RSS Feed"No Pee" In Gallery Place? *Corrections*
Normally, we would start this post off with a “Has anyone noticed…” but since we spotted this gem about 1/2 a block away, we’re going to take the assumption that many people have noticed.
Scrawled (or spray painted) on the front facade of the building next to Chinatown Market (521 H St NW) is a menacing notice “NO PEE”. We believe it is even written in yellow orange print.
Now, we’ve seen similar notes in alleys, but never on the front of a building next to the entrance. We can only guess that this notice is directed at Chinatown Market’s customers who purchase alcohol and loiter outside of the market. What do you think?
On a related note, Chinatown Market’s liquor license is up for renewal (License No. 19616, Case No. 10141-06/023P). The local ANC has protested the renewal and they have a status hearing on September 6, 2006.
Sorry for the lack of a photo – we didn’t have a camera on hand!
If you enjoyed this post, please consider leaving a comment or subscribing to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
anon: yes, we saw that too.. We believe it was in front of the empty Carr America doorway. Good thing they hose down the sidewalks on 7th St every morning!
Could you please post how to have our voice heard on the liquor license renewal? Do we have to appear somewhere? When and where? Do we have to callahead of time? Can we just send in a letter? Thanks.
Anon: You can email Cynthia.Simms (at) dc.gov and reference Chinatown Market at 521 H Street, NW, License No. 19616, Case No. 10141-06/023P
We sent an email in to Cynthia this morning asking what can be done at this point in time. We’ll post the response when we receive it!
There are lots of times I hold my nose walking through Gallery Place. I chalk it up to living in a city, but it’s pretty stank sometimes. I say “No Pee” anywhere but in restroom facilities or dark alleys that I won’t be frequenting.
anon: So far the response has not been encouraging. Here are the highlights:
ANC 6C was dismissed from the protest and denied reconsideration for failure to file a letter which stated the grounds for the protest.
If your name is not on the original protest papers, you are not able to protest the renewal of this application at this time.
What you can do is file a complaint with the investigative unit regarding the spray painted sign on the outside of the building as well as address the
issue of public drinking and the over-serving of intoxicated individuals.
You can additionally call MPD regarding the public drinking especially when it is occurring.
You are welcome to write a letter regarding the renewal of the license for this establishment and it will be placed in the protest folder. You may also attend the hearing on September 6, 2006 at 9:30 a.m. but you will not be able to speak. All hearing are open to the public unless otherwise
indicated.
We followed up by asking if writing a letter would have any effect on the board’s decision and when is the next time we could protest the license.
Here are the follow-up responses:
1) Will the board’s decision to renew the license be affected by letters written and placed in the protest file?
THE PROTEST FILE IS REVIEWED BY THE ABC BOARD AND THEIR DECISIONS ARE BASED ON ALL EVIDENCE AND INFORMATION PROVIDED TO THEM.
2) When will be the next time I could protest the market’s liquor license?
THE RENEWAL OF THE CLASS B LICENSES WILL OCCUR IN 2009.
Sounds like the alcohol licensing process works just as efficiently as the rest of the DC govt. Love how they keep the hearings open to the public, but sorry, you can’t actually speak or anything.
And how is an ANC not allowed to protest a liquor license? Isn’t that the whole point of ANC’s, to address basic community concerns with the city administration? I hate bureaucratic paper-pushing, and Cynthia’s response has got me boiling!!
Well, apparently the ANC did protest the license, but didn’t file any additional paperwork citing a reason. We think it’s common practice for the ANC to file an initial protest for all license applications.
Looks like it’ll take several letters to fill up that complaint file to have any effect on the decision.
I have thought for a while now that the Chinatown Market is the only thing separating us from being a nice neighborhood. This seems like a perfect opportunity. I suggest we start a letter campaign just like we did for Balducci’s…..
Has anyone tried to talk to the family that owns the store about the changing character of the neighborhood and what they could do to attract higher end customers?
If we take away their liquor license without doing more, we are basically bankrupting the family that has been running that little grocery store longer than most of us have been living here.
Frankly I have had more trouble with belligerent drunks walking out of Coyote Ugly than the cast of characters that drink beer from brown paper bags in front of that store. The only difference being that the belligerent drunks coming out of Coyote Ugly are well dressed and white.
Does anyone think that the family that runs the store is happy that their primary clientele are drunks?
Anon: We do have some additional information on the topic, but it’s not appropriate to post online. The general idea is that the owner of the market has been extremely uncooperative with both the MPD and the ANC.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
Hmm.. Seems like the Penn/Chinatown area has a problem.. As I was walking to work just a few doors up from Juan Valdez there was the remnance of a homeless persons food, drink, and excrement indide a doorway.. Classy!