In this issue: Meet and Greet at the Parthenon 2/25, Comp Plan Update, Defining the Chevy Chase Gateway, Proposal to Eliminate E6, Vehicle Break ins on the Rise, Meet Meghan Evans of Park Story, Remembering George Pointer, Events and More |
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Join us for a Happy Hour Meet & Greet on February 25th |
Join the Chevy Chase Citizens Association (CCCA) for a Happy Hour and Meet and Greet on Tuesday, February 25, from 5:30 - 7:30 pm, at the Parthenon Restaurant & Chevy Chase Lounge, 5510 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20015.
All local residents are invited to attend. The general discussion topic for the evening will be the proposed amendments to the Office of Planning's Comprehensive Plan. However, all topics of local interest are open to discussion. Invited guests include Councilmembers Cheh and Todd and the Chevy Chase Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners (ANC). We look forward to a lively discussion around a topic that will affect our neighborhood for years to come. (Cash bar – appetizers provided by CCCA). |
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Interested in volunteering with the CCCA? Send us an email president@chevychasecitizens.org or stop by our Meet and Greet on 2/25. We are looking people that have writing, reporting, and photography skills to prepare articles for our newsletter and website. We also urgently need volunteers to help us with our database and technical solutions for the website. Additionally, we are looking for people who are interested in playing leadership roles in the CCCA, the oldest non-profit serving our neighborhood.
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Northwest Neighbors Village - March 12
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On March 12 at 7 p.m., join Northwest Neighbors Village volunteer David Cohen as he explores the Harvard Study of Adult Development. The study began in 1938 with 268 healthy college sophomores. It followed them through their lives. Under only its fourth director, it continues today with their descendants. What does the study tell us about health, longevity, life satisfaction, and our roles for our families? David Cohen is working on a book that draws on the study and his interview with its director. He posts findings and updates from his project on Facebook at Toward A Life You Want. March 12, 7 p.m., Chevy Chase Community Center, 5601 Connecticut Ave NW.
It’s hard to believe but Northwest Neighbors Village (NNV) is now into its second decade. Just a few years earlier, neighbors in Boston's Beacon Hill decided that neighbors helping neighbors made a lot of sense and and launched the "village movement." It’s amazing how rapidly the movement has grown in the D.C.area, with villages now in northern Virginia, Maryland and D.C. There are nearly a dozen villages in the District.
NNV grew out of an initial organizing meeting in Chevy Chase. These founders quickly partnered with neighbors in Forest Hills, Tenleytown, and AU Park to form Northwest Neighbors Village. Today, more than 100 volunteers help neighbors age in the community by providing assistance with transportation and all those small projects that seem to grow a little more daunting as we age. Staying connected to the community is essential as we age and is critical focus of NNV. Members connect over weekly yoga, walks, coffees, book clubs (we have three), concerts, and a variety of programs including the annual program we do in partnership with CCCA.
Thinking about volunteering? Our next volunteer orientation is March 13. If you are interested, message info@nnvdc.org or call (202) 777-3435 and join us!
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Comprehensive Plan Amendments Accepted by ANC 3/4G |
The culmination of months of work by the Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 3/4G Task Force — which included four commissioners and seven constituents — produced recommended changes to the DC Office of Planning’s (DCOP) proposed amendments to the District’s Comprehensive Plan. These changes were discussed and approved by the ANC on Monday, February 10. Based on its extensive review and analysis (see the ANC 3/4G website), the Commission unanimously approved a resolution asking the Office of Planning to make several significant changes. The ANC emphasized key elements of the Report that were not adequately addressed in the Comp Plan:
1. “Our community needs more affordable housing that will promote economic diversity and enrich our civic life;
2. Our neighborhood can and should accommodate population growth while also preserving its hallmark livability while assuring that new development has a compatible scale, function, and character with the surrounding structures; and
3. Our residents require increased infrastructure planning — especially for public schools and transportation — that specifies how the District will meet demands for the current and future population.”
Further, the ANC urged the Office of Planning to adopt several ANC proposals before any new development is permitted:
1. Designation of Connecticut Avenue from the Chevy Chase Circle to Livingston Street as the “Chevy Chase Gateway,” which is discussed at length in a separate article in this newsletter. Unlike Wisconsin Avenue and many other major entry points to the city Connecticut Avenue does not currently carry that designation.
2. The ANC requests that OP mandate that a “Small Area Plan” be developed for the Chevy Chase Gateway. Among many other issues, the SAP would provide a plan for making any new mixed-use buildings visually and physically compatible with existing buildings on Connecticut Avenue, inclusion of significant affordable and workforce housing in any new construction, respect existing historic landmark structures and the richness and diversity of the neighborhood, and including varied pedestrian-scale facades to preserve the quality of individual, traditional “Main Street” storefronts.
3. Ensure new affordable and moderate-income housing in mixed-income developments is built at a level significantly above Inclusionary Zoning and that such housing is offered on a first-priority basis to teachers, librarians, first responders, caregivers, etc., who work locally and whose salaries are publicly funded (i.e., workforce housing).
4. Create a specific plan for where, when, and how the District will locate, build, and fund public schools for the children west of Rock Creek Park so that new development and population growth will not exacerbate current school overcrowding.
The ANC’s work on the Amendments to the Comprehensive Plan, including progress on the idea of the Gateway and the Small Area Plan, will be the subject of additional articles in upcoming CCCA newsletters.
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Ward 3 Dems
Thursday, February 20 at 7 p.m. at Forest Hills of DC, 4901 Connecticut Ave NW. Councilmember Charles Allen and Fair Vote CEO Rob Richie will discuss ranked choice voting, also called instant run-offs. Following the panel discussion and Q&A, Councilmember Elissa Silverman will provide an update from her office. |
Painting Class at Park Story
Thursday, February 27 from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Park Story 3813 Livingston Street NW. All art supplies are provided and everyone will leave with a new beautiful ocean painting in neutral tones. Purchase tickets at shopparkstory.com/events |
NNV & CCCA
Tuesday, March 12 at 7.p.m.
Chevy Chase Community Center, 5601 Connecticut Ave NW. Join David Cohen as he explores the Harvard Study of Adult Development. |
Library Discussion Series
Starting March 17 at 7 p.m.
Chevy Chase DC Library, 5625
Connecticut Ave. NW, 2nd Floor. The first session of another series of monthly, evening book discussions and lectures focused on a recurring theme in selected literature, from the ancient classics to modern times. The first book is Gilgamish,” the widely-recognized as the most ancient long poem known to exist.
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Ch/Art 2nd Annual Art Walk
Sunday, April 26, from 12 to 5 p.m. There will be 14 studios open with art from 22 different artists on display. The Art Walk is free and maps with description of all the different types of art will be available throughout the community. |
Full Meal for First Responders Wednesday May 13 at the Second District MPD Station, 3320 Idaho Ave NW
Full meal for first responders, sponsored by the 2D Citizens Advisory Council. Volunteer servers needed for two hour periods. Contact Samantha Nolan at 202-244-2620 if interested in showing your support for our first responders
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Officer of the Year
Chevy Chase Foot Beat Officer William Parr received The 2D Officer of the Year Award at the annual awards banquet. Officer Parr retired from service shortly after the event upon his required retirement age. We will miss him along the avenue.
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It's time to renew your membership! Please renew or join today. |
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Defining the Chevy Chase Gateway
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Every crossing of the Potomac River into the District yields a vision of the Nation’s Capital – a memorable Gateway. And there’s a Gateway on Wisconsin Avenue at Friendship Heights.
Entering D.C. on Connecticut Avenue, one passes the lonely mansion built by U.S. Senator Francis Newlands, circles around the L’Enfant fountain at the Circle, and often halts at the Oliver Street traffic signal.
Is this a welcoming entry to Chevy Chase? What constitutes a Chevy Chase Gateway? |
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According to proposed Elements of DC’s new Comprehensive Plan, the Office of Planning believes that Gateways open “beautiful corridors lined with distinctive buildings affording dramatic vistas for those passing by.” That is arguably the case in Chevy Chase as it is. |
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Connecticut Avenue is a broad, attractive boulevard handling more than 35,000 vehicles on an average day, according to the new plan. Between commercial districts along the Avenue are mid- to high-rise apartments and condominiums. Connecticut Avenue, In many ways, epitomizes the model of a “great street” that the city seeks to emulate in other parts of the District.
The proposed elements acknowledge the importance of “Gateway Corridors” that “are entrances to the city, and part of the national identity of the District.” “Special attention should be placed on how public space, building restriction areas, and buildings along them contribute to each thoroughfare’s character.
The plan urges creation of “more distinctive and memorable gateways at points of entry to the District and in neighborhoods, parks and open spaces, and neighborhood centers. Gateways should provide a sense of transition, orientation and arrival through improvements in the form of landscaping, art work, commemoration, and roadway design, and should be designed to make a strong and positive visual impact.”
Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3/4G has been contemplating aspects of the Comprehensive Plan (see article above). Its framework has already been enacted by the DC Council together with its ancillary elements that are in legislative review. The ANC finds that Chevy Chase is “inexplicably not designated in the proposed Comprehensive Plan as a Gateway Corridor.”
Links to the DC plan and its elements can be found here: https://plandc.dc.gov/page/draft-comprehensive-plan-update
Because this corridor in Chevy Chase is largely built out, the Gateway area is defined as both east and west sides of Connecticut Avenue from Livingston Street to Chevy Chase Circle – containing dozens of retail and other small businesses, the Avalon Theater, banks, a post office, an automobile service station, a Safeway supermarket, library, and the community center.
Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Office of Planning believe the city must adjust to population growth that will stress neighborhoods in various ways, unevenly. They seek “opportunities for redevelopment and renovation to support the future vitality of commercial districts and create much needed affordable and moderate-income housing. Retail strips along Connecticut Avenue could benefit from well-designed infill redevelopment or renovation and improved retail and service amenities.”
The ANC formed a Comprehensive Plan Task Force to analyze and report back to the Commission proposals to address this “Gateway” in theoretical and practical terms. “What is the community’s vision for the public gateway to DC via the Connecticut Avenue corridor?” asked the Task Force. “How should this corridor, from Chevy Chase Circle to Livingston Street, evolve over the next 20 years to adapt to healthy growth while maintaining the architectural character and sense of place that make our neighborhood distinctive?”
“As cars slow down to navigate the Circle,” the Task Force reckons, “they should be greeted with a transition space from the purely residential and country club environment in Maryland to the beginnings of the City and a somewhat more urban setting. The shops and public spaces should invite people to stop in a suitable parking environment, not to simply rush through a canyon of buildings. This is an opportunity for the District to display its best character as a city of cohesive, vibrant, strong neighborhoods that respect the past, look to the future, and embrace small business entrepreneurs.”
The ANC and the Task Force want to avoid creating a hodgepodge of one-off projects “that cater to developers and not to the overall well-being of current and future residents.” So they suggest a community-based planning process that would establish a rubric for change in the neighborhood.
“The Chevy Chase Gateway should be an iconic introduction to the Nation’s Capital and represent the neighborhood at its best,” said ANC Chair Randy Speck. “We urge the Office of Planning to incorporate this feature into the Comprehensive Plan so that we can realize this vision.”
ANC 3/4G will be taking up the recommendations of the Task Force and pursuing their own areas of concern in future meetings.
--Allen Seeber |
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WMATA Proposes to Eliminate the E6 Bus Line
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The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) once again is proposing to eliminate the E6 bus line that has long served the Chevy Chase D.C. area.
WMATA made a similar proposal in 2011 that was dropped after much opposition from the neighborhood.
In its new proposal, WMATA calls the E6 "inefficient service" and estimated that stopping the bus service would save $197,000 annually.
The transit authority contends that the M4 bus line could largely replace the E6 if the M4 is extended from Pinehurst Circle to the Knollwood Retirement Community. The M4 travels to the Tenleytown Metrorail station and does not service the Chevy Chase D.C. or Friendship Heights business districts or Lafayette Elementary School, however.
WMATA estimated that only 58 riders daily board in the E6 segment in the area near Broad Branch Road and Western Ave. that would not be served by the M4 under its proposal.
The idea of eliminating the E6 is likely to generate another round of opposition.
People who want to submit comments or take a survey on the issue should visit https://metro2021budget.sawtoothsoftware.com or testify in person at a hearing that starts at 4:30 pm Wed., Feb. 26 at WMATA Headquarters, 600 Fifth Street N.W.
The public comment period ends at 5 pm on Monday, March 2.
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Telling the Story of George Pointer and Lafayette Park
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James Fisher, descendant of George Pointer, and his partner Tanya Hardy (HCCDC) |
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The local history group Historic Chevy Chase DC (HCCDC) is leading a grassroots education campaign to reconcile the untold story of the black community who lived on Broad Branch Road NW from the 1840's until 1928, when their homes were taken by eminent domain to build then-white Lafayette Elementary School and Park. The land comprised more than six acres of the current 12.5 acre footprint of the school and park.
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As part of the pending reconstruction of the Lafayette Recreation Center, HCCDC spearheaded a petition drive to rename the park and rec center as "Lafayette-Pointer Park" and "Lafayette-Pointer Recreation Center" to honor Captain George Pointer, born enslaved in 1773, who purchased his own freedom at the age of 19, and had a 42-year career with George Washington's Potomac Canal Company (a predecessor to the C&O Canal). Capt, Pointer's granddaughter, Mary Harris (born in 1820) purchased 2.5 acres on Broad Branch Road in the 1840's. She and her husband raised 8 children on the Broad Branch Road property, including two sons who fought in the first black regiment for the Union in the Civil War. Mrs. Harris lived to the age of 103, passing away in 1923 while still living on Broad Branch Road.
The educational and renaming effort was introduced by James Fisher, a descendant of George Pointer, who wants to bring his family's past back into the public narrative. James Fisher and partner Tanya Hardy are pictured above (photo courtesy of HCCDC).
CCCA hosted a meeting in November where the project was presented. HCCDC reviewed their campaign to collect more than 550 signatures to present to ANC 3/4G in July 2019. The ANC unanimously passed a resolution favoring the name change. Since then, Ward 4 Councilmember Brandon Todd has introduced legislation to implement the name change, which is awaiting a hearing before the D.C. Council Committee of the Whole. |
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Welcome to the Neighborhood: Park Story |
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Meghan Evans is not just the owner of Park Story, a shop for women at 3813 Livingston Street NW, which opened in October 2019. She also calls herself the “curator” of the goods she sells. Located next to Salon Familia and Periwinkle, Meghan is committed to carrying only “ethical, sustainable, and high-quality goods,” which range from clothing, jewelry, beauty/bath products, hand bags, to housewares. She works with approximately 70 designers and makers, many of whom are local.
CCCA member Barbara Robinson interviewed Meghan:
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Q: How do you select your merchandise?
A: “When I see it, I know it is right for the store.” She added that her focus is on minimal, easy-to-wear clothes that are tailored and classic and modern all at the same time. She also carries her own eponymous line of clothing for which she does the design and selects the fabric. She then partners with Pattern Sample Sew which does exactly what the name implies right here in Washington, DC.
Q: Why is the store called Park Story?
A: I realized that parks are community gathering spaces when I got my dog, Sadie, and met so many people while walking her. Dogs bring people together and so does my store, which hosts the story of the entrepreneurs, makers, and designers through their merchandise and brings them together.
Q: Why did you decide to open your store in Chevy Chase DC?
A: I opened my first store in October 2018. It was a pop up in the Mosaic District in Fairfax. When I started looking at permanent locations, I had friends move to Chevy Chase DC so I started spending more time in the area, and fell in love with the neighborhood.
Q: Who is your market now and who would you like to attract in the future?
A: At present, 75% of my business is foot traffic from people walking by. It’s such a varied neighborhood with young families, professionals and retirees. We attract customers beyond the immediate neighborhood who live in Tenleytown, Cleveland Park, and Friendship Heights.
Q: Tell me a little bit about yourself and how you got into this line of work.
A: I grew up in Raleigh, N.C. and went to college and law school at the University of North Carolina. I was a litigator in a law firm in Raleigh, and little by little I realized that I was an entrepreneur and wanted to get into the retail clothing business. I also wanted to provide a venue for other entrepreneurs to sell their wares. Initially, I was selling a clothing line for tall women but now my focus is on women of all sizes and shapes. I moved to DC in 2015 and, in 2017, just before I would have been involved in a lengthy trial, I quit the law firm and launched my business.
Q: Is that where you got the idea of holding events in the store for your customers before and after it opens?
A: I enjoy bringing people together which I did in November 2019, a month after we opened the store. Makers and designers as well as friends and neighbors came. Our next event in the store is a painting class on February 27th from 7 to 8:30 PM.
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Ch/Arts, for the Area's Artists
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Ch/Art is a Chevy Chase DC/MD art organization. Founded in 2018 with four members, it now has a membership of over 100. Ch/Art’s mission is to support local artists living in the Chevy Chase DC/MD area and to promote access to the visual arts and education opportunities in the arts for the Chevy Chase community.
Membership in Ch/Art is open to all who are interested in the arts. Members include professional artists as well as people who are just beginning to explore their artistic adventure. Ch/Art has several small groups, such as a critique group, a watercolor painting group, and Plein Air painting group. Members have opportunities to attend art shows and museums together, and to visit with artists in their studios and learn their techniques. We offer an Open Studio on Friday mornings at the Chevy Chase Community Center and on the last Friday of the month we offer “Super Friday” with instructions.
Ch/Art’s website (chevychaseart.org) has information about the organization, meetings, activities and links to the artists’ own web sites. We are an all-volunteer organization and we welcome new members.
Ch/Art will host its 2nd annual Art Walk on Sunday, April 26, from 12 to 5 p.m. There will be 14 studios open with art from 22 different artists on display. The Art Walk is free and maps with description of all the different types of art will be available throughout the community.
--- Ch/Art |
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Library Discussion Series Starts Again in March
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On March 17, the Chevy Chase branch of the D.C. library and its Friends of the Library supporters are kicking off another series of monthly, evening book discussions and lectures focused on a recurring theme in selected literature, from the ancient classics to modern times.
“My Brilliant Friend: Friendship, Loyalty, and Betrayal in Fiction” is this year’s theme, beginning with “Gilgamesh,” which is widely-recognized as the most ancient long poem known to exist. The series will move on to Plato’s “Phaedo” on April 17; “The Iliad” on May 19; and “Don Quixote” on June 16. Subsequent 2020 monthly selections will include “Much Ado About Nothing,” “Persuasion,” “David Copperfield,” and “Wings of the Dove,” before moving on next year to selections by twentieth century authors, including John Steinbeck, Toni Morrison, Elena Ferrante, and Colson Whitehead.
Every meeting leads off with a lecture by a guest professor from a local university, whose presentation is underwritten by the Friends of the Library, and is followed by an informal group discussion. There are no grades or fees. Participants are welcome to attend any or all of the monthly discussions.
Chevy Chase librarian Emily Menchal will continue to head the program—which is starting its seventh year. Earlier themes of the series included “Stranger in a Strange Land,” “Crime and Punishment,” and “Home Sweet Home.”
The discussion groups meet at 7 p.m. on the library’s second floor. Copies of the selected readings will be available several weeks before each scheduled meeting. To receive emails about the program, please message Emily at Emily.Menchal@dc.gov
----Nancy Montwieler, Friends of the Library |
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Vehicle Break-Ins on The Rise in Chevy Chase DC
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On Valentine’s Day, a Chevy Chase, D.C., resident reported on a local listserv that a housekeeper’s car was broken into shortly after noon at the corner of 31st Street and Aberfoyle Place, NW. The thieves used a large rock from the curb to smash the right rear window.
A mail carrier who noticed the break-in said that an hour earlier, a parked mail truck had a window broken and the mail carrier's purse was stolen.
Crimes like this are on the increase in our area. There were 36 vehicle break-ins reported in Police Service area 201, which includes Chevy Chase, D.C., in December and January alone. There were almost certainly more incidents, because some vehicle owners don’t report them to police.
Lt. Patrick Loftus of our PSA, leader of the crime suppression team, reports that officers in the Second District, of which PSA 201 is a part, made 40 arrests last year for the crime.
In mid-February, three suspects were arrested in the 5500 block of Connecticut Ave. NW who were responsible for multiple thefts from autos in this area, Loftus said. Even with those suspects in custody, “a significant amount of thefts” continued, he said.
Loftus says many criminals “are switching from robberies and other violent crimes and are now breaking into cars. Breaking into cars is less risky for them and it pays off big time. In a few minutes of work, they net laptops, tablets, cell phones, etc. If they do get caught, they will likely be released from custody the next day.”
Capt. Edward Bernat of PSA 201 reported on the trend at the Feb. 10 meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3/4G. He said that D.C. police are coordinating with officers in Chevy Chase, Md., in an attempt to combat the problem.
Many thefts from autos are preventable. Loftus says, “ While you should be able to leave items in your car, unfortunately in this current climate, you can't. We have conducted extensive community outreach and will continue to spread the word, but we can't do it alone.
“ Please tell your family, friends, neighbors, etc to remove ALL items from the passenger compartment of their vehicle, to lock their doors, and to take their keys (including any spare or valet keys).”
Loftus says that all vehicle break-ins should be reported by calling 911.
Samantha Nolan, our former president who now is chair of the Second Police District’s Citizens Advisory Council, says, “If you must leave items in your car unattended, place them in the trunk before you reach your destination. While this takes a bit of time and effort, it will save you time of having to replace your smashed window and items stolen.”
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Lafayette Auction Set for March 14
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Each spring, Lafayette Elementary School’s Home and School Association (HSA) hosts an auction to raise funds to support the exceptional learning experience at Lafayette. This year’s event will be on Sat., March 14. The theme, the 2020 Lafayette Olympics, will provide parents and caregivers, in our own Olympic Village, an opportunity to test their skills in the rigorous sports of cups, corn hole and more. Auction attendees, 500 last year, include Lafayette parents, caregivers, teachers and staff. These working professionals are globally diverse, locally minded, and connected to every industry and aspect of Washington, D.C. If you’d like to buy a ticket to attend the auction, fund a teacher ticket and/or be an event sponsor, please visit Lafayette2020.Givesmart.com
For questions, contact lafayetteauction2019@gmail.com. |
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It's time to renew your membership! Please renew or join today.
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