Green Valley

Community pushes back on renovations for new restaurant at former Green Valley Pharmacy

By Matt Blitz
Green Valley Pharmacy (staff photo by Matt Blitz)

The new restaurant at the former Green Valley Pharmacy won’t be opening until later this year due to some pushback from the community.

The local Arlington landmark at 2415 Shirlington Road is currently undergoing extensive renovations to transform it from a seven-decade-old pharmacy that served the Green Valley neighborhood into a kabob and burger eatery called “Halal Spot.”

However, those renovations are on hold as the Green Valley Civic Association and the county continue to review architecture plans for the new restaurant, a number of people involved in the project tell ARLnow.

The Green Valley Pharmacy opened in 1952 as the only lunch counter and pharmacy to serve Arlington’s Black community during the Jim Crow era. It was owned and operated by Dr. Leonard “Doc” Muse, a graduate of the Howard University School of Pharmacy.

The property was designated by the county as a local historic landmark and district in 2013, with a historic marker placed there in 2014.

But in late 2017, Muse died and the pharmacy has been closed since.

In August 2019, Muse’s daughter agreed to allow Arlington resident Nasir Ahmad, who also owns restaurants in Sterling and Fredericksburg, to rent the building and open a new eatery there.

It took more than 18 months for a buildout permit to be submitted in March 2021. In August of that year, it was approved by the county (the permit notes the restaurant’s name as “Time Square Grill,” but Ahmad told ARLnow in September that was simply a placeholder).

Months later, the project and renovations are still in limbo.

Last week, the Green Valley Civic Association held a meeting with members during which Ahmad provided an update on the proposed renovations.

Coming out of the meeting, the community’s concerns remained, civic association president Portia Clark tells ARLnow. Those are related to parking, signage and renovations that could impact the historical integrity of the building.

A catching point seems to be a walk-in cooler that is to be built at the back of the building with a pass-thru or doorway to it. Constructing the cooler would require knocking out a wall and removing a chimney, both historic components of the building, says Clark.

Parking is also an issue. Clark argues there aren’t enough spots available in the parking lot to accommodate the number of seats in the restaurant, in accordance with county code.

Additionally, the historic “Green Valley Pharmacy” signage has been removed. Clark says the civic association would like the restaurant’s name to include “Green Valley Pharmacy.”

“One of the only things left was the name,” says Clark. “Now, there’s no reflection of that.”

Despite these concerns, Clark remains okay with the restaurant moving in and hopes the owner continues to work with the community.

The project’s architect, Pat Snyder, believes there are places for compromise and working together. Learning about the history of Doc Muse and the pharmacy made her realize how important the building is to the community.

“We want the building to reflect that history,” Snyder says.

The current plan is to have pharmacy and Doc Muse-related artifacts and memorabilia on display in the restaurant, notes Snyder.

“There are a lot of things left [in the pharmacy],” she says. “We can collect it and display it to the public.”

She also thinks the idea of painting murals on the side of the building, an idea that was brought up at the civic association meeting, would be “wonderful.”

“We could draw in all of the historic elements and brighten up an otherwise gray, block building,” Snyder says.

Of course, most of these renovations or elements can not happen without county approval.

Since the pharmacy building is protected in the Arlington County local historic district, any proposed exterior alterations must be approved by the Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board’s (HALRB) design review process.

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ACPD: Woman crashed, ran from police, and crashed again with kid in car

By ARLnow.com

A Falls Church woman is facing numerous charges after police say she fled from officers after a hit-and-run crash — all while a child was in her car.

The incident happened around 1:30 p.m. on Christmas Day, in the Green Valley area. It started with a crash on S. Glebe Road, just north of the I-395 interchange, and ended with a second crash less than a mile away.

From an Arlington County Police Department crime report:

At approximately 1:25 p.m. on December 25, police were dispatched to the report of a crash with injury. As officers arrived on scene, one of the vehicles involved in the initial crash fled the scene. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, however, the suspect disregarded and continued driving at a high rate of speed in the area. Officers did not pursue the vehicle and followed at a distance. Officers observed the suspect strike another vehicle at the intersection of S. Glebe Road and Walter Reed Drive, causing extensive damage, then come to a stop on Walter Reed Drive. The suspect exited the vehicle and was subsequently taken into custody by arriving officers without further incident. […]

[The suspect], 25, of Falls Church, Va., was arrested and charged with Hit and Run – Attended Property: Injury/Damage >$1000 (x2), Eluding, and Abuse & Neglect of a Child, and issued summons for Improper Registration and No Insurance. She was held on a secured bond.

ACPD spokeswoman Kirby Clark said there was a child in the 25-year-old woman’s car at the time of the crashes, leading to the child abuse charge.

Only one minor injury was reported in the Christmas crashes.

“The driver of the second vehicle involved in the first crash sustained minor injuries and was evaluated on scene by medics,” Clark said. “No injuries were reported in the second crash.”

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com
Christmas tree in a plaza in Rosslyn, decorated for the holidays (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Extra DUI Enforcement Starts Today — “The Arlington County Police Department (ACPD) is partnering with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) during the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign… From December 15, 2021 – January 1, 2022, motorists nationwide can expect to see increased messaging about the dangers of driving under the influence, coupled with increased saturation patrols to identify and apprehend impaired drivers.” [ACPD, WJLA]

Historic Board Takes Up New Restaurant — “A proposal to turn the former Green Valley Pharmacy into an eatery will breathe new life into a structure that has been vacant for several years… Members of the Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) this week will consider a proposal to permit several exterior adjustments to the former Green Valley Pharmacy, which was operated by Leonard “Doc” Muse from 1952 until his death in 2017.” [Sun Gazette]

Metro Slowly Returning to Normal Service — “Metro today announced that it has reached another step in the process to restore the 7000-series railcars to service. The Washington Metrorail Safety Commission (WMSC) has informed Metro that it has no technical objections to the final plan submitted to gradually return nearly half of the 7000-series railcars to passenger service with the metered release of no more than 336 railcars.” [WMATA]

It’s Wednesday — Today will be partly sunny, with a high near 56. Sunrise at 7:20 a.m. and sunset at 4:47 p.m. Tomorrow will be partly sunny and a bit breezy, with a high near 62 and a low near 44. [Darksky]

Toddler returns home from hospital after severe collision in Westover

By Jo DeVoe
1/6

(Updated 5:30 p.m.) The child who was struck by a driver a few weeks ago while riding his scooter in Westover has returned home, police say.

A Cadillac sedan struck the child in the afternoon on Nov. 17 as the driver exited a county-owned alley onto N. Longfellow Street. The boy was reportedly pulled from under the vehicle and was conscious when medics arrived to rush him to a local hospital.

“The toddler has been released from the hospital and is reportedly doing well,” said Ashley Savage, a spokeswoman for Arlington County Police Department, told ARLnow yesterday afternoon.

No additional details about the nature of the toddler’s injuries were provided, although initial reports indicated he had suffered a serious head injury.

The driver stayed on scene while police began their investigation, which Savage said Tuesday “remains an active and ongoing critical crash investigation.”

Following the crash the look of the alley has changed, as some thick hedges — one of a number of safety concerns neighbors articulated about the alley — have come down. Workers could be seen trimming back the hedges last Thursday.

Reached by phone Tuesday, a family member of the homeowner declined to comment about the hedges.

On the day of the crash, Arlington County’s code enforcement division received a complaint about the house with the hedges, spokeswoman Erika Moore told ARLnow Wednesday afternoon.

“Code enforcement cited the property owner under Chapter 10 of the County Code and sent a notice as required,” she said.

Chapter 10 covers trash, recycling and care of premises, and says the following: “It shall be the joint and several duty of each owner or occupant of property to cut back or remove trees or parts thereof, hedges, shrubs, vines and other vegetation which encroaches upon any sidewalk, alley, roadway, street or highway and which impairs or obstructs any pedestrian or vehicular traffic.”

Other safety threats in the area, according to residents, include drivers traveling at a high rate of speed on N. Longfellow Street and on the alley, which connects N. Longfellow Street and the cul-de-sac at 15th Road N. Additionally, streetlights on the alley were dim or out, making it hard to see after nightfall, though the crash occurred during daylight hours.

The crash led the Westover Civic Association to ask on Nextdoor for reports of similar accidents or incidents in the area, which the civic group intends to present to the Arlington County Board.

In conjunction with a fatal crash one week prior in Green Valley, near Drew Elementary School, the incident prompted Arlington County to launch a review of a common thread between them: alleys.

“Our team is evaluating the crash locations in detail now and will conduct a holistic assessment on alleys from now into the spring,” Department of Environmental Services spokeswoman Katie O’Brien told ARLnow on Tuesday.

In the other crash, a man who was reportedly speeding down an alley on his motorcycle collided with a school bus carrying children.

APS targets two overcrowded schools in latest boundary change proposal

By Jo DeVoe
The Arlington School Board during the Nov. 16 meeting (via APS)

The Arlington School Board will vote on boundary changes tomorrow (Thursday) targeting two overcapacity schools in South Arlington.

This fall, Superintendent Francisco Durán launched a “limited” fall 2021 boundary process to relieve overcrowding at Abingdon Elementary School, Gunston Middle School and Wakefield High School.

The newest version of the plan postpones changes to Abingdon, where enrollment is currently manageable for next year, according to Durán. Students would have been moved from the school in Fairlington to Charles R. Drew Elementary School in nearby Green Valley, echoing a similar proposal in 2018 that became controversial.

Gunston and Wakefield are still over-capacity, so some planning units will be moved to Thomas Jefferson Middle School and Washington-Liberty High School.

“The proposed changes are manageable among the identified schools that we’ve talked about and we’ve engaged with. The planning units included in this process should not need to be moved again in the next few years, and this limited process provides some additional to understand enrollment fluctuations we’re seeing caused by the pandemic, and any shifts in projects we may see,” he said during the Nov. 16 School Board meeting.

APS also proposes to change which neighborhood schools feed into Arlington’s Spanish-immersion schools, following previous boundary changes and the relocation of one immersion program, Key School.

“We want to make sure access to immersion schools is convenient to families and students nearest the location,” Durán said.

Relief for Gunston and Wakefield

The boundary changes for Gunston and Jefferson will reassign 140 third- to fifth-graders while the Wakefield and W-L changes will reassign 162 students.

The changes will impact the Penrose, Foxcroft Heights, Arlington View and Columbia Heights neighborhoods.

The proposal to move Wakefield students to W-L comes as the latter is about to unveil a new wing of the school — the former Education Center administrative offices — with room for up to 600 students.

APS says the extra space at the Education Center will provide enrollment relief for Wakefield and cut down on W-L’s waitlist for the International Baccalaureate (IB) program.

“The number of applicants to the IB Lottery and number on the waitlist has increased each year over the last four years,” according to the 2021 boundary process website.

APS may consider targeted transfers from Wakefield to Yorktown if forthcoming enrollment projections for 2022-23 suggest unmanageable levels at Wakefield — even with the boundary adjustment.

The new high school boundaries would reverse moves made in 2016 to address overcrowding at W-L, but those who were moved away from W-L in 2017 will not be moved back.

In 2017, APS redirected Boulevard Manor kids from W-L to Yorktown High School. Students say when they graduate from Kenmore Middle School and head to Yorktown, they lose many of their middle school friends. To avoid that, they apply for W-L’s IB program or for a neighborhood transfer.

“I can make new friends, but the point is that it’s completely reasonable that I want to go to high school with my friends — just like all the middle schoolers in Arlington,” said Kenmore eighth-grader Xavier Anderson, during the Nov. 16 meeting.

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NEW: Two severe crashes prompt countywide look at alley safety in Arlington

By Jo DeVoe
1/10

Prompted by two critical crashes in two weeks, Arlington County is taking a look at a common thread between them: alleys.

Last week in Westover, a car struck a toddler, who is now recovering from serious injuries, while exiting an alley onto N. Longfellow Street. Neighbors say the alley is frequented by cyclists and pedestrians, including students from nearby schools, but has dangerous blind spots.

Two weeks ago in Green Valley, a motorcyclist — who witnesses say exited the 23rd Street S. alley at a high speed — died while trying to avoid hitting a school bus. Instead, he flew off his motorcycle and into the bus, which had children onboard.

A team that includes Arlington County police, Virginia State Police, transportation engineers, public health representatives and a representative from the County Manager’s office will be evaluating these crashes, while county transportation engineers will be looking at other local alleys to find improvements, says Katie O’Brien, a spokeswoman for the Department of Environmental Services.

“As part of our Vision Zero Action Plan, we regularly review and evaluate critical crashes to identify actionable items that we can implement and respond to quickly,” O’Brien said. “In addition to reviewing this terrible incident [in Westover], the team is taking a systematic examination of alleys throughout the County to improve safety given the recent tragic crash that also occurred at an alley on 23rd Street S.”

The toddler from Westover remains hospitalized but is recovering, says Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Savage. The child, who was pulled from under the striking car before first responders arrived on scene, suffered serious injuries including, reportedly, a fractured skull.

Meanwhile, the body of the 26-year-old Alexandria man who died in the motorcycle crash will be transported overseas for his funeral.

Both crashes remain active and ongoing investigations, Savage said, adding that there are no additional details to provide.

Blind spots add peril to Westover alley  

In Westover, neighbors say the alley where the crash occurred is frequented by students headed to Swanson Middle School and folks on bikes and with strollers, who use a hole in the fence at the end of the alley to get to school or to the Custis Trail.

“It’s actually a more trafficked area than it might appear to be,” said one neighbor, Stefanie Cruz.

But it has blind spots for drivers. Where it intersects with N. Longfellow Street, there’s a large hedge to the right and a house to the left that neighbors say can obscure oncoming pedestrians, playing kids and traffic.

“It’s a dangerous alley, and it’s been a dangerous alley, and I don’t know if anyone’s been paying attention to that,” she said. “It’s unfortunate that it took something like this to make the alley safer.”

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BREAKING: Motorcyclist killed in school bus crash in front of Drew Elementary

By ARLnow.com
1/10

(Updated at 4:15 p.m.) Arlington police and firefighters are on scene of a fatal crash involving a motorcyclist and a school bus with children on board.

The crash happened around 2:45 p.m. on S. Kenmore Street in front of Drew Elementary, in the Green Valley neighborhood.

A school bus with 14 students on board struck a man who was riding a motorcycle, according to police. The man, who was reportedly wearing a helmet, was found lying unresponsive in the roadway.

Police have closed S. Kenmore Street, likely for an extended period of time while detectives investigate the crash. The victim remains in the roadway, covered in a white sheet, while police tape has been placed around the crash site.

School counselors are being requested to the scene for the children who were on board the bus at the time of the crash. No physical injuries were reported among the students, who have since been taken off the bus.

Despite the location of the crash, we’re told that that bus came from a school other than Drew.

Witnesses, some of whom were sobbing as they spoke to ARLnow, said the motorcyclist was someone they saw often in the neighborhood. They said he had just driven out of an alley at a high rate of speed and tried to lay down his motorcycle when he saw the bus coming. He “went flying” and was run over by the bus, witnesses said.

The man’s injuries were such that first responders immediately radioed that he was deceased after arriving at the scene and failing to find a pulse.

Neighbors said that numerous kids and adults witnessed the crash, which happened in a busy area next to a park on a sunny, warm autumn day.

The neighbors who spoke to ARLnow said that the deceased man was in his early 20s and worked at a nearby auto rental and repair shop.

“They are good guys,” a neighbor said of the workers at the family-owned shop.

Update on 11/11/21: Arlington County police just issued the following press release about the fatal crash.

The Arlington County Police Department is investigating a fatal motorcycle crash that occurred on the afternoon of November 10, 2021.

At approximately 2:49 p.m., police were dispatched to the 3500 block of 23rd Street S. for the report of a vehicle crash with injuries involving a school bus and motorcycle. Upon arrival, officers located the unresponsive motorcyclist partially under the school bus. He had succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased on scene. The school bus had fourteen students onboard at the time of the crash. The students safely exited the bus, were evaluated by medics and no additional injuries were reported.

The preliminary investigation indicates the motorcyclist was traveling at a high rate of speed from an alley on 23rd Street S. onto S. Kenmore Street. He tried to avoid the oncoming school bus by laying down the motorcycle and ultimately ended up partially under the bus. The deceased has been identified as Stevan Zikic, 26, of Alexandria, VA.

This crash remains under investigation. Anyone with information related to this incident is asked to contact Detective L. Lugasi at [email protected] or 703-228-4054. Information may also be reported anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).

Matt Blitz contributed to this report.

Green Valley residents express concerns about updated arts plan

By Jo DeVoe
Members of the Green Valley Civic Association near Jennie Dean Park, in a portion of the Green Valley neighborhood also known as Four Mile Run Valley (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated at 4:10 p.m.) A public art plan slated for consideration this weekend has angered some Green Valley residents, who say it essentially erases a portion of the historically Black community.

After multiple years of community engagement and study, county arts staff have drafted an update to the Arlington’s Public Art Master Plan (PAMP) — first adopted in 2004 — to reflect changing county values, such as equity and sustainability, and more modern public art practices. The updated strategy for bringing art into public spaces is slated for a County Board vote this Saturday.

“Public art will continue to be a timely and timeless resource, responding to current community priorities while creating a legacy of artworks and places that are socially inclusive and aesthetically diverse features of Arlington’s public realm,” the county wrote in a report about the updated plan.

But members of the Green Valley Civic Association are urging County Board members not to approve the updated plan without wording changes to the various references to their community.

“This master plan aims to nullify a historically Black community in Arlington,” they said in a letter to the County Board dated Nov. 1. “It is a painful and blatant attempt to suppress the Green Valley community and rewrite our historical narrative.”

Settled by free African-Americans in 1844, Green Valley — formerly known as Nauck — is one of Arlington’s oldest Black communities. Its borders are S. Arlington Mill Drive to the south, the Douglas Park neighborhood (and S. Walter Reed Drive) to the west, I-395 and Army-Navy Country Club to the east, and the Columbia Heights neighborhood to the north.

Geography and names comprise two chief concerns for residents, who take issue with the document’s use of the monicker “Four Mile Run Valley” to refer to an area north of Four Mile Run near Shirlington — much of which is actually part of the historic Black community.

Four Mile Run Valley area (via Arlington County)

The name “Four Mile Run Valley” started being used widely by the county in connection with a planning study that discussed the proposed creation of an “arts and industry district” in the area. But Green Valley residents are taking exception to the term being used instead of their neighborhood’s actual name.

“This is wholly incorrect and offensive,” the civic association said.

More from the letter:

The report defines a fictitious community of “Four Mile Run Valley.” This heretofore non-existent community is defined as running from the “north bank of the stream where the lower and upper reaches meet.” 

It further, incorrectly states, that Shirlington Village is “on the south bank of Four Mile Run.” It is not. The northern border of Shirlington Village begins in the middle of Arlington Mill Drive. 

The report states, “Green Valley is a historically African-American neighborhood to the north of Four Mile Run Valley.” This is wholly incorrect and offensive. Again, “Four Mile Run Valley” is a fictitious name created by county staff. It is not a location. The southern border to Green Valley begins in the middle of Arlington Mill Drive. To try to push the historic boundary of our community up the hill is unconscionable and disrespectful of what Green Valley means to Arlington. 

Civic association president Portia Clark says this turn of phrase is part of a pattern of erasure.

“This isn’t the first time the county has tried to paper over Green Valley. Green Valley established in 1844 was rebranded Nauck in 1874, after a confederate soldier purchased land in our freed Black community,” Clark said. “We finally got our name back in 2019, only to find the county trying to discard us again. This time the county tried to hide the deed in the middle of a 200-page arts report.”

Just after publication of this article, county staff told ARLnow that some of the changes suggested by the civic association have been made.

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Construction underway on Coptic Orthodox church in Green Valley

By Jo DeVoe
1/11

Construction is advancing on a permanent home for Saint Timothy and Saint Athanasius Coptic Orthodox Church in Green Valley.

The Arlington-based church — which goes by the abbreviated STSA Church — currently rents space at George Mason University’s Virginia Square campus at 3351 Fairfax Drive.

In 2018, it purchased a vacant lot for $2 million at 2640 Shirlington Road on which it plans build a permanent structure. The county approved an easement related to the property, located between townhomes and the ABC Imaging print shop, this February.

Work started early in September and now, the dense trees that covered the site are gone. Fr. Anthony Messeh, the church’s priest, tells ARLnow crews have finished clearing the site and finished pile driving, and have now turned to sheeting and shoring.

“We are excited to be a part of the community,” he said. “We’re not here to invade, but hopefully, to continue to serve the community and be a part of what’s happening there.”

He says the building will be ready by the end of 2022. When finished, STSA Church will have a traditional Orthodox church space and a contemporary worship space, separated by an atrium, as well as rooms for age-specific ministries and staff office space. There will be a parking garage below and a floor for commercial office space above, topped by a garden terrace.

Messeh says the office would be offered for rent to offset the cost to build the parking structure.

“When people hear a church is moving in, the first question is, ‘Where is everyone going to park?'” he said. “We wanted to be good neighbors. We didn’t want ‘We’re parking in front of your house’ to be our first exposure to the community.”

STSA, which offers in-person liturgy and Sunday morning services, has sought out a permanent gathering place since it began operating in 2012. For now, the congregation and the priest are feeling the limitations of a rented space in a university setting.

“For us, it’s less about outgrowing the size of the space and more in terms of the mission of the church,” Messeh said.

A permanent home would provide a more fitting space for STSA’s community service work, such as its mentorship program with area public elementary schools and its Christmas party for children with blood disorders from Inova L.J. Murphy Children’s Hospital. Additionally, the church’s growing children’s ministry currently uses college classrooms, which do not have age-appropriate furniture, he said.

Lastly, the wafting incense and Byzantine icons characteristic of Orthodox worship can’t be replicated in a rented space. Messeh’s limited to pictures of icons and plastic statues at GMU and can’t use incense — which could set off a fire alarm.

“There’s a look and feel that we do our best to recreate [but] it’s not a real, authentic Orthodox experience,” he said. “After 10 years, we need that.”

New literacy program at Drew Elementary is helping kids read by teaching science

By Matt Blitz
Students at the inaugural session of the Dyslexic Edge Academy at Drew Elementary School (Photo courtesy of Krista Gauthier)

(Updated, 2:50 p.m.) A new, free literacy program has come to Drew Elementary School thanks to the local non-profit Sliding Doors, Virginia Tech, and the local NAACP branch.

The Dyslexic Edge Academy launched this week with 11 first graders at Drew Elementary in Green Valley. The goal is to help those students who struggle with reading by focusing on their strengths.

“People with dyslexia tend to gravitate to and be very good in STEM fields; science, technology, engineering and math,” Krista Gauthier, executive director of Merrifield-based Sliding Doors, tells ARLnow.”What we want to do is not only make sure that kids receive the evidence-based instruction that they need, but also play on their strengths. To us, confidence is as important as reading.”

The students meet with instructors after school in a group setting twice a week for 90 minutes. Half of the session is spent with one-on-one tutoring using the Orton-Gillingham approach, which breaks down reading and spelling using multisensory skills like sounds and hand motions. The other half of the session is spent on STEM-related projects.

“The STEM activities include everything from kitchen chemistry to rocketry to robotics to coding,” says Gauthier.

That could mean making slime, building model rockets, or operating an underwater robot, she says. It’s hoped that field trips to the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency and the Smithsonian could be part of the curriculum in the future as well.

While the program is starting with 11 students, the expectation is that it will have 20 students by early next year. The pilot program will run until at least May 2023.

About 20% of the population has some form of dyslexia, according to statistics from the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity. Yet, many school systems haven’t adapted to help these students and private tutoring can be prohibitively expensive, explains Symone Walker, co-chair of the Arlington Branch NAACP Education Committee.

She believes this is a big reason why there’s such an opportunity gap at some Arlington schools, including Drew Elementary.

“We really wanted to target a population that has been disproportionately impacted by the achievement gap,” says Walker. “We’re very familiar with how Drew has been historically passed over, looked over in the community, and we wanted to give back where we saw the greatest need.”

Both Walker and Gauthier say that the opportunity and achievement gaps that exist in county schools have a lot to do with reading scores and how schools are teaching literacy.

The Dyslexic Edge Academy will use the multisensory Orton-Gillingham approach to teach reading, as opposed to the balanced literacy approach that’s currently being taught in Arlington public schools.

“When we talk about multisensory, we’re talking about big motions,” says Gauthier. “We actually use something called ‘skywriting,’ which is as the child is actually forming the letter in the air… they’re actually saying the letter, repeating the letter, attaching the sound to the letter.”

What’s more, by bringing cool STEM-related projects into the learning, it helps students gain confidence.

“They really begin to associate something they struggle with, with something they love,” says Gauthier. “It really actually plays into them wanting to read as well.”

As Walker points out, a lot of NASA employees have some form of dyslexia. In fact, that includes more than half of NASA employees, according to the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity.

“We want to produce more Arlingtonians who work for NASA,” she said.

County to Ask Public What Arts Programming Should Replace Inner Ear Studios

By Jo DeVoe
A look inside Inner Ear Studios in Shirlington (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Once the epicenter of D.C.’s punk scene, Inner Ear Recording Studios it is set to be razed by Arlington County to make way for an outdoor entertainment space.

The new open space, comprised of two parcels of land — 2700 S. Nelson Street and 2701 S. Oakland Street — would be part of the county’s efforts to implement an arts and industry district in Green Valley.

Arlington Cultural Affairs says a community engagement process exploring temporary uses for the site could begin later this fall or, more likely, in early 2022. Dealing with the optics of demolishing a famed recording studio to build an arts and industry district, the arts division argues the space responds to community needs and makes art more accessible.

“The exploration of outdoor activation space as a short-term possibility for the site is a direct result of our conversations with the surrounding community,” Arlington Cultural Affairs Director Michelle Isabelle-Stark said. “Bringing the arts outdoors and into the community is a low-cost, high-impact way to reach a broader and more diverse audience as we continue to explore the needs of the surrounding community.”

The outdoor space would tie into the Theatre on the Run venue, used by a number of Arlington-based dance and theatre ensembles, she said. And it would support existing programming, such as New District Brewing Co.’s outdoor beer festival, Valley Fest, as well as other cultural events.

Isabelle-Stark added that there’s an equity component to the open space.

“As the County continues to explore ways to address long-standing equity issues as it pertains to arts and culture opportunities, the addition of expanded outdoor performance space allows us to continue to present the arts outside of traditional brick and mortar venues and directly engage with the community,” she said.

So, after many years of recording bands including the Foo Fighters, Fugazi and Minor Threat, studio owner Don Zientara has until Dec. 31, 2021 to pack up the gear and the memorabilia before the building is demolished.

Crumbling cinder blocks and communication 

Before the county agreed to acquire the building, Zientara told ARLnow he was at a crossroads: move the studio or retire. At 73, retirement was an option, and on top of that, the building was decrepit and recording sessions were down due to the pandemic. The county acquisition merely expedited that decision.

As soon as the building is demolished, the county says it’ll park its mobile stage there and start hosting outdoor performances, festivals, markets and movie screenings. Isabelle-Stark says South Arlington needed an outdoor arts venue — a community-generated idea. She told the Washington Post that the acquisition saved the property from being sold to a private developer for a non-arts-related development.

As this unfolded, the Green Valley Civic Association, a longtime champion of reinvestment and an arts district, criticized the county for the acquisition.

“It is curious for the county to spend millions to purchase and demolish a building, but state that intended cultural events will be provided in the remaining lot only if funds are available,” GVCA First Vice President Robin Stombler tells ARLnow.

At least the arts district could pay homage to Inner Ear, she said.

“Losing a small, yet significant, arts-related business is antithetical to this vision” of an arts and industry district in Green Valley, she wrote in a June letter to the county. “As the county takes a step in support of the district, it should recognize what is being left behind.”

She suggests naming the county’s mobile stage “Inner Ear Stage.” In addition, she said Zientara had indicated willingness to sell some music equipment to the county, which she recommended be used for a new recording studio in Green Valley for musicians and music educators.

“There has been no response to date,” she told ARLnow.

(more…)

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