President's Message
/By Eric Langenbacher, president@burleith.org
Before summer truly begins, please join your Burleith neighbors at the annual summer picnic on Saturday, June 16 from 3:30–7:30 pm at the Green Lot (Whitehaven and 37th Street). We’d like to extend a special invitation to those of you who are new to the community; the picnic will give us the chance to welcome you in person. In addition to the usual great food, music, and kids’ activities, we’re celebrating Burleith’s 95th birthday.
I would like to thank Janice Sims and Glen Harrison for once again organizing the community clean-up on Saturday, May 12.
We concluded our series of meetings on managing change in Burleith on Thursday, May 3. This was an open forum on the merits of historic designation for Burleith. After summations of the arguments for and against historic designation, provided by me and Walter Hillabrant, approximately 25 neighbors shared their perspectives.
The BCA board recently announced that in lieu of the previously scheduled vote of the membership, we have decided to implement an online survey with one question: "Do you want historic designation for Burleith?" Yes/No. This survey is open to BCA members and non-members. We will verify a respondent’s connection to Burleith. The survey will be open from June 3–September 3, and neighbors will be able to register their opinions at the picnic. Results will be shared with the community in the fall. Please see the flyer for more details.
The lawsuit against the FAA, sponsored by Burleith and neighboring communities, regarding airplane noise to and from National Airport, has provisionally ended without relief for residents. This was quite disconcerting. But, representatives from around Northwest DC, coordinated by our ANC representative Ed Solomon, are pondering next steps. Meanwhile, some legal costs remain, so if you still want to donate, please go to the DC Fair Skies website. The BCA board also recently voted to donate an additional $1,000. This makes a total of $3,000 that we have contributed to the effort since fall 2016. All surrounding neighborhoods, including Georgetown, as well as Georgetown University, have contributed to this effort.
Construction at the hospital has ramped up. Demolition of Kober-Cogan Hall is complete. There are new traffic patterns in place around the expanded construction and staging areas. This will affect neighbors accessing the hospital complex, as well as the Leavey Center and other locations on campus. Traffic on Reservoir Road will likely be messy once construction really gets going. We will continuously monitor the situation and look for remedies if needed. (See MedStar's construction management plan for details.)
Finally, Burleith joins Georgetown in remembering Betsy Cooley (1945–2018) who died April 25. She was a mother and an artist with a shining spirit who served the community as CAG’s executive director for 14 years.