hillrag.com . February 2021
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IN THIS ISSUE FEBRUARY 2021
33
BLAcK HiS
61
21
ToRY
special
22 The Summer of Black Lives Matter: Photo Spread by CCN Staff
28 Black History LOCAL EVENTS compiled by Kathleen Donner
14
Jury Suspension Strands DC Jail Defendants
Bringing the World to Capitol Hill
by Gavrielle Jacobovitz
by Rindy O’Brien
71
85
WHAT’S ON WASHINGTON
capitol streets 33
Jury Suspension Strands DC Jail Defendants: COVID Scrambles the District System of Justice by Gavrielle Jacobovitz
40
Public Restrooms: A DC Group Advocates for Places to “Go” by Catherine Plume
42
Our River: The Anacostia: Getting To The Bottom Of It by Bill Matuszeski
44
ANC6A Supports Goding School Modernization: ANC6A Report by Nick L. Alberti
46
Officers “Shook to Their Core” from Capitol Battle, Says MPD Commander: ANC6B Report by Elizabeth O’Gorek
48
ANC Opposes Sale of Alcohol from U-Haul Facility: ANC6C Report by Sarah Payne
50
The Capitol Insurrection: ANC 6D Report by Andrew Lightman
54
Bulletin Board by Kathleen Donner
homes and gardens COVID-19 Couples: Dating Stories from the Hill
Turning 80 in the Pandemic: Birthday Blahs Aplenty!
by Meghan Markey
by Maggie Hall
61
Bringing the World to Capitol Hill by Rindy O’Brien
64
Dear Garden Problem Lady by Wendy Blair
66
Changing Hands by Don Denton
arts and dining 71
COVID-19 Couples: Dating Stories from the Hill by Meghan Markey
74
Capitol Cuisine by Celeste McCall
76
At the Movies by Mike Canning
78
Wine Girl by Elyse Genderson
79
The Jazz Project by Jean-Keith Fagon
80
Art and The City by Jim Magner
82
Literary Hill by Karen Lyon
83
Poetic Hill by Karen Lyon
family life 85
Turning 80 in the Pandemic: Birthday Blahs Aplenty! by Maggie Hall
86
Intermittent Fasting: An Eating Pattern that Can Benefit Your Body and Your Brain by Pattie Cinelli
88
The District Vet: Teeth Are Important by Dan Teich
90
Music on the Hill Gives Virtual Lessons by Sarah Payne
92
Kids and Family Notebook by Kathleen Donner
98 CLASSIFIEDS 102 CROSSWORD
on the cover: Sea Change Rosa Vera Ines Acrylic on Wood Panel, 24x24 Available at the Hill Center – Part of the Hill Center Galleries & Capitol Hill Art League Juried Exhibition www.hillcenterdc.org/artist/capitol-hill-art-league-juriedexhibition/ Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital 921 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20003 202.549.4172 info@HillCenterDC.org
Next Issue: February 27th
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PUBLISHER: Jean-Keith Fagon • fagon@hillrag.com • Copyright © 2021 by Capital Community News. All Rights Reserved.
Editorial Staff
M������� E�����: Andrew Lightman • andrew@hillrag.com C���� F�������� O������: Maria Carolina Lopez • carolina@hillrag.com E����� � R�������: Elizabeth O’Gorek • liz@hillrag.com K��� � F����� E�����: Kathleen Donner • kathleendonner@gmail.com Intern: Sarah Payne • sarah@hillrag.com
Arts, Dining & Entertainment A��:
D�����: L���������: M�����: M����: T������: W��� G���:
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Calendar & Bulletin Board
C������� E�����: Kathleen Donner • calendar@hillrag.com, bulletinboard@hillrag.com
General Assignment
Stephanie Deutsch • scd@his.com Tom Daniel • tom@rthomasdanielroofing.com Michelle Phipps-Evans • invisiblecolours@yahoo.com Maggie Hall • whitby@aol.com Pleasant Mann • pmann1995@gmail.com Meghan Markey • meghanmarkey@gmail.com William Matuszeski • bmat@primary.net Elizabeth O’Gorek • Liz@hillrag.com Virginia Avniel Spatz • virginia@hillrag.com Michael G. Stevens • michael@capitolriverfront.org Peter Waldron • peter218@prodigy.net
Beauty, Health & Fitness
Patricia Cinelli • fitmiss44@aol.com Candace Y.A. Montague • writeoncm@gmail.com
Kids & Family
Kathleen Donner • kathleendonner@gmail.com Susan Johnson • schools@hillrag.com
Homes & Gardens
Derek Thomas • derek@thomaslandscapes.com Catherine Plume • caplume@yahoo.com Rindy 0’Brien • rindyobrien@gmail.com
Commentary
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Deadlines & Contacts
A����������: sales@hillrag.com D������ A��: 15th of each month C��������� A��: 10th of each month E��������: 15th of each month; editorial@hilllrag.com B������� B���� � C�������: 15th of each month; calendar@hillrag.com, bulletinboard@hillrag.com
Real Estate
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We welcome suggestions for stories. Send queries to andrew@hillrag.com. We are also interested in your views on community issues which are published in the Last Word. Please limit your comments to 250 words. Letters may be edited for space. Please include your name, address and phone number. Send Last Word submissions to lastword@hillrag.com. For employment opportunities email jobs@hillrag.com. 12 ★ HILLRAG.COM
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All Credit Cards Accepted February 2021 ★ 13
PLUNGE FROM HOME
Photo from 2020 Plunge
WHAT’S ON
Special Olympics DC is inviting its community of supporters to”Take the Plunge” this year from the comfort of their own homes. Through Feb. 14, participants can virtually plunge anytime and submit a video to social media. It will culminate in a virtual celebration event on Feb. 27 with a highlight reel of the submitted plunge videos and announcement of top fundraisers. To participate, individuals must raise a minimum of $100 to receive the commemorative 2021 Polar Plunge T-shirt, or mask and hand sanitizer. Participants can submit a video “taking the plunge” for a chance to win even bigger prizes through Feb. 14. These videos can range from individuals or families plunging into their pools, bathtubs filled with ice, or bodies of water of all sizes. Submit your videos to fundraising@specialolympicsdc.org. To learn more and to register, visit dcpolarplunge.org.
W A S H I N G T O N WE HAPPY FEW’S THE MYSTERY OF THE DRAWN DAGGERS IN SERIES’ STORMY WEATHER INspired by Shakespeare’s The Tempest, the story of colonization and subjugation is retold from the perspective of Sycorax, mother of Caliban and mistress of Ariel. Told with the music of Billie Holiday (My Man, Strange Fruit, Don’t Explain, God Bless the Child), in poetic-prose written by Sybil Williams, this cabaret-club evening of song, word and beat explores the experience of peoples enslaved by privilege and even love. It’s a free access production—you just have to register, for free. Watch it and other full features on invision.inseries.org/full-feature/stormy-weather. Photo: rx Loft
Heralded as “The Female Sherlock Holmes,” Loveday Brooke is the original Lady Detective. In The Mystery of the Drawn Daggers, Loveday is faced with one of the most complicated and intriguing puzzles of her career. Reverend Hawke is the unwitting victim of a dastardly scheme. He has received an anonymous communication in the mail: a drawing of a single dagger. Days later he receives a second envelope, this time with two daggers. Fearful that a third dagger means death, Mr. Hawke hires Loveday Brooke and the Lynch Street office to solve the case. Presented as an audio drama, The Mystery of the Drawn Daggers is accompanied by a mail-out experience that puts you on the case with the famous detective. $32. wehappyfewdc.com/lovedaybrooke. Debora Crabbe as Loveday Brooke
SCIENCE FICTION AT AIR AND SPACE
This model of the fictional starship Enterprise was used in the weekly hour-long “Star Trek” TV show (NBC-TV), which aired from September 1966 until June 1969. Despite its short initial run, Star Trek became one of the most influential shows in the history of television. Photo: Dane Penland
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Science fiction allows one to imagine what happened a long, long time ago in a galaxy far far away, or to boldly go where no one has gone before. Through science fiction, we’re able to explore new frontiers in science, innovation, and society. Learn about Restoring the Enterprise Studio Model; Star Wars: The Magic of the Myth; and see A Space Odyssey Immersive Art Exhibit. airandspace.si.edu/learn/ highlighted-topics-/science-fiction.
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WHAT’S ON WASHINGTON
“The Godfather of Go-Go” Chuck Brown, 2011. Photo: Mark Taylor
Photo: Bill Lee
A YEAR TO REMEMBER AND FORGET Bill Lee’s A Year to Remember and Forget is an ode to the ups and downs of 2020. The social isolation stemming from COVID 19, civil unrest in response to anti-Black police brutality, and an election marred by conspiracy theories have marked 2020 as one of the worst years in recent memory. Baptisms, Go-gos, and protests are captured from Lee’s perspective--bringing them to life in this black and white photography exhibition. A Year to Remember and Forget is at the Anacostia Arts Center, 1241 Good Hope Rd. SE, through March 7. The Center is open Tuesdays through Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. anacostiaartscenter.com.
MUSIC CITY DC Washington, DC has given much to the musical world beyond its best-known exports Duke Ellington and the punk and go-go scenes. Join musician, broadcaster, and historian Ken Avis as he explores the area’s lesser-known, remarkable, and fascinating musical avenues and why they could only have developed here. Film and recordings bring legendary musicians to life as Avis examines how social change, technological development, and business innovation shaped the sounds that emerged from DC—a political town with a serious music habit. There are three sessions: Feb.8, Jazzing the Capital; Feb. 22, The Country Music Capital; and March 8, Rocking the Capital. $30 each. smithsonianassociates.org.
ICE SKATING AT CAMERON RUN MONDAY NIGHT NEW PLAY READINGS SigWorks is Signature Theatre’s program dedicated to developing the future of theater works and artists. In 2021, all readings are virtual and recordings are available on YouTube. Each play will remain online for three weeks following the premier date. Next up is One Shot by Andrew Rosendorf on March 8 at 7 p.m. In 1999, a bigoted slur is spray painted onto a video store in McLean, Virginia, disturbing and possibly outing the owner and his high school employees. A life changing film scholarship hangs in the balance as secrets are thrust into the open in a riveting examination of race, sexuality and identity in a world on the cusp of the digital age. sigtheatre.org/about/sigworks. Andrew Rosendorf. Photo: Ryan Ripley
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Through February, the ice rink at Cameron Run, 4001 Eisenhower Ave. in Alexandria, is open with ticket sales reduced to provide adequate social distancing on the ice. Skate sessions are limited to one hour, starting with your ticket time. Days and hours of operation are weekends and holidays, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Skating is $16.88 which includes skate rental. Tickets sales are online only— no walk-ups. novaparks.com/ events/ice-lights
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February 2021 ★ 17
WHAT’S ON WASHINGTON
Photo: Margot Schulman
CREATIVITY JUMPSTART: DE-STRESS WITH ART UNITY | PEACE | FORWARD AT THE REACH Through Feb. 28, following a year when differences and divisions have dominated headlines, the Kennedy Center’s REACH campus is home to a free outdoor art installation. The campus’s 130,000 square feet of green space is a place where visitors can reflect on our common humanity and be inspired by expressions of unity, harmony, and peace. A video featuring quotes from artists and writers the world over is projected on the REACH Video Wall on Fridays and Saturdays from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. during the exhibit and can be viewed online anytime. kennedycenter.org/whats-on/explore-by-genre/international/unity-peace-forward.
The Georgetown Lombardi Arts and Humanities Program presents Creativity Jumpstart: De-Stress with Art each Monday through March 1, at 2 to 3 p.m., via Zoom. AHP Artist-in-Residence Jennifer Wilkin Penick will guide you through a free one-hour art project, art technique, or creative prompt. No experience is required and you will need only very basic supplies: scissors, glue, paper, and some sort of color media (paint, paint pens, markers, colored pencils, etc.). Each week you will make art that encourages you to relax and to recharge creatively. culturaltourismdc.org/portal/events_calendar. Jennifer Wilkin Pence. Photo: Morgan Kudesza
DEAR JACK, DEAR LOUISE When two strangers meet by letter during World War II, a love story begins. US Army Captain Jack Ludwig, a military doctor stationed in Oregon, begins writing to Louise Rabiner, an aspiring actress and dancer in New York City, hoping to meet her someday if the war will allow. But as the war continues, it threatens to end their relationship before it even starts. Tony Award-winning playwright Ken Ludwig tells the joyous, heart-warming story of his parents’ courtship during World War II and the results are anything but expected. Arena Stage has produced a unique storytelling experience delivered directly to mailboxes across the country. Patrons will receive a series of nine letters in the mail that follow the love story of Ludwig’s parents. $35 to $50, depending. arenastage.org/lovelettersexperience. (L to R) Jake Epstein (Jack Ludwig) and Amelia Pedlow (Louise Rabiner) in Ken Ludwig’s Dear Jack, Dear Louise which ran Nov. 21 through 29, 2019 at Arena Stage. Photo by C. Stanley Photography.
SACRED CHORAL MUSIC ONLINE FESTIVAL AT THE NATIONAL CATHEDRAL The Sacred Choral Music Online Festival, Feb. 26 to 28, celebrates the Washington National Cathedral’s broad musical heritage and serves to uplift new music. The festival weekend includes opportunities for rehearsals, performances, workshops, lectures, discussions, fellowship, and their national worship service broadcast. Singers, directors, organists, and clergy are welcome to register at cathedral.org/sacredmusic. In advance of the festival weekend, participants can help collaborate with a virtual choir recording that will be released as part of the Cathedral’s blended worship service on Feb. 28. $85. cathedral.org. On Sunday, Feb. 28, 4 p.m., watch the four winning compositions of the King’s Singers New Music Composition Prize performed by the King’s Singers and the Washington National Cathedral Choir. Advance registration is required. $10. This event is included in the full festival registrations.
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K c A L B HiS ToRY
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K B L A cR Y o T S H i O nT h M
The Summer of Our Discontent June 1 protests in front of the White House. Photo: Andrew Lightman BELOW: National Guard massing minutes before violently clearing Lafayette Park and H Street NW of protesters on June 1. Photo: Andrew Lightman
Black Lives Matter DMV closes down Maine Avenue SW on May 30, 2020. Photo: Andrew Lightman
DC’s Black Lives Matter Protests “Say Their Names!” chanted protesters who thronged the streets of the District of Columbia in June of 2020. Thousands gathered peacefully in historic demonstrations in the wake of the tragic police murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. On June 1, nonviolent protesters endured rubber bullets and tear gas on H Street NW in front of Lafayette Park. The following day their numbers swelled. In recognition of the movement, Mayor Muriel Bowser had the words “Black Lives Matter” painted on a two-block long stretch of 16th Street NW just north of the White House. Protesters gathered in neighborhood parks to show their support.
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A policeman guards the June protests. Phthe ALF-CIO headquarters during oto: Andrew Lightm an
A father and son pay homage on Black Lives Matter Plaza. Photo: Katie Yen
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Protesters close down I695 on June 15. Photo: Andrew Lightman
Glen and Stacey Yonkers, Jr. and their family have been protesting together since the death of George Floyd. Photo: Liz O’Gorek
Protesters head to the US Capitol on June
Protesters outside the Wh June 7. Photo: Jason Yen ite House on
6. Photo: Andrew Lightman
Children lead a #DCProtest at Lincoln Park June 6, chanting “No Justice, No Peace” and “Say Their Names.” Photo: Liz O’Gorek
Bailey John Adams, Chanelle Dumas, and re. Adams on May 31 at Lafayette Squa
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Chanelle Adams holds up her handmade protest sign referencing Colin Kaepernick’s silent protests.
On June 23, 2020 hood leader Glen, crowds listen to Freedom Ne to protest the Emn Foster speak in a Lincoln Pa ighborwould come do ancipation statue. He vowed rk event wn. Photo: Liz O’ the statue Gorek
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K B L A cR Y o T S H i O nT h M
black history LOCAL EVENTS compiled by Kathleen Donner
Tour President Lincoln’s Cottage
Explore Abraham Lincoln's seasonal home on interior, self-guided tours, Wednesday through Monday, 9:30 AM to 4:15 PM (schedule online). Admission is $5 to $15. For more than a quarter of his presidency, Abraham Lincoln lived at what we now call President Lincoln’s Cottage. Here he made some of his most critical decisions about freedom, the Union, and the presidency. Lincoln’s experiences at the Cottage provided him and those he influenced with new and diverse perspectives on issues of freedom, justice, and humility. President Lincoln’s Cottage is at 140 Rock Creek Church Rd. NW. lincolncottage.org. Photo: Daniel Ardura of Punch Digital
From the Continent to the Americas: Foodways, Culture and Traditions in the African American Family. Feb. 6, noon to 2 PM. The panel is on the study of how food influences and drives culture. Free. asalh. org/festival.
The Rope: A True Story of Murder, Heroism, and the Dawn of the NAACP. Feb. 9, 1 PM (online). In November of 1910, in Asbury Park, NJ, 10-year-old Marie Smith was brutally murdered. After days of investigation, Asbury Park and county officials were at their wits’ end in 26 H HILLRAG.COM
their attempt to pin the crime on two suspects, one White, one Black. In The Rope, Alex Tresniowski tells the remarkable true-crime story of the murder of Marie Smith, the dawn of modern criminal detection, and the launch of the NAACP. Free. archivesfoundation.org/event/the-rope.
drick’s Nine Days tells the story of the ultimate October surprise: an emerging and controversial civil rights leader was languishing behind bars, and the two Presidential campaigns raced to decide whether, and how, to respond. Free. https://www. archivesfoundation.org/event/nine-days.
Nine Days: The Race to Save Martin Luther King Jr.’s Life and Win the 1960 Election.
I will tell you the truth about this: Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War.
Feb. 11, 5 PM. Less than three weeks before the 1960 Presidential election, 31-year-old Martin Luther King, Jr., was arrested at a sit-in at Rich’s Department Store in Atlanta. Stephen and Paul Ken-
Feb. 11, 7:30 p.m. Poet Maurice Manning will join with recent Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith for a virtual reading from Lincoln's Cottage. After a virtual tour, Manning and Smith will read from their work. Manning's latest collection Railsplitter is
SIGN UP FOR YOUR FREE SMALL BUSINESS WORKSHOP TODAY For existing and aspiring District businesses - the Small Business Resource Center is here for you!
in the posthumous voice of Lincoln. $15, suggested; $5 minimum. folger.edu.
Race in America, Unifying Our Communities. Feb. 19, 6 PM. This program will focus on issues of race, inequity and justice and explore how Americans currently understand, experience and confront racism, its impact on communities and how that impact is shaping America and its values. Free. americanhistory. si.edu/day-of-remembrance.
Slavery and the American Revolution.
WEBINAR: FIND THE RIGHT FRANCHISE FOR YOU: A BUSINESS MODEL FOR SUCCESS
WEBINAR: ALL THINGS NON-PROFIT
Feb. 20, 10 AM to 4 PM. The American Revolution was a transformative moment in African American history, a war for freedom second only to the Civil War in significance. $90. smithsonianassociates.org.
Monday, February 1, 2021 10:00 am Register: dcrasbrc.ecenterdirect.com/events/51597
Thursday, February 18, 2021 10:00 am Register: dcrasbrc.ecenterdirect.com/events/51833
WEBINAR: LEARN HOW TO BECOME A CERTIFIED BUSINESS ENTERPRISE (CBE)
WEBINAR: NAVIGATING GOVERNMENT CONTRACTING WITH DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA PROCUREMENT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER (DCPTAC)
Finding Our Roots in African American History: A Conversation with Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham. Feb. 20, 1 to 3 PM. In dialogue with his Harvard colleague and ASALH’s national president Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham, Professor Gates will discuss the practice of genealogy and genetic testing as tools for excavating Black History through the heritage of African American families. $50. asalh. org/festival.
Historically Speaking: COVID-19 and The Economy. Feb. 23, 7 PM. This panel explores the impact of COVID -19 on the housing, jobs, education and entrepreneurial sectors
Tuesday, February 9, 2021 10:00 am Register: dcrasbrc.ecenterdirect.com/events/52324
WEBINAR: FOUNDATIONS FOR A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS: MODULE 2, THE BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS Wednesday, February 10, 2021 2:00 pm Register: dcrasbrc.ecenterdirect.com/events/50719
Thursday, February 25, 2021 10:00 am Register: dcrasbrc.ecenterdirect.com/events/51608
SBRC ONE-ON-ONE CALL SESSION: STEPS TO OBTAINING A BUSINESS LICENSE Monday - Friday By appointment between 10:00 am - 4:00 pm Register: dcrasbrc.ecenterdirect.com/events
Small Business Resource Center (202) 442-4538 | dcra@dc.gov
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RFP for Outdoor Sails: Washington Yu Ying PCS is seeking competitive bids from qualified vendors for the purchase and installation of outdoor sails - to provide both UV protection and coverage from the elements for an outdoor turf area, measuring 114’x 61’. The sails cannot be anchored directly to the turf area. The vendor should plan to anchor the sails outside of the dimensions provided. The vendor will provide all labor and materials. Bids must include evidence of experience in field, qualifications, and estimated fees. Please contact Tasliym Lester, Director of Operations at RFP@washingtonyuying.org to arrange a time to visit Yu Ying’s campus for further evaluation of the project area, if necessary. Deadline for submissions is close of business on February 10, 2021. Please e-mail proposals and supporting documents to RFP@washingtonyuying.org. Please specify “RFP for Outdoor Sails” in the subject line. 28 H HILLRAG.COM
Interior of the reconstructed greenhouse slave quarter at Mount Vernon. Photo: Russ Flint, Courtesy of Mount Vernon Ladies' Association
Lives Bound Together: Slavery at George Washington’s Mount Vernon.
Through July 11, 2021. This exhibition explores the personal stories of the people enslaved at Mount Vernon while providing insight into George Washington’s evolving opposition to slavery. Admission to exhibition included in Mount Vernon admission. mountvernon.org.
by exploring the question: What aid could all levels of government bring to the American people? Free. nmaahc.si.edu.
Diving with a Purpose. Feb. 24, 6:30 PM. A panel will tell of their remarkable efforts to preserve the heritage of Black people through discovering and investigating wreckages of slave ships and salvageable artifacts. Free. asalh.org/festival.
The Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity. Feb. 25, 7 PM. The Black family has been a topic of study across disciplines—history, literature, the visual arts, film, sociology, anthropology, and social policy. A panel will discuss these ideas and perspectives including family traditions, brothers and sisters, power-couples, and community. archivesfoundation.org/ event/the-black-family.
The Visionary Genius of Frederick Douglass – Contradiction and Change. Feb. 25, 6:45 PM. His talents were nothing short of extraordinary and he put his exceptional gifts to use in the service of freedom, helping to drive American slavery into oblivion. $25. smithsonianassociates.org.
Charlie Parker Centennial. Feb. 26, 7 to 8:30 PM. In his short life, legendary jazz saxophonist Charlie “Bird” Parker changed the world of music, creating with a small group of innovators the musical style called bop or bebop. $30. smithsonianassociates.org
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Walk the Anacostia Heritage Trail
Anacostia is a study in contrasts. Today's neighborhood started as two 19th-century villages, one white and one African American, that remained separate for a century. The mid-20th century brought great upheaval, still playing out in the 21st century. culturaltourismdc.org/portal/991.
RFP for Asphalt Repair and Retention Wall: Washington Yu Ying PCS is seeking competitive bids from qualified vendors to repair 185 feet of asphalt and retaining wall on the west side of our campus, bordering the nature center. The vendor will develop a plan: • To address proper drainage for rainwater runoff • Compact the earth underneath the sinking asphalt • Reinforce the retaining wall • Replace damaged asphalt
The vendor will provide all labor and materials. Bids must include evidence of experience in field, qualifications, and estimated fees. Please contact Tasliym Lester, Director of Operations at RFP@washingtonyuying.org to arrange a time to visit Yu Ying’s campus to further evaluate the project. Deadline for submissions is close of business on February 10, 2021. Please e-mail proposals and supporting documents to RFP@washingtonyuying.org. Please specify “RFP for Asphalt Repair” in the subject line. 30 H HILLRAG.COM
Double Victory: The African American Military Experience conveys a sense of appreciation and respect for the military service of African Americans from the American Revolution to the War on Terror. Online exhibition at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. nmaahc.si.edu.
Visit the MLK Memorial. Open to visitors all hours, every day. 1964 Independence Ave. SW. nps.gov/ mlkm.
Mighty Justice: A Family Event About Civil Rights Lawyer Dovey Johnson Roundtree. Feb. 10, 4 PM. For those people not familiar with Dovey Johnson Roundtree’s name, you are invited to learn about a great woman who dedicated her life to service, justice, and lifting-up the most oppressed among us. Raised in the Jim Crow South, Dovey Johnson Roundtree's early life was shaped by the strength of her grandmother. dclibrary.org/node/67693. u
Celebrating 75 Years at Historic Eastern Market Meat Co. n o i n U
Washington D.C. Est. 1946
Union Meat Company would like to thank you for supporting us on our 75th Anniversary at Historic Eastern Market on Capitol Hill. We are a 4th generation butcher shop with a full line of beef, pork, lamb, veal, bison and venison. We have prided ourselves in serving the entire community and look forward to serving you for another 75 years. Thank you again for making this possible.
February 2021 ★ 31
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capitol s ree s t
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JURY SUSPENSION STRANDS DC JAIL DEFENDANTS COVID Scrambles the District System of Justice by Gavrielle Jacobovitz
I
n May 2020, a 20-year-old man was arrested for armed carjacking and robbery. In April, a 19-year old man was arrested for an assault with a dangerous weapon. Months later, the two have yet to be been indicted. Both remain held in DC Jail, awaiting trial. Their extended detention is far from unique, as the coronavirus pandemic has upended the DC court system. On March 18, 2020, the DC Superior Court suspended juries due to the dangers posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. By Jan. 22, 2021, 751 people are confined in DC Jail pre-trial, a 57 percent increase from the 478 held at the end of March.
The DC Jail. Photo: Andrew Lightman
February 2021 ★ 33
.capitol streets.
On March 18, 2020, the DC Superior Court suspended juries due to the dangers posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. By Jan. 22, 2021, 751 people are confined in DC Jail pre-trial, a 57 percent increase from the 478 held at the end of March. Under the Code of the District of Columbia, a person arrested and detained on a felony charge must be tried within a hundred days or released. In March, the Court paused this requirement. “It’s unconstitutional,” said Attorney Elizabeth Weller, who represents the two jailed defendants. Weller has appealed their extended detention in the DC Court of Appeals, one of several attorneys in the District to do so. “It violates the protections we have for people who have not been convicted of a crime—people who are by default not guilty because they haven’t been proven guilty. And their liberty is being taken from them without ever having a true finding of ‘guilty’,” Weller stated. In its examination of the extended detention of pre-trial defendants during the pandemic, Capital Community News interviewed over two dozen defense attorneys, DC Superior Court’s Chief Judge of the Criminal Division, Chief of the Superior Court Division for the US Attorney’s Office of DC, a city council staffer, people currently and formerly incarcerated in DC Jail and criminal justice and jury experts. The suspension of juries has reduced the options for detained defendants to obtain a resolution of their predicament to: filing a bond review motion, taking a plea deal, requesting a bench trial or successfully securing a dismissal. For defendants unsuccessful at petitioning for their release, who seek to argue their innocence before a jury, these options provide inadequate relief. In the meantime, detention itself imposes tremendous personal costs on defendants.
COVID Suspends Juries For most felonies, the DC Code requires defendants to be indicted within 90 days of their detention and tried within 100 days of that same date. Otherwise, barring extensions, defendants must be released. “There are some occasions where those hundred days become a little loose and flexible,” as there could be additional days added for continuances for a valid reason, but in the past there was at least a framework for when a defendant’s case would go to trial, said Carrie Weletz, a DC defense attorney. 34 H HILLRAG.COM
On March 18, DC Superior Court’s then Chief Judge Robert Morin suspended court proceedings due to safety concerns amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. The 100-day trial clock was “tolled,” meaning it was paused. Jury trials in progress proceeded, but new trials were not scheduled. Grand juries were also suspended. On May 14, 2020, the DC Superior Court formally suspended all criminal trials. It continued its suspension of the 100-day clock, as it would again in subsequent orders, the most recent of which was issued on Jan. 13. Under DC statute, the Chief Judge may suspend statutory and rules-based timelines in the event of natural disasters and emergencies. The Court determined COVID to be such an emergency. “Because when the pandemic began, we were not in a position to summon jurors into the building, it was obviously necessary to suspend that hundred-day trial clock,” Superior Court’s Criminal Division Presiding Judge Juliet McKenna told CCN. In December, the Court resumed bench trials. However, the chances of acquittal are greater with jury trials than with bench trials, according to Attorney Henry Escoto. “You’d rather have twelve people deciding your fate than one,” Escoto said. Notably, in 2019, less than half of felony defendants were delivered a guilty verdict in jury trials, compared to 80 percent in bench trials. For defendants who want their day in court before their peers, the wait continues. This month the Court announced its intention to resume some felony trials beginning on March 22. These would be limited to defendants who had trial dates set before the pandemic charged with certain felonies, excluding, for instance, Weller’s clients. The heavy backlog of cases and limited trial capacity will extend delays, especially for people who were arrested since the onset of the pandemic. “A lot of decisions that the Court has made have been responsible decisions for the pandemic or for the public health at large and they’re not in an easy position,” said Joseph Scrofano, a DC defense attorney. “But the one area that’s most problemat-
ic about what’s happening with this delay are people who are held without bond having very little recourse or mechanism to get out of jail while they are presumed innocent,” Scrofano stated. The District releases the majority of defendants after their initial court appearance. In 2019, 94 percent of all defendants and 75 percent of defendants with felony charges were released. In 2020, 76 percent of felony defendants were released. Beyond the pause in jury trials, some defendants have still not been formally charged with a crime. Typically, an average of five grand juries are seated, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia (USAO-DC). Since October, when grand juries resumed, only one has been sitting intermittently. Prosecutors were unable to empanel new grand juries before the New Year. While 1,477 felony cases have been filed in Superior Court between March 18 and Nov. 30, federal prosecutors had only obtained 61 indictments during that time. As a result, many defendants remain detained in the absence of formal charges. In the meantime, COVID’s scrambling of the jury system imposes costs on those detained in DC Jail, considered innocent until proven guilty.
Detention’s Costs As of Jan. 21, 232 residents of DC Department of Corrections (DC DOC) facilities had tested positive for the virus. Yet less than 40 percent of residents reporting symptoms had been tested, and sometimes even weeks later according to a brief filed as part of a lawsuit from American Civil Liberties Union (AC-
“It violates the protections we have for people who have not been convicted of a crime — people who are by default not guilty because they haven’t been proven guilty.” - Elizabeth Weller, a DC criminal defense attorney.
LU-DC) and the Public Defender Service (PDS) of DC challenging conditions at the jail. Experts, cited by the brief, found around 100 examples of violations of COVID regulations in a single shift. This was after a June preliminary injunction in the case ordered the Jail to improve access to medical care, increase health resources and alter their COVID-19 policies. Since April, most residents in DC are confined to their cells 23 hours a day. Also, in an effort to stem infection, the jail has eliminated visitation from family and friends. Anthony Petty spent the last months of a 30-year sentence at the DC Jail until his recent release. As a mentor with the Young Men Emerging Program, Petty witnessed how the pandemic affected people held in the jail awaiting trials and indictments. “Problems really come [with] some of the mental things people go through 23 hours for months and months at a time [when they] are being locked in the cell,” said Petty. Residents of the Jail haven’t been outside since March, as part of the lockdown, Petty said. The pandemic is exacerbating the difficulties of being jailed. Detained defendants may lose their jobs, income which their families may rely on, Petty said. They may have rent to pay and children who they need to take care of. “So now it’s [detention] affecting the whole family structure,” he explained. Petty is an Advisory board member of Neighbors for Justice, an organization founded this summer supporting residents of the DC Jail. “So it’s a lot of aspects of this pandemic that really messed everything up,” Petty added, characterizing the situation as “cruel and unusual punishment.” The DC Dept. of Corrections February 2021 H 35
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(DOC) did not respond when asked to comment. “Potentially, you have clients who have cases that they certainly could prove their innocence beyond a reasonable doubt before a jury and they’re sitting incarcerated during a pandemic at a jail that currently has its fair share of cases of COVID-19,” said Attorney Stephen LoGerfo. “A lot of individuals want their day in court. They are innocent until proven guilty and they’ve maintained their innocence,” said Sweta Patel, a DC criminal defense attorney. She does not fault the court system or judges for the situation. However, Patel termed extended detention beyond the amount of time defendants would typically serve a “miscarriage of justice” that would “take a toll on someone really wanting to fight for their innocence.”
Petitioning for Release In response to a flurry of COVID-19-related bond review motions filed and more anticipated, a few days after it suspended juries, the Superior Court instituted procedures for filing these motions. Al-
For defendants unsuccessful at securing release, few options remain.
Pleading Guilty In 2019, almost 95 percent of cases ended without a trial. Indeed, the majority of cases are resolved through the negotiated plea agreements between defense attorneys and prosecutors. In these deals, an admission of guilt is often exchanged for a reduction in charges or a lighter sentence. The pandemic threw a wrench in the plea system. During the pandemic, the number of plea deals for both detained and non-detained defendants significantly trails pre-pandemic rates. In 2019, the Superior Court approved an average of 170 plea agreements per month, including guilty pleas and dismissal plea agreements. Between March 18 and Nov. 30, 2020, only 491 plea agreements were accepted. Before COVID, the Superior Court did not explicitly allow defendants to virtually plead guilty to felonies. This past summer, the Court commenced virtual proceedings for felony guilty pleas and sentencing.
Still, Escoto noted, detained clients “are more willing to not challenge the allegations at trial and plead out their cases to reduce incarceration.” Despite the drop in plea deals, defense attorneys remain worried that the lack of jury trials has or could increase pressure on those under pretrial detention to offer an admission of guilt to expedite the disposition of their case. There is “no doubt in my mind” that individuals are taking offers due to the delay in jury trials, Attorney Patel said. Swaney has clients who had been released, she said, and were “very eager to exercise their right to trial,” who are now detained for a pretrial violation or re-arrest for something relatively minor, but who had a pending felony. “That has completely changed the calculation for them,” she said, regarding plea offers. For crimes without mandatory sentences, a plea can be more appealing to defendants if they think they will be released, said AJ Amissah, a defense attorney who practices in Superior Court. “We do our best to counsel our clients” that
“A lot of individuals want their day in court. They are innocent until proven guilty and they’ve maintained their innocence,” said Sweta Patel, a DC criminal defense attorney. most every defendant being held pretrial in DC Jail has filed at least one, if not multiple motions for such relief, according to the USAO-DC. Between March 15 and Dec. 5, 2020, DC Superior Court received 1,365 bond review motions for 1,033 individual defendants held for felony and misdemeanor charges. “Almost all of them included some basis for relief due to the pandemic,” said Judge McKenna. Judges granted only 33 percent of those motions. 16 percent were pending, as of Dec. 5. However, for felony defendants, the approval percent dropped to 26 percent. Understanding the reluctance of judges to release defendants charged with certain felonies, Attorney Julie Swaney believes judges are becoming “immune to the arguments about how unsafe the jail is.” While there have not been many reports of increasing COVID-19 at the Jail, this “still doesn’t erase the risk for our clients to be congregated with other people and especially the staff to be coming in and out from their communities,” Swaney added. 36 H HILLRAG.COM
Even with the recent increase compared to the start of the pandemic, the number of plea deals is “still a shadow of what it would be during normal times,” stated the USAO-DC’s Chief of the Superior Court Division John Hill. There are other reasons for the continued decrease in plea deals. Before the pandemic, if an attorney and the government decided on a plea, they could schedule a court hearing the next day, explained Attorney John Machado. Now, scheduling is much more complicated and can require as much as two to three weeks notice, he said, since judges cannot move from case to case as quickly in a virtual setting. “Getting time before a judge is a much more challenging commodity to get,” said Machado, though he acknowledged that judges are trying up to open up more courtrooms. Beyond logistical barriers, Escoto explained other reasons for the drop in pleas. These include the need during the pandemic to file a motion to request a hearing and increased difficulty meeting with incarcerated clients to research and analyze cases.
they do not have to plead guilty, Amissah said. “But it’s almost hard not to understand why they take a plea even if they think they’re innocent because the likelihood is that they’re going to be held for a long time,” he pointed out. Asked about the increased pressure on detained defendants to take plea offers, US Attorney Hill stressed the importance placed by his office and court on the voluntary element of such deals. “We certainly understand that these are unprecedented times and that presents new challenges for defendants and that many are being held beyond the time they would normally be held before they would have an opportunity for a trial,” said Hill, adding that many defendants wanted to plead guilty earlier, but did not have the opportunity to do so. While Judge McKenna hopes the pandemic has not placed additional pressure on defendants to take pleas, “I would be naïve if I said that it is impossible,” she observed. “That is one of the very reasons that we thought it was imperative to resume the jury trials for those defendants being held in jail pending trial.”
“We do not want there to be a situation in which any individual is facing any possible risk of being detained beyond the statutory maximum that they could face at the time of sentencing,” said McKenna. “We wanted to avoid imposing that sort of pressure or onus by offering up the opportunity to resolve cases by actually being able to exercise the right to have a trial.” The Superior Court and USAO-DC plan to reboot jury trials and grand jury proceedings in 2021.
Looking Forward Several defense attorneys have challenged the constitutionality and legality of their client’s detention in the DC Court of Appeals. “It’s well established that liberty is the norm and that detention prior to trial is supposed to be the carefully limited exception and we have case law and we have statutes designed to make it the carefully limited exception,” said Attorney Anna Scanlon, who represented a defendant in one such appeal. That appeal has since been ended after her client took a plea deal contingent on its dismissal. “Even though there is no doubt that the problem that COVID presents is vexing, that doesn’t mean we can just throw up our hands and say these people just have to sit in jail who are presumed innocent and that there’s nothing we can do about it,” explained Scanlon. Weller has filed appeals on behalf of two clients. Their continued imprisonment “violates the most basic tenet of liberty” in the Constitution, she wrote in her bond review motions. One of Weller’s appeals is pending. The Appeals Court returned the other to the lower court instructing the judge to reevaluate her client’s detention. February 2021 ★ 37
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Weletz has also appealed the detention of a client indicted for burglary and armed kidnapping. It was consolidated with another case brought by the Public Defenders Service of DC. On Dec. 15, 2020, the DC Court of Appeals heard the attorneys’ statutory and constitutional arguments. Both defendants, Judge McKenna, and Hill declined to comment on the pending appeal. “The court’s ruling on the application of the statute and the constitutionality of indefinite detention is likely to impact a large number of people currently who are being held pretrial with no trial date in sight,” Scanlon said. While the DC Superior Court intends to commence jury trials for Felony 2 cases with previously scheduled hearings, the one hundred day trial clock remains paused for other detained defendants. Jury summons have not yet been mailed, according to a court spokesperson. The public health challenges of resuming jury trials are not insignificant. “Two months is a reasonable deadline to get all of the protections that need to be in place, and all of the procedures that need to be in place, for this to proceed safely on a small scale,” said Dr. Anne Monroe, an associate professor of epidemiology at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. Given the rate of vaccinations in the city, Monroe emphasized that proceedings in March would need to be on a “limited scale.” “Even once jury trials resume, in order to be able to safely and competently work through the backlog of cases, those timelines are going to have to remain suspended [tolled) for an additional period of time,” Judge McKenna said. The wait for a jury trial could be much longer than March 2021,
especially for those arrested after the pandemic began. As for grand juries, the USAODC began the first of the year to empanel one a week the first two weeks of January, the office stated. Prosecutors are prioritizing detained defendants. Even if new grand juries are empaneled in 2021, “[t]he judicial system is still only able to safely accommodate a fraction of the grand juries that were operational pre-pandemic,” Hill stated. The Dec. 15 consolidated appeal will soon answer whether the city has statutory and constitutional authority to continue this practice in the midst of the ensuing pandemic. DC is not alone in facing such challenges. A number of jurisdictions that resumed jury trials were forced to reverse course. A North Carolina county saw its first jury trial end in a mistrial, due to pandemic health concerns. On Dec. 21, Maryland courts, which had resumed proceedings, suspended jury trials until April. In York County, PA, criminal trials resumed in July only to be suspended on Nov. 30. According to Center for Juries Studies Director Paula HannafordAgor, “with a couple of rare exceptions most large urban courts that would be the most similar to the DC Superior Court have done few or no jury trials.” In rural areas, there have been more such proceedings, she added. “The pandemic took us all by surprise back in March so it’s understandable that it’s taken some time for the system to catch up,” said DC defense attorney Lee Smith at the end of December. Cases are starting to move, Smith continued, but not as fast as they should. “We’ve got to figure out a way to either get jury trials started again safely but much more quickly or [...] figure out some relief for clients who are detained,” said
Smith. For instance, Smith referenced the High Intensity Supervision Program of the Pretrial Services Agency of the District of Columbia, potentially combined with home confinement. “Given the severe risk of the spread of COVID-19 inside courtrooms, the Court had to take unprecedented steps to suspend jury trials to protect public health,” said Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen (D), chair of the DC Council’s Committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety, in a statement. “While it remains the right call, we can’t overlook the hardship and challenges it has placed on anyone who is awaiting their day in court and seeking justice,” Allen stated. DC Witness, a non-profit dedicated to creating transparency in the District’s justice system, is providing data on criminal cases for this project. For more information, visit www.dcwitness.org. This article was supported by a grant from Spotlight DC: Capitol City Fund for Investigative Journalism. Spotlight DC encourages the submission for proposals by independent journalists. For more information, visit www.spotlightdc.org. Gavrielle Jacobovitz is a recent graduate of Columbia University and a reporter at Capital Community News. She has previously interned with HuffPost Politics and NBC Owned TV Stations. ◆
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PUBLIC RESTROOMS
A DC Group Advocates for Places to “GO”
W
hile we’re all different, as humans, we all have to eat, drink, and at some point, we all have to “go.” If you are in downtown DC and urgently need a restroom, it can be hard to find one. Public restrooms have long been scarce, and the onset of COVID has only exacerbated the problem. Public libraries, memorials, and the Smithsonian museums have long been public restroom oases, but they have closed or have limited hours due to the pandemic. Meanwhile, restaurants and coffee shops are increasingly limiting restroom access to patrons. Fortunately, there is a
by Catherine Plume
group in DC actively working to address this issue. People for Fairness Coalition (PFC) (https:// pffcdc.org/) was established in April 2008 to ensure that all unhoused individuals in DC have access to affordable housing. Six years ago, the organization took on the challenge of ensuring that DC, like other world capitals, has clean, safe public restrooms that are available to everyone whenever needed. In 2015, PFC visited 85 establishments in five downtown areas with high levels of pedestrian traffic and people experiencing homelessness to assess access to restrooms that are clean, safe, and available at any time of the day or night (https://pffcdc.org/ wp-content/uploads/2016/03/ Restroom-Inventory-ReportSummary.pdf). Not surprisingly, they found that availability was very limited. Marcia Bernbaum, Mentor and Adviser for PFC’s Downtown DC Public Restroom Initiative, notes, “Our strategy is to raise consciousness of the need for clean, safe public restrooms, People of all ages appreciate access to a clean, safe educate on the problem and public restrooms. Credit: Marcia PFC who benefits, and build support through advocacy. We’re looking itol Hill’s ANC6A was one of the ANC’s that exat two approaches in DC: providing pressed interest in the initiative. Amber Gove, Chair incentives for businesses to open up of ANC6A notes, “We voted to opt into the District’s their restrooms to the public and inPublic Restroom Pilot Program and proposed two stalling standalone public restroom intersections on H Street NE as possible locations. facilities at high pedestrian traffic Public restrooms are a win-win for our community areas in DC.” and businesses by allowing access to clean and safe The group’s efforts have paid restrooms for all people including seniors, pregnant off. The Public Restroom Facilities people, families, those with medical conditions, and Installation and Promotion Act of our unhoused neighbors.” 2017 was passed unanimously by While you may not haven’t thought much about the DC Council in December 2018 standalone public restroom design, others have. and became law in April 2019. In DGS has not yet decided which model will be inOctober 2020, the Department of stalled as part of its pilot, but the Portland Loo (www. General Services (DGS) reached portlandloo.biz) is popular in terms of safety, cost, out to ANCs and DC Business Imand sanitation features in a COVID world. These provement Districts (BIDs) to idenrestrooms are modular with stainless steel walls that tify potential locations to pilot the are both easy to clean and difficult to vandalize. Loustandalone public restrooms. CapPublic restrooms are an increasingly hard to find in DC. Credit: PFFC vered grating at the top and bottom of the walls pro-
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Catherine Plume is a lifelong environmentalist, a writer, and blogger for the DC Recycler: www.DCRecycler. blogspot.com; Twitter: @DC_Recycler. She is also the Chair of the DC Chapter of the Sierra Club, however, perspectives expressed are her own and do not necessarily represent the positions of that organization. ◆
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/ Our River: The Anacostia /
GETTING TO THE BOTTOM OF IT Cleaning up the Anacostia’s Contaminated Sediment
T
by Bill Matuszeski
here has been a lot of progress in the recovery of the Anacostia River in recent years, but there are plenty of challenges ahead. DC Water has eliminated the combined sewer overflows by a huge amount – approaching their 98% reduction goal. There are also large reductions in the discharge and runoff of dangerous chemicals. There is still more to do – especially when it comes to the challenging task of cleaning up or covering over the contaminated sediments sitting at the bottom of the Anacostia in various places, and making sure they don’t move up or downstream to pollute other places or otherwise release their pollutants into the waters. There are five major locations of contaminated sediments in the River which are in various stages of the process of being controlled. Let’s take a look at each:
Poplar Point These are the waters off one of the most natural and attractive parts of our shoreline, on the Anacostia side of the River above Frederick Douglas Bridge at South Capitol Street to about half-way to the 11th Street Bridge, a point where the National Park Service has its offices. It is difficult to imagine that the sediments in this part of the River are contami-
nated because the adjacent land and plants look as though they have been there for a while. But the three historic uses of the area were for a DC nursery, another nursery for the Architect of the Capitol, and a receiving station for parts to support the ship-building and other industrial activities at the Navy Yard. These all contributed chemicals and other contaminants that were washed offshore with sediments into the River for many years. The land and adjacent water areas are under a Federal CERCLA investigation to determine the extent of polluted soils on land and contaminated sediment and water offshore. The studies are to be completed this year, and the proposal for clean-up actions in 2022. They include borings at 72 sites, 37 existing and 40 new sites to test groundwater, surface water and sediment samples from seven sites and tidal studies to estimate sediment movement. There are various unsolicited pro-
Tidal Pool Below Pepco Property
Navy Yard (near right) and Poplar Point (in the distance)
ty needed to deal with the history of releases from the facility when it had heavy industrial activity.
Washington Gas Site This is a small site on the west side of the River just above the 11th Street Bridge. It was the location of the delivery of large amounts of chemicals and petroleum products over many years, although today there are few buildKenilworth Park Athletic Fields and Natural Area Beyond
View from the Washington Gas Site
posals for development of the area; the City Department of Energy and Environment is interested in building wetlands as part of the project.
Navy Yard The Navy Yard, on the west side of the Anacostia between 5th St, SE and the 11th Street Bridge has undergone extensive Superfund stud42 H HILLRAG.COM
ies in recent years and a major on-site restoration effort is well underway. But with so much ship-building and other industrial activity in its history, there remain some issues of offshore contamination. There have been studies of the offshore sediments, and a feasibility study is currently underway to decide what to do about capping, dredging, etc. The final draft Proposal is due in March 2021, with final decisions to be made this summer. One outstanding issue is the extent of downstream restoration of water and sediment quali-
ings or materials on-site. The study has gone through seven stages, the onshore clean-up is under way, and the process to determine what to do with offshore effects in waters targeted almost to the east bank of the River is still underway. The draft Remedial Investigation Report has been issued, and field investigations of the offshore conditions and alternative remedial technologies continue.
over with a thin layer of soil, studies indicate that the land and water absorbed into ground water or running off it has little or no impact on the River. However, once the two-thirds of the property in its improved state is turned over to the City, one option under consideration by DC is to covert some of it to wetlands, which was what it was until the City filled it in with trash.
PEPCO Benning Road Site
While those are the five areas where there are efforts underway to improve the water and sediment quality, we must remain aware of other ways that our progress can be threatened. There are two areas upstream of these sites that may be adding polluted waters and soils to the system. These are Hickey Run and Lower Beaverdam Creek. Hickey Run enters the River at the Arboretum, which it enters under New York Avenue as a sewer after draining the areas along and between Bladensburg Road and South Dakota Avenue. The storm sewers draining this area are separate from the sanitary sewers, but due to what appear to be illicit hook-ups, the storm sewer appears to be carrying a portion of the sanitary load directly into the River without treatment. Beaverdam Creek enters the River at the DC line after draining a large area of homes and industries along New York Avenue and Route 50 out to the Beltway. The State of Maryland is heavily engaged in finding and correcting the sources of its heavy load of pollution. So that’s how things stand down in the bottom of Our River.
This 77-acre site overlooking the Anacostia above Benning Road had the powerplant removed but remains as an active PEPCO regional service center. The Remedial Investigation was completed last March and the focus has been on certain chemicals in groundwater and how they might move toward and contaminate the River through existing outfalls. The study examines ¾ mile of shoreline and nearshore waters, including a 4.2 acre tidal cove off the north end of the site. The focus in the water is on fish consumption of contaminants. On land the effort has gone into detoxifying storm drains, repairs and treatment systems for any waters entering the River. New technologies are being tested to trap and remove PCB toxics from the cove.
Kenilworth Park This is the area to the north of the above PEPCO Benning Road site. It is 130 acres currently managed by the Park Service with a number of playing fields. But the upper two thirds of the property, which includes all the playing fields, is about to be turned over to the City to operate after the Park Service adds clean soils to the entire area. The southern portion will remain under Park Service management as a natural area with low density activities such as wildlife observation. Even though the entire area was a solid waste landfill covered
Bill Matuszeski is a member of the Mayor’s Leadership Council for a Cleaner Anacostia River, and the retired Director of the Chesapeake Bay Program. He also serves on the board of Friends of the National Arboretum and on Citizen Advisory Committees for the Chesapeake and the Anacostia. ◆
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ANC6A Supports Goding School Modernization ANC6A REPORT by Nick L. Alberti Chair Amber Gove (6A04) convened the January 14, 2020 meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6A via WebEx by welcoming the newest members of the Commission. Commissioners Keya Chatterjee (6A01), Commissioners Phil Toomajian (6A02), Mike Soderman (6A03), Laura Gentile (6A05), Robb Dooling (6A06), Sondra Phillips-Gilbert (6A07) and Brian Alcorn (6A08) were all in attendance.
Eastern High School Plan for In-Person Learning Eastern High School Principal Brown spoke to ANC6A about Eastern High School’s in-
person learning plan for the remainder of the school year. DC Public Schools (DCPS) gave autonomy to schools to select what a return to in-person instruction would look like so an advisory group was established and a survey of staff, parents and students was conducted to get an idea of how many wanted to return versus stay with virtual learning. Approximately 31% of those surveyed said they want to return to in-person learning but per DC government guidance, Eastern will invite 25%, or 196, students back into the building. To maintain DCPS’s Capital Commitment goal of graduating 85% of students in four years, students identified as struggling most with virtual and those at risk of not graduating within four years will the first to be invited back into the building; specifically, seniors falling off track to graduate this school year and ninth graders who may not be promoted into tenth grade next year. However, not all 196 students will be back in the building at once, but will be attend in-person lessons on a rotating weekly schedule to minimize interactions between students and staff. Virtual learning will still exist for any students that choose it. More details about this plan and other school related information can be found by visiting easternhighschooldcps.org.
Extracurricular Program Opportunities At Eastern HS
Elizabeth Braganza, the Coordinator of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program started at Eastern High School back in 2013, spoke about the newly started preIB program designed to challenge students and prepare them for college level work in grades 11 and 12. This program includes weekly guest speakers from a variety of fields as well as virtual field trips through workplaces and partnerships with non-profits to provide hands-on experiences for participating students learning at home. Regina McClure, the NAF Director for Eastern High Schools Academy of Health Services spoke about the opportunities afforded students participating in the Academy. These include additional honors medical classes, professional development such as interview training and resume building as well as paid internships with area hospitals and, as the Academy’s EMT program is accredited with the health department, once completed, students can sit for licensure with the national registry of EMT’s.
Motions and Recommendations
Transportation and Public Space Committee •
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The Commissioners voted, unanimously, to send a letter of support for Public Space Permit Application regarding the Modernization of Goding Elementary School subject to the following conditions:
ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION 6A AMBER GOVE, CHAIR, AMBERANC6A@GMAIL.COM Serving the Near Northeast, North Lincoln Park, Rosedale, and H Street communities ANC 6A generally meets the second Thursday of the month, at Miner Elementary School, 601 15th Street, NE.
www.anc6a.org
ALL ARE WELCOME •
The design team meet with the FoodPrints lead to discuss the public space plans in detail • The design team strongly consider eliminating the proposed traffic circle in favor of expanding the FoodPrints garden space and/or the natural space available on the site. • The Commissioners voted, unanimously, to send a letter of support to the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) to accompany the Traffic Safety Assessment Request for the 1300 block of North Carolina NE and 1300 block of A Street NE, including the possible consideration of speed humps as a traffic calming option. The Transportation and Public Space Committee meets at 7:00 pm on the third Monday of each month.
Economic Development and Zoning Committee •
The Commissioners voted, unanimously to table sending a letter of support to the Board of Zoning Adjustment for a special exception from the minimum vehicle parking requirements of Subtitle C § 701.5 to convert an existing, detached, two-story, carriage house to a principal dwelling unit at 1608 East Capitol Street, NE (BZA Case #20393) • The Commissioners voted, unanimously, to send a letter of support to the Historic Preservation Office for historic review of a new two-story accessory structure/garage with a green roof at 229 8th Street, NE (HPA 21-091), with the caveats that the owner make best efforts to get letters of support from the immediate neighbors, and that the project be revised to remove the parapet wall. The Economic Development and Zoning Committee meets at 7:00 pm on the third Wednesday of each month.
Alcohol Beverage Licensing Committee • The Commissioners voted to table several recommendations from the Alcohol Beverage Licensing Committee to revise language in the ANC’s template settlement agreement allowing more time for the Commissioners and greater public to weigh in on the proposed changes. The Alcohol and Beverage Licensing Committee meets at 7:00 pm on the third Tuesday of each month.
New Business •
The Commissioners voted, unanimously, to send a letter of support to Mr. Clifford Dixon, Permit Expeditor regarding permits for excavation, foundation and building that would allow work by the Eliot-Hine Middle School construction team from 6:00 am to 7:00 pm on the following holidays in 2021 to ensure the ability to meet the construction schedule: • Jan 18, 2021: MLK Day • Feb 15, 2021: Presidents’ Day • Apr 16, 2021: DC Emancipation Day • The Commissioners voted, unanimously, to approve the establishment of the ANC 6A Ad Hoc By Laws Review Committee and the appointment of Laura Gentile, Chair; Members: Marie Claire Brown (SMD01), Kris Sekerci (SMD01), Mike Soderman (ANC03), David Holmes (SMD03), Nick Alberti (SMD04), Kathryn Griffith (SMD05), Madeline Gitomer (SMD06), Marc Friend (SMD07), Mark Samburg (SMD07) and Veronica Hollmon (SMD08) to the Committee. • The Commissioners voted to send a letter to Mayor Bowser encouraging an appointee to the Public Service Commission who supports consumer protection,
The Next meeting is 2nd Thursday, February 11, 7:00 p.m. Economic Development and Zoning Committee meeting 3rd Wednesday, February 17, 7:00 p.m. Virtual Meeting via WebEx Community Outreach Committee meeting 4th Monday, February 22, 7:00 p.m. Virtual Meeting via WebEx Transportation & Public Space Committee meeting 4th Monday, February 22, 7:00 p.m. Virtual Meeting via WebEx Alcohol Beverage Licensing Committee meeting 3rd Tuesday, February 16, 7:00 p.m. Virtual Meeting via WebEx Instructions for accessing the meeting via WebEx have been posted under Hot Topics at anc6a.org. Call in information will be posted under Community Calendar at anc6a.org 24 hours prior to the meeting. You will be able to enter the meeting no earlier than 15 minutes prior to its scheduled start time.
Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6C P.O. Box 77876 • Washington, D.C. 20013-7787 www.anc6c.org • (202) 547-7168
Next meeting Wednesday, February 10. Information will be posted on the ANC 6C website.
ANC 6C COMMISSIONERS ANC 6C01 Christine Healey 6C01@anc.dc.gov
ANC 6C04 Mark Eckenwiler 6C04@anc.dc.gov
ANC 6C02 Karen Wirt 6C02@anc.dc.gov
ANC 6C05 Joel Kelty 6C05@anc.dc.gov
ANC 6C03 Jay Adelstein 6C03@anc.dc.gov
ANC 6C06 Drew Courtney drewcourtney.anc @gmail.com
ANC usually meets the second Wednesday of each month at 7:00 pm, 214 Massachusetts Ave, N.E. Please check the ANC 6C website for dates.
ANC 6C COMMITTEES Alcoholic Beverage Licensing First Monday, 7 pm Contact: anc6c.abl.committee@gmail.com
Transportation and Public Space First Thursday, 7 pm Contact: anc6c.tps@gmail.com
Grants Last Thursday, 7 pm Contact: torylord@gmail.com Twitter: @ANC_6C_Grants Environment, Parks, and Events First Tuesday, 7 pm Contact: 6C06@anc.dc.gov
Planning, Zoning, and Economic Development First Wednesday, 6:30 pm Contact: 6C04@anc.dc.gov Twitter: @6C_PZE
February 2021 H 45
solar energy and climate action. The vote was 7-0-1 with Commissioner Sondra Phillips-Gilbert abstaining.
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Kane said. “They were saying, ‘Get his gun, kill him with his own gun,’,” Kane said. Responding to questions about the low numbers of arrests on scene, Kane said that MPD was not the lead agency in securing the Capitol but operated under the federal United States Capitol Police. Once Capitol Police called for assistance, MPD Inspector Robert Glover, head of the Special Operations Division (SOD), directed efforts to retake the Capitol. “So, when we were called in the objective was to bring in enough resources to take control of the Capitol complex and so that became our focus,” Kane said. Sixty-eight people were arrested the day and night of the insurrection. At a Tuesday press conference, FBI Assistant Director in Charge Steven M. D’Antuono said that more than 170 case files had been opened. Referencing video of the attack, Kane said, “those officers were truly in a fight for their lives, so our initial objective was not to affect arrest but to actually take back control of the Capitol complex,” Kane said. Kane said that the initial charges placed against those arrested will be elevated as the investigation progresses. While the First District assisted in sweeping
can tell you definitively —we have officers, they’ve been to war, they’ve been on the battlefield —and what they encountered that night at the Capitol shook them to their core, right into their absolute core,” Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) First District Commander Morgan Kane told the monthly meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6B, held Tuesday, Jan. 12. Kane was among the MPD officers called to the Capitol Wednesday, Jan. 6 by US Capitol Police after a mob of Trump supporters attacked and entered the building. 58 MPD officers were injured in the insurrection. “This was an extremely agMPD First District Commander Morgan Kane speaks at the gressive and violent operation that Jan. 12 meeting of ANC 6B. Screenshot: Webex involved open hand combat,” Kane said. “There were bats, there were metal pipes, there were Tasers and multiple muthe Capitol, Kane said that officers were still panitions on both sides.” trolling the neighborhood. After the grounds were One MPD officer was attempting to guard cleared, situational updates on the status of neighthe door when he was pulled into the mob, borhoods were provided every fifteen minutes to thrown to the ground and beaten, Kane said. ensure that rioters cleared the street, assisted by “When I say ‘beaten,’ I mean he was stomped, the curfew imposed by Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) he was punched, he was hit with poles, he was and the fact that indoor dining was not permitted. tased, he lost consciousness and he was able to She said there was no spillover into residential armake it back and was able to rejoin his unit,” eas after the grounds were cleared.
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EXPLORING HOUSE HISTORY IN THE TIME OF COVID
Photo by Gayle Krughoff
PRESERVATION CAFE WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 6:30 PM Architectural archivist Maygene Daniels will explain how to use free web-based resources to explore the history of your own house and our Capitol Hill neighborhood. Free. Visit chrs. org/exploring-house-historypreservation-cafe/ for details
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February 2021 ★ 47
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She said that MPD is operating at full deployment until Jan. 30, meaning that members are assigned to 12 hour shifts. “I can’t say it enough: we’re in very dangerous times right now,” Kane said. “But rest assured MPD will be out there doing our damnedest and working our hardest to make sure that what we saw last week will not happen again.” Commissioner Denise Krepp (6B10) noted that she had sent a community impact statement to the Department of Justice (DOJ) asking for significant prison sentences for those who participated in the insurrection. Krepp told Kane she would write a second letter highlighting the injuries of police and making the same request. Several community members appeared to express their concern in regard to the increase in policing throughout the Hill in response to the invasion, specifically referencing Krepp. “I’m concerned that the calls to have you protect those who have come to enjoy our community supersedes the real danger that black people face,” said Maurice Cook, referencing a letter signed by ANC commissioners throughout the District written by ANC 7C06 Commissioner Victoria Clark expressing concerns about law enforcement response to the white insurrectionists as well as the relationship between white supremacy and police. Other residents asked the ANC to use their offices to keep the city safe in ways that do not jeopardize black and brown residents or those who are unhoused. They referenced another letter signed by ANC commissioners that urges the Mayor to take steps to prevent another invasion and to protect District residents and Black neighborhoods at risk.
Settlement Agreement (SA). The funds were allocated during a Special Call meeting of the ANC, which Holman was unable to attend. The amount is half of the ANC’s annual allocation, said Holman, who serves as ANC 6B Treasurer. Speaking in support of the motion, newlysworn in Commissioner Alison Horn (6B09) said that she felt that that proportion of funds would be better used in a matter that affected a larger proportion of the entire ANC. Others opposed the motion, saying that the case affects the wider community and the District as it will set a precedent for sports betting in residential neighborhoods. Commissioners opposing the motion to defund legal support also argued that it was critical to the success of the protest. “Stripping the funds to take on a protest is like going to a gun fight with blanks,” said former Alcohol Beverage Committee (ABC) Chair Chander Jayaraman. “You realize you’re going against one of these giant corporations that is well-funded and has attorneys, and it is essentially: you’re throwing in the towel.” Two different groups of residents have declared themselves parties in opposition to the application. At the December ANC meeting, one representative cited statistics showing that a sportsbook would increase neighborhood crime. Commissioners in accord with them argued that sports betting does not belong in a residential neighborhood and will increase both vehicular and pedestrian traffic in the area. The protest hearing has not yet been scheduled before the Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA).
Motion to Defund Lawyer for Handle19 Protest Defeated
Executive Director of the Office of ANCs (OANC) Gottlieb Simon appeared to preside over the election of the ANC 6B Executive. Candidates were unanimously elected as a slate, as follows. (i) indicates an incumbent officer in the position: • Chair: Brian Ready (i) • Vice Chair: Steve Holtzman • Secretary: Gerald Sroufe (i) • Treasurer: Corey Holman (i) • Parliamentarian: Kirsten Oldenburg
The Commission voted 6 to 5 to defeat a motion put forward by Commissioner Corey Holman (6B06) to rescind the allocation of $14,000 for legal fees to support the ANC protest of an application for a liquor license for Handle19, the bar, restaurant and sports book slated for 319 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. The motion would have re-allocated the funds towards restarting the ANC grant program that funds community relief efforts related to the COVID-19 pandemic. It would not have withdrawn the ANC protest. Holman said the amount was insufficient to achieve the desired result, and too much to spend on an effort that he believed would ultimately be no more successful than the usual process to achieve a 48 H HILLRAG.COM
Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) consider the rear elevation, which might be too bold considering the visibility from both the alley and from Tenth Street SE. The commission had previously asked for additional renderings to ensure the addition would be minimally visible from public space and compatible with the surrounding streetscape. Due to COVID-19 safety concerns, ANC 6B held the December meeting of the full commission on Tuesday, Dec. 8th virtually via Webex with a quorum of nine commissioners. Appearing were Commissioners Jennifer Samolyk (6B01), Gerald Sroufe (6B02), Brian Ready (6B03), Kirsten Oldenburg (6B04), Steve Holtzman (6B05), Corey Holman (6B06), Edward Ryder (6B07), Peter Wright (6B08), Alison Horn (6B09) and Denise Krepp (6B10). The next meeting of ANC 6B is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021. For the most up-to-date information on meetings and how to join a virtual meeting via Webex, visit anc6b.org. Learn about Commissioners and committees and subscribe to the ANC 6B newsletter by visiting anc6b.org or connect with the commission via email at 6b@anc.dc.gov or via @ANC6B on Twitter. u
ANC Opposes Sale of Alcohol from U-Haul Facility ANC6C Report
Election of Officers
In Other Business The Commission voted unanimously to support a concept for a Historic Preservation Application (HPA) to infill a dogleg and build a partial third-story rooftop addition at 921 G St. SE, asking that the
by Sarah Payne
A
t the Jan. 13th meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6C, commissioners continued discussions about restaurant licensing, alcohol licensing and discussed proposed changes to Zoning around penthouse additions. All six ANC commissioners: Christine Healey (6C01), Karen Wirt (6C02), Jay Adelstein (6C03), Mark Eckenwiler (6C04), Joel Kelty (6C05) and Drew Courtney (6C06) were in attendance.
Application for Internet Alcohol Sales The ANC voted to protest a liquor license application
EXTENSIVE KNOWLEDGE OF CAPITOL HILL & BEYOND from Bro Weekend Collective (25 K St. NE) in pursuit of plans to sell beer, wine and spirits online out of a U-Haul self-storage facility. They are applying for a retailer’s Class A internet-only license which allows them to sell spirits or beer, wine and spirits over the internet. The license would not allow them to sell to the public from their premises. Commissioner Joel Kelty spoke in opposition to the application, citing the licensee’s plans to store their product in a U-Haul facility. He suggested the ANC commission send letters to the Department of Consumer Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) regarding the storage of products in a self-storage facility. “Is it legal to store distilled spirits in a U-Haul facility?” Kelty asked. “I’d have to check with the Construction Code. That probably classifies as a high hazard occupancy because it’s flammable.”
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The commission voted to send a letter to the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) expressing concerns with an application for special exception from lot occupancy and rear yard requirements to construct a three-story rear addition at 1165 Third St. NE. The application was initially brought before the ANC Planning, Zoning, and Economic (PZE) Development Committee in November. The ANC supported their opposition to the application, saying there were no letters from adjacent neighbors or sun/shade studies. They also argued the penthouse structure did not comply with setback requirements. PZE Chair Mark Eckenwiler said the applicant returned before the committee January with some “modest” adjustments, including a partial sun/shade study and draw-
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ings showing a revised penthouse plan. The committee again opposed the application, noting that there were still no letters of support from neighbors and that the project still lacks compliance with penthouse zoning requirements. They also argue that the rooftop addition is not in keeping with the streetscape.
Views on Changes to Penthouse Regulations The commission voted to support a letter to the Zoning Commission (ZC) offering views of the ANC on proposed changes to the definition and regulations concerning penthouses. The definition would remove roofless structures and create new terms for features without roofs. The committee called for clarification on certain terms, such as “roof.” It also asked that changes to the setback requirements should not apply to buildings in the RF zones in order to preserve protection to roofANC 6C commissioners vote to oppose internet liquor sales from a U-Haul facility. top elements such as cornices. Finally, in order to open rooftops to bigger voted to recommend that ANC support the deof application to make them closer to the resmechanical spaces, the proposal would remove the sign and location of the benches. taurant operating hours. area limit on penthouses, currently capped at 1/3 of • A Public Space Construction application from ANC 6C will meet next on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 7 the area in zones with a three-story height limit. The Press House Artwork (331 N St. NE) was supp.m. virtually via Webex. Find the link to the meetPZE suggested that ZC restore a cap of some kind, ported by the commission. The TPS commiting, agendas and more information about the comexpressing concern that applicants would build large tee posed questions about the sharp edges of missioners at www.anc6c.org. mechanical spaces and later convert these to living some of the metal artwork and was told that spaces. Sarah Payne is a History and Neuroscience student at they would round the edges in the materials. The University of Michigan interning with Hill Rag. She • The commission voted to take no action on an Liquor License writes for and serves as an assistant news editor for application from The Boiling Crab (400 H St. Additional Items Michigan’s student newspaper, The Michigan Daily. You NE) for a change to the hours of their license, can reach her at sarahp@hillrag.com. u • Commissioners voted to re-affirm all incumasking to extend their closing time from 10:00 bent executive officers together as a slate. Ofp.m. to midnight. O’Neal said the restaurant ficers elected are: Karen Wirt, Chair; Mark group has been “amenable” to limiting hours Eckenwiler, Vice Chair; Joel Kelty, Treasurer; of the sidewalk cafe to 10:00 p.m. as originalChristine Healey, Secretary. ly stated and closing the windows to their sec• The ANC also voted unanimously to confirm ond floor dining space. at-large committee members as a slate: ANC 6D Report • The commission voted to protest the applica• Gerald Grossman, ABL committee. tion for a liquor license from Uncle Kenny’s • Dale Griggs and Jason Star, Grants Commitby Andrew Lightman Smokehouse (732 Maryland Ave. NE) permittee. ting the sale of beer and wine as well as out• Tiffany Aziz, Caitlin Morocco and Brianna Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6D met door seating, in pursuit of an SA. The resBattle, Environment, Parks and Events ComJan. 11 over WebEx. Commissioners Andrew Bostaurant is under new ownership, requiring a mittee. si (6D01), Jared Weiss (6D02), Ronald Collins new alcohol license application. Steve O’Neal, • Mary Albert, PZE Committee (6D03), Andy Litsky (6D04), Fredrica (Rikki) KramChair of the Alcohol and Beverage Licensing • Mark Kazmir and Andrew Turner, Transporer (6D05), Rhonda Hamilton (6D06) and Edward (ABL) Committee, reported that the restautation and Public Space (TPS) Committee. Daniels (6D07) were in attendance. rant also requested a sidewalk cafe with out• TPS Committee Chair Christy Kwan reported The commission unanimously elected Daniels, door tables, to be open from 7:30 a.m. until that 16 benches will be installed in the spring chair; Kramer, vice chair; Collins, treasurer; and 10:00 p.m. He said the ABL committee hopes throughout NoMa. The Public Space commitWeiss, secretary. to work with the restaurant to reduce the hours tee raised concerns about the bench style, but
The Capitol Insurrection
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he commission unanimously resolved to oppose the DC Housing Authority’s (DHA) current plans to redevelop the Greenleaf Gardens Public Housing complex. Community members had yet to see the project’s technical proposal, commissioners pointed out. Moreover, they remained concerned about DHA’s commitment to the “Build First” principle that would protect current residents against displacement. No details of the size or composition of the units have been provided, they complained. Nor has the commission been furnished the details on the site’s future ownership or management. The resolution called on DHA, the District government and Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen (D) conduct a full public review of the project’s technical proposal and provide the opportunity for the commission to comment.
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The Insurrection MPD Captain Jonathan Dorrough described MPD’s involvement in the recent Capitol insurrection. After receiving a 2 p.m. distress call from the US Capitol Police, the entire First District evening shift donned riot gear and sped to their assistance. More than 50 officers were injured in the subsequent “hand-to-hand” combat. All have since recovered. First District Commander Morgan Kane was one of the senior officers who led the effort to sweep the rioters from the Capitol, Dorrough stated. Commissioner Litsky termed Kane a “heroine.” “MPD is in our thoughts and prayers,” said Commissioner Collins, a sentiment echoed by the other commissioners. Andre Witt, chief operating officer of the Southwest Business Improvement District (SW BID), briefed the commission on his orga-
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The commission listened to the plans for a 13-story hotel at 280 12th St. SW.
nization’s experience with the rioters. The first indication of trouble, Witt stated, was the high hotel occupancy. BID workers noticed lots of the Trump supporters were equipped with walktalkies. Half reeked of booze. After Trump’s speech, their mood turned ugly, Witt stated. After the mayor declared a curfew, the BID pulled back its ambassadors and clean teams. The next day all was quiet.
Buzzard Point Environmental Issues The commission unanimously voted on a resolution objecting to a renewal of Buzzard Point’s Vulcan Concrete Plant operating license. The statement called on the DC Dept. of Energy and the Environment (DOEE) to vigorously review the plant’s operations related to environmental safety, claiming that the health of local residents has been adversely impacted. Secondly, a number of commissioners cited the company’s violation of agreed on trucking routes. Invited DOEE representatives did not attend the meeting. The commission unanimously passed a resolution requesting 52 H HILLRAG.COM
the District to ensure that developer Akridge implement Voluntary Corrective Action Plan to ensure the remediation of its massive parcel located just south the DC United Stadium at 100 V St. SW. More than 2 million square feet are slated for development. Given its history as an industrial location and the discoveries made during the construction of the adjacent stadium, commissioners remain concerned about coal dust and other chemical contamination of the soil. At a minimum, air quality monitors and careful fencing are required, stated Commissioners Hamilton and Kramer.
Other Matters MPD Captain Dorrough briefed the commission on public safety. Last month there were no shootings, but six violent crimes. The crime stats, in another words, are good with the exception of an increase in stolen cars. The commission received a briefing from Pacific Star Capital on the old General Services Administration parcel located at 280 12th St. SW. The group plans to develop a 13-story hotel on the parcel. No restaurant or un-
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PROUD TO BE AGENTS WITH THE #1 CENTURY 21 FIRM IN THE WORLD! derground parking are planned. Commissioners expressed concerns about the facility’s loading zone and its construction staging and transportation plans. The commission plans to vote on the design at its February meeting. The commission appointed the following individuals to its Alcohol Beverage Control committee: Josh Perry (6D01), Mathew Leady (6D02), Mike Stein (6D03), Travis Johnson (6D04) and Gloria Hamilton (6D06). The commission unanimously approved the treasure’s FY21 first quarter report which showed $2,858.11 in disbursements and an ending balance of $43,938.31. It also approved participation in the Advisory Neighborhood Commission Security Fund. The ANC unanimously voted to: • approve 2021 commission meeting schedule; • approve the minutes of the October Special Meeting, the general commission November and December meetings. • approve a change to the community agreement with Surfside, 31 District Sq. SW, allowing breakfast service. ANC 6D meets at 7 p.m. on the second Monday of every month. The next meeting of ANC 6D is for Feb. 8 via WebEx. For more information and links to join ANC meetings, visit anc6d.org. ◆
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BULLETIN BOARD Cupid’s Viral Undie Run
Exploring House History in the Time of COVID The Capitol Hill Restoration hosts this virtual Preservation Cafe event on Wednesday, February 17 at 6:30 p.m. The essence of our historic Capitol Hill neighborhood lies in the combined stories of its contributing buildings--homes, stores, offices, churches and schools. Even though COVID has closed archives, libraries and government offices, free webbased resources are available for study of these structures. During this talk, architectural archivist Maygene Daniels will explain how to use these to explore the history of your house and our Capitol Hill neighborhood. chrs.org.
CHRS Photo Contest: The Capitol Hill Home In anticipation of the 64th anniversary of the House and Garden Tour, the Capitol Hill Restoration Society is holding a photo contest--The Capitol Hill Home. 54 H HILLRAG.COM
Entries are due March 1. Winning images receive two passes to the 2021 CHRS Mother’s Day House & Garden Tour and will be displayed on the CHRS website. View details and past contest winners at chrs.org/ photo-contest-2021.
Construction Opportunities at The Wharf The Wharf encourages DC residents, particularly residents of Southwest DC and Wards 5, 6, 7 and 8, to take advantage of current construction job, apprenticeship and training opportunities at The Wharf. Three companies—Balfour-Beatty, Donohoe Construction, and DPR Construction—are constructing six new buildings as part of the second phase of The Wharf in Southwest. To apply for a job, visit wharfdc.com/jobs and follow the links to the prime contractors’ and subcontractors’ hiring websites for information. To sign up for a pre-apprenticeship training program operated by Build-
This year, because of the pandemic, instead of meeting for a mile(ish) run at your local bar, they’re giving you creative control--bike a mile, run backward, eat a mile-long sandwich? Anything goes! Then submit your video at cupidsawards.secure-platform.com/a/organizations/ main/home and enter in one of five categories (Most Creative Mile, Thirstiest Mile, Most Hilarious Mile, Most Heartfelt Mile, Best Cupid’s Spirit) for a chance to win prizes. And don’t forget to share your video on social media with your fundraising link so that all your friends can virtually cheer you on. cupids.org. Cupid’s Undie Run funds research for neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow on nerves throughout the body and affects one in every 3,000 births. They work in alliance with the Children’s Tumor Foundation (CTF), a 4-star rated charity, and the world’s leader in NF research. Since their start in 2010, Cupid’s Undie Run support has helped CTF generate 116 preclinical studies which have led to 16 clinical trials. One of those trials resulted in more than 70% of participants seeing their tumors shrink by 20 to 50%. ctf.org. ing Futures, with new classes starting regularly, visit wharfdc.com/building-futures or contact Sylvia Casaro at scasaro@dclabor.org or 202-506-0398. To date, including Phase 1, a total of 895 DC residents have been employed in the construction of The Wharf (51% of total hires); 300 DC residents (57% of total) have worked as apprentices. For general information, contact Elinor Bacon at The Wharf, ebacon@erbacondevelopment.com.
New NoMa BID CEO Named Maura Brophy has been named the next NoMa BID president & CEO. Brophy is a respected urban planning professional with an impressive background in housing and community development, transportation and infrastructure. For the past five years, she has served
Do you need mortgage assistance due to the effects of COVID-19? DC MAP (Mortgage Assistance Program) COVID-19 is here to help District homeowners stay in their homes during this pandemic. As businesses in the Washington, D.C. region have had to close or reduce staff, the District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA) recognizes the need to provide assistance to those impacted by the pandemic. DC MAP COVID-19 provides zero- interest monthly mortgage assistance loans that now include the coverage of condo and homeowner association fees up to $5,000 for up to six months for qualified homeowners.
Borrower Qualifications: • Must be borrower’s primary residence and must be located in the District of Columbia • Must have been current as of the March 1st payment (prior to being affected by COVID-19) • Must be able to document income affected due to COVID-19 • Borrower must be the borrower on the home loan, not just a member of the household • Must show proof that the borrower is not eligible for forbearance or other types of relief offered through the servicer and/or Hardest Hit Funds • If borrower is still affected after the CARES Act ends, then relief may be offered at that time (See additional terms)
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DC MAP COVID-19 financial assistance will be granted on a first come, first served basis until the program allocation has been exhausted. Homeowners seeking assistance through DC MAP COVID-19 should call 1-833-429-0537 to begin the process of applying. Questions regarding DC MAP COVID-19 may also be emailed to DCMAP@dchfa.org.
February 2021 ★ 55
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in roles of increasing responsibility at the Federal City Council, the non-profit organization dedicated to the economic advancement of DC, where her priority focus was supporting the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, ensuring the successful redevelopment of Washington Union Station, and encouraging the adoption of efficient and effective policies related to new technology and new mobility. nomabid.org.
Arena Stage’s Drama Book Club On Thursdays, Feb. 4 to March 26, 6 to 7:30 p.m., join other theater lovers to read, watch and delve more deeply into four contemporary American plays. Participants will explore the context of the play on the page and in performance, analyzing artistic choices, themes and character and discuss your discoveries. Facilitated by dramaturg, director and instructor Otis Cortez Ramsey-Zöe and School Programs Manager Rebecca Campana, participants will engage with the work and each other in lively, structured weekly sessions. A list of plays will be provided. Participants will furnish their own copies of the plays and pay any associated streaming fees. Participants may register up until the second meeting of the class on Feb. 11. $200-$250. arenastage.org/education/202021theater-lovers.
Southwest Waterfront AARP February Meeting
Free Admission to Mount Vernon On Monday, Feb. 22, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., celebrate with General Washington in honor of his 289th birthday. Admission is free and must be reserved online (No tickets are available on-site on this date). The mansion will be closed. Number of tickets will be limited. Also, on Monday, Feb. 22, 7 p.m., the Regent and the Vice Regents of the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association invite you to attend Mount Vernon’s virtual birthday party to celebrate Washington’s 289th birthday. Join in for an evening featuring performances and stories from a variety of actors, musicians, and historians to celebrate George Washington. These include stories and birthday wishes from bestselling author and the winner of the 2020 George Washington Prize, Rick Atkinson, multi-Grammy Award-winning violinist Joshua Bell, renowned mezzo-soprano opera singer Denyce Graves, 26-time Grammy and Latin-Grammy Award-winner Juanes, and more. “Attendance” requires a donation of at least $5. Register at mountvernon.org/donate/fundraising-events/ virtual-birthday-celebration. 56 H HILLRAG.COM
ture; Lez Read; Oh! The Horror; Poetry; Public Affairs; Romance; Science Fiction; A Seat at the Table; Spanish Language; Teen; Travel; Waterfront Fiction; Women’s Biography; and Political Philosophy. Check the individual book group webpages for online meeting information at politics-prose.com/book-groups. For direct inquires, email bookgroups@politics-prose.com.
Galentine’s Day 2021 Celebration at East City Books On Feb. 13, 4 p.m., East City Bookshop welcomes Sonya Lalli, Elizabeth Everett, Lauren Baratz-Logsted and Jackie Logsted for a special Galentine’s Day 2021 celebration. Free. Registration required at eastcitybookshop.com/ event/galentines-day-2021-celebration.
Hill Center Galleries & CHAL Virtual Juried Exhibition
The cancelled Southwest Waterfront AARP monthly meeting and speaker series teleconference on Jan. 13 has been rescheduled for Feb. 10, at noon. Hear Rachelle O’Neil describe the details of her Capitol Hill life as Congressman John Lewis’ Director of External Affairs. Dial-in at 425-436-6376—access code 701215. Contact Betty Jean Tolbert Jones at bettyjeantolbertjones@yahoo.com or 202-554-0901 for more information.
Through Match 31, nearly 50 artists show 94 total works in the annual Hill Center Galleries and Capitol Hill Art League (CHAL) Juried Exhibition. While the entire show moves online due to the ongoing pandemic, the work of the artists of CHAL continues to be of the highest caliber. Juried by Hill Center Galleries Director Nicky Cymrot and artist Alan Braley, these works feature a wide variety of mediums and viewpoints. You can see the entire exhibition at HillCenterDC.org/Galleries.
Politics and Prose Book Groups Meetings
Hill Center February Online Classes
Politics and Prose at The Wharf, 70 District Sq. SW; and at Union Market, 1270 Fifth St. NE are open to customers. Face masks, hand sanitizer and social distancing required. In-store and curbside hours are Tuesday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Politics and Prose supports more than 20 different store-sponsored book groups. All in-person book group meetings in the bookstores are suspended but several book groups are meeting online. Current groups are Bipartisan; Capital James Joyce; Classics; Daytime; Evening Fiction; Fantasy; Fascinating History; Futurist; Graphic Novels; International Litera-
Online Hill Center classes: Feb. 1, 6 p.m., Family Style Series-Aloo (Potato) Masala; Feb. 2, 6 p.m., Kitchen 101-Sausage Making; Feb. 6, 11 a.m., Flower Arranging with Olga Berman; Feb. 8, 6 p.m., Family Style Series-Onigiri; Feb. 9, 6 p.m., Kitchen 101-Knife Skills; Feb. 11, 6 p.m., On the Cooling Rack-Chocolate Hazelnut Tart; Feb. 12, 11:30 a.m., Long Lunch-Chinese New Year Dumplings; Feb. 19, 11:30 a.m., Long Lunch-Provençal Pissaladière; Feb. 22, 6 p.m., Family Style Series-Dan Dan Noodles; Feb. 23, 6 p.m., The Whole Beast-Fish Boot Camp; and Feb. 26, 11:30 a.m., Long LunchPaella. Online classes are $20. hillcenterdc.org.
Cookbook author Bonny Wolf will be creating a cookbook of recipes contributed by Hill residents and master chefs. The funds from the sale of the book will go to help support Hill Center programs.
Hill Center Call for Recipes Do you have a family dish that’s everyone’s favorite? Would Thanksgiving be disappointing without Aunt Betty’s sweet potatoes? The Hill Center wants your recipes. They are putting together a Hill Center cookbook and want to include you, your recipes and the stories behind them. Contribute one or as many as you like. Don’t worry about the format but do tell them a little about where you got the recipe. And tell them something about yourself. Your recipes will appear alongside those of master chefs who have taught in their kitchen, their regular cooking teachers, staff, volunteers and members of the Board of Directors. Send recipes or questions to Bonny Wolf at bonny@hillcenterdc.org. If you have a photo of your dish, they’d love to have that too. The cookbook will help raise funds to support Hill Center operations as they wait for a time when we can safely reopen and welcome you all in person.
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Anacostia Business Owners Celebrate Black History Month with Documentary on Amazon Prime Good to Great Stories: A Small Business Documentary chronicles the entrepreneurial journeys of seven business owners primarily in Anacostia, one of the District’s most historic neighborhoods. The documentary shows how these entrepreneurs are changing the narrative of Anacostia from struggle and scarcity to that of opportunity and growth through their stories. It offers a blueprint for other small businesses to harness the power of their stories. The documentary is available to the public on Amazon Prime for free throughout the month of February. The men and women featured have helped to economically empower residents in their community while embracing their own struggle to thrive. Here’s the link. amazon.com/Good-Great-Stories-Business-Documentary/ dp/B08R3TZ7H4.
Studio Theatre Goes Digital for Remainder of Season Productions will be available on demand, so you can watch when you want. There are no apps to download, just visit their website to stream. Here is the remaining 2020-2021 season lineup: Cock by Mike Bartlett, March 5 to 28; Until the Flood by Dael Orlandersmith, March 28 to April 18; 2.5 Minute Ride by Lisa Kron, April 23 to May 16; Flow by Will Power, May 21 to June 13; Tender Age by George Brant, July 2 to 25. studiotheatre.org.
tend an orientation and undergo a criminal background check (paid for by Food & Friends). As a new volunteer, you will be asked to make a six month or 20-hour commitment. foodandfriends.org/volunteer.
Ward 8 Woods Volunteer Opportunities
Karen Branan, Author, Capitol Hill Village Program On Monday, Feb. 8, 7 p.m., Karen Branan, author of The Family Tree: A Lynching in Georgia, a Legacy of Secrets, and My Search for the Truth, will describe her quest for facts about her family’s long-hidden role in the 1912 murders and her present work to heal the country’s racial history. This is a virtual, free program of Capitol Hill Village. For more information, visit CapitolHillVillage.org or write info@capitolhillvillage.org.
How to Build an Accessory Apartment or Second Dwelling in DC The United Planning Organization and Coalition for Smarter Growth has released ADU DC Homeowner’s Manual: How to Build an Accessory Apartment or Second Dwelling in the District of Columbia, to give homeowners the guidance they need to create an accessory or second dwelling unit on their property. The new guide will make it easier for homeowners to add income-producing units to their homes. The manual is designed to assist both homeowners and professionals, including architects and contractors. It covers project planning, zoning, design options, cost considerations, financing, permitting, hiring professionals and managing the rental unit. Download the manual at smartergrowth.net/resources/adu-d-c-homeowners-manual.
Food & Friends Seeks Volunteers Food & Friends seeks volunteers to deliver meals or work in the kitchen. As a delivery volunteer, you can choose how often you deliver meals, but you can expect to spend one to three hours on your delivery route delivering bags of freshly-prepared meals (flash frozen) and groceries to between six and ten households. As a kitchen volunteer, you can expect to spend two to three hours during each shift where you will either prepping meals or packing groceries. New volunteers must sign-up for and at58 H HILLRAG.COM
Ward 8 Woods engages residents and visitors in uniquely satisfying volunteer experiences. Most volunteers work in the woods removing trash and cutting invasive vines. If you like to be physically active, spend time in nature, and immediately see the results of your work, you might enjoy working with them. Remaining 2021 volunteer days are Feb. 6, March 6, April 3, May 1, June 5, July 3, Aug. 7, Sept. 4, Oct. 2, Nov. 6, and Dec. 4. Volunteer days are every first Saturday of the month from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Ft. Stanton Park. Meet at Ft. Stanton Recreation Center, 1812 Erie St. SE. To allow for social distancing, attendance at each event is limited to 10 people. Reserve your spot at ward8woods. org/volunteer.
DDOT Opens Car Free Lane on M Street SE
DDOT has announced the opening of Car Free Lanes on 14th Street NW; Martin Luther King Jr, Avenue SE, and M Street SE. Enforcement for all three has begun. M Street SE between 10th and Half Streets SE are restricted to buses and bicyclists in both directions during the morning and evening peaks. Car Free Lanes are designated by red curb-lane paint. The fine for unauthorized driving or parking in a Car Free Lane is $200. For more information, visit ddot.dc.gov/page/bus-priority.
DC’s COVID-19 Hotline District residents who are homebound due to COVID-19 can request support from the District for food and other essential items. Call 1-888-349-8323 or visit coronavirus.dc.gov/gethelp.
Hypothermia Alerts Hypothermia alerts are activated when the National Weather Service forecasted temperature, including wind chill, is or will be 32° F or below; or, when the temperature is forecasted to be 40° F or below, and the forecasted chance of precipitation is fifty percent or greater. Transportation to shelter is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you see someone outside in need of shelter or a welfare check, call the Shelter Hotline at 202-399-7093 or dial 311. If there is an immediate risk to safety call 911. When calling, include the time, the address or location of the sighting, and a description of the person’s appearance.
Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library Closed The Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, located at 901 G St. NW, is closed until further notice. dclibrary.org. u
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home and garden BRINGING THE WORLD TO CAPITOL HILL
C
apitol Hill is home to people from all walks of life -- actors, Hill politicians, teachers, business people, writers, artists, retired ambassadors, you name it. Everyone brings their own culture and traditions, sharing them with their neighbors. When the Honorable Richard Hoagland retired from a very distinguished career in the US Foreign Service, he looked around the DC area and decid-
article and photos by Rindy O’Brien
ed to settle on Capitol Hill in 2003. He said he looked at a lot of Victorian houses, but happily settled on a more modern home at 12th and C Streets, SE. Like many other retired Foreign Service employees, he brought back art, new food favorites, and seeds. Richard, better known as Dick, share with his neighbors the very unusual plant seeds he brought home from his travels by planting them in his front yard, and in a triangle park space across the street.
Farming In His History
Retired Ambassador Richard Hoagland on ladder to demonstrate how tall the castor Bean plant grows in the pocket park across from his house at 12th and C Streets, SE.
Dick comes from a long line of gardeners, and remembers spending time with his grandmother in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. “I think watching her garden ingrained my love of flowers and gardening,” says Dick. “As I served as ambassador in south and central Asia for most of my diplomatic career, I always enjoyed gardening around the residence, and I began collecting seeds of some of the The red bark of the castor bean plant is strikingly beautiful in the fall months. more unusual plants,” Dick reports. He was US Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and turn on C Street, you immediately see a Triangle Park Central Asian Affairs. He served in Pakmidway on C Street, with a very tall plant at the corner. istan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, TurkmenIt is leafy green and spreading across the point of the istan, Jordan, Syria, Afghanistan, and Arpark. The castor bean is a semi woody plant that can menia. Dick is grounded these days with grow up to 40 feet tall. In summer, the C Street casCOVID, but stays on top of international tor bean is at least 12 feet tall with a lot of flowers and affairs through Zoom calls. He is currentbean seeds forming at the top. According to Dick, it ly a board member of the Caspian Policy is an annual, and Dick starts every year with seeds in Center in DC. “While I miss traveling, I May. He actually collected the original seeds from the love my Hill neighbors and watching my American Embassy in Turkmenistan in 2007. In adlittle garden grow.” dition to the plant in the public park, the castor bean plants also are at his front door. One of the reasons the castor bean plant does Bringing Castor Beans so well is that DC shares a similar temperate climate to the Hill with central Asia. After the first freeze, Dick cuts off If you walk down 12th Street, SE, and February 2021 ★ 61
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to Animals (ASPCA) does list it as highly poisonous for dogs and horses, should they ingest a large number of the seeds. Some states ban the plant, but Dick says he has seen the castor bean plant in garden settings around town and in the Smithsonian gardens.
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Alongside the tall castor bean plant is a small flowery plant that also produces poisonous seeds. It is known by many names-thorn apples, Devil’s weed, Jimson weed, moonflower--and is more formally known The Datura plant is a well-known plant in the Southwest and was often painted by Georgia O’Keefe. In the park, as Datura stramonium. Georgia O’Keefe the white bloom pops up near the irises. painted the Jimson weed on numerous occasions, and it grows wild in the Souththe tops and all the leaves but keeps the bright west. The large usually white flower is red stems up for a few more months. They are part of the nightshade family and can spread to especially beautiful against the (increasingly ina width of 6 feet. It needs little garden maintefrequent) snow in winter. nance and spreads quickly. Often birds spread the Castor beans are not often grown because seeds and they can remain dormant for years bethe hulls of the seeds contain the deadly poifore sprouting. The plant will self-seed. son ricin. Making ricin powder is, according While the entire plant contains some level of to the Centers for Disease Control and Preventoxicity, the small black seeds are responsible for tion (CDC), technically a difficult and complicatthe hallucinogenic effects of the plant. The seeds ed process, so it is pretty unlikely that the castor can produce delirium, hallucination, and bizarre beans on these plants pose much of a threat. The behavior that can last for several days. Centuries American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty ago this plant was used to treat spasmodic disorders, epilepsy and mania. It was also used as an anesthesia before surgery. In many cultures, it is regarded as sacred and magical and is an ingredient used in voodoo. Consuming any part of the plant can be fatal. It is important not to add the seed pods to your compost pile. The white flowers brighten this corner of the Triangle Park, and are a nod to the plants found wild in central Asia. The fact that they can thrive pretty much unattended also makes them successful in this small park, as there is no water source. Dick waters them from a stretched hose from his house in the early stages of growth, but then lets them go. DC’s summer 2020 weather was perfect for them. Now we can enjoy the beautiy of the stalks before the cycle begins again in May. East meets west on Capitol Hill, thanks to Dick’s sharing of his seeds.
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The pocket park corner, once the site of St. Cyprian church, looks bare in the winter months, waiting for its spring planting.
Rindy O’Brien is a long time resident of the Hill, and enjoys all the different ways gardeners find their inspirations. Contact Rindy at rindyobrien@gmail.com u
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by Wendy Blair On my often-lonely daily walks all January I’ve been cheered in our neighborhood by tall plants in front gardens bearing cascades of brilliant red berries. I never quite realized how beautiful they are until COVID arrived – what are they? Nandina domestica, also known as “Heavenly Bamboo” thrives in zones 6 through 9 during cold months. It can eventually become invasive, but the berries have cheered many through a dark winter.
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DEAR GARDEN PROBLEM LADY,
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A gardening friend tells me that my Holly tree needs a husband in order for it to bear fruit – i.e. berries. Howz that again? Your friend used a wittiNandina Domestica cism to tell you that in the garden some trees and perennial dicates that pollen did not reach it. Perplants are dioecious. In other words, some are haps the male tree was too far away, or weathmale and some female. This means that a male er intervened. plant is necessary to produce berries on the female. First you need to be certain that your Early every spring I buy myself a big bunch holly is, indeed, female. The male, or pollenof pussy willows. This year my grandson asks bearing ones, never have berries. Only Hollies what are Pussy Willows? H’mmm. How can with female, or flowers with a pistil, will bear I explain? fruit. (And just to confuse us all, some HolWell! First, like some Holly trees, all spely species are NOT dioecious. These ones all cies of pussy willows are dioecious – there are produce berries.) males and females. The males are the ones who The flowers of a dioecious female Holhave soft fuzzy nubs like tiny kittens’ paws along ly, which appear in late spring, are small and intheir branches. These male pussy willows are conspicuous, but they do have a well-defined themselves covering a flower inside. Young chilpistil in the center. The male holly has flowers dren often wonder if they are animals instead whose stamens bear pollen, but the pistil is small of plants. and undeveloped. Sometimes a female holly will Called “catkins” after a Dutch word for drop all its berries before they turn red. This in-
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kitten, katteken, these petal-less male flowers develop pollen-bearing stamens. Even in full bloom their flowers have no petals, no showy color, and no fragrance. They don’t need pollinators, either, depending entirely on wind to carry pollen to female plants. Do female plants have pussy willow flowers? No! Their greenish flowers are bristly, and look more
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A Male Pussy Willow, Starting To Form Pollen
like hedgehogs than kittens’ paws. During Covid the Capitol Hill Garden Club continues Zoom meetings at 7 p.m. on the second Tuesday of the month. Please contact capitolhillgardenclub.org for an invitation to the February Program. Feeling beset by gardening problems? Your problem might prove instructive to others, and help them feel superior to you. Send them to the Problem Lady c/o dearproblemlady@gmail. com. Complete anonymity is assured. ◆
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CHANGING HANDS Changing Hands is a list of residential sales in Capitol Hill and contiguous neighborhoods from the previous month. A feature of every issue, this list, based on the MRIS, is provided courtesy of Don Denton, manager of the Coldwell Banker office on Capitol Hill. The list includes address, sales price and number of bedrooms. 1105 D St SE 128 10th St NE 706 12th St NE 802 A St NE 109 Kentucky Ave SE 209 13th St NE 307 9th St SE 226 12th Pl NE 402 G St NE 713 A St NE 717 10th St NE 709 D St NE 1501 E St SE 1327 C St NE 312 3rd St NE 416 D St NE 403 9th St NE 34 16th St SE 330 14th St NE 717 F St NE 333 L St NE 622 13th St NE 1507 North Carolina Ave NE
$985,000 $975,000 $974,000 $967,000 $955,500 $925,000 $900,000 $899,000 $882,500 $870,500 $859,000 $839,000 $820,000 $802,500 $793,500 $752,000 $750,000 $687,000 $680,000 $644,000 $585,000 $580,000 $500,000
CAPITOL HILL EAST 1600 E Capitol St NE 1404 E St SE 525 24th St NE
$865,000 $790,000 $665,000
CAPITOL QUARTER 922 4th St SE
$852,500
COLUMBIA HEIGHTS
NEIGHBORHOOD
PRICE BR
FEE SIMPLE 14TH STREET CORRIDOR 2534 13th St NW
ANACOSTIA 1624 U St SE 1413 18th Pl SE 1438 18th Pl SE 1768 W St SE
BARRY FARMS 1530 Howard Rd SE 1450 Howard Rd SE
BENNING HEIGHTS 5024 Hanna Pl SE
BLOOMINGDALE 20 Seaton Pl NW 2217 Flagler Pl NW 116 U St NW 57 U St NW
BRENTWOOD 1371 Adams St NE 2260 13th St NE
BROOKLAND 3320 7th St NE
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2930 12th St NE 624 Totten Mews NE 4707 N Capitol St NE 4711 12th St NE 614 Faraday Pl NE 4435 6th Pl NE 826 Delafield St NE 625 Gallatin St NE 220 Cromwell Ter NE 4371 Varnum Pl NE 3424 9th St NE 230 Channing St NE 751 Faraday Pl NE 52 Hawthorne Ct NE #52
$866,000 $665,000 $650,000 $600,000 $550,000 $550,000 $550,000 $530,000 $525,000 $525,000 $517,000 $500,000 $420,000 $350,000
$1,415,000
5
$535,000 $503,600 $420,000 $280,000
3 3 6 2
$300,000 $275,000
2 2
CAPITOL GATEWAY
$560,000
4
CAPITOL HILL
$1,510,000 $1,275,000 $925,000 $925,000
5 4 6 5
$510,000 $470,000
3 3
$903,000
4
236 58th St NE
1354 E Capitol St NE 1622.5 E St SE 326 Massachusetts Ave NE 1425 A St SE 413 2nd St SE 325 7th St NE 210 4th St SE 1013 4th St NE 913 Massachusetts Ave NE 517 6th St NE 550 7th St SE 325 F St NE 1369 Independence Ave SE 1416 A St NE
3 3 3 3 2 4 3 2 2 4 3 4 2 2
$507,500
3
$1,699,900 $1,608,000 $1,450,000 $1,425,000 $1,300,000 $1,207,000 $1,200,000 $1,129,398 $1,105,000 $1,087,000 $1,069,000 $1,060,000 $1,059,000 $992,641
5 4 9 5 4 3 3 4 3 3 3 3 3 3
1211 Park Rd NW 1369 Newton St NW 603 Kenyon St NW 505 Park Rd NW 1338 Perry Pl NW 1470 Newton St NW 3518 Park Pl NW 1311 Belmont St NW 1352 Spring Rd NW 1026 Park Rd NW 1522 Ogden St NW 1437 Parkwood Pl NW 769 Gresham Pl NW 1017 Euclid St NW 2616 Sherman Ave NW 743 Gresham Pl NW 3809 Kansas Ave NW 623 Harvard St NW 3521 New Hampshire Ave NW 1222 Girard St NW 765 Princeton Pl NW 615 Irving St NW 442 Lamont St NW
$1,190,000 $1,015,000 $985,000 $950,000 $930,000 $925,000 $915,000 $910,000 $900,000 $890,000 $885,000 $884,000 $880,000 $875,000 $865,000 $855,000 $853,000 $850,000 $825,000 $815,000 $730,000 $718,000 $565,000
CONGRESS HEIGHTS 3020 7th St SE 844 Yuma St SE 477 Valley Ave SE 921 Barnaby St SE 1208 Barnaby Ter SE 332 Raleigh St SE
DEANWOOD 5907 Eads St NE 57 46th St NE 918 49th St NE
3 3 3 3 4 3 2 3 3 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 4 2 2 1 2 3 1 3 2 3 3 4 3 4 6 3 5 4 5 3 3 5 4 5 6 4 4 3 4 6 5 4 3 3
308 62nd St NE 14 53rd St SE 4041 Clay Pl NE 4924 Fitch Pl NE 5818 Field Pl NE 308 57th St NE 71 55th St SE 4655 Hayes St NE 5321 Blaine St NE 4508 Foote St NE 5365 Hayes St NE 5126 Just St NE 5100 Just St NE 4404 Clay St NE 4812 Hayes St NE 5904 Eads St NE
DUPONT CIRCLE 1525 P St NW 1630 19th St NW #C ( 2 UNITS) 2036 17th St NW 1731 Swann St NW 1808 S St NW
ECKINGTON 108 U St NE 1928 1st St NE
FOGGY BOTTOM 900 25th St NW 955 26th St NW #805
4 3 3 3 3 2
$611,000 $575,000 $535,000
4 4 3
4 3 4 3 3 4 4 3 2 2 3 2 3 3 2 2
$2,750,000 $1,700,000 $1,550,000 $1,337,500 $1,250,000
7 4 4 4 4
$950,000 $803,000
4 3
$808,000 $460,000
2 1
FORT DUPONT PARK 4312 E St SE 918 Hilltop Ter SE 3326 Croffut Pl SE 4324 Alabama Ave SE 4201 Massachusetts Ave SE
$552,500 $470,000 $440,000 $420,000 $325,000
H STREET CORRIDOR 923 12th St NE 1025 4th St NE 819 9th St NE 933 8th St NE
HILL CREST 3031 K St SE
HILL EAST 447 17th St SE 764 13th St SE
KINGMAN PARK 1811 Gales St NE 514 25th Pl NE
LEDROIT PARK
$567,001 $449,500 $433,000 $415,000 $400,000 $385,000
$535,000 $510,000 $505,000 $487,500 $480,000 $470,000 $469,000 $418,000 $414,900 $390,000 $369,900 $330,000 $325,000 $302,500 $271,000 $241,791
2116 2nd St NW 336 Oakdale Pl NW 211 Florida Ave NW #PARKING-00
LILY PONDS 241 33rd St NE
LOGAN CIRCLE 1318 T St NW 1306 Riggs St NW
3 3 3 3 3
$1,365,000 $800,000 $712,500 $565,000
4 3 2 2
$464,900
3
$816,000 $750,000
3 4
$725,000 $665,000
3 2
$897,000 $455,000 $30,000
4 2 0
$455,000
2
$2,345,000 $1,125,000
5 2
WINTER HOMES WONDERLAND! MARSHALL HEIGHTS 5021 Ivory Walters Ln SE 5214 Queens Stroll Pl SE 5040 Kimi Gray Ct SE 4708 B St SE 23 54th St SE 846 51st St SE 5123 A St SE 4654 A St SE 5518 C St SE 4809 B St SE
MOUNT VERNON 200 N St NW
NOMA
1138 5th St NE 1141 6th St NE
OLD CITY #1 1231 G St NE 1220 Constitution Ave NE 703 Florida Ave NE 1437 Ives Pl SE 1004 9th St NE 909 11th St NE 1222 I St NE 1371 Florida Ave NE
OLD CITY #2 1736 Swann St NW 1632 15th St NW 1832 8th St NW 1436 Swann St NW 441 Ridge St NW
RANDLE HEIGHTS 1902 U Pl SE 3470 24th St SE
SHAW
906 S St NW 1402 5th St NW 1840 Vermont Ave NW 1728 6th St NW 1907 8th St NW
$470,000 $440,000 $440,000 $425,000 $420,000 $415,000 $410,000 $397,786 $365,000 $340,000
3 4 3 2 3 3 5 2 2 2
$655,000
3
$885,000 $885,000
3 3
$1,225,000 $875,000 $845,000 $765,000 $760,000 $730,000 $675,000 $475,000
4 3 4 3 3 4 4 2
$1,200,000 $1,130,000 $995,000 $925,000 $590,000
3 3 3 3 2
$430,000 $389,000
3 3
$1,575,000 $1,300,000 $1,225,000 $1,100,000 $869,000
4 4 4 3 3
$1,240,000 $780,000 $735,000 $735,000 $589,000 $531,000 $450,000
5 4 4 4 4 3 2
$910,162
3
1811 Wiltberger St NW $755,000 VILLAGES AT DAKOTA CROSSING 3806 Fort Lincoln Dr NE $665,000
2
TRINIDAD 1241 Morse St NE 1700 Montello Ave NE 1407 Orren St NE 1407 Orren St NE 1026 18th St NE 1417 Montello Ave NE 1826 H St NE
TRUXTON CIRCLE 63 New York Ave NW
U STREET
WASHINGTON HIGHLANDS 893 Bellevue St SE
$425,000
EW ! N ICE PR
645 Lexington Ave NE 5BR/4.5BA $1,799,000
! EW G N IN T S LI
FOUR TALL LEVELS ON LOVELY LEXINGTON PLACE!GRAND re-imagining of classic Arts & Crafts-style home on quiet and coveted Lexington Place – 6 blocks to Union Station, Eastern Market, or H Street Whole Foods! 2600 SF of gracious dimensions and craftsmanship over FOUR big levels featuring all the key ingredients – stunning kitchen, wall of South-facing glass, FIVE bright bedrooms, plus cozy lower den and INSPIRED sky-lit home office. CELEBRATE the start of 2021 with the big MOVE-UP you’ve been dreaming of!
! EW G N IN ST I L
HISTORIC ACCENTS THROUGHOUT THIS GESSFORD HOME! Steps from Lincoln Park and just 3 blocks to Eastern Market! This splendid Federal flat front designed by popular Hill architect Charles Gessford features waxed French floors, a beautiful original staircase and hearth, gorgeous chandeliers plus a mirrored and built-in armoire upstairs in this 3 bed 2 bath home. Smart updates throughout with finished basement and rear yard.
!
515 7th St SE 4BR/5BA $2,600,000
LD
SO
!
LD
631 C St NE 5BD/3.5BA $1,410,000
706 12th Street NE 3BR/3.5BA $974,000 STRONG AND STATELY VICTORIAN STEPS FROM H STREET!! Just Steps to H street & theAtlas District, call this tall and handsome Victorian home your own! Ornate stone façade and elevated entrance. 2BR/2BA with soaring loft office on the upper level and separate 1/1 apartment for income below. Together, lock your monthly housing cost at less than nearby tiny condos!
Nestled between Barracks Row and Eastern Market - walk or bike everywhere from this GRAND 1851 Historic porchfront with multiple units + 3 level carriage house, standing proudly in a row of striking wood frame houses! Unique investment opportunity with bountiful square footage in an incredible locale- a lovely treelined block at Eastern Market Metro.
ER T! D C N RA T U N CO
1015 Independence Ave SE 3BR/2BA $1,070,000
SO
BESPOKE BAY-FRONT BEAUTY STEPS TO STANTON PARK! Four-level Victorian lies at the heart of the historic Hill, steps from Stanton Park! Tall ceilings and gleaming oak floors, original turned staircases, and warm central hearth anchor the living and dining areas. The updated rear kitchen, skylit fourth level with 2 bedrooms, PLUS BONUS lower level apartment.
1425 A St SE 4BD/3.5BA $1,425,000 TOP TO BOTTOM TRANSFORMATION ALONG A ST SE! Porchfront faces wide, wonderful A Street SE, with elevated porchfront and large rear deck and yard + garage. Huge 16 ft addition gives you a WEALTH of room across three levels - 2480 SF of impeccable renovation, from upper beds / baths, gourmet kitchen and open floor plan, to separate entry lower level. Short stroll to METRO, River Trail, and Beckert’s Park Safeway!
4 4
WEST END
1136 25th St NW $2,925,000 4
CONDO 14TH STREET CORRIDOR 1444 Church St NW #504 2125 14th St NW #629 1415 Chapin St NW #2
$960,000 $530,000 $299,000
2 1 1
202.243.7707
info@joelnelsongroup.com February 2021 H 67
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ADAMS MORGAN 2303 Ontario Rd NW 2357 Champlain St NW #401 1832 Calvert St NW #2 2440 16th St NW #514 2337 Champlain St NW #104 2526 17th St NW #204 2412 17th St NW #C-01 1957 Calvert St NW #1957 2244 Ontario Rd NW #5 2630 Adams Mill Rd NW #102 1700 Euclid St NW #B-1 2440 16th St NW #504
ANACOSTIA 2607 Douglass Rd SE #301
BLOOMINGDALE 66 Rhode Island Ave NW #2 25 U St NE #1 129 W St NW #301 67 Randolph Pl NW #1 1929 1st St NW #105
BRENTWOOD 1390 Bryant St NE #102
CAPITOL HILL
1111 Pennsylvania Ave SE #403 524 13th St SE #B 518 6th St NE #A 625 3rd St NE #6 214 Justice Ct NE #48 300 8th St NE #306 600 Kentucky Ave SE #B 266 Kentucky Ave SE #B 1020 Pennsylvania Ave SE #204 106 Tennessee Ave NE #2 48 15th St NE #48 1500 Pennsylvania Ave SE #405 637 3rd St NE #404 18 9th St NE #207 116 North Carolina Ave SE #104 414 Seward Sq SE #303 7 18th St SE #103
$1,325,000 $800,000 $667,500 $585,000 $510,000 $510,000 $499,000 $410,000 $410,000 $375,000 $285,395 $228,000
3 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0
$249,000
3
$655,000 $650,000 $560,000 $415,000 $346,000
2 3 2 1 1
$279,000
2
$1,500,000 $865,007 $855,000 $765,000 $750,000 $699,900 $695,000 $570,000 $570,000 $433,000 $419,000 $403,900 $368,000 $355,000 $349,900 $241,900 $174,900
2 2 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 0 1
CAPITOL HILL EAST 1519 K St SE #302 1391 Pennsylvania Ave SE #M09 1519 K St SE #201 1821 I Street NE #6
$705,000 $550,000 $543,500 $339,900
CAPITOL RIVERFRONT 1211 Van St SE #601 1211 Van St SE #807 1211 Van St SE #713 1211 Van St SE #812
CENTRAL
400 Massachusetts Ave NW #917 915 E St NW #401
$836,000 $614,900 $589,900 $446,900 $445,000 $374,900
COLUMBIA HEIGHTS 1206 Lamont St NW #1 1428 Shepherd St NW #2 1005 Girard St NW #B 1485 Monroe St NW #1 1466 Harvard St NW #A-1 1508 Park Rd NW #2 3554 10th St NW #1 3609 13th St NW #2 1300 Kenyon St NW #1 1412 Chapin St NW #206 2901 16th St NW #204 1442 Harvard St NW #4 1308 Clifton St NW #505 1390 Kenyon St NW #816
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$950,000 $900,000 $819,000 $795,000 $750,000 $690,000 $650,000 $627,500 $600,000 $587,000 $570,000 $545,000 $512,500 $481,000
2 2 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 1
1324 Euclid St NW #202 1390 Kenyon St NW #602 1324 Euclid St NW #407 3900-3902 14th St NW #609 1417 Newton St NW #402 1441 Euclid St NW #203 1458 Columbia Rd NW #303 1458 Columbia Rd NW #405 1458 Columbia Rd NW #400
$459,900 $440,000 $435,000 $370,000 $355,000 $324,750 $300,000 $274,900 $255,000
CONGRESS HEIGHTS 2911 8th SE #1101 3870 9th St SE #101
DEANWOOD 4407 Gault Pl NE #2
DUPONT
1745 N St NW #312 1332 21st St NW #302 1619 R St NW #LL3 2122 N St NW #8 2122 N St NW #7 1721 P St NW #C 2150 Florida Ave NW #2 1401 17th St NW #403 1700 17th St NW #405 1619 R St NW #LL2 1745 N St NW #103 1330 New Hampshire Ave NW #1010 1735 Willard St NW #2 1545 18th St NW #322 2007 O St NW #501 1725 New Hampshire Ave NW #407 1739 Q St NW #1 1705 P St NW #31 1723 Q St NW #G3 1727 Massachusetts Ave NW #714
ECKINGTON 216 T St NE #1 147 R St NE #7 216 T St NE #3 2004 3rd St NE #102 2714 6th St NE #4 2714 6th St NE #3
FAIRFAX VILLAGE 2111 Suitland Ter SE #302
FOGGY BOTTOM 2030 F St NW #802 522 21st St NW #710 922 24th St NW #709
FORT LINCOLN 3464 Summit Ct NE #3464
$335,000 $215,000
2 3
$234,000
2
$579,000 $461,000 $399,000 $1,999,900 $1,500,000 $1,140,000 $725,000 $653,000 $590,000 $479,950 $479,000 $462,000 $445,000 $408,000 $405,000 $399,900 $395,000 $375,000 $303,500 $215,000
1 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 0 0
$580,000 $469,000 $429,900 $303,000 $686,000 $650,000
2 2 2 1 3 3
$200,000
2
$429,000 $250,000 $246,000
1 0 0
HILL CREST
2032 Fort Davis St SE #A 2012 Fort Davis St SE #202
HILL EAST
1391 Pennsylvania Ave SE #461 1434 Potomac Ave SE #1 1524 Independence Ave SE #1
LEDROIT PARK 1844 3rd St NW #103 211 Florida Ave NW #5 211 Florida Ave NW #2
211 Florida Ave NW #3 211 Florida Ave NW #4
LOGAN CIRCLE 1133 14th St NW #PH8 1401 Church St NW #416 2250 11th St NW #201 1440 N St NW #712 1313 R St NW #1 1825 13th St NW #6 1445 Church St NW #23 1235 S St NW #1 1400 Church St NW #202 1450 Church St NW #C01 1550 11th St NW #208 1330 Vermont Ave NW #2 1502 13th St NW #3 1300 N St NW #403 1245 13th St NW #609
MOUNT VERNON 440 L St NW #904 1133 6th St NW #3 1010 Massachusetts Ave NW #206
NAVY YARD 1025 1st SE #1210
NOMA
504 M St NW #2
OLD CITY #1 1119 5th St NE #2 509 M St NE #2 520 E St NE #403 1839 D St NE #2 284 15th St SE #402 901 D St NE #4 1363 K St SE #303
OLD CITY #2 1325 13th St NW #13 408 M St NW #1 1300 N St NW #504 1245 13th St NW #712
PENN QUARTER
$349,900
H STREET CORRIDOR 623 14th Pl NE #C 714 11th St NE ##201 714 11th St NE #101 660 Morton Pl NE #8
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
$735,000 $446,000 $422,000 $375,000
2 3 1 1 1
$272,500 $140,000
3 1
$575,000 $570,000 $339,000
2 2 2
$1,090,000 $514,000 $499,000
3 2 2
701 Pennsylvania Ave NW #PH16 631 D St NW #1142 912 F St NW #907 675 E St NW #200 631 D St NW #726 616 E St NW #1102 912 F St NW #T00 631 D St NW #735 601 Pennsylvania Ave NW #610 777 7th St NW #520
RANDLE HEIGHTS 1616 26th Pl SE #2 1618 26th Pl SE #2 1610 26th Pl SE #1 1616 26th Pl SE #1
RLA (SW) 234 M St SW #38 700 7th St SW #137
SHAW
917 S St NW #1 1222 4th St NW #2 1835 6th St NW #1 2110 10th St NW #3 1411 11th St NW #B 459 Florida Ave NW #4 910 M St NW #730 459 Florida Ave NW #2
$468,500 $455,000
2 2
$700,000 $580,000 $450,000 $230,000 $1,710,000 $1,400,000 $949,000 $935,000 $799,900 $610,000 $599,900 $515,000 $510,000 $435,000 $375,000
2 2 1 0 3 3 2 3 2 2 2 1 2 1 1
$635,000 $609,000 $587,000
2 2 2
$725,000
2
$590,000
2
$855,000 $715,000 $580,000 $570,000 $539,900 $430,000 $320,000
3 2 2 2 2 1 1
$740,000 $679,000 $437,500 $399,000
2 3 1 1
$1,335,000 $1,105,000 $740,000 $645,000 $594,500 $478,500 $455,000 $445,000 $420,000 $380,000
2 3 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1
$535,000 $515,000 $500,000 $485,000
4 4 4 4
$790,000 $364,000
2 1
$1,140,000 $855,000 $850,000 $707,500 $635,000 $585,000 $580,000 $544,900
2 2 3 2 2 2 2 2
1502 10th St NW #1 304 Q St NW #2 1627 Marion St NW #B 435 R St NW #403
SW WATERFRONT 273 G St SW 350 G St SW #N302 355 I St SW #415 350 G St SW #N620
TRINIDAD
1123 Staples St NE #2 1209 Oates St NE #1 1654 Montello Ave NE #2 765 18th St NE #5 1225 Raum St NE #1 1635 Holbrook St NE #1 1405 Staples St NE #4 1725 Trinidad Ave NE #2 1280 Raum St NE #2 1016 17th Pl NE #002 1251 Meigs Pl NE #4 1238 Queen St NE #4
TRUXTON CIRCLE 1532 North Capitol St NW #402 222 Bates St NW #1 1532 North Capitol St NW #303 1532 North Capitol St NW #302 1532 North Capitol St NW #202
$507,000 $485,000 $470,000 $449,900
1 2 2 1
$605,000 $590,000 $425,000 $422,000
3 2 1 1
$675,000 $675,000 $645,000 $550,000 $537,500 $475,000 $395,000 $380,000 $365,000 $299,900 $299,000 $250,000
2 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 2 2
$825,000 $785,000 $560,000 $435,000 $415,000
2 3 2 1 1
U STREET CORRIDOR 1405 W St NW #502 2001 16th St NW #501 1441 Florida Ave NW #2B 2120 Vermont Ave NW #502
WATERFRONT 525 Water St SW #316 700 7th St SW #311
$575,000 $549,000 $533,000 $475,000
1 2 1 1
$715,000 $337,500
2 1
WEST END
2425 L St NW #700 $3,050,000 3 1111 23rd St NW #2B $1,500,000 3 1414 22nd St NW #41 $1,400,000 2 1155 23rd St NW #7D $1,112,500 2 1177 22nd St NW #6H $850,000 1 2515 K St NW #704 $349,000 1
COOP CENTRAL
1300 Massachusetts Ave NW #504
DUPONT
1701 16th St NW #611 1701 16th St NW #134 2039 New Hampshire Ave NW #209 1725 17th St NW #313
FOGGY BOTTOM 2510 Virginia Ave NW #1104-N 2500 Virginia Ave NW #607-S 2510 Virginia Ave NW #605-N 2475 Virginia Ave NW #108 2475 Virginia Ave NW #219
LOGAN CIRCLE 1419 R St NW #10
SOUTH WEST 429 N St SW #S310 u
$485,000
1
$570,000 $485,000 $230,000 $227,000
2 2 0 0
$1,025,000 $599,000 $370,000 $278,000 $215,000
3 2 1 1 0
$640,000
2
$263,000
1
Real Estate
Management Attention Condos, Coops, HOAs, Apartment Owners, Homeowners, & Investors:
Full service property management offering direct depositing, online 24 hr record viewing, budgeting, funds management & special accounts, delinquent notices & collections, building inspections, project & maintenance bidding, project planning, contract monitoring, renting/ leasing (new D.C. law), tenant screening, and more.
734 Seventh Street, SE Office: 202.547.2707 Fax: 202.547.1977 joeltruitt.com info@joeltruitt.com
February 2021 ★ 69
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arts ining d and
CO V ID-19 COUPLES Dating Stories from the Hill
“B
ecause who gets dressed in proper clothes anymore, my partner ended up interviewing for an IT job in a parakeet onesie. And that was just today.” This was one of the comments I received when I solicited Hill residents for stories about their experiences with dating during the pandemic. Another replied, “It’s non-existent,” and yet another questioned if anyone was actively dating during COVID-19, and how these magical people pulled it off. These were in line with my own thoughts on dating in a time when, according to one Metro advertisement, we must keep a panda’s distance away from anyone outside our households. I barely had enough patience to date pre-pandemic, and now date-appropriate activities are largely off limits, and we can’t even get close enough for the awkward first date handshake or cheek kiss goodbye (much less any other ahem physical activity)? No thank you. And strangely enough, I also came into ownership of an adult animal onesie (specifically, a bat onesie, something I got from a neighbor through a Hill-based Facebook group), so I felt a kinship with that commenter. She gets it. Who in the world has the energy these days? Was anyone really pulling this off ? My own limited experience with pandemic dating was not good. I went on one 45-minute date at a whiskey bar right before lockdown happened in March. It went decently and a few weeks in, he suggested a virtual date: we could talk and sip cocktails over a screen. This did not sound too bad and I was determined to make more of an effort than I had historically. Even if I had not felt any special sparks during our brief in-person date, I’m 35 and not getting any younger.
by Meghan Markey
These Zoom dates entailed well-intentioned but clumsy serenades on a guitar, awkward tours of each other’s apartments when conversation petered out, not knowing how to end our virtual “dates” and the realization that I needed a third of a bottle of bourbon to make it through each one. I decided this was not for me: whether it was the person, the medium or both. The whole experience was cringe-worthy and made me want to hide under the covers and spend the pandemic binge-watching all 21 seasons of Law and Order: SVU (in my bat onesie, of course). The weirdness of trying to “break up” with someone over Zoom, someone I spent barely three quarters of an hour with in-person and was not even really dating, cemented my outlook. I concluded that being single was…just fine. Like many, I decided I would foster dogs and cats for distraction and comfort until it was safe to be in a new person’s presence without a mask or an internet connection. I was curious if others had similar experiences, or if I was an outlier, so I asked neighbors via social media. I waited a few hours, expecting my inbox to be mostly disaster cases, virtual dates gone awry and the ilk. Dating during a pandemic can only add extra layers of desperation and awkwardness and I was more than ready to commiserate. Imagine my surprise when stories of a different sort starting trickling in. It turns out love does and can prevail, and even if these accounts were not the darkly funny ones I was expecting, with each one I found that even my cynical outlook on dating was brightening. One resident, Shanelle, described how dating virtually was actually “an amazing way to take the pressure off of first dates and awkwardness.” The near total lack of shared in-person activities motivated her to find a connection. She and her now-partner did dinner dates, drink dates, coffee February 2021 ★ 71
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dates, movie dates, game dates: all virtually (Shanelle’s partner even found an online escape room that they did together.) Shanelle says the slow burn, early virtual days helped foster a relationship based on communication, love and trust. She wrote “If you start dating someone during a pandemic, you have to trust them, because if you don’t, it could literally kill you.” Dating virtually eventually led to their first socially-distanced, masked date (a hike), which gave way to road trips, miles of more hiking, sunsetwatching, and a committed relationship. “If we can fare through 2020, with all its shitstorms, when the world does ever return to normal and we can do activities, concerts, comedy shows, bars, etc., I can only imagine that our connection will grow; we will have more to bond over and build upon.” Another Hill resident ended a decade-long relationship in 2019 and spent the early months of the pandemic holed up with her family in Georgia. She had never used a dating app before but was willing to give it a try. Being a lesbian living in rural Georgia, she quickly found that her options were, shockingly, severely limited. She waited until she returned to DC to give it another go and met her current partner her first weekend back in the city. They met on a park bench and talked for hours. She describes a moment where her nowgirlfriend lightly touched her arm and it felt electric: “I’m not sure if it was all the physical and social distancing that I’d been doing up to that point or if it was meant to be!” They have been together eight months now. Finally, Jennifer and Chris were living parallel lives a mile away from each other when they matched on a dating app the same day in March that the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global health pandemic. They had made plans to get tacos that weekend, and instead, Jennifer found herself packing up and driving to Wisconsin, thinking she would only be gone
for maybe three or four weeks before all returned to normal. Jennifer asked for a taco date night raincheck, but Chris asked for a FaceTime date, something that Jennifer had to warm up to. She ended up agreeing and was surprised that the conversation lasted over an hour. He asked for another FaceTime date the very next day. A little wary of his eagerness, Jennifer still agreed. As the pandemic bore on, they began sending care packages to each other: “He sent me a puzzle and flowers, I sent him a smorgasbord of Easter candy, and our conversations grew deeper and deeper. I found myself marveling to have found this guy who, as my friend put it, ‘wasn’t too cool for school’ and that this long-distance courtship was allowing us to get to know one another in slow and significant ways.” Jennifer travelled back to DC in early May, and Chris was finally able to collect that first-date raincheck, which was not tacos, but a rooftop dinner of takeout from Cane and sunset-watching. He introduced her to his dog. It was not long before they were introducing each other virtually to friends and family, and Chris convinced her to move in with him. They were engaged in August and married in October (on the same rooftop as their first in-person date). “We’re now expecting our first child and despite the continued challenges of the pandemic and political horror in the city we love, we have so much hope for the future,” Jennifer writes. It appears that dating within the confines of a pandemic has given credence to the adage “good things come to those who wait.” It is heartening to see that people have eked out some happiness and found love against extreme odds. Maybe I’ll give dating during the pandemic another attempt… but I’ll never give up my bat onesie (or Law and Order marathons)! ◆
February 2021 H 73
. arts and dining .
CAPITOL CUISINE
L
article and photos by Celeste McCall
ast month, The Duck & the Peach opened at 300 Seventh St. SE, across from Eastern Market. The sprightly newcomer is operated by Hollis Wells Silverman and her hospitality group, Eastern Point Collective with partner Anthony Lanier, CEO and President of EastBanc. The name comes from Hollis’ dog (nicknamed “Duck,” and her daughter “Peach.”)Described as “California-inspired
with a touch of New England,” The Duck & The Peach offers breakfast and lunch items to consume on the spacious patio or for carryout. Evenings bring pick-up dinners serving two to four persons. The house rotisserie showcases nightly specials, along with breakfast, lunch and pick-up family-style dinners five days a week. Among daytime options are house-baked pumpkin muffins, cranberry scones, yogurt parfait, egg sandwiches, BLTs. We’ve sampled the lemony chicken salad and the BLT sandwiches. Ingredients are snuggled in freshly baked bread. Delicious, if messy to eat. The kitchen’s rotisserie turns out whole roasted chickens with charred lemon ($75), which feed four people. Another savory item is braised lamb with apricot-chili reduction ($85); red wine braised short ribs on polenta ($85); roasted cauliflower with yogurt and mint ($40). These dishes include a trio of creative seasonal sides. (Dinner items are also available ala carte.) “We’re keeping it pretty simple for now,” said Silverman, who lives on Capitol Hill. “We’re focusing on carryout. We want families to order from us and enjoy our food safely at home.” Complementing these repasts are wines and cocktails such as Manhattans, Cosmos, Tequila pear sours and spicy Mezcal Margaritas. The drinks serve four. For now, customers order on-line or in person. To support packaging, PPE and employee wages, a Sandwiches at The Duck and the Peach—including chicken salad 22 percent service fee is added. The Duck and the and BLTs, are hefty enough to feed two. Peach is closed Monday and Tuesday. For more information or to place orders, visit www.duckandpeachdc.com.
More Good News
A pair of bartenders at the Duck and the Peach, across from Eastern Market, display potent potables.
74 H HILLRAG.COM
And….arriving soon next door at 731 C St. SE is sister restaurant La Collina, “a modern take on the classic Italian osteria.” A walk-up antipasti and panini window will dispense lunch items. Ample seating is available on the patio. Come evenings, La Collina (Italian for “the Hill”) will serve homemade pastas (including pasta kits), antipasti, salumi, cocktails and wine. Heading the menu will be warm shell beans with tomato and sheep’s milk ricotta, cheesy garlic bread, meatball panini, cacio e limone lumache with preserved lemon and pecorino, steak Florentine (serving two to four), and Nutella sundaes. Silverman and her group also
Hollis Wells Silverman pauses while overseeing The Duck and the Peach, a recent arrival near Eastern Market.
plan to introduce a gin bar, The Wells, adjacent to their two restaurants.
New at the Roost Yet another restaurant has flocked to the Roost, 1401 Pennsylvania Ave. SE: Chef Erik Brunner-Yang’s Yoka and Kota. The celeb chef’s latest creation is devoted to dumplings, noodles, and Chinese-style barbecue. For his new enterprise, Bruner-Yang joins Roost operator Neighborhood Restaurant Group. (Brunner-Yang’s sibling restaurants are Maketto, ABC Pony, and Cafe Spoken). The name comes from Bruner-Yang’s childhood stint at the Yokota Air Base in Japan. Heading Yoka’s menu are pork wontons, crystal shrimp dumplings, and Peking duck. The signature barbecue is draped over rice or dan dan broccoli salad. The makeyour-own noodle option involves choice of protein (including five spice braised beef and ginger braised chicken). Sauces? Try peanut and citrus chili oil, tomato sesame, or coconut black bean sauce. Customers may order ahead online. Hours are 4 to 9 p.m. Tuesday to Thurs-
day; 4 to 10 p.m. Friday; 10:30 to 10 p.m. Saturday; and 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. For updates visit www.theroostdc.com.
Ledo Lives More good news: Ledo Restaurant, the pizza parlor known for rectangular pies beloved by penny-pinching University of Maryland students (including me), is not closing after all. Based in College Park, the regional chain has an outpost at 814 H St. NE. Tommy Marcos Sr. and Robert L. Beall founded the original Ledo Restaurant in Adelphi, Maryland in 1955. Ledo moved to nearby College Park in 2010. Years earlier, in 1989, Marcos Jr. and James Beall launched a franchise to create a regional Ledo chain. In November of last year, proprietor Tommy Marcos Jr. announced he was closing Ledo “permanently.” But Chesapeake Hospitality came to the rescue. The Greenbelt-based firm that operates hotels throughout the Mid-Atlantic, MidWest and the South, signed a contract to purchase the pizza chain. (The College Park Ledo will remain shuttered for about six months “for renovations,” we’re told.) Meanwhile, long-time fans hope Ledo pizzas will taste as good as ever. In fact, they do. The other night we ordered a 14-inch “meat lovers classic” ($14.74 before tax and tip). The pie exceeded our expectations. The feather-light crust was similar to a pastry, and the crumbly sausage and pepperoni toppings were flavorful and generous. It even tasted good reheated in our microwave. Open since July, 2018, the Atlas District Ledo is open daily for carryout only. For updates and/or to place an order, call 202-849-6897 or visit www.
ledopizza.com. Speaking of pizza, We the Pizza, 305 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, delivered hundreds of pizzas to National Guard troops guarding the U.S. Capitol in January.
Hefty Balkan Sandwiches On Barracks Row, Balkan restaurant Ambar has unveiled a Balkan street food menu at both area locations. Created by Executive chef Ivan Zivkovic, the listing focuses on large, sharable sandwiches, made with slow-cooked ingredients and nestled into brick oven-baked bread. Sandwiches are accompanied by hand-cut fries and a kale Caesar. Priced between $12.99 and $16.99, choices include beef kebabs with marinated onions, Wells Family Farm meatballs with tomato sauce and parmesan cheese; grilled chicken breast with cucumber yogurt and cabbage; roasted lamb with garlic yogurt. You can also order the Ambar burger, veal soup, Brussels sprouts, and desserts like baklava and Balkan tres leches. For now, it’s takeout only. There’s also cocktails, beer and wine to-go. Ambar is located at 523 Eighth St. SE. For additional information, call 202-813-3039 and/or visit https://new.ambarrestaurant.com/.
Winter Restaurant Week Winter Restaurant Week, sponsored by the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, was postponed for one week and now goes through February 7. For this promotion, more than 200 local restaurants will serve multi-course repasts for $35 or $55. (Lunch/brunch is $22.) Many will also offer specially-priced carryout meals. For more information and an up-to-date list of participating restaurants, visit www.rwdmv.com
Gone–Temporarily On Barracks Row, Mekki DC, Modern Moroccan Cuisine, has closed, at least for the time being. Located at 517 Eighth St. SE, the restaurant is reportedly readying its outdoor patio. For updates visit www.mekkidc.com.
reignite that spark in your Ready to
relationship?
Bye for Now
The signature rectangular pies at the recently rescued Ledo Pizza chain are as delicious as ever.
As we do every February, we’re headed for the warm and sunny (we hope) climes of Florida. Therefore, we won’t be writing a March column. See you in April! ◆
Book Your Free Couples Therapy Consultation at
witandreason.com/telehealth February 2021 ★ 75
. arts and dining .
AT THE MOVIES This Month: Quiet Dignity on the Plains, an Irish Romance, and a Musical Romp by Mike Canning deo cowboys, living in similar broad landscapes of we see her at her seasonour cow country. As she did with “The Rider,” she al job at an Amazon fulcast real denizens of our West to give greater authenfillment station, she is not ticity to these characters. “Nomadland” can be seen depicted as a put-upon, as a kind of sequel, being a precise and thoughtful inexploited drudge but as vestigation of a community the movies have not invesa sturdy, flexible worktigated before. Watch for it to be called at awards time. er comfortable with her lot and connected to her co-workers. Having re(Feel-good) Short Takes cently lost her husband The following are mini-reviews of two end-of-year (they both worked at a films that prove up-lifting with touches of humor and United Gypsum plant romance after a horrid 2020. (Left to right) Jamie Dornan (as Anthony) and Emily Blunt (as Rosemary) star as rethat closed down), Fern luctant lovers in “Wild Mountain Thyme.” Photo courtesy of Bleeker Street Pictures. Wild Mountain Thyme – A touching Irish roneeds cash for the next mance that offers lovely roles for its long unrequited phase of her life and satNomadland lovers, Rosemary Muldoon (Emily Blunt) and Anthoisfies the need at the shipping center. In recent years, there has been a burst of earnest docny Reilly (Jamie Dornan). Life-long neighbors and For comradeship, she connects with a fellow umentaries telling stories, usually bleak, about the defriends since childhood, the two children of contigworker, Bob (Bob Wells) who invites her to a stay mise of the American working class, our increasing inuous farms in beautiful County Mayo have long had out the winter at an RV park in Arizona, where she equality, and the marginalization of tens of millions a rough-and-tumble relationship and grown up like makes friends with other fellow van campers and of our citizens from mainstream life. Much of these testy siblings. Trouble is, Rosemary has always had a learns survival skills from them. Fern becomes a camp stories of economic woe have appeared on public yen for Anthony which he is too shy or reserved to achost at the RV park, where she meets David (David television or cable news outlets like CNN with their knowledge. When, after Anthony’s crotchety father Strathairn) and the two take jobs at a local restaurant creators trying to touch the hearts of viewers. SubTony (Christopher Walken) decides to bequeath his to make do. This theme of making do and finding themes of this genre include steady loss of Amerispread to a smug American cousin Adam Kelly (Jon companionship along the way is the underlying curcan jobs to overseas competition and the disasters of Hamm) instead of to Anthony, their joint futures are rent of the film. the opioid epidemic. Into this grim landscape comes threatened. (this film is rated PG-13” and runs “PGAs Fern, McDormand is a natural—no vanity, but “Nomadland,” a new film that doesn’t so much la13” and runs 102 minutes). rather pedestrian and practical in her person, and acment the lower working class’s fate as look at how Written and directed by American playwright cepting of others. Her lack of airs and taciturn it can survive with modest dignity (The film, now qualities might remind you of her role in “Three streaming, runs 108 minutes and is rated “R”). Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri “of 2017. The best thing about “Nomadland” is that it Except here her persona is mild, not enraged. treats its marginal characters not as emblems of scorn McDormand is nicely seconded by or pity but as resilient and resourceful figures in unStrathairn as David, just as measured and acdistinguished landscapes, no longer attached to famcepting, but ever harkening back to a family he ily but reliant on friends of the road and other “van still cherishes. Other players are, in fact, real people” who drift in and out of an itinerant existence. van people recruited by direct-writer Chloé These survivors make do, look out for each other, Zhao to stand in for the spirit and wisdom of bedon’t complain, and, though poor, find work where nign vagabonds who roam our American West, they can and comradeship when they can. content to live in vans and watch the sunsets. This stoic stance is personified by Fern (FranChinese-American Zhao, close observer of ces McDormand), whom we see, not as a complainthe hard-scrabble West, last made “The Rider” er or whiner, but as a relatively sunny woman acceptMcDormand (left) as Fern, chats with Chloé Zhao, her (2017), a well-crafted tale of other itinerants, ro- Frances ing of the treasures she acquires on the road. When director in “Nomadland.” Photo courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. 76 H HILLRAG.COM
Mr. Henry’s loves you!
John Patrick Shanley (“Moonstruck”) from his play, “Thyme” is sentimental but satisfying, and, though the chemistry between the leads takes some time to kindle, the spark glows in the last act. Adding a lovely grace note to the proceedings is the use of the title Scottish ballad, “Wild Mountain Thyme,” sung winningly first as a solo by Blunt. The Prom – A silly, but jaunty, “high-school musical” where a group of Broadway has-beens, let down after a musical flop in Manhattan, launch their own musical in small-town Indiana to revive the spirits of a young gay girl, Emma (Jo Ellen Pellman). Emma was denied a prom experience because her scheduled date was her lesbian girlfriend, banned from the event by the school’s PTA president, prudish Mrs. Greene (Kerry Washington). The film, now streaming, lasts 130 minutes and is rated “PG-13.” Stars Meryl Streep, James Corden, and Nicole Kidman are over the top and over-dressed, but are entertaining in the most spangled, gushing way. There are hints of the TV musical series “Glee” (which this film’s director Ryan Murphy, brought to television) and also suggestions of “Mama Mia,” because of the two films utterly implausible plots. A crucial difference, however, is their respective music tracks. “The Prom’s” soundtrack, though energetic, simply can’t match the bounce and catchiness of the ABBA numbers. Newcomer Ms. Pellman (who is gay) proves the best performer in the film as a bright, sympathetic girl who just wants to enjoy her youthful rite-of-passage.
Come spend time with us in our indoor dining rooms as well as on our patio with lots of heaters! We are now partnered with Dc To-Go-Go as well!
check out all of our happenings at
www.Mrhenrysdc.com
601 Pennsylvania Ave. SE
Mon-Fri 12-10pm, Sat and Sun 10:30am-10pm
Valentine’s Special!
$40 3 Course Menu 701 2nd Street NE, Washington DC 20002 www.cafefili.com • Online order link: https://www.toasttab.com/cafe-fili-dc/v3
Hill resident Mike Canning has written on movies for the Hill Rag since 1993 and is a member of the Washington Area Film Critics Association. He is the author of “Hollywood on the Potomac: How the Movies View Washington, DC.” His reviews and writings on film can be found online at www.mikesflix.com. ◆
February 2021 ★ 77
. arts and dining .
YOUR VALENTINE’S NIGHT IN Set The Mood For A Romantic Dinner At Home With These Stunning Wines
the wine girl
by Elyse Genderson
C
andles = lit. Chocolates = bought. Barry White and/or Sinatra records = playing. Meal = plated. Lights = appropriately dimmed. It’s cliché, but it’s also a pandemic so who cares, right? Any night that you open a fabulous wine becomes a celebration. But a romantic holiday like Valentine’s Day is the perfect excuse to open that special bottle. Test out your skills in the kitchen and indulge in a decedent meal with an expertly paired wine. Make date night memorable with these hand-picked selections.
pagne Jean Laurent has emerged as one of the top grower‐producers in the Côte des Bar. Melon, brioche and honey aromas on the nose, with light floral notes. Fine bubbles, with a long, lingering finish. Great as an aperitif before your Valentine’s Day meal, or to pair with seafood or rich, white meats like veal.
2018 Domaine De Fondreche Ventoux Rouge $12.99
Bring some sophistication to this Valentine’s Day with an Old World Style Chardonnay from Stellenbosch. Made by Ntsiki Biyela, South Africa’s first Black female winemaker, the wine shows concentrated fruit aromas of lemon, apple, pear, and marzipan. Balanced acidity lifts the bold fruit flavors.
Domaine de Fondrèche sits at the foothills of Mont Ventoux, the famous mountains in the Vaucluse region in the South of France. The vineyard has been farmed sustainably for more than twenty years. Fondrèche has a special terroir with the climatic influence of Mont Ventoux which brings currents of cold air and drastic diurnal swings that force the vines to struggle, and fruit to retain acidity while still fully ripening. This creates balance and complexity.
NV Bertrand Delespierre Enfant De La Montagne Rose Brut $49.99
2017 Aril Kick Ranch Sauvignon Blanc $24.99
Celebrate in style with a classic pink Champagne. Didier Bertrand and Chantal Delespierre are grower-producers in the Montagne de Reims, the center of the Champagne heartland, between the cities of Reims and Épernay with gorgeous swathes of vineyards mounting as high on the hill as grapes will ripen. Enfant De La Montagne Rosé is soft and feminine, loaded with minerality and elegance. This fresh, vibrant, and delicate rosé Champagne shows off concentrated aromas and flavors of peach, cranberry, strawberry, and violets.
Bring some freshness to your table with this Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc. From the Spring Mountain AVA, Aril is delightfully mineral-driven and precise. Made by a small boutique winery, this bright and zippy white will pair expertly with your salad course or seafood. Founded in 2008 by Harmon and Joanne Brown, Aril wines is a family-owned and operated vineyard.
2019 Aslina Chardonnay $17.99
NV Jean Laurent Blanc de Blancs $49.99 What better to celebrate a storybook romance than Champagne? Jean Laurent is the third‐generation owner at the estate, but his family has been growing wine in the tiny village of Celles‐sur‐Ource for centuries. With a strong commitment to sustainable agriculture and a devotion to quality, Cham78 ★ HILLRAG.COM
2016 De Lancellotti Vineyard Famiglia Pinot Noir $49.99 Celebrate Valentine’s Day with an American Pinot Noir made in small batches by independent, family-owned winery, De Lancellotti. Famiglia is a reserve blend from the winery’s bio-dynamically farmed estate vineyard. Only the best barrels are selected and blended. Intoxicating aromas of cherry, boysenberry, nutty oak, dark rose petal, chocolate, and basil. Light to mid weight with vibrant flavors of cherry, strawberry and spice.
2015 Conterno Fantino Mosconi Barolo $85.99 Go ahead, live a little. Indulge in this intense ruby red Barolo. Fruity and herbaceous aromas of blackberry, cassis, and bramble. The crisp, long and luxurious finish makes it approachable today.
2019 Iris Vineyards Rose of Pinot Noir $14.99 Better than a bouquet of roses, try a stunning Rosé wine from the Willamette Valley. Not just for the summer months, this rosé is characterized by aromas of pink grapefruit, watermelon and rose petal with a fresh and juicy palate. Iris Vineyards produces world-class, award-winning Oregon wine from grapes grown at the estate, Chalice Vineyard. The cool climate in the foothills of the Oregon Coast Range allows the grapes to mature slowly while maintaining the proper acid balance that is essential for producing the finest Pinot Noir.
NV Blandy’s 15 Year Old Malmsey Madeira 500ml $41.99 On Valentine’s Day, don’t forget the dessert course. The ideal match is a rich and complex fortified wine from the island of Madeira off the coast of Portugal. Concentrated flavors and aromas of dried orange peel, almond, dark chocolate, charred wood, toffee and vanilla. With just the right amount of sweetness, it finishes smooth and full bodied. Decadent and delicious! Elyse Genderson is the VP of Schneider’s of Capitol Hill. Visit her at the historic storefront founded in 1949 (at 300 Mass Ave NE) to discover wine’s you’ll love. ◆
CELEBRATING 70 YEARS
WINE. BEER. SPIRITS. TRADITION.
on Capitol Hill serving our community with the country’s best selection of fine wines, spirits, and beer.
PROJECT
FEBRUARY MIXED CASE SPECIAL!
Jean-Keith Fagon
Exhale ••• Patrick Bradley, saxophonist Keyboardist Patrick Bradley’s fifth album, Exhale, comes at a time when the musician believes that we all need to expel the fear, worry and division gripping the country, and focus on inhaling hope and peace. Mr. Bradley recorded Exhale during quarantine without ever being in the studio. He worked with Darren Rahn, who wrote the title track, “Exhale,” and produced nine tracks for the project. Grammy winner Jeff Lorber also produced a pair of tunes. The album is a contemporary amalgam constructed of jazz fusion, rock, R&B, blues, funk and pop. The melodies are lush and indelible, fragrantly blossoming amidst soulful grooves. The fusion excursions stretch beyond and across borders. The production deftly melds the warm organics of live instrumentation and the modernity of synthesized sonics. The musicianship throughout is top shelf. With Mr. Bradley playing piano, organ, keyboards and synths, he was accompanied by Mr. Rahn (saxophone, keyboards, synths & programming), Mr. Lorber (keyboards, synth bass & guitar), guitarist Michael Thompson, horn player and arranger David Mann, bassist Mel Brown, percussionist Christian Teele, and drummers Tarell Martin, Gary Novak and Dave Weckl. Mr. Rahn along with charttopping trumpeter Rick Braun and guitarist Allen Hinds are featured as soloists. Exhale contains the following songs: “Completely Yours,” “Reinvention,” “Exhale” (title track), “Song Of May,” featuring Darren Rahn, “Sip‘n the Breeze,” “Cat Man Blues,” featuring Rick Braun, “Meant To Be,” featuring Darren Rahn, “Lighthouse,” featuring Allen Hinds, “In the Heart of the Seas,” “Providence,” and “Walk with Me.”
Tranquility ••• Les Sabler, guitar Contemporary jazz guitarist Les Sabler finds “Tranquility” in a new vintage guitar with Grammy winner Paul Brown.
When the musician entered Mr. Brown’s Funky Joint studio near Los Angeles to begin tracking, Mr. Brown suggested that his friend swap out his trusty guitar in favor of Mr. Brown’s vintage Gibson Johnny Smith model. The electric guitar, that has innate acoustic qualities and balanced tone, gave Mr. Sabler an entirely new sound, which he used to create his eighth album, Tranquility. “This guitar’s sound is a sonic departure from anything I had previously recorded and this resulted in a successful single release, ‘Keep Pushin’,’ Mr. Sabler said. “My fascination with the expressive tone of this instrument and my comfort in playing it led me to acquire my own, a vintage ‘67 beauty,” added the Nashville-based guitarist. The album is a melody-rich, contemporary jazz listening experience. The set consists of vibrant harmonies, funky R&B grooves and sophisticated instrumental pop. Mr. Sabler’s deft and soulful electric guitar occasionally yields to his more sensitive nylon-stringed guitar, including on the eloquent “Esselle’s Dance,” which he told us “is as beautiful as anything I have ever recorded.” Mr. Sabler and Mr. Brown cowrote eight songs for Tranquility, collaborating with hitmaker Lew Laing (“Keep Pushin’” and “Where Has She Gone”), Jeff Carruthers (“Easy Moves”) and Shane Theriot, the latter with whom they cowrote the single “Crescent City Strut.” The two musicians revisited the album’s lone remake, “Sunrise,” a George Benson original that Mr. Brown masterfully illumined with Lee Thornburg’s trumpet and trombone. According to Mr. Sadler the title track, “Tranquility,” really exemplifies the beauty of this exceptional guitar that was the instrument of choice for George Benson’s classic ‘Breezin’. The album contains the following songs: “Crescent City Strut,” “City Rhythm,” “Three Dee,” “Esselle’s Dance,” “Easy Moves,” “Tranquility” (title track), “Keep Pushin’”, “In The Light” (Remix), “Where Has She Gone,” and “Sunrise.” ◆
January Mixed Case Special! 6 Romantic Valentine’s Day Reds, 1 Pretty in Pink Oregon Rosé made from Pinot Noir, 1 Stunning, Dry and Crisp Rosé Champagne, 4 Vibrant and Complex Whites Retail Price: $298.88 | Sale Price: $216.88 | Mixed Case Club Price: $179.99 40% off of Retail!! VINTAGE
WINE
RETAIL
SALE
2017
Correas Valle las Acequias Malbec Oak
$19.99
$14.99 $12.99
2018
Domaine De Fondreche Ventoux Rouge
$15.99
2018
Clos Henri Petite Clos Pinot Noir
$14.99
$9.99
2018
The Critic Cabernet Sauvignon
$25.99
$19.99
2017
Barrique Cellars Pinot Noir
$59.99
$29.99
2016
Feuduccio Fonte Venna Montepulciano D’Abruzzo
$19.99
$15.99
2019
Iris Vineyards Rose of Pinot Noir
$19.99
$14.99
2018
Ranch 32 Arroyo Classic Sauvignon Blanc
$12.99
$9.99
2019
La Noble Chardonnay
$14.99
$9.99
2017
Painted Wolf The Den Chenin Blanc
$12.99
$9.99
2018
Raiolas D’Outono Albarino
$15.99
$12.99
NV
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February 2021 ★ 79
. arts and dining .
ARTandtheCITY by Jim Magner
ARTIST PORTRAIT: KATHRYN WILEY
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deas float. They expand. And contract. They take on the appearances of reality and then float away as you try to capture and clearly define them. They compose subtly repeated motifs and color harmonies that keep your eye moving among the dominating shapes. Other observations of recognizable or inferred objects take hold and you get a fuller grasp of the implicit ideas that suggest that “something is wrong.” Kathy Wiley has “found a new sense of depth”
Cross Cultural Bite, 12”x18”, collage
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in her latest collages and acrylic paintings. Despite the classical balance, there can be a “brutalism that borders on despair” in some of her works. But there is also a sense of wonder. In works such as “Objects in Space,” you drift in and out, always discovering more. In “Cross Cultural Bite,” your questions become the subject matter. The answers elude and beg for more questions. “I’ll See You in Hell,” appears to be pleasant and profoundly warm, until the title changes the mood. Objects in Space are Closer Than They Appear, 12”x14”, collage. For Wiley, painting is purely experimental— Kathryn Wiley believes her task is to learn to intuitive. She is always see. Deeply. trying something new. “Every work is Her work can be seen this month at the Foundits own piece,” She says. She doesn’t ry Gallery. (See, At the Galleries) begin with an initial idea. She collects paper and other materials—lots and lots Jim Magner’s Thoughts on Art of material, which she separates by colIs it possible for a work of art to stand alone? To be or. Then she sorts through it all to see on its own? Maybe. Or, is it always a step in a givwhat fits together. The idea comes, and en direction? Is it the latest exclamation in the joureventually the title. ney toward the ultimate self-awareness? Is an artist Her three disciplines, painting abjust driving down the same highway—pursuing the stract compositions, making paper colend of the road—creating on a given path until the lages and assembling sculpture from creating is over? found objects are interlaced with experThat was perhaps true for most of the celebratimentation. She often mixes colors on ed masters in history. They stuck with something—a the canvas and creates layered composistyle, a technique—and perfected it. Yes, some had tions. The process is similar with sculptheir beginnings—the experimenting period—but tures. She spreads out the old things she that searching led to a personal direction that befinds, from natural to manmade, to see came more and more intimate as time passed and what fits together. visual networks set in. Kathy does not have a BFA—makThe art market has also been a huge factor. Still ing a living was a high priority—but she is. Like any business, you make what sells. The artwas always making art. She has visited ist wants to be known for a certain style, or collecmuseums and galleries throughout the tion of statements. It is about what the buyer wants, world and has looked and loved it all. unless art is something you do on the side—an inShe particularly likes Richard Diebenternal search. korn for the strength of his composiWhat about thought? Does it have an ultimate tions. purpose? Does it follow a path to a final conclu-
I’ll See You in Hell. 24”x36”, acrylic on canvas. Photo: Kathryn Wiley
sion, or does it simply meander through time and stop when all thought stops. Those cursed by an inability to block the distraction of competing ideas may find thoughts and opinions cutting across neural pathways to get tangled in strange expressions and novel insights—verbal or visual. Sure, the ideas may be ordinary, but an astute one could occasionally slip through: the idea that rocks the world. The same is true of personal expression through art. The brain can suddenly rebel at seeing the same color in that first stroke, or the repeated circles, or the same motifs. It says, “Hey, you only live once, get crazy…or…get inside the canvas or sculpture and look out at the world.” Kathryn Wiley, (see, Artist Profile) believes her task, her pathway, is seeing—to look—to understand deeply…and occasionally get crazy.
At the Galleries Hill Center At the Old Naval Hospital – March 31 The new virtual show at the Hill Center Galleries is the Capitol Hill Art League (CHAL) Juried Exhibition which includes 94 works by nearly 50 artists. It will be restricted to online viewing only. It was juried by Hill Center Galleries Director Nicky Cymrot and artist Alan
Braley. As usual, these works feature a wide variety of mediums and viewpoints and are very, very good. The award winners are: 1st: Ann Pickett for “Stella, Coffee Queen.” 2nd: Karen Zens for “Construct V.” 3rd: Jason Jaffery for “The Snow Leopard.” Artists receiving Honorable Mentions: Karen Cohen, Jane Mann, Meera Rao, Judy Searles, Ellen J. Yahuda and Rosa Ines Vera. www.hillcenter.org “Winter Salon” Foundry Gallery 2118 8th St. NW Feb. 5-28 This all-gallery group show welcomes new Foundry member John Koebert. It features 30 works by 19 artists, including Kathryn Wiley (see: Artist Profile). There are other “adventurous stylistic departures” by Courtney Applequist, Patsy Fleming, Hester Ohbi and the whole Foundry crew. The gallery will be open, and you can see the whole exhibit at: Foundrygallery.org. A Capitol Hill artist and writer, Jim can be reached at Artandthecity05@aol.com. u
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. arts and dining .
the LITERARY HILL A Compendium of Readers, Writers, Books, & Events by Karen Lyon
In “Finding Napoleon,” local writer Margaret Rodenberg uses the Emperor’s own 1795 novel as the basis for a romantic tale of Napoleon in exile.
Napoleon the Novelist We’re all familiar with Napoleon the military hero and conqueror. But who knew he was also a novelist? Local author Margaret Rodenberg has used his romantic novella, “Clisson et Eugénie,” as a springboard for her beautifully crafted novel, “Finding Napoleon.” Interspersing segments of Bonaparte’s semi-autobiographic work with her own imagined tale, she tells the story of his upbringing, his battles, and his final days in exile. Sick and dispirited, Napoleon finds himself on St. Helena Island, installed in a summer pavilion that is a “pleasant place. Nonetheless—an oath escaped the Emperor’s lips—a prison yard.” He has lost his infant son to a “golden cage” at the Austrian court and is surrounded by a handful of compatriots whose loyalty he mistrusts, including the adulterous Albine de Montholan whose husband “gives” her to the Emperor to curry his favor. While he plots to escape the island and be reunited with his son, Napoleon pens his novel, investing Clisson with his own fervor—“I was born for war”—as well as his resentments and regrets. Around him, intrigue and treachery swirl. As he confides in his one true ally, an enslaved boy named Tobyson, telling traitors from friends is difficult. “That, my son, is the lesson. Once you’re a leader, you can’t trust anyone.” In this romantic and earthy novel, Rodenberg has given us a fully fleshed-out Napoleon in his many facets—father, lover, friend, and warrior—who, even 82 H HILLRAG.COM
disgraced and in exile, maintains a stubborn pride in who he had been and who he is. “If not an Emperor, if not free, he was still Napoleon. That might be enough.” Margaret Rodenberg became interested in the history of France when she lived there as a teen with her US Navy family, who also resided on the Hill for more than 30 years. www.margaretrodenberg.com
Truth and Consequences in Ninjastoria
As “Shogun Showdown” opens, Ninja Steve is ducking tomatoes being hurled at him by his sensei. It’s all part of his training for the Unlimited Power Tournament, a contest of strength and agility held annually in Ninjastoria, the fictional world created by Grant Goodman in his Agent Darcy & Ninja Steve books. Steve hopes that, by winning first prize, he can lure his lost sister back into the family fold. Meanwhile, his friend Darcy is on the soccer field, where she’s distracted by a sharp pain in her hand, which then bursts into flames (don’t you hate when that happens?). Beyond her immediate aim of dousing her hand and winning the game, her ultimate goal is to find and free her parents, who are trapped in a mysterious netherworld called the Nexus. While they grapple with reuniting their fragmented families, both tweens make unlikely friendships— Darcy with a girl who had once bullied her and Steve with the son of a sworn enemy who, when they first
English teacher Grant Goodman used this spring’s school closures to draft “Shogun Showdown,” his fourth Agent Darcy & Ninja Steve adventure.
met, “had spouted nothing but gross lies about ninjas that made them out to be horrible monsters.” Correcting misconceptions is only one of the eye-opening aspects to the adventure that Steve and Darcy undertake. They also learn lessons in openness and honesty, in the importance of facing problems head-on, and in being brave enough to tell hard truths despite the consequences. Creative, funny (watch out for the Dad jokes), and full of action, grit, and heart, “Shogun Showdown” is an inspired addition to this lively series (not just) for young adults. Grant Goodman is a local middle school teacher whose previous books include “Tiger Trouble,” “Robot Rumble!,” and “Mecha-Mole Mayhem.” Find more at www.GrantGoodmanbooks.com.
Panic in the Streets By now, we all know how to avoid getting the coronavirus, but, according to a new book of essays, “we lack the guidelines for how to weather the social and personal upheavals.” In “How to Respond in a Pandemic,” editors Joan Ferrante and Chris Caldeira have invited experts associated with Northern Kentucky University to share ideas about how their academic disciplines can help us cope. The 25 authors, who represent a wide array of fields, wrestle with tough questions and try to provide their locked-out students—as well as the rest of us—with some answers. Local writer Tom Zaniello, who taught film studies, contributes a chapter called “See the Predictability in the Chaos of Pandemics,” in which he examines what “pandemic cinema” can tell us about our current situation. He notes that movies about disease outbreaks follow a narrative arc that mirrors that of real pandemics, from identification of the first victims to “panic in the streets” (which is the title of a 1950 movie he cites). As he illustrates, pandemic movies also depict some of the things we have seen over the past year: “foreigners” being blamed for the disease, conspiracy theories, jurisdictional infighting, and government and military overreach. Zaniello suggests that these common patterns, as well as other predictable indicators, can “serve as a guide” that will help us in
THE POETIC HILL by Karen Lyon
E In “When Mercy Seasons Justice: Pope Francis and a Story of Migration,” Bonior uses his knowledge of actual conditions to tell the stories of fictional families fleeing gang violence in CenFilm expert Tom Zaniello parses pandemic tral America, detailing the cinema as a way of rigors of their journeys understanding our current situation in across miles of rugged “How to Respond in a terrain, the bandits and Pandemic.” the good Samaritans they encounter, the detention responding to the current crisis and centers they end up in (if [gulp] make us “more attentive and they’re lucky), and their fight to obproactive with the next pandemic.” tain asylum in the US. Tom Zaniello is a professor Interspersed with their experiemeritus of Northern Kentucky Uniences are those of religious figures— versity and has been a film programincluding actual people such as Pope mer for the Hill Center. He is the auFrancis—who are not only trying to thor of several books, including, most support refugees but are also batrecently, “The Cinema of the Precartling on the dual fronts of th e Cathiat: The Exploited, Underemployed, olic Church’s sexual abuse scandal and Temp Workers of the World.” and the “stained glass ceiling” that Find him on Facebook @tzaniello. prevents women from taking leadership roles. On the Border of Hope Moving back and forth between David E. Bonior is a man of many the US-Mexican border and the Vatpassions. During his nearly three deican, Bonior weaves a tale that, like cades in the US House of Representhe efforts to address the real-life tatives (D-MI), he championed a vaproblems he describes, inspire frustration, discouragement, and, ultimately, hope. David Bonior served as a Congressman from 1976 to 2002, and was Democratic Whip for the last 11 years of his tenure. He is the author of several books, including A novel by former Congressman David a memoir titled “Whip: Bonior, “When Mercy Leading the Progressive Seasons Justice,” addresses immigraBattle During the Rise of tion and reform in the the Right.” Proceeds from Catholic Church. the sale of “When Mercy Seasons Justice” will riety of progressive causes and battled go to EarthBeat, an environmental politicians whose judgment and ethnewsletter published by the Nationics he questioned. Now he has meldal Catholic Reporter. www.NCRoned several of his interests—immigraline.org/Earthbeat. u tion policy and reform in the Catholic Church—into a new novel.
ric Rozenman has long worked on or near Capitol Hill, coming to Washington in 1980 as a congressional staffer and now, semi-retired, as communications consultant for the Jewish Policy Center. His published poems include “The Worst Thing,” which appeared in the Miami-based Yiddish journal “Der Onheib,” as well as in Midstream and the online New English Review. An op-ed he wrote about DC’s homeless appeared in the Washington Post in 2018. His poem, “Arrivals and Departures—Reagan National,” was published here in 2019 and he is also the proud father of Jordi Rozenman, whose poem, “Books and Gold,” appeared in 2017. His work below harkens back to pre-pandemic days, but the issues it raises are, like the coronavirus, still very much with us. Lunch Hour at Union Station It was February 3, 2020 The day after Ground Hog Day The month before the plague Made everyday Ground Hog Day And 12:30 p.m. in Union Station In the chocolatier The one between the organic skin care spa And the jewelry store for those who had no need To carry cash. Four bite-sized pieces Each richer than the last Belgian chocolates in gold foil. I paid nine dollars, awed by my own profligacy. Nearby a sullen black man Thirty or fifty in someone else’s clothes With nothing obvious to do sat on a bench Next to an obese woman, white and anxious, One hand clutching a cart Full of bulging plastic bags. Only in America are the idle lost so well-provisioned With things no one else wants. Passers-by carried lunches and hurried back to cubicles As if they would always be able to hurry back to cubicles Away from a sidewalk preacher “Where are you going?” he asked no one “Where?!” he demanded of all And proceeded to tell us “Get right with God or spend eternity “In hell!” Harried travelers passed a row of S.U.V.’s From the Department of Homeland Security, Flak-vested officers in a line Watched as their leashed dogs sniffed luggage This time it was just for practice. Waiting to go to Hell another day The officers let the dogs relax That made me nervous. Underground the Red Line was running late No one knew why. But I can tell you this for sure: That Belgian chocolate was to die for. If you would like to have your poem considered for publication, please send it to klyon@literaryhillbookfest.org. (There is no remuneration.) u
February 2021 H 83
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TURNING 80 IN THE PANDEMIC Birthday Blahs Aplenty!
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here’s so much to reflect on these days. As the dreaded-lurgy zooms on (pun intended) and seismic waves from the political earthquake erupt, everyone has different thoughts and ways to cope. The New Year dawned with a relief that was palpable, as the “Here comes the vaccine” message was released. Well, that light that was supposed to lead us to the end of the tunnel of fear, despair and death, flickered and spluttered. And just as we began to think there was no escape from the desperate need to get out from under suffocating masks and staying hug-less, another fear was launched, drowning us in a toxic mix. The unhinged horror of the insurrection meant a twin assault on our lives. The Perfect Storm of a dual pandemic, one a physical disease the other a mental battle, plunged us into an unprecedented, depressing unknown. My personal reflection of the darn virus (as opposed to the political upheaval) is a perspective that I don’t expect to get much sympathy for. Let me start by stating: I am fine; I enjoy reasonably good health; I have no job to lose; no business spinning into bankruptcy; no addictive person wrecking my life; no children struggling in a wilderness of online learning. In fact, I have good reason to celebrate. Or should have. This month I hit 80. But--and no explanation needed--the grand plan (that was going to be nothing more than a rowdy Friday birthday night in the pub with chicken wings and nachos) is cancelled. Last October I’d planned to enter the geriatric world with an early birthday present to myself. I booked a trip of a lifetime. A two-month adventure, starting out with a voyage from Los Angeles to Shanghai, taking in Hawaii, Guam, South Korea and Japan, before boarding the Trans-Siberian Railway for a three-week train trek through China and Russia. That did not happen. I thought I would compensate by going on a fall road-trip that would culminate in seeing my cousin in Toronto. But dear Can-
by Maggie Hall ada wouldn’t let me in. Anyway, the virus was getting so vicious it was not safe to be going anywhere that involved an overnight stay. Then I decided my big day would be marked by a winter trip to either the Italian island of Pantelleria or Surinam in South America. Surely by then –- i.e. now -- the pathway to moving around the world would be free of the virus. As you will surely have gathered, my COVID grievance is that travel is a complete “no go.” Many are affected. But when you’re suddenly an octogenarian (which sounds like a grim condition - which, of course it can be), it really matters. To put it bluntly: the true-meaning of a “bucket-list” is rammed home. I’m not a big hobby person, but if I had to come up with one I’d say it’s planning trips. A mantra, for quite a few years, has been ”Do it now while you can still put one foot in front of the other and hurl a small duffel around unaided.” I’ve stopped devouring the travel pages of newspapers or watching TV programs that whiz you off to magical places. I want to go to them, not fantasize about them. And how I miss scouring the vacation rental sites for studio apartments in rarely heard about places. As pathetic as it sounds, I can’t stand doing any of that for the simple reason that I don’t know when I’ll ever be able to take off again. Virtual reality does not do it for me. Neither does the current vacation slogan: “Dream now. Go later.” My day-dreaming days are pretty limited. At the same time, I am weary of reading and listening to the columnists and talking-heads about the raging, anger-filled, divisions in our society. I know what I think, what I feel. And I’m sick to the core of the implosion that has made it unwise to venture out on the days a DC protest is slated. And on that top-
ic, I have a birthday wish. I hope I live long enough to see what the history books have to say about the Trumpism plague. But in the midst of my doom and despair I do have a couple of immediate things to be grateful for. I have a closet jammed with polar gear. So, while the inside ban is in place, I can happily sit outside any bar and cafe in comfort. And, yippee, I am getting an early birthday gift. I’m booked in somewhere. No, not an out-of-the-way, log-cabin hideaway, on top of a mountain overlooking an ocean. The day before I say “byebye” to my 70s, I get my second COVID jab (thank you, Kaiser Permanente). Now, that will really be a shot-in-the-arm... ◆ February 2021 ★ 85
. family life .
INTERMITTENT FASTING
An Eating Pattern that Can Benefit Your Body and Your Brain by Pattie Cinelli
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t’s been around and popular for several years. Intermittent Fasting (IF) is a predetermined period of time that an individual purposely doesn’t eat. When you fast, insulin levels drop and human growth hormone increases. Your cells also initiate important cellular repair processes and change which genes they express. IF can potentially lead to weight loss and can improve health. Fasting has been in practice throughout human evolution. Hunters and gatherers were not guaranteed they would find food regularly. Humans have been able to function without food (not water) for extended periods of time. Even 50 years ago it was easier to be healthy weight. There were no computers, TVs
shut down for the night and people stopped eating because they went to bed. Portions were smaller and people spent more time outside and got more exercise. Fasting has also been practiced for religious or spiritual reasons by Muslims, Christians, Hebrews and Buddhists. If you don’t want to be bothered with tracking calories and filling out food records and if you don’t want to eat pre-made foods or change what you eat, then intermittent fasting may be for you. According to Harvard Health, part of the fascination with intermittent fasting arises from research with animals showing that fasting may reduce cancer risk and slow aging. IF works on both sides of the calorie equation. It boosts metabolic rate (increases calories out) and reduces the amount of food you eat (reduces calories in).
IF Benefits Intermittent fasting can help with weight loss which is the reason why many practice it. According to a 2014 review of scientific literature, IF can cause weight loss of three to eight percent during a 3-24-week period. “I tried IF this past March when COVID hit,” said Mary Backer. “I limited my time to eat from noon to 8, similar to my work schedule.” She found it difficult not eating in the morning. “I was used to eating in the car on my way to work but of 86 H HILLRAG.COM
course I wasn’t commuting any more. I tried to keep busy – riding my bike when I got hungry. I also drank lots of tea and water.” Mary practiced IF until October and lost about 40 lbs. “I did it every day because I needed the structure and routine. I also needed to lose weight, but I ate whatever I wanted although I tried to make smart choices. I’ve tried most every diet on the planet. IF really works for me.” Since then she’s kept off all but six pounds which is a normal weight gain after ending any diet. IF can reduce insulin resistance, lowering blood sugar by 3-6 percent and insulin levels by 20-30 percent. This can reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes. Studies also show it can improve some risk factors for heart disease such as blood pressure, cholesterol levels and inflammatory markers. It may increase the brain hormone BDNF and may aid in the growth of new nerve cells. It can be good for your brain. Last year, Hill resident Rama Moorthy practiced IF from 9:30 to 5:30. “I suffer from ADHD and dyslexia and I found I can concentrate more.” She lost 15 pounds in less than six weeks. “I found I felt lighter, slept better and felt like I have more energy. My digestion was also better.” She decided IF would continue to be a part of her lifestyle. Rama said she always has eaten thoughtfully, but never controlled what she ate. Her time is limited and her work intense similar to many Hill residents. She ate two meals – one about 10 and the other around 4. She also discovered that much of her hunger was hydration. “When I drank water my hunger disappeared.”
Who Should Not Fast? People who are underweight, struggling with weight gain, under 18 years of age, pregnant or breast feeding should not fast because they need sufficient calories on a daily basis for proper development. People who are diabetic, have acid reflux or low blood pressure also may not benefit from IF. “I tried IF about two years ago,” said Patricia Crosby-Tawfik, a personal trainer. “I did it because I like to experiment with different diets to see if they are appropriate to recommend to clients.” What she found when she tried eating from 10 (she had her regular breakfast)
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until 6 and then fasted until the next morning that she became dizzy and got a sour stomach. “I have low blood pressure and acid reflux,” she said. “I realized it’s not for me.”
How IF Works Your fast begins with the last bite of food in the evening. The optimal hours are 16 hours fasting and eight hours eating. The cycle can be repeated as frequently as you like from just once or twice per week to every day depending on your personal preference. Sixteen/eight is popular among those who want to lose weight but as you begin you can ease your way into it by reducing the gap between the fast and eating times such as 14/10 or 13/11 and gradually work your way up 16/8. According to some, it’s fine to regularly alter your fasting hours. It’s the 16 hour fast that’s important, not the specific routine. No food or drink is forbidden during your eight-hour eating time. You can eat carbs through your entire eating window even if your goal is weight loss. Just by the fact that you are reducing the time in which you eat each day you are also reducing the amount of calorie intake as well. However, if you eat ice cream for eight hours and fast for 16 you will be technically practicing IF, but you are not providing your body with much needed nutrients. Eating a balanced diet will sustain you in the long run.
Other IF Methods The 16/8 method is just one of the ways to practice IF. Eat-Stop-Eat is fasting for 24 hours once or twice a week. Another method is the 5-2 Diet. You consume 500-600 calories on two non-consecutive days a week but eat normally the other five. There’s also the one meal a day plan called OMAD which is exactly what it sounds like. You fast for 23 hours and consume your meal during the same one-hour
LEARN:
window each day. It is recommended you consume your meal after your most active past of the day.
• Exercises to strengthen & improve your respiratory system. • Identify methods to increase your immune function.
Apps, Books and a Website Apps and websites too numerous to name here are available to help you succeed with your IF program. Good Housekeeping.com listed the most popular apps: Zero, BodyFast, Life Fasting Tracker, FastHabit, Window, Fastient and Vora. Most have in-app purchases. Women’s Health also recommends Fastic when you want help eating better and Infasting for extra motivation. Dofasting.com is a website that will create a program for you for a fee based on your answers to its questionnaire. On Amazon, books that have recipes and guides for IF are plentiful. Personal Intermittent Fasting Diet Guide and Cookbook: A Complete Guide to Fasting by Becky Gillaspy is one. Another is Intermittent Fasting Cookbook: Fast-Friendly Recipes for Optimal Health, Weight Loss and Results by Nicole Poirier. I found no less than five books with this title: Intermittent Fasting for Women Over 50. If you want to try IF it’s best to check with a doctor who knows you, your medications (if any) and your lifestyle. If you’ve never fasted and are not sure how your body will react, it’s a good idea to ease your way into the rhythm starting with a shorter fasting period. You may also want to try a few days of IF to begin and work up to six or seven days. There is no one ‘correct’ way. The beauty of IF is you decide what works best for you. You monitor how you feel and tweak your program as needed.
Work with Pattie to keep yourself in optimal shape to deal with anything that comes into your path. 30 years of experience
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Pattie Cinelli is a health and fitness professional and journalist who has been writing her column for more than 20 years. She focuses on non-traditional ways to stay healthy and get well. Please email her with questions or column suggestions at: fitmiss44@aol.com. ◆
February 2021 ★ 87
. family life .
/ The District Vet /
TEETH ARE IMPORTANT
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by Dan Teich
ebruary is National Pet Dental Health Month. A few years ago I wrote a piece about the importance of good dental hygiene in dogs and cats. For a number of months afterward, clients came in and discussed their pets’ teeth, having been prompted by the article. Seeing how important dental health is to overall pet well-being and comfort, it is very worthwhile reprising this topic. We will do dental education as a quiz!
Q: What percentage of dogs and cats have dental disease by the time they are three years-old? A: 80% of dogs and 70% of cats Believe it or not, dental disease starts when pets are young. Our furry creatures are not wild animals (even those get tooth problems) and their genetics
lesions can also be masked by the gums. It is not unusual to take X-rays of teeth to only find out that a root has decayed away! Bacteria can ride down roots, causing painful abscesses. All of this can occur while the tooth looks normal. Q: A discolored tooth is nothing to worry about. A: False. Frequently a discolored tooth is a dead tooth. Teeth are composed of several layers, with the middle being nerves and blood supply. These blood vessels are essential as they feed and nourish the tooth. A variety of things can cause a tooth to die -- trauma, infection, breakage. Dead teeth can lead to tooth root abscesses and pain. Any discolored tooth should be examined. Q: What is the single most important act you can take to keep your pets’ feet healthy? Brush daily? Give dental chews? Use a dental water additive? A: Brush teeth daily. Every day a small film of bacteria forms on teeth. Given a bit of time, this biofilm hardens, forming dental tartar. Brushing teeth daily has been shown to be the most effective way to decrease tartar and plaque build-up. Daily may be a stretch for most people, but aim for every other day. This does not have to be long and drawn-out, 15 seconds goes a long way! Q: Is it important for my veterinarian to examine my pet and his/her teeth at least once per year? A: Absolutely. Just as you see the dentist for your own teeth, so must your pet. Your veterinarian will know what to look for in their mouths and be able to provide guidance on how to address any problems. Do not assume that simply because your pet is eating that their teeth are healthy! Q: My pet will show signs that their teeth hurt, right? A: Not always. While drooling, wincing, and simply refusing to chew may be some clinical signs of disease, most pets appear to carry on as normal. But this does not mean that they are not in discomfort. Q: Aside from the mouth, what else can poor dental hygiene effect? A: Most organ systems. The mouth is a hive of bacteria and these little guys don’t stay there! Bacteria readily enters the blood when there is oral disease and can cause kidney damage, liver disease, heart valve problems, and a host of other ailments. Good oral health may greatly extend the health, comfort, and lifespan of your pets.
and diet compound tooth problems. Frequently we see young dogs with dental tartar and many cats with oral resorptive lesions, where the gums are dissolving away the teeth. Q: Dental disease is easy to see. A: False. While tartar on teeth is visible, many problems occur below the gum line. Tartar can accumulate on roots, causing pain and tooth loss. Resorptive 88 H HILLRAG.COM
Q: My dog’s groomer brushes his teeth and may remove some tartar, is this sufficient? A: No. A thorough dental examination with dental X-rays, and under the gum cleaning is ideal for oral health. Remember that much of dental disease is not readily visible. Simply cleaning the tops of the teeth leaves much disease behind. As necessary, your veterinarian will recommend sedation in order to keep your pet’s mouth happy. Dan Teich, DVM, Medical Director, District Veterinary Hospital. www.districtvet.com u
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February 2021 ★ 89
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MUSIC ON THE HILL GIVES VIRTUAL LESSONS
M
by Sarah Payne
on a construction project in her upstairs studio to make in-person lessons available again. In order to make COVID safe classrooms the school replaced walls with plexiglass so that teachers and students can maintain a safe physical distance. Campbell says that this is safe because there will be “absolutely no possibility of aerosol going back and forth between them.” Campbell emphasized that these changes are temporary as she looks forward Children get ready to take ukelele class masked outside at Music on the Hill. to a time when in-person inThe hula hoops are used keep students socially distant.. struction can resume without these plexiglass barriers. when it warms up again.” “I just knocked holes in Campbell said that she is “extremely proud of the walls, when this is over, I will refill them, and it the COVID precautions (they) have taken” includwill go back to normal,” Campbell said. ing switching out air filters to hospital grade, the Campbell said that despite the changes, “our inclusion of free standing HEPA filters in the store retention has been really good. I feel incredibly and limiting access to a single party at a time for grateful for my teachers and my students.” shopping. Campbell also frequently conducts sales In addition to the over Zoom and provides free delivery to homes on Zoom lessons, Campbell the Hill. also hosted several pre“I’ve tried to hit every single possible way for school ukulele group sespeople to shop so that everybody has access, besions over the course of the cause I think music is essential right now,” Camppast several months. She bell said. “I think it’s essential for mental health, said that getting creative it’s essential for learning, (and) we’re stuck in our with logistics has been a big house all winter long, and we need a ukulele.” part of navigating through You can learn more about Music on the Hill the pandemic. at (www.musiconthehilldc.com) or by visiting “I moved the class outtheir storefront Monday through Saturday from side, and just bought hula 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Sunday 12:00 p.m. hoops,” Campbell said. “I to 4:00 p.m. space the kids and we did ukulele class right outside Sarah Payne is a History and Neuroscience student at the store. That was very The University of Michigan interning with HillRag. She successful, and I’m realwrites for and serves as an assistant news editor for Michigan’s student newspaper, The Michigan Daily. You ly looking forward to comTeachers and students use newly constructed rooms to hold in-person lessons can reach her at sarahp@hillrag.com. u ing back with that in March while social distancing.
usic on the Hill (801 D St NE) opened in 2013 and functions as a specialty music store that features music lessons for all ages and ability levels. The studio was providing lessons to more than 300 people each week before the pandemic hit in March. The store features a selection of handpicked products, and specializes in string instruments such as guitars, ukuleles and mandolins. The store also rents out middle and high school band instruments such as saxophones and flutes. Owner of Music on the Hill, Lindy Campbell, said that above all, community is the most important thing to her business. “We’re a community store and Capitol Hill is full of of kids who are learning to play and adults who are lifelong hobbyist players,” she said. Campbell moved all music instruction online starting March 25 and has been conducting virtual lessons for her students since. While Campbell emphasized that virtual instruction has been beneficial for her students, she is working hard to make it possible for them to return to her studio as soon as possible. Campbell and her staff have been working
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February 2021 H 91
. family life .
kids&family
NOTEBOOK by Kathleen Donner
Kids on Ice Winter 2021 Kids on Ice Winter 2021, brought to you by the Fort Dupont Ice Arena, is three sessions for ages five to seventeean with unique at-home virtual challenges over six weeks. Through March 7, choose a session and complete a task or complete them all--It’ s up to you. Earn points by submitting a picture of your work to either bgreene@fdia.org or tagging Fort Dupont Ice Arena in a photo on social media. Prizes awarded. Read more and register at bit.ly/koiwinter21.
Introducing... Stokely Carmichael and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Each week the National Portrait Gallery shines a light on some of this country’s lesserknown history makers and their portraits. Join them on YouTube every Wednesday at
Art & Me: Lunar New Year
Club members Jackson Sanders and Marcus McQueen with their project “Plant a Broken Tree”.
Young Artists Gallery: Junk Art Club The Hill Center has a Young Artists Gallery that features rotating exhibits from local schools. They’ve teamed up with the Junk Art Club from Eliot-Hine Middle School to stage their first Young Artists virtual art show. The Junk Art Club’s work speaks to climate change and the effect of human activity on the environment. Each piece is designed to convey the serious environmental impacts of climate change, or to show hope that climate change can be slowed or reversed. For materials, the students relied on recycling a diverse array of discarded items. While the public won’t be able to enjoy it in person, they’re pleased to open this virtual gallery. hillcenterdc.org/artist/young-artists-gallery. 92 H HILLRAG.COM
On Saturday, Feb. 20, 10 to 10:45 a.m., celebrate the Year of the Ox with the art doctors in this virtual workshop. From toys to tiles, see how artists have been inspired by oxen for generations and how Smithsonian conservators preserve these artworks. Then create your own ox masterpiece to ring in the new year. This hands-on, art-making preservation workshop is designed for children ages three to eight and their caretakers. The program is part of a yearlong series cohosted by the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art. One registration per family. A Zoom link and a list of suggested materials will be sent to registered participants 24 to 48 hours in advance. asia.si.edu/events-overview/kids. 11 a.m. for Introducing… with a Portrait Gallery educator. Children will learn more about art, hear the stories behind the portraits, and even learn some new vocabulary. Select story times will be in Spanish. For children ages three and up and their families. On Wednesday, Feb. 24, 11 a.m., learn about Stokely Carmichael and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Free. npg.si.edu/event/introducing-20.
Arena Stage’s Winter Classes for Kids Write the next hit musical. Get ready for your close-up or get up and dance. Online classes at Arena Stage allow young people to try
SERVING GRADES 6-12
PAUL PCS IS MORE THAN A 6-12 SCHOOL We have a 90-year-old legacy of community and connection! Our faculty and staff know and care for every scholar with small class sizes and expertly customized learning plans!
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Visit www.paulcharter.org to schedule a tour and learn more. 5800 8th Street NW Washington, DC | (202) 291-7499 February 2021 ★ 93
. family life .
something new or explore a favorite artform more deeply. Classes offered are Acting for the Camera, Hip-Hop Dance, Fashion Design, Mini Musical, and Sign and Song. Classes are $120. Need-based scholarships are available. No experience is required. Classes are one hour and meet once a week for eight weeks via Zoom. Zoom links are emailed to registered participants. arenastage.org/ education/202021-winter-classes.
Arena Stage’s Family Creativity Workshops
Lighting up Lanterns for Tet On Sunday, Feb. 21, 10 to 11 a.m., celebrate Tet, Vietnamese Lunar New Year, in this family workshop. Honoring the power of hope in dark times, this holiday reminds us that the light of a lantern can offer cheer and the promise of better times ahead. This program, led by artist Khánh H. Lê, will include an interactive lantern-making workshop and information about how the holiday is celebrated in Vietnam. Designed for children six and older with adult companions, one registration per family. A Zoom link and a list of suggested materials will be sent to registered participants 24 to 48 hours in advance of the workshop. This program is part of Lunar New Year DC, organized by the Freer and Sackler Galleries and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. asia.si.edu/events-overview/kids.
On Saturdays, Feb. 20 and March 13, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., create and play as a team in this interactive drama workshop designed for families. Using theater games, visual art and imagination, family members will build connections while they explore what makes their family unique. This workshop is open to participants ages five to adult. Though the workshop is virtual, family members should be in the same physical space. Space is limited to six families. Registration is available up until the day of class based upon availability. $25 to $30 per family. arenastage.org/education/202021-family-workshops.
Artists on the Rise Exhibition Call for Entry Montpelier Arts Center presents Artists on the Rise, an annual juried teen exhibition held in the galleries of Montpelier, designed to provide teens with an opportunity to showcase their work in a professional setting. They welcome students in public or private middle and high school or home school who are residents of Maryland, Virginia, or the District of Columbia to enter one piece of original artwork online. Awards are given for first ($200), second ($150), and third place ($100). Submission deadline is Feb. 21. montpelierartscenter.submittable.com/submit.
White House Historical Association Student Art Competition The White House Historical Association has established a student-driven art competition inspired by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s vision of the White House as a national symbol. The theme of the competition is “The White House: An American Story,” and will solicit two-dimensional submissions from all kindergarten through twelve US students. The competition will be judged by Simmie Knox, who painted the Clintons’ portraits and was the first Black artist to paint official White House portraits, Betty Monkman, former White House curator, and Katherine Gilliland, the docent manager at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum. The competition will run from February to May 2021 and winners will be announced on or around Mrs. Kennedy’s birthday--July 28. WhiteHouseHistory.org. 94 H HILLRAG.COM
Emma Natalya Stein, Hoi An Lanterns
DC Library Virtual Story Time On Weekdays at 10:30 a.m., grab your shakers, bells or anything that makes a fun noise and join the DC Library for Virtual Story Time at facebook.com/dclibrary. This story time is recommended for kids ages birth to five. dclibrary.org.
DC Library Family Learning Weekdays at 4 p.m., tune in to DC Public Library’s Youtube for fun and educational afterschool live events and videos. Programs and content will cover themes related to STEM/STEAM, history, culture and so much more. These programs are recommended for school-aged children and teens and their families. dclibrary.org.
Students Empowered to Tackle Climate Crisis Washington, DC has joined 17 cities to launch Students Reinventing Cities, a pioneering competi-
tion that will enable students and universities from across the globe to share their vision for green and thriving neighborhoods. The District is inviting students to share their creative vision and fresh ideas in line with the city’s climate and housing priorities. Mayor Bowser’s Comprehensive Plan proposal has identified the area of New York Avenue, NE as a key location for future planning and analysis. Interested students can visit c40reinventingcities.org. The deadline is March 2021. Finalists will be selected and invited to submit their final proposals by May 2021. A panel of judges from the District and C40 Cities will select a winner for each city site, which will be announced at a ceremony in July 2021.
DC Public Library and Nationals Youth Baseball Academy Launch Books & Baseball The Washington Nationals Youth Baseball
February 2021 H 95
My Life’s Work
PODCAST WITH
SARAH CYMROT AND NATHANIEL LIU Two Capitol Hill teens interview neighbors who have had interesting and transformative careers to find out: How does a high school passion morph into a full-fledged career? What makes for meaningful and fulfilling work? How do people look back on risks they took and choices they made?
Social Studies In A Box At President Lincoln’s Cottage, 140 Rock Creek Church Rd. NW, they use Lincoln’s life to inspire their work. The stories of what happened there historically have the power to bring out the leader in any person today. Their new activity packages, Social Studies in a Box, created for families with early learners (two to eight), provide at-home programming that encourages the development of social and emotional intelligence through games, interactive play, and stories. $50. lincolncottagestore.com/social-studies-boxes.
We are looking to interview Capitol Hill residents at any stage of their career who have a story to share about their journey and the choices they have made. Please send your suggestions to mylifesworkpodcast@gmail.com. We would love to hear from you!
Tune in at
www.mylifesworkpodcast.org
2021 SPRING HOME IMPROVEMENT & GARDEN ISSUE A feature issue for homeowners on the RENOVATION, REPAIR and MAINTENANCE of Capitol Hill homes PUBLICATION DATE:
FEBRUARY 27, 2021
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96 ★ HILLRAG.COM
Academy, in partnership with DC Public Library, has launched a new season of the Books & Baseball program, a free, non-competitive, co-ed literature and baseball program for children ages three to five. Mondays at 5 p.m., through Feb. 22, 35-minute session includes the reading of a children’s book by a DC Public Librarian, followed by a beginner-level baseball clinic led by YBA coaches. Virtual clinic activities are easy to complete at home and focus on enhancing motor skills and learning the fundamentals of baseball. To learn more and register for the Books &
Baseball program, visit nats4good. org/BooksAndBaseball.
National Museum of African Art Student Gallery The National Museum of African Art (currently closed), 950 Independence Ave. SW, Student Gallery displays student artworks (K through 12) that were created in the classroom in response to virtual field trips, museum visits, or inspired by African art. Go to africa.si.edu/education/studentgallery and click on a school name to view student masterpieces. ◆
OUR CLASSROOMS ARE OPEN AND SAFE Please refer to the website for the COVID-19 policies.
SUMMER CAMP 2021 In-person with COVID-19 protocols
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English
Friday 10:00 am - 11:00 am February 5th Tuesday 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm February 16th
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Contact Carolina at 202.400.3503 & carolina@hillrag.com to get the most for your advertising dollars.
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February 2021 H 101
www.themecrosswords.com • www.mylesmellorconcepts.com
XWORD “Hill Concerns” by Myles Mellor Across:
1. Northwest ___ (abbr.) 5. Trifle 10. Headbands of light 15. Jacked up the pot 19. Words of confidence 20. Kitchen gadget 21. Skyward 22. Bog lime 23. Free speech, e.g. 27. St. Lucia and Martinique, for two 28. Schoolteacher Krabappel of “The Simpsons” 29. Roentgen’s discovery 30. Schooner 34. Buzzing pests in the kitchen 36. Family pooch, for example 38. ___ facto 39. Abroad 41. Ivans’ girls 46. Hanoi resident 49. Tending to annoy 51. Gray’s subj. 52. Actress, Long 53. Comparative word 54. Cardinal’s title 61. Too 65. Fussy, in slang 66. Certain something 68. Fulmar’s kin 69. Slip in the pot 72. Disregard popular feelings 79. Much of “Deck the Halls” 80. One of Chekhov’s “Three Sisters” 81. Prepare for publication 82. Valley 83. Open the door 85. Alps flowers 90. Move with a humming sound 93. Cut down 95. Bellow 96. Nonsense 100. Jump the line in swimming
106. Alaskan islander 107. Completely committed 109. Celtic singer 110. The good cholesterol 111. Drummer Ringo 112. Suspended 114. Reject 118. Spots 119. Starting 121. Offensive in some people’s eyes 130. Provo neighbor 131. 1970 World’s Fair site 132. Link 133. Seeding org. 134. Gershwin heroine 135. Sharpen 136. Staff symbols 137. Set of problems
Down:
1. Twitch 2. “The Name of the Rose” writer 3. Emulated Forrest Gump 4. E.R. personnel 5. Pleated material 6. Dieter’s label word 7. Critical hosp. areas 8. Retired, briefly 9. Three way 10. Submitted 11. Actors Alda and Ladd 12. Classic Kinks song 13. Out of sync 14. Orchestration abbreviation 15. US abbr. 16. Bubkes 17. Kind of weight 18. Tree types 24. Place for a clasp 25. Coup d’___ (quick glance) 26. Bonus 30. The Pretty Things drummer, Prince 31. Pen starter
Look for this months answers at labyrinthgameshop.com 32. Skipper’s dir. 33. Drunk 34. Grafton’s “___ for Fugitive” 35. Bruce of martial arts films 36. Telekinesis, e.g. 37. Gnaw at 39. “___ Called Horse” 40. Celebration 41. Go places 42. ___-bitty 43. Health org. 44. Polynesian beverage 45. Capitol V.I.P. 47. Hated war, for short 48. DiFranco of folk rock 50. Lead-in for ‘’Bravo’’ 54. Salute 55. Swenson of “Benson” 56. Word with souci or serif 57. Rock group from the 70s 58. Power or cat
59. Medical breakthrough 60. Slip away 62. Lapse 63. It’s stranded 64. Rent out 67. Enthusiastic 69. Suffixes with czar and signor 70. Eye flirtatiously 71. Partakes of 73. Palillo of “Welcome Back, Kotter” 74. Right angle shape 75. In times past 76. Video game 77. Dined 78. Psyche divisions 83. Language of Pakistan 84. Floors 86. Singer Lovett 87. Stinger 88. Mrs. sheep
TAKE A BREAK FROM SCREENS! We have games and puzzles for everyone!
Tuesday - Friday – 11am to 7pm Saturday & Sunday – 10am to 6pm
645 Pennsylvania Ave SE (Steps from Eastern Market Metro)
102 ★ HILLRAG.COM
• Educational, board and party games • LEGO and other building toys
• Chess & other strategy game • Jigsaw puzzles • Brainteasers
• Marble mazes • Corporate gifts • Much, much more
We can host your gaming event. Give us a call!
202-544-1059 • labyrinthgameshop.com
89. Internet addresses 90. Ring org. 91. Name of a killer computer 92. Project conclusion? 94. Type of wave 97. Prefix with biology 98. Free (of) 99. Indian lentil dish 100. New Deal pres. 101. ___ Lingus (Ireland’s national airline) 102. Wallet bill, perhaps 103. “The Ice Storm” director Lee 104. Bread or whiskey 105. Bit 108. Shuttle home 111. Watch brand 112. B-ball 113. Atlas Mtns. locale 114. Name-dropper 115. Skin opening 116. Western tribe 117. Tach readings 118. Top banana 119. Roll call calls 120. Short tail 122. LAPD part 123. Believer, suffix 124. P.O. box item, for short 125. Tell untruths 126. Groove or routine 127. Compass direction 128. Diamond meas. 129. Trim a doily
WE SELL HOUSES! For Market Value!
TO HILL WITH SUBURBS! Licensed in DC & MD
thesmithteam.penfedrealty.com
John Smith Aaron Smith Peter Grimm Kristine Jones Peter Davis Office
202.262.6037 202.498.6794 202.270.6368 202.415.4716 301.332.1634 202.608.1887
S PA OL N AR EL S
B LE UY AS O R E
705 North Carolina Ave, SE Washington, DC 20003
Old Homes, New Homes Renovated Homes, Fixer-Uppers, Shells, ... Give us a Call! We will help YOU Sell Your Home!
WE AREN’T SAINTS (ALTHOUGH WE ARE SAINTS FANS!)
$1.689M or rent for $5750 monthly
618 5th St, NE
• 3 Lvl, 2 Unit, Wide Brick Bay w/ Deck, Patio, Parking & • •
Productive Solar Power Panels! Renovated, but w/ Original Details. UP: 2BR+DN | 2.5BA w/ LR, DR + Wet Bar, Granite Island Kitchen w/ B. Nook, Raised Detached Deck, Flagst0ne Patio, Secure Parking, Solar Power. DOWN: 2BR|1BA Apartment, Large LR/ Kitchen w/ DIning Bar, Laundry, Rear Patio.
$1.389M G PA AR RK AG IN E G
ESTATES? BANKRUPTCIES? PROBLEMS? WE CAN HELP!
521 11th St, SE • 2600+ sf Renovated Porchfront Home • 4 Lvls, 4BR / 3BA, (1 MBR Ste) • Hwd Flrs, Multiple Skylights, 2 Roof Decks • OSP, Flagstone Patio, Automatic Door • Exposed Brick
N SE EAR C
BUT WE CAN AND WILL HELP YOU SELL OR BUY YOUR HOME!
NOW LEASING MULTIPLE UNITS! CALL 202-270-6368 FOR DETAILS!
416 A ST, SE #4 — Furnished 1BR|1BA w/ lndry - $2800 416 A ST, SE #1 — Furnished 1BR|1BA w/lndry - $3100 416 A ST, SE #2 — Furnished 1BR|1BA w/lndry - $3300 521 11TH ST, SE — 4BR|BA, Renovated, OSP - $5750 1949 H ST, NE — 3BR|3.5BA, OSP - $3360 1701 TRINIDAD AVE, NE #5 — 1BR+Dn|1.5BA
w/lndry - $2450
637 3rd St, NE #101
245 15th St, SE #202
AMAZING HILL LOCATION AND TREMENDOUS VALUE! Bright, Open, Updated 1BR|1BA Condo, nr Trolley & all things H St! Hwd Floors, Open Gourmet Kitchen, w/ DIning Bar, Gas Stove, Stone Counters and SS Appliances, Spacious BR, Full Bath with Soaking Tub, Rentable Parking Space (waitlist) Low Fee, Pet Friendly, Investor Friendly! VA Approved!
Amazing Value in Amazing A+ Location! Pet Friendly, Boutique Bldg! 1BR+Den|2BA Condo w/ deeded Parking, Gourmet Steel & Stone Social Kit, Den w. Study, double closets, MBA has Glass Rain Shower, Hwd Flrs, Surround Sound & Smart Features, Lndry, Close to 2 METRO Stations, Price includes Deeded Garage Pkg SPace!
$348,500
$548,500
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