2010 Spring Home and Garden Tour

“Now Showing… The Houston Heights”

The 2010 Spring Home and Garden Tour is only days away, and it is going to be a terrific weekend! Six amazing homes will be featured this year, and they spotlight all the best things about our neighborhood. You will find old houses, new houses, big homes, and small bungalows. There are houses that have huge screened-in porches, gourmet kitchens, and glorious gardens. Some have been in magazines and others featured on tours. But they are all must-sees, and they are all on the tour Saturday and Sunday April 10 and 11 from noon to 6:00 PM.

Chairs Linda Eyles and Danae Stephenson are excited to present the following homes:

• Glassell Home - 1409 Allston
• Burleson Home - 615 E. 16th Street
• Morello Home - 608 Peddie
• Rodgers Home - 629 Heights Boulevard
• McIntyre Home - 621 E. 8 1/2 Street
• Eastman Home - 935 Harvard

Advance tickets are $17 each and may be purchased at Another Place in Time (1102 Tulane), The Artful Corner (3423 White Oak), Buchanan’s Native Plants (611 E. 11th Street), Eclectic Home (345 W. 19th Street), and Waldo’s Coffee House (1030 Heights Boulevard) and online here. Day-of-tour tickets are $20 each and may be purchased at Buchanan’s Native Plants, Another Place in Time, Heights Fire Station, and at each tour home.

Included in the price is a luxury shuttle bus to all the homes. The shuttle begins and ends at the Heights Fire Station at Yale and 12th Streets, where parking is available.

Candlelight Dinner and Auction

The stage has been set! The stars are going to shine! If you, too. want to be in the limelight, come join us at “Now Showing… The Houston Heights Candlelight Dinner” on Friday April 9. You are invited to the premier of six exclusive tour homes from 5:00 to 7:00 PM followed by the main feature, the dinner and auction at Master Car Care at 2305 Yale Street.

Pass through the paparazzi to experience the exciting evening dinner chairs Donna Bennett and Kristi Synek have created for you. Be dazzled by vintage cars brought in especially for the event. Sip on a “Heights Side Car” courtesy of Heights Liquor on 11th Street and dine on the delicious dinner prepared by Massoud Catering. Bid on live auction items including exclusive artwork by local celebrities, fabulous trips, and jewels worthy of an Oscar winner. And don’t miss the silent auction full of dinners, packages, entertainment, and more!

Auction chairs Pam Kunkemoeller and Kit Davis have found something for everyone. And of course you will leave with a gift from the always-generous Eclectic Home.

For those of you lucky enough to get tickets before they sold out, we’ll see you on April 9… “Here’s lookin’ at you, kid!”

Kick-Off Party Pre-Sells Half Of Candlelight Dinner Event

The 2010 Kick-Off Party for the Houston Heights Home & Garden Tour and Candlelight Dinner & Auction was graciously underwritten by one of the neighborhood’s newest restaurants, Stella Sola, and included delicious hors d’oeuvres by chef Justin Bayse - Winner of the 2010 James Beard Award and Semi-Finalist Rising Star Chef of the Year - and a specialty cocktail created just for the event - “The Impala.” Denise Martin, Chris Silkwood, and Kelly Simmons, Co-Chairs Elect for the 2011 Home & Garden Tour, assembled an exciting party to thank the Houston Heights Association 2010 Sponsors, the home tour’s executive committee, the homeowners and head docents, and last year’s Candlelight Dinner Table Hosts.

Kick-Off Party guests previewed some of this year’s live auction items, including the featured artwork - a large acrylic on canvas by fine artist Kevin Peterson depicting the old Heights Theater and a vintage car (“The Impala”) and a spectacular, multi-media, collaborative sculpture by local favorites John Palmer and Chris Silkwood. The ’69 Impala itself - owned by Pamela, Steve, and R.J. Kunkemoeller - was stylishly parked at the entrance to the party, and exotic dried flower arrangements, generously donated by Behind the Garden Gate and later to be auctioned at the Candlelight Dinner, adorned the room.

Linda Eyles and Danae Stephenson, Co-Chairs of the Home & Garden Tour, thanked the large crowd for their continued support of the Houston Heights and invited everyone to sign up for tables to the Candlelight Dinner and Auction, being held on Friday, April 9 - guaranteeing their table at the Dinner, which always includes a private invitation to the following year’s Kick-Off Party. After a wonderful evening of meeting and mingling, over 25 tables (more than half of the event!) were pre-sold for the Candlelight Dinner and Auction.

HHA Volunteer Appreciation and Awards Dinner

The Art of Volunteering is a Splash of Color

Color was the theme on Sunday evening February 28 when the Houston Heights Association held its 36th Annual Volunteer Appreciation and Awards Dinner at the historic Houston Heights Fire Station.

Anne Culotta, 2010 President and emcee, splashed the first paint color on the evening’s canvas, commenting on the intricate mosaic of our neighborhood, with all of its volunteers playing such integral roles in the evolving artistic masterpiece that is the Houston Heights.

Heights talents Angela DeWree of Design and Inspiration and Diane Easley and Laura Pineda of Grogan Building Supply beautifully transformed the Association’s recently acquired Fire Station. Diane, Laura, and Angela organized an A-Team of volunteers to make it all come together, including Danae Stephenson, Martin Piké, Paul and Mary Carr, Mike Soltero, Ellen Newcaster, Anne Culotta, and Katy Bomar Childs. Angela DeWree once again produced colorful keepsake programs for all of the guests.

Each guest was put to work early on with a paint can full of generous gifts from Grogan Building Supply, dubbed Grogan’s Goodies. The Benjamin Moore paint cans contained an assortment of practical and fun goodies from that cherished Heights establishment that has provided the “bricks and sticks” transforming Heights homes from meek to simply grand for the last 125 years.

Comfort food was the theme, as Candy and Pierre Massoud and their staff served up another great dinner, which was all expertly coordinated by Marianne Sulser. Drink Committee members Kelly Simmons, Keith Crane, Bill Baldwin, and Ellen Newcaster added more color to the canvas with Paintbrush-themed drinks adorned with tasty swizzle sticks - “your brush to paint one on” so to speak. Celebrity bartenders included Keith Crane, Jim Bennett, John Childs, Joe Gonzalez, Bill Baldwin, Martin Pike, Simon Eyles, Taylor Moore, and Mike Easley.

Event Chair and 2008 Citizen of the Year Trudy Nelson coordinated an array of artists for this beautiful and fun event, and all of the neighborhood’s movers and shakers attended. Also supporting the event and taking the time to speak to her constituents was Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.

As the program proceeded, Anne Culotta welcomed the honored guests and introduced outgoing 2009 HHA President Chris Silkwood, who presented the President’s Award to Lindsey Lee [left] for his hard work and dedication in tackling the role of Treasurer and assisting her and the Board through some complicated financial issues in 2009.

Chris Silkwood then awarded the third annual Community Service Award to the 2010 8th Grade Class of Immanuel Lutheran School for their continuing hard work on Heights Boulevard; the award was accepted by ILS Principal Cheryl Burmeister. The class works one day out of each school month alongside Boulevard Czar Jim Bennett and Hike and Bike Trail founder Paul Carr, pulling and bagging weeds and spreading mulch. Our thanks go to them, Jim, Paul, and all of the other wonderful volunteers who make Heights Boulevard a treasured focal point and destination.

As is tradition, Paul Carr explained the history and prominence of the Marcella Perry Award, then Kelly Simmons announced the 2009 winner, Angela DeWree, who often provides both design and inspiration for many of HHA’s important fundraising events. [See article below for the presentation speech.]

A special “Heights Bling Award” was presented to Kristal Kirksey of Jubilee in the Heights. Kristal’s talent and wonderful donations have added glimmer to all things Heights for many years. [See article below.]

Chris Silkwood awarded the Corporate Citizen of the Year Award to Boulevard Realty, owned by Bill Baldwin. For many years, Bill and his real estate agency (formerly Karen Derr & Associates) have supported HHA fundraising events. [See article below.]

Trudy Nelson awarded the New Generation Award to dedicated and talented Heightsite Marianne Sulser. Marianne was Chair of the Holiday Home Tour in 2007, expertly steered events for the 2008 Holiday Home Tour (while she was busy expecting her second child) and Co-Chaired the inaugural Holiday Home Tour Patron Party in 2009 (and has signed up for a repeat in 2010!). All of these events have been infused with her Southern charm, intelligence, and design sensibilities. [See article below.]

The 2009 Citizen of the Year Award was presented to Anne Sloan by outgoing 2008 Citizen of the Year Trudy Nelson. Among her many years of extraordinary contributions to the neighborhood, Anne most recently wrote the very popular book, Images of America: Houston Heights, and donated all proceeds from its sales to the Houston Heights Association. [See article below.]

Months of work go into the Community Improvement Awards selection process and ceremony - where awards are given each year to home and business owners, in historic restoration and new construction categories - and Chair Diane Easley [right] pulled off another wonderful program, with the help of this year’s judges, John Blass (also emcee), Mike McIntyre, and Palmer Schooley and of PowerPoint guru Keith Crane. [For community improvement nominees and winners, please see the article below.]

To top the evening off, several door prizes were won by folks at the event. Thanks go out to generous door prize donors Chris Silkwood, Diane Easley, Kelly Simmons, and Trudy Nelson.

The Houston Heights Association wants to thank ALL of its volunteers in 2009-10 and throughout the years for making this neighborhood a wonderful and fun place to live, work, and play.

Seen at the Awards Dinner

Citizen of the Year: Anne Sloan

presentation by Trudy Nelson, 2008 Citizen of the Year

One could write a book about this year’s Citizen of the Year - but I’ve been given only a short time, so let me focus on the chapters - and not the details. You can also google and find out a great deal!

• Outstanding leader in the Heights and the Houston area for many years

• A successful businesswoman

• An educator who taught at Lamar for many years and mentored at Hamilton Middle School

• A member of many boards - covering history, education, civics, city, church and family life, including: Houston Heights Association, Houston Heights Woman’s Club, Mayor’s Task Force, Houston Heights Opera (now Opera in the Heights), St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church

• Spokesperson of Houston history, recipient of 2000 Marcella Perry award, and 2007 Leader of the Year for Northwest Houston.

In 2008-09, this Heights resident, whose love of the Heights dates to her childhood years, devoted herself to creating a book about the Houston Heights. As a mystery novel author, she spent nearly a year doing detective work to discover new treasures not found by previous Heights’ historians. And she did.

All the proceeds of this wonderful book - like the proceeds of her mystery novels, which benefitted the Houston Heights Association and the Houston Library Fund (some $14,000) - have gone to the HHA - an estimated $9,000 for this book alone.

Although she has many interests, the most important to her is being a wonderful mother to her daughter, Elizabeth. Of course, she proudly speaks about her granddaughter Margaret and grandson John, too, who are both the “Apple of her Eye”.

It is an honor and privilege I am not worthy of - to present the 2009 Citizen of the Year award to Anne Sloan.

Corporate Citizen Of The Year: Boulevard Realty, Bill Baldwin

presentation by Chris Silkwood, 2009 President

Bill Baldwin, the broker and owner of Boulevard Realty (formerly Karen Derr & Associates), has been a steady supporter of HHA for many years. When Karen Derr told him she wished to sell the business, he didn’t really want to own a real estate business, but he didn’t want the small Heights boutique company to disappear into the fold of a real estate corporate giant. He bought the business a month before Hurricane Ike; the financial fallout and the resulting real estate disaster hit them like a ton of bricks but, even at great cost to him personally, he didn’t lay off one person from his firm.

Bill is in his third year as a member of the HHA Board. He took the reins of the Constable Program when it was on the brink of failure and is continuing to coordinate its expansion. As head of the membership committee, he has increased membership by 25%; we’ve seen him recruit members he sees in casual settings - going as far as collecting their $25 right on the spot.

Bill has been a tremendous supporter of the Candlelight Dinner and Auction for many years - he has purchased a table for many years and greatly supports the live and silent auctions. We know for a fact that he will forego other art events leading up to the Candlelight Dinner in order to conserve his art budget for our biggest fundraising event.

He opens his beautiful historic home almost weekly to many charitable organizations, including the HHA, to raise money. He has introduced his friends and clients to our events, who have in turn become big supporters of the HHA.

He supports local artists with rotating art exhibits and openings in his offices every month. Starting with his association with Karen Derr and Associates and now with Boulevard Realty, he has been a steady sponsor since we began the program and has recently signed up to be a sponsor for every season in 2010. Boulevard Realty is also a major supporter of First Saturday, White Linen Night, and Mistletoe Madness.

Bill is a fine man with a huge heart, and we are very fortunate that he and his business sit proudly and prominently on Heights Boulevard.

Marcella Perry Award: Angela Dewree

presentation by Kelly Simmons

It is our honor to present the Marcella Perry Award to an important behind-the-scenes player for many years. She is serving her last year of two terms on the Houston Heights Association Board and is a staunch supporter of historic preservation and nature conservancy.

Having been the head designer for Tootsie’s and producing events and product launches for the likes of Hermes, storefront windows for Harold’s, and numerous galas for non-profits and the social elite alike for many years, our organization is fortunate for her design talents behind many of our fundraising events - such as the Candlelight Dinner and this Volunteer Appreciation Dinner. She has allowed us to produce these events that look like we’ve pulled out all the stops on what is actually a tight, shoestring budget - many times paying her employees right out of her pocket.

Many of you may remember the out-of-this-world mannequins that she provided and designed for the Candlelight Dinner event at Kaplan’s a few years ago, one of which still proudly stands in the front window of Boulevard Realty.

She has designed the print and marketing materials for the Spring and Holiday Home Tours many times. These design projects take weeks and weeks of tedious work, and we’ve been fortunate to have her gifted talent.

She would tell us that her proudest achievement in the Heights has been with the Urban Forestry Committee, which she founded five years ago. One of the main reasons people are drawn to the Heights is due to its old-growth tree canopy; a proud tree-hugger, she has made it her goal to spread the word throughout the neighborhood about conservation, care, and perpetuation of our treasured urban forest.

She has held monthly to quarterly events that have given away hundreds of trees and dispersed expert information by partnering with local and state horticultural organizations and agencies. She has organized nature walks on the Boulevard to talk about the many native species of trees and plants there, and she recently organized a meeting to begin recruiting groups to “adopt a block” along the Heights Hike and Bike Trail.

For several years now, she has also been responsible for bringing together all of the wonderful programs we have enjoyed at the monthly General Meetings.

Angela DeWree is a very gifted and sensitive woman whom we are very fortunate to have in our neighborhood. We are proud to name her the Marcella Perry Award recipient of 2009.

New Generation Award: Marianne Sulser

presentation by Trudy Nelson

Intelligent, delightful, soft-spoken, a “behind-the-scenes” kind of person who has chaired or co-chaired three events, and most of you probably don’t know who she is…

Born and raised in Pineville, Louisiana, she is the youngest of four children. She has a degree in Communications and in Law, both from LSU. By the way, Pineville was the home of the “original” LSU in 1860, so I believe her blood is truly purple and gold. She practiced law for six years before leaving the firm of Andrews Kurth to pursue her passion for design. She opened her own company in 2008 focusing on “Interiors for Real Life”.

Her “real life” includes faith, family, and friends. She is the mother of two: Grant, 3, and Lizzie, 11 months, with her now devoted LSU fan husband, Tim. As I mentioned, she is an LSU Tiger football fan, and when Tim (from the mid-west) was courting her, he mentioned a team from the mid-west had a pretty good-looking football team and they had a shot at winning the national title, she looked at him curiously and asked, “Do they play LSU?” … after all, if they were not going to play the Tigers, how could they possibly be any good?

She is actively involved in her community, volunteering for the Houston Heights Association - and decorating the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart for Christmas, Easter and throughout the liturgical year. This “Heights treasure” has the ability to balance the beautiful and the practical. She is quick to tell someone what they don’t need as it would be a useless extravagance as she would the way to truly beautiful designs or impressive décor. This ability has enabled her to blend Old South charm with a bit of Mardi Gras crazy into the Holiday Home Tours the past three years. And in 2009, it was her perseverance to see the first-ever Patron Party for the holiday home tour - an event that raised over $10,000 and netted $6,000 for the HHA - an event that will surely add to the annual festivities (and the coffers) in future years.

It is an honor to present the 2009 New Generation Award to Marianne Sulser.

Community Improvement Awards

The Houston Heights Association 2010 Community Improvement Awards were presented Sunday, February 28 for residential and commercial projects contributing to the improvement of the Heights.

For Commercial projects, the three nominees were Allegiance Bank at 2222 North Durham, 3122 White Oak owned by Geoff Vaughn, and The Big Mamou at 903 Studewood. The winning improvement is Geoff Vaughn’s space located at 3122 White Oak [right]. Geoff designed this building renovation himself, and APD Builds owned by Mark van Doren completed the work.

In the Residential New Construction category, the three nominees were Mark Johnson’s house at 4307 Center Street, Mike and Amber Lewis’s home at 1246 Columbia, and John and Jan Bloom’s home at 539 West 16th Street. The winning improvement is Mark Johnson’s house at 4307 Center Street [right]. This project was designed by Brett Zamore Design and built on a former vacant lot by Zamore Homes.

In the Residential Restoration category, the five nominees were the Zamore bungalow at 823 Peddie Street, the Stephenson-Piké home at 1233 Tulane, the Perez-Eronko home at 1401 Herkimer, the Ross home at 1402 Harvard, and the Price-Groves home at 1234 Allston. The winning improvement is the home of Jeanie and Jonathan Ross at 1402 Harvard [right]. This restoration was true to the scale of the original structure. The home addition was designed by Rogers-LaBarthe and completed by Becker Fine Builders.

A special “Exceptional Neighborhood Contribution” award was presented to Bungalow Revival for their numerous restorations of bungalows in the Heights that might otherwise have succumbed to the wrecking ball.

Congratulations to all nominees and thank you for improving the Heights. Special thanks to our CIA committee: Judge and Emcee Extraordinaire John Blass; Judges Mike McIntyre and Palmer Schooley; PowerPoint presentation by Keith Crane. Thanks also to Trudy Nelson for donating a CIA Table for the dinner and thanks to Laura Pineda for help with set-up. Be on the lookout for next year’s nominees!

Spotlight on Heights Business Member: RBlok.com

We continue with the newsletter feature “Spotlight on Heights Business Member” -- this month spotlighting RBlok.com. You may have noticed the recent newsletter issues have been focusing on local businesses. These businesses are drawn from business cards collected at the Houston Heights Association Business Mixer.

OURBLOK, also known as RBlok, is a rapidly growing company that originated in the Washington/Memorial neighborhood and is spreading fast throughout neighborhoods. Each neighborhood division is owned by a resident who cares about their neighborhood. OURBLOK in the Heights is owned by Cynthia Hill of Cynthia Hill Properties, a 20-year resident of the Heights. Cynthia says “this will not affect my real estate career but will enhance it, and my clients will benefit. OURBLOK has cutting-edge technology that will link local businesses and residents together like never before, which is something I have always dreamed about for my neighborhood. The Heights is like our own small town. The goal of OURBLOK is to be the best source for everything pertaining to the Heights and surrounding areas. Please help us by providing information that you would like to see on the Heights calendar and be sure and tell us what is going on in the neighborhood.”

Businesses can subscribe to OURBLOK and market their businesses through a quarterly publication, e-mail blasts, videos, events, and text messaging. OURBLOK is one of the first Houston businesses to have their own iPhone application and will soon have Blackberry and Droid apps. OURBLOK cards are available to individuals free of charge and are found at local businesses or in the quarterly publication. You can also register online. As a member, you have access to OURBLOK specials from the businesses in the neighborhood by daily/weekly e-mails and/or text. It’s free to individuals.

A key component of each OURBLOK neighborhood is to raise $35,000 a year for local charitable causes. If you have a non-profit or charitable organization that is in need of a unique fund-raising opportunity, please call them. OURBLOK is serious about serving the Heights community and linking all of the people who live, eat, drink, worship, work, and play in this area.

See RBlok’s entry in the Business Services section of our Business Directory in this issue or online, or visit their website for more information.

If you’re a business member, remember to check the calendar for the next Houston Heights Association Business Mixer and come and meet Cynthia and other business members at the meeting.

Restoration/Historical Committee

The next Houston Heights Association Restoration/ Historical Committee meeting will be held at 607 Harvard on Thursday, April 8, from 7:30 to 9:30 PM.

OK, how many two-story homes in the historic Houston Heights have a stucco exterior? Actually, very few. When one is a vintage 1911 home built at 607 Harvard Street, at the corner of White Oak on a double lot, you just know it is special. Special because this home has the potential of being a modified Sears Roebuck plan historic home. Yes, Sears did sell homes from their catalogue until the late 1920s, and we have a select few of them in Houston Heights. This home is also unusual for the Heights because the home was influenced by the famous Prairie school of design and constructed with brick and stucco and included curved porches. These features were in fact original to the home as verified on an original plat map of the Heights, which shows it with the same exact footprint, straddling two full lots.

Used as a rental fourplex until the 1980s, the home then was purchased by a builder and gently renovated and restored to being a single-family residence with garage. A French drain system was added and concrete poured on the dirt floor cellar to make it into a finished basement. Ceilings were vaulted in bedrooms with loft area over a library. Following the contractor came another owner who had property development and renovation experience, who finished the garage apartment. They also flew flags of their alma maters and their sons’ military affiliations which many in the neighborhood recognized. Finally sold again to the present owners who needed more family room and better schools and had the good fortune with “an alignment of the stars” as they called it, to buy it. They, too, have had a lot of renovation experience in the Heights with three other properties.

Meeting attendees will see first-hand the results of removing Grecian columns and a 300-square-foot bar and changing room configurations to fit some Vastu Shastra system design principles from India. These principles are based on an ancient treatise dating back thousands of years. This home now reminds the owners of their honeymoon in Bali and homes in India with furniture, art, and textiles.

This meeting will highlight a most unusual example of a one-of-a-kind home in Houston Heights. Attendees will see what beauty and character can be maintained in the historic Heights neighborhood using modern construction techniques and ancient Vastu principles and painting. This meeting will be enjoyed by all as this energetic and lively Heights couple tell us its meaning for them.

The Houston Heights Restoration/Historical Committee meetings are held bimonthly to learn about history and restoration in keeping with an appreciation of the historic nature of Houston Heights.

Please let Committee Chairman Dean Swanson know if you have a restoration project, historical structure under restoration, or historical information or photos pertaining to the Heights to share at future meetings. Dean can be contacted at swansonad@sbcglobal.net or 713-880-2832.

Calendar of Events for April-May 2010

HHA headquarters: The Fire Station is on the corner of Yale and 12th Streets.

Community Calendar

Events planned by other community organizations.

Every Wednesday to Saturday, 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, Historic Houston’s salvage warehouse is open. See www.historichouston.org.

Every Monday, 7:30 to 10:00 PM, Houston International Folk Dancers introductory lessons at Oddfellows Hall, 115 E. 14th.

Through April 15, Neighborhood Tax Centers provide Houston area families earning less than $50,000 with free tax preparation. Call 211 or visit www.neighborhood-centers.org/tax for more information.

Through April 10, Opera in the Heights presents Giacomo Puccini’s La Boheme at Lambert Hall, 1703 Heights Blvd. “Who doesn’t love opera’s most famous lovers? Mimi and Rodolfo, the most popular work ever… at the end, Puccini doesn’t leave a dry eye in the house.“ Visit www.operaintheheights.org for more information.

April 10, 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM, Hamilton Middle School invites everyone to their annual Spring Thing Family Carnival on the school playground (22nd Street entry).

April 10, 6:00 to 10:00 PM, Travis Elementary “Night in Monte Carlo” Auction at The Villa in the Heights, 3600 Michaux. Visit www.traviselementary.org and click the auction logo.

April 17, 8:30 AM, American Liver Foundation’s first Liver Life Walk/Run at Terry Hershey Park. Sign up at go.liverfoundation.org or call 713-510-2109.

May 5, 6:00 to 9:00 PM, first session of eight-week Heights CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) training class at Holy Trinity Reformed Episcopal Church, 211 Byrne. For information, email dkelly1@sbcglobal.net or call 713-409-4240.

May 14, 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM, Relay For Life Greater Heights fundraiser for American Cancer Society at the Delmar-Dwyer Sports Complex. For more information, visit rflgh.org or email event@rflgh.org.

Future History

June 5, Heights Fun Run

October 3, Bicycle Rally

December 3-4, Holiday Home Tour

February 27, 2011, Awards Dinner

April 1-3, 2011, Spring Home Tour

At The Fire Station

Events at the Historic Houston Heights Fire Station, 12th and Yale

Every second Monday, 5:00 to 7:00 PM, and every fourth Monday, 8:00 AM to noon, the City Council District H Satellite Office is open at the east door.