Our Mission The North Columbia Heights Civic Association is
committed to fostering community involvement and
improving the lives for residents in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of Washington, DC.
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By Jeff Zeeman, on September 1st, 2010
Reminder: please drop by tonight’s meeting at 7:00 at the Park Road Community Church (meeting in the basement, corner of Park and Sherman). We will have a presentation from the developer of the 11th and Monroe property, followed by an open discussion of our agenda / plans for the next year.
We still have t-shirts left in sizes large through XXL (plus one last small), so if you didn’t get a chance to snag one at Columbia Heights Day, either bring $15 dollars tonight or contact jeff.zeeman@northcolumbiaheights.org to arrange for a pick-up. And be sure to check out photos from Columbia Heights Day on our Facebook page.
By Jason Fox, on August 30th, 2010
One of the most commonly asked questions of us during Columbia Heights Day was “So what is North Columbia Heights?” According to our About Us section, we define North Columbia Heights as an area which “stretches between 16th Street and Georgia Ave. (west-east) and Spring Road and Irving Street (north-south) in Northwest Washington, D.C. ” This would correspond to the darker shaded area in the map.  While our organization is known as the North Columbia Heights Civic Association, we by no means wish to exclude our neighbors to the south. It is important for us that all residents of the Columbia Heights neighborhood feel they have a voice and an organization that helps represent them and their interests. So if you are from north, south, east, or west Columbia Heights, or the surrounding neighborhoods, please consider the NCHCA your local community organization!
By Jeff Zeeman, on August 29th, 2010
August 28, 2010
Dear Green Partners,
The community’s long dream of the North Columbia Heights Green is coming true. Stage Two sitework is now complete, and we are now at last doing the fun part of planting and furnishing the Green! Here’s what’s been done:
• Nearly all the rubble (many truckloads) has been excavated and removed.
• The stormwater engineering, grading, fence, gate, kiosk, bollards, and parking are all
complete.
• Most of the butterfly garden is in.
• The raised bed garden frames are constructed and installed.
• The first layer of topsoil is down.
Here are the next steps:
1. Spread the rest of the topsoil and mulch.
2. Add organic compost to the planting beds.
3. Install rain barrels.
4. Construct the pavilion and greenhouse.
5. Install and paint the storage space.
6. Set up the compost area.
7. Plant the Rain Garden.
8. Plant the Berry Patch.
9. Plant the Grape Arbor.
10. Plant the trees (including fruit trees such as serviceberry).
11. Add children’s art, play, and discovery features.
12. Install solar lighting.
The next Work Day at the Green will take place in conjunction with Columbia Heights Clean-Up Day next Saturday, September 4, from 9-1. At 12 Noon, we will have a ceremony to celebrate the beginning of planting the garden plots. Next month, we will begin using the Green as a base of green job training. We are planning a full range of programs and planting for the Fall. Winter crops will include hardy
greens for salads and cooking, herbs, garlic, turnips, radishes, and sweet potatoes. We are now signing up gardeners and other partners. If you know of youth, school, or community groups wanting to do programs at the Green, or if you know of people, groups, or businesses who would like to plant Fall and Winter crops in the Green, please let us know. Thanks for all that you have done through the years to make this happen.
Happy gardening and greening!
Steve Coleman
Washington Parks & People
By Jeff Zeeman, on August 26th, 2010
Look for our booth at Columbia Heights Day on Saturday! We’ll be selling amazing t-shirts, designed by Robbie Behr, for fifteen dollars each. Grab one while they last: we only have 100 total, in sizes ranging from small to XXL.
We’ll also be giving away free lemonade (while it lasts) and providing tons of useful information about both our organization and general neighborhood resources. Be sure to stop by and sign up if you want to get involved in upcoming neighborhood community service projects, planning a CH block party, green space improvement, or whatever local issues you want us to address. Look forward to meeting you there!
In the meantime, become an NCHCA fan on Facebook. And don’t forget about next week’s meeting (Wednesday, September 1st at 7:00) and clean-up (September 4th).
By Jeff Zeeman, on August 2nd, 2010
National Night Out is this Tuesday, August 3rd. Please come out to show your support for a safe, drug-free communities! This is also an excellent opportunity to come out and show your support for our hard-working 3D Police and thank them in person for their many successes!
Columbia Heights will have a very special and exciting event, a BLOCK PARTY that will be fun for the whole family!
- Music & DJ, barbequed food, snow cones, refreshments
- Soccer / Basketball games & contests with prizes and awards! BMHS soccer teams will be supporting NNO!
- Dunk Tank, Face Painting, Fingerprinting Kits
- Inflatable Obstacle Course – Compete against friends, family, and co-workers!
- Information on burglary prevention, credit card fraud, online child safety, and other safe and secure measures.
- Potential Guest Appearances from Buzz Lightyear!
There will be music, barbecue, and games for the kids–FUN, FUN, FUN! Please come and bring your neighbors! The Block Party will be from 5 PM to 8 PM at the Soccer Field behind DC USA (on Hiatt Place).
By Jeff Zeeman, on July 29th, 2010
NCHCA has a busy late August and September ahead. Look for our table at Columbia Heights Day on August 28th, then attend our first fall meeting on Wednesday, September 1st at 7:00. Regular monthly clean-ups are resuming beginning Saturday, September 4th at 10:30. More details on all three events are forthcoming. Among other things, we will be selling a wicked-cool Columbia Heights T-shirt at CHDay, featuring this logo in a few different color combinations:
By Jeff Zeeman, on July 21st, 2010
This week, 826DC begins the build-out of its new community writing center and retail storefront at Park Triangle:
Construction is expected to begin this week on a new writing center for 826DC, the local affiliate of a national youth writing program founded by author Dave Eggers. Up until now, the non-profit has visited area schools to encourage the creative and expository writing skills of local students. While in-class instruction will remain, the new space will give the organization a permanent home for writing workshops and drop-in tutoring sessions. The center will inhabit the old Score space on Columbia Heights Plaza, and should be open for business by autumn.
Like all 826 chapters, the DC center will also boast a wacky storefront. The concept will be the “Museum of Unnatural History,” which is being touted as “the world’s leading authority on all aspects of nature that defy explanation, confound the scientific community, and fly (sometimes literally) in the face of everything we thought we knew about the world around us.” I am not exactly certain what this means, but I’m hoping it somehow incorporates Bat Boy of Weekly World News fame. Even if it doesn’t, the idea promises to bring added spirit and energy to an already spirited community.
Welcome to the neighborhood, 826!
This should be a wonderful new community resource. For those unfamiliar with David Eggers, I particularly recommend his book about Sudan, What is the What.
By Jeff Zeeman, on July 14th, 2010
Wednesday, June 21st at 10:45 a.m., Mayor Fenty will be on hand for the groundbreaking of the facade improvement effort for the stretch of businesses on Park Road between 14th and 15th. This should dramatically enhance the aesthetic and commercial appeal of that block.
By Jeff Zeeman, on July 9th, 2010
We are writing to update you on the progress of transforming the North Columbia Heights Green (NCHG).
Great news: The general contract work is about to begin! This will start with the fence and bollards, then the parking area. This phase of work will finish next month.
As soon as the fence is up, we need help building the planter boxes and advancing the landscape. Please let us know if you are interested in participating in this phase of the project.
With the help of local volunteers, we were able to clear debris and excess materials from the site, and are looking forward to the grading portion of the project as well.
We are still concerned with the illegal dumping onto our site. Although not to the severity of prior instances, dumpers still ignore our signs and site protection fence and continue their illegal behavior. So we need your continuing help to let us know if you see anything dumped or being dumped on the site.
Once again, we thank you for your continuous support and help with this process and look forward to the implementation of NCHG as a sustainable Green for the entire community.
All the best,
Garry Meus, Project Manager
Steve Coleman, Director
Washington Parks & People
Josephine Butler Parks Center
2437 15th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20009
202.462.7275 (o)
202.234.3342 (f)
www.washingtonparks.net
By Richard Dubeshter, on July 3rd, 2010
A bit of Fabulosity comes to Columbia Heights. Chief David Schumaker is right on with his hip and progressive menu. The place felt like it was around a while, not just opened.
Bravo
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