Ward 5 Town Hall with Vincent Gray

Please see the information below on the upcoming Ward 5 Town Hall meeting:

WHO:
Mayoral Candidate
Vincent C. Gray
and
Ward 5 Councilmember
Harry "Tommy" Thomas, Jr.

WHAT:
Ward 5
Town Hall Meeting

WHEN:
Tuesday
October 5, 2010
6:30 to 8:30 pm.

WHERE:
Community Academy
Public Charter School
(Old Armstrong)
1400 1st Street, NW
(1st and P Streets, NW)

Volunteers Needed for Saturday Met Branch Trail Improvements

I have been posting about this for months now and wanted to remind everyone to come and volunteer this Saturday!!!

The DCBIA (DC Building Industries Association) has selected the Metropolitan Branch Trail for their 18th Annual Community Improvement Day project.

The project will consist of landscaping the hillside between Edgwood/8th Streets and the Rhode Island Ave. Shopping Center.

Date: Saturday, October 2, 2010, 7:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Location: Check in at the Rhode Island Ave. Shopping Center (just past the CVS)

Volunteers needed! If you would like to volunteer for this event to support the trail in our community, either RSVP to the email address below, or just show up at the morning of the event.

Food and t-shirts will be provided!

Additional information:
- Middle/High School students can earn community service hours
- Back-up Date: Saturday, October 9, 2010
- To volunteer, contact DCBIA at info@dcbia.org or (202) 966-8665
- Check out the DCBIA website www.dcbia.org for more information

Bloomingdale's Rustik Tavern to Open Tonight!

If you have not seen all the tweets and blog posts already I wanted to make sure everyone knew that Bloomingdale's first sit down bar/restaurant is opening tonight to the public at 9:00 p.m. I am hoping to stop by and have a beer or two!

Chipotle Opens at Union Station Tomorrow!

As it was pointed out to me while it is not Edgewood the new Chipotle opening at Union Station this Saturday is only a short walk/ride down the Met Branch Trail. I have been using the Capital Bikeshare station at 4th and Rhode Island Ave this week on the trail between here and Union Station and it makes for a pretty easy trip.

Home Sales in Edgewood

Here is the weekly data on homes for sale in Edgewood. I am using Redfin because it allows you to search by neighborhood, but if you have any other ideas or ways to get listings or open houses please let me know!

Here is the link to the data in Redfin:

Edgewood DC Real Estate

Edgewood has a very diverse housing stock with a wide range of sizes and prices. Right now the most expensive places listed are the new homes being built in Chancellor's Row listed at $559,900 while the least expensive listing is a 1 bedroom condo listed at $74,900.

There are no open houses listed for Edgewood. If you know of any please add the information to the comments section.

Rhode Island Metro Station Sidewalks and Staircase Improvements Needed

Recently it was brought to my attention that with the construction of the Rhode Island Station development there are no plans to improve the sidewalks and staircase to the metro station from Rhode Island Ave. I thought with such a large-scale construction project they would be improving the public space as well especially since they would be using them.

Below is my letter to Councilmember Thomas and I am encouraging everyone to write or call him in order to bring attention to this issue.

Here is his email address: hthomas@dccouncil.us
Here is his phone number: 202-439-5103

Dear Councilmember Thomas,

I wanted to write to you about a concern that I have regarding the current sidewalks and staircase that led to the Rhode Island Metro Station with relation to pedestrian safety. These sidewalks are very narrow and the staircase is narrow and in need of repair as well.

While I am excited about the construction that is going on for the Rhode Island Station development I feel that as part of this project we should be fixing the sidewalks and stairs. We are missing an opportunity to repair items for the betterment and safety of the whole community if we do not get this done as part of the current construction. The new development will increase the traffic to that metro station and site, so if the narrow sidewalk and stairs are not adequate and safe under current use it will even be worse with increased use.

I know that the new pedestrian bridge is scheduled to be built from the Metropolitan Branch Trail to the metro station and that will help pedestrians and I encourage you to help move that project as long as well. But that bridge will not help people coming from the other direction to the metro or the new retail/apartments.

Please consider using your influence and helping to correct the problems with the stairs and sidewalks as a part of the current scope of construction that is taking place.

Edgewood Civic Association Meeting September 27th

Here is the agenda for the upcoming Edgewood Civic Association meeting:

THE EDGEWOOD CIVIC ASSOCIATION COMMUNITY MEETING
Monday, September 27, 2010
7:00 PM
The Edgewood View Senior Apartments – Crawford Hall, 8th floor
635 Edgewood Street NE, Washington, DC

Agenda
I. Call to Order

II. Roll Call

III. Approval of Last Meeting’s Minutes

IV. President’s Report
a. Board Membership Status
b. Election of Nomination Committee for 2011 Board Election

V. Invited Guests
a. MPD – Safety Report
b. DCBIA – Danielle Melus – Metropolitan Branch Trail Arts Project
c. Presenter re. Rhode Island Avenue Shopping Center Farmer’s Market

VI. Community Updates & Discussion
a. Status of Safeway Replacement
b. Status of St. Martin’s Apartments – “The Summit”
c. Rhode Island Metro Development – Bozzuto Project & Other

VII. New Business
a. Capital Bike Share
b. Edgewood Civic Association Partnership Tree Planting
c. Upcoming events
i. DC Federation of Civic Associations 2010 Banquet
ii. Ward 5 Civic Associations Summit
d. Other new business

VIII. 2010-11 Calendar

IX. Adjournment