Unik Style is a clothing store. I'm not sure if there are two reports because they robbed the place and the employee (or a customer, or maybe just an amended report for a single robbery), or what. But here they are:
Police Alert- ROBBERY HOLD UP GUN_1351 HOURS_707 H ST NE_2 B/M'S WEARING DARK JACKETS AND BLUE JEANS LAST SEEN SOUTHBOUND ON 7TH ST NE DO NOT TAKE ACTION CALL 911 W/EVENT #I20090572947
Robbery Establishment: @ 1381 hrs 700 block of H St., NW LOF 3 B/M’s, S1 is light complexion, 6’0, small goatee, wearing light blue jeans, a black jacket and armed w/a 9mm handgun. S2 is a B/M, wearing dark clothing. No lookout given for S3. L/S running southbound on 7th Street. DO NOT TAKE ACTION CALL 911 W/EVENT #I20090572947 Sent by DC Police Alert to e-mail, pagers, cell phones....powered by Cooper Notification RSAN
57 comments:
Unless there's some police time system that allows for hours with more than 60 minutes, I'm thinking it's a typo, and they hit the "8" key instead of the "5."
Joe Englert said:
Hope Mo is okay? Any word?
are we slipping down more and more ? or are we just getting better about hearing more and more about crime occurrences?
i can't tell.
That would explain it Ryan.
The alerts didn't mention anything, so I assume (and hope) that whoever was manning the store was not injured.
The first post shows "NE" and the second is "NW." There is also a question of what time is 1381. I only received the text notification for the robbery shown as NW.
Times are tough, I guess. The people committing these robberies & burglaries are exactly the type whos jobs (if they have any) are first to go. Family resources run out in times like this, anxiety is up, etc.
Plus, our area makes an easy target. Not a lot of foot traffic in certain areas, light police presence (at least prior to things happening) and a pervasive culture that allows its distrust of authority to prevent them from helping the cops track down suspects.
Doesn't make it better, but might explain it a bit. Certainly speaks to a need for increasd police presence. And better laws to help them maintain order and prevent crimes.
Inked: I just bought a house on Gales Street. Your blog has already been invaluable. I'd have sent you a message but couldn't figure out how to contact you directly. Anyway, looking forward to moving to the hood (despite the occasional hair-raising news). Great work.
isn't 1351, 1:51 in the afternoon, i.e. broad daylight? awfully brazen to rob a retail store on a busy corridor in broad daylight.
someone broke into my car in broad daylight a few weeks ago.
a few days later, i walked past a scene where someone had broken into a marked federal vehicle in broad daylight (!). i forget the agency. MPD was there taking fingerprints (no such luxury for me, the mere citizen).
desperation is up.
is this just the economy or is there a new drug on the street or something?
I don't buy the whole 'the economy is bad so thugs are out thugging' argument.
There are a lot of jobs to be had in DC. Moreso than in most of the rest of the country. It's just that they require actual work. You can't show up drunk. You can't show up hours late. And you may have to do actual unpleasant labor.
Most of the folks out robbing people weren't recently laid off after a decade of hard work at a real job.
And as for family resources drying up, more often than not those out robbing have been supported by various free public housing and other programs since they were born. And, this being DC, those resources aren't drying up anytime soon, despite it having become clear over the past 40 years that setting up this never-ending gravy train actually produces more permanent underclass issues than it solves.
A lot of bad news lately! Any reports on when Dangerously Delicious pies or Angelico is set to open.
Don't get me wrong I appreciate all the reports, the good the bad and the ugly.
None of this surprises me this neighborhood is changing it hasn't turned over yet. This element has always been here. And you are right it has nothin to do with the economy. I'm sure the people committing these crimes have always been poor.
Trinidad has historically been an impoverished neighborhood where crime has festered. Residents, store owners and police must be vigilent and make it uncomfortable for criminals to function here.
off topic: head over to dcmetrocentric.com for a short and dirty on the new rosedale facilities.......
Hillman is right - subsidize bad behavior and you just get more of it.
-Realist
I'm signed up for these alerts but didn't get this one. Does anyone know what feed it was posted under? A tad disconcerting that all this gun activity keeps happening mere blocks away in broad daylight.
A lot of these robbers are poor. They just want the quick and easy money. It's glamorous to be a gangster these days. Only a fool studies and works hard to earn their bread. I just don't see the police presence on H street, that I see in other parts of the city, but others on this blog site have insisted that they see cops everywhere all of the time. The crime reports proves otherwise. You can get a way with murder,(14th & Maryland) shooting someone at the bus stop, (13th & H) and robbery in broad daylight on H street NE.
Hillman is dead on for the cause of crime in this area in general, but doesn't explain the recent uptick. My point about the enconomy wasn't to explain the genesis of the crime in this area, it was to suggest a reason we've seen a recent increase.
--Anon 5:11
poo poo -
Yes, this is huge for the Rosedale community. A coalition of neighborhood groups, including ANC6A, has worked with the Mayor and Council Member Wells to bring this to fruition. Both CM Wells and Mayor Fenty deserve much credit for funding and accelerating the construction time-frame for this project.
The most exciting recent news is there now will be a new 4,000 sq.ft. library-wing too! This will replace the two recently shuttered library kiosks on H St and Benning Rd. Though DC Libraries has not yet committed to stocking and staffing the structure, all agreed constructing the building now was prudent for the community and the site while DC Libraries works out the logistics. And, the existing outdoor pool will finally get furniture and umbrellas and a new small spray park. The existing day-care program will also get new improved facilities including a secure play ground for the children.
This new facility has potential to make the Rosedale neighborhood a community destination for Rosedale, Kingman Park and Capitol Hill residents.
For floor and site plans, visit Rosedale Citizens’ Alliance blog -http://rosedalecitizen.blogspot.com/2009/09/new-rosedale-community-center-floor.html
Thanks Metrocentric for posting!
Ken G.
Rosedale resident
http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2009/10/12/daily53.html?surround=lfn
completely unrelated ... Wells wants streetcars on H St first
If there is going to be a library in the Roesdale space, what will happen to the old H street library space? I thought the plan was library on the first floor and retail or commercial above.
CB_ Thanks for the link. Great news. IN terms of a maintenance facility I'd propose taking back the land where the OLD trolley barn was and rebuilding something similar.
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/10/15327779_a5fa96ee1c.jpg
re'the H street library
The Christian family didn't want their dad's name on a library that was part of a multiuse building, so that didn't happen. I don't think that there are plans for a replacement library. Isn't Joe Coles going to be replaced? Maybe folks in the Trinidad area should lobby for a library to be added there. The Rosedale community had to lobby hard for a library, but they did getit.
There seems to be a general outbreak of youth-perpetrated, gang-related violence across the city right now. Its almost as if their trying to get their last robberies and shootings done before the long winter sets in.
In my opinion the localized violence stems from two general problems in our area. First, the warehousing of the poor in these huge apt. buildings right off of H St. (e.g., Pentacle and the apts. behind H Street Connection). Second, the fact that DC has a big population of young black men (usually in these huge apts.) who do not have fathers or stable homes. So the boys go out roving at all hours and eventually hook up with gangs.
It never ceases to amaze me how many men I see standing on the corners along H St. -- All. Day. Long. Without jobs or any evident desire to find a job given their predisposition to drinking in front of the liquor store all day.
I think this is why so many people scratch their head about the dual nature of the neighborhood. On the one hand we have so much great new developments and people that care -- on the other hand we have people who've learned to just live off the welfare state and spend their entire lives just drinking their days away on the stoop rather than teaching their kids -- who are now turning into gangbangers and thugs.
Off Topic:
The G'town voice has a feature on H Street.
Also Ken G -- there's only room for one of us on this blog! :)
re'the H street library:
Thanks for the update. i am buying a house on trinidad ave and noticed that the Cole Fitness center is set to be torn down. I thought a library would be perfect there. Then I read about the proposal on H street. I think that spot would be perfect for a library maybe I can get a neighborhood lobby going.
Sorry that this is unrelated, but following sarah's point I couldn't figure out how to send a direct message either. Don't know if this has been updated on here before or not but Hamilton's Bar has apparently secured the Tropicana Eatery space and is planning on putting in a Bar/Stone Fired Pizza joint with outdoor seating.
-KT-
JJ-
The building behind H Street Connection is Capitol Hill Towers. It's actually a residence for seniors. I live immediately across from the building and can vouch that both the residents and staff are very courteous. We have never had a problem with people loitering or acting inappropriate. The busiest day on our block is Mother's Day when everyone goes to visit their mama!
Tom A.- The Car Barn as it is called is now a series of condos and do not think you will be able to force them out on eminent domain to rebuild the car barn as it was originally used for.
There does need to be a location for maintenance and power for the trolley's. They can be new buildings and look aesthetically mixed into the neighborhood. By the way, the label of 'sawtooth style' is not a style that someone mentioned one time. A building that is sawtooth has more to do with the structure and how the skylights are created then the haphazard manner buildings were built next to each other over a course of decades.
Good news about what Hamilton's is doing.
Kenny G -
sounds like we'll have to have an alto-sax show-down ;0
Ken G
Make that SOPRANO sax all you Kenny G's out there.
May the best hair win.
The streetcar line is set to end at 3rd? Wouldn't it make way more sense to run it closer to Union Station?
Ha ha. Sense and the streetcar line? Surely you jest!
The H Street streetcar effort has been one big CF!
Gee, now thats an intelligent post Anon. 3:35. How nice it must be going around trashing everything without any evidence or information to back up your troll post. Thanks for you contribution. You really help inform the community with posts like that. PS -- In case you're not aware, this is online sarcasm.
In fact, the streetcar plan, as currently configured, will go beyond 3rd and over the Hopscotch Bridge toward Mt. Vernon Square. There will, supposedly, be an elevator going from Union Station to a stop for the trolly on the bridge.
These plans are not firm, but this is what DDOT told us they have in mind at the community meeting a few months ago.
Personally, I would rather see the trolly go directly INTO Union Station -- making it far easier to coax all those tourists in the Station over to H Street businesses and restaurants.
I think it will be harder, but not impossible, to get the tourists to walk out the back of Union Station and take an elevator up to the Hopscotch just to head over to H Street via the trolly. But thats just me.
I beleive I was at that DDOT meeting a few weeks back and this is the first I've ever heard about the trolly going over the Hopscotch Bridge. JJ, I'd like to know more about this.
You can find a discussion of the streetcar plans for Union Station at http://streetcars4dc.org/
Scroll to the bottom to find the discussion. You can also find a discussion on the Greater Greater Washington blog (there is a link to that discussion on the bottom of the Streetcars4DC website).
Again, my understanding is that DDOT is *tentatively* planning to have the H St. streetcar line go over the Hopscotch. This plan *is by no means* definite.
The Union Station connection is probably the most critical aspect of the streetcar path. Like I said -- to me, I think it makes WAY MORE LONG-TERM ECONOMIC SENSE to have the streetcar go directly into Union Station (I say park that streetcar as close as friggin possible to those tourists with vacation cash).
As of now, however, I think DDOT is going with the "path of least resistance" design by having the street car path go over the Hopscotch rather than into Union Station.
If we want to change DDOT's plan I think its highly important that everyone in the community attend these upcoming status meetings for the streetcar and let DDOT know that we want the streetcar to go into Union Station.
Back to robberies - there was a robbery today (Thursday) around 5:45 at the corner of 6th and E NE. It's pretty busy at that time with people walking home from Union Station. 2 perps - possibly the same guys?
jj 4:00pm
Your post makes it sound like residents are going to be willing to make the walk through the parking garages of Union Station, while tourists won't. ie., lazy tourists...
Rather than laying blame on what "tourists" may or may not be willing to do, I think the primary point that should be made - which you do make in your 4:47pm - is that the success of this project is going to be considerably more limited if it does not link DIRECTLY with the Union Station Red Line stop. Intermodal transit connections are the key - and that is not what is in the game plan right now.
I have got no idea what DDOT is thinking by not directly linking Metro and the trolley directly together - it's almost looking for a reason for the trolley to fail.
As a sidenote - with reference to your tourist comments - the key to surface transit is that it becomes an asset and an economic driver for the immediate community. ie., for the folks that actually live around here. In other words, a good transit system is going to generate a lot more money from locals than those visiting from out of town.
redben
Redben,
I don't know where you got the idea that my post "makes it sound like" residents would be willing to walk through the parking garages of Union Station.
I did not mention residents at all in my post. I only mentioned tourists.
That being said, I agree with you about having the trolly connect to the metro. If DDOT goes with the Hopscotch path, I think it will be because they don't want to deal with the added cost and time of connecting into Union Station. It would probably be far cheaper and easier for them to just throw some tracks on the Hopscotch bridge and build an elevator.
I also agree that residents will probably be the primary economic driver here -- but having tourist dollars too can't hurt. Just look at Georgetown.
An 11.2% unemployment rate in the District -- probably just because all those black men are too lazy! And got a whole lot lazier in the past 6 months! Some of you never cease to amaze me.
uh, you have to apply for unemployment benefits, (one of the sources of unemployment numbers) where you work not where you live. so that 11.2% says nothing about employment of the guys on the corner. I'm betting most of those guys never looked for a job ever, much less ever held one.
For the thread that mentioned unemployment.....What was your point ?.....Thanks for your contribution,for nothing.
I agree that in order for the Trolly to be successful DOT should find a way to link the Trolly to Union Station in some form or fashion.
and the trolly lolly tread contribute something to getting robbed???
Regarding the streetcar and Union Station,
I recall Gabe Klein mentioning one option would be to eventually punch holes on either end of the Hopscotch Bridge and run the streetcars under the Union Station tracks via the original H-street tunnel (it is still under there). There would then be a direct access tunnel to the Union Station Metro area.
Another thing to figure out is where to put a turn-around track that would be needed to make the initial stretch operational.
The Hopscotch Bridge is a pretty steep grade. I wonder if streetcars would even be able to climb it safely, especially in the winter.
It's a fun planning/engineering opportunity.
Seems kind of difficult to link it up to Union Station's existing Metro exits, besides which, Union Station is only one line.
Run it all the way to Gallery Place (the original streetcar line ran to Mount Vernon Sq). It would link up with three metro lines, it's a straight shot down H, and we can take some bus routes off H to make up for the loss of a lane.
You'll notice that almost never do you hear of robberies/muggings at the first of the month. Everybody has government checks in their pockets. It's not until the 2nd or 3rd week when you start to notice more break ins, robberies etc. after their gov't checks are dry.
I would hate to see the welfare program end. I can deal with 2 weeks out of the month where I have to watch my back instead of every day.
Re: Linking to Union Station
I hope they are talking with the folks at Akridge about how this ties in to Burnham Place.
This discussion is increasingly becoming cyclical in nature.
The problems we face in this city (and others) in regard to this type of criminal behavior and activity are not new. There are countless statistics and indicators to cite that explain why we face this problem, but they always ignore the simple truth of the problem. Yes, there are a large number of under-educated, disenfranchised, economically disadvantaged young men that feel burdened by the perception of racial discrimination and the glamorized portrayal of violence and crime by popular culture as a way to beat the system. “Get rich, or die tryin’.”
This is not the core of the issue. Firstly, there is an absolutely unfathomable acceptance of crime and violence by residents as just part of living in the city. This continual ambivalence to it is merely an indicator to those who would resort to this type of behavior that it is profitable. The argument goes, “it’s not worth your life” which, to be sure is true on the face of it when talking about something that can be replaced – but what is your life worth if you surrender your freedom to fear of a complete disregard for personal rights, private property and the rule of law?
Secondly, as I’ve stated before our police force is horribly managed and this has lead to not only a lack of prevention of crimes, but distrust by those who are most often victims of it. When you begin to view a police force as part of the “first responder” triad of firefighters and emergency medical technicians, you immediately put the onus on having a reactionary posture – which is in direct opposition to the role of a constabulary force. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Regular and constant foot patrols by police – especially in areas of concern at hours of the day when crime is most likely to occur; positive interaction with the residents that builds trust and confidence that they are a part of the community with a vested interest in its betterment; these are the key methods with which to combat the type of crime we see constantly.
Thirdly, those communities and neighborhoods that harbor those who commit these heinous acts must act to stamp it out from the bottom up. Yes, there is a history of racial discrimination and segregation in this city. Yes, certain areas have been struggling to recover since the riots in 1968. The perception of victimization and entitlement must be replaced with one of self-improvement and active participation in improvement of the community.
These are broad generalizations – and the details aren’t included due to the format of this site – but I feel they are truths that are too often ignored or brushed over by focusing on minutiae and “feel good” measures that do nothing and waste time, money, and effort.
"perception of victimization and entitlement"
Could just as easily describe the gentrifyers as the locals if you ask me.
With regard to snow and trollies on the hopscotch bridge -- Years ago one of my great uncles was a trolly driver in Dayton, Ohio. One day kids left banana peels on the tracks at the top of a long not so steep hill as his trolly approached. He slid out of control all the way to the bottom of the hill through several intersections. He gave up trolly driving after that.
FYI
NoMa holds public art exhibit
A series of temporary public art installations will invade retail store fronts in the area north of Union Station and Massachusetts Avenue.
The NoMa Business Improvement District and Cultural Development Corp. created the art series, called “Construct: Space Transformed,” to draw visitors to the area and highlight art as a neighborhood feature.
The project opens Oct. 22 and runs through Jan. 5, 2010.
http://washington.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2009/10/12/daily93.html?ana=from_rss
anyone else have an ad to post?
@anon 11:23
I wasn't posting an ad, just something I saw that may be interested to my neighbors who might not have been aware. Yet, you are right where there seems at times people 'stop-by' to say hello and post a link to their site.
derek, i think the anonymous poster was referring to the spammer that posted it's link.
We just served a warrant for a robbery at 707 H St Ne, and another one in 102 that occurred over this past weekend. A search of the subject revealed a phone from another robbery. We're looking at the other robberies as well and detectives will debrief those arrested for the other robberies mentioned to determine if they're involved as well.
David Kamperin
Commander
First District
101 M St SW
Washington, DC 20024
Office:202-729- 2037
Email:david. kamperin@ dc.gov
good work, MPD!
much appreciated!
Thank you David for keeping us posted on this matter.
wow. is david's post some kind of a hoax, or is it for real?
if for real, david is a rockstar.
*that* is part of what constitutes community involvement.
If they are related, taht means that the recent "uptick" could have just been these guys getting bolder and bolder each day they didn't get caught, then they got greedy, and stupid and got picked up. And if that's true, kinda sets my mind somewhat at ease (as opposed to believing that we were headed toward a drastic increase in robberies/muggings)
--J
yes It has been and armed robbery at unik style 707 h st NE DC .
And on 10-26-09 early morning the store was burglarized a lot of spyder jacket ,black label shirts levis jeans, LRG shirt but no one was hurt.
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