President’s Message
/
By Eric Langenbacher, president@burleith.org
There has definitely been a chill in the air the last little while. In fact, this is the earliest we’ve had to turn the heat on for several years. I hope all students have been enjoying the new school year and are excited about all the up-coming fall and winter events.
We held the annual Burleith Halloween Celebration for younger children on Sunday, October 20, from 3–5 pm at the Washington International School playground. We had beautiful weather and a great turnout with dozens of children and their family members. The costumes were, as always, spooky, creative, and colorful. There were snacks, costume prizes, goodie bags, and the beautiful WIS playground to enjoy. Big thanks to Erica Schreffler for once again organizing and to WIS for so graciously hosting us.
We also continued our newest annual tradition, the Burleith Halloween Decoration Contest. Judging took place on October 30 and 31 with winners notified via email shortly thereafter. The BCA Board recently instituted a new rule—no repeat winners. I once again extend my gratitude to the judges Lauren Dailey and Adam Langenbacher.
The semi-annual Neighborhood Clean-up took place on Saturday, November 2, from 9–11 am. Thanks to Janice Sims and Georgetown University for organizing
The BCA Annual Meeting will be on Thursday, November 14, from 7–9 pm with socializing starting at 6:30. We will once again convene in the Georgetown Village Space (1801 35th Street, enter at the back off the parking lot). Speakers will include Mayor Muriel Bowser, Councilmember Brooke Pinto, ANC Representative Kishan Putta, and representatives from MPD and Georgetown University. BCA members will also vote on the 2025 Board. I am happy to report that all members up for re-election have agreed to stay on, so there will be no changes next year.
I have purposefully scheduled fewer speakers than in previous years so that we will have more time to discuss important matters as a neighborhood and an organization. We will receive more information about the welcome sign initiative and can discuss issues of concern such as the Ellington Field renovation, parking, and rats. We will also start a discussion about the future of the BCA, which is celebrating 100 years in 2025. Specifically, we’ve been lucky to have many committed volunteers for many years (including myself as president for over a decade). It is essential to find the next generation of dedicated neighbors to lead the organization and its many activities, such as the summer picnic, the Bell newsletter, and various committees. Ideally, we can recruit folks soon so that they can “shadow” the current volunteers.
Regarding some issues of concern, I will start with the Ellington Field Renovation. There was a community meeting at the Georgetown Library back in September. Details are here: https://dgs.dc.gov/ellingtonfield. In terms of takeaways, there will be no pickleball courts, but rather a fitness station. They will reserve space for buses to drop off/pick-up and have outlined a traffic pattern (clockwise around the field) for buses to take. Lighting—although still highly contentious—will be installed and the fieldhouses will be renovated. As far as I’m concerned, the authorities still do not have an adequate plan in terms of usage, hours that lights will be on, or to deal with parking pressures.
On that last topic, they did do some sort of study and formally observed many affiliates of the hospital parking in the neighborhood (something residents have noted for quite some time). The ANC did pass a resolution recently to eliminate 4-hour parking around the field. Hopefully, this will be implemented soon and will partially address the on-going issue. In any case, they plan to start renovations soon, perhaps even in November—even though there are still some permit issues.
If you recall, last year the principal of Hardy Middle School mentioned wanting to install a gate and restricting community access on the pathway from 35th to Wisconsin on the north side of the school. I was under the impression that they had given up on this—as it unnecessarily restricts access to a pathway that has been used by the community for as long as anyone can remember with vague safety benefits, seeing as students would not be on the field during school hours without adult supervision. But, many of you have noticed that a gate has gone up. Apparently, community access will be restricted from 10am to 3:15 pm on school days. I will be following up on this. Individuals could still access this area if they enter from the parking lot on Wisconsin, and there are apparently no plans to install a gate there. I would also think that more sets of community eyes would be a good thing if unauthorized persons were on the grounds
As of January 1, 2025 there will be No Right on Red in the entire District of Columbia—unless an explicit exception is granted. Such prohibitions have already been popping up, such as at Reservoir and 35th; frankly, the old restriction (no right on red from 7 am–7pm worked just fine in my opinion. More gravely, right on red has recently been banned at 34th and M Streets, a heavily trafficked route used by many to access the Key Bridge from points north. I think this is greatly exacerbating backups on 34th and 35th Streets all the way into Burleith and an exception needs to be made. I have spoken with DDOT representatives and with the responsible ANC commissioner. I'm sure opinions will differ on this (I know how I feel), but this is surely having all sorts of impacts.
Leaf collection began on October 28th. We are in section 2D, so it will be a while before they make a first pass. They will alert us in real time, but you can get more information here: https://dpw.dc.gov/leaf. All leaves should be raked into the treebox or front curb by the Sunday before collection—do not bag them.
Finally, I need to once again mention rats. As much as the authorities can and should do more, we also have to make some efforts. New owners are entitled to a new bin. If your bin is broken beyond repair, please purchase a new one. Broken lids on the green bins need to be replaced. Please report this to 311—even if it takes a long time to procure. Make sure that all the bins in your vicinity are closed after garbage day. And please be cognizant of how you dispose of trash. The authorities mentioned that tossing food delivery containers directly into the bins is a massive problem. Rinse away any food residue and make sure that everything is properly bagged.
We will also have several holiday events in December—please check your email for more details. I hope to see you soon at one of the BCA activities.