Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Week Ahead & Some Recent Photos

By Larry Janezich

Posted August 20, 2023

Update on Proposed Alley Closing behind the former Capitol Lounge.  ANC6B’s Planning and Zoning Committee’s Subcommittee on Alley and Street Closings met last Tuesday night.  According to Commissioner Jerry Sroufe, the Subcommittee discussed their interactions with CM Charles Allen where they learned that the CM had not yet heard from the Conservative Partnership Institute, the alley-closing applicants.  Since the alley closing will require approval by the City Council, and the closing is in Ward 6, it will fall to Allen to sponsor legislation to authorize the privatization of public space.  The subcommittee determined that additional efforts should be made to talk with residents who will be affected by the proposed closing.  In addition, plans are being made for a walk-through with the owners and Commissioners but no date was set.  A of the Subcommittee is planned for September to discuss possible community benefits to be sought in exchange for the potential transfer of public space to private hands. 

The current exhibition at the Renwick Gallery This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World employs traditional craft media including neon, fiber, metal, glass, and wood to ask questions about the relationship between craft and space and craft and time. One of the ways the exhibit is important is that it “highlights craft’s ability to spark essential conversations about race, gender and representation.” 

“This neon sign cycles through the statements “This present moment used to be the unimaginable future” and “This moment used to be the future” before turning off completely for a short time. The text is a quote by Stewart Brand, an American writer who is best known as the editor of the Whole Earth Catalogue.”

“Sculptor Alicia Eggert creates immersive experiences of time. This neon billboard casts a brilliant pink light throughout the Renwick’s Octagon Room, prompting us to become more present in this very moment. Eggert illuminates a quote by revolutionary futurist Stewart Brand, from his book The Clock of the Long Now (1999), a manifesto for living intentionally with a ten-thousand-year-old clock in mind. The pink is a call out to the Me Too movement of 2017, a once unimaginable social reckoning that empowered people to share past stories of sexual harassment and assault, demand accountability, and make possible safer conditions for all.”

Bisa Butler.  Don’t Tread on Me, God Damn, Let’s Go! – The Harlem Hellfighters

Pieced, appliquéd, and stuffed cotton, silk, wool, and velvet.

”In this monumental (11 foot) quilt, Butler brings to life the history and emotions of nine members of the 369^th Infantry Regiment known as the Harlem Hellfighters, a segregated unit of the American Expeditionary Force in World War One.  Drawing from the wellsprings of African American quilting traditions…Butler pieced together dazzling textiles to connect this present moment to the past.”

“I look to their example to see for myself that the triumphs we experience today will outlast tyrants and that nothing can ever erase them—not time, not death. These protectors of our nation fought and put their very bodies and their lives on the line. My work is to continue to lift them up in history so they can be seen in public spaces, where their heroic sacrifices become part of the American quest to fight against oppression and for freedom.” —Bisa Butler

Here’s a link to a six-minute video of a Renwick curator talking about the piece:  https://americanart.si.edu/exhibitions/contemporary-craft-renwick-gallery

The Week Ahead…

Tuesday, August 22

ANC6A’s Alcoholic Beverage Licensing Committee will hold a virtual meeting at 7:00pm. 

For info on how to join the meeting, go here:  https://anc6a.org/community-calendar/

Among items on the draft agenda:

• Discussion of application by The People’s Kitchen at 816 H Street, NE, First Floor for a Class C Restaurant License.
• Discussion of application of Bloom at 1402 H Street, NE, Suite C-1,for a Class C Tavern License.
• Discussion with Mr. Luke Casey regarding a request for the ANC’s support for a stipulated license for the re-opening of Dirty Water at 816 H Street, NE under new ownership.

ABCA Board hears ANC Protest of I Egg You Liquor License.  Last Wednesday the Alcohol Beverage and Cannabis Administration wrapped up a seven hour(!) hearing on ANC6B’s protest of I Egg You’s application for a liquor license on Barracks Row at 417 8^th Street, SE.  I Egg You’s attorney, Andrew Klein, was successful in limiting the protest to the issue of trash and litter and excluding the issues of use of the alley by trash and delivery trucks and venting of odors by the restaurant.

The closing remarks by the opposing sides, tell you pretty much what the hearing was about. 

For Klein, the applicant’s attorney, the hearing was about I Egg You’s refusal to sign a Settlement Agreement providing for best practices regarding trash management and rodent control and requiring the restaurant to store trash indoors.  He said the applicants had offered assurances that if there are issues which arise from the operation of the restaurant, they would fix it.  The other issue the protestants raised was an overconcentration of restaurants on the block which create conditions that attract rodents.   Klein pointed to the blank record of complaints about the applicant’s other restaurants and asked the board to approve the request for a liquor license without conditions.

ANC6B Commissioner Chander Jayaraman, chair of the ANC’s ABCA Committee, said in closing remarks that the ANC Commissioners were elected to be the neighbors’ advocates and “if they say they want to protest, we’ll back them up.”   Jayaraman said that “We want the restaurant to be successful” and that he was heartened by pledges from owners that when problems occur, they will address them…”So often applicants make grand promises and don’t back them up.  Our job is to question every applicant.”  He said he wished that the ANC could have come to an agreement on how this could operate and hoped the owners will continue to be a partner and leader in trash management and rodent control issues.

Addressing trash and rodent control on Barracks Row has been a ten year effort of ANC6B.  Jayaraman was an early advocate of using liquor licenses to pressure Barracks Row restaurants doing new buildouts to provide for indoor trash storage and since then has been continuing advocate for the neighbors whose residences back up to the 8^th Street restaurants.  He told the ABCA board, “The ANC is not against the restaurant – we want to address the broader issue of trash management and rodent issues affecting the neighbors in their back yards.”

ABCA Chairman Donovan Anderson said the board would make a decision within 60 days. 

L-R Sgt. Fultz, Officer Miller, Officer Lewis, Tony Goodman, HSEMA at North Hall, Eastern Market, Tuesday.

Last Tuesday, Eastern Market and DGS sponsored a second Public Safety Meeting on Active Threat Response Training.  The briefing was presented by Sgt. Charles Fultz, Officers Miller and Lewis, and Tony Goodman, Legislative Affairs & Outreach Senior Program Manager, HSEMA.  After Officers Miller and Lewis presented a summary of basic actions that vendors inside and outside the Market can take to react to active threats, Sgt. Fultz assured the participants that MPD responds to community concerns to provide the resources the community needs.  He said his officers don’t mind being challenged – “they welcome that – they want to be where they’re needed.”  He said the citizens have the final say and that the citizens are more effective than they think.  Tony Goodman, Senior Program Manager for Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency concluded the program, explaining HSEMA’s role in coordinating agencies’ response to emergencies. 

In connection with the broader public safety effort, EMCAC is seeking volunteers for the newly created ad hoc Committee for Public Safety.  The committee will address public safety issues in and around Eastern Market.  General issues covered will include fire hazards, security of the market’s daily operations, threat alerts, public safety training, physical safety improvements and other related issues.  Contact Chuck Burger, EMCAC Chair, for additional information on how to join the committee: cburger@cbmove.com  or 202 258 5316.

Ebenezer Row Condo Development Troubles:  It’s not at all clear what’s happening at Ebenezer Row, the series of two bedroom condos on the 400 block of D Street, SE, being developed in partnership with the historic Ebenezer Methodist Church.   

Update: A reader informed CHC that the developer says that “the church’s lawyers were working on this because the Church owns the property so it was exempt from the taxes and the situation was an active dispute between the city and the church.”

Editor: Also see comment in comment section below.

Recently, a tax sale notice went up in front of one of the properties.

Last week, the city’s green several vacant property signs went up, seemingly applying to the row of properties under construction. 

On Saturday, a crew had resumed work on one of the properties, and the tax sale and vacant property signs were not longer evident.

Here’s the project looking east on D Street, SE.

And ICYMI, it appears that Popeyes will reopen in its previous location on Barracks Row. 

The Week Ahead & Some Photos from Last Week

by Larry Janezich

Posted August 13, 2023

One meeting on the Conservative Partnership Institute’s bid to close the alley behind the former Capitol Lounge, otherwise it looks pretty quiet.

Tuesday, August 15

ANC6B’s Planning and Zoning Subcommittee on Alley & Street Closings will hold an apparently virtual meeting at 7:00pm.     

Agenda:

Continue discussion on the application of the Conservative Partner Institute to close a portion of the alley behind the former Capitol Lounge on the 200 block of Pennsylvania Avenue, SE. 

Join Information: TBD

Here’s a rendering of the Folger Library following renovation.

Folger Library Delays Opening Until 2024

by Larry Janezich

Posted August 9, 2023

Today, Michael Witmore, Director, Folger Shakespeare Library, announced the Folger Library will extend the timeline for renovation and move the public opening – scheduled for November 17, 2023 – to a date in 2024.  The exact timing and details of the reopening celebrations will be shared before the end of the year. 

Witmore said that although construction continues every day and that much of the project has “come together beautifully…as with any project of this size and complexity, we have also encountered unforeseen hurdles.”

Construction is winding down in the areas surrounding the theater, and the Folger hopes to present the 2023-2024 Theatre season largely as planned.  Updated information about the season will be shared on the Folger website when tickets go on sale at the end of September. See here:  https://bit.ly/444sOLV  

Information about community tours and preview days will also be available when the Folger announces its new reopening date before the end of the year.

Crushing news from Barracks Row.  The Fridge is up for sale according to the signage on the building per Berkshire Hathaway.  The gallery and event space – a vision of owner and gallery director Alex Goldstein – was the offbeat center of artistic creativity on Barracks Row.  It was an art gallery for both emerging and established artists and was dedicated to making the arts accessible.  It also hosted concerts, from hip hop to jazz and folk.  Established in 2009, Goldstein broadened the gallery’s outreach to include art education for community youth. The gallery’s role in exhibiting art and serving as an event space was undercut by the pandemic from which it could not seem to recover. The venue’s Instagram account says “Our mission is to foster creativity and community dialogue by serving as a conduit for expression.”  Efforts to reach Goldstein were unsuccessful.  For more Fridge history, see here:  https://www.instagram.com/thefridgedc/?hl=en

EMCAC seeks volunteers for newly created ad hoc Committee for Public Safety.  The Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee is seeking volunteers to join the newly created Eastern Market Ad Hoc Committee for Public Safety.  The committee will address public safety issues in and around Eastern Market.  General issues covered will include fire hazards, security of the market’s daily operations, threat alerts, public safety training, physical safety improvements and other related issues.  Contact Chuck Burger, EMCAC Chair, for additional information on how to join the committee: cburger@cbmove.com or 202 258 5316. 

Growing like weeds (sorry).  Two more cannabis “gifting shops” just off Barracks Row join the three existing shops on the Row.  Organix at 719 D Street, SE…

And Flourish Gallery at 714 G Street, SE (rear of DCanter). 

Sala Thai – the new Thai/Japanese restaurant coming to the Park Kennedy apartment building in Hill East at 19th and C Streets, SE, hopes to open this coming week, only awaiting city permits.  The popular chain has three other outlets:  4020 Minnesota Avenue, NE, 2300 Washington Place, NE, and 4828 Cordell Avenue, in Bethesda.  Here’s a link to the menu at the Minnesota Avenue restaurant:  https://www.salathairisland.com/

Triple Candie’s latest “curatorial riddle” is on display in the front space of the former Li’l Pub at 655 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE.

The Quiet Week Ahead…& Some Photos + The Fridge Is Up for Sale

by Larry Janezich

Posted August 6, 2023

Thursday, September 10

ANC6A Commissioners and MPD Walk & Talk on H Street, NE, 6pm – 7:30pm.  Meet at 9^th and H Street, NE, for a chance to discuss issues and ideas related to the H Street corridor.

Friends of Southeast Library hold their monthly meeting at 5:30pm, Southeast Library, lower level.

Commander Colin Hall, MPD First District

Former Commander Tasha Bryant Promoted to Assistant Chief of Patrol Services South

The First District is home to the city’s business and political center.

A New Commander for the MPD’s 1^st District

By Larry Janezich

Posted August 3, 2023

MPD has announced the promotion of Inspector Colin Hall to Commander of the MPD First District.  He succeeds Commander Tasha Bryant who was promoted to Assistant Chief of Patrol Services South, which includes the First, Sixth, and Seventh police districts.  Both promotions were made in July 2023 by Acting Chief of Police Pamela A. Smith. 

Hall has 25 years of experience within the Metropolitan Police Department.  In a message to First District residents, Hall says:

“I would like to share with everyone that I was recently promoted to the Commander of the First District. ….In March I was promoted as an Inspector to the First District and after three months I was detailed back to the 7th District to assist the Commander in that District. I returned to 1D recently and shortly thereafter I received this promotion. I am very excited to be here, and I believe we will accomplish amazing things together in the First District! We have an outstanding, hardworking 1D team and we will always strive for excellence in all we do.

I began my career as a young officer in 1998 working in the First District. It was a great experience and I enjoyed making connections with the community and partners then, as I do now. During my 25 year MPD career I have been assigned to the Fifth District, the Firearms Registration Branch, The Security Officers Management Branch, Records Division, Central Cell Block, and the Second District. I was most recently assigned as a Sector Captain in the Seventh District where I led the city’s Homicide Reduction Partnership Program, and now my journey returns me to 1D.

My goal is to make the community feel safer, secure, and provide you with the knowledge that you have a partner in the Metropolitan Police Department. I look forward to meeting you all and getting to know you and working with you.

Please reach out to me anytime with concerns or questions anytime.”

Best Regards,

Colin Hall, Commander, First District

(202) 740-7633

colin.hall@dc.gov  

Twitter @DCPoliceDept

ANC6B Task Force on Southeast Library met Sunday afternoon. Commissioner David Sobelsohn is at center. Susan Sedgewick, representing Capitol Hill Village, is to his left. Commissioner Katie Durkit is in the right foreground.

SE Library Closure Delayed – Likely Until Fall

by Larry Janezich

Posted August 1, 2013

The ANC6B Taskforce on SE Library met last Sunday afternoon.  Commissioner David Sobelsohn, who chairs the committee, told the group that it appears DC Public Library will not meet its intention of closing SE Library this summer, given that Executive Director Richard Reyes-Gavilan has indicated there will be six weeks’ notice before closure, and there has been no word yet.

The Task Force heard from Sobelsohn and Task Force member Susan Sedgewick regarding their testimony before the DC Public Library’s Board of Trustees on July 26, in support of interim services during the two-year renovation.   

In his testimony, Sobelsohn pressed the case for a more a robust facility for interim services during the closure of SE Library.  Although CM Charles Allen was successful in obtaining funding for an “interim services” facility – likely at Arthur Capper Recreational Center – it appears to be limited to part time access to a dozen or so computers, two technical support staff, and a copier.  Sobelsohn says this is inadequate.  From his statement to the DCPL trustees:

“My ANC urges the board of trustees to … provide a place near the Southeast branch for us to pick up and return library books; to keep that location open for a minimum number of days per week and hours per day; to provide a minimum number of computers and a printer, scanner, and copier at that location; to assign at least one regular library staff person to that location; and to open that location the day after it closes the Southeast branch, not months later.”

Task Force member Susan Sedgewick – who is a member of the board of Capitol Hill Village and represents some 400+ members – urged the trustees to consider the needs of older Capitol Hill residents who are unable to walk to NE Library which DCPL has suggested as an alternative location for those in need of library services.  She said, “All of us assumed the library system would provide some interim services so our SE library habit would be served.  We are amazed that is not the case.”  She added that in her research, she has discovered DCPL “Library by Mail” program that works under the disability services unit of DCPL.  This service, she said, could help older Capitol Hill residents and Sedgewick urged DCPL to prepare to serve the looming number of older adults in DC who will need special services to help them obtain books and to return them.  Her recommendations included:  streamline the way patrons using “Library by Mail” order books, develop a marketing plan that includes encouraging library staff to tell their patrons about the program, advertise the program as a service for older adults, and ensure adequate staff so to be responsive to request for titles. 

The Task Force also heard from several nearby residential neighbors who will be affected once construction starts on the renovation.  Those neighbors are in conversation with DCPL regarding providing access for construction workers which so far, apparently has not been resolved. 

Moving forward, Sobelsohn said he had a commitment to meet with staff of CM Trayon White who chairs the City Council’s Committee on Recreation, Libraries and Youth Affairs.  As such, he will be key to getting more funding to broaden interim services at Arthur Capper Recreational Center or any other location.

The Task Force has scheduled another meeting for August 21 at 7:00pm at Southeast Library. 

Last Monday, ANC6B’s Subcommittee on Street and Alley Closing met to consider the Conservative Partnership Institute’s request to close the alley behind the former Capitol Lounge. (Left to right, Chair Frank D’Andrea, Commissioners Jerry Sroufe, Chander Jayaraman, and David Sobelsohn.)  If the ANC supports the application, a second question is what community benefits should the ANC ask for in exchange for the privatization of public space.  The Subcommittee will make a recommendation to the Planning and Zoning Committee, which will in turn make a recommendation to the full ANC.  The final decision will be up to the City Council. The Subcommittee scheduled another meeting for August 15^th.  In the meantime, they will tour the alley in question with the applicant’s representatives and begin soliciting a list of items to be included in any public benefits agreement. 

ANC6A Public Safety Meeting.  CM Charles Allen participated in the ANC6A Community Outreach Committee Public Safety Meeting last Monday.  He told the some 50 participants in the virtual meeting that his three main areas of concern are the violent crimes involving gun violence, armed robbery across the DC area, and auto thefts and carjackings. 

Allen said, “What we’re seeing is individuals and small groups committing a large number of offenses.  We’re studying not only the arrests but working to address crime on the front end – a both/and approach rather than either/or.”  He said there were special problems with the Office of Unified Command (911 Center) and a shortage of call takers.

Regarding drug dealing hot spots on H Street, NE, Allen said (in response to MPD saying their top priority isgun violence) that the Crime Suppression Team was working to address drug issues, that there recently had been three significant arrests related to drug dealing on H Street, and that he had asked MPD to focus on the H Street problems.

In response to a question related to a perceived decline in prosecutions and conviction rates, Allen said the numbers need to be placed in context, citing an example of multiple individuals arrested when a gun is found in a car and only one charged:  “That could be perceived as a decline in prosecution rate.”  To the claim of prosecutors that MPD doesn’t always bring them cases which can be prosecuted, Allen said part of the problems is that MPD never gets feedback from the US Office of the Attorney General.  He said he was working to put MPD and USOAG in greater communication.

(One avenue for the community to advocate on crime is the monthly meeting of the CAC in each MPD District, where citizens interact with MPD and a representative of the US OAG who routinely attends the meetings.  Here’s the a schedule and access info for the First District Citizens Advisory Council which meets every month:  https://1dcac.com/ )

Last Wednesday’s meeting of the Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee. Left to right: Robyn Hinson-Jones, Capitol Hill Village; Jackie Krieger, Mayor Bowser’s Representative and Vice Chair of EMCAC; Nikki Dean, Nonfood Vendors Representative; Chuck Burger, CHAMPS Representative and Chair of EMCAC; Gerry Sroufe, ANC6B; Brian Pate, Council Member Allen’s Representative.

Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee Meeting.  EMCAC met last Wednesday to review an analysis and recommendation for the Strategic Plan, commissioned by DGS to ensure the survivability of the Market.  Many found the plan wanting, providing little more than a compilation and re-hash of proposals which had been floating around for a number of years.  EMCAC members tasked with the analysis were Brian Pate, ANC6C Commissioner Jerry Sroufe, and Jackie Krieger.  The assessment is still in draft form and will be circulated among Eastern Market vendors to bring as many stakeholders as possible into the process.  EMCAC is also circulating a draft letter to city officials urging adoption of measures – beyond the already-scheduled installation of bollards to close the perimeter of the market on weekends – to increase public safety at the market.  EMCAC is also soliciting community volunteers to serve on a newly created Eastern Market Ad Hoc Committee for Public Safety. 

Last Friday night was the Funky Friday Celebration of the 150^th Anniversary of Eastern Market.  Featured were free samples of Atlas Brewery’s Commemorative Beer.  Here’s a photo of thirsty beer samplers lining up on C Street, SE.  CM Charles Allen was present, and later raised a glass to toast the Anniversary.  Other events that night included a silent disco and line and two-step dancing in Eastern Market’s North Hall.

Bitter Grace, Barracks Row Women’s Clothing Boutique at 526 8th Street, SE, is leaving and relocating to Union Market.

Here’s a photo of Crepe Myrtle in full bloom in the park on the north side of the Russell Senate Office Building.  Photo by Marilyn Saks-McMillion. 

It’s a Quiet Week Ahead…

by Larry Janezich

Posted July 30, 2023

It’s a quiet week ahead, as civic and community associations take the month off. There are a few meetings near the end of the month. Capitol Hill Corner will continue to report on community events as the situation requires.

Julia Irving, Deputy Director of the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (ONSE)

Violence Interrupters and the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement

by Larry Janezich

Posted July 28, 2023

Last Monday night, Julia Irving, Deputy Director of the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (ONSE), delivered a presentation to the ANC6A Community Outreach Committee’s public safety meeting.  She explained how her office works to head off violence in the communities where it is most likely to occur.  The programs offered are under scrutiny during a time when violent crimes are seeing a regional and national increase.  After DC homicides declined 11% at the end of 2022, MPD statistics show a 15% increase through July 28 of this year. 

Irving said that a very small subset of individuals commit a large number of violent offenses in DC (fewer than 300, according to press reports) and her office focuses on those individuals: they identify individuals who are likely to become victims or perpetrators of violent crime who could benefit from additional services. 

ONSE has three programs:  the Violence Interventions Initiative (Violence Interrupters), the Pathways Program, and the Family Survivor Support Program. 

ONSE calls the individuals they try to engage “People of Promise” and their first point of contact is often the “violence interrupters” – whose primary goal is to take the temperature of a community, anticipate conflict, and bring resources to head off trouble.  Violence interrupters attempt to interact with People of Promise (which so far have turned out to be male) and connect them to city services and share with them the different opportunities available.

Those opportunities come through the Pathways Program and include helping participants to find gainful – not transitional – employment related to a goal the individual had in life, as well as stable housing. 

Irving says that The Pathways Program is a nine week cognitive behavioral therapy transformational program.  To illustrate the challenge, she notes, “For most of us, when we have an emergency we pick up a cellphone.  When People of Promise have an emergency – because of the trauma they’ve experienced – they pick up a gun, and that’s how they resolve it.  We’re able to take them from picking up a gun to picking up a cell phone to call somebody in their support network to help them navigate a potential conflict in their community.” 

If someone in the program is in imminent danger, she said, we have the ability to place them in emergency housing and work with the family unit to identify housing conducive to the safety of the individual or family. 

Initially, the Pathways Program participant enters into a subsidized employment opportunity through the Department of Employment Services.  According to Irving, in the most recent cohort of 14 which graduated three weeks ago, 8 have moved into unsubsidized employment opportunities averaging $23 an hour – one in a public school.  Of the 14, 3 have found transitional or permanent housing.  After graduation, the Pathway Program continues to provide support through life coaches and a Brotherhood Circle. 

The Family Survivor Support Program provides support to survivors of the victims of violence; victims without support may become victims again or become perpetrators.  Irving says the office engages with survivors of violence within 24 – 72 hours.  They assist with funeral arrangements (including protection from inflated costs in funeral homes), behavioral health services that are culturally sensitive to victims, candlelight vigils, and emergency moves to safe housing.  If in an individual is in a Pathways Program, ONSE has resources to help relocate victims for 30 days – or sometimes out of state through the Office of Victim Services in the Justice Grant Administration.”

Summing up, Irving emphasized, “We respond to every single shooting in DC.”  Every Tuesday, there is a partnership meeting with the Violence Interrupters, the Office of Gun Violence and Prevention, the Court’s Social Services and the Department of Youth Rehabilitations Services.  There, decisions are made on staffing shootings and figuring out who knows the individuals attached to them.  In addition the group assesses the likelihood of retaliation and decides what resources are needed for the community and for potential perpetrators, victims, and families.  Irving summed up, adding “Through collaborative efforts we’re able to intervene in the violence.” 

In the most recent budget cycle, Mayor Bowser reduced funding for violence intervention programs in the next fiscal year, questioning their effectiveness. 

Earlier this year, the philanthropy Arnold Ventures funded a four year effort by two Johns Hopkins gun violence experts to study DC’s gun violence prevention programs.  The researchers expect to release preliminary findings in about 12 months.  https://dcist.com/story/23/04/11/dc-violence-interruption-data-effectiveness/

According to Influence Watch, Arnold Ventures is a center-left philanthropy founded by Texas hedge fund billionaires Laura and John Arnold. 

Here are a couple of links related to ONSE. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/10/04/people-promise-list-missteps-violence/

https://www.axios.com/local/washington-dc/2022/06/08/dc-violence-interruption-audit

July 28 Funky Friday Celebration at Eastern Market Honors the 150^th Anniversary

by Larry Janezich

Posted July 27

July 28 Funky Friday Celebration at Eastern Market

Featuring: 

• Atlas Brew Works Commemorative Eastern Market Beer Tasting: 4pm – 8:00pm, C Street Plaza
• Silent Disco: 7pm – 10pm, C Street Plaza
• DC Rawhides Community Line Dancing and Two Step: 5pm – 9pm Eastern Market North Hall

Attendees can purchase Atlas’ special Eastern Market Anniversary Kolsch Beer on C Street Plaza and receive a tasting map to sip and shop with participating stores offering complimentary sips of Atlas beer.

Participating retailers include:

• Capitol Hill Frame & Photo
• East City Bookshop
• Groovy dc Cards & Gifts
• Labyrinth Games & Puzzles
• Relume
• Rewild

Eastern Market Main Street is preserving our historic corridor, supporting small businesses, and fostering a vibrant, neighborhood serving corridor through public and private space improvements, capacity-building resources, and community events and campaigns. For more information on Eastern Market Main Street, its events, and initiatives please visit easternmarketmainstreet.org or contactinfo@easternmarketmainstreet.org

ANC6A’s Community Outreach Committee, chaired by Adina Wadsworth, held a virtual meeting last Monday night to discuss public safety.

MPD Expects Closure in July 3 Murder of Afghan Lyft Driver on 11^th Street, NE

by Larry Janezich

Monday night, ANC6D’s Community Outreach Committee held a Public Safety Meeting with CM Charles Allen, MPD Lt. Araz Alali, and Julia Irving, Deputy Director at DC Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement.  The virtual meeting was attended by some 50 community members. 

CHC will post separate articles on CM Charles Allen’s comments, as well as on the presentation of Ms. Irving on the work of the violence preventers and the office’s neighborhood engagement programs. 

Here are the main takeaways from the Q&A portion of the meeting. 

• Lt. Alali reported on the status of the investigation of murder of Lyft driver Nasrat Ahmed Yar, US Afghan Interpreter, near 11th and D Streets, NE on Monday, July 3.  Alali said, “I’ve been in touch with the homicide branch.  That investigation is making significant progress and we should be anticipating a closure in that imminently” 
• Alali said he could not discuss MPD’s investigative process in a homicide other than in the most general terms:  gathering evidence, seeking out and interviewing witnesses, and collaboration with the city medical examiner.
• The investigation into the June 4 fatal shooting at the Chick-fil-A in the 1400 block of Maryland Avenue, NE, is ongoing.
• After recent failure by MPD to post alerts regarding several armed robberies in ANC6A, Alali thinks that will be remedied, moving forward. 
• Dysfunction at Sherwood Recreation Center.  CM Charles Allen responded to a question about lack of programming and maintenance at Sherwood Recreation Center.  He expressed frustration with the Department of Parks and Recreation saying the lack of programming a huge problem.  He cited his success in getting funding last winter to get the playground resurfaced and worked to get a contract out but DGS “is so far behind” that they delayed the project until this fall which is prime time for the playground.  He said that we’re not seeing DGS and DPR invest in Sherwood the way they need to and noted that Sherwood is one of a handful of DPR facilities used as hypothermia shelters and that has a significant impact on the community.
• Commissioner Roberta Shapiro added her own frustration at trying to determine accountability for the lack of programming and maintenance at the facility citing a meeting with DPR staff last Friday.  She said she found herself in a Catch 22 bureaucratic situation with nobody accountable.  Programming is do it yourself with nothing for seniors and no arts programs and two hours for small children.  ANC6A wrote a letter to DPR in June, received no response, followed up two weeks ago, and as far as she knew, received no response to that.  Regarding the hypothermia shelter, she said when you ask how they are allocated and for a list of shelters, DPR says it comes from the Department of Human Services, and they both say the Mayor makes the final decision.
• For people in mental crisis, call 911 – if not acute call Department of Behavioral Crisis Response:  202 673 6495