ANC 3/4G-05 Updates, 2/26/24
Good Neighbors one and all,
ANC 3/4G meets next at a special meeting on March 4th at 6 PM on zoom. The agenda and Zoom registration can be found here.
Commissioner Sherman has written a resolution in the effort to amend the Civic Core RFP. Previously the ANC had requested that the height of the building not exceed 60 feet. This resolution seeks for that to be included in the RFP, which it is not. I will offer a friendly amendment that outdoor space be maintained, the heritage trees are not removed, hotel use and business/retail options are removed, and that all previous ANC resolutions be clearly linked and synthesized in the RFP. It has been disappointing that DMPED has not committed to a time when they will address the community about the RFP. I know there are far more questions. We all deserve to be heard.
DC schools are faced with a proposed budget that combines rising staff costs and funding increases that don't account for those costs. This will force schools to cut back on necessary teachers and programs. I urge you to push back against the idea that kids and schools should accept less than they need and deserve. A letter I drafted with the help of parents, education leaders, and other ANC commissioners will be sent to the Mayor, Deputy Mayor of Education, and Chancellor of DCPS this Wednesday, the day of the DCPS oversigt hearing. Please sign it and pass it along. Letter link.
I also want you to know that I sent an email to the RASE committee to look into an incident of a Palestinian student at Jackson Reed who was denied the opportunity to hold a cultural event. The RASE committee declined to take action but agreed to pay attention to the matter.
Local press coverage was the only way I would have heard about the situation at Jackson Reed. Directly in our ANC, a DCist article that covered the Civic Core was the most comprehensive to date. Morgan Baskin, the reporter who wrote that story, is no longer employed by WAMU/DCist. The only other reporter to exclusively cover the Civic Core was a college summer intern at the Washington Post. There's nothing wrong with that, but I thought that story lacked the depth the Civic Core issue deserves.
We have needed coverage from papers like the old Northwest Current, and strong local coverage from the larger publications, but that reporting is slipping away. Consider supporting the news outlets we do have, and check out the bill proposed by Councilmember Janesse Lewis George that would address the plummeting local news coverage.
To end on a high note, Commissioner Gosselin and I worked together to commemorate the fine work of the Cho family at the Fishery Market on Connecticut Avenue by securing them a Mayoral proclamation for 30 years of service. Our MOCR Matthew Barclay read the proclamation outside the store amidst a crowd of neighbors and longtime supporters. It was a special reminder of the fantastic community we have, in a pocket of a great city where people can and do achieve the American dream.
