But she wasn’t expecting firefighters to come stomping up the stairs to the rooftop where she was eating mid-meal.

“I thought what the heck is going on?” Kesecker recounted wide-eyed.

Though she didn’t see any fire, she naturally wondered if she should be trying to escape.

“No one else was moving so I just kind of sat there too. Which I guess doesn’t sound too smart now that I’m saying that out loud,” she said.

Fire trucks rushed to the scene after Chris, the General Manager of the restaurant, called 9-1-1. At around 7:00 p.m. he smelled smoke on the second floor of his restaurant, but was unable to pinpoint where it was coming from.

“It was a different kind of smoke smell like wood or paper burning so I was worried that maybe in the walls there was something on fire,” he said.

Unsure if there was any actual danger, Chris chose to be more safe than sorry.

When the firefighters arrived he advised the department that they didn’t need to run the hose upstairs just yet knowing that his call might not turn out to be anything major, but the firefighters still did anyway.

Though it may have disrupted and slightly scared his guests, Chris said that he understood that the firefighters were just doing their job, as they weren’t sure what they would be walking into.

Firefighters thoroughly checked the second floor as well as outside of the building. After investigation, the department informed Chris that they believed the smell was going away, but would still leave a few firefighters on the scene just to be cautious.

Chris said that while the commotion of three fire trucks as well as the fire chief’s vehicle was drawing a crowd outside of his restaurant, his guests were still eating inside safe and sound.

The post Smoke sends D.C. diners scrambling first appeared on 91ÇŃ×Ó.

Lucia Edmonds, a resident on the lane was met with piles of leaves and dirt when she returned home from her two-month vacation a few weeks ago. She revealed that she allowed the mess to remain for a while, while she called in to 3-1-1. Despite calling several times to request that her street be cleaned, no one ever answered. Finally, Edmonds was forced to take matters into her own hands. Going outside herself, she ended up filling an entire large black garbage bag with debris.

Edmonds said that what most confuses her, is that every day, she receives a notification on her phone that DPW is coming to clean her street, yet, no one ever shows. DPW’s disregard for 15th Street she said, is causing other people to be less careful about what they throw on the street.

“Today on the sidewalk in front of the house next door to me, was a bag of dog poo. I don’t think they would do that if the streets were clean. I think that having dirty streets invites more dirt,” she said.

According to Edmonds, the lack of street sweeping is a hazard to older individuals such as herself as the leaves can be deceptive. When stepping down from the sidewalk, she told 91ÇŃ×Ó that she mentally anticipates it to be so far down, but then ends up stepping much farther down.

Edmonds said that she plans on showing up to an event the mayor is at so that she can bring the issue to her attention since no one seems to be responding. In the meantime she reached out to her neighborhood’s ANC for help.

Here’s the problem. D.C.’s street sweepers already ended their routes for the winter on October 31, and won’t be starting back up again until March. Therefore, the accumulation of debris that was requested by the ANC to be picked up while the sweepers were still operating might be left sitting for another five months.

Commissioner Aaron Landry of Dupont Circle said that along with hearing complaints from residents who live on 15th street, he also hears them from those who live on neighboring streets. But even they aren’t the only ones noticing it. Landry said he also reads frustrated tweets from bicyclists. Many felt that the purpose of a bike lane was to keep them safe, but one that was not swept, was doing the exact opposite causing them to lose balance and almost wreck.

After speaking with two contacts from the Department, Landry said he found out that the street wasn’t being prioritized due to limited recourses.

Landry revealed that the primary issue lies with how the street is constructed. In addition to having no curb, the parking spots have traffic moving to the right of them and a bike lane to the left. Taking in the size of the machines, the narrowness of the bike lane makes it difficult for street sweepers to clean in between and around vehicles. As a result, DPW has to do it the old-fashioned way manually using rakes and leaf blowers to then haul the litter away in a truck.

As stated by the Environmental Protection Agency, this task, though possibly burdensome for DPW, is essential to reduce runoff. Last year according to DPW, over 4,300 tons of pollution were collected off of D.C. streets. This same pollution EPA said would have ended up in local bodies of water if not swept up.

On its website, EPA states that stormwater runoff is one of the main causes of water pollution. When it rains, the water can’t absorb into rooftops or the concrete road. Instead, it flows over these impervious surfaces collecting all the trash as it goes. Never having the chance to filter out the pollutants, the contaminated rainwater streams into storm drains which later transfers to natural bodies of water.

This is why EPA states that late fall sweepings are especially essential before winter rains.

Landry said the ANC continues to push the street maintenance department for solutions. He reminded 91ÇŃ×Ó that the ANC is simply a neighborhood volunteer body, while DPW on the other hand, are the workers paid with tax money.

DPW confirmed to the ANC that it is aware of the requests to get debris around the 15th Street NW area cleaned up, but has not yet released a timeframe for completion.

Despite D.C.’s street sweeping vehicles going into hibernation for the winter, the city could still clean 15th street with a shovel and broom since it has to be done manually.

The post Street sweeping shuts down while complaints mount first appeared on 91ÇŃ×Ó.

“Hey, Hey! Ho, Ho! Donald Trump has got to go!” followed by “Say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here!” were some of the many chants that rang throughout the usually quiet neighborhood of Dupont Circle by students walking in protest toward the Supreme Court. Not even the frigid fall air could stop them from trekking to the Court’s steps to get ahead of the upcoming hearing on Capitol Hill this Tuesday.

At stake is the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, or DACA. The Court will either be ruling in favor for or against President Donald Trump’s decision to repeal DACA’s protections for undocumented immigrants. This is the same lifeline that has protected thousands of immigrants who have lived in the United States since they were children. Many having found work, and created a life for themselves, the ruling could either leave them more or lessĚý vulnerable to deportation.

Wrapped up in warm scarves and beanie hats, the marchers gloved-hands gripped bright, colorful posters that read things such as: “#Home Is Here #HereToStay” and “The American Dream Belongs To Everybody.” Students’ goal in marching was to send the message to Supreme Court Justices that immigrants’ home, is here.

91ÇŃ×Ó caught up with some students from Woodrow Wilson high school outside of the Supreme Court.

Addy Darnell, a freshman missed three tests to be a part of the walkout. “I left during English class. I’m missing Biology, Street Law, and Spanish,” she said.

Darnell said that, as a person of color, she thinks it’s really important for minorities to stand together.Ěý

“If we let the majority break us up, then we have no power. That’s why I’m here,” she said.Ěý

Her classmate, Lauren Cullins, was also in attendance.Ěý

“I’m incredibly privileged to be someone who’s white, and comes from an educated family,” she said.

While Cullins said the immigration issue at stake doesn’t directly affect her family, she still wanted to be apart of the walk to show her support for her DACA classmates and their families.

“We sort of have to help everyone, because it’s just the right thing to do,” she said.

Both teens agreed that one doesn’t need to have a personal experience with a topic to be able to empathize with people or fight for what is right.Ěý

Despite having been outside for hours, dealing with light snow fall, and mistakenly wearing ripped jeans in freezing temperatures, the pair said that, while still worried about Tuesday’s verdict, they now feel like they have done all they could to help.Ěý

“I’m sort of hoping that love and support wins over hate and bigotry,” said Cullins.Ěý

Eligia Rubio, an undocumented immigrant, admits that she is scared. If she could send a message to the Justices, she would like them to know that the immigrant community contributes to the country, and they are here to stay.Ěý

She told 91ÇŃ×Ó that the walk meant a lot to her as she saw the D.C. community come together, despite being from different places, to all fight together, for each other.Ěý

The post Students leave class to stand up for Dreamers first appeared on 91ÇŃ×Ó.

Rays of sun beam down warming the dozen of dog owners that smile and laugh as they watch their pets play tag with their furry friends. What many of these owners may tend to forget is that the place they unleash their dog to finally run and play after being cooped up in the apartment all day requires maintenance.

The repairs needed at the dog park on S Street are a huge ongoing concern for Dupont’s Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners. In their latest ANC meeting, a 7-0 vote was taken to send a letter to the Department of Parks and Recreation to urge them to replace the park’s turf. In the sent document, they directly indicated the reasons for why they are desperately pursuing repair: “There are dozens of holes in the turf and it is beginning to completely degrade in places.”

Mike Silverstein, the advisory commissioner who has been leading the effort, said that the park is more heavily used than ever anticipated. Originally designed for up to 20 dogs, Silverstein told 91ÇŃ×Ó that especially around five p.m. when everyone is off of work, the park is packed. Over time, this high-traffic use has led to the turfs degradation.

The S Street Dog Park was built in 2009. Aware that the park would be a popular place for dog owners to set up their pet play dates, developers utilized a dog friendly K-9 synthetic turf. This artificial grass replaced natural grass that would gradually turn brown, patchy and muddy. While it may have been the perfect solution at the time, 91ÇŃ×Ó after some investigation discovered that the turf that was installed over ten years ago, only had a seven-year warrantee. The current tears are evidence that the artificial grass has outlived its lifespan.

For Shamitz Bounds, the holes are the least of her worries. As a self-pronounced germaphobe she finds herself more focused on wondering about all the years of pee and feces she and her chocolate lab, Mocha, are walking on.

“All I keep thinking is, thank goodness for the downpour of rain we just had from that tornado watch this past week. That’s really the only reason you even see me here right now today,” Bounds said. “It finally got a good cleaning! A lot of times I’d walk all the way over here and then think, nope, can’t do it, and we turn right back around because there are days that you can actually smell the pee. You should not be able to do that. ”

While a hose is provided for park users to be able to hose down the area where their dog uses the bathroom, Bounds says that she never sees anyone utilizing it. Because of this, she says that she keeps paw wipes handy so that whenever they return from the park, she can wipe off Mocha’s feet before going inside. Bounds says that while she is more than grateful for the park, she simply wishes there was a cleaning and maintenance schedule in place to ensure everything is being sanitized of regularly.

Commissioner Silverstein reassures 91ÇŃ×Ó, the dog park is not a health concern. Along with free doggie poop bags being supplied by D.C.’s Friendship Hospital for Animals year round, he adds that even in the winter months when the hose has to be shut off, owners will bring their own water jugs to rinse the area their dog uses the bathroom. He said the park was specifically built in its current location because of the area’s topography. Slightly on a slant, the landscape along with the infill underneath the artificial grass, allows for easy and sufficient waste drainage.

91ÇŃ×Ó emailed the Capital Project Manager to find out which specific company installed the synthetic turf and get specifics on its warrantee, but never heard back. Larry Phillips is a representative from ForeverLawn. While this company is not the one who installed the park’s turf, 91ÇŃ×Ó contacted him to get his take on this K-9 grass situation. According to Phillips, infill such as sand or mulch can hinder drainage entrapping the liquid and smell underneath the turf and cause it to accumulate. ForeverLawn says the best maintenance plans are set up dependent on how many dogs go there everyday. Phillips said some places need weekly sanitation.

In response to ANC’s letter complaining about the maintenance conditions of the dog park, the Department of Parks and Recreation sent a letter back promising to review the complaint and have a member of the Capital Projects team reach out. That was October 25, and now almost two weeks later Silverstein said that they have yet to hear from someone.

The post S Street Dog Park in desperate need of repair first appeared on 91ÇŃ×Ó.

Carlos Sanchez-Martin was 20 years young when he was struck by a SUV while riding an electric scooter around Dupont Circle. Firefighters rushed to free Martin who was pinned underneath the vehicle, but he later died at the hospital that same morning.

A year to the date of the fatal accident, eight officers from the Metropolitan Police Department stood at the circle monitoring traffic in Martin’s honor.

Deputy Director of MPD, Kristen Metzger, told the Wash that in only two hours of enforcement, officers stopped and warned 150 pedestrians and motorists for either crossing the circle illegally or making illegal turns. Those are the actions that caused Martin’s death. In addition, MPD made their presence known by handing out a total of 16 citations.

This is the kind of monitoring that Kailee Blackard said needs to be done everyday. A new resident to the D.C. area who comes from driving in a more suburban area, said that the traffic circle gives her extreme anxiety.

“It’s so big, even before merging on I already feel myself starting to really grip the wheel with both hands. I don’t know if it’s just because I’m still a little new but it’s straight confusing. Plus, no one seems to know how to throw on their turning signal,” she said.

According to Blackard, you always have to be alert. She juggles trying to pay attention to her GPS for her exit, jaywalkers, and the aggressive drivers that surround her who are not afraid to honk if she hesitates even a second too long.

The Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner for Dupont Circle, Mike Silverstein, understands the anxiety that drivers like Blackard feel.

“Nothing’s going to solve this problem completely, you know? We’re trying to put 10-thousand potatoes in a five-pound sack here,” he said.

As a native who has lived in the neighborhood since 1981, Silverstein revealed that there hasn’t been much change to the circle since 1948.

Friday evenings are a standstill at Dupont Circle. It merges main arteries Massachusetts Avenue with four other streets. Congested with cars and impatient pedestrians who hop between the mazes of islands within the circle before they’re supposed to, bikes and scooters add to the confusion. Part of the issue is because Dupont Circle is located within D.C.’s Central Business District. Inside that boundary, people riding on two wheels are not allowed on the sidewalks. Instead, they must share the road with vehicles.

“You just don’t have enough room for all the traffic that’s going there,” Silverstein said.

Divided into two parts, the Commissioner said that people tend to feel trapped in what he calls a gridlock type of situation when they find themselves stuck in the inner ring of the circle, realizing they should be in the outer. He knows that the necessary alleviation could come from a redesign. But, this may never happen since the circle is a national park. Therefore he is unsure how D.C. would be able to expropriate it.

“There’s too much traffic, there’s too much going on there for the infrastructure that was built there, and it’s going to be very difficult to, if not impossible, to change that infrastructure within the limits that we have. So we have to make due of a bad situation,” he said.

According to MPD’s Traffic Fatality Trend, there were 19 fatalities citywide in 2012. Since then, the number climbed up to 36 fatalities occurring last year.

Silverstein told 91ÇŃ×Ó, Dupont Circle does have a dedicated Traffic Enforcement Officer, but the ward shares him with another busy intersection. He thinks safety would be improved if more enforcement were added.

The post Scooter death anniversary brings extra traffic enforcement first appeared on 91ÇŃ×Ó.

Trendy, luxurious buildings popping up in the historic neighborhood of Dupont Circle are an eyesore to some residents. The latest cause for irritation is the new development to take place near the Masonic Temple. Signs in residents’ yards directly across the street from the site illustrate their adamant opposition, reading: “Say No to Luxury Apartments on Masonic Temple Grounds.”

The project emerged due to the temple’s falling revenue, membership decline, and need for 80 million dollars in renovations and repairs. As a result, the owners of the land, the Scottish Rite Masons, partnered with Perseus TDC developers to lease their land to them. Through this contract, the Masons will have a new source of income to help cover their dues.

The revenue-generating apartment buildings have been met with skepticism ever since the Masons first presented the proposed development.

But, since the Masons own the land, and it was their idea to build on it, the construction is what they call “by-right.” This means that the developers don’t need any type of approval from anyone except the Historic Preservation Review Board, as the site is located in a historic district.

Still, aware of public concerns, Perseus developers took it upon themselves to alleviate the communities’ fears despite having no legal obligation.

Elegant row homes line 16^thstreet adding a nostalgic European flare to the quaint neighborhood. Opponents fear the apartment buildings, coming this March, could take away from the residential character of the lane turning it more commercial.

Perseus’ Executive Vice President, Adam Peters told 91ÇŃ×Ó the company engaged the public in over a dozen community meetings. Before even lifting a pencil to begin sketching up a design, the designers for the building, Hickok Cole Architects, sought to hear any suggestions residents had for the project.

“They took input from the D.C. historic preservation office, from the meetings with the community and designed a building really in a collaborative process that was meant to look like a series of row houses put together into one apartment building,” said Peters.

Even noticing how the surrounding neighborhood had layered plants in front of their homes enclosed by an ornamental iron gate, the developers modified their design to do the same in front of their unit entrances to match.

Despite all of Perseus’ attempts to try and please everyone, residents are still finding a way to complain. Some now say that the building should have a more muted color tone even though the designers tried to follow the same shade of red from the neighboring homes’ bricks.

Resident, Marcy Logan, remains unhappy with the project as a whole.

“The mayor approves of increased development. So if there is any question about a project, the developer wins. We fear for the livability of DuPont Circle,” Logan told 91ÇŃ×Ó.

As for how Perseus feels about some of the public’s never-ending discontent: “Not everybody likes it, but a good number of folks do,” Peters said.

The community worries that the new housing will be expensive raising D.C.’s already problematic living affordability. Conscious of these apprehensions, Peters assures that the building will entail several affordable components.

He noted that the project is contingent to the D.C. Inclusionary Zoning rules. This calls for eight-percent of the bottom floor to be specifically designated as Affordable Housing. In this complex, that’s 12 of the 141 planned units. Additionally, Peters added the lower level apartments will lease at a much lower rate than the upper units.

“These two factors together result in a building that has more affordable housing than any typical new apartment building in the area,” Peters emphasized.

Having recently received approval for construction by the review board,Ěýdevelopment is to begin in the middle of next year.

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The post Controversy: Something Old? Something New?Ěý first appeared on 91ÇŃ×Ó.

As you reach the top of the Metro escalator at Dupont Circle you are immediately met with an almost overwhelming number of restaurants to choose from. People on their lunch breaks busily wisp by grabbing a quick bite from places ranging from street tacos at Surfside to wood-fired pizzas at Pizzeria Paradiso.

A similar, although more unappetizing scene is also happening out of sight in the alleyways; rats, restaurants traditionally unwelcome guests, are feasting away in the trash, gorging themselves on whatever leftovers weren’t doggy-bagged home.

RentHop deemed the neighborhood “rat-infested” based on the number of 311 rat complaints that have poured in over the years.

In an effort to address and reduce rodent activity from the leading source of attraction (trash), D.C.’s Department of Small and Local Business Development created a grant program that will finance restaurant applicants up to $13,500 to buy or lease a sealed, rodent-proof commercial compactor.

Despite all that free money to help rodent control, 91ÇŃ×Ó has discovered few, if any, restaurants are utilizing the program.

The Commercial Waste Compactor Program has been in effect since June of 2017, yet, businesses in Dupont continue to improperly store trash through the use of dumpsters and other accessible garbage cans.

Marcy Logan, a board member on Dupont Circle’s Citizens Association, says that its members have been trying to spread the word to restaurants in the area about the grant but don’t know of any that have taken advantage of the financing. The Citizen’s Association’s main mission is to resolve neighborhood issues and come up with innovative projects for the community.

Terra Camby, who works at Saxbys said, “We all have the same landlord so all of us take our trash to the same dumpster.”

Catherine Diaz at Fruitive said, “All of us restaurants use the same trash place.”

Operators at five other food spots including Bethesda Bagels, Moby Dick House of Kabob, Aloha Poke Co., Komi and Kramerbrooks & Afterwords all gave similar answers. All shrugged their shoulders when it came to answering who was directly in charge of trash management; they just knew it wasn’t them.

Based on a survey conducted by 91ÇŃ×Ó, a main reason no restaurants have applied for the grant is because they have no say in how they dispose of their trash. The restaurants are leasing community buildings, so they are not choosing which dumpsters their business uses, but instead the dumpsters are being chosen for them.

D.C.’s National Park Service is not in charge of the underused compactor program, but does initiate other, more traditional methods to control rats within the park around Dupont’s roundabout.

Natural Resource Program Manager, Leslie Frattaroli attributes the rodent issue to trash. She said that is especially true in an area like Dupont where there are a lot of restaurants.

“They’re not going to be in an area if there’s no food. But trashcans are pretty much huge free food if the rat can get in…which most of the time they can,” she said.

Along with landscaping mesh placed into the ground to keep rats from burrowing and not planting any type of shrubbery for the rats to take cover in, Frattaroli said the National Park is also looking into more wildlife-friendly trashcans.

The D.C. Department of Health also uses other approaches for rodent control. According to Public Affairs Specialist, Alison Reeves, their rat control investments include tracking powder, rodenticide pellet bait, dry ice to suffocate rats in their burrows, and even a new six-month-old pilot program of a rat contraceptive called ContraPest.

“However, some of these methods are ineffective primarily due to the abundance of more palatable food choices like trash,” she said.

Reeve’s disclosed that this year’s rodent control budget is 1.7 million dollars. Since 2017, the budget has gone up by $124,000.

Meanwhile, all the money in the Waste Compactor Grant Program is left sitting on the table, waiting for restaurants to use it.

The post Underutilized trash grants aid rat buffet first appeared on 91ÇŃ×Ó.