Community Meeting on New Rumsey Design Set for Wed Jan 14 – 6:30pm
The DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) and the DC Department of General Services (DGS) have scheduled a community meeting to discuss the latest concept design for the Rumsey Aquatic Center.
Meeting Details:
Date: Wednesday, January 14, 2026
Location: North Hall at Eastern Market | 255 7th St SE
Time: 6:30 PM- 8:00 PM
Individuals needing special accommodations, please contact Christopher Dyer at (202) 702-9453 or Christopher.dyer@dc.gov.
Additional websites for the Rumsey Aquatic Center Community Meeting project:
Good news for PA Ave Hill East neighborhoods – Streets Market is coming soon to 15th and PA Avenue SE, with organic, conventional, local, international, and everyday essentials. All stores are open every day frem 8am – 10pm.
Elsewhere in Hill East ongoing problems apparently continue to befall DC Capitol Square at 15th and East Capitol involving an expired business license, unpaid taxes, and a series of lawsuits. It’s not clear where this is headed.
Barracks Row Taco Bell at 411 8th Street opened last week.
Open early – closes late.
Meanwhile, next door, here’s a recent photo of Popeyes’ buildout as it inches closer to opening. They’ve had issues with stop work orders for not complying with building permits. ANC6B’s Planning and Zoning Committee will discuss Popeyes this and related issues at their monthly meeting on Thursday.
Finally, there’s a new plaque in front of Grubb’s Pharmacy at 326 East Capitol Street. It commemorates Grubb’s status as the oldest operating pharmacy in the District of Columbia, dating to 1867.
The Week Ahead….
Monday, January 6
ANC6B Transportation Committee will hold a virtual meeting at 7:00pm.
You are invited to the first ever Faith in Democracy Interfaith Concert at Lutheran Reformation DC. Come hear music based on multiple faiths and sacred scripture as we help people of ALL faith traditions counter growing partisan polarization in America. Let’s reclaim January 6 each year as a day of hope, light and unity.
Music from the Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Sikh, Baha’i and Christian faiths.
Global Sounds on the Hill Featuring Qais Essar & Sonny Singh in Concert: SANGAT
Weaving together the ancient sound and haunting melodies of the rabab, a 2,500 year-old instrument from Afghanistan, with bold trumpet lines and anthemic Punjabi vocals, Qais and Sonny ground their music in ancestral wisdom and usher us into the future with their uplifting new sound. Drawing inspiration from hundreds of years old mystical poetry from the Sikh, Sufi, and radical bhakti traditions, their music centers oneness and connection in times of increasing division and hierarchy. Sangat is not only a meeting of diverse musical and spiritual traditions, but also a reflection of using art as a vehicle for connection, resistance, and healing.
Comments Off on The Week Ahead…& Some Photos from the Past Week
“In Shelter from the Storm noted journalist and migration researcher Julian Hattem tells the story of the massive human displacement that is already being caused by climate change. With hard-hitting journalism from the front lines of the environmental apocalypse, Hattem takes the reader on a journey from the South Pacific to the Indian subcontinent, the Mediterranean, and beyond, offering a shocking glimpse into the human geography wrecked by a warming planet.”
Julian Hattem has been a journalist, writer, and editor focused on politics, government, and migration for more than fifteen years. He has been on staff with the Associated Press, The Hill, and The Yomiuri Shimbun, and has written for outlets including The Washington Post, The Guardian, NPR, and The Atlantic. He has reported from four continents and is currently the editor of Migration Information Source, the online magazine of the Migration Policy Institute, and founder and host of the podcast Changing Climate, Changing Migration. Shelter from the Storm (The New Press) is his first book. He lives in Washington, DC.
Comments Off on Tuesday Jan 6 – Book Talk on Migration Crisis – Capitol Hill Author Julian Hatten
The first roll out of the city’s proposed design for the new Rumsey Aquatic Center in March of 2025 produced a strong negative community reaction and especially from CM Charles Allen who had specifically found funding for a second floor which was not included in the plans.
Allen launched a petition drive, ANC6B, the Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee and Barracks Row MainStreet sent letters of support for plan modifications on behalf of the community. Allen announced that in response to the pushback the Department of Parks and Recreation would be coming back to the community with a revised design.
Just before the end of the year, the concept plans for the new design became available. DC law requires the Mayor to submit plans to the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) for consideration before construction can begin on property within a historic district.
The proposed new building will be a destination facility for DPR, serving as a place for competitive swim events, community gatherings, and senior center activities including physical fitness amenities and a maker space. The project will provide approximately 29,000 square feet (up from 20,584) across two levels and will include the program elements outlined below.
Here are the concept renderings being submitted to HPRB – preliminary 3D visualizations showing the basic form, massing, and spatial ideas of the early-stage design.
Birds eye view of existing building.
Birds eye view of new building.
First Floor Plan.
Proposed Programming Summary for First Floor:
Full size 8-lane lap swimming pool.
A smaller therapy pool.
Locker rooms, a family changing room, and bathrooms adjacent to the pools and splash pad.
Staff office.
Tech lounge.
First aid room.
Life Guard room.
Lobby.
Storage.
Second Floor Plan.
Proposed Programming Summary for Second Floor.
Large Multipurpose/Recreation Room.
Senior center with tech lounge, and other amenities.
Small Fitness Room.
Meeting rooms.
Conference room.
Incubator / Maker Space.
Pool-overlook space.
Terrace overlooking North Carolina Avenue.
Toilets.
Storage.
View of Main Entrance from northeast Corner of the building.
View of the south side of the building from C Street.
View of the southeast corner and the Eastern Market Alley from C Street.
Next: Expect DPR is likely to announce a community meeting to present the new plan to stakeholders. The project team will continue to provide regular updates to a broad range of community stakeholders associated with the project, including Councilmember Charles Allen and his staff, ANC6B, Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee, the Capitol Hill Restoration Society, and the DC Preservation League. This will include on-going revisions to the plan up to and including final photo realistic renderings.
This out-of-state vehicle was struck multiple times for gunfire last night.
And this one was struck twice.
Here a photo of the 800 block of E Street, SE, looking toward Barracks Row
NYE Gunfire Near Barracks Row Unsettles Neighbors
by Larry Janezich
Posted January 1, 2026
Just after midnight on New Year’s Eve, residents were alarmed as gunfire erupted on the 800 block of E Street, SE. First mistaking it for fireworks, one resident commented that the shots were accompanied by the sounds of metal striking metal. As it turned out, that sound was the sounds of multiple bullets striking parked cars and it appeared that they had been fired toward 8th Street. There were no reported injuries.
Members of the National Guard who had been patrolling Barracks Row were on the scene within minutes but it is unclear what exactly they saw or how they reacted to the shots. One witness said that the Guard reportedly saw a Mercedes leaving the scene, westbound toward 8th Street.
1st District MPD showed up and recovered a dozen or so bullet casings. One vehicle on the north side of the block with an out-of-state license was struck several times. It had been removed by early Thursday morning. A vehicle parked in front of that car was hit twice, one ricocheting off the roof in the direction of 8th Street.
Residents of the block have complained to ANC6B that patrons of Café 8 on Barracks Row park on the block and after leaving Café 8 continue conversations and playing music outside of their parked cars late at night, prompting residents to sometimes call the police. Café 8 has posted signs in their windows urging departing patrons to respect the residences on nearby streets.
CAPITOL HILL CORNER 