HAPPY NEW YEAR AND THANK YOU FOR A GREAT HOLIDAY SEASON!
A MESSAGE FROM COUNCILMEMBER BROWN
(Left: Councilmember Brown read to the children of the Carver Youth Leadership Academy, Charles Young Elementary, Pre-Kindergarten and 1st Grade.) Dear Neighbor, I wanted to take a minute and say thank you for helping make this a wonderful holiday season for my family and for the District of Columbia. Your generosity, dedication and goodwill are the keys to our city’s vibrancy and success. Over the last two months, I have had an opportunity to attend holiday gatherings across the city. Not only was it fun but I was able to hear valuable feedback on ways to keep the District moving forward and to continue improving our neighborhoods. I am grateful for those of you who work everyday to make the District a better place to live, work and raise a family. Let us not forget the inspiration we have drawn from those who are no longer with us including former first lady Effi Barry, former Councilmember Hilda Mason, Sean Taylor of the Washington Red Skins, and our other heroes. Their lives are an example to all of us to show what we can achieve in life. Please remember to be safe while celebrating the New Year. I look forward to meeting more of you and acting on your innovative ideas in 2008. Sincerely,
Kwame R. Brown
Councilmember At-Large
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CELEBRATE THE NEW YEAR SAFELY: USE SOBERRIDE
(Left: Recently, 86 year old DC and Ward 1 resident Mother Zain, shared her holiday joy, guidance and encouragement with Councilmember Brown.) The Washington Regional Alcohol Program's (WRAP) 2007 Holiday SoberRide program will be offered from Friday, December 7, 2006 through Tuesday, January 1, 2007 from 10:00 pm to 6:00 am each evening. The program will end at 6:00 am on January 1, 2007. To receive a free cab ride home (up to a $50.00 fare), please call 800-200-8294 (TAXI) or #8294 (TAXI) on your AT&T telephone. Please refer to the SoberRide information listed below for important details concerning this program. You must be 21 or older to use the SoberRide service. Please note: At this time the SoberRide line is only able to accept calls from cell phones with a DC, Maryland, or Virginia area code number and any local landline or pay phone. WRAP's SoberRide, called one of the nation's most successful free cab ride programs for would-be impaired drivers, has helped to ensure greater Washington, DC residents have a safe way home on high-risk holidays. Since 1993, WRAP has provided over 34,000 safe rides home. Currently, SoberRide operates during the December/January holiday season, St. Patrick's Day, Independence Day and Halloween. WRAP's SoberRide provides a free cab ride home up to a $50 fare.
Callers are financially responsible for anything over $50. Visit http://www.soberride.com/files/soberRide.htm for more information on SoberRide.
________________________________________________________________ DISTRICT CHRISTMAS TREE RECYCLING Christmas trees will be collected from January 2 through January 19, 2008. Residents must place undecorated, bare holiday trees at the curb no earlier than Monday, January 2, 2008, and no later than Sunday, January 13. Any trees not put out for collection that week should be placed with your trash on your regular collection day. For more information visit:
http://dpw.dc.gov/dpw/cwp/view,a,1203,q,518164,dpwNav,|31202|.asp
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BROWN APPLAUDS MAYOR, DEVELOPMENT TEAMS FOR CLOSING OLD CONVENTION CENTER SITE DEAL--
Economic Development Committee Passes New Convention Center Hotel Bill
(Left: Councilmember Brown speaking about plans to redevelop the Old Convention Center site.) On December 17th, Councilmember Kwame R. Brown joined Mayor Adrian M. Fenty, Ward 2 Councilmember Jack Evans, Deputy Mayor Neil Albert and the development team from Hines/Archstone-Smith to announce the closing of the deal to develop an $850 million mixed-use project on the Old Convention Center site. The project is expected to bring 3,000 development-related jobs and 2,500 direct permanent jobs, 134 affordable housing units and 250,000 square feet of retail space. “The Old Convention Center site represents what may be the most valuable urban land in the world,” said Brown. “But more importantly, to DC residents it represents an opportunity to provide jobs, affordable housing and local business retail. I applaud the Mayor’s team and the developers for continuing to push this project toward completion. I look forward to seeing the first shovel in the ground and DC residents hard at work.” Today, the Committee on Economic Development, chaired by Brown, passed B17-459 “New Convention Center Hotel Omnibus Financing and Development Act of 2006.” This bill is the continuation of the effort to build a world-class hotel with 1,150 rooms intended to draw more visitors to the new Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The hotel will be located at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Ninth Street NW next to the Convention Center. The hotel deal with Marriott International was announced by Mayor Fenty on September 24th. To move the deal forward, the District needed to negotiate a land swap with Kingdon Gould III to acquire the property at Massachusetts Avenue and Ninth Streets. The land swap was later finalized and announced on November 2nd. As a part of the swap, Gould received the northeast corner of the Old Convention Center site. Gould is expected to announce his plans for developing the site intended to complement the $850 million project led by Hines/Archstone-Smith, which was detailed at the press conference today. “The District has an historic opportunity to reshape the future of our great city,” said Brown. “We must be vigilant and ensure that we maximize the benefit these projects have for District residents. I’m going to continue my efforts to ensure residents are full partners in the revitalization of our city.”
________________________________________________________________ BROWN: SADDENED BY THE LOSS OF FORMER COUNCILMEMBER On December 17th, Councilmember Kwame R. Brown learned of the passing of former District of Columbia Councilmember Hilda Mason. Hilda Mason left behind a legacy of civic participation that has inspired new leaders including Councilmember Brown. “While I was saddened to hear of the loss of former Councilmember Hilda Mason, I have been and continue to be inspired by her steadfast dedication to the District,” said Brown. “I believe that her spirit of civic involvement will continue to encourage more residents to become active members of the community. I’m grateful for her tireless commitment to education and to providing our city with full voting representation in Congress. She helped lay the foundation for a brighter future for all District residents.”
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