©Muriel Bowser – Congratulating
students at Lafayette Elementary School for breaking the Guinness World Record
for most people popping bubble wrap.
©Muriel Bowser – With Principal
Patricia Pride, parents, and community leaders at Hardy Middle School.
News from Muriel
June 4, 2014
Dear Neighbors:
On Wednesday, May 28th, the DC
Council had its first vote on the Fiscal Year 2015 budget, and I am so pleased
with the funding we have secured for Ward 4.
Of note is $7 million for a new middle school in Ward 4 and an
additional $3 million for the Kennedy Street corridor from Georgia Avenue to
North Capitol Street, NW. We have
included Kennedy Street from 3rd Street to North Capitol Street, NW
in the Great Streets boundaries so that this entire corridor is now eligible to
apply for those grants. The 14th Street corridor from Spring Road to
Longfellow Street, NW will also be eligible beginning October 1st,
2014. Please see the Legislative Report
in the newsletter for additional news.
This Saturday, I am very excited to
participate in the 2014 Capital Pride Parade. This is always one of my favorite
parades of the summer, and I am so proud to support our LGBT friends and
neighbors. I hope to see you at the parade and many other Capital Pride
activities.
On May
28th, the Council had its first vote on the Fiscal Year 2015
budget. Councilmember Bowser was able to secure funding for some very
important projects in Ward 4 and District-wide, including:
$7 Million for a new Ward 4 Middle School;
$731,000 to fund the Kids Ride Free program during the summer for
Summer Youth Employment Program participants;
$1.25 million for streetscape improvement and beautification
efforts on Kennedy Street;
$4.8M for senior housing;
$300,000 to fund an expansion of the Home Purchase Assistance
Program (HPAP) from $40,000 maximum down payment assistance to $50,000;
$85 million for the Housing Production Trust Fund (HPTF); and
An expansion of the Great Streets Retail Priority Areas to benefit
more of our Georgia Avenue-Kennedy Street-North Capitol Street, NW corridor.
The
next day, on May 29th, Councilmember Bowser held a hearing on five
bills concerning affordable housing in the District. As we all know, the
District faces a severe shortage of affordable housing that must be addressed
to close our wealth gap, end homelessness, and sustain a growing economy.
These bills work towards producing and preserving more units and helping
empower our residents so they can afford housing here in the District.
Please join Councilmember Bowser for her annual Ward 4 Family Fun
Day on June 28th. This year,
the event will once again be held at the Kingsbury Day School, located at 5000
14th Street, NW, from 2PM-4PM.
It’s an afternoon of fun for friends and family of all ages! Food and refreshments, a moon bounce, face
painter, entertainment, and so much more! It’s a great time to kick back and relax, see
your friends, meet new friends, and eat and play!
The DC Department of Public
Works (DPW) invites the public to attend a free, citywide “Truck Touch”
Saturday, June 7, 2014, from 9 AM to 2 PM at RFK Stadium, Lot 7. A host of DC
government agencies will present and demonstrate nearly 30 vehicles used to
clean and repair streets, change traffic lights, collect refuse, clear snow,
provide emergency services, administer mobile health care, and more.
This is the city’s seventh
Truck Touch, which is coordinated annually by the DPW. Its popularity
throughout the Washington metropolitan area over the years has caused its
visitor attendance to grow from several hundred to several thousand. Last year,
more than 5,000 residents came out to climb on packer, sweeper and boom trucks;
sit atop the Metropolitan Police Department’s Mounted Unit’s police horse and
maneuver the levers of a police chopper; ride Segways, and test drive electric
sedan vehicles. Residents also learned how potholes are repaired, sewers are
vacuumed and received information about vital city services.
The Department of Housing and Community Development is
hosting its 6th annual Housing Expo and Home Show on June 21st
from 10AM-3PM at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, which is located
at 801 Mt. Vernon Place, NW. There will
be 150 exhibits, 20 workshops, free credit reports, home improvement
consultations, affordable housing showcases, and much more. The event is free of charge, and all District
residents are welcome. For
more information, please contact (202) 442-7200 or visit dhcd.dc.gov.
The District Department of
Transportation (DDOT) has released its draft moveDC
Transportation Plan. The moveDC
Plan is a comprehensive, multimodal transportation strategy that outlines policies,
programs and capital investments to enhance the District’s transportation
network, and includes detailed
“elements” or “master plans” for each mode of travel in the District. This plan
will set a long range vision for the direction of transportation investments
over the next 25 years. The Plan was
developed with thousands of residents in the District and throughout the
metropolitan area. The final plan is
expected to be completed by July 31st.
DDOT is welcoming public
comments on the draft plan through July 6, 2014. In addition to electronic
versions of the draft plan, which are available at wemovedc.org, copies of the
draft moveDC Plan will be available at DDOT’s offices at 55 M Street, SE and
the DDOT Public Space Permit Center at 1100 4th Street, SW. The
draft plan will be also be available on CDs at DC Public Libraries. In addition,
the Council of the District of Columbia’s Committee on Transportation and the
Environment will hold a roundtable on the draft moveDC Plan at 11 AM on June
27, 2014 at the John A. Wilson Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.
The project website (wemovedc.org) has a brief survey for gathering
feedback, and comments, which can be
sent via email to Project Manager Colleen Hawkinson at colleen.hawkinson@dc.gov or mailed to DDOT at 55 M Street SE, 5th
Floor, Washington DC 20003.
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