TGI Friday's says they won't have music, then say they will

Well, this is interesting. You may recall that TGI Friday's announced they were opening a restaurant at 14th and Monroe, which is under the Samuel Kelsey senior housing. The residents of the housing are worried that, among other things, loud live music late at night would be disruptive to sleep and their normal lives.

It's a valid complaint, and the Advisory Neighborhood Commission approved TGI Friday's liquor license if they added soundproofing, though the residents didn't think that would be enough.

On Wednesday, Councilmember Jim Graham met with representatives of the company, who said they didn't plan to have live music at all. That was good news to Graham and presumably to the senior residents of the building.

However, this morning, TGI Friday's attorney told Graham that those representatives of TGI Friday's from his meeting weren't authorized to speak for the company, and that the restaurant would be going for live entertainment after all.

Pretty weird situation. We'll see what comes from it. Graham's two emails are below.

The first email, to the ANC some local residents and ANC commissioners after his meeting

Dear Friends, today I met with representatives from TGIF on the proposed location at 14th and Monroe.
The stated purpose of the meeting was to discuss the signage issues on this historic building.
But when the meeting started the agenda was expanded by the TGIF reps to include broader issues.
I expressed my concern about how live, amplified entertainment would impact Kelsey residents.
At that point, the TGIF reps stated that they had no interest in seeking live entertainment permission.
With that said, I think we can request that the ANC delete the support for within the Settlement Agreement for a future entertainment endorsement.
They promised to continue to take steps to continua the other noise from the restaurant. They believe it can be contained as much as 96% and they are working on the balance.
I am quite sure this will be very good news for Kelsey.
I also mentioned the possibility of deliveries occurring during times the restaurant is not open, from the front of the building on 14th St. As I have in the past, I restated that I would support a loading zone, in order to further minimize the congestion on Monroe--which is already pretty bad.
Bests CM Jim Graham

 And the second, to TGI Friday's and the ANC

TGIF Executives:
You have requested that I speak to your attorney, Mr. Fonseca, concerning whether TGIF will withdraw their request for a Live Entertainment endorsement. I have now done so.
First, a little background...
On November 20, I met in my office with TGIF representatives at a meeting they requested to inform me about exterior signage issues. But eth representatives--not I-- raised the general issues on TGIF. After I mentioned my concern about noise impact on Kelsey seniors, they indicated that TGIF would not seek a live entertainment endorsement. The same day--as I told TGIF I would-- I reported to the community on that communication (see below).
That was a relief since I am certain that nearly no amount of sound proofing will absolutely insure that noise from live music will be contained within the establishment. And here we have a special case: This is the only bar venue I know of in DC with a senior center directly above it.
I am very sad to report that TGIF has now decided that their representatives in that meeting were not authorized to speak for the company on this issue. And that TGIF will pursue live music. (All the various email exchanges are available,)
I have had many experiences with bar related noise problems over the 8 years that I chaired ABRA oversight committee.
Most recently, a similar vexing problem occurred--and I believe is still occurring-- at the Eatonville restaurant on 14th St--despite strong efforts made to contain the noise. There are many other examples.
I fear that the apartments above TGIF will be rendered uninhabitable as a result of the live music noise (not to mention the outdoor patio). What a nightmare awaits those residents!
All of which compels me to raise this issue again, first with my constituents at Kelsey so that they know my experience over the years with noise issues. Of course, if they would like, TGIF may again make their case for noise containment. I wish I could have been at the last meeting, but I was in a plane heading out of town.
I believe
In the recent ABC Task Force I chaired for about a year, and in an earlier review of the noise problem in bars that I prompted, we have wrestled with these noise issues. I wish I could say that we found full solutions. But we did not. We did come up with actions that will help but will not insure the elimination of noise in a situation such as this.
The ABC board is well aware of all of that.
I think this issue is best considered by the full ABC board. But I very much respect the fact that the ANC has entered into a "Settlement Agreement" (SA) with TGIF. That SA supports live entertainment. However, I believe that the ANC was encouraged to agree due to the support that was received from the residents at Kelsey.
After the Kelsey meeting that I am now requesting, when my information is received and considered, there is a chance that the Kelsey sentiment may change. And, in turn, the ANC may wish to reconsider that provision in the Settlement Agreement. That is entirely up to ANC1A.
Whether that happens or not, I am will request the opportunity to testify before the ABC Board on the issue of live entertainment directly below a senior residence.
Bests, Councilmember Jim Graham

Councilmember Bowser parks illegally, ANC commish spots it and reports it

This is pretty funny: Ward 4 councilmember and DC mayoral candidate Muriel Bowser's car parked illegally the other day, and ANC 1A commissioner Patrick Flynn spotted it. Flynn documented the offense on SeeClickFix, a website where people can submit service requests and violations and the city will respond.

Flynn emailed the photo to me, with a note: "Council members are not above the law! Who does this mayoral candidate think she is!?" As you can see, the car with a Ward 4 council license plate is fully past the "no parking or standing anytime" sign.

Of course it's a pretty minor offense, but he makes a valid point.

And this isn't the first time we've spotted a councilmember parking illegally while in the midst of a campaign: there was a car with a Vincent Orange for Council sign parked illegally on 14th Street a while ago -- complete with a bullhorn blaring that Orange favors aggressive enforcement of DC laws. Sometimes you can't make this stuff up.

UPDATE: I've made a few attempts to contact the councilmember about this, and have not gotten a response. As a matter of fact, I've emailed the councilmember or her staff a few times about neighborhood issues and have never gotten a response. You'd think that someone who's job is to represent constituents would actually respond. I've always gotten quick responses from Jim Graham and Jack Evans when I've emailed them about things.

New ANC meeting blog, Short Articles About Long Meetings

Here's a new source of information about our area. Advisory Neighborhood Commission meetings are often long and boring but have a lot of useful things in them, like new business permits, liquor licenses, and plans for residential buildings.

A new blog, Short Articles About Long Meetings, has launched to cover some ANCs in our area and some further afield: ANCs 1B, 2B and 2F. ANC 1B is southern Columbia Heights (up to Girard/Harvard/Irving depending on where you are, click the link for a map) and the other two are Dupont Circle and Logan Circle (map here.)

It's a good blog and has a lot of info, but unfortunately doesn't cover ANC 1A, which is northern Columbia Heights. We'll just have to rely on information on that from ANC 1A chair Kent Boese, who also runs the Park View DC blog (and occasionally on me, I go to the meetings when I can.)

I'd recommend you go to the meetings themselves too -- they can be entertaining, and I feel like many people who go are NIMBYs, so maybe a non-NIMBY contingent wouldn't be a bad thing, just to even out the topics of conversation.

The blog also has a Twitter account, @shortalongm.

Lots of news from ANC1A: Opposition to TGI Friday's liquor license, Looking Glass serve lunch, former Blue Banana adding patio, The Coupe's patio, more

Wow, a lot was going on in the recent ANC 1A meeting, the Advisory Neighborhood Commission that covers northern Columbia Heights and Park View.

Kent over at the great Park View DC blog (and ANC 1A chair) reported on the Thursday meeting, and a lot was of note.

For one, locals living in the Samuel Kelsey senior apartments above the incoming TGI Friday's at 14th and Monroe were opposed to the restaurant's liquor license application, and the ANC voted to protest it. This is actually not unusual, but will give the ANC more standing in the future to set hours and rules for the place.

And if you visit the Georgia Avenue bar and restaurant strip, there's some good news for you! The Looking Glass Lounge at 3464 Georgia Avenue NW is going to start serving lunch, and the currently-closed Blue Banana a few doors down has applied for a back patio. 

The lunch sounds like a great option if you work from home or are around during they day, and LGL's food is pretty solid! I'm a fan of the sandwiches especially. 

And if you recall, Blue Banana was a sports bar (which I liked, nice, laid-back place) but closed a few months ago with the idea to reopen as something else. They weren't using their back space at all, so this sounds like a great addition to the patio places there, like DC Reynolds' big patio and Looking Glass's cozy one.

And as for The Coupe, the ANC voted to support their application for a sidewalk cafe where they can serve booze. There was some opposition to this before at a previous ANC meeting (from a person who was in my opinion, totally unreasonable) but it sounds like common sense prevails. The Coupe isn't a place where people go to get wasted, and I don't think people getting coffee in the morning or pie (which is delicious) in the evening are going to do that on the patio, either. Here are the hours, from Kent's blog:

HOURS OF OPERATIONSSunday 8 am – 11 pm Monday through Thursday 7 am – 11 pm Friday 7 am – 1 am and Saturday 8 am – 1 amSALES /SERVICE AND CONSUMPTION FOR THE SIDEWALK CAFÉSunday through Thursday 10 am – 11 pm Friday and Saturday 10 am -1 am

What do you think about all these developments?