Is Anacostia the Next H St?

Art of War Concept: Generally in war the best policy is to take a state intact; to ruin it is inferior to this.
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Is Anacostia the next H Street? I have heard the reference to H Street a couple of times and it makes me ask the question, What is the vision for the greater Anacostia community? What does the future hold?  There are a lot of opinions but no consensus.

To be clear, there is no right answer to the question. There will always be different perspectives from the residents, developers, business owners and the government. There will be differences in opinions from residents who view Anacostia as home versus those who see it as an investment. We need to have a thoughtful conversation among the current stakeholders to ensure there is a shared vision on how to move forward.

Why do I keep hearing talk about H Street? Is it the restaurants, streetcars, streetscape or the demographics that create the envy? Are we not happy with being Anacostia? Don’t get me wrong. I like going to eat and hang out on H Street, but there are some things that I appreciate about living in Anacostia. We have much more to offer and should capitalize on what makes us unique: the historic character of the neighborhood, great views, proximity to the Anacostia River and quick access to I-295/395.

What really sets us apart is the people. If we capitalize on the talent of residents and have a conversation asking for their ideas and energy, we can surpass other neighborhoods of the city. I do not sense that our residents have a true appreciation and faith to move us forward. I wonder if that is the reason why there has not been a candid conversation about how we see the future of our community.

When I heard of my neighbors getting together to promote our “We Are Anacostia” neighborhood campaign, I immediately jumped on board. A significant part of the campaign is to encourage Busboys & Poets to open its fifth location in Anacostia. But it means so much more than that. It is saying that being in Anacostia is okay and there is no need to compare ourselves or want to be like another neighborhood. It means we are a unique community with a ton of talent.

We should plan everything in a way that focuses on families, strengthening families and creating an environment where residents want to raise their families. That means cleaner neighborhoods, community safety, addressing blighted property, refurbishing our parks, planting trees and being able to walk your kids down to the neighborhood school and knowing they are going to receive a quality education.

If you forced me to pick a neighborhood, I would pick Old Town Alexandria as a model. Unfortunately, when DC focuses on building neighborhoods, they focus on the young 20-something’s, who enjoy the late night bar and party scene. Old Town Alexandria is mostly free of bars but provides a family-friendly restaurant and retail environment along its commercial corridor. Even the homes in Anacostia and Alexandria provide a more suburban environment than living in the city.

People who have lived here for some time and those who have recently moved here tell me that the main reason they are here and choose to stay is because of the feel of the neighborhood. That is why it so important for residents help lead the discussion on where we go. If the feel of the neighborhood changes, the people who make this neighborhood so special may choose to move.

Let us have this important conversation. We may find that we all want the same things, although differing on how to get there, but we will realize it is in our best interest.

"We Are Anacostia" Campaign!!!

Art of War Concept: He whose ranks are united in purpose will be victorious.
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The residents of Historic Anacostia launched the “We Are Anacostia” Campaign last week. On a recent Sunday afternoon an email went out to our neighborhood listserv to meet up on Martin Luther King Jr. Ave next to the Old Furniture Warehouse for a photo shoot.

The purpose of the photo shoot was to launch our “We Are Anacostia” campaign  in an effort to encourage Busboys & Poets to open their 5^th location in our neighborhood. As some may know, there has been a rumor circling that Andy Shallal from Busboys & Poets has been considering Anacostia to open a new location. This rumor was confirmed at “Breaking into the Restaurant Business” seminar hosted by the River East Emerging Leaders earlier this summer.

The goal was to promote Busboys, but it was also done in an effort to present the Anacostia community as a great place to live, raise your family and to open businesses.

Besides taking photos, it was a great way to catch up with folks and talk about life. That is the great thing about living in our neighborhood – it is truly a community – where we are all about working together to find unique ways to improve the quality of life in our neighborhood.

I am so proud of this effort by my neighbors on so many different levels. I am working on an article to dig a little deeper into the meaning of this campaign.

I know it is exciting to hear that Busboys may be locating to Anacostia and yes we should continue to promote our neighborhood to attract even more retail and restaurants. But I know there is a lot of talent East of the River -- we also should consider partnering up to open businesses. We don’t have to wait on the city or others to invest in our community. We can do it ourselves. I know there are other restaurant and retail entrepreneurs out there and if given the chance and mentored that you can open up your own Busboys style restaurant. Stay tuned to a follow up blog post on “We Are Anacostia” Campaign!

We are asking everyone to drop off a postcard at any Busboys & Poets Restaurant you visit.

You can pick up your postcards at the HABA meeting this Thursday at 7pm.

The meeting will be held at the Anacostia UPO Center - 1649 Good Hope Rd.

I can't wait to see a
"We Are Congress Heights, Bellevue, Washington Highlands and Fairlawn" Campaign!