Hello, Yupette,
Did you know what all the fuss was about today and last Saturday at the County Board Meeting concerning awnings, music, and seating at Shirlington Village restaurants? Well, it's like this. For years the Fairlington Citizens Association Incorporated (the civic association in Fairlington) has been trying to extort Shirlington restaurants into placing expensive full-page ads in the FCA's monthly newsletter. And the restaurant owners have repeatedly said - no way. So about 5 years ago the FCA's leadership hit upon the bright idea of making constant complaints against the restaurant owners for noise, seating, and other petty violations until the restaurant owners capitulated. Latest twist involves Chris Zimmerman ratcheting up the pressure on the restaurant owners in return for the FCA's support and contributions to Boss Zimmerman's recent campaign. Of course Fairlington is a half-mile from Shirlington See how rotten these local pols and their ward heelers can be?
Susan
25 comments:
They are all corrupt. Vote them out...starting with Hynes and Tejada next year.
What does this civic association actually do for Fairlington? Besides ontribute to a Fourth of July party? They supposedly have $100,000 in their treasury.
The fairlington civic association also calls the police with suspicious person and reckless driver reports when they see someone who 'doesn't go along with the program'. That's been going on for years. And the cops always respond.
Arlington Police are also players in these 'pay to play' scams. Repeatedly used to intimidate residents who don't go along with the program.
What has ANY civic association done for the residents it supposedly serves? They are all part of the political machine. Look at how many Republican 'community leaders' are appointed by Zimmerman to rubber his budgets, site plans, everything.
Meanwhile, Fairlington's ace journalist "Smitty" McCaffrey just published an investigative report which found that Fairlington's squirrels will have enough acorns to survive this winter.
Time for a Tea Party in Arlington !!!
Pay to play? Want to end some long-time corruption? Go after the school system where at least 500 non-resident children are allowed to illegally attend Arlington's schools.
Yes, the County Board allowed the FCA to go from a 2 year review of Shirlington restaurants to a 6 month review so FCA could ratchet up the pressure on the restaurant owners to buy full-page ads. Quid pro quo for promoting Zimmerman.
Edward Hilz, the Fairlington-Shirlington NCC rep, lives in Fairlington and over a mile from Shirlington. He's also the long-time Treasurer of the FCA. This going after Shirlington restaurant owners started when Nanny Nancy Hunt was FCA President and it is beyond me why FRIT and the restaurant owners allow people who live nowhere near Shirlington Village to micro-manage Shirlington Village. Zimmerman is so corrupt he will allow anyone to do anything as long as it benefits him in some way.
Corruption is ubiquitous around the Beltway. They are always broke, whether because of lifestyle, kids in college, sheer greed, or a combination of factors.
I am tired of all these civic associations and their malicious rumor mongering.
See the Shirlington restaurant awnings issue being discussed at Saturday's CB meeting? Looks like the guy who's opening the Irish pub got taken to the cleaners.
As long as local, state, federal law enforcement look the other way it will go on.
That's crazy. Why should Fairlington be allowed to make complaints about noise? Do they pay anything to the upkeep of Village at Shirlington? Shirlington Village Condo owners do, and nobody asks us for our opinions on anything. I live right here in the Village and haven't been bothered by any noise from the restaurants at all.
The person to e-mail is mike at civfed dot org, president of the arlington civic federation, to get yourselves represented as a civic association. Appears to us that the fairlington citizens assoc. has been trying to extort the Shirlington restaurant owners for years to make them place full-page ads in thr fairlington civic associtation's monthly newsletter and when they refuse file noise complaints with the concurrence of the county board. I am a fairlington resident and want nothing to do with the fairlington citizens association.
In return for endorsing Chris Zimmerman, Chris Zimmerman has allowed the FCA to continue to try to extort Shirlington restaurant owners.
Arlington Civic Federation is well-aware that the Fairlington Civic Association has been trying to extort Shirlington restaurant owners.
What happened is this: Chris Zimmerman attended the Fairlington Citizens Association October meeting in the Fairlington Community Center. In return for supporting Zimmerman's re-election campaign (he received over 60% of the vote here) what was agreed on before the meeting was that Zimmerman and the County Board would give the FCA one more attempt to make the restaurant owners pay for full page ads and whatever other 'gratuities' FCA could obtain by making numerous complaints against the restaurant owners and Federal Realty.
HOWEVER - the Green Party passed out anti-Zimmerman campaign literature at the October FCA meeting. This so incensed Zimmerman that he told the FCA leadership to go ahead and do whatever it wanted - it had carte blanche to control Fairlington, and Shirlington too.
So, surprise, surprise, at this month's County Board meeting the County Board heard a litany of complaints about Shirlington Village restaurants and went from a 2 year review to 6-month review of their use permits.
The FCA is run like a private club and Fairlington residents who oppose this kind of behavior have been told they are not welcome at FCA meetings.
After 30 years of sewer backups, the County heard enough complaints from South Fairlington residents and is finally installing a sewer system with adequate capacity. Who is taking credit for this? The Fairlington Citizens Association, of course. These people are a bunch of corrupt politricksters, who control our lives from offices in federal office buildings.
County couldn't spend more $$$ on recreation wants at the Fairlington Community Center and finally had to address basic community infrastructure needs.
When Shirlington was redeveloped a site plan review committee was formed to provide 'citizen' input. At least half of the committee members lived nowhere near Shirlington. The planning staff responsible for Shirlington redevelopment didn't live in Arlington County. Same people who served on the site plan review committtee (with the cooperation of and County planning staff) want to keep imposing their agenda on Shirlington, whatever that agenda might be.
Then there's the matter of their intrusive behavior. I already have a condo association that dictates how big a mat I can place in front of my front door. And how big a Christmas wreath I can place on the door. I don't need my life further micro-managed by a bunch of corrupt creeps who tell me they know what's 'best'.
I'm a Shirlington Village resident. When do WE get to make decisions about our own lives?
Right. I bought a condo in S.V. I'm a homeowner. I'm a resident. I'm a voter. I'm a taxpayer. I'm a college-educated Adult.
I am not a second-class citizen that any number of organizations can control to suit their respective agendas.
Thank you for this blog. Thanks to Adults, like Susan, for treating S.V. residents like Adults.
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