Irony, DC Style

Exiting DC's red line metro at the New York Avenue stop this evening, on my way to visit a friend, I was able to view from up close the recently erected Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), built in direct proximity to the train station.

For our out-of-town readers, I want to share a special DC kind of irony-- this latest edition to our federal infrastructure is housed in the District's Trinidad neighborhood, one of this city's roughest areas . Perhaps the subject matter experts inside the architectural marvel can figure out ways to stifle the flow of all three of the items within their jurisdiction into neighborhoods such as Trinidad that suffer horrendously as a result. Maybe if ATF's headquarters had been built a few blocks to the east, and required that five minute walk from the train station, ATF's staff might have a bit more of an incentive to regulate and restrict wholesale distribution of either alcohol or tobacco or firearms.