PBCA resident and community leaders came together to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of 9-11 and memorialize those DC residents who lost their lives that day. The event took place from 10:00am until 11:00am at the intersection of Carpenter and O Street SE. Speakers included Rev. Kendrick Curry, Pastor of Pennsylvania Avenue Baptist Church (PABC), PBCA President Stan Benton, and a musical performance by Rev. Ebonie Shirley.
Your support is needed in helping to make sure DC residents 65 and older, especially those in Wards 5, 7, and 8, who want to receive the COVID-19 vaccine can get it. Here’s how you can help. The Pennsylvania Avenue Baptist Church (PABC) is participating in a pilot to serve as a vaccine clinic for two days this week on Thursday, February 11, and Saturday, February 13, 2020 from 10am – 4pm both days. Please help your neighbors to get registered immediately!
Registration Link: http://www.fivemedicine.com/request-a-appointment.php
On Thursday, July 23, 2020, Councilmember Vincent Gray made some important announcements in his weekly address to Ward 7 Leaders. Read below for an excerpt of those announcements:
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Click HERE to read the complete list of announcements from Councilmember Gray…..
Pennsylvania Avenue East Community Coalition (PAECC) Press Release
DC COUNCIL APPROVES $200,000 FOR A PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE EAST MAIN STREET PROGRAM AND $250,000 TO UPDATE THE SMALL AREA PLAN FOR PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE EAST CORRIDOR (Penn Ave East)
On July 23, 2020, the DC Council held the Second Vote of the Fiscal Year 2021 Local Budget Act of 2020 (Bill 23-761). The Bill passed 13-0. Included in that Bill are two initiatives sponsored by Ward 7 Councilmember Vincent Gray: $200,000 for a Pennsylvania Avenue East Main Street Program and $250,000 to update the Small Area Plan for Penn Ave East.
The approval of funding is a significant accomplishment of the Pennsylvania Avenue East Community Coalition (PAECC), a group of Community Civic Association Presidents and residents from nearby communities such as Dupont Park, Fairlawn, Fairfax Village, Fort Davis, Hillcrest, Penn Branch, and Randle Highlands, who are working together to bring long-overdue development to the area. The PAECC successfully solicited the support of Vincent Gray, Ward 7 Councilmembers; John Falcicchio, Interim Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development; and Kenyan McDuffie, Ward 5 Councilmember and Chair, Committee of Business and Economic Development, to support the funding efforts.
Pennsylvania Avenue is designed as one of America’s “Great Streets.” Yet, Pennsylvania Avenue East of the River has not kept pace with the economic development happening in the rest of the city. Numerous reports, studies, and recommendations for revitalization and improvements have been conducted, including the January 2008 Pennsylvania Avenue SE Corridor Small Area Plan, the current DC Comprehensive Plan, and the Pennsylvania Avenue East of the River Task Force Report dated 12/8/01.
These plans and report reflect the same recommendations; unfortunately, nineteen years (19) later, there has been little or no implementation to date. The PAECC followed the advice of the late John Lewis, “When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up. You have to say something; you have to do something.”
Jacquelyn Cannon, Chair PAECC, states, “Our efforts started from a Change.org Petition created by Ayanna Smith requesting support for a Pennsylvania Avenue East Main Street Program. As a result of the petition and this funding, Penn Ave East will begin revitalization equal or similar to other communities in the District of Columbia. This is a major WIN for the community. The PAECC slogan is, “As DC Fights for Representation, We Fight for Revitalization.”
We’re pleased to say that the restoration of Pope Branch Stream is expected to be completed in November 2016. The Pope Branch tributary stream starts near Fort Davis Drive, runs through Penn Branch (Texas Avenue) and flows to the Anacostia and drains to the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay. The stream had become an eyesore, polluted by stormwater runoff, leaking sewer pipes, trash, and stagnate water and mosquitos. But thanks to the restoration project, we will soon be proud of our community stream.
The restoration project completed by DC Water and Sewer will provide residents with scenic views, and more importantly, will reduce the sediment load carried to the Anacostia river, and provide a in-stream habit for resident fish and other wildlife. The entire project will restore the ecological value of Pope Branch stream and floodplain area.
The multiple construction entrances and 3200 linear feet of access road have been completed at Texas Ave, 35th St. and M. Eighty percent of construction for restoration design features are complete; specifically, shallow places in the stream where the water runs fast and is agitated by rocks, pools, boulder walls, gravel bottoms and small hills of sand constructed with an estimated 1600 tons of natural stream bed material, such as clean sand, gravel, cobble, and boulders.
We will soon have a beautiful community stream, and we thank DC Water and Sewer for keeping us updated and responding to our inquires during the project.
