Author Archives: mrskerin

Restaurant Vibes: Tacos Los Primos

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By Cheryl Householder

Do yourself a favor and take a walk over to Chef Chris Godoy’s first brick and mortar restaurant in Lyon Park, Tacos los Primos, and thank me later.

As a Texas transplant, I can say that the struggle to find good Mexican food in the DMV is real. I’ve had an open mind and done more face plants than I can count over the years, but not this time.

Chris Godoy relocated to the states from his native Mexico in 2001. Finding work in the restaurant industry, he worked his way up from dishwasher to chef and has worked in several restaurants in that capacity. Four years ago, he opened the first iteration of Tacos Los Primos as a food truck which still operates on N. Rhodes street just south of Wilson Blvd. Just a few months ago, he opened his first brick and mortar on Washington Blvd next door to Troy’s Italian Kitchen replacing the former taqueria that stood there (no relation).

Everything he serves is homemade including the salsas. All of the meats are marinated for two days. It’s clear that this is truly a labor of love. Portions are generous and ingredients are high quality and fresh. Everything is made to order and anything can be made vegetarian. Menu items include tacos, burritos, sopes, quesadillas, tortas, carne asada, pupusas, and burrito bowls. And if you’re brave, ask for some habanero on the side.

You’re welcome!

Tacos Los Primos (2710 Washington Blvd.): Hours of operation are 10:00 a.m.–10:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and 10:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. on Sundays. Phone number is 703–967–4454. Visit their website:
https://www.tacoslosprimosarlingtonrestaurantva.com and click Order Online to view their menu. 

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Join Us March 12th: Urban Forester will Discuss “Is Our Tree Canopy Growing?”

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By Anne Bodine, VP of Development

Arlington covers approximately 26 square miles and the county’s Forestry and Natural Resources Plan (FNRP) calls for a total tree canopy of 40%.  Lyon Park covers about 300 acres, so a 40% goal gets us to 120 acres of canopy (think of it as how much area is covered by shade). But that’s not the whole story.

That Was Then.  Prior to 2024, we relied on data from four canopy surveys.  Three were done by the county (2008, 2011, 2016) and one was done in 2021 by the private company Green Infrastructure Center or GIC.   In the 2016 survey, the county noted that “Lyon Park, Yorktown, and Tara-Leeway Heights have seen the largest drops…of -11%, -8%, and -7% respectively.”  Below are the 3 most recent results for Lyon Park’s total canopy; if trends from these surveys continued, we’d have only 15% by 2031.  

201145%
201634%
202128%

This is Now.  Fast forward to 2023, when the County contracted a new survey and also reached back to incorporate existing surveys done by the U.S. Department of Agriculture for Virginia.  Arlington is now using only these studies (from 2014, 2018, and 2023) to document our canopy, and says they use more reliable measuring techniques (LIDAR which uses aerial imaging).  These studies show that Lyon Park’s canopy grew from 29% to 33% from 2014 to 2023, i.e. a net growth vs. net loss.  (NOTE:  This also contrasts with the GIC data above showing our canopy at 28% in 2023.)

To clear up any confusion, Arlington senior Urban Forester Vincent Verweij will be our featured speaker at our LPCA meeting on March 12, at 7:30 in Lyon Park Community Center.  You can also explore the new findings at https://geocortex.arlingtonva.us/Html5Viewer/index.html?viewer=ACMaps.HTML5#.  Add “trees” in dropdown box called “layers” and then enter “tree canopy change 2014-2023” to see the whole county.  You can also search for a specific address; it will show areas of loss in orange, areas with no change in dark green and areas with growth in light green.  Please join the discussion March 12, our trees are a key resource for the entire county! 

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Unveiling the New Fun and Interactive Way of Learning About Your Community

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By Elizabeth Sheehy

On Wednesday, February 12, the Lyon Park neighborhood unveiled three interpretive historical markers adjacent to its community house. The signs profile the history of the Lyon Park neighborhood, stories behind the building itself, and interactive information about the surrounding parkland, trees, and native plants. Despite the significant snowfall which caused school closures in Arlington, the ribbon cutting proceeded as planned. Michael Kunkler, the LPCA President, and David Newman, Chairman of the Lyon Park Board of Governors, officially christened the signs, with remarks from community members including Elizabeth Sheehy and Toby McIntosh of the Lyon Park History Committee and Richard Samp, Treasurer of the Arlington Historical Society. Lorin Farris of the Arlington Historic Preservation Fund, though unable to attend, sent along her congratulations.

Funding for the historic markers came from a grant to the Lyon Park Citizens Association from Arlington County’s Historic Preservation Fund. The fund seeks to preserve Arlington’s history, connecting people to their community through education and the sharing of stories from the past. The community center display case, where photos and history will be shared, should be installed by early March, and will be inaugurated at the O’Chili Cook-off, March 16. This year, Lyon Park is celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Lyon Park Community Center, so save the date of Saturday, July 26 for a community-wide Picnic in the Park. 

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Santa Express

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By Paul Showalter, Santa’s Head Elf

Santa, his sleigh, and his trusty elves (Paul Showalter, Benton Rosenbaum, Elizabeth Schwab, Ellen Malloy), visited nine parks in North Arlington on Tuesday December 24. Santa had the opportunity to visit with many children during his tour (he especially enjoyed visiting with children at Lyon Park). Santa’s elves handed out hundreds of candy canes and took lots of photos of kids (and family’s) visiting with Santa.

After finishing his world tour on Christmas Day, Santa made time to swing back through Arlington to hand deliver a few “Santa” gifts to children.

Santa will be visiting Lyon Park again very soon, so make sure you stay on the “Nice List.” 

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Restaurant Vibes: Boru Ramen

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By Philip Conklin & Philippa Kirby

Street, Boru Ramen is an inviting pocket-sized ramen bar with a menu that also offers donburi and an extensive selection of sushi. Also of note: Boru has a nice range of options for vegans and vegetarians. 

Boru is bright and welcoming, and, in our experience, has a quiet ambience. Seating is a combination of tables and chairs or banquettes, plus individual stools overlooking the sushi bar. For families with younger kids, the open kitchen offers views of each food prep station (ramen, donburi, and sushi) using an array of pretty interesting equipment that is (most likely) beyond what is typical in home kitchens. 

Service is consistently attentive and efficient. On a recent night, our server was friendly and was happy to answer our questions. Our order came quickly. Our party of four ordered a variety of dishes from across the menu. Though they did not arrive precisely at the same time, they arrived in quick succession. 

The non-alcohol (NA) selections at Boru are comparatively robust. In addition to standard soft drinks, Boru offers Ramune:  a Japanese carbonated soft drink in a codd-neck bottle featuring heavy glass with the mouth sealed by a round marble. This contains the pressure of the carbonated contents (there are many YouTube videos offering instructions of how to properly open a Ramune soda!). Ramune offers a bit of beverage flair in both flavor and presentation for kids and those who do not drink alcohol. Also available are a number of teas (fruited and not) as well as from their boba bar.

The alcohol menu lists a solid variety of sakes, Japanese beers (cans and bottles), and a few wines.

There is no marketing spin on the Boru website. All is straightforward; essentially conveying, “here is the food we prepare for you.” This clean, humble presentation of what is on offer conveys a quiet confidence in what they do that pretty much defines the Boru experience.

Boru Ramen (2915 Columbia Pike): Hours of operation are 11:00 a.m.–2:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.–9:30 p.m. daily. Phone number is 703–521–2811. Visit their website: http://boru-ramen.com and click Order Online to view their entire menu. 

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Bringing the Irving-Ivy Greenway Section into Compliance

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By Brooke Alexander

This is a saga about the first AH Greenway section, and I wish it had a better ending. The first Greenway section came to be with the granting of Use Permit U-1794-68-4 on R-6 zoned properties at 930 Irving Street and 927 Ivy Street.

Where is this located? It’s on the neighborhood side of the businesses along 10th Street (Vespa, WBM used cars, and Budget Rental) between Ivy and Irving Street. 

A little history. I got involved because of the landscaping. 

In the summer of 2023, the County was pressing for the landscaping to be re-installed; most of it had died. I approached the tenant to ask if he would be interested in installing native plants, relying heavily on canopy trees with an understory of perennials for pollinators. The land is owned by Edmunds Motors. The tenant, Ali Nezam, was enthusiastic in his support for this idea. 

 He asked me if I would make him a plan. I agreed. He asked me to source and price the material, to which I also agreed. I developed a landscape plan which was cheaper than re-installing the plants that are called for in a 1982 County landscaping plan. 

The plan I developed had the additional benefits of adding to the neighborhood tree canopy and feeding the local ecosystem, and complying with the Ashton Heights Tree Canopy and Native Plant Principles.  

To change landscape plans required an application to the County.  Mr. Nezam asked me to fill out the form, which I did, including the proper sized graphics, and thumb drive requirements. I also spoke with the county staff on the owner’s behalf to affirm that the Administrative Change would be positively reviewed.  

I obtained 6 free trees that I kept alive on my driveway, awaiting planting; offered my member discount on native perennials from Earth Sangha and to deliver the plants; and arranged a free Tree Canopy Fund tree which was planted. Mr. Nezam asked me to oversee his landscape crew in planting the 6 trees. But on May 2 the landscaper (and I) discovered that there is 7 inches of packed gravel on this site. This is inhospitable to plants and likely contributed to the previous plants’ demise.  

When I looked more deeply into the 193 pages of County records on the permit, I found that in 2012, the fence along the Greenway had been removed, and the Greenway paved over with these 7 inches of packed gravel, in order to enlarge the parking lot. The County subsequently required the plantings to be re-installed, and that was done in 2014. Unfortunately, the County did not require that the paving be removed at that point.  

Current status: After all this elapsed time, and work, the owner and tenant installed plantings on Dec. 4..   Unfortunately they used the 1982 plan.  They did not apply for an Administrative Change for permission to use the native plants. This is disappointing on several fronts, but they have the right to do just that. The 7 inches of packed gravel remain. Oh, and the plants on the Ivy Street frontage were planted in the wrong place. 

Before this occurred, the AHCA wrote to Arlington officials about the landscaping and other compliance issues. 

“We request that if the landowner does not wish to pursue the alternative plan developed by Brooke Alexander, that the landowner be required to bring the property up to Arlington’s current code for landscaping for parking lots as a condition of renewing the Use Permit,” the letter states.

From 1968 until 1996, the County reviewed this Use Permit every 6-36 months. The County has not reviewed this Use Permit since 1996.  AH named 15 compliance issues, in addition to the landscaping issues, in this recent letter to the Board. The County is moving to examine these now. I will be able to update you next month. Stay tuned! 

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Lyon Park Community Bids Farewell to Local Community Leader Francis O’Leary

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From the July 2, 2024 edition of the washington post

Francis X. O’Leary, a longtime Lyon Park resident and community leader passed away this summer.  O’Leary was a fixture in Arlington politics for decades and contributed to making our community a better place for all of us. May his memory be a blessing. 

Francis Xavier O’Leary “Frank,” retired Treasurer of Arlington County, Virginia, passed away on June 7, 2024, after a heroic battle with leukemia.

Mr. O’Leary was first elected as Arlington County Treasurer in 1983 by a total of 89 votes, earning him the nickname “Landslide O’Leary”. He served from January of 1984 until his retirement in June of 2014. This made him the second longest tenured Constitutional Officer in the modern era in the County. He would point with particular pride to several accomplishments during his thirty years in office. His policies lowered the County’s tax delinquency rate…. achieved a higher rate of return on county investments…..[and] modernized the Treasurer’s Office to reflect the diversity of the Arlington community.

Frank O’Leary was born on July 2,1943, in New York City, NY. The son of a career Army officer, he graduated from Frankfurt American High School in Germany. He attended the United States Military Academy at West Point but later transferred to Georgetown University where he graduated in 1966 with a Bachelor of Science Foreign Service (BSFS) degree with a major in Economic Theory. He completed the course work for a Master’s degree in Economic Theory from Georgetown University in 1967.

Mr. O’Leary’s lifetime in public service included membership after college in the New Jersey and District of Columbia National Guard and continued with David Hackett Associates where he worked on a host of anti-poverty programs focused on inner city employment initiatives. 

Through many decades, Frank O’Leary was involved in numerous charitable and community efforts in his Arlington community. He served in various capacities for his Lyon Park civic association, including his role leading the successful fight against the county’s plans to turn his neighborhood street into a busy commuter thoroughfare. ¬¬¬As scoutmaster for Cub Scout Pack 104 at Clarendon United Methodist Church he reenergized what had been a struggling organization. In honor of his friend, the late Delegate Warren Stambaugh who authored the Virginians with Disabilities Act, Mr. O’Leary helped create and was the longtime President of the Stambaugh Foundation. Over the course of twenty-one years, he led the foundation in donating over $200,000 in awards to organizations serving the disabled community or paying for renovations to make local structures more accessible.

He was deeply involved in raising money for several local organizations including the Arlington Historical Society, the Arlington Black Heritage Museum, AHOME (Affordable Housing), and the Arlington Red Cross. In recent years, Mr. O’Leary was active in the Arlington Optimists and was awarded the Arlington Interservice Club Council Man of the Year Award in 2022.

Frank O’Leary was a strong Democrat who mentored scores of candidates, raised funds for local campaigns and committees and aided the Arlington Democratic Party in establishing its dominance over county elections since the 1980s. 

He worked tirelessly to support the USS Arlington Commissioning Committee, helping to raise $438,000 to honor the US Navy ship named for Arlington’s role in responding to the attacks of September 11, 2001. After the ship was commissioned in 2013, he was active in the USS Arlington-Community Alliance established to foster links between the county’s namesake ship, its captain, crew, and the Arlington community.

Frank O’Leary is survived by his devoted wife of 56 years, Linda Banigan O’Leary, his brother, Terence O’Leary, his daughter, Heather O’Leary Moore (Martin), and their daughter, Brianna and his son, Brian O’Leary (Susan) and their two sons, Ian and Rory. He will also be missed by countless friends, allies, colleagues and associates whose lives he touched in his 80 years.

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A Jewel in the Heart of Lyon Park

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By Elizabeth Sheehy

Lyon Park is known for the diversity of its residences, and is also home to some unique, family-run businesses, especially along Washington Blvd. The shops include a florist, café, barber shop and several eateries.

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, let’s introduce you to one special business that you may not have visited—Sacramento Jewelers (2718 Washington Blvd.), owned and operated by Teodoro Naranjo, assisted by his wife Janet and their children. Ted came to this country in 1976 from Ecuador and found work as a polisher at a well-known jewelry store in Falls Church. Its owner sent him to school for his goldsmith certificate, and after a few years, Ted started his own jewelry business in the tiny back room of a clock repair shop on Washington Blvd., in Lyon Park. He returned to Falls Church when he bought the jewelry shop from his mentor, but closed its doors in 2006 as the rent skyrocketed. As fate would have it, that same month, the owner of the clock shop passed away, and Ted happily took over the space, operating Sacramento Jewelers ever since.

Sacramento Jewelers has a beautiful assortment of precious stone rings, bracelets, earrings and other adornments. Ted’s specialty is designing and hand-making pieces, as well as working with silver and repairing heirloom jewelry. He also replaces watch batteries and straps, at a fair price and with a smile, unlike many jewelry stores who sneer at small jobs.

To understand the exceptional service offered here, check out the reviews on YELP. Customers rave about Ted’s skill, honesty and the value of his business’ work. You will need to ring the bell to enter the store—a concession to today’s security realities—but once in you will receive family service. Valentine’s Day is only a month away and nothing builds community like shopping local! 

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Civic Federation Looks at Big Picture Development Issues and Passes Climate Change Resolution

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By Anne Bodine

On November 12, the Civic Federation discussed a host of items that the county is working on as part of its overall development agenda, including rezoning public lands, Special GLUP projects (adding density outside of the existing transit corridors), Expanded Housing Options or Missing Middle, and minor vs. major site plan amendments at Virginia Hospital Center. CivFed also indicated that the county is revising the introduction to Arlington’s Comprehensive Plan, which likely will affect/alter Arlington’s decades-old planning paradigm that limits higher density development to the transit corridors. You may want to watch the meeting or join in CivFed’s efforts through LPCA’s delegates (see newsletter p.2 for names). The Civic Federation also approved a resolution that asks the county to elevate climate change in its overall planning process, you can read the new resolution. LPCA’s delegate voted in favor of this resolution. 

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The Work of the Lyon Park Community Center Board of Governors (BoG)

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For the LPCC Board of Governors (BOG), this is the end of one era and the start of something new.  For well over a decade, we’ve been fortunate to have Jeannette Wick’s leadership of the BOG, Cindy Stroup’s services as rental agent, and Bill Short’s work as janitorial engineer, preserving the beauty of our Community Center and ensuring its availability to our community.  After all three had decided it was time for them to pursue other passions, the BOG elected David Newman as the new Chair and Ann Reimers Pitts as Vice Chair of the BOG.  Their highest priority from the start has been finding the best available talent to fill the rental agent and cleaning services positions.  Their goals for the search included finding people who would bring experience, expertise, and outstanding customer service skills.  The BOG believes that finding a cleaning service provider that offers affordable prices and outstanding cleaning services is key to reducing the stress of event planning and execution for LPCC renters.  This is central to the BOG’s mission of finding the best new cleaning service provider for the LPCC.

To form a committee dedicated to this effort, the BOG leadership solicited community participation for a committee reviewing applicants for these positions.  Community members Bess Zelle, Laureen Daly, and Sara Alepin stepped up, joining four members of the BOG on the committee – Shelya White, Elizabeth Wray, Ann Reimers Pitts, and David Newman. 

At the end of a rigorous journey, the committee drafted its recommendations for the next rental agent and cleaning services provider.  The ultimate decision must be made by the BOG, which is still deliberating.  The current rental agent will help train the new agent during a transition period in December, and the new rental agent will take full responsibility for the role starting January 1, 2025, when the new cleaning service also will begin its work.  

The new LPCC team also is committed to placing the highest priority on building relationships with the
community, while keeping the LPCC well maintained, beautiful, and available for future generations.  We encourage your questions and comments.  You may email David and Ann directly at their new email address: LPCCGovernors@gmail.com.

Watch this space for future reports from the BOG on the final selections for rental agent and cleaner and on the many projects they are planning for the future. 

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