Reviewing Saint E Proposals on Oct 28

I saw this Facebook post on Gateway DC Pavilion's wall:

Join ANC8C for a Review of the Phase I Proposals [for Saint Elizabeth's] Before the Community Commentary Period Ends at 6:30PM on Oct 28 at the RISE Demonstration Center.

Dead trees along S Capitol

I keep meaning to call 311 about those poor trees on S Capitol near the streetcar stop. The trees put up a good fight this summer to no avail. They look parched/dead. I don't know much about trees, but I am not sure these fall showers will do them any good. :(

Government employees in Congress Heights?

I keep running into articles or statements that suggest government employees do not live in or frequent Congress Heights. I would agree that they don't so in large numbers. But I do know that more than a handful of government employees, both federal and local, already live in Congress Heights. Some have been living here for decades. Others are newer arrivals.

From my anecdotal observations, I would go as far as saying the local and federal government are the single largest employers in the neighborhood that I know of. I am talking about blue and white collar jobs. It makes sense because we are located so close to many government buildings and to downtown DC in general. Just food for thought!

Under-utilized community spaces

My baby at the bouncy house! From Elevation DC Media. 

This whole Gateway Pavilion episode today got me thinking:  Why is this community space nearly always empty? What can we do to take advantage of and actually use the new community spaces we have?

My initial thought is to add some family friendly features. A playground would be a really good start. The lawn is fun and a nice space to run around, but if you forgot to bring a ball or toy, there's only so long a child (my child, heh) will stay entertained.

Hold more events. You don't need bouncy houses. You could have three legged races, tug-of-war or potato sack races. Or some sort of relay race. You don't need a lot of money. The winter play room is a good example of this. In addition to the ice slide, there were games inside of one of the rooms.

Also, take advantage of interested people to make these events really solid well-attended events. What is being done with the names of people being collected at some of these events? During the ice slide, nearly everyone gave their info to hear about future events. I was assuming I would be contacted with new events. But it doesn't appear to be the case.

Also, give people somewhere to look for info if you're not actively advertising, and don't forget to update your website! The last time I looked the Gateway DC website did not have most/any events on it. There's nowhere to find centralized information about what is going on at the Pavilion. I stand corrected after looking around some more I found a Facebook page and Twitter account that announces events. I couldn't find the old website, maybe it's defunct? Or my Google skills are weak.

I'm sure there's hundreds of other things that could be done as well. But I'm stepping off my soapbox now.

Who runs these events?

Today there were two DJs blasting their music during the Whole Foods market. One would have been more than enough. It was so loud and jarring that people were looking for someone to complain to, but it was not clear that there was anyone in charge. This prompted me to ask:  who is organizes this, and what can be done to make these events more coherent and enjoyable?

The silver lining was that the second DJ showed up way later than the first, so it didn't entirely ruin our morning. My baby and I are early birds. :)

I do love the market, especially when there's bouncy houses like there were today, but there are definitely ways these events could be improved. For instance, marketing. Who advertises these events? Granted it was overcast today, but still! The one time the summer family events were advertised by flyer, the whole neighborhood showed up. The place was packed with kids. Gateway Pavilion felt like a community space, and that was really great. Today my baby had not one but TWO bouncy houses all to himself.

These types of events could also be advertised to greater audiences by sending it to sites like DCthriftymom and KidfriendlyDC. Instant crowds. I'll have to remind myself to forward these announcements next time though you'd think it behooves the organizer of the events to do this themselves.

New sculptures at Gateway Pavilion

Today I noticed new sculptures on the lawn at Gateway Pavilion. There were twenty V-shaped metal rods stuck upside down unto the ground. Despite my awful description, there were pretty nice, much better than the most memorable (not in a good way) modern art project to recently grace the soil EOTR.

We went to hang out at the Whole Food market and play in the bounce houses. But the sculptures caught my baby's eye first. So that was pretty cool. I think he might have thought they were play structures. There's an idea....