We were walking through Columbia Heights late Saturday night and noticed numerous police cars rushing south toward Columbia Road. Later that evening we learned the terrible news that a nine-year-old boy was murdered in his apartment by one bullet shot through his front door. Though the assailant may not have been aiming for the boy specifically, shooting anywhere in an apartment building is bound to hurt somebody and we have serious trouble understanding why someone would exhibit such reckless disregard for human life.

This murder occurred despite this increased police presence this weekend as part of the MPD’s All Hands on Deck program. The police, though, cannot be in every hallway in every apartment building.

Closer to home, we became aware of a violent attack that occurred at Second and S Streets in Bloomingdale last week. In an email to the police and several community leaders, Former ANC Commissioner Margot Hoerrner (ANC1B11) described what happened to her friend Brad, who was house-sitting for her:

On Wednesday, at 5pm, Brad was attacked by 6-7 young men, at the corner of 2nd and S Street, who wanted absolutely nothing other than to beat the utter crap out of him. Brad, aside from being a military guy, is also an urban-savvy guy, who said that his instincts never warned him that something was about to happen. On his way to the Big Bear Cafe, half the group rushed him from the front, whereas the other half rushed him from the back. They knocked him down, and then, as a group, stomped on him, jumped on him, and beat him senseless, leaving him with black eyes, thoroughly bloodied and with several cracked ribs.

What’s shocking is that there are too many Washingtonians who think nothing of brutally beating and stomping innocent people.

Ms. Hoerrner added something I’ve often felt: that Washington is more dangerous than many conflict zones and poverty-stricken countries around the world:

As an aside, my work takes me to the poorest, conflict-riddled places in the world. I have spent the last two weeks in Kenya and Tanzania, which are at the precipice of humanitarian and civil disaster because of a four-year drought. A friend of mine has commented on my lack of fear in traveling to these places by myself, and asked me if I’ve ever felt fear traveling anywhere – and I said yes… I have felt more threatened and fearful living in Washington DC than I have anywhere else in the world. I am often stunned at the level of violence and crime that we have come to accept as a given for simply living in this city.

We bring up these problems because we feel that we as a city have become too used to this violence, which is actually abnormal. Washington’s homicide rate for last year was around 32 murders per 100,000 residents, still far off from the 1991 peak of 80.6, but far above the national average (5.8) and more than five times the rate of New York City (6.2).

Making Washington a world-class city requires addressing some of the sicker aspects of our civic culture, particularly our extraordinary rates of violence and our tolerance of violence.  We should stand as examples of what a city can be: the elegant, prosperous, and peaceful pinnacle of human civilization and not a place bleeding from occasional bouts of unrelenting brutality.

The Post is running a story today about other District communities disappointed by the ongoing parks feud between the Council and the mayor.  The disappointment appears to be widespread:

In interviews with advocates from Chevy Chase to Woodland Terrace to U Street, most activists said they oppose the delays. “They’ll be fighting, and our kids and residents are suffering,” [Football coach Steve] Zanders said.

And some are accusing the Council of feigning surprise:

Willie Ross, a Ward 7 Advisory Neighborhood Commission member, said the contracts must be investigated, but the council should have been more vigilant about its initial oversight. He said that some members attended groundbreakings with the mayor for projects that are now under scrutiny.

Whoops!

The DC Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) is selling the vacant house at 475 Florida Ave NW (corner of 5th St and Florida Ave). The house is a wreck and if you glance closely at the second story windows, you can see that part of the roof has fallen in. Even still, the brick façade is a gem and with $250,000 (and probably more) in work, the place could be livable again.

A timely renovation is a requirement of the sale, per DHCD rules. This requirement ensures that the buyer will actually renovate the place rather than letting it sit as an eyesore and community nuisance.

The list price is $225,000 and all offers are due by 5:00 pm on Friday, February 5, 2010.

h/t: UrbanTurf

Now for some photos:

We’re a week late on the news, but on October 28 President Obama awarded a Congressional Gold Medal to LeDroit Park native son the former Republican Senator from Massachusetts Edward William Brooke III.

Though he grew up here in LeDroit Park (at 1938 Third Street, NW), Sen. Brooke represented Massachusetts for two terms, from 1967 to 1979, and was a strong supporter of civil rights laws.  He co-authored the 1968 Fair Housing Act, the first Federal housing law (with teeth) to prohibit various forms of housing discrimination.

Speaking of fair-housing policies, in 1948 the Supreme Court ruled that restrictive covenants (restricting home sales on account of race and religion) were illegal.  At issue in the case, Hurd v. Hodges, was the purchase of 116 Bryant Street, NW, in Bloomingdale.

From the Civic Association:

Just a friendly reminder that our monthly, 4th Tuesday of the  month meeting falls tonight, October 27, 2009. Same time, same place, 7:00 PM at the Florida Avenue Baptist Church, 623 Florida Avenue. Don’t be discouraged by the rain; we’ll be  there and hope to see you too!

On the agenda:

• Gage Eckington Demo/Park Update —Councilman Jim Graham & ANC 1B Commissioner Myla Moss
• Information on neighborhood dog park project —Maria Fyodorova & Christian Seitz
• Public Space Update & 2009/10 Budget –Alice Aughtry & Andrea Feniak
• Civic Association Volunteer Opportunities

Please join us to meet your neighbors, find out what’s going on and put in your two cents!

Anna J. Cooper Circle

In August we spotted the Google Street View car (a camera-equipped VW Beattle much like this one) photographing LeDroit Park.

Lo and behold, the neighborhood has been updated in Google Maps to provide more recent imagery of the neighborhood.  Some notable changes include coverage of the 400 block of Elm Street and imagery of Fourth Street after completion of the street’s reconstruction.

Care to look around?  Here’s Anna J. Cooper Circle.

Email and the ailing economy are hurting the U.S. Postal Service as mail volume and postal revenues have dropped. This summer, the USPS proposed a list of 3,600 offices to close nationwide, including our very own LeDroit Park Post Office at Florida, Rhode Island and New Jersey Avenues.

The Postal Service has now narrowed the list of proposed closures to 371 and the LeDroit Park station remains on the list. Since moving to the neighborhood, we have wondered about the economic viability of this particular post office, especially with its limited business hours.  The Postal Service cannot afford to keep all of its post offices open and we understand why they have chosen our post office to close.

If this post office closes, the nearest post office will be at 2400 6th St NW at Howard University. Its hours are similar to those of the LeDroit Park Post Office.