Cleveland Park What Happened to You?

Anonymous

And yet, when it comes to services…………….

Anonymous

that was there last year too. it will leave after halloween. There is an issue with vacant store fronts in cleveland park though. If you dont already you should read the greater greater washington blog. might be good to cover some of the issues he does too once in a while. density, walkability, parking etc.

anonneemooo

they should open a community center there.

Anonymous

funny, anonneemoo , if a might sarcastic… the socio-economic balance is a little different in cleveland park, yes?

Mr. T in DC

They have a crazy zoning “overlay” there that limits the number of restaurant/bar spaces, because some of the old fogeys in the neighborhood are living in a fantasyland where they will get a small, local hardware store and bookstore to go with the vacuum cleaner shop and vacant storefronts. They blocked a Cosi from opening. So, the real estate sits fallow, instead of more restaurants opening there.

anonneemooo

right. rich people dont need community.

and damn, there is lots o booze over there.

why doesnt someone open something that serves all that live there?

i mean, only the yuppies celebrate halloween?

anonneemooo

LISTEN AND LEARN 11th STREET CRITICS!

fantasy land of community centers, local hardware stores, soda shops, and a locally owned bookstore catering to people that dont read books!

Anonymous

No, what sucks is that they took out the bagel place and put NOTHING back in it’s place! They were amazing bagels.

I’d also like to say that there are lots of people living in CP who are not rich and who are not yuppies, like myself. I couldn’t really afford to own a home there but there are lots of 1 bedroom condos/coops on the market for well under 300’s. I opted to buy a house in the North Country and will soon be leaving CP, but I’ll definitely miss it and will still visit frequently for the amazing pizza, tapas at Sabores (next to Dino-go eat there!) and, of course, the movies. Go pick on Dupont Circle or Georgetown.

saf

Anon, who is “they?” Market forces took the bagel place, and market forces are keeping that space, and the old Blockbuster space, and the McD’s space empty.

Anonymous

the density makes no sense. there is no place for a park and shop right above a metro station. It should be a ten story apartment complex with ground floor retail. that would add the right amount of residents to support more neighborhood oriented retail rather than it becoming a restaurant row destination which is what the residents fear and why they have to rule about only a certain percent of commercial spaces becoming restaurants. The problem as always is the residents would raise holy hell if that option was put on the table. people hate change for some reason. you should have to sign a waiver when you move to a city that you wont bitch and moan about growth. plus I think that park and shop has a historical signifigance. may be the first mall in america or something like that? can’t remember. It was really run down before jemal fixed it up. and mageruders used to be an erols video. remember them? im getting old.

Anonymous

saf. right about what took them. wronog about what keeps them vacant. neighborhood regulations do that through basically a restaurant moritorium. some latin american place tried to open in mcds. davinos or something like that? there is one in bethesda whatever it was called

saf

The Park ‘n’ Shop predates the metro, and is historic, but not the first mall in America.

Anonymous

I know that DC is the seat of government, etc., but it is very much a Southern town..
And until this neck of the woods continues or completes the “necessary” makeover-you will be traelling elsewhere for “necessities” like alcohol -based establishments galore.
I was born in Georgia in the 1950s-and we always had to go elsewhere for
books, etc. Progress in this town is deceptive. And complicated.

anonneemooo

people are the problem! get rid of the people!

Katie

Wait, what’s wrong with a Halloween store? I love those! I am looking forward to my first Halloween in 16th St. Heights, which I’ve heard is quite a spectacle. True, homemade costumes are always best, but even if you’re going to go as, say, Vishnu and you need lots of blue body makeup, it will be nice to not have to drive all the way out to the suburbs! And if you wait til the last minute to get your costume together, those Halloween superstores can be a lifesaver.

saf

Katie – also check out Backstage for that kind of stuff. They used to be at Dupont, but are now down on 8th St, near the Marine Barracks. They are very very cool.

http://www.backstagebooks.com/home/

I love Halloween!

CP

As a happy resident of Cleveland Park (thus the “CP”), it’s terrific to hear that a Cosi was prevented from leasing that spot. I’ll not be a patron of this holiday store, but Cosi? C’mon. We need more overpriced, hideously low-quality chain eateries like we need a hole in the head.

I believe the Park n Shop is a Douglas property. Like many of the storefronts in Penn Quarter, no shock that this stretch sits half empty. The asking price for rent is prohibitive to anything that would be attractive in these spots. But with no bums peeing in the doorways, no local 13-year-olds slinging crack in the parking lot, and nobody pulling a gun on me as I exit the subway, I can’t complain about the retail balance in that stretch.

reuben

Well, CP. If you ever get nostalgic for any “genuine” urban experience, just cross the Park

reuben

Well, CP. If you ever get nostalgic for any “genuine” urban experience, you know where we live….

Odentex

Look at the MPD crime map database. The CP Metro address has had 2 “robbery with gun” reports in the last 90 days and Petworth Metro address has had [drumroll]:

2.

If you think your so much “safer” walking out of the Cleveland Park Metro just take a look at the crime map, pretty much ALL Metro stations are hot spots for robberies, and some are certainly worse than others, but statistically you can get a gun stuck in your face at about the same rate at both stations.

Anonymous

Stay classy CP.

Neener

Odentex,

if you believe it, give it a test.

The reality is more or less that everyone in Cleveland Park reports crimes and the police follow them up and not everyone in Petworth reports crimes. A friend of mine got MUGGED AT GUNPOINT in Columbia Heights and never called the police!

Simply put, don’t believe ANY MPD statistics and don’t you dare quote them here as fact! HA!

RM

I live in CP, and since Whatsa Bagel has closed, we are in need of some breakfast! Can we get a diner up in here or what!

Iconic58

I had my first experience this morning after living in CP for about 5 yrs of being either shot by the police while he was pursuing a perp, or…being taken hostage by the perp himself!!! This occurred at 7:45 a.m this morning! On my way to the CVS when the police start going berserk in rush hour traffic near the CP elevator and Ordway. Cruiser makes a vicious U turn to ensnare a perp, more cruisers rush to the scene, sirens racing, lights blaring, all race out of their cars with guns drawn, shouting to a car full of young men to get out of the car and lie prone on the ground. We, the pedestrians were frozen in place, with our jaws dropped. I decide it is safer to be down inside Metro, so I head towards the elevator which I was only a few steps from anyway. I got there hurriedly, only to turn around and come face to face with the Perp and the police with his gun drawn running straight towards me! I screamed and ran around the elevator cab to the back of it to get the heck out of the way and guess who’s brain is thinking the same thing I’m thinking! The Perp’s! With officer chasing him with his gun still drawn no less aimed straight at us both. My first thought was…”Don’t shoot…and my second?…Don’t take me hostage either!” I immediately darted back around to the front of the elevator cab, thank God it was there, jumped in and pressed the close door/down buttons and held on to them for dear life in case the Perp had another brain storm and was on the same page I was! Can someone please tell me what the heck that was all about at 7:45 a.m. this morning…August 9, 2009!!!!

Law

I watched that scene on the street unfold too. This is all I have seen searching for info. Anyone?

ontarioroader

Sounds like this incident – posted on the 2D listserv:

——————–quote————-
SUSPECTS APPREHENDED ON NUMEROUS CHARGES INCLUDING IMPERSONATING A POLICE OFFICER

(Washington, DC)- The Metropolitan Police Department has announced that two suspects have been taken into custody this morning facing numerous charges; one of which includes impersonating a police officer.

At approximately 7:20 a.m. on Wednesday, September 9, 2009, officers from the Second District were called to the CVS Pharmacy located in the 3300 block of Connecticut Avenue, NW, to investigate the report of a possible robbery that had occurred at that location. While officers responded, a lookout was broadcast for the possible suspect vehicle in that case, a gray colored Acura. That vehicle, which was occupied by two male suspects, was reportedly attempting to flee from the scene when it was involved in an accident in the 3400 block of Connecticut Avenue, NW. Officers were immediately able to apprehend one suspect and another following a brief foot chase. That vehicle was later confirmed to have been reported stolen to the Metropolitan Police Department on Sunday, September 6, 2009.

A subsequent investigation on the scene determined that the two men who were apparently working in tandem, had earlier entered the CVS Pharmacy. Inside, one of the suspects attempted to shoplift some items while the other suspect displayed a badge and operated under the guise of a being a police officer. When the alleged impersonator acted as if taking police action, both suspects suddenly fled from the scene in the above described vehicle.

The suspects in this case have been identified as 41-year-old Matthew Scott Poland of Charlottesville, Virginia and 26-year-old Kyle Anthony Jones of Northwest Washington.
Both suspects have been charged with Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle. Additionally, Mr.
Poland has been charged with Impersonating a Police Officer while Mr. Jones faces an
additional charge of shoplifting.

——————————-end quote———————

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