President’s Message

Note: Originally published on March 10, this post has been updated.

By Eric Langenbacher, president@burleith.org

I’m writing on St. Patrick’s Day in the midst of one of the most extraordinary situations any of us have experienced—the almost complete shutdown of Washington, DC, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Children are home from school; many are teleworking; travel is increasingly difficult; bars and restaurants are closed (except for take-out); gatherings with more than 10 people are banned. There are still many unknowns such as how long the shutdown will last and if more stringent quarantine measures—as France and Spain are currently experiencing—will be put in place. Things might normalize themselves in two weeks or it could take eight weeks or even longer. All public events until the end of April have been cancelled. What will happen with events in May and even June is still unclear.

Above all, I hope that all neighbors stay healthy. It is important (even if you are young) to follow best practices—especially hand-washing and social distancing. Furthermore, the Burleith Citizens Association is setting up a volunteer service during the coronavirus situation in our city. Please email us if you would like to express your interest in volunteering for neighbors—shopping, driving, delivering, etc.—or if you would like or need help. Be sure to include your contact information, address, and other relevant details such as when you are available/need help, if you can drive, etc. The email is: bca@burleith.org. We will keep a master list and will email specific individuals as necessary.

The dire public health situation is in marked contrast to the glorious early spring of 2020. The yoshino cherries are already in full bloom; the daffodils are almost done and the tulips are coming out fast. The biggest point of discussion over the last few months has been the fate of Ellington Field (bounded by Reservoir, S, 38th and 39th Streets). As background, ever since the early summer of 2019, DC’s Department of Parks and Recreation has been trying to take control of the field from DC Public Schools, particularly from Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Given a lack of transparency and various other improprieties (e.g., not providing proper public notice), various actors including the BCA were able to delay any changes and obtain a better public process.

It would be difficult to truly convey the amount of effort many neighbors have put into this issue. The BCA had a meeting on the field last fall; DPR had a meeting at the Georgetown Library in January; we organized an on-line petition—and distributed a flyer—opposing the transfer that has garnered almost 500 signatures as of this writing; and several of us even met with Mayor Muriel Bowser on February 12. In that meeting she assured us that nothing would happen until we have an actual elected councilmember in June. I mentioned that the community and public-school students and parents are almost unanimously opposed to these changes. We fear lack of student and community access, increased traffic and trash, parking problems, and possible light pollution from evening games. As of February 20, the transfer has taken place, but nothing concrete will happen until the summer.

DPR has not made any plans (or budget) public, although re-doing the field, which is not regulation size, and installing lights have been mentioned. They have also noted that the configuration of the field is tricky, so something might have to give. For instance, the track might be eliminated to make space for the field. On a side note, I was disappointed with our ANC’s resolution on February 3 in which they were neutral about which DC entity controls the field (although they did advocate for a variety of studies). The BCA will continue its engagement and monitor all aspects of the situation. Just in the last few days, I have received numerous complaints from neighbors about illegally parked buses and other safety concerns related to the private Maret School’s varsity track and field practices.

The BCA is also quite concerned about changes to local bus routes. Recently, as part of its proposed 2021 budget, WMATA announced plans to eliminate the 30S, 30N, and D1 lines and to combine the D2 and G2 lines, among other transit changes. We have heard from many neighbors who vociferously oppose such reductions. In fact, most folks appear to want an increase in service. We will continue to advocate for needed public transportation options in and around our neighborhood.

The Citizens Association of Georgetown (CAG) and the BCA had a candidate forum for the open Ward 2 seat planned for March 23. This has been indefinitely postponed, but everyone is hopeful it will take place before the Democratic primary on June 2 and then the special election for an interim councilmember on June 16. I think this will be a great opportunity to hear from the eight current candidates vying for the position. I hope to see you there.

April 17 Update: The Burleith Summer Picnic, planned for Saturday, June 13, has been cancelled due to the coronavirus situation. If things improve by September, we might do a scaled-down event such as a block party sometime in the fall before it gets too cold.

Looking back for a moment, the BCA’s first event of the year—our 9th annual Winter Gløgg Party—took place on February 2. We had near-record turnout again and a visit from Mayor Bowser, who did take some heat about Ellington Field and the earlier sweetheart deal giving the private Maret School preferential access to Jelleff  Field for another decade. I would like to heartily thank Linda Brooks for once again so generously opening her home and hosting such an awesome event.

The BCA is always looking for volunteers. Right now, we need an editor for the Burleith Bell, our community newsletter that appears in hard copy four times a year (March, June, October, and December). Please email bca@burleith.org if you are interested. We are transitioning to a new webmaster over the next few months. I want to extend my deep gratitude to Ann Carper who has done such a terrific job over many years, as well as to her successor, Erik Warga.

The BCA has employed a contractor who will soon start to repair and re-paint the call boxes around the neighborhood. We have worked with the BCF to use funds raised for the initial restoration effort several years ago. The balance is more than adequate to cover current needs.

Our listserv recently transitioned to the groups.io site. It seems to be working much better than before, but please do let us know if there are any problems. If you’d like to subscribe, email burleith+subscribe@groups.io. It is very important that we hear about what’s happening in our community, especially when public safety is involved, and the listserv complements the Burleith Bell, website, and our social media efforts.

Finally, it is always a good time to join the BCA, either by filling out the form on the back page of a recent Bell or online at www.burleith.org/join-the-bca.