GCITIZENSeorgetown V OLUME XXI / ISSUE 2 / FEBRUARY 2007 WWW. CAGTOWN. ORG CAG February Meeting at Halcyon House Next CAG Meeting Owner and Sculptor John Dreyfuss to Speak Monday, February 12, 2007 he Monday, February 12th Halcyon House was built over- Halcyon House and Studio tour TCAG meeting will be hosted looking the Potomac in 1783 by with owner/sculptor John Dreyfuss by sculptor John Dreyfuss at Benjamin Stoddert, the first Secre- his studio in the historic and beauti- tary of the Navy, and additions were Plus fully renovated Halcyon House at added over the years. But it deterio- • Waterfront Park Update 3400 Prospect Street. Following a rated in the 20th century when the • CAG Crime Map Demonstration short business meeting, Mr. Dreyfuss structure served as rental apart- will lead tours of his house and the ments. Mr. Dreyfuss acquired the Halcyon House studio where he creates dramatic property in the 1970s and totally 3400 Prospect Street NW and often monumental sculptures and expertly restored the entire (corner of 34th Street) using state-of the art advanced tech- house and built a large studio nology. underneath. Pay parking available at Altman’s Park Service representatives will Garage on east side of Bank Street also be at the February meeting to (between M and Prospect Street), 1 give an update on the Georgetown 1 ⁄2 block from Halcyon House Waterfront Park and show the newest scale model of the park design. access this user-friendly and instant- Co-Chair of CAG’s very active ly informative map. Public Safety Committee, Luca Piva- Reception begins at 7, with stu- to, will also be on hand to demon- dio/house tours by John Dreyfus South side of Halcyon House strate CAG’s new, interactive local and presentations on the Waterfront overlooks Potomac crime map. He will show how to Park beginning at 7:30 pm. CAG and GU Pay for Extra Police on Weekends Inside GC this month MPD officers Lee President’s Letter . 2 and Bundy patrol Aspects of Georgetown. 3 residential Trees for Georgetown. 4 streets on Friday CAG’s Public Safety Program . 5 and Saturday CAG and GU MPD Patrol Map . 6 nights as part of the CAG pilot Public Safety Program Form. 7 Public Safety Waterfront Park Update . 9 Program. See Community Calendar . 12 article page 5. 1 G EORGETOWN C ITIZENS / FEBRUARY 2007 President’s letter recent editorial in the Georgetown Current com- to help fund these pilot public Amented favorably on the “reservoir of good will” safety initiatives, please do so built between residents and Georgetown Univer- now. Every resident has sity. This referred to the partnership between the school received a letter fully outlining and CAG working to fund the pilot program that puts the entire program and its two additional police officers on patrol on residential financial needs. The donation streets during the weekends. We thank the newspaper form is also available on our for their tip of the hat and couldn’t agree more with the website. It is extremely impor- importance of all of us working together. This spirit of tant that we donate what we cooperation is crucial, not only with the university, but can to this vital effort. And with all Georgetown and District constituencies and please do it quickly. The roving MPD patrol and Guard institutions. And as we can see with the MPD program, supervisor are only funded for a short time. They can it works. only continue with your help. This multi-partisan collaboration is happening on all fronts and we couldn’t be more enthusiastic. Represen- Updates tatives from CAG, the ANC, BID, GBA, MPD and GU Queries have come in about the status and resolution of are meeting regularly on a wide array of issues and con- the so-called “Apostles” house on 35th Street. The cerns. We are all working together to achieve an order to reduce the occupancy from nine to six residents enhanced quality of life for all Georgetowners. was issued and complied with at the end of last year and a steep fine was paid. Noise and other violations Public Safety Initiatives will be addressed if and when they occur. We need to be Mayor Adrian Fenty and Acting Police Chief Cathy mindful, though, that while this incident was more Lanier have made it quite clear that they believe the widely reported than others, there are other group secret to success for enhanced public safety is also homes that diminish the quality of life for neighboring through partnerships. They call for communities to be residents. We will continue to urge cooperation from the engaged and pro-active in establishing preventive meas- university to keep unacceptable behavior at bay. ures and to form a collaborative relationship with local The Call Box restoration program is forging ahead. police officials. CAG is at the forefront of active Five more boxes have been refurbished and are awaiting involvement. their descriptive plaques. If you’ve never taken the time The dynamic CAG Public Safety Committee, chaired to stop, look and read these, put it on your list. Not by Luca Pivato and Rob Housman, has worked diligent- only are these handsome boxes a monumental improve- ly to create, launch and monitor a greatly expanded ment over the formerly dilapidated fixtures, they give us program. The additional police officers, coupled with an fascinating snippets of history and lore about our town. enhanced Guard component, the reinvigorated Block Hats off to Diane Salisbury, Ann Lewis and their Call Captain system and the user-friendly website crime map Box Restoration committee. all dovetail into the overall District plans. The Mayor Put February 12 on your calendar. The CAG mem- and Chief have said they will release customized com- bership meeting will be held in the art studio at historic munity policing programs within the first 60 days in Halcyon House. Owner and noted sculptor, John Drey- office. CAG, along with other community organiza- fuss, will showcase some of his monument-sized works tions, are working with Commander Solberg and Lt. and discuss the creative process. Waterfront Park repre- Lucas to ensure the plan for Georgetown incorporates sentatives will unveil the latest model and we’ll have a accelerated efforts to increase police presence on our demonstration of CAG’s interactive crime map. Quite a streets. night! If you haven’t yet responded to the donation appeal — Denise R. Cunningham NEWSBYTES…K Baby Store is closing on January 31…Kenneth Cole is gone; Steve Madden is closed temporarily for renovations… Just in time for Valentines Day, two (!) new chocolate stores have opened on M Street: Godiva and Belusha… to register your opinion regarding the multi-space meters on M Street and Wisconsin Avenue (a DDOT pilot program) take the DDOT online survey by going to www.ddot.dc.gov , click on “Parking,”then click on “Parking Meter Online Survey Feedback,”then click on “Multispace Parking Meter Online Survey”…. Dixey Liquor store at 35th and M, a virtual landmark in Georgetown reputed to be the biggest seller of beer kegs in DC, has closed suddenly after 52 years. 2 F EBRUARY 2007 / GEORGETOWN C ITIZENS Aspects of Georgetown by Edith Schafer THE HYDE SCHOOL e hear a lot these days 25 interested families. While most talented children and those with Wabout the DC Public do come from the neighborhood, learning disabilities. These children School system, and some there is an out of boundary process may be integrated into the regular of what we hear is the wringing of for those outside the area, as well as school program, with some addition- hands. But wait a minute. Here in a site-based lottery. There is a long al assistance. Schools have come a Georgetown, we have an exemplary waiting list for the “out of bound- long way in dealing with these bright elementary school to which we can ary” children. Hyde is not part of children who are full of promise, but point with real pride. It is impressive the city-wide lottery because it is in need to learn in different ways. and so is its principal. Going about a special category as a demonstra- The new principal is impressive our daily lives here we don’t know tion school. indeed. Dana Nerenberg graduated as much about it as we should. We What makes Hyde so impressive? from Duke University with a Bache- are simply unaware of what we It uses the Reading and Writing lors degree in History and Public have. It’s time to pay attention. methodology developed at Colum- Policy. She then joined Teach for The Hyde School, on O Street bia University as the core of literary America, a national teacher corps of across from St. John’s Church, was instruction. Hyde has become a recent college graduates who commit founded in 1907. It has been serving model school for this teaching to serve two years in under-served Georgetown’s kids for 100 years. A method and the use of the Respon- schools — urban or rural. She was comprehensive school for students in sive Classroom. Educators from sent to the front lines in Indianola, Pre-K through Fifth Grade, Hyde’s across the District come to observe Mississippi. It was that experience average enrollment is 175 students. and learn these practices. In the that hooked her on teaching and Until segregation was abolished Reading Workshop, students learn education. She subsequently received in 1954, Hyde served only white to talk, think, and write about their a Masters in Education at Johns children in the neighborhood. There reading and to live richly literate Hopkins.