The following is from a listserv (please note that not only is this car lot occupying public space, but it also has [or at least had as recently as a couple of weeks ago] razor wire [some of it no more than about four feet off the ground], not just abutting, but actually occupying this same public space [illegal in DC]):
Neighbors,
Carlink, the used car lot at 1400 Maryland Ave. NE, is applying for a public space permit so it can legally use public space outside its property to park up to 14 cars and keep a chain-link fence around the lot. The permit would allow the business to extend 22.5 feet beyond its property line on 14th Street, and 32.75 feet beyond its property line on Maryland Avenue.
(Carlink is already using the space for this purpose but recently found out, in trying to start a car rental business on the property, that it has been occupying public space and therefore needs a public space permit.)
The District Department of Transportation has asked the ANC whether it has any objections to the application, and the ANC 6A Economic Development & Zoning Committee will be considering this application on Tuesday, Aug. 30. at 7 p.m., in the community room at Capitol Hill Towers, 900 G St. NE. I've invited the business's owner to attend. This discussion is 4th on the agenda; it most likely won't take place before 7:30, because there are two presentations scheduled before -- one on NCRC's plans for the firehouse at 1341 Maryland Ave. NE.
Everyone who lives near 14th & Maryland and has thoughts on this should come to this meeting next week to let the committee know whether you think the city should or should not allow Carlink to use this public space as part of its lot -- and why or why not. If you absolutely can't come to the meeting, please share your thoughts with me (borbely@anc6a06.us; 202-544-2447) and Committee Chair Cody Rice (rice6A03@verizon.net; 202-544-3734).
best
- Marc
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Marc Borbely
Commissioner, ANC 6A-06
536 13th St. NE
Washington, DC 20002
Phone: 202-544-2447
E-mail: borbely@anc6a06.us
Website: http://anc6a06.us
5 comments:
From the Wash Post GOG blog:
Posted at 09:26 AM ET, 08/24/2005
Capitol Lounge Gutted By Fire
Popular Capitol Hill hangout Capitol Lounge was devistated by a fire early this morning. A jogger called 911 to report smoke coming from the windows of the bar, located at 231 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, around 6 a.m., and all residents who live on the upper floors of the building were evacuated safely. The bar's interior, filled with political memorabilia (Nixon signs, Kennedy campaign badges, a Marion Barry poster) is completely gutted.
Initial media reports have suggested that a improperly extinguished cigarette was the source of the fire, but longtime Capitol Lounge bartender and manager Tony Tomelden said he suspects "faulty wiring" was responsible for the blaze. "It seems from what firemen and the cops are telling me, it started in the back, and there's no reason anyone would have been smoking back there," he said.
D.C. Fire and EMS spokeswoman Catherine Friedman said, "Investigators have indicated they don't believe it's suspicious, but beyond that, I don't have anything concrete."
Cheap happy hour food and drink specials (those 25-cent tacos frequently hit the spot on Wednesday evenings), friendly bartenders and kitschy decor made the Lounge an after-work favorite of Hill staffers and interns. But it was also a favorite gathering place for soccer fans -- a collection of scarves representing foreign teams hung over the bar -- and alumni groups, who gathered to watch college football over pizzas and pitchers of beer.
It will be missed.
-- Fritz
This is off topic, but does anyone have info on the H Street Arts and Humanities Festival? I have seen some signs popping up along the coridor, but there are not many details.
What a ugly trashy place. The weeeds are two feet high around the place. How are you going to rent the wrecks stored on the lot? The place should be shut down period.
The neighborhood has few enough public spaces as it is. Why squander them by turning them over to businesses that put up concertina wire?
Just FYI, in response to Mose's fifth arguement, parking on public space is illegal so the space cannot and should not be used for this. I think a far more effective argument is that of setting a precedent. If you allow a car lot to use public space to further its (private) profit, every business will clamor to do so. On Capitol Hill, space is at a premium and expensive so every business would be able to make an argument that it needs to use its public space for private profit. Public space exists to provide a restful greenway along the street. They should be asked to plant trees/flowers/grass to beautify the spot -- it really is ugly. (And yes, although the space is public space, the adjacent owner is responsible for its maintenance.)
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