COMMUNIT-E
April 25, 2002
 
 

ANC3F SPECIAL MEETING APRIL 29
From:  anc3f@anc3f.org
7:30pm - Monday, April 29, 2002, Intelsat Building, 3400 International
Drive, N.W.
Tentative Agenda:
1.)  Consideration of the Board of Zoning Adjustment application by
Levine School of Music, 2800 Upton Street, N.W.
2.)  Consideration of traffic calming measures around Sheridan School.
3.)  Consideration of new liquor license for Sodexbo Management  at
Intelsat, 3400 International Drive, N.W.
4.)  Consideration of liquor license renewal for  Hillwood Museum, 4155
Linnean Avenue, N.W.
5.)  2900 and 2902 Albemarle Street, N.W.  Building permits for new
construction.
6.)  Report from the Commission's ad hoc committee on proposed tree and
slope overlay in Forest Hills.
 
 
 

CAMERA NETWORK IN THE DISTRICT
From:  Shari Lawrence Pfleeger <s.pfleeger@ieee.org>
If you are interested in the surveillance camera network that the
Washington PD has installed in the District, go to:   www.epic.org.
Click on the map in the upper right corner and then click again anywhere
within the RED rectangle. Click on individual camera icons for details
of each one. ALSO on the home page, click on "photos ..." in the upper
right to see what these installations look like.
 
 
 

ASSAULT
From: "MPDC PSA 201" <mpdcpsa201@hotmail.com> (Lt. Lockerman)
Hi to all the PSA 201 residents. This is to inform you that a assault
occurred in the 3800 block of McKinley (on the CVS side) a man who
appeared to be mentally disturb approached a subject and cut him on the
head with scissors. The victim and the assailant had never met or had
any previous confrontation.  The victim was treated and released for
minor injuries.

Crime alert- We are having a major problem with items being taken from
vehicles.  please secure all your belongings and place them out of
sight. Please pass the word to all your friends and neighbors and report
all suspicious activity to the police.
Thanks, Lt. Lockerman
 
 
 

HOW CAN THIS MAN FIND OUT ABOUT THE ARREST OF THIS CAR THIEF ???
From:  "David M. Winn" <dmwinn@starpower.net>
To: <Charlene.T.Graves@usdoj.gov>
Ms. Graves--Just doing my biweekly check-in to see if you've heard
anything about arresting the guys (long ago identified, two prior
arrests each) who stole my car, ran a stop sign, totally destroyed the
car, and fled the scene?  The most I can find out, from Detective James
Garner (202) 282-0043, is that they can't arrest the chief guy, "because
his girlfriend is pregnant."  This sounds like a shoo-in for the Law
Enforcement Non-sequitur Hall of Fame, but there it is.
No response from Ms. Walicki.  Still determined, David Winn  (202)
364-4350
 
 
 

MORE ON THE BRANCH SNAPPER

**** From:  nancila@att.net (Nancy LeRoy)
Yes, I've seen the branch-snapping guy.  He snaps off  branches of a
house on the corner of River and Fessenden.  I was walking my dog one
morning and saw him snapping and thought he was just being neat or
helpful.  I said hello and he smiled shyly.  Then, I noticed the sharp
edges of the bushes sticking out onto the sidewalk.  He did it a couple
of times but hasn't been around lately.

**** From: Stephanie Faul <steph@faul.com
 The Cleveland Park listserv has had some comments about a person who
breaks their shrubs.  It sounds like it's not a unique problem.
 
 
 
 

ANOTHER UNBALANCED PERSON IN THE 'HOOD
The following is a series of e-mails that show attempts by residents on
a particular block to deal with a mentally ill person over a period of
time. It brings home some of the difficulty that residents and police
have in trying to solve problems posed by such individuals. I have
edited the material to take out home addresses, phone numbers and
repetitive e-mail addresses as the various parties were CC'd to be  kept
in the loop. If these residents are successful it will be because they
have gotten involved, kept at it, and kept in touch with the police and
whatever mental health specialists are involved. Other residents who may
be having similar problems might want to consider similar action.  -- KS

**** Subject:  FW: Homeless Person wandering around 42nd and Warren
Streets
Date: Thu, 28 Mar 2002 11:16:00 -0500
From: "Szarfman, Ana" <SZARFMAN@cder.fda.gov>
Dear Kathy, I'm a neighbor.  Please read the attached e-mail from Mr.
Anthony Byrne explaining the serious situation created by the man that
has adopted our street. This morning I talked with Ann Harrison  and
clearly she is also freighted by this man.

From Anthony Byrne : Further to our conversation this morning when I was
delivering the TCNA Newsletter, I called in to see Leslie Quynn our
ANC3E Commissioner and informed her about the homeless man in an
orangeish colored windbreaker with blondish hair, who seems to have
adopted our neighborhood and has been loitering in your back alley.  I
think this must be the same man who has  been pretending to clean the
streets and gutters opposite our place recently.  I  understand from
what you said that he has behaved in a very threatening manner towards
you, and has been a nuisance, that you called the police but they took
no action. Further Alexandra McCarthy has expressed her concern about
him also.

Leslie says she will call you.  By a copy of this e-mail I am alerting
Richard and Leslianne Braunstein, Bill and Elaine Harwood, Anne and
Norman Harrison and Ken and Betsy Nottingham to this person's odd
behaviour.

I suggest you send an e-mail letter to Kathy Smith to alert the
neighborhood of the problem you are currently facing as many of our
neighbors receive Communit-E the local e-mail newspaper and will
appreciate being alerted.

**** From KS to Lt. Carter, Captain Poteat, Commander Newsham:
Date: Thu, 28 Mar 2002
This looks like something you need to check out.

****  From: MPDC2DCMDR@aol.com (Commander Peter Newsham)
Date: Fri, 29 Mar 2002 09:59:09 EST
To: <Ksmith1804@starpower.net>
Kathy, We will look into this.
FYI - Threats are a crime - odd behavior is not.  We have to be very
careful when dealing with the "homeless."  Our standard for taking them
in for mental observation is if they are exhibiting behavior which is
immediately threatening to themselves or others.  When the writer
indicates
"that the police took no action," it may be that there was no action
that could be legally taken.
Commander PN

**** From:  mpdcpsa202@netscape.net (PSA 202) (Lt. Mark Carter)
Date: Fri, 29 Mar 2002 17:06:45 -0500
Good Evening. Thank you for the information. I have several officers
working on the homeless problem. In the daytime it will be officer
Vincent Bryant.  In the late evening and night time it is Officer Alicia
Luckey.  I will pass this information to the officers and their
supervisors for handling.
Lt. Carter

****  From: "Szarfman, Ana" <SZARFMAN@cder.fda.gov>
Date: Mon, 1 Apr 2002 10:24:07 -0500
Thanks so much for all your feedback. I think that both, the Mental
System and the Legal System need to coordinate their efforts. Mr. [name
of wandering man] needs psychiatric evaluation and treatment ASAP and
his chances of leading a productive life will be good. I have talked
several times with Dr. Raymond Brown, a psychiatrist with the outreach
program (202-329-1130) and he seems very knowledgeable and willing to
help.

****  From: WHarw32487@aol.com
Date: Tue, 2 Apr 2002 14:05:38 EST
To:  Antnbyrne@aol.com, SZARFMAN@cder.fda.gov, mpdcpsa202@netscape.net,
        ksmith1804@starpower.net, Apoteat@aol.com, MPDC2DCMDR@aol.com,
        anne.schroeder@neg.pge.com, andresliebenthal@yahoo.com
CC:  Lbraunstein@telocity.com, Arhsaxa@aol.com, LQUYNN@aol.com,
BtsNttnghm@aol.com, EAHubert@aol.com
Friends and Neighbors,
I just spoke with a social worker at Friendship Place, 4713 Wisconsin
Avenue, the local social agency that works with the homeless of the
neighborhood.  She is the outreach coordinator and reports that
Friendship Place knows the man is working on his case.  She advised that
if anyone feels threatened to call the Police. She said that she cannot
tell me more about him because of client confidentiality and that she
will ask someone else in the office to call me. It is a relief to know
that the appropriate agency is aware of him and is acting on his
situation.
Bill Harwood

****  From: WHarw32487@aol.com
Date: Tue, 9 Apr 2002 18:16:39 -0400
Thanks for your e-mail. Ms. Ann Harrison  started calling the police
about the man that "adopted" our street 4-5 weeks ago, at the same time
I started calling the police. Ann and I have never met or talked to each
other before this issue started. She was also afraid. I think that our
goal should be to get this man evaluated by a psychiatrist and get him
treated. He might have stopped taking his medication. There are very
good drugs available, but he needs supervision and help. I just talked
with Mary Ann Nicklow, the manager of Sports and Health on 4000
Wisconsin Avenue (202-362-8000). She was astonished that nobody
contacted her to get the details of her encounter two years ago with the
same man. This man told her in the Parking Garage at 4:30 AM that she
could "disappear without a trace".

**** From:  WHarw32487@aol.com
Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2002 15:14:17 EDT
All-- The meeting on Saturday morning at the Szarfman residence was just
what the neighborhood needed.  Thanks to the Szarfman family for making
their home available.  And to the officers of 2nd Precinct for leading
us through an enlightening discussion of the background on our street
sweeper and what we might do about him.  It was only by pooling our
knowledge that we could get a more complete picture of the situation,
which is especially important for the police in knowing more about how
to handle potential situations with him. He is under the care of a
social worker at Friendship Place and has someone from the DC office for
the homeless aware of him as well.  The police have both numbers.

QUESTION for the Police: If we have information on the sweeper to report
to 2nd Precinct, what number should we use and whom should we ask for?

INFORMATION:  This is the background on the lawnmower and leaf blower he
was using
On Saturday I spoke with Jack Guenther, the husband of the Reverend
Margaret Guenther, whom I mentioned lives in one of the three identical
houses on this street.  He told me that the men who had lived next to
him mowed out last summer and gave him their lawnmower and leaf blower
to store in his garage. The sweeper came to the door and asked for the
equipment and Jack gave it to him.  It is now in police custody.

****  From: "Szarfman, Ana" <SZARFMAN@cder.fda.gov>
Date: Mon, 15 Apr 2002 15:34:57 -0400
Thanks Bill. We will be happy to host further meetings, as needed.
I have seen the street sweeper handling two lawnmowers: a brown one and
a green one.

****  From:  "Szarfman, Ana" <SZARFMAN@cder.fda.gov>
Date: Sun, 21 Apr 2002 17:31:31 -0400
Folks, I was very touched and comforted that you all came to our 'get
together' and that we have such a nice community of neighbors,
Commissioner, and Police Officers. The presentation by Officer Leary was
very informative!  Thanks you all so much.

Some concerns:
After our meeting adjourned, I talked with Estela Garcia, my next door
neighbor on the first house on the other side of our alley.  She has
recently noticed an additional trash can near her garage door with
belongings that are not hers. She has also seen some bar bells in her
backyard that do not belong to her

I hope that Mental Health System and the Legal System will work
synchronically. This man who adopted our street needs to be diagnosed
and medicated. Without the support from the Mental Health System he will
continue to be sick. He may hurt himself and/or others.

We will host all the 'get togethers' that are needed.

As requested by Officer Leary, these are the names of the neighbors and
Police Officers that joined us Saturday morning:
Neighbors: Bill Harwood, Pam Mixter, Anthony Byrne, Valeriano Garcia and
Estela Garcia,
Leslie Quynn (ANC-3E commissioner), Jason Green, Ana Szarfman and
Gabriel Schmunis,
Police Officers: Lieutenant Carter, Sergeant Hall, Officer Leary,
Officer Sing,  Officer Chow

**** From: "Szarfman, Ana" <SZARFMAN@cder.fda.gov>
Date:  Mon, 22 Apr 2002 11:40:56 -0400
Thanks Bill. I saw this man sweeping the street in front of your house
this morning at 6:45AM. He recognized me, made a strong eye contact, and
tried to make sure that I saw that he was there by moving his hand. I
tried to videotape this behavior but unfortunately, the video camera was
not on. Anyway, I contacted Dr. Raymond Brown, the psychiatrist that is
handling his case this morning and we will talk this afternoon. Thanks
again, Ana

**** From: LQUYNN@aol.com
Sent: Monday, April 22, 2002 3:14 PM
Ana, thanks for keeping me in the loop and up to date.  Do you want to
send an email to Kathy Smith alerting the neighborhood about this man
(letting residents know not to hire him for jobs/giving him money or
food, provide a detailed description, etc.)?  Of course, you may have
already done this. Thanks too for calling the case worker - I know how
time and energy-consuming something like this can be.
Best regards, Leslie Quynn

----------
And so it continues . . .   KS
 
 
 
 

MORE ON RESIDENTIAL STREET PARKING
From:  Stephanie <yoffeest@usa.net (Stephanie Yoffee)
I agree with the following parking proposal from last week's COMMUNIT-E
--is there any way to allow business owners to be allowed to park in one
of these spaces at the end of the block?

[From KS --  I see a lots and lots of empty street-parking spaces during
weekdays because the residents are not parked there and no one without a
residential permit can park for more than two hours.  It seems to me
that every block should have four free spaces (two at each end) for
visitors, cleaners, workmen, babysitters, caregivers, etc.]
 
 
 
 

PARKING ENFORCEMENT  PROBLEMS IN GLOVER PARK
From: "Robert Hyman" <roberthyman@erols.com
Is it really true that Council Member Schwartz is opposed to raising
parking fines?  Currently in Glover Park, parking enforcement IS NOT
enforcing the two hour RPP to any extent, Why? Because the problem is so
overwhelming that it can not be done in the amount of time that the few
ticket writers we have are working. We have dozens of cars with expired
inspection stickers, zone 3 stickers and even tags that sit in the
street taking up valuable spots day after day. Why do we have such a
large problem? Because the threat of getting caught by parking
enforcement is so small and the small fine is not a deterrent.
Commercial vehicles park on the street knowing that the fine of $25 is
the cost of doing business. My observation is that when the city raised
the fine for "Rush Hour" violations, fewer cars were left in the curb
lane after 4 PM. The issue of parking problems are being talked about in
many communities here in DC and we have been asking for and helping with
enforcement for years. We have been working hard to educate residents as
to the laws. We have forged strategic alliances with MPD and Parking
Enforcement to help deal with a problem that has been going on in Glover
Park for over ten years!  But the other part of the triangle is
ENFORCEMENT and we need to take a long hard look at ways to make
enforcement more of a deterrent. We are asking all council members to
raise fines for parking infractions. At the next Glover Park Citizens
Assoc. meeting a motion will be made asking the DC Council to support
increased parking fines. If you feel that there are others ways to have
an impact on our parking problems other than raising fines, I would like
to hear them. I would also extend an invitation to visit Glover Park so
that you may see first hand what I am talking about. I am available any
time. Thank you, Robert Hyman  President  Glover Park Citizens Assoc.
 
 
 

COMMUNITY BULLETIN BOARD

**** From: nevel <nevel@eli.org (Bonnie Nevel)
If you're looking for a reliable, trustworthy person to clean your house
regularly, I recommend our cleaner, Conchita Mejicanos, 301-422-0129.
She's very pleasant and does a good job with basic cleaning. She also
does laundry and ironing -- a big plus!

****  From: "Bullock, Merry" <MBullock@apa.org
Hello - does any one know a handy-person who would be able to build a
back-yard shed for me (from wood)? It could be from a kit, although I
have not seen any I really like.
Thanks -- Merry Bullock -- 202-336-5955

**** From:  andrea dean <aodean@erols.com
Our excellent housekeeper, Emelinda Chavez, has time available
Wednesdays and Fridays and would welcome new housecleaning work. She is
completely reliable, honest, very hardworking, speaks good English, and
is a lovely human being. She can be reached at her home, 301-617-9723 or
on her cell phone, 301-728-3185.

****  From: "Jeffrey Modell" <j.modell@verizon.net
I have both plumbing recommendation and one to avoid. I had used
Magnolia in the past with good results, but over the past year or two
they have become much more expensive and unreliable. I was trying to fix
a shower faucet and I had someone from Magnolia come out. First they
just skipped a multi-hour appointment block (I had stayed home from work
for it). The response I got from the owner was sorry, not much I can do
except send someone out in another day and a half with another
multi-hour block. The guy finally came the next day, an hour after the
end of the multi-hour block. He tried wrenching off the faucet and
within five to ten minutes, he decided that the only way to get it off
was to cut the pipe. I gave up with them and called Andre
Hargrave (202-465-2868), an independent plumber recommended by the
electrician we use, Kevin Rozier. Within ten minutes, using lots of
WD-40 and muscle, he removed the faucet-at less cost than Magnolia
charged when they didn't fix it. Also, Andre was happy to come out at a
designated time.
 

 ****  From: "Stephanie Hellerman" <stephanie.hellerman@verizon.net>
We'd like to recommend Paul Hair with Action Roofing.   Reliable,
honest, competitively priced, and outstanding workmanship are all
hallmarks of  Mr. Hair.  He has repaired and painted our roof, fixed
leaky windows, improved our gutters (and even replaced old tiles on our
porch at no charge).  Clearly, he takes real pride in his work and is
intent on building solid client relationships, it is truly refreshing to
work with him.  Paul Hair can be reached at (301) 275-1545 (cell) or
(301) 292-6393.

**** From: C Brosowsky <csbrent20016@yahoo.com>
Roommate Wanted for MacArthur Blvd., NW - Considerate prof M/F to share
2 br/1 ba
furnished, comfy upper flat/apt with F; d/w; w/d; a/c; great front porch
and requisite wicker furniture; terrific, safe neighborhood; $675
includes all utilities EXCEPT own phone; plus $675 sec dep; avail May 1;
short/long term ok; email: csbrent20016@yahoo.com; or call: 202-363-0920

**** From:  Summer Whitford <swhitford@ShermanFairchild.org>
My husband, Mark Fessenden, works for Case Design in their handyman
division full-time.  He is interested in moonlighting near his territory
of Chevy Chase and Cleveland Park and has excellent references.  I will
provide a short list of his services: plaster repair, drywall
installation, custom built-ins, carpentry, electrical, some plumbing,
renovation, kitchen and bath design and renovation, window repair and
installation, decks, and many more.  He can be reached on his cell phone
@ (240) 274-9802 or at home @ (301) 216-1182. I assist him by providing
design and decorating services and offer a specialized service called
"Feed the Kitchen".  This is a unique design and organization service
that includes a site analysis of: your kitchen, style and frequency of
cooking, followed by recommendations and improvements in the layout of
cabinets, lighting, appliances, organization of tools and equipment,
assessments of needs for pots, pantry supplies, etc. With over 20 years
of experience as a professional chef I can get any kitchen, no matter
how small or poorly laid out, to run more efficiently with a more
organized system.

In addition, together we have provided catering and private chef/meals
services in the Washington area for over 10 years and can cater any
style of party for 2 to 200 people. Our clients include ambassadors,
members of both houses of Congress, other restaurants, etc.  We have
many references and can help busy families enjoy nice meals at home.
 
 
 

LEVINE SCHOOL OF MUSIC OPEN HOUSE
From: Brian Jones <bjones@levineschool.org>
You're Invited! Levine School of Music Open House NW DC Site
 Saturday, May 4, 2002    12 - 4 pm
Sallie Mae Hall - 2801 Upton Street, NW
Van Ness metro - parking available
   ·        Register for classes
   ·        Hear student performances (12:45-4pm)
   ·        Find out about our new Senior Programs
   ·        meet our international faculty
   ·        Enjoy refreshments
            Info: 202/686-9772

Brian D. Jones
Public Relations and Marketing Manager
Levine School of Music
202/686-9772, ext. 149
bjones@levineschool.org
www.levineschool.org