January 2021 Newsletter

Dear neighbors,

On January 2, I took my oath of office as your Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for 6A06 in American Sign Language (and in gym shorts!). I am honored and humbled by our neighborhood: thank you for entrusting me with this responsibility. We are your advocates before the DC government and eager to serve.

Capitol Attack and Terrorist Threats

January 6 was a dark day for DC after white supremacists, Neo-Nazis, and other violent extremist groups invaded the Capitol where many of our neighbors work. Despite the coup attempt, the people’s house stands strong. I believe in all that my neighbors do to make the world a better place every day. We are parents, educators, and above all, extraordinary advocates in our own ways, whether we realize it or not. We stand together against the insidious white supremacy that facilitated this terrorist attack.

Domestic terrorists are planning to return to DC around January 20 (Inauguration Day) and may stay in Airbnbs around our neighborhood as they did last week. 

  • First, keep yourself safe and call 911 if you see anybody outside carrying illegal firearms (DC requires a DC-specific firearm license). 
  • Second, Airbnb is cracking down on hate groups using its service: you may report insurrectionists at https://www.airbnb.com/neighbors.
  • Finally, keep in mind that terrorists thrive on attention and confrontation, which we will not give to them. Fear will never win and we will thrive with our own positive ideology. For instance, my colleague and ANC 6A01 Commissioner Keya Chatterjee responded well to insurrectionists staying on an Airbnb on Wylie St NE: she chalked “Black Lives Matter” on the sidewalk in front while they were away.

[photo of “Black Lives Matter” chalked on the sidewalk]

ANC Commissioners citywide and I are also calling on Mayor Bowser to protect our neighbors experiencing homelessness and our service workers during Inauguration week. 

Joy of Motion & Atlas Theater Crash

On the night of December 22, a driver crashed into Atlas Theater and Joy of Motion on H St NE and landed in the Joy of Motion studio space, destroying much of the facade. Nobody was hurt but the damage to our neighborhood nonprofits was significant. I donated to and spoke with both organizations. They are deeply thankful for the outpouring of support from our neighborhood as well as any additional donations. These donations help them through continued pandemic closures, especially because insurance only recoups some of the damage from the crash.

https://atlasarts.secure.force.com/donate/?dfId=a0ni00000017XQCAA2

H Street Is Not a Highway for Out-of-State Drivers

December was the third month in a row where a driver crashed into a H Street business. Capitol Hill neighbor Mark Sussman, several other commissioners and neighbors, and I recruited 25 H Street businesses to sign a “Safe H Street NOW!” letter to the District Department of Transportation. DDOT told us they would study transit-only lanes in the medium term and install curb extensions in the short term. If you would like to learn more, check anc6a.org for details on the January 25 Transportation and Public Spaces Committee meeting. 

Safe Streets
I submitted requests for stop signs at E and Tennessee Ave NE as well as 14th and G St NE. DDOT claims we need to wait many months for these, but I will keep you updated.

Our ANC Seeks Volunteers

Will you represent 6A06 alongside me? (Nearby districts are welcome too!) We have neighborhood leadership opportunities in each of our ANC’s committees. If you are interested in any of these volunteer roles, please let me know: https://anc6a.org/committees/. 

You would be responsible for voting on hyperlocal matters such as a new dog park, apartment building, liquor license, or school grant before they advance to the full ANC.

We would ask you to attend one meeting of the committee you’re interested in (all meetings are public videoconferences). Then if you are still interested in joining that committee, we may nominate you to the full ANC. If approved, you are appointed as one of our neighborhood representatives to that committee. The time commitment consists of attending a two-hour meeting each month. Our committees page shows the current meeting date for each committee.

January ANC Meeting

You can join this Thursday’s full ANC 6A meeting at 7pm via https://anc6a.org/wp-content/uploads/ANCA0121.pdf 

Agenda highlights:

  • Whether to remove references to “loitering” in the language we use for negotiating liquor licenses (I asked for this motion because of racial profiling around anti-loitering enforcement and the Supreme Court has twice defended the right to loiter in public spaces)
  • The garden space at Goding Elementary School
  • Traffic calming options, potentially including speed humps, on 1300 North Carolina Avenue

Our District 6A06 in the Washington Post
Our neighborhood is inspiring others! You can see photos from our autumn alley cleanup under “Adopt A Block” in the Washington Post’s outdoor cleanup guide (page 9 in the January 8 Weekend section in print) and on https://adopt-a-block-dcgis.hub.arcgis.com/.