Monthly Archives: April 2020

CM Charles Allen at ANC6A Virtual Meeting Wednesday Night

CM Charles Allen Tells ANC6A Recovery Will Take Several Years – and Situation at DC Jail

by Larry Janezich

Charles Allen participated in ANC6A’s virtual April meeting last night.  He plans on doing the same for other ANC’s this month, to talk about the city’s strategy for dealing with day to day crisis management re COVID-19.

In his update for the commission, he said he participates daily in a conference call with the Mayor, the City Council, and city administrators.  Right now, the city is focused on trying to get out money as fast as we can to the 56,000 people who filed from unemployment insurance.  He called the figure “astronomical” and noted that although the city has a strong trust fund, but “we need to look at the recovery to sustain it.”

Recovery will not be easy, and Allen says that the virus has been like a “wrecking ball through the economy.  Tens and tens of thousands have lost jobs and there will be local business which will never reopen.  We are looking at several years for recovery.”  The budget will take a massive hit, and tough decisions lie ahead.  He said we have to urgently pursue what the recovery will look like while we still have the ability to minimize the impact, and that he would like to have “something rosy to focus on, but it’s hard right now”.  In addition, he said, everyday we are undermined by the federal government – we’ve received one-half of 1% of what we asked for from the strategic stockpile and we’re treated as a territory instead of a state for purposes of federal financial relief, receiving a fraction of what we would have otherwise been entitled.  The city is working with Congress to rectify the latter in upcoming legislation.

Allen said that the Mayor has appointed a recovery team working under DMPED to plan the process.  Allen is participating in the planning, especially on education and transportation recovery. As the process unfolds, he anticipates public participation in the form of town hall meetings for the solicitation of ideas and feedback. He said recovery “will require big thoughts and sacrifices.  We’re not going to see mass service cuts right now – there are lots of people in need –  but we’re still examining how deep and wide the pain is going to be before we get out of it.”

Allen took questions from on-line commissioners and participants, many of which concerned issues reported on this blog in a report covering Allen’s virtual Town Hall meeting earlier this week.

An issue which Allen expanded on more thoroughly than in the Town hall was the situation at DC Jail.  As of Wednesday, there were 41 positive cases at the jail.  Allen says he talks to the Director of the Department of Corrections on a daily basis about the situation.  He says that there are three approaches being taken to control the spread of the virus.  1) aggressive screening and quarantining – medical isolation, 2) reducing the number of people in the jail by having MPD cite and release with a summons to reappear instead of incarceration, and 3) early release for good time credits and compassionate reasons, while making sure those released get access to housing and healthcare.

Charles Allen hosts virtual Town Hall last night.

CM Charles Allen Hosts Virtual Town Hall Meeting Last Night – The Virus Peak and Its Aftermath

by Larry Janezich

Charles Allen held a virtual town hall meeting last night to engage Ward 6 residents on the unprecedented healthcare crisis afflicting the city.

Allen emphasized the importance of the stay-at-home order, reviewed the recent work of the city Council in passing two bills to address the crisis, and said there were more to come. The Council’s priorities are increasing access to unemployment insurance, providing funds to help small businesses, freezing rent increases for commercial and residential tenants, and effecting a 90 day deferral of mortgage payments with the intention that building owners will pass on the benefit to tenants in the form of rent deferral. Allen anticipates repayment plans of five years for mortgage deferrals and 18 months for renters. He said there would be a huge economic impact from the crisis and recovery would take several years.

Questions from Ward 6 residents elicited the following information:

• The Peak and aftermath: Allen says we don’t know exactly when we’ll peak. The current model being used by the Mayor projects a peak based on how well or badly residents practice social distancing, the rate of testing, and the rate of increase of positive cases. As of now, the peak is estimated to hit in mid-June – early-July, but with new information coming in everyday, the model will fluctuate. Allen said, “Were in this for the long haul – not a couple of weeks but several months. When a vaccine is not going to be produced until March or April of 2021, were not going to be able to flip a switch and have things come back to normal. Some element of social distancing will have to stay in effect until there is mass production of vaccine.” He added, “When the Mayor announced the number of 93,000 infection over this year – which is about 10% to 15% of the DC population – that is not enough from a public health standpoint to provide herd immunity – that is, having enough people having exposure to either build up antibodies…. So, we’ll be concerned when we come out of the peak about whether we have to watch for another peak coming.” [Herd immunity occurs when so many people have antibodies that those who have not been infected are too few for the spread of the virus to be sustained.]
• Racial disparity in the numbers of infection: Allen cited the high number of African-Americans who have tested positive and said that was rooted in a long time disparity and inequality that exists in housing, education, and healthcare. He noted the high maternal mortality in African-American mothers and said it was “because we have a broken health care system which allowed perpetuation of racial disparity to take place – layered discrimination in housing, employment, and education. These inequities have been allowed to exist for a long time, and that’s how it plays out.“ Allen said, “We have a lot of work to do not just here and now but in the entire city in all different aspects.”
• The higher rate of infection in Ward 6: Allen cited two reasons, 1) there are 15,000 more people in Ward 6 than any other Ward, and 2) residents in Ward 6 on average have better access to health care, testing, and diagnosis than some other wards. Overall, he said, the percentage the population infected is in line with other wards.
• Extension of school closure and social distancing/unessential business orders: Allen said it is reasonable to expect that the Mayor will extend the order on schools, social distancing, and unessential businesses until mid-June.
• Recovery plan: There is no formal recovery plan yet and we are nowhere near the apex. DC is in a far better place that most cities and states. We’ll take a big hit. Sales tax revenue and income tax revenue are down and that will have an impact on the budget.

Other issues:

• Elections: The city will aggressively promote a mail and ballot option – will mail out a request for to every registered voter, reach out online, and open 20 in-person sites for early voting.
• Construction workers: Workers not following social distancing guidelines is a major concern of every councilmember. When we see it we contact DCRA inspectors.
• Crime: The city is not seeing an increase in crime. Burglaries are down but homicides are on pace. Almost all homicides are conflict driven and occur between individuals who know each other.
• Enforcement of social distancing: MPD has enforcement abilities regarding social distancing, but the city doesn’t want that to result in criminal consequences. The emphasis is on increasing awareness of public health and safety. In some social gathering hotspots, responders from the DPR Roving Leaders Program and the Violence Intervention Program are used as messengers to increase public awareness.
• Closing of Streets: We should look at temporary closing of streets in residential blocks for public recreation. Ward 6 has dense and compact neighborhoods. Closing streets to add public space makes sense. The Mayor is concerned about unintended consequences [festivals] but Allen thinks we can do it.

The Week Ahead…and Photos of Union Station Last Monday Afternoon

Thursday, April 9

The Week Ahead…

ANC 6A will conduct a Teleconference via WebEx  at 7:00pm. 

https://dcnet.webex.com/dcnet/j.php?MTID=m241d9d82f599fe4227a11fdd8e489352

NOTE: This meeting will be conducted virtually.  Call-in information appears below and under Community Calendar at anc6a.org.

Call-in Number: 202-860-2110

Meeting number (access code): 477 294 397

For those attending via WebEx: use this link:

https://dcnet.webex.com/dcnet/onstage/g.php?MTID=e80e517883d6e21c40f75f0a26a583b82

The agenda package has been posted to the ANC’s website at https://anc6a.org/wp-content/uploads/ANCP0420.pdf.

Among items on the draft agenda:

Presentation:  Jeff Marootian, Director, District Department of Transportation (DDOT)

Mozzeria Restaurant, 1300 H Street, SE, application for a new Retailer’s Class “C” liquor license.

Letter of support to encourage DGS/DCPS to select a field configuration for Eliot-Hine Middle School that reduces on-site parking in exchange for building athletic fields that allow for on-site hosting of sport activities.

Letter of support to DDOT for Councilmember Charles Allen’s proposal requesting COVID-19 related street closures to allow for safe use by pedestrians and cyclists.

NOTE:  Eastern Market Main Street created a Go Fund Me campaign to raise fund to help the small businesses of our Main Street.

Here is the link to the Go fund me page: https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/emms-emergency-small-business-support-fund?utm_campaign=oc&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=crowdrise&fbclid=IwAR1dkTbmQTaR86nWAei518YvrrKvBrOBymea5vln7Tcuy1cHGN5zRLyIvSo

It was quiet in Union Station – almost eerie – circa 3:40pm, Monday, March 30.

In the Main Hall, the few passengers heading toward the exits avoided eye contact.

The clock on the wall struck a quarter to four.

There was one agent and no business at the ticket counter.

Sitting while waiting at the gates was discouraged…

…while outside,, taxis waited for customers who were slow to appear.

Here’s a Capitol Hill Coronavirus Update for Some More Food and  Retail Venues

by Larry Janezich

Ginko Gardens reopened today.  They limit the number of customers inside the facility to nine.  Their online ordering for curbside pickup and for delivery service will continue – https://www.ginkgogardens.com/ Open Saturdays, 9:00am – 6:00pm; Sunday, 10:00am to 5:00pm; weekdays, 12:00pm to 7:00pm 

Frager’s is open Monday – Saturday, 8:00am – 7:00pm; Sunday, 9:00am – 6:00pm. They have a handy critical supply list of what’s in stock outside for you to look over while you’re waiting in line. They limit the number of people in the store at any one time. Click to enlarge. 

Carneles Deli in Eastern Market’s South Hall is closed until (at least) April 15….

… for most of the other South Hall merchants, though, you can order ahead and pickup.

Trader Joe’s has reserved the first hour from 8:00am until 9:00am for senior shoppers over 60 and for those who may need assistance.

and Mott’s Market at 233 12th Street, SE, is open 8:00am – 8:00pm, daily.

Mayor Bowser and DC Government Officials Gave an Update on the City’s Response to the COVID-19 crisis this morning at DC Armory

Projected Infection Peak

District’s Model Projects 93,000 COVID-19 Infections in 2020 – Peak in June/July

by Larry Janezich

The model DC is using to estimate the number of COVID-19 infections in the city projects a total of 93,696 infections during the span of the pandemic in 2020, a peak of infection at the end of June or the beginning of July, and a range of deaths from 220 to 1000 plus.

DC is using the CHIME model for those projections because, Mayor Bowser said during a briefing at the DC Armory, it has a more realistic estimate of the amount of contact individuals will have with each other.  If the model’s projections bear out, DC will need 3000 acute care beds and 2800 ICU beds at the peak – a 125% increase from what is currently available.  3/4 of the needed projected increase has been accounted for under current plans by increasing inside and outside capacity of existing health care facilities.  For the rest, the city is looking at adding capacity in other venues, such as the armory and hotels, but no decision has been made.

Councilmember Charles Allen pointed to a critical gap in the social distancing mitigation, asking the Mayor about what she could do to enforce social distancing in grocery stores.  One of the most worrisome aspects of shopping is for the safety of unmasked checkout clerks during interaction with hundreds of customers as shoppers check out.  Councilmember Gray asked if the city could provide protective gear for the store workers.  Bowser said the city was in discussions with store management and labor to see what the city can do with respect to social distancing.  She also said that she would discuss Gray’s concerns, but noted that the city currently is struggling to provide protective equipment for its first responders and health care personnel.

Other points made during the briefing:

• The city has started posting the number of positive cases by Ward here: https://coronavirus.dc.gov/page/coronavirus-data There are currently 128 positive cases in Ward 6, an increase of 16 over yesterday. Bowser said there was nothing remarkable about the disparity between the number cases in the 8 Wards.
• Today is the first day of the drive-through virus test facility at the United Medical Center. A doctor’s referral is necessary.

ANC6B Commissioner and City Council candidate Chander Jayaraman attended the briefing and later told Capitol Hill Corner: “I was impressed with Mayor Bowser and the competent team she has assembled to deal with the expected surge.  I feel confident she is utilizing the right data=driven approach to project what the city will need in terms of medical services and assets to deal with this crisis.”

The Alibi – a British American Pub

The Alibi Ups Its Game – Raw/Prepared Meals, Alcohol & Local Groceries for Pick Up/Delivery

By Larry Janezich

The hard-to-find Alibi, a British American Pub, lies hidden away at 237 2^nd Street, NW.  In light of the restaurant shutdown, the pub has upped its game, offering raw meals, prepped meals, alcohol and local groceries, available for pick up or free delivery within two miles.

Check out their website, here: https://thealibidc.com/washington-capitol-hill-the-alibi-food-menu