mount pleasant neighborhood alliance

 

Main Street and ANC1D Hostile to Businesses

Mount Pleasant Main Street, Inc., recently filed protests with the Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) Board against eight of Mt. Pleasant’s Class CR restaurants, because they allege that renewing these licenses will affect the peace, order and quiet of our neighborhood.  Many of these restaurants are exceptional businesses that have not caused our community any trouble at all.  

Main Street’s protests could have placed the organization in a conflict of interest for several reasons. First, they say that their mission is “to attract more people to shop on Mt. Pleasant Street by supporting the local merchants while enhancing the physical and economic features of the street.”  An unwarranted ABC protest does not signify support. 

Second, they’ve received funding from the DC government’s reSTORE DC/DC Main Streets program “to support retail investment in the District through the retention and expansion of existing businesses and the recruitment of new businesses”—not to hassle merchants. Their protests say to the community that the businesses are a nuisance to the neighborhood and their licenses to remain in business need to be challenged.  

 

However, Main Street still wants the community to continue to be served by these already nuisance businesses, but through new voluntary agreements that would allow live entertainment, cover charges and dancing 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Why would a community-based organization that accepts government funds want to take this position on such a politically and emotionally-charged issue, when many people—residents and small retail business owners alike—don’t necessarily agree with them? Accept funds from the DC government and then use your position to fight the small businesses in your community?

Bringing live entertainment, dancing and cover charges to our commercial strip would change the entire dynamic of our neighborhood.  Good or bad, no one has addressed the extra noise, disorderly conduct, crime, jockeying for parking, more people and more traffic  such a change would bring.  We can hardly address these issues today, let alone bring more people into our neighborhood to party every night of the week.  Main Street should re-focus on the real problems encountered on Mount Pleasant Street. The main street and brick sidewalks and the adjacent streets and sidewalks are filthy and poorly maintained; the streetscape is cold and uninviting; the street lighting resembles that found at super highway interchanges; the majority of building facades are still substandard; businesses continue to wear riot gear on their windows; signage is less than mediocre; goods and services lack variety, quality and attractive displays. The merchants on the street are going to be gobbled up and spit out by the big box stores of Columbia Heights unless they dramatically improve—all stores that could really use Main Street’s support right now.