Thursday, November 28, trash, food waste, and recycling routes will be collected on Wednesday, November 27. Friday, November 29, trash, food waste and recycling routes will be collected on Saturday, November 30.
The scheduling of demolition and construction timelines are pending weather.
Category for general news items.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have approved the first
COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11. Beginning this week, limited doses will be available through Montgomery County clinics and private providers, with more doses available each week. Doses are allocated to local governments and private providers by the State of Maryland, based on our State’s allocation from the federal government.
A new banner by Rockville artist Liliane Blom has been installed in Memorial Park to celebrate the reopening of Montgomery County’s creative economy.
The banner features Blom’s painting “Mid Autumn” with a portrait of Nepalese-born Karuna Skariah, an educator and mother in Ellicott City. Memorial Park is across the street from the Takoma Park library at 101 Philadelphia Avenue.
Murals and banners designed by local artists have been installed in multiple locations in the #ArtHappensHere project sponsored by the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County and the Montgomery County Public Arts Trust. The public art installations highlight the reemergence of our creative community after a difficult year of disruptions caused by pandemic lockdowns.
The City of Takoma Park was selected as one of the venues for a banner. “We’re excited to display Liliane’s banner as a sign of the city’s commitment to the arts and racial diversity,” Arts and Humanities Coordinator Brendan Smith said. “We also are so glad that we are now rescheduling a wide array of arts events at the Takoma Park Community Center starting in September after the building reopens to the public.”
The Takoma Park Arts series features free concerts, plays, art exhibitions, lectures, film screenings, poetry readings and other events organized by the City’s Arts and Humanities Division. Please sign up for our weekly e-newsletter for details about all of our upcoming events.
Liliane Blom is a multi-media artist who fuses video, photography, and painting in artwork which is often interactive, immersive, and environmental in scope. Her featured piece Mid Autumn is from a series called Four Seasons which Liliane describes here.
“Four Seasons showcases women of many ages (from 14 to 90) and ethnicities, including immigrants to our state representing nine countries on five continents. The series reflects both Rockville’s and the world’s diversity. The series is meant to empower the viewer to see the beauty and value to be found at all ages and in all ethnic groups and is intended to combat stereotypes and ageism in a way that is both subtle and powerful. It is created to remind us that nature and humans are intimately and eternally entwined and that we need to protect the earth. Each of my women personifies one of the seasons and as its “Spirit/Queen” is surrounded by the flora and fauna of that time of year. They embody nature, the seasons, and the great circle of existence.”
Summer Extra is a NEW program to offset your child’s MCPS Summer School Day (PBES and TPES only). This four-week program is a general recreation before and after school program providing games, activities, sports, and crafts. Activities will be both indoor and outdoors.
Ages: Grades K-5 at PBES and TPES
Dates: July 6 – July 30
Times: 7 -9 am and 2 – 6 pm
Cost: $400 for City Residents/$500 Non-Residents
For more information visit https://takomaparkmd.gov/government/recreation/summer-extra/
Date: Saturday, June 12
Time: Movie starts at dusk (approx. 8:15pm)
Ages: Families welcome
Cost: Free
For more information visit https://takomaparkmd.gov/government/recreation/outdoor-movie-night/
“The City welcomes the Circuit Court for Montgomery County’s decision today permitting the Co-op to continue to use the Takoma Junction lot for its deliveries and parking for the present time. The City continues to work with NDC and the Co-op in an effort to assist both parties in resolving differences.”
Over the past week, the City of Takoma Park has been actively involved in discussions to bring about a resolution to an ongoing dispute between the Neighborhood Development Company (NDC) and the Takoma Park Silver Spring Co-op (Co-op). This dispute is regarding the Co-op’s use of a City-owned parking lot at Takoma Junction for deliveries and parking. This lot is leased to NDC which, in turn, leases it to the Co-op.
Last week the City formally asked NDC to rescind its earlier demand that the Co-op immediately discontinue its use of the parking lot site. The City also asked NDC to not interfere with the Co-op’s use of the City-owned parking lot for its deliveries and parking for its customers, so that the Co-op could continue with its current sublease arrangement.
The City set a deadline of Friday, April 23 for NDC to comply with those requests. On Tuesday, April 27, attorneys for the Co-op filed suit against NDC and the City of Takoma Park. As a result of that legal action, the City is currently evaluating possible courses of action, while at the same time continuing to seek a resolution of the issues between NDC and the Co-op.
“As Mayor, I am extremely disappointed that NDC and the Co-op have been unable to successfully resolve these issues, and that this dispute has now moved into a court of law,” said City of Takoma Park Mayor Kate Stewart. “NDC must abide by its existing agreements with the City. The City is exploring all possible options to find a solution to the situation. It is in the best interests of our residents that these issues get resolved as quickly as possible.”
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Three tables at the downtown Takoma Streetery have been painted by artist Trap Bob with her original designs celebrating the power and resilience of Black women.
The City of Takoma Park hired Trap Bob to paint the tables to illustrate the City’s commitment to public art and racial equity, Arts and Humanities Coordinator Brendan Smith said.
The three tables feature Black women wearing goggles surrounded by colorful rays of light. “The characters I use in my work, I refer to them as my ‘girls’ because they are representative of myself and every Black woman. They are proud, powerful, and resilient,” Trap Bob said. “The goggles represent their superpowers because they are everyday superheroes.”
Another table painted by Trap Bob was vandalized last year by a white woman who scraped off the portrait of a Black woman’s face and the word “Justice.” That table was part of a separate project by Main Street Takoma.
“The Arts and Humanities Division paid Trap Bob to repaint the vandalized table, and then we commissioned her to paint three more tables at the Takoma Streetery to feature more of her inspiring artwork,” Smith said. “We also wanted to send a clear message that racism won’t be tolerated here.”
Trap Bob said local residents were excited to see her painting the picnic tables at the Takoma Streetery, a pedestrian area and popular lunch spot at the intersection of Laurel Avenue and Carroll Avenue in downtown Takoma Park.
“I think it’s important to show the community that change can’t be stopped and to further emphasize Black people’s resilience,” she said.
You can learn more about the City’s public art projects and see an interactive map here.
April 23, 2021 Update:
As previously indicated, the City of Takoma Park has been working to address matters related to communications between the Neighborhood Development Company (NDC) and the Takoma Park Silver Spring Co-op (Co-op) regarding the Co-op’s use of the City-owned parking lot at Takoma Junction for deliveries and parking.
In pursuit of this goal, the City sent correspondence to NDC requesting that it:
In that correspondence, the City requested that NDC do so by noon on April 23, 2021. NDC did not respond to the City’s request within this period. Therefore, the City is presently evaluating its potential courses of action, while continuing to communicate with both NDC and the Co-op concerning the issues previously identified by both parties. The City remains committed to seeking a resolution of the issues between NDC and the Co-op in order to ensure the Co-op remains operational.
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The City of Takoma Park has been working to address matters related to communications between the Neighborhood Development Company (NDC) and the Takoma Park Silver Spring Co-op (Co-op) regarding use of the City’s lot at Takoma Junction for deliveries and parking. The City’s March 10, 2021 “Site Conditions and Limitations” Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document, referenced in those communications, has already been removed from the City’s website. It is hereby retracted in full and is without effect.
The City will continue to work with NDC and the Co-op to seek to ensure the Co-op can continue to use the lot for deliveries, consistent with agreements that are in place.
Bus shelters across Takoma Park are brighter now with large posters featuring a diverse range of artwork by regional artists in a project that transforms public transportation with public art.
Several bimonthly art exhibitions at the Takoma Park Community Center have been delayed since the Community Center closed last year due to coronavirus restrictions. The City of Takoma Park wanted to share some of that artwork now so local residents and visitors could enjoy it, Arts and Humanities Division Coordinator Brendan Smith said.
“Riding the bus is a great form of public transportation, and local bus shelters are small art galleries now that can brighten people’s day with a fun and healthy dose of art,” Smith said.
Smith worked with graphic designer Charlotte Mann Lee to design seven different posters featuring 14 artists in the Art on the Move series. Four posters include work by individual artists, while three posters focus on groups of artists in upcoming exhibitions of figurative art and abstract art, as well as an exhibition highlighting four Black female artists.
The posters are located in bus shelters across Takoma Park, primarily on Maple Avenue between Philadelphia Avenue and Sligo Creek Parkway and New Hampshire Avenue between Eastern Avenue and University Boulevard.
The featured artists are excited to share their work with the public in an unusual venue that takes art out of museums and directly to people where they live and work. The artists’ names and websites are included on the posters to support their businesses.
Local resident Julius Kassovic (photojulius.com) has photographed nature along Sligo Creek for 15 years, creating rich, textural images through reflections in the shallow water. He said he looks a little crazy with a tripod and collapsible stool belted to his waist and two cameras slung around his neck.
“This project is a fantastic opportunity to help people feel good about being in a bus shelter where they can see something beautiful and thought-provoking,” he said. “It’s also a great opportunity to promote community pride. Bravo to the Arts and Humanities Division for organizing it.”
Samantha Viotty (viottycollection.com) paints portraits of famous Black artists in an homage to them. “A bus shelter with artwork transforms a place of waiting and impatience to provide a few moments of escapism,” she said. “Art often feels so removed from the spaces that we occupy. The bus shelters ground the medium in a different way.”
Shana Kohnstamm (shanakohnstamm.com) crafts beautiful felt sculptures which can’t be displayed outdoors so the posters are an ideal way to reach the public.
“It provides instant accessibility to my work and hopefully a nice surprise for those who are out and about,” she said. “If there is any one lesson from this past year, it’s that art in all its forms is essential to our wellbeing. It enriches our human experience. The posters are a brilliant method of outreach, and I’m so pleased to be a part of this project.”
The posters will be on display for three months, and a map of the bus shelter locations is available here. In addition to the artists mentioned above, the posters feature work by Debra Ambush, Stephanie Firestone, Michelle Frazier, Deborah Grayson, Sarah Louise Hyde, Michael Hyman, Frederik Langhendries, Craig Moran, Doug Schulte, Michael G. Stewart, and G. Jackson Tanner.
