Butterworth’s, at 319 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, is a cafe, a restaurant and a bar. It will begin its soft opening on Wednesday, October 16 and its grand opening is scheduled for the end of the month. CHC stopped by Friday afternoon just as a video crew was packing up after a series of interviews with journalists for the MAX television series, United States of Scandal with Jake Tapper. A crew member said,, “We liked the aesthetics.” Butterworth’s will be open Wednesday to Sunday.
As you enter…
To your left…
And to your right…
Moving deeper in …
The bar …
And the dining area with tables for two and tables for four … (View shows tables disarranged to accommodate video crew)
The view on your way out…
The menu is still being worked on and not available. Here’s the drink menu.
ANC6B’s Parks and Public Spaces Taskforce met last Monday night. Above center (L-R): Brian Ready, Executive Director of Barracks Row MainStreet; Taskforce Chair ANC6B Commissioner Jerry Sroufe, and Throne Lab’s Senior Operations Manager Terryl Monroe. Monrone presented an update on the Throne public restrooms, one of which resides on Eastern Market Metro Plaza. That Throne has serviced 2900 users since it’s installation in mid-June. 1900 of those visits were unique. Most users – 93% – accessed the restroom via the text option: the user texts “Throne” to the number on the unit, then responds with the code provided. The Public Restroom Pilot is managed by DPW which has funded the pilot program for six Thrones through September 2025. The Thrones are open from 7am until 10pm and currently average three cleanings per day. For more info, go here: https://www.thronelabs.co/
Here’s a series of photos from Sunday’s Literary HillFest in Eastern Market’s North Hall. Volunteers at setting up tables by 9:00am.
Doors opened at 11:00am. A photo from circa 11:15 features HillFest volunteer Abby Yochelson with Wally Mlyniec.
A 2:20pm panel discussion “From the Page to the Screen,” moderated by (R-L) Sean O’Brien (The White House Clubhouse Series) included three authors whose works have become screen plays: Louis Bayard (The Pale Blue Eye, The Wildes), James Grady (Six Days of the Condor, The Smoke In Our Eyes). and Susan Coll (Acceptance, Real Life and Other Fictions).
Here’s a close up.
At 3:00pm HillFest volunteers Robert Pohl and Liz Cohen announced the end of the event and the beginning of the poetry reading at Tunnicliffs across the street.
Tunnicliffs’ Patio was the venue for a live mic poetry reading. Cliff Bernier led off with reading from his latest book, Ocean Suite. For more on Bernier, go here: https://www.facebook.com/cliffber/
The Week Ahead…
Monday, October 7
ANC6D holds an Administrative Meeting at 7:00pm.
Please contact the office at 6d@anc.dc.gov if you wish to have a link to view the Admin meeting.
Agenda:
To discuss the agenda for the October meeting of ANC6D.
Tuesday, October 8
ANC6B will hold a hybrid meeting at 7:00pm.
Meeting location will be 700 Pennsylvania Ave SE; First Floor (entry adjacent to Trader Joe’s).
For info on how to join the meeting virtually, go here: https://anc6b.org/
Community & Commission Announcements and Speak Out
Presentations:
Chris Weiss, DC Environmental Network, Bottle Bill Presentation
Belinda Perry, Office of Campaign Finance General Counsel Presentation
Selah Goodson Bell, Energy Justice Program, Center for Biological Diversity
ANC 6B Resolution on DC Utility Shutoff Ban
Alcoholic Beverage & Cannabis Committee
High Demand, 511 11th Street SE; New Medical Cannabis Retailer; Status hearing October 2, 2024.
Saint Georges, 301 7th Street SE, new Retailer Class “B” Beer & Wine Store.
Saint Georges, 301 7th Street SE, new Retailer Class “C” license.
Transportation Committee Report
Near Collision on 1st and Independence Ave SE
Speeding on 600 block of G Street SE
Follow-up on NOIs at 11th and D and 11th and G St. SE
Planning & Zoning Committee (09/30/2024*)
816 G Street, SE Project. Zoning Adjustment Application. To construct two-story rear addition to an existing, semi-detached, two-story, principal dwelling unit in the RF-1 zone.
510 8th Street, SE Project. Historic Preservation Application. To construct a rear addition and add a third story to an existing, attached row house.
Text & Map Amendments to Create Navy Yard East (NYE) Zone [N/A] Project: Text amendments to the Zoning Regulations that would establish a Navy Yard-East Zone on land that is currently un-zoned as “Federal”. The recommendation would be to set-down (or not set-down) the matter before the Zoning Commission for a public hearing.
Reports:
Public Safety Committee
Southeast Library Task Force
Public Parks and Recreation Spaces Task Force
Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee (EMCAC)
Fred Moosally, Director, Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration (ABCA)
Consent Agenda
Recommendation: ANC6A send a letter to DDOT requesting urgent action along the corridor and then clarify their plans for traffic calming along 11th Street NE between Florida Avenue NE and East Capitol Street.
Recommendation: ANC6A send a letter to DDOT requesting an all-way stop sign at the intersection of Tennessee Avenue NE and 14th Street NE, requesting repainting of the bike lane on 14th Street NE between E Street NE and Tennessee Avenue NE, and requesting restoration of a raised crosswalk at 14th and E Streets NE.
Recommendation: ANC6A send a letter to DDOT requesting an all-way stop sign at the intersection of Tennessee Avenue NE and E Street NE. Economic Development and Zoning.
Recommendation: ANC6A send a letter of support to the BZA for Special Exceptions from the roof top and upper floor element requirements in order to construct a third story with roof deck and a three-story with cellar rear addition, to an existing, attached, two-story with cellar, principal dwelling unit in the RF-1 zone at 910 12th Street, NE.
Standing Committee Reports:
Alcohol Beverage and Cannabis (ABC)
Recommendation: ANC 6A send a letter to the DC Council Chair Mendelson and Mayor Bowser requesting the following actions:
(1) The City Council adopt and the Mayor sign legislation making public input on medical cannabis licenses equivalent to the input allowed for liquor licenses, specifically allowing adjacent property owners and a group of five to protest medical cannabis licenses, as provided for in in Title 25 of D.C. Official Code and Title 23 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations.
(2) The City Council adopt and the Mayor sign legislation providing for moratoriums on new medical cannabis licenses equivalent to the provisions for liquor licenses contained in Title 25 of D.C. Official Code and Title 23 of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations.
(3) The City Council adopt and the Mayor sign legislation providing for fines for landlords who allow for and eviction of tenants who engage in serious violations of liquor and cannabis law and regulation and, certificates of occupancy and basic business licenses in furtherance of operating any business that violates liquor and cannabis law.
(4) The City Council adopt and the Mayor sign legislation requiring temporary or permanent closure of establishments who fail to remediate serious violations of liquor and cannabis licenses or health, safety, or other licenses and permits required in furtherance of operating a business that engages in the commerce of liquor or cannabis or illegal substances. Further, that such action should be taken immediately if the Chief of Police deems public safety and immediate and serious risk, including but not limited to violent acts or the recovery of firearms.
Recommendation: ANC 6A will automatically send a letter of protest of alcoholic beverage license and medical cannabis applications and renewals unless the Commission is able to meet and consider such an application before the published protest deadline. In that case, the protest will be due to the effect of the establishment on peace, order and quiet, including the noise and litter provisions, pursuant to the allowable appropriateness standards set forth in DC Municipal Regulations.
Recommendation: ANC 6A send a letter to DDOT requesting conversion of the 1400 block of G Street NE to a one-way westbound.
New Business
Suggested Motion: ANC 6A send a letter to the Mayor, Deputy Mayor Appiah, the City Council and relevant Council committees recognizing the serious and life-threatening failures of the Office of Unified Communications (OUC) and requesting measures to include, but not limited to: monthly (at minimum) reporting to a public meeting of the Council or its designated committee, and an attestation to the accuracy by the OUC Director. Such reporting would include performance against key national 911 performance metrics, as well as against staffing metrics and adverse event reporting and analyses. The letter would also request that the Council review the need for an external monitor or advisor to oversee the operations and performance of the OUC.
Capitol Hill Corner would also like you to know about:
Tuesday, October 8
East City Bookshop welcomes George O’Connor to discuss his middle grade graphic novel, Asgardians: Thor. Hybrid event. 7:00pm. Free.
645 Pennsylvania Avenue Southeast ##100
Event lasts 1 hour
Note on Format: This hybrid event will have both an in-person component with limited seating as well as a virtual broadcast via Zoom Webinar.
Hill Center Event: Freedom Was in Sight! with Historian Kate Masur
Wednesday Oct 9
East City Bookshop offsite event: Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital. 7:00pm. Free.
Revisiting Reconstruction in DC: Freedom Was in Sight! Historian Kate Masur Discusses her New Book in Conversation with Maya Davis.
The Friends of the Southeast Library (FOSEL) together with the Friends of the Northeast Library (FONEL) will hold a joint book sale this Saturday, October 12. The sale will be at the Northeast Library at 7th & Maryland Avenues NE.
The sale begins when the library opens at 10:00 am. The sale is on the lower level of the library.
Entrance to the sale is through the library (and down the stairs or elevator). Volunteers are welcome to help set up the book sale on Friday, October 11, at 1:00pm.
Comments Off on The Week Ahead…& Some Photos from Last Week
Peter MacPherson – Community Activist – April 12, 1961 – September 13, 2024
RIP Peter MacPherson
by Suzanne Wells
Posted October 3, 2024
Peter MacPherson, a long-time Capitol Hill resident, passed away on Friday, September 13, 2024. The cause of death was colon cancer.
MacPherson is remembered by family and friends as someone who was most fulfilled when he was fighting for a cause he cared about deeply. His fights, some might call them epic battles, went on for years, and he was relentless and effective in holding accountable government officials responsible for fixing problems.
MacPherson is best remembered for his advocacy of school libraries. When MacPherson began getting involved in the issue, school librarian positions were in jeopardy of being cut, and few funds were budgeted to replenish library collections. After countless testimonies before the City Council and DC Public Schools (DCPS), and even holding bake sales in front of the Wilson building and DCPS offices to shame government officials into providing funds, a DCPS School Libraries Task Force was established. This Task Force recommended many of the things MacPherson had advocated for, and today thousands of students at DCPS are the direct beneficiaries of his work.
MacPherson also put a spotlight on school modernization inequities and, through tireless advocacy with others, brought about major repairs to Stuart-Hobson Middle School after serious flaws were found with its renovation. Before he began his advocacy, no city leader was willing to undertake additional work on the building, but eventually over $50 million was budgeted to fix many of the problems he identified.
Congressional Cemetery was also a passion of MacPherson. He served on the board of the cemetery as a representative of Christ Church. He enjoyed photography and took thousands of photos at the cemetery. At one point, he put on a show of his photographs, and donated the money raised to the cemetery. Victor Romero, a decades-long member of the dog walkers group, remembered Peter fondly. “Peter was indeed among the most friendly K9 Corps members. Our walks and talks were always filled with lively exchanges about national politics and local life in Hill East DC. A conversation with Peter would invariably cheer me up.”
Born on April 12, 1961, at Columbia Women’s Hospital in DC, MacPherson grew up in Arlington, VA. He attended the Virginia Commonwealth University. In 1992, he married his wife Rebecca, and they moved to Capitol Hill in 1996.
He was a health policy freelance journalist, and for a time worked for the Congressional Quarterly. Shortly after his daughter Evelyn was born, he became a stay-at-home dad.
Peter and Rebecca moved to Chicago in 2018 for Rebecca’s work as a Regional Administrator for the Federal Aviation Administration. Peter continued to do his DC advocacy work from Chicago.
Many people remember him as being a great friend who would often call and visit. Someone once said Peter was often a better friend to others than they were to him. Jackie Sink, one of his many friends, said “I remember walking out my front door one morning and finding Peter weeding my garden. When I asked him what he was doing, he said he knew I didn’t have time, so he thought he would help.”
Peter was known for always helping his 200 block of Kentucky neighbors. Gregory Cavanaugh, one of Peter’s neighbors, also remembered his self-effacing humor. Gregory recalled Peter saying “Remember Greg, I want to be like you someday when I grow up.”
Peter is survived by his wife, Rebecca, daughter Evelyn, and son-in-law Sean Lynch.
A funeral will be held at Christ Church, 620 G Street, SE, on Monday, October 7, at 11 am with internment to follow at Congressional Cemetery. A celebration of life will be held later that day at the Hill Center from 6 – 10 pm.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to An Open Book Foundation.
Maggie Hall ran the Literary Hill BookFest from 2010 until 2016. Pictured above are (left) Karen Lyon, former columnist for the Hill Rag’s “The Literary Hill,” and Maggie Hall in 2011. Photo: Maggie Hall.
How the Literary Hill BookFest Got Started
by Larry Janezich
Posted October 3, 2024
The 13th Annual Literary Hill BookFest will happen on Sunday, October 6 in North Hall, Eastern Market, from 11:00am until 3:00pm.
CHC reached out for comment to Maggie Hall, on how the Literary Hill BookFest got started.
Hall said, “I came up with the idea of a book festival in 2010, shortly after my first book – Mish-Mash Dictionary of Marmite – was published. When I was drumming up PR for the book I wondered how getting into a book festival worked. Suddenly it hit me: there were plenty of writers on The Hill – we should have our own.
After drawing up a basic plan – with the main point being that all featured writers should live on The Hill – I knew I needed help to make the idea work.
I realized that Karen Lyon, then the author of the Hill Rag’s monthly column “The Literary Hill,” was an obvious choice. I approached Karen and invited her to come on board. The two of us had a get together at my home and before long the BookFest – thanks to a wonderful, enthusiastic group of volunteers – was a reality.
I get a great kick out of seeing – in fact am delighted – that the BookFest is an established force and a pivotal part of Capitol Hill’s strong cultural life.
As for my book? The initial response from writers/authors on The Hill was so great I gave up my space at the BookFest to accommodate last minute requests to be included. In 2014, I managed to hold onto a table and discovered how successful the BookFest can be for an individual writer: I sold (despite its very Brit-centric subject) 27 books!”
This year’s celebration of books and authors will feature more than 40 authors, poets, booksellers, publishers, literacy groups, including acclaimed national bestselling novelist Louis Bayard, author of The Pale Blue Eye. Other featured authors include former White House speech writer and comedian Sean O’Brien; nationally recognized anti-bias and antiracist author and educator Liz Kleinrock; award-winning author and Smithsonian Curator of Political History Jon Grinspan; National Book Award finalist and former editor-in-chief of the Washington Post’s Book World section Marie Arana; beloved author, trailblazer and Smithsonian Ambassador Christine Platt; acclaimed novelist, former investigative journalist and film and TV writer James Grady, whose novel Six Days of the Condor was famously adapted into the Robert Redford film Three Days of the Condor, and many more.
The BookFest is completely free and open to the public, with a popular poetry open mic immediately following the main event, where established and aspiring poets will entertain an enthusiastic crowd. For more, go here: www.literaryhillbookfest.org
CAPITOL HILL CORNER 