Ward 5 Weekly Newsletter
June 23, 2023

1. Ensure accountability for offenders by closing gaps in the law;
2. Enhance protections for senior citizens by strengthening penalties for crimes against seniors; and 
3. Support victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence by increasing protections for survivors.

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is conducting a high-level feasibility study of the North Capitol Street Corridor, which has been identified as a high crash corridor in the District’s moveDC plan. The study includes an assessment of existing conditions, the development and evaluation of concepts for the redesign of the corridor, and short-term safety improvements to high-crash intersections and along Lincoln Road NE.

The meeting will be held in-person at SeVerna on K (43 K St NW) on June 24 from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. A virtual meeting covering the same content took place last night. DDOT reported on potential short-term interventions and the high-level feasibility of decking small portions of the corridor between T Street NE and Rhode Island Avenue. An evaluation of multi-modal alternatives for the entire corridor between Massachusetts Avenue and Riggs Road will presented at future meeting, which is expected to occur this fall. DDOT will select preferred alternative configurations for each segment of the corridor later this year. 

DDOT has posted two documents on its project website:

• A memorandum evaluating the feasibility of 3 potential layouts for a deckover, which estimates that constructing this feature would cost between $44 and $82 million dollars depending on its configuration.
• A preliminary assessment of existing conditions on the corridor, including the demographics and transportation needs of adjacent communities and statistics about the location, severity, and type of crashes that occur on the corridor. 

The D.C. Council Committee on Health and the Committee on Hospital and Health Equity will be hosting a joint roundtable on Wednesday, June 28 at 10:30am to address the urgent and multifaceted challenges posed by the opioid and fentanyl epidemic in Washington, DC. The roundtable will explore various aspects of the crisis and gather expert insights on understanding its scope, implementing prevention strategies, improving treatment and recovery approaches, engaging healthcare providers, adopting harm reduction measures, fostering community engagement and support, addressing stigma, promoting compassion and public education, allocating funding and resources effectively, establishing robust evaluation and monitoring systems, and devising sustainable long-term solutions. Councilmember Parker is a member of both committees and invites Ward 5 residents to give public testimony--especially individuals who are engaged in work to address the crisis in your ward.
 
Here is the link to sign up to testify: https://bit.ly/OpioidRoundtable 

On June 26, DC Public Library is shifting open hours at neighborhood library locations across the District to enhance accessibility. The hours at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library and at co-located library locations will not change.

Neighborhood Libraries (in Ward 5: Lamond-Riggs/Lillian J. Huff Neighborhood Library and Woodridge Neighborhood Library):

• Monday - Wednesday | 9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. 
• Thursday | Noon - 8:00 p.m. 
• Friday - Saturday - 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
• Sunday | 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Co-Located Libraries | Deanwood, Northwest One, Rosedale

• Monday - Wednesday | 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
• Thursday | Noon - 8:00 p.m. 
• Friday - Saturday | 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
• Sunday | 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library

• Monday - Thursday | 9:30 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
• Friday - Saturday | 9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
• Sunday | 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.

• Providence UCC lost over $2.6 million since 2019 with direct cost $6.5 million.
• Diagnostic Imaging lost $1 million since 2021 with direct cost $2.7 million.
• Ascension has taken efforts to reduce the financial burden:
  • No management fee for shared support services provided by corporate offices (H/R benefits, marketing, food services, environmental, regulatory compliance).
  • No mark up on fees paid for various services.
  • Forgave $55 million of intercompany debt on June 18.
• Explored growth in other services, market demand and financial analysis in designing non-acute campus and contacted other health systems about their interest in operating in the Urgent Care.

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is developing concept designs for the New York Avenue Streetscape and Trail Project that will promote multimodal transportation safety and create cohesive, community-friendly spaces along the project area. The corridor is a major east-west route through Ivy City and connects the Arboretum and Union Market communities in Ward 5 and Ward 6. New York Avenue NE is a major transportation route, a neighborhood, and an important industrial and commercial hub in the District. The project area extends along New York Avenue NE from the NoMa Metro Station to Bladensburg Road NE and includes a mix of residential units, businesses, places of worship, and new developments. Currently, the project area has few options for non-vehicular traffic and lacks adequate and consistent infrastructure to accommodate pedestrians and cyclists. 

The purpose of this meeting is to gain input on the updated concept designs for the trail and associated streetscape improvements. These comments will be incorporated into developing the final concept prior to moving into further design work. Attend the virtual meeting on June 28 from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. here.

• Closes for comment on July 13: Conversion of 17th Street NE between Monroe Street and Newton Street NE to one-way northbound and conversion of 17th Street NE between Monroe Street and Lawrence Street NE to one-way southbound - Read and comment here
• Closes for comment on July 26: Close 3rd St NW between Shepherd St NW & Rock Creek Church Rd NW - Read and comment here

This week, my team attended the ANC 5E, Brookland Neighborhood Civic Association (BNCA)m, Hanover Civic Association, ANC 5B, and ANC 5C meetings. Here's a brief recap: 

•  ANC 5E (June 20 at 7:00 p.m.):  ANC 5E Commissioners voted to support a new heart transplant center at WHC, they heard an update and voted to support the updated sidewalk cafe on Bryant and North Capitol, my team shared about the DDOT community engagement opportunities for New York Ave, North Capitol, and Florida Ave, and the Mayors office shared a bit about Building Blocks grants for creative violence reduction efforts
   
• Brookland Neighborhood Civic Association (June 20 at 7:00 p.m.): Wendy Pohlhaus, Director of Community Outreach in the U.S. Attorney's Office updated the community on the value of the community impact statements in court decision making and how she could assist and give guidance on how to write these statements. 
   
• ANC 5B (June 21 at 7:00 p.m.): 
  • DC Water representative Sean Moore gave a presentation on the Lead Free DC initiative. Mr. Moore mentioned that the City covers service lines, while the homeowner is responsible for the line in private space. Sean Moore provided ANC 5B with the Lead Free DC 2023 project list of all 27 blocks and 240 premises in the Commission and invited residents to stop by Saint Paul Baptist this Saturday, June 24 from 11PM – 3PM for more information about these upcoming lead pipe replacement projects. Please contact Mr. Moore with questions at sean.moore@dcwater.com. 
  • Dr. Ariana Gard UMD gave a presentation on the date on from the CARE project. This community driven project used access to green space, concerns about gun violence, and neighborhood support to measure health and wellness.  
  • Commissioner Costello will have a virtual SMD meeting for the Providence Hospital development Monday, June 26th, at 7:30PM. Commissioner Brevard will be having a SMD meeting at 2900 Rhode Island on July, 15th. 
     
• ANC 5C (June 21 at 7:00 p.m.): My team shared updates on the New York Avenue Trail and the upcoming meeting on June 28, 2023. My team also shared budget wins for traffic safety along NY Ave, Bladensburg Road and South Dakota Ave NE. 

• New format! My website now displays upcoming ANC and Civic Association Meetings in an interactive calendar. View upcoming meetings here.

• 5A & 5C: Carlos McKnight, cmcknight@dccouncil.gov
• 5B & 5D: Oliver Stoute, ostoute@dccouncil.gov
• 5E & 5F: Sam Bonar, sbonar@dccouncil.gov

Recap of the Council’s June 20 Committee of the Whole Meeting: 

On Tuesday at the Committee of the Whole Meeting, Council voted to symbolically designate the 1400 block of V Street N.W. in Ward 1 as St. Augustine School Way. The Saint Augustine Catholic School was founded by free men of color and emancipated slaves in 1858 and was the first Catholic school dedicated to educating African-American children.  

Recap of the Council’s June 20 Legislative Meeting

Immediately after the Committee of the Whole, the Council convened for a Legislative Meeting at which the Council took the following action:

• Approved applicants for local rent supplements vouchers to self-certify eligibility factors. The DC Housing Authority will not be allowed to inquire into an applicant’s immigration status, prior criminal arrests or convictions, or pending criminal matters. This emergency covers a gap while the permanent bill moves through the Committee on Housing. 
• Voted to establish a Business Improvement District (BID) on an emergency basis for Friendships Heights and apply a two-cent tax increase for the Golden Triangle BID. 
• Approved the Green Housing Transition Emergency Amendment Act of 2023 which would allow a limited exemption from the net-zero energy construction requirement for Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) projects that have already received financing approval. DHCD expressed concern that applying this new mandate to ongoing projects would abruptly abandon existing housing finance plans and could mean missing out on opportunities to increase affordable housing and retain lower-income households in the city.  

Upcoming Hearings Next Week: 

Monday June 26th at 10:30 a.m. - the Committee on Executive Administration and Labor will hold a public roundtable to determine the current readiness of the Board of Elections for the 2024 election. It will focus on the vote processing center to be used for the election, early and mail-in voting, ballot drop boxes, voter registration, and eligible voter outreach. Written statements and testimony can be submitted to ceal@dccouncil.gov before July 6th at 5:00 p.m. 

Tuesday June 27th: 

11:00 a.m. - the Committee on Transportation and Environment will hold a public roundtable on creating a sustainable green workforce in the District. Members of the public who are not invited to testify orally at the roundtable may provide written testimony, which will be made part of the official record. Copies of written statements should be emailed to the Committee at cote@dccouncil.gov by close of business on July 11th.  

12:00 p.m. - the Judiciary and Public Safety Committee will hold a hearing on the Safer Stronger Amendment Act (Mayor Bowser's proposed "crime bill") and the Female Genital Mutilation Prohibition Act. Sign up to testify by contacting Aukima Benjamin at least 24 hours before the start of the hearing at (202) 724-8058 or via e-mail at judiciary@dccouncil.gov. 

5:00 p.m. - the Judiciary and Public Safety and Public Works and Operations Committees Joint Public Hearing on the Illegal Dumping Enforcement Act. Sign up to testify by contacting Aukima Benjamin at least 24 hours before the start of the hearing at (202) 724-8058 or via e-mail at judiciary@dccouncil.gov. 

Wednesday June 28th at 10:30 a.m. - the Health and Hospital and Health Equity Committees Joint Public Roundtable on Combatting the opioid and fentanyl crisis in DC.  Sign up to testify at https://bit.ly/OpioidRoundtable. 

Wednesday June 28th at 12:00 p.m. - the Committee on Business and Economic Development will reconvene the public hearing on the Workers and Restaurants are Priorities Act. Witnesses who signed up to testify at the June 8th hearing will be allowed to testify. Otherwise, submit written testimony to BusinessEconomicDevelopment@dccouncil.gov  by 12:00 p.m. on July 5th. 

Thursday June 29th at 10:00 a.m. - the Committee on Housing will hold a public hearing on the Local Rent Supplement Program Eligibility Act and the Rent Stabilization Protection Act. Sign up to testify at bit.ly/coh_signup or by phone at (202) 727-8270, and provide name, phone number or e-mail, organizational affiliation, title (if any), and personal pronouns by the close of business on Tuesday, June 27th. 

The DC Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) hosts three weekly free veggie giveaways of local, fresh organic produce including kale, collards, lettuce, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, squash, herbs, flowers, and MORE! They occur May 9 through November 30 (weather permitting). In Ward 5, the weekly giveaway is at the Edgewood Rooftop Farm (at the Edgewood Recreation Center - 301 Franklin St NE) every Tuesday from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Pepco, the DC Public Library Foundation and DC Public Library are calling on youth between the ages of 13 - 19 to use their creative voice to make a difference. 

Between May 22 and August 15, youth can submit an original work of writing, photography, film, visual art, or music that expresses their feelings on a social issue that matters to them. They’re looking for pieces that are not only well-crafted but have a strong voice and perspective on a subject pertaining to civic engagement.

Winners will be selected in the categories of Visual Art, Writing, Music, and Film & Photography. Entries will be judged by representatives from Pepco and D.C. Public Library's Teen Council. Prizes include:

• Prize for Writing: Laptop
• Prize for Film & Photography: Canon EOS 4000D
• Prize for Visual Art: Wacom CTL4100 Intuos Graphics Drawing Tablet
• Prize for Music: Fender Electric Guitar

• Bowser former top aide sexually harassed D.C. employee, probe finds (WaPo)
• Investigation into ex-Bowser aide can't be left to the mayor's staff (WaPo)
• Metro faces $750 million budget gap, could lead to dramatic service cuts (NPR)
• 'Will seriously hurt the District': DC leaders react to restrictions in federal spending bill (WTOP)
• D.C. Votes to Approve New 'Anti-Racist' Social Studies Standards (Dcist)
• Lab-grown chicken to be served at DC Jose Andres restaurant (DC News Now)

• Community Survey for Vacant Lot at 1600 North Capitol St NW
• Envision McMillan
• Ward 5 Virtual Town Hall on Providence Redevelopment - Registration Link
• Metro Launches Metro Lift - Fare Discount Program

As always, we invite you to use this form to provide feedback on how we're doing. We'd love to hear from you anytime. 

Yours in service and community, 

Zachary

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