Mayor Fenty Visits Park View … Again

Following up on his visit of  April 23, 2009, Mayor Fenty visited the Park View neighborhood again yesterday to review progress at the Park View Recreation Center and the alleys between the blocks of Rock Creek Church Road to the north and Princeton to the South.

As with before, many of the heavy hitters were with Fenty, including Gabe Klein, Ximena Hartsock, Linda Argo, Chief  Lanier, Jim Graham, and others who  I know I’m overlooking. In general, things have improved over the months since Fenty’s last visit. The alleys are much cleaner, though rat abatement still needs to continue. The two biggest areas of note are:

1. The Park and Recs Center: it was commented that this was the first time in years anyone had seen the pool in use. Also, the playing field at the back of the property is on the schedule for being redone. Fenty indicated that it was originally planned to resod the property for about $800,000, but the City has learned from other fields it’s redone that sod does not hold up in a multiple use area. Grass, at a cost closer to $1 million, tends to hold up better. Fenty would like grass used on this field.
2. The alleys of the 600 blocks between Rock Creek Church and Princeton were added to this walk through (absent in the first). The Mayor noticed they were in horrible condition and stated that they needed to be on the list of alleys repaired this summer.

Though not the focus of the Mayor’s visit, MPDs hard work in the area and their recent arrest of an individual responsible for the shooting that happened Monday night were noted and praised.