Author: will.stephens@dupontcircleanc.net

NEWS: ANC 2B appoints Stephanie Maltz as 2B06 liquor liaison

At our July 2012 public meeting, the ANC appointed Dupont resident Stephanie Maltz as our special non-commissioner liaison for Single Member District  (SMD) 2B06 liquor licensing issues.  The ANC is very grateful for Stephanie’s volunteerism.

Commissioner Mike Silverstein, who represents 2B06, is also an appointed member of the city’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board.  As such, he is normally forced to recuse himself from liquor-related issues at the ANC level.  2B06 has over 60 licensed establishments, more than any other SMD in Dupont, and one of the most of any SMD in the city.  In her role as special liaison for 2B06, Stephanie will communicate with residents and establishments in 2B06 about liquor-licensing issues and make recommendations to the full ANC when applicants come before us.

About Stephanie: Stephanie Maltz has lived in the Dupont area since 2006. As a policy consultant, she has experience working on a wide range of issues from small businesses to education to public health and safety. She is the treasurer of her condo board and volunteers at Ross Elementary as a “Girls on the Run coach.”  Stephanie lives in ANC 2B03 and is looking forward to working with the residents and businesses in the Dupont community.

Contact information for Stephanie:

Email: smaltz@gmail.com
Phone number: (202) 309-5138

NEWS: ANC 2B requests Historic Preservation Review Board take steps to respect the “great weight” of ANCs

At the request of the Commission, ANC 2B Chair Will Stephens sent a letter to the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) requesting that the board and its agency staff take concrete steps to better respect the “great weight” of ANCs.  The letter is available here.

NEWS: Man Sentenced to 11½ Years in Prison for Violent Crimes in Dupont Circle Neighborhood

A man with a history of criminal activity in the Dupont Circle area was sentenced last week to over 11 years in prison stemming from an attempted robbery and assault in the 1800 block of Jefferson Place, NW in January 2012.

Reginald Teneyck was convicted of assault with intent to rob, felony assault, and destruction of property according to a release from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Colombia.  Teneyck broke the window of an occupied parked car and began assaulting the driver in an attempt to steal his laptop. Several witnesses intervened and held him down until police arrived.

The lengthy sentence, ensuring that Teneyck will be off the streets for almost a dozen years, is a testament to the hard work of our 2nd District police force at MPD and the prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

In the future, the Dupont Circle ANC would like to begin coordinating the submission of Community Impact Statements to influence the sentencing of criminals who have affected our neighborhood. For more information, contact Noah Smith or Kishan Putta, the ANC’s Public Safety Liaisons.

NEWS: Dupont Circle ANC Hosts Public Safety Listening Session

On June 20th, the Dupont Circle ANC and their Public Safety Liaisons, Noah Smith and Kishan Putta, hosted a listening session on public safety hosted by the Jewish Community Center.  The meeting was a forum for community members to communicate concerns about neighborhood safety issues and to influence the public safety agenda of the ANC moving forward.

 

Over 45 residents, business owners and government officials attended to hear those concerns and form relationships to address them in the future.  The ANC was very pleased to have Ward 2 Council Member Jack Evans speak at the opening of the meeting, and also to have many representatives from the Meteropolitan Police Department — including Commander Reese (2nd District), Commander Kishter (3rd District), Lt. McDonald (PSA 208), Lt. Lindsay (PSA 301), and others.  Representatives from the District Department of Transportation also attended.

A majority of the discussion was focused on either traffic safety concerns or crime in the area. Here is a roundup on the topics that were voiced:

 

Bicyclist and Pedestrian Safety

 

  • Bicyclist and pedestrian safety were of chief concern to many neighbors. Cycling is growing quickly throughout the city and safely sharing the road and sidewalk is a top priority.
  • Concerns were raised about the 15th St cycle track and how it can sometimes be dangerous when cars cross the bike lanes in the middle of a block and when driver park their cars and need to get to the sidewalk.  There was a great suggestion to increase signage on the cycle track to better warn cars and bikers about other road users.
  • The rules for how and where it is legal to bike on the sidewalk were discussed and it was agreed that more biking infrastructure and education.
  • Construction projects on major roadways, such as 14th St, often use sidewalk space, forcing pedestrians to either cross the street or walk in a traffic lane. This can last for a year or more depending on the construction project. Options for how to address this issue should be explored with city agencies. 

 

Vehicular Traffic Concerns

 

  • Several people voiced concerns about how dangerous it is to walk and bike in and around the Dupont traffic circle’s lanes:
    • The timing of lights and pedestrian signage is off, often forcing pedestrians to stand on small medians in the middle of traffic.
    • Drivers may be confused about which lanes will take them to which streets and they often illegally turn, putting pedestrians at risk.
    • One suggestion was to add more helpful signage in the circle. Another  suggestion was to add traffic cameras to the circle and in the neighborhood

 

Crime and Law Enforcement

 

  • There was initial discussion about the timing of Police Service Area (PSA) meetings. There are two PSAs in two separate police districts that service the Dupont Circle neighborhood (208 and 301 in the 2nd and 3rd districts respectively) and leadership from those areas meet on a regular basis with neighbors.  The timing of those meetings was of concern to some neighbors, especially those concerned about crimes that cross the PSA/district borders.  The police Lieutenants in charge of those PSAs understood the concerns and are discussing the best ways to address the issue – they stressed that they are always available by email or phone.
  • Residents asked about how best to report suspicious activity or crimes in progress. MPD provided some fantastic information to help:
  • There was interest in Community Impact Statements to influence the sentencing of people found guilty of crimes in the neighborhood. A Community Impact Statement is a description of how a crime or series of crimes have affected our community.
  • The neighborhood was encouraged to submit one community impact statement on behalf of the entire community, which could be coordinated through the ANC.

NEWS: New Online Community Calendar

We’ve added a new “Calendar” to the ANC website.  It’s an open calendar where anyone can post events.  You do not need to subscribe or be approved.  The interface is very user-friendly, as well.  You can add descriptive text, map links, and even graphics to your event listing.

Our hope is that this new page will become the go-to public calendar for Dupont neighborhood events, meetings, hearings, and other items of interest — such as summer movie nights, Capital Pride, Taste of Dupont, community meetings, candidate forums, ANC meetings, meetings of other neighborhood groups, and more!

Just go to our website at http://www.dupontcircleanc.net and click on “Calendar.” [Choose “Calendar” on the above menu]

This is a very exciting development for our website, and we hope that this service will benefit the community.