Hill Rag Magazine November 2016

capitalcommunitynews.com | August 2009

NOVEMBER 2016

capitalcommunitynews.com May 2010

Sales · Rentals · Commercial Leasing Property Management · Investments

SO

LD

Est

1981

718 9TH ST SE

2BR 1.5BA Attic & Secured Parking $797,500 Genie Hutinet · 202.413.7661

220 3RD ST SE

Four 1 BR 1 BA Units $1,395,000 Pete Frias · 202.744.8973

Where Washington shops for a new address! ™

COUND NT ER RA CT

14 SHERMAN CIRCLE NW 4BR 3.5 BA $848,500 Genie Hutinet · 202.413.7661

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE HILL RAG FAMILY ON YOUR 40TH ANNIVERSARY! John C. Formant Real Estate is proud of our long and successful partnership.

COUND NT ER RA CT

225 Pennsylvania Ave SE Washington, DC 20003 202.544.3900 www.johncformant.com

418 CRITTENDEN ST NW 4BR 3.5BA · $767,500 Genie Hutinet · 202.413.7661

1361 TUCKERMAN ST NW Nantucket Holdings Renovation 3BR 3BA · $669,500 Pete Frias · 202.744.8973

R.THOMAS

MAKE SURE YOUR ROOF IS READY FOR WINTER!

DANIEL ROOFING

Call now....

UNDER YOUR ROOF IS YOUR MOST VALUABLE ASSET... YOUR HOME!

PROTECT YOUR HOME NOW!

CONGRATULATIONS ON THE HILL RAG’S 40TH ANNIVERSARY! SERVING THOUSANDS OF CAPITOL HILL CUSTOMERS FOR MORE THAN 90 YEARS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD ROOFER Owner Tom Daniel, outside the original location of the family roofing business at 310 Independence Ave., S.E.

Uncover Hidden Future Costs.

Warning Signs Could Mean Higher Costs If Not Corrected Today!

• Roof is over 10 years old • Interior water stains • Visible leaks or cracks • Loose attic insulation • Open joints and seams on roof • Drains/gutters filled with debris Our Services: • Inspections • Repairs • Roof coating • Roof replacement • Gutters and spouts • Skylights • Brick and chimney re-pointing

202.569.1080 202.544.4430

tom@rthomasdanielroofing.com www.rthomasdanielroofing.com PROUD TO BE A CAPITOL HILL VILLAGE PREFERRED VENDOR 4 H Hillrag.com

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The Grant, Ryall & Andrew Group

Grant, Ryall & Andrew aren’t like most real estate agents.

And you know...some people say they really like that!

Grant Griffith, (202) 741-1685 | Ryall Smith, (202) 741-1781 Andrew Glasow, (202) 741-1654 | Fred Saddler, (202) 746-5738 Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage - Don Denton, VP Broker | 605 Pennsylvania Ave SE, WDC 20003 - Main: 202.547. 3525

November 2016 H 11

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728 4 TH ST, NE

540 N ST, SW #S-403

517 7 TH ST, SE

5415 4 TH ST, NW

SOLD - $1,348,500

UNDER CONTRACT - $848,500

UNDER CONTRACT - $1,100,000

UNDER CONTRACT - $649,000 REPRESENTING THE BUYER

10 7 TH ST, NE

239 12 TH ST, NE

SOLD - $1,648,500

SOLD - $1,628,000

STAN BISSEY 202.841.1433

stan.bissey@compass.com

TODD BISSEY 202.841.7653

todd.bissey@compass.com

636 NC AVE, SE

6 6 0 P E N N S Y LVA N I A AV E , S E • 2 0 2 . 5 4 5 . 6 9 0 0

626 NC AVE, SE

SOLD - $1,220,000

Compass is licensed as ‘Compass Real Estate’ in the District of Columbia

UNDER CONTRACT - $1,195,000

511 6 TH ST, SE

139 D ST, SE

722 9 TH ST, SE

504 C ST, NE

SOLD - $1,569,000

SOLD - $1,008,500

SOLD - $1,150,000

SOLD - $1,100,000

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What’s Inside?

In every issue:

44

20

What’s on Washington

22

Calendar

120

Hill Rag Crossword

194

Classified Ads

200

Last Word

39

40th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL

42

Letter From The Publisher

44

Early History of the Hill Rag

46-84

Letters from our Neighbors

48

Life of a Newspaperman

60

Decades of Historic Preservation on the Hill

64

A Snapshot of the Hill: Photos from the last 10 years

68

Three Generations

70

A Life In Real Estate On The Hill

Jean-Keith Fagon Melissa Ashabranner Andrew Lightman Norman Metzger

Stephanie Deutsch Don Denton

(We have a few ads from the late 1970 to mid-1980’s sprinkled through the paper. See if you can find them.)

Nov. capitol streets 89

Bulletin Board

97

District Beat: Anita Bonds: Renters’ Gladiator

100

Kathleen Donner

Two Tales of One Road: Neighbors Split over the Maryland Christine Rushton

Avenue Redesign

70

Jonetta Rose Barras

102

The Numbers: Welfare Time Limits Hurt Children

104

Safeway on 14th to Close for Two Years

106

South by West

108

Beware Locksmith Scams

107

A Fresh Plan for the Boys and Girls Club

110

ANC 6A Report

112

ANC 6B Report

Christine Rushton

114

ANC 6C Report

Virginia Avniel Spatz

116

ANC 6D Report

Andrew Lightman

118

ANC 6E Report

Steve Holton

119

Eastern Market Report

Kate Coventry

Christine Rushton

William Rich Christine Rushton Christine Rushton

Elizabeth Nelson

Peter J. Waldron

community life 121

Heard on the Hill: Thanksgiving Tips

123

Veterans Day: A Reason to Come Together after a Brutal Election Campaign

Jen DeMayo

Maggie Hall

Elise Bernard

124

H Street Life

126

Our River: The Anacostia - Meet the Chestnuts

128

Volunteering on the Hill

130

Halloween Photos from around the Hill

Quentin Wodon

Bill Matuszeski

100 capitalcommunitynews.com | August 2009

NOVEMBER 2016

capitalcommunitynews.com May 2010

on the cover: various Hill Rag covers from the last 40 years

real estate 133

Real Estate Matters

136

Changing Hands

Heather Schoell Don Denton

arts and dining 143

Eating Vegan

Karen Cohen

146

At the Movies

Mike Canning

148

Art and The City

150

Dining Notes

Celeste McCall

154

The Wine Girl

Elise Genderson

156

East City Books: Meet the Owner

158

Literary Hill

160

Poetic Hill

Jim Magner

David Hoffman

Karen Lyon Karen Lyon

health and fitness 163

Let’s Get Physical: REI Opens In NOMA

166

Reflexology: Touch Therapy Helps Reduce Stress, Pain and Improves Health

168

Stacy Peterson

Pattie Cinelli

The District Vet: November is for Thanks

Dan Teich, DVM

kids and family 171

Kids & Family Notebook

176

School Notes

Kathleen Donner

Susan Braun Johnson

homes and gardens 187

Preparing for Winter and Other Disasters

190

November Is the New October – Plant Bulbs Now

192

Cheryl Corson

Dear Garden Problem Lady

Wendy Blair

Rindy Obrien

EST.

1976

Capital Community News, Inc. 224 7th Street, SE, Suite 300 Washington, DC 20003 • 202.543.8300 www.capitalcommunitynews.com EXECUTIVE EDITOR: Melissa Ashabranner • melissaashabranner@hillrag.com

PUBLISHER: Jean-Keith Fagon • fagon@hillrag.com • Copyright © 2016 by Capital Community News. All Rights Reserved.

Editorial Staff

M������� E�����: Andrew Lightman • andrew@hillrag.com CFO � A�������� E�����: Maria Carolina Lopez • carolina@hillrag.com S����� N���� E�����: Susan Braun Johnson • schools@hillrag.com K��� � F����� E�����: Kathleen Donner • kathleendonner@gmail.com

Arts, Dining & Entertainment A��: D�����:

L���������: M�����: M����: T������: W��� G���:

Jim Magner • jjmagner@aol.com Celeste McCall • celeste@us.net Jonathan Bardzik • jonathan.bardzik@gmail.com Karen Lyon • klyon@folger.edu Mike Canning • mjcanning@verizon.net Jean-Keith Fagon • fagon@hillrag.com Stephen Monroe • steve@jazzavenues.com Barbara Wells • barchardwells@aol.com Jon Genderson • jon@cellar.com

Calendar & Bulletin Board

C������� E�����: Kathleen Donner • calendar@hillrag.com, bulletinboard@hillrag.com

General Assignment

Elise Bernard • elise.bernard@gmail.com Ellen Boomer • emboomer@gmail.com Stephanie Deutsch • scd@his.com Michelle Phipps-Evans • invisiblecolours@yahoo.com Maggie Hall • whitby@aol.com Stephen Lilienthal - stephen_lilienthal@yahoo.com Pleasant Mann • pmann1995@gmail.com Meghan Markey • meghanmarkey@gmail.com John H. Muller • jmuller.washingtonsyndicate@gmail.com Jonathan Neeley • neeley87@gmail.com Will Rich • will.janks@gmail.com Heather Schoell • schoell@verizon.net Virginia Avniel Spatz • virginia@hillrag.com Michael G. Stevens • michael@capitolriverfront.org Peter J. Waldron • peter@hillrag.com Jazzy Wright • wright.jazzy@gmail.com

Beauty, Health & Fitness

Patricia Cinelli • fitmiss44@aol.com Jazelle Hunt • jazelle.hunt@gmail.com Candace Y.A. Montague • writeoncm@gmail.com

Real Estate

Don Denton • DDenton@cbmove.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 Cheryl Corson • cheryl@cherylcorson.com Tom Daniels • tom@rthomasdanielroofing.com

Commentary

Ethelbert Miller • emiller698@aol.com T�� N��� • thenose@hillrag.com T�� L��� W��� • editorial@hilllrag.com

Society News

Dr. Charles Vincent • socialsightings@aol.com “Mickey” Thompson Vincent • socialsightings@aol.com

Production/Graphic/Web Design

A�� D�������: Jason Yen • jay@hillrag.com Graphic Design: Lee Kyungmin • lee@hillrag.com W�� M�����: Andrew Lightman • andrew@hillrag.com

Advertising & Sales

Account Executive: Kira Means, 202.543.8300 X16 • kira@hillrag.com Account Executive: Laura Vucci, 202.543.8300 X22 • laura@hillrag.com Account Executive & Classified Advertising: Maria Carolina Lopez, 202.543.8300 X12 • Carolina@hillrag.com

Distribution

M������: Andrew Lightman D�����������: MediaPoint, LLC I����������: distribution@hillrag.com

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

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.

Capital Community News, Inc. Publishers of: 18 H Hillrag.com

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Photo: Courtesy of the National Gallery of Art

1 1 NGA ICE RINK OPENS FOR SEASON

The National Gallery of Art Ice Rink is scheduled to open for the season on Friday, Nov. 18, weather permitting. If temperatures are too warm, the opening will be delayed. In celebration of the beginning of the skating season, visitors who purchase skating time on November 18 and 19 will receive a coupon for a complimentary cup of hot chocolate on those dates. Rink hours are Monday through Thursday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.; and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Skating fees for a two-hour session beginning on the hour are $8.50, adults; $7.50, seniors, students with ID and children 12 and under. Skate rental is $3. nga.gov.

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2 THE ART OF THE QUR’AN: TREASURES FROM THE MUSEUM OF TURKISH AND ISLAMIC ARTS AT THE SACKLER

In recognition of one of the world’s extraordinary collections of Qur’ans, the Freer/Sackler is hosting a landmark exhibition, the first of its kind in the United States. Over fifty of the most sumptuous manuscripts from Herat to Istanbul will be featured in “The Art of the Qur’an: Treasures from the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts.” Celebrated for their superb calligraphy and lavish illumination, these manuscripts, ranging in date from the early eighth to the seventeenth century, are critical to the history of the arts of the book. They were once the prized possessions of Ottoman sultans and the ruling elite, who donated their Qur’ans to various institutions to express their personal piety and secure political power. Each manuscript tells a unique story that will be explored in this once-in-a-lifetime exhibition. They are on exhibition at the Sackler through Feb. 20, 2017. asia.si.edu

Calligrapher: Ali b. Mahmud al-Havavi, Iran, Tabriz, Safavid period, January 15, 1516, Ink, color and gold on paper, each page 41 × 29 centimeters, Istanbul, Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, TIEM 232

2

The cast of Lookingglass Theatre Company’s production of Moby Dick, which runs Nov. 18 to Dec. 24 at Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater. Photo: Liz Lauren

3 5

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Runners are encouraged to come in costume.

Photo: Courtesy of So Others Might Eat

3 ARENA’S MOBY DICK AT ARENA

Set sail on the holiday season’s biggest adventure! Innovative staging fused with bold trapeze and acrobatic work turn this seafaring classic into a death-defying experiment in aerial storytelling. Climb aboard with Captain Ahab and the crew of the good ship Pequod in this harrowing and intoxicating quest for the great white whale. Moby Dick runs from Nov. 18 to Dec. 24, at Arena Stage. Arena Stage’s Family Fun Pack offers four seats for $125. Orders must include a minimum of two patrons between ages 5 and 17 and cannot be combined with any other offer or applied to previously purchased tickets. There is a limit of two Family Fun Packs per household. arenastage.org.

Photo: Courtesy of the US Botanic Garden

4 THANKSGIVING DAY TROT FOR HUNGER 5K

Please join So Others Might Eat (SOME) in supporting the hungry and homeless in DC by participating in the Thanksgiving Day Trot for Hunger at Freedom Plaza, at the corner of 13th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW. Proceeds from the 5K benefit thousands of homeless families and single adults, including the elderly and people suffering from mental illness, by providing much-needed food, clothing and healthcare. The only “turkey trot” in the District, the Trot for Hunger is a tradition for thousands of area residents and a meaningful way to remember people in need on Thanksgiving Day. The kids one mile fun run is at 8:30 a.m. and the 5K run/walk is at 9 a.m. Register at soome.convio.net.

5 SEASON’S GREENINGS AT THE BOTANIC GARDEN

“Season’s Greenings” at the Botanic Garden opens on Thanksgiving Day. Visit it through Jan. 2, 2017, daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Remember that the best things in life are free: the fragrance of a freshly cut fir tree; the magic of holiday lights and sumptuous decorations; and the delight of a child discovering the make-believe world of model trains. Parking is actually easy, especially on the weekends. Free.

100 Maryland Ave. SW. 202-225-8333. usbg.gov.

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NOVEMBER CALENDAR Photo: Courtesy of Capitol Riverfront BID

VETERANS

CANAL PARK ICE SKATING

Nov. 11 to Feb. 26; Mon. and Tues., noon to 7 PM; Wed. and Thurs., noon to 9 PM; Fri., noon to 10 PM; Sat., 11 AM to 10 PM; and Sun., 11 AM to 7 PM. Open all holidays but with different hours. Adults, $9; children, military and seniors, $8; skate rental, $5. Canal Park Ice Rink, 200 M St. SE. canalparkdc.org.

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Mount Vernon Salutes Veterans. Nov. 11, 9 AM to 4 PM. In honor of our nation’s veterans, Mount Vernon admits all active duty, former, or retired military personnel free of charge. 3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway, Mount Vernon, VA. mountvernon.org.

Wreath Laying at World War II Memorial. Nov. 11, 9 AM. 17th Street between Constitution and Independence Avenues NW. 202-619-7222. wwiimemorial.com.

Wreath Laying at Air Force Memorial. Nov. 11, 11 AM. Wreath laying ceremony and a two-minute moment of silence will be observed to commemorate those members of the US armed forces who were killed during war. Air Force Memorial is at One Air Force Memorial Drive in Arlington, VA. airforcememorial.org

CAPITOL HILL VILLAGE CORNER

Capitol Hill Village – helping the community navigate the future.

The Key to Your Community

Parenting Our Parents . . . not in my job description Veterans Day Observance at The Wall. Nov. 11, 1 PM. Vietnam Veterans Memorial. 202-393-0090. vvmf.org.

Women Veterans Rock. Nov. 11, 1 to 3:30 PM. Rally and celebration at Trinity Washington University, O’Connor Auditorium, 125 Michigan Ave. NE. WomenVetsRock.com.

Women’s Memorial at Arlington Cemetery Veterans Day Observance. Nov. 11, 3 PM. The ceremony will include formal military honors, a keynote address, veterans’ remarks, and wreath laying. womensmemorial.org.

Veterans Day 10K and Walk. Nov. 13 8 AM. The race course runs near several of the city’s war memorials. runpacers.com/race/veteransday-10k.

Veterans’ Voices: Life and Spirituality after War at Hill Center. Nov. 17, 6:30 to 9 PM. Come listen as Veterans and Active Duty Service Members share their stories, focusing on themes of health, wellness and spirituality after war. Join them the third Thursday of each month for conversation and connection. VetsVoices DC is a storytelling series focusing on the intersection of military service, the transition to civilian life, faith and spirituality. Free. Register at hillcenterdc.org.

THANKSGIVING Food & Friends Pie Day and Thanksgiving Pie Sale. Nov. 10, 11 AM to 1 PM, at Farragut Square, Food & Friends hosts a community Pie Day in support of its annual Slice of Life Pie Selling Campaign, which funds nutritious, home-delivered meals and groceries to the critically ill. During Pie Day, Food

Improved health care, good nutrition and better fitness have millions of adults living an entire new phase of life after retirement age. This phenomenon comes with many opportunities and benefits for individuals and families. Longevity impacts generations of families with longer and more active relationships and engagement.

At the same time, older members may need supports and assistance that create demands on families that are often unpredictable.

• Up to one-third of adult children in the US manage some aspect of care or affairs (financial, medical) for their parents (Pew Research Center, Family Support in Graying Society) • Often families are facing a dual, or even triple challenge of raising children and caring for aging parents, and supporting adult children who are not financially independent. (Pew Research Center, Family Support in Graying Society) • Family members who help with the care of older adults experienced emotional, physical, and financial difficulties, as well as lower work productivity. (February 15, 2016, in JAMA Internal Medicine.)

Capitol Hill Village serves all family and community members embracing the opportunities and challenges of longevity.

Aging Parents Don’t Come with Manuals We are going through a difficult time with our father who has dementia and with our mother who is adjusting to his care needs. Dad, on the outside, has more serious health issues and the focus is on him, but mom needs to figure out emotional and psychological needs. These are not comfortable things to talk about. Capitol Hill Village facilitates candid conversations about the realities of the situation.

Conversations help us, as adult children, support our parents to make the decisions they want and to reinforce their own power and authority. It’s great to know that we are not alone. Capitol Hill Village is an objective voice and has an expertise which we greatly need.

John and Mark Beckham

November Events: Free and Open to the Public For details and to register call or email.

Nov. 7, 14, 21, 28: Easy Strollers: Gentle Walking and Conversation at Congressional Cometary (9:00 am).

Nov. 7, 14, 21: Tai Chi: The Art of Movement (2:00-3:00 pm) Nov. 9: Tech Training: Get Smart about Online Learning (1:30-2:30) Nov. 14: Tech Training: Cell Phone and Lap Top Questions Answered (1:30-2:30) Nov. 15: Village Voices: Jonathan Franzen - Making Sense of the Presidential Election (7:00 pm) Nov. 21: Caregiver Support Group (6:30-8:00 pm)

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EARLY CHRISTMAS Cut-Your-Own Christmas Tree Farms in Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. Visit pickyourownchristmastree. org for farms and directions. Then follow the prompts.

A Christmas Carol at Ford’s. Nov. 17 to Dec. 31. Join the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future as they lead the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge on a journey of transformation and redemption. Ford’s Theatre, 511 10th St. NW. 202-347-4833. fordstheatre.org.

VETERANS DAY WREATH LAYING AT ARLINGTON

Nov. 11, 11 AM. President Obama will lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington. The public is invited to watch this ceremony and to listen to the speech that follows. There is standing room at the wreath laying and seating in the adjacent amphitheater for the speech.

Get there early. Leave umbrellas and backpacks at home.

Parking and the ride to the ceremony site are free. arlingtoncemetery.mil. & Friends will be distributing information about Slice of Life and giving away free samples of their delicious pies. Online pie sales close on Nov. 17. Order at foodandfriends.org/pie.

Thanksgiving Day Trot for Hunger. Nov. 24, 8:30 AM, Little Turkey Fun Run; 9 AM, 5K timed race; 9:15 AM, 5K untimed race. The proceeds benefit thousands of homeless families and single adults, including the elderly people suffering from mental illness, by providing muchneeded food, clothing and healthcare.

Register at soome.convio.net.

Thanksgiving Day Holy Eucharist at the National Cathedral. Nov. 24, 10 AM. In the Cathedral adorned with the beauty of God’s abundance, give thanks for the year’s blessings, offer prayers for the

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world, and celebrate the Holy Communion, The Great Thanksgiving. All are welcome. cathedral.org.

A Celebration of Community at Community Forklift. Nov. 25 (Green Friday) and Nov. 26 (Small Business Saturday), 9 AM to 5 PM. After Thanksgiving, shop green, shop small, or don’t shop at all.

Here is an excuse to stay away from the mall. Community Forklift will have live music, free gift-making workshops, local artists, and free photos with Santa for all ages. Community Forklift, 4671 Tanglewood Dr., Edmonston, MD. communityforklift.org.

Small Business Saturday. Nov. 26. Shop at small businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. americanexpress.com.

Lights on the Bay at Sandy Point State Park. Nov. 22 to Jan. 1, 5 PM to 10 PM, nightly. $15 per car. Enjoy from your car. Sandy Point State Park, 1100 East College Pkwy., Annapolis, MD. visitannapolis.org.

Black Nativity at Anacostia Playhouse. Nov. 23 to Dec. 31. Langston Hughes chronicles and celebrates the birth of Jesus, while also celebrating the birth of Blackness. This classic story told through gospel, blues, funk, jazz and dance. $40 to $50.

All ages. Anacostia Playhouse, 2020 Shannon Pl. SE. 202-290-2328. theateralliance.com.

Season’s Greenings at the Botanic Garden. Thanksgiving Day through Jan. 2, 2017, daily, 10 AM to 5 PM. Remember that the best things in life are free: the fragrance of a freshly cut fir tree; the magic of holiday lights and sumptuous decorations; and the delight of a child discovering the make believe world of model trains. Free.

100 Maryland Ave. SW. 202-225-8333. usbg.gov.

Downtown Holiday Market. Nov. 25 to Dec. 23, noon to 8 PM, daily. More than 150 exhibitors and artisans (rotating on a weekly basis) selling an array of high-quality gift items including fine art, crafts, jewelry, pottery, photography, clothing, tasty treats and hot beverages. The market at F St. NW, between

Seventh and Ninth. downtownholidaymarket.com.

Zoolights. Nov. 25 to Jan. 1, 5 to 9 PM nightly, except Dec. 24 and 25. Don’t miss the chance to meander through the Zoo when it is covered with thousands of sparkling lights, attend special keeper talks and enjoy live entertainment. Free. National Zoo, 3001 Connecticut Ave. NW. nationalzoo.si.edu.

Mount Vernon by Candlelight. Nov. 25, 26, Dec. 2, 3 and Dec. 10, 11 and 18; 5 to 8 PM. Join “Mrs. Washington” as she hosts an enchanting evening of candlelight tours, fireside caroling and festive treats. Timed tickets are $24 for adults and $16 for children 11 and under.

George Washington’s Estate & Gardens, 3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway.

703-780-2000. mountvernon.org.

Christmas at Mount Vernon. Nov. 25 to Jan. 6, 9 AM to 4 PM. Holiday visitors will enjoy themed decorations, chocolate-making demonstrations and 18th century dancing. George Washington’s Estate & Gardens, 3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Highway. $20, adult; $10, child (6 to 11); five and under, free.

703-780-2000. mountvernon.org.

City of Alexandria Tree Lighting Ceremony. Nov. 25, 6 to 8 PM. At this official kickoff to the holiday season, the mayor and Santa Claus will light the city tree in Market Square. Entertainment features a visit from Santa, live performances, caroling and a community sing-along. Market Square, 301 King St., Alexandria, VA. visitalexandriava. com.

The Nutcracker at THEARC. Nov. 26 and 27, 1 PM. Set in Georgetown and replete with swirling snowflakes, cherry blossoms and historical characters including George Washington as the heroic nutcracker. The Washington Ballet’s The Nutcracker has become a tradition for generations of family and friends to celebrate the holidays. Discount for Ward 7 and 8 residents. THEARC, 1901

Mississippi Ave. SE. 202-8895901. thearcdc.org.

The Second Shepherds’ Play at the Folger. Nov. 27 to Dec. 21.

Folger Consort performs festive medieval English tunes against the backdrop of this engaging mystery play. Set in the English countryside, The Second Shepherds’ Play beautifully weaves together the stories of the shepherds, a sheep thief and his cunning wife and the miracle in a humble manger in Bethlehem.

Folger Theater, 201 East Capitol St. SE. 202-544-7077. folger. edu.

National (White House) Christmas Tree. Lit by President Obama on Dec. 1, 5 PM. Visit the tree after that. There is nightly live entertainment and an extensive model train display. Parking is tricky. thenationaltree.org.

The Nutcracker at the Warner. Dec. 1 to Dec. 24. Set in Georgetown and replete with swirling snowflakes, cherry blossoms and historical characters including George Washington as the heroic nutcracker.

The Washington Ballet’s The Nutcracker has become a tradition for generations of family and friends to celebrate the holidays. Warner Theater, 513 13th St. NW. 202-783-4000. warnertheatredc.com.

Christmas Concert for Charity at the National Shrine. Dec. 2, 7:30 PM but arrive earlier. This annual Christmas Concert for Charity features the voices and sounds of the Basilica Choir and the Catholic University of America Choir and Orchestra. There will be a free will offering to benefit a charity. National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, 400 Michigan Ave. NE. 202-5268300. nationalshrine.com.

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Pennsylvania Avenue Baptist Church “Living” Christmas Tree.

Dec. 2, 7 PM; Dec. 3, 4:30 and 7 PM; and Dec. 4, 4:30 PM. This unique worship experience is highlighted by a replica Christmas tree that stands over six tiers tall. Among the “decorations” adorning the tree, will be 50 men and women from area churches who will sing the best of the season’s sacred music while standing within its structure thus bringing the tree to “life.” $15. Purchase tickets at the church office or eventbrite. com. Pennsylvania Avenue Baptist Church, 3000 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. 202-581-1500.

US Army Band “Pershing’s Own” American Holiday Festival. Dec. 2, 8 PM; Dec. 3, 3 PM and 8 PM; Dec. 4, 3 PM. The annual kickoff concert for the DC holiday season will be at DAR Constitution Hall. Free tickets online at usarmyband.com. If “sold out,” there are usually empty seats on stand-by. usarmyband.com.

“A Christmas Carol” at The Little Theatre of Alexandria. Dec. 2 to 17. The family-favorite classic by Charles Dickens, equipped with special effects, Victorian carols and Tiny Tim returns to the Little Theatre of Alexandria. $17. The Little Theatre of Alexandria, 600 Wolfe St., Alexandria, VA. 703683-0496. thelittletheatre.com.

with free festive musical performances, book signings, crafts, and special foods. The Muppet Christmas Carol will screen throughout the day in the Warner Bros. Theater. Complimentary gift-wrapping is available. The free Circulator bus will transport visitors to the other festivities around the National Mall. For a full schedule of events across the Smithsonian visit americanhistory.si.edu.

Torpedo Factory Art Center Holiday Open House. Dec. 3, 4 to 9 PM. As Alexandria kicks off the holiday season, the Torpedo Factory Art Center stays open late for visitors who want to buy handmade, one-of-a-kind unique and artful gifts. Torpedo Factory Art Center, 105 N. Union St., Alexandria, VA. torpedofactory.org.

Lucía de Miguel and Francisco Hidalgo. Photo: Silvia del Barrio

Nov. 4 to 13. The Fuego Flamenco Festival brings leading flamenco artists from Spain and the United States to Washington audiences.

GALA Theatre, 3333 14th St. NW. galatheatre.org.

Del Ray Artisans Holiday Market. Dec. 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11, 16, 17, and 18. Fridays, 6 to 9 PM; Sat. and Sun., 11 AM to 6 PM. Market features handcrafted work from local artists; handmade ornaments to benefit Del Ray Artisans; plus a bake sale to benefit Alexandria Tutoring Consortium. Nicholas A. Colasanto Center Del Ray Artisans Gallery, 2704 Mt. Vernon Ave., Alexandria, VA. TheDelRayArtisans.org.

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FUEGO FLAMENCO FESTIVAL AT GALA

Winter Wonderland in Bethesda.

Dec. 3, 1 to 4 PM. The celebration features holiday performances, a live ice sculpting presentation and a visit from Santa Claus in Veterans Park. bethesda.org.

Scottish Christmas Walk Parade and Concert. Dec. 3 (rain or shine), parade 11 AM; massed band concert, 1 PM at Market Square. The parade begins at St. Asaph and Wolfe Streets and concludes at Market Square. Alexandria, VA. campagnacenter.org/ scottishwalkweekend/parade.

Christkindlmarkt at Heurich House Museum. Dec. 2, 4 to 9 PM; Dec. 3 and 4, 11 AM to 5 PM. This holiday shopping event will feature goods from over 40 local artisans, including jewelers, ceramicists, chocolatiers and makers of housewares. Visit the market and tour the seasonally decorated historic house. Heurich House Museum, 1307 New Hampshire Ave. NW. heurichhouse.org.

Festival of Lights at Mormon Temple. Dec. 3 to Jan. 3. Lights are on from 5 to 11 PM. A different performing artist or group is showcased each night including bell ensembles, choirs and orchestras. Each performance is presented at least twice nightly. Concert tickets are handed out at the Visitors’ Center 60 minutes before each performance. 9900 Stoneybrook Dr., Kensington, MD. 301-587-0144. dctemplelights.lds.org.

Smithsonian Holiday Festival at American History Museum. Dec. 3 and 4, 10 AM to 5:30 PM. Get in the holiday spirit

Wolf Trap Holiday Sing-A-Long. Dec. 3, 4 PM. “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band and members of lo-

cal choirs and vocal groups perform.

Free. wolftrap.org.

Logan Circle Holiday House Tour. Dec. 4, 1 to 5 PM. The 2016 house tour takes participants through some of Logan Circle’s most inspiring interiors. It features a variety of musicians and singers lending holiday cheer, as well as the always warm and welcoming Wassail Reception at Studio Theatre. Advance tickets, $30; day of, $35. Buy tickets at logancircle.org/house-tour.

Jingle All The Way 5K. Dec. 4, 8 AM. Prance, dance or just be a vixen. The running of the Jingle All the Way is complete with holiday spirit, costumes, hot coffee and photos with Santa. Race starts at Freedom Plaza. Discounts for early registration. Register at runpacers.com/race/jingle-all-the-way-5K.

SPECIAL EVENT DC Beer Festival. Nov. 5, noon to 3 PM and 5 to 8 PM. DC Beer Festival returns to Nationals Park bringing together dozens of craft breweries, food trucks, lawn games, DJs and more. $45. dcbeerfestival.com.

MUSIC Music at Rock and Roll Hotel. Oct. 30, Frankie Cosmos; Oct. 31, Halloween Night @ Rock & Roll Hotel; Nov. 2, Girlpool; Nov. 4, We Were Black Clouds; Nov. 5, Bad Suns; Nov. 6 Silver Apples; Nov. 9, Damien Jurado; Nov. 10, El Perro Del Mar; Nov. 11, Skinny Lister; Nov. 12, Sunflower Bean; Nov. 13, Lydia Loveless; Nov. 14, The Living End; Nov. 15, Gavin James; Nov. 16, Kings Kaleidoscope and Citizens & Saints; Nov. 17, Hiss Golden Messenger; Nov. 18, Sloan “One Chord to Another” 20th Anniversary; Nov. 19, Kingsley Flood; Nov. 20 K.Flay; Nov. 21, PWR BTTM; Nov. 28,

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Nov. 25, Aaron L. Myers II. Saturday Night Ladies of Jazz: Nov. 5, Coniece Washington; Nov. 12, Irene Jalenti; Nov. 19, Maija Rejman; Nov. 26, Nina Casey. Karaoke Tuesdays: Hosted by India Larelle Houston from 7 to 11 PM, every Tuesday. No cover; music is 8 to 11 PM. Capitol Hill Jazz Jam hosted by Herb Scott every Wednesday night. Fourth Monday Swing Jam, Nov. 28 with hosts Jim Stephanson & Jess Eliot Myhre. Shows run 8 to 11 PM.; doors open at 6 PM; no cover; two items per person minimum. Henry’s Upstairs, 601 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. 202-546-8412. mrhenrysdc.com.

(L to R) Ghislaine Dwarka, Kashayna Johnson, and Renee Elizabeth Wilson. Photo: Teddy Wolff

MOSAIC’S MILK LIKE SUGAR AT THE ATLAS

Nov. 2 to 27. What’s the power of friendship in a world where some young women of color have so very little? For sixteen-year-old Annie Desmond, growing up in a small city is all Galaxy phones and texts from boys. But when one of her friends proudly boasts that she is expecting, the allure of Coach diaper bags and an infant’s constant company propels the group into a life-altering “pregnancy pact.” Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. mosaictheater.org/milk.

Sam Roberts Band; Nov. 29, Digitour Winter; Dec. 1, Red Fang; Dec. 3, Pig Destroyers; Dec, 5, Jezebels; Dec. 6, Shy Girls. Rock and Roll Hotel, 1353 H St. NE. 202388-7625. rockandrollhoteldc.com.

Blues Night in Southwest. Every Monday, 6 to 9 PM. Oct. 31, Swampdog Blues!; Nov. 7, Fast Eddie & the Slow Pokes; Nov. 14, Memphis Gold Blues; Nov. 21, Queen Aisha Blues; Nov. 28, Danny Blew & the Blues Crew; Dec. 5, David Cole & Main Street Blues; Dec. 12, Robert Penn Blues Band; Dec. 19, Ursula Ricks Project; Dec. 26, The Nighthawks. $5 cover. Children are free under 16 years old. Reasonably priced meals offered.

202-484-7700. Westminster Presbyterian Church, 400 I St. SW. westminsterdc.org.

Church of the Epiphany Weekly Concerts. Every Tuesday, 12:10 PM. Nov. 1, Washington Bach Consort; Nov.

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8, Irina Kats, cello and Fiona Thompson, piano; Nov. 15, Third Practice; Nov.22, Jeremy Filsell, organ’ Nov. 29, James Rogers, baritone and Michael Shepherd, piano; Dec. 6, Washington Bach Consort. 1317 G ST. NW. 202-347-2635. epiphanydc.org.

Hill Center Jazz Ensemble led by Victor Provost. Nov. 2, 7:30 to 9:30 PM. Tickets are $15; advance, $2 day of. Purchase tickets online at hillcenterdc.org Music at Mr. Henry’s. Thursday Night Bluegrass: Nov. 3, Jerry Tolk and the Old Soul String Band; Nov. 10, Snakehead Run Acoustic Jug Band Blues; Nov. 17, Memphis Gold, Charlie Sayles, & the Scrap Iron Band; Nov, 24, Mr. Henry’s closed Thanksgiving. Friday Night Jazz: Nov. 4, Dial 251 for Jazz; Nov. 11, The Kevin Cordt Quartet; Nov. 18, Kayla Waters’s Album “Apogee” Debut, with special appearance by Kim Waters;

Jazz Night in Southwest. Every Friday, 6 to 9 PM. Nov. 4, Terry Marshall Jazz Ensemble; Nov. 11, The Fabulous Sharon Clark; Nov. 18, Vince Evans Quintet; Nov. 25, Bobby Felder’s Big Band. $5 cover. Children are free under 16 years old. Reasonably priced meals offered. 202-484-7700. Westminster Presbyterian Church, 400 I St. SW. westminsterdc.org.

Chiarina Chamber Players at St. Marks. Nov. 6, 7:30 PM, Fin de Siècle Romantics; Dec. 3, 4 PM, Jewish Composers: from the Classical Tradition to Café music. St. Mark’s Church, 301 A St. SE. chiarina.org.

Music at Corner Store. Nov. 13, 5 PM. The National Symphony Orchestra’s “Last Stand Quartet”. $25, advance; $30 at the door.

The Corner Store, Ninth Street and South Carolina Avenue SE. cornerstorearts.org.

The Outcasts of Poker Flat (A New American Opera) at CUA. Nov. 17 to 20. In the wilds of California’s snowy mountains, six characters from different worlds are thrown together and face a common danger. How they respond reveals their true natures. Having experienced rejection and betrayal, the members of this isolated band of travelers form friendships that provide love and acceptance. Ward Recital Hall at Catholic University of America. music.cua.edu.

Opera Lafayette presents Menu: Plaisirs. Nov. 18 and 19, 7:30 PM. US Premiere Production from Théâtre de la Croix-Rousse in Lyon with support of the Cultural

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Vidimus Stellam

FREDERICK BINKHOLDER, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR The Capitol Hill Chorale is delighted to bring the music of our dear friend and composer-in-residence Kevin Siegfried to life.

This concert will feature Kevin’s new cantata, “Vidimus Stellam.”

Saturday, Dec. 3, 7:30 pm Sunday, Dec. 4 at 4:00 pm at Lutheran Church of the Reformation 212 East Capitol St. NE Tickets: Preferred seating: $25 30 and under: $15

General seating: $20 12 and under: Free

www.capitolhillchorale.org

Services of the French Embassy. An evening of staged cabaret featuring Jean-Paul Fouchécourt. Tickets, $25 and up, can be purchased at OperaLafayette.org or 202-546-9332. La Maison Française at the Embassy of France.

THEATER AND FILM Romeo & Juliet at Shakespeare.

Through Nov. 6. The most famous love story in the world and one of Shakespeare’s early poetic masterworks, Romeo & Juliet follows two star-crossed lovers from love at first sight to eternal life hereafter. Lansburgh Theatre, 450 Seventh St. NW. 202-547-1122. shakespearetheatre.org.

The Gulf at Signature. Through Nov. 6. Betty and Kendra waste away a languid summer day fishing on the Alabama Delta. Suddenly, their lazy afternoon turns to chaos when the motor breaks, stranding the two and their tumultuous relationship, in the Gulf. Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave., Shirlington, VA. signaturetheatre.org.

Kiss at Woolly. Through Nov. 6. A standing double-date quickly becomes a hilarious farce as four friends unburden their hearts and reveal their secret passions. But is anything really what it seems to be? Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, 641 D St. NW. 202393-3939. woollymammoth.net.

Sense and Sensibility at the Folger.

Extended through Nov. 13. Reason and passion collide in Jane Austen’s beloved tale of sisterhood and romance. When sudden financial straits force the Dashwood family to move to a distant cottage, sisters Elinor and Marianne become ensnared in heartwrenching romances. Folger Theater, 201 East Capitol St. SE. 202-5447077. folger.edu.

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43 ½: The Greatest Deaths of Shakespeare’s Tragedies. Through Nov. 13.

Come for the guts, glory and stabby bits of Shakespeare’s 43 (and 1/2) best tragic deaths. There will be new scenes, new fights and a new drinking game. There will still be all the Shakespeare, blood and bad puns. There will also be pie. $30. Logan Fringe Art Space Trinidad Theatre, 1358 Florida Ave. NE. Tickets can be purchased online at capitalfringe.org or by calling 866-811-4111 or at the door.

Chocolate Covered Ants at Anacostia Playhouse. Through Nov. 13. Adrienne Taylor is a professor at a fictitious women’s college where she’s researching the plight of the Black woman in America. “Chocolate Covered Ants” chronicles the final leg of her research, an examination of Black men, to determine what effect (if any) they have on the mental, social and physical survival of Black women. Anacostia Playhouse, 2020 Shannon Pl. SE. restorationstage.com.

Spooky Action presents Rameau’s Nephew. Through Nov. 13. The destitute nephew of the famous Rameau trades witticisms with a logical Philosopher, deconstructing his perfectly rationalized and orderly world with wildly antic energy. Age 16 and older. $30 to $40; students, $20. Universalist National Memorial Church, 1810 16th St. NW. 202-247-0301. spookyaction.org.

The Year of Magical Thinking at Arena. Through Nov. 20. Based on Joan Didion’s award-winning memoir, The Year of Magical Thinking follows the iconic American author, portrayed by Kathleen Turner, as she learns to reconcile the natural instincts that drive us to bargain with the universal forces that giveth and taketh away. Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St. SW. 202-4883300. arenastage.org. freaky friday at Signature. Through Nov. 20. When an overworked mother

Can we move on already?!

Speaking of moving...

and her teenage daughter magically swap bodies, they have just one day to put things right again before mom’s big wedding. Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Ave., Shirlington, VA. signature-theatre.org.

Carousel at Arena. Through Dec. 24. When Billy Bigelow and Julie Jordan fall in love, little do they realize that his rebellious ways will lead to tragedy. Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St. SW. 202488-3300. arenastage.org.

The Welders: Girl in the Red Corner. Nov. 3 to 20. When Halo signs up for mixed martial arts lessons, she thinks it might make a good hobby. Her trainer thinks she’s a light-weight. $15 to $30.

Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE. atlasarts.org.

WSC Avant Bard’s TAME. Nov. 3 to Dec. 11. A wildly creative and spirited young poet named Cat returns to her hometown grieving the suicide of her lesbian lover. Her religious parents are dead-set on forcing her to submit and conform. Gunston Arts Center, 2700 South Lang St., Arlington, VA. avantbard.org.

216 7th Street, SE Eastern Market Office (C) 202-321-0874 (O) 202-608-1882 x175 heathersdc@gmail.com | heatherschoell.penfedrealty.com @HeatherSchoell

Heather Schoell Real Estate

© 2016 BHH Affiliates, LLC. An independently owned and operated franchise of BHH Affiliates, LLC. Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices and the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices symbol are registered service marks of HomeServices of America, Inc.®

Six Degrees of Desperation at Keegan. Nov. 5 to Dec. 3. A splendidly funny, often disquieting, exploration of the way human beings define themselves and classify each other. Keegan Theatre, 1742 Church St. NW. 202-265-3767. keegantheatre.com.

Political Nightmares Film Series at Hill Center. Nov. 6, 4 to 6 PM, Pickup on South Street; Nov. 17, 4 to 6 PM, Fail Safe. Register online at hillcenterdc.org Straight White Men at Studio.

Nov. 9 to Dec. 18. Three broth-

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ers and their father gather for Christmas to drink eggnog, play video games and wrestle. But, when one brother seems to buckle under the pressures of achievement, it becomes clear that these men are wrestling with something larger than each other. Studio Theatre, 1501 14th St. NW. 202-3323300. studiotheatre.org.

Showcase Arts Foundation Presents: War Virgin at CHAW. Nov. 10, 11 and 12, 8 PM. Have you ever wondered what really goes on during war, especially for women? Laura Westley, Florida native, West Point graduate, former Army Captain and Iraq War Veteran, has created a musical comedy show that answers the question, “What happens when an attractive, naïve, virginal, young female Army soldier deploys to war with thousands of eager, testosterone-laden, men?” $50.

Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, 545 Seventh St. SE. chaw.org.

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The Second City Black Side of the Moon at Woolly. Nov. 12 to Jan. 1. In Black Side of the Moon, a cast of Chicago’s funniest and most audacious African American sketch and stand-up artists, deconstructs and reconstructs Blackness through comedy, illuminating the challenges of the past and the promises of the future. Woolly Mammoth, 641 D St. NW. 202-393-3939. woollymammoth.net.

The Secret Garden at Shakespeare. Nov. 15 to Dec. 31.

When 10-year-old Mary Lennox loses her parents to a cholera epidemic in the British Raj of India, she travels to England to stay with Archibald Craven, her remote and morose uncle, still grieving the death of his wife

AT L A S W I N T E R F E S T ten years ago. Sidney Harman Hall, 610 F St. NW. 202-5471122. shakespearetheatre.org.

The Christians at Theater J. Nov. 16 to Dec. 11. Backed by a live choir, The Christians is both an epic and unexpectedly intimate drama. Each night of the play, Theater J will feature a local choir to bring a diverse and unique voice to the stage as they perform four classic songs. Theater J, 1529 16th St. NW. 8004948497. washingtondcjcc.org.

Moby Dick at Arena. Nov. 18 to Dec. 24. Set sail on an epic adventure this holiday season with a dramatically reimagined production of Moby Dick. Arena Stage, 1101 Sixth St. SW. 202488-3300. arenastage.org.

The Second Shepherds’ Play at the Folger. Nov. 27 to Dec. 21.

Folger Consort performs festive medieval English tunes against the backdrop of this engaging mystery play. Set in the English countryside, The Second Shepherds’ Play beautifully weaves together the stories of the shepherds, a sheep thief and his cunning wife and the miracle in a humble manger in Bethlehem.

Folger Theater, 201 East Capitol St. SE. 202-544-7077. folger.edu.

SPORTS AND FITNESS Recess Outings Bike Rides. Saturdays, 10 to 1:30 AM through Nov. 12; Sun., 10 to 11:30 AM and 4 to 6 PM through Nov. 13.

Also, Nov. 10, 10 to 11:30 AM and Nov. 15, 4 to 5 PM. All rides begin and end at north side of Eastern Market in the triangle park at 7th St. SE and North

FOR THE LOVE OF MUSIC Eldar Trio . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Cecily: Cecily Salutes DC . . . . . .

Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra: A Bohemian Christmas . . . . . . .

Holiday Cheers: A Night of Live Music, Fun & Champagne for Grown-ups . .

11th Annual Holiday Sing-Along . . .

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12/2 12/3

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12/10 12/11

INNOVATIVE MOVEMENT Step Afrika!’s Magical Musical Holiday Step Show . . . . . .

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CECILY

12/15-30

THE MAGIC OF FILM

Atlas Performing Arts Center 1333 H Street NE Washington, DC 20002

Atlas Silent Film Series: Andrew Earle Simpson: Chaplin’s the Kid. . . . . . 12/11

ATLASARTS FAMILY Mark Jaster’s Piccolo’s Trunk .

Arts on the Horizon: Adventures with Mr. Bear . . . . . . . . .

ELDAR

STEP AFRIKA!

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11/16-20

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12/18-30

Tickets: atlasarts.org or 202.399.7993 ext. 2 Group discounts available for 10 or more!

A prime destination for dining, large or small private events, late night dancing & drinking, and weekend bottomless mimosa brunch!

1348 H ST. NE 202. 621.7300 WW W. R EDR OCK S DC.COM November 2016 H 33

Carolina. An exception is the ride on Saturday, Nov. 1 that begins and ends at Summit to Soul on Barracks Row. Details and registration at recessoutings.com.

BicycleSPACE Free Weekly Group Rides. All the rides originate from one of three locations: (1) Adams Morgan, 2424 18th St. NW. Nice & Easy Ride, Saturday, 10 AM and Sunday, 10 AM; Hills of Rock Creek, Sunday, 8 AM. Downtown, 440 K St. NW. Hills of Anacostia, Saturday, 8:30 AM; City Explorers, Sunday, 11:30 AM; and Cupcake Ramble, Saturday, 11:30 AM. Rides very with the seasons. Read more at bicyclespacedc.com.

Free public tennis courts in Ward Six. King Greenleaf Recreation Center, 201 N St. SW; Garfield Park, Third and G Streets SE; Randall Park First and I Streets SW; Rosedale Recreation Center, 1701 Gales St. NE; Sherwood Recreation Center, 640 10th St. NE. All courts are open daily, dawn to dusk. Some are lighted for extended evening play. Courts are available on a first-come, first-served basis for one hour intervals; extended use of tennis courts requires a permit. Proper shoes and attire is required. 202-671-0314. dpr. dc.gov/dpr.

Rumsey pool. Open Mon. through Fri., 6:30 AM to 9 PM; Sat. and Sun., 9 AM to 5 PM. 635 North Carolina Ave. SE. 202-724-4495. dpr.dc.gov/service/william-hrumsey-aquatic-center.

Store Closing Sale!

Everything Must Go! 719 8th Street, SE Washington, DC 20003 34 H Hillrag.com

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(202) 544-4234

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www.capitolhillbikes.com

Fort Dupont Ice Arena Public Skating. Public ice skating is on Nov. 5, 12, 19, and 26, 1 to 3 PM; Nov. 6, 13, 20 and 27, 2:30 to 4:30 PM; Nov. 18 and 25, noon to 2 PM. $5 for adults; $4, 12 and under and seniors 60 and over; $3 for skate rental. Fort Dupont Ice

Arena is at 3779 Ely Pl. SE. 202-5845007. fdia.org.

MARKETS AND SALES Friends of SE Library Book Sale.

Nov. 12, 10 AM to 3 PM. Most books are $1. Proceeds benefit children’s programs. Southeast Neighborhood Library, 403 Seventh St. SE. 202698-3377. dclibrary.org/southeast.

Downtown Holiday Market. Nov. 25 to Dec. 23, noon to 8 PM, daily.

More than 150 exhibitors and artisans selling an array of high-quality gift items including fine art, crafts, jewelry, pottery, photography, clothing, tasty treats and hot beverages. Market at F Street NW between Seventh and Ninth. downtownholidaymarket.com.

H Street NE FRESHFARM Market.

Saturdays, through Dec. 17, 9 AM to 12:30 PM. Located at H and 13th Streets NE. freshfarmmarket.org.

Eastern Market. Daily except Mondays and important holidays. Weekdays, 7 AM to 7 PM; Sat., 7 AM to 5 PM; Sun., 9 AM to 5 PM. Flea market and arts and crafts market open Saturdays and Sundays, 9 AM to 6 PM. Eastern Market is Washington’s last continually operated “old world” market. 200 and 300 blocks of Seventh Street SE. 202698-5253. easternmarketdc.com.

Dupont Circle Farmers Market.

Sundays (rain or shine), year round, 8:30 AM to 1:30 PM. 20th Street and Massachusetts Avenue NW. 202-362-8889. freshfarmmarket.org.

Branch Avenue Pawn Parking Lot Flea Market. Sat., year-round (weather permitting). Set up after 10 AM. 3128 Branch Ave., Temple Hills, MD.

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November 2016 H 35

Fresh Tuesdays at Eastern Market. Tues., 3 to 7 PM. Farmers’ line of fresh produce. Eastern Market, 200 block of Seventh St. SE. 202-698-5253. easternmarketdc.com.

Union Market. Tues. to Fri., 11 AM to 8 PM; Sat. to Sun., 8 AM to 8 PM. Union Market is an artisanal, curated, year round food market featuring over 40 local vendors. 1309 Fifth St. NE. 301-652-7400. unionmarketdc.com.

Georgetown Flea Market. Sundays year around, 8 AM to 4 PM. 1819 35th St. NW.

CIVIC LIFE ANC 6A. Second Thursday, 7 PM. Meeting at Miner Elementary School, 601 15th St. NE. 202-423-8868. anc6a.org.

ANC 6B. Second Tues., 7 PM. Meeting at Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. 202-5433344. anc6b.org.

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ANC 6C. Second Wed., 7 PM. Meeting at Heritage Foundation, 214 Mass. Ave. NE, first floor conference room. 202547-7168. anc6c.org.

202-544-1515 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, Washington, DC 20003

ANC 6D. ANC 6D typically meets on second Mon., at 200 I St. SE at 7 PM. 2025541795. anc6d.org.

ANC 6E. First Tues., 6:30 PM. Meeting at Northwest One Library, 155 L St. NW. anc6e.org.

Have an item for the Calendar?

Email calendar@hillrag.com. ◆

November 2016 H 37

the H and othe

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...No, posur would

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...for 40 years our very own Hill Rag has chronicled the social, political, and commercial life of our community.

Without reliable sources of infor and ways to communicate with eac a neighborhood remains just a co of individuals.

Celebrating 40 Years On Capitol Hill!

the Hill Rag have advised, advertised, and promoted ours and countless other local businesses.

Thank you for being such a strong asset to The Hill and for k

This is the Hill Rag to me – making community possible ...No, we didn’t get everything, but without the exposure the Rag provided I feel there’s no doubt we wouldn’t have gotten anything!

Thanks for all you do for the community and the city.

Over the decades, Keith and Melissa provided a lot of the glue that has held our community together. Reporting on the things that matter to all of us on a day to day basis, they found a niche in the print media business that we all still scramble to read every month.

...the Hill Rag became the forum on which we relied for the articulation of issues and often contentious debates.

the Hill Rag has been an invaluable partner in developing our neighborhood schools.

!

The Hill Rag’s ability to imbue its readers with a deeper connection to their community and the vibrant river that flows through it helps us advance our shared vision of a fishable and swimmable Anacostia River.

The H ability to its read a conne their com and the river th through us adva share of a and swim Anacos

...for 40 years our v has chronicled the so commercial life of

...dreamer Jean-Keith Fagon has fulfilled his crazy vision...

Sharing Our Success!

Capitol Hill’s Coldwell Banker Supports You! When we opened our doors here on the Hill nearly 35 years ago, we tied our destiny to an emerging neighborhood full of promise but fraught with risk. Indeed, we suffered through two disastrous market downturns and have reinvented ourselves several times. Through all of the ups and downs, this community has never failed to support us and we in turn have never lost faith in the future of Capitol Hill. To date, we have contributed nearly $1,000,000 to our community!

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Capitol Hill Cluster School Capitol Hill Community Foundation Capitol Hill Arts Workshop Capitol Hill Day School St. Peter School Barracks Row Main Street Capitol Hill Children’s Baseball League Capitol Hill Children’s Hockey League Brent Elementary Maury Elementary Capitol Hill Village Hine Jr. High School Eastern High School Capitol Hill Merchants And Professionals Capitol Hill Restoration Society Young Marines Of Capitol Hill St. Coletta’s of Greater Washington

In addition, our individual agents last year alone contributed $50,000+ and literally hundreds of hours to community organizations.

While we are proud of what we have accomplished, we know that we couldn’t have done any of this without the support of friends and clients. You won’t see this office on TV. You won’t hear from us on the radio. You won’t even get much mail from us. But, you will see us when you see the growth in our schools.

You will see us when you see the growth in our community building blocks.

You will see us in the progress of our Capitol Hill neighborhood.

We welcome the challenges of the future and we look forward to hearing from you soon.

202.547.3525 - Main Office INFORMATION DEEMED RELIABLE BUT NOT GUARANTEED

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The District of Columbia Housing Finance Agency Congratulates the Hill Rag on its 40th Anniversary as we celebrate the third anniversary of the DC Open Doors mortgage and down payment/closing cost assistance programs and $200 million in loans funded.

DC Open Doors is your Key to Homeownership in the District of Columbia.

DC OPEN DOORS PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS:

• 686 D.C. homeowners funded in three years • Open to all, no D.C. residency requirements

• Open to first-time and repeat home buyers • Maximum Applicant Income limit $131,040

Visit DCOpensDoors.com for full program details. Follow DC Open Doors on Facebook and and @DCOpenDoors on Twitter to register for our free monthly homebuyers informational sessions held on the first and third Wednesday of each month at DCHFA 815 Florida Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20001.

815 FLORIDA AVENUE, NW WASHINGTON, D.C. 20001 • 202.777.1600 • DCHFA.ORG

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From The Publisher

F

orty years ago on the advice of a good friend, Jules Gordon, at the time owner of Congressional Liquor Store, I decided to start a community newspaper. Armed with a Masters degree in English from John Hopkins University, and no idea of what I was getting into,I would spend more than 20 years inventing and reinventing the concept of a community newspaper.

I studied magazines like the New Yorker, Texas Monthly, and Rolling Stone. I wanted to create the best and most unique community newspaper in America and along the way, with some brilliant friends and advisors (especially Delmar Lipp, an old-school journalist, and my father-in-law Brent Ashabranner), today in my opinion, the Hill Rag is Washington, DC’s best community newspaper. As Brent has told me on many occasions, he would challenge anyone to find a better community newspaper than the Hill Rag anywhere in the United States.

I don’t know if that’s true, but the paper is a venture that I am proud of. It has taken the input of hundreds of people to get where we are today. As newspapers shrink before our eyes, the Hill Rag is robust and healthy.

A newspaper can only be as good as the community it The Fagon-Ashabranner Family: Jean-Keith, Olivia-Jené, Giancarlo, Damian and reflects. So thank you Capitol Hill for being such a wonder- Melissa. Photo: Andrew Lightman ful community both to write about, and to live in. It’s been a pleasure.

Jean-Keith Fagon Publisher

Thank You! Many of our advertisers have been with us for 25 years or more. It is to all of them that we owe our longevity, as well as to our employees, past and present, including the current dedicated team: Andrew Lightman (24 years), Carolina Lopez (12 years), Jason Yen (10 years), Kira Means (8 years) and Kyungmin Lee (4 years) and Laura Vucci (2 years).

Thanks also to Bartash Printing of Philadelphia for their excellent printing services and to our distributors Media Point Distribution Management.

Staff of the Hill Rag: Andrew, Jason, Sarah, Kathleen, Melissa, Lee, Carolina, Kira, Laura

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November 2016 H 43

The Early Hill Rag 40 Years and Counting

by Melissa Ashabranner

T

his year marks the 40th anniversary of the Hill Rag newspaper, Capital Community News’ flagship publication. The first Hill Rag – called The Hill Discount Rag – was published in October 1976. We have been publishing continuously since then, a few years as a monthly, a few as a weekly, then bi-weekly and for the past 18 years again as a monthly. Whatever its frequency, the paper has always focused editorially on Capitol Hill and the southwest neighborhoods, though there is plenty in the paper of interest to those outside the neighborhood. And as we all know, Capitol Hill and the surrounding areas of development are ever expanding.

This 40-year-old institution began serendipitously. Jean-Keith Fagon had been in the

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habit of stopping in at Congressional Liquors (404 First St. SE) to learn about wines from then-owner Jules Gordon. One day while he was there a customer came in and made a purchase. As he was leaving, he picked up one of the flyers Julie had on his counter that offered discounts on various items in the store. Julie commented to Jean-Keith that he wished he had a way of offering these specials to everyone in the surrounding neighborhood.

This was before the Internet, the City Paper, or any other community newspaper. The only print advertising vehicles in the area were Roll Call, The Washington Post and the Evening Star. Julie felt advertising in the dailies was a waste because, as he said, “No one is going to drive from Bethesda for my 10 percentoff wine special.”

Jean-Keith wondered if maybe other small businesses were having the same problem, and after discussing it with several of them, he decided to produce an advertising flyer of discount coupons that would be delivered doorto-door to all the Hill homes from the Capitol to Seventh Street. He and his friend, Tawny Harding, a graphic designer, made up a rate card and prototype based on ads the size of a business card. This proved to be a good idea, as most businesses had a business card they could use as base art for the ad.

Jean-Keith hit the streets, selling the first ad for $25 to Ron Sachs, owner of Congressional Photo in the 200 block of Pennsylvania Ave. SE. Ron The staff of the Hill Rag in 1983. was enthusiastic because he,

A cover from March 1979 showing the range of columns and features. The masthead of that issue listed nine editorial staff and four production/graphics people, all part-time or volunteering.

Olivia-Jené Fagon helps arrange ads on flats in the basement of our house. In those days we printed out the strips of copy, waxed them and then burnished them onto the pages with photos and ads. All of this we now do on a computer.

The first issue of the Hill Discount Rag. The Hill had a thriving retail segment for many years, now mostly gone.

like other small merchants, needed to have affordable advertising in their own neighborhood. He reserved prime placement for the life of the publication. Soon 20 ads were sold, 7000 yellow flyers were printed (Jules Gordon paid for the first press run.) and Tawny and Jean-Keith set about distributing them with the help of a few neighborhood kids.

These early days were not easy. Business owners were skeptical Collections were difficult. Distribution was unreliable.

While some neighborhood kids did a great job of delivering, others dropped their bundles in the nearest trashcan. The process of supervising was hard given the wide area, but it was crucial to the success of the ads, and so they persevered until they had a core of kids they could count on.

By the end of the next year, the paper had four pages of ads—50 businesses purchasing 92 $25-spaces for monthly gross sales of $2300. The business was on its way.

The Beginning of a Newspaper In late 1977, people began asking if they could put notices in the paper -- church notices, bits of news, meeting notices, etc. JeanKeith decided that a few photos would liven the pages, and in October Diane Wacks, a freelance writer, was assigned to write some

This long, segmented piece that appeared monthly for several years required Delmar to attend CHRS board meetings, 1D1 and ANC meetings, confer with neighborhood activists and then digest the concerns of the community. He also included New Yorker style human-interest pieces such as when ANC6B came up with the idea of sponsoring a "rat prevention month," or the headaches of parking ones car on the Hill (True in 1979, true now.).

By early 1979, the Hill Rag was a 40-page tabloid with features such as “Five Fascinating Men,” profiling five men engaged in interesting endeavors. There were monthly columns reviewing gallery shows and dining, a bulletin board of local events and meetings, a Kid’s Corner, a night life review called “Night Crawlers.” We profiled House and Senate members and their staff focusing on the many who lived in the neighborhood. The papers that year averaged 36-40 pages, with 100-120 ads at much healthier rates than we began with.

I joined the paper in 1982 to take over the business side of the operation when Tawny Harding decided she need to devote more time to building up her graphics design company. A couple of years out from getting my MBA at Yale, I was eager to try to build more of a structure into the operations. The next two years were good ones.

We began to be able to spend on improving the look of the paper, including commissioning local artists to create the covers, still a signature of the Hill Rag. But there is no such thing as a straight trajecshort articles designed to tory in business, and while we were forging ahead make people in the neighthrough the early 1980s, choppy waters were ahead. borhood aware of the Tied as closely as we were to the fortunes of the busishops and services within ness and real estate sectors, we were not prepared walking distance. when recessions hit and many business and real esThis addition of edtate offices were unable to continue advertising. (See itorial led to the transiDon Denton’s fascinating tales of four decades of tion from flyer to tabloid.

Hill real estate history on page 70.).

With that the word “disCoupled with a bad decision to take the pubcount” was dropped from lication weekly, we had several years of uncertainthe name and the paper ty. We weren’t able to meet payroll on time, checks became the Hill Rag. In Jean-Keith Fagon in 1976 bounced, taxes were late, the printer was the wolf 1978, more writers turned at the door. But by the early 1990’s with the help of up interested in writing for free or for a token Andrew Lightman, now the company’s general manager, we had fee. Lorna Wyckoff, Pete and Celeste Mcstabilized again. Real estate was back on its feet and with more and Call (Celeste still writes for us), and Mary more people moving to the Hill; business was good. Technology was Anne Parmley, were early contributors. changing and we found we could do many things in house on comOthers contributed more strategic puters that we had previously had to source out. We were more efcounsel. Peter Halpern, a friend who had ficient, and found ourselves positioned well for the 20 years ahead. met Jean-Keith on the tennis court, gave The paper would not be here were it not for Jean-Keith’s unhim business advice, guided him in setwavering belief in its potential for success, and for the many people ting up a corporation and served on the who helped along the way. Dozens of writers began their careers with first Board of Directors. Delmar Lipp, a forus as freelancers or interns and it is always a pleasure to see their bymer journalist with the respected National lines in other publications as the years go on. Young people got their Observer, took a particular interest in guidstart as graphic designers and sales representatives. ing the nascent paper. He would write long Only two of the original advertisers from the first issue are still in memos to Jean-Keith and Tawny as he grapbusiness (Congressional Liquor, under new ownership; and Haydens pled with how to write "Reporter At Large."

Liquors). We know how fortunate we are. u

November 2016 H 45

Letters 40 Years of Connections We harbor an illusion that we’re more “connected” than ever before. We can email our families and colleagues from anywhere on Earth, use Facebook to argue with long-lost high school friends and passing acquaintances, and access news and opinions 24 hours a day on gizmos that never leave our hands, ears or pockets. But all this virtual interaction leaves me yearning for the kind of real connection that The Hill Rag has fostered for 40 years.

Since long before the dawn of the internet and now decades after digital media’s insinuation into our lives, The Hill Rag has reinforced our bonds of friendship, neighborhood and community in a hefty paper we can touch, feel, carry on the Metro and peruse on a park bench. In its pages we learn about seasonal celebrations and local arts. We monitor our politics, schools, real estate market and business ventures. We ponder our history, mourn our losses and grapple with our issues. We even clip our coupons.

That community focus would be enough, but there’s more: Every Hill Rag story, photo and ad emanates from someone with a deeply personal investment in Capitol Hill — not only its people but also the character that make it unique. We see these contributors every day, running their businesses, orchestrating volunteer events, joining in social occasions or just walking around the neighborhood. We chat with them about their latest piece in the paper and mention how much we enjoyed it.

That’s because The Hill Rag isn’t just about our community. It is our community. As both a time-honored institution and that heavy stack of newsprint we carry around every month, The Hill Rag embodies the fabric of this community.

Barbara Wells

A Salute to the Beginning In the mid-1970’s, I met this guy on Pennsylvania Ave., SE peddling this one-page Hill Rag. “Why would I pay to advertise in this?” I asked myself. A few years later, the Rag had grown and was starting to be looked at by more Hill residents.

We listed the new Car Barn Project in 1981 and I convinced the Richmarr Corporation to pay for the full back page. After a year, we had one unit under contract! However, what I noticed was not the number of people who had bought units, but the number of people who commented on seeing the ad!

As the market improved and Richmarr stopped paying for the ad, we entered into a contract for the back page of the Rag that lasted for nearly a decade.

The smartest move we ever made. We held that back page until 1991. Times were tough and Long and Foster approached Keith and offered a one year contract paid up front. Keith felt a personal obligation to Dale and me but that was too good to pass on. I had to beg him to take it.

Over the decades, Keith and Melissa provided a lot of the glue that has held our community together. Reporting on the things that matter to all of us on a day to day basis, they found a niche in the print media business that we all still scramble to read every month.

Outside of marrying Melissa, the smartest thing that Keith (and Melissa) have ever done is to hire An-

drew Lightman to be the face of the paper to the community. He has been an incredible ambassador. They have been there for every event in our lives. Schools, children, sports, restaurants, the Rag has been there.

I would be remiss if I did not express my appreciation to the Rag and it’s support for nearly every community endeavor over the past 40 years. Their time and financial support from everything from the Capitol Hill Community Foundation to the Children’s Baseball League. Free obituary tributes to our fallen heroes to our kids who are reaching for new heights. The endless hours that Melissa has spent with the Foundation. The spark that Keith provided with the founding of CHAMPS. The always presence of Andrew and his camera, and his push to write about community highs and lows. They are like our conscience.

Every community has the things that bind us together. We go home now and then and we all see the local papers that we grew up with disappearing. Not so here on the Hill. This beloved paper and Keith, Melissa and Andrew are there every day, growing and providing a place for all of us looking for a voice. It is gratifying to see our children come home and grab a copy of the Rag just to catch up with their friends and their community. Thank you for 40 great years... and moving forward!

Don Denton, Branch Vice President of Coldwell Banker Capitol Hill

Thanks for Helping the Anacostia River!

Among the many changes we have witnessed during Capital Community News’ decades of local reporting, has been the returning health and vitality of the Anacostia River, our neighborhood’s historically neglected, but now revitalized waterway. We at the Anacostia Watershed Society (AWS) are so grateful for your role in helping this happen. From your generous sponsorship of our annual Earth Day Cleanup and Celebration and our weekly summer paddling program, to Bill Matuszeski’s marvelous monthly column “Our River: The Anacostia,” to your pictorial and editorial coverage of our handson environmental education and stewardship programs in our local schools--you’ve continued to connect watershed residents to the reality and promise of the invaluable natural resource that’s right in our own back yard.

On behalf of AWS, the Anacostia River, and my own Feldman-Tarantolo family, thank you for being an integral part of our marvelous community! Happy 40th Birthday!

Elissa Feldman – Chair, Anacostia Watershed Society Board of Directors

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The Life of a Newspaperman The Hill Rag: 1993 to Today

by Andrew Lightman

H

ow did you become a newspaperman?” phones lines, one for voice and one for fax. I used and gratis advertising. The same support was extendreaders often ask. “Serendipity,” is my ususneaker-net to walk ad proofs to customers. Coned to Frager’s after their disaster. In addition, the al reply. In the spring of 1993, I arrived on necting me closely to the community, the work cecompany has been a strong supporter of the Capithe Hill a poor graduate student struggling mented my long-term love affair with Capitol Hill. tol Community Foundation since its inception. Meto finish a dissertation in South Asian HisI learned all I know about sales at the Rag. “At lissa Ashabranner is a long time board member. As tory. Studying Mughals to Moderns at University Capital Community News, we don’t date. We get I have said often, The Hill Rag is part and parcel of of Pennsylvania, I was in my second year of writing. married,” I always say. During my first incarnation the community it serves.

With a Mellon Fellowship about to run out, I looked with The Rag, I convinced Maggio Roofing to adIn 1995, I left the Rag to pursue a varied career around for gainful employment. vertise. They have been a consistent presence in the that took me from publishing back to sales. I rode In the ancient days when handheld communipaper since that time. If one adds up their support, the telecom wave through many mergers ending cators were the stuff of Star Trek movies, one looked it comes to tens of thousands of dollars. At The Rag, with a company called Global Crossing. However, for work by perusing the newspaper classifieds. Pickwe forge long-term relationships that support busiI was never as happy as I was at the newspaper. In ing up a copy of The Hill Rag, I discovered the panesses that support the paper.

1999, I gave up Fortune 500 employment to return per was looking for a part-time account executive. I When bad times hit, The Rag is there as a to the Rag taking on the role of Business Manager. had never worked in sales before. friend and ally. A number of years ago, when a longAfter cleaning up a huge collections backDue to the absence of relevant work experitime customer called up to say that he had cancer log, I turned my attention to applying the lessons I ence, Melissa Ashabranner, The Hill Rag’s longand was struggling to continue, we provided a year’s had learned in corporate America to the Rag. I retime Executive Editor and co-proprietor, repeatedly worth of free advertising. The company was also placed the multiple phone, fax and modem lines disposed of my carefully-crafted resume in the rethere to support the South Hall merchants displaced with a phone system with individual extensions for volving file located just under her desk. Persistence by the tragic fire with years of editorial promotion every employee; and gave each a unique email adfinally secured a face-to-face sit dress. I had the office wired with down. I successfully sold myself, Ethernet and brought in Intersecuring the job. net connectivity. We replaced For the next two years, I our DOS-based inventory system hawked newspaper advertising with Quickbooks. We installed while completing my dissertacontact management software to tion. It was the era of DOS comkeep track of customers, reducing puters. I worked with paper files to the office’s blizzard of paper. By keep track of customers. The pathe time I departed at the end of per, then twice monthly, was cre2001, The Rag begun to resemble ated on paste-up boards known a modern office. as “flats” using exacto knives and In 2003, I returned to the burnishers. When completed, company as Managing Editor.

Rob Fuchs, then drove the flats This time I sought to bring the out to the printer in the middle lessons I had learned selling for a of the night.

Fortune 500 to The Rag. We reorOnly three of us worked ganized sales establishing a generin the Rag’s small office located al gross revenue target and quotas three floors above a pet store: myfor individual account executives. self; Rob Fuchs, the director of We also made them responsible sales; and publisher Jean-Keith for collecting every cent that they Andrew Lightman, who takes thousands of photos for the paper, marching in the July 4 Fagon. There were only two sold. This culture of transparenparade with his ubiquitous dogs, Nekoe and Saki. Photo: Melissa Ashabranner

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cy sparked an enormous growth in company revenue that continues to this day.

As the newspaper prospered, I turned my attention to its content. While I had been away, East of the River and MidCity DC had joined the ranks of Capital Community News publications. This gave the company a citywide reach. Melissa and I worked hard to increase the quality of our articles and the range of coverage.

All the time, we listened closely to readers echoing their concerns pursuing their interests with our assignment. Whether it was the tragic fires at Eastern Market and Frager’s Hardware or the transformation of neighborhood public schools, we made sure The Rag had the story.

Yet, newspapers are at their core a business. The Rag’s revenue growth has provided the editorial side with the resources to expand coverage and pay for the sophisticated printing that allows for first rate design that distinguishes the paper from its brethren. In past two years, we have also made a commitment to daily publication on the web.

Constant improvements in our content and presentation, we believe, preserve the paper’s value for both advertisers and readers in an era that has proved inhospitable to print.

To survive into the future, The Rag must serve two masters: readers and the businesses.

Engaging its readers with compelling content and excellent design, it must simultaneously connect advertisers with customers. At The Rag, we regard all as members of our extended family, which we are responsibility for nurturing for another 40 years. u

November 2016 H 49

Letters

(cont.)

Early Rag Nostalgia: From Churches to Crime

In 1977, the late Capitol Hill artist Agnes Ainilian turned me on the Hill Rag. I was job hunting and dropped by her gallery on 7th Street across from Eastern Market. Always in the know, Agnes mentioned that an amiable, energetic Jamaican gentleman had recently launched a community newspaper. She suggested I check it out, but I saw no future in it for me at the time. I needed a real job to pay our $300 monthly rent to the late Steve Cymrot. However, I soon realized the Hill Rag’s potential to inform--and enrich--our community. Why not be part of it from the ground floor?

On Jan. 29, 1978, I agreed to help publisher Jean-Keith Fagon and graphic designer Tawney Harding edit copy for The Rag. (By then, I already had landed a fulltime day job editing the American Institute of Architects monthly newsletter.)

I joined Delmar Lipp, Mary Ann Parmley, Buttons Ryan and Celeste as early contributors to this exciting venture in our community. Our close-knit core of eager writers met in Keith’s cramped abode on South Capitol Street SE to brainstorm.

Celeste and I also socialized often with Delmar, his wife Shirley and others interested in making the Rag a viable communications vehicle for our vibrant community. I joked, “Why not cover all of Washington, and call it “The Wash Rag.” Rag writers gathered at such long-gone Hill restaurants as McGuire’s, Mike Palm’s, and the Gandy Dancer. We partied a lot more back then; beer was a lot cheaper in 1979.

In March 1978, Keith assigned me to write as well as edit articles. At first, I wrote about churches, neighborhood activities, ANC meetings and the annu-

Rag Adventures

Has it really been 40 years? My husband Peter got me involved with the Hill Rag in the late 1970s. Peter had been copy editor, then contributor. I had recently left Roll Call and this seemed like a good outlet. Like Peter, I loved Capitol Hill, and then enjoyed the lively, informal meetings in Keith’s townhouse with fellow Rag writers. My beat was mainly food.

In the 70s and early 80s, the Hill did not have the diversity of restaurants we enjoy today. We wrote about the Hawk n Dove (who can forget Baseball Bill’s Corner?), the Tune Inn, Mr. Henry’s, Bullfeathers, the Dubliner, Kelly’s Irish Times, McGuire’s and Tiber Creek Pub, with its yards of ale. The only upscale plac-

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al House & Garden Tour. I later covered crime on the Hill.

In the early 80s, I covered Neighborhood Watch and Capitol East Community Crime Council meetings led by community activist Marguerite Gras. She called me regularly with ideas on improving the DC criminal justice system and involving Hill residents in Celeste and Pete circa. 1980 crime prevention. “How Court Watch Can Handcuff Crime” was the topic of my March 1982 article. One of my most vivid memories was interviewing a crime victim (a journalist from Cleveland) who had been carjacked on the Hill and locked in his trunk while the thieves drove around town.

He managed to survive and recount his horrific experience.

By the mid-80s, I began to phase out my work for the Rag as my regular AIA job demanded more time. But I continued to contribute articles from time to time.

Pete McCall

es (where we couldn’t afford to dine), were 209 ½, The Broker and the Monocle. The latter is still thriving after 50-plus years. Back then, the Rag’s entertainment section was called The Night Crawlers, packed with great photos.

Later, as the Hill’s restaurant scene improved, we discovered La Brasserie, a charming café on Mass. Ave. NE, operated by a pair of ebullient Frenchmen: Raymond Campet and Gaby Aubouin. For years, Peter and I celebrated Bastille Day, New Year’s Eve, birthdays and our anniversaries there. La Brasserie moved to Virginia years ago; we miss it still.

But I covered more than food, much more. On a frigid night in December 1978, Keith assigned me to investigate the controversial takeover of Union Station’s National Visitors Center by 2,000 homeless people. The motley group was led by activist Mitch Snyder, founder of the Community for Christian Non-Violence. We showed up to cover the chilly lock-out and Mitch promptly put us to work, hauling mattresses and cots. I managed to get a good story– plus a follow-up pieceand our association with Snyder and his colleague Carol Fennelly continued until Mitch’s tragic suicide in 1990.

About a year later I interviewed folk singer/activist Joan Baez, who was campaigning on behalf of Cambodians facing a food crisis in their war-torn

country. When I asked Baez what Americans could do to help, she responded, use whatever talents or skills you have.

Another fascinating interview was Nancy Stockwell, a feminist author who lived on East Capitol. She was promoting her book, “The Kansas Stories: Out Somewhere and Back Again”, a collection of vignettes from her childhood. Over gin-and-tonics, I learned how Nancy felt about the Hill, life, love, and her active role in the gay community.

In the 1970s the Hill boasted numerous gayowned nightspots (Barracks Row’s Banana Café came later). Among them were Dot’s Spot (yummy chef salad with freshly roasted turkey), Bachelors Mill and Equus (600 block of Pennsylvania Ave. SE), which became Remington’s. With friends Forrest and Tuff, we gobbled happy hour meatballs in this friendly venue.

One night some rowdy Marines lobbed a tear gas canister into Equus. Next morning, I went there to interview the owner, as fumes burned our eyes and permeated the carpeting. It took weeks to air it out.

Eventually, I left the Hill Rag to join the staff of The Washington Times, where I assisted food editor/ restaurant critic John Rosson and did other writing as well. In 2009, after leaving the Times and then freelancing, I returned to the Rag. I’ve come full circle.

Celeste McCall

Wishing the Hill Rag Congratulations on 40 years

212 7TH ST SE, WASHINGTON, DC 20003 (202) 525-4375 November 2016 H 51

Letters

(cont.)

Globetrotting with the Hill Rag The year was 1997 and I had just moved from overseas to Capitol Hill with my new husband, a Foreign Service officer who had a stint at the State Department. What could I do in DC after exciting years in Buenos Aires, followed by Guatemala City.

My trepidation was quickly quelled when we strolled through Capitol Hill and Susan Braun Johnson, School Notes Editor with discovered Eastern Market in full swing her family in Costa Rica. one Saturday afternoon. The crowd was diA Helping Hand verse and seemed cool. We drank beer at How do I start? The paper was instrumental in our struggle to training, we came back to the Hill, and back to Tunnicliff’s and watched the passersby while I the Rag. My eldest son, then 2.5 started at the get the necessary services from DCPS for our son after he sufthumbed the Hill Rag. Later we enjoyed fajitas Hill Preschool while I strolled my younger son fered a stroke in 2004. If it had not been for the exposure from and margaritas at Las Placitas. It was all good! the interviews and articles published by the Hill Rag, DCPS around trying to sell ads. I began writing, and proAs in the previous overseas posts, I had to posed a Kids and Family section. Melissa agreed officials would have either ignored us or dragged their feet to start over and find a new job so I grabbed the and when we moved overseas again to Sofia, Bulmake the situation untenable.

Rag’s classifieds, spotted their ad for a part-time garia I began telecommuting, editing the School Getting DCPS to listen was next to impossible, but seeing advertising sales person and got an interview Notes and writing an occasional travel article... the lack of action and worse, lack of enforcement in print was with Melissa Ashabranner. She hired me on oh and one more kid. Sometimes the time difthe impetus for them to try and make it right. No, we didn’t get the spot and I quickly began my beat pound- ference or conditions like power outages abroad everything, but without the exposure the Rag provided I feel ing the Hill pavement. threw a loop into deadline, but we always made there’s no doubt we wouldn’t have gotten anything! And I used Meanwhile Melissa became my mentor on it work. And still do. those same articles when he went to college to get assurance all things Hill and Rag related while Jean-Keith We went on to London, and Jerusalem that he would receive the accommodations he would need to and I became friends, chatting about reggae and and Mexico City and now we are in San Salvacomplete his education. Thank you, Andrew. jazz music while I watched him design the ads dor and I’m still doing the School Notes which I was bringing in. keeps me connected not only to Capitol Hill, Francis Campbell, fmbaytoven2002@yahoo.com But then the bittersweet news came and we but to the Hill Rag, and Jean-Keith and Meliswere headed back abroad, sa who are all as special to me as the first day I this time to Madrid. We walked into the office on 7th Street SE almost Keith was so enthusiasA Dreamer kept in touch and when twenty years ago. Happy Anniversary Hill Rag! tic, charming, and enOh yes, indeed, I have we returned four years tertaining that we always clear recollections of the later with two kids in tow Love, Susan Braun Johnson looked forward to his visbirth of the Hill Rag! for a year of language School Notes Editor its. But I can’t say that Steve and I would we were entirely conbe at work in our office vinced that that a twoat 419 East Capitol Street Happy Anniversary Hill Rag! page flyer would have and Jean-Keith Fagon In March 2003 I placed my first display ad in the Hill Rag and the impact hoped for. would knock on the door thus announced my new landscape design business. I met Well, I’m embarrassed that we were every week or so to report on the progmy first clients this way, and many of these people have beress of his new venture, the Hill Rag. blind to the possibilities. And now look come close personal friends. I met talented contractors this As I recall, the first iteration of the Rag what’s happened! way, and still collaborate with the same people.

Jean Keith and Melissa Ashabwas simply a one pager, printed front The Hill Rag offered me the opportunity to share my ranner and Managing Editor Andrew and back . expertise in writing, and now I am a monthly garden Jean-Keith was just sure that this Lightman bring the entire Capitol Hill columnist. I am proud to write for one of the few rewas the beginning something big—a Community to us every single month maining independent neighborhood publications, neighborhood publication that would of the year and dreamer Jean-Keith and happy to have the editor and publisher as connect all parts of the community to- Fagon has fulfilled his crazy vision. I friends. Happy Anniversary Hill Rag! Thanks gether with advertisements and news am in awe. for all you do for the community and the city. and photographs taken by him with the big camera he always carried. Jean Nicky Cymrot Cheryl Corson, Landscape Architect

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It’s nice to have grown old together over the years!

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Letters

(cont.)

Delivering The Rag

Adam and Margaret and family with host daughter Diana Martinez c.2016 Photos: Bill Matuszeski

Back in the old days, the Hill Rag was delivered doorto-door to every residence. Turned out it was a great first job (beyond babysitting and running errands) for kids growing up on the Hill. Once a month the kids would go over to the gym on Folger Park with a wagon or a bicycle and head out on their route. Payment was always made on the honor system.

Our three (a daughter Janina and twin boys Adam and Thad) took to the task and saw it as a series of challenges: balancing a bicycle with 150 papers on board, figuring out if the basement stairs led to a separate apartment or not, and handling those long, long front yards in front of every house on South Carolina Avenue.

Where are they today? Janina is teaching development economics at the Kennedy School in Cambridge; Thad and Adam both have aeronautical engineering degrees. Thad is with an experimental aircraft company in California. Adam works for NASA at Goddard.

A Note From Eleanor There is much happening in every community in this town that may be considered too local to be of general interest. Those stories go untold or are passed on today by social media, and word of mouth. How fortunate we who live on Capitol Hill have been that for 40 years our very own Hill Rag has chronicled the social, political, and commercial life of our community. Hill Rag was a first, and an inherently risky venture. Its micro-localism was so successful, however, that its progeny, MidCity DC and East of the River, have since taken off and landed successfully.

When I was first elected to Congress, the Hill Rag asked me to write a column. I was delighted because Congress has uniquely profound effects in the District but tends to fly above the radar, unlike day-to-day government activities like schools, trash pickup, or law enforcement. When my column led other elected officials to want the same, Hill Rag complied until there were so many, Hill Rag put us all out!

The community has been none for poorer for these losses. Capitol Hill residents are treated to entire subjects that are otherwise not covered. The range is from news to features. And on the Hill, many of us go shopping first at the Hill Rag for everything from painters to pottery.

For 40 years, beyond what happens in Congress and greater D.C., the sliver of D.C. that are the few blocks we call Capitol Hill have been covered in news and views about us. The home of the U.S. Capitol happens to be located in a corner of Capitol Hill, but we will always be grateful for the Hill Rag that embraced us for the hometown community we really are.

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-Distict of Columbia)

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The Matuszeski Hill Rag Delivery Team c.1990.

And oh yes, Adam and his wife Margaret Cooney are raising their family in the same house he grew up in – and he has a daughter and twin boys! A whole new generation is ready if the Rag decides to go back to house-to-house delivery!

Bill Matuszeski and Mary Procter

An Opportunity To Share A Love of Art I began my column, Art and the City, in March, 2002. I had written a guest editorial for the Hill Rag in December 2001, entitled, “Keep the Capitol Open,” which boldly proposed that the Congress should not cower behind physical defenses—that we were protected by the big idea: Freedom is worth taking risks for—even dying for. (As a combat vet, that didn’t seem too outrageous.)

After that exercise in futility, I suggested to the Executive Editor, Melissa Ashabranner, that the Hill Rag should have an art column. She said, “Write one.” I have been writing one ever since.

The name has changed. It started as “Art on Capitol Hill,” became “Art on Capitol Hill…and Beyond,” and now, “Art and the City.”

What hasn’t changed is that the column is about art and those who are compelled to look at life deeply. I take the artist “Profiles” way beyond journalistic interviews and descriptions. I have want-

ed to discover what artists see, think and feel and give my personal interpretation as a fellow artist.

With “Jim Magner’s Thoughts on Art,” I offer a my personal view on art and life. I have a conversation with each artist, which gives me insights that I hadn’t considered. I could write this column for a century and still discover new things to say about the incredible phenomena of creativity.

For the past year, I have revisited a few painters, sculptors and photographers I profiled years ago to discover how they have evolved in both technique and vision. There will be an exhibit of these “Revisit” artists at the Hill Center (Old Naval Hospital) in March and April of 2017.

The column hasn’t been only about individual artists. I have reviewed gallery shows and rotating museum exhibits. I have lived in the art world of greater Washington since 2002 because I write for the Hill Rag. Because Melissa Ashabranner said, “Write one.”

Jim Magner

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A Movie Reviewer Finds A Home As a resident of Capitol Hill for more than 50 years, I have been aware of the Hill Rag since its inception. Having a career in the Foreign Service, I even remember acquiring a an overseas subscription during the 1980’s which sent copies of the then-biweekly Rag to my residence in Rome, thus keeping me current on my neighborhood.

Upon retirement in 1993, I remember reading the Hill Rag and noticing a classified ad for a “movie reviewer,” as it happens, my dream job.

I submitted a brisk résumé and a hurried review of a current film. Bless Jean-Keith and Melissa, I was hired and have been writing about movies ever since in what I consider a long-running conversation with readers.

With this new gig, I could indulge a desire present since I was about four years old: to go to the movies for free and write about those I care about.

The Rag’s editors have always allowed me the freedom to ruminate in my monthly column. I am never ordered to review anything; I write about what interests me. I eschew the Hollywood blockbuster to assess or do riffs on the quirky independent production or the intriguing new foreign flick.

As a writer—and an avid reader--of the paper, I have welcomed the Hill Rag’s expansion in content, coverage, and circulation over the last 20plus years. As a person active in the community, I look to the Rag to promote and celebrate Capitol Hill organizations I care about by writing about them in its pages.

Best of all, I write for my own neighbors and friends – the Hill Rag is above all a community newspaper – and receive very personal feedback. No writer could ask for more.

Mike Canning

Valuing History Wow, forty years. I was a recent arrival on Capitol Hill when The Rag first appeared, and I watched with admiration as the paper helped make our neighborhood more of a community. Somewhat like Eastern Market, The Rag provided a meeting place where residents could bump into each other, catch up on the news and exchange information and ideas, especially after its expansion to the Web. And my appreciation grew as I got more involved in community life, with the creation of the Ruth Ann Overbeck Capitol Hill History Project. The Rag’s editors immediately recognized the value of this all-volunteer effort and went to great lengths to help promote both our collection of oral histories and our lecture series, which for the past fifteen years has explored our community’s history for thousands of attendees, free of charge.

Without reliable sources of information and ways to communicate with each other, a neighborhood remains just a collection of individuals. The Rag has provided a good part of what binds us as a community, and all of us owe you a great debt of gratitude. Many thanks, and congratulations.

John Franzén Steering Committee Chair, The Overbeck History Project

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So Much Better Than a Tweet Once per month (and any day on-line) media of integrity and local interest arrives in small boxes and at local businesses throughout Capitol Hill. The ability to produce such a high quality paper in today’s age requires a whole village - our village. Local reporting, either by staff, freelancers, or volunteers provide the news that many of us are unable to access on our own. And even if residents attended the myriad community meetings and events, digesting the information is a whole other project. This is why our local paper is so vital to the fabric of our.

As a member of the village, we at District Veterinary Hospital once a month provide readers with an article containing interesting and vital information about our pets’ well-being and pet-related community events and issues. It allows readers and all of us to have a more intimate connection than 140 characters or a blip on a screen from a Facebook post. This is why Hill Rag is so special--it is a warm friend that joins us once per month as the voice of our village.

District Veterinary Hospital is proud to support Hill Rag in its mission to provide worthwhile, local news to our community. Happy birthday, and here’s to many more.

Dan Teich, DVM – District Veterinary Hospital

Congrats!

Huge congratulations and celebrations all around. (And I know what that first little Rag looked like too...ack!)

You have achieved massive growth in advertising for sure -- but the key is the core quality underpinning the ads.

Without the quality reporting, writing and fabulous graphic design – this major milestone would never have been reached. Have you submitted for some national awards for community newspapers? You really should.

Onward to the fifties...

Jill Lawrence

Stanton Development Corp.

Urban Development, Restoration & Preservation on Capitol Hill

WE ARE PROUD TO SUPPORT THE HILL RAG 305 7th St S.E. Washington, DC 20003 (202) 544-6666 stantondevelopment@gmail.com www.stantondevelopment.com November 2016 H 57

Letters

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From Writer to School Activist with the Hill Rag It was in 2001 the first time I had heard of the Hill Rag. There were junkies in the triangle park across from my house, so I called the police, who referred me to my ANC (the what?), specifically Nick Alberti, my representative. I called his house and got his wife Elizabeth Nelson, who tried to help, but I was bent on talking to my elected official. She suggested I attend an ANC meeting.

I did, and at that meeting, while the commissioners counted out two minutes for rebuttals and accepted reports as amended, I edited all the draft letters in their package. After the meeting, I took my edits to Chairman Joseph Fengler, and told him I hoped that they would not send the letters as written.

He suggested I call Melissa Ashabranner about writing the ANC6A report for the Hill Rag. (The what?) Mark Seagraves (who?) had recently quit writing it for them, and they needed a replacement. I called Melissa, got the gig, and kept it for as long as I could take it, January 2008. All those meetings, all the hours of research, debates on single serving sales of alcohol, Cody Rice’s definitive language on what constitutes a fast food establishment in ANC6A (adopted District-wide), Mark Borberly’s documentation of an apartment building’s front door not being fixed, and the never-ending saga of the proposed H Street overlay.

As I wrote more for the Hill Rag, and they could trust me not to be too sassy, I was given more and more assignments. The first one made me cry a little bit - a woman being kicked out of her apartment in Anacostia because she had a dog.

I loved writing articles for them. I got to meet so many people who I

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wouldn’t have otherwise gotten to pepper with questions!

My next Hill Rag chapter is all about schools. I think it was that same Elizabeth Nelson who suggested that schools should be reported on monthly. She started it, and I at some point took over writing about Maury. Then about Eliot-Hine when my kids started there. Managing Editor Andrew Lightman has always been proactive in his suggestions of stories that needed to be told about schools, and the Hill Rag has always been generous in donating ad space for things like Maury at the Market and for when Eliot-Hine became an accredited International Baccalaureate school. Is it that they particularly love schools? I think it’s that they love community, and our schools are a big part of that.

As I have evolved over these many years, so has my relationship with the Hill Rag. I have since become a real estate agent and I write a column about it (Real Estate Matters).

I pay cash money to advertise. The tables have turned! Well, sort of. Andrew still calls on me here and there for school stories. I still write about EliotHine for School Notes (and I’m adding Eastern, now that we’re there, too).

And we work together on getting the word out about Hilloween, for which I have proudly accepted the torch, and thanking the sponsors that make Hilloween possible.

This is the Hill Rag to me --making community possible. Could we be a community without it? Sure, but we wouldn’t be so cohesive and informed. We know exactly where to look if we want to know what’s up on the Hill. Congratulations on your 40 years, and here’s to 40 more!

Heather Schoell

Congratulations, Hill Rag! For 40 years The Hill Rag has been providing me with my local news, my gossip, my event planning, and is my resource for all service people I need whether it is a roofer to plug the bullet holes in my roof to folks catering my mother’s 80th birthday party. The new daily online news update fills in where the monthly news stops. I feel privileged to have been the Hill Rag, Garden Writer, for 100 articles and now provide feature articles as the subject comes my way. I have witnessed new green spaces and parks being created to helping Hill residents answer the riddles of tree boxes. The Hill Rag’s integrity in reporting is excellent and as a news source one that keeps us all connected and caring for the neighborhood that I call my home.

Rindy O’Brien

The Rag: Helping to Create A Livable, Walkable Community When I first ran to represent Ward 6 on the D.C. city council 10 years ago, I had to connect with two distinct types of Capitol Hill residents: the people with deep roots who chose to stay here through the 1990s, when crime was high and city services were terrible, and the people who had just recently moved to the community because it offered what they wanted. Why did they stay? Why had they come? I considered these questions and decided to run on a platform of creating livable, walkable neighborhoods.

That seemed to capture best why people loved living in and around Capitol Hill.

To understand what a livable, walkable community was, you needed to look no further than the Hill Rag. The newspaper regularly featured neighborhood dentists and doctors, pubs and restaurants (which all seemed to have a Mexican theme during the nineties), theater groups and musical chorales, flea markets and farmers markets, and a wide variety of activities for all ages -- all in walking distance from our homes. The Hill Rag has chronicled one of the most livable, walkable communities in the country now for 40 years!

I am proud to live in the greatest city and the most amazing neighborhood in the country. It is a community with many different features and a healthy respect for its history. I look forward to reading about our wonderful schools, families, pets, festivals, arts, gardens, businesses, homes, and more for another 40 years.

With grateful admiration, Tommy Wells

A Community Institution The Hill Rag has been a great community institution for all of its 40 years. A source of linkage, inspiration, entertainment, and community identity. I remember when Keith was starting the Rag. It certainly was not obvious that it would succeed. And it was clear that the finances were sketchy, with Keith doing some side jobs to keep bread on the table. But Keith, as always, connected with people, and his upbeat confidence inspired.

Robert Krughoff

Congratulates the Hill Rag Capital Community News Working together supporting and strengthening the communities in Washington DC

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The Hill’s Decades of Historic Preservation

I

moved from New York City to Capitol Hill in the late sixties, stayed awhile, came back a year later for good. Why Capitol Hill? Because I learned from The New York Times that somewhere in Washington -- terra incognita to me -- was a decent delicatessen. That was Mangialardo’s which is still here on Capitol Hill (Try the G-Man Special!).

So to Capitol Hill I moved on the obnoxiousNew Yorker premise that a neighborhood with a Times-worthy delicatessen couldn’t be bad.

I bought a house for $40,000. Friends gave me odd looks when I told them where I now lived. I was repeatedly warned about the area, told that Eighth Street was the “dividing line.

That was cutting it close for being on Eighth Street at night was chancy.

I played touch football where the Madison Library now sits. “Dined” most weekday evenings at the Neptune Inn on Pennsylvania Avenue between 2nd and 3rd, where the blue-plate special was $2.95.

I bought books at the Trover Shop and got heartstopping donuts at Sherrill’s. All gone. Sherrill’s was given immortality of sorts by a 1989 film, Fine Food, Fine Pastries, Open Six to Nine. Opening night was the highlight of the Hill social season that year. The showing was at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, with spotlights. The ladies from Sherrill’s arrived in a limousine and were so moved by the event that they forgot to deploy their usual repertoire of insults.

The notion of “historic preservation” was foreign to me at the time. But the currents that would make it such a strong force in the city were there.

Capitol Hill had become a “mecca” for mid- and upper-level civil servants, many of whom had come to Washington in response to John Kennedy’s New Frontier and to the growth of government shaped by Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society programs -- Medicare, Civil and Voting rights, Medicaid -- and wanted inexpensive but attractive and ample homes for their families. They “found” Capitol Hill. They were also determined to protect their homes and indeed their neighborhoods from the devastation threatened by the highway lobby, Congress, and urban planners who wanted to replace mostly two-story townhouses with superblocks of apartments and office buildings. Many fought that good fight, in-

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by Norman Metzger

cluding Dick Wolf, Hazel Kreinheder, Ruth Overbeck, Peter Powers. They and others added their strong voices, their will, and their money to the battles waged by the Capitol Hill Restoration Society, founded in 1955.

Their struggle joined the city-wide effort to preserve and protect, triggered in good part by the “Don’t Tear it Down” movement in the 1960s to save the Old Post Office Tower. Strong voices were heard. Jane Jacobs cautioned that “citizens who should know better are so fascinated by the sheer process of rebuilding that the end results are secondary to them.” Others powerfully articulated their distress at the city’s losses of historic fabric, including Wolf Von Eckhardt, architectural critic for the Post, Alison Owings of WRC-FM, Terry Morton of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Nancy Hanks, chair of the National Endowment for the Arts. More battles and significant wins. The Franklin School. The Willard Hotel. The Warner Theater. More. Still so much lost, set out in James Goode’s Capital Losses: A Cultural History of Washington’s Destroyed Buildings.

Slowly the historic preservation battles morphed into a political force in the city. The Capitol Hill Historic District was created in 1973, in time joined by over 30 neighborhood historic districts. Designation as an historic district was nice, but it lacked enforcement clout. That changed in 1978 with the passage of the DC Historic Landmark

and Historic Preservation Act. Effective application of the powers enabled by the Act came slowly, but that Act came in time to be the pillar of what is now one of the strongest, if not the strongest, historic preservation programs in the country.

That “historic preservation” has its critics is a truism. Too rigid. Too resistant to change.

Inimical to neighborhood growth and development. Forcing high costs on home renovations.

And certainly over the decades there have been strong, inevitable angry battles over particular projects --the “Shotgun House,” Hine School, more. But it is the measures of time and scale that gives us the best assessment. The Capitol Hill Historic District, composed of about 8,000 properties, has been shaped by historic preservation law for four decades. What do we have? A neighborhood, distinctive in style and scale, that is found on “Best Neighborhoods in the US” lists, one that draws visitors and new residents not only from the metropolitan area, but also from throughout the country and indeed other countries. Just hear the many languages spoken at our favorite coffee shop.

As a more personal measure, Nancy and I have been doing home exchanges and a recurring theme is a strong desire to spend time in our neighborhood.

This great achievement came through an historic preservation program that has maintained its political strength against sometimes fierce forces and did so by embracing change while maintaining our neighborhood’s special qualities. Development is marching up Pennsylvania Avenue. Our neighbors are reshaping houses to fit their needs, and finding that they can do so at reasonable costs and within the principles of historic preservation.

What’s ahead?

Surely, as has been true for decades, more fights over this or that project or development or raze. But constant will be our common goal of protecting our special neighborhood. u Norm and Nancy Metzger

Experience the Capitol Riverfront this Fall & Winter Skate Canal Park Ice Rink, open daily!

Visit www.capitolriverfront.org/icerink for more details.

More to enjoy: • 37 Restaurants and growing • Two Breweries • Trapeze School • Four Parks • Anacostia Riverwalk Trail The Capitol Riverfront BID congratulates Hill Rag on its 40th Anniversary!

November 2016 H 61

Letters

(cont.)

Championing Local Writers In 2001, I went to Melissa Ashabranner with a vague but insistent desire—at age 50—to finally “be a writer.” We chatted, she listened—and then she suggested that I cover local authors. Fifteen years later, I’m still going strong—and she and the Hill Rag are still among the local literary scene’s most enthusiastic champions.

From my first “Hill Authors” interview—with the redoubtable Martha Grimes—to this month’s “Literary Hill” column, the Hill Rag has supported not only my work but also the work of hundreds of local writers. In the true spirit of inclusion, they have given space to New York Times best-selling authors, self-published

memoirists, and poets thrilled to see their work in print for the first time—all of whom live right here on Capitol Hill.

In 2010, the Hill Rag eagerly lent its sponsorship to the Literary Hill BookFest, an annual festival based on my column that celebrates Hill authors, publishers, booksellers, and libraries. This popular event at Eastern Market, with its lively book talks, children’s corner, and poetry readings, embodies all that we love about Capitol Hill—and about the Hill Rag, which, as always, is at the center of it all. Here’s to another 40 years!

Karen Lyon

Birth of the Hill Rag: Peter Halpern Remembers Forty years ago, Jean-Keith Fagon and I played tennis on a public school court in Southwest DC pretty regularly after work, that is, my work. He’d beat me consistently while urging me not to be discouraged. One day Keith came up to me looking pretty grim. I probed, “What’s wrong? Feeling ill? Afraid I’ll outplay you today?” “Nothing like that,”he said. “I’ve got to go to work.”

Searching for a comforting response, I blurted out, “There’ve been greater tragedies, pal. Come over to the house for dinner tomorrow and we’ll talk about it.” Elizabeth prepared dinner, set the table for three and lit candles. He came – two weeks later and then without warning. When we greeted him at the front door, ready to chew him out, he waved a sheet of yellow paper. This paper, he said, would be his business.

A community advertising and information business. He called it the Hill Rag. He spelled out his vision for the Hill Rag. It would become an indispensable adjunct to every business on the Hill and every resident seeking local goods and services. Every month The Rag would be delivered to every residence and business on the Hill and eventually to every Congressman.

I was dubious he could earn a living from that. I warned him: Starting a business is a dicey affair. It requires adequate capitalization of which you have none. There are printing costs, distribution costs, material costs, legal costs, rent to pay, etc., etc. Maybe you ought to get a job and let someone else endure the headaches that come with building and running one’s own business.

But Keith could not be dissuaded. He had a formula for success: In the first year, there be no cash flow. All transactions would be done by barter. In exchange for an ad in the paper the client would provide free printing, material, legal services, dry cleaning service, clothing, food at the grocery and meals at the restaurants. As ads grew, the paper would grow, and the barter system would give way to cash revenues. Interns and volunteers would be paid, and the production would be put in the hands of a trained and competent manager--enter Melissa Ashabranner.

I found Keith’s vision, enthusiasm, determination and imagination irresistible. So I volunteered to help get the ball rolling. My contribution as a business advisor was miniscule. The development of the Hill Rag from that one sheet of paper to the indispensable, highly informative, engaging magazine it has become is a JeanKeith Fagon creation worthy of celebrating 40 years later.

Peter Halpern

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Jean-Keith Fagon – Forty Years And Counting For The Hill Rag He was tall and skinny (by my rotund standard, anyway). He had dreadlocks and a Jamaican accent. He was selling ads for a one page handout that looked like it had been mimeographed (for those of you who can remember what that would be). The maybe-mimeographed page had a banner head that read: Hill Rag. “You’re kidding, right? Steve Cymrot put you up to this, right? Pretty funny! Now, who are you, really? “ And that is how I met Jean-Keith Fagan exactly forty years ago. I liked the guy. He was real, if unlikely. I bought an ad. The rest is history.

Now the Hill Rag is the most read and influential publication on Capitol Hill. If you want to know what is happening or where to go to get what you want, you will never miss a word or page of the 200 or so page Hill Rag. And it’s still free! What’s not to like.

And to think, I used to be able to call Mr. Fagon, Keith. And he still has the dreadlocks, too.

Larry D. Quillian

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Letters

(cont.)

East Capitol during Snowmageddon

Cheers to Your 40th I have lived on Capitol Hill for over 20 years and the Hill Rag has been my favorite publication in this city. I guess I would describe it as the magazine that gives the residents of Capitol Hill everything that we need to know in our community and about our community. It enables us to know about the real estate, community meetings, the new businesses, restaurants, local sports, and politics. Additionally, it has been a pleasure to work with the staff at the Hill Rag and especially with Andrew Lightman. He is easy to deal with, is very responsive, and just plain great at his job! Congratulations to the Hill Rag for your terrific publication and happy anniversary!

A Snapshot of Life on Capitol Hill And a few of those who made the Hill what it is today...

The Hill Center

Photos by Andrew Lightman and Melissa Ashabranner Steve Cymrot Neo Fagon at the July Fourth Parade.

Aimee Occhetti

A+ for Customer Service The Hill Rag is the quintessential neighborhood guide, and our favorite place to advertise. Since 2004, Carolina, Andrew, and the entire staff at the Hill Rag have advised, advertised, and promoted ours and countless other local businesses.

Their customer service is flawless: they understand first hand the challenges of running a small business, and they offer professionalism and creative ad design to their clients. Real estate clients often recognize us from our ads, and feel that they know and can trust us because they saw us in the Hill Rag! Simply the best, most reliable local newspaper for our community. We hope to celebrate their 80th Anniversary one day!

Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee Chair Donna Scheeder, Ward 6 Councilmember Sharon Ambrose (D), Ward 6 Councilmember Tommy Wells (D) at the reopening of Eastern Market.

A couple dances at the H Street Festival.

Megan Shapiro & George Olson, Compass The Capitol Hill Restoration Society at the July Fourth Parade.

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George Washington and his colonials at the July Fourth Parade.

Eastern Market on the morning after the tragic 2007 fire.

The newly renovated Eastern Market South Hall opens.

Marion Park’s 1D1 Dog Contest

Dick Wolf gives a Overbeck Lecture to the Capitol Hill Restoration Society

Fourth of July on Walter Street

Enjoying Lincoln Park Congressional Cemetery National Capital Bank’s George Didden

Olivia Fagon at Obama’s 2008 Inauguration

e at eet

rade.

ANC 6B Commissioner Will Hill The 2013 fire at Frager’s Hardware.

Realtor Jackie Von Schlegel, the Good Witch of Hilloween

Chesty the Marine Mascot at the Barracks Row Festival

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Letters

(cont.)

Thank You, Hill Rag My wife and I moved to the Hill 6 years ago and we love it. We use the Hill Rag to keep us informed on neighborhood issues as well as arts and dining. We love how the Hill Rag represents the beauty of Ward 6. Whenever we need house repair done, we turn to the classified section to support local businesses. The Hill Rag is a great source of information dealing with community concerns, local politics, housing, school, and yes DC statehood. I enjoy reading it each month and look forward to reading it for years to come. Thank you for serving our community and HAPPY 40th!!

Calvin Ward – Commissioner (6A08)

Congratulations to the Hill Rag on Forty Incredible years!

Imagine for a moment how our lives would be different without the Hill Rag. Nowhere else can you catch up on the latest ANC meeting and political gossip, get tips on how to prepare your garden for the winter, learn the history of our centuries-old neighborhood, and find out whose dog won “Best Dressed” in the Howl-O-Ween costume contest, all in the very same publication. More than anything, the Hill Rag helps make our neighborhood a little bit smaller, our neighbors a lot more connected, and our community the special place we call home.

Like you, I turn the pages of the Hill Rag each month and expect to learn something new in each issue. I love finding pictures that celebrate our neighbors and relish discovering stories that reveal a little more about my neighbors and my neighborhood. The paper is more than just local reporting; it has become a glue that binds us closer together.

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Not too long ago, I found a stash of old Hill Rag papers from several years ago while doing a little fall cleaning at my house. I couldn’t help but stop what I was doing to turn the dog-eared and yellowed pages. Within, I found conversations with familiar names and topics -- debates about the future of Eastern Market, questions about the Capitol Hill Historic District, what to do about the old Hine Jr. High School site, and much, much more.

The vision laid out by Jean-Keith Fagon began as a way to create a connection in our community. From its humble beginnings, to the expansive and thorough Hill Rag of today, we’re fortunate to have the contributions of the editors, writers, and artists that make it possible. Put simply, every neighborhood in America would be lucky to have a chronicle and a voice like the Hill Rag-and I’m so grateful that we can call it our own. With gratitude.

Charles Allen – Councilmember, Ward 6

A Few Words from Jim Didden I started working at National Capital Bank in 1967 so I well remember Jean-Keith Fagon canvassing the neighborhood for advertising in the early days of The Hill Rag. His partner in those days was a sophisticated and reserved young lady by the name of Tawny Harding. Keith and his colleagues were not ragtag, wannabe journalists, but confident Ivy League -educated young people with a keen eye on the success of their endeavor.

Those of you who know Keith are aware of his elegant diction, contagious smile and warm personality.

If there was anyone who could sign you up for advertising, he was the one. If he didn’t sell you on his first visit, you became powerless by his third or fourth.

In subsequent years, Melissa Ashabranner partnered in the dayto-day management of The Rag. For many years thereafter Melissa was everywhere on Capitol Hill and became known across this community for her

insightful understanding of our community issues. These were the days of the Restoration Society and CHAMPS and our ever present and powerful group of vested Real Estate professionals. The Hill Rag became the forum on which we relied for the articulation of issues and often contentious debates. It was during these years where the paper refined its mission to focus more exclusively on our East Washington community and the monthly issues began to swell in size.

Today, the Hill rag is synonymous with life here on Capitol Hill and Andrew Lightman has long established himself as our journalistic conscience and photographic interpreter of all things Capitol Hill. A sure measure of the Rag’s success is how quickly tall stacks of their current issues disappear from our Bank’s check writing desks.

Congratulations to the Hill Rag for what together we have become over the last 40 years!

Jim Didden – National Capital Bank

To Continued Success To us, the Hill Rag is a valuable resource where our neighbors and friends go to get their Capitol Hill news. Being connected with this great publication allows us to connect with our audience to let them know every home has a story, let us tell theirs.

Through The Hill Rag, our clients are able to keep up with community news, which includes coverage of the real estate market which we are proud to call our arena of expertise.

We are glad to be associated The Hill Rag and look forward to its success for years to come!

Rob and Brent – The Rob and Brent Group, TTR

Congratulations Hill Rag CONGRATULATIONS ON 40 YEARS From Your Friends at the SWBID

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H A P P Y A N N I V E R S A RY TO THE HILL RAG AND ALL OF ITS READERS We at Sestak Remodeling appreciate your dedication to the community.

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November 2016 H 67

Three Generations

A Neighborhood, A Newpaper and a Family

By Stephanie Deutsch

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elivering copies of the Hill Rag was the first job my boys, Noah and Christopher, ever had. This was sometime in the late 80s when they were 9 or 10 or 11. We would drive over to Eastern Market and pick up the papers, return to our house at 12th and C Streets Southeast where we would load them into a classic little red wagon. Off we’d go, with me pulling the wagon, them running ahead, putting the Rag on front porches and steps. I was thrilled with this arrangement, feeling that a job as a paper boy was the first step to a lifetime of productive employment but, as I remember it, our monthly routine pretty quickly gave way to the demands of soccer, homework and the boys’ younger sister. It was only later that I learned that delivering the paper, especially to the blocks beyond the Safeway at 14th Street SE, scared my older son.

He did love the money – “first cash I ever earned.

It meant candy” – but he did not like the feeling he had, sometimes by himself, on the streets of Capitol Hill. As I look back on it, I realize that we were living just a few blocks from an epicenter of D.C.’s crack epidemic but I was doing my best not to see the downside of the neighborhood where

Noah and Chris Deutsch exploring the base of the statue of Ulysees Grant at the base of Capitol Hill.

About 1985.

my husband and I had chosen to raise our family.

In any case, the boys somehow turned into teenagers, the baby became a sociable little girl and my life evolved from carpool and managing a soccer team to high school baseball and ice hockey games and Saturday nights waiting for my daughter to come home. The cell phone had changed the dynamic of the curfew: I’d get frequent calls updating me on her location and expected arrival time (“Just a few minutes late, Mom.”) My family moved to a new house five blocks from the Capitol, another teenager, our niece, came to live with us and, while my husband directed television shows, I visited lots of colleges. He was at the Democratic convention in Chicago in August of 1996 when I drove Noah to college.

In the midst of all these transitions, I started to write – first, and with some trepidation, book reviews for the Washington Times, where my mother, Anne Crutcher, had been a founding editor and the man she had hired as books editor completely unStephanie & David Deutsch enjoy one of the Hill’s turtle parks expectedly offered me an opportunity with grandsons Julius and Leon.

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to write for him. This led to a steady stream of work and a few reviews for other publications as well – the Baltimore Sun, the Weekly Standard, and the New York Times. I took a workshop on writing for young readers and spent longer and longer stretches of time in front of the computer that I was learning to think of less as a beast to be tamed than as a friend. I started research on the project that many years later turned into a book. And I became acquainted with something most writers experience – rejection. I had good ideas for children’s books, at least I thought they were good. No agent or publisher I was able to reach agreed. What I thought was a clever little piece about living on Capitol Hill came back from the New Yorker attached to a card that said, simply, “sorry.”

I’m not sure exactly when I started writing for the Hill Rag but I do know that it was a welcome antidote to rejection. My contributions were appreciated AND I got to interview unusual and fascinating people. And, unlike when I wrote for the Washington Times, people I knew actually saw what I wrote and sometimes commented on it.

I started writing about the men and women receiving Community Achievement Awards from the Capitol Hill Community Foundation whose board I had recently joined. These were people with interesting stories and long experience on the Hill. They had served in the Peace Corps, worked for Congressmen, renovated huge swaths of the neighborhood, founded nonprofits, served high up in city government, created art with children. When there was a fire at Eastern Market I got to write about the neighborhood’s amazingly generous response. I interviewed friends who had started businesses, local clergymen, and even wrote about a service trip I took to Honduras with a group of women from a local church. I don’t think any story I ever suggested was rejected.

My son, Chris, got his first job after college from a contact he made while waiting tables at Jimmy T’s, the friendly diner across the street from our house (where, in the early days after we moved, I used to say that my sons were “on the meal plan.”) And when he left that job -- teach-

ing at Two Rivers Public Charter School -- to start a company marketing inspirational text messages, the first publicity that “I Live Inspired” received was in the Hill Rag (and not written by me!) Now, after a wedding at St. Mark’s Church and a reception in the North Hall of Eastern Market, Chris and his wife are raising their two sons on a charming block near H Street Northeast that wouldn’t have been considered Capitol Hill thirty years ago but is now and feels diverse in very much the way the neighborhood did then.

Every Saturday morning Chris returns to the place where he spent a large chunk of his childhood, Fort Dupont Ice Arena, where he coaches a team of kids from that neighborhood. One morning at the Eastern Market, Chris snapped a picture of me holding his son, Leo, while Mrs. Calomiris handed him a banana as she had done to my boys decades before. When the matriarch of the market died in May 2015, the Rag ran that picture with its obituary.

I asked Chris if he remembers delivering the Rag and he said he does not. What he does remember is being invited, as a fourth grader, to participate in a round-table discussion on race relations sponsored by the Hill Rag. I am surprised that I don’t remember this but not at all surprised that it happened. The Rag has been an integral part of this community for decades, helping us all to examine the challenges as well as the charms of living on Capitol Hill, keeping us informed, entertained and stimulated. It has been a significant part of my family’s life too and for that I am grateful. u

CONGRATULATIONS TO HILL RAG’S 40TH ANNIVERSARY. WE WISH YOU MANY MORE YEARS OF GREAT PUBLICATION! Joan Carmichael Realtor 202.271.5198 joanvcarmichael@gmail.com Bridgette Cline Realtor 202.271.4196 bridgette.cline@c21nm.com FOR ALL YOUR REAL ESTATE NEEDS 1000 Pennsylvania Ave., SE Wash., DC 20003 office # 202-546-0055 November 2016 H 69

A Life In Real Estate On The Hill

by Don Denton

I

n DC, discussing real estate has always been on par with discussing politics. Start talking about the local market at a crowded cocktail party, and you draw a crowd real fast. With all of its up and downs, Capitol Hill real estate has been, and continues to be, an amazing ride.

It’s like being on rollercoaster. You hang on tight as you plummet to the lows, and then catch your breath as you hurtle to the heights. It makes for an exciting life.

The recent history of the Capitol Hill Real Estate Market can be broken into six distinct periods.

1948–1970 After WWII, there were thousands of returning vets with GI benefits, mass production of cars, cheap gas and the emergence of the suburbs. The pull of green grass and open spaces was too much for many urban dwellers. At the same time, there was significant migration of African Americans from many parts of the south. With all of this movement there came opportunity. Many thousands Don Denton at his desk at 605 Penn.

Ave. SE where he has been since the mid-1980’s.

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of African Americans were able to buy homes in the city for $10,000 to $15,000, greatly adding to the fabric of the “new” neighborhoods. African Americans still make up a significant part of our neighborhoods (over 50% as of the last census). At the a same time, as a society, we were attempting to deal with the problem of providing decent housing for residents who needed a little help while they got on their feet and prepared to move back into the mainstream housing market. Ellen Wilson Dwellings (a public housing neighborhood) were already here and they were followed by Arthur Capper and Carrollsburg Housing projects south of The realtors of Barbara Held Inc. - 1986 the Southeast Freeway. The late 60’s saw the construction of Potomac Gardens, Hopkins and Kentucky Courts have ever thought? public housing.

During this period, there were a dozen or so By 1968, the exodus of many home owners small old school brokers, sometimes people just from the inner cities to the emerging suburbs buying and selling or buying and holding for themwas well under way. For the Hill, 1968 marked selves. They were a very closed club. Names like a point where selling your home here was a Donahoe, Long, Lange, Sinclair, Zagami, Cox, very difficult thing to do. There was virtually no etc. These were very big names if you were around market. Well, except for a number of unscruin the 60’s. pulous speculators. After the riots, there were actually people walking door to door with suit1970–1980 cases of cash offering to buy your home for In hindsight, we were hitting the bottom of a cy$35,000. ”No sale. That’s fine. I will be back cle and another upswing was beginning. By 1970, next month and will offer you $5,000 less,” and the riots were fading into memory, Metro was so on. well under construction and gas prices were on The riots had left awful scars on the Hill. the rise. Talk about a boon. While trendy GeorgeNowhere was this more true than the H Street town fought off any attempt to bring Metro to their corridor. Entire blocks had been gutted and left community, greater Capitol Hill got seven stops! vacant or replaced with cheaper commercial All across the country, urban pioneers startspace that languished for decades. You could ed to appear in our inner city neighborhoods. Athave bought a property on H in 1970 and probtracted by relatively low prices and convenience, ably would not have made a dime on it until this new breed of resident joined existing residents 2000! As they say, real estate is like romance, to begin building today’s Capitol Hill. You heard a timing is everything! Today entire blocks that lot about sweat equity. Many young couples wanthad been devastated in 1968 are sprouting ed to move closer to the employment center. Buy quality retail space and four decks of multia shell on the Hill, walk to work and do a “live in” unit rentals. As recently as 2005, who would renovation. No time for weekend brunch, since all

Congratulations to the Hill Rag in its continued and dedicated service to this community!

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Dale Denton Real Estate ad from 1986. Look at these prices! Don’t you wish you had bought then.

of their free time was spent at places like Frager’s, Hechinger Mall and Maurice Electric. The leading cause of divorce on Capitol Hill in the 70’s was the live-in renovation. What a stressful time that could be! Unfinished projects all over the house, plaster dust everywhere and on everything, work

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dragging on and on. The romance of it all soon disappeared. Sometimes there was just not enough wine to get through this process!

At that time, most of our buyers were singles and couples, not many families with small children. All purchases were financed with as little

cash as required. No one really had any money--good incomes, but not much cash. Many of our earnest money checks today are greater than the purchase prices in 1974. Absolutely no empty nesters moving to Capitol Hill!

A new breed of real estate brokerage began to open. Barbara Held was the first. She was followed, among others, by Rhea Radin, Barbara Held, Beau Bogan, Millicent Chatel, Houses on the Hill, Helen Carey, Kraemer, Citysites, Sutton Properties, English, Contex, David Deale and Doug Mulligan, BW Real Estate, Samuels Wiant, Carriage, Dale Denton, Formant, then joined by Long and Foster and Shannon & Luchs (now Weichert). These companies were the creations of a very different special breed of person.

All could have worked in this business in Georgetown or the neighborhoods west of Rock Creek Park. But they chose to come here. Attracted be the historic nature of the neighborhood for sure, but a lot of the attraction was the nature of the market. It was freewheeling and a little wild; no stuffy industry hierarchy here. This was a business dominated by the small broker. It was common to work for a broker for a few years and then open your own shop.

I came to Capitol Hill in 1973. Sharing a rental apartment with my brother Dale at 307 East Capitol Street (3 bedrooms, 2 levels, furnished, including utilities at $500 per month), I continued to work at Air Force Systems Command at Andrews AFB. I worked all day, roamed the close-in haunts on the Hill in the evenings, places like The Hawk ’n Dove, Tune Inn, Mike Palm’s, Jenkins and forgotten others. Two years later, I got a position with the House Appropriations Committee and my new life began. Walk to work, walk to my haunts and then walk home.

Life was good. I’d heard of Eastern Market, but did not know what it was.

Meanwhile, all around me, things were happening in our neighborhood. In 1975 my brother opened his little real estate office at 1321 Penn.

Ave., SE. Every day he came home with stories of selling this property and that property and with this person buying a house for $35,000 in the morning and selling it twice more before dark (ending at $70,000). After a few years of this and a couple of renovations, I had the real estate bug bad. I wanted in. I left my fabulous job on the Hill and never looked back.

In 1974, a New York Times headline read,

“Building Boom Is Under Way In Capitol Hill Neighborhood.”

The city council began passing anti-flipping legislation, rent control and tenant right to purchase legislation--anything to slow this movement down. As usual, the government was injecting itself needlessly in the marketplace. We were only a short time away from the market correcting itself (as it always does).

Those were the days of no Multiple Listing Services and no online websites. Owners would call every broker on the Hill and give them an “open” listing. Some houses would sprout six or seven open signs (we drove our own stakes in the ground..no big wooden signs). When you were fortunate enough to get an exclusive listing, you might refuse Rhea Radin, early Hill Realtor

to “cooperate” with competing brokers for a month or more.

What buyer brokerage? If you walked into some real estate offices and asked to use the rest room, the duty agent would get your name and number. Once you left, he would fill out a 3X5 card, put it in the file and then, so long as you were still breathing, you could claim com-

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mission for any property ever bought through that brokerage by that person who had just used the rest room! Great retirement annuity!

During the late 1970’s, the Hill saw its first condo projects. Stanton Manor on Massachusetts and the grand opening of the Davmar on the unit block of 9th St. NE. Frank Perdue and Bobby Baker and Joe Stewart were holding court at a grand opening party. Holland and Lyons, early DC condo developers (they had built Stanton Manor) were rumored to have bought what would become the Children’s Museum and were Beau Bogan 1986 moving ahead with plans to convert to condos. H&L had a big reception announcing the opening of their new residential sales office, on 13th St., SE across from the Escalade Condo (within a few months, H&L would be gone and never seen again).

1980–1982 This was a time when we were all realtors, but we also were “developers.” Any idiot could buy a shell, “renovate” and make a quick $30,000. I tell the following story only because there are many who are still around who lived through this time. It is also instructive for the future. In 1979, the Hill was flying high. Like many others, I wanted a piece of this.

I bought a lot on 7th Street NE. I did everything right. I hired a cost estimator, I hired an architect, I was my own general contractor (I had done a couple of renovations and knew the subs). The prime interest rate was 8% and I budgeted it to rise to 10%. That is important because my $100,000 construction loan would float 2% above prime. 30 year mortgages were at 10% and inventory was flying off the shelf. I budgeted for all the worse cases. Then, in early 1980, the energy crisis hit. It seemed like overnight the prime went to 20% (my construction loan floating at 22%). 30 year mortgage rates hit 16% and most lenders were just out of the market. I couldn’t give my spec house away.

I was screwed, but so was everyone else. If you were a homeowner, you could only sell if you had an old FHA or VA assumable loan and if you could hold

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(and wrap) a mortgage. At this point there were no adjustable mortgages. If you had no wrapable first or did not own your property outright, you couldn’t sell. I had listed a friend’s property at the beginning of this cycle. First open, flowers on the dining room table and cookies baking in the oven. A year later dishes in the sink and clothes all over the bedroom floor. Discouraged, he just told me to do whatever. I just kept extending it in MLS. Nobody was showing it. Three years later I get a call out of the blue from another broker...they had an offer. This story was not unusual.

When the market turned south in 1980, the fledgling condo market tumbled. Developers like H&L disappeared and for three years, condos were worthless. You literally could not give them away--another failed real estate experiment. It would be over 25 years before Jim Abdo tackled (and succeeded) in developing the Children Museum site.

In 1980, Richmarr Construction Corp brought the Car Barn Condominium on line.

An entire city square facing East Capitol Street!

We were the listing company. Piggy-back townhouses with two bedroom units up priced in the upper $120’s and one bedrooms down in high $80’s. After one year of aggressive marketing, we had ONE unit under contract. I took Richard Kirstein (Rich of Richmarr) to a closer-in home we had on the market for $95,000. A little rough on the finishes, but 3 bedrooms and a basement, just off Lincoln Park and a solid fee simple house. “This is what we are competing against.” The next week they pulled the project off the market and rented the finished units. Because of the available historic tax credits, they were then able to renovate the rest of the property. The Hill was very fortunate to have had such a solid developer. Otherwise, that square would have sat defeated and half done for years.

As an aside, Washington DC had been a segregated city in the 60’s. As such, there was a

Changing Hands from 1979

parallel public school system. All over the area, you can see where there was a white school built next to an African American school. With declining school populations and with the integration of public schools in the late 60’s, we were significantly overbuilt to accommodate current and future school demands. Many schools were consolidated or closed. Lots of empty buildings dotted our neighborhood. The city did not know what to

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do with them and even if they had been willing to dispose of them, there were no developers buying them. Many of these buildings stood vacant for decades and were real drags on our community.

Seemingly overnight, we, real estate brokerages and sales associates, went from basking in the glow of that New York Times headline and making a good living to financial devastation. Someone just turned off the spigot. High rolling “developers”, mostly little guys doing a property or two a year, completely disappeared. Financial ruin was everywhere.

Those were two-three really tough years for everybody. No building cranes on the horizon.

No construction dumpsters in the neighborhood.

Crime was on the rise. There was just a sense of being trapped. If you bought a home in past decade, you were probably underwater and couldn’t sell even if anyone was buying. I remember a couple who bought on 12th and D NE. They paid $140,000 in 1979. The local crap game down on the corner was charming and who cares, the area is changing and the game will be gone soon. By 1982, the wife was pregnant and the neighborhood was not changing. The crap shooters had been replaced by drug dealers. The couple sold for $90,000. Three years later, things had again changed and the same house sold for $150,000.

In my career, I have never seen anyone lose money if they could pick the time to sell!

If you were in the residential sales business or the title company settlement business, these were devastating times. If you made your living selling or settling residential properties you were basically out of business. The commercial side of the business was not in any better shape. Before this cycle really was defined, Merrill Lynch bought Chris Coyle Real Estate. Not a big deal on the Hill, but a beginning trend in our business. I seem to remember a headline something like “Merrill Lynch Buys Chris Coyle For $10M.” At roughly the same time, Sears had bought Coldwell Banker. Diversification was a buzz word in corporate board rooms and after the booming 70’s, what better diversification than in the real estate sales business! Another headline I remember beaconed the end of the small broker in America. That was the most idiotic headline I had ever read. I was on the ground and knew better! An article in the Washington Post around this time, lamented the end of the smaller, boutique real estate broker. I was quoted in the same article

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saying how ridiculous that statement was. I was so wrong. Nearly every broker mentioned earlier in this article was gone or merged by 1986!

Our trade association introduced a multiple listing service in the early 1980’s. It took a little longer for the “Hill” brokers to adapt. But, by 1982, we all agreed to play nice and share information to the benefit of the consumer and to the civility of the industry.

While we were in a cooperative mood, we founded the Capitol Hill Brokers Council. We all belonged and did what we could to upgrade our industry on the Hill and our neighborhood.

In 1982, the idea of adjustable rate mortgages had made its way into mainstream residential sales.

This was a real game changer. 30 year fixed rate money was still at 14%+ but you could get a shorter term fixed rate at say 12%. A bit of a gamble but a way to get into a home. In hindsight, unless you got involved in an adjustable rate mortgage with negative amortization (what idiot contrived this instrument--basically, you borrow a dollar, make all your payments for three years and owe a $1.25!) you made out pretty well. We were in a declining interest rate environment (one of those things in our business that you don’t know is happening until it has happened) and in such a market, you looked brilliant if you got an adjustable mortgage.

By this point, a lot of devastation had been wrought on the residential real estate sales market.

We bought BW Real Estate, and Houses on The Hill. Barbara Held merged with Citysites. Long and Foster closed its Hill office. David Deale and Doug Mulligan joined Dale Denton. Sandy Simon and his Sutton Properties joined Dale Denton. Carriage Real Estate closed.

By 1986 we were hitting higher highs. Everybody was a developer again. Many more “shells” were available. Nice renovations, but not a market for $50,000 kitchens and $15,000 baths, just basic renovations. We were finally starting to sell properties here and there for a little more than $300,000 if they were close-in. Again, all financed. No all cash. That buyer was far to the west.

During this time, many families were electing to stay on Capitol Hill. They’d figure out the education piece later. But many more were electing to leave for Virginia or Maryland. We looked at potential listings on Monday mornings. For the longest time it seemed like more than half of the homes we looked at had pre-school age children

and the family was leaving the Hill. Then people like Steve and Nicky Cymrot took on the public school status quo. They and others challenged the District to do better. For years, their efforts were a beacon for scores and scores of families who desperately wanted to stay in the neighborhood.

By 1984, a few bold developers were venturing back into the condo market. Bob Herrema was our biggest. He developed the Logan School, the Audubon, Kentucky Court, the Tuscany, Carberry School and Grace Church to name a few. Bold and risky moves, but they all sold and left a lasting legacy of adaptive reuse for us here on the Hill.

In the early part of this cycle (around 1984), a group of us got together to organize a neighborhood wide business organization. This organization would become CHAMPS (the Capitol Hill Association of Merchants and Professionals). We organized for a number of obvious reasons, but the biggest was to give our businesses more strength in dealing with city officials to help combat crime in our neighborhood. In those days, our neighborhood image was still fragile. A few bad incidents and the press was all over us. Crime is never a good thing, but in an emerging urban neighborhood it is devastating.

Once again, those of us close to the market thought it would never end. Risky renovations, investments that were based on tax incentives and not real economics. Borrowing cash to buy. All good while things are good, but you have to be ready for the music to stop. We should have learned that the last time around!

As we moved toward the end of the 1980’s, life in real estate on Capitol Hill looked good. Rates were manageable. Demand was good. Renovations still happening. Inventory was very tight. To get a jump on what was to be opened on Sunday, you would go to this book store off Dupont Circle on Saturday evening and wait for the delivery of the Sunday Post around 10:30 p.m., circle the ones that you thought your buyers would like and begin calling the listing brokers and registering your client. There is nowhere for prices to go but up.

Sound familiar!

1989–2000 Then, without warning, in 1989 the music stopped.

The Resolution Trust Corporation was established to help clean up the savings and loan crisis. I remember going to a settlement around this time at

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Attorneys Title above our offices at 605 Pa. Ave., SE. Well, actually more than once, when Bernice Naylor would be sitting at her desk and we would be anticipating a pending settlement. She would take the file, see who was funding the loan, pull out a drawer on her desk and consult a list that she had. If your funder was on that list, it probably was not going to happen. What a mess.

Almost overnight, the spigot was turned down to a slow drip. Developers disappeared overnight and lots of us were stretched way too thin to survive. A long wave of consolidation in the real estate business ensued. Very, very few mom and pop sales offices opened. Most everyone was running for financial cover under the umbrella of the bigger brokerages.

On Capitol Hill, it was a devastating time for our public housing projects. I’m no expert, but a number of things seemed to be at play. First, the public housing stock was aging and living conditions were deplorable in many projects. Ellen Wilson and the “newer” Kentucky Courts were a mess.

The drug culture had hijacked many of these projects. I did a number of police ride-alongs during this period and the activity at midnight in some of these projects was unbelievable. Finally, in the early 1990’s, we, the residents of the District, had voted in favor of an initiative on the ballot that guaranteed every person in the District must have a place to live. This was one of those great sounding platitudes that had severe unintended consequences. In this case, it became counterproductive to enforce provisions in public housing leases that would evict tenants who were in violation of their leases. Enforce a lease violation and then pay to house the person evicted in a $300/night motel room at New York and Bladensburg. Drug dealing and other abuses of the leases were ignored.

This created a hell on earth for the good residents in the projects and significant problems for neighbors outside the projects.

Meanwhile, many of us were doing everything that we could to make the Hill a more attractive place to live. The city seemed to be in a state of paralysis. Marion Barry and Sharon Pratt Kelly provided no kind of leadership for this great city.

Crime was on the rise in every big city and no different here. One ANC commissioner was delivering flyers on a Saturday morning and was assaulted at knife point. A notorious character by the name of Little Man James and his hoods were terrorizing the neighborhood. A family on the 600 block of D Street NE was running wild. Further to

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the north (just this side of Florida), drug kingpin Rafael Edmonds ruled – at gun point. Crime was perceived to be everywhere.

In early 1994, we were greeted with the following headline in the Washington Post: “Hill In A Handbasket.” It was a real hatchet job. It was disturbing to many of us who called Capitol Hill our home, but the real devastation was with our image.

You read that article and there was no way anyone would come here to visit a restaurant much less buy a home or raise a family. Most of us just resolved to work harder to improve our community and move forward. Many just moved on.

Not much was selling during this time. The median sales price was $150,000, but not many were buying. Real estate businesses were continuing to consolidate. More people were leaving our business that joining. Not a happy position to be in.

In those days, if you went to McLean or Paris, every waiter had a great punch line about Washington DC. Who’s laughing now?

1995–2000: DC Financial Control Board Lots of my friends will castigate me for this statement, but the takeover by the Control Board was the big turn around. Again, this was one of those events that we did not truly appreciate until years later. In hindsight, at that moment, confidence in our city was restored. People knew that the Congress would not let us fail. This city would survive and prosper. Special programs were created for first time buyers and “scholarships” for DC kids to go to any state school in the country, the later to make us competitive with Virginia and Maryland.

While sales were improving in this period, many brokers and agents were just treading water.

A couple of big franchises failed and many individual agents were just keeping their heads above water. We, Dale Denton became PARDOE and finally Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage. The era of economies of scale had hit our industry in a big way.

2000 to 2016 In 2000, all those professional landlords who had been holding off selling and those “reluctant” landlords (people who had to move in the past decade and could not sell) jumped in the pool. On Monday mornings, nearly 80% of what we looked at were rental properties. We were flooded with inventory. Nearly 400 properties on the market at any point in time on Capitol Hill (compared to less than 50 today).

In February, 2000, we settled the first residential property on Capitol Hill to sell for a million dollars. I phoned a reporter at the Post and we got a big article in the Saturday paper. A long way from The Hill In A Handbasket! What a watershed moment for the Hill.

It was also early in this cycle that we began Barracks Row Main Street. We are all enjoying the results of that effort. Hard to remember when you could park any place along Barracks Row on most Friday evenings. A couple of years later, the businesses of the Hill agreed to a new self-taxing entity – the Capitol Hill BID (Business Improvement District). It’s hard to overstate the impact the BID has had on all of Capitol Hill. Clean and safe has been our mantra from day one. No one can argue with the results.

Throughout this period, prices continued to climb and we had loads of inventory. Rental properties were disappearing at an alarming rate. Owner occupants were taking advantage of lower interest rates and improving school systems. It was a magical time for the Hill.

The financial crisis of 2007 sent shock waves throughout the country. Lenders began tightening up and many people became extremely cautious. The upper brackets (on Capitol Hill for over a million) retrenched slightly. However, by the end of 2008, things were back to normal(at least here on the Hill) and the market started escalating once more.

As we all know, the Hill and Washington DC is continuing on an incredible development run.

A boutique hotel in Union Station, a French hotel in Union Market, half million dollar properties in Trinidad and Petworth. Building cranes everywhere you look. All this could change tomorrow, but nothing bad is looming on the horizon.

This has been a very long run. Where does it stop or does it have to? My experience tells me that it will at least take a breather, but who knows.

Capitol Hill has always been underpriced. Maybe we are now just catching up with the other capitals of the world. On Capitol Hill, while lots of rentals units and condos are being built, there are very, very few new single family homes. Millennials are still pouring in and these will be our home buyers of tomorrow. We may continue with ups and downs, but it seems to always end up with higher highs and higher lows.

Don Denton is Branch Vice President of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, Capitol Hill. u

It’s EASY to Find the Hill Rag! You can find The HillRag at these Fine Establishments:

7-Eleven 1101 S. Capitol St SW Across From Neighbors Cleaners 254 11th St SE Arena Stage 1101 6th St SW Atlas Theater 1333 H St NE Atlas Vet 1326 H St NE Balance Gym 214 D St SE Banana Cafe 500 8th St SE Bliss Cafe 201 Massachusetts Ave NE Bullfrog Bagels 1341 H St NE Buzz Bakery – Blue Jacket 300 Tingey St SE Cacao Bistro 320 Massachusetts Ave NE Cantania Bakery 1404 North Capitol NW Caper Carrolsburg Apartments 900 5th St SE Capital One Bank 336 Pennsylvania Ave SE Capitol Hill Arts Workshop 545 7th St SE Capitol Hill Bikes 719 8th St SE Capitol Hill Hotel - Front Desk 200 C St SE Capitol Hill Village 725 8th St SE - 2nd Fl. Capitol Park Plaza – 101 101 G St SW Capitol Park Plaza – 103 103 G St SW Capitol Park Plaza – 201 201 Eye St SW Capitol South Metro 355 1st St SE Capitol Tower – 301 301 G St SW Capitol Yards 70 I St SE Carrollsburg Condominiums 1250 M St SW CCN Office - Hill Rag Office 224 7th St SE Coldwell Banker Capitol Hill 605 Pennsylvania Ave SE Congressional Cemetery 1801 E St SE Congressional Cleaners 1000 New Jersey Ave SE Corner Market 401 E. Capitol St SE Cornercopia 1003 3rd St SE Cupboard 1504 E Capitol St NE Curbside Cup Cake 257 15th St SE

CVS 645 H St NE CVS 1100 4th St SW CVS – 12th ST 500 12th St SE CVS – Benning RD 1518 Benning Rd NE CVS – Navy Yard 1100 New Jersey Ave SE CVS 12th St NE Eastern Market 225 7th St SE Eastern Senior High School 1700 East Capitol St NE Ebenezers Coffee 201 F St NE Eliot-Hine Middle School 1830 Constitution Ave First District MPD 101 M St SW Flats 130 Apartments 130 M St NE Frager’s Garden Center 1230 Pennsylvania Ave SE Fragers Hardware 1323 E St SE Game Stop 1391 Pennsylvania Ave SE Giant 300 H St NE Harbor Square 500 N St SW Harris Teeter 1201 First St NE Harris Teeter 1350 Pennsylvania Ave SE Harris Teeter 401 M St SE Harry’s Liquor New Jersey & I St SE Hayes Senior Wellness Center 500 K St NE Howl to the Chief 733 8th St SE Jacob’s Coffee House 401 8th St NE JO Wilson Elementary School 600 K St NE Kenny’s BBQ 732 Maryland Ave NE Lincoln Park Cleaners 1305 E. Capitol St NE Lustre Cleaners 311 Pennsylvania Ave SE Meridian at Gallery Place 450 Massachusetts Ave NW Meridian at Mt. Vernon 901 4 St NW Metro Cleaners 307 5th St NE MLK Library 901 G St NW Mr. Henry’s 601 Pennsylvania Ave SE

National Capital Bank 316 Pennsylvania Ave SE Neighbors Cleaners 1023 E St SE New York Avenue Metro New York Ave NE New York Pizza 1401 Pennsylvania Ave SE Next to Mail Box & Liquor Store 15th & D St NE Northeast Neighborhood Library 330 7th St NE NW1 Library 135 New York Ave NW P&C Market 1023 E. Capitol St SE Park (NAM) Market 1804 D St NE Peace Baptist Church 718 18th St NE PenFed Realty 216 7th St SE Petco Unleashed 1200 First St NE Port City Java 701 N. Carolina Ave SE Pound coffee 621 Pennsylvania Ave SE Prego Cafe 210 7th St SE Providence Hospital 1150 Varnum St NE Results Gym – Capitol Hill 315 G St SE River Park I 1301 Delaware Ave SW River Park II 1311 Delaware Ave SW Riverby Books 417 E. Caoitol St SE Riverside Condominiums 1425 4th St SW Roland’s 333 Pennsylvania Ave SE Rosedale Library/Rec. Center 1701 Gales St NE Safeway 1100 4th St SW Safeway – Benning Road 1601 Maryland Ave NE Safeway – Capitol Hill 415 14th St SE Safeway – CityVista 1045 5th St NW Schneider’s Liquor 300 Massachusetts Ave NE SE Library 403 7th St SE Senate Square 201 Eye St NE Sherwood Recreation Center 640 10th St NE Sidamo Coffee 417 H St NE Sizzling Express – Penn AVE 600 Pennsylvania Ave SE

EST

1976

St. Mark’s Church 118 3rd St SE St. Peter’s Church 313 2nd St SE SunTrust Bank 965 L’Enfant Plaza SW Super Care Pharmacy 1019 H St NE SW Library 900 Wesley Pl SW The Axiom 100 I St SE The Hill Center 921 Pennsylvania Ave SE The Townhomes of Capitol Hill 750 6th St SE The View 1100 6th St SW The View 2 1000 6th St SW The Wilson Building 1350 Pennsylvania Ave NW Tiber Island 429 N St SW Town Square Towers 700 7th Ave SW Trilogy NoMa 151 Q St NE Tynan Coffee 1275 First St SE New Locations Added 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. SE Parc Riverside Kennedy Row Camden South Capitol 400 M St. Loree grand Flats at Atlas Flats 130 Flats 360 House The Leo The Lex Aria on L Archstone First and M Station House

1011 First St. SE 1717 E. Capitol SE 1345 S. Capitol St. SW 400 M St. SE 250 K St. NE 1600 Maryland Ave. NE 130 M St. NE 140 M St. NE 360 H St. NE 1150 4th St. SW 1141 4th St. SW 300 L St. NE 1160 1st St NE 701 Second St. NE

Questions about Distribution? Email distribution@hillrag.com or call 202-400-3512

Boxes at these Locations: Tennessee & E. Capitol NE 909 New Jersey Ave SE 1027 Independence Ave SE 1800 D St NE 595 3rd St NE 3rd & G St SW 239 Massachusetts Ave NE 331 Constitution Ave NE 600 4th St SW 301 4th St NE 500 H St NE 516 A St NE 500 6th St NE 600 6th St SW 661 Pennsylvania Ave SE 11th & North Carolina Ave SE 201 Pennsylvania Ave SE 7th & G St SE 8th & East Capitol St SE 1504 East Capitol St NE 1332 D St NE 301 East Capitol St SE

1391 Pennsylvania Ave SE 400 East Capitol St NE 1359 H St NE 501 East Capitol St SE 303 7th St SE 1300 Constitution Ave NE 724 East Capitol St NE 660 7th St SE 701 N. Carolina Ave SW 1400 Pennsylvania Ave SE 300 M St SE 600 Pennsylvania Ave SE 192 19th St SE 237 Pennsylvania Ave SE 1200 New Jersey Ave SE 300 I St NE 421 East Capitol SE 4th & I St SW 400 1st St SE 4th & M St SW 4th & H St NE 6th & E St NE

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Thanks for Your Dedication to Local Journalism The Hill Rag has been an integral part of the Capitol Hill community now for over forty years. Its dedication to local journalism has provided its readers with thoughtful, in-depth work. Their coverage of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, neighborhood schools, citywide government, art, entertainment, and culture has created one of the most engaged and informed communities in our great city.

The paper holds a special place in my life and work, as

The Chicken or the Egg Do great community newspapers make great communities or is it the other way around? It might be a “Chicken or the Egg” argument, but there is no dispute that the Hill Rag is a great community newspaper and Capitol Hill is a great community.

Congratulations to the Hill Rag for 40 years of public service to Capitol Hill.

From great cover art to narrative feature stories to hard news on advisory neighborhood commissions and public safety, the Hill Rag is a vital source of information for residents in Southeast and Northeast Washington. And Southwest too, given I see so many residents from those neighborhoods shopping at Eastern Market. I am proud to have been a contributor myself in stated and understated ways for the Hill Rag and the family of Capital Community newspapers.

I look forward to picking up my copy of the Hill Rag every month, and I look forward to picking it up for another 40 years!

A special thanks to Charnise Milton, who tragically lost her life in a still unsolved murder that occurred as she traveled home from the important reporting she did for the paper. And a thank you as well to Managing Editor Andrew Lightman, who is as much of an institution as the Hill Rag itself.

Elissa Silverman

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well. I grew up in this city, and whenever I’d see that bright turquoise dispenser, I’d grab a copy for myself. Now that I serve all of DC’s residents on the Council, I know that when I want to engage the residents of Ward 6, or catch up on what’s happening in their lives, Hill Rag is the place to go.

Thank you so much to the Hill Rag staff for its commitment to the community over these past forty years. I look forward to that spirit carrying them through another forty, and more.

David Grosso, Councilmember (I-At Large)

Chronicling Change for 40 years

Ever since I moved to Capitol Hill in 1978, I have been an avid reader of the Hill Rag. The Hill Rag’s thorough and interesting articles have provided me with a welcome and unique perspective regarding our neighborhood. Ever since I moved to Capitol Hill, the Hill Rag has been my “go to” read in order for me to get the important news about our neighbor-

Bravo Hill Rag for Supporting Our Schools

The Hill Rag has been an invaluable partner in developing our neighborhood schools. I began volunteering at Maury ES in the late 1980’s and saw, first hand, what an excellent school it really was. But very few of the young families who were moving onto the Hill were choosing it for their own children.

Most wanted to send them to the Capitol Hill Cluster (also a very good school) or private schools. That’s what other parents were doing and they hadn’t heard anything positive about the other school options.

The Rag’s School Notes section played a big role in changing that dynamic. Each month Maury, and other under-appreciated schools, had an opportunity to share their success stories with the public and invite prospec-

hood. As Capitol Hill has expanded so has the Hill Rag. Thanks to you and the entire staff and especially to Jean-Keith, who I will always miss watching play tennis on what used to be the Hine tennis courts, and for his very interesting jazz columns. I’ll admit to feeling nostalgic for the “old” Capitol Hill which existed when I moved here more than 38 years ago, and where I raised my 3 children, though many of the changes to our neighborhood have been an improvement. Thanks for producing such a wonderful publication! Congratulations on the Hill Rag’s 40th anniversary!

Best regards, Ellen Opper-Weiner tive students to join their school communities. They were no longer a scary “unknown”; they were welcoming and transparent and it made all the difference.

Folks were willing to give them a try and found that they were pleased with what the schools had to offer.

As a result, family resources - time, talent, connections and cash - became more widely distributed, leading to improved offerings at all schools. More children are getting a great education and more families are staying on Capitol HIll. This benefits the entire community, even those of us who are childless. More kids means more sidewalk chalk drawings, more Halloween costumes, more lemonade stands and more sleds in Lincoln Park.

Elizabeth Nelson

Community First In 1982, I met my wife Lisa, a Capitol Hill native. Soon there after, I met some great neighbors named Melissa and Jean-Keith. They have always been by far the most community concerned people that I know, as are the fantastic staff that they have assembled over the years.

The Hill Rag family has always thought of others before themselves. Thank you for being such a strong asset to The Hill and for keeping it real!

Love and Gratitude, Rob and Lisa Bergman

vity_Search/835

Congratulations to the Hill Rag’s role in creating our wonderful community!

HELPING FAMILIES FIND THE RIGHT SCHOOL

Downey School Consulting E.V. Downey, BFA, MA

202-531-5386 • DowneySchoolConsulting.com

Learning Specialist on the Hill Colleen Buchanan, MS

LearningSpecialistOnTheHill@gmail.com Painting by Pridon Goisashvili

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Congratulations on 40 Years Serving the Capitol Hill Neighborhood! Looking Forward to 40 More!

In the mid-seventies, living on the Hill and new to owning Frager’s, Jean-Keith would come in to hand deliver the Hill Rag, often chatting with my partner Ed and myself. We soon began advertising in the Hill Rag – sales, employment opportunities, even apartment and office rentals.

After 47 years on the Hill, my wife Fran and I still read the Hill Rag cover to cover and my month isn’t complete unless I make sure I’m aware of what’s in every issue. I often save issues as memorabilia: The Frager’s Fire, Ed’s obituary, the closing of District Lock. Other news print papers may die out, as we’ve seen, but the Hill Rag will last as its very local news is must reading for Hill residents. How else are we to know what’s happening on the Hill? How else are we to know about all the good work taking place in our neighborhood?

We are incredibly grateful for the Hill Rag’s support of Frager’s recovery from the devastating fire in June 2013 that destroyed our buildings, but not our business. The Hill Rag, through news articles and advertising space, kept us connected with our customers and neighbors so we could continue to serve our community.

The Hill Rag is a true asset for our community, an information highway connecting the families, entrepreneurs, community organizations, and schools that make Capitol Hill such a vibrant neighborhood and cultural destination.

We look forward to 40 more years of fantastic local news coverage and community building!

With Much Gratitude, John and Fran Weintraub and all the Staff at Frager’s Hardware

The late Ed Copenhaver & John Weintraub

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Here’s to 40 More!

What makes Capitol Hill such a dynamic and amazing area is our sense of community. We are full of neighbors who care and look out for one another.

We are a community of active people who work hard to improve all aspects of our neighborhoods for all residents.

The Hill Rag has been the communication cornerstone of that energy for four decades now. As a 12 year ANC commissioner in 6B, I was always happy to see how the Hill Rag was a space for all opinions to be pre-

A Dependable Old Friend When I moved to DC 15 years ago, I fast became quite attached to the irreverently named “Hill Rag.” I knew no one when I arrived, of course, so that charming monthly paper (delivered to my door in those days) took on extra importance as it welcomed me to the riches of the neighborhood.

It was my sole source of information about my this new community; I regularly devoured its playfully-designed pages and carefully-chosen cover art. Information about house sale prices, the pulse on local businesses right as I was

The Hill Rag, Our Small Town Newspaper I often refer to Capitol Hill as a small town located in the heart of our nation’s capital. It has its town square, a main street, a town council in the form of the ANC, its boosters and its own Capitol Hill Community Foundation.

To complete the picture, it has its own newspaper, The Hill Rag. And the Hill Rag is what binds the community together.

Personally I cannot imagine life on Capitol Hill without the Hill Rag. Having lived on the Hill for 45 years, I remember how happy I was when I first picked up an issue and saw news on things that mattered to my neighborhood. Since then, It has been for me my “go to place” to discover the things most important to my everyday life.

As a consumer, I rely on the Hill Rag to identify local businesses that deal with the many problems

sented. The Hill Rag never came off as biased towards one position or another. It’s always about our neighborhood and our community. As a Realtor with Coldwell Banker, I am proud of how the Hill Rag gives important updates in print and daily online about development and happenings in our midst.

I am grateful for your service to our community and I look forward to reading the Hill Rag over the next 40 years!

Neil Glick – Former ANC 6B Commissioner & Realtor starting my own, an introduction to my first Hilloween -- innumerable things I would have missed out on if not for that lovely little magazine-style gem.

My appreciation hasn’t waned any over the years --the ìHill Rag is full of as many visual treats and community insights now as it ever was.

But so many years later I have the great pleasure of taking in its pages with familiarity and connection.

Once a much-needed friendly and enthusiastic tour guide, it’s now squarely in the category of dependable old friend.

Phoebe Hunt Smith that face an owner of a historic home.

The ads in the Hill Rag are the first place I look when in need of a service.

As the Chair of the Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee I will be forever indebted to the Hill Rag for its coverage of the fire and of the restoration of the Market. In a crisis such as the Eastern Market and Frager’s fires it uses its capacity to galvanize neighborhood support for our institutions. It kept the community informed about progress on the Market restoration and it celebrated the reopening along with its readership.

Congratulations to Jean-Keith Fagon, Melissa Ashabranner and Andrew Lightman on this truly remarkable achievement. You have given us forty years of local news that has not just survived but thrived in the digital age. Your readers are forever in your debt.

Sincerely, Donna Scheeder

In-House Pricing, Processing, Chris Cox Underwriting and Closing VP of Mortgage Banking Local Appraisers NMLS ID # 520211 202-543-6830 Extensive Loan Programs and Niche Products 659 C Street SE We are your Local Lender...

NMLS ID # 38694 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org) Over Two Decades of Trusted Service

Happy 40th Hill Rag! Hill Rag is For the Birds Back in March of 2006, I wrote a modest article for the Hill Rag. It consisted of a photograph of a northern mockingbird I had taken on Capitol Hill and a long paragraph about it. I included a bit of its natural history, i.e. a description and distribution range, but also that it was the official state bird for Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas and had gained cultural prominence from the 1960 Southern Gothic novel by Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird.

Encouraged by my editor, Andrew Lightman, I continued the column the following month with a photo of a small flock of Cedar Waxwings perched in a cedar tree in Congressional Cemetery and again with an American Robin for the May issue. At that point I decided to upgrade my modest zoom digital camera for something better and so began in earnest the Spotted on the Hill column.

I featured about 65 species of birds and may hold a Hill Rag freelancer record of writing about 62 consecutive monthly columns till an illness caused me to miss a month. I set a personal rule that the bird presented would be one that I had photographed on Capitol Hill, with my somewhat stretched parameters including the Anacostia River to that wonderful little wetlands area of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian on the Mall.

Writing a column like this brought me out and about in the early weekend mornings. My hot spots included the Historical Congressional Cemetery where I made lots of friends with the dog walkers, the Capitol grounds and its reflection pool, the Botanical Gardens as well as routine jaunts to Eastern Market and other places with my camera.

In my writings here, I tried to provide interesting about a bird species and any cultural and historical references especially regarding local observations. We are very fortunate to have the Library of Congress in our neighborhood which provides incredible online and hard copy resources. Another valuable resource is the National Audubon Society which maintains a database for all of the Christmas Birds Counts and I used it extensively to look for trends that could be of interest. The DC count is one of the oldest with the first one taking place in 1912.

I ended Spotted on the Hill soon after leaving the Hill to live on Ocracoke Island on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I started a Spotted on Ocracoke nature column for the community newspaper, the Ocracoke Observer, which I and Connie Leinbach purchased in 2014. I thank Andrew Lightman and the Hill Rag’s Executive Editor Melissa Ashabranner for giving me the confidence to run a monthly print paper and daily internet news site. If you find yourself visiting Ocracoke, please feel free contact me. Ocracoke is particularly pleasant in the fall and spring and if you are seeking some solitude come down and walk the winter beach. You’ll find yourself alone amidst the sanderlings on the beach and the dolphins off the breakers.

Best to all, Pete Vankevich – Petevankevich.com

Apply Online

www.CHRISCOXDC.com

734 7th St. SE o: 202.547.2707 f: 202.547.1977

Joel Truitt Builders wishes the Hill Rag a Happy 40th Anniversary!

joeltruittbuilders.com Quality Since 1972

Congratulations on 40 years Hill Rag!

Bowers Fancy Dairy Products Serving the Capitol Hill Community since 1964

@ Historic Eastern Market www.bowerscheese.com November 2016 H 83

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Congrats!

The team at the Grant, Ryall & Andrew Group congratulates the staff at The Hill Rag for forty great years as the go-to source for all that’s news around our terrific neighborhood... we ought to know, we’ve been here almost as long!”

Grant, Ryall and Andrew

Congratulations The Capital Community News became an integral part of who I was and how I’ve seen myself as a freelance writer. I started writing for EOR in 2005, covering the Ward 7 and Ward 8 communities. This was after I met with publisher JeanKeith Fagon seeking a full-time position with them. However, freelancing offered me the freedom and opportunity to bond with a community I had only moved to a year before in 2004 with my family. So in a major way, writing for East of the River gave me that icebreaker and the opening I needed to compel my new neighbors to talk to me about their lives and their stories.

Writing gave me the courage to talk to and write about my neighbors in my Hillcrest neighborhood. Each month, I explored my community beat, doing stories on Skyland, East of the River Steelband anniversaries and events, the Strand Theater revitalization, garden tours, Christmas decorating in Deanwood, profiles, political campaigns, neighborhood block parties, economic development opportunities and nearly 10 years of storytelling each month under a couple of editors over time.

Although I haven’t written for the publication for the past two years, I still feel that I’m part of the Capital Community News family. I am proud that I have been involved in a community paper that tells the community on-the-ground stories about the lives of the people who live here.

Michelle Phipps-Evans

Congratulations to The Hill Rag on Your 40th Birthday!

Wherever I travel in the US, I pick-up the local newspaper at a grocery or other neighborhood store. I am always curious about the local news that isn’t covered by the predominant city or regional newspaper, e.g., disputes over beach reclamation; concerns about commercial expansion; date of the fish-fry at the fire house to raise money for a new engine. Within this genre of publication, The Hill Rag leads the pack for many reasons, among which are the following.

1. Professionalism. I find more typos and grammatical errors in the Washington Post than I do in The Hill Rag. Articles are well written, tightly edited, and entertaining. Except for opinion pieces – of which there could be more (in my opinion) -- conflicting points of view are well balanced.

2. Engagement. As an ANC Commissioner, I consider The Hill Rag to be a vital part of my outreach to inform residents about matters that might be of significant interest to them. The Hill Rag provided generous coverage about the redesign of Maryland Avenue, re-routing of the Rock and Roll Marathon and several other matters. Attendance at meetings about important community events is enhanced through coverage in The Hill Rag. 3. Depth. The Hill Rag’s contact list / Rolodex is enviable, since each edition provides news about H St and other commercial matters, schools, meetings of the police Public Service Areas, arts projects and much more. In my kitchen I have a running list of “to do” events based on the information I receive through The Hill Rag. Oh – and did I mention that The Hill Rag is free for readers, where local newspapers elsewhere usually are not? With print news outlets disappearing at an alarming rate, The Hill Rag has found a sweet-spot between commercial interests that buy advertising and the need-to-know of local residents that promises continuing coverage for many years.

So congratulations to all of us for maintaining a community that provides such interesting things to report, and to The Hill Rag for reporting them so well – a very successful partnership for which I am grateful and look forward to as we engage new challenges. In loving memory of Charnice Milton, I offer my best regards for the significant accomplishments of the staff, editors and owners of The Hill Rag. Scott Price – Scott.Price@anc.dc.gov

Appreciation from CHAW As a community organization with deep roots in this neighborhood, CHAW has seen the Eastern Market area evolve, grow, and change over our 45 years of residing at 7th & G SE. One thing, however, that has remained a constant for nearly that entire time is the active presence of the Hill Rag, providing news, information, and, most importantly, a true commitment to the community right here.

The Hill Rag is so much more than a newspaper--it’s really a symbol of what it means to be a part of the Capitol Hill community and why we all choose to live, work, and/or play here.

It’s a special neighborhood, with people who still know their neighbors and care about building bridges, connections, and trust between businesses, nonprofits, residents, and everyone who visits. It’s a place that fosters community spirit. It’s a place that encourages diverse perspectives. And the Hill Rag has been there through it all--documenting, and adding to, this unique community spirit. Thank you for 40 years of sharing stories--and here’s to 40 more!

Jill Strachan and Hannah Jacobson

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Preserving Capitol Hill B R I C K BY B R I C K since 1985

Historical Preservation Specialists • • • • •

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Congratulations on your 40 birthday Hill Rag! SCHEDULING FOR 2017 FREE RESTORATION CLEANING ($1,500 VALUE) FOR JOBS ABOVE $9,000

Happy 40th Birthday Hill Rag It has been a great pleasure working with you in the last decade!

La Strega Accounting, Inc.

Providing the highest quality tax representation and consultation to individuals and businesses

www.lastregaaccounting.com Marina L. Martin EA, MBA MediaPointUSA.com John L. Ryan, President

Cheers!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY HILL RAG

Enrolled Agent – Federally Licensed to represent Taxpayers before IRS and all States

202-251-3907 lastregaindc@gmail.com

As we prepare to close our doors, we’d like to thank Capitol Hill for all the years of support and the Hill Rag for supporting businesses for 40 years!

719 8th Street, SE • (202) 544-4234 November 2016 H 85

Historic Renovation

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Come join us to celebrate our upcoming 70th year in business

CAPITOL HILL’S OLDEST BAR

Family owned and operated as the 4th generation comes of age!

Congrats to the Hill Rag on 40 Years!

331-1/2 PENNSYLVANIA. AVE., SE WASHINGTON, DC 202.543.2725

86 H Hillrag.com

AVI STRULSON,PT

620 C Street SE, Washington DC 20003 T. 202-543-8020 | F. 202-543-8021 | CAPITOLHILLPHYSICALTHERAPYCENTER.COM

CELEBRATING 30+ YEARS ON THE HILL “MEMBER APTA” (AMERICAN PHYSICAL THERAPY ASSOCIATION)

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY HILL RAG

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{capitol streets}

Bulletin Board CHGM’s Annual ThanksGIVING Food Basket Drive Capitol Hill Group Ministry needs help to provide Thanksgiving Day feasts with all the trimmings to local families. A basket typically costs $50 and feeds a family of four. Contact Shelah Wilcox at 202-544-3150 or wilcox@chgm.net.

Contents can include: three boxes of mac and cheese; two 14.5 ounce cans of string beans; two 15 ounce cans of yams or fresh equivalent; two boxes of stuffing; two boxes of mash potatoes or one bag of rice; two 14 ounce cans of cranberry sauce; two cans of gravy or 2 gravy packets, two onions; one box of bisquick or muffin mix; one box of cake mix and frosting mix; one $25 Giant, Harris Teeter or Safeway gift card to purchase meat of choice. Basket drop-off is Nov. 14 to 21 at Shirley’s Place Day Hospitality Center, 1338 G St. SE between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.

Congregations Form Refugee Resettlement Group Religious congregations on Capitol Hill have long been supportive of ending homelessness and lifting families out of poverty. Last month, five congregations formed “The Good Neighbor Program Capitol Hill” to extend this mission to international refugees. Lutheran Church of the Reformation, Capitol Hill United Methodist Church, St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, Hill Havurah and Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church have become a chapter of the national Good Neighbor Program organized by Lutheran Social Services/National Capitol Area (LSS/NCA), a key State Department sponsoring organization. As good neighbors, these congregations will assist refugee families

with accommodations and household goods, language and cultural training and job assistance. For more information on refugee resettlement and how a congregation, as well as individuals and groups, can join the Good Neighbor Program, contact gnpchdc@gmail.com.

Two Barracks Row Restaurants Awarded Michelin Stars The prestigious 117-year-old Michelin Guide, aka the Red Book, just released a DC edition. Until now the only US cities with Michelin Guides were New York, Chicago, and San Francisco.

Among the twelve DC area Michelin Guide Star winners are Barracks Row’s Rose’s Luxury, 717 Eighth St. SE, and Pineapple and Pearls, 715 Eighth St. SE.

Rumsey Pool Closed For Maintenance William H. Rumsey Aquatic Center, 635 North Carolina Ave. SE, will close beginning Sun., Nov. 27. The facility is expected to re-open on Tues., Dec. 27. DPR’s indoor, year-round aquatic centers undergo yearly scheduled maintenance to deep clean the pool and facility. Contact the Aquatics Division at 202-671-1289 if you have questions or require further assistance.

Alexander Shepherd and the Making of Modern Washington On Mon., Nov. 7, 7:30 p.m., at the Hill Cen-

The Mari emony hone Band performed nori ag Sousa at ng its 17th Direct ravesite cerCourtesy o Congressional Cemor John Philip f the US M e arine Corptery. Photo: s/ Staff Sgt. B photo by rian Rust

Celebrate Sousa’s Birthday at Congressional Cemetery On Sunday, Nov. 6, help staff and volunteers at Congressional Cemetery celebrate John Philip Sousa’s 162nd birthday. The commemoration program begins at 10:30 a.m., and the Marine Band’s performance immediately follows, typically between 10:45 and 11 a.m. Seating is firstcome, first-served, as is the birthday cake for their beloved March King. Historic Congressional Cemetery, 1801 E St, SE. There’s street parking near the entrance. congressionalcemetery.org. ter, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, John P. Richardson will present a power point lecture on Alexander R. Shepherd, the man credited with helping to transform Washington from its post-Civil War shambles into a modern city (1871-74). Richardson calls Shepherd’s achievement in building Washington’s infrastructure. The lecture will be based on Richardson’s biography, “Alexander Robey Shepherd: The Man Who Built the Nation’s Capital,” recently published by Ohio University Press. Books will be available at the lecture

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Photo: Courtesy of CHRS

Ebenezer’s Coffee House, Second and F Streets NE. The focus of the presentation will be on the new zoning regulations, particularly changes to the RF-1 (formerly R-4) designation.

Q & A session to follow. The event is free, handicapped accessible and the public is encouraged to attend.

Mosaic Theater Discounts

Inaugural CHRS House Expo The Capitol Hill Restoration Society’s House Expo was held on October 16 in Eastern Market’s North Hall. The event showcased over 25 home improvement experts offering free advice on home repairs, building permits, iron work, kitchen and bath improvements, woodworking and house histories. Speakers addressed topics such as solar energy, landscaping, roofing, DIY projects and building materials. CHRS wishes to thanks all the exhibitors and visitors for a great turnout. A special thanks goes to the 2016 House Expo sponsors Chuck Burger and Sheila Walter Faison at Coldwell Banker and The Hill Rag. for sale and a book signing will follow the lecture. Admission is free but a reservation is required due to limited seating. To register, go to hillcenterdc.org/home/programs/2511 or call 202-549- 4172.

Richardson became interested in Shepherd when he lived in DC’s Shepherd Park neighborhood, just a short distance from the site of Shepherd’s summer home, Bleak House. Richardson serves as secretary of the Association of Oldest Inhabitants of Washington, DC. Before retiring in 2005, he was an officer with the Central Intelligence Agency, serving in Pakistan, Jordan and Indonesia.

Women in the Middle East and North Africa On Weds., Nov. 2, 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., St. Mark’s Middle East Working Group and Women to Women will partner with Hands Across the Nile to host a panel discussion with young women’s rights advocates from the Middle East region. The event, moderated by Stephanie Foster, Senior US Department of State, will be an opportunity to hear

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from dynamic millennial Arab women whose voices are changing the face of the Middle East. All are welcome and light refreshments will be served. St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, is at 301 A St. SE.

Capitol Hill Art League’s Winter Magic The winter season brings its own kind of magic as nature slows down, snow falls, and streets are decorated and gifts exchanged.

This artistic magic will be on display when the Capitol Hill Art League presents its “Winter Magic” show, juried by Elizabeth Grazioli. She will present awards and her Juror’s Talk at a reception on Sat., Nov. 5, 5 to 7 p.m., at the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, 545 Seventh Street, SE. The show will run Nov. 5 through Dec. 1.

CHRS Hosts DC Zoning Administrator The Capitol Hill Restoration Society will host Matt Le Grant, the District’s Zoning Administrator, on Thurs., Nov. 10, 6:30 p.m., at

Mosaic is committed to making theater affordable. Here are standard discounts: 1. Mosaic Rush: $25 tickets, thirty minutes prior to curtain.

Subject to availability; 2. Students and patrons under 30: $20 tickets, any day of the week; 3. NE & SE neighbors: $30 tickets, any day of the week (Purchasers must live in zip codes 20002, 20003, 20017, 20018, 20019, 20020 or 20032.); 4. Seniors: 10 percent off base price/ 5. Military and first Responders: 10 percent off base price with valid identification required at pick up; 6. “Pay What You Can:” first preview of every show; available for purchase at the door.

Note that Mosaic Rush and “Pay What You Can” must be purchased at the door.

National Novel Writing Month On Mondays and Tuesdays in November, 6:30 p.m., meet your National Novel Writing Month goals with help from some writing games. Published author Hannah Sternberg leads an inspiring series of interactive, self-contained writing exercises designed to defeat writer’s block. Attend unlimited sessions. There is no homework. Each week has a different theme. Participants will be entered into a giveaway for a Kindle each session that they attend. Mondays at East City Bookshop, 645 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. Tuesdays at Southeast Library, 403 Seventh St. SE. dclibrary.org/southeast.

Forgiveness: Letting Go and Moving On At some point, everyone has been hurt by other people. It is easy to hang onto those hurt feelings and painful experiences for days, months, years or even decades. However, maintaining resentments only increases the pain. On Sat., Nov. 5, 2 to 5 p.m., explore practical methods and meditations for forgiving others and moving on. $25. Purchase tickets online at hillcenterdc.org

Food & Friends Thanksgiving Pie Sale On Thurs., Nov. 10, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Farragut Square, Food & Friends will be hosting a community Pie Day in support of its annual “Slice of Life Pie Selling Campaign” that funds nutritious, home-delivered meals and groceries to the critically ill. During Pie Day, Food & Friends will be distrib-

uting information about Slice of Life and giving away free samples of their delicious pies.

Pie Day calls attention to the annual Slice of Life Thanksgiving pie sale which is a simple and delicious way for members of the public to support Food & Friends’ large-scale effort to deliver one million healthy meals this year to those living with life-challenging illnesses. The goal this year is to sell 9,000 pies. Each pie purchased will provide one full day of meals for a Food & Friends client. Online pie sales close on Nov. 17. Order at foodandfriends.org/pie.

Recycle Your Old Paint!

On Sat., Nov. 19, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., residents and businesses can drop off leftover paint for recycling at Armory Lot #3 at RFK Stadium, 2001 East Capitol St. SE. Bring any amount of latex or oil-based paint, stains or varnishes. Aerosols will not be accepted. Proof of District residency is required. Businesses should call ahead for details. To reserve your time, visit www.paintdc-nov19.eventbrite.com. To learn more about pain recycling, visit www.paintcare.org/dc or call 855-724-6809.

Boy Scout Coat Drive Boy Scout Troop 500’s annual Coat Drive will be held across from Eastern Market, Nov. 25 and Dec. from 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Clean coats of any size are required. These coats go to adults and children in need. Contact Daniel Herman at dherman@dragonwork.com or call 202-734-1901.

2016 Thanksgiving Baskets Help Mothers on the Hill and The Capitol Hill Group Ministry donate Thanksgiving meal baskets to those in need! Volunteer to assemble baskets on Nov. 19 from 1 to 3 p.m. To donate food, visit www.compass.com/agents/dc/megan-shapiro/.jobs stemming from this project. For more information, visit dmped.dc.gov.

Dancing Mindfulness at SW Library Have trouble sitting still in seated meditation?

Dancing Mindfulness could be the answer.

There is no choreography or rehearsed dance moves. It is all about free movement in a judgment free environment. Individuals are en-

THE CAPITOL HILL RESTORATION SOCIETY (CHRS) THANKS THE CAPITOL HILL COMMUNITY FOR MAKING OUR FIRST ANNUAL HOUSE EXPO A SUCCESS. SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR EXHIBITORS AND SPEAKERS: A b a y I r o n Wo r k s Amalgamated Bank American Home Shield AP Interiors GL Barnhart Construction DC Fire & EMS Department DCRA DOEE Merlino Construction Merrifield Garden Center N&M House Detectives Renewal by Andersen S o l a r E n e r g y Wo r l d Southern Sky Electric Wa g n e r R o o f i n g

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And all our friends and neighbors who attended the event.

We look forward to seeing you next year! l Cherry Blossom Festival

Photo: Courtesy of the Nationa

Cherry Blossom Festival Seeks Local Talent The National Cherry Blossom Festival is accepting submissions for the fourth annual National Cherry Blossom Festival Sing Into Spring Competition. Winning soloists or vocal groups will perform in the largest spectator event of the National Cherry Blossom Festival. Hopeful artists should submit a 30-second YouTube video for consideration by Fri., Nov. 18, 2016. The competition is open to all residents of DC, Maryland, and Virginia ages 8 and up. Submissions are accepted online. Only vocalists are eligible; instrumental performances will not be accepted. A committee will select up to 20 finalists to move forward and perform in a live audition on Tues., Jan. 31, 2017 at the Atlas Performing Arts Center. Read more at regonline.com/registration/Checkin.aspx?EventId=1887702.

BECOME A MEMBER! CHRS received a 2016 award for the DC Preservation League for its “advocacy, education, community outreach efforts and for its early and sustained contributions to preservation efforts in Washington, DC.” Visit www.chrs.org to learn more. Email info@chrs.org or call 543-0425.

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LEFT: Hope, Rosie and Nathan and parents. Photo: The C.A.T.WALK Boutique owner Carolyn Anita Thomas

Hope, Rosie and Nathan Decorate The C.A.T.WALK Carolyn Anita Thomas hired Hope (10), Rosie (9) and Nathan (6) to decorate the windows of her 1000 H St. NE shop after seeing an art project they had created at school. She met the three when they were walking home from The School Within a School with their mom. She then asked them if they would be interested in decorating her boutique windows on a $100 budget and they were happy to contribute their skills. couraged to let music guide their free movement. The class, Weds., Nov. 2 and 16, 7:30 p.m., will be led by Nicole Renard, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Dancing Mindfulness Facilitator. Dancing Mindfulness uses meditation, movement and music to bring individuals into a space of self-awareness. Southwest Library, 900 Wesley Pl. SW. 202724-4752. dclibrary.org/southwest.

Grant Hall’s Historic 3rd Floor Courtroom Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall holds its next Public Open House for Grant Hall’s historic third-floor courtroom on the Fort McNair from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sat., Nov. 5.

The courtroom is the site of the military tribunal, held from May through

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June 1865, for those thought responsible for the plot to assassinate President Abraham Lincoln. Reservations are required. Email usarmy.jbmhh. asa.list.pao-all@mail.mil. Full names of all attendees are required, as well as a valid telephone and email contact.

During a 2009-2012 renovation of Grant Hall, the third floor of the building was restored to depict the courtroom as it appeared during the 1865 trial. Courtroom features were recreated based on artistic renderings and written descriptions of court proceedings.

Participate in The DC Comp Plan’s Amendment Mayor Bowser, the DC Office of Planning, and the Office of the

Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development have launched plandc.dc.gov to allow District residents to participate in the amendment process for the District’s Comprehensive Plan. The result of this effort will be a set of amendments to the existing Plan submitted as legislation for DC Council approval in early 2018. The Comprehensive Plan was initially adopted in 2006 and last amended in 2011.

It guides the allocation of public services, infrastructure and capital investments. It also defines the use, density and design of the city’s buildings.

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Brosmer to Head DC BID Council Capitol Hill Business Improvement District President, Patty Brosmer, was recently elected the new President of the DC BID Council. The DC BID Council, an association of Washington DC’s ten business improvement districts, brings together BID leaders and stakeholders to collaborate on citywide issues and. Brosmer possess an extensive background in planning and development, public and government relations and community leadership.

Age-Friendly DC Community Meeting Moving toward becoming a world class age-friendly city, Age-Friendly DC is leading the charge to transform the District into an easier place to grow older.

Join Age-Friendly DC at a community meeting to learn what has been happening and to share thoughts. Catch up on what DC residents, community organizations and DC agencies are doing to implement this World Health

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Support The Renovation of Potomac Gardens and Hopkins Housing Developments ICP Partners INC, a non-profit organization that focuses on providing affordable assets in urban and emerging markets through the applications of real estate and infrastructure development assets such as Potomac Gardens and Hopkins, Carthagerea, petitioners at 1229 G Street SE, Capitol Hill residents, and various other Americans are creating and advancing the attached 300,000 plus petition at Change.org.

Please join our efforts by signing the petition for reforming affordable housing in Washington, DC, etc, specifically at Potomac Gardens and Hopkins.

“Life begins with Loving Nature and Mankind”.

Organization-inspired initiative.

The Ward 6 meeting is on Wed., Nov. 2, 5:30 p.m., at Southwest Library, 900 Wesley Pl. SW. To obtain a copy of the Age-Friendly DC 2016 Progress Report, attend or visit agefriendly.dc.gov.

4SW AARP Nov. Meeting Join the Southwest Waterfront AARP at its’ November luncheon meeting on Nov. 16 at noon at River Park Mutual Homes’ South Common Room, 1311 Delaware Ave. SW. DC Department of Energy and Environment Director Tommy Wells is guest speaker. $5 for lunch. For more information, contact Chapter President Betty Jean Tolbert Jones at bettyjeantolbertjones@yahoo.com or 202-554-0901.

Virginia Tunnel Road Closings CSX has closed Fourth Street SE between Virginia Avenue and I Street to all traffic through mid-November as part of the Virginia Avenue Tunnel project. Normal traffic flow on Fourth Street is one-way southbound through the affected area. Southbound traffic on Fourth Street traveling from north of the closing will be detoured to turn right on Virginia Avenue (north of I-695), left on Third Street, left on I Street and right on Fourth Street.

In addition, eastbound Virginia Avenue SE is closed between Sixth and Eighth Streets. The two blocks will be closed and detours will remain in place until mid-2018, when the Virginia Avenue Tunnel project is expected to be completed.

More information is available online at virginiaavenuetunnel.com. The project team can be reached at 800-494-1049 or vat@ csx.com.

“Safe at Home Act” Approved by DC Council On Sept. 20, the Council of the Dis-

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trict of Columbia gave final approval to the Safe at Home Act of 2015, legislation that establishes an accessibility modification grant program for income eligible residents to modify their homes for mobility and safety. The Safe at Home Act of 2015, co-introduced by Councilmembers Charles Allen and Jack Evans, creates a program that pays for the cost of installing home modifications for a person with mobility impairment or other physical disabilities with up to $10,000 per household.

DDOT Unveils Truck Routing Tool The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) has a new feature on its Transportation Online Permitting System (TOPS) that provides customized routes for trucks in the District and is required for oversize/ overweight (OSOW) vehicle permits. The module provides OSOW permit holders with a pre-determined route for safe travel within the District that are customized to avoid height restriction choke points and other hazards. To view the router app outside of TOPs, visit routeplanner. ddot.dc.gov/routeplanner. This tool is available at godcgo.com/freight. To contact DDOT’s Public Space Permits Center, call 202-442-4670.

Motor Vehicle Collision Recovery Act of 2016 Signed On Oct. 13, Mayor Bowser joined Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh and Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) Executive Director Billing to sign the Motor Vehicle Collision Recovery Act of 2016. This legislation enables pedestrians and cyclists to recover up to 100 percent of their losses from medical bills and property damages if they are found to be up to 50 percent at fault for a collision with a motor vehicle. The act

changes the way a “contributory negligence” rule can be used in a civil case after a collision between a cyclist or pedestrian and a motor vehicle. The new law confines a defendant’s use of contributory negligence to situations where a plaintiff’s negligence is greater than the aggregated total amount of negligence of all defendants. In the past, contributory negligence made it difficult for pedestrians and cyclists to receive compensation after an accident if they were deemed to be even 1 percent at fault for a collision.

The Motor Vehicle Collision Recovery Act of 2016 will continue to preserve the “last clear chance” doctrine. Under this doctrine, the plaintiff’s negligence is not a bar to recovery if the defendant (motorist) had the “last clear chance” to avoid an accident. Maintaining the “last clear chance” doctrine will result in better protection for pedestrians and cyclists.

UbiDuos Provide Better Communication at DC DMV Locations UbiDuo is a device that enables better face-to-face communication between the deaf, hard-of-hearing, hearing who have difficulty speaking, and hearing. DC DMV is using the devices at its Service Centers, Adjudication Services, Inspection Station and Brentwood Road Test Office. UbiDuo allows people to type back and forth to each other in real-time. The device is about the size of a laptop and provides DC DMV customers and employees with the ability to communicate immediately and easily with each other.

Pepco Tips For Customer Savings By following a few simple tips and

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making a few easy energy efficiency improvements, customers can save 20 percent or more on their winter heating bills. A drafty house lets warm air escape and is much more costly to keep warm. Use caulking around doors, windows and any openings for utility services. Keep the fireplace damper closed when the fireplace is not in use. Upgrading insulation can significantly reduce its heating costs while increasing comfort. Check ducts for air leaks. Look for joints that should be connected but have separated. Service a heating system at the beginning of each heating season. Keep the thermostat set at a constant, comfortable level. 2 percent can be saved on a heating bill for every degree that the thermostat is lowered. Remove screens and air conditioners from windows and install storm windows. Do not forget to adjust outdoor lighting timers as the nights grow longer. Take the time to replace older incandescent bulbs with new energy efficient LED bulbs. Learn about many other ways to save energy and money at pepco.com or call 1-202-833-7500.

Red Line Shut Down Between NoMa and Fort Totton

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The Red Line is shutdown between NoMa Gallaudet U and Fort Totten through Nov. 22.

For more information about SafeTrack, visit wmata.com.

Have an item for the Bulletin Board? Email bulletinboard@ hillrag.com. u

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The District Beat

Anita Bonds: Renters’ Gladiator

D

C At-large Councilmember Anita Bonds has picked a fight with the city’s landlords, hitting them where they are likely to hurt most: in their wallets. She has introduced or co-introduced several legislative proposals destined to reform the city’s rent-control law, including the Rental Housing Affordability Stabilization Act of 2016, which would recalculate annual allowable increases on apartments and discontinue hikes in rents on vacant units.

Realtors and apartment owners crowded into a public hearing called by Bonds last month. Industry representatives like Tom Borger, chairman of Borger Management Inc., and Arianna Royster, president elect of the Apartment and Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington (AOBA), argued repeatedly that they would be injured by passage of the stabilization act; that rent control should be means tested, available only to the poor and lowincome; that the city should expand its rent subsidy program to aid in affordability; and that nothing should be done until the Department of Housing and Community Development issues its final report from the Housing Preservation Strike Force.

Calling the bill “premature,” Borger said, “If amendments are to be made, changes should target those residents who are under stress.” Said Royster: “The passage of these bills could undermine the Strike Force recommendation.” In a letter to coun-

by Jonetta Rose Barras cil Chair Phil Mendelson and Bonds dated Oct. 18, Margaret Jeffers, AOBA’s executive vice president, and Lisa Mallory, head of the District of Columbia Building Industry Association, asserted that “piecemeal changes like those proposed in these bills are already creating uncertainty among investors willing to provide critically important financing for improvements to an aging housing stock.”

DC’s rent-control law was first approved in 1975 but has been amended in subsequent years.

In 2006, for example, the council responded to landlord complaints by allowing rents to increase each year by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) plus 2 percent for specific populations but not more than 10 percent. The legislature also permitted owners to raise rents between 10 percent and 30 percent when units become vacant, depending on the market and the rate charged for a comparable apartment within the same building.

The combination of those two actions has eroded the power of rent control to preserve the city’s affordable housing stock, said tenants and their advocates. Proposals to repeal the measures were introduced in 2014 by Ward 1 Councilmember Jim Graham; Bonds co-sponsored them. Then-councilmember Muriel Bowser failed to advance the measures to the full legislature, however.

Bonds, who has been on the council since 2012, revived the bills and co-introduced others, including one with Cheh that would abolish so-

DC Councilmember At Large Anita Bonds

called rent concessions. Another proposal would require that tenants in small, four-unit buildings be given the right to purchase their buildings, under certain circumstances, using the Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA).

During the hearing last month Bonds seemed unaffected by the real estate industry’s argument.

Instead, a woman who might be cast as a grandmotherly figure pushed back in a calm but firm voice.

“The sentiment of the people who live in the District of Columbia is pushing this train,” she said.

“We would be foolish to ignore that sentiment,” she added, sending an indisputable signal that she is mounting an aggressive affordability campaign as the District grapples with the erosion of low-cost single-family homes and rental housing.

Later, in an interview with the Hill Rag, Bonds said, “The real estate community has been doing very well; [but] I have heard horror stories not just from low-income tenants. I thought it time to do something. So we opened the floor for discussion. We don’t want to hurt the real estate community. But we’re very sincere about helping people who are totally rent burdened.”

Bonds is not alone in her determination to put the skids on the rising cost of housing in the nation’s capital. Five other legislators – Brianne

DC Councilmember at Large Anita Bonds during a Council session.

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Nadeau (Ward 1), Elissa Silverman (At-large), Robert White (At-large), Cheh and Mendelson –have signed onto the bills as co-introducers. Bonds is leading the charge, however. Can she effect the change the tenants and others seek?

“She is a gladiator,” said Johanna Shreve, head of the Office of the Tenant Advocate, during a quick chat before the start of the October public hearing. Shreve supports the latest legislative proposals.

Looks Can Deceive Someone meeting Bonds for the first time might be unimpressed. She is diminutive, bespectacled, sometimes frumpy. Her history proves she is no pushover, however. She is the head of the DC Democratic State Committee and thus is on the executive board of the Democratic National Committee.

Bonds has advised many mayoral administrations including those of Sharon Pratt, Anthony A. Williams, and Marion Barry. Her reputation as an effective political operative may have begun with her work for Barry. Some have called her, with Ivanhoe Donaldson, the architect of Barry’s first election in the late 1970s. Bonds played a critical role in the three subsequent victories. For years, she was the keeper of his political machine, which went inside the government as the Office of Community Affairs.

During that era, she established relations with many people, including former Councilmember Tommy Wells. He noted in an earlier interview that she helped him land a job in the District government’s child and family administration.

Prior to joining the council in 2012, Bonds was director of corporate relations for Fort Myer Corporation, one of the largest public works companies in the city, with a considerable unionized workforce. When Mendelson ascended to the chair, after Kwame Brown was forced to resign from office, Bonds decided to jump into the fray. She hoped to fill Mendelson’s vacant seat. As chair of the local Democratic apparatus she had an unfair advantage, argued some in the city. She ignored the noise. She won the appointment and handily won the special election. She is in her first full term on the council. It’s not clear whether she will run for reelection in 2018.

Since joining the legislature she has pushed for changes relating to senior citizens and low-income residents. Her rent-control bills have a much broader base. As many as 80,000 units, at least 66 percent of all rental properties, are affected by rent-control laws. Tenant leaders like James McGrath have praised Bonds. “We like her very much,” said Mc-

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Grath, head of the citywide tenant group known as TENAC. “We endorsed her strong each time. She’s probably as progressive a member on the council as you could get.”

Mendelson graded her performance “good” as chair of the Committee on Housing and Community Development. “I don’t hear complaints about her and I don’t get the sense bills go to her committee to die.” She has pushed through the Condominium Owner Bill of Rights Amendment Act, the Residential Lease Clarification Act, which caps late fees, and the Elderly Tenant and Tenants with Disabilities Protection Amendment Act. A few government sources, who asked to remain anonymous, said Bonds can sometimes seem as if she doesn’t understand the council process.

There are questions from the dais that suggest “she can’t keep up.” Bonds countered that “the processes of the council are sometimes slow,” filled with “jargon” that is used to “cover up issues. When we do amendments is where it shows up most.

“I like asking questions. I think it helps the public know what we’re doing. I am trying to be revealing to the people who we are responsible to,” she continued, adding that her slow delivery is often deliberate. “When I start talking fast, that’s because I am so pissed that I am not measuring my words.”

“I think she’s better as committee chair today than when she first got the committee,” said Mendelson.

Struggling for Consensus Deploying her political skills, Bonds often attempts to manage constituents, bringing together opposing parties before she pushes the council on passage of her legislative proposals. She took that same tack with this latest round of bills, convening what she called “working groups.” A certified mediator, she was hoping to build consensus between renters and the real estate industry. She said initially there weren’t many complaints from apartment and building owners. They seemed more focused on preserving their prerogative to petition for extraordinary rent increase through the hardship petition or the capital improvement process The city has set 12 percent as the rate of return landlords should reasonably expect from their housing investments. When they don’t reach that generous goal, they have been allowed to petition the city’s rent administrator, making a case using various financial and other documents. Further, aging buildings sometimes demand significant repairs.

Landlords may apply to secure increases through

capital improvements to finance such renovations.

The government response to these requests often has been unduly long. As a tradeoff, landlords have been allowed to implement the increases they sought even before there was a ruling.

In 2014 the council approved emergency legislation limiting to 5 percent the rent increase that could be levied until there is a ruling on a petition.

Bonds moved this year to make that limit permanent. She acknowledged that the petitioning process is “more bread and butter” for landlords. The attention to that issue may have accounted for their delayed reaction to the stabilization bill. “But then they brought out the big boys. Everybody who could be [at the hearing] was there. This is a group that has tremendous clout.”

The Test Bonds’ skill and expertise will be tested over the next several weeks. Council session 21 ends just before Christmas. That means she doesn’t have much time to get her legislation passed by the full council. Her legislative counsel, Barry Weise, says that the issues are very big and there is “so much money at stake, we have to move it forward as quickly as we can.”

Many of her council colleagues are lined up with her. Mendelson said the idea is to “balance reasonable rate of return and rent control, protecting tenants,” especially low-income renters. “It’s an economic issue,” he continued, adding that at this point in the session “there is triage,” with many members pushing for passage on their favored legislation.

“Anita’s bill is sensible,” said Silverman.

“There is no reason why landlords should get CPI plus 2 percent, when most of us don’t get a costof-living increase. Most people’s income is remaining stagnant.

“We need to keep the middle class in the city,” she added.

Still, the opposition of the real estate community is a huge hurdle. Further, it appears Mayor Bowser isn’t gung-ho. Allison Ladd, chief of staff at the Department of Housing and Community Development, said the agency has concerns, particularly about taking the vacancy rate increases from as much as 30 percent to zero. She recommended that the government “meet with stakeholders to collect and examine relevant data and work with the committee to ensure this legislation is consistent with the goals and purposes of the rental housing act and the Strike Force recommendations.”

Bonds and her staff have conducted months

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of meetings with key stakeholders including some of the people who came to her public hearing screaming bloody murder. What’s more, she said, the emphasis on the Strike Force report is misleading. “The group only focused on preservation of subsidized housing” – apartment buildings that were constructed using federal money, but now restrictive covenants are running out and owners are free to do what they wish with their property. “The Strike Force report does not speak against what we’re doing.”

As the fight continues, tenants and their allies are expected to exert their own clout. “With the extremely high cost of housing in the District, allowing rents to go up 2 percent more each year than the average increase in wages guarantees that rentcontrolled apartment eventually will become unaffordable for the tenants residing there,” said Scott Bruton, director of housing policy for the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development. Some tenants at 4000 Massachusetts Ave. NW have called for restitution of the 2 percent that was collected from them and others by landlords over the past decade. “The DC Council instituted a redistribution of wealth,” argued Tom Gregory. “Restore what has been unfairly taken from renters.”

If the bills don’t pass before the end of the session, Bonds likely will reintroduce them immediately next year. Since there has been a public hearing, she won’t be obligated to hold another one.

If she is reappointed as chair of the housing committee, she will be in control once again. “My goal is to do everything I can with the bailiwick I’ve been assigned,” she declared. u

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Two Tales of One Road

Neighbors Split over the Maryland Avenue Redesign

by Christine Rushton

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eated arguments and desperation over a planned road diet have plagued the residents along the Maryland Avenue NE corridor. Efforts by the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) to fix safety hazards with a one-lane redesign have divided neighbors on the east and west ends of the roadway. One side says the project has waited long enough since its start in 2011 and supports the 30 percent design plans presented on Aug. 10. But neighbors opposed to the single-lane design say it fails to address the growing congestion on the road where Maryland Avenue nears the Starburst Plaza.

Opponents have also questioned the effectiveness of efforts by DDOT and Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (ANC) 6A and 6C to inform neighbors about the community meetings to provide input on the plans. Proponents argue that project parties gave enough notice and have considered the concerns of neighbors.

Since the project’s start in 2011, the Hill Rag has published at least a dozen articles covering the project and discussions at monthly ANC meetings for 6A and 6C. Local WAMU 88.5 radio and WUSA9 TV have also reported on the plans.

Mayor Muriel Bowser, Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen, and ANC commissioners in both 6A and 6C support the designs presented by DDOT and the current contracted engineering firm, JMT. Now, in the 40 to 50 percent design phase as of October, according to DDOT, community members want answers on what to expect, opponents want to know if their concerns will be heard, and proponents want to know when workers will start altering the main path that drives much of their daily life.

A Timeline of the Redesign

The District Council allotted funding in 2010 for a pedestrian master plan put forth by DDOT in 2009 with the goal of making corridors like Maryland Avenue safer for pedestrians. DDOT started putting up ad hoc fixes along the route in 2011 and 2012, while simultaneously launching a study of the route and safety hazards for pedestrians, bicyclists, and cars.

During a two-week period in spring 2011, DDOT conducted a study of the traffic along Maryland Avenue for 24 hours each day. Results showed spikes in volume during weekdays from around 6 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m. The engineers also documented high numbers of pedestrians at the intersection of Seventh and D streets near the Northeast Library (330 Seventh St. NE); cars jumping to G Street to avoid Maryland Avenue; cars jumping to D and E streets to avoid the Stanton Park circle; and several more problems with the route.

DDOT – with then-contracted urban planning company Toole Design Group LLC – met with community members at least four times between June 2011 and May 2015. The engineers gathered feedback from neighbors and At the intersection of Seventh and D streets NE, along Maryland Avenue, local ANC commissionDDOT has installed temporary white markers to protect pedestrians. Photo: ers on the proposed deChristine Rushton

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signs. DDOT incorporated the problems neighbors identified using an online interactive system and comments from the public meetings, said George Branyan, DDOT Pedestrian Program coordinator. “We had an online map where people could identify problems from a walking, driving, biking perspective,” said Branyan. “We looked at countermeasures for the roadway.”

That feedback, when combined with successful examples of similar road diets around the nation and in DC’s Ward 1 along Sherman Avenue NW, allowed DDOT and Toole Design to move forward.

The 30 Percent Design The length of the project runs from the intersection of Maryland Avenue with Second Street NE, and on the other end after the 14th Street intersection, just before Starburst Plaza. The proposed design includes key changes, Branyan said: • Car lanes 11 feet wide next to bicycle lanes five to six feet wide; • eight feet of space for parked cars between the sidewalk and bike lane; • 14-foot sidewalks; • a 10-foot median, which will end at designated intersections to allow for a separate left-turn pocket lane; • bumped out curbs to protect pedestrians from turning cars; • a resolution of the temporary white flex posts marking the crosswalks and roadway at the intersection of Seventh and D streets.

Both opponents and proponents at the Aug. 10 meeting asked questions about the use of the medians as pedestrian refuges, painting the speed limit on the pavement, the timing of lights, and the ability to double-park along the route. DDOT responded to each comment, with most requests incorporated or answers delayed until later in the design process.

As for the double-parking, Branyan asserted that cars would have at least 17 feet of space including the parking and bike areas to park without blocking the car lane. Maryland Avenue also doesn’t allow for commercial vehicle unloading at any point. And the cars will filter into a gradual merge of two lanes to one at the mouth of each end of the road – Benning Road and Bladensburg Road will merge into one, and the lanes around Stanton Park will do the same.

Neighbors Opposing the Road Diet Residents concentrated in the east end of Maryland Avenue expressed strong opposition to the redesign

ing the community to the public meetings over the last five years, and failed to give them a chance to share their opinions. They’ve gathered nearly 150 signatures on a petition to halt the project.

“Please understand that we are not against making Maryland Avenue a safer road for motorists and pedestrians,” said Susan Yee, also a neighbor in opposition.

“We would simply like to consider other road-calming measures that are less disruptive, less costly, and less permanent in the event that these changes create a negative impact on the affected community members.”

Opponents want to make intersections like the one at Seventh and D streets safer. But they don’t believe a single lane on the east end of the corridor is the answer. They want to look at different designs.

Todd Hettenbach and Anna Laitin live along Maryland Avenue near the Northeast Library. They support the proposed plan for the corridor. Photo: Christine Rushton

it will swerve to the other lane of the crosswalk,” she said, putting the pedestrian at risk. “Those are the near misses that scare me the most.”

Hettenbach said that with the help of ANC Commissioner Scott Price (6C03) their concerns about previous designs, including the 30 percent, have been documented and addressed by DDOT. Now they want development to begin.

But he said he understands the frustration from neighbors who feel left out and ill-informed. “[DDOT] adopted this project in 2012 and really didn’t reach out to people after that,” he said. “There was confusion about the facts, and the city wasn’t doing anything to correct that. People got really upset.”

Councilmember Charles Allen fully supports the Maryland Avenue project. With the reporting from the Hill Rag, WAMU radio, and other news sites, as well as coverage in dozens of ANC meetings, he believes the project incorporates the community’s opinions. “Folks have legitimate questions that need answers,” he said. “But at the end of the day … to be able to walk across the street to walk to school, to walk to the rec center is a priority.”

ANC Commissioner Stephanie Zimny (6A06) supports the project. She knows that part of her constituency does not agree with the plans or process to develop them, though. She said she’s tried since 2011 to give them documents and resources to understand the background of the project. “[This project] has shown that it’s going to improve safety for residents in our area,” she said.

plan over the summer and at the Aug. 10 meeting.

Their main objection focuses on the heavy traffic that already congests Maryland Avenue as it nears the Starburst Plaza. Also, they worry the reduced lanes will make it even more of a challenge for them to park or double-park near their house or to unload.

Neighbors Supporting the Plan Branyan said the reduction of the median comTodd Hettenbach and Anna Laitin started going to bined with the bike lane will allow for a large vehimeetings on the project in 2011. They live near the cle to pass, or the driver can jump to the other side Northeast Library and they cross Maryland Ave. ofof the road as they often do. But Art Katcher, a resiten with their two young children – the same interdent of the 1300 block of Maryland Avenue, said he section where a librarian was hit by a car in 2014. still doesn’t feel DDOT conducted enough studies The project died down after the initial launch, to settle on a road diet for the corridor. “They had but supportive neighbors and DDOT surged in a agreed in their original proposal to do a three-year new effort when the librarian became a casualty of pilot program before they launched this project,” he the current design, Laitin said. She and other prosaid. “They unanimously decided for no particular The Next Phase ponents agree with the one-lane plan. “Cars go so reason to do away with the pilot.”

DDOT has provided responses to the communifast that if a car stops at a crosswalk, another behind Branyan explained that DDOT ty comments gathered at the Aug. determined the pilot wasn’t feasible 10 meeting and will soon finish because the National Environmental the 60 percent phase of the plans, Policy Act (NEPA) protocol doesn’t alsaid DDOT Program Manager low for the implementation of tempoAli Shakeri. “If someone has quesrary plans. Also, they would have used tions we are open and can talk, but about 10 times more of the same white we are not going back to the pubflex posts now installed at the interseclic until 90 percent is completed,” tion by the Northeast Library, which Shakeri said. DDOT plans to fincould cause more confusion for drivish the plans by mid-2017 and start ers during that time, he said. The comconstruction in the early spring of munity’s urging to start the project con2018, he said. vinced DDOT to scrap the pilot and During a July 20 public meetpush forward on the actual plans. ing at the Northeast Library, Mayor Katcher and the group of neighBowser declared that debate on the bors opposing the plan also argue that, road diet was closed. Enough supreporting in local media aside, the projport on the project had warranted a ect managers did a poor job of alertThe 30 percent design plans for Maryland Avenue NE. Photo: DDOT move forward on the plans. u

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The Numbers

Will DC Learn Before It’s Too Late?

Welfare Time Limits Hurt Children

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t looks like DC may consider scrapping a welfare time limit that threatened to leave thousands of families with children without cash resources to pay for rent, school uniforms, transportation, and other basic needs.

A Working Group convened

by Mayor Bowser concluded that the District needs a stronger safety net for children. Twenty years of federal welfare reform – known as Temporary Assistance to Needy Families, or TANF – has shown that that strict time limits often fall on families with serious challenges; that most do not find sustainable employment; and that children often fall into extreme poverty as a result.

Here in DC, many families on TANF have disabilities or health problems, while many others use welfare as a safety net as they cycle in and out of low-wage part-time jobs in industries marked by high turnover. When they leave TANF they often do not leave poverty.

That’s why the mayor’s Working Group called for a policy to guarantee some level of assistance, with no time limit, to ensure families have resources to meet the needs of their children. It also recommended that a portion of the grant – the parent’s portion – could be cut when parents are not taking steps to prepare for work.

This is not only humane,

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by Kate Coventry but smart public policy. Most TANF recipients in DC get no housing assistance and use TANF to pay rent (or help pay rent in someone else’s home). Without this, many would be pushed closer to homelessness. Moreover, having a stable family income is critical to creating a healthy environment for children. Boosting a low-income family’s income leads to better performance at school, which in turn encourages higher graduation rates

and better employment as an adult.

The Working Group has made its recommendation. Mayor Bowser and the DC Council now need to turn it into law and provide the funding.

What We Know about Welfare Reform in DC and the Nation The Working Group was convened because the District’s current TANF time limit, established in

2010 and 2011, is set to cut 10,000 children from assistance in October 2017, regardless of their family’s circumstances, with no chance to get back on. This is one of the strictest time limits in the nation.

The federal law that governs TANF was passed in 1996 and grants states a great deal of flexibility over time limits. Most give more time to families who need it.

The Working Group – made up of policymakers, employment services providers, TANF recipients, and advocates – reviewed the 20-year history of time limits, particularly the hardships faced by families in states with harsh time limits.

They found that: • Most parents do not secure steady employment. A Maryland study found that families who leave TANF because of time limits work less in the year after than other TANF leavers do. In the state of Washington only 45 percent were working three years after their case closed due to a time limit. The District has recovered from the recession, but wage and job growth have been uneven. A survey of DC TANF recipients found that most earn less than $12.50 an hour, and less than $250 a week, when they find a job.

And they may be the lucky ones. About 18 percent of residents with a high school diploma are unemployed, compared with 10 percent in 2007 before start of the recession.

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Many experience housing instability or homelessness.

A Maine study found that one in five families cut off by time limits reports being evicted, having to relocate to overcrowded living conditions, or going to a homeless shelter. Washington state found that 20 percent of families who left due to time limits were homeless after three years. This could happen in DC. Most families on TANF do not receive housing subsidies. Most are “doubled up,” staying with family or friends who are likely to be doing only slightly better economically than they are. The loss of benefits would likely mean that the TANF family would have no income to contribute to the joint household, while still adding to the household’s expenses. The host family might no longer be able to host the TANF family, putting them at risk for becoming homeless.

Parents struggle to keep families together. When parents lose TANF without a secure job, their children are more likely to be abused or neglected and end up in foster care.

Child development is threatened. When TANF benefits are cut off from mothers of preschoolers, children are three times more likely to have serious behavior problems than other young children. Children are also more likely to repeat a grade and less likely to be engaged by their parents in important learning activities like reading when they are subject to strict TANF time limits. The challenges poor parents face in creating a positive environment can lead to toxic levels of

stress and adversely affect both physical and cognitive development, including brain development in young children. Lowincome children enter school well behind other children and then perform more poorly. They complete fewer years of education, and then work less and earn less as adults.

Reforming Time Limits by Eliminating Them That may sound depressing and hopeless. But it actually isn’t. Research also shows that increasing a family’s income, even by a small amount, can make a big difference on a range of outcomes for poor children, including test scores, school attendance, high school graduation, college enrollment, and future employment.

The Working Group’s recommendation will do just that while also including provisions to ensure that parents are engaging in services that will improve the family’s economic situation.

The Working Group also made concrete suggestions for improving the services provided so that parents are more likely to move into employment. This will create a brighter future for them and for the District as a whole.

Kate Coventry is a policy analyst at the DC Fiscal Policy Institute (www. dcfpi.org) and a voting member of the DC Interagency Council on Homelessness, representing DC government, nonprofit providers, advocates, and homeless and formerly homeless residents. Its mission is to guide the city’s homelessness efforts.The Fiscal Policy Institutepromotes budget and policy solutions to reduce poverty and inequality in the District of Columbia and to increase the opportunity for residents to build a better future. u

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Safeway on 14th to Close for Two Years Foulger-Pratt Plans about 320 Residential Apartments

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uring an Oct. 24 community meeting developers of the Safeway at 415 14th St. SE announced plans to redevelop the property with 320325 residential apartments. Foulger-Pratt, a local DC developer, detailed the initial stages of the mixed-use project, including plans to close the grocery store for between 18 and 24 months starting around 2018. It is a by-right project with no plans to request zoning or other variances. The building is slated to reopen in 2020.

The plans include mostly studio and one-bedroom apartments with a few two bedrooms; three levels of residential; a penthouse; one level of retail not to exceed the 50-foot zoning limit; about onehalf of a parking space per apartment unit (roughly 160 in total); another 194 parking spots for retail (up from the current 150); and two retail shops on the ground floor other than Safeway. The project will expand the Safeway from 50,000 to 60,000 square feet.

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by Christine Rushton Changes to Expect Foulger-Pratt held the October meeting to gather feedback on the curb cuts for the new development. The BKV Group, architects for the project, plan to close two of the five existing cuts, which leaves just three – two for the alley entrances connecting D and E streets and one for the retail car parking entrance on the southern part of 14th Street. Residential cars will enter through the alley.

Delivery trucks will enter the alley from E Street and back up into one of two large loading docks tucked into the building. There will be a third, smaller dock and a closed trash compactor in that zone. Residents will have a separate loading dock nearer their parking entrance. The alley will be expanded to 30 feet to allow for twoway traffic flow.

Construction teams will excavate two levels for underground parking, one for residents and one for customers. No more spaces will exist above ground.

Bryan Foulger, vice president of development at Foulger-Pratt, stressed to community members that these plans are initial ideas for the project and may change as the pre-demolition designs are discussed and finalized. “Tonight is the first step of many meetings we’re going to have with the community,” he said.

Community Concerns Neighbors at the meeting expressed concerns over the limited number of parking spaces in comparison to the number of residential units.

With the modernization of Watkins Elementary School (420 12th St. SE) they wondered how the two projects will handle the inflow of new traffic.

“When one or two people have a weekend party, it’s going to gum up the area,” one neighbor said.

But Foulger-Pratt explained that it plans to charge rent for each residential parking space, which incentivizes residents to use those or opt into the building-provided carshare and bike-

share slots. The development is also two blocks from the Potomac Avenue Metro station and about four to five from the Eastern Market station.

As for Watkins, the planning process for the Safeway redevelopment will take up to 18 months. Construction teams won’t start demolition until 2018. The District is expected to finish Watkins by the summer of 2017.

Safeway opened its doors on 14th Street in 1964 and has served the Capitol Hill community as a go-to grocery store. Tim McNamara, a Safeway real estate manager, said the company plans to help residents find other Safeways in the area when the redevelopment closes the 14th Street store’s doors. He also said he would address concerns over current employee job security with the human resources department.

A Timeline for the Project Foulger-Pratt and the architects will meet with Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6B as well as the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) during November.

The team will then start a large tract review (LTR) process, which involves compiling impact reports from departments like DDOT, the Department of Energy & Environment, and the Department of Public Works. A byright project does not usually undergo so intense a process, but because the plans exceed 50,000 square feet, it must.

The developer then plans to submit the LTR to the Office of Planning in April 2017. u

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South by West

by William Rich Soccer Stadium Drama Intensifies Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6D met on Oct. 17 to vote on whether to support the DC United stadium planned unit development (PUD) project at Second and R streets SW on Buzzard Point. The facility is planned as a 19,100seat soccer stadium that can also be used for concerts and other sporting events. During the ANC meeting Victor Melara, director of community relations for DC United, described additional community benefits the team has agreed to, including $50,000 for an air purifier system at the construction site, a health fair for Buzzard Point residents, and monthly community meetings to be held at King-Greenleaf Recreation Center. John Knight from architectural firm Populous reviewed the design of the stadium, and a representative from Gorove/Slade did a transportation review.

Transportation Issues The ANC voted unanimously to withhold support for the project until the team has addressed a variety of items. One of the major outstanding issues is transportation. There are few roads in and out of the Buzzard Point peninsula, so game-day at the stadium could cause traffic gridlock. Although

An aerial view of the proposed DC United stadium in the context of the potential redevelopment of Buzzard Point. Rendering: DC United

there are no parking spaces at the stadium, the team identified more than 7,000 off-street parking spaces that could be used during games – about 3,700 spaces have already been secured. Projected demand ranges from 2,700 to 3,900 spaces.

Many of these spaces are also used by the Nationals, but the two teams have agreed to coordinate their schedules so none of their games occur concurrently.

The nearest Metro stations are more than

half a mile away, so pedestrians will need to cross South Capitol Street in order to access the stadium from the Navy Yard Metro. Construction on the new Frederick Douglass Bridge and traffic oval will not be complete before the stadium opens, so this may pose a hazard for pedestrians. While Waterfront Metro is a secondary access point for the stadium, using this option would drive pedestrian traffic through residential neighborhoods.

Environmental Remediation Environmental issues also remain a major concern. The stadium site is contaminated, and a voluntary environmental cleanup is necessary to prepare it for development. However, the ANC wants to make sure that best practices are in place for the cleanup, that preventative remediation measures are provided (such as air purifiers, dust mats, and vacuums), and that the health of nearby residents is monitored. One resident who lives near the stadium site complained of a burning sensation in his throat, likely due to work being done in the area.

Neighborhood Opposition

The new DC United stadium would be built at Second and R streets SW on Buzzard Point.

Rendering: DC United

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Meanwhile a campaign by developers to force DC United to improve the stadium design ahead of November’s Zoning Commission hearing has resulted in additional changes to the project. DC United had made some changes to the original PUD in response to concerns from the Zoning

Commission earlier this year, including reintroducing First Street on the east side of the stadium site and activating a large plaza along Potomac Avenue.

Akridge, Western Development, Capital City Real Estate, and Steuart Investment Company have lobbied city officials and the team to make additional improvements to the design, claiming there was a “bait and switch” from the preliminary design to the current plans. Akridge owns seven acres south of the stadium (two additional acres were taken by eminent domain to create the stadium site). It also owns the former Coast Guard headquarters building at Second and V streets with Western and other developers, which is planned as a mixed-use development called Riverpoint. Capital City Real Estate owns land next to the Riverpoint project and plans to start construction next year on a condominium project called Peninsula 88. Steuart Investment Company owns several lots to the east of the stadium site, although no development plans have been announced yet.

Fliers circulated around the community document some of the issues the developers have with the stadium design, which include the lack of retail along the perimeter (except for a team store on R Street), no onsite parking, minimal vehicular access on First Street, and noise (the preliminary design included covered seating around the stadium, but the current one has it only on the east and west sides). Some of the design changes are a result of an easement to accommodate Pepco, which has a substation nearby. In addition the stadium will be built higher than originally planned.

Akridge and Western have

made an offer to DC United for the adjacent parcel controlled by the team to the east of the stadium, where they intend to build a residential building with groundfloor retail. The team intends to use that open space in the interim during game-day as a place for fans to play lawn games. In addition, the developers have hired an architect to reconfigure the stadium design to allow for additional retail, and have offered to purchase the space carved out of the ground floor. During the ANC meeting DC United officials acknowledged the lack of retail when Marc Levy, an audience member who lives on Buzzard Point, asked about it. DC United officials said they were working with Western Development and Akridge on adding more retail to the stadium perimeter. (Herb Miller of Western Development and Adam Gooch from Akridge were also in the audience at the ANC meeting.)

The dispute threatens to delay the stadium project, which was scheduled to start construction in early 2017 and open sometime during the 2018 season. DC transferred control of the stadium site to the team in early October after the land was assembled, existing buildings razed, and utilities upgraded.

Since the ANC meeting the team has come to an “agreeable solution” with the neighboring developers, but needs more time to revise architectural drawings. The Zoning Commission was scheduled to meet on Nov. 2 to discuss the stadium PUD, but the hearing has been postponed to Nov. 28 to enable the team to revise its application. This will give the ANC the opportunity to review the revised application.

William Rich is a blogger at Southwest … The Little Quadrant that Could (www.swtlqtc.com). u

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Beware Locksmith Scams How to Avoid Hiring Dangerous Services

by Christine Rushton

Y

ou’re locked out of your home. You’ve searched for the keys, and now it’s time to reach for your phone to find a locksmith. But the companies that pop up on local searches and Yelp review pages? Beware trusting them because they might be out to scam you. Unscrupulous locksmith companies or single-person operations use online advertisements promising discount rates to attract business, said John Myers, a senior technician with District Lock in DC. They may even pressure customers into posting positive reviews on sites like Yelp and Google to increase their chances of getting clients. But an advertised $29 lock change often turns into a $400 or $500 bill upon service. “There have always been the fly-by-night scammers,” Myers said. “In recent years with the rise of Yelp and internet review systems, they have really jumped out.”

No Regulation of Locksmith Licenses The District doesn’t require locksmiths to obtain a specific locksmith license to operate. Anyone who wants to run a locksmith company simply needs a business license. Maryland and Virginia require both the business and locksmith license to operate.

Along with not needing a specific license, locksmiths in DC don’t need to be bonded. Myers said professionals do acquire insurance and bonding. The standards aren’t regulated by the city or by the national locksmith group, Associated Locksmiths of America (ALOA).

In DC popup companies can advertise services without regulation or vetting, said Shay Knaani, co-owner of Keyed In LLC. Services that install fresh locks on a house may have ulterior motives to gain home access, which no regulatory process can catch. “You want to know who has the key to your house,” Knaani said. “They will sell you a lock and will have access to the key that they installed for you.”

Homeowners in distress often get caught in these traps because they don’t take the time to research a legitimate, trustworthy business, he said.

They also may not know about the dangers of hiring off of a Yelp or Google review.

Myers recalled cases when customers called multiple businesses to get quotes. The scam services would demand an address, and even if the customer chose to hire a more reputable company the scam locksmith would show up. If they got there before the reputable company, they might even claim that company’s identity just to get in the door.

Scam companies also use names similar to legitimate companies like District Lock and Keyed In, Myers said. “A lot of companies are pretend-

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District Lock 8 – John Myers, senior technician for District Lock. (Photo: Christine Rushton)

ing to be companies that they aren’t,” he said. “People get suckered into this and they will do anything to get themselves secure.”

Myers has also heard from clients that some unlicensed locksmiths will only give a $25 or $35 discount on a bill if the client agrees to write an online review – in front of the locksmith.

Some even ask for a selfie photo for the post. If the client declines they are charged the full bill.

Tips to Find a Trusted Locksmith Physical intimidation, high-pressure tactics, and scamming are things people in distress don’t want to find in a locksmith. Myers and Knaani have tips for clients who ask how to find reputable and trustworthy companies: • Find a company you trust. District Lock opened its doors on Capitol Hill in 1946, and while it no longer has a physical retail location, veteran technicians like Myers answer calls for neighbors 24 hours a day. His advice is, “Go with the company you feel most comfortable with.”

• Search sites like Angie’s List.

Unlike open sites like Yelp and

Google, Angie’s List is member-based and regulated, Knaani said. It offers more reliable reviews of legitimate businesses.

• Ask to see a license. Keyed In launched in 2011 and has both business and locksmith licenses in Maryland and Virginia and a business license in DC, Knaani said. This proves that the service provider has passed official background checks, which can filter out scammers looking for ways into houses. “You can always ask the company to show a proof of licensing,” he said.

• Don’t believe in a $29 deal. A lock change costs more than $29, Myers said. Someone in need of help needs to understand that it costs to hire a professional. An average price from a reputable company is around $120-$200, he said. The scammers will “draw out your lock before you approve the work, and they charge you $500 or more,” he added.

To reach District Lock call 202415-0483. To reach Keyed In call 888247-4656. u

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A Fresh Plan for the Boys and Girls Club Community Meetings on a New RFP Start in 2017

T

by Christine Rushton

he District plans to restart the process to redevelop the shuttered Boys and Girls Club (261 17th St. SE) in Ward 6’s Hill East community, Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen’s office announced on Oct. 20. Community meetings to help plan the request for proposal (RFP) on the project will start in January or February of 2017, according to the Deputy Mayor’s Office for Planning and Economic Development (DMPED). DMPED will use the District’s new “Our RFP” model, which incorporates community input into the creation of the RFP and ensures engagement before developers get involved. The resulting RFP is slotted for release to potential bidders during Mayor Muriel Bowser’s “March Madness” RFP event.

DMPED Takes Over from DGS Councilmember Allen called the use of the Our RFP model a way to make sure a strong neighborhood voice comes through from the outset, which did not happen in the RFP that failed in 2014. “This is a project that has needed a jumpstart. A vacant and deteriorating building doesn’t do the community any good,” he said. “We need an active space that brings this building back to life.”

The club closed in 2007 because of costs and low enrollment, and the District acquired the 30,000 square-foot building in 2010. An RFP process started in 2014 but was shut down at the request of Allen, the community, and the local Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) for failing adequately to address residents’ requests. In September Mayor Bowser announced her plan to readdress the site during

a walkthrough of the Hill East community.

With this new plan DMPED will take over the process from the DC Department of General Services (DGS). ANC Commissioner Dan Ridge (6B09) said he’s hopeful this switch will allow the District to offer a lease longer than the previously proposed 25 years. “My neighbors asked for ‘Our RFP’ by name,” Ridge said. “I could not be more glad about this move.”

What the Community Hopes For The community around the Boys and Girls Club has long waited for this redevelopment, said former ANC 6B Commissioner Francis Campbell.

He was on the ANC in that single-member district (SMD) during the last RFP process. “I think it’s a great thing. The neighborhood has changed over

the years since the closure of the club,” Campbell said. “There are considerably more children as well as seniors in the neighborhood who would find this club as a community amenity to be very beneficial.”

But Campbell doesn’t want to see more market-rate housing come out of the project because so many houses in the area have skyrocketed out of affordability in recent years. He also remains wary of the likely high cost of redeveloping a building that has deteriorated for many years. He has questions about the project’s future, but he believes putting this building back into use can only benefit the surrounding community.

Councilmember Allen said, “I am hopeful we can work together to create something that honors the club’s history and also becomes a part of Hill East’s future.” u

The shuttered Boys and Girls Club at 261 17th St. SE. (Photo: Christine Rushton)

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ANC 6A Report

by Elizabeth Nelson

A

dvisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6A Chair Phil Toomajian called the meeting to order, with Commissioners Omar Mahmud, Mike Soderman, Patrick Malone, Calvin Ward, Sondra Phillips-Gilbert, Matt Levy, and Stephanie Zimny in attendance.

The meeting included the following community presentations.

DCRA

Melinda Bolling, director of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA), spoke at the meeting.

The good news first. Bolling announced an upgrade to the IT system expected to be online in November. The current system can’t be updated remotely, and inspectors must file paper reports.

The new system will allow mobile scheduling for inspectors and online query of vacant properties. A new business portal will link licensing for the Alcohol Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA), Department of Health (DOH), and Department of Public Works (DPW). Additional inspectors have been hired who can respond to reports of illegal construction taking place on weekends.

Now the bad news. According to Bolling, popups have mushroomed and the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) and the Zoning Administrator

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(ZA) were caught unprepared to deal with it. Current regulations address, almost exclusively, the construction or demolition sites themselves. They offer very little protection to adjacent properties. A neighbor on the 1200 block of F Street NE reported that he suffered $30,000 in damages to his property due to improper management of a raze next door. He contacted DCRA repeatedly, to no avail. Bolling explained that the best that DCRA could do was to write a $2,000 ticket. The only recourse for the affected property owner was to sue for damages in civil court, an expensive proposition. Bolling went on to say that the situation was unlikely to improve until the regulations were changed, and that was unlikely to happen until citizens were allowed to participate in developing the regulations.

In answer to specific questions, commissioners expressed disbelief that the developers of 1336 H St. NE received a density bonus in exchange for “facade preservation,” given that the entire skin of the building had been stripped away. Bolling explained that because some of the non-visible structural elements had been retained, the property did indeed qualify for a density bonus.

There is a situation on the 1200 block of Florida Avenue NE similar to that on F Street. In this case DCRA may become involved because the property being demolished is actually unsafe, not because of damage to adjacent properties.

Commissioner Zimny reported that an extremely dangerous situation at 1372 and 1374 F St. NE has not been resolved despite repeated complaints on her part over a period of six months.

Among other issues, flammable liquids are being

stored under a tarp. Recorded evidence has been provided. It’s unclear whether inspectors have visited the site; they say they can’t find a search warrant they obtained. Bolling said she would look into it.

Private Security Camera Program Edward Doxen, of the Mayor’s Office on Community Relations and Services (MOCRS), promoted the Private Security Camera Program (ovsjg. dc.gov, 202-727-5124) and DC Career Connections (youthjobs.dc.gov, 202-698-3492). He can be reached at edward.doxen@dc.gov or 202-341-3659.

Alcohol Beverage Licensing Actions The commissioners voted unanimously to amend the Little Miss Whiskey’s Golden Dollar (1104 H St. NE) settlement agreement by adding the following language: “Any reference to existing DC laws and/or regulations in this Settlement Agree-

ADVISORY NEIGHBORHOOD COMMISSION 6A PHIL TOOMAJIAN, CHAIR, PHILANC6A@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 ment is meant for informational purposes only; ANC 6A does not intend for a violation of any DC law or regulation to also be considered a violation of this Settlement Agreement,” and “Replace Section 4(c)(2) with the following language: Applicant shall not offer any type of live music on the patio. Applicant may provide pre-recorded music on the patio in the form of portable, non-professional grade speakers used to play music from iPods, iPhones, and the like. Such music must cease no later than 8 p.m.”

Transportation and Public Space Actions The commissioners voted unanimously to send letters to the District Department of Transportation (DDOT): • Supporting a proposal for a rear curb cut onto Constitution Avenue NE from 808 Massachusetts Ave. NE on the condition that the owner assume any expenses required by DDOT, including moving the light post and installing the curb cut. No parking spaces would be lost as a result.

• Supporting the retaining wall and fence project at 1400 C St. NE. • Requesting that 11th Street NE (from Maryland Avenue to Massachusetts Avenue) be designated as a local street and not a collector street, and that DDOT develop a traffic management plan for ANC 6A that routes trucks on all appropriate streets, not including local streets. According to DDOT’s existing regulations, those blocks of 11th Street are currently misclassified.

• Supporting use of public space at 543 Tennessee Ave. NE for a rear addition.

•

Requesting DDOT to develop a traffic management plan for the Apollo project on the 600 block of H Street NE that removes fewer residential parking spaces to accommodate the entrance and exit of trucks from the property and that otherwise limits the prohibition on parking to the hours for commercial loading.

The commissioners also voted 7-1 to send a letter to DDOT indicating they would support a public space permit for a new fence at 1663 Kramer St. NE only if the fence complies with all applicable District regulations. The one currently under construction at this address does not.

Per the vote at the October ANC 6A meeting, the Transportation and Public Space (TPS) Committee forwarded comments on the new residential parking regulations.

Details are available in the TPS minutes posted to the website.

Economic Development and Zoning Actions The commissioners voted unanimously on the following matters: • An appeal of permits issued for 1511 A St. NE, as requested by the neighbors of the 1500 block of A Street NE and unit blocks of 15th and 16th Streets NE. Commissioners Toomajian and Ward, former Commissioner Nick Alberti, and a neighbor, Brian Alcorn, were authorized to represent the ANC. In 2015, 1511 A St. NE and neighboring single-family properties were rezoned from C2A to R4. The ANC sponsored the successful rezoning and opposed a similar development proposal for 1511 A St. NE in the past.

• A letter to BZA in support of the application by the owners of 313 11th St. NE (BZA Case #19339) for a special exception from the

Next ANC 6A meeting is 2nd Thursday, November 10th 7 p.m, Miner E.S., 601 15th St. NE Alcohol Beverage Licensing Committee - Tuesday, November 15th 7pm at Sherwood Recreation Center • 640 10th St., NE Jay Williams - Co-Chair (906-0657) / Christopher Seagle - Co-Chair

Transportation & Public Space Committee - Monday, November 21st 7pm at Capitol Hill Towers Community Room • 900 G St., NE J. Omar Mahmud - Co-Chair (594-9848) / Todd Sloves - Co-Chair

Economic Development & Zoning Committee - Wednesday, November 16th 7pm at Sherwood Recreation Center • 640 10th St., NE Brad Greenfield - Chair (Brad.greenfield@gmail.com 202 262-9365)

Community Outreach Committee - Monday, November 28th Held every 4th Monday of the month 7pm at Maury Elementary School • 1250 Constitution Ave., NE Multi-purpose Room (enter from 200 Block of 13 Street) Dana Wyckoff - Chair (571-213-1630)

Please check the Community Calendar on the website for cancellations and changes of venue.

MATT LE GRANT,

THE DISTRICT’S ZONING A D M I N I S T R AT O R , will discuss the new zoning regulations on Thursday, November 10 at 6:30 p.m. at Ebenezers Coffee House, 2nd and F Streets NE. The focus of the presentation will be on changes to the RF-1 (formerly R-4) designation and how that will affect the Capitol Hill community.

Q & A session to follow.

The event is free, handicapped accessible and the public is encouraged to attend.

BECOME A MEMBER!

CHRS received a 2016 award for the DC Preservation League for its “advocacy, education, community outreach efforts and for its early and sustained contributions to preservation efforts in Washington, DC.” Visit www.chrs.org to learn more. Email info@chrs.org or call 543-0425.

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lot occupancy requirements to construct a twostory garage with accessory apartment.

• A letter to BZA in support of the application by the owners of 543 Tennessee Ave. NE (BZA Case #19338) for a special exception from the lot occupancy requirements to construct a two-story rear addition to an existing one-family dwelling.

• Support for ANC 6C’s petition for rulemaking to clarify and strengthen the facade-preservation density-bonus zoning regulations for H Street NE. This was precipitated by a case on H Street where, although the facade was completely removed down to the support beams, the BZA nevertheless ruled that it had been “conserved” and the developer was therefore entitled to a “density bonus.” Commissioner Toomajian noted that it was “an absurd result”; Commissioner Mahmud followed with the observation that developers are “getting something for nothing” and destroying the “look and feel of H Street.”

• Tabled until November, a letter to BZA in support of the application by the owners of 1341 H St. NE (BZA Case #19358) for a special exception under the enlargement and design requirements to construct a mixed-use building in the NC-14 Zone. Support was to be conditional on the design being updated to bring it into conformance with the H Street Overlay, and that the sales documents note that occupants will not be eligible for residential parking permits (RPP), nothing may be placed on the H Street balconies, and amplified music may not be played on the roof deck. Additionally the developer was required to make “best efforts” to get letters of support from neighbors, which by her own admission she had failed to do. Hence the tabling of the matter until the next ANC meeting.

A vote in support of an application to the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) for historic designation of Emerald Street NE ended in a tie vote, 3-3-2. Several commissioners expressed the desire for more time for the community to consider the matter.

Reports and Announcements A representative from DC Public Schools will attend the Nov. 10 ANC meeting.

ANC 6A meets on the second Thursday of

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every month (except August) at Miner Elementary School. The 6A committees meet at 7 p.m. on the following dates: Alcohol Beverage and Licensing, third Tuesday of each month, Sherwood Recreation Center.

Community Outreach, fourth Monday of each month, Maury Elementary School.

Economic Development and Zoning, third Wednesday of each month, Sherwood Recreation Center.

Transportation and Public Space, third Monday of every month, Capitol Hill Towers.

Visit www.anc6a.org for calendar of events, changes of date/venue, agendas, and other information. u

ANC 6B Report

by Christine Rushton

A

t the Oct. 11 meeting the members of Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6B continued their fight to hold restaurants along Eighth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue SE to neighborhood standards. Several protests persisted for outstanding restaurant license renewals, as well as an ongoing, heated disagreement over trash between the owner of Capitol Hill Tandoor and Grill and neighboring residents.

The quorum: Jennifer Samolyk (6B01), James Loots (6B03), Steve Hagedorn (6B05), Nick Burger (6B06), Chander Jayaraman (6B08), Denise Krepp (6B10), Diane Hoskins (6B02), Kirsten Oldenburg (6B04, chair) and Daniel Ridge (6B09). Daniel Chao (6B07) was absent.

Neighbors Fume over Capitol Hill Tandoor Garbage The owner of Capitol Hill Tandoor and Grill (419 Eighth St. SE) came forward to explain why requests in the spring to solve trash management problems remained unsolved as of October.

Neighbors were upset at the improper removal of trash and also that the owner hadn’t addressed the problem of “strong odors.” “I had an agreement

with [Pizza Bolis] to haul at the same time, but it didn’t happen,” said the restaurant’s owner Sophie Tusane. “It was a lack of oversight on my part.”

Jayaraman and the ANC had agreed to postpone the petition for a renewal of the restaurant’s Class C license in May, but hesitated to do so again in October. Tusane explained she was fighting the loss of a second restaurant in the District and had not set aside the time to address the ANC 6B settlement agreement.

On the request to install a pollution control unit (PCU) to limit the odors, commissioners disagreed. Hoskins said PCUs are an expensive cost for smaller restaurants, and she didn’t find them highly effective. Loots argued that PCUs are effective and present a marginal cost. “It’s not an unreasonable expectation given the proximity of the odors and the fact it is an absolute rodent attractant,” he argued. “It is a very serious issue for the community.”

The ANC protested the license renewal 8 to 0, with one abstention.

11th Street Bridge Project Set to Open in 2019 A presentation on the 11th Street Bridge detailed plans to develop the planned park on the bridge into a green area and art space. Scott Kratz, executive director of the 11th Street Bridge project, said designers have finished 15 percent of the design and expect construction to begin in 2018. It is slated to open in 2019. He updated commissioners on the $50 million investment from the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) to help promote affordable housing options and a possible community land trust purchase for those living within a one-mile radius of the bridge project.

Some art installations already set for the park include projects from Ballou High School (3401 Fourth St. SE) and Eastern High School (1700 East Capitol St.), which will go up in the spring of 2017 in time for the Anacostia River Festival in April, and before the park finishes. He said they are also working on an installation series along the Navy Yard wall with images from the Navy Museum.

ABRA Investigation into We the Pizza, Good Stuff Eatery, Bernaise A protest of the license renewals for We the Pizza (305 Pennsylvania Ave. SE), Good Stuff Eatery

(303 Pennsylvania Ave. SE), and Bernaise (315 Pennsylvania Ave. SE) put a commissioner and the restaurants’ representatives before the Alcohol Beverage Committee (ABC) board for several hours last month. The ANC and restaurant owners could not meet an agreement on several issues with neighbors and protested. At the hearing the board wanted to know what the restaurant representatives plan to do to rectify the problems. On Oct. 19 an Alcohol Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) investigator also testified before the board. Board members now have 60 days to render a decision on the issue.

New Development Requests Support for Stormwater Plans Commissioners addressed the request for 14-foot curb cuts at the SGA Companies Inc. development at 1230 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. The ANC wanted to ensure that a large curb cut to allow cars to enter and exit the residential garage wouldn’t increase stormwater runoff onto the roadway.

Also, the developer clarified that a DC Department of Transportation (DDOT) tracking study showed that the numbers of cars coming in and out of the garage will not cause congestion for others trying to exit or enter the garage. The ANC unanimously agreed to support the revised curb cut with a request for the designers to minimize stormwater runoff.

Searching for Administrative Support The ANC started the process to hire administrative support.

Advisory Neighborhood Commission 6C P.O. Box 77876 • Washington, D.C. 20013-7787 www.anc6c.org • (202) 547-7168 ANC 6C generally meets the second Wednesday of each month.

214 Massachusetts Ave NE

ANC 6C COMMISSIONERS ANC 6C01 Daniele Schiffman Daniele.Schiffman @gmail.com ANC 6C02 Karen Wirt (202) 547-7168 6C02@anc.dc.gov ANC 6C03 Scott Price (202) 577-6261 6C03@anc.dc.gov scott.price@anc.dc.gov

ANC 6C04 Mark Eckenwiler 6C04@anc.dc.gov ANC 6C05 Christopher Miller 6C05@anc.dc.gov ANC 6C06 Tony Goodman (202) 271-8707 tonytgood@gmail.com

ANC 6C COMMITTEES Alcohol Beverage Licensing Committee First Monday, 7 pm Contact: anc6c.abl.committee@gmail.com Grants Committee Last Thursday, 7 pm Contact: lesliebarbour.dc@gmail.com

Parks and Events Committee First Tuesday, 7 pm Contact: christinehealey100@gmail.com

Transportation and Public Space Committee First Thursday, 7 pm Contact: mark.kaz.anc@gmail.com Planning, Zoning, and Economic Development First Wednesday, 7 pm Contact: zoning@eckenwiler.org Twitter: @6C_PZE

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Chair Oldenburg writes many of the resolutions and motions, but the commissioners want to hire someone to help with these tasks. They will appoint a temporary committee of three people through December to find and hire for the position.

Other Actions Commissioners are looking into the pedestrian walk-times set at crosswalks along Pennsylvania Avenue, including at Eighth Street and Sixth Street.

Children and seniors can’t get across in time and stand in the median, which commissioners want to change.

The commissioners agreed to send a letter to ABRA requesting a continuance beyond Nov. 11 for the Capitol Lounge’s (229 Pennsylvania Ave. SE) Class C license renewal. If ABRA denies, the commissioners agreed to protest the application. Jayaraman indicated that the owner needs more time to review the settlement agreement with the community.

The commissioners agreed to withdraw the protest of a Class C license renewal for Ambar (523 Eighth St. SE) contingent on the parties signing a settlement agreement before a Nov. 2 protest hearing.

Barrel (613 Pennsylvania Ave. SE) petitioned for a renewal of its Class C tavern license with entertainment and a sidewalk cafe on Oct. 31.

Wisdom (1432 Pennsylvania Ave. SE) will petition for a renewal of its Class C tavern license with entertainment and a sidewalk cafe on Nov. 7.

ANC 6B regularly meets on the second Tuesday of the month at the Hill Center at the Old Naval Hospital, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. The next meeting is WEDNESDAY, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m., due to the 2016 election date. u

ANC 6C Report

by Virginia Avniel Spatz

A

dvisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6C conducted all votes during the first half of its one-hour October meeting, quickly dispatching a variety of zoning, alcohol beverage, and other neighborhood matters. The com-

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missioners moved announcements and non-voting items to the second half, when a quorum was no longer present.

The quorum: Karen Wirt (6C02, chair), Tony Goodman (6C06), Scott Price (6C03), and Christopher Miller (6C05). Daniel Schiffman (6C01) and Mark Eckenwiler (6C04) were absent, and Miller left at 7:30 p.m.

Revised PUD for 220 L Street The only agenda item generating community discussion was a revised planned unit development (PUD) application for 220 L St. NE. The revisions include elimination of an L Street curb cut and below-grade parking with the addition of six grade-level parking spaces, plus a bikeshare station and a contribution of $10,000 toward a public dog park. The Planning, Zoning, and Economic Development Committee (PZE) recommended support for the PUD, contingent on plans being filed with the Zoning Commission consistent with information provided to the committee.

Ryan McGinness, PZE vice chair, reported that one nearby neighbor has concerns, including possible damage from construction and the scale of the project compared with existing buildings.

The homeowner told commissioners his primary concern is the replacement of public alley access with an easement, possibly curtailing owners’ rights. Commissioner Tony Goodman argued that this is standard PUD language. The motion was amended, however, to reference the homeowner’s utility concerns. The commission voted 4-0 to support the revised application, contingent on the zoning filing and removal of utility poles.

Additional PZE Matters ANC 6A is protesting the building permit for an 18-unit apartment construction at 1511 A NE, a site downzoned in 2015. PZE recommended support for the neighboring commission with a similar protest. The protest was approved, 4-0.

McGinness reported PZE members split on the issue of a variance to allow a rear deck on an existing single-family dwelling at 712 Eighth St. NE. Some members said supporting the variance was inconsistent with ANC policy, but most thought the five-percent addition to lot occupancy minor.

Support for the variance was approved 4-0.

Grant Applications Capitol Hill Village, a nonprofit supporting aging in place, requested a $2,500 grant for one seminar in a series. The commissioners voted for the grant, 4-0, directing the treasurer to deduct from the grant sum any items not fundable per regulations.

Leslie Barbour, co-chair of the Grants Committee, arrived after the vote. She reported that the committee hopes to see an additional application for another seminar in the Capitol Hill Village series. In addition, two applications, previously submitted but in need of amendment, from other organizations are expected in the next grants cycle.

The committee seeks more applications from local nonprofits. Goodman pointed out that the committee can spend without applications and offered some spending suggestions.

Crime Near XO Nightclub Ermiyas (Jeremy) Asfaw, owner of the XO nightclub (15 K St. NE), asked for assistance in addressing nearby crime, particularly on the property of U-Haul Moving and Storage (26 K St. NE). In the absence of a fence around that property, he reports, trucks and the spaces between are used for criminal activity and evading police. Asfaw spoke with the U-Haul location manager, who says erecting a fence is not within his authority.

The club owner also requested the ANC’s help in brightening up the street, saying, “it’s a forgotten area without enough lighting.” Goodman, whose single member district encompasses both U-Haul and XO, agreed to assist in resolving this situation.

Parks and NoMa Vision Christine Healey, chair of the Parks and Events Committee, updated efforts to coordinate two conflicting sets of NoMa Business Improvement District (BID) guidelines. After a community meeting in late October and the creation of new guidelines, specifics will come before the ANC. Goodman said the ANC had been part of the DC Office of Planning’s process for “NoMa Vision” guidelines, while the other set came directly from the BID without community input.

Healey also reported on the visit of Peter May, associate regional director for lands, planning, and design at the National Park Service (NPS). May told the committee that, because the District is considered a “federal agency” by NPS, NPS can transfer

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JAMES M LOOTS, PC land to the District without an act of Congress. There was some discussion among commissioners of the extent and implications of this statement.

The committee also discussed with May concerns about memorials in residential neighborhoods and problems with the fountains at Union Station.

Currently 10 NPS memorials are planned for the Capitol Hill area, Healey said. Meanwhile the Union Station fountain is part of a $12 billion backlog of maintenance issues for NPS.

Liquor Licenses and More Zoning The ANC’s consent calendar included a number of alcohol beverage issues as well as zoning and public space matters. The block vote does not permit discussion and relies heavily on recommendation from committee reports.

Regarding liquor, the ANC approved changes to a settlement agreement with Driftwood Kitchen (400 H St. NE) slightly extending opening hours; approved change to the settlement agreement with Wunder Garten (150 M St. NE), adding 75 people to occupancy and changing license class; protested, pending a settlement agreement, a Class C liquor license for Wydown, a coffee bar in the Apollo Building, 700 H St. NE. In zoning-related matters the ANC directed Goodman to serve as lead in devising a benefits agreement in reference to the PUD for 1200 Third St. NE. The commissioners supported construction of two carriage houses at 730 and 732 Third St. NE. McGinness reported that the Capitol Hill Restoration Society supported the construction and that one neighbor approved and one disapproved; the PZE Committee did not find the objections compelling and recommended support. ANC 6C opposed application for a consolidated PUD and zoning map

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November 2016 H 115

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adjustment related to 400 Florida Ave. NE; as part of the report Goodman described this project as “the worst ever seen” in his years on the ANC, noting that it provides a poor pedestrian experience with little street-level retail and only three parking spots for 300 units.

The ANC supported an historic trail marker at Fourth and H streets NE for Cathy Hughes, founder of Radio One, long housed on H Street.

Announcements A spokesperson for DC statehood encouraged voters to obtain and read the draft constitution before voting. A representative for Ashley Carter, a Ward 6 resident and candidate for at-large seat on the State Board of Education, shared information about the candidate.

Commissioner Goodman offered a quick update on apartments and offices under construction in his single-member district. He noted that, following ANC complaints regarding the lack of street-level retail at 150 M St. NE, Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton wrote “a blistering letter” demanding a safer, community-friendly streetscape. He added that Planned Parenthood is open and serving women without protest. Commissioner Wirt announced that Richard Merkle will replace John Wirt on the Transportation and Public Space Committee, and praised new brick sidewalks, which Commissioner Price called a “waste of money.” Price congratulated the Hill Rag on 40 years in the community.

ANC 6C regularly meets on the second Wednesday of the month at the Heritage Foundation, 214 Massachusetts Ave. NE. The next meeting is Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. u

ANC 6D Report

by Andrew Lightman

A

dvisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6D met on Oct. 17. Chair Andy Litsky (6D04), Vice Chair Rachel Reilly Carroll (6D03), Commissioners Marjorie Lightman (6D01),

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Stacy Braverman Cloyd (6D02), Roger Moffatt (6D05), Meredith Fascett (6D07), and Rhonda N. Hamilton (6D06) were present.

The Buzzard Point Stadium Representatives of DC United (DCU) presented the design of their Buzzard Point Stadium (The Stadium Planned Unit Development (PUD)) and their plan for managing event transportation. The stadium runs on a north-south axis between First and Second Streets SW. To the east, the team plans to create a large, paved pedestrian “fan” plaza along Potomac Ave. SW. On game days, First Street, which crosses between the plaza and stadium at grade, will be closed to motorized traffic.

The idea is to reboot the existing tailgate culture using food trucks, push cart merchandising focused around a series of splash fountains and tree canopies. On its south side is “Parcel B,” owned by the team and slated for future development. In the interim, soccer fields for youth sports are planned.

Commissioners were skeptical. “I don’t think DC United will activate the space 365 days a year,” observed Commissioner Moffat. The development of Parcel B, slated for ground floor retail and a possible hotel, would take care of these concerns, team representatives said. Commissioners were also very critical of the lack of retail on the stadium’s southern edge and the lack of ground level activity on the Second Street SW side. This would result, commissioners argued, in the project’s severing the new development planned for Buzzard Point with wider Southwest. “We need a better plan; Buzzard Point is isolated,” stated Moffat.

DC United’s transportation consultant stated that the club expected the demand for parking on the part of patrons to range from 2,715 to 3,450 spaces. Another 450 spots would be required for media vehicles. According to team estimates, there are 7,235 off street and 850 on-street spaces. Of these, 3,750 off-street spots have been secured for the first season, the team’s transportation consultant stated. The plan is to share parking with the Nationals in dispersed lots. 45 percent of patrons currently drive to RFK. 30 percent of Nationals attendees take Metro.

Commissioners pointed out that much of the parking detailed in the plan would disappear as the Navy Yard neighborhood develops. The club has not signed long term leases for the spaces, they

pointed out. “How much parking will you need in the end?” asked Commissioner Lightman. Once development gets going, the amount of parking available will fall to 2,000 off street spots, estimated Commissioner Fascett. At the very least, Commissioners demanded a written guarantee that there be no simultaneous major events at both stadiums.

DCU representatives agreed.

“We will not be a parking lot for DC United,” stated Moffat.

In addition, the team is planning to heavily promote the Navy Yard Metro stop to its fans. They are planning wayfare signage along Potomac Avenue SE/SW. There will be a bike valet on the stadium’s southwest corner and arrangements made for bike corrals. They hope that DC Department of Transportation (DDOT) will establish a protected bikeway along Second Street SW. Characterizing the DCU transportation plan was simply insufficient, one commissioner pointed out that it did not even receive the blessing of DDOT’s director. Where are the pedestrian walking studies, another asked? They questioned whether there existed a long-term DDOT goal of removing public housing along Half Street SW to the stadium’s north to facilitate north-south access.

Members of the audience were scathing in their comments. “We are prisoners in our own homes on game days,” stated former ANC Commissioner Mary Williams from the audience.

“Where are these people going to be? They will be all over my stoop and garden,” added another resident.

Audience members also complained of health problems caused by the construction on Buzzard Point. One reported that he commonly suffered a burning sensation in his throat. “I don’t ever want to open up my windows,” he stated.

Richard, Jackson, deputy director of Environmental Services at the DC Department of Energy and the Environment (DOEE) came to the podium to answer these questions. He attributed the issue to the neighborhood’s active concrete plants.

DOEE is employing street sweepers and inspecting the plant surfaces to mitigate dust, he stated.

With audience discussion over, the Commission unanimously approved a resolution that, while generally supportive of the DCU stadium, was harshly critical of the club’s design. The com-

Additions & Basement Experts BUFFALO COMPANY, LLC www.buffalocompanyusa.com For all your Construction Needs ADDITIONS mission demanded the club furnish “a clearly defined and unambiguous transportation plan” that “enhanced the existing residential neighborhoods not only to the east but to the north and west as well, and made a strong contribution to the well-being of all the surrounding communities.”

The resolution faulted the Stadium PUD for failing to integrate the stadium into the surrounding neighborhoods. In particular, the commission criticized its lack of reference to the newly developing neighborhood to its south whose future is laid out in the Office of Planning’s (OP) Buzzard Point Vision Plan (BPVP) and the statutory Southwest Small Area Plan that sets development goals to its north. DCU’s proposal is at odds with both as well as current DDOT plans. None of this coordination is likely to be accomplished within its 2018 deadline for completion, the resolution pointed out.

The commission characterized DCU’s transportation plan as entirely “insufficient.”

It failed to deal with the ANC’s “ on-going concerns about vehicular, bicycle and pedestrian routing and access, parking insufficiency, inappropriate use of local streets, lack of binding agreements relating to access to parking as well as contemporaneous scheduling of events in or adjacent to Nationals’ Park and the proposed DC United Stadium.” Nor did it address the commission’s “significant on-going concerns regarding access and egress for emergency vehicles and personnel to this tiny peninsula located on the most geographically isolated section of the District of Columbia, and upon which Office of Planning envisions, in addition to a soccer stadium, the inclusion of 6,000 units of housing – equal to the amount of housing now in existing in Southwest.”

The commission stated its “universal” opposition to any “forced removal of housing -- both public and market rate – in order to construct this stadium” pointing out that “Half Street is not sufficiently wide to become “the Transportation Spine” to DC United Stadium and a neighborhood of 6,000 units of housing.”

The resolution also reiterated the commission’s view that the city had taken insufficient action to mitigate the health impacts

of the stadium construction on the surrounding community. It stated, “little or no effort has been directed toward preparing community residents to deal with the enormous environmental impact that the removal of all of the chemicals and contaminants may have on their (residents) health.” The voluntary cleanup of the stadium site should be delayed, the resolution stated, until the commission is assured that it meets the “best management practices and the requirements outlined in the environmental concerns described in the Community Health and Safety Study (CHASS) recently conducted by the DC Department of Health.” It called for the establishment of a health advocate to oversee the plan, independent environment monitoring and increased community engagement.

Video Signs at Nats Park Representatives of the Nationals presented a plan to install twelve full-motion video screens on the outside walls of the stadium (See online story at http://www.capitalcommunitynews.com/content/large-digital-displays-coming-outside-nats-stadium). Ten of these are on exterior walls. They range in size from 25 feet high and 17 feet wide to 38 feet high and 25 feet wide. None of them would directly face streets, stated the team.

They compared the project with the current screens that grace the sides of the Verizon Center. Legislation to frame regulations permitting the signage will be introduced by Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen (D), they stated.

The Nationals’ proposal was met with incredulity. What about driver safety, asked one commissioner. Where were the letters of support from surrounding residents, asked another. How would the light pollution from the signs impact future residents on the western edge of the Yards development? Would the signs be used for general advertising?

The team defended the plan stating that they would not distract on drivers due to their siting. An audience member pointed out that unlike the Verizon Center, the Nats Stadium is located at the exit of a major highway and bridge. “This is an iconic gateway. It will increase accidents,” stated another.

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“I am appalled by this notion,” stated Chair Litsky. “I can’t believe the Zoning Commission will agree to contaminate the view of the Capitol with signs selling Bud.” Why was the commissioner not consulted by the councilmember, he asked?

The commission unambiguously resolved against the plan citing driver distractions, its impact on the Capitol view and the increase in light pollution.

Public Safety Report PSA 105 Lt. Bredet Williams, an 18-year veteran, leads a new team at PSA 105. Williams most recently managed the traffic at baseball events.

She intends to take a community-oriented approach, pulling officers out of their cars to walk the street. She promised to address the issue of emergency vehicles parking around the Southwest Library and police parking on the Fourth Street median. She will reach out to DDOT to put in barriers.

Williams stated that robberies were generally up, while crime overall was down from last year’s levels. Juvenile perpetrators are common.

She promised to reach out to DC Housing Authority and DC Public Schools for assistance.

“Nobody should deal with that in this city,” Williams stated.

Other Matters On Nov. 30 at 6:30 p.m., the DC Public Library will hold a final meeting on the design of the MLK Library at the Southwest Library 900 Wesley Pl. SW. The Commission unanimously to: • approve a plan by the Hampton Inn to add an additional six seats to its sidewalk cafe.

They also approved unanimously to support both the application by Artic House, 1250 Maryland Ave. SW, for a CX license and its voluntary agreement.

• support the Whitman Walker Heath’s annual Walk to End HIV on Sat. Nov. 12; • oppose the proposed shortening of Metro operating hours; • support the two-year extension of the WC Smith’s office PUD on square 769, 250 M St. SE; • support a public space permit to allow the construction of the Icon Theater’s parking garage;

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•

support a public space application for the sidewalks, benches, bollards, storm water management, paving and landscaping at 1200 block of Half Street SE. The Commission approved the September minutes with the sole abstention of Reilly Carroll.

ANC 6D will meet on Mon., Nov. 14, at 7 p.m. at 200 I St. SE. u

ANC 6E Report

by Steve Holton HPRB Support for Mt. Vernon Square Home Charles Warren, from Teass\Warren Architects, asked Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6E to support a request to the Historic Preservation Review Board (HPRB) to approve plans for an addition to an existing structure. The three-story structure at 448 M St. NW is located in the Mt. Vernon Square Historic District and hasn’t undergone a renovation in several years.

Warren said that the home has structural issues and is in need of major renovations. Plans call for the home, which is on an 1,800 square-foot lot, to be converted into a four-unit apartment building. The cellar will be dug out for one of the units, making one unit per floor. Green space and landscaping will be added to the front area that runs along M Street. A brick garage on the back portion of the property will be demolished but parking spaces will be retained. Warren noted that removing the garage will improve stormwater removal. Trash and recycling service will remain on the back portion.

According to Warren a penthouse level being added to the home is planned to be set back far enough from the original edge that it will not be seen from M Street. The commissioners and neighborhood residents noted that similar promises in other projects have not been kept.

Although there is community support for a renovation plan, many are worried that the pent-

house portion will be visible. Warren said that he is working hard with HPRB to ensure the penthouse addition doesn’t stand out. The commissioners voted to communicate support for the renovation plans to HPRB contingent upon test results showing that the addition will not be visible from the M Street side of the property.

Permit for Outdoor Cafe on K Street A representative of the fast and casual pizza restaurant Pie 360 requested support for a public space application for an outdoor cafe. The restaurant is located at 655 K St. NW, and approval of the permit would add 20 outdoor seats placed on either side of the front entrance. Pie 360 has no alcohol license. The restaurant next door has outdoor seating, so the addition will blend in.

The restaurant representative assured the commissioners that the staff will keep the patio clean and any potential rodent problem under control. The commissioners voted to communicate support for the outdoor cafe permit to both the Public Space Committee and the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) if security cameras are installed to monitor the outdoor seating area.

Support Requested for Garage Addition The owner of a home located on 440 N St. NW requested support for zoning relief to construct a detached parking garage on the back portion of his property. DC lot occupancy law states that no more than 60 percent can be occupied. The garage addition will bring the occupancy to 69 percent, and the owner needs permission from the Board of Zoning Adjustment (BZA) to begin construction. The owner noted that the garage will be used for parking and storage but the primary reason will be for extra security due to previous incidents in the alley where he parks in the evening. The garage will set back four feet from the corner of the alley and will not obstruct the view for people who drive through it. The commissioners voted in support of the garage addition and will communicate it to BZA.

ANC 6E Quick Hits A representative of Shaw’s Tavern, located at 520 Florida Ave. NW, requested support from the

commissioners for a Class C Tavern Beverage Control License. The tavern has responded to past community noise concerns by reducing the hours of operation and making changes to the property that limit noise from traveling outside.

The commissioners voted in favor of the license and noted that the tavern’s responsiveness has made it a good neighbor.

Commissioner Rachelle Nigro proposed that the ANC write a resolution in support of single-member district members requesting resident-only parking, in addition to the entire commission requesting it. The commissioners voted in favor of the proposal and will communicate it to the District Department of Transportation (DDOT).

ANC 6E will meet again at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 1 at the Northwest One Library on 155 L St. NW. Visit www.anc6e.org to view the newsletter; follow on Twitter @ANC6E and on Facebook by searching ANC6E. Steve Holton can be contacted at ssholton@gmail.com and followed on twitter @ssholton. u

Eastern Market Report

By Peter J. Waldron North Hall Revenue The Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee (EMCAC) met on Sept. 21. Market Manager Barry Margeson reported that July and August North Hall revenues were $71,548 and $77,125, on pace for a record FY2016 of $265,000 and up $15,000 from 2015. The fiscal year ended on Sept. 30.

There were a number of delays in finalizing the year-end profit and loss statement in FY2015. However, EMCAC member Susan Oursler and Margeson resolved confusing financial data, yielding a more comprehensible set of numbers. As a byproduct, noted Margeson, more timely financial information will be available on a monthly basis.

Leases The South Hall merchants have been without leases for over two decades as the market has gone through a number of management changes. The Department of General Services (DGS) currently manages the market. According to Margeson, DGS is on the cusp of “finalizing the leases” with Chief Operating Officer Jonathan Kane having scheduled a meeting with EMCAC Chair Donna Scheeder on Oct. 5. The South Hall merchants need leases to secure credit and in the event of any transfer of ownership.

Holiday Market There is growing interest from the outdoor vendors in having a holiday market during the week before Christmas. In recent years there have been Friday night markets as Christmas approached. This expansion would extend the arts and crafts outdoor vending market, which currently only operates on weekends, to the full week before the Christmas holiday. Margeson is testing the waters with the vendors to see if enough embrace this suggestion.

In previous years many of the long-time vendors temporarily abandoned Eastern Market in the weeks before the Christmas holiday, with some committing to the popular Downtown Christmas market. That reduced the opportunities and choices for Hill residents looking for a last-minute gift or trying to support the local arts and crafts vendors.

Parking Parking continues to bedevil the market and is exacerbated by the construction crews from the Hine project occupying a significant number of the paid and metered parking spaces. The Hine project, when completed, will have ample parking inside. The South Hall merchants continue to insist they are hurt by the lack of parking and by the surrounding competitive environment that in many cases offers ample parking. A Trader Joe’s is scheduled for the Hine project.

Hine Update Diane Hoskins, the representative of Advisory Neighborhood Commission C602 to EMCAC, gave an update on the Hine project. She reported that Seventh Street was closed temporarily from Pennsylvania Avenue to C Street for the

movement of a crane. The north building is “undergoing masonry work” and will be ready at the end of this year. Work on the south building continues. There was a brief discussion of whether the decorative pavers adjacent to the market would be added to lower Seventh Street as well as the newly created C Street.

Eastern Market Main Streets EMCAC Chair Donna Scheeder announced that “no letter of support was given” to the newly formed Eastern Market Main Streets (EMMS) organization because EMCAC has been unable to meet with representatives of EMMS. An outgrowth of the Merchant Row Business Association, EMMS had applied for funding from the Department of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD) and was waiting for a decision in October. EMMS and EMCAC representatives had hoped to meet to assess possibilities for working together, but according to Scheeder EMMS “postponed the meeting” while it waited on the funding decision.

The Main Streets program was created by the National Trust for Historic Preservation to help communities preserve and revitalize their commercial districts. The District Council approved funding in May 2016 for lower Seventh Street as well as Pennsylvania Avenue between Sixth and Eighth streets SE.

Ten-Year Fire Anniversary The 10th anniversary of the devastating Eastern Market fire of April 30, 2007, is looming. With support from the Fenty administration, the District government poured $22 million into restoration. A decade later the market is searching for the means to make capital improvements.

EMCAC, the market’s advisory group and essentially its board of directors, has put its proposed five-year plan on hold because of the sudden resignation of DGS Director Christopher Weaver in August. EMCAC has no way of raising or budgeting money for needed capital improvements because its revenues are captured by the District government, although there is a legally established repository for market revenues called the Enterprise Fund. Interim Director Greer Gillis has yet to address this issue. u

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Crossword Author: Myles Mellor • www.themecrosswords.com • www.mylesmellorconcepts.com

“Cities” by Myles Mellor

by Myles Mellor and Sally York Across:

1. Boor’s lack 5. Kilns 10. Balance sheet item 14. Left on a map 18. Fodder holder 19. Dickens’s Heep 20. “Legally blonde” star, Field 21. “Das ___” (Volkswagen slogan) 22. Pudding fruit 23. Crown 24. Former 25. “Kind of a ___” 26. Spanish cities 30. His and ___ 31. Hospital cry 32. “Do the Right Thing” pizzeria owner 33. Even keel 36. Celebrities, sometimes 38. Strip of possessions 41. Warms up 42. Yellow hue 45. Frisk, with “down” 47. Talk, talk, talk 48. Assist, in a way 50. Halftime lead, e.g.

51. Align 52. Biblical verb ending 53. Alloys’ principal components 57. Chow 58. Landlocked land 60. Be crazy about 61. Small brown finch 63. Italian cities 69. Each 70. Itsy-bitsy bits 71. Long, long time 72. Byzantine image 73. Issuances 76. Blouse, e.g.

79. Brings home 80. Figure skater’s jump 81. Disorder 82. Basalt source 83. Driver’s aid 84. How royal women are addressed 88. Exclamations of alarm 89. Initial

92. “...give what thou ___” (Cowper) 93. Human herbivores 94. Shrew 95. Honshu port 97. Endorse 98. Scandinavian cities 105. Affirm 106. ‘Mid, poetically 107. Chill-inducing 108. Fall through the cracks?

111. Blab 112. Extensions of the roof 113. Spanish plain 114. Computer operator 115. Small whirlpool 116. Henna and others 117. Column of boxes on a questionnaire 118. Palm reader, e.g.

Down:

1. Cooking meas.

2. Be hung over, e.g.

3. Bridge group, or bid 4. Native American weapon 5. Uproar 6. First sign of spring 7. Rock rich in silicon 8. Hawaiian tuber 9. “Runaway” singer 10. Fixes a hole, perhaps 11. Say “y’all,” say 12. Legislative group 13. An amino acid 14. Daffy walk 15. 100 cents, abroad 16. Attempt 17. Forum wear 20. Lean 27. Cincinnati team 28. “____ Lang Syne” 29. With 4, a Toyota 33. Eyelid problem 34. Not this 35. A pop 36. Day of the month 37. Check information 38. Kind of life

Look for this months answers at labyrinthgameshop.com 39. Jumped up 40. Strain, in a way 43. Discover 44. Hung around 46. Seed coat 48. Beyond’s partner 49. Bottom 51. Part of some joints 54. Ga. town 55. Water retention 56. Breakfast bread 58. Encumbrances 59. Mandela’s org.

61. Loamy deposit 62. United Nations agcy.

63. Slangy denial 64. Maintenance

65. Prison rebel, perhaps 66. Set, as a price 67. Europe’s “boot” 68. Embargoes 73. Final, e.g.

74. Little devils 75. Boot 76. Bangladesh currency 77. Microwave, e.g.

78. Hail Mary, e.g.

80. Came down 82. Woody 85. Treats inadequately 86. Dance 87. In a off the wall manner 88. Safecracker, in slang 90. Liveliness

91. PC linkup 93. Insect-eating songbirds 95. Pointed arch 96. Sides in an age-old “battle” 97. Angler’s gear 98. Beer buy 99. “Ars Amatoria” poet 100. Await judgment 101. Kind of game 102. Remove from a manuscript 103. Tops 104. Barely beat, with “out” 109. #26 of 26 110. Be off

6th Anniversary Party Saturday, Dec 3, Noon-7 pm • Demos with local game designers Shop small. Shop local. | Free gift wrapping.

645 Pennsylvania Ave SE | 202.544.1059 | www.labyrinthgameshop.com 120 H Hillrag.com

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Heard on the Hill

by Jen DeMayo

I

HEART November. Deeply and profoundly. It is my jam. I know this is not a commonly shared sentiment and that for many of you the reduction in daylight hours is a depressing notion. I understand that my feelings about the relentless sunshine of summer do not equate to the dread with which many of my friends and neighbors face fall, and to you I say I’m sorry. Perhaps some of my abundance of autumnal nerdery will rub off on you and allow you to face the coming darkness with a smidge less dread. Or not. That’s why they drink so much coffee in Scandinavia. That and aquavit.

November means tights and boots and with that, an end to the relentless grooming and pruning that goes along with bare legs, arms, and feet. Sweaters. Brisk air and pink cheeks but without the potential for a polar vortex level of bone-chilling doom. A walk in the fall is invigorating and invites you to connect with friends and loved ones over warm pots of cozy, tasty somethings.

Can we admit the other three seasons really bring deep unpleasantness by the way of frostbite, mosquito bites and pollen induced phlegm-fests?

November A Month of Celebrations Most importantly, November brings my two favorite holidays. Thanksgiving of course, but I also celebrate the time change. We get one whole extra hour. On a Sunday. Such a gift! However you choose to use that extra hour, walking, shopping, cooking, or bingeing on Gilmore Girls to be ready for the post-Thanksgiving Netflix drop, we can all agree that time is the most precious gift of all.

We are hosting Thanksgiving again this month. As in years past I start tracking recipes sometime in July. As in years past I will not make up my mind until mid-November. Why? Insanity no doubt plays a large part and a need to maximize the experience for all. I am an enthusiastic home cook who has been challenged with an extremely picky teen, which can be a bit deflating at mealtimes. This explains why I love hosting others for the holiday as it gives me the opportunity to feed a more open-minded audience.

Sourcing the ingredients for the big day is as important as choosing the

Food writer Bonnie Wolf buys a bird from Market Poultry’s Mel Inman.

Photo: Andrew Lightman

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recipes, and luckily we do not need are running around year-round, but gourds and squashes are a seato leave the neighborhood to find sonal treat! We are fortunate to have so many options to procure high-quality ingredients. You all great produce on the Hill. In addition to the vendors both inside know we have three major grocery and outside of Eastern Market I love to support my local farmchains in the neighborhood, right? ers’ market on H Street which is part of the FRESHFARM MarThere is no need to mention Giant, kets organization. The farmers can cover all your squash, potato, Safeway, and Harris Teeter. While apple, and Brussels sprouts needs. the anticipated Trader Joe’s and If your stuffing or gravy recipes require mushrooms look for Whole Foods will not be here in the Good Sense Farm stand on Saturdays and Sundays at Eastern time this year, we will be just fine.

Market. They grow and forage a wide variety of mushrooms, inMost of you will be cooking cluding hard-to-find types like hen of the woods and lion’s mane. a turkey because of tradition, and I picked up a jar of the umami spice seasoning and tried it in my I am not going to try to tempt with veggie gravy recipe and it really adds that elusive fifth taste. This my vegetable torte as an alternative. one is a keeper.

In addition to picking one up at Big Thanksgiving is as much about presentation as taste, so setGrocery you can pre-order your turting a good table is important to your overall strategy. Make sure key from Capitol Hill Poultry or you have enough utensils, gadgets, and platters before the big Umami spice mix from Good Sense farms can add Market Poultry in Eastern Market. day. Our go-to for nearly all our cooking and entertaining needs some flavor to your holiday dishes. Photo courtesy Be sure to stop by before the deadis of course Hill’s Kitchen (713 D Street SE). Mashers, ricers Good Sense Farms line of Nov. 13 to order for a Tuesbasters, roasting pans, fat separators, sheet pans, baking dishes, day or Wednesday pick up. Michael Pollan devotees can also orsaucepans, measuring spoons, carving sets, rolling pins, and pie weights are just some of the der a turkey from Virginia’s legendary Polyface Farms via P & required gear carried in Leah Daniels’ amazing store. She also stocks table basics like cloth C Market. napkins and white tablecloths.

Vegetables are the most exciting part of the meal, and, not Not to be missed are the gazillion paper cocktail napkins options which can add charm to be too picky about things, it is a harvest celebration. Turkeys and spice to any event. This year I have already purchased a pack of the Turkey Troupe napkins featuring a bunch of dancing turkeys. Last year I was too late and they were all snapped up by lucky shoppers. You have been warned.

Should you not heed my warnings and take inventory of your kitchen in advance and have last-minute needs, Hill’s Kitchen will be open Thanksgiving morning at 8 a.m. Daniels says that every year someone comes in for a roasting pan on Thanksgiving Day, so she is happy to be available.

For other table decor options the lower level of the Forecast (218 Seventh St. SE) is a good destination for elegant ideas and hostess gifts. The weekend market vendor A Righteous (arighteous.com) sells washable, handmade placemats The new puzzle table in the expanded Labyrinth games and table runners made from and puzzles is already a customer favorite. raffia and banana fiber. A trip to Union Market’s Salt and Sundry is another option for decorative table linens. You can buy vintage flatware if that is your desired look.

Whatever you put on your table this year, I am sure that you and your guests and indeed all of humanity will share some of the same blessings for which we are grateful: family, friends, health, and the overwhelming sense of relief that the election is over.

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Not New but Definitely Improved Labyrinth Games and Puzzles (645 Pennsylvania Avenue SE) recently added a new wing to the extremely popular store. Owner Kathleen Donahue took over the adjacent space recently vacated by a check-cashing establishment and in doing so she has nearly doubled the size of her store.

The expansion comes with perks.

In addition to having more space for products there is an additional enclosed private party space with its own restroom, which is a huge win for those partying with little kids. The expansion has also added a second cash register location, which will make holiday checkout quicker and smoother.

One fun interactive addition is the puzzle table. Patrons are free to spend as long as they like putting together the large jigsaw puzzle on display. When I stopped in this group had been at it for hours. The puzzle table could easily fit the bill if you are looking for a cheap date destination. And with the holidays looming, aren’t we all?

Jen DeMayo has been a waitress, an actor, and a puppeteer. She worked for many years for the Atlas Performing Arts Center, which has resulted in her being a relentless H Street booster/streetcar apologist. Originally from the New YorkNew Jersey area, she is one of the many who whine endlessly about DC’s lack of good bagels and pizza.

She is the mom to two boys who attend DC Public Schools (off the Hill). No matter what she may end up accomplishing in her life, she is sure that her obituary headline will say she was the founder of Moms on the Hill. Contact Jen at jendemayo@gmail.com. u

Veterans Day

A Reason to Come Together after a Brutal Election Campaign

by Maggie Hall

I

t’s not too long now before the nightmare race to the White House will produce a winner. No matter who wins, it will be a huge change, the first woman or first businessman as president. That pathway to change has been marked by so many othThe real meaning of Veterans Day played out on Capitol Hill. Photo: er societal changes, many ugly and embarrassMaggie Hall ing. Happily some things in the great US of A don’t change. And one of them is Nov. 11, Vetbranches of the US military. erans Day! Residents of Capitol Hill have an easy and wonderAfter all the political turmoil and trauma of recent ful way in which to honor and pay homage to the service, months, Veterans Day is a chance to unite in a common heroism, and sacrifice that is part of being in the Army, Air purpose: to respect, applaud, recognize, and love every Force, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard. man and woman who has served and is serving in the five The Hill’s own American Legion Post has established A ceremony for all ages. Photo: Maggie Hall

a tradition of observing Veterans Day in a moving way that attracts those who recognize it for its true raison d’etre and not just as another federally sanctioned holiday with store sales as the prime draw. The event, as usual, will be staged in Folger Park, opposite the Post’s building, on the corner of Third and D streets SE. Start time is 11:00 a.m. If it’s raining, or the weather deems it not fit to be outside, the ceremony will take place in Brent Elementary School, just across the road from the park.

A highlight will be the appearance of the US Marine Drum and Bugle Corps. Its stirring performance of patriotic and iconic military music is a rare opportunity for Hillites to see the talented musicians, who tour the world, in action.

To grab the emotions of the day, the program will be made up of a color-guard, the laying of a wreath, and a top-brass keynote speaker, along with a lone piper and lone bugler playing “Amazing Grace” and “The Last Post.”

Following the ceremony everyone is invited to the Post for lunch. For more information call 202-543-9163 or go to www.legiondc8.org. u

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H Street Life

REI has you covered for camping cooking gear.

A

by Elise Bernard

s we move into the holiday season, schedules can grow pretty hectic. It’s important to take time to relax and have a little lowkey fun. Luckily, H Street NE offers plenty of laid-back options, some of which you’ll find below.

REI Opens Flagship Store in NoMa A massive crowd gathered outside the new REI (https://www.rei.com/stores/ washington-dc.html, 201 M St. NE) on opening day, eager to see the flagship store inside historic Uline Arena. The expansive space includes a La Colombe coffeeshop (https:// www.lacolombe.com). This REI offers full-service ski, snowboard, and bike tune-ups and repairs as well as a variety of classes. Of course it also carries just about any sort of equipment you might need for camping, canoeing, climbing, biking, or going on any other outdoor adventure.

Capital City Symphony’s Holiday Concert & Sing-Along

Tacqueria Rosticeria Fresca could soon sell you a beer with those tacos.

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Mark your calendar for two important dates for the Capital City Symphony’s (www.capitalcitysymphony. org/events) Annual Holiday Concert and Sing-Along. The actual event will take place Dec. 11 (performances at 5 and 7 p.m.), but the hard-to-get tickets go on sale Nov. 14 at 10 a.m. You can buy tickets ($8.50) online or in person at the Atlas Performing Arts Center’s box office (www.atlasarts.org, 1333 H St. NE). This yearly concert appeals both to families with children and to adults looking to partake in a little holiday cheer.

Those seeking fun for grownups only can attend Holiday Cheers on Dec. 10 (8 to 10 p.m.). It’s a cabaret-style evening of live music, champagne, and holiday festivities featuring performances by the Capital City Symphony and the Congressional Chorus (www.congressionalchorus.org). The price is $40 for one ticket, $75 for two, or $140 for four.

Local Spots Get Michelin Nods Italian restaurant Masseria (www. masseria-dc.com, 1340 Fourth St. NE) received a one-star rating (“A very good restaurant in its category”) in DC’s first Michelin guide. Only 12 establishments in the DC area were awarded stars. Local spots Maketto (http://maketto1351.com, 1351 H St. NE) and Bidwell (http://bidwelldc.com, Union Market, 1309 Fifth St. NE) made the guide’s Bib Gourmand list of 19 notable and more affordable options. Bib Gourmand restaurants must offer two courses and a glass of wine or dessert for $40 or less before tax and tip.

A Hotel for H Street NE? As it currently stands, visitors wishing to bed down on H Street NE have two options: book a bunk in a hostel or make an Airbnb reservation. That could change soon. Michael Neibauer of the Washington Business Journal recently reported (www.bizjournals.com/washington/ news/2016/10/17/d-c-developer-ponders-hip-hotel-brand-for-h-street.html) the possibility of a “European-inspired” hotel coming to 609 H St. NE. Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners controls the property, the same group that recently sold the mixed-use Anthology building at 625 H St. NE.

goods, juices, healthy snacks, and desserts. In the afternoon and evening you will also have the option to order wine and beer. The Wydown will have 27 indoor seats and outdoor seating for 16.

Krampus returns to raise funds for foster kids.

Cusbah Is Here to Stay In late spring of this year the popular Pakistani and Indian restaurant Cusbah (http://cusbah. com, 1128 H St. NE) found its future in jeopardy. The landlord was of the view that Cusbah had failed to exercise its right to renew its lease and commenced eviction proceedings. A banner announcing the space for lease went up on the building, and fans of the restaurant fretted over the potential loss of their beloved pakora and lamb vindaloo.

The court sided with Cusbah on the landlord’s complaint for possession, and the restaurant was able to extend the lease for another five years. Kabobs and curry all around!

Tacqueria Rosticeria Fresca & the Wydown Apply for Liquor Licenses Mexican restaurant Taqueria Rosticeria Fresca (https://www.facebook.com/taqueriarosticeriaresca, 701 H St. NE) has applied for a liquor license. It serves a full menu including delicious and authentic tacos. Patrons with a big appetite might try the tampiquena ($13.50), a large platter of grilled beef, sausage, salad, fries, and three enchiladas. True to the name, Fresca also offers pollo a la brasa (rotisserie chicken) priced at $6.99 for a quarter, $8.99 for a half, or $15.99 for the whole, with salad or fries (yucca or potato). If granted, the application will allow drinks on a new 48-seat sidewalk cafe, in addition to the indoor seating.

The soon-to-open coffeeshop the Wydown (http://thewydown.com, 600 H St. NE) submitted an application for a liquor license. The Wydown will offer coffee, espresso drinks, baked

Krampus to Prowl H Street NE for Charity As mentioned last month, the annual Krampusnacht (http:// krampusnachtdc.com) celebration is scheduled for Dec. 3. Krampus is, of course, a mythical Alpine goat-like beast that roams the streets in search of naughty children he can carry off to his lair to devour. Krampusnacht on H Street NE is a family-friendly event. It kicks off with a charity event raising funds for foster kids through the nonprofit Santa’s Cause DC (www.santascausedc.org), which receives 100 percent of your $10 donation for admission. The organizers hope to raise $6,000 this year for school supplies and birthday and holiday gifts for Family Matters of Greater Washington’s (https://familymattersdc.org) 75 foster kids. The fun starts at 5 p.m. at Gallery O on H (www.galleryoonh.com, 1354 H St. NE).

Last year even had Krampus coloring sheets and masks for the wee ones, and this year will offer face painting as well. The pre-party includes performances by the Foggy Bottom Morris Men (www.fbmm-morris.org), Dance Afire (https://www.facebook.com/DanceAfire), and the Batala drummers (www.batalawashington.com), as well as a chance to pose for photos with Krampus and Santa. After the party, the costumed Krampus and Santa will lead a procession down H Street NE to the delight (and often surprise) of onlookers. Grownups (21 years and over) looking for more Krampus fun can catch a second show at the gallery and compete in a costume contest at the post-party that runs until 11:30 p.m.

For more on what’s abuzz on and around H Street NE you can visit my blog at http://frozentropics.blogspot.com. You can send me tips or questions at elise.bernard@gmail.com. u

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{community life}

Our River: The Anacostia Making It Happen for the Children

by Bill Matuszeski

Z

andra and Dennis Chestnut know children. Zandra was the oldest of nine, Dennis the youngest of eight, and they have six of their own plus 15 grandchildren. This couple from the Seventh Ward in Anacostia have devoted their lives to the children living in their community, sometimes working together, sometimes apart, but always with the cooperation and help of many others. The Anacostia River and parks along it have played a key role in much of what they have done.

Dennis was born and raised in Anacostia, and he and Zandra live in the house he grew up in. He is best known as the executive director of Groundwork Anacostia River DC, a group he started in 2007 to

provide environmental education and green jobs for youth in the neighborhood. Before that he helped run the Mayor’s Green Summer Job Corps, the “Nature Is Music in Me” program with the National Park Service, and other similar efforts for young people, going back to his start as a master carpenter and facility manager.

Groundwork Anacostia River DC is one of 24 such urban trusts nationwide. Dennis has built his into one of the strongest by tying much of its work to the river and adjacent parks. It provides a variety of programs for youth, from weekend cleanups to green workforce development at four area high schools. Every summer a few of the students are selected to take part in an excursion to do Youth

Zandra’s “Anacostia Reflections.” Photo: Zandra Chestnut

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Conservation Corps work projects in national parks.

This past summer the group went to Yellowstone, where they took part in the Park Service Centennial Celebration.

The Groundwork programs range widely, but all have a focus on green jobs, reducing pollution, and smart growth. From urban archeology to trash traps to trail building, Dennis has developed programs to interest and engage just about any young person. Operating out of offices at 3939 Benning Road NE, Groundwork has built partnerships and programs throughout the neighborhoods along the streams and the river.

Meanwhile, after growing up a Navy brat, everywhere from Norfolk to Newfoundland, Zandra was finishing a long career in federal service on Capitol Hill. After helping Dennis start Groundwork Anacostia, with his help she opened the Center for Green Urbanism, a business incubator and art gallery also on Benning Road. She seeks to tie together improved education, the arts, and the natural environment. In recent years she has been

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Dennis and Zandra Chestnut. Photo: Zandra Chestnut

pursuing her arts programs through the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens, where she is on the Board of the Friends of the Garden. She is also a Citizen Forester with Casey Trees, but her real love is photography. Zandra is a member of Exposure Group – the African-American Photographers Association.

All of this activity is enough to exhaust the reader. But it goes on.

Zandra was recently elected to the board of the Friends of the National Arboretum, where her ideas and energy will be available to the Washington Youth Garden and other programs. As the first person to serve on both boards, she is already thinking about ways to build bridges between the Arboretum and the Aquatic Gardens, with the focus on youth and improving the natural environment.

In a way she will symbolize the pedestrian and bicycle bridge between the two facilities that is currently under design to cross the river.

Meanwhile Dennis is pursuing his own initiatives. He is beginning to work closely with the Anacostia Park and Community Collaboration, a project of the new Anacostia

Waterfront Trust. The focus is to engage locals in developing programs for youth and others in the parks on the east side of the river. Groundwork and the Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens are two among 13 local nonprofits involved, but Dennis considers them the two most focused on the environmental issues that he sees at the core of community hopes for improvement.

I asked the Chestnuts to identify the hardest part of their efforts on behalf of young people in Anacostia. To Dennis it is having reliable access to funds when you need them. There are many places to apply for funds, but nearly all have their own schedules and priorities. Only a few, like Casey Trees, have both the underlying endowment and the openness to consider innovations and priorities.

For Zandra the most difficult challenge has been to convince people both inside and outside Anacostia that there is artistic talent in the neighborhoods and communities east of the river. This is a matter of both education of the public and validation of the artists. It is a long and slow process, and many of the most talented young people have limited means and limited time to establish themselves.

Coming away, I don’t know what impresses me more about the Chestnuts--their accomplishments or their insights about the challenges for young people in Anacostia. It is rare to have both, and in such quantity.

Bill Matuszeski writes monthly about the Anacostia River. He is the retired director of the Chesapeake Bay Program, DC vice-chair of the Citizens Advisory Committee on the Anacostia River, and a member of the Mayor’s Leadership Council for a Cleaner Anacostia River. u

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www.compass.com/agents/dc/megan-shapiro/ November 2016 H 127

{community life}

Volunteering on the Hill

Celebrating a Diversity of Volunteering Options!

V

olunteering opportunities abound on Capitol Hill, whether you are interested in serving food for those in need, playing music in an orchestra, tutoring a child, or collecting clothes for the homeless. This installment in the series about volunteering on the Hill features three great nonprofits to show the diversity of opportunities that residents have to give to the community.

So Others Might Eat So Others Might Eat (SOME, www.some.org) is a relatively large interfaith and community-based organization working with the poor and the homeless in DC. It provides food, clothing, and healthcare to those in need, as well as affordable housing, job training, addiction treatment, and counseling.

SOME has an annual revenue of $35 million, large enough to be rated by Charity Navigator. SOME has four stars, the highest possible rating.

I asked SOME to share the experience of one

by Quentin Wodon of their beneficiaries. They told me about James, who was homeless and suffering from untreated mental health issues. He found his way to SOME for a hot breakfast. “They referred me across the street and my life started to change from there,” James said. Across the street from SOME’s dining room, James met with a physician and a social worker. He found safe Gifts for the Homeless has a clothing drive for the homeless in early December and delivers 1000’s of bags of clothing to DC shelters. harbor at Jordan House, SOME’s emergency shelter for adults experiencing store my sanity, my health, and my hope.” psychiatric crisis. Once ready, he went on to live The difference that you can make in a person’s on his own in SOME’s affordable housing. “I had life is what motivates volunteers to help. SOME oflost all hope and I don’t feel that way anymore. I’m fers many types of volunteer opportunities, but one very blessed for everyone that has helped me to reof the most popular is to help prepare and serve food in its dining rooms. In 2015 SOME provided close to 400,000 meals. Volunteers find the experience rewarding. “You’ll always leave with more than you came with,” explained a volunteer. “And what that means is you leave with optimism about how, one step at a time, one challenge at a time, you can make a difference.” As another volunteer explained it, “I saw firsthand how people in the community benefited directly. This was profoundly rewarding, because in most instances you don’t get the chance to see the beneficiaries of your voluntary efforts face to face. I have packed food in a food bank, sorted donated clothing, but have never seen the direct results of those efforts. SOME gave me that opportunity, which was both moving and rewarding.”

Capital City Symphony What if you have a real talent, like playing a musical instrument very well? The Capital City Symphony (CCS, www.capitalcitysymphony.org) may be the right fit for you. CCS is a community orchestra and one of the founding arts partners of A volunteer serves dinner in the dining room of So Others Might Eat.

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Gifts For the Homeless

The Capital City Symphony is made up of 100 musicians who volunteer their time and artistry.

the Atlas Performing Arts Center. Founded in 1967 as the Georgetown Symphony Orchestra, it relocated in 2005 to H Street NE, providing classical music performances in a part of the city that had long been underserved. The orchestra consists of approximately 100 volunteer musicians of all ages. In a typical season CCS offers four full orchestral programs (five to six performances), a chamber concert, and a community carol sing (two performances).

The next event is on Nov. 20 with the alluring theme of “A Night in Paris.”

Eric Hall is a volunteer musician with CCS. He discovered the orchestra a few years after moving to the Hill. “At first, my interest was purely selfish. I love playing orchestral music. Sit in the midst of 80 musicians, totally immersed in sound, and you’ll understand.”

But recently, he continued, “I’ve come to enjoy watching as other people discover their own appreciation for music. Sometimes it’s a child who has never seen or heard a bassoon before. Or it might be a longtime admirer of Mozart who is unexpectedly moved by an unknown contemporary composer.”

Eric does not think of himself as a community volunteer. “I don’t feed the hungry or fight injustice. I simply play bassoon. But on a good day I entertain a few hundred people for a couple of hours. I hope I am giving something back to the community I live in.” It’s important to him, even if he’s not saving lives or righting wrongs. “Music is part of a rich cultural life that makes Capitol Hill vibrant and exciting,” he explained. “If you’re bored on the Hill, you’re not trying very hard.” Eric regards his community as “a lively place where things are happening,” and he’s glad to be part of that energy.

As a third example of a great nonprofit with volunteering opportunities, especially now that the colder weather is setting in, let me mention Gifts For The Homeless (GFTH, www.gfth.org). GFTH is a volunteer-run organization that serves the homeless in DC in two ways: first through a clothing drive to collect secondhand clothing, blankets, sleeping bags, sheets, and towels, as well as travel toiletries, and second by raising funds to purchase essential new items of warm clothing such as coats, long underwear, hats, blankets, gloves, and socks. GFTH reaches out to more than 70 shelters to serve the homeless.

More than 300 volunteers, many of whom are from the DC legal community, will be helping during the clothing drive that is coming up on Dec. 2-3.

I learned about GFTH through Melinda Cooperman, a lawyer who is also a member of my organization, the Rotary Club of Capitol Hill. Most of us in the club volunteer not only with Rotary but also with other local organizations. I asked Melinda why she volunteers with GFTH. “Through my work at Gifts For The Homeless,” she replied, “I am able to help bring the DC legal community together to give back to our neighbors experiencing homelessness in a tangible and direct way. Our clothing drive in early December delivers thousands of bags of clothing each year to shelters around the District. It’s a unique service opportunity where partners from some of the area’s largest law firms work hand-in-hand with community members they serve. I’m proud to be part of such a special organization.”

So here you have it – three different volunteer opportunities that illustrate how you can help the community and grow as a person in doing so. I hope you will be able to find great volunteer opportunities during the holiday season, which is the perfect time to give back.

Quentin Wodon is president of the Rotary Club of Capitol Hill, which meets every second and fourth Tuesday of the month at 7:30 a.m. at the Dubliner on F Street. To contact Quentin or to learn more about some of the initiatives of the club please send an email through the Contact Me page of his blog at www.rotarianeconomist. com. u

November 2016 H 129

Hill-O-Ween

Photos: Andrew Lightman.

(Unless otherwise noted)

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Photo: Todd Lard

Photo: Todd Lard

HOWL-O-WEEN

Congressional Cemetery

November 2016 H 131

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{real estate}

Real Estate Matters

I

try to be a complete information source for my clients, but after I had a friend move, and having clients about to move, I realized I needed to find out more. So I had a sit-down learn session at Mia’s Coffee with Bookstore Movers’ owner Matt Wixon.

How do you pick a mover? Wixon says to do research on moving companies before you need them, and that when you call a prospective moving company you should be able to tell if they care about you and your stuff. If you leave a message, they should call back quickly, be friendly, and not be put off by your questions. Be wary of companies that are too

by Heather Schoell inexpensive, because a) you get what you pay for and b) they may make up for the low price by adding fees later. Be wary of new companies. They may be operating under a new name with false Yelp reviews. Make sure they have a DC Department of Transportation (DDOT) number and are insured.

Once you decide on a company, schedule your date as soon as you can. In the busy months of summer, and on Fridays, weekends, and the first/last days of the month, they can get backed up, booked six weeks in advance. You may be able to get an earlier date if you book a mid-week, mid-month move, and you can maybe even get a better price.

(It doesn’t hurt to ask!)

Next, fill out an estimate form. Don’t think you are going to get something for nothing by underestimating the volume of your stuff. They charge by the hour, so you’re only fooling yourself. Accurately fill out the form so you’ll have a real cost estimate and they will have a properly sized truck. If you have no idea how to fill out the form accurately, you can (at least with Bookstore Movers) send photos of your place or schedule a site visit. Good companies should offer tips on making your move efficient. Wixon says they don’t want to prolong things because they usually have another move to get to.

Bookstore Movers donates services to Brent Elementary School. Photo: Bookstore Movers

November 2016 H 133

It’s difficult to say how much it’ll cost, because a one-bedroom apartment may be packed from floor to ceiling, or a large home may be sparse but have special pieces, things that require a lot of care. How many people in the house is a significant detail. Some baby items like a crib take space in the truck and may require disassembly and reassembly. As a very general, oversimplified rule, a Capitol Hill family moving to another Hill home can expect to pay under $5,000 for the move, and that’s with packing included. Have a yard sale to get rid of extraneous items, and box thing yourself if you want to get that number down. Other considerations of cost are if you have the TV already off the wall or not, and if you want it assembled and installed in the new place. If you want a full-service move, make sure the company offers this.

Don’t schedule your move on your closing date if you’re buying or selling a home. Wixon has had instances where the house didn’t close on the day it was supposed to. You can’t move your stuff into a house that doesn’t yet belong to you, and the movers can’t store your stuff in their truck, so you must book a storage facility or move back into the original house (if possible).

Either way, you’ll have to pay twice. And there’s no guarantee that the company will still be available on the day you end up needing them.

Once you have your date scheduled, you need to reserve the freight elevator and loading dock if you’re in a building, and go to the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) about emergency no-parking signs. Pro tip: Wixon suggests that when you have the signs printed, get extras.

You’ll probably lose a few to weather and people tearing them down, and it doesn’t cost more.

While on the subject of trucks, figure out where the truck should park. An alley may be the closest path from your door, but can the truck fit? That brings us to the truck that you’ll need. A medium-sized home with a family of four who aren’t pack rats is probably in the 26-foot-truck range. A small apartment is more like a 16-foot truck. A really big home with a bunch of stuff may require two trucks.

You may wish to look into a company that rents reusable plastic moving bins, or see about acquiring boxes through a Listserv or Craigslist (but don’t use them if they’re flimsy or falling apart). If you have the moving company pack

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for you, they supply the boxes, and you can ask if they offer reusable bins.

Before the day of the move, you should receive confirmation of your date and the particulars. Give them any additional information closer to the move. This could be that you bought a grand piano (not all companies will move a piano), you had the floors refinished, or that all the walls are freshly painted. It’s not that they’re otherwise going to be cavalier with your walls and floors, but they’ll be extra vigilant. Accidents will happen, but it’s how the company deals with accidents that matters. If you go with a company that is locally based, you may have more luck with accountability.

On the day of the move, you’ll meet the team. (This is specific to Bookstore Movers.)

The crew chief will be outside loading the truck.

Inside there will be a team leader and a crew of two or three for a smaller truck, five or six for a larger truck. An operations team member (like a dispatcher/logistics person) is back at the office. How long the crew will take depends on whether you’re having them pack or have already boxed everything, dismantled the crib, and removed the TV from the wall. It could be four hours, or it could be eight. Then you’ll do a walk-through. Point out anything you want to be given special care, or anything that needs dismantling. At the new place don’t be timid about having them move the couch to another spot.

If it’s lunchtime, they clock out for 30 minutes. Wixon says that his guys are athletes, able to lift and heave, up and down stairs, quickly and efficiently, but they need to refuel. If you want to provide lunch (pizza, sandwiches, whatever) and Gatorade, then that’s kind of you and much appreciated.

When they’re all done, charges will be calculated, and you pay on the spot. At least in the case of Bookstore Movers, you can pay by cash, check, or credit card. They don’t require a deposit, and there are no fees for charging. Most of their clients tip. The average is 20 percent to split among the crew, but some people prefer to slip each guy a bill. Done. Moving 101!

Heather Schoell is a Capitol Hill REALTOR with Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices PenFed Realty and can be reached at heathersdc@gmail.com, at the office at 202-608-1880, or by cell at 202-3210874. u

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November 2016 H 135

{real estate}

Changing Hands Changing hands is a list of most residential sales in the District of Columbia 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.

NEIGHBORHOOD

PRICEBEDROOMS

HOMES 16TH STREET HEIGHTS 4820 IOWA AVE NW 1402 DECATUR ST NW 4525 ARKANSAS AVE NW 4511 ARKANSAS AVE NW

$1,285,000 $1,000,000 $895,000 $860,000

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY PARK 4409 RIVER RD NW 4716 ALTON PL NW

ANACOSTIA

1231 TALBERT ST SE 1520 19TH ST SE 1307 S ST SE

BARRY FARMS 1446 HOWARD RD SE 2641 WADE RD SE

BERKLEY

4608 KENMORE DR NW 2205 49TH ST NW

BRENTWOOD

1832 PROVIDENCE ST NE

BRIGHTWOOD

6523 6TH ST NW 1433 FORT STEVENS DR NW 5909 4TH ST NW 308 LONGFELLOW ST NW 613 SOMERSET PL NW 500 WHITTIER ST NW 331 MADISON ST NW 6002 7TH PL NW

BROOKLAND

1225 MICHIGAN AVE NE 600 GIRARD ST NE 1516 NEWTON ST NE 310 RHODE ISLAND AVE NE 914 EVARTS ST NE 328 BRYANT ST NE 3121 12TH ST NE 330 CHANNING ST NE 226 ADAMS ST NE 4703 8TH ST NE 913 VARNUM ST NE 4208 13TH ST NE 39 CRITTENDEN ST NE 715 DELAFIELD ST NE 5048 6TH PL NE 732 EMERSON ST NE 3210 20TH ST NE

CAPITOL HILL

119 5TH ST NE 322 9TH ST NE 416 CONSTITUTION AVE NE 136 6TH ST NE

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6 5 4 4

$927,000 $757,000

4 3

$420,000 $304,000 $249,000

3 3 3

$325,000 $200,000

2 3

$2,075,000 $1,072,000

4 3

$250,000

3

$656,000 $645,000 $635,000 $535,000 $522,500 $500,000 $450,000 $442,500

6 4 4 4 3 2 3 3

$950,000 $720,000 $653,500 $610,000 $580,000 $524,900 $500,000 $475,000 $445,000 $436,000 $435,000 $425,000 $415,000 $386,900 $310,000 $300,000 $499,500

4 4 3 4 3 3 3 2 3 3 4 4 3 3 2 2 3

$1,250,000 $1,250,000 $1,107,000 $1,059,000

6 4 4 4

401 6TH ST NE 405 2ND ST SE 718 5TH ST NE 161 KENTUCKY AVE SE 636 9TH ST NE 929 11TH ST NE 1331 NORTH CAROLINA AVE NE 209 14TH ST NE 107 15TH ST SE 409 KENTUCKY AVE SE 302 3RD ST SE 111 18TH ST SE 339 13TH ST SE 438 10TH ST NE 1313 POTOMAC AVE SE 1722 INDEPENDENCE AVE SE 1515 K ST SE 619 12TH ST NE

CHEVY CHASE

3823 MORRISON ST NW 3725 INGOMAR ST NW 3813 JOCELYN ST NW 3225 PATTERSON ST NW 3615 JENIFER ST NW 3728 MILITARY RD NW 6019 WESTERN AVE NW 2808 MCKINLEY PL NW 3714 LIVINGSTON ST NW 4111 FESSENDEN ST NW

$1,000,000 $989,000 $968,500 $945,000 $935,000 $897,000 $870,000 $802,500 $800,000 $750,000 $727,000 $700,000 $658,500 $635,000 $615,000 $520,000 $490,000 $865,000

4 3 3 3 4 4 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 3 2 3

5342 43RD ST NW 3241 LIVINGSTON ST NW 5504 32ND ST NW 5500 27TH ST NW 5350 NEBRASKA AVE NW 2749 UNICORN LN NW 6209 WESTERN AVE NW

CHILLUM

26 LONGFELLOW ST NE 56 LONGFELLOW ST NW

CLEVELAND PARK 3200 PORTER ST NW 3516 30TH ST NW 3708 RENO RD NW

COLONIAL VILLAGE 1622 JUNIPER ST NW

$1,857,000 $1,660,000 $1,425,000 $1,400,000 $1,200,000 $1,175,000 $1,120,000 $1,112,500 $1,070,000 $1,065,000

5 6 6 4 3 3 5 5 4 3

COLUMBIA HEIGHTS 3459 HOLMEAD PL NW 1323 QUINCY ST NW 1343 IRVING ST NW 440 NEWTON PL NW 1248 GIRARD ST NW 1027 LAMONT ST NW 3133 11TH ST NW 638 QUEBEC PL NW 918 EUCLID ST NW

$992,000 $980,000 $975,000 $950,000 $915,000 $910,000 $840,000

3 3 3 4 3 3 3

$825,000 $399,999

4 3

$1,210,000 $1,200,000 $1,004,700

5 3 3

$1,145,000

5

$1,450,000 $1,005,000 $950,000 $900,000 $875,000 $810,000 $810,000 $780,000 $760,000

7 4 6 4 4 5 3 3 4

WE’R E C ELEBRAT ING OU R 15TH ANNIVERSA RY (S ER VI N G B UY ER S A N D S ELLE R S ON C AP I TOL H I L L )

AND W E ’ R E P R OU D T O W IS H A HAPP Y 40T H T O TH E H IL L RA G !

1313 IRVING ST NW 3907 KANSAS AVE NW 465 LURAY PL NW 1410 PERRY PL NW 4101 ARKANSAS AVE NW 3112 PARK PL NW 750 HARVARD ST NW 639 ATLANTIC ST SE 82 ELMIRA ST SW 821 HR DR SE 826 XENIA ST SE 818 XENIA ST SE 130 DARRINGTON ST SW 1122 BARNABY TER SE 909 ALABAMA AVE SE

DEANWOOD

215 56TH PL NE 4911 FITCH PL NE 158 35TH ST NE 906 PORTER CT NE 4220 CLAY ST NE 314 DIVISION AVE NE 4614 BROOKS ST NE 5073 SHERIFF RD NE 5316 JAMES PL NE 5109 SHERIFF RD NE 4921 JUST ST NE 4112 GAULT PL NE

ECKINGTON

12 SEATON PL NE 42 SEATON PL NW 9 T ST NE 153 V ST NE 154 U ST NE

FORT DUPONT PARK 1652 FORT DUPONT ST SE 4315 E ST SE 1654 FORT DUPONT ST SE 4322 H ST SE 654 BURNS ST SE 812 HILLTOP TER SE 4433 TEXAS AVE SE 4201 H ST SE 4332 GORMAN TER SE 4620 EASY PL SE 4218 FORT DUPONT TER SE

FORT LINCOLN

3244 THEODORE R HAGANS DR NE 3221 THEODORE R HAGANS DR NE

FOXHALL

1439 FOXHALL RD NW

GANGPLANK MARINA 600 Water St SW #C2

GARFIELD

2926 CORTLAND PL NW

GEORGETOWN

3327 DENT PL NW 1671 32ND ST NW 3821 S ST NW 3613 WINFIELD LN NW 3536 WINFIELD LN NW 1502 33RD ST NW 1231 30TH ST NW 1407 33RD ST NW 1331 35TH ST NW

$700,000 $650,000 $587,500 $565,000 $559,000 $550,000 $465,000 $342,000 $315,000 $315,000 $300,000 $283,500 $160,000 $157,500 $142,000

5 3 3 3 2 3 3 4 4 3 4 3 2 2 2

$417,000 $285,000 $253,500 $239,999 $189,900 $170,000 $155,000 $152,000 $150,000 $122,550 $120,000 $104,340

4 3 2 3 2 2 1 2 1 3 2 3

$780,000 $670,000 $635,000 $628,000 $545,000

4 4 4 3 3

$355,000 $350,000 $305,000 $299,000 $280,000 $244,900 $239,900 $185,000 $176,000 $170,000 $165,000

4 4 3 4 2 2 2 2 2 4 2

$530,000 $545,000

3 3

$929,900

3

$149,900

2

$1,495,000

5

$3,775,000 $2,250,000 $1,610,000 $1,600,000 $1,360,000 $1,340,000 $1,219,500 $1,180,000 $1,067,000

4 5 5 6 2 2 3 3 3

CT A TR S N AY CO 7 D

742 13th St. SE $990,000 5BR/3.5BA

116 6th St. NE #202 $599,900 2BR/1BA

E BL A IL W A O AV N

One of The Hill’s GRANDEST Pre-war apartment homes, The Linville features a coveted location and classic dimensions – nothing cramped and cookie-cutter here! This bright condo home has great flow, original HW floors, fixtures, and much more! A gracious entry foyer leads to the large central living room, separate dining room, and guest room/den - all bathed in morning sun. The renovated kitchen has a great layout and boasts a Thermador cooktop w/built-in grill, new stainless appliances, and breakfast bar.

Owner’s bedroom features a wall of built-in drawers and cabinets AND a walk-in closet!

This exquisite Connell & Schmidt renovation offers thoughtful details in every corner. An enormous 5 BR/3.5 BA three story home OR owners’ residence UP with 2 BR/1BA DOWN – perfect for guests, full time rental, or Airbnb. But wait, there’s more! Two rear decks, a real back yard, and secure off-street driveway. The craftsmanship, finishes, and spacious interior make this home a stand out! Perfectly positioned steps from Metro and a short stroll from the restaurants, bars, and shops of Barracks Row and Pennsylvania Avenue.

E BL A IL W A O AV N

R T DE AC N U TR N CO

909 14TH St. SE $839,000 3BR/2.5BA

1638 Rosedale St. NE $639,000 3BR/3.5BA

Complete Renovation. ALL NEW inside historic envelope from the ground to the roof - 3 levels of pristine living. Open layout Living/Dining/Kitchen/Half-bath with hardwood floors. The wall of back windows and door leads to your private deck + patio. Upstairs: Owner’s suite w/walkin shower and 2 additional BRs plus hall bath. Lower level w/full bath + W/D for guests, office, media room?? Plentiful closets and storage throughout. Quiet block. 3 blocks from H St. Streetcar.

Beautifully restored Semi-Detached Capitol Hill Victorian. Wide, 3 story w/finished Basement + kitchenette. Renovated kitchen, large dining room, two gas fireplaces w/ orig. stone mantels, two rear sunrooms, restored original HW floors throughout, clawfoot tub, newly repointed brick. Classic, Spacious, and Convenient! One block to Potomac Metro & Harris Teeter. Stroll to Eastern Market and Lincoln Park.

LD S SO AY D 6

1229 Massachusetts Ave. SE $1.36MM - $68K over list!

5BR/4.5BA This stunning castle overlooks Lincoln Park!

Classic Victorian with 3,400 sf over 4 levels. Wide, open Living, Dining, & Entertaining spaces. Huge renovated gourmet kitchen with maple cabinets, stainless, soapstone counters. Rear screened porch.

Orig. HW floors. Owner’s suite with mega closets + built-in dressing room + hotel-style bath. BONUS penthouse bed/bath or media room! Lower Level: 1Bed/1Bath apartment with C of O.

G

!

N

O

SO

IN

M

CO

YOUR HOUSE HERE!

We work to prepare and present ONE BEAUTIFUL NEW LISTING each week.

Give us a call for a FREE consultation about how to achieve the ideal sales outcome for YOUR home!

joel@joelnelsongroup.com 202.243.7707

November 2016 H 137

{real estate}

GLOVER PARK

2443 TUNLAW RD NW 2116 HUIDEKOPER PL NW 2040 37TH ST NW 2209 OBSERVATORY PL NW

H ST CORRIDOR 1020 10TH ST NE 1304 G ST NE

HAWTHORNE

7045 WESTERN AVE NW 6870 OREGON AVE NW

HILL CREST

2035 36TH ST SE 2908 O ST SE 1711 31ST ST SE 2911 R ST SE 2522 Q ST SE 1813 29TH ST SE 2511 FAIRLAWN AVE SE 1709 31ST ST SE

KALORAMA

2320-2330 S ST NW 2318 CALIFORNIA ST NW 1823 KALORAMA RD NW 2329 20TH ST NW

KENT

3035 CHAIN BRIDGE RD NW 2931 UNIVERSITY TER NW 5134 CATHEDRAL AVE NW 2927 ARIZONA AVE NW 5053 GLENBROOK TER NW 5033 GLENBROOK TER NW 5106 KLINGLE ST NW 2807 GLADE ST NW 5733 MACARTHUR BLVD NW

KINGMAN PARK 565 23RD PL NE

LEDROIT PARK 416 T ST NW 22 ADAMS ST NW

LILY PONDS

3420 EADS ST NE 120 KENILWORTH AVE NE

MARSHALL HEIGHTS 5120 C ST SE 4808 BASS PL SE 4815 BASS PL SE

MICHIGAN PARK

1924 VARNUM ST NE 4801 QUEENS CHAPEL TER NE 2008 SHEPHERD ST NE

MOUNT PLEASANT 1851 NEWTON ST NW 2040 PIERCE MILL RD NW 1628 MONROE ST NW

OLD CITY

501 12TH ST NE 620 D ST NE 824 KENTUCKY AVE SE 647 8TH ST NE

138 H Hillrag.com

$999,999 $930,000 $925,000 $759,000

3 3 3 3

$625,000 $625,000

3 3

$796,000 $786,870

3 3

$436,000 $372,000 $350,000 $335,000 $320,000 $260,000 $257,000 $220,000

2 4 3 4 4 3 2 1

$23,000,000 $2,850,000 $2,050,000 $1,900,000

11 3 8 4

$5,700,000 $3,500,000 $2,445,000 $1,935,000 $1,900,000 $1,550,000 $1,430,000 $960,000 $949,000

7 6 6 5 6 4 3 4 3

$431,000

2

$1,100,000 $965,000

3 5

$280,000 $265,000

2 2

$425,000 $165,000 $125,000

4 2 2

$554,000 $520,000 $459,000

3 3 3

$1,249,000 $898,000 $850,000

4 4 3

$8,400,000 $1,151,000 $1,089,950 $989,000

36 4 4 4

648 G ST NE 931 11TH ST NE 914 12TH ST NE 620 G ST NE 812 12TH ST NE 1609 D ST SE 307 13TH ST SE 650 6TH ST NE 918 8TH ST NE 633 L ST NE 533 TENNESSEE AVE NE 1434 AMES PL NE 623 15TH ST NE 214 14TH ST NE 1371 F ST NE 731 13TH ST NE 433 15TH ST SE 408 M ST NE 436 10TH ST NE 1023 10TH ST NE 1616 POTOMAC AVE SE 238 9TH ST NE 913 11TH ST NE 1110 K ST NE 1149 4TH ST NE 619 11TH ST NE 1634 F ST NE 2032 E ST NE 434 19TH ST NE 1756 CHURCH ST NW 1342 W ST NW 1329 10TH ST NW 2230 13TH ST NW 25 N ST NW 1808 SWANN ST NW 1534 KINGMAN PL NW 1529 6TH ST NW 2131 13TH ST NW 2236 12TH PL NW 36 NEW YORK AVE NW 200 MORGAN ST NW 440 RIDGE ST NW

PALISADES

2367 KING PL NW 5420 NEWARK ST NW 4418 LINGAN RD NW

PETWORTH

701 VARNUM ST NW 923 DECATUR ST NW 5230 5TH ST NW 311 ALLISON ST NW 5415 ILLINOIS AVE NW 5502 4TH ST NW 1105 JEFFERSON ST NW 5229 NEW HAMPSHIRE AVE NW 4315 7TH ST NW 815 KENNEDY ST NW 4115 5TH ST NW 122 INGRAHAM ST NW 4614 9TH ST NW 608 EMERSON ST NW 5118 N CAPITOL ST NW 516 MISSOURI AVE NW 227 INGRAHAM ST NW 601 HAMILTON ST NW 5112 NORTH CAPITOL ST NW 608 GALLATIN ST NW 5110 5TH ST NW 613 LONGFELLOW ST NW 726 GALLATIN ST NW 624 JEFFERSON ST NW

$943,000 $915,000 $899,000 $889,620 $855,000 $850,000 $849,000 $830,000 $807,500 $789,000 $765,000 $761,500 $759,000 $730,000 $729,000 $729,000 $725,000 $717,000 $700,000 $675,000 $675,000 $650,000 $600,000 $526,000 $450,000 $449,000 $385,000 $350,000 $325,000 $1,520,000 $1,405,000 $1,360,000 $1,175,000 $1,050,000 $1,050,000 $1,020,000 $910,000 $875,000 $749,900 $725,000 $690,000 $499,000

3 3 4 3 3 3 3 3 4 3 3 3 4 3 3 2 2 3 4 4 3 3 3 2 3 1 2 2 2 4 3 7 3 4 1 2 5 2 2 4 3 2

$1,311,000 $1,150,000 $775,000

4 3 3

$810,000 $733,000 $705,000 $680,000 $659,900 $650,000 $649,900 $624,900 $610,000 $575,000 $560,000 $550,000 $525,000 $524,500 $517,000 $505,000 $504,000 $485,000 $472,000 $465,000 $460,000 $436,000 $430,000 $375,000

4 4 4 3 5 4 4 4 4 3 3 4 3 3 3 3 4 3 3 3 3 4 3 4

RANDLE HEIGHTS 1801 18TH ST SE 1860 ALABAMA AVE SE 1904 17TH ST SE 1837 TOBIAS DR SE 1711 STANTON TER SE 3436 23RD ST SE 1820 S ST SE 1514 WHITE PL SE 2706 STANTON RD SE 2304 SOUTHERN AVE SE 2803 BUENA VISTA TER SE

RIGGS PARK

4951 SARGENT RD NE 5909 8TH ST NE 4967 12TH ST NE 331 PEABODY ST NE 720 JEFFERSON ST NE 625 KENSINGTON PL NE 4932 SARGENT RD NE 1233 DELAFIELD PL NE 5724 EASTERN AVE NE

SHAW

446 Q ST NW

SHEPHERD PARK 1431 GERANIUM ST NW 7556 ALASKA AVE NW

TAKOMA PARK

6716 EASTERN AVE NW 96 RITTENHOUSE ST NE 14 UNDERWOOD ST NW

TENLEYTOWN

3827 ALBEMARLE ST NW

TRINIDAD

1279 OATES ST NE 1516 TRINIDAD AVE NE 1671 MONTELLO AVE NE 1423 TRINIDAD AVE NE 1232 NEAL ST NE 837 20TH ST NE 1942 I ST NE

WAKEFIELD

4516 38TH ST NW

WALTER REED 7540 8TH ST NW

WOODRIDGE

3908 21ST ST NE 3131 MONROE ST NE 3103 ADAMS ST NE 3419 20TH ST NE 2512 22ND ST NE 3013 OTIS ST NE 3068 VISTA ST NE 2622 RHODE ISLAND AVE NE 2410 SOUTH DAKOTA AVE NE 2607 MONROE ST NE 2621 QUEENS CHAPEL RD NE

$485,000 $337,900 $330,000 $315,000 $292,500 $280,000 $270,000 $213,750 $210,000 $160,000 $110,000

4 3 3 4 3 3 2 3 3 3 3

$475,000 $462,750 $449,000 $440,000 $430,000 $425,000 $399,900 $350,000 $315,000

3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 3

$850,000

2

$880,000 $610,000

4 4

$655,000 $455,000 $365,000

4 4 3

$800,000

3

$775,000 $670,000 $645,000 $625,000 $530,000 $380,000 $370,000

4 4 4 3 3 3 2

$1,290,000

3

$450,000

4

$699,900 $650,000 $619,000 $605,000 $483,000 $480,000 $463,000 $391,000 $310,000 $291,900 $699,999

4 4 4 3 3 3 4 4 2 2 4

$659,000

3

CONDO 16TH STREET HEIGHTS 1424 BUCHANAN ST NW #01

FIRST OPEN S U N D AY, N O V E M B E R 6 T H , 1 - 3 P M Hyattsville Bungalow Freshly Painted Inside and Out 1424 BUCHANAN ST NW #03 1346 NICHOLSON ST NW #301

ADAMS MORGAN

1700 KALORAMA RD NW #310 1644 BEEKMAN PL NW #A 2337 CHAMPLAIN NW #203 2337 CHAMPLAIN NW #202 1842 CALIFORNIA ST NW #19B 2337 CHAMPLAIN NW #001

BARRY FARMS

2640 WADE RD SE #33

BLOOMINGDALE 52 QUINCY PL NW #202

BRIGHTWOOD

7425 BLAIR RD NW #7425 1/2 520 BRUMMEL CT NW #520

BROOKLAND

1202 JACKSON ST NE #110 1202 JACKSON ST NE #109 1202 JACKSON ST NE #111 329 RHODE ISLAND AVE NE #102 315 EVARTS ST NE #211

CAPITOL HILL

625 5TH ST NE #2 1519 CONSTITUTION AVE NE #301 1391 PENNSYLVANIA AVE SE #347 309 4TH ST SE #3 1323 K ST SE #203 909 E ST SE #1 414 SEWARD SQ SE #104

CAPITOL RIVERFRONT 1025 1ST ST SE #1415

CENTRAL

1111 25TH ST NW #721 2425 L ST NW #524 2017 O ST NW #3 925 H ST NW #503 916 G ST NW #402 1230 23RD ST NW #612 1275 25TH ST NW #604 1117 NEW HAMPSHIRE AVE NW #5 400 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #1118 801 PENNSYLVANIA AVE NW #PH12 916 G ST NW #606 601 PENNSYLVANIA AVE NW #1012 1133 14TH ST NW #1106 1314 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #803 777 7TH ST NW #804 1133 14TH ST NW #1209 777 7TH ST NW #816 1280 21ST ST NW #603 1111 25TH ST NW #604 1260 21ST ST NW #602 1121 24TH ST NW #209 1330 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #511

CHEVY CHASE

5105 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #2 5109 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #1 5406 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #108

CLEVELAND PARK 3807 RODMAN ST NW #A7 3530 39TH ST NW #649 3840 39TH ST NW #B104

Refinished Wood Floors

$541,000 $373,750

2 1

$775,000 $745,000 $635,000 $617,000 $410,000 $399,000

2 2 2 2 1 1

$61,000

2

$340,000

1

Oh, The Possibilities!

$436,500 $399,000

3 2

Large Two Level (Plus Basement) Home

$519,000 $459,000 $459,000 $439,000 $249,850

2 2 2 2 1

$1,295,000 $615,000 $592,500 $431,000 $320,000 $299,000 $235,000

3 3 2 2 1 1 1

$650,000

2

$890,000 $790,000 $779,000 $680,000 $640,000 $632,000 $605,000 $574,000 $542,500 $539,000 $505,000 $494,000 $485,000 $423,500 $413,000 $399,990 $383,000 $382,500 $350,000 $330,000 $275,000 $200,000

2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 2

$720,000 $636,250 $318,000

2 2 2

$610,000 $520,000 $462,500

3 2 2

Detached Garage

Hub’s helpful, easygoing personality and patience made for a great experience.

He was extremely responsive and answered every question quickly and fully. I would recommend him to anyone looking to purchase in the area.”

Bill - Condo Buyer

Large, Private Yard 3906 Jefferson St

REDUCED

Ideal Multi-unit Conversion Candidate Refinish to Your Hearts Desire

Hub Krack 202.550.2111

Pam Kristof 202.253.2550

Licensed in DC, MD & VA

Great Columbia Heights location Now $895,000.

RESIDENTIAL SALES AND LISTINGS COMMERCIAL LEASING AND SALES

www.hubkrack.com

November 2016 H 139

{real estate}

4301 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #8012 3809 PORTER ST NW #145 3610 39TH ST NW #C543 3670 38TH ST NW #C249 3446 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #201 3024 WISCONSIN AVE NW #206

COLUMBIA HEIGHTS 3803 10TH NW #UNIT 2 1118 MONROE ST NW #2 3803 10TH ST NW #1# 1352 MONROE ST NW #B 1459 HARVARD ST NW #6 1370 MONROE ST NW #B 1352 QUINCY ST NW #Q2 3035 15TH ST NW #402 763 MORTON ST NW #3 1390 KENYON ST NW #301 1390 KENYON ST NW #517 1380 QUINCY ST NW #2A 1449 HARVARD ST NW #1 2750 14TH ST NW #602 1361 IRVING ST NW #12 1126 COLUMBIA RD NW #2 1420 CLIFTON ST NW #304 3035 15TH ST NW #302 919 FLORIDA AVE NW #601 3546 6TH ST NW #2 1436 MERIDIAN PL NW #406 1421 COLUMBIA RD NW #B1 1308 CLIFTON ST NW #111 1454 NEWTON ST NW #101 4010 KANSAS AVE NW #1 929 FLORIDA AVE NW #2006 1321 FAIRMONT ST NW #403 3534 10TH ST NW #400 1457 PARK RD NW #505 1225 FAIRMONT ST NW #P-1 2656 15TH ST NW #P-1 120 DANBURY ST SW #5

DUPONT CIRCLE

1625 Q ST NW #204 1813 16TH ST NW #4-B 1916 17TH ST NW #410 1828 RIGGS PL NW #5 1 SCOTT CIR NW #802 1325 18TH ST NW #911 1601 18TH ST NW #505 1718 CORCORAN ST NW #5 1318 22ND ST NW #407 1756 U ST NW #101

ECKINGTON

135 QUINCY PL NE #1 52 QUINCY PL NE ##1 138 QUINCY PL NE #3 37 TODD PL NE #3 37 TODD PL NE #2 37 TODD PL NE #1 314 V ST NE #103 340 ADAMS ST NE #102 51 RANDOLPH PL NW #103

FOGGY BOTTOM

2600 PENNSYLVANIA AVE NW #401 2515 K ST NW #404 2030 F ST NW #411 522 21ST ST NW #312

FOREST HILLS

4007 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #209

140 H Hillrag.com

$419,000 $369,900 $349,900 $337,000 $280,000 $270,000

2 1 1 1 1 1

$760,000 $720,000 $680,000 $677,000 $656,000 $650,000 $640,000 $621,000 $620,000 $599,500 $555,000 $554,900 $540,000 $515,000 $497,500 $494,750 $480,000 $449,900 $443,000 $399,000 $394,000 $385,000 $385,000 $350,000 $329,900 $296,500 $279,000 $270,000 $160,500 $25,000 $18,000 $49,000

3 3 3 2 2 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 3 2 2 2 2 1 0 1 1 0 0 0 1

$675,500 $634,000 $449,000 $387,000 $279,500 $465,000 $330,000 $299,000 $390,000 $535,000

2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2

$689,000 $649,900 $625,000 $590,000 $549,900 $484,900 $247,000 $243,400 $214,900

3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 1

$805,000 $340,000 $230,000 $223,500

2 1 0 0

$360,000

1

FORT DUPONT PARK 428 RIDGE RD SE #305

GEORGETOWN

3318 VOLTA PL NW #2 3299 K ST NW #603 1039 PAPER MILL CT NW #1039 2516 Q ST NW #E-2 2500 Q ST NW #319

GLOVER PARK

4000 TUNLAW RD NW #1122 4000 TUNLAW RD NW #816 4000 TUNLAW RD NW #715 2320 WISCONSIN AVE NW #516 2605 39TH ST NW #304 4114 DAVIS PL NW #8 4114 DAVIS PL NW #5 2339 40TH PL NW #004 4000 TUNLAW RD NW #410 2600 TUNLAW RD NW #1 4100 W ST NW #516 4000 TUNLAW RD NW #117 3925 DAVIS PL NW #306

H STREET CORRIDOR 1111 ORREN ST NE #500 1111 ORREN ST NE #301 1111 ORREN ST NE #210 1350 MARYLAND AVE NE #507 1111 ORREN ST NE #506 1111 ORREN ST NE #302 1111 ORREN ST NE #308 1111 ORREN ST NE #205 1111 ORREN ST NE #201 1111 ORREN ST NE #306 1111 ORREN ST NE #206 1111 ORREN ST NE #409

KALORAMA

1829 CALIFORNIA ST NW #PH2 2311 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #201 1829 CALIFORNIA ST NW #PH4 2405 20TH ST NW #1106 2416 19TH ST NW #33 2406 19TH ST NW #62 2006 COLUMBIA RD NW #32 1829 CALIFORNIA ST NW #203 1875 CALIFORNIA ST NW #2 1875 CALIFORNIA ST NW #4 2123 CALIFORNIA ST NW #F7 2010 KALORAMA RD NW #301 1954 COLUMBIA RD NW #101 20322040 BELMONT RD NW #115

KINGMAN PARK 412 19TH ST NE #303

LEDROIT PARK

2035 2ND ST NW #GL09 2201 2ND ST NW #13

LOGAN CIRCLE

1516 R ST NW #3 1220 11TH ST NW #2 1405 W ST NW #301 1320 13TH ST NW #2 1010 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #PH202 1010 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #304 1713 15TH ST NW #3 1529 14TH ST NW #508 1713 15TH ST NW #2 1325 13TH ST NW #702

$47,900

1

$935,000 $775,000 $650,000 $585,000 $365,000

2 2 2 2 1

$432,000 $400,000 $399,999 $387,500 $370,000 $324,900 $320,000 $291,990 $275,000 $270,000 $270,000 $260,000 $222,000

2 2 2 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

$689,900 $469,900 $399,900 $399,900 $389,900 $377,900 $374,900 $369,900 $369,900 $344,900 $339,900 $299,900

2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1

$764,000 $755,000 $739,000 $715,000 $705,000 $665,000 $620,000 $615,000 $590,000 $553,500 $440,000 $360,000 $239,000 $214,000

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 0 0

$250,000

1

$415,000 $387,500

2 1

$955,000 $765,000 $724,900 $549,900 $1,775,000 $800,000 $795,000 $779,500 $760,000 $694,000

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2

1322 15TH ST NW #2 1634 14TH ST NW #502 1300 N ST NW #412 1529 14TH ST NW #310 1202 T ST NW #1

MOUNT PLEASANT

1632 BEEKMAN PL NW #B 1660 BEEKMAN PL NW #A 2380 CHAMPLAIN ST NW #204 1636 ARGONNE PL NW ##2 1636 ARGONNE PL NW #3 1613 HARVARD ST NW #316 2422 17th NW #208 2633 ADAMS MILL RD NW #204 1801 PARK RD NW #4 1661 PARK RD NW #304 2422 17TH ST NW #102

$389,000 $386,000 $247,000 $589,900 $1,095,000

1 1 0 1 2

$760,000 $760,000 $660,000 $648,000 $584,000 $575,000 $479,900 $435,000 $369,000 $320,000 $279,900

2 2 2 2 1 2 2 1 1 1 0

MOUNT VERNON TRIANGLE 811 4TH ST NW #610 437 NEW YORK AVE NW #1003

OBSERVATORY CIRCLE 2801 NEW MEXICO AVE NW #707 3901 CATHEDRAL AVE NW #110 3051 IDAHO AVE NW #214

OLD CITY

619 16TH ST NE #PH-B 1424 L ST SE #302 1025 1ST ST SE #809 1025 1ST ST SE #510 619 16TH ST NE #A 301 G ST NE #13 919 MARYLAND AVE NE #1 707 18TH ST NE #2 1391 PENNSYLVANIA AVE SE #305 321 18TH ST SE #7 420 16TH ST SE #209 410 15TH ST NE #22 1600 15TH ST NW #2 1401 Q ST NW #303 1401 Q ST NW #304 2125 14TH ST NW #708 1406 CORCORAN ST NW #D 1520 O ST NW #103 1600 15TH ST NW #1 1407 W ST NW #202 2001 12TH ST NW #306 1117 10TH ST NW #502 475 K ST NW #1019 475 K ST NW #501 910 M ST NW #508 555 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #1119 555 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #1007 555 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #1411 1225 13TH ST NW #302 2004 11TH ST NW #436 1615 Q ST NW #1211 1545 18TH ST NW #522 1209 13TH ST NW #403 1622 5TH ST NW #A 1825 T ST NW #101 1727 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #802 1737 T ST NW #102 317 R ST NW #1 1101 L ST NW #302 1115 12TH ST NW #404 1718 P ST NW #609 1711 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #709 1727 MASSACHUSETTS AVE NW #709 1440 N ST NW #411

$560,000 $488,000

2 1

$650,000 $200,000 $170,500

2 0 0

$670,000 $599,000 $594,500 $594,000 $553,201 $528,900 $495,000 $480,000 $440,000 $395,000 $310,000 $275,000 $1,700,000 $1,171,000 $952,500 $920,000 $850,000 $778,500 $712,500 $651,407 $650,000 $640,000 $600,000 $597,000 $502,000 $475,000 $449,000 $449,000 $424,000 $422,500 $408,000 $400,000 $399,900 $380,000 $365,000 $345,900 $315,000 $305,000 $305,000 $300,000 $265,000 $259,000 $230,000 $215,000

3 2 2 1 2 1 2 2 1 1 1 1 3 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 1 1 1 3 1 1 0 0 0 0

DARE JOHNSON WENZLER Realtor, Compass

PENN QUARTER

701 PENNSYLVANIA AVE NW #PH18 601 PENNSYLVANIA AVE NW #601 616 E ST NW #1208

PETWORTH

407 RANDOLPH NW #1 4519 GEORGIA AVE NW #1 407 RANDOLPH ST NW #2 4519 GEORGIA AVE NW #2 603 KENNEDY ST NW #1 5328 4TH ST NW #2 911 KENNEDY ST NW #9 5041 1ST ST NW #9 723 LONGFELLOW ST NW #304 939 LONGFELLOW ST NW #311

RLA (SW)

1261 DELAWARE AVE SW 321 I ST SW #201 847 3RD ST SW #300 410 O ST SW #306 240 M ST SW #E707 800 4TH ST SW #N407 800 4TH ST SW #N410 1425 4TH ST SW #A415 355 I ST SW #407S 800 4TH ST SW #S103 300 M ST SW #N613

SHAW

436 M ST NW #5

SOUTHWEST

525 Water St SW #324 525 Water ST SW #229 700 7TH ST SW #632

TAKOMA

422 BUTTERNUT ST NW #111

THOMAS CIRCLE 1133 14TH ST NW #505

TRINIDAD

1408 MONTELLO AVE NE #1 1240 HOLBROOK TER NE #201 1229 18TH ST NE #101 1123 MORSE ST NE #3

U STREET COORIDOR 1324 W ST NW #1 2101 11TH ST NW #301 1421 FLORIDA AVE NW #6 1111 W ST NW #7 2030 8TH ST NW #PH9 1417 CHAPIN ST NW #403 2004 11TH ST NW #421 1929 11TH ST NW #2 1929 11TH ST NW #1

WAKEFIELD

4740 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #302 4740 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #209 4740 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #503 4740 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #1003

WESLEY HEIGHTS

4201 CATHEDRAL AVE NW #815E 3101 NEW MEXICO AVE NW #227 3101 NEW MEXICO AVE NW #812 4200 CATHEDRAL AVE NW #919 4201 CATHEDRAL AVE NW #1103W

$997,500 $650,000 $345,000

1 2 0

$664,900 $599,000 $590,000 $535,000 $369,900 $356,900 $345,000 $265,000 $150,000 $140,000

3 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 0 1

WEST END

1177 22ND ST NW #5E 3 WASHINGTON CIR NW #103

WOODRIDGE

1827 CHANNING ST NE #1827

3 3 2 2 1 0 1 1 0 0 0

$1,100,000

2

$694,900 $409,900 $321,000

2 1 1

$306,000

1

ADAMS MORGAN

1661 CRESCENT PL NW #203 1801 CLYDESDALE PL NW #503

CATHEDRAL

CLEVELAND PARK

3020 TILDEN ST NW #404 3041 SEDGWICK ST NW #304-D 3039 MACOMB ST NW #11 3600 CONNECTICUT AVE NW #103

DUPONT CIRCLE 1734 P ST NW #47 1701 16TH ST NW #326 1725 17TH ST NW #212

FOGGY BOTTOM

2510 VIRGINIA AVE NW #712-N 2700 VIRGINIA AVE NW #705 700 NEW HAMPSHIRE AVE NW #814 700 NEW HAMPSHIRE AVE NW #1114 2475 VIRGINIA AVE NW #416

GLOVER PARK

3900 TUNLAW RD NW #308

KALORAMA

1840 BILTMORE ST NW #10 $300,000

0 3 2 2 2

$675,000 $690,000 $630,000 $837,500 $975,000 $505,000 $390,000 $681,000 $679,900

2 2 2 2 1 2 1 2 2

$445,000 $435,000 $434,500 $425,000

2 2 2 2

$660,000 $459,000 $439,000 $327,000 $245,000

3 1 1 2 1

$285,000

3

$663,600 $161,000

2 0

“Dare,quite simply, was amazing... She expertly handled the successful sale of our house.”

$499,000

2

From my client testimonials on Zillow.

For more see: zillow.com/profile/Dare-Johnson-Wenzler/

$600,000 $476,000 $392,000 $338,000

2 2 2 1

$700,000 $384,440 $380,000

3 1 1

$1,335,000 $449,000 $389,500 $365,000 $299,000

4 1 1 1 1

$165,000

1

$465,000

2

MASSACHUSETTS AVE HEIGHTS 2700 CALVERT ST NW #217

$540,000 $300,000 $132,000 $675,000

1 3

COOP

4101 CATHEDRAL AVENUE, NW #1210 $700,000 $645,000 $544,320 $455,000 $320,000 $292,500 $290,000 $280,000 $262,500 $255,000 $224,500

$1,179,000 $585,000

MOUNT PLEASANT

2853 ONTARIO RD NW #207

NORTH CLEVELAND PARK 3024 TILDEN ST NW #C-101 4000 CATHEDRAL AVE NW #815B 2720 WISCONSIN AVE NW #803

OLD CITY

1000 NEW JERSEY AVE SE #514 1701 16TH ST NW #534 1526 17TH ST NW #206 1436 W ST NW #405

PETWORTH

222 FARRAGUT ST NW #104G

$1,400,000

2

$362,500

1

$699,000 $268,000 $180,000

2 1 0

$480,000 $432,000 $390,000 $137,305

2 2 1 1

$99,000

1

RIVER PARK

1311 DELAWARE AVENUE, SW, SW #S327 $150,000

RLA (SW)

1301 DELAWARE AVE SW #S246

WATERFRONT 429 N ST SW #S806 u

My clients are saying…

202.957.2947

Dare@RealEstateOnTheHill.com RealEstateOnTheHill.com

660 Pennsylvania Ave SE 202.545.6900

Real Estate

Management Full service property management offering monthly/quarterly reports, budgeting, funds management & special accounts, delinquent notice & collections, building inspections, project & maintenance bidding, project planning, contract monitoring, renting/leasing & tenant screening, and more. Se habla espanol.

0

$220,000

1

$687,500

2

734 Seventh Street, SE

Office: 202.547.2707 Fax: 202.547.1977 joeltruittmanagement.com

November 2016 H 141

142 H Hillrag.com

{arts & dining}

Eating Vegan Local Eateries That Offer Vegan Fare

by Karen Cohen

O

n my way to Eastern Market for food shopping I happened upon a traffic-stopping, rainbowcolorful character bopping down Pennsylvania Avenue. I approached, camera in hand, and asked if I could take his photo. He smiled broadly, “Sure!” As he turned and spun around for me to get all angles covered, he told me his name was Happy Stan.

Then he told me much more.

Happy Stan was not always a happy camper. At age 41 he had a stroke that left him partially paralyzed and severely debilitated. Doctors told him that his diet of processed food, salt on everything he ate, and greasy fried meats had contributed to his clogged arteries and high blood pressure. Heard that before? He decided to give up meat and dairy products and became a vegan. Now at 67 he is vibrant, lean, and oh so happy to tell you about it.

Vegans differ from vegetarians. In a conscious commitment to nonviolence toward other living creatures, vegans avoid eating animal products such as meat and dairy, don’t eat fish, and often don’t wear animal products such as leather shoes and wool and silk clothing. Vegetarians pass on meat but some will eat fish and dairy and use animal-derived products.

We might associate a meatless diet with fads or trends started by the hippie generation of the 60s, but it has been around as long as meat-filled diets. Pythagoras and Buddha were outspoken forerunners.

Intrigued by current celebrity vegans such as Ellen DeGeneres, Betty White, and Brad Pitt touting the health and philosophical benefits, I dedicated some time and my stomach to researching animal-free food. Would I be satisfied with meatless meals? Could anything replace the gooey, melted cheese baked on pizza? What about the eggs folded into key lime pie?

How good could anything taste without animal flesh? I was about to find out.

Doron Petersan, founder of Fare A handful of local eateries offer vegan Well and Sticky Fingers Sweets fare around the Hill. and Eats. Photo: April Greer

Fare Well lunch serving of eggplant parm with side salad.

Photo: Karen Cohen

Vegan bakery goods premiered 16 years ago when owner and chef Doron Petersan, two-time winner of the Food Network’s Cupcake Wars, opened Sticky Fingers Sweets and Eats in Northwest DC. I sampled the sticky buns and brownies with my vegan, marathon-running niece and we were blown away. Yum. Tastes like MORE! Treat yourself to mail-order or dine in and add a cup of caffeine to complete your dessert decadence.

Using her degree in nutrition and food science, Petersan, vegan for 22plus years, went on to open Fare Well on H Street NE, DC’s first vegan diner, bakery, and bar combo. She contends that we don’t need animal products for optimal health. For lunch there I ordered my childhood favorite classic, eggplant Parmesan. Soft and slightly gritty, the cashew sauce on top of sliced rounds of eggplant without the heavy, fried, greasy batter flour and egg dip was inspiring and authentic on its own right.

Lactose-free cashew cheese is easy and quick to make. Soak raw or roasted cashews overnight and whirl in the food processor with a squirt or two of lemon juice, pinch of salt and pepper, and some water (1/4 cup) until you get the consistency you like. I made a batch that very night and used it on veggies, toast, and fruit. Rich in phosphorous, selenium (brain food), antioxidants (can-

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LEFT: Naked Lunch at Mom’s Organic Market: confetti basket. Photo: Karen Cohen

cer fighting), and fiber, cholesterol-free cashews have more zinc, iron, and cooper than any other tree nut. Sounds pretty healthy, huh?

Petersan told me that every dish she makes is centered around vegetables. Her concerns about going meatless focus on health, the environmental costs of raising cattle, and the biocides, hormones, and preservatives used in producing meat and dairy products. She invites people to see that these meals can be done without feeling a void.

Elizabeth’s Gone Raw was rated three years ago as one of the best vegan/vegetarian restau-

Elizabeth’s Gone Raw: cold pressed baby leeks with sous vide carrots, juniper berries, bull’s blood beet emulsion, and vanilla bean. Photo: Karen Cohen

rants in DC by The Washington Post.

It serves plant-based dinners cooked no higher than 118 degrees F. How’s that for something different!

Elizabeth Petty, 20 years a chef, is the creator of the Catering Company of Wash-

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ington and opens her doors to the public on Fridays. Small, cozy, and elegant decor and impeccable table service and presentation make any dinner occasion a special one.

Petty believes strongly in the power of raw-vegan food; she is a cancer survivor who shares her gift of life by creating dishes free of gluten, dairy, and meat in a stunning second-floor townhouse dining room next to the Washington Design Center. Seven courses of raw tastings were ceremoniously served with informative descriptions from the wait staff, paired with exceptional wines, chosen by Phil Heyser, sommelier CS, CSP, acquired from biodynamic and organic farms across the world. As I ate, the world slowed down and the cre-

Organic vegetables at Mom’s Organic Market. Photo: Karen Cohen

ations set before me invited the tasting, savoring, and contemplation of each bite.

Pleased with all my new culinary discoveries, I went on a hunt for healthy options and dairy substitutes to make at home. I drove to the new Mom’s Organic Market in the developing northern locale called Ivy City and parked in the huge lot. Inside I browsed aisles loaded with organic foods including some of Mom’s vegan/ vegetarian bestsellers like almond milk, soy milk, tempeh, and tofu.

Mom’s features the District’s biggest collection of organic products including clothing, health and beauty products, packaged foods, and an extensive produce section. Owner/founder Scott Nash opened the first Mom’s Organic Happy Stan/vegan for 20.

Photo: Karen Cohen Market in Beltsville, Md., in 1987.

As his business grew, he wanted to give every employee one free meal per workday. The meals were so enticing and popular that he opened the lunchroom and juice bar Naked Lunch to the shopping public.

I ordered a confetti bowl, which if requested without cheese would make it vegan.

Filled with crunchy corn, chewy brown rice, salty black olives, fresh green peppers, and a kick of heat from jalapeno peppers, the portion was very generous and accompanied by a Pink Lady juice beverage blended from apples, beets, ginger, lemons, limes, and kombuElizabeth’s Gone Raw. Photo: Anice Hoachlander

cha; all nourishing, tasty, and tart.

We hear over and over to eat more vegetables and fruit.

According to the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vegan diets are usually higher in fiber, magnesium, vitamins C, B-12, and D, calcium, zinc, iron, and omega-3 fatty acids. These can be helpful (but are not guaranteed) in reducing chronic disorders such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, and some types of cancers. But that doesn’t mean going off animal food products is a magic cure-all. Before going on any restrictive diets you should consult a qualified nutritionist and your physician. Vegetarians and vegans need to balance their food intake to ensure they are getting all the vitamins and minerals required for proper mental and physical health. Lack of B-12, for instance, can lead to depression and difficulty in concentrating.

Focusing on nutrition rather than calories, start eating clean.

The Vegan Society, established 70 years ago, offers its philosophy as “a way of living which seeks to exclude – as far as is possible and practicable – all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free al-

ternatives for the benefit of humans, animals and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals.”

Sticky Fingers 1370 Park Road NW www.stickyfingersbakery.com Fare Well 406 H St. NE www.eatfarewell.com Elizabeth’s Gone Raw 1371 L St. NW www.Elizabethsgoneraw.com Mom’s Organic Market 1501 New York Ave. NE www.momsorganicmarket.com The Vegan Society www.vegansociety.com Read more about the health effects of vegan diets at http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/89/5/1627S.full.

Karen Cohen is a Capitol Hill resident, certified residential planner, master gardener, organic grower, freelance photojournalist, award-winning photographer, and pet lover. She can be reached at kcohenphoto@gmail.com. u

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At the Movies

Troubled Families: One Youth Suffers for Who He Is; Another Rejects a Sweet Life

by Mike Canning ‘Moonlight’ Films about the American “inner city,” typically featuring the stresses of urban black life, have waxed and waned, with the occasional striking effort (e.g. “Precious” and “Fruitvale Station”). A new drama in this sphere proves as absorbing as any in recent memory. At its heart “Moonlight” is a moving meditation on the “inner life” of its protagonist Chiron as much as it is a depiction of an inner city. (Released Oct. 28, the film is rated R and runs 111 minutes.)

“Moonlight” is a triad covering Chiron’s life: his profound loneliness as a taciturn nine-year-old, his continuing marginalization as a bullied 16-year-old but with a first taste of love, and his re-creation as a buff yet solitary drug dealer in his 20s. His world is circumscribed by the streets of Liberty City, a black neighborhood in North Miami, a world well known to the filmmakers.

Act One finds Chiron (Alex Hibbert) in a barren apartment with single mom Pau-

la (Naomie Harris), who is sliding into drug dependence while her child (derogatorily called “Little” by his classmates) suffers ostracism for lack of any gumption. Only one classmate, chatty Kevin (Jaden Piner), encourages him to stand up for himself. He is then somewhat surprisingly taken in by a local hustler, Juan (Mahershala Ali), and his girlfriend Teresa (Janelle Monae), who show him respect and ease him out of his shell.

Act Two finds Chiron (Ashton Sanders) still with Paula, now lost to crack, while he is pilloried at school for his latent homosexuality. He remains solitary, though the teenage Kevin (Jharrel Jerome) remains a fitful friend who, on a warm beach night, introduces him to sex. Yet even Kevin turns against him in a put-up fight, wherein Chiron takes a beating that pushes him to a frightful revenge.

The third segment finds him in Atlanta 10 years on – with the street name “Black” (Trevante Rhodes) – having served time but now running drugs as Juan had done years Alex Hibbert and Mahershala Ali appear in “Moonlight.” Photo: David Bornfriend, courtesy A24 Pictures

before, still stoic and still alone. A surprise phone call from Kevin (Andre Holland), now working as a cook back home, triggers a desire to see his old friend, whom he encounters at the latter’s restaurant where dormant memories lead to a catharsis.

Let me now praise Barry Jenkins, the writer/director of “Moonlight,” for his wholly rounded portrayal of a soul at key points in his life. In adapting playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney’s drama “In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue,” Jenkins has elicited three wondrous and controlled performances from his three Chirons. Young Hibbert faces his raw world with the sad mask of the defeated, aching to belong. You want to adopt him. Teen-aged Sanders, willowy and wary and tormented by the first stirrings of his sexuality, stares blankly at the world until he finally explodes with rage. Finally, big Black, as played by the imposing Rhodes, appears as a quiescent giant with a life going nowhere. The actor’s very different physical presence may seem to contradict the waifish nature of the younger Chirons, but Rhodes and Jenkins overcome this apparent anomaly by maintaining a beautifully consistent tone of personality for his three different actors.

Naomie Harris, a British beauty best known for adorning Bond movies, is superb here as a wanton soul capable of explosive cruelty and aching neediness. Only a touching late scene with her in rehab mitigates the throes of her addiction. Ali, known as Remi in “House of Cards,” comes on as the classic dealer/badass who then surprises as a tender mentor to the cowed Chiron, an unlikely father figure who introduces the young man to a calm domestic life, a swim in the ocean, and a rigorous honesty about himself. His street-tough demeanor makes his affectionate attentions all the more striking.

Besides the splendid guidance of his actors, Jenkins excels in his imaginative use of the medium. His film (cinematography

by James Laxton) shows distinctive phases. The first captures Miami’s sun-washed brightness with a bouncing hand-held camera and tight close-ups, while the second makes much of claustrophobic interiors (at home and at school) with a dramatic headlong finish. His last act turns elegiac, with a languorous camera and a soft night ambiance. All of these moods are enhanced by a nervous, chittering string music track (by Nicholas Britell) beautifully responsive to the action. Never is that music more effective than when Jenkins punctuates a kid’s playground tussle with an ethereal Mozart soprano solo.

“Moonlight” gives weight and substance to one of society’s forgotten souls and does it with sincerity and panache: a wonder.

‘American Pastoral’ Sometimes creative acts come in twos. Just last July, your friendly reviewer discussed in these pages the film “Indignation,” based on a Philip Roth novel, while noting attempts by Hollywood to adapt other Roth works. Voila! Mere months later and another Roth adaptation appears, “American Pastoral,” based on the writer’s critically acclaimed 1997 novel. Directed by and starring Ewan Mc-

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to learn the reasons for her actions. Within that pursuit his life and his marriage spiral ever downward.

The telling of this fable of the 60s has its poignancy. Merry is eventually found, and her revelations and the world to which she has succumbed are worse than Swede could have imagined. Yet much of this narrative of his tenacious search for his daughter is less Ewan McGregor as “Swede” Levov in “Amerithan compelling. can Pastoral.” Photo: Richard Foreman Swede, in McGregor’s impersonation, is earnest but Gregor, the movie is an ambitious repetitive, ringing standard changes effort that inevitably falls short of aton the stricken father trying to fathtaining the historicism and symbolom his daughter and who – in the ism of the original. (Now in theaters, end – cannot. Connelly certainthe film is rated R for mature themes ly scores high on the beauty queen and runs 126 minutes.) scale, but her character is underwritIn this version, scripted by John ten, and a hospital-bed confession Romano, the core story is told in flashcomes out of nowhere. Poor Fanback during a Newark, N.J., high ning lacks the screen time to show school reunion where Jerry Levov the development of her radicalism, (Rupert Evans) informs narrator Naso her bitter denunciation of her fathan Zuckerman (David Strathairn) ther seems just willful and utterly unabout Levov’s just-deceased brother, earned. Worst of all is activist Rita Seymour (or “Swede” for his blond Cohen (Valorie Curry), a stereotyplocks). Swede was a golden boy, a star ical radical who offers a disquieting athlete and Marine who married the and prurient come-on to Swede. Pertown beauty, Dawn (Jennifer Connelhaps best of all is the appearance of ly), had a sweet daughter, Meredith veteran Riegert as the sardonic Lev, (Dakota Fanning), smoothly took over the lone source of humor in a film his father Lev’s (Peter Riegert) thrivalmost wholly devoid of it. ing glove business in Newark, and setWith “American Pastoral” we tled comfortably into the upscale submay be witnessing again the perpeturb of Old Rimrock. ual dilemma of adapting a complex The time is early 1968 with and high-minded novel into convincthe Vietnam War heating up and, ing cinematic terms. The story has though Swede’s life seems serenemuch to chew on, but that doesn’t ly unaffected by it, his 16-year-old mean that it has much taste. daughter, nicknamed Merry, is so embittered by America’s actions that she acts out by setting a bomb in the local post office, killing its inhabitant, then swiftly goes underground.

Dawn is crushed by her daughter’s act but slowly accedes to it, while the distraught Levov begins a dogged pursuit to both find his daughter and

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. u

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D

ana Ellyn uses themes almost exclusively as a departure stage for blastoff. Her recent work is breaking through an inbred reluctance to touch risky topics. She is peeling away the art school compulsion to make and hide behind pretty pictures.

I wrote that 10 years ago. She also said, “I don’t paint safe anymore,” which has become a wild understatement. Dana paints it straight. It comes right at you like a stampede of lovable, uneatable lambs.

Dana has been through several subject phases: politics, religion, and now veganism. Her passion is founded on a sincere empathy for animals of all species that are killed, managed, or otherwise exploited for the benefit of humans.

Her work is graphic, yes, but never mean or hostile. It’s just that she wants you to recognize the reality of our lives. And yes, Dana lives her art … it is not an affectation, which is why it hits home and has become so popular.

She joins a long line of artists who

by Jim Magner

had risky things to say: Francisco Goya, Frieda Kahlo, Picasso, and many others. And yes, her paintings can make people just as uncomfortable, or even angry. They have been blocked or dropped from group shows because someone complained, or the venue manager feared controversy.

Dana has found the perfect forum, the venue from which she cannot be tossed: the internet – Facebook, her website, and others tools. When she posts a painting she can get 10,000 shares. She doesn’t have to pursue buyers, they come to her.

But regardless of content, painting always comes down to paint; it has to work as art. For Dana the disciplines learned in art school have had a lasting effect on the quality of technique, composition, and the other elements that make it successful.

Dana Ellyn still uses themes to blast off, to rock the world. She uses art to throttle the comfortable assertions we cling to in order to assure ourselves we’re on the right track. www.danaellyn.com

Pug. Pig. 30”x30” acrylic on canvas

Jim Magner’s Thoughts on Art

Animal Lover. 18”x24” oil on canvas. Dana Ellyn

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Art does not exist only to entertain, but also to challenge one to think, to provoke, even to disturb, in a constant search for truth.

That’s a quote from, are you ready?

Barbra Streisand. I usually don’t associate Babs’s songs or films with cuttingedge social revolution, but she is right in her audacity to assert that art should have something to say once in a while.

But in a social environment of super-sensitivity it’s almost impossible to make a meaningful statement without offending someone. Many galleries and public venues do not want controversial art. None. They demand pretty pictures or decorative things that can bring offense to no one, be it a paranoid neurotic, a “social activist” looking for media attention, or the government.

Unhappy Meal. 18”x24” oil on canvas

artandthecity

Artist Revisit Profile: Dana Ellyn

Sure, I like pretty pictures. I have a bunch in my house and have done a few myself. But there are, at times, reasons to show life as it really is. There is garbage in rivers and oceans. There are people sleeping on the streets. Meadows are paved over to build strip malls.

I’ve painted the US Capitol surrounded by guards and barriers, with signs that threaten dire consequences for daring to assert citizen’s rights to public buildings.

Most Capitol painters and photographers just raise their sights to show the dome in the soft glow of moonlight without exposing the unnerving things taking place on the ground.

1025 FIRST ST SE 202.652.1009 IN THE VELOCITY CONDO BUILDING

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Bacon Cheeseburger. oil, Dana Ellyn

And then there are jarring, unexpected points of view. Dana Ellyn punches us in the breadbasket, or I should say beef basket, with images of animals selected to be food, our food.

We don’t like to consider the lamb we eat as that darling little animal that followed Mary home, wagging its little tail. Or those storybook darlings, Babe and Piglet, as bacon. Yes, Dana’s paintings do provoke, disturb, and force us to think. And that’s good.

At the Galleries “Show & Tell: Winter Magic” Capitol Hill Arts Workshop, 545 Seventh St. SE Nov. 5-Dec. 5. “Show & Tell: Winter Magic” is the theme of the Capitol Hill Art League’s all-media juried exhibit for member artists. Expect a wide range of ideas and themes, styles and techniques. www.chaw.org Group Exhibition – Hill Center Galleries 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. Through Dec. 30.

Holiday reception: Dec. 11, 3-5 p.m.

This is a fascinating mix of art expressions, with expertise and personal experiences coming from a variety of artistic and professional backgrounds.

And a shopping ground for Christmas presents.

Mid-city artists Michael Crossett and Charlie Gaynor search for that particular aesthetic that defines city life. Their “Inner City Hues” is a “collection of photography and painting that explores neighborhoods through layered compositions of architecture and design shaped by time.

Adrienne Moumin, a collage artist and black-and-white photographer, combines the two in “Architextures,” a series of handmade, gelatin silver photo collages.

Photographer Larry O’Reilly was an assistant director of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. He “paints with light,” using natural objects that can be photographed in an “infinite number of ways.”

In “From Politics to Painting – Two Artistic Journeys” Martha Pope and Anne Shields combine efforts with pastel paintings of beautiful places around the globe. Martha Pope was the Senate’s sergeant of arms; Anne Shields was chief of staff to Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt.

Dilip Sheth presents “The DC Series” with oil and acrylic paintings. The city emerges out of his joyful dance of “bold colors.” www. hillcenterdc.org

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“Color, Texture, Vision” Foundry Gallery. 2118 Eighth St. NW Nov. 2-27. Opening: Sat., Nov. 5, 5-8 p.m.

The November Foundry show features painters Heather Jacks and Natacha Thys. Heather Jacks combines oil paint, cold wax, pastels, worked and gouged with tools on a hard panel to create ethereal apparitions. Natacha Thys, a Haitian-American, convenes color complements and spiritual vision to call up shimmering impressions of Caribbean landscapes. www.foundrygallery.org “The Art of Manipulation” Touchstone Gallery, 901 New York Ave. NW Nov. 4-27. Reception: Fri., Nov. 4, 6:00-8:30 p.m.

In Gallery A, Touchstone members – photographers, painters, print makers, and sculptors – combine in “manipulating images of the world” in their own diverse ways.

A Capitol Hill artist and writer, Jim can be reached at Artandthecity05@aol.com. His award-winning book, “A Haunting Beauty,” can be acquired through www.ahauntingbeauty.com. u

Located Above Groovy DC 321 7th St. SE (2nd Floor) WDC 20003 Open Sat. & Sun. 11am - 5pm

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Dining Notes article and photos by Celeste McCall

A

t long last, on Oct. 20, &pizza arrived, at 405 Eighth St. SE. At the sneak preview we were treated to a tasting of signature oblong pizzas displayed on communal tables. For the striking decor &pizza has partnered with local artist Matt Corredo for a blackand-white mural with “dazzle camouflage,” geometric shapes used on World War I ships to fool the enemy. In the gleaming display kitchen energetic employees tossed together myriad pizza ingredients. Ngarlic is a montage of cheeses, onion, and lots of garlic, drizzled with a ribbon of pesto. Moonstruck has mushrooms, garlic, cheese, and fig balsamic.

Maverick is heaped with salami, pepperoni, sausage, and tomato.

Some combos seemed outlandish, like the Elvis, with chocolate-hazelnut peanut butter, grape jam, bacon, and banana. You can also design your own pizza with choice of crust: traditional, ancient grain, gluten-free. Housemade teas and sodas flowed (no booze); try the ginger berry lemonade.

Warning: this place is loud.

Operated by co-founder/CEO Michael Lastoria, Barracks Row’s &pizza is the District’s 10th outpost, 18th overall. Open daily for lunch and dinner; call 202-866-0734 or visit www.andpizza.com.

Lunchtime is always busy at Barracks Row’s &pizza.

LEFT: Employees at Barracks Row’s recently arrived &pizza greet customers.

Watch This Space Here’s an update on the Spanish restaurant poised to slide into 660 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, vacated by Sona Cream-

Barracks Row’s &pizza offers myriad variations, including “Lori Lane,” a dessert pie.

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tree was draped with a hint of crab morsels, a scattering of corn kernels, cherry tomatoes, and cremini mushrooms.

The dish was rather spicy but not palate-searing. The avocado toast, steak tartare, branzino, and several vegetable dishes looked intriguing – maybe next time. Located at 1330 U St. NW, the Fainting Goat (look for the upsidedown goat logo) is open daily for dinner only, with Saturday and Sunday brunch. There’s also a late night menu.

Call 202-735-0344 or visit www.faintinggoatdc.com.

Goat cheese fondue is a popular appetizer at the Fainting Goat.

Family Dining

ery and Wine Bar. The predecessor’s cheese-making equipment is long gone. The future occupant, Joselito, is an offshoot of Arlington-based SER (Simple, Easy, Real), operated by Spanish-born Javier Candon and his wife Christiana. We don’t have a menu yet, but diners might expect Iberian-style cold meats, gambas al ajillo (garlicky shrimp), seafood paella, and maybe roast suckling pig.

Here’s a family-friendly promotion. At Lincoln Park Kitchen and Wine Bar, 106 13th St. SE (right off the park), kids eat free on Sundays from 3 to 7 p.m. The restaurant is open daily, dinner only, with an eclectic menu of cheese and charcuterie platters, flatbreads, and pastas, on Tuesday through Sunday, with Sunday brunch. Call 202-506-7013 or visit www.lincolnparkdc.com.

Getting Our Goat

Small Plates

After a walking tour of the U Street murals, we decided to dine at the Fainting Goat, which debuted in December 2013. “I’d faint too if I were about to be chopped up into kebabs,” our friend Tony quipped.

According to our server, the offbeat moniker is the nickname of a co-owner who was so shy around girls that he’d almost faint.

There was nothing shy about the dark and cozy interior, with exposed brick walls reminiscent of Georgetown’s Tombs. Decor is “antique shop,” with vintage light fixtures and empty picture frames on one wall waiting to be filled with your imagination, Tony commented.

The brief, interesting menu changes regularly.

Our table of three started with goat cheese fondue, the only caprine product we saw, served in a miniature cast iron skillet surrounded by grilled bread chunks and pickled veggies. Sublime, perfect for chilly fall evenings. After we demolished the fondue, Peter ordered steamed mussels with a tarragoninfused sauce, to be mopped up with more crusty bread. However, some of the mollusks tasted raw.

We sent the dish back, and our server was very gracious about it. So was the kitchen, and the mussels re-emerged, this time perfectly cooked. My pasta en-

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As restaurant portions continue to expand, along with our waistlines, we’ve been ordering appetizers – so-called light fare or those over-hyped “small plates” – in lieu of entrees. At a presidential candidates’ debate party last month, in the party room at the 201 Bar, we took a break from the verbal fireworks on TV to seek sustenance. Ordering from the light-fare menu, we chose deep-fried calamari with a toothsome basil/lime aioli. The kitchen was out of the shrimp/feta dumplings so we settled for mini-crabcakes with homemade remoulade. We plan to return and perch at the handsome curved bar in front. As the name indicates, 201 Bar is located at 201 Massachusetts Ave. NE, around the corner from Union Pub, which is under the same management.

Call 202-544-5201 or visit www.201bar.com.

In the Atlas District we recently enjoyed a light (sort of) Friday lunch at Sticky Rice. From the appetizer listing we went edamame, those addictive little green soybeans, and a plate of pot stickers filled with ground chicken and pork.

You can get them fried or steamed; we chose the latter. Along with Peter’s sweet-and-sour shrimp entree we had a satisfying repast. Locat-

ed at 1224 H St. NE, Sticky Rice is open daily; call 202-397-7655 or visit www.StickyRiceDC.com.

Autumn Leaves A few Metro stops from the Hill (Yellow Line), Columbia Room, 124 Blagden Alley NW, has unveiled chef Johnny Spero’s fall menu, “inspired by leaves and the richness of nature.” You’ll find it in the Tasting Room, Spirits Library, and Punch Garden. “The fall menu … marks our most involved collaboration with the staff,” says head bartender JP Fetherston.

“We took the idea of leaves to our bartenders and cooks and encouraged them to run with it. The result is an exceptional menu crafted by our incredible team.”

The seasonal listing will be available until the winter solstice, Dec. 21. The Tasting Room’s threecourse repast is $79 plus tax, and the five-course menu is $108 plus tax. Both include gratuity and can be booked through www.columbiaroomdc.com. The Spirits Library and Punch Garden have open seating, and reservations are not required. The 2,400 squarefoot Columbia Room, nominated twice for a James Beard Award, is a “craft cocktail bar” conceived by spirits expert Derek Brown in 2010. For more information – including the menus –visit www.columbiaroomdc.com or call 202-316-9396.

Turkey Talk Sapore Oil & Vinegar, 660 Pennsylvania Ave. SE,

Ooh, so delicious Righteous Cheese serves grilled cheese sandwiches on sourdough bread.

At Union Market, Righteous Cheese offers myriad artisanal cheeses and cheese-related items.

offers some tasty ideas for Thanksgiving, Nov. 24. Organic pumpkin seed oil (from Austria), a 3.38 fluid ounce bottle at $15.95, might seem steep, but a little goes a long way. Pomegranate/balsamic vinegar is $17.95 for 12.6 ounces. Both items are delicious drizzled over Pappardelle’s Southwestern pasta blend of blue corn, yellow maize, red pepper. A fun hostess gift is a Spanish cazuela, literally little pot, to hold a dipping sauce ($4.95).

Sapore is closed Monday; call 202544-4133.

Cheezy We finally got around to visiting Righteous Cheese, the artisanal shop in Union Market. Order and pay for a grilled cheese sandwich and glass of wine, pick them up at the bar, then sit anywhere you want. I ordered a wonderfully gooey grilled Fontina with sage on sourdough bread, accompanied by tiny cornichons. The piping hot sandwich complemented my Cote du Rhone blend. Food comes on a cardboard plate, but the wine arrives in a cute little stemless glass that you can purchase, with

umpteen kinds of cheeses along with cheese-making kits, cheese publications, cheeseboards (including one shaped like DC), gluten-free fettuccine, gourmet mustard, olives, and much more. Righteous is also taking orders for holiday platters and gift baskets, at the market or online. Closed on Monday, Union Market is at 1309 Fifth St. NE; call 202-716-3320 or visit www.righteouscheese.com.

Rated One of the Best Wine Shops by Washingtonian Magazine July “Best & Worst” Issue Listed in the Wall Street journal as one of the most enjoyable places to shop for wines nationwide.

Voted “Best Liquor Store” and “Best Wine Selection” an unprecedented FIVE years in a row by the City Paper

Michelin Hails DC Congrats to Pineapple and Pearls and Rose’s Luxury, among the dozen DC restaurants included in the national capital’s first Michelin Guide (yeah, the people who make tires). Hunkered side by side, the two posh Barracks Row destinations are both operated by Aaron Silverman.

Also making the exclusive dining list is Nick Stefanelli’s Masseria near Union Market.

Here ‘n’ There Lola’s, 711 Eighth St. SE, has closed temporarily for renovation. And what’s going into the vacant space at 501 Eighth, now being gutted? u

T H I S M O N T H!

Our Mixed Case of the Month features hand selected wines from across the world that change according to the seasons and are priced up to 50% off the regular retail price. Purchase as many assorted cases as you like and get additional wines as the listed sale prices.

November Mixed Case Special! 5 Red 5 White & 2 Sparking Wines

Retail: $318.88 | Sale: $258.88 | Mixed Case Club Price: $179.99 44% OFF!!!

“One of the Best Wine Stores in the Country is Right Here on Capitol Hill”

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View descriptions of the wines at www.cellar.com

300 Massachusetts Ave., NE • www.cellar.com 1-800-377-1461 • 202-543-9300 • fax: 202-546-6289 November 2016 H 153

{arts and dining}

Your Best Thanksgiving Ever!

How to Choose the Wine Pairings (Without Looking Like a Total Turkey)

by Elise Genderson

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here are a few simple rules to consider when planning your Thanksgiving wine pairings this year. Start with sparkling wine as a festive treat for your guests. Sparkling wines bring an elegance to your meal, plus they are remarkably foodfriendly. The high acidity helps to both cut through rich fatty sides like cheesy casserole and cornbread, and the minerality adds depth to meaty flavors. The bright stone fruit and citrus notes also make it the perfect partner for turkey.

When pairing still white wines, look to crisp aromatic whites like Riesling, Gewürztraminer, and Pinot Gris. It’s helpful to serve slightly dry but balanced whites to complement sweeter sides like sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, and creamed corn. Again, acid is the key, so look for whites with a tart freshness that also pair with those roasted root veggies, green beans, and salads. Avoid buttery/oaky Chardonnay since it will just appear flabby up against a customary Thanksgiving menu.

For the reds, choose wines with high-acid and low-tannins like Pinot Noir. The bright cherry and tart cranberry notes, along with savory-sweet baking spices are the ideal accompaniment to vibrant Thanksgiving side dishes like stuffing, creamy gravy, and mashed potatoes. The very subtle earthy and mushroom flavors found in good Pinot Noirs like the ones listed below make a great match with traditional turkey. Fruity and lush Grenache and Zinfandel are great choices. Our picks are softer without being too jammy or fruit forward.

Above all, have fun with your Thanksgiving pairings this year. Keep in mind, the wines should be easy to drink, fruity, and delicious. Enjoy this festive season with your family and friends and if you’re a guest, don’t forget to help with the dishes!

ing with lush strawberry fruit on the nose, this sparking rosé is bright and pretty. Floral notes of rose petals and herbs linger on the long finish.

Charles Clément Brut Chardonnay ($34.99, Champagne, France) Laser focused and mineral driven, this 100% Chardonnay is fresh on the palate with crisp acidity and loaded with lemon, apple, and pear fruit.

Jean Laurent Blanc de Blancs ($49.99, Champagne, France) Melon, toast, and sweet honey aromas mingle on the nose and palate of this beautiful, fresh aperitif style Champagne, offering tons of complexity.

Whites 2011 Domaine Emile Beyer Gewürztraminer Grand Cru Pfersigberg ($59.99, Alsace, France) Made from 30-year-old vines, this spicy Gewürztraminer offers notes of white pepper, lychee, gingerbread, and honey. Highly aromatic, it is an off-dry style with balanced, tangy acidity. This wine is perfect for candied yams and all of the sweet treats at the Thanksgiving table.

Wunsch et Mann Pinot Gris Clotide Organic ($17.99, Alsace, France) A dry, lighter-bodied Pinot Gris, this wine is elegant, floral, with stony minerality and crisp freshness.

2012 Schloss Lieser Riesling Kabinet Estate ($25.99, Mosel, Germany) This wine offers notes of lime, apple, ripe white peach, and spicy earthiness on the nose. Look for pepper spice, minerals, and hints of petrol on the long finish.

Reds

Our Picks: Bubbles 2013 Canals and Munne Dionysus Cava Rosé ($19.99, Cava, Spain) Made from 100% Pinot Noir grapes and burst-

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2013 Hatton Daniels Pinot Noir ($44.99, Sonoma Coast, California) A light ruby color, this Pinot is so juicy and fruity with beautiful lip-smacking acidity that it’s hard to just have one glass. The lush red berry fruit is comple-

the wine girl

mented by a lovely cinnamon and clove spice on the palate, balanced by light tannins and a long finish.

2011 Kesner Pinot Noir Vadim’s Watch ($59.99, Sonoma Coast, California) Grown on a cool site on the Sonoma Coast, this powerhouse Pinot is bold with serious backbone. Tart black cherry and plum fruit with slight notes of baking spice, coco, anise, and vanilla appear on the palate.

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A diverse product line of quality beverages from all over the world One of the largest and most unique wine selections on Capitol Hill A friendly and knowledgeable staff Located just minutes form Downtown, DC and Alexandria, VA 1 block south of Eastern Market Metro on the vibrant Barracks Row Owned by the Williams Family since 1978; established before 1919

The best weekly wine tastings on “The Hill”- Sat (3-6pm)

2012 Freeman Pinot Noir ($39.99, Russian River Valley, California) Very aromatic with pretty notes of red berries and flowers, this is a wine for acid lovers. The juicy acidity, coupled with rich cinnamon spice, make it a stellar Thanksgiving pairing. Although this 2012 Russian River is drinking well now, it will continue to improve through 2023.

2014 QUO Garnacha ($9.99, Campo de Borja, Spain) You don’t have to spend a lot to drink good wine at Thanksgiving. Take the QUO Garnacha with it’s fresh and exotic aromas of red cherry and strawberries. A hint of bubble gum, spice, and a soft finish will complement T-day sides wonderfully.

2013 Barrique Cellars Zinfandel ($19.99, Dry Creek, Sonoma, California) Our private label Zinfandel is rich, velvety, and bold with concentrated dark aromas of black fruits, fresh acidity, and a hint of minerality. u

660 Pennsylvania Ave SE 1718 14th St. NW Union Market www.peregrineespresso.com November 2016 H 155

{arts and dining}

East City Books

Owner Laurie Gillman Says, ‘Shop Small, Shop Local’

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n Thursday, Dec. 15, visit East City Books near Eastern Market, to relax, take a load off, enjoy festive refreshments, a package wrapa-thon, and a reading of Charles Dickens’ yuletide classic, “A Christmas Carol.”

But the story of how there came to be this bookstore – and all of its cornucopia of books and

coffee mugs and art supplies and finger-puppets and book clubs and author readings and kiddie klatches and literary frolic – begins on the windswept Great Plains of west Texas, where owner LaurieGillman was born and raised, amid cowboy hats, cattle, “and not much else” except for cotton, oil, wind and tumbleweeds.

She grew up there, daughter of a car dealer, in a small town roughly equidistant between the oil patch of Midland and the flatland of Abilene and Lubbock, and then left to earn her degree in art history and English literature at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. Married shortly after getting her B.A., she and her husband Mark lived in Dallas for a few years while she worked at the Dallas Museum of Art. When graduate school beckoned, it was for a fellowship at the University of

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by David Hoffman Maryland, so she and Mark decamped for College Park. Her M.A. came after she began studies there with a focus on 19th-century French painters, but then she switched for her thesis to early Christian art.

They moved to Capitol Hill in 1993. That year, while sitting in the stacks at the Dumbarton Oaks Library, she had what she calls “a lightbulb realization that such scholarship was not my best way of being in the world.”

Gillman’s husband, meanwhile, was beginning to work as a lobbyist, with a focus on scientific societies, such as promoting nano-technology R&D. She was working at the Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM), helping to edit scholarly journals. She also became a stay-at-home The non-fiction mom. They have section has a three daughters, ages great selection.

21, 18, and 15.

Later on, in 2006-14, she became a volunteer with the Capitol Hill Arts Workshop (CHAW), first on its board then as its president, finally as its development director. Then, she says, “I turned 50 this year, realizing that the next stage of my life would be different.” It was, in other words, what she admits is “a zigzaggy path” toward becoming the proprietor of a Capitol Hill bookstore.

That was a lightbulb moment also.

“I had been complaining,” she declares, “about there not being a bookstore in the neighborhood, ever since Trover bookstore closed in 2009,” a period which she says was a “low point for indie bookstores,” coming during the perigee of the Great Recession and also a perfect storm of the rise of e-book reading, the disruptor impact of Amazon’s discount pricing on the web and in

the mail, and the big-box booksellers like Barnes & Noble in the mall. Plus the fact, she says, that rent is the great leveler of small bookshops.

Even so, she insists, it “didn’t make any sense” that the Hill didn’t have a single shop that sold new books. Riverby Books and Capitol Hill Books on C Street by Eastern Market, both on the Hill, are fine used bookstores, she adds, but they don’t sell new books. “It takes a village,” she declares, “and it takes a person.” Laurie Gillman was that person.

“But it’s hard to open a bookstore,” she says, “and it takes a big up-front investment” to bankroll the location, the fixtures, and the inventory.

And then wait, patiently or not, for customers to show up and vindicate the act of faith needed to start a new business. If you build it, goes the maxim, they will come. After opening on April 30, Gillman says that people now are coming in and telling her and her staff of about 15 part-timers that they are “so happy that we’re here.”

She adds, “We’ve been busier than I projected since we opened – only August was a slow month.” It’s still a risk, however, “it’s still a rampup,” she says. “And we need to be ramped up in Laurie Gillman

time for Christmas.” Thus the holiday party ers Association. on Dec. 15, plus all the offerings and events “Shop small, shop local” is Gillman’s on the drawing board and listed in the bookmantra, starting with Small Business Saturshop’s printed and digital newsletter. day on Nov. 26. “Books are the perfect gift” These events include a raft of author she declares, with a calm confidence that the talks. For example, on Nov. 3 Gilda Morina shop will push its new roots deep into the Syverson on “My Father’s Daughter,” her travbook-loving demographics of the Hill. el memoir about reconnecting with her famHer staff will track down hard-to-find ily’s Italian roots; Supreme Court Justice Sobooks, she adds, and place special orders. nia Sotomayor, speaking at the Hill Center on Nov. 15 about Customers in the store. her career and her new book; mystery writer Ellen Crosby, author of “The Champagne Conspiracy,“sharing a glass of bubbly and talking about her other books also; on Nov. 29, Louise Farmer Smith discussing her critically acclaimed literary fiction, “One Hundred Years of Marriage” and “Cadillac, Oklahoma”; and on Nov. 30 a meeting of the store’s Reality Lit nonfiction book-club to discuss “The Worst Hard Time,” an account of America’s 1930s Dust bowl economic and natural disaster.

“We’re happy to celebrate the diverse array of talent here in our own city,” says Gillman, evoking what she calls “unique DC talents” Store space downstairs can be rented for spesuch as Hill resident novelist Louis Bayard cial events seating up to 75 people. She also among many others. Bayard, in fact, is one wants to expand the weekly story time for chilof the store’s consistent best-sellers, along dren on Tuesdays at 11 a.m. to regular weekwith the number-one in-store top-seller, the end events for kids. memoir by Ta-Nehasi Coates, “Between the “Stop by,” she says with a smile, “and get World and Me.” Of course all the Harry Potto know us a bit.” Store hours are Monday-Satter books sell well; and what she calls “liturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Sunday from erary fiction” comprises about a quarter all 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. The two-level store is locatstore sales, like the novels of Michael Chaed at 645 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, Suite 100. bon. Books for children, including so-called Phone 202-290-1636. Shop online anytime YA (young adults), make up about a third of also at www.eastcitybookshop.com. sales, with additional niches for graphic novDavid Hoffman is a freelance writer covering els and science fiction. mostly arts and entertainment. He lives on the Getting to this point was never easy, she Hill near Union Station. He is vice president for says, recalling that she “did a lot of research programs at the Woman’s National Democratic before I jumped into this” to spot possible pitClub. And he always adds patiently, “Yes, men falls. She even enrolled in a week-long course are also members” of the feminist and progresfor budding booksellers, as well as depending sive political club founded in 1922, just after woman suffrage, and housed since 1927 in an on wisdom gleaned from the trade association historic mansion near Dupont Circle. u for small bookshops, the American Booksell-

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the

LITERARY HILL

A Compendium of Readers, Writers, Books, & Events

the 2015 Jan Garton Prairie Heritage Award. Find her at www.louisefarmersmith.com.

On Trial in Palo Alto

by Karen Lyon Zaniello never loses sight of the real people whose lives hung in the balance. He tells their story – as well as that of the region – with candor, a wealth of historical detail, and a dose of compassion.

Tom Zaniello has taught film and cultural studies at Northern Kentucky University and now serves as a film programmer for the Hill Center as well as for the London and Liverpool Labor Film Festivals.

On Memorial Day in 1933, in a faculty cottage on the campus of Stanford University, a woman named Allene Lamson was found dead in her bathroom. Her husband was Sustaining the Bay quickly charged with her murder.

There was a time when many considered ChesaDid David Lamson kill his wife?

The residents of a small peake Bay a lost cause. Happily that is no longer Was she even murdered? town in Oklahoma come alive in a new book of the case. To help the restoration effort along, landIn “California’s Lamson Murinterrelated short stories scape architect Cheryl Corson has created a mander Mystery: The Depression-Era

by Louise Farmer Smith. ual for landscape contractors and their clients.

Case That Divided Santa Clara In “Sustainable Landscape Maintenance County,” Hill author Tom ZanielCadillac Voices Manual for the Chesapeake Bay Watershed” she lo tries to put the pieces together. It’s a complex Welcome to “Cadillac, Oklahoma”! In Louise takes a holistic approach, acknowledging the pivpuzzle, set in an area already in turmoil from laFarmer Smith’s powerful new collection of interotal role that maintenance supervisors and staff bor unrest, corruption, and social conflicts. Zaconnected stories, the residents of this dusty little play in the longevity of deniello shows how these and town fall in love, grow old, leave their arid marriagsigned landscapes, and preother factors came into play es, yearn for a past that never was, and cautiously senting a condensed review at Lamson’s trial, where the plan for a future that may never be. From the ganof the most important mainprosecution seemed hellgly teenager whose carnal feelings for the church tenance considerations. bent on hanging him and secretary render him “in no condition to be in the “This manual,” she his defense team was too incompany of God or the Methodists,” to the disilwrites, “has been underept (or too ethical) to fight lusioned editor of the Cadillac Courier, who has taken to support those with back. Lamson was sentenced all but given up on his hope for a paper that would boots on the ground in their to death and entered San “raise the level of conversation,” she gives her charefforts to manage and mainQuentin’s Murderers’ Row acters both voice and heart. As they go about their tain green infrastructure now on Dec. 15, 1933. daily lives – having breakfast at the Busy Bee Cafe, being put in place.” Written After two subsequent shopping at the hardware store, singing at the fuwith support from the DC trials resulted in hung juries, neral of a friend – we are privy to their thoughts Department of Energy and and public pressure for his and feelings, schemes and heartbreaks. We also Environment, the Chesarelease mounted, all charghear from the local residents who contribute slicpeake Bay Landscape Proes against Lamson were fies of history, cranky opinions, and cries of despair fessional Program, and the nally dismissed in 1936. He via the local reporter’s “Cadillac Voices” column.

Low Impact Development went on to write fiction, inMoving back and forth in time, with characCenter, Corson’s manual is cluding “We Who Are about ters reappearing in other people’s stories, these fluavailable as a free PDF at to Die,” a bestselling novel id sketches provide a moving and insightful pichttp://cblpro.org/downloads/ that was made into a 1937 ture of small town America that is by turns funny CBLPMaintenanceManualmovie. And the region of and painfully sad. With her wry wit, gracefully PilotVersion.pdf. fruit orchards and nut trees rendered detail, and nuanced dialogue, Smith Cheryl Corson is a landarea where it all happened claims a place in the ranks of such short story scape architect and writer in became Silicon Valley. masters as Eudora Welty. “Cadillac, Oklahoma” private practice in the greatThoroughly researched is a place you will want to visit again and again. er DC metro area and writes and bracingly told, “CaliforLouise Farmer Smith’s short stories have rea garden column for the Hill nia’s Lamson Murder Mysceived two Pushcart nominations and appeared A local author revisits a celebrated Rag. For more, visit cheryltery” reads like a popular legal in five anthologies, and she is also the author of murder case that took place in corson.com. procedural, but to his credit “One Hundred Years of Marriage,” a finalist for Depression-era California.

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A manual by a local landscape architect provides guidelines for sustaining the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

On the Hill in November Capitol Hill Arts Workshop celebrates National Novel-Writing Month with free workshops led by local author Hannah Sternberg, Mondays (Nov. 7, 14, 21, 28), 7:00-8:30 p.m., Southeast Branch of the DC Public Library, 403 Seventh St. SE, and Tuesdays (Nov. 1, 8, 15, 22), 6:30-8:30 p.m., East City Bookshop, 645 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. www.chaw.org or 202-547-6839 DC Public Library holds its annual DC Author Festival, featuring writers Will Haygood (“Showdown”), Carolyn Parkhurst (“Harmony”), and many more at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, 901 G St. NW, Nov. 5, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Nov. 6, 1:30-5:00 p.m. For more visit dclibrary.org/ dcauthorfest.

East City Bookshop presents Gilda Morina Syverson, author of “My Father’s Daughter: From Rome to Sicily,” Nov. 3, 6:30 p.m.; Daniel Paisner (“A Single Happened Thing”) and Sonya Chung (“The Loved Ones”), Nov. 10, 6:30 p.m.; Ellen Crosby, author of “The Champagne Conspiracy,” Nov. 16, 6:30 p.m.; Small Press Night, with Andrea Klein (“Calf”), Kia Corthron (“The Castle across the Magnet Carter”), Jen Michalski (“The Summer She Was Underwater”), and Rion Amilcar Scott (“Insurrections”), Nov. 17, 6:30 p.m.; and Louise Farmer Smith, author of “One Hundred Years of Marriage” and “Cadillac, Oklahoma,” Nov. 29, 7 p.m. www.eastcitybookshop.com or 202-290-1636

Folger Shakespeare Library sponsors an O.B. Hardison Poetry Series reading with Robin Coste Lewis and Tyehimba Jess at the Phillips Collection, 1600 21st St. NW, Nov. 17, 6:30 p.m. Tickets at 202-544-7077 or www.folger.edu.

The Hill Center and PEN/Faulkner Foundation present an evening with Melinda Moustakis, award-winning author of “Bear Down, Bear North: Alaska Stories,” moderated by Lisa Page of George Washington University, Nov. 9, 7 p.m. Free, but register at www.hillcenterdc.org or 202-549-4172.

The Library of Congress features historian Louisa Thomas, author of “Louisa: The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams,” Nov. 3, noon; former diplomat and DC historian John Richardson, author of “Alexander Robey Shepherd: The Man Who Built the Nation’s Capital,” Nov. 10, noon; and Maureen Corrigan, author of “And So We Read On: How The Great Gatsby Came to Be and Why It Endures,” Nov. 14, noon. www.loc. gov or 202-707-5394 The Smithsonian Associates presents “Death by Shakespeare: Final Exits,” Nov. 9, 6:45 p.m.; a daylong tour with Garrett Peck, author of “The Smithsonian Castle and the Seneca Quarry,” Nov. 20, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; and the third installment of a four-session book group, “Conversations on Contemporary Novels,” focusing on “Americanah” by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Nov. 21, 6:45 p.m. www.smithsonianassociates.org u

November 2016 H 159

The Poetic Hill

by Karen Lyon

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amela S. Perkins is a writer, actor, and motivational speaker who is co-founder and CCO of Human Communication Institute LLC and author of “The Art and Science of Communication: Tools for Effective Communication in the Workplace.” She was the featured poet in the 2012 “World Healing, World Peace Poetry Anthology,” is a columnist for several e-magazines, and recently debuted a UDC-TV show called “Conversations about Communication,” which is available on YouTube. Her new book on self-esteem for young girls, “Stories from the Mirror,” will be released later this year.

sTREEt life Looking through the passing window grateful to see slim trees rising from beaten concrete paths of sweat and exasperation in the city called power-hungry.

Ornate buildings filled to the brim with individuals seeking more than enough to fill their empty hearts and spaces called house and church.

While the skinny trees silently wait for the languishing liquid of life that comes when the last whistle blows.

And lost souls remain lurking in corners of stench and discarded newspapers selling lies of help wanted ads already sold by another leafless heart.

But they, the slender trees, survive roots quaking, branches bowed, leaves shaking from the infernal footsteps trampling on their sacred ground while remaining rooted in their unfathomable resistance to us all!

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If you would like to have your poem considered for publication please send it to klyon@literaryhillbookfest.org. (There is no remuneration.) u

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{health & fitness}

Let’s Get Physical

REI Opens In NOMA Bringing Community and Outdoor Adventures Together

by Stacy Peterson, MS, MA, CHHC, CSCS

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he newest REI’s coop flagship store has arrived in historic Uline Arena at the corner of Third and M streets NE in NOMA. Located just steps away from Union Station and with easy access from Metro’s Red Line, it trumps any other REI store in the DC area, from its substantial square footage and numerous activities to its wide range of product sizes and models. REI’s first store opened in the 1980s.

Over the past two decades REI has expanded to eight stores in the DMV area, providing a place for DC’s outdoor enthusiasts to come together and enjoy the beauty of nature.

In the new store, the 25,000 square feet of space, which is twice as big as a standard REI store, is sure to have an outdoor activity for your liking.

When you walk in you are greeted by a REI store member who can guide you and answer questions on product location. The wide-open spaces and ample room allow you to meander just as you would on a hike in the wilderness. Instead of walkways there is open terrain to wonder around as you shop or view the noteworthy aspects that are particular to the store and Uline Arena.

Directly to your right as you enter the building is a full service, open-air shop that can repair your

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• Classic Manicure and Pedicure • Spa Manicure and Pedicure • Organic Spa Manicure and Pedicure • Acrylic • Shellac • Waxing Services USING TOP PRODUCTS: O.P.I, CND, ESSIE AND GELISH WE ARE EXCEPTING CREDIT CARD VISA, MASTER, DISCOVER AND AMEX FREE WI-FI

on THE

Hill

Sharon L. Bernier RN, PhD Psychotherapy Individuals & Couples

202-544-6465 164 H Hillrag.com

bike, skis, or snowboard. You can chat with other customers while watching the repair specialists fix a bike or equipment. To the left is a coffee shop, La Colombe Coffee Roasters, which offers the option of grabbing a cup of joe while walking around the store, relaxing on one of the many couches located throughout, or sitting outside in the open-air courtyard with fire pit while listening to a band play or watching a film screening.

As you walk through the store you will find a tribute to women who have hiked the Appalachian Trail, as well as structural columns covered with posters of the original bands that played at Uline Arena and stadium seats hanging on the wall. Becky, the general manager of the DC flagship store, stated that her favorite aspect is “the tribute to women who have hiked the AT. It brings a sense of togetherness within the outdoor community.”

In the back left of the store is the Adventure Station, where you can research and ask questions about activities in national, state, and local parks. No matter where you want to go or what you want to do, the station has information to help you organize an outing that will suit your needs and desires. In addition to a well-educated ranger answering questions, there are also laptops, digital resources, takehome maps, books, and adventure project apps (such as Mountain Biking Project and Hiking Project), among other resources.

“DC is a very outdoorsy town, so offering trips and classes that provide the community the option of leaving directly from the DC flagship store to an outdoor area, such as Shenandoah, will give people more options to get outdoors,” explained Matt Liddle, the mid-Atlantic manager for REI outdoor programs and outreach.

In the back of the store is a footwear loft equipped with a wide range of shoes from running to hiking to everyday use. In the backright corner of the store is the Patagonia shopin-shops section, which is only the second national location where REI has Patagonia located within a store, the other being Seattle. As you move back toward the front of the store you will see the ski and snowboard section with its own lodge-feeling lounge.

With the different fitting options around

the store you can see how REI devised a onestop shop for so many outdoor activities. Each department has experts within their field, so you’ll be sure to speak to a professional who knows about your equipment and outdoor activity. The options for being fitted for boots for hiking, skiing, or snowboarding, or for your bike on either a mountain or road bike, or for a pack that is adequate for your hiking needs – you’ll be sure to find many possibilities under one roof.

Anna, who works in customer service, lives on the Hill. “I’m excited for people to have outdoor options right here in the city,” she explained. “I feel empowered and equipped to have the opportunity to enjoy the love of the outdoors with my local community.”

REI continues to use United Outside’s main hub of daily activities at the Wunder Garten on First and L streets NE, where neighbors and friends can meet, socialize, and enjoy food and drinks in a casual, safe, and inviting atmosphere. REI hosts classes on recreational and outdoor activities such as bike repair, camping, and more at the Wunder Garten and in the newly opened store.

There is no time like the present to get outdoors and enjoy the gorgeous fall foliage and cool crisp air. Whether it’s going for a hike, riding your bike, enjoying our many waterways, or engaging in other fun-filled, heart-healthy activities, you can choose from plenty of options surrounding our beautiful city.

REI flagship store is located at 201 M St. NE. For more information about the many outdoor events visit United Outside: www.rei. com/united-outside. To find an REI class visit www.rei.com/learn, where you can sort by interests and Zip Code.

Stacy Peterson, MS, MA, CSCS, CHHC, is a functional nutrition educator, holistic health coach, and strength and conditioning coach practicing whole-foods nutrition and physical training for individuals of all ages and activities on the Hill – an integrative aspect to everyone’s healthcare and performance team. For recipes, nutrition, and exercise tips sign up for the monthly newsletter at www.accelerationsports.net. To see how we can help you achieve your health and/or fitness goals contact Acceleration Sports by emailing stacy@accelerationsports.net or calling 805-704-7193. u

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Touch Therapy That Helps Reduce Stress and Pain and Improve Health

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by Pattie Cinelli

lie on the heated massage table fully clothed. My feet are bare. Natalie Boulware-Scott, a reflexologist and naturopath at Lavender Retreat, gently manipulates my toes. It feels wonderful. For an hour she kneads my feet. At times I can feel a twinge in another area of my body that corresponds to the point that she is manipulating on my foot. Other times I may have slight discomfort when she finds a particularly tight area in my sole, ankle, or heel. At the end of the hour I am relaxed and calm.

Reflexology is not just a foot massage. It is an ancient therapeutic method of healing by stimulating pressure points on the feet (and often hands or ears). It can relieve pain, but in the absence of pain reflexology can be effective for promoting good health and for preventing illness. It can also relieve symptoms of stress and injury.

The feet are extraordinary structures. Each foot contains 26 bones (together the feet hold a quarter of all the bones in the body), plus 7,200 nerve endings and 107 ligaments. These structures provide exceptional strength and range of movement. Not only do they hold our entire physical structure upright, they keep us balanced and mobile. As we all know, if our feet hurt, our whole body is in agony.

the National Institutes of Health indicate that reflexology may reduce pain and psychological symptoms, such as anxiety and depression, and enhance relaxation and sleep. Studies show that reflexology may have benefits in palliative care of people with cancer. “So much of what happens systemically in our body is so impacted by stress. Even if you don’t buy into the theory about how energy works in our bodies, reflexology can have an impact on heart disease, diabetes, insomnia, anxiety, depression, and autoimmune disorders,” explained Aviva Pittle, reflexologist and massage therapist at Freed Bodyworks.

“It isn’t a cure but it can affect the way a disease manifests. Reflexology is the most stress-relieving form of massage that I have studied.”

What Is Reflexology?

Reflexology is a complementary holistic therapy. Its purpose is to treat the whole person, not just the symptoms. The theory behind reflexology is that certain points on the foot correspond to organs and systems of the body.

Pressure applied to these areas affects the corresponding areas and can benefit physical and emotional health.

According to the Mayo Clinic website, studies funded by the National Cancer Institute and

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Origins Reflexology’s beginnings are not well documented. Reliefs on the walls of an ancient Egyptian tomb (about 2450 B.C.) depict two seated men receiving massage on their hands and feet. References are found in pre-dynastic China and in ancient Indian medicine. The Inca civilization may have used reflexology and passed it on to Native Americans in North America.

In the 1930s a physical therapist, Eunice D. Ingham, discovered that pressure points on the human foot were situated in a mirror image of the corresponding organs of the body. She documented her findings, which formed the basis of reflexology, in “Stories the Feet Can Tell,” published in 1938.

How Reflexology Works

Reflexologist and naturopathic doctor Natalie Boulware-Scott giving a reflexology session to a client.

Reflexologists consider that all parts of the body are connected by subtle energy, which flows down the body from the head to

the feet. Uncomfortable illness can block the channels and disturb the flow of energy. Working on the feet unblocks the channels and allows energy to flow and restores the balance.

This relaxes the body, enhances circulation, and relieves uncomfortable symptoms. “Reflexology helps the nervous system and our emotional system connect and balance,” said Boulware-Scott. “Reflexology helps connect the physical with the emotional. It allows people to relax on a deep [nervous system] level. It can improve circulation and improve the mind-body connection.”

It can also help lessen the effects of debilitating diseases. Boulware-Scott had a client in his early 70s who was newly diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. “He wanted to improve his balance. After 10 to 12 treatments he had much less of a shuffle and more balance and stability.”

Who Is Reflexology For? “It’s for everyone,” said Meghan Halderman, reflexologist and polarity therapist at Freed Bodyworks.

“You have full access to the whole body through your feet. It can alleviate headaches, depression, anxiety, and any physical problem including plantar fasciitis and other foot problems. We can even help with issues with the shoulder and the neck through the feet.”

Halderman said reflexology is good as a part of preventive healthcare. “We can see signs of areas that may not be on a healthy track but have not yet manifested into an illness or injury. We can then readjust the energy back into balance.

It’s also perfect for people who have had surgery, who don’t like full body massage, or who can’t have an area touched. I can address the area from the feet.”

Perhaps the most important

reason that reflexology is for everyone, including children, is our inability to control the amount of stress we have on a daily basis.

“When a person is under pressure or ‘stressed’ he/she is walking through life with a suppressed immune system,” explained Pittle. Reflexology can help get us on an even keel and thereby be less vulnerable to illness and injury.

When I was growing up my mother used to massage my feet in the evenings before bed. I got used to the pleasure of having my feet massaged. As an adult, when I learned about reflexology more than 10 years ago, I became a regular recipient almost every month of this therapeutic modality.

I can’t say with scientific accuracy that reflexology is the source of my wellness. I rarely get a cold, sleep all through the night, have never been in a hospital, nor am I on any medication. But I can say with certainty that regular sessions of reflexology help keep my body in balance, release tension in my feet, and reduce my physiological and emotional reaction to normal life stresses. It is one of the tools that I use to keep myself well and healthy.

To contact Natalie BoulwareScott log onto www.lavender-retreat.com or call Lavender Retreat: 202-450-2329.

To contact Meghan Halderman or Aviva Pittle go to www.freedbodyworks.com or call Freed Bodyworks: 202-277-8629.

Pattie Cinelli has been writing health/ fitness columns for more than 25 years. Topics focus on giving readers choices about how to restore and maintain health. She is a holistic personal trainer who incorporates yoga, Pilates, and core strength and flexibility into her sessions. Email questions or column ideas to fitness@pattiecinelli.com. u

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The District Vet

November Is for ‘Thank You’

by Dan Teich, DVM

N

ovember is a wonderful month to be thankful. This comes from someone who has reason to dislike the eleventh month of the year. The skies darken early, a chill descends upon the air, lost is the even green of the summer, looming is an increasing darkness. When light is at its ebb, a small flicker of an ever-glowing candle shines deep within. It is the remembrance of the human spirit. It casts a glow upon that which makes us happy, and from there the brightness spreads, jumping from moment to moment, friend to friend, time to time, eventually spreading to become millions of points of light across the dark sky.

And then we remember that November is a time to be thankful, for somehow this is when light shines the brightest.

Whenever I travel people ask about my career, and once I tell them they invariably say, “I wanted to be a veterinarian too.” I politely agree, tell them that I have been practicing since dinosaurs roamed the Earth, and relate a funny story or two. Not to shatter their childhood dreams, I refrain from discussing the darker side of the profession: the grief, the sense of loss, the helplessness, the compassion fatigue. I wish it was all puppies and kittens, but it is not. We veterinary professionals walk pet people and their friends through the entire life journey, from puppyhood to the far side of the Rainbow Bridge. Now at year 13 of practice I have carried many of

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my first patients across that bridge. I have completed a full cycle.

Grief and loss have a way of surpassing happiness. This is part of the reason depression is pervasive in society and especially veterinary medicine. We lose veterinarians every year to compassion fatigue and depression. This is part of a veterinarian’s life, a path that we all chose.

This November I will not be writing a normal pet-health article. I want to give a discourse on what makes this veterinarian happy. Hopefully what helps make me see the sun can help light up your November too.

The first light shining upon me is from my wonderful husband Shawn, from Brian the Dog, and from my parents and family. I have their unwavering support during bright times and the darkest of skies.

Friends are always nearby. We do not need many, only a few that are close and true. To all of them I hope that I am as bright a candle shining in their November.

While we look to friends and family for the bulk of our support, most of the day we are hard at work with our professions. Here’s where the magic happens with veterinarians: the clients. Yes, you. Although we are here to serve your pet’s needs, you are also the brightest lights we see. The warm greeting, asking how we are doing, saying hi to Brian, sending the staff a gracious note, penning a touching review, the appreciation for all the effort we put forth. The hug after a difficult appointment.

FOOT-PAIN & CHIROPRACTIC

I am uncertain that clients understand how much we appreciate them, not for their trust in our care but in their friendship and warmth. And for their understanding that we too are human. To each one of you, to each smile, to each nod of appreciation, to each moment of humility, a thank you that transcends words.

The people we surround ourselves with at work are also important, and the other staff members. Inside the veterinary hospital we are family. The joys, the tears, the triumphs, the disappointments. I have a deep love of everyone within District Veterinary Hospital. You have chosen to join our family. You shine very brightly.

This November, and whenever there is darkness, see the small lights. Even in a dark sky, with a bit of patience the stars emerge, and when they add up the darkness is cast away. The human spirit starts within – your own candle – and is increased by those around us. What am I thankful for? The many small candles that light my every day – you.

Have a safe and joyous November and Thanksgiving, from me and all of us at District Veterinary Hospital. And remember, share kind words with those around you. After all, you may be their brightest candle in the darkness.

Let’s also not forget this in November: keep your dog away from the dining room table and trash.

In brightness and warmth.

A 50-year old man consulted me for foot and knee pain. I explained that not only does the spine have a foolproof posture, but so does the foot.

Stress harms our brain and imbalances our body so that our posture fails and our foot collapses just like our posture.

I instructed him in exercise for both, adjusted feet, knees and spine, and pain all gone. No drugs and better posture.

For the better health and life experience of you and your family Dr. David Walls-Kaufman Capitol Hill Chiropractic Center 411 East Capitol St., SE | 202.544.6035

AVI STRULSON,PT

620 C Street SE, Washington DC 20003 T. 202-543-8020 | F. 202-543-8021

Read More About This Subject On www.capitolhillchiropractic.com

CELEBRATING 30+ YEARS ON THE HILL “MEMBER APTA” (AMERICAN PHYSICAL THERAPY ASSOCIATION)

Serving The Capitol Hill Community Since 1984

CAPITOLHILLPHYSICALTHERAPYCENTER.COM

Dan Teich, DVM, is at District Veterinary Hospital, 3748 10th St. NE, Washington, DC 20017; 202-827-1230 and desk@districtvet.com. u

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N O T E B O O K

by Kathleen Donner

{kids & family} child should have. This class, Sunday, Nov. 20, 1 to 3 p.m. is for parents, nannies, babysitters or family members who might be caring for a child. $65. hillcenterdc.org.

American Youth Chorus Fall Festival American Youth Chorus opens its’ ninth season on Saturday, Nov. 5, 7:30 p.m., at the Lutheran Church of the Reformation, 212 East Capitol St. NE. Listen to a spirited program featuring songs that reflect the seasons. $11 to $14. congressionalchorus.org.

Music and Movement at Northeast Library

Photo: Courtesy of the US Botanic Garden

Season’s Greenings Trains at the Bota ic Garden Thanksgiving Day through Jan. 2, 2017, daily, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., remember that the best things in life are free: the fragrance of a freshly cut fir tree; the magic of holiday lights and sumptuous decorations; and the delight of a child discovering the make-believe world of model trains. Free. 100 Maryland Ave. SW. 2022258333. usbg.gov.

Inaugural Hirshhorn Fall Family Day The Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden invites young and old to a day of family fun, Saturday, Nov. 14, 11 a.m. to 3:15 p.m., inspired by “Marvelous Objects: Surrealist Sculpture from Paris to New York,” a major exhibition that includes works by Salvador Dalí, Alberto Giacometti, Joan Miró, Jean Arp, Marcel Duchamp, Man Ray and Joseph Cornell. This event is free and suitable for all ages. The Hirshhorn Museum is at 700 Independence Ave. SW. hirshhorn.si.edu.

The event is the first in a new series of thriceyearly events intended to strengthen the Hirshhorn’s outreach to families. The program shares staff with the museum’s Gallery Guides program,

which engages visitors in conversations about artworks on view, and its ARTLAB+ drop-in afterschool program. A radically inclusive digital media studio for local teens, ARTLAB+ has been invited to the White House on three separate occasions to allow participants to present their work and share their thoughts about the ways in which free access to technology has enabled them to grow, learn and prepare for the future.

Infant & Child CPR at Hill Center Take two hours to learn the skills that could save a child’s life. Taught by a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit Registered Nurse. students learn Infant and Child CPR, AED and what to do if a child or infant is choking. The lessons apply to infants to age 12. These are skills everyone caring for an infant or

This “music time” is a great way to introduce your child to language skills in a positive and fun environment. With slightly more songs, activities and movement than their lap times, children and their grownups are encouraged to engage with the books and songs and to actively participate. This 20-30 minute story time is full of books, songs, rhymes and finger plays for children ages 2 to 5. Children should be able to follow one and two step directions in order to fully participate. Every Wednesday, 10 a.m., at Northeast Library, 330 Seventh St. NE. 202-698-0058. dclibrary.org/northeast.

Family Weekend at Reopened NGA East This celebratory weekend, Saturday, Nov. 5, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, Nov. 6, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., will feature live music and inspiring performances, interactive tours of modern art and handson art making. Explore the National Gallery of Art’s reconfigured collection of modern art showcased in newly renovated galleries. Discover the new outdoor Roof Terrace. All activities are free; participation is on a first-come, first-served basis.

All ages. nga.gov.

Culinary Kids Culinary Kids cooking classes are designed by Jake and Sara Addeo, professional chefs who have worked

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Arena Stage’s Family Fun Packs Arena Stage’s Family Fun Pack offers four seats for $125. Orders must include a minimum of two patrons between ages 5 and 17 per Family Fun Pack. It cannot be combined with any other offer or applied to previously purchased tickets. There is a limit of two Family Fun Packs per household. All standard fees apply. Family Fun Packs must be purchased by phone or in person. Family Fun Packs are available for Carousel, through Dec. 24; and Moby Dick, Nov. 18 to Dec. 24. arenastage.org.

Kids take off during the Little Turkey Fun Run at SOME Trot for Hunger. Photo: Courtesy of So Others Might Eat

Thanksgiving Day Little Turkey Fun Run Join So Others Might Eat in supporting the hungry and homeless in DC by participating in the Thanksgiving Day Trot for Hunger at Freedom Plaza. Proceeds benefit thousands of homeless families and single adults, including the elderly and people suffering from mental illness, by providing much-needed food, clothing and healthcare. The only “turkey trot” in the District, the Trot for Hunger is a tradition for thousands and a meaningful way to remember people in need on Thanksgiving Day. The kids one mile fun run is at 8:30 a.m. and the 5K run/walk is at 9 a.m. Register at soome.convio.net. in renowned restaurants in DC, Hong Kong, New York, San Francisco and Italy. After having children of their own, they discovered how important it is for kids to learn and experiment in the kitchen. Cooking sparks creativity and helps increase self-esteem.

Working in the kitchen teaches science and precision as well as critical thinking, patience and team building. These classes are designed to support children as they discover the world of cooking. Each class helps to develop a variety of kitchen skills based on age group such as dry and liquid measurement, cleanliness, proper washing of vegetables, safe knife handling and more.

“Tea Time!” for six to eight year olds is on Saturday, Nov. 19, 10 to 11:30 a.m. $49 per child, plus $20 per adult (not required). “A Spreadable Feast” for nine to twelve year olds, is on Saturday, Nov. 19, 1 to 3 p.m. $65. Register at hillcenterdc.org.

Fit4Baby

Fit4Baby is a program designed to strengthen the body for all the changes experienced during pregnancy. Regular activity can help to reduce many maternal aches and pains, increase energy during pregnancy, speed the labor, delivery and recovery

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process. This eight-week session runs from Nov. 1 through Dec. 17 on Tuesdays from 6 to 7 p.m. and on Saturdays from noon to 1 p.m. for a total of 16 classes. $249 for eight week session; $125 for four week session. Register at hillcenterdc.org.

Thanksgiving Craft Night at Rosedale

On Tues., Nov. 22, 4 p.m., children can enjoy making special Thanksgiving-themed crafts to take home for the holidays. Rosedale Library, 1701 Gales St. NE. 202-727-5012. dclibrary.org/rosedale.

Chicken in Space On Nov. 17, 18, 19, 25 and 26 at 11 a.m. and Nov. 19 and 26 also at 1:30 p.m., Air and Space museum staff will read “Chicken in Space” by Adam Lehrhaupt. At other times, they will read stories about famous aviators, hot-air balloon flights, trips to Mars, characters visible in the night sky or creatures that have their own wings. Each session includes one story and a hands-on activity. Groups larger than 15 are encouraged to reserve a program through the group reservation form. airandspace.si.edu.

Muppets & Puppets Holiday Display In time for the winter holidays (Nov. 23 to Jan. 8, 2017), discover the Muppets and marionettes from the museum’s collection illustrating the evolution of puppetry. Included in the display will be an Italian Prince and Princess marionette from 1900, an elf marionette used at the 1963 World’s Fair, the first “Kermit” that Jim Henson created for the television program, “Sam & Friends.” Two popular Muppets, Fozzie Bear and Swedish Chef. During the Holiday Festival, Dec. 3 and 4, the museum will screen “The Muppet Christmas Carol.” Check americanhistory.si.edu for times.

Mark Jaster: Piccolo’s Trunk Meet Piccolo, the charming and funny character created by DC’s preeminent mime artist. Piccolo delights through his playful interactions with the audience, brilliant gestures and witty musical surprises; all without words. This new Atlas offering is targeted at kids ages 3 to 8. Mark Jaster is at the Atlas from Nov. 16 to 20. $10. The Atlas Performing Arts Center is at 1333 H St. NE. Get tickets at atlasarts.org.

Spirit of the Season Holiday Matinee On Fri., Dec. 9, 10:30 to 11:30 a.m., the United States Air Force Band presents their special “Holiday Matinee for Kids” at DAR Constitution Hall, 1776 D St. NW. Join the Air Force Concert Band and Singing Sergeants for classic and modern holiday music and a surprise visit from the North Pole.

The concert is about 60 minutes. To reserve seats, teachers should send their email, school name, number of students and chaperones attending, and

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School Open Houses

general age or grade level of students. After the request is received, look for a confirmation email. Requests will be taken on a first-come, first-served basis. Email usaf.jbanafw.afdw-staff. mbx.usaf-band-holiday-kids-concert@mail.mil for reservations. usafband.af.mil.

Free Application for Federal Student Aid The White House and US Department of Education have launched this year’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It is available, for the first time, three months earlier than the traditional Jan. 1 date. Find it at fafsa. ed.gov. “Students [like you] want to take that next step and have big dreams. We want you to know that we’re there to help you achieve those dreams. We want to make sure that we’re giving every student who’s willing to put in the effort all the tools that they need in order to succeed,” said President Barack Obama (D).

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Dr. Seuss Musical Discover the magic of Dr. Seuss’ classic holiday tale as it comes to life on the National Theatre stage, Dec. 13 to Dec. 31. Featuring the hit songs “You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch” and “Welcome Christmas,” The Grinch discovers there’s more to Christmas than he bargained for in this heart-warming holiday classic. Max the Dog narrates as the mean and scheming Grinch, whose heart is “two sizes too small,” decides to steal Christmas away from the Whos, an endlessly cheerful bunch bursting with holiday spirit. thenationaldc.org.

The Secret Garden When 10-year-old Mary Lennox loses her parents to a cholera epidemic in the British Raj of India, she travels to England to stay with Archibald Craven, her remote and morose uncle, still grieving the death of his wife ten years ago. Terrified of every nook and cranny of the haunted Craven Manor on the Yorkshire Moors, Mary seeks refuge in her late aunt’s mysterious walled garden, where she discovers amazing secrets. On stage at Shakespeare Theatre, Nov. 15 to Dec. 31. shakespearetheatre.org.

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Capital City Symphony Annual Holiday Concert & Sing Along On Dec. 11, 4 p.m. and 7 p.m., enjoy holiday favorites at the Atlas performed by the Capital City Symphony and sung by the Congressional Chorus and American Youth Chorus. Join in the singing during an audience sing-along. $8.50. Tickets will go quickly. capitalcitysymphony.org.

New Resource to Improve Child Care Quality The Bainum Family Foundation has announced a new online resource-sharing platform serving DC early child care and education professionals. Early Childhood Share DC (ecsharedc.org) offers providers a knowledge hub of customizable resources that will make it easier to develop and implement highquality child care programming. The site was developed by the Foundation in partnership with the District’s Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE). The site features resources on topics ranging from curriculum, program administration, training, health and safety, marketing, family engagement and more. In addition to providing discounts on common supplies and services, the site consolidates District-specific information and materials like OSSE regulations and forms. Several dozen local early learning experts worked with the Foundation and OSSE to tailor the site to meet the District’s needs.

Step Afrika!’s Holiday Family Fun Pack Celebrate the holidays with clapping, stomping and all around fun for all ages featuring their furry friends from the Animal Kingdom, and a special dance party with DJ Frosty the Snowman. Tickets are $18 to $40. With the Family Fun Pack, get four tickets for $100. Each group must include at least two adults and two children, 16 and under. Step Afrika!’s “Magical, Musical Holiday Step Show” is at the Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333 H St. NE from Dec. 15 to 30. 202-399-7993. atlasarts.org.

Have an item for the Kids and Family Notebook?

Email bulletinboard@hillrag.com. ◆

Eliot Hine Middle School Eliot-Hine invites you to come see the great things that are happening at school! Learn about the benefits of the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme, and how IB fosters growth of the developing mind of your rising middle school student. Meet teachers, parents, and students, and see our new science labs! Upcoming open houses are: Nov. 2 at 9:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. and Dec. 13 at 9:30 a.m. Please see the new Eliot-Hine website at www. eliothinemiddleschool.org for information about the school!

Blyth-Templeton Blythe-Templeton will hold an Open House on Sunday, November 6 at 2 p.m. Visitors will discover how the experiential model is built around the student; engage with current students and their families to hear their thoughts about Blyth-Templeton Academy; meet faculty and staff to learn about experiential learning in very small, academically rigorous classes; take a tour of the school and lastly enjoy some refreshments. Hill Center, 921 Pennsylvania Ave. SE. St. Peter School St. Peter School will hold open houses for prospective families on November 4 and December 2, from 9 a.m. until 10:30 a.m.

These opportunities will provide families with information about the faith based educational curriculum, family-centric student community, admissions process, student-led tours of the school, and opportunities to meet and have questions addressed by school administrators, teachers, and parents of current St. Peter School students. St. Peter, 422 Third St.SE. St. Anselm’s Abbey School Prospective students will get to experience what the mantra – Where Bright Boys Become Exceptional Men – truly means as

St. Anselm’s Abbey School gears up to host its annual Fall Open House. The school will open its doors to the beautiful 40-acre campus where more than 260 students grow intellectually and spiritually.

As headmaster Bill Crittenberger stated: “St. Anselm’s rigorous, challenging, and balanced classical curriculum ensures that students achieve their highest potential. It is always thrilling to see how much our boys accomplish academically, while achieving great personal and altruistic growth. Our faculty and staff take great pride knowing that we are laying the groundwork for their future endeavors.”

The Open House will take place on Sunday, November 6 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at St. Anselm’s Abbey School located at 4501 South Dakota Avenue. Interested visitors can find out more and RSVP by going to www.saintanselms.org/admissions.

Capitol Hill Montessori at Logan December 1 at 9am-10:30 a.m, December 13 at 9a.m.-10:30 a.m, January 12 at 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Capitol Hill Montessori at Logan, 215 G St NE. For more info check out www.capitolhillmontessorischool.org.

Friends Community School Families interested in Friends are invited to an admissions open house at the school from 9 to 11 a.m. (sharp) on November 17, December 2, January 7 or January 10. In addition, there will be a Capitol Hill reception November 15 at the home of a family whose children attend Friends. There are 34 Friends students from the Hill. More information about the Capitol Hill reception and the school is available by contacting Connie Belfiore, Director of Admissions and Outreach, at connie@friendscommunityschool. org or 301-441-2100 x129. FCS, 5901 Westchester Park Drive, College Park, MD. More info at www. friendscommunityschool.org.

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School Notes by Susan Braun Johnson Miner Elementary School Holiday Greenery and Christmas Tree Sale for Hill East!

Visit Miner Elementary’s website www.minerelementary.org to preorder your Christmas tree and holiday wreath to be picked up the first weekend in December. Miner is excited to offer close-to-home trees for residents of Hill East, Trinidad, Rosedale and surrounding neighborhoods to help raise funding for the Miner PTO.

Miner PTO Raises Nearly $10,000 With the second annual Fall Fundraising Drive, the Miner PTO increased donations by nearly 30 percent from last year, raising nearly $10,000 to fund school programs and teacher support activities in 2016-17.

Cultivate the City Wraps Up Fall Garden CSA Miner’s garden partner delivered a spring, summer, and fall full of fresh food and fun. With a weekly farmer’s market and a fall CSA, Miner students and families enjoyed the planting, harvesting, and bounty of the Miner gar-

den through the partnership efforts.

Tyler, 601 15th St. NE. Their website is www.minerelementary.org and FB facebook.com/MinerDCPS; Twitter: @MinerElementary. – Holly Harper

Brent Elementary School Holiday Tree Sale Brent’s PTA will be holding its 6th Annual Holiday Tree and Greenery sale the weekend of December 2, 3 and 4. The sale will be at Brent, and once again they will be offering delivery to homes on Capitol Hill. Home delivery is available for $15 if you order in advance, or $20 for purchases at the sale. Items include: Fraser Fir Christmas trees (delivered within 2-3 days of being cut); Wreaths (boxwood, cedar, Fraser fir); Garland (boxwood, cedar, white pine); Poinsettias (red, white, pink); Winterberry; Hanukkah items and much more! Brent Elementary, 301 North Carolina Ave., SE.

Capitol Hill Montessori at Logan Haunted Harvest Fest a Big Hit The annual Haunted Harvest Festival was a great success in large part to our sponsors. Thank you to The Daily Rid-

Montessori parents received a lesson involving language, vocabulary, history, and math.

er, Penn Hill Group, Saving Grace Petcare, Fulcrum Properties Group, Tech Painting, Music on the Hill, Tippi Toes, and W.S. Jerks and Son. Also, thank you to Giant Foods and The Pug.

Montessori U CHML staff hosted a parent education session called Montessori University. Parents learned more about Montessori education and philosophy in breakout sessions for all grades- primary, lower and upper elementary, and middle school. Parents enjoyed the event saying it was informative and engaging.

In November, the CHML Parent, Teacher, Student Organization is hosting a Family Art Night for CHML families. During this event families will learn about artist Jacob Lawrence and create their own artwork with Phillips Collection Museum Educator Emily Bray. Lawrence’s 60-panel Migration Series is currently on view at The Phillips Collection.

Please visit CHML to learn more about Montessori that educates the whole child. Accepting lottery spots for all grades preK 3-8th grade Capitol Hill Montessori, 215 G St. NE. Visit www.capitolhillmontessorischool.org. Facebook: Capitol Hill Montessori at Logan PTSO. –Sara Burns.

Maury Elementary Channeling Lewis and Clark

Students, teachers, parents and friends from Miner Elementary participate in the National Walk to School Day event in October.

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The National Park Service turns 100 years old this year. As part of the celebration, they are running an “Every Kid in a Park” program, focused on children in the Fourth Grade. Maury took their own fourth graders on a field trip to the Jefferson Memorial, where they were given a “mission” to become explorers, like Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, and discover and document the area around the memorial. In groups of five, they set off with a compass and a journal to observe the “New World” around them. They took note of plants and wildlife, and worked hard to produce detailed descriptions and pictures of everything they saw. They then reported back to “President Jefferson” (the park rangers) on what they had learned.

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Maury ES explorers document the flora and fauna near the Jefferson Memorial.

Taking off for Space Camp Maury’s fifth graders are hard at work raising funds so that all thirty of them can attend Space Camp together in Huntsville, AL, before being promoted to middle school next June. As part of this effort, they entertained the community at the 2016 Fall Festival, where local celebrities including Joe Weedon (State Board of Education Representative) and Carolyne Albert-Garvey (Maury Principal) took their chances in the dunk tank. Eliot-Hine MS students helped stage the games, and local businesses, including Tunnicliff’s Tavern, Trusty’s, Mr. Henry’s, and Good Stuff Eatery, sponsored prizes for the Fall Festival’s Chili Cook-off. The Cake Walk, another staple of Maury’s Fall Festival, was as much fun as ever. Donations to support the Space Camp venture can be made through the Maury PTA. Maury Elementary, 1250 Constitution Ave., NE. Call 202-698-3838 or visit mauryelementary. com for more info. –Elizabeth Nelson.

through the arts. There is an exciting lineup of Resident Artists who will seize every opportunity to reach, inspire, and help students to realize their artistic potential. Resident Artists are paired with Creative Arts teachers, helping to enhance planned lessons through the arts. The Resident Artists conduct one hour workshops each week for eight weeks.

The Tyler Mosaic Artist Showcase gives students the opportunity to perform and present what they learned during the artist-led workshops in front of the greater student body. The showcase dates are currently TBA. Tyler Elementary, 1001 G St SE. To contact them call 202-939-4810 or log on to learn more www.tylerelementary.net. FB: John Tyler Elementary. –Elsa Falkenburger

J.O. Wilson Elementary Every Kid in A Park Every fourth grader in the country is eligible for a free pass to all national parks through the Every Kid in a Park program from the National Park Service.

J.O. Wilson fourth graders used their passes for the first time at Great Falls Park in Virginia. After learning about the National Park Service and the geography and history of the surrounding area, students were led on a hike by park rangers. On the trip, students had the chance to scramble over rocks, explore local wildlife and take in the beauty of the Potomac River at Great Falls.

Chicken in the Kitchen Why is there a giant chicken in the kitchen, and why is he making such a fuss? Author Nnedi Okorafor visited a group of J.O. Wilson first

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graders to talk about her picture book, Chicken in the Kitchen, and to discuss her writing process.

She taught the students about the Nigerian traditions that inspired her book, and each student received a signed copy to keep. This author visit was arranged by the Open Book Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to bringing authors into schools.

1000 Books Before Kindergarten Reading with a child is one of the best ways to prepare him or her for academics. This year, early childhood students are participating in a program called 1000 Books Before Kindergarten. In this program, the students and parents are urged to read at least 1000 books before the child begins Kindergarten. Reading to young children gives them vocabulary and background knowledge that is critical in later schooling, and these young J.O. Cardinals are ready to go!

J.O. Wilson, 660 K St. NE. To learn more log on to www.jowilsondc.org or Tweet at @JOWilsonDC. –Kate Sweeney.

Ludlow-Taylor Elementary More Than Just a Cooking Class

John Tyler Elementary John Tyler Elementary offers three programs Creative Arts, Spanish Immersion, and Special Education. Each program incorporates enrichment opportunities for Tyler Tigers.

As part of the Creative Arts program, Tyler just kicked off its third season of the Tyler Mosaic Artist Residency Program, an eight-week art program that occurs in the fall and spring semesters - professional artists and art organizations nurture students to develop a deeper level of learning

J. O. Wilson Fourth graders check out a hollow tree during a hike in Great Falls Park.

Tyler students with 2015-2016 Resident Artists, and showcasing their own art.

Can’t imagine getting an elementary-aged child to eat--much less like--roasted eggplant hummus, kale soup, and mixed melon salad?

Well, they eat and enjoy those foods at LudlowTaylor Elementary School, where the FRESHFARM FoodPrints program has returned for another year. Ludlow-Taylor is one of nine public schools in Washington, DC to feature FoodPrints, which aims to improve health outcomes of children and families while providing opportunities for students to engage in experiential

With volunteer Helen Sellevaag, Ludlow-Taylor kindergarteners examine the featured ingredient in their roasted eggplant hummus dish.

learning in science, math, and language arts.

At Ludlow-Taylor, each class has a monthly two-hour session led

by Martine Hippolyte, the school’s FoodPrints teacher. Under the guidance of Hippolyte and FoodCorps member Alex Olson, students have the chance to plant vegetables, herbs, and pollinator plants in the school’s garden, tend the garden and harvest produce, cook in the school’s teaching kitchen classroom, and, of course, eat what they prepare.

Hippolyte expresses gratitude for the support she has received from the Capitol Hill Community Foundation and FoodCorps, and says, “We look forward to continuing our wonderful partnership for the betterment of the Ludlow-Taylor community.”

Taylor, 659 G St NE. Log on to www.ludlowtaylor.org to find out more. Connect with FB: www.facebook.com/LudlowTaylor/ Twitter: @LTPrincipSmith. –Tom Sellevaag.

Payne Elementary Wildcats at The Watershed The second graders at Payne Elementary are very lucky to be participating in educational speakers and field trips courtesy of the Anacostia Watershed Society. The students spent class time learning what a watershed is and why pollution in the streets and parking lots hurts the river in their community. Then they took a field trip to the Anacostia Riv-

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{kids and family}

er for a boat ride and tour of the river’s features. On the trip, they saw lots of pollution in the water, but also many animals like turtles, herons, and egrets. They also took a two-mile hike to collect seeds from native plants. On their next trip, they build bee houses to help pollinators and then planted the seeds they found near the river to help absorb runoff and protect the water. The students are now very invested in protecting their community’s river and wildlife!

Payne, 1445 C St. SE. To contact them call 202698-3262. –Rakecia Whitaker Hanna

Capitol Hill Cluster School

celebration in October that featured musical performances in the auditorium, followed by crafts, games, music, and a piñata. The event was organized by the Watkins specials teachers, Mr. Nagbe, Ms. Sanders, Mr. Davis, and Ms. Damon, and the PTA provided dinner in the gym.

Watkins dads, the PTA and the school administration kicked off year-two of the Watch D.O.G.S. ® (Dads of Great Students) program at Watkins on October 19. Nearly 100 dads, granddads, uncles and other father figures were all eager to participate in this national program that focuses “on education and safety in schools by using the positive influence of fathers and father figures.”

It looks like this year’s Renovator’s House Tour set an event fundraising record on sunny October 15th! A powerful Capitol Hill Cluster School volunteer corps raised more money than ever before in sponsorships and advertising and sold 325 tickets online, at homes on the day of the tour, and three in-person sales locations. The House Tour featured nine homes-Stuart-Hobson Middle School big and small, old and new-Mayor Bowser and Eliot-Hine students Spanish teachers Ms. Brewer and Ms. DeSouza across the Hill and serves as a Alejandra and Elizabeth walked to Eliotorganized a fun Hispanic Heritage Celebration Hine, photobombed by EH Principal Vargreat example of the spirit of gas on the left and DME Jennifer Niles for many sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students this community with families on the right. Photo: Suzanne Wells at Stuart-Hobson Middle School in October. Stuacross the Hill opening their dents danced and sang to Spanish songs; complethomes, many local businessed scavenger hunts finding answers among classes sponsoring the event and selling tickets, 70 volmates’ projects on Spanish-speaking countries, and Eliot-Hine unteers serving as docents on Tour day, and Cluster sampled chips with guacamole and salsa, tacos, Walk to School Day families and supportive neighbors purchasing tickand plantanos! It was delicioso!

Another year, another successful WtSD! Eliotets and supporting the Capitol Hill Cluster School.

Stuart Hobson has been awarded LEED Gold Hine, Eastern, and Watkins students, staff, and under the US Green Building Council’s LEED families headed from Lincoln Park to school with Peabody Primary School Green Building Rating System! Stuart Hobson’s Mayor Bowser. It was a great time to talk to the On October 18th, all 230 PreK 3, PreK 4 and kinrenovated building earned this prestigious recogniMayor about Eliot-Hine’s success in becoming an dergarten students at Peabody Primary School tion for improving water and energy efficiency, use International Baccalaureate middle school, and it walked to their Stuart Hobson Middle School of recycled and renewable materials, and preserving gave the Mayor a chance to meet some charming campus a few blocks away to see a performance indoor air quality. Stuart Hobson’s new school will Eliot-Hine students! by the Smithsonian Discovery Theater troop, titled spend approximately 25 percent less on energy costs “Fairy Tales/Fabulas”. They used English and inLiteracy Night by using efficient lighting, windows, insulation, and fused Spanish throughout the performances. The Eliot-Hine families and staff had a truly great time heating and cooling equipment plus 100 percentactors were especially gifted at engaging the stuon Literacy Night. PE teacher Ms. Kemp got evdents during the one-hour show with group songs, age of Stuart Hobson’s energy will come from reeryone warmed up with a line dance. Math teachhand motions, call and response, and other particnewable power like wind. The Capitol Hill Cluser Mr. Smith had math brain teasers. Art teacher ipatory techniques. ter School’s website is www.capitolhillclusterschool.

Ms. Gueye challenged teams of two to look at a Peabody Primary School hosted its third anorg and features weekly updates for all three camclassic painting and answer questions about it withnual family potluck designed to ofout looking back at the picture. English Language fer families an opportunity early in Arts teachers Ms. Johnson and Ms. Lord were there the school year to get to know one to promote literacy, plus other great teachers with another and build the Peabody comother great games, but there is too little space to munity. Approximately 200 parents, list them all! Thanks so much to Companies for children, teachers and administraCauses for donating raffle prizes of a Kindle and a tors gathered for a wonderful afterbox set of Ms. Peregrine books. Students were so noon of play, tasty food, and good excited and wanted to borrow them immediately! conversation.

Eliot-Hine IB Middle School, 1830 Constitution Ave. NE. Call 202-939-5380 or visit www.elioWatkins Elementary thinemiddleschool.org to learn more. Connect via Watkins students and families Peabody Annual Potluck @EliotHine FB: Eliot-Hine. –Heather Schoell gathered for a Hispanic Heritage

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Friends Community School Progressive Quaker Education Kindergarten - Grade 8 Experience the Joy of an Extraordinary Education!

Open Houses 2016-17

CHDS Fourth Graders at National Colonial Farm. Photo: Hannah Williams

puses. Peabody, 425 C St. NE. Watkins, 420 12th St. SE. Stuart-Hobson, 410 E St. NE. Connect via Facebook. com/CHCS.DC; twitter.com/CHCSPTA. –Katharine Kaplan.

Capitol Hill Day School Fourth Graders: Artists, Scientists, Mathematicians, Big Buddies, and More!

Africa, Europe, and North America. We dug up sweet potatoes and learned how to kill tobacco worms.

“We went to The Marriage of Figaro Opera Look-In and saw some of the opera, and learned about back stage. It was a lot of fun! “This year, we have younger buddies: Early Childhood fouryear-olds. They are adorable and awesome!

“Besides the African-American Museum opening on the Mall, another new museum has opened: The Fourth Grade Tree Museum!

We thought of important trees in our lives. Then we used our ideas to create art.

Take a tour or attend an open house to learn more about Capitol Hill Day School’s curriculum and unparalleled field education program. Contact admissions@chds.org.

Capitol Hill Day School, 210 South Carolina Ave, SE. For information call 202-386-9919 or visit www. chds.org., Facebook @CapitolHillDaySchool; Twitter @explorewithCHDS. –Jane Angarola.

Parents are invited to attend an Open House.

All begin at 9 a.m. sharp.

Saturday, November 5 Thursday, November 17 Friday, December 2 Saturday, January 7 Tuesday, January 10 Application Deadlines: Dec. 1 (Early); Jan. 13 (Reg.) 5901 Westchester Park Drive, College Park, MD 20740 Tel: 301.441.2100 www.friendscommunityschool.org Only 15-20 minutes up the Baltimore-Washington Parkway!

Every week, fourth graders report on classroom news. Here are some recent dispatches from them: “In science we are identifying trees using a Tree Finder and field notes. We have collected and idenSt. Peter School tified a white oak, a red maple, a Student Families white pine, a sweet gum, and a miStudent Families is a critical and mosa silk tree. beneficial family-centric structure “We read a book called The Boy for student life at St. Peter School.

Who Loved Words, about a boy who wrote his favorite words on a piece of paper and put them in a tree, so we picked our favorite words and put them on our “Favorite Words” tree!

“We are working on tricky math problems with Mr. Sellevaag [CHDS Math Coordinator]. We had to think of different ways to arrange our desks, with each desk facing another, and each table forming a rectangle. We found lots of solutions, but there are still more.

“We visited the National ColoSt. Peter School student family memnial Farm Museum Garden and saw bers make cards for sister school, Notre three gardens with vegetables from Dame d’Altagrace in Haiti.

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The structure joins at least one student from each grade, Pre-K through eighth grade and provides opportunities for development critical mentoring, leadership, and cooperation skills. It works successfully to welcome younger and new students to St. Peter School, and provides valuable reassurance to let them know they are members of a cohesive scholastic family.

During the first Student Families gathering of the school year, the families made cards and recorded a video for the students in St. Peter School’s sister school, Notre Dame d’Altagrace in Haiti. The cards have been packaged with school and medical supplies that were collected from student donations, and mailed to Notre Dame d’Altagrace.

Screenagers Documentary For your information, St. Peter School faculty and fifth through eighth graders will be watching the documentary “Screenagers” and engaging in a discussion about how tech time impacts kids’ development and what solutions can empower kids to best balance navigation of the digital world and the challenges of parenting in the digital world. A screening and facilitated discussion will also be held for parents on November 4 in the St. Peter Church Parish Hall. More about the documentary can be found at: www.screenagersmovie.com/about/.

St. Peter School, 422 Third St.SE. Reach them at 202-544-1618 or learn more at www. stpeterschooldc.org. –Tony Militello.

Friends Community School An Interdisciplinary Approach to Chasing Vermeer Fifth-grade students at Friends Community School have been studying the book Chasing Vermeer through art, geography, history, science and code solving. The book is mystery novel centering on an art theft. Students learned about Delft in the Netherlands and Chicago, where the book is set, as well as Vermeer and other Dutch artists. They studied contemporary mysteries and learned about the camera obscura and its role in creating art.

To appreciate the significance of the theft in

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St. Anselm’s Students enjoy House Day.

the story, “students need to understand the importance of the artist’s work, the time period in which he lived, geographical locations and historical events,” said Lisa Woodward, a language arts teacher. “This adds value to the story and broadens the student’s knowledge of the work.”

Woodward selected Chasing Vermeer for its “clever use of figurative language and the way the author wove elements of foreshadowing, cliffhangers and red herrings.”

Friends Community School, 5901 Westchester Park Drive, College Park, MD. Log on to www.friendscommunityschool.org for more information. –Eric Rosenthal.

St Anselm’s Abbey School House Day One of the most powerful ways to motivate boys is to enable them to join a group which calls for their allegiance and loyalty. At St. Anselm’s Abbey School, that principle is put into action every year during House Day. There are four houses at the school: Main, Moore, Alban, and Austin. The houses are comprised of students from every grade with every boy drafted into a house. They then compete against each other all year in various intramural activities. At the end of the year, a cup is awarded to the house with the most points.

Having started in 2006, this year’s House Day kicked-off with older boys drafting the new boys. The look of anticipation on each face was raw and visible. Every boy who comes to St. Anselm’s remembers which house they belong to and those friendships help them find a base from which they can grow and mature. St. Anselm’s Abbey School located at 4501 South Dakota Avenue. Find out more at www.saintanselms.org.

The nine Friends Community School fifth-grade students who live on Capitol Hill, Emily Erickson, Izzy Smith, Gabi Suescum, Zengo Rosenthal, Roxanne Smith, Charlie Strada, Nate Gorham, Izzy Petty and Marissa Wilson, went on a class trip to the National Gallery of Art as part of their interdisciplinary study of the book Chasing Vermeer.

Capital City PCS

licious Havoc.”

Capital City celebrated in midOctober with tasty recipe samplings Food is an experience. Certain dishfrom the book and a reading of its es or flavors evoke feelings of nostalmouthwatering narratives. There gia, reminding one of special occawere stories of all kinds: a profound sions, specific places, or even people. love for lasagna, memories of rice Earlier this year, Capital City Pubbread and salteñas that took the aulic Charter School’s Class of 2017 dience to Liberia and Bolivia, and explored these connections as part the passing down of a father’s culturof their “Food Justice for All” exal heritage to his daughter when prepedition. The current seniors spent paring jerk chicken together. Whethmonths researching the origins of er it be the comfort our food and how of a family Christit relates to identity, mas dinner, the history, and culture. memory of a grandThe expedimother’s unbeatable tion lead to a crespaghetti sauce (the ative collaborasecret ingredient? tion with 826DC, Ketchup!), or the a non-profit that brave first tasting of inspires students the strangely named to write. For four Shrimp Gumbo, the months, 826DC stories give an intutors worked with sight into the identistudents and finalties of these young -ly, after many drafts and now published and revisions, a colauthors. “Delicious lection of eighty Havoc” is available narratives and rec“Delicious Havoc” is a book of food online if you would ipes was published stories and recipes written by Capital City students. like to sample these under the title “De-

Delicious Havoc

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The delegation for the Two Rivers Middle School Constitutional Convention poses for a photo.

scrumptious stories for yourself.

Capital City Public Charter School, 100 Peabody St NW. Learn more at www.ccpcs.org. Connect via @CapitalCityPCS; Facebook.com/ CapitalCityPCS. –Karolina Babic.

Two Rivers PCS Constitutional Convention Decides Kindness and Respect Are Priorities 5 2 5 S C H O O L S T S W | WA S H I N G T O N D C , 2 0 0 2 4

Washington Global Public Charter School is a tuition-free middle school (6th, 7th and 8th) open to all students in Washington, DC. We offer a robust international and research-based academic program to develop globally competitive students who are ready for college and careers. Our program includes projectbased learning, small learning communities and classes, technology instruction, global citizenship, and foreign language classes in Spanish. We strive for all of our students to be healthy and active through our nutrition, physical education, and athletic programs. We also serve as a community school that promotes local engagement and service-learning for our students.

WHAT MAKES WASHINGTON GLOBAL UNIQUE: • Chromebooks for Each Student • College Preparatory International Curriculum • Intensive Foreign Language Courses (including intensive classes for bilingual students)

• Free Before and After Care • Free Extracurricular Activities • Competitive Sports • Free Tutoring • Comprehensive Special Education Support

Come Join Us at Our Open House for 2017-2018 Enrollment!

November 17th - 5:30-6:30 pm December 12th - 5:30-6:30 pm January 20th - 5:30-6:30 pm February 14th - 5:30-6:30 pm

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RSVP with Yezica Diaz at ydiaz@washingtonglobal.org or call 202-796-2415

Gridlock, good intentions, and compromise. Two Rivers Middle School students led their very own Constitutional Convention this fall to decide on student priorities for the rest of the school year.

Two Rivers’ curriculum is designed to teach our diverse student population to become both active scholars and considerate leaders.

These skills are important components of Deeper Learning where students build character and learn critical thinking, collaboration, and communication skills in addition to the core curriculum. As representatives of their homerooms, 12 students were chosen to propose, debate, collaborate, and decide on “norms” for the entire school. By having a civil debate, the students unanimously decided on three school-wide norms that will guide school-wide behavior in the hallways and classrooms.

The delegates were encouraged to talk through their differing opinions, speak one at a time, and open themselves up to new ideas.

The decision took an extra week, but the delegates finally announced that the new Middle School norms for this year are “Be Respectful,” “Be Kind,” and “Be Productive.”

Two Rivers is looking forward to a productive rest of the year, with the kind of students who can reach respectful compromise – even in November!

Two Rivers Public Charter School has three schools located at 1227 4th Street NE (elementary school); 1234 4th Street NE (middle school); and 820 26th Street NE (elementary school). Follow us @TwoRiversPCS on Twitter and Facebook.

Questions? Call 202-546-4477, email info@tworiverspcs.org, or visit www. tworiverspcs.org. –Katie Voorman.

Eagle Academy PCS Early Childhood Pioneer Passes Cassandra Pickney, one of the pioneers of Washington’s public charter school movement, and determined

Cassandra Pickney, founder of Eagle Academy PCS.

advocate for early childhood education passed away last month.

Co-founder with her colleague Joe Smith, Pickney was the executive director of Eagle Academy Public Charter School, which opened in the Southeast quadrant of the District of Columbia in 2003.

Eagle Academy first opened its doors to 114 pre-school students. Today, it educates 920 students from preschool through third grade on two campuses and is a firm fixture in the District’s public educational landscape.

Firmly rooted in the District from birth in 1948 to the end of her life, then Cassandra Smith attended Springarn High School, graduating in 1967. This would take her to Howard University and, after graduating Howard, to George Washington University, where she earned a master’s degree in early childhood, special education and human development.

A tireless crusader of compassion, she worked to rehabilitate youth who had emerged from the juvenile-justice system. And again, stepping up to the plate for the needs of the most vulnerable, became DC Public Schools’ early-childhood special-education coordinator before founding Eagle Academy PCS. In this difficult but rewarding endeavor, Pickney was ably assisted by her co-founder. Formerly a professor of education, Joe Smith shared—still shares—a passion for helping those in society with the fewest resources to succeed and thrive.

“Her vision was bright, and she was able to serve those children very, very well,” said Ramona Edelin, executive director of the DC Association of Chartered Public School.

Eagle Academy Public Charter School, 475 School St SW. ◆

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November 2016 H 185

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Preparing for Winter and Other Disasters: Simple Steps for Hill Homeowners article & photos by Rindy Obrien

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he Farmers’ Almanac and other weather forecasters all warn that we’re headed for a winter with above-average snowfall and below-normal temperatures for the Washington area. We may be lulled into complacency by a mild end of the year, but some sources are predicting more than 24 inches of snow for February. For Hill homeowners that much snow can cause monumental problems.

Fall is a great time to prepare for weatherrelated issues. That includes doing an annual check of equipment and making sure you have emergency plans in place. But disaster can hit with or without the help of Mother Nature.

Historic homes may be damaged by pipes that have given out, roofs that are worn thin in the seams, or sewer lines that spring a leak. Recently one Hill homeowner returned after being away for a few days to find that a toilet line in a bathroom on the top floor had come apart.

For a 20-hour period more than 9,000 gallons of water poured out of the line, filling the sec-

Weather predictions call for more snow than the Hill had last winter.

ond floor. Under so much weight, the floor collapsed. Don’t let something like that happen to you.

Planning for the Worst One of the first things to do is to make sure your homeowners insurance provides coverage for unforeseen problems. Tim LaCasse, a Capitol Hill State Farm Insurance agent, says that in assessing whether your policy covers a situation it is essential to determine if the disaster is sudden and accidental rather than gradual and systemic. “It is why I really recommend that Capitol Hill homeowners do a little proactive work like having professional inspectors come routinely to check the top and bottom of your home,” he says. Especially with the flat roofs on many Capitol Hill homes, the seams can wear out, and suddenly there are leaks dripping through the attic into the walls and throughout the house. The basement can develop moisture leaks through worn masonry, and then the home gets mold and mildew. “It costs a little to do these inspections, but in the long run it can

November 2016 H 187

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save a homeowner a lot,” when organic materials, LaCasse notes. like drywall with its paper There are a few polcovering, wood, and caricy provisions that homepets are exposed to moisowners need to think about ture. The sooner the exand should review in their posed material is dried or, coverage. For example, not in some cases, removed, all policies protect for the the better the chance that backup of sewers and drains. damage will not lead to With all the heavy rains that further problems.

DC can get in the summer, Last May, DC passed and the ancient pipes coma new law, the Mold Assessing into Hill homes, he recment and Remediation Act, ommends that homeownthat specifies requirements One of DC’s newly certified mold professionals, Dan Davis of Advanta Clean, comers have specific coverage for mold in indoor rental bines an engineering background with for such an event. properties. The regulations mold expertise to help Hill homeowners.

Using a local insurestablish a licensing proance agent can help homeowners identify spegram for mold assessment and remediation procific needs. For condo owners, the standard is fessionals. Davis has qualified for the new certo require a policy that covers 20 percent of the tification, and when we spoke was awaiting the purchase price of the unit. LaCasse recommends arrival of his license in the mail. The certificalooking into an umbrella insurance that is detion requires passing a Department of Energy & signed to protect you from major claims and lawEnvironment (DOEE) exam. suits and protect your assets. The cost of procurThe new law only requires the use of a liing the insurance for home and cars is small but censed professional if there is at least 10 square feet provides anywhere from $1 million to $5 million of indoor mold in a residential area with tenants. in extra coverage should someone go after you for “I think it is great that the city is taking damages. “Just by living on Capitol Hill you are steps to recognize the importance of using highvulnerable, because people perceive the Hill has ly trained individuals for this work,” says Davis. an expensive place to live, so you can become a Advanta Clean has developed a sophisticated target of a lawsuit,” LaCasse says. He offers many process for removing mold. It starts with swab ideas of how homeowners can save trouble by just testing and taking air samples. The air samples being proactive. In the case of the running toilet, come from outdoors too, because mold is in our he says homeowners really should shut their waenvironment, and depending on the quantity of ter off when they are going away. spores seen indoors it may or may not be a problem in the home. Davis says it is less important to identify the specific molds, and only two of Acting Quickly the strains known as black mold are really toxic.

Dan Davis of Advanta Clean, a 22-year-old naA wet basement can cause walls and floortionwide company specializing in mold and boards that have been exposed to water leaks to water cleanup, says his number-one advice to become breeding grounds for mold. Davis says homeowners in an unexpected situation is to act that getting to the source of the mold and goquickly. Davis’s franchise covers the Capitol Hill, ing two feet beyond the sign of water damage is Navy Yard, and Southwest neighborhoods. For important. Workers create a containment area, the last two and half years he has been the one bringing in air scrubbers and filters and cleaning to call if you wake up to a house full of water or with special micro-cleaning agents. If problem come home to find burst pipes, soggy walls, or areas cannot be removed, they are encapsulated other disasters. “We offer 24-7 services,” he says, and painted with solutions that prevent the mold “but most of our calls come before 8 a.m. or in from regrowing. “We wait 48 hours after cleaning the 5 to 7 p.m. period.” an area to take down the containment to make The key to containing water-related disassure that the area is totally cleaned,” he says. ter is getting the water out and setting up a dryAdvanta Clean also addresses issues of leaky ing plan as quickly as possible. Mold happens

that is required,” says Frank.

The company is unique in that it sorts the materials into three categories: donated items, recyclables, and transfers to land fill. “Even in the middle of a disaster, Hill homeowners are concerned that they 1-800-Got-Junk uses Community Forklift in Hyattsville to haul are doing the right materials that can be refurbished. thing for the environment.” The roofs. Winter is hard on the seams of company diverts 70 percent of what it the Hill’s flat roofs. The freezing and handles from going to a landfill, and it thawing of ice causes small cracks, and often takes salvageable pieces to places soon water is coming in and running like Community Forklift. The compadown the walls. “I see wet spots on ny prices its services on the volume to the first floor and often find that the be removed. For a single item the startsource of the problem is floors away, ing price is $79 and, for a full housecoming through the roof,” Davis notes. hold it would cost $699.

“My experience as an engineer helps Damaging and destructive me find the problem, because I know events happen. There is no way to how these Hill homes are constructplan for some of them, but taking ed, and that saves a lot of time.” Like precautionary steps can help. CheckLaCasse, Davis believes that getting ing with your insurance agent to make property inspected by roofers, having sure you have the correct policy; rouair ducts cleaned on a regular schedtinely inspecting your roof and baseule, and knowing where water shutoff ment and doing regular maintenance; valves are located are things you can checking fire alarms; learning where do to avoid problems. water and gas shutoff valves are located; and shutting off water when you Cleaning It Up are away are simple steps to stay ahead One of the challenges of cleaning of disaster. Before winter strikes, clear up from a disaster is getting rid of the fall leaves from water wells and the damaged items. Gregory Frank gutters and make sure your home of 1-800-Got-Junk trash services sees is ready for ice and snow. Keeping how stressed homeowners become handy a list of service providers you when they are dealing with disaster. know and trust is also important, beHis company provides professional cause when facing trouble you want hauling and moving services to help to be able to bring professional help get rid of the wet materials. The franto the rescue as quickly as possible. chise has been serving the Hill for 12 years and offers same-day or next-day service, depending on the time of day the call is received. “We have 10 trucks that are available to be dispatched, and they will work until midnight if

Rindy O’Brien is a long-time resident and homeowner and appreciates the services available to keep the Hill in good condition. Please send comments to Rindyobrien@gmail.com. u

November 2016 H 189

{home and garden}

November Is the New October – Plant Bulbs Now article & photos by Cheryl Corson, RLA, ASLA

Bulbs represent the universal need for a period of dormancy and gestation. They teach us trust. They represent hope and patience.

When we plant bulbs we become intimately connected to the cycle of the seasons. Compared to other plant purchases, except for seeds, bulbs are the most affordable.

Capitol Hill brick rowhouses are the perfect urban backdrop for bulbs. The deep red brick and black ironwork sets off every type of bulb to advantage. Capitol Hill front gardens that are slightly elevated on the street provide the opportunity for passersby to admire bulbs closer to eye level and more easily enjoy the fragrant ones. Not only is the Hill a perfect visual backdrop, its warmer micro-climate assures an early arrival of spring flowering bulbs.

Blooming Order and Tree Companions

Asiatic lilies need to be planted in late fall and will bloom in midsummer with Echinacea and day lilies such as this casa blanca lily.

Y

ou may think that the time to plant bulbs was in September, or October at the latest. Think again. With the hottest year on record, and temperatures hitting 90 degrees on Oct. 19, we must move back our bulb planting to November. Spring flowering bulbs are best planted after the first hard frost. If you’re reading this in early November, you are right on time to begin a bulb planting campaign, which is one 2016 campaign guaranteed to bring you pleasure.

Bulb Basics Bulbs are the most magical garden plants. One definition of a bulb is “any plant that stores its complete life cycle in an underground storage structure.” When you hold a daffodil bulb in your hand, you will see its “tunic,” or brown sheath, which covers a fleshy mass comprised of layers of immature leaves and flowers. When planted after the season turns cold, the bulb embodies the myth of Demeter and Persephone, spending the winter months hidden underground before reemerging in full flower in spring.

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Early blooming bulbs are crocuses, glory in the snow (Chionodoxa), grape hyacinth (Muscari latifolium), spring snowflake (Leucojum vernum), early daffodils, and windflower (Anemone blanda). Leucojum and daffodils provide strappy, dark green leaves, long before their perennial cousins break dormancy, and blasts of undiluted pure color. The bright primary colors of most early bulbs, set off by bright whites, are the garden’s wake-up call. These early bulbs will bloom together with the earliest flowering trees and shrubs, such as shadbush (Amelanchier), cornelian cherry (Cornus mas), winter hazel (Corylopsis), Harry Laudern’s walking stick (Corylus avellana Contorta), and even lateflowering spring camellias.

The first rush of early bulbs is followed by mid-season selections of tulips and ornamental onions (Alliums), which bloom together with the dogwoods (Cornus florida), redbuds (Cercis canadensis), Carolina silverbells (Halesia carolina), and the unavoidable azaleas. By the time these have passed their prime, herbaceous perennials have hit their stride and are ready to take over the show.

Mid-summer flowering bulbs such as lilies bloom with Echinacea and phlox, and offer drama and fragrance. These bulbs must be planted late, no earlier than November. One favorite is casa blanca, which is pure white, three

to four feet tall, and is great in gardens that will be enjoyed in the evenings.

Bulbs for Pollinators Not only do the earliest flowering bulbs extend the garden’s season of bloom, they offer important nectar for early arriving songbirds and pollinators. Some resources say that bees can most easily see the ultraviolet rays of blue and purple flowering bulbs reflected in the sun, so consider the deep blue grape hyacinth, purple crocus, and anemones on the early side, and large purple drumstick Allium, which bloom later in the season.

According to the blog Urban Pollinators, “most daffodils … are highly bred and have lost their pollen-attracting features. You can plant wild daffodils (Narcissus pseudonarcissus) instead, which is pollinated by bumblebees.” See http://urbanpollinators.blogspot.com/2013/02/ early-spring-flowers-for-pollinators.html.

The Alliums are very pollinator-friendly. They are in the onion family, which makes them unattractive to squirrels (unlike tulips and crocuses). They have straight stems ranging from 15 to 40 inches tall, with spherical, multi-floral blooms ranging from softball to volleyball size. Although there are white ones, There are hundreds of types of daffodils with different heights and colors.

the blue to purple colors are most attractive to pollinators. Plant them in groups of no less than seven for best visual effect.

nials, allowing them to recharge out of sight for the next season. https://brentandbeckysbulbs.com/ Narcissus/Baby-Boomer/Daffodil

Daffodil Selections

Planting Tips

While November is the best time for bulb planting, it is not the time to linger over bulb catalogs. That time would be summer of next year. Daffodils, like Alliums, are unattractive to squirrels.

There are numerous choices, as they are “divided into 13 divisions according to their flower shape and heritage,” according to noted local daffodil growers Brent and Becky Heath (https:// brentandbeckysbulbs.com/). Daffodils bloom over a wide time range, making it possible to have daffodils in your garden for months. Plant all bulbs in groupings of no less than seven for a good effect. Here are three I’ve selected, covering a range of bloom time:

2. Thalia is a mid-late season bloomer with white, fragrant blooms and two or three flowers per stem, growing 12 to 14 inches tall. It makes a great cut flower. Thalia is an historic selection, dating from 1916. This makes it not only 100 years old this year, but appropriate to the many Capitol Hill homes built at this time. https://brentandbeckysbulbs. com/Narcissus/Thalia/Daffodil

Besides planting after the first frost, you need to know two basic things: how deep to plant and which way is up. Becky Heath offers a basic rule of thumb, which is that “planting depth is three times the height of the bulb. So if the bulb is two inches tall, then the bottom of the hole should be about six inches deep.” Heath’s excellent article, “Interplanting Spring Bulbs,” appears in the September/October issue of the American Gardener. Regarding which way is up, you will usually see a tapered smooth tip on your bulb, which is the top, and a rougher, wider bottom from which the roots develop. Daffodils, tulips, crocuses are all pretty obvious, but if you are truly stumped just lay them on their sides and they will work it out for you.

I prefer to plant bulbs with a multi-purpose Japanese knife called a Hori-Hori tool, available at Frager’s or Ginkgo Gardens. A narrow trowel will work just as well. The inexpensive bulb planting tools you’ll find to be awkward and easy to break, so get a cushioned garden knee pad or bench (also at Frager’s or Ginkgo Gardens) and do the work by hand close to the ground.

Avoid planting bulbs in poorly drained garden areas. Interplant them in groupings among your hostas, hellebores, day lilies, heuchera, and other low-growing perennials. Plant on a sunny cool day when you can enjoy being outside. You will find that bulbs supercharge your garden and your spirit.

3. Baby boomer is a miniature selection, bright yellow, with five to 10 flowers per stem. Baby boomer blooms in mid-late spring on stems that are 4 to 8 inches tall. One advantage to the miniature selections is that their spent foliage will easily be covered by surrounding peren-

Cheryl Corson, RLA, ASLA, is a landscape architect and writer in private practice as Cheryl Corson Design, www.cherylcorson.com. Her first private design commission was on the Hill in 1997. She began her business on the Hill in 2003 and congratulates the Hill Rag on 40 years of community-building. u

1. Saint Keverne, an all-yellow, early spring bloomer and heirloom selection dating from 1930. It has a deep cup on stems 13 to 18 inches tall. Saint Keverne has a large cup. See https://brentandbeckysbulbs.com/Narcissus/Saint-Keverne/Daffodil.

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If I stick geranium shoots in water until roots form and then plant them in potting soil, can my healthy geranium plant overwinter indoors?

Probably yes. You can also put the shoots directly into potting soil at once – minus any buds or blooms. Another way to overwinter tropical (Pelargonium) geranium plants is to bring the entire plant indoors, either in its pot or bare-root. There are excellent YouTube online illustrating both methods (Google “overwinter geranium”).

My friend saw a stunning perennial with magenta flowers called a Lespedeza. He tells me it is hardy from Zones 9b to 4a – perfect for the Washington DC climate – AND drought-tolerant. What’s not to like?

Nothing! Lespedeza thunbergii really is wonderful. It blooms gloriously in late summer and all fall. It likes full sun or part shade. From three to six feet tall and wide, it can take up a good bit of room. It can also form a “cascade” down an incline. Be sure to get either the pink version, called Gibraltar, or the white one, Alba – and not the Cuneata cultivar, which is an invasive weed! Lespedeza also increases the fertility of soil by adding nitrogen.

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How can I get a carpet of scilla in my shady front yard? I’ve been planting scilla bulbs for years.

They come up very nicely in early to mid-spring – that heavenly blue – but still no carpet. Isn’t scilla supposed to “naturalize” – meaning proliferate?

You must plant 100 scilla at the very least – 20 bulbs per square foot. Make sure your soil is loose and airy.

What is actually in the white powder florists use to preserve cut flowers?

Some say sugar. But that doesn’t make sense, since the goal is to keep bacteria out. Here is a list of home nostrums people say preserve flowers: two aspirin tablets dissolved in water; a splash of vodka; a bit of bleach; fake sugar; two tablespoons of white vinegar; or just use 7-Up instead of water! Others say forget any additive; every day merely change the water and snip off the ends of the stems.

Pansies are back in droves. Why does my heart sink?

Pansies tolerate cold weather, but you – you want Capitol Hill gardens to be imaginative.

At the next meeting of the Capitol Hill Garden Club, Tuesday, Nov. 15, the Casey Trees Foundation will address the fact that Washington, DC, needs to plant 8,600 trees every year just to maintain its current tree canopy. Note our changed meeting place: Church of the Brethren, 337 North Carolina Ave. SE (enter on Fourth Street), and the earlier start time.

The meeting starts at 7:15 p.m. sharp – refreshments at 7 p.m.

Meetings are free and open to all.

Membership details are at capitolhillgardenclub.org. u

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you saw them in

Our website just got a whole lot better! capitalcommunitynews.com November 2016 H 199

{last Word}

The Last Word Nationals Park Billboard Light Blight Bill It’s time to end the jumbotron electronic billboard blight that threatens to turn vibrant DC neighborhoods near sports arenas and reviving commercial areas into hyper-zones where mixed use is becoming mixed abuse. The Nationals Park Graphics and Entertainment Regulatory Amendment Act of 2016 -- a.k.a. Billboard Light Blight Bill – exempts the Park from all existing laws designed to protect our city from billboard pollution.

DC law forbids construction of new billboards.

But the DC City Council has repeatedly overridden this law, buying into the benign euphemisms the electronic billboard industry and their business clients have adopted to mask a highly unpopular product: “graphics,” “digital displays,” “entertainment,” “animation,” “full motion video,” “public service signs.”

For example, in 2000, so-called “special signs” legislation permitted 32 wall hanging billboards up to 10,000 sf in size to hang on the sides of buildings downtown. In 2004 Gallery Place became a “designated entertainment area.”

In 2012, Council dumped more disruptive light on the neighborhood at the Verizon Center, permitting nine gigantic flashing jumbotrons.

Now, bright lights shine both directly in windows and bounce off opposite windows into apartments and offices. The Terrell Building has lost a major office tenant who couldn’t put up with these conditions in their work environment. Many residents of ANC2C are deeply unhappy with the degradation of the area, and there are reports of a significant drop in residential property values.

The DC Council thinks of itself as a model of best practices. But the Council is becoming a poster child of worst practices in billboard control by letting corporate interests have their way with the public realm. After all, if Gallery Place could have jumbotrons, why not the Verizon Center? And if Verizon Center can have them, why not our beloved Nats, DC United, the Wizards, and RFK Stadiums?

And surely we need more pizazz on the commercial strips at The Wharf, H St. and Adams Morgan!

Who is doing a better job than DC? Lots of places: 586 cities and towns in TX, 237 cities and

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counties in FL, and many more around the country have banned new billboard construction; four states – VT, ME, AK and HI -- are entirely billboard free.

We need to resolve this issue fairly and treat our public space with reverence. Call, write and text the bill’s sponsors -- Councilmembers Charles Allen, Brianne Nadeau, Jack Evans, Brandon Todd, Yvette Alexander, Kenyan McDuffie, David Grosso and LaRuby May: No More Billboard Light Blight in DC! Meg Maguire served as President of Scenic America from 1998-2006. She is a resident of Capitol Hill. megmaguireconsultant@msn.com

Opposed to Changing Maryland Avenue I read the August article on the Maryland Ave. Traffic plan. I first learned of it in July 2016 despite living a block off Maryland Avenue for 9 years, and now living in Hill East near the street.

I started coming to community meetings about the plan in August. In the past two months, I’ve seen that a small group of residents knew about this and have supported it (36 of 50 people apparently voted for this over other options to improve safety in 2013). But as more of us learn about it and have questions and concerns, we have been called “crazy” by sitting ANC members who then send letters to DDOT and other government agencies without mentioning the growing community dismay over radically changing the road without the pilot study that apparently had been promised.

Once the road is done, it’s permanent. You can’t unring that bell. So it’s maddening to hear from supporters of the project that the time for questions is over -- even though minutes from ANC meetings in 2012 said that making sure the community was supportive of the plan was exactly what would happen at this stage (the 30 percent plan stage).

See Feb. 27, 2012 minutes Any changes the DDOT and Toole Design team wish to make will be hard to push through at DDOT given the DDOT traffic engineer side often has differing views on these matters. Mr. Branyan pointed out that he is on the planning side and therefore does dictate solution adoption by the traffic engineer team.

Chairman Holmes asked whether specific legislation calling for any recommended changes (which includes project funding for the DDOT budget) could have an impact on the engineer team’s decision. According to Mr. Branyan, if there are local funds set aside for this project by the Council, then yes, that could be useful. But any project funding will likely be combined with federal funds.

ANC 6C Commissioner Price asked for more information on the process for making this project happen. The idea is to nail down the big questions first and have them addressed in the 30% preliminary design, then fully vet the plan to ensure the community is on board. The DDOT engineers would then take this project to 100% design while maintaining the 30% plan solutions. They are looking at a 30% design by April/May. The community then gets to see the plans again once before DDOT moves toward completing the 100% design phase. DDOT plans to come back before the community in another nine months or so to get the design finalized. (http://anc6a.org/wp-content/uploads/ TM0212.pdf) The over 100 signatures on a petition against this project shows clearly that the community is not on board. So it is all the more disappointing to see ANC reps whitewashing this reality in order to get a pet project done. That’s not democracy. That’s despotism.

I also find it appalling that DDOT is delaying doing safety measures that would immediately make key intersections safer (like installing a HAWK signal at the 7th street NE intersection in front of the library, which would be pedestrian-summoned and flash lights when someone wanted to cross) until this redesign is complete. That’s unconscionable if the true goal is safety.

Anneke Green annekegreen@gmail.com

Thank You Hill Rag for Maryland Avenue Coverage Thank you for your continued in-depth coverage of the District’s Maryland Avenue Project. As I mentioned to Andrew on the phone last week, my wife and I have been going to meetings regarding pedestrian safety along Maryland Avenue for more than five years, and I know that you’ve been covering it for longer than that. Your coverage has been appreciated.

Everything, though, does have a downside. That is why we are petitioning you to help our neighborhood to minimize some bad effects of all this new construction and increased traffic flow.

Within the last year our street has changed—for the worse. Large trucks carrying steel girders, over-sized delivery trucks, and heavy-duty loaded dump trucks have all taken to racing down 11th Street. Commuter and tour buses, construction tractors, and many other commercial vehicles are newly using the street in front of our houses exceeding the speed limit for residential neighborhoods.

We bought on Capitol Hill because we wanted to live in an historic district which has a unique character. Our houses, most more than a century old, are now being rattled by the heavy duty use of our street.

An example is the Philadelphia Row townhouses. These homes, built when Abraham Lincoln was president, are showing their vulnerability as heavy trucks shake the ground on which they were constructed.

This heavy and speeding traffic is also making our street unsafe for pedestrians. The increase in the number of families with babies and young children is very encouraging for the neighborhood. But, those young children are especially vulnerable to irresponsible drivers.

An illustration of our concern with safety is at the corner of 11th and North Carolina, S.E. With only a 15 second period for pedestrian crossing, cars and trucks frequently turn as pedestrians are in the crosswalk, endangering them.

For these reasons we ask your help to implement the following steps to return our street to safety and to save our houses.

• First, a weight limit should be set for vehicles using our street.

• Second, large signs should make clearly visible to all drivers the speed limit for residential neighborhoods.

• Third, cameras should be installed on 11th Street to enforce these rules on speed and weight.

• Fourth, depressions in the middle of the street due to sewer work several years ago should be properly repaired so that the noise of racing and overweight vehicles is not augmented as they drive through them.

Photo: Christine Rushton

I and a few of my neighbors recognized that not everybody in the neighborhood has been as involved in the meetings and discussions surrounding Maryland Avenue. Some just moved here (remember that DDOT approved the project in 2012) and some just didn’t hear about it for whatever reason. We have polled our collective memories and research to pull together a website on the project: www.mdavedc.org.

The website includes a page listing news stories and identifying public meetings at which the project was discussed (http://www.mdavedc.org/eventsnews/), a fact sheet about the project (http://www. mdavedc.org/fact-sheet), and a set of detailed FAQs addressing questions and concerns that people have raised (http://www.mdavedc.org/faq).

I really hope that the information on the website can help to address some of the recent confusion regarding Maryland Avenue. Please let me know if you notice anything missing or have any other comments.

Thanks again for covering this issue.

Todd Hettenbach toddhett@gmail.com

Please Save 11th Street We are writing to ask for help in making our street safe again and to avoid damage to our historic houses. We are home-owners and voters who live in the one hundred block of 11th Street, South East.

We are happy to be living in DC at this point in time. The city is so vibrant with people moving in and with multiple construction and renovation projects underway. We see in future years an ever more prosperous and interesting place to live.

We appreciate your attention, and ask for immediate action on our recommendations.

• Jack Jennings & Steve Molinari, 142 11th Street, S.E. • Lynn Hart & George Ingram, 138 11th Street, S.E. • William Cromer, 136 11th Street, S.E. • Elizabeth C. Rubacky, 134 11th, Street, S.E. • Ann & Scott Keep, 140 11th Street, S.E. • Peter & Connie Robinson, 154 11th Street, S.E. • Gordon & Joan Cavanaugh, 133 11th Street, S.E. • Amy & Irving Jones, 121 11th Street, S.E. • Pat Granados, 150 11th Street, S.E. • Paola Barbara & Chris Lobb, 148 11th Street, S.E. • Muriel Wolfe, 146 11th Street, S.E. • Eric Broxmeyer & Annie Owens, 151 11th, Street, S.E. • Barbara Johnson, 105 11th Street, S.E. • Contacts: Lynn Hart at lynnhart52@gmail.com • Jack Jennings at jfjspm@aol.com

Union Station Expansion EIS At a public meeting held on October 19, 2016 preliminary concepts for the Union Station Expansion were presented. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) envisions a new concourse and rail yard to meet the projected increase in ridership. Multimodal design objectives are met with improved bus, and taxi access as well as new parking structures either above or below the rail yard. FRA is working with the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation (USRC), Akridge’s Burnham Place air rights project, and the District’s H Street Bridge reconstruction on this massive and complex project. The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) currently underway has an estimated completion date summer of 2018. The EIS examines only the FRA portion of the Union Station Expansion project. FRA’s concept proposals can be viewed and comments submitted at: www.fra.dot.gov/Page/ P0866. A description of Akridge’s plans can be viewed at: www.akridge.com/property/21/100Col umbusCircleNE#description.

Of particular interest to residents in northeast

November 2016 H 201

Gracie

Come visit us at the Capital Community News offices at 224 7th Street SE, across from historic Eastern Market. Illustration by Jason Yen

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area of Capitol Hill are the traffic implications of an expanded Union Station. For example, the design anticipates significantly greater bus and automobile traffic on H Street, NE; and several proposals indicate primary access to underground automobile parking from K Street, NE. The numerical increases are not projected, and even when they are available, will not include the additional traffic generated by Burnham Place.

Representatives from the neighborhood have criticized the piecemeal planning approach of the EIS. The FRA concept plans do not include any information about – or even reference to – closely related projects for the H Street Bridge and Burnham Place. Nonetheless, all of the concept proposals envision recapturing portions of Akridge’s air rights for the Union Station Expansion. Similarly, renderings of Burnham Place envision construction on areas that Akridge does not (yet) control. There is no information on the cost of acquisition, or whether areas would be acquired by eminent domain or a swap of air rights. Master planning for these closely related projects is proceeding outside the ongoing EIS. Although limited in scope, the EIS is likely the public’s best opportunity to weigh in on the design of this project.

Drury Tallant, PhD dtallant@aol.com

Goodbye to Gracie Gracie passed away on Sept. 30, 2016 at the age of ten, after a short and rapid bout with liver cancer. She is survived by countless human and canine friends. Gracie came from Louisa County, Virginia, where she was found as a stray. She was rescued by Homeward Trails Animal Rescure of Arlington, VA, and adopted.

There was only one Gracie. In 2009, she was named runner up for “Most Beautiful Dog” in the Hill Rag’s annual pet edition. In 2010, she was the winner for best Halloween costume in Chateaux Animaux’s competition in Old Town Alexandria. She enjoyed raising money for a good cause and was a frequent participant in the annual Shalom Scholarship Foundation event to raise money for school children.

She was especially known for her soft fur and ears and soulful eyes. Strangers would stop her on the street to comment on her beauty. She loved to frolic at Marion and Garfield parks, and at the Congressional Cemetery, where she was a member of Cemetery Dogs. She really loved to visit Diana of Dog Dot Cat and her other friends at the 20th street Spa. She will be deeply missed. In lieu of flowers, please send contributions in memory of Gracie to the Canine Cancer Fund (https://wearethecure.org/) and Homeward Trails Animal Rescue (http://www.homewardtrails.org/).

Julie LaFave juliealafave@hotmail.com u