EDITORIAL/OPINION

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Wisconsin Ave. in Georgetown. Georgetowner photo.

Saving Grace

Last year, we were all preparing for a Thanksgiving like no other, with gatherings held on Zoom and meals “served” with a side order of angst and longing. But this year… ahh, this year... we’re back to “over the river and through the woods” with vaccination records in tow and a couple of extra masks. Just. In. Case.

So, let us first say “thank you” to the medical researchers, who brought us these life-saving inoculations, the public health practitioners, who made them available and the Biden administration, which treated the pandemic with the seriousness and science it deserved.

Let us also acknowledge our deep gratitude to the essential workers, often overlooked and too-soon forgotten, for whom WFH was an impossibility. From hourly sales associates to bus drivers to newspaper carriers (ours included), these and other unnamed public servants in hospitals, schools, ghost kitchens, businesses and institutions throughout the city kept our lives in order even as theirs were thoroughly disrupted.

With Veterans Day on Nov. 11, we offer our heartfelt thanks for all the heroic sacrifices of our service members and their families.

We are also very grateful to you -- our readers, advertisers, stakeholders and friends. You keep us on our toes and we hope we can continue to keep you informed and entertained for years to come.

According to a recent article in Healthbeat, a medical newsletter published by Harvard Medical School, gratitude -- or grace -- is good for you. Expressing thanks, to someone or for something, can lift your spirits, foster greater connection and is “strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness.” It can even improve your health.

Which is, especially in these times, something to be grateful for.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Decisions on Decking the Streets

While we are planning to deck the halls during the Yuletide, it’s time to take away some decks set up for sidewalk expansion to help businesses during the pandemic.

The Georgetown Business Improvement District is conducting a survey on the decking situation, asking which sections stay or not. Still, with knowledge of the neighborhood, it’s fairly simple to look and decide what’s in, what’s out. Let’s start on M Street on the east side.

Along the 2900 block of M, let’s just keep some decking in front of L’Annexe; none on the south side. At the 3000 block of M, lose the north side decking (too much); keep the extra space in front of Thunder Burger and Laduree. Along the 3100 block of M, retain decks just in front of Bodega and Haagen-Dazs on the south side; there’s too much on the north side (in front of Levin Bakery). Do we have to close the alley? Along the 3200 block of M, nothing at the north side; good to leave the sidewalk extension for Clyde’s; good, too, for Good Stuff Eatery and Pizza Paradiso.

Along Wisconsin Avenue on the 1200 block, keep decks for El Centro and Foxtrot; no need for decking down from Martin’s Tavern. Along the 1300 block of Wisconsin, good in front of the Georgetown Inn and L.A. Burdick; let’s lose that extra decking near the corner. Along the 1400 block, it’s good for Compass Coffee as well as Boulangerie Christophe; lose the deck extensions to the antique shop. On the 1500 stretch, it’s good for Lutece and the George Town Club. Up in front of Los Cuates, it’s good, too. Up on the 1700 block, there’s the lone Bistrot Lepic streatery.

Let’s give some of these spots a more aesthetic look for what they are. Streateries along the side streets — such as Cafe Georgetown — make sense. We seek a balance of people, cars and bikes along the streets and sidewalks of Georgetown. A dispassionate look at the scene yields fairly easy answers.

OPINION

Why is the OGB Harmful When It Should be Helpful?

BY CASSANDRA PENDINO

While most Washingtonians recognize Georgetown as the most prominent historic neighborhood in The District, few may be aware of the oppressive forces that maintain the area’s distinct character. The most significant of these forces is the Old Georgetown Board (OGB), a design review board consisting of three architects that review proposed projects pertaining to all historic Georgetown homes or businesses. The intention of the board is to preserve the architectural history of the neighborhood, but while this objective appears to be beneficial to residents, this is not always the case. The structure of the board and the ways in which it operates has made working with the board frustrating, and oftentimes debilitating to residents, causing economic losses and potentially driving lower-income people from the neighborhood.

The OGB is an advisory entity to the Commission of Fine Arts, the federal design review agency in D.C., and are indirect appointees of the President. Therefore, they are not structurally accountable to the residents of the area. If residents of Georgetown feel as if the Board is acting in conflict with their needs and opinions, there is no way to hold the board accountable. Herein lies the issue, many residents strongly disapprove of the way the OGB conducts their reviews and are incredibly frustrated by their lack of ability to change it. Moreover, all residents interviewed for this piece felt their proposed projects were so precariously subject to the board’s whim they would not speak on the record. The major complaint these residents have is related to the very unstructured and unpredictable nature of the proposal review process.

No guidelines exist by which the OGB is bound to operate, and therefore residents do not know what to expect when they make their proposals. Residents may have to submit proposals upward of five times in order to receive approval. The addition of a simple patio in front of your home or the replacement of a few worn windows could take months to receive approval; large scale projects could take much longer or be rejected entirely. This process is not only time consuming and frustrating, but can be incredibly expensive. These issues with the board plague businesses as well; the added financial stress from the OGB discourages small businesses from opening in Georgetown altogether. The hefty cost of making physical changes to the exterior of residents’ homes can be exclusionary to many residents who cannot bear the financial brunt, and can even push these people out of the neighborhood.

While Georgetown residents agree that the historic nature of their neighborhood is one of its most distinct and valuable features, the way the OGB operates is harmful to residents and runs counter to the needs and desires of the neighborhood. A Board that is intended to serve the residents of Georgetown, is functioning in a way that is enervating and often debilitating to many who live in the area. The OGB must be held accountable to area residents and guidelines must be put in place to make the process more functional and accessible to all the people who live there, not just those who can afford to put up a fight. Georgetown is not Williamsburg; it is not a museum and historic preservation must work in tandem with the opinions of Georgetown residents. Those who protect and preserve the neighborhood’s history must also protect and preserve the well-being and quality of life of those who call the area home.