Arrest made in Ward 5 shooting

On Saturday, May 3rd, 5th Police District made an arrest in the slaying of a local youth. On Sunday, April 20, 2008, George Douglas, 18, of 35th Street NE as found slain at the 2700 block of 26th Street, NE.

MPD report online.
WaPo article online.

The arrest happened on the year's first All Hands On Deck initiative. Thank you to MPD 5th District! The 5D Citizens Advisory Council/CAC Monthly Meeting meets 4th Thursday of every month at 7pm, Fifth District Police Station, 1805 Bladensburg Road, NE.

Chungs Close Custom Cleaners in NE

Despite successfully defending themselves against judge Roy Pearson and his $67 million pants (generously reduced by Pearson to $54 million), the Chung family has closed two of its three Custom Cleaners, including the 3174 Bladensburg Road, NE location. If you live or work near the Convention Center, consider taking your delicates to their Happy Cleaners shop at 7th and M, NW while they fight Pearson's appeal.

» "Chung Family Closes Custom Cleaners" - DCist
» "Financial, Emotional Toll Too Much on Dry Cleaners" - WTOP
» "Family Sells Cleaners Caught In $54 Million Lawsuit" - NBC4
» "Business Sold After Million-Dollar Pant Suit Case" - WUSA9

Support the Chungs Fundraising Event - Tuesday, July 24th

Click here for more information.

South Central Civic Association Annual Picnic - Saturday, July 14th

What: South Central Civic Association's Annual Picnic

When: Saturday, July 14th, 2007, 2-6pm

Where: The parking lot of Bob's Construction on Yost Place & Bladensburg Road, NE

Ward 5 Townhall Meeting #2 on Legislation to Relocate Displaced Clubs - Wednesday, May 30th

What: Ward 5 Townhall Meeting #2 on "Legislation to relocate displaced adult-themed establishments...Share your thoughts with Councilmember Harry 'Tommy' Thomas, Jr." [taken directly from the flyer handed out at last week's ANC-5A meeting]

When: Wednesday, May 30th, 2007 at 7:30pm

Where: Washington Center for Aging, 2601 18th Street, NE

You can view my previous posts here and here. If you want to catch up with some of the controversy surrounding this legislation, the Brookland listserv is a good place to start (I imagine the discussion is also hot and heavy on the Ward 5 listserv, but I don't have access to it). You can also view a number of links to media coverage in the Brookland messages - I'm preparing to leave town for a conference and simply can't post them all now. Ms. Steptoe mentions this blog in one of her posts; for the record, I have no affiliation with her.

Help Custom Cleaners Fight Judge Pearson and His $65 Million Pants

There are so many posts on the web about this that are easy to find, so no need for me to mention them all here.

What I'd like to see is a surge of business for the Chung Family at New Town Custom Cleaners, 3174 Bladensburg Road, NE. Surely you have a pair of pants or some shirts that need to be pressed?

If you're wash-and-wear like me, you can also support Jin Nam and Soo Chung by donating to the Custom Cleaners Defense Fund.

» A good Google start if you need to catch up on the story

Ward 5 Townhall Meeting on Legislation to Relocate Displaced Clubs - Wednesday, May 16th - UPDATED

**UPDATE**Yesterday the DC Council agreed to spend $3.6 million on road improvements to calm the neighbors. From The Examiner:

The D.C. Council on Tuesday agreed to spend millions of dollars to lessen the impact of a proposed cluster of relocated strip clubs in Northeast Washington.

....

But Ward 5 Council Member Harry Thomas, who vehemently opposes the measure, said Ivy City residents deserve some level of comfort if they are to be impacted by an influx of club patrons. The businesses, Thomas said, will have a major impact on infrastructure and could "create an unsafe environment."

Thomas asked for and received, as part of Tuesday’s fiscal 2008 budget debate, $3.6 million to improve the major corridors that surround Ivy City: Bladensburg Road, New York Avenue, West Virginia Avenue and Mount Olivet Road.

Also take a look at DCist's "Strip Club Jujitsu in Ivy City." Neither the articles, nor the earmarking of millions for Ivy City, hint at any "compensation" for the other neighborhoods that may be affected (see list below). Does anyone have a definitive list of proposed sites? Any word from Jim Abdo regarding Arbor Place, his forthcoming development (the second link is from 2005) on the NY Avenue/Bladensburg Road/Montana Avenue triangle?

What: Ward 5 Townhall Meeting sponsored by Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr. on legislation to relocate displaced "adult-themed" establishments (my previous post is here)

When: Wednesday, May 16th, 2007, 6:30-8:30pm

Where: Bethesda Baptist Church, 1808 Capitol Avenue, NE

The proposed locations (from a Premier Community Development Corporation/PCDC press release):
· 2046 West Virginia Avenue, NE - Ivy City
· 2132 West Virginia Avenue, NE - Ivy City
· 2155 24th Place, NE - Langdon (sometimes thought of as Woodridge)
· V Street Warehouse (behind the Washington Times) - Gateway (sometimes thought of as Woodridge)

» View Bill B17-0109 here
» DC Politics Hour with Kojo and Jonetta on "the down-and-dirty political brawl over 'gentleman's clubs'"
» Post from Frozen Tropics with zoning maps and 49(!) comments and counting
» More debate on Frozen Tropics
» New Kid on the Eckington Block and what he believes is NIMBYism in Ward 5

National Marathon, NE Street Closures, and Volunteer Opportunities - Saturday, March 24th

Folks in Eckington and Bloomingdale, along the North Capitol Street leg of the National Marathon, are planning on helping out tomorrow by cheering and handing out cups of water. A water station will be set up at North Capitol and Quincy Place (I'm not sure if it'll be on the NE or NW side), and race officials are asking that they be prepared by 8:45am tomorrow morning, March 24th. If you can add to the needed 30 gallons of water and 1000 small cups, I'm sure it will much appreciated.

» DC.gov info about street closures from 7am-2pm, Saturday, March 24th - the only ways over North Capitol during that time, unless you go north of Michigan Avenue or south of K Street, will be the bridges on Rhode Island and New York Avenues.
» View the National Marathon course map here (PDF).
» View the race turn-by-turn here (PDF).

Bad Day on NE Gateway Streets

Around 7am four suspected carjackers were arrested after crashing into several cars and flipping "their" SUV on New York Avenue, NE near Bladensburg Road. Then, at aproximately 8:20am, a gasoline tanker collided with a tractor-trailor on Kenilworth Avenue at Eastern Avenue. The cab of the tanker caught fire; luckily the 7,000 gallons of diesel fuel it was carrying did not. Inbound New York Avenue has reopened, but those using both northbound and southbound 295 should look for alternate routes. Be careful!