Wednesday, May 05, 2010

District Curmudgeon: Losing Historic Homes

The District Curmudgeon talks about losing the District's historic housing stock and focuses on the homes in the 700 block of 2nd Street NE.

4 comments:

not on parker said...

That post represents one of my greatest disappointments (not that any of you give a fuck) with this area's blogs. Collective, retroactive complaining.

IMGoph said...

not on parker: I'm sorry to hear that you feel that way. Unfortunately, I was not aware of what was happening with the 700 block of 2nd Street until I moved into the neighborhood. I wouldn't call what I wrote complaining—it's documenting some of the changes that are happening in the city and discussing ways that perhaps we can think about keeping these things from happening in the future.

Please, take note of how our blog has managed to actually lead to positive changes in the neighborhood—our posts about the long-term pothole on Montello Avenue have led to its repair, our complaint about dumping in the alley on our block led to its cleaning, we have new trees in the neighborhood, Giant grocery stores contacted us regarding concerns about their store's appearance, and the post about 'food deserts' led to a healthy discussion with the authors of that report and a revision of the map they were using.

I'd like to believe we are bringing about positive change and giving people a venue for healthy and substantive discussion. I'm sorry that you choose to see things otherwise. I sincerely hope that we can help peel away some of the cynicism that you feel regarding our enterprise.

not on parker said...

My apologies for unfairly characterizing your post.

My disappointment is mostly with the content of some of the comments, which underscore the "retroactive" complaining that has become systematic within our neighborhood. People will soon be complaining about the neighborhood impact of the immminent Steuart Development, particularly the parking. Not a soul was at the most recent DCOZ meeting where these grievances could have been made known!

IMGoph said...

not on parker: Apology accepted, and I certainly agree with you that it's somewhat criminal how people don't attend the meetings (or at least submit written or emailed testimony) when their voice actually could make a difference. At the same time, blame has to be placed on the District for frequently failing to do a good job of publicizing said meetings. They're doing better, but there is room for continued improvement.