AMPBID monthly board meeting - November 10 - special guest DSLBD

PR Firm hired - Washington Media Group

New application for requesting city services and other tools to make interacting with DC Government easier

Reminder about day-time parking discount at Colonial Parking garage

Sweet Themez Cake and Cupcake - open today at 5 PM

AMPBID Monthly Board meeting - November 10 - special guest - Harold Pettigrew - Acting Director of DSLBD

The next AMPBID Board meeting will be Thursday November 10, 2011 at 5 PM at the MPD Third District Headquarters in the Snyder Conference Room at 1620 V Street, NW.

There will be an update on the 18th Street Streetscape Project, some exciting marketing news and a SPECIAL GUEST! Harold Pettigrew, Acting Director for the DC Department of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD) and the Deputy Director, Rob Summers will be joining the meeting. They will come prepared to talk about the $3 million interest-free loan program that will be available soon to businesses affected by streetscape construction as well as other DC Government programs designed to help small and local businesses. Please share this news with your neighboring businesses and encourage them to attend. Mr. Pettigrew and Mr. Summers' presentation will be at the beginning of the meeting.

Hope you can join us! Board members: Please call or email Kristen at 202-997-0783 or kbarden@adamsmorganonline.org if you are unable to attend otherwise we will assume you are attending. Thanks. Meeting materials will be sent early next week.

PR Firm hired to help with messaging - Washington Media Group

Many businesses have encouraged the AMPBID to hire a professional public relations firm. Your wish is our command! Well this time anyhow...We are pleased to announce that the Washington Media Group - www.washingtonmedia.com has begun a 6 month contract with the AMPBID to manage the communication strategy and media relations related specifically to the Adams Morgan Streetscape project. The Washington Media Group will help develop positive messages and respond to negative coverage to get the message out that great things are happening in Adams Morgan!

We are pleased to begin our work with Nate, Adam, Jon and the rest of the Washington Media Group! Stay tuned for more exciting developments.

New application available for requesting city services and other tools to make interacting with DC Government easier

SeeClickFix is just one of a number of new Iphone and other Smart Phone applications recently developed by DC Government to make working with them much easier.

SeeClickFix is a FREE Iphone application that you can use to report city service requests like tree trimming, bulk trash removal, etc... The program is also available online through www.seeclickfix.com/washington .

Also DDOT announced this week that they have a new Public Space Permit Lookup Tool.  The GIS (geographic information system) enabled Public Space Permit Lookup Tool gives the public the ability to see permits on an interactive map. The user can enter a specific address or area and pull up all the Public Space Occupancy and Construction permits issued for that location or within that area, and see information including who the permits were granted to and for how long. They can also see permit applications that are pending approval and/or pending payment, and can export the data for the selected area in spreadsheet format.

Online Payments:

Permit applicants now have the ability to pay online for Construction related fees and Inspections fees. Once an application is approved and pending payment, a user can pay for the permit and the associated fees with either Visa or MasterCard. After the payment is verified, the user will be able to print the permit at home or office without visiting the permit office.

See also: apps.dc.gov for a whole list of applications including: DC Atlas, Emergency Information, Crime Mapping, Wi-Fi Hot Spots, Where’s My Bus and other apps developed by other non-governmental entities like Park It DC which allows you to check on parking availability all over DC.

Reminder about day-time parking discount at Colonial Garage

New parking rates with validation at Colonial garage

In March of 2009, The Adams Morgan Partnership BID, with
the assistance of Councilmember Jim Graham, negotiated a terrific deal for day-time parking in Adams Morgan. With the increased rates at the parking meters, it became cheaper and more convenient to park in the parking garage than parking on the street!

As parking begins to get reduced with more construction, make sure your customers take advantage of the day-time parking rates in the garage.

The new rates with a validation stamp from any business in Adams Morgan, are $3.00 for up to 2 hours and $7.00 for up to 4 hours.

The way it works:

You take the ticket from the garage (Colonial Parking garage - access is on the east side of 18th Street, NW south of Columbia Road and just north of Belmont Road, NW ), the business owner puts the sticker on the ticket and you return to the garage and pay only $3 for up to 2 hours or $7.00 for up to 4 hours!

This deal is still available until 5 PM, 7 days a week. You must be out of the garage by 5 PM when regular rates will apply. Also the validation is only good for UP to 4 hours, any fraction thereafter, whether before 5pm or not, will incur the MAX fee which currently went up to $17.00. If you stay beyond the 4 hours, and leave after 5pm on a Friday and Saturday, the MAX rate of $19.00 will apply.

For more information or to request more validation stickers from Colonial call Carol Kabuji at: 202-295-8123.

Sweet Themez Cake and Cupcake - opened today at 5 PM

Sweet Themez Cake and Cupcake: 2318 18th Street, NW, lower level

Sweet Themez, is the newest addition to the neighborhood to satisfy your sugar cravings with cakes and cupcakes. Adrienne Holmes and her team opened today.  The variety of cake, cupcakes and cake pop flavors are extensive! Check out the full list at: www.sweetthemez.com. Their hours will be: Sunday 12:00 - 6:00 pm, Monday - Wednesday 12:00 to 10:00 pm, Thursday - Saturday 12:00 to 1:00 am. Adrienne can also be reached at: adrienne@sweetthemez.com .