You can find my other 122 Festival photos in my Flickr stream.
Please bear with me if you have sent me an email re: a posting. I've got a backlog right now (very busy weekend) and I'm starting a multi-week temp thing tomorrow that will have me doing actual "work" work 12 hours per day. That will likely mean night postings, and that if you want something posted you will need to give me plenty of notice.
It sounds like everyone enjoyed the Festival. That's terrific. A huge amount of work went into pulling this off. I also need to mention, and I hope to elaborate later (but I have some time constraints), that the entire festival almost didn't happen due to one local resident. His name is Bobby Pittman. It's pretty rare that I call someone out by name on Frozen Tropics, but I feel that this is a special case (and Bobby has made himself into a bit of a public figure, at least hyper-locally). I'll also state that I would never ever post something like this if I didn't have personal knowledge of the stuff Bobby regularly pulls (plus, I know him).
Here's what I know right now:
The day prior to the Festival Bobby calls up the Mayor's office and says he wants to review the signatures submitted to get the permit because he doesn't think they had enough. For a few hours there it actually looked like Bobby Pittman (a well known local gadfly) might be able to stop the Festival through last minute bureaucratic tie ups (NB, noting is wrong with checking signatures, but this was a dirty Bobby move at the last minute). In the end Bobby did not get his way, and the Mayor's office allowed the Festival to proceed. But I'd like to send out a personal Evil Eye to Bobby on this one. If you really hate seeing all this great stuff on H Street, maybe you should just move dude. Bobby, you have gone on some Don Quixotesque crusade of harassing local businesses (including, but not even close to limited to: Rock and Roll Hotel, the Pug, and the Atlas Performing Arts Center [!]). Aside from the one time I saw you planting flowers on H Street, acting as the PSA 102 Coordinator, and a few other very isolated incidents, I've yet to see you do anything to positively contribute to life on the H Street Corridor, or on Linden. It's one thing to want the laws enforced, and to want good neighbors (both admirable qualities and pursuits). But what you are doing is unacceptable in my opinion, and I hope that others who agree will tell you so to your face. I certainly intend to do so the next time I see you. Until then, Evil Eye to you Pittman.
I have multiple people willing to go on record about Bobby's actions regarding the Festival. Some had previously approached me about his past acts, but I was reluctant to publicly indict him. I don't feel that way now. People deserve to know the truth about Bobby Pittman, and why he should NEVERr be appointed, or elected to any position in our neighborhood as long as he continues on this path. I'm sorry to sound unusually harsh, but I want everyone (both new and old) to know what this guy has been doing behind the scenes. For the record, Bobby has never wronged, opposed, or spoken out against me personally. I'm just tired of constantly hearing about the junk he pulls on the businesses and people who make up our community. His shit (or at least him not getting publicly called out on it) ends NOW.
39 comments:
Well done, sounds like this guy Bobby deserves you calling him out. I have been reading your blog for years, and I know how you are almost always even keeled. He must have really gotten under your sking to push you to this, and I am sure nearly all the residents of the area support you. Thanks for all you do.
Met him at a few ANC meetings and he never followed through on issues we requested help with such as illegal alley parking. The police also had no idea who he was. Not sure what his position is but I do not recommend asking him anything, just go to your PSA Lt or Commander Kamperin, both are fantastic at dealing with all police issues.
Russ
Thanks, Elise!!!!
(The Magines)
Finally! Thank you for your post. I have never before had a person in my life (I live on Linden, so he's in my life) stand for so much negativity. I can only hope that he has made himself into such caricature about town that when he walks into a DC gov't office, they already know how to treat his tantrums.
Yes, Bobby is one of the few, the brave, the truly misguided. Sorry, I'm just truly pissed off at him at this point. He needs to be taught a lesson. Let it start here.
Incredibly well stated!
LPD
You described what he did re: his eleventh-hour attempt to stop the Festival. Can you describe (if necessary, without identifying details) how he's harassed local businesses? What are the other things, other than his attempt to stop the Festival, for which he deserves censure?
What a tool this man is. All it takes is a couple of people like this (or Kathy Henderson) to derail and cause bad blood in a neighborhood.
I hope to get into more details later (pending interviews). I suspect that I (due to my schedule) will be the holdup on this point. I do promise to do some sort of follow-up. Please attribute any delay to me, not to lack of available testimony.
Bobby has done many things. I don't want to go into too much detail at this point. But one thing that stands out is his protest of the Atlas beer and wine license (as if anyone will get housed on one glass of wine at intermission). Not only did he protest that license, but he repeatedly referred to the Atlas as a bar in public settings (I heard this myself).
I'm so glad to see this-- we live on around the corner from him and he has been a complete fraud and liar since we moved there in 2000.
He portrays himself and introduces himself as someone of "official" neighborhood authority but of course, this is completely false. He has no official authority in the neighborhood.
For several years, Linden and 13th NE tried to get Zone 6 parking on these streets through a petition and constant lobbying of DC gov't. We had constant out of state tags parked on our streets the entire day but there was nothing we could do about it because the streets were not zoned at all. Pittman was so opposed to this and did everything he could to sabotage our efforts.
The reason---- he had a Lexus with North Carolina tags that he parked on the street, so OBVIOUSLY it was not in his interest to have 13th street and also Linden as zone 6.
Finally, after a huge effort ( I think in 2003) we got it zoned.
He's a fraud with geeky white sneakers and jeans
Call him out like it is
People like him won't be around or tolerated forever, but when they are they are a pain in the arse
Anon 10:11,
Bobby has lived in, and even held office as an ANC, DC for years. If he hasn't complied with the law, I encourage you to report him.
On that note I'll be sure to make sure my grass is all trimmed (which it is).
I didnt realize he was ANC at one point--I remember Jessica and then Bill, but before that I can't remember or don't know
anyway-- Pittman fancies himself some sort of mayor of linden place and ran (or runs) some sort of Linden place listserve and through that I think he uses this to "legitimize" himself as an offical in the neighborhood
Again, he is a fraud and obviously was not cuddled as an infant
Pittman was an ANC, but not around here. How that actually ended is interesting, and something you should explore.
Bonus if you bring up a key exploit.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
It's about time that somebody called bullshit on Bobby in public. Lots of people who aren't active in the ANC or the business community have NO idea what a menace this jerk is.
Yes, as a "citizen," he has a right to challenge things, but he seems to do it for fun or spite or because he has nothing better to do than cause grief for other people who are trying to improve H Street.
Trying to cancel the H Street Festival should be the LAST straw for this community. He waited until the day before to pull this crap. That's just sick. What did he have to gain except to ruin things for everyone else.
Bobby Pittman is a mean man.
Bobby when will you finally overcome this Gladys Kravitz syndrome?
We are all so tired.
Bobby is a very bright guy, and sometimes he has some thought provoking ideas. It really is too bad that he is such a jerk. Do not underestimate the guy, he's a lot more than a "He's a fraud with geeky white sneakers and jeans". He more like the native american concept of the trickster coyote. I hate to see him demonized but I think that the community should be informed of his actions. Thanks Inked.
Inked: A key exploit? Didn't he refuse to turn over the keys after his term ended?
Here's info on the 'key' incident from the City Paper
i've heard about his shenanigans for a while now. he always seems to be on the wrong side of everything. if he hates his neighborhood so much, why doesn't he move to hyattsville and leave the progress here the fuck alone. next thing we'll see him laying across the trolley tracks to try to stop that. is he retired and has nothing better to do? i hope someone lends a hand we he falls and can't get up...
Context? Didn't he lose his bid for re-election to that ANC seat and then refuse to give back the keys to the ANC office?
Shortly after that, he moved to the H Street area.
That's when ANC6a covered all of H Street and was a complete mess. ANC meetings sometimes had fist fights and screaming matches with expletives being hurled. They went on for hours. Bobby was part of the arguing over everything and anything.
Money was missing and some of the commissioners were later charged with crimes. One is still in jail I think. Payoffs and corruption were the norm on H Street. Pittman wasn't involved with it but that climate prevailed.
H Street was finally divided and put into two ANCs.
There's a new world on H Street now. Maybe Pittman hasn't gotten that through his head.
I have had numerous run-ins with Bobby as I had the misfortune of owning a property close to his girlfriend's rowhouse. Here are some of my bizarre experiences.
- Bobby Pittman sent me a series of letters claiming that rodents got into his attic via a nice tree in my backyard and that it cost him a few hundred bucks to get rid of them as a result. Like the rats told him that they got into his attic climbing up my tree!! Besides who asked him to keep his attic open?
- On another occasion he crashed a party at my house after arriving home dressed in a suit and tie from another event. He just kept staring at the guests like a creepy guy and finally requested that I ask everyone to leave as it was too late (12:30 am) to have a party. It's not that I woke him up! He continued alleging that I was being a racist since I didn't fraternize with a significant number of African americans. (There were only 2 blacks at my party. What is the minimum number to be not considered so?)
- His favorite past time is to watch all the neighbors on Linden like a hawk especially when they park noting and pointing out every little bump that your car makes when you are trying to parallel park. The guy needs a life!
Wow. ANC-6A wins all these awards now for "Best ANC in the City"; as a newcomer, it's interesting to hear about its "bad old days."
I've lived adjacent to Linden for more than two years, but only recently had my first run in with Bobby. His MO seems to be that he espouses lunacy and when challenged, claim authority because he's lived in the neighborhood for a long time (but he refuses to disclose how long he's lived here). He claims to be the president of the Linden Neighborhood Association-- but neighbors say that they have no idea how or when he was elected to such position. He told me that there are monthly meetings, but nobody I've talked with seems to know anything that these meetings. Apparently there would be consensus to overthrown him from such a position-- but it seems that it's his own personal organization with a limited membership of one person. From what I could tell, he's for nothing and against everything. Seems to be a nut-- but a dangerous nut in that he has the time and energy to destroy the efforts of the lager community. I will say that Joe Fengler seems to know how to handle and diffuse Bobby.
Hallelujah Elise. Thank you for calling this joker out. What a Scrooge.
Yes he tried to stop our liquor license and demanded we cancel the So You Think You Can Dance auditions when we had a thousand well behaved dancers standing in the freezing cold...I could go on.
But my personal favorite Bobby story comes from before I was at the Atlas...
I had friends renting a house on Linden and they have a daughter my elder son's age (now 9). Back when the kids were 18 months to 2 years old we had a rotating playgroup where once a week 2-3 parents would care for all the kids, around 8-10 kids depending on the week.
The other moms would get a break for a couple of hours-run errand and such without a toddler in tow. We would rotate houses so you would only host once every 6 weeks or so. So a "neighbor" accuses them running an illegal daycare and they were too afraid to host anymore. After starting at Atlas I learned about all his shenanigans and dealt with him personally...I learned it was Bobby who had ratted out my friends. They have long since moved to Brookland.
He's a permanent killjoy but luckily he has no real power. I think he was associated with Bill Barrow and the H Street CDC.
I would love to know if he has actually engaged in any commerce with any of the new businesses. He has attended a community meeting at Atlas but I don't know if he's paid for a ticket to anything. Has he ever gone to Sova or the Argo or anywhere?
what are his motives?
doesnt like people to have fun?
anti-gentrification?
bored?
did he somehow short his property value or wants values to go down so he can buy?
i almost bought a place on Linden months ago. i'm sure he hasnt totally ruined the experience there, but showing up at a party and trying to shut it down would piss me off on the rare occasion i might have a kickin party
Doesnt Bobby Pittman serve as the PSA 102 community liaison? He's up at the front with Lt. Durand and the legal counsel at every PSA meeting I've attended.
Doesnt Bobby Pittman serve as the PSA 102 community liaison? He's up at the front with Lt. Durand and the legal counsel at every PSA meeting I've attended.
He's little more than a parlimentarian for meetings. MPD has its own liaisons for each of its Districts.
I posted earlier on this thread indicating Mr. Pittman did not follow through on promises. I was told today that he has done numerous good things for the 102'nd. I indicated that may be true but he did not help me. I was never aware that he was a civilian volunteer so as such he did do more than any other civilian except for our ANC rep, Raphael Marshall, however he does represent himself as a DC official police representative so I assumed for almost a year that when I spoke with him that it was the same as informing the police. I would not have told him things I told him had I known he was just a civilian, not to be rude but for my own safety. As a civilian Mr. Pittman should have informed me of the proper contacts within MPD as I had no idea where to start. However, now that I have found the correct contacts on my own, I find MPD to be fantastic, particularly Commander Kamperin and recommend if anyone has any police issue they let him know so he can put you in contact with the proper officers. He has cleaned up our entire block.
On another note, I would have never found out Mr. Pittman was not an officer of the law if I had not posted my name or identifying tag in my post allowing someone I know to contact me on this. Posting an identifying mark made this possible.
Russ
I'm interested in hearing more about this. I have met Bobby through his work as PSA representative. He seems to take this job seriously and to try hard to coordinate the 102s response to its citizens. I have spoken to him several times and I have found his concern comes across as genuine.
WDC
This guy sounds like a total
AS*!$ HOLE.People like this are a danger to society.They get their jollies off of other people misfortunes.I feel sorry for him.
Picture of this dude please...
Anon 4:20pm:
Click here to start looking for a picture
Then click on the images link at the very top of the output, and look at the very first image returned.
GIYF.
Someone asked for specifics in terms of how he has harassed bars. He put every blockade possible in the was of The Red and The Black getting a back patio. All the times you might have been told that the patio was closed, was mostly because we were dealing with the obstacles this man put in the way. He also claimed that were we violating our neighborhood agreements and said he could prove it since he had been "videotaping" the bar nonstop. Not only was this a ridiculous assertion, but none of these tapes have ever surfaced. Even if he had, who has nothing better to do than sit and videotape a business 24hrs a day. We're trying to do good things with this block and work with the neighborhood to make it a great place, if you can't contribute to that, get out of the way.
Impersonating a police officer, fraudulently claiming to be a public official in the District of Columbia, fraudulently claiming to be president of a nonexistent neighborhood association, harassing businesses with threats based on nonexistent evidence of fabricated violations, race baiting neighbors for having a party in their own home, holding an ANC seat while driving a car registered in North Carolina, refusing to turn over keys after losing an ANC seat, serving alongside commissioners later sent to jail for corruption....Are you serious H street? Kick this shitstain to the curb. There has got to be some dirt on this schmuck somewhere among all the things he has already done and whatever he has been up to lately that can get him trouble. Exercise your powers as citizens over the ANC, the police, and your neighborhood and chase this nutjob out of H Street.
folks, it's not against the law to be an asshole.
Bobby didn't serve on ANC 6A. I certainly wasn't alleging actual corruption. That would be something different.
I truly believe that the evil eye does not got far enough we must publicly repudiate him. I found out about this site from a neighbor & feel that we must ban together to rebuff the vandalizes & miscreants around us. I say we put together a petitions & stop & decease order to stop this fraud from perpetrating he represents the community. I keep hearing people say what he has done in the past well then we change everything now! When he get's up to speak we must all make it clear he is only speaking on his behalf
chinko
your new neighbor from Boston
Post a Comment