Share your ideas about #NoMaParks on the new https://t.co/cjliGOlSGX – we can’t wait to see what you’re dreaming about!
— NoMaParksFoundation (@NoMaParksDC) March 17, 2016
(Updated at 7:01 p.m. Sunday) The NoMa Parks Foundation wants to hear from locals about how it should design its green space.
The foundation earlier this week launched a new website called Imagine NoMa Parks, which is designed to be a platform to “share and solicit more information from residents as design on two park sites, the NoMa Green and the 3rd and L Street NE park.”
Locals will be able to share ideas and respond to questions about NoMa Green periodically on the new website. The website will also feature polls, open-ended questions, photo-sharing opportunities, and updates on the design process, according to the foundation.
“As we start designing these two parks, we want to increase our ability to exchange ideas with all the folks interested in NoMa parks,” said Robin-Eve Jasper, President of the NoMa Parks Foundation, in a statement.
“Initially, we thought that park-specific design charrettes, our Community Conversations, presentations to civic groups and the NoMa Parks Foundation website would be enough. But then we found this great extra tool for asking questions and sharing ideas and images.”
The first question in the series revolves around getting to NoMa Green and can be answered now.
Bayou Bakery Expands Dinner Service Starting Friday — Capitol Hill eatery Bayou Bakery will start serving dinner on Friday, with plans to serve fried chicken livers, seared Cajun pork belly and blue crab fritters. [Washington Post]
Turf Athletic Field at Randall Recreation Center Almost Complete — Construction on a new turf athletic field at Randall Recreation Center in Southwest is almost complete. The field includes a new scoreboard, soccer field and baseball/softball field. [SWTLQTC]
Monthly Capitol Hill Area ANC Meeting Roundup — Hill Rag takes a look at what happened last month with Capitol Hill area ANCs, including 6A, 6B, 6C and 6D. [Hill Rag]
NoMa Parks Foundation Purchases Two Acres North of New York Avenue NE — The NoMa Parks Foundation purchased two acres from Pepco at the northern end of NoMa to convert into a park. It’s the second park purchased by the parks foundation, a branch of the NoMa Business Improvement District. [Washington Business Journal]
J.O. Wilson Elementary Receives $175,000 Grant for Extra Services — Mayor Muriel Bowser announced at a press conference at J.O. Wilson Elementary School on Capitol Hill that the school will receive a $175,000 community schools grant to provide health care, extra learning, mental-health services and counseling for families of students. [Washington Post]
Center for Teens, Preteens Opens at D.C. General — A youth center inside D.C. General homeless shelter designed by the Homeless Children’s Playtime Project for teens and preteens opened yesterday. [NBC Washington]
Ten 01 Restaurant and Bar Opens Above Ben’s Chili Bowl on H Street NE — Ten 01, the bar and restaurant on the second floor of Ben’s Chili Bowl at 1001 H St. NE opened yesterday with a refined menu that includes a half-smoke-infused Manhattan and a prickly pear margarita. [Washington City Paper]
NoMa Parks Foundation Buys Its First Property — The NoMa Parks Foundation, a group responsible for bringing more parks to NoMa purchased their first property last week. The lot at 3rd and L streets NE is just over 5,000 square feet and cost the foundation $3.2 million. [Washington Business Journal]
NoMa dog owners voiced their desire for a dog park at a dog-friendly meeting with Councilman Charles Allen of Ward 6 yesterday.
At 5:30 p.m. yesterday, Allen visited an empty lot at 200 K St. NE that local dog owners have converted into an unofficial dog park. But with construction set to start soon on Union Place, a 14-story residential building on that lot, residents are hoping to secure a permanent, official dog park in the area.
More than 450 people have signed an online petition asking Allen to join the fight to bring a permanent dog park to NoMa.
Allen’s office could not be reached to comment on yesterday’s meeting. But he did voice his support for a NoMa dog park in September.
“I have been a longtime supporter of adding parks, public space, and green space in the NoMa neighborhood,” he said in an email.
The NoMa Business Improvement District, which manages funds to build parks in NoMa, said in a statement yesterday that they are aware of the petition and are working to find a location for a dog park.
It also added that they are working on acquiring land for parks and would announce “important news” about land acquisition soon. An official at NoMa BID could not give any further information about the developments.
Several residents thanked Allen for his visit via Twitter, and Metro Mutts and Petco were on hand with free dog treats and toys to keep the dogs occupied throughout the meeting. Metro Mutts is the sponsor of Hill Now’s weekly Pet of the Week.
Thanks @CharlesAllenW6 for stopping by the “unofficial” dog park at 2nd and L Streets! pic.twitter.com/NIID0QBH4p
— Near North Fourth (@NN4th) October 7, 2015
Great turnout for #NoMaDogs at the 2nd and L “unofficial” park! Thanks, @CharlesAllenW6! pic.twitter.com/BlVlBeLUh5
— Near North Fourth (@NN4th) October 7, 2015
ICYMI: Meeting with @CM_CharlesAllen for #NoMaDogPark went well! Happy to support w/free treats & toys. https://t.co/4RATfA32lC
— Metro Mutts (@MetroMutts) October 8, 2015
Dog owners in NoMa are looking for Ward 6 Councilman Charles Allen’s help in bringing a permanent dog park to the neighborhood as an empty lot currently serving as an unofficial space for unleashed dogs nears development.
More than 400 people have signed an online petition asking Allen to join the fight to bring a permanent dog park to NoMa. He plans to meet with these residents at 5:30 p.m. Oct. 1 at the makeshift dog park.
NoMa dog owners “have teamed up in the name of their puppies to ask that land for a real dog park be set aside,” said Cari Shane, a dog owner and organizer of the Dogs of NoMa Facebook group. “This friendly group of dog-lovers wants to make sure that the $50 million set aside for parks and art includes land for an official dog park.”
For the past year, NoMa residents have been taking their dogs to the empty lot at 200 K St. NE, beside the Loree Grand apartment building. However, with construction set to start soon on Union Place, a 14-story residential building on that lot, residents are hoping to build a permanent dog park in the area.
Locals note that despite an influx of new people and pets to the neighborhood, NoMa still doesn’t have a park where dogs can run unleashed. In 2013, the D.C. Council established a $50 million fund for parks and art in NoMa. The group of dog owners hopes that Allen and the NoMa Business Improvement District can use this fund to partially pay for a permanent dog park near the residential centers of the neighborhood.
A representative for Allen confirmed today that the councilman does have a community meeting planned for that day. But more information about his stance on the park was not immediately available.
Photo via Facebook/Dogs of NoMa
A sound-sensitive art installation is coming to the L Street NE underpass, the NoMa Parks Foundation announced today.
The organization has selected “Lightweave” by Future Cities Lab as the second winner of its “Underpass Art Park” competition. Workers are slated to begin installing Lightweave later this year.
“The jury made its decision to select Lightweave based on excellence and innovation of its design but also its remarkable complementarity with the L Street Plaza, planned for the west side of the underpass,” the foundation’s chairman, Charles Wilkes, said in a statement.
The installation will curve along the walls on both sides of the underpass’s pedestrian walkway. The passing of cars and other noises that exceed 50 decibels will affect the color and movement of the lights.
“Lightweave translates these sound events into fluid wave patterns of light,” Future Cities Lab’s website says. “Similar to dropping a single pebble into an undisturbed pond, waves of light slowly oscillate through the Lightweave.”
The NoMa Parks Foundation will hold a community meeting introducing the design and construction teams on July 13 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the Lobby Project (1200 1st St. NE).
The organization in April picked Thurlow Small Architecture and NIO architects to design the first underpass installation at M Street NE. Called “Rain,” the passageway under the train tracks will have “countless points of light raining down from its ceiling,” according to the foundation.
Images via Future Cities Lab
