Take one part concerned Hill East residents, add a roomful of ANC members, reporters and D.C. council members, then top it off with Mayor Vince Gray, and what do you get? Something out of an episode of Parks and Recreation.
Last night, community members attended a hearing with Mayor Gray to discuss the future of Reservation 13, a parcel of land adjacent to RFK Stadium and reported to be of interest to the Redskins as a practice and training facility.
Well, based off the reaction from Twitter, it seems the meeting may have been a little bit contentious. For those who missed it, we thankfully have Storify to reassemble the highlights.
Click on the jump to view the Storify of the Reservation 13 meeting…
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RT @mikedebonis: 300 people here, give or take. #res13 #hilleast http://twitpic.com/8zxky7
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“Nice mix of resident here at the meeting in #res13 #Redskins #hilleast
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“Gray says it was “unfortunate” that news of Tampa Bay trip leaked. #res13 #hilleast
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“Gray says #res13 #hilleast master plan needs to be revised. “In nine years, things change.”
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“Mayor Gray does not want a turf battle. Promises to work w community to update master plan. #res13
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“Yvette Alexander saying she will listen to Ward 7 residents “first and foremost” over Ward 6. #res13 #hilleast
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“That did not go over well in this room that is at least half full of Ward 6 residents. #res13 #hilleast
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“Wooooowwwww. @cmyma seems to gloat at having acquired #res13, says “I will listen 1st and foremost to the residents of w7.”
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“@mikedebonis Don’t understand why everyone is pushing their Skins fandom. Missing the point here.#tonedeaf #res13
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“I could imagine a hypothetical future in which @tommywells ran for mayor and @bflahaven ran for ward 6 council. #res13
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“No #Redskins officials spotted, but at least 1 former player at Mayor Gray’s meeting to bring team back to DC tonight.
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“@mayorvincegray says he’s not sure if an NFL training facility is an approved use for #res13 which is owned by Feds
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“Honest answer to all of this: moving current #res13 uses (shelter, jail) is too hard, and city has too many other ready-to-go projects.
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“Tax breaks “not in the cards” for a stadium say CM Evans #res13 #hilleast
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“Mayor Gray points out the whole ward6 vs ward7 is largely irrelevant, since development is up to the executive branch anyway. #res13
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“Wag: “this is the most politicians I’ve ever seen to announce nothing.” #hilleast #res13
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“@mayorvincegray Thank you for taking the first step of moving ahead with development on plots F1 & G1 of #Res13, but don’t stop there!
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“ANC flahaven says that his #hilleast neighborhood has been more than accepting w/social svcs accessibility there. #res13
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“Flahaven asking whether progress on F1/G1 possible while Skins sitch unresolved. #res13 #hilleast
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“DC City officials said tonight #Redskins have given no indication they are interested in moving training facility from Ashburn.
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“Gray keeps saying no plan, but won’t say those parcels are ruled out for Skins. #res13 #hilleast
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“Gray says he hasn’t been in a meeting with Redskins “for a very long time” #res13 #hilleast
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“Crowd at #res13 mtg asked if they’re skins fans. few raise their hands. When asked if brining team to #res13 is a good idea most shout “No”
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“Clear from #res13 mtg tweets: elected “representatives” out of touch & don’t represent views of residents.
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“#Redskins back to DC update: City officials say they’ve only met with team 1 time and no future talks are planned.
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“People ask why I have no TV. DC’s entertaining enough. MT @OnTheFitz: I missed @parksandrecnbc for real thing tonight #Res13
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“@TommyWells @bflahaven I think we need to get excited about F1/G1 lots on #Res13. Develop ASAP, build support before boondoggles take hold.
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“I’m still so mad about that stupid meeting. Who’s the bigger dope: the politician or the concerned citizen who shows up to engage him?
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“After #res13 meeting tonight w/mayor & community, I better understand passionate frustration w/project. @mayorvincegray: get it together.
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“Biking home thought: Casting broad, vague doubt on “the media” w/o calling out specific inaccuracies is a low blow, @mayorvincegray #res13
The Reservation 13 meeting was surreal.
The Mayor’s arrogance boggled my mind. (Memo to DC elected officials: DC is a jurisdiction where many of your constituents are smarter and better educated than you are.)
Jack Evans clearly doesn’t get it. He kept trying to make the it an issue of Redskins fans versus non-Redskins fans. I like the Redskins as much as the next guy. But that’s not the point Jack! The point is that when your constituents walk to the Metro, they walk through vibrant neighborhoods on streets lined with shops and services. When I walk to the Metro, I walk up a one-way street (19th)that is a freeway for Maryland commuters and past a vast and dilapidated surface parking lot for DC Government employees, most of whom are Maryland residents (aka freeloaders).
Redeveloping Reservation 13 is clearly a difficult task. I get that. But the Stadium Armory Metro Station has been open nearly 40 years! And there has been a master plan for the site for nearly a decade. Think of what Arlington would have done with a similar parcel of land by now.
Brian Flahaven was the star of the show. You could tell towards the end that Gray and Evans were frustrated at having been so thoroughly schooled in the game of retail politics by a mere ANC Commissioner. (Brown and Alexander were too clueless to realize they had been schooled.)
As for Alexander: what a joke. I wrote a check for Tom Brown immediately after the meeting. If that is the quality of representation that Ward 7 gets, then all of us who live in Hill East should thank our lucky stars (and our ANC Commissioners)that our neighborhood remains in Ward 6!
BTW, if the Mayor and his cabal of second-rate councilmembers are not talking to the Redskins, then what the hell was Brig Owens doing at the meeting? Not only is he a former Redskins great, he is a commercial real estate developer. I guarantee you that he is the link between the City and Dan Snyder (who loves to surround himself with Redskins from the glory days in the vainglorious hope that somehow the glory will rub off). Repeat of previous memo to Gray, Evans et al: even many of the yokels in Hill East are smarter and better educated than you are.