Anonymous wrote:I appreciated that at least a couple of people called for the city to break the lease with the Lab School and use the Old Hardy Building. That would have been too sensible an option for the city to pursue from the start!! Seems like as least some of them are regretting their earlier advocacy against using Old Hardy if they end up with both schools on site...

Wake us up when the FCCA passes a resolution to that effect or asks that Old Hardy be deregistered from the list of historic buildings. I’m not holding my breath.

I appreciated that at least a couple of people called for the city to break the lease with the Lab School and use the Old Hardy Building. That would have been too sensible an option for the city to pursue from the start!! Seems like as least some of them are regretting their earlier advocacy against using Old Hardy if they end up with both schools on site...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The recording is here: https://youtu.be/aY-uiZCOfzs

The Hispanic / Jewish gentleman speaks at at about 1:41:00.

His testimony has to be one of the ballsiest things I’ve ever heard said in a community meeting. And he is dead right.

This “Save Hardy Park” campaign has nothing to do with a park. It has nothing to do with parking. The history bears that out in excruciating detail.

These people simply don’t want public school children in their neighborhood and most especially don’t want any “at-risk” public school children.

Anyone who gives their arguments the scarcest consideration is a victim of fraud.

Wow. He just says it out loud: that this new school would bring lower income kids to the area and that’s why residents don’t like it.

That guy (Philippe) is a hero. Calling out your neighbors in that manner takes real courage.

You will notice that the Save Hardy Park team now read prepared speeches. Earlier in the year, when their campaign was just starting, they tended to be speak more extemporaneously, often about things like the effect of the new school on their home values, about things public school children do on their way home after school, and probably even more offensive things.

This stuff about home values and people focusing on them is just bringing the whole country to a halt. How is it possibly ok to let people who have a clear financial conflict of interest (the neighbors) have a veto over new construction?

It’s just a joke. End the NIMBYS by moving zoning decisions up to elected officials at state level. Then the Foxhall neighbors can argue for their NIMBYism the same way they have to do it for tax issues that affect them: through the political process. Zoning is broken. Reform it.

That would require DC be a state.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As for the gentlemen you mentioned, his assertion that the Foxhall neighborhood is racist was belied by the very large and diverse group of neighbors who spoke out against the flawed DCPS plan.

Diversity meaning cultured accents?

What is your point? Are you arguing that the group was not obviously diverse in color, country of origin, native language, age, stage of life, and time spent living in D.C.? Because if that is your argument the video proves you wrong.

Its also important to consider that, as this is DC, this group also brings valuable ideological diversity to public discussion. There is no better illustration of this than that they approached the Washington Times to tell their side of the story.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The recording is here: https://youtu.be/aY-uiZCOfzs

The Hispanic / Jewish gentleman speaks at at about 1:41:00.

His testimony has to be one of the ballsiest things I’ve ever heard said in a community meeting. And he is dead right.

This “Save Hardy Park” campaign has nothing to do with a park. It has nothing to do with parking. The history bears that out in excruciating detail.

These people simply don’t want public school children in their neighborhood and most especially don’t want any “at-risk” public school children.

Anyone who gives their arguments the scarcest consideration is a victim of fraud.

Wow. He just says it out loud: that this new school would bring lower income kids to the area and that’s why residents don’t like it.

That guy (Philippe) is a hero. Calling out your neighbors in that manner takes real courage.

You will notice that the Save Hardy Park team now read prepared speeches. Earlier in the year, when their campaign was just starting, they tended to be speak more extemporaneously, often about things like the effect of the new school on their home values, about things public school children do on their way home after school, and probably even more offensive things.

This stuff about home values and people focusing on them is just bringing the whole country to a halt. How is it possibly ok to let people who have a clear financial conflict of interest (the neighbors) have a veto over new construction?

It’s just a joke. End the NIMBYS by moving zoning decisions up to elected officials at state level. Then the Foxhall neighbors can argue for their NIMBYism the same way they have to do it for tax issues that affect them: through the political process. Zoning is broken. Reform it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The recording is here: https://youtu.be/aY-uiZCOfzs

The Hispanic / Jewish gentleman speaks at at about 1:41:00.

His testimony has to be one of the ballsiest things I’ve ever heard said in a community meeting. And he is dead right.

This “Save Hardy Park” campaign has nothing to do with a park. It has nothing to do with parking. The history bears that out in excruciating detail.

These people simply don’t want public school children in their neighborhood and most especially don’t want any “at-risk” public school children.

Anyone who gives their arguments the scarcest consideration is a victim of fraud.

Wow. He just says it out loud: that this new school would bring lower income kids to the area and that’s why residents don’t like it.

That guy (Philippe) is a hero. Calling out your neighbors in that manner takes real courage.

You will notice that the Save Hardy Park team now read prepared speeches. Earlier in the year, when their campaign was just starting, they tended to be speak more extemporaneously, often about things like the effect of the new school on their home values, about things public school children do on their way home after school, and probably even more offensive things.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As for the gentlemen you mentioned, his assertion that the Foxhall neighborhood is racist was belied by the very large and diverse group of neighbors who spoke out against the flawed DCPS plan.

Diversity meaning cultured accents?

What is your point? Are you arguing that the group was not obviously diverse in color, country of origin, native language, age, stage of life, and time spent living in D.C.? Because if that is your argument the video proves you wrong.

I don’t disagree with you at all. They are indeed very diverse in those respects. Just as the composition of the World Economic Forum held at Davos each year is also very diverse in many of those respects.

Anonymous wrote:The recording is here: https://youtu.be/aY-uiZCOfzs

The Hispanic / Jewish gentleman speaks at at about 1:41:00.

His testimony has to be one of the ballsiest things I’ve ever heard said in a community meeting. And he is dead right.

This “Save Hardy Park” campaign has nothing to do with a park. It has nothing to do with parking. The history bears that out in excruciating detail.

These people simply don’t want public school children in their neighborhood and most especially don’t want any “at-risk” public school children.

Anyone who gives their arguments the scarcest consideration is a victim of fraud.

Wow. He just says it out loud: that this new school would bring lower income kids to the area and that’s why residents don’t like it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As for the gentlemen you mentioned, his assertion that the Foxhall neighborhood is racist was belied by the very large and diverse group of neighbors who spoke out against the flawed DCPS plan.

Diversity meaning cultured accents?

Over 20 different European countries represented!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As for the gentlemen you mentioned, his assertion that the Foxhall neighborhood is racist was belied by the very large and diverse group of neighbors who spoke out against the flawed DCPS plan.

Diversity meaning cultured accents?

What is your point? Are you arguing that the group was not obviously diverse in color, country of origin, native language, age, stage of life, and time spent living in D.C.? Because if that is your argument the video proves you wrong.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As for the gentlemen you mentioned, his assertion that the Foxhall neighborhood is racist was belied by the very large and diverse group of neighbors who spoke out against the flawed DCPS plan.

Diversity meaning cultured accents?

LOL and +1.

I lived in Foxhall for many years (recently), and my home looked out over incredible green space. A literal forest with meadows, deer and walking paths that connect to a tri state system of even more green space. The idea that if these people lose even a fraction of the green space at Hardy Park (which frankly, would benefit from a public elementary makeover if these people knew what one was) is laughable. It’s an embarrassment of riches in this neighborhood, they know it. Two schools are being replaced with...two schools. What’s the problem?

Yeah, one of the speakers said Foxhall has less green space than anywhere in the city. Oh really? What about Battery Kemble, Glover Archbold and the C&O? And have you ever been to Columbia Heights, Shaw or downtown?

One of the things that's cringe-worthy is how clueless these people are about the rest of the city.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As for the gentlemen you mentioned, his assertion that the Foxhall neighborhood is racist was belied by the very large and diverse group of neighbors who spoke out against the flawed DCPS plan.

Diversity meaning cultured accents?

LOL and +1.

I lived in Foxhall for many years (recently), and my home looked out over incredible green space. A literal forest with meadows, deer and walking paths that connect to a tri state system of even more green space. The idea that if these people lose even a fraction of the green space at Hardy Park (which frankly, would benefit from a public elementary makeover if these people knew what one was) is laughable. It’s an embarrassment of riches in this neighborhood, they know it. Two schools are being replaced with...two schools. What’s the problem?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/apr/29/dc-residents-angry-over-plan-raze-hardy-park-build/

Headline: "D.C. residents angry over plan to raze Hardy Park, build school"
Lede: "Anger, confusion and recrimination have erupted in one of the District’s tonier neighborhoods over city plans to raze parts of a park that is being renovated in order to build a public elementary school."

Truth: Nobody is proposing razing anything.

If half-truths and misinformation have a home in DC, its at the Washington Times. So of course that's where their story ended up. Somehow the geniuses behind this campaign failed to realize that peddling your story to the Washington Times isn't going to help you curry favor with the DC government.

The Washington Times has been explicitly designed by the right to harm Democrats, the educated, and DC residents — and DC government knows that.
It’s a hack paper filled with hacks hired to deceive the poor suckers that read it.

If the Foxhall people don’t know this they are REALLY out of touch.

These people operate in a whole different solar system. About the best thing they could do for themselves at this point is to take all their signs down, never attend another meeting, and never speak a word about these schools to anyone ever again. But they won’t. They will keep bleating on about it, naively believing that no one is smart enough to see through their total bullshit. And sooner or later a real news outlet will get a hold of this story and tell it for what it is. And that then will be about the end of their nice little well-to-do enclave. Welcome to DC!

Anonymous wrote:As for the gentlemen you mentioned, his assertion that the Foxhall neighborhood is racist was belied by the very large and diverse group of neighbors who spoke out against the flawed DCPS plan.

Diversity meaning cultured accents?

Anonymous wrote:Your post is inaccurate and unnecessarily polarizing. Many speakers clearly made the point that the neighborhood values the green space at Hardy Park and they want to preserve it. Why is that so wrong to want to preserve green space in a city and ask questions about other site selection options? And they don't trust DCPS to build out the property in a manner that properly preserves whatever remains of the park. After the Christmas Eve giveaway of the Old Hardy School we should all be skeptical of DC gov/DCPS intentions.

But we shouldn’t be skeptical of the intentions of members of a neighborhood association that did everything in its power to ensure that the public building on the site wasn’t given back to DCPS but rather remained in the hands of an expensive private school (and, by the Deputy Mayor’s own assessment, whose actions were instrumental in ensuring it remained off-limits to DCPS) yet who now claim they “support public education” but just don’t want a school in their backyard because they’ve managed to formulate some apocalyptic scenario about how it will upend lives they’ve never lived??? Please . . .