Near Northeast

There is a lot of fun to be had in this neighborhood, but anyone looking for a place to live may want to consider another place. It is chock full of fun bars and restaurants like Palace of Wonders, H Street Country Club, Church and State, and Sticky Rice, and artsy creative types abound, but so does the occasional frat boy escaping his Northern Virginia townhouse for the night.

There are many things to keep in mind if you're thinking about moving here: parking is dreadful, and the nearest metro is a mile away. There's also the occasional bout of crime. And if you are looking for peace and quiet, you've found the wrong place- there is a constant stream of people any time before 11 pm on week nights, and any time before sunrise on the weekends. Think of it as Adams Morgan, but trendier.

I know a couple people in their twenties who have found housing here, but they are usually complaining about struggling to leave and go anywhere else in the city. However, it is in the nature of the hipster to never be happy about anything, so one never knows.

Near northeast is a neighborhood of approximately 7,388 residents located in the northeast section of the city north of Union Station. The boundaries of the neighborhood are generally formed by Union Station, G Street N.E., Florida Avenue N.E., 10th Street N.E, and North Capitol Street N.W.. Homes here are actually pretty expensive, with the average cost of a home sold in 2010 being $414,606. Owner occupied homes accounted for 46% of the homes here. The neighborhood has a mixture of government buildings as well as commercial building and of course multifamily homes as well as attached and detached single family homes. Near Northeast has a little bit to offer everyone and while the neighborhood is on the way back, I think prices may be a bit high for the neighborhood.

Ludlow-Taylor Elementary, Two Rivers PCS and the J.O Wilson Elementary School are the two schools found here. J.O. Wilson Recreation Center provides recreational activities for residents of all ages. The neighborhood has a tremendous amount of restaurants offering a wide variety of foods. Shopping can be found here and many will love the Harris Teeter grocery store. Currently there are over 19 churches in Near Northeast. Public transportation including Amtrak, MARC train Metro trains and Metro Buses are located in the neighborhood so a car is not necessary.

Crime is where many will find problems with the neighborhood. While a great deal of progress has been made improve the neighborhood, the most recent crime statistics are troubling. Here you will find a large number of crimes against people and property occurring on a regular basis. This is one area that is going to really hurt the re-development efforts in the long run unless something is done. As always check the most recent crime statistics to make an informed decision as to the crime risk in any neighborhood. For now, I am on the sidelines on this neighborhood, cheering them on but not ready to join the team yet.

Near Northeast is one of those neighborhoods with a gritty past that is nonetheless improving rapidly. Once a real ghetto, nowadays there are some increasingly fashionable establishments frequented by young professionals. In an interesting twist, whites come into the neighborhood for these watering holes, but the neighborhood remains primarily black. One side of the neighborhood is actually Gallaudet University, which is the national university for Deaf people. For this reason, a lot of students do live here where they can easily get to classes on time. Do be aware, deaf people may make more noise than they are aware of, but don’t take it personally since they genuinely don’t know. Besides, it probably isn’t much worse than a bunch of drunk frat boys anyway.
Once known as an area with lots of rapes and murders, Near Northeast has become much safer as well and very few such attacks happen anymore. That isn’t to say that it is perfect, but you certainly can do much worse. Anyway, there are two Metro stops into there and plenty of busses serving the area. All kinds of establishments in the neighborhood means you can pick up some groceries on the way home from work, or relax with a beer at the local bar.

This is definitely an area in transition, as signified by a shift in the name of the area. Long-time residents continue to call the area bounded by North Capitol Street to the west, Florida Avenue to the north, H Street to the south, and 15th Street to the east as Near Northeast, because geographically it is near the northeast area of the District. These residents remember when the area had a vibrant African-American middle-class community and commercial district centered along H Street. This community, well established by mid-century, was devistated by the 1968 riots, causing a destruction of commercial properties that did not recover until the early part of this century. Today, the area is an emerging art's district, with several theaters, jazz clubs, performance spaces and high-end exotic restaurants opening along H Street to cater to the District's art's community. At the center of this development is the Atlas Performing Arts Center, in the remodeled Atlas Theater; for this reason local businesses have begun to refer to the area as the Atlas District. This, along with several other high-end retail establishments, restaurants, and the historic DC Farmer's Market, make this area—whatever you call it—one of the most exciting areas of the District today.