Despite the fact that Comm. Kathy Henderson (Advisory Neighborhood Commission 5D) missed the deadline to submit a settlement agreement while representing ANC 5D in its protest of the Food 7 Store, the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board offered Henderson an extension to type and correct a previously rejected and partially handwritten contract submitted to board members on February 28, 2018. The late contract has now been filed. (Note: Henderson purchased a laptop on behalf of ANC 5D in November 2014.) For Henderson, this marks the 6th instance of a delay or dismissal caused by missed deadlines, incorrect paperwork, failure to appear or dishonesty before the ABC board since 2009. Despite years of complaints and several nearby homicides, this agreement is Henderson's first protest of the establishment during her tenure as an ANC commissioner. The last ANC protest was filed 17 years prior in January of 2000 by ANC 5B. Although the agreement includes some errors and a missing signature from the ANC 5D chairperson, Comm. Clarence Lee; this agreement is still enforceable. Lee declined to sign the agreement in January 2018 because Henderson presented him with a version of the document different than what ANC 5D voted to accept at its November 2017 meeting. Although many of you are aware of these issues, it should also be known that they do not negate the enforceability of the ANC agreement. Please find the agreement below and know that it is yet another tool that the community may use to hold the Food 7 Store accountable for much-needed change. Although the ANC agreement duplicates many of the provisions of the previously filed civic association agreement, residents are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the specifics of both agreements and make your civic association as well as ABRA aware of any violations. The association will follow up on reported issues in a timely fashion, but citizens MUST be diligent. It is up to everyone to monitor the situation and maintain a strong sense of accountability. REPORT ANY VIOLATIONS IMMEDIATELY BY CALLING or EMAILING:
When making a complaint follow these three important steps to achieve the best results:
Keeping a paper trail will help keep the store as well as ABRA accountable to our community.
First, thanks to everyone who took time out of their busy schedule to attend a community meeting on a cold, rainy night. When we have a room full of concerned citizens ready to speak out, that makes a big difference.
On Tuesday, members of the Langston Civic Association voted to protest the ABRA license held by Sylvia's Liquor at 1818 Benning Rd. NE during its quarterly meeting. The owner of the store, Jason Kwong, attended the meeting and engaged with neighbors about violent crime, drug activity and loitering near the store. Neighbors also discussed possible solutions that the store as well as the community should pursue to improve the 1800 block of Benning Rd. NE including Great Streets grant funding, small business programs, a special detail of off-duty MPD officers paid for by the storeowner and other programs. At this point, LCA will continue to gather feedback from members about how to move forward with either a settlement agreement or a request to revoke the license. Members will receive emails requesting their input for desired improvements. The association just completed a successful protest of the "Food 7 Store" which is also on the 1800 block of Benning Rd. NE. Recent Shootings The community met with Sgt. David Jones and Officer Mincey of MPD to discuss recent reports of gunshots in our neighborhood. Sgt. Jones informed residents that there have been 25 recent reports of shots (a 19% uptick) in our Police Service Area, PSA 507. Unfortunately, MPD has had some difficulty finding the actual scenes of these incidents and shell casings have only been found in 5 of the 25 reported shootings. Sgt. Jones suggested that residents could help to improve MPD's ability to find the scene of the shooting if callers give their exact address when reporting an incident rather than the location where they believe the shots originated. The Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement also gave a presentation on some of the innovative methods that they are using to help fight the underlying causes of violent crime as well as prevention efforts geared at breaking up disputes. They will be collaborating with the Department of Behavioral Health to offer targeted services to drug dependent people who congregate at the Starburst plaza and along Benning Rd., bringing job-training programs to the community and hiring violence interrupters assigned to our neighborhood. FY 2018 Budget LCA Also voted to approve its FY 2018 Budget. The budget helps map out some of the organization's programming goals for the spring and summer including a school supply giveaway and support for other youth activities. The association has also collaborated with other charities to secure additional grant funding for the community, but those grants will be managed by our partner organizations and are not reflected in the FY 2018 budget. Anti-Littering Program LCA has been accepted to the Alice Ferguson Foundation’s anti-littering crusade. The foundation will be sponsoring a marketing campaign in our neighborhood that has been shown to reduce litter by as much as 35%. Expect to see blue signs throughout the neighborhood this summer. Please contact Jonathan Goddell or Sydelle Moore directly if you would like an anti-littering yard sign to put in your tree box or yard. The Langston Civic Association’s protest of the Food 7 store at 1830 Benning Rd. NE has been successful. The ABC board voted unanimously to accept the association’s Settlement Agreement on February 28, 2018. Despite years of community concern about violent crime at the store, this is the first protest in 17 years. After many hours of negotiations and multiple rounds of input from the Langston community, the ABC board accepted ALL of our neighborhood’s recommendations requiring the store to end single sales of beer and wine, install video surveillance equipment linked directly to MPD, and remove graffiti as well as other important safety and aesthetic improvements. These changes will not be immediate. Some of the changes like the removal of graffiti and installation of special camera equipment must happen within 30 days, but other larger and more expensive changes will take place over varying time frames. It is now up to us as a community to make sure that the store lives up to every clause of the agreement by familiarizing ourselves with the terms of the settlement and reporting any violations or suspected violations immediately to ABRA. REPORT ANY VIOLATIONS IMMEDIATELY BY CALLING or EMAILING:
When making a complaint follow these three important steps to achieve the best results:
Keeping a paper trail will help keep the store as well as ABRA accountable to our community. The civic association will also be reviewing the ABRA license of Sylvia's Liquor at 1818 Benning Rd. NE on March 6, 2018 from 6-7 pm at 2109 Maryland Ave. NE.
Additional Update: ANC5D Protest in Peril The Langston Civic Association formally offered to collaborate with ANC5D to protest the license of the Food 7 Store in November 2017. ANC5D agreed to file a protest even after some objections from. Comm. Kathy Henderson claiming that the store "has done everything the community has asked them to do," but decided to protest separately from the civic association. After the February 28, 2018 hearing; the ANC5D protest is now in jeopardy of dismissal by the ABC Board. ANC5D which is represented in this matter by Henderson failed to submit required paperwork for Wednesday’s hearing. The board sternly reiterated their concerns about similar failures throughout the protest process by Henderson, but voted to allow a one-week extension for the completion of required paperwork. This protest is the sixth protest launched by Henderson that has been dismissed or delayed due to a failure to appear at a hearing or failure to submit required documents since 2009. If a Settlement Agreement from ANC5D is approved, both the Langston Civic Association agreement as well as the ANC 5D agreement will be fully enforceable. If an agreement is submitted by ANC 5D by the deadline, it will also be posted to our blog once available and you can use the same methods to report violations as outlined above.
UPDATED: Video added March 28, 2018
This is not your last chance to speak up... Thanks so much to everyone who took time out of their busy schedule to attend the Langston Civic Association's community roundtable with Mayor Bowser. These meetings are only effective when neighbors show up and address the issues that are important to them and make it clear that we care. Please know that this will not be the last of these conversations with the mayor or councilmember and that every single issue addressed will receive follow up from the mayor's staff as well as our civic association president, Sydelle Moore. If you have additional issues, questions or comments, please email us. There is already a map of sidewalk and street repairs in the hands of our Mayor's Office of Community Relations as well as DDOT to address the specific concerns raised last night. MPD will also be attending the next Langston Civic Association meeting to continue to work on our concerns about recent shootings in the area. The Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement has also dispatched members of their response team to try and help with getting appropriate violence intervention staff to track down and mediate between the parties involved in recent shootings. The civic association meetings are open to all and we look forward to continuing to work together to enhance civic pride, community engagement and safety. OUR NEXT MEETING WILL BE TUESDAY, MARCH 6, 2018 AT 6 PM at 2109 Maryland Ave NE (rear entrance). Thank you! Sydelle Moore President, Langston Civic Association After months of negotiation with both Food 7 and ABRA, the Langston Civic Association has reached a final draft of a settlement agreement with the store. This draft agreement includes all of the community's suggestions gathered since late last year in addition to demands to stop the sale of alcohol to minors and prohibit the sale of any items considered drug paraphernalia. The store has agreed to all of the terms included as well as several additional terms that cannot be included in an ABRA agreement including:
The final agreement will be signed February 15, 2018. At that point ABRA may make additional changes to the language or remove any clauses that they deem unenforceable before finalizing the terms. Once ABRA's review is complete, the final version of the document will be posted on the ABRA website as well as our blog.
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