ANACOSTIA WINS CURBED DC'S 'NEIGHBORHOOD OF THE YEAR' CONTEST!

Screenshot of Curbed DC website

Another big win for the Anacostia neighborhood! Anacostia residents and supporters advocated hard and dug deep to win this online contest! The past two weeks on Twitter and Facebook you saw people from all over east of the river and DC advocating for Anacostia. It was a concerted effort.  If you ask me the votes weren't even close, the Anacostia polls by far had the most votes of all the neighborhood polls and today Curbed DC made it official: Anacosita is the winner of the Curbed Cup 2012! 

Go HERE to read the official announcement (please leave a comment!).

While I am super happy about the win it is bittersweet, it seems Anacostia still has a lot of work to do in educating people (and real estate blogs) about where the Anacostia neighborhood is located. The Curbed DC post declaring Anacostia's win mentions Kenilworth Gardens as one of Anacostia's highlights -- Kenilworth Gardens is located in Ward 7. There is also a mention of the Riverwalk Trial but one of my twitter followers pointed out that none of the 2012 Riverwalk Trial improvements were in the Anacostia neighborhood.

With that in mind I felt compelled to post a super long comment on the post -- just to expand on what really makes Anacostia so great (in my opinion anyway). :)

Although the award was imaginary (sorry no running through the streets with a raised golden trophy) this does present a great opportunity to dispel misperceptions about the character -- and frankly basic geography -- of the Anacostia neighborhood. I hope that everyone who voted for Anacostia in any of the polls feels compelled to add their voice to the Curbed DC post and explain why they felt Anacostia deserved the title of "Neighborhood of the Year." There will almost assuredly be smartasses out there who will undoubtedly throw digs and jabs about Anacostia being declared the winner. Let's try and educate those who may be mystified. :)

Until next year when I will be advocating hard for Congress Heights! ;)



My comments (and thoughts) on Anacostia's Curbed Cup 2012 win:

The neighborhood of Anacostia (including Historic Anacostia) is pleased as punch to have won the Curbed Cup 2012 contest. Although only an online poll with an imaginary award we are excited and thankful for the many, many, many people who came out and voted for Anacostia (by far it seems all of our polls had the most votes). Any opportunity to educate and inform people of the wonderful things in Anacostia (which by the way is a small neighborhood in Ward 8 and not everything in Ward 8 or east of the Anacostia River) is a good thing.  Anacostia is a small neighborhood with big hopes and an even bigger sense of community pride and engagement.  Anacostia residents, businesses, organizations, and supporters mobilized quickly to spread the word about this contest and to let their voices be heard and their votes be counted.  In many ways the Anacostia neighborhood is much like a village. People know your face if not your name, neighbors are constantly inviting each other over for brunch or dinner, and everyone works so very hard to bring more positivity to our community and dispel a lot of the inaccuracies and perceptions about this neighborhood.
 That being said I feel compelled to point out a few things in this post for the sake of accuracy and to highlight the Anacostia of today.
 Kenilworth Gardens is not located in the Anacostia neighborhood, it is actually located in Ward 7 in NE and the recent improvements along the Riverwalk Trail did not take place in the Anacostia neighborhood.  Hopefully the article can be updated to reflect that.
 However, there are lots of great things in Anacostia and I am including a few of them below. Hopefully you will be encouraged ot pay a visit to the actual Anacostia neighborhood and learn first hand why it should be declared 'Neighborhood of the Year.' You can also learn more about Anacostia including pictures of the neighborhood on the neighborhood's website: www.eatshopliveanacostia.com.
 ANACOSTIA HIGHLIGHTS:
Cedar Hill: Frederick Douglass National Historic Site
Honfleur Gallery - contemporary art gallery
The HIVE  - 24/7 small business incubator
The HIVE 2.0 - 24/7 small business incubator
African Heritage Dancers & Drummers - dance studio and classes
The Gallery at Vivid Solutions - photography gallery
Anacostia Public Library - brand new and amazing!
Blank Space SE - a creative pop-up gallery
ARCH Development Corporation - a ward 8 arts + culture nonprofit
Big Chair Cafe + Bar - check out their live music during happy hour!
Mama's Pizza - Best pizza in the city! Made from scratch daily!
Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum - amazing exhibits!
Anacostia Art Gallery + Boutique - Authentic African Art
Vivid Solutions Archival Print Lab - fine art printing + consulting!
Anacostia Economic Development Corporation - a nonprofit!
Anacostia Business Improvement District - newly formed!
Anacostia Park - take a run or ride your bike today!
Anacostia Skate Pavilion - Bring your skates! Free to the public!
American Muslim History Museum! Unique programing
Thurgood Marshall Academy - One of the best charter schools around!
Historic Anacostia Block Association - neighbors united
Eat Shop Live Anacostia - Learn why Anacostia is great!
LUMEN8ANACOSTIA - annual light + art festival
East of the River Exhibition - highlighting EotR artists
 This is but a small sampling of the things that make the Anacostia neighborhood of Ward 8 amazing and why people are making this community their home. New and old residents, united together to build a sense of community -- and pride -- in a place that most DC residents know very little about -- like the location. :)
 I invite you to come out to the Anacostia neighborhood and meet your neighbors on the other side of the bridge. Honfleur Gallery (www.honfleurgallery.com)  is hosting an art opening on January 11th and ARCH Development Corporation is hosting a community update and  mix and mingle on January 16th.
 Come to Anacostia, the only thing bigger than our Big Chair is our sense of community pride! 

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