ReservoirRec Center is now open! The crazy NIMBYs lost

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Totally agree OP -- the Save McMillan movement was one of the weirdest "grass roots campaigns" I've ever encountered and I group up in a town that is pretty much defined by it's NIMBYism where people would protest a stoplight or a bridge renovation on reflex. I have never seen people campaign against their own self interest so hard before. Why would you be against not only a community center and public space in yoru neighborhood but also commercial spaces that might serve your community as well as development that will better link your community to the neighborhoods around it. Bizarre.

I do think one problem in DC is that a lot of longtime residents are deeply skeptical of development because of past experiences with either the city failing to actually hold developers to promises (the city rolls over for developers and doesn't even hold them to their own proposals most of the time both during and after construction) or failing to put any effort into matching a development with the neighborhood. City planning in DC is extremely weak and that empowers the people who want to oppose everything because so many people have had negative experiences that it makes people cynically say "they'll just screw it up so why bother."

The city has a long history of screwing everything up whenever they get involved with anything. It's a well deserved reputation that they fully earned and a lesson our more recent transplants haven't learned yet but soon will.

I mean, the city literally just opened a large park and pool on this site that had previously been inaccessible. Is that screwing it up?

Have you not followed the sagas of the Wilson amd East Potomac Park pools?

Kudos on your anticipatory complaining.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After a 3-decade long battle against NIMBYs, the Reservoir Park Rec Center opened this week! It includes many cool features including an indoor pool: https://dpr.dc.gov/reservoirpark

The history of this site should inform anyone assessing current DC planning "controversies" such as the Connecticut Avenue bike lanes. While of course there are people with legitimate concerns about any project, there is also a core of very strange people with who will irrationally fight against any improvements. The challenge is to allow reasonable public input, but recognize when the bad faith/personality disordered have taken over the discourse. We also need major changes to the law to stop NIMBYs from being able to hold up public works projects for decades.

Kudos to the DC Council for finally putting an end to the saga and creating a public space and housing that will benefit the city.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMillan_Sand_Filtration_Site#City_council_and_court_allow_development_to_proceed
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/mcmillan-dc-development-court-bowser/2021/10/28/174b721e-380f-11ec-9bc4-86107e7b0ab1_story.html

Calling everyone who disagrees with you irrational and mentally ill and in need of people like you to think for them--what an original tactic

Good thing I didn’t do that …

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Totally agree OP -- the Save McMillan movement was one of the weirdest "grass roots campaigns" I've ever encountered and I group up in a town that is pretty much defined by it's NIMBYism where people would protest a stoplight or a bridge renovation on reflex. I have never seen people campaign against their own self interest so hard before. Why would you be against not only a community center and public space in yoru neighborhood but also commercial spaces that might serve your community as well as development that will better link your community to the neighborhoods around it. Bizarre.

I do think one problem in DC is that a lot of longtime residents are deeply skeptical of development because of past experiences with either the city failing to actually hold developers to promises (the city rolls over for developers and doesn't even hold them to their own proposals most of the time both during and after construction) or failing to put any effort into matching a development with the neighborhood. City planning in DC is extremely weak and that empowers the people who want to oppose everything because so many people have had negative experiences that it makes people cynically say "they'll just screw it up so why bother."

The city has a long history of screwing everything up whenever they get involved with anything. It's a well deserved reputation that they fully earned and a lesson our more recent transplants haven't learned yet but soon will.

I mean, the city literally just opened a large park and pool on this site that had previously been inaccessible. Is that screwing it up?

Have you not followed the sagas of the Wilson amd East Potomac Park pools?

well they just opened two new pools recently so … not perfect but certainly not “screwing everything up.”

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Totally agree OP -- the Save McMillan movement was one of the weirdest "grass roots campaigns" I've ever encountered and I group up in a town that is pretty much defined by it's NIMBYism where people would protest a stoplight or a bridge renovation on reflex. I have never seen people campaign against their own self interest so hard before. Why would you be against not only a community center and public space in yoru neighborhood but also commercial spaces that might serve your community as well as development that will better link your community to the neighborhoods around it. Bizarre.

I do think one problem in DC is that a lot of longtime residents are deeply skeptical of development because of past experiences with either the city failing to actually hold developers to promises (the city rolls over for developers and doesn't even hold them to their own proposals most of the time both during and after construction) or failing to put any effort into matching a development with the neighborhood. City planning in DC is extremely weak and that empowers the people who want to oppose everything because so many people have had negative experiences that it makes people cynically say "they'll just screw it up so why bother."

yeah totally. but this wasn’t just the normal DC native skepticism of development, which is understandable. This weird strain is connected to a Ralph Nader paranoia about any public-private projects and also includes campaigns against developing that plaza in Dupont and building condos over the police station on U, and fighting over building libraries…

https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/207188/ralph-nader-and-dc-public-libraries/

Also these people just object to change period. They have a psychological need to oppose anything that they feel they don’t agree with in the use of public space and to police what others do. Sometimes they nominally do have an interest in the matter, but more often its the self-aggrandizing drama of being “anti.” Then there are the actually personality disordered like ND …

Again, everyone who disagrees with you is literally mentally ill or brain damaged? Wow...

this is what I said: “ While of course there are people with legitimate concerns about any project, there is also a core of very strange people with who will irrationally fight against any improvements.”

Everyone who has been closely involved in this stuff knows exactly what I mean.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Totally agree OP -- the Save McMillan movement was one of the weirdest "grass roots campaigns" I've ever encountered and I group up in a town that is pretty much defined by it's NIMBYism where people would protest a stoplight or a bridge renovation on reflex. I have never seen people campaign against their own self interest so hard before. Why would you be against not only a community center and public space in yoru neighborhood but also commercial spaces that might serve your community as well as development that will better link your community to the neighborhoods around it. Bizarre.

I do think one problem in DC is that a lot of longtime residents are deeply skeptical of development because of past experiences with either the city failing to actually hold developers to promises (the city rolls over for developers and doesn't even hold them to their own proposals most of the time both during and after construction) or failing to put any effort into matching a development with the neighborhood. City planning in DC is extremely weak and that empowers the people who want to oppose everything because so many people have had negative experiences that it makes people cynically say "they'll just screw it up so why bother."

The city has a long history of screwing everything up whenever they get involved with anything. It's a well deserved reputation that they fully earned and a lesson our more recent transplants haven't learned yet but soon will.

I mean, the city literally just opened a large park and pool on this site that had previously been inaccessible. Is that screwing it up?

Have you not followed the sagas of the Wilson amd East Potomac Park pools?

Kudos on your anticipatory complaining.

Kudos on missing the point!

[Anonymous]

Not to derail this further, but it's pretty funny the Wilson pool still isn't open.

~1 month ago
https://x.com/CMFrumin/status/1793395045971677418

[Anonymous]

That new pool is too all. Shameful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Totally agree OP -- the Save McMillan movement was one of the weirdest "grass roots campaigns" I've ever encountered and I group up in a town that is pretty much defined by it's NIMBYism where people would protest a stoplight or a bridge renovation on reflex. I have never seen people campaign against their own self interest so hard before. Why would you be against not only a community center and public space in yoru neighborhood but also commercial spaces that might serve your community as well as development that will better link your community to the neighborhoods around it. Bizarre.

I do think one problem in DC is that a lot of longtime residents are deeply skeptical of development because of past experiences with either the city failing to actually hold developers to promises (the city rolls over for developers and doesn't even hold them to their own proposals most of the time both during and after construction) or failing to put any effort into matching a development with the neighborhood. City planning in DC is extremely weak and that empowers the people who want to oppose everything because so many people have had negative experiences that it makes people cynically say "they'll just screw it up so why bother."

It wasn't the long term residents. They wanted it developed. It was the new people who wanted "greenspace."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That new pool is too all. Shameful.

+1

Is it really just a 3 lane lap pool?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That new pool is too all. Shameful.

+1

Is it really just a 3 lane lap pool?

It must be expensive to maintain bigger pools I guess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:After a 3-decade long battle against NIMBYs, the Reservoir Park Rec Center opened this week! It includes many cool features including an indoor pool: https://dpr.dc.gov/reservoirpark

The history of this site should inform anyone assessing current DC planning "controversies" such as the Connecticut Avenue bike lanes. While of course there are people with legitimate concerns about any project, there is also a core of very strange people with who will irrationally fight against any improvements. The challenge is to allow reasonable public input, but recognize when the bad faith/personality disordered have taken over the discourse. We also need major changes to the law to stop NIMBYs from being able to hold up public works projects for decades.

Kudos to the DC Council for finally putting an end to the saga and creating a public space and housing that will benefit the city.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMillan_Sand_Filtration_Site#City_council_and_court_allow_development_to_proceed
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/mcmillan-dc-development-court-bowser/2021/10/28/174b721e-380f-11ec-9bc4-86107e7b0ab1_story.html

This isn’t an accurate characterization of the many groups over the years that wanted the area to be put to good use that wouldn’t cause more density issues. Of course, there were some obnoxious groups, but they all weren’t the same. If it weren’t for some of these groups, there would not be the amount of green space in the plans for this site. Look up the term NIMBY—more of a badge of honor before it was co-opted in recent years. Anyway, glad to see this site developed for the good of all residents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After a 3-decade long battle against NIMBYs, the Reservoir Park Rec Center opened this week! It includes many cool features including an indoor pool: https://dpr.dc.gov/reservoirpark

The history of this site should inform anyone assessing current DC planning "controversies" such as the Connecticut Avenue bike lanes. While of course there are people with legitimate concerns about any project, there is also a core of very strange people with who will irrationally fight against any improvements. The challenge is to allow reasonable public input, but recognize when the bad faith/personality disordered have taken over the discourse. We also need major changes to the law to stop NIMBYs from being able to hold up public works projects for decades.

Kudos to the DC Council for finally putting an end to the saga and creating a public space and housing that will benefit the city.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMillan_Sand_Filtration_Site#City_council_and_court_allow_development_to_proceed
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/mcmillan-dc-development-court-bowser/2021/10/28/174b721e-380f-11ec-9bc4-86107e7b0ab1_story.html

This isn’t an accurate characterization of the many groups over the years that wanted the area to be put to good use that wouldn’t cause more density issues. Of course, there were some obnoxious groups, but they all weren’t the same. If it weren’t for some of these groups, there would not be the amount of green space in the plans for this site. Look up the term NIMBY—more of a badge of honor before it was co-opted in recent years. Anyway, glad to see this site developed for the good of all residents.

McMillan was never a park.

And NIMBY was never a badge of honor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After a 3-decade long battle against NIMBYs, the Reservoir Park Rec Center opened this week! It includes many cool features including an indoor pool: https://dpr.dc.gov/reservoirpark

The history of this site should inform anyone assessing current DC planning "controversies" such as the Connecticut Avenue bike lanes. While of course there are people with legitimate concerns about any project, there is also a core of very strange people with who will irrationally fight against any improvements. The challenge is to allow reasonable public input, but recognize when the bad faith/personality disordered have taken over the discourse. We also need major changes to the law to stop NIMBYs from being able to hold up public works projects for decades.

Kudos to the DC Council for finally putting an end to the saga and creating a public space and housing that will benefit the city.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMillan_Sand_Filtration_Site#City_council_and_court_allow_development_to_proceed
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/mcmillan-dc-development-court-bowser/2021/10/28/174b721e-380f-11ec-9bc4-86107e7b0ab1_story.html

This isn’t an accurate characterization of the many groups over the years that wanted the area to be put to good use that wouldn’t cause more density issues. Of course, there were some obnoxious groups, but they all weren’t the same. If it weren’t for some of these groups, there would not be the amount of green space in the plans for this site. Look up the term NIMBY—more of a badge of honor before it was co-opted in recent years. Anyway, glad to see this site developed for the good of all residents.

McMillan was never a park.

And NIMBY was never a badge of honor.

It’s fine, YIMBY is a pejorative of it’s own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:After a 3-decade long battle against NIMBYs, the Reservoir Park Rec Center opened this week! It includes many cool features including an indoor pool: https://dpr.dc.gov/reservoirpark

The history of this site should inform anyone assessing current DC planning "controversies" such as the Connecticut Avenue bike lanes. While of course there are people with legitimate concerns about any project, there is also a core of very strange people with who will irrationally fight against any improvements. The challenge is to allow reasonable public input, but recognize when the bad faith/personality disordered have taken over the discourse. We also need major changes to the law to stop NIMBYs from being able to hold up public works projects for decades.

Kudos to the DC Council for finally putting an end to the saga and creating a public space and housing that will benefit the city.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMillan_Sand_Filtration_Site#City_council_and_court_allow_development_to_proceed
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/mcmillan-dc-development-court-bowser/2021/10/28/174b721e-380f-11ec-9bc4-86107e7b0ab1_story.html

This isn’t an accurate characterization of the many groups over the years that wanted the area to be put to good use that wouldn’t cause more density issues. Of course, there were some obnoxious groups, but they all weren’t the same. If it weren’t for some of these groups, there would not be the amount of green space in the plans for this site. Look up the term NIMBY—more of a badge of honor before it was co-opted in recent years. Anyway, glad to see this site developed for the good of all residents.

“density issues” lol.

and yeah, this is the spin the NIMBYs are publicly trying to put out there now that the extreme selfishness of their efforts is clearly visible. sorry no - blocking the development of the site for 3 decades doesn’t earn you any kind of success narrative. I just hope the tale emboldens the city to continue doing what it knows is sensible, listening to people who have a geniune stake in the outcome, and taking legislative steps to ensure something like this can never happen again. the days of cranks holding up progress has to end.

[Anonymous]

There is definitely a group of residents that never wants change. Hidden in the controversy over developing the library/community center in CC, is a group comprising 10%-20% of the current group of opponents, that argue all is fine and nothing is needed.

This, even though the library has leaks, the elevators don’t work, the community center is completely non-functional for most uses, etc.

Now, the opponents are trying to cut that group loose because most are opposed to the housing component but agree the current physical structures are awful and the community deserves better.