Hearst Playground story in Current

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Because the crazies do take over and then people wonder why things are so expensive or there are gaps in services.

The crazies only get an opening because the civil servants don't do their homework. If there had been a fact-based assessment of possible pool sites this thread would have been over 100 pages ago.

The point of a transparent process is crazies can't take over. does due diligence take time and effort? sure. it's also called being responsible.

Who needs a public process when Mary Cheh just decided? Isn't she supposed to be like the smartest person on the council, maybe in the entire District of Columbia?!

If it gets us a walkable pool, she'll get my vote.

Let's put the homeless shelter in Hearst park and the pool next to McLean Gardens!

[Anonymous]

McLean Gardens already has its own residents-only pool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:McLean Gardens already has its own residents-only pool.

Problem solved! Shelter in Hearst and Cheh commandeers the McLean pool for one and all!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:McLean Gardens already has its own residents-only pool.

Problem solved! Shelter in Hearst and Cheh commandeers the McLean pool for one and all!

Well, that would comport with her style of governing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:McLean Gardens already has its own residents-only pool.

Problem solved! Shelter in Hearst and Cheh commandeers the McLean pool for one and all!

Well, that would comport with her style of governing.

She's not known as "Commandante Che" for nothing.

[Anonymous]

I was at Hearst ES on Sunday for a last day of summer break play date with DS friends.

In the 80 minutes we were there not a single person came to use the tennis courts.

There was a couple kicking a soccer ball in Hearst Park for the first 30 minutes we were there (not sure how long they were there before we arrived) and several folks came and allowed their dogs to run illegally off leash in the park but for the most part the park was empty while we were there.

Completely empty on a beautiful summer day.

Meanwhile the Hearst ES soccer field was crammed with a group of tweens playing a pick-up soccer game and the playground was also full of kids and a couple of HS kids were shooting hoops when we left.

And except for a couple of cars of people from our meet-up who drove the street was complete empty of parked cars.

As we left I thought how wonderful it would have been if we could have gone to an outdoor pool in our own neighborhood and what a waste it is to have precious outdoor space so poorly utilized in a city where it normally is under great demand.

But at least things remain quiet for the privileged neighbors.

[Anonymous]

^^^^


This has been my experience all summer. I should have documented and taken pictures etc, but except for the morning and early evening when people are running their dogs, the main part of the park is so underused, it is sad. Yes, when Stoddert is in session, the field gets used more formally, and there is episodic use of the tennis courts, but the main use is the playground and small turf field.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was at Hearst ES on Sunday for a last day of summer break play date with DS friends.

In the 80 minutes we were there not a single person came to use the tennis courts.

There was a couple kicking a soccer ball in Hearst Park for the first 30 minutes we were there (not sure how long they were there before we arrived) and several folks came and allowed their dogs to run illegally off leash in the park but for the most part the park was empty while we were there.

Completely empty on a beautiful summer day.

Meanwhile the Hearst ES soccer field was crammed with a group of tweens playing a pick-up soccer game and the playground was also full of kids and a couple of HS kids were shooting hoops when we left.

And except for a couple of cars of people from our meet-up who drove the street was complete empty of parked cars.

As we left I thought how wonderful it would have been if we could have gone to an outdoor pool in our own neighborhood and what a waste it is to have precious outdoor space so poorly utilized in a city where it normally is under great demand.

But at least things remain quiet for the privileged neighbors.

If they get rid of tennis courts at Hearst for a pool, then they could move a court to Macomb. There's more demand for a neighborhood tennis court there than basketball (and there are hoops at adjacent John Eaton_.

[Anonymous]

Yesterday morning (Saturday the 27th of August) DS had a playdate at the Beauvoir playground and since we rode bikes there we went past Hearst Park both coming and going.

At 1015AM on a beautiful summer morning there were 2 people kicking a soccer ball, one person allowing his dog to run illegally off leash and 2 of the 3 tennis courts were being used.

At 1230PM we rode past again and not a single person was inside the park. Not a single person. On a gorgeous summer day.

Both coming and going Hearst ES was crowded - both times there were people playing basketball, people playing soccer and children on the playground.

Both coming and going maybe 5 or 6 cars total were parked on the street out of 70+ curbside parking spaces on 37th and Quebec Streets.

Our family went to the Bethesda Pool today (and paid the usual $28 to get in) and in our three hours at the pool despite it being the last week of summer for Montgomery County and not being as crowded as it usually is there were probably 300+ people who filtered in and out during the afternoon including, as is always the case, people we know from DC.

Lots of people rode their bikes to the pool but it is pretty far from where we are in Ward 3 so we didn't.

It would have been nice to have the option to go to a pool in our community and walk or bike there. An option most neighborhoods in DC have and many suburban neighborhoods.

It would have been nice to not have to pay to go to a pool in our own neighborhood which is an option residents of every other Ward in the city have.

But the city has capitulated to a handful of Cleveland Park residents who have essentially privatized a little used DC Park.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yesterday morning (Saturday the 27th of August) DS had a playdate at the Beauvoir playground and since we rode bikes there we went past Hearst Park both coming and going.

At 1015AM on a beautiful summer morning there were 2 people kicking a soccer ball, one person allowing his dog to run illegally off leash and 2 of the 3 tennis courts were being used.

At 1230PM we rode past again and not a single person was inside the park. Not a single person. On a gorgeous summer day.

Both coming and going Hearst ES was crowded - both times there were people playing basketball, people playing soccer and children on the playground.

Both coming and going maybe 5 or 6 cars total were parked on the street out of 70+ curbside parking spaces on 37th and Quebec Streets.

Our family went to the Bethesda Pool today (and paid the usual $28 to get in) and in our three hours at the pool despite it being the last week of summer for Montgomery County and not being as crowded as it usually is there were probably 300+ people who filtered in and out during the afternoon including, as is always the case, people we know from DC.

Lots of people rode their bikes to the pool but it is pretty far from where we are in Ward 3 so we didn't.

It would have been nice to have the option to go to a pool in our community and walk or bike there. An option most neighborhoods in DC have and many suburban neighborhoods.

It would have been nice to not have to pay to go to a pool in our own neighborhood which is an option residents of every other Ward in the city have.

But the city has capitulated to a handful of Cleveland Park residents who have essentially privatized a little used DC Park.

Two out of three tennis courts occupied on a Sunday morning in the August vacation season is not exactly 'lightly used.' I also question your assertion that 'not one' person was in the park later. My kids were at the playground around the time you mentioned.

It is the pool proponents who are trying to pave an existing park, despite the fact that the concrete complex will sit unused and barren nine months out of the year. Talk about "privatization."

What I don't get is why DC has not engaged with the US Park Service on using the central, Metro-served Fort Reno area for a pool. It is very troubling that some assert that DC asked, but the FOIA response showed that in fact there has been no approach to the Park Service.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yesterday morning (Saturday the 27th of August) DS had a playdate at the Beauvoir playground and since we rode bikes there we went past Hearst Park both coming and going.

At 1015AM on a beautiful summer morning there were 2 people kicking a soccer ball, one person allowing his dog to run illegally off leash and 2 of the 3 tennis courts were being used.

At 1230PM we rode past again and not a single person was inside the park. Not a single person. On a gorgeous summer day.

Both coming and going Hearst ES was crowded - both times there were people playing basketball, people playing soccer and children on the playground.

Both coming and going maybe 5 or 6 cars total were parked on the street out of 70+ curbside parking spaces on 37th and Quebec Streets.

Our family went to the Bethesda Pool today (and paid the usual $28 to get in) and in our three hours at the pool despite it being the last week of summer for Montgomery County and not being as crowded as it usually is there were probably 300+ people who filtered in and out during the afternoon including, as is always the case, people we know from DC.

Lots of people rode their bikes to the pool but it is pretty far from where we are in Ward 3 so we didn't.

It would have been nice to have the option to go to a pool in our community and walk or bike there. An option most neighborhoods in DC have and many suburban neighborhoods.

It would have been nice to not have to pay to go to a pool in our own neighborhood which is an option residents of every other Ward in the city have.

But the city has capitulated to a handful of Cleveland Park residents who have essentially privatized a little used DC Park.

Two out of three tennis courts occupied on a Sunday morning in the August vacation season is not exactly 'lightly used.' I also question your assertion that 'not one' person was in the park later. My kids were at the playground around the time you mentioned.

It is the pool proponents who are trying to pave an existing park, despite the fact that the concrete complex will sit unused and barren nine months out of the year. Talk about "privatization."

What I don't get is why DC has not engaged with the US Park Service on using the central, Metro-served Fort Reno area for a pool. It is very troubling that some assert that DC asked, but the FOIA response showed that in fact there has been no approach to the Park Service.

If you continue to feel the need to state the obvious fact that a pool would go unused outside of the summer, you need to also come to grips with the fact that the number of people who would use the pool for just 3 months would DWARF the number of people who use the tennis courts all year. It would not even be close. But here's the good news: we can have a pool AND tennis courts AND the magic oak trees.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yesterday morning (Saturday the 27th of August) DS had a playdate at the Beauvoir playground and since we rode bikes there we went past Hearst Park both coming and going.

At 1015AM on a beautiful summer morning there were 2 people kicking a soccer ball, one person allowing his dog to run illegally off leash and 2 of the 3 tennis courts were being used.

At 1230PM we rode past again and not a single person was inside the park. Not a single person. On a gorgeous summer day.

Both coming and going Hearst ES was crowded - both times there were people playing basketball, people playing soccer and children on the playground.

Both coming and going maybe 5 or 6 cars total were parked on the street out of 70+ curbside parking spaces on 37th and Quebec Streets.

Our family went to the Bethesda Pool today (and paid the usual $28 to get in) and in our three hours at the pool despite it being the last week of summer for Montgomery County and not being as crowded as it usually is there were probably 300+ people who filtered in and out during the afternoon including, as is always the case, people we know from DC.

Lots of people rode their bikes to the pool but it is pretty far from where we are in Ward 3 so we didn't.

It would have been nice to have the option to go to a pool in our community and walk or bike there. An option most neighborhoods in DC have and many suburban neighborhoods.

It would have been nice to not have to pay to go to a pool in our own neighborhood which is an option residents of every other Ward in the city have.

But the city has capitulated to a handful of Cleveland Park residents who have essentially privatized a little used DC Park.

Two out of three tennis courts occupied on a Sunday morning in the August vacation season is not exactly 'lightly used.' I also question your assertion that 'not one' person was in the park later. My kids were at the playground around the time you mentioned.

It is the pool proponents who are trying to pave an existing park, despite the fact that the concrete complex will sit unused and barren nine months out of the year. Talk about "privatization."

What I don't get is why DC has not engaged with the US Park Service on using the central, Metro-served Fort Reno area for a pool. It is very troubling that some assert that DC asked, but the FOIA response showed that in fact there has been no approach to the Park Service.

Please go back and re-read what I wrote - the playground is part of Hearst ES. No one - not a single person - was inside Hearst Park when I went by in the afternoon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yesterday morning (Saturday the 27th of August) DS had a playdate at the Beauvoir playground and since we rode bikes there we went past Hearst Park both coming and going.

At 1015AM on a beautiful summer morning there were 2 people kicking a soccer ball, one person allowing his dog to run illegally off leash and 2 of the 3 tennis courts were being used.

At 1230PM we rode past again and not a single person was inside the park. Not a single person. On a gorgeous summer day.

Both coming and going Hearst ES was crowded - both times there were people playing basketball, people playing soccer and children on the playground.

Both coming and going maybe 5 or 6 cars total were parked on the street out of 70+ curbside parking spaces on 37th and Quebec Streets.

Our family went to the Bethesda Pool today (and paid the usual $28 to get in) and in our three hours at the pool despite it being the last week of summer for Montgomery County and not being as crowded as it usually is there were probably 300+ people who filtered in and out during the afternoon including, as is always the case, people we know from DC.

Lots of people rode their bikes to the pool but it is pretty far from where we are in Ward 3 so we didn't.

It would have been nice to have the option to go to a pool in our community and walk or bike there. An option most neighborhoods in DC have and many suburban neighborhoods.

It would have been nice to not have to pay to go to a pool in our own neighborhood which is an option residents of every other Ward in the city have.

But the city has capitulated to a handful of Cleveland Park residents who have essentially privatized a little used DC Park.

Two out of three tennis courts occupied on a Sunday morning in the August vacation season is not exactly 'lightly used.' I also question your assertion that 'not one' person was in the park later. My kids were at the playground around the time you mentioned.

It is the pool proponents who are trying to pave an existing park, despite the fact that the concrete complex will sit unused and barren nine months out of the year. Talk about "privatization."

What I don't get is why DC has not engaged with the US Park Service on using the central, Metro-served Fort Reno area for a pool. It is very troubling that some assert that DC asked, but the FOIA response showed that in fact there has been no approach to the Park Service.

I don't know if they asked or if the ask would show up in a FOIA request (it might not - I've been on both ends of FOIA requests and they are not perfect) but I've dealt with NPS and it takes years to get them to get a particular sidewalk on their snow shoveling schedule so I certainly would not fault DGS for deciding their efforts were best spent elsewhere.

A pool at Fort Reno would actually be the best possible location for us and probably the best location for a Ward 3 Pool.

Having said that Hearst is also a great location for a pool so I don't really care that it is not the perfect location for me or Ward 3.

What I care about is when I first signed a petition for a pool my first born was a toddler and now in a best case scenario he will be a teenager when we get a pool.

That to me is unacceptable, especially given the debunked arguments in opposition from the immediate neighbors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yesterday morning (Saturday the 27th of August) DS had a playdate at the Beauvoir playground and since we rode bikes there we went past Hearst Park both coming and going.

At 1015AM on a beautiful summer morning there were 2 people kicking a soccer ball, one person allowing his dog to run illegally off leash and 2 of the 3 tennis courts were being used.

At 1230PM we rode past again and not a single person was inside the park. Not a single person. On a gorgeous summer day.

Both coming and going Hearst ES was crowded - both times there were people playing basketball, people playing soccer and children on the playground.

Both coming and going maybe 5 or 6 cars total were parked on the street out of 70+ curbside parking spaces on 37th and Quebec Streets.

Our family went to the Bethesda Pool today (and paid the usual $28 to get in) and in our three hours at the pool despite it being the last week of summer for Montgomery County and not being as crowded as it usually is there were probably 300+ people who filtered in and out during the afternoon including, as is always the case, people we know from DC.

Lots of people rode their bikes to the pool but it is pretty far from where we are in Ward 3 so we didn't.

It would have been nice to have the option to go to a pool in our community and walk or bike there. An option most neighborhoods in DC have and many suburban neighborhoods.

It would have been nice to not have to pay to go to a pool in our own neighborhood which is an option residents of every other Ward in the city have.

But the city has capitulated to a handful of Cleveland Park residents who have essentially privatized a little used DC Park.

Two out of three tennis courts occupied on a Sunday morning in the August vacation season is not exactly 'lightly used.' I also question your assertion that 'not one' person was in the park later. My kids were at the playground around the time you mentioned.

It is the pool proponents who are trying to pave an existing park, despite the fact that the concrete complex will sit unused and barren nine months out of the year. Talk about "privatization."

What I don't get is why DC has not engaged with the US Park Service on using the central, Metro-served Fort Reno area for a pool. It is very troubling that some assert that DC asked, but the FOIA response showed that in fact there has been no approach to the Park Service.

If you continue to feel the need to state the obvious fact that a pool would go unused outside of the summer, you need to also come to grips with the fact that the number of people who would use the pool for just 3 months would DWARF the number of people who use the tennis courts all year. It would not even be close. But here's the good news: we can have a pool AND tennis courts AND the magic oak trees.

And we can eat lots of cake and lose weight at the same time. There are no trade offs. We can have it all!

[Anonymous]

Make an offer to Sidwell as they add and renovate their grounds -- city will build all year pool at Sidwell provided there is open access all summer. Unlucky private partnership.