Mount Pleasant DC Forum

[DCCharles]

I'd like a place that looks a lot like an architechts rendering of something called maybe "Mt. Pleasante Towne Centre." Having the suburbs two blocks away is not enough -- I want a well-scrubbed anodyne development right around the corner.

The best way to achieve this, of course, is to have a bunch of meddlesome neighbors trying to micromanage the local economy -- focusing on issues like whether a table can be moved if people want to dance or the type of fencing around a business's lawn -- and few lame committees with grand sounding names that do little or nothing. We've got those, but they're just a start.

I think harassin poor people is the next logical step. With the singles ban and the fire on Mt. Plerasant street we're partly there, but a Prince William County-like attitude towards day laborers and immigrants would help, as would converting much of the multi-family in the neighborhood into expensive condos.

Once we've moved the poor people out, I'd like to see a boutique or two selling jewelry and clothing that reflects the diversity of the people who've gone away -- kind of like how David Byrne made African rhythms safe for middle-aged hispsters without us having to really experience Africa.

The same logic applies to the grocery stores -- if we want ethnic food, we'll get it from some restaurant, not buy it inexpensively and cook it conveniently ourselves.

I enjoy the iron hand when it comes to limiting the ability of restauranteurs and bar-owners to serve me food and drink at the odd hours my family and I sometimes enjoy. I've been to places that offer late night cafe life and even music -- London, Paris, New York. These places are hell-holes and we should stay as far away from that model as possible. If people can't make a profit based on the rules we impose upon their business, let them open up over in Columbia Heights.

Enough with the dollar stores, auto mechanics, antique stores and gypsies. Who ever said that this was the kind of neighborhood where a small businessman might want to gamble his or her stake on the American dream? Those days are long gone -- if you want to run a business, manage a chain store. We ought to do something about zoning that permits this type of thing.

And finally, we ought to continue to celebrate our diversity. And by diversity, I mean living in the kind of neighborhood where an affluent attorney can live next to an aflfuent journalist next to an affluent attorney who happens to be gay and still find the common ground that permits us to unite against alley-pissing and fast-food chains.

Because that's what makes our neighborhood unique.

[Tina]

I think this is a funny post, even if it's meant to snipe at people like me, who want to see something different on MtP Street. But if you read my post, I really think that cleaning up and reorganizing what we've already got would go a very long way towards making MtP more attractive to residents and non-residents alike -- and maybe bring new life. My ideal street would look a lot like U Street, which has a lot of chains mixed in with independent, funky stores. Cake Love is awesome, as is its sister store, Love Cafe. There are great clothing boutiques, interesting gift shops, Ethiopian restaurants, and of course I love Busboys.

Plainly, locally-owned, independent boutiques can be wonderful -- I do not automatically equate them with crap. But I think a number of the stores we have are not trying very hard to compete in the changed environment (maybe because, as ClancyMac notes, they might be owner-operated and they couldn't care less about profits) -- and it's to all of our detriment. I don't think we give MtP enough credit if we're saying we shouldn't aspire to have better (and yes, different) services and offerings in our neighborhood. The many vacancies on the street are not just a sign that we have unreasonable landlords, but also that the current mix is not succeeding in the post-DCUSA environment.

[smithdo]

[smithdo]

[smithdo]

[DCCharles]

[DCCharles]

[kelly5612]

[Eugene]

I dunno, DCCharles. If my wife ever discovered I’d been hanging out at the corner haberdashery, y'all would be picking me up with a stick and a spoon.

[DCCharles]

[ClancyMac]

Yep. Random hours for shoe shop. Usually open mid-day on Saturday---although last summer when I attempted to retrieve shoes one saturday I was prevented from doing so by a godalmighty hairpulling, spitting, screaming catfight occurring on the doorstep of the establishment between the owner's sister and his girlfriend. (The whole north end of Mt.P street stood transfixed and watched the spectacle).

Unfortunately, I haven't thought that they have done such a great job on the shoes I've left there. There's a place on 21st right off of P in Dupont run by a guy named Nelson that is much better.

[Mrs. B]

[Eugene]

[Mrs. B]

[mm]