Thursday, April 06, 2006

Community Conversation Proposed

When: Saturday at 8:30am
Where: R&B Coffee (1359 H Street NE)

Here's the proposal from ANC 6A Commissioner Marc Borbely:

Okay everyone -- please let's take a deep breath.

I'll take credit/responsibility for starting some (either long-overdue, or divisive/harmful, or both) discussion, but it would be a shame if we as a neighborhood couldn't emerge from this stronger, with better connections, more trust and more understanding among us.

There's obviously so much going on here, all of it SO important:
- desire to improve our neighborhood generally
- desire to avoid negative impacts on quality of life (odor, trash)
- desire to maintain an economically diverse neighborhood
- desire (by all sides) to have a say, when decisions are made
- desire to bring investment to the neighborhood
- desire to bring businesses that will bring more diversity (wealthier people) to H Street
- desire to have an H Street that serves everyone
- desire to be fair to businesses already on H Street
- desire to be colorblind and fair to everyone
- a history of societal disregard, and worse, of low-income people
- a history of societal disregard, and worse, of black people
- uncertainty about the city's plans for H Street
- an insufficient amount of communication among diverse groups of neighbors

E-mail and the Post article and maybe the Cluck U appeal itself have sparked a lively and passionate conversation.
But I wonder if we might benefit from some informal conversation to try to bridge some gaps.

Anyone up for getting together Saturday at 8:30, at R&B Coffee, 1359 H St NE, to talk about some of these things? There's a neighborhood cleanup at 10, nearby, that some people could head over to afterwards. Maybe the neighborhood cleanup could be combined with an H Street cleanup somehow.

If anyone likes this idea, just show up (I know it's short notice and people may already have other plans). I hope those people who see things differently than I do, come too. This'll be a civil, calm, informal but controlled conversation -- just an opportunity for us to hear each other without engaging in personal attacks. If someone knows a good professional without a stake in this who'd be willing to facilitate, please holler.

- Marc

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is the kind of thing I'd love to be a part of, but there's nothing will get me out of bed at 8 on Saturday morning. Perhaps a post-cleanup meeting would be a posibility for more people?

Anonymous said...

Where is the clean up taking place? i dont' remember seeing anything about it on the listservs, but maybe I just missed a posting. I'd love more information.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I gotta tell you. I ain't going to be anywhere other than asleep at 8 in the morning.

inked said...

The clean up sounds like Marc's territory. Email him.

Tristrami said...

What about lunhc or dinner at Cluck-U instead? At a less ungodly hour. There's always plenty of empty seating, and we cna turn down the TVs...

Marc Borbely said...

aw, come on! you don't have to shower, shave or anything -- just crawl out of bed and come down for a cup of coffee or a muffin, and some scintillating conversation!

:)

cleanup is 10 am; people are meeting at 13th & F NE.

Anonymous said...

Ha! Scintillation at 8:30!