Sorry for the harsh title but I have gone to my wit’s end with our ANC. They have proven to disregard residents concerns, not inform residents, misappropriate monies, bar us from information and access, and now, they have FAILED to do their jobs.
As reported in the Washington City Paper, the Wal-Mart proposal along New York Ave/Bladenburg has moved to the next step after clearing the Office of Planning, along with the Georgia Ave proposal. The paper accurately points out that ANC4B submitted comments that their residents expressed concerns over. ANC5B?
NOTHING!!
ANC 4B’s concerns were only very summarily addressed, or ruled outside the bounds of large tract review. ANC 5B didn’t even submit comments
Now, I attended ANC meetings where Wal-Mart made presentations. Residents commented at length regarding the proposed plans including traffic issues that were not addressed, the suburban aspect of this store, a program to help minority-owned businesses open in the shopping center, etc…but it appears our ANC dropped the ball as usual. Regardless if the comments would have been addressed, as our elected officials, they had an obligation to report the comments in writing to the Office of Planning and others.
Wake up Ward 5! Your allegiances to those elected in this Ward are for those that cast you and your interests aside for their lazy and erroneous sense of importance. We deserve better. Period.
rhodeislandavene.com 
Well said. Thanks for your reporting on this issue.
I am not surprised. The entire system seems incredibly non-transparent and corrupt. Allegedly, the commissioner for 5B04, Vaughn Bennett, requested a copy of the bylaws in January and had to wait six months before anyone would send them to him. What a promising way to begin one’s newly elected seat after winning a position held by someone else for over 10 years. How on earth can anyone adequately do their job without a set of rules is beyond me. I don’t know exactly where this corrupted version of neighborhood representation starts, but I know where it should end–THE CONSTITUENTS. We deserve better than this bullstuff going on and I strongly encourage folks to attend their local ANC and single member district meetings to make their sentiments heard.
If you are unsure of which ANC district you are in… look at this map:
http://www.dcboee.org/maps.asp
Or enter your address in:
http://citizenatlas.dc.gov/atlasapps/reporthometab.aspx
and then find your ANC representative(s):
http://anc.dc.gov/anc/site/default.asp
We must create a constituent assembly.MUST! REAL representation, real legislating, real voting, in control of the budget, able to VETO, say NO to the immense excesses of the Emporers like Adrian Fenty and next in line Gray, or the hack City Council. A clique of nepotisitic, entrenched, glad handers smiling in your face all weekend and giving your money, your parkland, your schools, your libraries, away to the richest developers, corporations all week. The chairman cannot travel in DC without leasing two Navigators! They are removing any chance of parks like McMillan, Brookland Metro, dumping wholesale BS on NE while kissing the butts of the privleged constituency in NW, 365 days a year. . The city is overkloaded with the crap the contractors can fraud us with, signage, taffic signals, to the point that the NANNY CITY is destroying the chance for a decent quality of life. Sirrens are constant, illegal(check the noise regulations), everything in the entire city is done and redone, and renovated, again and again, while the simplest safety issues, on suidewalks, streets are going unattended 365 days a year. They are destroying the taxi industry, the reatil small businesses, for Walmart. Dump the corrupt, fraudulent city council. Create the institutions of a STATE, legislature, state agencies, state office holders,, etc. TAXATION WITHOUT REPRESENTATION IS THE BIGGEST JOKE IN THE United States, UNTIL YOU STOP, STOP, STOP PAYING TAXES AND ASK FOR YOUR PREVIOUS YEARS TAXES BACK. No escrow, keep youir money, cause you have no representation,,SIMPLE. DC you are an EMBARRESSMENT!
Amen! I totally concur especially with the last statement.