Adams Morgan Lawsuit: From Streetscape To Litigate?

WASHINGTON -- Robert Clayton is not satisfied with the no-interest loan money being made available to Adams Morgan businesses affected by the streetscaping project that has been tearing up parts of 18th Street NW since March of this year.

Clayton is a lawyer who represents Crooked Beat Records -- he also buys a lot of jazz vinyl there. Crooked Beat's owner Bill Daly has complained of big drops in sales due to the streetscape construction and contends that customers can't find parking.

The city is in the midst of rebuilding 18th Street from Florida Avenue to Columbia Road, through the commercial heart of Adams Morgan. The roadway and sidewalks will be reconstructed and parking will be reconfigured in places.

Clayton told The Huffington Post that he's glad $3 million is finally available for Daly and other business owners affected by the construction, but he's not happy with the terms on which the money is being made available.

Thursday at 5 p.m., Clayton is encouraging other 18th Street business owners to come to his office, at 2305 Calvert St. NW, to talk about next steps.

Clayton would like to see the D.C. government to make some changes to the mitigation. For one, he says the $3 million in loans should be available to Adams Morgan businesses before becoming available to businesses affected by other city improvement projects. He'd also like the loans be made available as grants or as loans that ultimately are forgiven. Finally, he said, he'd like to see immediate improvements in parking, like a suspension of parking enforcement, for example.

Kristen Barden, executive director of the Adams Morgan Partnership BID, said in an email to HuffPost that "[a]ll of those suggestions sound terrific. I doubt the city will agree to them however."

The mayor's office did not immediately respond for comment on Clayton's looming lawsuit.

Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham, who represents Adams Morgan, told HuffPost that 18th Street businesses aren't likely to get what Clayton is asking for. There are now 18 streetscape projects in various stages of completion in the District, and whatever is done for 18th Street would have to be done all over the city, Graham said. And Clayton's proposals are expensive. Graham said that to lift parking restrictions even until 10 p.m. would mean having to find $6 million elsewhere in the budget.

"There have been streetscape constructions that have begun and finished," Graham said. "And somehow the problems were endured. I think we're doing comparatively a good job with 18th Street. The real answer to this is to be done with it, get it over. And then everyone will appreciate the beautiful new street. It will be very satisfying, if we can just get through it."

Asked if he is gearing up for a lawsuit against the city in case the city doesn't do more for 18th Street business owners, Clayton said: "You always plan ahead. If we don't get relief that is satisfactory to the bulk of the clients, then of course we'll have to seek other alternatives." But, he added, "I don't have a pool of clients demanding action."

Crooked Beat is in fact Clayton's only 18th Street client at the moment. So he's been canvassing other 18th Street businesses, encouraging them to come to Thursday's meeting.

"There's strength of numbers, and the city will take notice if there is a large enough group involved who are all actively pursuing the same goal," he said. "Individual businesses will get lip service, but no real change."

UPDATE, 5:33 p.m.: This post has been updated with comments from D.C. Councilmember Jim Graham (D-Ward 1).

Flickr photo by ok-oyot.

Comments

[Admomaven]

09:11 PM on 12/12/2011

Just a quick reminder that:
1) A quick review of www.adamsm­­organstre­e­tscapepr­oj­ect.com­, will reveal that the constructi­­on project is not behind schedule and that it is in fact right on schedule. The project began in February 2011 and is scheduled to be complete in May 2012. That has always been the length of the project.

2) This contract with Civil Constructi­­on, unlike any streetscap­­e contract before, has strict penalties and incentives­­. For every day before May 13, 2012 there is a $5,000 bonus, likewise for every day the constructi­­on goes past May 13, there is a $5,000 penalty. This is the first DDOT constructi­­on contract of it's kind.

Thanks,
Kristen

[Matt Eldridge]

10:13 AM on 10/26/2011

"Finally, he said, he'd like to see immediate improvements in parking, like a suspension of parking enforcement, for example."

This suggestion is illogical. A suspension in parking enforcement would decrease the parking availability because people will keep their cars parked along the retail strip for an excessive period of time, therefore worsening the parking situation by allowing fewer individuals to park. Rationing parking using meters and 2 hr limits encourages the most equitable distribution of the parking spaces and the highest number of customers finding available parking at any given time.

[timo96]

03:05 PM on 10/25/2011

Parking has been a problem in AM, particularly on 18th, since biblical times (look it up, it's there)...

... I'm thinking there are other issues at work here (a struggling record store on a street that will soon see higher property values [tax rates] and higher rental rates for businesses). In many ways I sympathize with small business owners being squeezed out of DC neighborhoods they've inhabited for years, but let's not pretend this is *just* about a temporary parking problem during a streetscaping project.

[klbarden1]

02:12 PM on 10/25/2011

Third, Tom Pipkin the DDOT Communicat­ions staff person, me and Councilmem­ber Jim Graham have been prompt to answer Mr. Daly's and every other business owner's questions to the best of our ability with the informatio­n available. I know Tom was able to alert Mr. Daly to the sidewalk constructi­on work to be performed in front of his business.

Fourth, DC Government has set up a Streetscap­e Loan Relief Fund and funded it with $3 million this first year. See: Streetscap­e Fund Amendment Act of 2010 effective April 8, 2011 (DC Law 18-370; DC Official Code 1-325.191(­d)(2011 Supp). and the Mayor's Order 2011-128, effective July 29, 2011.

This is a revolving interest-f­ree loan program with repayment plans up to 5 years. DSLBD is the agency tasked with administer­ing this loan fund. They will be publishing the rules and applicatio­n this week. Funds will be distribute­d through the Washington Area Community Investment Fund. DSLBD will begin outreach meetings in each neighborho­od affected by streetscap­e constructi­on in the next few weeks and will describe the applicatio­n process.

Business owners in any area affected by streetscap­e constructi­on should look for notice soon.

For additional questions please refer them to me or Tom Pipkin in the DDOT office

Kristen

Kristen Barden
Executive Director
Adams Morgan Partnershi­p BID
1804 Belmont Road, NW
Washington­, DC 20009
202-997-07­83
202-234-18­60 fax
kbarden@ad­amsmorgano­nline.org

[klbarden1]

02:09 PM on 10/25/2011

A couple things:
First, a quick review of www.adamsm­organstree­tscapeproj­ect.com, will reveal that the constructi­on project is not behind schedule and that it is in fact right on schedule. The project began in February 2011 and is scheduled to be complete in May 2012. This contract with Civil Constructi­on, unlike any streetscap­e contract before, has strict penalties and incentives­. For every day before May 13, 2012 there is a $5,000 bonus, likewise for every day the constructi­on goes past May 13, there is a $5,000 penalty. This is the first DDOT constructi­on contract of it's kind.

Second, the Pepco work that preceded the heavy constructi­on was done intentiona­lly so that Pepco could get out in front of DDOT and not delay the heavy constructi­on as has happened on too numerous projects to discuss here.

[WaPoFan]

07:44 AM on 10/25/2011

Everyone wants free money. Where is mine?

WTF are "loans that ultimately are forgiven." Where can I get one of those?

So is this guy willing to pay the government extra money after the project is completed and more people visit his store because of improved parking and infrastructure?

The only reasonable request made is a "suspension of parking enforcement." However, that will kick him in the butt when people start parking in the already limited spots for six to twenty-four hours knowing they won't get fined.

[alexandra23]

03:37 AM on 10/25/2011

The actual problem with the streetscaping project that began in March 2011, on 18th Street in Adams Morgan, is that under Mayor Adrian Fenty the project would have been completed within 2 months of start date. The current Mayor Vincent Gray is the real reason for the project taking so long to complete.

Rather than trying to milk the city coffers for more money, the businesses on 18th Street and their lawyer, Robert Clayton, should be trying to start a recall vote to remove Mayor Gray from office. Gray is currently being investigated by the FBI and several other entities for campaign and elections fraud. He may well be indicted any day for campaign and elections fraud. Gray illegally sabotaged Mayor Fenty's re-election campaign by paying another mayoral candidate (Suleiman Brown) to verbally attack Fenty with outrageous lies and vicious rhetoric. After "winning" the mayoral election, Gray then rewarded his cohort in crime, Suleiman Brown a $110,000 a year job with the city government.

Mayor Fenty was turning DC into a world-class city as the nation's capital should be. As City Council Chairman, Gray tried to thwart every improvement Fenty made, from repairing the delapidated public school buildings, to focusing on the education of the children by improving the quality of public school teachers, repairing deteriorating roads, alleys and sidewalks in record time and with high quality workmanship, replanting trees, upgrading the public transit system, improving the police and fire departments, and raising the city's bond rating.

[Devin O]

04:39 AM on 10/25/2011

You falsely claim that Gray payed Brown to attack Fenty. Mayor Gray has not even been charged with a crime, leave alone actually convicted of anything. So, stop it with the politically-motivated slander. Fenty got his a*s kicked out of town; deal with it.

[alexandra23]

03:33 PM on 10/25/2011

The majority of the residents of DC, know that everything that I stated is absolutely true. Do you work for Gray? Are you perhaps a public school teacher upset by Mayor Fenty's insistence on teacher accountability? Perhaps a contractor who lost a construction project due to shoddy work under Fenty? Or perhaps a lobbyist affiliated with the DC taxi industry?

We'll just have to wait and see whether Gray is finally indicted and charged with campaign and election fraud, won't we? My bet is that he and his cohorts will be indicted and charged. And, just what "politically-motivated slander" are you referring to? Both Fenty and Gray are Democrats so where's the political motivation. Just so you know, it's not "slander," when proven to be true.

[SirCoolBreeze]

02:06 AM on 10/25/2011

They want free money. So does every other business in DC. Tough.
The businesses on 18th St NW in Adams Morgan have a natural draw to the area and everyone knows that if you go to Adams Morgan it might take you 30 minutes to find parking. So what? Stop Whining.
There is no whining in Retail when you have a walking distance residency that is above the National Average for disposable income and that natural draw of a GREAT area like Adams Morgan.

Suck it up or sell.

[Devin O]

04:44 AM on 10/25/2011

Are you saying that if DDOT f*cks up the planning and/or construction job at Adams Morgan, the businesses affected by those mistakes are not entitled to compensation. If you are, you're very naive and mistaken.

[imonlyhereforthelaughs]

08:27 AM on 10/25/2011

What mistakes? There haven't been any, else the lawyer would have spouted off about that, don't you think? He's just ticked because it is harder for him to get to his favorite record store at the moment.

[Stuzzadelic]

07:38 PM on 10/24/2011

I love the bohemian nightlife in that area.

[MrTown3]

07:37 PM on 10/24/2011

parking there is atrocious....

[Moritz Reiter]

10:54 PM on 10/24/2011

It is, but the job needs to be done and maybe get those guys working a bit faster. before we know it it will be a year.