A look at what's going on in Trinidad, on H Street, and in the larger area north of Capitol Hill.
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
CP Noise Bill Tabled
City Paper reports that the noise bill that went before the Council was tabled without debate. Expect reaction to be forthcoming on Quest For Quiet.
20 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Well, at least we know who's opposed now. Time to organize some unrelenting, amplified protests in the residential areas of Georgetown (Evans), Mt Pleasant (Graham), Chevy Chase (Bowser). Hopefully the Quest For Quiet folks will come out and make some eardrums bleed.
Sorry folks. Good cause. Bad legislation. Needs to be rethought all around. And pestering jack evens ain't going to do squat. why not just drag a couple lawn chairs, a boom box and an amplifier to 8th and H and blast some Burt Bacharach and George Michael tapes and see how they like it.
A confrontational blow out between the offenders and the neighborhood is a BAD idea and would only piss them off more and make them stand their ground. I think the council member house protest is a great idea. If enough people responded and gave them a taste of what they've allowed happen to us - legally - I bet some will be changing their minds.
At the very least this bill deserves a public debate. I encourage everyone to email Councilmembers Brown (tellkwamebrown@gmail.com)and Mendelson (pmendelson@dccouncil.us)and Chair Gray (vgray@dccouncil.us). Most major US cities have noise restrictions, why can't DC work out a similar compromise?
Soflo, do you have any specific information on what other cities have noise restrictions and what they might be?
I am concerned with the bigger issue here that time after time DC, as a city, can't seem to have, enforce regulations for behaviour that, it seems like, most other places in the civilized world take for granted.
The noise bill was not perfect. It was a compromise agreed upon by a broad collection of stakeholders--councilmembers bent-over-backwards in an attempt to balance quiet/protest rights.
I do agree with soflo and find it ironic that some city council members wave the free-speech banner, but then lack the courage to openly debate the bill.
While I disagree with Jack Evans' position on the noise bill, at least the politician is consistent and open about his opposition.
I'm more disappointed with Councilmembers Kwame Brown and Yvette Alexander--they said they supported the bill, but then voted to table it.
Sorry folks. Good cause. Bad legislation. Needs to be rethought all around.
Oh, fer crying out loud. Great! Let's have the council debate it, tweak it, and pass it into law. That's how *functioning* democracies have done it since the 3rd Century BCE.
And pestering jack evens ain't going to do squat.
And perhaps you have some insight as to why cranking up the volume in the swanky neighborhoods populated by the folks who *vote* for Mr Evans won't have an immediate impact?
The idea is not to torment Mr Evans (Graham, Bowser), but to let their constituents feel some of the pain. My guess is things would change pretty damned quickly after a few weekends of aural assault.
This is ridiculous. If the bill has problems, the answer is to fix it--not table the whole thing. I called the members of the Council to express my unhappiness.
I'm more disappointed with Councilmembers Kwame Brown and Yvette Alexander--they said they supported the bill, but then voted to table it.
Kwame Brown is doing a meet-up tonight at 7:00pm on 18th Street. Great opportunity to ask him about his flip-flop.
> Dear Friends, Neighbors, and Constituents: > > It is with great pleasure that we extend a personal invitation to you to > come meet, and speak with Councilmember At-Large Kwame Brown on Wednesday, > February 20 at 7:00 PM (see details below). > > This chance to meet with Councilmember Brown has been arranged for > your benefit. You will have a chance to engage an experienced member > of the DC Council. > > As the Chairperson of the DC Council's Committee on Economic Development, > Councilmember Brown is on the front line to promote the > growth of small and local businesses; cultural affairs; industrial and > commercial development (Nationals Baseball Stadium to name one) and > more. In all these efforts, Councilmember Brown works to insure that > benefits from the city's prosperity are distributed equitably improve the > quality of life for all citizens. At this event you will be able to ask > questions on these, and other topics important to you. > > Please join us for an evening where you will have center stage to ask > Councilmember Brown questions, and share in his work and vision to improve the > quality of life for residents, and guide the economic growth of our city. > > Please make time on your schedule to join us on: > Wednesday, February 20 at > Bourbon > 2321 18th St., NW > (2nd Floor) > From 7:00 to 9:00 PM > (202-332-0800) > Complimentary light refreshments will be served. > > This event is sponsored by ANC 1C Commissioners: Bryan Weaver (03) Chair, > Mindy Moretti (04) Vice Chair, Nancy Shia (06), Wilson Reynolds (07). > >
Rather than annoying these council members' neighbors, wouldn't it be more effective to identify some businesses that support the flip-floppers and protest in front of the businesses with signs that say, e.g., "Kwame Brown voted to table the law that would make this protest illegal!"?
How about adding the leadership of the unions that came out to intimidate at the meeting to the list for a dose of "here's what you've done to your neighbors and union members"? Some of the unions worked with Quest for Quiet and the supporting councilmembers to craft a compromise, others opposed it on bogus grounds.
Soul Searcher, I was taking it as a given that there'd be loud amplified speech at the protest. I suppose you could be screaming the information as well, but if the press covered it, it would be nice to have some signs. Also so they could read them from inside if the door was shut ;-). Oh, and also, given the harassment David et. al. experienced at their G'town event, *I'd* have a baseball bat as *my* sign handle ha ha.
We are disappointed with Alexander and Brown's vote to table the Noise Bill. By tabling the bill, Alexander and Brown voted to deny any discussion of the bill. It is hard to understand why Alexander voted to table the bill given her publicly stated support at the January 5, 2008, Hillcrest Community Civic Association meeting. At that meeting, she told approximately 100 Ward 7 residents that she would support this bill.
More perplexing is Brown's support of Evan's motion to table as he was a co-sponsor of the bill. Brown has participated in many Capitol Hill community meetings over the last few months as part of his re-election campaign. At no time did he indicate to the residents that he was anything less than 100% behind the bill.
Yesterday, Alexander and Brown failed to support the residents of Ward 6 and Ward 7. After the vote, Alexander and Brown both mentioned they still supported the bill, but that it needs to be "worked out" before it comes to the Council again.
I am personally prepared to debate the merits of this bill with Alexander and Brown in a public forum over the next three weeks. I would welcome that opportunity. We have worked over two years to develop this bill to balance the concerns of all parties. Perhaps a public debate will provide the opportunity for Alexander and Brown to highlight what changes are needed to garner their support.
Our goal is to get this bill back in front of the council in early March in order to protect the residents from unrestricted levels of noise in their homes. Every resident should have the right to peace and quiet within the confines of their own home. By voting with Evans, Alexander and Brown appear not have that same goal.
20 comments:
Well, at least we know who's opposed now. Time to organize some unrelenting, amplified protests in the residential areas of Georgetown (Evans), Mt Pleasant (Graham), Chevy Chase (Bowser). Hopefully the Quest For Quiet folks will come out and make some eardrums bleed.
heck yeah! I encouraged him to have a loud noise event outside Evans's home.
agreed!
a stage outside council members' homes would be pretty telling.
why didn't i thunk of that?
it's time to get the point across to council members.
noise after 7:00 a.m., until 7:00 p.m.
i'll even join in this one.
Sorry folks. Good cause. Bad legislation. Needs to be rethought all around. And pestering jack evens ain't going to do squat. why not just drag a couple lawn chairs, a boom box and an amplifier to 8th and H and blast some Burt Bacharach and George Michael tapes and see how they like it.
A confrontational blow out between the offenders and the neighborhood is a BAD idea and would only piss them off more and make them stand their ground. I think the council member house protest is a great idea. If enough people responded and gave them a taste of what they've allowed happen to us - legally - I bet some will be changing their minds.
At the very least this bill deserves a public debate. I encourage everyone to email Councilmembers Brown (tellkwamebrown@gmail.com)and Mendelson (pmendelson@dccouncil.us)and Chair Gray (vgray@dccouncil.us). Most major US cities have noise restrictions, why can't DC work out a similar compromise?
Soflo, do you have any specific information on what other cities have noise restrictions and what they might be?
I am concerned with the bigger issue here that time after time DC, as a city, can't seem to have, enforce regulations for behaviour that, it seems like, most other places in the civilized world take for granted.
The noise bill was not perfect. It was a compromise agreed upon by a broad collection of stakeholders--councilmembers bent-over-backwards in an attempt to balance quiet/protest rights.
A comprehensive library of noise laws can be found at the Noise Pollution Clearinghouse.
I do agree with soflo and find it ironic that some city council members wave the free-speech banner, but then lack the courage to openly debate the bill.
While I disagree with Jack Evans' position on the noise bill, at least the politician is consistent and open about his opposition.
I'm more disappointed with Councilmembers Kwame Brown and Yvette Alexander--they said they supported the bill, but then voted to table it.
The best resources for noise laws around the country is nonoise.org The have lots of information.
As I said, I am rather pleased that this was tabled. Good idea, bad legislation.
Sorry folks. Good cause. Bad legislation. Needs to be rethought all around.
Oh, fer crying out loud. Great! Let's have the council debate it, tweak it, and pass it into law. That's how *functioning* democracies have done it since the 3rd Century BCE.
And pestering jack evens ain't going to do squat.
And perhaps you have some insight as to why cranking up the volume in the swanky neighborhoods populated by the folks who *vote* for Mr Evans won't have an immediate impact?
The idea is not to torment Mr Evans (Graham, Bowser), but to let their constituents feel some of the pain. My guess is things would change pretty damned quickly after a few weekends of aural assault.
This is ridiculous. If the bill has problems, the answer is to fix it--not table the whole thing. I called the members of the Council to express my unhappiness.
I'm more disappointed with Councilmembers Kwame Brown and Yvette Alexander--they said they supported the bill, but then voted to table it.
Kwame Brown is doing a meet-up tonight at 7:00pm on 18th Street. Great opportunity to ask him about his flip-flop.
> Dear Friends, Neighbors, and Constituents:
>
> It is with great pleasure that we extend a personal invitation to you to
> come meet, and speak with Councilmember At-Large Kwame Brown on Wednesday,
> February 20 at 7:00 PM (see details below).
>
> This chance to meet with Councilmember Brown has been arranged for
> your benefit. You will have a chance to engage an experienced member
> of the DC Council.
>
> As the Chairperson of the DC Council's Committee on Economic Development,
> Councilmember Brown is on the front line to promote the
> growth of small and local businesses; cultural affairs; industrial and
> commercial development (Nationals Baseball Stadium to name one) and
> more. In all these efforts, Councilmember Brown works to insure that
> benefits from the city's prosperity are distributed equitably improve the
> quality of life for all citizens. At this event you will be able to ask
> questions on these, and other topics important to you.
>
> Please join us for an evening where you will have center stage to ask
> Councilmember Brown questions, and share in his work and vision to improve the
> quality of life for residents, and guide the economic growth of our city.
>
> Please make time on your schedule to join us on:
> Wednesday, February 20 at
> Bourbon
> 2321 18th St., NW
> (2nd Floor)
> From 7:00 to 9:00 PM
> (202-332-0800)
> Complimentary light refreshments will be served.
>
> This event is sponsored by ANC 1C Commissioners: Bryan Weaver (03) Chair,
> Mindy Moretti (04) Vice Chair, Nancy Shia (06), Wilson Reynolds (07).
>
>
"I'm more disappointed with Councilmembers Kwame Brown and Yvette Alexander--they said they supported the bill, but then voted to table it."
I think the flip-floppers are the ones to target with noisy protests, no?
I think the flip-floppers are the ones to target with noisy protests, no?
Glad to see you were able to answer your own question.
Rather than annoying these council members' neighbors, wouldn't it be more effective to identify some businesses that support the flip-floppers and protest in front of the businesses with signs that say, e.g., "Kwame Brown voted to table the law that would make this protest illegal!"?
How about adding the leadership of the unions that came out to intimidate at the meeting to the list for a dose of "here's what you've done to your neighbors and union members"? Some of the unions worked with Quest for Quiet and the supporting councilmembers to craft a compromise, others opposed it on bogus grounds.
protests with signs?
rob, i think you missed the crux of the whole debate. signs aren't the issue.
Soul Searcher, I was taking it as a given that there'd be loud amplified speech at the protest.
I suppose you could be screaming the information as well, but if the press covered it, it would be nice to have some signs. Also so they could read them from inside if the door was shut ;-).
Oh, and also, given the harassment David et. al. experienced at their G'town event, *I'd* have a baseball bat as *my* sign handle ha ha.
Video from the Amplified Free Speech Day among the restaurants in Adams Morgan can be found here.
Fun for nobody...
We are disappointed with Alexander and Brown's vote to table the Noise Bill. By tabling the bill, Alexander and Brown voted to deny any discussion of the bill. It is hard to understand why Alexander voted to table the bill given her publicly stated support at the January 5, 2008, Hillcrest Community Civic Association meeting. At that meeting, she told approximately 100 Ward 7 residents that she would support this bill.
More perplexing is Brown's support of Evan's motion to table as he was a co-sponsor of the bill. Brown has participated in many Capitol Hill community meetings over the last few months as part of his re-election campaign. At no time did he indicate to the residents that he was anything less than 100% behind the bill.
Yesterday, Alexander and Brown failed to support the residents of Ward 6 and Ward 7. After the vote, Alexander and Brown both mentioned they still supported the bill, but that it needs to be "worked out" before it comes to the Council again.
I am personally prepared to debate the merits of this bill with Alexander and Brown in a public forum over the next three weeks. I would welcome that opportunity. We have worked over two years to develop this bill to balance the concerns of all parties. Perhaps a public debate will provide the opportunity for Alexander and Brown to highlight what changes are needed to garner their support.
Our goal is to get this bill back in front of the council in early March in order to protect the residents from unrestricted levels of noise in their homes. Every resident should have the right to peace and quiet within the confines of their own home. By voting with Evans, Alexander and Brown appear not have that same goal.
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