Category: ECA

At the June 6th meeting, we will vote on up to three Eckington nonprofit organizations to receive funding (a total of $15,000) from the Eckington Yards Community Benefits Agreement.

The possible organizations include:

Coalition for the Homeless, Inc (Operates Emery Work Bed Program)

http://www.dccfh.org/programs/housing/emery-work-bed-program-ewbp

District Alliance for Safe Housing, Inc. (DASH)

http://dashdc.org/

So Others Might Eat, operates Shalom House

http://some.org/

Pathways to Housing DC

https://www.pathwaystohousingdc.org/

Regional Addiction Prevention, INC

http://www.rapinc.org/

For a description of these organizations, visit https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Nv7vct2dYjwLXoYzRSh4OHZlsScTGrG879jpvI2S0XY/edit?usp=sharing

If you would like to suggest a different organization, please email Vernon at vernon.preston@gmail.com no later than Saturday to include the organization on a voting ballot. You may write in an organization that is not on the ballot, as long as it meets the following criteria.

The organization must be must be a nonprofit organization in good/current 501c3 status, and must be an organization specifically devoted to substance abuse prevention and/or ending/combating homeliness.

The Eckington Civic Association must vote on these organizations on June 6th so that they can be specified in the documents going to the Zoning commission the following week.

Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie will host a town hall meeting to discuss the location of the temporary homeless shelter in Ward 5.  The meeting will be held on Friday, May 27, from 6:00-8:00pm at 1251 Saratoga Avenue, NE.  The following is a message from Councilmember McDuffie’s website:

Dear Residents,

We all know that the conditions at D.C. General are simply not acceptable for the families and children that are currently housed at the site. On Tuesday, May 17, the Council voted to approve and fund a new plan for closing DC General with two new proposed sites in Ward 5. Some of you have contacted my office to voice your concerns regarding the new plan. Our office is committed to working with you to answer your questions and to discuss how we can move forward together with compassion for our most vulnerable population. I will hold a town hall meeting on Friday, May 27, from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at the Rev. Dr. Morris L. Shearin, Sr. Community Life Center, Capital City Hall of Distinction (CCHOD) located at 1251 Saratoga Avenue, NE. I hope that you will be able to attend.

In February, Mayor Bowser proposed a plan to close D.C. General. As initially proposed the plan called for locating the Ward 5 temporary shelter at 2266 25th Place, NE. The 25th Place site presented serious challenges including its proximity to a trash transfer station, bus lots, a strip club, a night club, and freight rail tracks. Additionally, its distance from public transportation and grocery stores presented more problems. In fact, the Mayor’s proposed Ward 5 location was almost universally opposed by residents, advocates, and health professionals.

Under the new plan, the Council’s proposal provides the Mayor with two alternate locations in Ward 5: the former Metropolitan Police Department Youth Division Building located on 17^th and Rhode Island Avenue, NE, and the Penn Center, located at 326 R Street, NE. Additionally, the Council’s revised proposal would save District taxpayers at least $165 million when compared to the leases initially proposed in the Mayor’s plan.

Importantly, it should be noted that I prefer the Youth Division building, especially given that it is one of the sites that was developed as a recommendation by Ward 5 residents as a result of one of the several community meetings that were held after the Mayor’s initial proposal. Our office will continue to work with the Mayor to push for the preferred location on Rhode Island Avenue to be selected and to address any concerns that might arise from the community.

I look forward to hearing your input on Friday.

In Service,

Kenyan

Hi neighbors,

Due to concerns that the process for voting on historic designation was moving too quickly, the Eckington Civic Association board has decided to postpone the community opinion survey.

Instead, we will hold a vote at the next ECA meeting (Monday, June 6, from 7-9pm) on whether the community wants to continue exploring historic designation.

A “yes” vote means that we would next gather community opinion via a survey or other means and then vote on whether to apply for historic designation. A Yes vote does not necessarily mean that we apply for Historic Designation status.

A “no” vote means that Eckington stops exploring Historic Designation. Nothing further would happen on this issue unless the community wants to revisit it at some future date.

Only dues-paying members are eligible to vote. Each membership applies to only one person, not a household, so each person who wants to vote must join the Civic Association separately. If you would like to join the Civic Association, you can do so at the meeting or online (see below).

Given the importance and wide-reaching effect of this vote, the ECA decided to allow ECA members to vote on this issue even if they are not able to attend the meeting.

If you cannot attend the June 6^th meeting, you must submit an absentee ballot no later than Sunday, June 5, 9pm. If you mail your ballot, please do so no later than Tuesday, May 31^st.

To submit an absentee ballot:

• You must be a dues-paying member of the Eckington Civic Association. You can join the Eckington Civic Association online: https://eckingtoncivicassociation.org/contact-us/
• You can submit a ballot in any of three ways:
  • online here 
  • by calling Lana Gowin at 276-614-6921
  • by mailing this ballot to

Eckington Civic Association

P.O. Box 26430

Washington, DC  20001.

You can learn more about Historic Designation and read notes from past meetings here: https://eckingtoncivicassociation.org/historic-designation/

If you have any questions, please contact Hannah Putman at eckingtoncivic@gmail.com

Eckington Beautification Day
Saturday, May 14, 2016  – 10am

ANC 5E is sponsoring Beautification Day in Eckington. The day entails planting flowers and trees in the Eckington small pocket park next to New York Pizza located at the corner of North Capitol Street and Q Street NE.

Come out and join us! All participants will meet at the corner of North Capitol and Q Streets at 10:00 am. If you have shovels, rakes, or other gardening equipment, feel free to bring them.

Eckington is your community.
Let’s do this!

Saturday, April 9, 2016
1:00pm – 3:00pm
Saint Martin’s Catholic Church
1908 North Capitol Street, NW
7 T Street, NW Entrance

We all want to make our houses more comfortable and efficient. Green technologies offer opportunities to save money while helping to protect our environment and can be implemented without sacrificing the architectural integrity of your home or violating historic district guidelines.

Come learn about energy audits and what home improvements are the most cost effective with particular attention to the issue of window repair and replacement and integrity.

Speakers are Nakita Reed, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, GGP, a managing member of ENCORE Sustainable Design, working to combine historic preservation with energy efficiency and sustainable design; and John Sandor, an architectural historian and expert in the repair and replacement of windows in historic buildings.

This is a FREE event open to the public.

Eckington Civic Association Meeting
Monday, February 1,  2016, 7:00pm
The Summit at St. Martin’s, 116 T Street NE

1. President’s and committee reports

2. Reports from elected officials
   Malik Williams from Mayor Bowser’s office will provide a briefing on the new security camera initiative / answer questions from the community.

3. Flower Market project
   JBG/Boundary Stone will present their plans for the Flower Market Project.

4. 2016 Planning
   We will discuss goals and projects for the following committees:
   Beautification,  Heritage – Oral History,  Events,  Membership

ANC 5E and the Eckington Civic Association are sponsoring a bulb planting in the neighborhood. Please join us this Saturday, December 5, at 10:00am at the park along the Metropolitan Branch Trail located at 4th and S Streets, NE. If you have a shovel or rake, please bring it along. We hope that you can join us!