Starting at about 7:30 a.m., demonstrators gathered at George Washington University before marching to the World Bank along Pennsylvania Avenue, demanding action to reduce fossil fuels. 

The demonstration was led by Shut Down D.C., the same group that organized the climate change protests back in September that resulted in over 30 arrests. While protestors were eventually physically removed from the streets by MPD today, no arrests have been reported at this time. 

For this protest, Shut Down D.C. teamed up with Jane Fonda’s “Fire Drill Fridays” and a group called

The protest targeted financial institutions, demanding them to stop investing in fossil fuels. Many activists marched to the Wells Fargo bank at 13th and I Streets NW, where they sat down, chained themselves together and blocked the front doors.

Halting traffic during rush hour has become a popular way for activists in D.C., like Abby Huntley, to bring awareness to the climate crisis. 

“We know it’s very inconvenient for them, but blocking traffic is the only way to get people to listen,” Huntley said.

While groups stood along intersections with banners and signs, commuters appeared to lose patience as police tried to reroute traffic, endlessly laying on their horns. 

Alexis Jordan, a D.C. commuter, said she had to have her Uber drop her off a few blocks away from her office building Friday morning to make it to work on time because the roads were blocked off.

“It’s just annoying,” Jordan said. “I agree with what they’re protesting about, but I feel like doubling people’s commute is only going to make people mad.”

“No gas. No oil. Keep that carbon in the soil,” was among some of the chants by protesters on H Street as officers commanded them to move to the sidewalk. 

Throughout the day, the Twitter account @DCPoliceTraffic tweeted updates on rolling street closures.

A little before 3 p.m., @DCPoliceTraffic announced that all of the protests officially dispersed and all streets had opened back up.

Protester Jared Land said the movement is about demanding attention to the crisis in any way they can.  

“We’re here to demand these businesses to stop investing in the fossil fuel industry,” Land said. “If sitting in front of banks and blocking traffic is what it takes to make change, then that’s what we’ll do.”

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ANC Commissioner James Harnett introduced the findings of the study at a November meeting, saying that commissioners will discuss potential safety updates in the next month.

The study, conducted by planning and design consulting company Kimley-Horn, showed that cars frequently pass through crosswalks on H Street in Foggy Bottom without stopping and that pedestrians do not always use the crosswalk while crossing the street.

Commissioners will vote in January on a proposal that will recommend specific changes to  DDOT based on the data from the report. 

As of right now, the resolution will not include a proposal to close the street to vehicles, according to Harnett. 

The safety study followed complaints from concerned residents about safely crossing the street at intersections on H Street. Harnett said there have been more than 290 accidents and 77 injuries since 2003 on the part of H Street that was studied. 

Foggy Bottom resident Hannah Burke said she has frequently raised concerns about the unsafe crosswalks. 

“I really think H Street has some of the most dangerous intersections in the city,” Burke said. “A lot of them don’t have any walk lights. I’ve tried reaching out to the DDOT about it, but I never heard anything.”

A second crosswalk was added to H Street last year between District House and Kogan Plaza on the George Washington University campus after numerous complaints from students about the dangerous intersection.

However, a GW student was struck by a car near that intersection last month, sustaining a minor injury. The student was crossing H Street between 21st and 22nd street. 

This was not the first incident on H Street this year. A car also hit a student in the same crosswalk in April.  

Harnett referenced Mayor Bowser’s plan that includes eliminating traffic-related fatalities and serious injuries by 2024. 

“There’s a lot of parked cars here blocking the path of visibility, and it’s basically a danger zone,” Burke said. “People are always at risk of getting hit here.”

Some of the suggestions to DDOT will include replacing all “no parking” signs with “no standing or parking” to prevent any more pedestrian collisions. 

DDOT will review the proposed changes after the ANC votes on them in January.

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In December, Thaddeus Stevens Elementary will be added to the My School DC public school lottery in December for the 2020-21 school year.       

Stevens Elementary is the oldest surviving public school in the District. It closed after the 2007-2008 school year due to low enrollment, but will reopen by August 2020, according to a DCPS .

Stevens was built in 1868 and was the first public school built for black students in the District built solely from public funds. 

The school last operated as a PK4-6th grade elementary school, serving 231 students.

Tania Shand, the DCPS project manager for the Stevens modernization, said the school is a much-needed improvement for the District as the area of the city has not been meeting the high demand for early childhood education.

Shand said the school is in a central location that’s accessible to families in D.C.

Stevens will offer five general education pre-K3 and pre-K4 classrooms, three special education classrooms and four infant and toddler classrooms.

It will also serve as an additional classroom space for the nearby School Without Walls at Francis-Stevens.

Representatives from OTJ Architects presented construction documents for the ongoing project at an ANC meeting in late October. The plans feature a health suite, welcome center, library, classrooms and activity areas.

Developers broke ground last year and have since built parts of the exterior of the four-story structure. 

The plan to reopen the school was first announced by Mayor Muriel Bowser in 2017 as part of the Administration’s efforts to expand access to affordable child care. The D.C. Council first approved a plan back in 2014 to renovate the closed school and create an office building on the school’s playground.

The Ivymount School for students with disabilities was expected to move to the building once renovations were completed. However, these plans later fell through.

Now the Early Learning Center will open to applicants citywide with a goal to build a diverse school community.

The construction documents show each classroom to feature themes for the children, including jungle, ocean, sky and space. 

According to Shand, the next steps in the renovation will include painting areas around the building and installing new windows. 

Families can apply to the school on the My School DC application and see if they receive a lottery match or waitlist offer.

District resident Emily Gardner hopes her two-year-old daughter will qualify for the lottery before she starts Pre-K next year.

“I want her to go to a good school and it sounds like they’re really putting good work into it,” Gardner said.

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After months of negotiation between the ANC, the Foggy Bottom Association and GW Hospital, the plan made its way to the D.C. Council for approval where it passed unanimously, overturning a 1987 law that banned helipads in residential areas.  

At a Foggy Bottom and West End ANC meeting earlier this month, Commissioner James Harnett originally announced the “tentative” opening date of Friday, Nov. 1 — but the helipad was still pending approval from the D.C. fire inspector at that time.

Hospital representatives on Monday said the D.C. fire department inspected and approved the helipad in the last week.

The helipad is an addition to the hospital’s patient care expansion initiative and will give better access to its Level I trauma care unit while allowing quicker transport for patients and saving lives.

The project was first proposed to the ANC in the spring of 2017. Commissioners gave preliminary approval at another meeting a few weeks later. 

In July 2018, Mayor Muriel Bowser gave the final approval by signing the bill that allowed the hospital to pursue construction. 

At the time, Bowser announced that the helipad would be expected to open in spring of 2019. However, the construction project took longer than expected. 

By July 2019, the ANC approved an after-hours construction permit to speed up the project and help decrease traffic that the construction was causing due to road closures around the hospital. 

For months during the early proposal stage, area residents criticized the project, concerned that  low-flying helicopters would disrupt the peace of the neighborhood and pose safety issues. 

Foggy Bottom resident Steven Holmes said he initially opposed the idea of a helipad because his home’s close proximity to the hospital could mean some noisy nights.

“When they’re flying somebody in during the middle of the night then it’s probably going to be pretty loud,” Holmes said. “But every minute counts in an emergency, so I know it’s going to save a lot of lives.”

According to provided by the hospital in 2017, the sound level of their medical helicopter is “below that of many noise producers in the community” due to the geometric design of its main rotor blades.

Currently, the only other Level I trauma center in the District with a helipad is Washington Hospital Center. 

According to Marketing and Business Development Director Christine Searight, the project plan had a few more delays.

“There’s a whole process behind getting a helipad ready,” Searight said. “But it will open sometime in November.” 

When the helipad does officially open, the event will include a ribbon cutting ceremony. 

Though the helipad can be expected to open in November, Searight said there is still not a definitive date set. 

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The analysis also shows that the neighborhood ranks 28 out of 111 in the District, with one being the worst. The sidewalk problems range from broken walkways to a lack of curb ramps.

ANC Commissioner Patrick Kennedy said he receives frequent complaints about the safety and accessibility of the sidewalks.

“We have a lot of sidewalks in various states of disrepair,” Kennedy said. “It’s very difficult for seniors and people of any sort of physical disability to navigate these areas.”

The analysis notes that, surprisingly, the more affluent neighborhoods, like Foggy Bottom, have the most sidewalk issues compared to the lower-income neighborhoods.

In many cases throughout the neighborhood, the sidewalks are blocked by abandoned debris, scooters and trash cans, with over 12,000 blocking D.C. sidewalks. The most common obstacles are those from construction.

Kennedy finds there are a lot of short-term sidewalk impacts related to construction projects that have taken much longer than initially planned.

“There is a lot of pent-up frustration about that,” Kennedy said. “Unfortunately, they have a maintenance backlog city-wide. They have not been getting to projects in our area as quickly as we would like to see.”

The poor sidewalk conditions have made it especially difficult for those who are unable to simply walk around the obstructions.

Director of the Office of Disability Rights Mathew McCollough often hears complaints regarding obstructions in Foggy Bottom.

“We receive complaints particularly when construction is occurring,” McCollough said. “We work closely with the Americans with Disabilities Act to address the inaccessible path-of-travels, and we find that the sidewalks often don’t meet the ADA requirements.”

Mary Jacobs, a Foggy Bottom resident who uses a wheelchair, has found on several occasions that sidewalk barriers are not always possible for her to maneuver.

“It’s dangerous for me when there’s anything blocking the way,” Jacobs said.  “I can’t pass without moving into the street.”

ANC Commissioner Kennedy said that there are a lot of ADA issues in the community.

“I have sidewalks in my single member district that are completely non-ADA compliant,” Kennedy said. “There are a lot of unresolved ADA issues.”

Kennedy said he also receives complaints from senior citizens with limited mobility and from people pushing strollers or carrying luggage who also struggle with the blockage.

For people like Jacobs, these inaccessible sidewalks make some areas almost completely avoidable.

“I’ve called a couple different times and it never seems to be fixed,” Jacobs said. “This is about our safety.”

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When the John F. Kennedy Center first opened in 1971, its first reaction from critics and patrons was intimidation. The tall, marble monument was not necessarily a place to come and relax, but to simply sit, watch an opera and go home. 

The problem, according to director of External Events, Megan Cikara, is that the Kennedy Center is so isolated from everything else in the District. 

“People were never just stopping into the Kennedy Center to hang out. We wanted a performing arts space where people could come, feel at home, and stay for a while just any time during the day.” Cikara said.

The REACH, the Kennedy Center’s new expansion was made to do just that. Designed by Steven Holl Architects, allows people to engage with the artists and watch their performances.

“There is no backstage in the REACH,” said director of Public Relations, Michelle Pendoley. “When you see the four walls in each of these studios, that’s the studio. You’re able to watch a full-fledged rehearsal of someone you would only ever be able to buy a ticket to.”

When current president Deborah Rutter first came into her position five years ago, the conversation for an expansion had already started over half a decade before, with many delays along the way. 

There were many iterations of what the architecture would actually look like. The river pavilion itself was actually on the river.  

“It was an idea between how the performing arts is moving into more of an artist-audience centered base,” Pendoley said.

There was a hybrid of needs to be met, including more rehearsal space and dedicated education rooms. 

The 72,000-square-foot expansion is made up of three connected buildings that can be used for rehearsals, meetings, classes and concerts. It has already hosted a wedding for one of their employees before the building even opened. 

Rutter also wanted a more intimate, hands-on experience for more than just the adults. 

Starting Sept. 28, parents can bring their kids to the Moonshot Studio every Saturday for an interactive learning experience working with art and learning about the artistic process. The workshop is meant to teach communication skills to parents and their children as they play.

The REACH surpassed its $250 million fundraising goal through Chairman David Rubenstein’s efforts two days before its opening festival. Besides his own $50 million contribution, the donations came from a campaign that the center launched over the summer. 

The free, 16-day festival introduced the community to the new expansion by hosting hundreds of different themed events. The festival saw over 100,000 people during the 16 days.

The festival featured everything from comedy showcases with Patton Oswalt and Rachel Dratch to dance workshops hosted by choreographer Debbie Allen. Patrons could also attend a morning yoga session and see the National Symphony Orchestra rehearsing with Broadway performers. 

However, the festival was less about the opening of the expansion and more about what happens after.

“We had to make sure that the festival stayed with the people after they left so they would want to come back,” Cikara said. 

The festival was meant to connect the community with the expansion so residents will keep coming back long after. It was a also a preview for the many more events the REACH is hosting in the coming year.  

On Oct. 7, The REACH’s first exhibition, Portraits of Courage, will open in Studio K, the center’s largest studio. A collection of 66 paintings of George W. Bush will be on display through November. 

In January, Studio K will turn into “The Club at Studio K,” a jazz lounge on the weekends. Guests will be able to watch spoken-word performances or a jazz show. 

The South Plaza, still being constructed, will host Millenium Stage performances, including graffiti artists and spoken words. Usually held indoors in the traditional building, the event will be held outside for the first time in the South Plaza. 

Walking into the Welcome Pavilion, people can be seen sitting in the lounge chairs or at small tables doing work. Hannah Schneider used the quiet atmosphere of the Pavilion to complete a job application.

“I came to the festival and I got to see the place, but I wanted to be here when there isn’t a crowd of thousands of people.” Schneider said.

While the REACH staff is still coming down from its grand opening, they are still ambitious in their goals for the coming years. The name of the expansion is a nod to a JFK reference about “reaching” up and looking toward the future. 

“There’s an atmosphere of being able to adapt some of the things we have always done,” Cikara said. “But we’re always looking ahead at what we can do next.”

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