The Mayor has reopened all District parks, including our dog parks.
Please adhere to social distance rules. Stay safe. Protect others. Be kind.
All Dog Parks Temporarily Closed
The Mayor has temporarily ordered all dog parks closed temporarily to help slow the spread of COVID-19. We are not an official District dog park, but we urged people who use the park to abide by the Mayor’s order. Let’s stay safe!
Dogs & Santa
Halloween 2019 - A Big Success
11th and Bark joined the North Columbia Heights Civic Association and other organizations to sponsor this year’s Halloween Dog Costume Contest at the dog park.
Dogs competed for 1st and 2nd place ribbons in four categories: Scariest, Most Original, Best Human/Dog Combo and Cutest Costume.
Thank so much to everyone who competed and those who came to watch the show. A special thanks to our judges: ANC Commissioner Micheal Wray, Carolina Buitrago of District Bridges, and Cecilie Lindsay of 11th and Bark. And, to our MC, Baird Wallace.
We also appreciate the support from the Queen’s English, which sponsored drinks on their porch and donated 10% of the proceeds from each drink to the park.
Is No News Good News?
In May, WMATA wrote to the District to announce it was ending the auction to sell the park and would instead negotiate with the District. The letter specified that WMATA expected to close on the sale of the property possibly by the end of August, and no later than December 31, 2019. September is here and we have no news on the purchase, other than hearing it is moving along. Today, therefore, the 11th and Bark Board sent a letter to the Mayor inquiring about any progress in the sale. We will let you know if we find out any additional information.
WMATA Negotiating with the District
WMATA is now pulling the 11th and Park Road property off the market and is giving the city an opportunity to buy it.
In a letter to Mayor Muriel Bowser dated May 21, 2019, WMATA General Manager and CEO Paul Wiedefeld said WMATA will send a draft purchase agreement to the city by May 31.
We are cautiously optimistic that the sale will go through, and the District will be able to save this highly valued park, in a neighborhood that is already lacking in community green space. The whole process would still take months.
We'll be in touch with updates and next steps. For now, you can thank Councilmember Brianne Nadeau and Mayor Muriel Bowser for their work and attention to this issue. And thank you for helping to make this happen through your emails, petition signatures and more.
We are Losing the Park
As you all know, WMATA, which owns the land at 1100 Park Rd NW, officially put the property up for sale this winter and bids were due in February. Councilmember Brianne Nadeau worked to get $1.5 million in the budget to purchase the property but WMATA rejected it. The Mayor offered additiona money, but WMATA rejected it again. Now, we have heard that WMATA has now accepted a bid from a developer that, so far as we know, is not planning to put a dog park of any size on the property.
The timeline is unclear, but we know we now need to find a new spot for our park. We need the support of our Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) and our Council members. We must let them know how important having a dog park is to us.
To find out the two things you can do now to help get a new spot for the dog park, go check out our take action page.
Thanks to Everyone who joined the Spring Cleanup
We scheduled our quarterly cleanup to coincide with the Mayor’s citywide Spring Cleanup. Several volunteers helped clean the inside of the park as well the streets adjacent to the park. Thanks to everyone for their help.
Thanks for another fun Mardi Paws!
YaVonne Jackson Boyd of CWAC and the North Columbia Heights Civic Association with Lori Robertson and Eva Guenther of 11th and Bark
We teamed up with the Community Wellness Alliance Collaborative, the North Columbia Heights Civic Association, Encounter Church, and Viva the Life to host the 2019 Mardi Paws. The March 9th event included a dog costume contest, prizes, and giveaways. We also collected donations for the Humane Rescue Alliance.
A fun time was had by all!
Silver - winner of most creative costume
Raven - winner of most festive costume
Luna - winner of the town crier award
