Dear friends and neighbors,
Wishing you a happy holiday season and cozy time with your loved ones. Here’s an update on the neighborhood and activities of the Advisory Neighborhood Commission.
Who is Elsa?
In October, Woodley Park gained a new restaurant: Elsa Ethiopian Kitchen. I think it’s the first Ethiopian to cross the Rock Creek into upper NW DC. I’m excited to have a new option in our neighborhood. But who is Elsa? I decided to find out!
Gawain: Can you introduce yourself and just say a little something about yourself?
Elsa: My name is Elsabet, but friends and people who know me call me Elsa, which is ok. I came from Ethiopia, in the Horn of Africa. So I’ve been here since 1996. I’ve been in this business for a long time. I grew up with the family-oriented, family-run business before I decided to open my own restaurant.
G: Tell me about this restaurant. Does it have a certain style?
E: It’s home cooking. I love cooking. I make sure it’s authentic and represents Ethiopian style. Some restaurants cook for Americans, you know, they try to make mild, not the real, real Ethiopian. But I cook what I eat. Some people [in the neighborhood] know about Ethiopian food because they know about Ethiopia. They’ve been in Ethiopia so they know.
G: Why did you pick Woodley Park?
E: We used to have Elsa on Georgia Avenue; they’re not renewing the lease. When we found this area and we look around and we drive around. The zoo is close and the hotel. And the people walking around and the [Metro] station. So this must be a good place.
G: Tell me something else that you want the neighborhood to know.
E: I’m happy with the neighbors because they are welcoming. They always give give us energy, since we opened up, even before we opened when we put up the sign. They gave us energy.
NOTE: Elsa Ethiopian Kitchen is at 2614 Connecticut Ave NW. This is an edited excerpt of a longer interview here.
Public Safety & Emergency Preparedness
Rising crime rates in the city is a major concern. Partly in response, ANC3C recently created a new Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee as a standing committee. The committee is chaired by Commissioner Rick Nash (SMD 3C08) and Commissioner Adam J. Prinzo (SMD 3C02). We had our first meeting in November to brainstorm ideas and establishing some priorities for action including creating liaisons with the police, fire department, and community organizations on the issue of public safety.
In a bit of a surprise, our police Commander Branch retired. He had done a big outreach push in recent months, meeting with local groups and doing community walks. Tatjana Savoy is the new Second District policy Commander. Previously, Commander Savoy was a captain in 2D, so she is familiar with the neighborhood.
I’m personally interested in reviewing our community’s emergency preparedness and risk reduction strategies. I’m preparing a work-plan to assess and possibly make recommendations for how to improve things. I’ll be meeting with the DC Chapter of the Red Cross this week to gather information and ideas.
If you have an interest in these issues - or ideas on what we should do - we are recruiting residents to join the Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Committee. If you might be interested, please let me know.
Update on ANC activity
The next meeting of ANC3C will be 18 December at 7pm. Let me know if you have issues or concerns to raise. Check the website to see the agenda and register for the meeting (via zoom).
At our last meeting in November we:
Supported new legislation by Council Member Frumin to address the legacies of housing segregation in Ward 3.
Approved modest changes to the design of the new buildings under construction at the Washington International School.
Heard a useful presentation on the activities of DC Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (ONSE), which does much of the violence prevention work in the city.
Approved an annual report for the ANC; have a look at what we did.
Read all about these items and more here.
As always, I’d love feedback. Even negative feedback is helpful to improve what we’re doing.
Other items of interest
If you live nearby, you might occasionally be surprised by noise and traffic from events at the Swiss Embassy. I recently learned that the embassy keeps a list of neighbors and tries to give advance notice for any events which might be disruptive. Let me know if you want to get on the list.
Cleveland Park Main Street is conducting a short survey to help inform them about how area residents use the businesses on the Cleveland Park strip and what types of businesses and improvements you want in our neighborhood. Take the survey and win $50 (in credits)!
It’s the season of giving, so I thought I’d offer two hyper-local charities if you’re looking to help out in the neighborhood:
The NW Community Food pantry serves about 200-250 households in our community every week, providing groceries to food-insecure neighbors. They’re open Saturdays, 11 to 3 pm, behind 4225 Connecticut Ave. NW. They take donations of fresh produce, shelf-stable food and cleaning and personal hygiene. supplies. Also cash, of course. They can also use volunteers.
The Cleveland and Woodley Park Village assists neighborhood seniors as they age in their own homes. The Village supports our senior neighbors by creating opportunities to connect, enjoy the city’s community and cultural experiences, and providing logistical support so they can live independently and with dignity. Every year, volunteers provide more than 1,500 service visits, including rides to appointments, help around their living space, technology assistance, and sociability.
Please feel free to pass this newsletter along to friends and neighbors, especially if they live in the neighborhood.