NoMa Green
“Bounded by Harry Thomas Way NE, the popular Metropolitan Branch Trail and New York Avenue NE” courtesy NoMa Parks

From a press release:

“The NoMa Parks Foundation, an affiliate of the NoMa Business Improvement District, announced today that it has acquired for $14 million a two-acre parcel from Pepco. Bounded by Harry Thomas Way NE, the popular Metropolitan Branch Trail and New York Avenue NE, this acquisition is the culmination of two years of effort by the Foundation. It is the second acquisition by the Foundation since being awarded $50 million from the District of Columbia Government for the purpose of developing new public parks and civic spaces in the NoMa neighborhood. The District passed the NoMa Parks Grant Authorization Act in 2013. The Act provides the plan and funding for the creation of parks to serve the residents of NoMa and near northeast. (more…)


ice skate
Photo by PoPville flickr user Josh Bassett

Always a fun time – Canal Park:

“2nd & M Street, SE

Hours of Operation:

Monday & Tuesday: 12pm-7pm
Wednesday, Thursday & Friday: 12pm-9pm
Saturday: 11am-10pm
Sunday: 11am-7pm

​Prices:

Adults: $9.00
Children/Seniors/Military: $8.00
Skate Rental: $4.00

Weekly Specials & Events

Tuesday: 2-for-1 Tuesdays (2 admissions for the price of 1!)
Thursday: College Night 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Friday: Rock & Skate 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Saturday: Cartoon Skate 11:00 am – 1:00 pm”

National Gallery of Art (Sculpture Garden): (more…)


Bruce_monroe_park
3000 Georgia Ave, NW

Ed. Note: Tons of folks have written – apologies for the delay in posting.

“Dear PoPville,

I am not sure if anyone else has written in to you about this, but Mayor Bowser and the D.C. Government recently announced a proposal to redevelop the Park Morton public housing community at the Bruce Monroe Park site in the Columbia Heights/Park View/Pleasant Plains neighborhood in NW DC.

The community can’t afford to lose Bruce Monroe Park. The park includes basketball courts, tennis courts, a pavilion, and a community garden. The park is used and loved by an entire neighborhood that is diverse ethnically, socioeconomically and across all ages. The park is also used as a recess, gym and after school play site for the kids at Ceasar Chavez Public Charter School.

This is not an issue of choosing Park Morton redevelopment OR keeping the Bruce Monroe Community Park. There are alternative options to redevelop Park Morton and keep Bruce Monroe Park. For example, there are several abandoned, vacant and dilapidated buildings that line Georgia Avenue that would be a much better solution than paving over a beloved park.

The city should: (more…)


map
via google maps

From a press release:

“The NoMa Parks Foundation, recently acquired a parcel at Third and L Street, NE that will be developed into NoMa’s first park. The acquisition adds to the great community amenities in NoMa and makes good on the promise of beautiful public spaces for the neighborhood. The lot is the first acquisition for the NoMa Parks Foundation and will enable the creation of a roughly 8,000 square foot park. The land is titled to the District of Columbia government.

The NoMa Parks Foundation invites community members and park enthusiasts to the second NoMa Parks Community Conversation to discuss plans for NoMa Parks and public spaces. This community meeting will take place on November 19, 2015 at 6:30 pm at the Hilton Garden Inn located at 1225 First Street, NE. Representatives from D.C.’s Department of Parks and Recreation and other government partners will attend. A community meeting to discuss the Third and L Street, NE lot will be held soon thereafter. For more information and to RSVP for the November 19th Community Conversation, please visit www.nomaparks.org.”


mtp

Thanks to a reader for sending:

“I came home to this flyer last night. I believe this must be referring to the vacant city-owned lot that serves as an unofficial dog run at 19th and Lamont St NW. I don’t know any details beyond what’s on this flyer and the one Twitter user who said there’s talk of turning it into a playground.”

Ed. Note: The twitter user referenced says “I haven’t seen flyer but hysterics concern differences btwn some that want no change vs. playground vs. ‘landscaping’. from what I gather it is DPR property and won’t be privately developed.”

Anyone go to the meeting last night?


east_potomac_pool
Photo by PoPville flickr user nici161

Update from DPR:

“In the early spring, East Potomac suffered a structural failure which jeopardized the facility from opening this summer at all. DGS and DPR retained an engineer to provide an assessment of the structure who then made recommendations for a temporarily fix to safely get guests through the summer.

This facility is over 75 years old and with the current state of the infrastructure, it will take us longer than normal to properly winterize the building. If we do not take the time to winterize it properly, we risk a catastrophic failure and the facility being unusable for a very long time. We are all trying to avoid that. To ensure we have enough time to winterize it, the facility will close on September 30th which is still three weeks longer than most municipal pools on the east coast.”

A reader sends an update on the beloved East Potomac Park Pool:

“This is the infamous Fenty $50k heater pool. It really is a (albeit beat-up) gem. DPS abruptly closed it today and with apparent plans to demolish and rebuilt but with insufficient money to do so.”

OP also shares a detailed note from Council Member Brianne Nadeau: (more…)


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