by David Jonas Bardin A major landmark in our neighborhood is the University of the District of Columbia’s main campus. But UDC’s roots were spread throughout the city, and sprouted before the Civil War. In 1975, a brand new DC Council compelled three rival and independent-minded public institutions to join together under one governing UDC […]
UDC Van Ness farmers market opens April 19 with a new urban farmer in the vendor lineup
This Saturday, the UDC Van Ness farmers market returns for an extended season with many familiar vendors and some new faces. The newcomers include Quinta Jackson Burns, a 2012 UDC law school grad who began her urban farming journey during the pandemic. UDC says Burns is the first participant of UDC’s Beginning Farmer Program to […]
How much are clean DC streams worth? UDC researchers need our help to figure out the answers.
We have an opportunity to assist UDC with some research on water quality and recreation in DC’s rivers and streams. Volunteers don’t have to conduct any water testing. And they don’t have to know anything at all about water quality. What the researchers want are our perspectives on the value of these local assets based […]
April in the neighborhood: Join a bee hunt; the most “Extreme” park cleanups; and a ribbon-cutting for a certain grocery store
Plus a couple of bonus end-of-March events that did not make it into our last roundup of local happenings. Tea time at Peirce Mill: In the early 20th century, Peirce Mill was a tea house. On Saturday, March 29th, Friends of Peirce Mill and the National Park Service are reopening the tea house for the […]
NW Community Food pantry is in search of a new home
Ward 3’s only food pantry is a grassroots effort that sprang up during the pandemic. NW Community Food now serves 300 households every week, and the pantry’s director told ANC 3F’s February meeting that she expected the federal government job cuts would increase the need. NW Community Food is itself in need… of a new […]
March in the Neighborhood: Spring dance, spring song, spring wildflower hikes, and spring cleaning
Welcome spring’s arrival with the Rock Creek Morris Women. This dance troupe, performing the traditional spring rites of England’s Morris dancers, returns to Peirce Mill at 1 p.m. on Saturday, March 15th. Hike Rock Creek Park with knowledgeable guides. National Park Service rangers are leading two- to three-mile hikes Fridays and Sundays from the Rock […]
Opinion: The arts are key to unlocking Van Ness vibrancy
by Marlene Berlin Van Ness has been the subject of many studies and visioning sessions, including three from the Office of Planning since 2011, the latest being 2016’s Van Ness Commercial District Action Strategy. DDOT, after many years of study and design, released its final concept plan for its Van Ness Commercial Corridor Project in […]
Land use and development experts to study and present recommendations on evolving Van Ness
For two days next week, a panel of eight experts on land use, design and development will study the Connecticut Avenue commercial strip between Albemarle and Tilden Streets. They will consider strategies for enhancing neighborhood vibrancy and making Van Ness a hub of commercial, community and cultural activity. And at the end, the panel will […]
Neighborhood in the News: Rock Creek Horse Center, Comet shooter, Carter remembered
The future of the Rock Creek Horse Center is in flux. “Those who use the facility say they’ve been told by employees that changes are coming, and it is possible the horses would be relocated and the facility would be likely to close as soon as the end of February or March,” reports The Washington […]
UDC retail update: MOM’s, Dog Haus, The Whale Tea and a smoothie place
Work on the MOM’s Organic Market at Van Ness continues inside. But a key step prior to the store’s opening happens outside: the installation of the signs. At the February 6th meeting of the UDC Community-Campus Task Force, MOM’s landlord UDC said the signs (which even had the federal government weighing in via the Commission […]