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 By
working in partnership with neighborhood leaders, Councilmember Evans has
been an active voice for Foggy Bottom-West End neighborhood.
Neighborhood
Preservation
Large institutions such as George Washington University, the IMF/World
Bank, embassies and downtown office buildings are some of the forces constantly
threatening the residential fabric of Foggy Bottom.
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Jack has opposed large commercial projects such as the office complex
near the West End library while supporting mixed use projects, with
neighborhood serving retail, such as the Columbia Womens' Hospital.
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Jack is working to ensure the development of the GW's Old Hospital Site
(Square 54) will be appropriate for the neighborhood, include neighborhood
serving retail and contribute appropriately to the Campus Plan.-
Seeking to protect the neighborhood from adverse environmental effects
of new development, Jack enacted legislation to change the boundaries
of the Central Employment Area (CEA) to provide environmental effects
consideration in the development of five Foggy Bottom sites and for
all new GWU major construction projects.-
In an effort to increase housing in Foggy Bottom, Jack supported a 0%
commercial, mixed use building with residential, retail and hotel uses
at 2200 M Street in the old Blackie's parking lot.-
Jack worked with residents to fight the illegal demolition of the historically
contributing buildings next to the landmarked 2501 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The 2501 Pennsylvania Avenue building is soon to be renovated with apartments
and street level retail.-
Recognizing the negative impact the soon-to-be-built American Red Cross
headquarters building will have on the six neighboring residential buildings,
Jack worked for more than two years with community leaders and organizations
to stop this project. Jack sent letters to federal agencies, coordinated
meetings with top city officials and executives of the American Red
Cross, and attached conditions to the Mayor's requested DC tax-free
bond for the American Red Cross.-
In order to encourage developers to place a priority on downtown housing,
Jack introduced an amendment to the City's tax increment financing law
which provides lower financing costs for private building projects,
such as housing, that are of special benefit to the city.
Public
Safety
Public safety of all residents, including those living in Foggy Bottom,
remains of paramount concern to Jack.
- Jack is a vocal and consistent advocate of increased foot patrols
in the Foggy Bottom area -- and has dogged the Metropolitan Police Department
(MPD) for their delays in implementing this popular and effective policing
method.-
Jack fought successfully for aggressive anti-panhandling legislation
to curb the intimidation of residents, especially the elderly.-
Jack successfully worked with City officials to remove the homeless
trailers near the Watergate residential buildings and fought the move
of the Western Presbyterian Church's homeless feeding program from a
commercial area to the residential area of Foggy Bottom. As a result,
Jack secured $346,000 from the International Monetary Fund for a homeless
feeding program in the commercial area of Foggy Bottom.
Parking
and Traffic
Combating the lack of parking and ensuring smooth traffic flows are
critical challenges in Foggy Bottom.-
At the request of the West End Citizens Association, Jack has worked
with dozens of government officials to secure a much-needed traffic
light at 21st and F Streets.-
In an effort to alleviate the terrible shortage of parking available
for Foggy Bottom residents, Jack authored and secured passage of legislation
to prohibit Ward 2 neighborhood-parking stickers for students with cars
registered out-of-state. As a result, parking has improved for residents.
Green
Space and Parks
Foggy Bottom must work vigilantly to both preserve its trees and parks,
as well as counter the dirt and trash, which result from its central
location.
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Foggy Bottom is in dire need of more green space -- when one of the
neighborhood's most popular parks was threatened to be replaced with
a large-scale development, Jack moved swiftly to enact legislation to
protect the park west of 26th Street between I & K Streets.-
Jack is working with FB/WW residents to plan a $1 Million as part of
a neighborhood beautification project provided through as an amenity
through the International Monetary Fund's Planned Unit Development.
Improvements included planting new street trees, improving the park
at 21st and E Streets, and the park at 26th and
L.-
When the Francis Swimming Pool was renovated (at Jack's urging) in the
mid-'90s, Jack led Foggy Bottom efforts to reverse the DC Government's
proposal to transform this neighborhood center into a regional facility
with limited use for local residents.-
Jack sponsored legislation increasing sanitation fines and increasing
the number of city sanitation inspectors. He meets regularly with DC
government officials to encourage vigilant enforcement of the sanitation
laws.-
Jack successfully fought last year to increase funding for the Department
of Public Works Tree Division in order to keep Foggy Bottom and other
neighborhoods a city of trees.-
Knowing the challenges Foggy Bottom faces in battling graffiti, Jack
has introduced legislation, which would greatly enhance penalties for
those seeking to deface our City.
Senior
Citizens
One of Foggy Bottom's greatest assets is its population of senior citizens.
Jack has sponsored dozens of legislative initiatives to protect and
enhance the lives of senior citizens.-
As Chair of the powerful Committee on Finance & Revenue, Jack is
currently pushing tax relief for senior citizens earning less than $30,000,
through a real property tax reduction.-
Jack is currently working to secure passage of the proposal to increase
the pension exclusion for senior citizens age 65 and over who retired
from either the federal or District governments from $3,000 to $6,000.
Tenants
The backbone of the Foggy Bottom community is our tenants -- preserving
the rights of tenants is a core effort of Jack.-
Jack authored The Tax Parity Act of 1999, which reduces the Class 2
Property Tax rate (the Rental Residential rate) from $1.54 per $100
of assessed value to .96 per $100 of assessed value, or 37.6%. The result
should be a reduction in rent for all tenants.-
In 1995 and 2000, Jack co-introduced legislation to re-authorize DC's
rent control for five years. Jack's efforts on this and numerous other
tenant bills have earned him the endorsement of TENAC (the city's leading
tenants-rights group) in every election.
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The
Foggy Bottom Association was incorporated in the District of Columbia
on June 19, 1959. The objectives of the Association are to further
the civic, cultural, social and economic welfare of the Foggy Bottom/West
End community; preserve and enhance the residential character of
the community; and promote historic preservation in the area.
The
physical area of the FBA is the same as that of Advisory Neighborhood
Commission 2A, i.e. the interior of the area bounded by Rock Creek
on the west, the Potomac River on the south; on the east 15th Street
northward to Pennsylvania Avenue and westward to 20th Street, and
northward on 20th Street to N Street; and westward along N Street
to Rock Creek.
Foggy
Bottom is one of Washington, DC's oldest 19th century neighborhoods,
so named because, as a low-lying area, fog (widespread in the swamps
of early Washington) tended to concentrate there. It is located
to the west of downtown DC in the Northwest quadrant, southeast
of Georgetown along the shore of the Potomac River and south of
Washington Circle.
Foggy
Bottom was once a community of Irish, German, and African-American
laborers employed at the nearby breweries, glass plants, and the
city gas works. The historic neighborhood is preserved and listed
on the National Register of Historic Places.
Today,
the development of a parkway along the Potomac, the trend toward
restoration and preservation of neighborhood areas, the proximity
to memorials, the Department of State and such high-rise buildings
as the Watergate have lent Foggy Bottom a special place in the city.
Indeed, the late 19th-century working class neighborhood is still
discernible from its immediate surroundings
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