Action Alert!

We have some breaking news regarding the process of the Half Street Market concept:  The House Subcommittee on Government Operations has scheduled a hearing address the future of 49 L Street SE (Half Street Market's site) next Thursday, April 25th at 9:30am.  The hearing will be held within the warehouse itself and will be headed by Rep. Darrell Issa, (R-CA 49)  and Rep. John Mica, (R-FL 07).

The hearing is being called to discuss "the costs to the taxpayer of underperforming or vacant Federal assets and, in particular, the status of the vacant GSA Warehouse located on L Street in southeast Washington, D.C."  The committee has invited representatives from the GSA, GAO, and Ward 6 Council to testify on possible uses of the warehouse.  Councilmember Tommy Wells (Ward 6) and Ed Kaminski (ANC 6D02) have been invited to testify.

Yesterday, Tommy Wells' office signaled that he would testify in support of the Half Street Market initiative during the hearing.  I don't have to tell you of how HUGE an opportunity this is for our concept to shine, as it brings our idea into the direct attention of federal stakeholders and gives an opportunity for important decision makers to evaluate our idea.  This has all happen very fast, and we will be hard at work in our efforts to gain even more support from residents and stakeholders over the coming week.

There are actions that HSM Supporters can take to show your support at this critical moment:

1. Attend the hearing if possible.  It is open to the public and even though public comments will not be taken, a large crowd will surely send a message of support.  Details:  9:30am on Thursday April 25th at 49 L Street SE (proposed Half Street Market site).
2. Sign our Change.org online petition:  http://www.change.org/petitions/all-support-the-half-street-market-initiative.  This petition will help get us a large list of names in support of the concept.  To help spread the petition further, please tag it on Facebook or share it on Twitter.
3. Follow our twitter account, @halfstmarket, from which we will be tweeting live during the hearing.  We will also update our blog, www.halfstreetmarket.blogspot.com.

This is a big moment for HSM!  Thank you for your continued support and stay up to date to find out what's happening and what you can do to help.