Chubby Lee Washington relies on a walker to get around Washington D.C. ever since breaking his neck in an accident several years ago.

The District of Columbia is not easy to navigate for people like Washington, who are constantly forced to maneuver around cracked and broken sidewalks neglected by the D.C. government. 

“It’s everywhere you go in some parts of D.C. The streets are like that,” Washington said. “And we really have to get where we can have these spots fixed. It’s not safe.”

It takes Washington a tremendous amount of time and effort to walk down the street in his neighborhood of Dupont Circle. He can often be found on his daily walks stopping to chat with neighbors. However, Washington has lost his balance and fallen over broken sidewalks throughout the District, and each fall has reminded him to stay cautious.

“The sidewalks need to be fixed,” Washington said. “Because you never know when you’re going to be on them and walking around and missing your steps. They’re all cracked and broken. It doesn’t look good.”

From the southeast quadrant to the northwest quadrant, cracked and broken sidewalks can be found in every neighborhood throughout Washington D.C. Some sidewalk cracks are small enough that one might not see their potential danger until it’s too late. While others are more obvious, such as giant tree roots protruding from sidewalks, resulting in a messy mound of brick.

Through an open records request with the Freedom of Information Act, 91ÇŃ×Ó discovered that the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) received nearly 8,000 requests for sidewalk repairs over the last year and a half.

Last  year, DDOT completed 45 miles worth of sidewalk repairs; but so far this year, they have fallen behind and only repaired 31 miles. With a few weeks remaining in 2021, it seems unlikely that DDOT will meet its 2020 standard.

Logan Circle resident Brian Romanowski is a member of the Neighborhood Advisory Commission, a group of locally elected officials who work with the city to address residential concerns. Romanowski has been passionate about infrastructure issues since falling and breaking his arm while driving his bike into a pothole in the Petworth neighborhood.

“After that, I would notice every little pothole and sidewalk issue,” Romanowski said. 

In June, Romanowski participated in a Sidewalk Palooza event where he and other Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners gathered their residents to call attention to the broken sidewalks in their wards. The residents used chalk to draw designs around broken sidewalks while they called 311 to make repair requests with DDOT.

Romanowski said many of the requests made at the event were never addressed.

“They do respond, but it really varies, and generally, you just get a service request number and you’re told to wait,” Romanowski said. 

According to the DDOT, the city has up to ten days to investigate a sidewalk complaint, and 270 days to complete a sidewalk repair. But not all sidewalks are repaired within that time frame, if they are repaired at all.

 Romanowski said he waited over three years for DDOT  to finally address a sidewalk repair request he made for a dangerous sidewalk on 15th Street NW. 

“Now it’s great, but it took over three years to get that one section of sidewalk fixed. Which is why I try to enter any sidewalks that I notice are having issues into their system, immediately,” Romanowski said.

Sometimes Romanowski will take matters into his own hands while he waits for DDOT to make its repairs. There is a large hole in a brick sidewalk along Riggs Street NW that someone could easily fit their entire foot in. Romanowski has since placed a construction cone over the hole to warn pedestrians of its danger.

“You know, you’d think if it was a hole, they’d come out and put a plate over it, or do something to secure that section of the sidewalk,” Romanowski said. “But I don’t even usually see that.”

But while cracked and broken sidewalks are a nuisance to all D.C. residents, they are particularly troublesome for the mobility impaired.

Ian Watlington is a Disability Rights Advocate who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. 

He said there had been times when a sidewalk was so mangled that he was forced to venture into street traffic to avoid it. 

“I am especially fearful of going into the street and using that as an option,” Watlington said. “I’ve done that a couple of times, but I avoid it at all costs.”

Watlington switches between a manual wheelchair and an electric wheelchair. Still,  the manual option poses its own concerns because sometimes he will not have the physical strength to propel himself over extreme cases of broken sidewalks. 

For Watlington, action from DDOT is lethargic, if anything at all. He wants to know why the city is capable of adding bike lanes and extending outdoor patios but is unable to make the sidewalks passable. 

“In comparison to the disability population as a whole, the wheelchair users are a large chunk of it, and we are tax-paying citizens. We consume goods, we pay taxes, and to not take our safety as a priority is a significant problem,” Watlington said.

For D.C. residents concerned about sidewalks in their neighborhood, there are three options for filing a repair request: call 311, enter a request through the DDOT , or post a request on Twitter.

However, with nearly 8,000 requests for repairs coming in, a 270d day wait period for repairs and data showing slower fixes this year, those kinds of figures aren’t a great sign for getting anything done soon.

The post D.C. falls behind in sidewalk repairs, frustrating residents first appeared on 91ÇŃ×Ó.

Georgetown resident Paris Keena said she’s terrified by the noise outside her home that sits kitty-corner from George’s. 

George’s is the only late-night restaurant in Georgetown and is open until 4 a.m. on the weekends and 3 a.m. during the week. Keena said the noisy guests, endless traffic and litter should not be allowed to disrupt her life. 

“I’m afraid to leave my home at night, and I don’t get much sleep,” Keena said. “I started calling the police non-emergency number on a regular basis.”  

Keena is one of several residents who claim that George’s late-night customers are often drunk, relentlessly raucous and have littered their block with trash. However, George’s does not have a liquor license, so any customers who come to the restaurant inebriated have done so on their own accord. 

“I have a right to a peaceful environment on my block, but because it’s mixed-use, and George’s is open all night, I do not,” Keena said. 

In October, a occurred outside George’s between two armed robbers and an undercover police officer. The incident rattled residents and did not help George’s already wavering reputation, even though the criminals held no association with the restaurant.

John Wiebenson, the operations manager for the Georgetown Business Improvement District (BID), which works as a liaison between businesses and local communities, said the BID is considering hiring an overtime police officer to patrol the area in light of the recent shooting, despite George’s having hired private security.

“I think there’s a lot of benefit to hiring an overtime police officer versus private security because the rules and the roles a police officer can play versus private security are very different,” Wiebenson said.

Executive Assistant Chief Ashan Benedict provides an update to an off-duty MPD officer involved shooting that occurred 10/20/21 in the 1200 block of 28th St NW.

— DC Police Department (@DCPoliceDept)

Earlier this month, a group of locally elected representatives in Georgetown, otherwise known as the Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC), held a meeting to address the resident’s concerns. The ANC proposed a resolution to the District Department of Consumer Affairs asking that they enforce reduced hours of operation at George’s until “quality of life” was restored to the residents of 28th Street NW.

The resolution came as a surprise to leadership at George’s, who felt that they had done everything to placate their neighbor’s concerns: They hired private security, placed no-littering signs outside the restaurant and asked their staff to circle the block at the end of their shifts to ensure neighborhood cleanliness. George’s even allowed their outdoor streatry to be taken away at the ANC’s request to help alleviate traffic congestion and gathering crowds.

Healthier Albarazi, the marketing manager for George’s, said they tried to meet the resident’s demands with solutions.

“We don’t understand the persistent noise complaints,” Albarazi said. “If  our security guard heard people being loud around the block, he would go figure out what that was and address it.”

Noise and littering complaints from residents started rolling in around June. That’s when George’s placed signs throughout the neighborhood reminding guests to remain quiet and throw away their trash.

Two years ago, George’s fought the city to have their own trash receptacles stationed outside the restaurant to help their guests keep the neighborhood clean. But just last week, the Department of Health arrived and told them that the receptacles were no longer allowed.

“We’ve got to be realistic here and assume it’s not a coincidence that the Department  of  Health showed up last week and asked us to remove them,” Albarazi said. 

Albarazi said the shooting in October frightened everyone, but she does not see how anyone could equate George’s business hours with luring crime to the neighborhood.

“We really understood the need at that moment to address this and put our customers and our neighbors at ease and hire security,” Albarazi said. “So there’s something that’s really important to us and that we’ve happily done.”

But Albarazi is concerned that the ANC’s resolution could result in a change of operational hours at George’s and dramatically affect the many communities which they serve.

According to Albarazi, George’s late-night hours cater to various groups of DC residents, such as front-line workers, who often look for a warm meal at the end of their evening shifts. The restaurant is also entirely halal, which is especially helpful during Ramadan when Muslim people are fasting throughout the day. 

“In the Arab community, we’re really known as the meeting place,” Albarazi said. “And that’s how we see ourselves in the community. We bring people together.”

If George’s hours of operation are forced to change, Albarazi fears it will be the end of a 40-year halal tradition. 

“We care about our neighbors, don’t get me wrong. We absolutely want things to be livable for them in their neighborhood, but we are serving a community that truly needs us,” Albarazi said.

Despite doing everything to meet the demands of residents and the ANC, Albarazi said she feels their efforts have not been recognized.

“Sometimes it feels like no matter what we do, this will never go away. And then I start thinking, what is this really about?” Albarazi said.

George’s King of Falafel and Cheesesteak has since retained a lawyer in an attempt to arrive at a resolution of their own.

“At least we’ll have a seat at the table now,” Albarazi said. “Otherwise, I don’t think we would have ever gotten that.”

The post An iconic late-night restaurant in Georgetown faces pressure to close early amid mounting neighborhood mischief and crime first appeared on 91ÇŃ×Ó.

“We thought our house was going to go on fire and we had to get out,” Elliott said.

Elliott had been in his living room shortly after 1 p.m. on Friday when he noticed smoke emanating through the walls of his house. He quickly dialed 911 and then ran outside into the cold November air. When he looked up, he was startled to find smoke pluming out of his neighbor’s windows and roof. 

The fire broke out at 2016 First Street NW in the Bloomingdale neighborhood and quickly spread throughout the structure. The house is just one of many in a row of dwellings that line the street. However, due to a prompt response from the fire department, the fire did not spread to the other houses within the row.

“We had a lot of smoke,” said Elliott. “But we don’t know what the damage is yet, so we’re going to wait and see.”

The entire 2000 block of First Street NW was closed to traffic as droves of firefighters swarmed the area and numerous fire and EMS trucks flanked the street.

DC Fire and EMS Public Information Officer Vito Maggiolo was proud of the department’s quick response. He said the department received a phone call at 1:19 p.m for a report of a structure fire. Smoke was billowing out of the building when the department first arrived. A team of firefighters attached hoses to hydrants and extended ladders to the building’s second and third floors. A department lift carried a firefighter to the roof.  Windows were smashed on the third floor to accommodate the hoses as firefighters worked swiftly to extinguish the fire within.

“We found fire in the walls between the second and third floors, so we engaged in what we call an interior attack, where we go inside and attack the fire from the inside, opening the walls and ceilings, exposing and extinguishing the hidden fire,” Maggiolo said. 

The department successfully executed a working fire dispatch, which included 12 pieces of equipment and 60 firefighters.

No injuries occurred as a result of the fire, but six adults have been displaced. Maggiolo said the displaced persons are being assisted by the American Red Cross and the District of Coliumbia Department of Homeland Security. 

The cause of the fire has yet to be determined, but Maggiolo said a thorough investigation is currently underway. 

Update Working Fire 2000 block 1st NW. located fire in walls 2nd & 3rd floor 3 story occupied row house. All visible fire extinguished. Opening up & checking for hotspots. No injuries reported.

— DC Fire and EMS (@dcfireems)

Just down the street, Bloomingdale resident Daniel Donavan was pacing in front of his apartment building located on First and U Street NW. He hoped to get into his car and leave, but the barricade of fire trucks blocked him in.

“I just have no idea why they need this many trucks,” Donovan said. “My car is like, right there, and there’s no shot I can move it even an inch.”

Donovan was preparing to leave his first-floor apartment when he noticed the massive number of fire trucks driving down the street. 

“I had the door open actually, just trying to get fresh air and saw the lights. I didn’t think much of it, but then I did smell a hint of smoke and that’s when I came out and all the trucks were here,”  Donovan said.

Donovan said the neighborhood had seen its fair share of ambulance activity in the past, but he has never seen this level of fire and EMS response before. He was pleased to learn that none of his neighbors had been injured as a result of the fire. 

The post Bloomingdale house fire leaves six displaced first appeared on 91ÇŃ×Ó.

For the Afghans who made it to the United States, a long journey of resettlement and integration lies ahead.

The Afghan Resettlement Report looks at the journey of evacuees fleeing Taliban rule in Afghanistan, how they are navigating the U.S. government resettlement system, and how they are being welcomed by nonprofits and local communities.

This podcast was reported and produced by the graduate broadcast journalism students of American University’s School of Communication.

Thank you to the local experts who shared their time and knowledge with the reporters of this podcast:

Mark Greenberg, Senior Fellow at Migration Policy Institute
Hannah Tyler, Research Analyst at Bipartisan Policy Center
Monika Evstatieva, Senior Producer of Investigations at NPR
Glenn Luther, Former Photography Instructor in Afghanistan
Rep. Abigail Spanberger, (D-VA) (Statements from House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on 9/13/21)
Noah Klose, Community Outreach Manager at Homes Not Borders
Billy Coleburn, Mayor of Blackstone Virginia
Lea Ruscio, Field Operations Lead for Team Rubicon
Kenneth Speicher, Parishioner at United Methodist Church
Timothy Young, Press Secretary for Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
Huneressa Fariad, translator from the All Dulles Area Muslim Society
Taliha Masroor and the rest of her family, owners of Bistro Aracosia

Supervising Faculty: , SOC Professor 

The post The Afghan Resettlement Report first appeared on 91ÇŃ×Ó.

In an posted to their website, the school praises the fundraising efforts of Chappelle over the years, stating Chappelle has “personally donated or raised millions of dollars to address the school’s chronic under-funding.”

The school was set to rename its 800-seat theater in Chappelle’s name later this month. However, they have decided to push-back the ceremony until April 22, 2022, stating scheduling conflicts from Chappelle.

In regards to “The Closer,” Chappelle’s Netflix special that garnered national attention due its controversial contents, the school states they are “leaning into this moment as a community.”

Throughout “The Closer,” Chappelle verbally lambasts members of the LGBTQ+ community for almost an hour, which is a community widely represented in the student body of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. 

The school claims to have engaged in “listening sessions” with the students and has allowed space for “diverse viewpoints.” The school states it will use Chappelle’s latest works as an impetus to expand its Social Studies curriculum to include political activism, civic engagement, arts activism, and the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality.

The Duke Ellington School of the Arts prides itself on being a diverse and inclusive educational center for young artists throughout the District of Columbia. 

“Our objective is to uplift conversations around artistic freedom and artistic responsibility,” the statement reads.

Earlier this week, 91ÇŃ×Ó published a report about the administration’s mishandling of the controversy. Several parents at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, whose names were withheld from the report to protect their families, expressed concerns over the special’s contents and how it has affected their children. 

One of the parents in that report has read the school’s statement and feels that it is not enough.

“I find the preemptive framing of the issues problematic. The students are better allies for each other across gender and racial identity lines than the adults who are hardening those divisions,” said the parent.

Whether Chappelle himself will engage with the students he champions has yet to be determined.

The post Duke Ellington School of the Arts breaks silence amid national controversy first appeared on 91ÇŃ×Ó.

Chappelle premiered the comedy special in his hometown of Washginton, D.C. as a fundraising event for the Duke Ellington School of the Arts, where big donors contributed to the , a charitable arm of the school that makes up for funding not provided by the D.C. Public School System. It was also announced at the event that the school would later honor Chappelle by renaming its historic theater in his name. However, all this took place before the special hit Netflix and reached a wider audience. Since then, a nationwide debate has risen over the special’s contents. 

Throughout more than half of the 70-minute special, Chappelle wielded joke after joke at the expense of the LGBTQ+ community, which is a community widely represented in the student body of the Duke Ellington School of the Arts.

He joked about being transphobic and argued that White LGBTQ+ people have over-sensitized the community. Chappelle yearned for a time when “Stonewall gays” dominated the community, but what he failed to understand is that a was one of the prominent figures in the Stonewall Riots of 1969.

91ÇŃ×Ó spoke with several parents of Duke Ellington students about the controversy and how it has affected their children. This publication agreed to withhold the parents’ names to protect the privacy of their families.

One mother of a bisexual student said her son returned home from school one day and told her that he and his friends had discussed Dave Chappelle over their lunch break, where one of his friends was visibly upset about Chappelle’s relentless jokes.

“My priority was making sure that my son was okay and his feelings were okay,” the parent told 91ÇŃ×Ó. 

She said despite the students being “very fluid” about gender issues, the school administration made no effort to contact parents or offer guidance to students amid the controversy surrounding Chappelle, leaving her alone to navigate a delicate conversation with her son.

Chappelle has championed the students of Duke Ellington School of the Arts since early in his lauded career through financial support, routine visits and even donating his 2017 to the school. Chappelle got his start in comedy after graduating from the school in 1991. The students remained starstruck by Chappelle’s celebrity and generosity over the years. However, his obsession with making fun of the LGBTQ+ community has altered Chappelle’s image in the eyes of some students and parents alike.

“Everyone deserves respect,” the parent with a son at the school said. “And if you don’t like someone because of their sexuality, everything doesn’t need to be said. Keep it to yourself.”

And yet, despite being disappointed by Chappelle’s brand of comedy and the school’s inability to communicate with students and parents, she said the school should not reject Chappelle’s fundraising efforts.

In 2017, the school completed a three-year that went $100 million over budget. The renovation resulted in new performance spaces, including an 800-seat theater and smaller black box theater, as well as dance studios, art studios and vocal labs. 

“This money is used for the betterment of the school so these kids can have what they need to grow. Even though this is a public school, they get limited money from D.C., and everything else has to be raised,” the parent said.

Another mother of a recent graduate said the school is reliant on the Ellington Fund.

“It would be hurting the students to turn that money away, in a way that they may not realize right now,” she said.

But she also could not deny the toll that the controversy has taken on the students.

“He was a real hero at the school, and now he’s a pariah,” she said of Chappelle.

The parent told 91ÇŃ×Ó that the student population is “so openly out on gender issues” that it is hard for her to imagine being a parent at Duke Ellington and not talking about the controversy. But she still receives emails from , the Duke Ellington parent and teacher association, and none of the emails mention the fallout among students that resulted from Chappelle’s special.

“If I was in a position to do something about this, I would have Chappelle come in and listen to the students. I think if someone did a facilitated closed door with him, that would probably change him,” she said.

Administrators at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts did not respond to repeated requests for comment and interviews from 91ÇŃ×Ó over the past two weeks. 

Mark Chalfant, the artistic executive director for the Washington Improv Theater (WIT), said comedy has gone through a reckoning over the last decade about what it means to  punch-up and punch-down and who’s the target.

The WIT takes a strong anti-oppressive and anti-racist approach to their comedy and actively works to create an inclusive atmosphere in their classroom spaces and performance venues.

“If people are talking to you and telling you they feel targeted by your comedy, then I think you need to listen to them and not sort of avoid dialogue or just double down on your own attitude,” Chalfant said.

Chalfant has not seen “The Closer,” but he is familiar with Chappelle’s work and his association with the Duke Ellington School of  the Arts.

“The trajectory of his career, and what he’s managed to achieve, I think is hugely important as a sort of example of what’s possible. And I think you can celebrate that, and name your theater after this person, and still manage to have an open dialogue. I don’t think you have to gloss over the flaws in somebody’s career,” Chalfant said.

Many of Chappelle’s jokes in “The Closer” are pointed toward the transgender community, where he pokes fun at the physicality and lifestyle of trans people for laughs. 

At Netflix in California, staffers staged a walkout in response to the streaming giant’s support of Chappelle. 

A spokesperson for Netflix sent an email statement to The  Wash, stating: “We recognize the hurt and pain caused to our trans colleagues over the last few weeks. But we want to make clear that Netflix has not taken any action against employees for either speaking up or walking out.”

However, a transgender employee was suspended for releasing private financial information concerning Chappelle’s association with Netflix.

But not all members of the LGBTQ+ community are up in arms over the comedy special.

Mia Mason, a U.S veteran and the first transgender congressional nominee for the state of Maryland, said her interpretation of “The Closer” was that Chappelle is going through his own transitional phase.

She said Chappelle took the time to educate himself about the LGBTQ+ community and that he was exploring that education on stage in the best way he knows how, through comedy.

“Even with the walkout at Netflix and everything else, it’s kind of an over-censorship. But at least this person is giving his video autobiography of his life’s lessons, and it’s up to us to understand that this is part of his transition and this is how comedians do it,” she said.

Mason said Chappelle’s comedy allows for the LGBTQ+ community to reflect upon itself and grow stronger in it’s fight for equality. 

“For me, it’s a reimagination of my life in Dave Chappelle’s shoes, because I got to see where he made his mistakes, why he’s still making his mistakes, and what he can do to help others from his mistakes,” she said.

Mason, who is an advocate for equality rights, said the Duke Ellington School of the Arts could benefit from hearing her voice and her interpretation of the Chappelle special.

The post Dave Chappelle brings fundraising efforts and controversy to Georgetown’s public arts high school first appeared on 91ÇŃ×Ó.

The sign read Towne, the name of the 60-year-old liquor store Chen purchased seven years ago on Wisconsin Avenue NW in Georgetown.

“This Towne sign has been here since before I was born,” Chen said. “And now we have to take it down.”

Several Georgetown residents have complained recently about the overwhelming number of neon signs in storefront windows throughout the historic neighborhood. Neon lights and signs are strictly prohibited in Georgetown because they detract from the neighborhood’s history and style. But the number of colorful, gleaming lights and signs has only  grown over the last year and a half, causing local representatives to take action.

The Advisory Neighborhood Commission in Georgetown (ANC2E) is a group of locally elected representatives that advise the District government on matters that affect their neighborhood. 

Earlier this month, amid growing frustration from residents and commissioners, ANC2E unanimously voted on a resolution to have the neon lights removed. In the resolution, ANC2E voiced their “frustration” about neon lights within the Historic District and deemed them as “inappropriate.” ANC2E is asking the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs to “vigorously enforce” the guidelines for neon lights in Georgetown “immediately.”

Business owners in Georgetown are required to submit their signs for review before mounting them in storefront windows, but many business owners chose to hang their neon signs without prior approval. 

“All signage concepts are required to go through the Old Georgetown Board before being permitted,” ANC2E commissioner Lisa Palmer said via email. “None of the neon signs in ANC2E’s district went through that process.” 

Just last week, Towne Wine and Liquors had a large Captain Morgan sign illuminated in the storefront window, as well as a neon Modelo beer sign. Owner Joey Chen has since removed both signs, but he can’t seem to part ways with the original neon sign stating the name of his store.

“I can take down a beer sign because that’s newer, but that Towne sign has been there since forever,” Chen said. 

After receiving notice that his neon signs must be removed, Chen reported back to ANC2E with a photo of the old Towne sign asking if it also needed to come down.

They confirmed that the Towne sign must be removed and reviewed.

Chen wanted to know if the massive neon Georgetown Theater sign hanging vertically over Wisconsin Avenue NW would also be taken down.

The Georgetown Theater sign was erected in the 1950s and is emblazoned with glowing red bulbs. 

But the Georgetown Theater sign is safe from review because it is deemed historic by the Old Georgetown Board.

In a few weeks, Chen will move Towne Wine and Liquors to a new location up Wisconsin Avenue NW. He has yet to decide what he will do with the original neon Towne sign, but for now, it will remain hanging in the same spot it has for decades.

However, Chen is not alone in his plight to understand and follow the guidelines concerning neon signs in Georgetown. There appears to be confusion about the regulations and who’s enforcing them. 

Down along Wisconsin Avenue NW sits GT Vapes and More, a smoke shop that opened only four months ago.

The storefront window of GT Vapes and More is framed by a string of twinkling neon lights and signs, which surround a cornucopia of vape pens, cartridges and hookahs. 

Store manager Abdul Yaqubi said he received an email a few weeks ago from the Georgetown Business Improvement District. The email was a reminder that neon lights and signs must be placed 18-inches away from storefront windows, according to signage guidelines.

Yaqubi contacted the owner of GT Vapes and More, asking what he should do.

The owner told Yaquibi to follow the law. 

“According to Georgetown, it’s not allowed, this kind of light,” Yaquibi said. “Because Georgetown is like, classy.”

But according to Thomas Luebke, the secretary for the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, which oversees the Old Georgetown Board, the 18-inch guideline was recently removed. Now no new neon signs are allowed.

“For many years, the D.C. regulation supported the principle that if a sign were set back 18-inches from the window, it was not subject to this kind of review,” Luebke said.

However, since the removal of the 18-inch guideline, the neon lights and signs of GT Vapes and More are against regulations. 

But following the advice from the email he received, Yaqubi used a measuring tape to total the distance between the string lights and the window frame.

“Before, the lights were here. All around the glass,” Yaqubi said, tapping the glass with the metal tip of his measuring tape. “I asked them what is the law. They said it must be 18-inches away from the glass. So I moved it.”

Yaqubi said he’d hate to see the neon lights removed because they attract business to the new store, especially tourists and people driving.

A spokesperson for DCRA told 91ÇŃ×Ó, “In the District of Columbia, business signage requires permits. In conjunction with the Office of Planning, we are investigating the complaint submitted by the Advisory Neighborhood Commission.”

Several other business owners with neon lights and signs in Georgetown have yet to hear from either ANC2E or DCRA. But considering ANC2E only submitted their resolution at the beginning of the month, a slew of notices is all but certain to follow. 

The post Neon lights and signs face strict regulation in Georgetown’s Historic District first appeared on 91ÇŃ×Ó.

“It’s not locked right now,” Pauling said through a nervous smile. “But I can look outside and see it.”

It turns out drivers in Georgetown aren’t as safe as they used to be. Auto thefts spiked 250 percent in Georgetown between August and September, jumping from four to 14 cases. There were also four auto thefts over the first weekend of October, matching the number of thefts in the entire month of August. Lieutenant John Merzig of The Metropolitan Police Department said a majority of auto thefts are the result of opportunistic thieves and negligent vehicle owners.

However, auto theft has been a running problem throughout the entire District since the beginning of the pandemic. The Metropolitan Police Department says thieves steal about 18 vehicles per day citywide. So far this year, nearly 3,000 vehicles have been stolen, that’s 285 more thefts compared to the year before.

But the second district of the Metropolitan Police Department is taking multiple avenues to stop the rise of auto theft in Georgetown. They’ve launched education and enforcement campaigns to bring awareness to citizens and accountability to those responsible.  

On Wednesday, the second district police department held a Coffee with a Cop event outside the Starbucks located on K Street NW as part of their education campaign. Officers mingled with locals to discuss safety in Georgetown. Brochures and signs highlighting what residents can do to protect themselves and their vehicles were made available to all. The signs read: lock your car, take your keys, secure your items.

Lieutenant John Merzig told 91ÇŃ×Ó most of Georgetown’s auto thefts are perpetrated by juveniles who use the vehicles to drive home. 

“The people who are stealing these cars, they’re not taking them to chop shops and all that. We recover almost all of them. It’s like another form of Uber for them,” Merzig said.

When a car is stolen, its license plate number is added into a police plate reader system. The number then gets blasted to officers throughout the district and the perpetrators are usually caught within 24 hours.

Merzig stressed the difference between auto theft and carjacking. Carjacking is a violent crime that can lead to substantial criminal repercussions. But Merzig said Georgetown is combatting auto theft, which is a nonviolent crime of opportunity, often perpetrated by juveniles who do not receive serious sentencing.

Merzig also said an overwhelming majority of the victims are people who leave their keys in their car, running on the street, illegally parked. 

“We’re putting up fliers, everything, doing stuff like this,” Merzig said, gesturing toward the event. “But I don’t think it reaches our target market.”

According to Merzig, the target market is difficult to warn because they are hardworking individuals, people on the go and delivery drivers. 

“I guarantee you the people who had their car stolen in this manner, they’re not going to get it stolen again,” Merzig said confidently. “But the sheer number of people doing deliveries and stuff like that means that it’s not a problem we can really cure right now because there’s always going to be a new person who hasn’t had this experience.”

The second district police also launched an enforcement campaign to combat the thefts, which comes down to ticketing drivers who leave their cars unattended on the street. This means a driver’s own negligence could land them a parking ticket and a stolen car. 

“I hate the idea of that because it’s like blaming the victim,” said Merzig. “But they’re doing something wrong and that’s a major contributing factor to the problem.”

In March, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser received serious backlash after tweeting about auto theft prevention in the wake of an Uber Eats driver being killed during an attempted carjacking by two teenage girls. The mayor’s poorly timed response aimed to pressure drivers into being more cautious with their vehicles. But bringing auto theft awareness to drivers is a significant component of the city’s solution plan. 

And yet, the streets of Georgetown are the busiest they’ve been in quite some time. The number of visitors to the area are almost up to pre-pandemic numbers. People are back on the go. 

Georgetown resident Colleen Girourard said she leaves her car running all the time.

“When we lived here 35 years ago, our car was stolen twice. And I’ve lived here now for 15 years and it’s never been stolen,” Girourard said, knocking on the backdoor of her Jeep for good luck.

“We just don’t leave stuff in our car anymore. If you don’t leave stuff in the car, then they don’t try to get into your car,” she said.

As it turns out, The Metropolitan Police Department isn’t alone in combating auto theft in Georgetown. The Citizens Association of Georgetown is also taking matters into its own hands. They’ve posted warning signs along streets where auto thefts have recently occurred in the area. The signs remind drivers to take their keys and lock their doors; otherwise, they are looking at a parking ticket and a long walk home.

The post Vehicle owners and thieves share blame for rising auto thefts in Georgetown first appeared on 91ÇŃ×Ó.

A total of 21 businesses opened their doors this year in Georgetown, and 16 businesses are slated to open soon. A from the Georgetown Business Improvement District (BID) shows Georgetown suffered 63 business closures last year during the height of the pandemic. But so far this year, there have only been 12 closures, a steep drop from the year before.

Jamie Scott, the Director of Planning and Economic Development for the Georgetown BID, said the 2021 business report is looking optimistic.

“The difference between 2021 and 2019 has gotten smaller, and smaller, and smaller as the year goes on,” Scott said. 

Consumers gradually flocked to the historic neighborhood this year, inching closer to pre-pandemic numbers. Scott said Georgetown saw 10 million visitors by the end August in 2019, then the pandemic happened, and visitors plummeted to 4.6 million in 2020. But this year, visitor numbers jumped back up to nearly 8 million, proving Georgetown is making a comeback. 

And yet, despite the gradual return of shoppers and diners, businesses in Georgetown still suffered during the pandemic.

The Lantern Bookshop opened on P Street NW back in 1996. All profits from The Lantern go to financially assist women attending Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. The bookshop, which sells used and rare books, is operated by volunteers, most of whom are Bryn Mawr alumnae.  

Susan Flinn, the president of The Lantern board, said the bookshop was closed between March of 2020 and May of 2021. Unfortunately, The Lantern was unable to make any financial contributions during 2020 due to the mandated business closures; but they’re turning that around this year.

Flinn said she’d seen an enthusiastic response from customers since reopening. Sales are up by 25% compared to an equivalent pre-pandemic period, and Flinn said she’d received a host of new volunteer requests, too.

“I think one benefit of COVID, such as it is, is that people have really noticed what they’ve been missing during the shutdown. For our book-loving customers, being able to come back to our quirky shop has been a delight,” Flinn said.

Down along the bustling M Street NW sits Allbirds, a sustainable shoe and clothing outfitter. Allbirds opened its doors in February of 2020. One week later, the pandemic slammed those doors shut. The shop would not reopen again until August later that year. 

Jordan Piha, a store manager at Allbirds, said business this year has been going strong since May.

“It’s definitely not back to normal as we know it,” Piha said. “But it’s on the uptick.”

Piha told 91ÇŃ×Ó he’s happy about college students returning to campuses across the district because they’re applying for jobs that Allbirds needed to fill. 

Restaurants in Georgetown were thrown a life raft when a was executed last year. The project’s mission was to provide more space to consumers walking along Georgetown’s narrow sidewalks and to help local restaurants create or expand outdoor dining spaces to boost business during the pandemic. The project cost approximately $1.3 million, with $500,000 coming from a DC Council grant.

Clyde’s American Bar, located on M Street NW, has multiple locations in D.C., Maryland and Virginia. The restaurant and bar specialize in American fare and specialty cocktails.

Bryan Trotter, the general manager of Clyde’s in Georgetown, said the restaurant benefited greatly from the sidewalk extension project.

“It helped us a lot with people who weren’t comfortable eating inside,” Trotter said.

Around Christmastime, a government mandate shut down indoor dining at restaurants throughout the district. The sidewalk extension allowed guests at Clyde’s  to dine outside surrounded by heaters. Trotter said this was better than nothing.

But now that indoor and outdoor dining are back, Trotter said weekends at Clyde’s are back to pre-pandemic business numbers.

“We’ve been busy again,” said Trotter. “It seems like people are coming back out, and enjoying dining out again, and feeling more comfortable. So it’s definitely looking up for everything.”

The most comparable market to Georgetown is Tyson’s Corner, located in Fairfax, Virginia. Tyson’s is an indoor shopping center with 290 retail spaces, compared to Georgetown’s 446 retail spaces. Density of retail space and high-end retail offerings make the two markets comparable. But Tyson’s indoor retail experience is a stark contrast to Georgetown’s outdoor offering. Tyson’s and Georgetown have seen similar visitor numbers this year, but by the end of August, Georgetown surged past Tyson’s with more than 100,000 visitors. 

Jamie Scott, from the Georgetown BID, said multiple factors are at play when measuring Georgetown’s recovery.

“The outdoor environment, density of retail, international reputation, and the physical quality of the neighborhood all mean that Georgetown is well-positioned to have people come back,” Scott said.

With fall weather and the holidays around the corner, businesses remain hopeful that the upswing in visitors continues.

Scott told 91ÇŃ×Ó the Georgetown BID will publish its 2021 business progress report in the forthcoming weeks.

The post Business openings and droves of visitors launch Georgetown out of the pandemic blues first appeared on 91ÇŃ×Ó.