President's Message
/By Eric Langenbacher, president@burleith.org
As the summer ends, it is time to gear up for a busy season of events and activities. Classes are back in session at Hardy and WIS, and the Duke Ellington School of the Arts has reopened. There will be many more students in the neighborhood, so please be aware and drive safely—meaning please actually stop at stop signs. I have been particularly concerned about drivers not stopping properly at the intersections of 35th and T, 35th and R, and 37th and Whitehaven.
On a celebratory note, a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Duke Ellington School of the Arts was held on August 19. I would like to thank BCA representatives Kay Twomey and Nan Bell for representing the association at the festivities. Nan’s remarks—the first time the BCA has been invited to speak at such an event—were inspiring. Although there were certainly some tensions during the years of construction and just a few budget increases, the renovated building is a stunning achievement and will be a world-class learning environment for our city’s artistically inclined young people. Please check out the pictures that Kishan Putta has posted on our Facebook page.
Georgetown University students have moved in and classes started on August 30. We have several months still of temperate weather, so there might be some parties. Let me use the opportunity of the new year to remind everyone about procedures for reporting noise. First, please call the GU help line at (202) 687-8413. The Office of Neighborhood Life's Burleith coordinator is Catherine (Cat) Finnegan; Cory Peterson is the director of ONL. Second, please email bca@burleith.org with the subject line “Noise” and include this information:
- Date, time, and address of where you suspect the noise is coming from.
- Description of the problem.
- When you called the Helpline.
- Your contact info so someone from the BCA can respond to you.
- Results, if any.
As I wrote earlier this summer, I have received numerous emails from concerned neighbors about various construction-related issues. I thought it would be useful to share some resources. If there is a problem, such as damage to your house or property, or you suspect that the work being done does not correspond to the posted permits or zoning regulations, or there are noise issues, or work is being done outside of allowed hours, or you observe illegal run-off, please call 311 or, if relevant, DCRA’s Illegal Construction Unit at (202) 442-STOP (7867). If you want to check on the permits that have been issued, you can get the information here.
The Burleith Citizens Association will be in touch in the next while about fall events. But, it is not too soon for you to mark your calendars for the kids’ Halloween Party on October 29 and the BCA annual meeting on November 9. We are also planning to schedule a series of meetings regarding various options to manage change in the neighborhood. In other association news, we currently have a nominating committee comprised of Nan Bell, Edie Cecil, and Rob Russell who are looking to fill two open slots for the 2018 Board. As per our bylaws, we will distribute the names by the deadline. Finally, thanks to BCA members Massa Dunnaville and Kishan Putta for organizing the August 18 war against rats in Burleith. More details are provided in this month’s post.
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