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BID in the News

People are talking about the BID. Here's what they have to say —


The Washington Post
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Jacqueline Trescott

In a feature entitled, "A Corridor of Color Amid the Grays of Downtown,Downtown BID Executive Director Richard H. Bradley comments on the the National Museum of Women in the Art's (NMWA) New York Avenue Sculpture Project, an outdoor gallery debuting in Downtown this spring. The BID was one of NMWA's partners in organizing the public art display.


The Washington Post
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Ylan Q. Mui

In this article entitled, "west elm Packs Up the Furniture After Short-lived Run Downtown,Downtown BID Executive Director Richard H. Bradley provides insights into why the furniture retailer decided to close its doors. Forever 21, the popular teen and young adult clothing chain, will occupy the west elm space.

The Washington Post
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Ashley Halsey III

In an article entitled, "Navigating a Bus Path for K Street-Again."  Downtown BID Executive Director Richard H. Bradley comments on the K Street transit way design. "If we're intending to become a city of stature, and I think we are, we need to make this a great street," says Bradley. The city is considering two updated designs and is finalizing a request for $95 million in federal stimulus funds to finance the project.

District of Columbia Building Industry Association (DCBIA) Pipeline 
Vol. XXXVII - March 2009 
Matt Klein - Akridge
Reprinted by permission

In an article entitled "Downtown Holding Firm in Uncertain Times," Downtown BID Chairman of the Board Matt Klein, president of Akridge, shares information presented at the Downtown BID’s State of Downtown Forum, held on June 2, 2009, and featured in the 2008 State of Downtown Report. Klein notes that both Washington, DC, and Downtown had mixed results in 2008, setting many economic records but ending on a less than upbeat note due to the global financial and economic crisis. In many ways, the first quarter of 2009 mirrored last year’s performance.

The Northwest Current
June 10, 2009
Staff Report
Reprinted by permission


This item, entitled "BID discusses state of downtown economy,"  reviews the BID's June 2, 2009 State of Downtown Forum introduced by Downtown BID Chairman of the Board Matt Klein, president of Akridge. The panel was moderated by BID Executive Director Richard H. Bradley and consisted of Robert Pinkard, chair of development firm Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers,  Deborah Ratner Salzberg, president of development company Forest City Washington and Neil Irwin, a Washington Post business and economics reporter.
The Washington Post
In Brief
April 9, 2009

In an item entitled “40 Hospitality Workers Join Downtown Patrol,” the Washington Post wrote a brief about the Downtown BID Safety, Hospitality and Maintenance workers, known as SAMs. In time for the spring tourism season, 40 newly trained SAMs have joined about 90 other workers who patrol and maintain the 138-square-block area between the US Capitol and the White House seven days a week
WAMU 88.5 FM 
The Kojo Nnamdi Show
March 16, 2009

In a segment entitled Housing for DC's Homeless, WAMU host, Kojo Nnamdi, talks with Pathways to Housing Director, Linda Kaufman, about moving chronically homeless residents into permanent housing and independence through the Housing First Program. Pathways to Housing manages the Downtown BID’s Homeless Outreach Service Team.

For audio and transcripts click here.

WNBC-TV
February 19, 2009
Tom Sherwood - Washington Evening News

DC Considers Proposal to Rid City Streets of Double-Parked Trucks -The District may soon crack down on double-parked trucks and other vehicles that clog city streets, is a TV news segment that focuses on a bill being spearheaded by Ward 1 Council Member Jim Graham. Downtown BID Transportation Director Ellen Jones is interviewed.

The Washington Post
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Stephen Lowman

This article, entitled “The Shrinking of Chinatown,” highlights the neighborhood’s identity problem following years of gentrification. The Downtown BID provides data showing the number of residents and workers in the one-square-mile district that includes Chinatown has risen dramatically in 10 years. A strategy group for cultural development, led by the DC government, is working to establish Chinatown as the center of Asian activity in the Washington metropolitan area.

United States Interagency Council on Homelessness e-newsletter
USICH's December 30, 2008 e-newsletter
Innovations 08 in 08 series (No. 4) 

As part of a program to recognize innovative initiatives that are preventing and ending homelessness, the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness distributed, DC Downtown Partnership: From the streets and long-term homelessness to Housing First. The article highlights the work of the Downtown BID’s Homeless Outreach Service Team. It also recaps some major points outlined in the BID’s fourth Leadership Paper entitled, Homelessness Downtown: Moving People from the Street to Independence.
 
In this article, part of the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness' Innovative Initiatives series, Pathways to Housing, an active partner of the Downtown BID’s Homeless Outreach Service Team, is profiled.

December 24, 2008 e-newsletter
December 30, 2008 e-newsletter
The Washington Post
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Paul Schwartzman

 In this feature, "In D.C., Bailout Means Business," Downtown BID Executive Director Richard Bradley comments on the global economic slowdown and the opportunities and challenges it presents for business and development communities.

WTOP.com
Monday, December 22, 2008

Jonathan Ward of the Downtown BID Homeless Outreach team is the project director for One Warm Coat. In this video entitled, "Bush Donated Coats, But Where Did They Go?," Ward explains how the coats are distributed and why the president and Mrs. Bush being involved is so important.

 

Click here to access this article.District of Columbia Building Industry Association (DCBIA)
Pipeline
Volume XXXV, June 2008
Gerry Widdicombe
Reprinted by permission.

In the June issue of the DC Building Industry Association’s newsletter, Pipeline, Downtown BID Director of Economic Development  Gerry Widdicombe provides a summary of the recent commercial property tax rate decrease directed primarily at small commercial properties, in an article entitled, "New DC Budget Reduces Commercial Tax Rates - Slightly!"

The Examiner
June 13, 2008
Harry Jaffe

This column compares data provided in two reports, including the Downtown BID’s 2007 Annual Report, to draw juxtapositions about DC. The BID annual report shows favorable job growth, investment and new residents and visitors in Downtown. In contrast, the 2008 Kids Count data book, published by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, shows high child poverty rates and economic adversity. The article, A pair of new reports describe tale of two cities concludes that DC is divided by wealth and race, education and opportunity.

Click here to read this article.

The Northwest Current
May 7, 2008
Staff Report
Reprinted by permission

The  Washington, DC Economic Partnership and Reed Smith recently sponsored a forum on "BIDs in Transition," addressing the challenges and opportunities facing DC BIDs. Downtown BID Director of Marketing and Communications Karen Sibert  participated on the panel along with representatives from NoMa, Capitol Riverfront and the Anacostia Economic Development Corporation. The Northwest Current published a recap of the presentation in an article entitled "City BIDs discuss strategies, successes

Click here to access this article.
The Current Newspapers Real Estate Guide
Spring 2008
Jessica Gould
Reprinted by permission.

Downtown resident and founding member of the Downtown Neighborhood Association Miles Groves is profiled and quoted in this article, entitled "Residents give D.C. downtown its due." Downtown resident Jackie Cawthon and BID Research Associate Rebecca White also weigh in on the joys, challenges and realities of Downtown life.  

Click here to read Mr. Sherwood's column.The Capitol Hill Current
Voice of the Hill

Volume 9 • Number 22 • March 11, 2008
Tom Sherwood
Reprinted by permission.

In an item entitled "It ain't Manhattan, but..." NBC 4 political reporter Tom Sherwood provided a thumbnail sketch of the BID's Downtown Neighborhood Survey in his regular column, Tom Sherwood's Notebook.  
Click here to view this video.

WNBC-TV
Tuesday, January 30, 2008
What's Working

NBC-4 produced this feature on the Downtown BID’s homeless outreach services as part of its “What’s Working” segment. It features Jonathan Ward, MSW, of Pathways to Housing, and profiles a homeless man who was able to move from living on Downtown streets for the past seven years into his own apartment with the help of the BID’s homeless outreach team, and in particular, SAM hospitality team member Aaron McKeiver, who took a special interest in this man’s welfare.

Click here to view this video.WJLA-TV
Thursday November 29, 2007
Sam Ford

DC Bureau Chief Sam Ford's story, “D.C.'s Resurgence Results in Big Dollars,” looks at Downtown’s importance in the marketplace, and consequently, its importance to the city’s fiscal health and economic stability as outlined in the BID's Leadership Papers entitled Downtown: The Economic and Fiscal Engine of the District of Columbia.”
 
Click here to read this article.
The Washington Post

Thursday November 29, 2007
Paul Schwartzman
Reprinted by permission.

This feature, “Downtown Is Enjoying Renaissance, Report Finds,”  profiles the first of the BID's “leadership papers,” entitled “Downtown: The Economic and Fiscal Engine of the District of Columbia.”
Click here to read this article.Los Angeles Times
Thursday November 22, 2007
Theo Milonopoulos
Reprinted by permission.


This article, entitled “No end in sight with D.C.’s makeover boom,”  highlights Downtown DC’s significant growth and transformation into a vibrant destination for residents, visitors and workers alike.

Bloomberg.com
February 9, 2006
Daniel J. Goldstein

In this feature story, DC, Once `Graveyard After Dark,' Adds Manhattan Glitz, Downtown BID Economic Development Director Gerry Widdicombe provides insight on the city and Downtown’s resurgence as a major destination hub that has attracted restaurants, bars and residents. Downtown’s Gallery Place, Rosa Mexicano restaurant, Macy’s department store and expensive home and office prices have all contributed to the “Manhattanization” of the nation’s capital, giving it a New York feel. 

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 Update  
Read the latest news for and about the BID in the March 2010 edition of our e-newsletter, the
Downtown Update