Mary Cheh has turned Cleveland Park/Cleveland Park North into her personal political asset

[Anonymous]

And my point, the pool was always going to go where it is. The plan you refer was never going to be built.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:And my point, the pool was always going to go where it is. The plan you refer was never going to be built.

It was the leading option for more than a year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I'm not sure you are right about that.

1. Mary Cheh is a former Stoddert Soccer official and will do anything they ask. For instance, she wanted to put the put the pool on the field until Stoddert told her not to.

2. I think Stoddert would want turf because - if history is precedent - that field will be a mess within a couple of months.

There was never a serious plan to have a pool supersede a regulation size field at Hearst. There were some early schematics that showed a smaller field, but the pool was always going to go where it is.

The field should have been turf, but the doggie lobby wanted grass. It's a shame for the amount of money being spent to have it be a mud bog again by September.

You are absolutely 100 percent wrong. The initial plan was to put the pool on the field. The debate was where it would be placed on the field. I was at a meeting at the DC public library in Chevy Chase where Mary Cheh endorsed putting it on the field on the side closest to Phoebe Hearst School. She liked that idea because it was the furthest location from some houses on Quebec St. There is no dog lobby. Dogs are not allowed on the field. It was Stoddert lobbying Cheh - a former Stoddert official - that got the pool moved to the upper area. You know that. The pool is in the right place now. The field was saved at the expense of a couple of tennis courts.

I think I attended all of the meetings and that is provably untrue - in fact it took me about 10 seconds to find the slide deck:

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/575de9411bbee04cda4bdff0/t/5a1eed03e2c483b8c7c57996/1511976321188/Hearst+Community+Meeting+Slide+Deck+11-16-17.pdf

The initial proposal looked at 3 locations for the pool, all of which would have retained a soccer field but 2 of the proposals would have reduced the size of the field. Since the neighborhood has a plethora of lightly used tennis courts including several in the immediate neighborhood and the tennis courts were already hardscaped there really wasn't a lot of debate about which location was the best for the pool except from some neighbors who were making stuff up about how well used the tennis courts were.

Cheh by the way bends over backwards to never stick her neck out in public for much of anything and publicly always defers to the planning professionals when there is a process though maybe behind the scenes she put her finger on the scale.

I also don't know what you are talking about WRT to Stoddert - I am 11 years into having kids playing both travel and rec soccer with Stoddert and have occasionally had some rec soccer games at the field but we also go to kick the ball there on the weekend and that field sees more action from dogs than soccer players most weekends which isn't a surprise because the field was always in terrible shape and was muddy even several days after rain.

I can tell you with confidence that if Stoddert (or even DPR) were calling the shots that field would have turf on it and I suspect that in this instance it is grass because Cheh actually did intervene behind the scenes to mollify the NIMBY neighbors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I'm not sure you are right about that.

1. Mary Cheh is a former Stoddert Soccer official and will do anything they ask. For instance, she wanted to put the put the pool on the field until Stoddert told her not to.

2. I think Stoddert would want turf because - if history is precedent - that field will be a mess within a couple of months.

There was never a serious plan to have a pool supersede a regulation size field at Hearst. There were some early schematics that showed a smaller field, but the pool was always going to go where it is.

The field should have been turf, but the doggie lobby wanted grass. It's a shame for the amount of money being spent to have it be a mud bog again by September.

You are absolutely 100 percent wrong. The initial plan was to put the pool on the field. The debate was where it would be placed on the field. I was at a meeting at the DC public library in Chevy Chase where Mary Cheh endorsed putting it on the field on the side closest to Phoebe Hearst School. She liked that idea because it was the furthest location from some houses on Quebec St. There is no dog lobby. Dogs are not allowed on the field. It was Stoddert lobbying Cheh - a former Stoddert official - that got the pool moved to the upper area. You know that. The pool is in the right place now. The field was saved at the expense of a couple of tennis courts.

I think I attended all of the meetings and that is provably untrue - in fact it took me about 10 seconds to find the slide deck:

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/575de9411bbee04cda4bdff0/t/5a1eed03e2c483b8c7c57996/1511976321188/Hearst+Community+Meeting+Slide+Deck+11-16-17.pdf

The initial proposal looked at 3 locations for the pool, all of which would have retained a soccer field but 2 of the proposals would have reduced the size of the field. Since the neighborhood has a plethora of lightly used tennis courts including several in the immediate neighborhood and the tennis courts were already hardscaped there really wasn't a lot of debate about which location was the best for the pool except from some neighbors who were making stuff up about how well used the tennis courts were.

Cheh by the way bends over backwards to never stick her neck out in public for much of anything and publicly always defers to the planning professionals when there is a process though maybe behind the scenes she put her finger on the scale.

I also don't know what you are talking about WRT to Stoddert - I am 11 years into having kids playing both travel and rec soccer with Stoddert and have occasionally had some rec soccer games at the field but we also go to kick the ball there on the weekend and that field sees more action from dogs than soccer players most weekends which isn't a surprise because the field was always in terrible shape and was muddy even several days after rain.

I can tell you with confidence that if Stoddert (or even DPR) were calling the shots that field would have turf on it and I suspect that in this instance it is grass because Cheh actually did intervene behind the scenes to mollify the NIMBY neighbors.

The only thing you proved was that the field was a leading candidate for the pool - complete with drawings. That is exactly what I was saying. Cheh publicly endorsed putting the pool as far away from the neighbors as possible. She did that a public meeting where neighbors were complaining about the pool being 50 feet from their front doors. She was trying to appease them. It’s really time for Cheh to go. I wish people would show up
To vote.

[Anonymous]

DP...the other options were there as the patsy. The pool was always going where it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

The only thing you proved was that the field was a leading candidate for the pool - complete with drawings. That is exactly what I was saying. Cheh publicly endorsed putting the pool as far away from the neighbors as possible. She did that a public meeting where neighbors were complaining about the pool being 50 feet from their front doors. She was trying to appease them. It’s really time for Cheh to go. I wish people would show up
To vote.

People do show up to vote. Cheh has a few times had viable opponents and yet, she still pulls in 75% support. Why? Because she is smart, she is not corrupt and generally, things get done. All of the Ward 3 schools have been renovated during her tenure, most of the parks and fires stations have as well. She sponsors the Main Street orgnaizations, which support our commercial areas and to an extent, she provides good oversight of the executive branch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

The only thing you proved was that the field was a leading candidate for the pool - complete with drawings. That is exactly what I was saying. Cheh publicly endorsed putting the pool as far away from the neighbors as possible. She did that a public meeting where neighbors were complaining about the pool being 50 feet from their front doors. She was trying to appease them. It’s really time for Cheh to go. I wish people would show up
To vote.

People do show up to vote. Cheh has a few times had viable opponents and yet, she still pulls in 75% support. Why? Because she is smart, she is not corrupt and generally, things get done. All of the Ward 3 schools have been renovated during her tenure, most of the parks and fires stations have as well. She sponsors the Main Street orgnaizations, which support our commercial areas and to an extent, she provides good oversight of the executive branch.

Barring some sort of scandal (which seems unlikely), Cheh will leave the Council when she retires. No one is beating her.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DP...the other options were there as the patsy. The pool was always going where it is.

You are the patsy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DP...the other options were there as the patsy. The pool was always going where it is.

You are the patsy.

Nope. The pool is going in. I am thrilled.

[Anonymous]

What we don't understand about Hearst Park pool is that Cheh decreed that the park would be the pool site, without studies by DPR or anyone. Frequent park users warned Cheh and the city agencies about water drainage problems, but no serious hydrology studies were done. As a result, DC has been pumping thousands of gallons of ground water a day into Quebec/Rodman street. The contractors also basically clear cut the slopes, which only exacerbates the runoff problem. The reason offered for all the tree removal is that "no one wants a shady pool." The formerly green oasis is now ugly, and the Metro style elevator to the street along a local residential street is like an ugly middle finger. Cheh owns this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I agree last thing to worry about, but I liked Hearst green (grass). It was only used for informal soccer, but was a nice shaded park and a green space as noted. Mosquito infested due to the drainage... hope they can get a handle on that.

Fake plastic grass covering a four acre field is an environmental disaster.

I took a walk by yesterday and it is still 'soupy' as heck down there. Because the field is stepped down and has sloped sides, it has always been a little shady and dank. They are going to have to have incredible ongoing maintenance and drainage to keep the grassy swamp it was from turning into a really, really unappealing plastic swamp next to the swimming pool.

So now it's 2021, and as I walk by every morning with my pup, I see the clear cut hills, the muddy field, some construction where the tennis courts used to be, and a pvc pipe at the corner of Quebec and Idaho that spews water down the street 24/7. It's a mess. It's been a mess for the last year at least.

Fenced, ugly, unusable. Give me the old Hearst Park with scrub trees and soccer games any day.

[/imghttps://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/575de9411bbee04cda4bdff0/1465788833353-SBX056Z86BJ2TTUSA68W/ke17ZwdGBToddI8pDm48kLp0xXEwXnfuzUN73RntJDd7gQa3H78H3Y0txjaiv_0fbtzP5PeX6kTH7ZxcLi-aMEeHIMK9Mcuw4M154APZIia8tYm6j2RpB0d1Gi3SQHdgOqpeNLcJ80NK65_fV7S1Uf2I5p-gs8kjNsM98OL6spjyISS85ILWSZE5Qs2h9aBlaurZZORn6CzeqSn0MavC7w/image-asset.jpeg?format=1000w[img]

That spewing water is crazy! I miss the old park too . It's going to be a snazzy recreation center (if it's maintained, otherwise less snazzy and probably really sad looking). It's not going to be a "park".

Green parks are so outdated. DC is about urban recreation centers now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I'm not sure you are right about that.

1. Mary Cheh is a former Stoddert Soccer official and will do anything they ask. For instance, she wanted to put the put the pool on the field until Stoddert told her not to.

2. I think Stoddert would want turf because - if history is precedent - that field will be a mess within a couple of months.

There was never a serious plan to have a pool supersede a regulation size field at Hearst. There were some early schematics that showed a smaller field, but the pool was always going to go where it is.

The field should have been turf, but the doggie lobby wanted grass. It's a shame for the amount of money being spent to have it be a mud bog again by September.

You are absolutely 100 percent wrong. The initial plan was to put the pool on the field. The debate was where it would be placed on the field. I was at a meeting at the DC public library in Chevy Chase where Mary Cheh endorsed putting it on the field on the side closest to Phoebe Hearst School. She liked that idea because it was the furthest location from some houses on Quebec St. There is no dog lobby. Dogs are not allowed on the field. It was Stoddert lobbying Cheh - a former Stoddert official - that got the pool moved to the upper area. You know that. The pool is in the right place now. The field was saved at the expense of a couple of tennis courts.

I think I attended all of the meetings and that is provably untrue - in fact it took me about 10 seconds to find the slide deck:

https://static1.squarespace.com/static/575de9411bbee04cda4bdff0/t/5a1eed03e2c483b8c7c57996/1511976321188/Hearst+Community+Meeting+Slide+Deck+11-16-17.pdf

The initial proposal looked at 3 locations for the pool, all of which would have retained a soccer field but 2 of the proposals would have reduced the size of the field. Since the neighborhood has a plethora of lightly used tennis courts including several in the immediate neighborhood and the tennis courts were already hardscaped there really wasn't a lot of debate about which location was the best for the pool except from some neighbors who were making stuff up about how well used the tennis courts were.

Cheh by the way bends over backwards to never stick her neck out in public for much of anything and publicly always defers to the planning professionals when there is a process though maybe behind the scenes she put her finger on the scale.

I also don't know what you are talking about WRT to Stoddert - I am 11 years into having kids playing both travel and rec soccer with Stoddert and have occasionally had some rec soccer games at the field but we also go to kick the ball there on the weekend and that field sees more action from dogs than soccer players most weekends which isn't a surprise because the field was always in terrible shape and was muddy even several days after rain.

I can tell you with confidence that if Stoddert (or even DPR) were calling the shots that field would have turf on it and I suspect that in this instance it is grass because Cheh actually did intervene behind the scenes to mollify the NIMBY neighbors.

The best spot for a pool at Hearst would have been immediately below the park shelter SW of the Hearst school. It would have been some distance from most houses, have required little tree removal, and an elevator tower would not have been necessary. It would have been adjacent to the playground, a bonus. And pool users who drive could have parked in the school parking lot during the summer. A win-win.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
The best spot for a pool at Hearst would have been immediately below the park shelter SW of the Hearst school. It would have been some distance from most houses, have required little tree removal, and an elevator tower would not have been necessary. It would have been adjacent to the playground, a bonus. And pool users who drive could have parked in the school parking lot during the summer. A win-win.

There were engineering reasons why it couldn't be located there. Yes, that was one of the early, preferred locations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
The best spot for a pool at Hearst would have been immediately below the park shelter SW of the Hearst school. It would have been some distance from most houses, have required little tree removal, and an elevator tower would not have been necessary. It would have been adjacent to the playground, a bonus. And pool users who drive could have parked in the school parking lot during the summer. A win-win.

There were engineering reasons why it couldn't be located there. Yes, that was one of the early, preferred locations.

I fought hard against that location. The field at Hearst is a large urban green space. They are few and far between. Placing the pool where the tennis courts are ensured that we would not lose more. Yes, we lost trees, but that was better than pouring concrete on open space. I did not support a pool in the first place, but once the decision was made by DC gov't to build, this was the best compromise. I don't know what they are going to do about all the water. I assume it will be piped underground and the evidence of the environmental havoc will be hidden.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Cheh has a 2nd job with GWU that pays her $200K/yr.

GWU is on of DC's largest employers and property owners.

And you thought Evans had conflicts of interest.

She recuses from all matters related to GWU. Not a big deal.

She delegated the Comprehensive Plan entirely to her chief of staff. There was a lot of confusion about who was the principal and who was the staffer.