This was originally posted to the Adams Morgan Listserv on January 11, 2019, as message #50336, groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/AdamsMorgan/conversations/messages/50336
Just about every morning I jog down 14th St. past the The Tivoli, the CH Civic Plaza and the Metro Station. I do this for my health, enjoyment and to stay in contact with what’s going on in my community. Often while running I must stop at intersections to allow traffic to past. While this can be annoying, breaking my routine, it does give me a chance from time to time to talk to a few old friends. My favorite are the loose pavers. I’m sure many see them only as tripping hazards or a sign of institutional neglect that should be gotten rid of. But to me they are my friends.
These loose pavers <www.pavestone.com/productcategory/pavers> are my friends because they tell me stories about the neighborhood and the city, especially politics, citywide and community. I figured I would be be a good neighbor, share with you some of what they have shared with me.
So this morning I was stopped at 14th & Kenyon and a paver called me over and shared the following:
He was digging through the City’s 2017 Economic Development Report <cfo.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/ocfo/publication/attachments/Appendix%20IV%20Detailed%20Economic%20Development%20Dollars%20by%20Recipient.pdf> (pg. 23) and found that a REIT <www.reit.com/what-reit>, Wharf Horizontal REIT LLC <www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1631395/000163138515000001/xslFormDX01/primary_doc.xml>, setup by Monty Hoffman <www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2017/10/27/monty-hoffman-is-now-the-proud-owner-of-a-wharf.html> for the Wharf received at $2M New Communities Initiative <dcnewcommunities.org/about-nci/> (NCI) grant from DMPED. Then he whispered that there is no NCI project at the Wharf that he knows of.
Now you have to understand that pavers are big on fake news and gossip, so you can’t take what a paver says at face value, plus I’m not sure they can read. So I tested him by saying.
“That’s not possible, The Wharf was given a waiver on their affordable housing requirements in there deal with the city. No way they would get a grant from a city agency/program responsible for delivering affordable housing to basically not deliver affordable housing. Stop lying.”
After some missive about laying pavers they don’t paver goes on to tell me that in that same year Hoffman also bought a $3.97M condo at the Wharf from himself <www.bizjournals.com/washington/news/2017/10/27/monty-hoffman-is-now-the-proud-owner-of-a-wharf.html>. Figuring this is a joke, I smile and say to the paver,
“The next thing you know, you are going to tell me that ANC1A passed a resolution requesting the city use public money to build at $2.7M dog park, with no plans in a spot that city regulations say you can’t legally host a dog park.”
The light changed, pavers are so full of sh@t, but I enjoy talking to them.
William