Comments on: Technicality Holds up $2,500,000 for Neighborhood Park

By: Denise Johnson

Denise Johnson — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 20:00:31 +0000

One more thing I should add…Ray Kaskey was awarded the Carter G. Woodson site. For anyone who has not seen it, he has designed a monumental statue of Woodson (something that the neighborhood could really be proud of). And City Arts, a local non-profit, was awarded the Kennedy Rec Center site, an art project that would involve local youth.

So, all of the artists are ready to go for each selected site. If only the city can find a way to honor its commitment to pay for the art and the site improvements…

By: Denise Johnson

Denise Johnson — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 18:10:13 +0000

Thank you for the great article. I was the person administrating thte Washington Convention Center Historic Preservation Fund for the National Trust. I no longer work for the National Trust, but I have not lost interest in the project.

A couple of corrections:

1) The $2.5 million was for more than just the Woodson Park. It included public art at the Watha T. Daniel Library and in front of the Kennedy Rec Center, as well as streetscape design guidelines for the major commercial corridors.

2) The budget for each art site not only included a substantial artwork, but also included all of the site improvements and upgrades. Because the art sites are located on (technically) Federal Highways, the National Trust was able to leverage the Washington Convention Center’s $100,000 contribution to streetscape improvements into a $2.5 million initiative through the use of transportation enhancement funds (Federal and local).

3) The chosen art sites were based on a community-wide process that allowed the community to select and prioritize potential sites for streetscape improvements.

4) Now that the library project is back on track, the community needs to press DDOT and the city to return this site to the list. Craig Kraft, a local artist, was awarded this site. The DC Public Library approved his work. And I am pretty sure Mr. Kraft would be delighted to have his project revived.

5) The National Trust’s initial contract with DDOT was based on a competitive process during which DDOT asked for proposals that could utilize Federal Transportation $.

I encourage the community to press the city to resolve their outstanding contracting issues and honor its promises to the community. While I worked on this project in a professional capacity, I live in Shaw and it is a community that I believe in and have supported in numerous ways over the last 15 years.

You deserve these important streetscape improvements and it is part of the convention center’s mitigation of its impact on your historic neighborhoods. The money for these projects was budgeted for this fiscal year. So, it should be ready and waiting for you if you can succeed.

I wish everyone luck. One day I would like to be able to walk down Rhode Island Avenue and sit at Dr. Woodson’s feet and imagine him imparting his knowledge.

By: Washington Cube

Washington Cube — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 18:50:52 +0000

It is centrally located for the neighborhood, a “gateway” as you state, and it would be a welcome addition, as well as honoring one of Washington’s own. I don’t understand the delays.

P.S. Rock Creek Rambler started blogging again. I know. I almost fell off my blog chair.

By: Boris Willis

Boris Willis — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 00:04:47 +0000

It is interesting to find this blog post now at the beginning of black history month the start of which was created by Dr. Woodson. It seems like now is the time to make the case. I will be featuring the park and his home on my blog this week.

By: David

David — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 18:09:41 +0000

Why not just seperate out the project out into two parts: the park and the statue. They they could proceed with the park now and install the statue once they cut through the red tape.

By: Drew

Drew — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 21:02:23 +0000

I meant no disrespect to professional artists by suggesting we perhaps look to some local universities for help in the statue at the site. As an artist myself, with a career in the art world, I too respect and champion the time, energy, talent and skill that goes into such a venture. But who is to say “student work” isn’t backed by the same amount of “time, energy, training and skills that [you] have invested in [y]our careers and work”. This would be a great opportunity for them, not an exploitation.

I have worked closely with artists still in universities and placed their work in public spaces where they felt a connection. Why not look for “new” and emerging artists from the neighborhood where the statue will go? Their connection to the neighborhood and to Carter G. Woodson would surely be stronger than an artist selected by a design team from who knows where.

The issues here are much larger than who makes the sculpture, it’s just a shame that selecting an artist is what DC has decided to get hung up on. Plant some grass, fix the fence, put up some benches and light the park… hell, I bet the neighbors, myself included, would volunteer to paint, plant, sweep, clean, etc. It doesn’t take 2.5 million to make a park safe and usable.

By: Chris R

Chris R — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 05:59:09 +0000

Whatever the problem is…finding an artist…finding the money…doing paperwork…it sounds like government bureaucracy just holding up the process instead of expediting it…

Its simple …the people who live in the neighborhood would like the park fixed up…whats the problem DC govt??

By: Christopher Edwards

Christopher Edwards — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 04:58:01 +0000

As a trained artist and working designer — I find the “find a student” artist way of thinking to be absolutely degrading to all creative people and the time, energy, training and skills that we have invested in our careers and work. I have no problem with pro bono and donated work and energy, but that should be at the discretion of the artists and designers. Don’t exploit students, who perhaps are not as aware of the value of the skills they are learning or who are desperate for any recognition at all in the hyper competitive community they have entered.

$2.5M does not seem an exceptional amount of money to remodel a clearly neglected park. It cost several times that to “fix” a perfectly fine 2 block stretch of P street. Things done well and properly cost money. We can continue to fund that through the collective community (via taxes), redistributing wealth as intended. Or we can redistribute wealth through foundations and grants, either way. The cost isn’t going to go down.

By: Cary Silverman

Cary Silverman — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 21:51:06 +0000

Well, said. I’ve become very tired of walking through our dilapidated parks that for YEARS have received no more than lip service and empty promises from our city officials. To name a few, the park and NJ/O that sat without lights for 5 years and has been awaiting a planned renovation for the last 3, the park at 6th and O that has sat broken for decades through shootings and a killing only in an election year to get a pledge from our Council Member to find funds for it (but he’s now facing pressure to sell it to the United House of Prayer rather than fix it), and, of course, the still unfilled promise of the Carter G. Woodson park. Our city can figure our how to build a baseball stadium in 3 years. Our council member has come up with “a plan” to get the Redskins back to RFK. But they can’t seem to fix our neighborhood parks. It’s simply a matter of will and priorities.

Cary
More here: http://video1.washingtontimes.com/sportsbiz/2008/01/evans_made_vulnerable_by_the_b.html

By: Bob C

Bob C — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 19:19:09 +0000

In complete agreement with Drew…don’t get the delay…don’t get why it cost $2.5 million to fix a park the size of a postage stamp, don’t get why Jack Evans pledges to do “everything in his power” and then works on bringing the Redskins back to DC instead of working on the very real, tangible issues in his own ward…