http://dc.curbed.com/archives/2013/04/embassy-of-indonesia-installing-hindu-goddess-statue-on-massachusetts-ave.php

ANC 2B Okays Hindu Goddess Statue, Raps Historic Preservation Office

Posted on11 April 2013. 

From David McAuley. Email him at david[AT]borderstan.com.

Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 2B, at its monthly meeting last night, April 10, unanimously supported a request by the Embassy of Indonesia to erect a statue of a Hindu goddess on public space on Massachusetts Avenue NW. It also unanimously called on DC’s Historic Preservation Office (HPO) to improve its operating procedures and communication both with ANCs and with the public.

An edited photo showing how the sculpture will appear in place on Massachusetts Avenue NW. (David McAuley)

Statue of Saraswati on Public Space

The Commission heard a presentation by Heru Subolo, Minister-Counselor for Press and Information Affairs of the Embassy of Indonesia, asking for ANC support for a proposed statue of Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, arts and science, to be erected on a public space next to the grounds of the Embassy at2020 Massachusetts Avenue NW.

Subolo told the committee that the statue had been approved by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Foreign Missions. Subolo also said that the planned site for the statue had been moved, at the request of the DC government’s Historic Preservation Office (HPO), from its original planned location at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and 21st Street (also adjacent to the Embassy), to a location next to the sidewalk further west along Massachusetts.

The location is currently fenced in. Subolo said that the fence would be removed to make the statue accessible to the public.

“I’m really happy to open up a fenced space,” said Kevin O’Connor, ANC commissioner for district 2B-02.

“This is a wonderful addition to our neighborhood and to our nation’s capital. Hindus across DC and around the world are ecstatic about this beautiful statue of Saraswati. It is so fitting that it will be installed just a stone’s throw from the also magnificent statue of Mahatma Gandhi — the only statue of a Hindu in DC,” said Kishan Putta, ANC 2B-04 commissioner.

The ANC voted 9–0 in favor.

Resolution on Historic Preservation Office

The DC Historic Preservation Office (HPO) has a new draft plan for the next four years and is soliciting comment. ANC 2B took the opportunity to approve a resolution outlining the ways it believes that the HPO and its parent organization, the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB), could work more effectively with ANCs and the public.

The resolution noted the following problems, among others:

• Effective Enforcement: “…Frequently, violators pay a limited fine, sometimes as little as $500, but are not forced thereafter to actually correct the offending construction or work….”
• Notice to ANCs: “…The HPO/HPRB is the only regulatory board that does not currently send a notice document directly to ANCs for each application within the respective ANC that will be on the board’s agenda. This is contrary to the practice of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, the District Department of Transportation Public Space Committee, the Board of Zoning Adjustment, and the Zoning Commission….”
• Ensuring Timely and Fair Staff Reports: “…The HPO needs to release draft staff reports in time for relevant ANCs to weigh in and respond, before the HPRB hearing on the matter….In addition, the HPRB needs to ensure that staff reports are fair and cite all relevant precedent….”
• Fair Appeals Process: “The plan should address the process for appealing an HPRB decision, which can be costly and slow….”

The ANC vote was 9–0.

1412 T Street New Construction

The Commission approved a resolution calling for a one-month delay in a new construction project at 1412 T Street. The proposed construction is a two-unit residential structure on a vacant lot. Both T Street neighbors adjacent to the location spoke last night.

“We totally welcome a new building,” one said. “But this is a total aberration on the block.”

“This is not in the context of the block,” the other agreed. “But I’d love to see a property there.”

The Commission agreed that the height and depth as proposed were not appropriate. It requested additional information from the developer’s representative and referred the matter back to the Zoning, Preservation, & Development Committee for reconsideration at its next meeting on May 7.

Liquor License Moratoriums

Commissioner O’Connor said that the ANC 2B Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) Policy Committee would hold an additional listening session about the proposed 14th and U Street liquor license moratorium next Wednesday, April 17, at a location to be determined. The hearing will focus on ANC district 2B-09, which falls within the boundaries of the proposed moratorium.

O’Connor also said that he will present a “game plan” at ANC 2B’s May 8 meeting concerning the Dupont East Liquor License Moratorium, which will come up for renewal in September of this year. This moratorium is in effect on 17th Street. O’Connor is the chair of ANC 2B’s ABRA Policy Committee.

New ANC 2B Email Addresses

The Commission announced improvements to its website. On ANC2B’s commissioners and staff page, there are now group addresses which will deliver email to the entire ANC or its subcommittees through a single address. The addresses are:

• for all ANC2B commissioners: commissioners@dupontcircleanc.net
• for the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration Policy Committee: abra@dupontcircleanc.net
• for the Zoning, Preservation, & Development Committee: zpd@dupontcircleanc.net
• for the Community Involvement Committee: community@dupontcircleanc.net

ANC2B serves the Dupont Circle area.

http://www.borderstan.com/04/anc-2b-okays-hindu-goddess-statue-raps-historic-preservation-office/

Balinese Goddess Watches Over Washington, D.C

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, in the United States to receive an award for promoting religious tolerance in Indonesia, together with Ambassador Djalan, was saluted by Hindu statesman Rajan Zed for supporting religious pluralism, honoring diversity and respecting minorities.

http://www.balidiscovery.com/messages/message.asp?Id=9455

June 3, 2013

A Statue Grows in D.C.

Posted: 05/29/2013 10:43 am

When Dino Djalal, the Ambassador from Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population in the world, wanted to give a gift to Washington, D.C., he chose a statue of a Hindu goddess. A 10-foot high statue of Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of Education, now stands on Massachusetts Avenue in front of the Indonesian Embassy, just down the street from the Islamic Center, which was a gift from the Ambassador of Egypt a half a century earlier. The purpose of the Islamic Center is to promote "a better of understanding of Islam in the US." The purpose of the statue of Saraswati is to say that in a country of 247 million, where Muslims represent 88 percent of the population, the 3 percent who are Hindu also matter.

For Ambassador Dino Djalal, Christians and Jews matter too. Last year, he and Rabbi Sid Schwarz led a group of 24 Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders from the U.S. and Indonesia on a peace mission to meet with leaders in Jordan, the Palestinian Authority and Israel. The trip was significant in its own right for so many leaders of different faiths to travel together. It was even more notable as Indonesia does not have diplomatic ties with Israel or recognize Judaism as one of six religions.

The year before, Ambassador Djalal organized a panel with one of the leading Muslim clerics from Indonesia, Dr. Din Syamsuddin, Rev. Mischal Livingston, a Presbyterian minister and former president of the National Council of Churches, and Rabbi Schwartz. The discussion was shown on Indonesian television. Viewers thought it monumental to have leaders of different faiths, including Judaism, discussing how people of faith could be strong in their own faiths yet tolerant of others. The panel captured the Ambassador's "solidarity in diversity" theme that he has been trying to promote along with traditional ambassadorial goals of increased economic cooperation and improved national ties.

In that same year, the Ambassador challenged Washington, D.C. to amass the largest number of people playing angklung, an Indonesian bamboo instrument, all together. The instrument is simple enough to play -- just shake and you get a note. The core message was also clear: Many angklung played together make a melody, many people of different faiths and backgrounds playing together, in this case 5,182 of them playing "We Are the World," sends a statement of multiculturalism and religious diversity.

The ephemeral angklung event served a similar purpose to the concrete statue of Saraswati: to encourage people to take religious tolerance more seriously. I spoke with I Nyoman Sudarwa, who was flown in from Bali along with of six of his stone masons to carve the Embassy's statue. Mr. Nyoman is well known in Bali for carving statues, but this was the first time he has ever been outside of Indonesia. In three weeks, he and his team sourced the materials and created the statue of Saraswati as well as three children (one African American, one Caucasian, one East Asian) that stand at her feet, without knowing a word of English and worrying about snow that they had never seen. I asked him what it meant for him to carve a statue of a Balinese goddess in front of the Indonesian Embassy in Washington, D.C.

"It's normal" he replied. "You always put Saraswati in front of universities and government buildings."

Normal in Bali but still striking in Washington, D.C. that the Ambassador would choose to erect a Hindu statue in front of the Embassy of Indonesia, home to 280 million Muslims, to make a statement about the need for religious tolerance.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alissa-stern/a-statue-grows-in-dc_b_3349274.html

Statue of Hindu goddess Saraswati near White House