Serving Foggy Bottom & the West End
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Vol. IX, No. 51
The Foggy BoTTom CurrenT
Group calls for restroom access in central D.C.
ANC urges revocation of two P Street licenses
SERVICE WITH A SMILE
■ Liquor: Resolution cites
By MARK LIEBERMAN
multiple ABC violations
Current Staff Writer
Sometimes you’ve just gotta go. But what if you can’t? That’s the question at the heart of a grass-roots campaign by a committee of the People for Fairness Coalition. The group is urging the D.C. government to investigate options for adding public restrooms in key downtown neighborhoods, following a feasibility study finding many residents and visitors have to walk a mile or more to the nearest clean, safe restroom that’s continuously available. Representatives from the coalition have been reaching out to advisory neighborhood commissions and neighborhood groups, and last week they sent letters to D.C. officials including Ward 3 D.C. Council member Mary Cheh. The group has also launched a petition at tinyurl. com/dc-restrooms, which it will submit to the mayor’s office once it receives 5,000 signatures. The People for Fairness Coalition is an advocacy group comprised largely of current and former homeless D.C. residents interested in pursuing activism and gaining marketable career skills. The organization is dedicated to improving the quality of life for the city’s disenfranchised populations, with a particular focus on the homeless. The restroom initiative began in July 2014, according to coalition mentor and adviser Marcia Bernbaum. A resident attending a People for Fairness Coalition meeting mentioned having trouble finding convenient, accessible restrooms downtown. At Bernbaum’s urging, four coalition members canvassed five areas — Dupont Circle, K Street, Georgetown, Gallery Place and Columbia Heights — in search of restrooms they could use without being a restaurant or coffee shop patron. The results were not encouraging, members of the coalition told The Current. “This is a major problem in the See Bathrooms/Page 14
NEWS
By KELSEY KNORP Current Correspondent
Brian Kapur/The Current
The Morris Cafritz Center for Community Service at the Washington DC Jewish Community Center held the 19th annual “Everything But The Turkey” event on Monday. It brought together over 750 local volunteers to prepare 20,000 servings of traditional Thanksgiving dishes that will be served at 100 local shelters in the area.
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Brian Kapur/The Current
Complaints focus on two bars on the 2100 block of P Street.
Jessie Cornelius. The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board ruled, however, that two assault cases between November 2014 and March of this year warrant “no further action,” as the board found neither to be a direct consequence of the bar’s operations. Fireplace co-owner Jeremiah Griswell insists that violent incidents on or near tavern premises are largely out of management’s control. He said the bar has obtained proper certification for its security and hosting services, and has furthermore complied with all security measures the alcohol board required for dealing with altercations. At Marrakech, the Dupont comSee Licenses/Page 14
Lafayette students turn out in droves to help foster children By KELSEY KNORP Current Correspondent
A Sunday afternoon function at Lafayette Elementary inviting students to assemble cases of essential items for foster children — in collaboration with local charity Comfort Cases — received such an enthusiastic response that organizers had to turn away some would-be volunteers. Over 100 of the elementary and middle school students who made the cut crowded into the large white tent that serves as the Chevy Chase school’s multipurpose room while its campus undergoes renovation. To fill their cases for foster kids, students and family members made their way around tables containing various donated items on the Comfort Cases checklist, including pajamas, toiletries, stuffed animals and school supplies. “I think it will help them, that it will put a smile on their face so they will not be sad,” said 6-year-
EVENTS
Noisy debate over leaf blowers heads to D.C. Council
Two West Dupont bars accused of frequently violating their tavern liquor licenses have prompted a call to action to the D.C. Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration. In the wake of community complaints, Dupont advisory neighborhood commissioners are recommending that the agency revoke the licenses of The Fireplace and Marrakech Restaurant, both located on the 2100 block of P Street. The commission, in a Nov. 24 letter to various authorities, cites investigative reports by the alcohol administration as evidence that the two establishments have racked up considerable offenses in recent years. Two 2014 investigative reports of The Fireplace cite instances of assault inside the bar, while another that same year found a failure to provide security during mandated hours. The tavern has since paid $3,250 in consequent fines, according to alcohol agency spokesperson
American Indian Museum highlights Cherokee artist — Page 17
Photo by Stacy Beck
Lafayette Elementary School alums Charlotte “Carly” Nusbaum, left, and Daisy Blumenthal helped at Sunday’s community service event.
old Katie Finck-Boyle, a first-grader at Lafayette who assembled a case for a girl of her age. Local freelance writer and Lafayette mom Kitson Jazynka came up with the idea for the
HOLIDAYS
Tree lighting events in D.C. mark arrival of holiday season — Page 15
Comfort Cases “packing party” back in September. She thought it made sense for Lafayette Gives Back, a new initiative from the Lafayette Home and School Association that aims to provide hands-on community service opportunities to students. Jazynka had been working on a piece featuring the 11-year-old daughter of Comfort Cases founder Rob Scheer, which was printed in the November/December issue of popular youth magazine American Girl. Scheer and his husband Reece Chasteen adopted Amaya Chasteen-Scheer and her younger brother Makai from the D.C. foster care system at ages 4 and 2. Brothers from another family, 2-year-old Greyson and 6-month-old Tristan, were not far behind. The feature story on Amaya’s transition from foster care to a permanent home and her subseSee Lafayette/Page 5
INDEX Calendar/16 Classifieds/22 District Digest/2 Exhibits/17 Foggy Bottom News/11 In Your Neighborhood/4
Opinion/8 Police Report/6 Real Estate/13 School Dispatches/10 Service Directory/20 Week Ahead/3
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