New Surveillance Camera on Eastern Market Metro Plaza
by Larry Janezich
Posted January 8, 2026
A new surveillance camera has been installed on Eastern Market Metro Plaza by the Capitol Hill Business Improvement District (BID). The device was funded by a grant from the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety. The 360 degree camera is registered with MPD’s Camera Connect program which can provide real-time coverage to MPD’s Real-Time Crime Center (RTCC).
According to a statement by the Capitol Hill BID, “the camera covers high-traffic areas of the park and supports the city’s ongoing public safety efforts along busy commercial corridors, particularly during peak evening and overnight hours, by helping detect loitering and other potentially suspicious activity.”
The city established the Safe Commercial Corridors Grant Program in 2024 to provide funds to allow BIDs to upgrade security monitoring. Other BIDs across the city have received grants to improve security, including Adams Morgan, Anacostia, Capitol Riverfront, Golden Triangle, and DuPont Circle, Georgetown, Mount Vernon Triangle, and NoMA. Other than the Golden Triangle BID, the number of other BID’s which have used funds for surveillance cameras is uncertain.
The ACLU has expressed concerns about the Real-Time Crime Center’s ability to monitor activity across the city without public oversight.
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.
“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.
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.
Here’s the proposed location of Wingstop at 406 8th Street, on Barracks Row.
Here’s the current interior of the former illegal weed shop at 406 8th Street. Wingstop hasn’t started a buildout yet, maybe waiting to make sure their application for an exception to the fast food ban on the street is granted.
Yet Another Fast-food Carryout to Open on Barracks Row
by Larry Janezich
Posted December 31, 2025
Last night, ANC6B’s Executive Committee scheduled a January 13 discussion of an application by Wingstop, the popular* fast food carryout and delivery restaurant, to open an outlet at 406 8th Street, on Barracks Row. The space was formerly occupied by Mother Blossom, an illegal weed gifting shop which was forced to close in 2024 after new regulations banned weed outlets within 400 feet of another. Up N’ Smoke is a legal weed dispensary located less than 400 feet away.
Zoning regulations currently restrict new fast food restaurants from opening on Barracks Row. Wingstop has filed application for a special exception with the Bureau of Zoning Adjustment (BZA). (Earlier yesterday, Washington Business Journal reported the opening to its subscribers, citing the application filed with the Board of Zoning Adjustment.)
Wingstop has over 2,500 outlets internationally and competes with Popeyes which is scheduled to open directly across the street. The block already suffers from an over-concentration of casual food outlets including & Pizza, Ledo Pizza, Boli Pizza, Dunkin’, Chipotle, Maman Joon Kitchen, and a soon-to-open Popeyes and Taco Bell. A Starbucks on the block closed last September and a 7-11 closed in August of 2024. An illegal weed shop on the block was closed down by ABCA last October.
ANC6B will also hear in January from nearby neighbors regarding efforts to negotiate best operating procedures with the forthcoming Barracks Row Taco Bell and Popeyes. (A report in December gave Taco Bell high marks – Popeyes not so much.) Some ANC6B commissioners are concerned about the negative impact on Barracks Row of the large number of fast food and medical weed outlets – especially the 400 block – and are promoting a business roundtable discussion of ways to broaden the economic variety of retail outlets on the street.
BZA is required to get community input on the special exemption and will or already has referred the application to ANC6B. The ANC’s Planning and Zoning Committee will consider the application – possibly as soon as its January 8 meeting – and provide an opportunity for public comment. The committee could then either vote to support the application, oppose it, recommend the ANC protest the application, or forward it to the full ANC without recommendation. The full ANC commission also has the same options of supporting, opposing, protesting, or taking no position.
ANC’s are advisory bodies which must be consulted, but city agencies are only required to give their ANC opinions “great weight.” Given how hungry the District is for revenue, it’s unlikely the BZA will let neighborhood unhappiness about too many fast food outlets – should such opposition develop – stand in the way of an exception.
Rather than go to war with Wingstop by filing a protest with BZA on behalf of the community – a protest they are likely to lose – the ANC Planning and Zoning Committee is may decide to push Wingstop to sign a Settlement Agreement governing its operation regarding hours of operation, noise and odor controls, and indoor trash storage as a condition of ANC support.
“The Stars We Do Not See” – at the National Gallery of Art East Building through March 1. A once-in-a-life-time exhibit of Australian Indigenous art – the largest ever shown in North America.
Collaborative painting – Spirit Dreaming through Napperby County
Painting representing a coming of age ceremony – Elders initiation boys into adulthood.
Painting of a rain spirit, traditionally found on cave walls.
“Burdi, Burdi” (Fire, Fire). A red space where the performance artist sings in the native language of the threats of colonization.
Bark painting showing interaction of Australian natives with global trade partners prior to arrival of the British in the 18th Century.
A group of 12 paintings by Australian Indigenous artists.
The Week Ahead…
Monday, December 29
CANCELLED. ANC6A Community Outreach Committee will hold a virtual meeting at 7:00pm.
The standard business of the Executive Committee is adoption of upcoming meeting agendas. At December’s Executive Committee meeting, the agendas for the December ABC, Transportation, and Planning & Zoning Committee meetings will be voted on as will the agenda for the January Full Meeting of ANC 6B.
Capitol Hill Corner would also like you to know about:
On going:
Folger Library
Ring in the New Year with Folger Consort’s Resplendent Joy. Streaming on-demand now through January 4
In case you missed it, or you want to relive the magic, you can now enjoy Folger Consort’s Resplendent Joy from the best seat in your house. Ring in the new year with touching songs of simple beauty and celebratory odes to the season as many times as you’d like through January 4.
Unlimited access is pay what you will, starting at $25. Pay the price you can afford, your generosity supports programming at the Folger.
Proper Exotic (left) has applied for a medical weed license to open next to Hunny Bunny.
Proposed Weed Shop on 8th Street NE Forces Out Retail Neighbor Say Owners
by Larry Janezich
Posted December 22, 2025
Owners of Hunny Bunny boutique Elizabeth Cronan and Jon Bormet say they are being forced to leave their location at 311 8th St NE because DC medical cannabis policies allow a weed shop – Proper Exotic – to open next door to their business on a block that also includes preschool and family-serving businesses.
Honey Bunny is a Black woman-owned small business at 311 8th Street NE – a boutique manufacturer and retailer specializing in all-natural bath and beauty products. For more than 10 years the business has anchored a family-focused block that includes Petite Scholars Preschool, other child-oriented businesses and longstanding residences. The owners say their store cannot operate alongside a business that requires armed guards, late night hours, and heavy security – features incompatible with residential child-focused corridors such as the 300 block of 8th Street NE.
ANC6A and ANC6C have protested the opening of Proper Exotic before the Alcohol Beverage and Cannabis Administration (ABCA) but currently the board seems overly generous in handing out licenses and the City Council seems reluctant to sign off on new regulations to limit where weed shops can open.
ABCA dismissed every entity protesting Proper Exotic, including the ANC and a letter of opposition from council member Charles Allen. ANC6A has appealed the administrative dismissal of the protests and expects a decision around January 7.
There is widespread community opposition to the negative effects on communities brought by ABCA licensing weed shops in areas residents deem inappropriate. Other recent examples on Capitol Hill include Aloha at 528 Eighth Street SE and Garden Hill at 1322 G Street SE.
Cronan and Bormet say what happened to them is not an isolated incident and warn that the proliferation of weed shops are displacing longstanding neighborhood businesses and reshaping communities without meaningful local input.
Here are some photos reflecting progress on the build out for some Capitol Hill restaurants which hope to open by the end of December or early January.
Civic on Barracks Row at 501 8th Street, SE
Taco Bell on Barracks Row at 411 8th Street, SE
Maru San (Peruvian fishrolls) at 325 7th Street, SE
The law finally caught up with Flowerz at 318 Massachusetts Ave NE near Union Station. ABCA shuttered Flowerz, Grass & Co, and four other weed outlets after determining these unlicensed establishments posed a significant risk to public health. Among cannabis products seized at Flowerz were: Marijuana: 68.3 Pounds, Pre-rolled Marijuana Cigarettes: 11.4 Pounds, THC Beverages: 69,036 Ounces, THC Gummies: 504,000 Grams, etc. , etc.
The closing of Flowers apparently opens to door for an establishment three doors away at 312 Massachusetts Avenue NE that is sporting an application for a legal weed outlet in its front window. Ed. Note. (This caption orignianlly speculated about ANC6C’s concern on this outlet.) Update: According to ANC6C Chair Karen Wirt, “The business owner agreed to every condition I suggested to protect the neighborhood. He was willing to listen to concerns, suggestions, and was most cooperative. He stated he wants to be a good neighbor. “
Here’s a photo from Saturday night of this year’s Congressional holiday tree looking down the mall.
And here’s a photo against the backdrop of the U.S. Capitol’s West Front.
The Week Ahead …
Monday, December 22
ANC6A Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Licensing Committee will hold a virtual meeting at 7:00pm
CAPITOL HILL CORNER 