Post by popomohomo on Feb 16, 2011 23:26:46 GMT -5
Hey All,
HITS feels really bad about what happened at the Sick Fix/Government warning show on Wednesday night. We wished we had our shit together more so it didn't have to come to that. Notorious in punk/DIY spaces is them being shut down for this very reason, but we are not at all going to passively sit by and let that happen. We are going to find out EXACTLY what we need to keep HITS as a viable and sustainable show space. What is going to be the challenge is executing that. We are probably going to need a lot of help. Either expertise, construction, monetary, etc. I don't know exactly what's going to be entailed but from my brief discussion with the police officer and fire marshal on Wednesday, it would involve installing some clear fire exit signage and in fact, installing another fire exit to the street. There are ideas to install a spiral staircase off the roof to the alleyway but that will take some work. We also have to get a Certificate of Occupancy to have anyone on the premises and this costs money. Because we are not a residential zoned property, the government has right to say what we can and cannot do on the property. It's possible that we can rezone it as residential but that would be a LONG laundry list of paperwork and bureaucracy...SO, we're just going to do our best to comply with fire code and get this shit back up and running.
What's GOOD to hear is that the police want us to be there. They think that it's positive and they don't want to ruin the fun or work that HITS is doing. We have, in fact, spoken with the police on mulitple occasions and they've always been supportive. Wednesday night's infringement was sparked by a recent Go-Go show that happened down the street from us in a building that was unsafe and unfit for a public event. The police shut down that show and then they and the neighborhood authorities made claims to inspect every property on 5th st NE in efforts to keep it safe and in code. Even though I rolled my eyes at this prospect, it just so happened that the police performed an arrest in our alleyway on Wednesday night, a night that we were having a HUGE show, and it was convenient for them to come check it out and investigate. Most other nights we would have been overlooked.
All of this has come together quickly so we're going to do the best we can to quickly get information about what changes we need to make and then we're going to keep y'all updated. This is just so that everyone is in the loop AND acting as a precursor call out for help and support. Please email us off list at holeintheskydc@gmail.com if you want to help or be involved in any way.
thanks
jaime
HITS feels really bad about what happened at the Sick Fix/Government warning show on Wednesday night. We wished we had our shit together more so it didn't have to come to that. Notorious in punk/DIY spaces is them being shut down for this very reason, but we are not at all going to passively sit by and let that happen. We are going to find out EXACTLY what we need to keep HITS as a viable and sustainable show space. What is going to be the challenge is executing that. We are probably going to need a lot of help. Either expertise, construction, monetary, etc. I don't know exactly what's going to be entailed but from my brief discussion with the police officer and fire marshal on Wednesday, it would involve installing some clear fire exit signage and in fact, installing another fire exit to the street. There are ideas to install a spiral staircase off the roof to the alleyway but that will take some work. We also have to get a Certificate of Occupancy to have anyone on the premises and this costs money. Because we are not a residential zoned property, the government has right to say what we can and cannot do on the property. It's possible that we can rezone it as residential but that would be a LONG laundry list of paperwork and bureaucracy...SO, we're just going to do our best to comply with fire code and get this shit back up and running.
What's GOOD to hear is that the police want us to be there. They think that it's positive and they don't want to ruin the fun or work that HITS is doing. We have, in fact, spoken with the police on mulitple occasions and they've always been supportive. Wednesday night's infringement was sparked by a recent Go-Go show that happened down the street from us in a building that was unsafe and unfit for a public event. The police shut down that show and then they and the neighborhood authorities made claims to inspect every property on 5th st NE in efforts to keep it safe and in code. Even though I rolled my eyes at this prospect, it just so happened that the police performed an arrest in our alleyway on Wednesday night, a night that we were having a HUGE show, and it was convenient for them to come check it out and investigate. Most other nights we would have been overlooked.
All of this has come together quickly so we're going to do the best we can to quickly get information about what changes we need to make and then we're going to keep y'all updated. This is just so that everyone is in the loop AND acting as a precursor call out for help and support. Please email us off list at holeintheskydc@gmail.com if you want to help or be involved in any way.
thanks
jaime
