additional endorsements. A motion to protest the license renewal passed 6-0.
Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC)
Resident Parking on 600 Block of L Street. Commissioner Nigro brought up earlier in the meeting a Notice of Intent (NOI) from the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) proposing the removal of the Residential Permit Parking (RPP) designation from the north side of the 600 block of L Street NW.
DDOT said the reason for the move was due to a lack of residents on the street, something that was not true according to Nigro. She informed DDOT that residents with addresses on McCullough Court relied on those spaces, but DDOT said they would not rescind the NOI. A number of residents expressed their condemnation of the move to the commission.
Commissioner Lopez said that the TAC took up the matter, agreed that there were residents on the block that needed the RPP designation and recommended that the commission send a resolution to DDOT opposing the NOI.
A motion to oppose the NOI passed unanimously.
Dangerous Intersections
Commissioner Lopez brought up a resolution to deal with the issue of safety at the several intersections of ANC 2G where traffic fatalities had occurred. He noted that an employee of the Marriott Marquis hotel had been killed at 10th Street and Massachusetts Avenue and that a scooter rider died recently from injuries resulting from an accident at New Jersey Avenue and P Street last year. He wanted DDOT to study intersections where a fatality has occurred. Lopez’s resolution called for DDOT to do a safety study at these and other intersections that had fatal traffic crashes.
The resolution passed unanimously.
Public Safety Committee
ANC 2G’s bylaws have provisions for a Public Safety Committee, but the committee currently does not have a chair. Commissioner McCarty nominated Dylan White, who has lived in the 2G area for seven years and is currently a member of the Friends of 10th Street Park.
A motion to appoint White chair of the Public Safety Committee passed 6-0.
Resignation of Commissioner Lopez
Commissioner Lopez announced that he planned to give up his seat on the commission, effective April 24, since he was moving to Bellingham, Washington. Commissioner Padro said that he was saddened by the loss, a feeling that was also expressed by other commissioners.
Lopez’s departure presented an immediate issue in that he was the point of contact for two protests of liquor licenses. A motion to make Commissioner Padro the contact for the protests passed.
ANC 2G will hold its next meeting on Thursday, May 11 at 6:30 p.m. Plans are to hold this meeting as a virtual conference. Visit www.anc2g.org for more information.
