Adams Mill Streetscape Improvement Project Now Underway

Fri., Jul. 11: The city’s transportation department (DDOT) has started work on the six-months Adams Mill Streetscape and Pedestrian Improvement Project, completion of which is expected to be, weather permitting, by December. The targeted streets are Adams Mill Road between 18th Street and Lanier Place and Columbia Road between 18th and Euclid Streets. The traffic control plan will allow for two lanes of traffic to be maintained in both directions of 18th Street during construction. Access to the firehouse, pedestrian access to businesses and local traffic will be maintained at all times during construction.

The pedestrian improvements scheduled on the north side of the intersection at 18th and Columbia Road will incorporate some of the tools and techniques advocated in the recently released draft District Pedestrian Master Plan. These include removal of the slip lane, installation of curb extensions, sidewalk widening and pavement marking and signage improvements. The streetscape work will include resurfacing of the roadways, construction of curb and gutter, traffic signal upgrade, realignment of the roadway, streetlight upgrade to the Washington Globe streetlight, improvement to the drainage facilities, conversion of fire hydrant and landscaping. Work hours will be from 7am to 7pm, Monday through Friday, weather permitting. Additional information and construction updates will be made available on the DDOT web site at www.ddot.dc.gov; click on “Major Construction Initiatives” to locate the project information.

Fondo del Sol Summer Film Festival

Sat., Jul. 12 (1pm): Dupont Circle’s Fondo del Sol bilingual Latino community and multicultural art museum, founded 35 years ago, is hosting a summer FILM FESTIVAL series featuring some of its rarest and most fascinating video footage at its 2112 R Street gallery and study center. Consistent with its mission dedicated to artists whose perspective has been overlooked by mainstream art world, the films and videos to be shown will be of alternative viewpoints and histories. The subjects and directors of these films are artists who strive towards a greater purpose in their work; they go beyond art to address social injustices, political issues, and identity. From journalists chronicling the struggles against a dictator in the Mexican Revolution, to a Cuban artist discovering her identity as a woman and an exile in the U.S., to early efforts in exhibiting Latino art across the country, this film series will offer engaging and informative works about Latino, Hispanic, and Chicano identity.

Each Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m., the short films, documentaries, and feature films that will be shown will be focused on six central themes: Cuba, America Latino and Latina, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, and Chicano identity. The schedule is as follows: Cuba (Jul. 9 & 12); Latino/Latina (Jul. 16 & 19); Mexico (Jul. 23 & 26); Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica (Jul. 30 & Aug. 2); Latino/Latina (Aug. 6 & 9); Mexico/Chicano (Aug. 13 & 16). Each day’s films will run about 2-2½ hours total. Admission is $3; senior citizens and children are free. Refreshments will be available. For more info, call 265.9235 or visit www.fondodelsol.org.

Third District Police Summer Party Day

Sat., Jul. 12 (3-7pm): The Third District Police will be hosting a SUMMER PARTY at the district’s headquarters (1620 V St.) which will be featuring, along with free hot dogs, hamburgers and soft drinks, music, a dunk tank, a moon walk, and displays of what they bill as “the cops’ coolest equipment.” But there is even more: Anyone can enter the neighborhood home-made dessert contest simply by bringing their best cookies, cakes, pies, brownies, cobblers, sweet treats to the party for the 4 p.m. judging – following which the desserts will go on sale with the proceeds going to support community events just like this one. For more inf, call MPD Officer Marco Santiago at 671-6604.

Free Outdoor Movie Screenings at Stead Park

Thu., Jul. 31 (8:30pm): Summer Movie Mania, the brainchild of 17th Street-based real estate agent Lindsay Reishman, continues with its FREE MOVIES outside on the Stead Park soccer field (enter from P Street between 16th & 17th Streets). This month it’s The Wizard of Oz! (Rain date: August 7th.) This is fun for everybody. Come early with blankets or lawn chairs and a picnic basket (but no alcoholic beverages), participate in the raffle for restaurant meals and gift certificates and make it a complete evening diversion. Last month this three-part series kicked off with Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and the 150 or so persons attending had a terrific time; the organizers are expecting an even larger turnout this month. (The final free offering in this series will be the ‘80s classic, Goonies on August 28th.) For more info, contact Lindsey Olsen at lolsen@lindsayreishman.com.

Cardozo-Shaw Neighborhood Association “Dog Days” Event

Sat., Aug. 2 (10am-4pm): The Cardozo-Shaw Neighborhood Association will offer NEIGHBORHOOD TOURS of the greater U Street area in conjunction with the Mid-City Business Association’s annual Dog Days of August event. The tours, which will commence at the corner of 14th and T Streets, will focus on a variety of subjects including art, architecture, history, and nightlife. Tickets for the tours can be purchased on site for $5 but non-CSNA members are encouraged to join and support the neighborhood group that supports U Street and its environs. For more info., send email to president@csnadc.org.

SELECTED STREET CRIMES

Reported for June 1 – 29, 2008

Belmont, 1600 blk.: person’s property snatched by another who came from behind [12:45am, Sun., 6/8]

Center, 3500 blk: robbery of person involving force (details not available from MPD prior to press time) [8:15am, Tue., 6/3]

Champlain, 2200 blk.: man who asked for directions from 2 others, instead of being assisted was grabbed around his neck 7 robbed of $10 [2:30am, Sat., 6/7] (incident appears to be similar in some aspects to 2 others that occurred during a 90-minute period on the same night & within a few blocks of each other in the Reed-Cooke section of Adams Morgan, in the 1700 block of Euclid St. & the 1800 block of Kalorama Rd., as reported below)

Champlain, 2300 blk.: woman accosted from behind by man who put her in a headlock, whereupon several others approached & robbed her of cell phone iPod, keys & a messenger bag [1:15am, Tue., 6/3]

Chapin, 1400 blk.: man accosted by 3 others who demanded wallet & when refused was physically attacked [11:15am, Sun., 6/8]

Columbia, 1600 blk.: man robbed by 2 others who came from behind, one of whom first struck & knocked him to the ground & proceeded to kick him in the head until he lost consciousness [9:45pm, Mon., 6/9]

Dupont Cir.: man at bank ATM accosted from behind by 2 others, one of whom punched him in the head & threw him on the ground while the other attempted to withdraw cash from the man’s account [9pm, Mon., 6/23]

Euclid, 1700 blk.: person accosted by 2 others & was struck & robbed of cell phone, keys & iPod [1am, Sat., 6/7] (incident appears to be similar in some aspects to 2 others that occurred during a 90-minute period on the same night & within a few blocks of each other in the Reed-Cooke section of Adams Morgan, in the 2200 block of Champlain St. & the 1800 block of Kalorama Rd., as reported above & below respectively)

Florida, 600 blk.: 2 persons robbed of their scooters at gunpoint by 3 others who pulled up in a car & accosted them, first demanding money [1:30am, Sat., 6/7]

Georgia, 2200 blk.: woman robbed of bag by 2 men, one of whom had been walking in front of her & the other who came from behind & had placed an unknown object to her back [12:30am, Wed., 6/25]

Harvard, 1700 blk.: person’s property snatched from hand by one of 3 others who came from behind [5pm, Fri., 6/27]

Holmead, 3400 blk.: man robbed at knifepoint by another of $100 cash, watch, bracelet & necklace [10am, Mon., 6/2]

Irving, 1400 blk.: person’s wallet containing cash, credit cards & IDs snatched by another who came from behind [3:30pm, Mon., 6/2]

Irving, 1400 blk.: man walking with friends approached by 5 others, one of whom pushed him & snatched his cell phone [11:45pm, Sat., 6/28]

Irving, 1600 blk.: man accosted by several others who demanded he give them everything in his pockets but avoided doing so by being able to get away from them [12:30pm, Sun., 6/8]

Kalorama, 1700 blk.: man accosted by another who struck him in the face & robbed him of wallet & cell phone [2am, Sun., 6/1]

Kalorama, 1700 blk.: woman accosted by man who threw her to the ground 7 robbed her of purse [2am, Sun., 6/8]

Kalorama, 1800 blk.: person accosted by 3 others asking for money & when refused was beaten & robbed of a pack of cigarettes [1:45am, Sat., 6/7] (incident appears to be similar in some aspects to 2 others that occurred during a 90-minute period on the same night & within a few blocks of each other in the Reed-Cooke section of Adams Morgan, in the 1700 block of Euclid St. & the 2200 block of Champlain St., as reported above)

M, 1400 blk.: woman approached by man asking for the time & when she said she did not know & showed him that she did not wear a watch he then attempted to snatch her purse from her other hand but fled when she screamed [8:30pm, Fri., 6/20]

Mass., 1600 blk.: man who had just left a bar accosted by 3 others who punched him about his body & face & robbed him [3am, Sat., 6/14]

Mass., 2300 blk.: man approached by 2 others, one of whom asked for a cigarette & who then punched him in the face, knocking down & then attempted to steal wallet [4am, Sat., 6/7]

Monroe, 1000 blk.: man accosted by 4 others, kicked, beaten & robbed of wallet containing cash & an ID card [10:30pm, Sat., 6/21] (incident appears to be perpetrated by the same 4 men & in the same manner as another that occurred a short distance away in the 3100 block of 11th St. on the same night 1½ hours later, as noted below)

N, 600 blk. (alley): man robbed by 4 others who first attacked him by punching & kicking about his body & face [10:15am, Sat., 6/14]

New Hamp., 1700 blk.: man accosted by 2 others who rode up to him on their bikes & demanded he turn over his valuables, causing him to throw his wallet & cell phone on the ground, whereupon they picked them up & rode off [12:30am, Tue., 6/3]

New Jersey, 1300 blk. (school): within a 15-minute period, 2 different men were robbed by 2 others of their cell phones, in the first incident one of them grabbed man by his hands while the other removed the cell phone from a pocket & in the other incident 15 minutes later man was grabbed around his neck the cell phone also removed by the other from a pocket, whereupon both robbers walked down a ramp toward the school gym [10:55-11:10am, Mon., 6/10]

Newton, 700 blk. (alley): man robbed at knifepoint by 2 others [11pm, Tue., 6/10]

Newton, 1400 blk.: man accosted by 2 others, one of whom placed him in a choke hold while the other robbed him of cell phone [1:30am, Sat., 6/21]

O, 2000 blk.: woman’s cell phone snatched from her hand by persons who ran off [6pm, Mon., 6/23]

Ontario, 2200 blk.: man robbed of cell phone at gunpoint by 3 others [11pm, Fri., 6/13]

P, 1600 blk.: woman approached by man who asked for the time & who then snatched cell phone from her hand [10am, Sat., 6/21]

Q, 1500 blk.: 2 persons robbed by man who demanded their money, stating that he had a gun [10pm, Fri., 6/27]

Q, 2100 blk.: man robbed at gunpoint by 2 others, one of whom first demanded, “Don’t move; give us all your money” [2am, Wed., 6/11]

R, 1300 blk.: woman accosted by 3 persons demanding her property, whereupon they snatched her purse containing cell phone, wallet, and keys [10:15pm, Fri., 6/6]

R, 1400 blk.: while making pizza deliveries, man accosted by 2 others, one of whom held him against his car while the other smashed the glass sunroof with an unknown object, reached in & grabbed what was inside [10pm, Tue., 6/24]

R. 1500 blk.: woman walking to her gym accosted from behind by man who first covered her mouth & then snatched her purse [5:30am, Mon. 6/16]

Rhode Is., 1300 blk.: woman riding her scooter accosted by 2 men who struck her in the face & robbed her of I-phone, cash and an ID card [6:15pm, Fri., 6/13]

Seaton, 100 blk.: woman’s property snatched from her by 2 men who had approached her [10:45pm, Thu., 6/19]

Spring, 1500 blk.: 3 persons accosted by 2 others, one of whom demanded, “Give me your s . . t” while pulling a gun, whereupon one of the persons being held up resisted & was shot in the shoulder [2:45am, Sat., 6/7]

Swann, 1400 blk. (alley): man accosted by another who threatened to shoot him unless he handed over his money, which he did although no gun was actually shown [10:15pm, Thu., 6/26]

T, 1400 blk.: man accosted from behind by 2 others who knocked him to the ground, punched & kicked him about his face & body & then robbed him [2:30am, Thu., 6/26]

Vermont, 2100 blk.: woman’s purse snatched by man who came alongside [3:15am, Sun., 6/8]

Vermont, 2100 blk.: man robbed by another who came from behind, grabbed him & dragged him to the ground [1:30pm, Mon., 6/16]

Waterside, 2000 blk.: person approached from behind by 2 others and when turned around was startled to see one of them pointing a gun but was able to flee from the imminent danger [10:45pm, Fri., 6/13]

Wyoming, 2300 blk.: woman robbed purse at knifepoint by 3 men [11:45pm, Mon., 6/16]

2nd, 2200 blk. (alley): person taking out the trash accosted from behind by man who placed his hand on person’s shoulder & when turned around was pushed against a wall & robbed [11pm, Wed., 6/25]

9th & U: woman riding her bicycle was knocked off by man who then grabbed her purse containing $50, cell phone & camera [1:30am, Thu., 6/12]

10th, 1300 blk.: man robbed by 2 others who grabbed him & went through his pockets [11pm, Mon., 6/16]

10th, 2000 blk.: woman’s property snatched by man who came from behind [10pm, Sun., 6/22]

11th, 3100 blk.: man accosted by 4 others, kicked, beaten & robbed of cell phone & wallet [12mid, Sat., 6/21] (incident appears to be perpetrated by the same 4 men & in the same manner as another that occurred a short distance away in the 1000 block of Monroe St. on the same night 1½ hours earlier, as noted above)

12th & W: woman accosted from behind by man who placed her in a choke hold, covered her mouth & robbed her of her purse [11pm, Sun., 6/15]

12th, 1500 blk.: man accosted by 3 other & robbed while one of them held gun to his head [11:15pm, Wed., 6/11]

12th (Pl.), 2100 blk.: woman grabbed by man who placed her in choke hold, demanded her purse, threw her to the ground & took the purse [11:30pm, Tue., 6/10]

13th, 100 blk.: woman accosted by man who kept grabbing her arm despite her telling him to leave her alone & when she almost lost her footing he robbed her [2:15am, Sat., 6/28]

13th, 1700 blk.: person struck on the head by 2 others who then stole backpack containing clothing and credit card, cell phone & $85 [5:15am, Sat., 6/7]

14th & Irving: person punched in the face & robbed by another (case closed with arrest following identification of the assailant by victim) [6pm, Sat., 6/21]

14th & Rhode Is.: man on his scooter waiting for stop light to change accosted from behind by 2 others who punched him in the mouth & tried to push him off the scooter [6:45pm, Thu., 6/12]

14th, 1500 blk. (alley): person approached by another who snatched property from the person who was then into a wall following attempt to snatch it back [1:30am, Thu., 6/12]

14th, 1600 blk.: man riding his scooter on the sidewalk accosted from behind by 2 others who knocked him to the pavement, beat & kicked him & then robbed him [5:30pm, Wed., 6/11]

14th, 2100 blk.: person attacked, beaten & robbed by 3 others [4:30pm, Thu., 6/5]

14th, 3600 blk.: man robbed by another who stuck an unknown pointed object to his side [1:30am, Sun., 6/29]

15th & W: man attacked by 3 others who hit him on the head with an unknown object & when he fell to the ground continued to be punched & kicked & then robbed [12:15am, Sat., 6/28]

15th, 1700 blk.: man punched in the head, knocked down & robbed by another who had come from behind [11:30pm, Sun., 6/15]

16th & Irving: man’s bicycle snatched from him by another who accosted him & demanded that he turn it over [4:30pm, Sun., 6/8]

16th & Irving: man robbed by 3 others, one of whom brandished a knife while another kept his hand under his shirt as if he was holding a weapon [3:15am, Sun., 6/29]

16th & Newton (bus stop): in the fashion of a Wild West stagecoach robbery, 2 men boarded a Metrobus, one brandishing a shotgun, the other a knife & both proceeded to rob the passengers [6:45am, Sun., 6/8]

17th, 1700 blk.: woman accosted by man who grabbed her arm & snatched property from her [3pm, Sat., 6/21]

17th, 3200 blk.: person’s backpack containing cell phone, credit cards & $2 cash snatched by another [7pm, Sat., 6/7]

18th & Columbia: person robbed at knifepoint by 2 others of necklace, bracelet, cash & 2 cell phones [12:15am, Fri., 6/20]

18th, 2300 blk.: man’s property snatched from him by another who came from behind [3:15m, Thu., 6/19]

18th, 2300 blk.: person accosted by another who then attempted to rob person but failed & fled in waiting car [2:45am, Sat., 6/21]

21st, 1700 blk.: woman’s purse snatched by man who jumped out of car driven by another that pulled up alongside her as she was walking then got back in [12:15am, Sat., 6/7]

PSA 302 (actual location not available from MPD prior to press time): person accosted by 3 others, forcibly pushed against a wall & robbed of wallet containing cash & IDs [6:30pm, Mon., 6/2]

PSA 305 (actual location not available from MPD prior to press time): person accosted 2 others who demanded whatever was in the pockets & then removed some cash and also took umbrella [3:45pm, Wed., 6/4]

PSA 305 (actual location not available from MPD prior to press time): (carjacking) man on scooter stopped at traffic light accosted by 2 others who threatened that they had knives & forced him off his scooter [3:45am, Sat., 6/14]

PSA 305 (actual location not available from MPD prior to press time): woman walking through alley accosted from behind by man who grabbed & robbed her [11:15am, Sat., 6/14]