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Friends of Edgemoor Tree Planting and Stump Removal
A Note from the 2nd District Commander
BE Farmer’s Market Closed on Sunday
Babysitter Available
Dear Edgemoor –
Hope all’s well – we’ll be sending off a longer ECA update to you soon, including a summary of our recent membership meeting. It’s a busy time,so for now here’s some quick updates – have a great weekend and look forward to getting back to you soon.
Friends of Edgemoor Tree Planting and Stump Removal
Here’s an important letter we received last week from the Chair of Friends of Edgemoor regarding the tree planting and stump removal project FOE plans to undertake for the neighborhood. The ECA Board will determine in the near future the role it will play with FOE in this activity. Please let us know if you have any thoughts, questions or suggestions on what is outlined below.
Dear ECA Board,
I'm the chair of Friends of Edgemoor, a 501C charitable nonprofit with the goal of community beautification in Edgemoor and the surrounding area. We have, in the past, and in partnership with the Edgemoor Citizen's Association, planted street trees in the rights-of-way in Edgemoor, Bradley Hills and Bradley Village. In addition, Friends of Edgemoor has funded landscaping at Bethesda Library, Bethesda Elementary among many other community efforts which have also been the beneficiary of ECA support.
Our funds come from the ticket sales and donations from the Edgemoor House and Garden Tour. This year, our 2013 tour was on April 28, our first in 4 years. As a result of the efforts of over 75 volunteers among our neighbors to make the tour happen, we have dedicated $7,000 of tour proceeds to begin a program to clear unsightly tree stumps which prevent replanting of trees and then also to plant new street trees. We arrived at the decision to fund these efforts because of widespread neighborhood concern, shared with the Friends of Edgemoor, over the county's removal of trees, lack of replacements, and the bad conditions in our right-of-way spaces where stumps are left sometimes sticking high out of the ground. Residents have asked us to address this because we can, as a community, get a neighborhood-wide permit and excellent prices for stump removal and planting as a group. We will be strictly following county regulations for permitting and approvals using an insured contractor and certified arborist and will be working closely with the county and state officials who oversee right-of-way plantings.
The ECA and FOE have a long history of working together on tree planting initiatives, dating back to 1989 when Catherine McCabe undertook a neighborhood-wide "tree inventory." From 1989-1992, largely from the proceeds of the House & Garden Tour, a significant street tree replacement effort was undertaken. Approximately 10 years later, in 2001, in recognition of the serious stresses to our street trees, the FOE and the ECA again partnered in a tree planting effort, together spending approximately $7,000 in 2001 and that same amount again in 2003. The FOE devoted a portion of the proceeds of the 2005, 2007 and 2009 House & Garden Tours to replacing trees in the Hampden ROW, the traffic islands at Moorland & Hampden and at Edgemoor & Hampden in addition to individual sites throughout the neighborhood. It has been approximately 10 years, however, since our last significant neighborhood wide tree planting initiative, and our tree stock is once again severely stressed through the effects of aging, storms, and development. We hope that the ECA will once again join us to replace this valuable resource that is such a critical part of Edgemoor's identity.
We would welcome the ECA's participation in this effort.
Thank you.
Judy Gilbert Levey
Chair, Friends of Edgemoor
Farmer’s Market schedule this Sunday May 19
Due to the annual PTA Fair at Bethesda Elementary School, the Bethesda Farmers Market at BE will not be open this Sunday. Debra Moser and Mitch Berliner, who run the Market send along this note: “We are having a combined market in North Bethesda at the Pike Central Market on Saturday, May 18 from 9 am -2 pm. We will have almost all of the Bethesda vendors there and there will be music and food to take away as well. There is plenty of free parking too right next to the market and its only 10 minutes up the road on Old Georgetown Road and Rockville Pike”.Enjoy the Market on Saturday and the PTA Fair on Sunday!
Babysitter Available
Rising college junior and experienced babysitter looking for weekend or evening babysitting work from now until mid August. References available on request. Contact Alex Rubel,
A Note from the 2nd District Commander
From Captain David Falcinelli, Commander – 2nd District. Note: Edgemoor is in “D2”
Dear Residents:
Below are the most recent crime statistics for the 2nd District:
YTD April 2012 vs. YTD April 2013
As you can see, the 2nD District had a huge spike in commercial burglaries over the last several months. The majority of these have occurred at commercial high-rises in the downtown Bethesda and White Flint areas. Because of this spike, we dedicated a significant amount of resources to the problem and as of 10am this morning, a suspect has been arrested and we believe he is responsible for most of these events. He has also been linked to similar events in D.C. and we have been working closely with their detectives to ensure he is charged with all the crimes he is responsible for committing. I want to compliment those employees that encountered suspicious persons in their buildings and called the police. Although we did not catch him in the act of committing a crime, many of you did call when you observed a suspicious person lurking around. Unfortunately, there were also many events where this suspect was spotted by employees and the police were never called or not called until it was too late for us to catch him. Remember – you are our eyes and our ears and we rely upon you to let us know when you encounter suspicious persons and situations.
Although not reflected in the April numbers, we have seen an increase in residential burglaries in the month of May. Many of these burglaries are occurring during daytime hours and they are taking high-end jewelry. In at least one case, power has been cut to the house prior to making entry. Please be alert for suspicious people and cars in your neighborhoods and report it to police non-emergency at 301-279-8000 or 911 if you actually observe a crime in progress. If you wish to schedule a free home security survey, please call the 2nd District at 301-652-9200 and you will be referred to a community services officer. Lock your doors even if you are just leaving the house for a short period of time.
Although thefts from autos remain relatively unchanged from last year, the number of people leaving their cars unlocked is decreasing. Approximately 50% of the thefts last month were from unlocked cars, which are down from last year’s average of almost 70%. Remember to lock your cars every night even if they are parked in your driveway. Remove all valuables and anything that looks like it might contain a valuable, such as a laptop bag. These thieves prey on softer targets and do not like to use force as it makes noise and attracts attention.
It is that time of year again for the Click It or Ticket Seatbelt Enforcement Campaign. Officers will be out in force beginning May 13 looking for seatbelt and child safety seat violations. There will be no warnings issued. Buckle up – it may save your life.
A recent pedestrian safety campaign in the downtown Bethesda district resulted in the issuance of 175 citations for various violations along Wisconsin Ave. and Arlington Rd. Additionally, operations were also conducted at the pedestrian crosswalks along Democracy Blvd. near Walter Johnson High School this morning and over 60 citations were issued there also. Drivers need to watch out for pedestrians, and pedestrians need to obey their signals. There were eight wrecks in the 2nd District last month involving pedestrians with the driver at-fault in four, the pedestrian at-fault in three, and one remains under investigation.
Traffic is bad enough without further clogging up the roads with unnecessary collisions. Focus on your driving and your walking. Be aware of your surroundings at all times. Call the police if you see anything suspicious in your neighborhoods. Your police officers are much more effective when we both do our part.
I am looking forward to working together to keep our crime rates low, and to keep the roads as safe as possible for all who use them. Thank you for doing your part.
Captain David Falcinelli, Commander – 2nd District - 301-652-9200
Hope this is helpful - all the best,
Len
Len Simon
ECA Address: P.O. Box 30459, Bethesda, MD 20824
tel:301-657-6299, 202-659-2229 fax: 202-659-5234 email:
Contact: Barbra Stoddard-
CONTACT YOUR ECA BOARD
Len Simon, President-
Ken Levinson, Vice President-
Julie Doll, Vice
Susan Rubel, Secretary-
Alysa Emden-Treasurer