Thursday, September 28, 2006

H Street Reference in the Times

Another tip (I rarely read the Washington Times)! H Street's new bars (and Palace of Wonders particularly) get a nod in today's Times. The author of the piece poo poos NIMBYism/micromanagement in NW & hold up Palace of Wonders as the interesting type of place such NIMBYism/micromanagement discourages in NW

8 comments:

Mari said...

Tom Knott done lost his mind. He can't seem to speak into specifics. His straw men seem to be like the 2 dementional characters in a B comedy, like PCU. How are these goody-goodies who sniff and huff?

inked said...

Also worth pointing out is that Palace of Wonders is partly owned by Joe Englert, who attended many a community meeting. I wouldn't say the ANC, or the community was exactly lax on this one. If anything, I think ANC 6A has more of a rep for latching onto things an not letting go. But, this IS the Washington Times so...

Anonymous said...

Yeah, this is the same sort of "The market (embodied in the uber-humans known as entrepreneurs) knows best" and "anyone who's never run a business has no right to criticize business practices" crap that conservatives always spout. It's interesting that on one hand he rails against what goes on in NW, but then talks about "good" parts of town. Perhaps these places you think are so good Mr. Knott are that way because there are plenty of activist citizens shaping their neighborhoods and making them more desirable?

Anonymous said...

Not only that, he can't even maintain the illusion of appearing to know what he's talking about. The word in question is "shrinkage," not "spillage."

Moron.

Anonymous said...

"spillage" is indeed a word used in bar terminology, it's counterpart being "spoilage" when it comes to foo

Anonymous said...

Except that the phenomenon Knott describes -- theft of goods, especially by customers -- doesn't seem to fit within the scope of "spillage."

Anonymous said...

It looks to me like the writer of this article is actually trumpeting (to a degree) the H street area for bringing in some of these business, while other neighborhoods (specifically in NW) would fight tooth and nail to avoid them.

Personally, I am uplifted by these businesses coming here as it is bringing "outsiders" to the community. As the entrepreneurs of the city see sustained patronage, more and diverse ventures will come to H street to capitalize on the growing business created by some of these early establishments. This movement is necessary to get quality businesses and types of businesses into the area, which us locals benefit from just as much and more than the people coming from other parts of the city.

I think H Street is on the right track, and while the fruits of these labors will not be apprent immediately, I think this area is headed in a very positive directions.

Anonymous said...

No argument there, it's just the "socialist know-nothing-about-business activists stand aside and let the entrepreneurs innovate" sort of rhetoric that I find so tired. People who would open a strip club, adult video store or a drive-through liquor store would be entrepreneurs as well...should the neighborhood stand aside for this? Where is the line then? That's for the people who live in the neighborhood to decide, not a columnist.