Columbia Heights

DC’s mobile wood-fired pizza, Timber Pizza Co, Launches

By Prince Of Petworth

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At the Columbia Heights Farmers Market last Saturday

Timber Pizza’s website says:

“The Timber guys serve authentic wood fired pizza using only the freshest local ingredients and incorporating new twists on traditional favorites. They can be found anywhere from local farmers markets to wineries/breweries and are available to cater your next private event.”

In addition to the Columbia Heights Farmers Market you can also find them at the USDA Farmers Market, Union Market Drive-In, Summer Series, New Vintage Jazz and Wine Festival – you can see all locations and times here.

Anyone take a taste?

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ThaiThanic II Closing in August Likely to be replaced by new Laotian restaurant Bangkok Golden

By Prince Of Petworth

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3462 14th Street, NW

Earlier this month I wondered where the new Laotian restaurant, Bangkok Golden, would be located in Columbia Heights. At that time a commenter suggested it would be Thaitanic II. And now another reader writes:

“Confirmed. ThaiThanic II is closing in August.”

It’s hard to remember but back in 2009 when ThaiThanic II first opened it was a very big deal. I will miss their 20oz of Dogfish Head beer for $4.25 and I wish the employees and owners the best of luck in the future.

Stay tuned for updates on the Laotian place as they get closer to opening.

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Swimming Pool at Cardozo high school completely restored, Opens to Public in October

By Prince Of Petworth

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From Council Member Jim Graham:

“We have another solid step forward in progress for Columbia Heights~~~~ something very special has now been finished is about to be used by the public.

And that is the swimming pool at Cardozo high school built in 1915 and shuttered for many years. It has now been completely restored! I recently visited to see the fine work that had been done.

I ask you–how many communities have a 100 year old pool back in service?

If you permit me a brief commercial message – the pool was not part of the planned restoration of Cardozo high school and was to be mothballed until such time as the money was available for rehabilitation.

I’m pleased to say that I was able to locate the million dollars that reversed that decision and made the pool restoration possible with the rest of the high school.

Special word of thanks to Mayor Vincent Gray, Alan Lew our City Administrator and Brian Hanlon the director of the Department of General Services. And of course all the people who worked on this

Community use will begin in October– I’m told– with both early morning and evening swim hours”

Ed. Note: Thanks to a twitter follower for tweeting us some historical photos of how it used to look.

Hilltop Bar and Restaurant still Coming to Sherman Ave – A Sneak Peek Inside

By Prince Of Petworth

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2737 Sherman Avenue, NW at Girard

“Dear PoPville,

Do you have any news on Hilltop Bar on Sherman Ave.? I haven’t seen any movement and a bunch of us here in the neighborhood were pretty excited about this new bar. Is it dead? I hope not.”

I am happy to report that the Hilltop Bar and Restaurant is alive and well! There have been some permitting delays but lots of progress has been made. They are now about to start work on a huge kitchen to be located in the basement which will take about 2 months to complete. After that they will likely have a zoning hearing in September and if all goes well they hope to open sometime in October.  A peek inside to prove the progress:

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Also standby for a sidewalk cafe too:

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Wonderland’s 10 Year Anniversary Celebration this Sunday

By Prince Of Petworth

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From owners Matthew and Rose:

“Dear Popville.

Do you remember 2004 – when it was radical to have a smoke-free upstairs bar and dance floor?

The good times roll on in the beer garden this Sunday: the Wonderland Ballroom celebrates it’s 10th anniversary! Sunday, Aug. 3rd, 2014.

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! to PoP, the Popville readers, and all the Wonder Family for your support and love over the years. Hope you can come celebrate with us! Hope to see you on Sunday.

Cheers, the Wonderland Ballroom.”

Ed. Note: Amazing – can’t believe it’s already 10 years – congrats!!! Here’s a reminder of how the space looked in 2004:

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11th and Kenyon St, NW in 2004 courtesy Wonderland Ballroom

Nice Looking Pop Up in Columbia Heights

By Prince Of Petworth

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1300 block of Kenyon St, NW

Thanks to all who’ve sent emails about this pop up on Kenyon Street in Columbia Heights. MW sends the photo above and writes:

“An interesting example of a pop-up that seems to be extremely well done, 1300 block of Kenyon Street NW. Note adaptive reuse of original turret. Very thoughtful, and respectful of the neighborhood fabric.”

Here’s a couple of closer up photos I took over the weekend:

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“ADU (affordable dwelling unit) , forced garage parking and not allowed residential zone parking”

By Prince Of Petworth

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Photo by PoPville flickr user Wayan Vota

“Dear PoPville,

I have had Zone 1 parking for the past 6 years. A year ago I won an ADU (affordable dwelling unit) lottery. For those of you who are unfamiliar with ADU, your rent is based off your income. This provided us a home that we could afford that wasn’t “managed” by a slumlord. I waited until my car registration expired before changing my address at the DMV. Just this was more financially feasible for us at the moment then to pay multiple fees at multiple times. The DMV told me that even though the surrounding streets are zone 1, that my block in particular is not allowed to have the RPP permit. Just my block. The apartment building had made a deal with the ANC that they wouldn’t allow residents to have RPPs and that they would keep the block strictly commercial.

I completely understand where the ANC is coming from, but now I have a major problem. Parking used to be about 165$ for the entire year to have zoned parking, and I was able to park in multiple locations in the zone. Now I am being forced to either park illegally on the street or pay $200 per month to park only in a garage (which I cannot afford). Neither one of these are options for us at the moment. Neither is getting rid of my car. My apartment building never mentioned in the lease or verbally that we would be forced to have garage parking.

Has anyone been able to work themselves around this type of problem? Or have any ideas of who I can talk to that can help us with at least finding affordable parking if we can’t have RPP? (Does ADU parking exist?) Or just any advice in general about this?”

Dear PoPville – Why Don’t We See Visible Police Foot Patrols instead of Officers Sitting in Cars?

By Prince Of Petworth

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“Dear PoPville,

I do not send this email (and attached photo) as a malicious attempt against the Metropolitan Police Department – this is why I do not include a face or any identification in the photo. I merely want to point out room for improvement on part of the MPD. Since moving to Columbia Heights last fall I have been shocked by the lack of in-person police presence. The only police presence I regularly see occurs on the alley I live in. At least 3-4 nights per week there is a squad car regularly parked overlooking Girard, about once or twice a month they also bring out the floodlights. I am not questioning the efficacy of the squad car and lighting – they are obviously effective in deterring crime in the immediate vicinity. What I would like to question is the lack of in-person police presence in this area and Columbia Heights as a whole.

On my way home from evening class last night (7/22) around 9PM I could see the police headlights as I approached the alley on my final stretch home. I chuckled to myself and thought: “I wonder if the officer will be attentive or on their cell phone?” Sadly, the latter is typically the case. I decided to have my smartphone ready to see if I could document this. Sure enough I was able to walk DIRECTLY in front of and then to the side of the vehicle (within 3 feet of the driver’s window) without the officer ever looking up from his cell phone. This occurred over a 30-40 second period. As you can see, the officer’s thumb is clearly on the phone while he is texting. I was completely flabbergasted by the fact that this guy didn’t notice me until the flash of my camera went off. One then begins to wonder what exactly these police officers patrol.

I wonder how much more crime would be deterred if these officers were not allowed to use personal cell phones on the job, or if they went out in teams of two – one officer remains with the stationary vehicle while another patrols a 4-5 block radius on foot.

Again, my attempt is not to be malicious but to simply point out some poor behavior on part of the MPD, there is clearly room to improve. “To serve and protect”, is that how the saying goes?”

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