This went out on a couple of listservs. I tried to just link to it on their page, but I don't think it's posted yet:
June 21, 2005
Residents of Single Member District 6A-02,
As some of you may have heard, the District of Columbia Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) discovered a burning body behind a building on the 1200 Block of Linden Place, NE early Sunday morning. As reported in the Metro section of the Washington Post, the unidentified man was taken to the medical examiner's office, where he was pronounced dead. The officers spotted the fire about 3:00am and MPD is investigating the case as a homicide.
In the wake of this unfortunate incident, I would like to encourage all neighbors to become more involved with H Street renewal and related public safety efforts in the area. While many conditions have been improving, public safety remains a real concern, and there is still much room for improvement. To that end, Old City Capitol Hill Neighborhood Association is hosting a meeting on June 22 at 7:00pm at the Atlas Theater located 1333 H Street, NE. Unfortunately, I have prior a commitment and will not be able to attend. Ms. Kim Tomadjoglou, a resident on Linden Place, has graciously agreed to attend on my behalf. However, I wanted to share some of my observations regarding the activities that surround this alley.
First, that this particular alley was involved is frustrating because it does not accurately reflect the hard work that community members have invested in improving this alley. As many of you know, since March 2005, we have been working with the Mayor’s office on a Multi-Agency Plan (MAP) initiative for the area bounded by Wylie Street, Linden Place, 12th Street and 14th Street NE. This MAP initiative brings the city’s many resources to bear on a very small, targeted area. The next MAP meeting is scheduled for July 14, 2005, from 6:00pm to 7:00pm at Miner Elementary School. Following this incident, we will be working with the MAP team to explore, among other things, the installation of motion-sensing lights in that part of the Linden Place alley. A description of the MAP is at enclosure one and a sampling of the efforts and progress in the first few months of the MAP are provided at enclosure two. Enclosure three provides a picture of the alley and our request to Mr. Peter Jones, team leader of the MAP, regarding increased lighting.
Second, the continued hard work of MPD and the citizen volunteers of Police Service Area 102 need to be recognized. Last year, we worked with MPD and Councilmember Ambrose to create a single PSA to enable a comprehensive approach to combat crime on the H Street Corridor. As a result, crime is down in PSA 102. In particular, homicides are down from 9 to 2 over a one year period. Enclosure four provides the latest crime statistics for PSA 102. On the third Thursday of the month, PSA 102 meets at Sherwood Recreation Center at 7:00pm to discuss crime and public safety issues. The next meeting is scheduled for July 21, 2005. In addition, ANC 6A holds a monthly Public Safety Committee meeting on the third Wednesday of the month also at the Sherwood Recreation Center. The ANC 6A Public Safety Committee focuses on issues that affect both PSA 102 and PSA 103. The next meeting will be July 20, 2005 at 7:00pm.
Third, our ANC is working with the businesses on H Street to explore opportunities to make the H Street Corridor cleaner and safer. At our next Economic Development and Zoning committee meeting on June 28 at 7:00pm in the Capitol Hill Towers Community Room, we will be providing a public forum for residents and business leaders to discuss the possible implementation of a clean and safe program for H Street similar to the Business Improvement District on 8th Street SE.
In close, we should not minimize the concerns that surround the discovery of this burned body. The purpose of this letter is to let the community know that I will continue to work with MPD, PSA 102, Councilmember Ambrose and the Mayor’s office to improve our neighborhood. Tragic events such as this may help bring more of us together, to participate in and contribute to our public life. I strongly encourage attendance at these community meetings, as they provide constant and continued input both to city officials as well as our elected leaders and often offer opportunities for neighbors to engage in specific, concerted efforts to continue to improve our neighborhood.
Respectfully,
Joseph Fengler,
ANC6A-02 Commissioner
(202) 423-8868
Joseph Fengler, ANC 6A02 Phone: 202-423-8868
Please visit our website - www.anc6a.org
No comments:
Post a Comment