President’s Message

By Eric Langenbacher, president@burleith.org

I hope everyone has been enjoying the fabulous warm weather. It was an early spring indeed—it is only mid-April and my irises and peonies are about to pop. There are numerous community updates.

First, 2023 is the Burleith centennial year. Over 100 people—neighbors old and new and the many local friends of the neighborhood—attended the Burleith Centennial Gala on Friday, March 10, in the beautiful Copley Formal Lounge on the campus of Georgetown University. A cocktail hour was followed by a buffet dinner, celebratory cake, and a champagne toast. We had short speeches by Ward 2 councilmember Brooke Pinto, representatives from Mayor Muriel Bowser's office, ANC commissioners Kishan Putta and Elizabeth Miller, and me. The night culminated with a wonderful history presentation by local amateur historian Dwane Starlin and then a spectacular performance by the Ellington Jazz Combo. The BCA received celebratory letters from the DC Council, the Mayor, and Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E.

Heartfelt congratulations are extended to our gala co-chairs Meryl Chertoff and Sarah Wetzel for the months of effort they dedicated to pull this off. Other essential volunteers included Nazy Morad, Gail Juppenlatz, and Linda Brooks, who worked the registration table, and BCA Treasurer Linda Hall for all the behind-the-scenes accounting and payments. For their generous financial or in-kind assistance, the BCA would also like to thank Lenore Rubino with Washington Fine Properties, MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, and Georgetown University, particularly the Office of Neighborhood Life. For more details,  check out this web post and the full set of pictures by photographer Jamie Sutera. 

Please be on the lookout for our upcoming community events. The summer picnic will be at the green lot (Whitehaven and 37th) on Saturday, June 10, from 3:30–7:00 pm. We will have live music, activities for children, Rocklands BBQ, and a variety of other special activities. We also hope to have more details soon about the design and unveiling of the planned welcome signs to Burleith. Hopefully these can be unveiled in the summer or early fall. We will be fundraising for this, so be on the lookout. And if you have not already done so, please fill out our sustainability survey.

Many residents have expressed concern about the installation of a temporary generator/chiller in front of Hardy Middle School on 35th Street near T. Given the incessant noise and emissions, this is an unacceptable health hazard for the immediate neighbors—and for many others because the noise ricochets off our townhouses. This is a repeat of exactly the same situation from 2021—not even to mention similar noise issues about 10 years ago. And the authorities are saying that the new chillers they need to install may take 12–14 months! They have promised that the hours of operation will be 6–8 am. The BCA and ANC have been all over this, and we will continue to advocate vehemently. I expect some resolution soon. Ideally, they will find longer hoses and locate the temporary unit behind the school (off 34th Street).

We are working on a comprehensive, neighborhood-wide plan to address the rat issues that have afflicted many neighbors. City authorities will be out in the neighborhood soon, probably on April 21.  But, we also need to do our part. Broken green bins need to be replaced—particularly the lids. Please report this to 311—even if it takes a long time to procure. Make sure that all the bins in your vicinity are closed after garbage day. And please be cognizant of how you dispose of trash. The authorities mentioned that tossing food delivery containers directly into the bins is a massive problem. Rinse away any food residue and make sure that everything is properly bagged. On a related note, our spring cleanup will likely be on the morning of Saturday, June 17.

I wanted to let everyone know that I am representing Burleith on the Community Advisory Committee of the Georgetown Access and Circulation Study being run by the Department of Transportation. There will be several open community meetings likely in May, Fall 2023, and early in 2024. I think it is important that we are aware of any plans that could affect the neighborhood, as well as advocating for our preferences. For instance, someone mentioned that prohibiting right turns on 34th Street during rush hour would alleviate congestion on that street. I noted that this would likely divert traffic to 35th Street, simply displacing the problem. I will provide updates as they occur.

Finally, the BCA is deeply involved with efforts to ensure that the hospital complies with agreements regarding trash and parking in the neighborhood. This is, however, an on-going effort.

As always, feel free to drop the BCA a line at bca@burleith.org. We are always looking for volunteers, especially in this busy centennial year.