Today's Examiner has a story about a group of Eighth Street SE residents who aren't terribly excited about having the temporary Market building located on the back of the Hine Junior High lot. Their complaint seems to be based on the increased trash, traffic, and noise that the temporary building would bring to their corner of Eighth, and that “city leaders didn't seriously consider other options.” I'm trying not to editorialize too much on this website, but the community decision on the Hine Junior High site was unanimous at last Monday's town hall meeting; in addition, the DC government has set up a specific Eastern Market portal page on DC.gov, complete with an email address for submitting any feedback or concerns. All in all, given how fast the community has asked for the city to address the need to rebuild and the need to provide a temporary solution for the displaced Market merchants, I'm not sure how much more the DC government could have done. One thing that's amazed me over the past two weeks has been how willing everyone around the Market is to make small short-term sacrifices in order to get the rebuilding underway and the South Hall back to its majestic glory as soon as possible (including students and teachers being agreeing to give up part of their playground, businesses along Seventh Street being willing to accept the closure of the main artery to their stores, and bars and restaurants donating their hard-earned money to get the Market back open); I guess this is the first real example I've seen of people taking the opposite stance.
There was a nice column in today's Philadelphia Inquirer about the similarities between their Reading Terminal Market and our Eastern Market, and encouraging Philly residents to help our rebuilding by feeding their donations to Philbert the Pig their donations. It's a great gesture, and again, it puts us in Philly's debt -- so if you find yourself in the City of Brotherly Love in the next few years, be sure to stop by the Reading Terminal Market and help pay that debt off!
Emily Yehle has another Roll Call article about the Market, this time about next Monday's Dining Out for Eastern Market event. (Again, it's locked behind the subscribers-only Roll Call firewall, so I can't read the entire article.)
Finally, while I try not to repeat myself here, I want to make sure to draw everyone's attention to last night's call for volunteers to help the Capitol Hill Community Foundation this weekend; they have more than their normal need for people both Saturday and Sunday, so if you have a few hours to spare, it's for a great cause!
Comments (3)
I'm not unsympathetic to the nearby neighbors, but I have to say (particularly given how much I've complained about DC Gvt. in the past) that they really do seem to have moved pretty quickly on Eastern Market and deserve kudos for it. There's really no way that something like this project happens in an urban area without inconveniencing just about everybody around, any more than any other construction - and I've had to deal with plenty of that myself. I hope we can maintain the sense of community consensus that has arisen out of the fire, and try to make the disruption to the neighbors as minimal as possible.
Posted by Scot Montrey | May 18, 2007 3:14 PM
Posted on May 18, 2007 15:14
These folks spoke up at the community meeting, at least in the auditorium half of it I attended. Many live in houses across the alley from the Hine schoolyard and have legitimate concerns about traffic, trash, and vermin generated by the new structure. DC officials specifically promised these people that those issues would be resolved, but construction goes forward, they have heard nothing. To consider them troublesome party-poopers is unfair.
Posted by Mike Licht | May 18, 2007 7:15 PM
Posted on May 18, 2007 19:15
Mike,
Thank you very much for recognizing that those of us who have been trying to get the attention of the City government in the days after the May 7 community forum are not anti-market or anti-merchant. You have it exactly right - we have had legitimate concerns and all we had asked for is an audience with City officials to explore workable solutions. I personally used every one of the mechanisms for input mentioned in Jason's blog, but received no attention until I began complaining loudly.
But, I am glad to say there is good hope for a happy ending to the story. Council Member Tommy Wells, to his great credit, assembled 5 City officials in my home to listen to our concerns. It was a very constrcutive meeting and, if City officials carry through on the commitments they made to us, operations of the temporary market will have manageable impacts on the residential quality of life of 8th Street. So no one is fooled, though, prior to that meeting - which happened just days before Mayor Fenty's last press conference - the City was planning on putting a dumpster just 30 feet from my front porch, and setting up a delivery point for the market at a spot that trucks have repeatedly proven they can't navigate (the evidence is in cracked bricks and broken garage doors). However, a poor outcome has likely been diverted, and we are at least thankful for that.
Posted by Gary Rahl | May 20, 2007 7:18 PM
Posted on May 20, 2007 19:18