Ronald "Ron" Austin Memorial Park Designation Act of 2023 - Bill 25-196
About the bill:
The stated purpose of Bill 25-196 is to officially designate the park in Square 3376N,
bounded by North Dakota Avenue, N.W., 2nd Street, N.W., and Quackenbos Street, N.W., in Ward
4, as “Ronald ‘Ron’ Austin Memorial Park.”
A copy of the bill and full hearing notice are below.
About Ronald Austin:
- Ronald “Ron” Austin (Mr. Austin) was a lifelong resident of Washington,
DC and a proud graduate of Calvin Coolidge Senior High School in Ward
4.
- Mr. Austin dedicated his life to serving the residents of the District of
Columbia for Councilmembers John L. Ray, Adrian Fenty and Muriel
Bowser as their constituent services representative. He also worked for
the District Department of Recreation for over 24 year and as Director of
the Mayor’s Office of the Clean City.
- He served as an ANC Commissioner for ANC 4B06 and 4B07 as well as
the past chair of ANC 4B.
There will be a hearing on this and other designation acts on Friday, December 15, 2023.
I will be testifying in support of this bill which Councilmember Lewis George has been working tirelessly to push forward since 2020. Before that, her predecessor, Brandon Todd also worked to move this process forward. This hearing is the closest this bill has gotten to being passed and your support is appreciated.
ANC 4B previously approved Resolution 4B-0103 on January 25, 2021, in support of the renaming of this patch of land in honor of Ronald "Ron" Austin.
Those who wish to testify must register using the Council’s Hearing Management System at https://lims.dccouncil.gov/hearings by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 13, 2023.
Testimony is limited to four minutes. Witnesses who anticipate needing spoken language interpretation, or require sign language interpretation, are requested to inform the Committee office of the need as soon as possible but no later than five business days before the proceeding by emailing cow@dccouncil.gov. We will make every effort to fulfill timely requests, although alternatives may be offered. Requests received in less than five business days may not be fulfilled.
Witnesses will receive instructions on how to participate by Zoom prior to the hearing. If you have additional questions, please contact Evan Cash, Committee and Legislative Director, at (202) 724-8196 or cow@dccouncil.gov.
Public witnesses will participate virtually via the Internet on the Zoom Video Conference platform. Testimony should be submitted through the Council’s Hearing Management System (https://lims.dccouncil.gov/hearings) in advance of the hearing.
Testimony will be publicly accessible upon Committee review. If you are unable to testify at the hearing, written statements are encouraged and will be made a part of the official record. Statements for the record should be submitted through the Hearing Management System or left by voicemail by calling (202) 430-6948 (up to 3 minutes which will be transcribed). The record will close at 5:00 pm on Friday, December 29, 2023.
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I have received email confirmation that the following blocks have been approved for reserved residential parking:
- 5900 block of 2nd Street NW
- 200-299 Oglethorpe Street NW
I am awaiting the official notice of intent from DDOT, which I will share with the residents of the above-mentioned locations.
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Temporary Lane Closure on 5th Street NW, between Rittenhouse Street NW and Somerset Place NW, for DC PLUG on December 2-4, 2023
(WASHINGTON, DC) —The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is advising of a temporary northbound lane closure for bus pad repair at the 5th and Sheridan Street NW bus stop, on 5th Street NW, between Rittenhouse Street NW and Somerset Place NW.
The temporary lane closure will be on December 2-4, 2023, between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., weather permitting. Residents will still have access to their homes and parking will be prohibited as marked by “Emergency No Parking” signs.
The lane closure is necessary to complete the DC Power Line Undergrounding (DC PLUG) initiative’s Feeder 15009 project manhole enclosures and precast base. The DC PLUG initiative is a partnership between DDOT and Pepco to improve the resiliency and reliability of the District of Columbia electric system by placing select systems underground. Feeders are primary distribution power lines that provide services to approximately 1,100 residents within a specific neighborhood.
For more information about the DC PLUG Initiative and to stay up to date on traffic-related impacts and construction progress, please visit www.DCPLUGinfo.com, call the DC PLUG team at 1-844-758-4146, or email DC PLUG at questions@DCPLUGinfo.com.
205 Oglethorpe Street NW
This property is now officially classified by the Department of Buildings and the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection as both vacant and blighted. It has been vacant for years but was just classified as blighted on November 21, 2023.
I am happy to note that the homeowner, Inez Cannon is now being taxed at the blighted rate, the taxes are still being paid in full. (See below screenshots from OTR).
When I last spoke to the Department of Buildings and the Department of Licensing and Consumer Protection, they stated beyond reclassifying the property as vacant and blighted, there is nothing more that can be done. It is becoming readily apparent that the owner is not actively working to sell this property or bring it back into use, meanwhile, the home is an eyesore to the community and has already been used once by the unhoused to shelter. While it has been boarded up, this could happen again.
I have reached out to Councilmember Lewis George's office, and she has been aware of this property for some time. Her office is still participating in the Chairman’s Vacant & Blighted Working Group and believes their upcoming recommendations will help resolve persistent issues like this one. WG is meeting again this week, and I am awaiting a follow-up regarding its outcome as it relates to this property.
I was also advised that the current process is for a property such as this to go up for Tax Sale and/or be part of the agenda for an upcoming Board of Condemnation of Insanitary Buildings (BCIB) meeting. https://dob.dc.gov/page/board-condemnation-insanitary-buildings-bcib.
The Department of Buildings Vacant Property team visited the property on Monday, November 27, 2023. The inspector observed that all urgent NOI’s were abated by the property owner. The items cited by The Department of Buildings classifying the property blighted were deemed to "not pose a threat to the community".
Now that the property has been classified by the Office of Tax and Revenue at the Class 4 rate, the Councilmember's office and I have asked the Department of Buildings ask for the next steps, e.g., "what can the District, across DOB and other agencies to further encourage or force property owners to bring properties back into active use". We have also requested a process map that can be shared. While the Department of Buildings may not see this vacant and blighted property as a danger, our community is suffering, and I will continue to do all I can to make that known and work collaboratively to resolve this situation.
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