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jack
Joined: 23 Mar 2004
Posts: 4399
Location: 19th & Lamont
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 Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 6:58 pm Post subject: March 15, 2011 meeting minutes |
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EntoK
Joined: 08 May 2010
Posts: 68
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| Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 9:50 am Post subject: |
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| Is there anyway we could get a uploaded copy of Yasmin's letter that was discussed?
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jack
Joined: 23 Mar 2004
Posts: 4399
Location: 19th & Lamont
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| Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 10:25 am Post subject: March 15, 2011 meeting minutes |
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| EntoK wrote: | | Is there anyway we could get a uploaded copy of Yasmin's letter that was discussed? |
That seems appropriate, given that this was an explicit topic of discussion at the meeting. -- Jack
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EntoK
Joined: 08 May 2010
Posts: 68
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| Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 1:41 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks Jack.
And I assume this is in relation to the Heller's reno + sidewalk cafe issues.
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jack
Joined: 23 Mar 2004
Posts: 4399
Location: 19th & Lamont
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| Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 7:47 pm Post subject: Haydee's sidewalk cafe |
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| EntoK wrote: | Thanks Jack.
And I assume this is in relation to the Heller's reno + sidewalk cafe issues. |
This got a little complicated. The starting point was the application by Haydee's for a sidewalk cafe last summer. Haydee's was told that they would be allowed only 7 feet from their front wall, allowing 9 feet for clear sidewalk. They thought this was unfair and inadequate, and withdrew their application. What nobody told them very clearly was that the regulations really call for 10 feet of clear sidewalk space:
DCMR 24, 204.1 Each applicant for a permit to use surface space shall demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Committee that the use to be made of the space will include provisions for the maintenance of a clear, unobstructed passageway not less than ten feet (10 ft.) in width at all points, entirely across the frontage of the property occupied by the applicant, parallel to the line of the street, and generally in the line of pedestrian traffic.
Some flexibility is allowed:
204.2 If the Committee finds that usually, or at certain periods during the day or evening, the flow of pedestrian traffic at a location is sufficiently light to permit a passageway narrower than ten feet (10 ft.), a passageway as narrow as six feet (6 ft.) may be approved by the Committee. Approval for the narrower passageway may be given either at all times when the use of surface space is permitted, or for certain specified periods during the time when the use is permitted.
Well, Haydee's argued that the clear sidewalk space further up the block, e.g., at Dos Gringos, was a lot less than 9 feet, and why couldn't they have the same? That the frontages for the houses up the block were built that way about 85 years ago, long before the current regulations came about, doesn't seem to change their minds that they ought to be allowed to expand out to the same distance. That the Public Space Committee denied Haydee's that distance, whereas Dos Gringos possesses a front patio narrowing the sidewalk to maybe 5 feet, is perceived as bias against Latino-owned businesses.
This has become very unpleasant. Where I see regulations that have changed through the years, and current emphasis on maintaining clear sidewalk space adequate for passing wheelchairs (ADA = 6 feet), they see Anglo merchants getting favorable treatment vs. Latino business owners.
This attitude came up again at this week's ANC meeting, concerning the request for a loading zone on Mount Pleasant Street near Haydee's front. Haydee's doesn't have a loading zone, whereas the 7-11 does, ergo, it's another case of bias against a Latino-owned business.
-- Jack
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jack
Joined: 23 Mar 2004
Posts: 4399
Location: 19th & Lamont
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| Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 7:51 pm Post subject: Sidewalk clear width |
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Forgot to add my photo of the narrow sidewalk in front of Dos Gringos, and a couple of other houses along the 3100 block of Mount Pleasant Street. These have been this way for as long as anyone alive can remember. Now Haydee's wants to be able to squeeze the sidewalk in front of their restaurant to the same width, to maximize space for their sidewalk cafe. They do not understand why they're not allowed to do that -- unless, of course, it's because their business is Latino-owned, and the Public Space people are biased against Latinos. -- Jack
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| Narrow sidewalk in front of Dos Gringos. |
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EntoK
Joined: 08 May 2010
Posts: 68
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| Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 9:03 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the recap Jack. I totally agree with you on all points. Considering all the events that transpired in the past year, it's a shame that Haydee and Mario are actually trying to pull out the racism card. They seemed to be very aware and willing to use a variety of tactics to get their way.
Last edited by EntoK on Sun Apr 24, 2011 8:25 am; edited 1 time in total |
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jack
Joined: 23 Mar 2004
Posts: 4399
Location: 19th & Lamont
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| Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 10:51 pm Post subject: Haydee's sidewalk cafe |
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| EntoK wrote: | | Thanks for the recap Jack. I totally agree with you on all points. Considering all the events that transpired in the past year, it's a shame that Haydee and Mario are actually trying to pull out the racism card. They seemed to be very aware and willing to use a variety of tactics to use to get their way. |
Sadly, I think they really believe this. In fact, the DDOT bureaucrat who set the limit of 7 feet from Haydee's wall -- leaving 9 feet clear sidewalk -- is herself Latina, Gabriela Vega. And, of course, our very successful sidewalk cafe is at Don Juan's, proprietor Alberto Ferrufino. And yet -- if they don't get what they want, it must be because of bias against Latinos, not because of actual regulations, and DC bureaucrats doing their best to meet their needs, in compliance with District regulations.
The problem, I speculate, is the cultural background. In Latin American countries, getting what you want is all about influence with the bosses who are in charge and can decide whatever they want. People who have influence, get what they want. People who do not have influence, don't. It's all about whom you know, what class you're a member of, and maybe how much bribe money you've paid. "Mordida" is the word. So according to that system, if you're denied what you want, it's because somebody who could give it to you, has decided not to.
In this country, it's all about the regulations. Learn the regulations, and work within them, to get as much of what you want as is allowed by the regulations. Here, if you don't get what you want, it's because some regulation has denied it, not because some local boss hasn't been paid enough.
We have a basically honest bureaucracy, and thank goodness for that.
It took me a long time to discover that 10-foot clear sidewalk regulation, and that's the controlling factor here. Mario and Haydee simply could not understand why they weren't allowed to shrink the sidewalk down to just a few feet, as narrow as it is at Dos Gringos. And DDOT didn't make it easy for them to understand why today's regulations wouldn't permit their being given what those other establishments have.
-- Jack
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Bill
Joined: 08 May 2007
Posts: 144
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| Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 7:11 am Post subject: |
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deleted
Last edited by Bill on Sun Apr 24, 2011 8:51 am; edited 1 time in total |
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EntoK
Joined: 08 May 2010
Posts: 68
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| Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 8:38 am Post subject: |
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| Bill wrote: | Jack, it's difficult to listen to you talk out both sides of your mouth. Don Juan's gets a cafe but Haydee's doesn't? That's racist? ...
Haydee and Mario, among others, have used the race card for years to get their way and I can't believe a man of your intelligence is sympathetic. There's a reason that people in Mt. Pleasant nickname you a Jackass. |
Bill,
I think you missed the point to Jack's post.
It seems he is very much on the same page as you. In both responses, you and Jack feel that Haydee is trying to either manipulate or bipass the legal course of action to achieve her means. If I read it right, Jack feels that this sense of entitlement to get her way is based on a cultural upbringing (and whether it actually is, why stop..it has always work in her favor in the past). The reference to Don Juan's and Ms. Vega is an attempt to show that Haydee's has inappropriately used the "race card" here.
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Bill
Joined: 08 May 2007
Posts: 144
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| Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 8:51 am Post subject: |
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| Thanks EntoK, I will delete my post. I only read his comments.
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jack
Joined: 23 Mar 2004
Posts: 4399
Location: 19th & Lamont
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| Posted: Sun Apr 24, 2011 9:00 am Post subject: Haydee's sidewalk cafe |
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| EntoK wrote: | | Bill wrote: | Jack, it's difficult to listen to you talk out both sides of your mouth. Don Juan's gets a cafe but Haydee's doesn't? That's racist? ...
Haydee and Mario, among others, have used the race card for years to get their way and I can't believe a man of your intelligence is sympathetic. There's a reason that people in Mt. Pleasant nickname you a Jackass. |
Bill,
I think you missed the point to Jack's post.
It seems he is very much on the same page as you. In both responses, you and Jack feel that Haydee is trying to either manipulate or bipass the legal course of action to achieve her means. If I read it right, Jack feels that this sense of entitlement to get her way is based on a cultural upbringing (and whether it actually is, why stop..it has always work in her favor in the past). The reference to Don Juan's and Ms. Vega is an attempt to show that Haydee's has inappropriately used the "race card" here. |
Thanks, EntoK. You read me right. -- Jack
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