Last night’s Advisory Neighborhood meeting was pretty long for my taste. Discussion included streetcars and the ANC’s preference for having them built without overhead wires and without dedicating an entire lane of traffic to their operation—but aside from that, (and streetcars aren’t even coming to Georgetown until after an environmental review that will start in 2012 or 2013) there wasn’t much more to it, as far as Georgetown students are concerned, than extended bar and restaurant hours and public safety improvements. Here’s the wrap:

Dining in the wee small hours of the morning

What’s that old saying? When the mice are away, the Advisory Neighborhood Catmissioners will unanimously pass a resolution that allows every bar in Georgetown to seek permission to start serving alcohol at 8 a.m. Monday through Saturday for the entire month that the FIFA World Cup is taking place, with less than five minutes of discussion … and will play?

Something like that. But that’s pretty long for an aphorism, so let me break it down a little further.

At last night’s ANC meeting, commissioners responded to a bill passed by the D.C. City Council that will allow D.C. bars to seek exemptions to open at 7 a.m. from June 11 – July 11 for the World Cup.

Bars still need permission from their respective ANCs to seek an exemption from the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration, however, and Vox‘s guess is that if Georgetown University was still chock full of students, this would have been a serious issue.

But like we said, there was only about five minutes of mild discussion. Under D.C. law, bars can start serving at 8 a.m. Monday through Saturday and at 10 a.m. on Sunday, but few Georgetown bars are actually licensed to open that early. The ANC resolution will not only allow bars to seek exemptions from ABRA  to open at 7 a.m. but also to serve alcohol during the revised hours for the entire month of the World Cup, provided they serve food and open their outdoor seating areas at their normal hours only. (In one of our favorite parts of the meeting, commissioners wondered why bars had to open so early for the World Cup. Student Commissioner Aaron Golds (COL ’11) explained that it’s because the World Cup was being held in South Africa this year).

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With everyone’s favorite amateur photog soliciting ANC support, a bi-decennial liquor license moratorium discussion, a Late Night Shots founder pushing for greater leeway for his new restaurant, and a debate about the relative merits of pizza and crepes as drunk food, May’s ANC meeting was about as exciting as they come.

Stalker Becomes Stalkee? DrunkenGeorgetownStudents.com founder Stephen R. Brown made an appearance yesterday’s meeting, donning a Canadian Tuxedo and asking the ANC to make a statement against students threatening residents. Brown claimed he has been stalked and threatened by students because of his website. Burleith Citizens Association President Lenore Rubino chimed in her support, saying that she knows of other residents who have been threatened and intimidated by students.

The ANC did not make an official motion on the issue, but they did do some speechifying against harassment. ANC Chair Ron Lewis declared, “We abhor threats to our residents” and encouraged Brown to work with the Metropolitan Police Department to address the issue. Lt. John Hedgcock said he was aware of one incident of threatening behavior towards Brown and that MPD is “actively investigating” it.

Crêpe Amour: The Next Philly P? When campus media was looking to anoint the heir to Philly P, they largely left out Crêpe Amour, the new M Street creperie. But the ANC has their suspicions about the restaurant, which is petitioning to extend its operating hours. The restaurant went into yesterday’s meeting hoping to secure permission to operate 24 hours a day. But the ANC, still healing its Philly P-induced wounds, was not having it.

“We’ve been through such incredible brain damage right around the corner,” Commissioner Bill Skelsey said. “What’s the difference between crepes and pizza?”

Crêpe Amour’s representative tried to back away from the 24-hour request, floating a 2 a.m. closing time instead, and the ANC’s Student Representative Aaron Golds testified that drunk college students actually are not equally fond of crepes and jumbo slices, but in the end the ANC agreed that further meetings would be necessary to hammer out an agreement.

After the jump, read about the exciting world of Voluntary Agreements and liquor license moratoriums!

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Tuesday night’s Advisory Neighborhood Commission meeting may be remembered by historians as the start of a new chapter in the Georgetown neighborhood crusade against late night takeout eateries. Plus, MPD reaffirms its commitment to increased patrols in the neighborhood in response to recent burglaries. Here’s the wrap:

MPD is on the job

Early in the meeting, Lieutenant John Hedgecock of the Metropolitan Police Department presented his report on crime in the Georgetown neighborhood.

“Throughout the Second District we are seeing a large increase in burglaries,” Hedgecock said.

He noted that there had been 12 burglaries in the past month, and that in one instance, four masked men had entered a house and robbed it. He also noted that in a recent robbery a neighborhood resident was beaten until he required hospitalization. Hedgecock said that MPD had partnered with the University and had increased uniform and nonuniform presence in the area.

Oh crêpe, not again

About an hour and 45 minutes into the meeting, a small M Street business, Crêpe Amour, presented a request for changes to its Alcoholic Beverage Control License. The request, presented by Sri Suku on behalf of his father, who owns the business, is necessary if the business is to go ahead with its plan to remain open past midnight.

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