Open Seat, Uncontested, email: bosejg2@gmail.com
Email: JayBoseANC@gmail.com
Instagram: @JayBoseDC
CPSG Endorses Jay Bose for 3C06 – Jay Bose is a director of CPSG (who did not participate in the endorsement process!) and an enthusiastic fan of Cleveland Park. His responses to our questionnaire show his dedication to making Cleveland Park more welcoming to new neighbors and his commitment to making our roads safer for all users. We especially appreciate his comments that protected bike lanes on Connecticut Avenue benefit everyone. Jay’s district encompasses much of the commercial area in Cleveland Park and he supports the recommended zoning changes for the area. He tells us he’s running, “’so we can keep up the momentum and make Cleveland Park a more sustainable, vibrant, and affordable place to live.”
CPSG ANC 3C Questionnaire
1) Later this year or early next, the DC Zoning Commission will consider changes to the zoning code for the commercial areas in Cleveland Park and Woodley Park along Connecticut Ave to increase the allowable height and density, based on recommendations made in the Connecticut Ave Development Guidelines. ANC3C will be asked to weigh in on the rezoning and its views will be given great weight.
Question: Do you support the recommended zoning changes and design strategies spelled out in the Guidelines for these commercial areas? (Yes / No)
If yes, explain what you think the benefits will be for the area.
If no, explain why and/or any alternative you would propose.
Answer: Yes, I absolutely support the rezoning of the commercial areas. DC – and especially the area around Conn Ave – is in desperate need of more density. Allowing more height and density in our commercial areas will go a long way toward creating more housing supply, lowering rental prices, supporting our local business community, and making Ward 3 a more vibrant, inclusive place to live.
2) Earlier this year, Mayor Bowser changed her mind and halted any further planning for protected bike lanes on Connecticut Ave.
Question: If presented with the opportunity to revive the planning for protected bike lanes on Connecticut Ave, would you support it? (Yes / No)
If yes, explain what you think the benefits will be for the area.
If no, explain why and/or any alternative you would propose.
Answer: Absolutely. The Connecticut Ave bike lane proposal was widely supported by the community, and it was incredibly disappointing that the Mayor decided to kill it at the last minute. As an ANC commissioner, I would be very interested in trying to bring DDOT and the Council back to the table on the bike lanes issue. Protected bike lanes don’t just benefit cyclists – they make our streets more inviting to walk around in, which brings business to our neighborhoods. And they make our streets safer for pedestrians and even motorists by calming vehicle traffic. Given the sheer number of car crashes we see year after year on Conn Ave, it’s clear we absolutely need to bring the bike lane proposal back.
3) Earlier this year, Cleveland Park Smart Growth partnered with Virginia Commonwealth University grad student, Mac Hyde, on a planning study to consider how gentle density could be added to the single-family-only zoned residential areas around the Woodley Park, Cleveland Park, and Van Ness Metro stations. The recommendations from the study were to allow for multi-family residences while keeping the building sizes allowed for single-family zones houses.
Question: Would you be open to ANC 3C initiating a zoning change to allow for house-sized apartments, or conversion of single-family homes into multi-family, in the residential areas roughly within a half-mile of the Woodley Park, Cleveland Park, and Van Ness Metro stations? (Yes / No)
If yes, explain what you think the benefits will be for the area.
If no, explain why and/or any alternative you would propose.
Answer: Yes, I will happily support any zoning changes that allow for more density. The land in this part of the city isn’t being used nearly as efficiently as it could be. House-sized apartments and single-family to multi-family conversions will provide more density while addressing certain residents’ concerns about maintaining the look and feel of the area.
4) Question: Please tell us anything else about you and your decision to run for ANC that you would like the members of CPSG and the broader community to know about you.
Answer: I chose to run for ANC because I love Cleveland Park. I think it’s a great community, and it’s been inspiring to see the steps this neighborhood has taken to become more walkable and sustainable – the Promenade project comes to mind. But it’s clear we have more work to do. We still have an absurd number of traffic fatalities (even sillier when you consider how many transit options are available), many of our neighborhood businesses are still struggling, and we have extremely high housing prices, which are kept artificially high by artificial restrictions on housing construction. I’m running so we can keep up the momentum and make Cleveland Park a more sustainable, vibrant, and affordable place to live.
Cleveland Park Smart Growth 