THE FOGGY BOTTOM CURRENT Wednesday, February 22, 2017 Serving Foggy Bottom & the West End Vol. XI, No. 11 City to tweak CHASING FREEDOM Dupont ANC criticizes parking rates LED streetlight project in Chinatown Commission 2B (Dupont Circle) ■ Environment: Agency says voted unanimously to oppose the By MARK LIEBERMAN proposed streetlights because of Current Staff Writer opponents should be patient the potential negative effects of By CUNEYT DIL blue-colored LED lighting. Parking meter rates in China- Current Correspondent Commissioners voted on behalf town and Penn Quarter will soon of concerned constituents like vary more widely based on A citywide effort to modernize Wayne Savage, who identified demand, as the D.C. Department more than 71,000 streetlights con- himself at the meeting as belong- of Transportation moves into the tinues to be divisive, as Dupont ing to a task force opposed to the second phase of its ongoing Circle neighborhood leaders this city’s proposal. Savage said he’s “dynamic pricing” pilot program month added their voices in oppo- not against LED lights on princi- downtown. sition. ple, but he’s wary of the possible Beginning last fall, drivers in Residents across the city have harmful effects of the proposed the two neighborhoods saw meter expressed periodic concern since lights’ color. rates fluctuate depending on loca- 2014 over the impacts of harsh The city is seeking a private- tion and time of day. Agency ana- LED streetlights on the eyes. On sector partner to undertake the lysts conducted a year-and-a-half- Feb. 8, Advisory Neighborhood See Lights/Page 3 long study of parking statistics in the area bounded by 3rd, 11th, E and H streets NW, adjusting prices up from the standard $2.30 per St. Thomas’ Parish project hour to $2.75 at high-demand times and places, and down to $2.00 in low-demand times and celebrates groundbreaking places. Starting this month, drivers in Susann Shin/The Current that area will see hourly rates Marcia E. Cole performed original poetry and monologues at ■ Development: Event faces adjusted to as low as $1.50 and as West End Interim Library last Thursday, sharing accounts protest from some neighbors high as $3.25, Soumya Dey, an from the Underground Railroad and highlighting how the associate director for the Depart- collaboration of black and white sympathizers led to the By ANDRIA MOORE ment of Transportation, said at the freedom of many slaves. Current Correspondent Feb. 13 meeting of Advisory See Meters/Page 11 A crowd of around 50 people gathered in their Sunday best this past weekend for the groundbreak- ing ceremony of St. Thomas’ Par- ish’s long-anticipated new church Legendary organic chef prepares to move on building — while a few protesters By MARK LIEBERMAN lined up in the minutes before the stood outside the fence, holding Current Staff Writer tractor trailer arrived, hopped out signs reading “Honor thy Neigh- to collect the beef, returned to bor” in opposition to the project. Susann Shin/The Current Nora Pouillon, a venerated their cars and sped away. “It was The historic Episcopal church The Rev. V. Gene Robinson, right, organic chef with some 40 years like a drug deal,” Pouillon said. at 18th and Church streets NW in and the Rev. Alex Dyer took part of experience in D.C.’s culinary This instance helped solidify Dupont Circle was destroyed in a in Sunday’s festivities. scene, recalls an odd moment her belief that organic food ought 1970 fire, leaving worshippers to early in her career that convinced not be a secret any longer — and it use their parish hall while the rest aspects of the neighborhood’s her she was going down the right later became a mainstay at her of the property served as a de facto quality of life. The Rev. V. Gene path. Dupont Circle eatery, Restaurant public park. Over the past decade, Robinson said, though, that St. Since she was a child, Pouillon Photo courtesy of Carol Joynt Nora. Now, at age 73, the George- the property was subject to intense Thomas’ was overdue to move out has sought organic foods even if it Carol Joynt, right, interviewed town resident is working to retire debate as church leaders sought to of the dilapidated, maintenance- meant paying more or enduring Nora Pouillon about her career. and sell her restaurant. At a “Q&A redevelop the space into a large intensive parish hall. greater difficulty. That wasn’t so Cafe” event in the George Town building that could accommodate “There was only so much we strange in Austria, where she spent But then, in the early 1970s, Club on Thursday, Pouillon a new sanctuary. could do,” said Robinson, who her childhood and early adult- Pouillon ordered organic beef appeared reflective on her impact Plans for a seven-story apart- officiated Sunday’s groundbreak- hood. But when she moved to the from a farm in Pennsylvania, and on the city’s food culture — and ment building that will include a ing ceremony. “We were taking U.S., she said, she was surprised was surprised to learn that she slightly restless about her post- new church space for St. Thomas’ money to repair the old building how little Americans seemed to would have to retrieve the delivery restaurant future. won city approval just over a year that could have been put aside to care about the additives and hor- on a side street near Chevy Chase Restaurant Nora has been ago, despite concerns from nearby invest in a new building.” mones in their store-bought food. Circle. Women in station wagons See Pouillon/Page 15 residents that the project threatens See Church/Page 3 NEWS SHOPPING & DINING EVENTS INDEX Calendar/16 Opinion/6 Classifieds/25 Police Report/8 Sidewalk repairs James Beard Hirshhorn reflections District Digest/4 Real Estate/13 West End block that’s been the Semifinalists for prestigious Museum to feature immersive Foggy Bottom News/9 School Dispatches/5 Getting Around/11 Service Directory/23 subject of years of complaints awards include slew of D.C. exhibits of Yayoi Kusama’s In Your Neighborhood/14 Shopping & Dining/15 is due for upgrades / Page 3 restaurants and chefs / Page 15 ‘Infinity Mirror Rooms’ / Page 17 Tips? Contact us at [email protected] 2 Wednesday, February 22, 2017 The CurrenT PRESIDENTS’ DAY Window Special! 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Some Renewal by Andersen locations are independently owned and operated. “Renewal by Andersen” and all other marks where denoted are trademarks of Andersen Corporation. ©2017 Andersen Corporation. All rights reserved. ©2017 Lead Surge LLC. All rights reserved. 3 THE CURRENT D F WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2017 3 Promised sidewalk repairs The week ahead Thursday, Feb. 23 the program at 7:30 p.m.; the event will be held at DTR The D.C. Historic Preservation Review Board will meet Modern Galleries, 2820 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Reserva- follow years of complaints at 9 a.m. in Room 220 South, One Judiciary Square, 441 tions are required due to limited space; to RSVP, contact 4th St. NW. Agenda items include consideration of a pro- [email protected]. By MARK LIEBERMAN posed subdivision to consolidate two lots and buildings at Current Staff Writer 1212 and 1214 28th St. NW in the Georgetown Historic Monday, Feb. 27 District, with plans for the site also calling for a two-story Mayor Muriel Bowser will host a Budget Engagement The D.C. Department of Trans- rear addition and some demolition; and alteration and new Forum in Ward 1 to solicit public input about the adminis- portation has pledged to take construction at 1341 14th St. NW in the 14th Street His- tration’s priorities and investments. The meeting will begin action on deteriorating streets and toric District. at 6:30 p.m. at the Columbia Heights Educational Cam- sidewalks in the West End, follow- ■ D.C.