With the new year, 826DC is making a big push to deepen our volunteer base. With only one full-time employee, we are almost entirely volunteer-run, and need lots of help serving the more than 1,500 young people we tutor in our center (located inside “The Museum of Unnatural History”) and in partnership with teachers throughout the district.

We have no minimum time commitment, and volunteers do not need to have previous experience writing, tutoring or teaching to help out. Interested? Sign up here to learn more or email volunteer@826dc.org!

• Paila Chilean Grill has been open for a few months on Park Road between 14th and 15th, and it was featured in this great Washington Post article.
• Maple, a new Italian restaurant, soon open on 11th Street, between Park and Monroe.  Prince of Petworth and New Columbia Heights provide more information.
• Coffy Cafe, a coffee shop and crepery, will open in early 2012 on 14th Street, just north of Park Road.  Keep updated on its progress via its Facebook page.
• A new 24 hour diner / bar / lounge from the owner of The Diner and Tryst is currently under construction, and slated to open on 11th Street between Park and Monroe in April.
• Z-Burger’s build-out is nearly complete, and they will open in February.
• The Pinch will serve contemporary American cuisine at 14th and Parkwood, beginning in the Spring.
• Construction is also underway at Jackie Greenbaum’s future taqueria on 11th Street.
• Le Caprice D.C., a french bakery, will open within a few weeks on 14th Street, in the Allegro condominium building.
• In other local culinary news, neighborhood favorite Room 11 recently began serving brunch, to rave reviews.  Room 11 will soon be expanding into its adjacent building.

A few events require (free) tickets, be sure to sign up here so you can attend those.

http://dpw.dc.gov/DC/DPW/Services+on+Your+Block/Litter+and+Graffiti+Removal/Graffiti+Removal

• Saturday, October 22, 9:30-12:30, we will be tabling at the Columbia Heights Community Marketplace.  Drop by to learn more about our organization, sign up as a volunteer, buy a t-shirt (only sizes left are XL and XXL, alas), pick up a copy of our community service booklet, or just to say hi.
• Monday, October 31, 5:00-6:30, we are organizing an 11th Street Halloween Extravaganza.  Click here for details.
• Wednesday, November 2, 5:30-7:00, we are meeting at Bloombars.  At 5:30 we will discuss NCHCA business, including new officers.  At 6:00, Laine Cidlowski from the Office of Planning will be discussing sustainability initiatives in D.C.  Finally, during the last few minutes of the meeting, we will discuss the formation of a Friends group for the 11th and Monroe Park currently being reconstructed.
• Saturday, November 5, 9:30-10:30, we are organizing a neighborhood clean-up.  Meet at 9:30 near Columbia Heights Coffee on 11th Street.  Following the clean-up, volunteers are invited to a discounted brunch at Meridian Pint.
• One other neighborhood event we want to point out: on Saturday, November 5, from 3:00-7:00, the North Columbia Heights Green will we’ll hosting a greening and green job fair (and screening of urban greening films such as Meridian Hill Pictures’s award-winning Community Harvest film and some new ones done by our job trainees).  Among other things, they will be giving unemployed residents a chance to apply for the DC Green  Corps, which is one of the country’s largest gateway urban forestry and greening job training programs.

• Other aspects of our 2011-12 agenda include working (with folks already making headway on this) on establishing and publicizing a Friends group for the 11th and Monroe Park, so that it is up and running when the park reopens, working on neighborhood parking issues, and improving neighborhood tree boxes / green space.

• Finally, as folks have noted on the Columbia Heights Listserve, rats are becoming a bigger and bigger neighborhood problem.  If folks have ideas for good speakers / strategies re: combating rats, please share them.  Some suggestions I have heard include (1) soaking rags in ammonia and leaving them where rat dropping appears, (2) making sure all trash cans and dumpsters on or near your property remain closed, (3) sealing holes in fences, (4) contacting a pest control company to fill rat holes / dens with poison, and (5) keeping your yard clear of piles of leaves and weeds.  If you notice a rat infestation in your area, definitely contact Gerard Brown at gerard.brown@dc.gov or 202-535-2636, who can help direct city resources towards abatement.  Most of all, we need to encourage our neighbors to be responsible regarding trash and litter in order for this problem to be resolved in the longer term. Here is a helpful webpage with more rat control tips:

http://www.baltimorecountymd.gov/Agencies/permits/ridrats/ratcontrol.html

We will have a public meeting in early November to address these and other issues, time and place to be announced.