During the ceremony, President Donald Trump acknowledged the shooting of the two guardsmen the day before Thanksgiving. “I want to pay my highest respects to those two great guardsmen, you know who I’m talking about,” Trump said.

“They paid, in one case, the ultimate, and the other, Andrew, is getting better. Sarah, unfortunately, is watching from a high, watching from heaven,” he said, referring to Andrew Wolfe and Sarah Beckstrom.

The National Guard continues to be in the District as the Trump administration continues to challenge orders for their removal in court.

Despite the news of the shooting, guests still attended from around the country.

“I think this part of D.C. especially, is pretty secure,” said Michael Armitage, a 911 director and former mayor of Charlotte, Michigan. “You know, just being kind of in the center of all the national monuments and buildings. I knew they’d have increased police presence.”

Armitage attended the ceremony with his wife, Colleen, and their two children. The two said the trip was worth the short planning window afforded by the ticket lottery. “You only get a few weeks to make your plans,” she said. 

Both said that they were not worried about safety during the visit as well. “We constantly see the police present, we feel secure and safe. We’ve always kind of felt that every time we come to D.C.,” Colleen Armitage said.

The event features a ticket lottery for a chance to attend the festivities, which this year included performances from the Beach Boys, Christian singer Matthew West, and country artists Gabby Barrett, Jon Pardi, and Alana Springsteen, among others. 

Annette Vasquez, a secretary from Artesia, New Mexico, also attended the ceremony with her daughter, Felicity, and staff from Central Elementary in Artesia. Felicity’s class was chosen to make ornaments for the New Mexico tree. 

“We made our way this way from New Mexico, to watch and see it. We’ll come tomorrow and see the trees,” Annette Vasquez said. She also said that safety was not an issue in the decision to attend. 

“That didn’t even cross my mind,”  she said. “We feel very safe. It was amazing. I would come back.”

The display features one national and 59 additional trees to represent each of the states and territories. First Lady Melania Trump, also in attendance, lit the tree at last night’s ceremony. 

The president took the opportunity to praise the peace deals he has helped broker this year and offered a rosy view of his accomplishments this year in office. 

“On this holiday season, our border is secure. Our spirit is restored,” he said. “Our economy is thriving. Inflation has stopped. Our nation is strong, and America is back, bigger and better, stronger, better than ever before.”

The post Hundreds turn out for National Christmas Tree lighting despite recent violence first appeared on 91����.

Last year, the owners took that mission to the , organized by the DowntownDC Business Improvement District and The , a woman-founded market operator dedicated to promoting equity, sustainability, and small business growth, for the first time. During the month-long event, the book store sold everything from their inventory, and for Young, there was no question they would return this winter. 

“That type of exposure for a small business is unheard of,” Young said. “The market is a tremendous boost for us.”

Before knowing their first year at the market would be a success, Young said they were scared they wouldn’t sell everything or have enough for the entire month. This year is different, she said. 

Over the past year, the business owner spent time budgeting the inventory necessary for the four-week market, in an attempt to not “scurry and try to order something that may take a week to arrive.”

They have gathered data around what was popular, what wasn’t so popular and what customers requested often. Now, Young said, they are ready. 

From Nov. 21 through Dec. 23, Mahogany Books and 114 other vendors, including over 20 first-timers, will take over between 7th and 9th Streets. 

The market is open from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sunday. 

Young said many customers who have visited Mahogany Books over the past year have credited the market, adding that she noticed the event’s diversity allows for different cultures and communities to combine and learn more about each other, including Black history. 

“It’s crucial at a time when I feel like so many people’s ideas get isolated,” Young said. “this market, to me, really reflects all the different cultures, all the different values, all the different communities in D.C.”

The Youngs started the online book store in a one-bedroom apartment, hoping to make Black history and stories accessible. But being a business owner doesn’t come without its hurdles. 

Young said many people didn’t believe in their mission, but they decided to mute the “naysayers.” 

The couple commonly heard questions such as “Are people even buying books?” Ramunda’s answer is yes. Mahogany Books’ location at the National Harbor sees 55,000 people a year.

“The proof is in the pudding now,” Young said. “This little Black bookstore is rocking.”

Young said the preparation for the market starts months in advance. 

for vendors interested in participating in the market open between February and March. After that, The Makers Show chooses the 115 vendors who will participate at the market. 

Gerren Price, the CEO of the DowntownDC BID since 2022, said “a mix of different types of vendor options” and ensuring diversity among them are key factors behind the decision making. 

This year, 70% of the market’s vendors will be women, LGBTQIA+, BIPOC and locally owned. 

The market celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2024, and Price said it was a reset moment for the event. With a change in the aesthetics, a greater focus on supporting small businesses and the addition of more vendors, the event brings foot traffic to Downtown, an area still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Since 2020, fewer people have visited local businesses and restaurants in the area, Price said. Beyond remnants of the pandemic, he said federal layoffs and the 44-day government shutdown also impacted foot traffic in downtown. 

However, the holiday market helps shift that dynamic. Price said the DowntownDC BID did an economic development analysis after the 2024 Holiday Market and found that for every $1 people spend in the market, they tend to spend $1.50 in activities downtown. 

“It’s important that we’re bringing as many people as we can into the downtown core just to support that broader economic infrastructure,” Price said. “So it’s fun and it’s festive, and it’s all about bringing joy, but it’s also dollars and cents and it helps the baseline of the economy in the city.” 

The market broke a record in 2024, with more than 347,000 visitors in 31 days, according to the CEO. He said he expects even higher numbers this year based on previous success and “positive word of mouth.”

For the small female-owned business those numbers make a difference. 

Angelika O’Reilly, owner of Eliana Curated, a jewelry store in Old Town Alexandria, has been a customer at the market from the start. Since opening her business in 2020, one thing was certain: She wanted to have a pop-up in the DowntownDC Holiday Market.

For three years, O’Reilly applied to join the market, with no success. However, things changed in 2024, when the DowntownDC BID partnered with The Makers Show. 

“That was the best thing that ever happened to me,” O’Reilly said. “It was transformative. I can tell you, 30% of our revenue last year came from the DowntownDC Holiday Market.”

O’Reilly was born in Eastern Europe, and when she was 5, her parents made a choice: to move to the U.S. and give their daughter an “American education.” Her interest in entrepreneurship flourished early. 

During her time in middle school and high school, O’Reilly started a “babysitting club” and a driver’s ed school for 16-year-olds. However, she spent 18 years of her adult life in the tech industry before launching Eliana Curated, and she didn’t do it alone. 

The business is a family affair. In 2020, when O’Reilly was pregnant with her first daughter, her parents moved to D.C. to be present for their only daughter and the first granddaughter. But they weren’t ready to retire; they needed a project.  

So, O’Reilly, who wasn’t prepared to leave the tech industry just yet, had an idea in mind: to buy designer brand garments from antique shops, collectors and state sales and “cycle the buttons.” They filled the buttons with 14 karat gold posts and made them into earrings.

O’Reilly said she still remembers the business’s first pop-up in Virginia, when no one bought an item. Her father, who shapes the designs alongside her mother, stayed positive and encouraged O’Reilly to “stay consistent,” she said.

After four years of juggling her job in the tech industry, being a business owner, a wife and a mother of two, O’Reilly said she decided to focus on her business full-time in October of 2024.

“We kept showing up,” O’Reilly said. “Then, we did the DowntownDC Holiday market last year, and it blew up.” 

Since then, the business owner has opened a physical store in Old Town Alexandria, where she said many tourists and locals who stop by credit the holiday market for introducing them to Eliana Curated for the first time. 

For the store’s second year in the event, O’Reilly said customers expect a new line of waterproof jewelry and new vintage designer buttons. But for her, what she looks forward to the most is connecting with new customers.

“What I love about being a woman-run business is getting to meet all of you in person and like having new relationships,” O’Reilly said. “I feel like I have 100 new friends that I make every single month.”

The post At DowntownDC’s Holiday Market, vendors drive profit as foot traffic rebounds first appeared on 91����.

With rallies and events planned until the end of the year, organizers��are building stronger coalitions��and amping up urgency in��D.C.’s fight for��self-governance.  ��

Just as��Free DC, a grassroots movement that supports local self-determination,��mobilized residents��for the��“Pack the Court” demonstration��at the Oct. 24 hearing,��the group’s leaders��are training, protesting,��building��resistance movements and��strategic coalitions across state lines to underscore the urgency of local autonomy��and D.C.’s tumultuous road��to self-governance. ��

Free DC��Executive Director Keya Chatterjee��said��the increasing consolidation of power and systemic erosion of democratic norms��has the country making a democratic U-turn.��

“The U.S. is��a��backsliding democracy transitioning to a competitive authoritarian state,”��Chatterjee��said.��

With a��five-year campaign��strategy��for self-rule, Chatterjee said��the goal is to be strategic in every cycle of attack from this administration.����

She characterized economic attacks, mass firings, National Guard deployment, local funding freezes, and legislative attacks as some examples of irreparable harm the federal government is causing residents. ����

Chatterjee said,��with every attack on rights and freedoms,��Free DC��gets stronger—growing��at double the speed than��in��years past—to��build unity,����

“Every effective movement is unified,”��Chatterjee said.��

Admitting she is clear-eyed about the challenges, Chatterjee said they have a 7.5% chance of success relying on the traditional electoral process, but by building a unified civil resistance movement, organizers believe they can increase the odds to about 50/50.��

“Our end goal is to have equal representation under the law for the people of D.C.,” she said.

Pack the Court��Protest��

Free DC organizers��say they have��a sense of urgency, not seen before,��as they describe a democracy that is slipping away to authoritarian rule. ��

Packing the U.S. District Courthouse with D.C. residents was just one of the many protests Free DC said they have planned to express the importance of the moment and the commitment to sustained activism. 

The courthouse protest started as a short walk from Constitution Avenue and rallied in front of the U.S. District Court, where they sang songs, chanted and eventually lined up to enter the court hearing.��

Capitol Hill resident Randy Martin said Washingtonians are not accepting this situation, calling it “crazy” and adding that people will continue to show up. ��

Katie Henke, a Hill East resident who works in international development, said she has worked in authoritarian countries in Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe and the military presence on D.C. streets reminded her of those regimes. ��

 “I don’t want to see that in our country, and so I want to stand up for my neighbors,” Henke said. ��

The legal battle in the courthouse ��

Inside the courtroom,��in��,��D.C.��Attorney General Brian Schwalb�� that��the deployment��of the National Guard��undermined the District’s right to self-govern. He equated the deployment to an illegal occupation that is harmful to the city and its residents.  ��

Schwalb said that the troops were not trained to do the job of law enforcement and made residents less safe. ��

“Today we again made clear: the U.S. military should not be policing American citizens on American soil,” Schwalb said after the hearing. “It does not make us safer to have out-of-state military—many of whom are not from here and do not know our communities—policing our streets, driving military vehicles, armed with rifles and carrying handcuffs.” ��

Linda Alexander, a protester who sat through the hearings, said she wanted to be fair and hear both sides.  Alexander said even though she felt safer in Ward 7 since the deployment of troops, she recognized that it’s time for them to go home and spend time with their family. ��

Eric Hamilton, an attorney representing the Trump administration, argued that the case should be dismissed since the president has broad authorities. ��

D.C. is a municipal corporation with limited��authority,��Hamilton��said,��criticizing��the��attorney general��for not aligning with the president’s position.����

Accusing Schwalb of political posturing, Hamilton said, “D.C. is not a state, however much the attorney general wants to pretend it is, and he is doing damage to the District.” ��

��Judge Jia��M.��Cobb��is expected to make a ruling��later this year.��

��The voices of the movement ��

��Law student Byron Brooks said he came to the hearing to see how the process unfolds. ��

“We’re in an unprecedented time of democracy, or dictatorship, depending how it’s viewed.  So, today’s case will definitely set the precedence on where we are headed as a nation,” Brooks said.��

Matt Gordon said he saw the issue as a constitutional crisis. He said, as a veteran who has served his country, he sees the deployment as an illegal abuse of power.  ��

Henke described the impact on her neighbors: “Poor kids are going to and from school, passing these guards with rifles bigger than their torsos. It’s disgusting. This is what you see in authoritarian countries, and I don’t want to see that in ours.” ��

“This is a violation of the Posse Comitatus Act,” said Gordon, a self-described angry veteran. “It’s one step closer towards an authoritarian takeover of this country.”  ��

The Posse Comitatus Act generally prohibits the use of military for domestic law enforcement, with a few exceptions, such as protecting federal property and quelling domestic violence. ��

After the hearing 

At a press briefing following the hearing, Schwalb said, “When this lawsuit was filed several weeks ago, I said it was D.C. today. It was going to be other cities shortly. In fact, that is exactly what has happened. This is fundamentally un-American.” ��

During the press briefing, Henke chanted and heckled Hamilton while holding a Free DC sign prominently in the backdrop. Chants echoed off the courthouse to disrupt Hamilton’s briefing, as he referred to protestors as a “woke mob.”

Hamilton sparred with disruptive protestors but was ultimately drowned out by chanting and walked away. ��

�³󲹳�’s a��𲹻� ��

The intensity and frequency of��Free DC��activities��have��surged, partnering with Virginia and Maryland affiliates to build local momentum for self-governance.  ��

Chatterjee��said that, since��D.C.��lacks��representation,��Free DC��must reach out to states to build political pressure and create a network of resistance.��

Chatterjee said she wants the local D.C. government to stop complying with federal demands and legitimizing illegal actions that harm D.C. residents. ��She said D.C. local government must be on “Team Democracy” and prioritize protecting the community over appeasing the regime.��

“When you give an authoritarian regime what they want, they just take more,”��Chatterjee said.��

With events planned in each ward, every month until the end of the year, organizers are conducting extensive and sustained training programs and building coalitions for mass non-cooperation strategies to fundamentally reimagine democracy in the nation’s capital.��

“Whether it takes ten months or ten years, we must be absolutely resolute in our fight,” said Rig, who used the moniker U.S. Army Overlord.

“As the government wants to escalate its attacks against the District of Columbia, we will clearly have to take more measures to withhold our support,” Henke said.

The resistance continues and prioritizes joy, community resilience, non-violent strategies, and alternative support systems as the way forward, Chatterjee said. ��

“There’s no oppressed people in the history of the world that have ever succeeded without joy,”��she said.��

“Justice looks like the military being off our streets and one step closer toward statehood,” Gordon said.��

The post Beyond ‘Packing the Courthouse’: D.C.’s long road to self-governance  first appeared on 91����.

Vito Maggiolo, a public information officer with D.C. fire and EMS, said the victim is an adult male who fell around 3:08 p.m. from an upper-level walkway to a lower level between the platform and wall. Firefighters rescued the victim and then transported him with critical injuries to an area hospital.

The scene was cleared within an hour, and Maggiolo said he was “not aware” of any temporary station closures.

Firefighters responded via the entrance at 14th and I Streets. The owner of Metro Variety, a gift shop at the Metro stop entrance, went by Mr. Chung and said he witnessed firefighters pass his store at the time of the incident but didn’t have additional information.

The upper level, which the victim fell from, has signs that read, “Danger: Fall Hazard. Do not attempt to climb.”

The cause of the victim’s fall has not been released.

D.C. resident Jillian Liu said a station closure wouldn’t affect her commute because she “doesn’t typically take the Blue or Orange or Silver lines at all.” Today, she came from a White House tour but would have walked to the Metro Center or Federal Triangle stations if McPherson Square temporarily closed.

Rod Wave, another D.C. resident, said on a Saturday a closure would be of negligible inconvenience to him.

“If it was during the week time, it would greatly affect my commute because this is how I get to work every day,” Wave said. “… There’s no parking around here.”

The most recent publicized incident of someone falling off a Metro platform was one month ago today when a Metro employee at the Farragut North station.

Liu said that as a commuter, she personally doesn’t have concerns of falling off a Metro platform or walkway.

“I guess I’ve never even thought of that sort of thing happening at the train station,” Liu said.

Wave agrees, but sometimes has concerns for others.

“If there’s people in a rush, like during rush hour during Tuesdays and Wednesdays typically, those are kind of busy times,” Wave said. “Not for me though, that was never really my big concern I would say.”

According to the Federal Railroad Administration, there were due to pedestrian rail trespassing in 2023. This year’s data isn’t yet available.

The post McPherson Square Metro station remains open after man falls one story first appeared on 91����.

A driver hit Huseynov, a 24-year-old grad student at George Washington University, riding his bike crossing Connecticut Ave on Oct. 17. He later died from his injuries.��

DC Families for Safe Streets, an organization of volunteers personally impacted by traffic violence and fighting for improved safety, helped organize the bike memorial. Christy Kwan is the volunteer co-chair of the group.��

“A ghost bike is also a memorial and a visual reminder that a crash had occurred there at that specific location,” said Kwan.��

Huseynov’s death is one of 45 in the District in 2023. The number of deaths is up 55% from December 2022, when 29 people died. This year also marks the highest number of traffic deaths in D.C. in the past 16 years.

Mayor Muriel Bowser launched Vision Zero in 2015. At that time, the Mayor established 2024 as the goal year for eliminating traffic fatalities and serious injuries. The city has since fallen short.��

The initiative “aims to improve pedestrian and bicycle transportation safety by showcasing effective local actions, empowering local leaders to take action, and promoting partnerships to advance safety for all traveling on District streets,” according to Vision Zero’s .��

Advocates like Kwan want to see the city do more to correct this trajectory. Kwan points to a D.C. from March that cited a lack of funding as a major reason why the road safety initiative has yet to be successful.��

“I think what has frustrated us as people personally impacted by traffic violence is we will go through the motions to testify at District Council hearings about what we see on the ground and how we have to always speak up for safety, but what we see in terms of parties in the budget is that routinely, things will be not fully funded,” Kwan said.

91����ington Area Bicyclist Association also urges DDOT and the Mayor’s Office to make changes such as building more protected bike lanes, enforcing bus-only lanes and improving post-crash care. Advocacy Director Jeremiah Lowery said he wants a safe commuting space for all in the city. Lowery said there isn’t one right now.��

“From my perspective, we’re failing,” said Lowery. “I mean, bottom line, you know, we’re failing because the goal is zero.”��

The District government is still committed to making Vision Zero successful. The District Department of Transportation is working to redesign roadways, use and expand traffic cameras, and prioritize transit. DDOT and the Metropolitan Police Department meet and follow up on possible safety after every fatal crash in the District.��

MPD also performs weekly traffic safety checkpoints at locations prone to crashes.��

The Dupont Circle ANC, which neighbors the ANC where the intersection of L Street NW and Connecticut Ave NW is located, approved a in November honoring Nijad Huseynov and calling for DDOT to correct weaknesses at the intersection where Huseynov died as well as others around the District.��

Commissioner Jeffrey Rueckgauer sponsored the resolution and chairs the Dupont Circle ANC Mobility Committee. Rueckgauer said it’s infuriating to see traffic deaths increase instead of decrease in the city. He also expressed his concern to DDOT about the dangers of L and M Streets NW during a Mobility Committee meeting Monday night.��

“​​You’ve got to focus on putting people first,” Rueckgauer said. “So it’s a whole series of missed opportunities, frustrations and things that have resulted in a no-improvement situation.”

The Dupont Circle resolution also calls for “special attention to those interacting with bike lanes, to improve safety for all, especially the most vulnerable non-vehicular users.”

Rueckgauer said that in addition to increased funding for DDOT’s projects, he wants to implement lower-cost improvements, such as adding flex posts at dangerous intersections to help slow people turning.��

“Yes, it costs for the labor, but compared to people losing loved ones, or the city being sued for injuries or wrongful death, it’s a lot cheaper to be proactive with these things and they’re just not,” Rueckgauer said.��

The DC Council is currently considering four . The bills include one that would suspend licenses immediately for people with offenses like impaired driving and negligent homicide and another that would make drivers’ violations captured by traffic cameras the same as violations enforced through police. The other two bills would strengthen enforcement of drivers with a record of putting people in danger and the final one would strengthen enforcement of people with fake license plates.��

Kwan said traffic deaths and injuries result from transportation failures and thus must be addressed to eradicate the need for ghost bikes.��

“We learn because of why we come to this group that crashes are not accidents,” Kwan said. “They’re a result of failures and policy failures and design failures and I would say even broader at our culture about cars and efficiency and how to get to places quickly.”

The post Death of cyclist reveals cracks in DC’s Vision Zero Plan first appeared on 91����.

Older adults at the in Chinatown can join a range of activities starting Jan. 3, when the center officially opens with full operational ability.��

The adult day care center soft launched its opening last October — only offering limited and appointment based medical services due to the pandemic — after nearly three years of planning and discussions with the Mayor’s office for approval.��

Since then, patients and staff have also hosted intimate birthday gatherings, gone on field trips and attended lectures about COVID-19 safety protocol.����

Along with interactive lessons, the adult day care center also provides free breakfast, lunch and a snack to each patient on weekdays. For now, patients can show up at the center at mealtime, get their temperature taken and answer a list of questions, before grabbing their packaged food and returning home to eat.��

But, when the center opens at full capacity next month, patients will be able to sit together at tables of eight or more for their meals to chat or play games before going off on group activities.��

“It’s like a little kindergarten,” said Rita Lee, director of the center. “We just want to make sure they are busy, happy and healthy.”

Kwok Wing Yumg, 81, agreed and said the center has been special and convenient for him. “It’s very nice here. They do everything very good.”

He is most excited to enjoy the library for some reading and “maybe do some exercise” like Tai Chi next month.

‘You gotta have a heart’

The Wah Luck Adult Day Care Center is located in the heart of Chinatown on 6th Street and around the corner from the iconic Friendship Archway.

It occupies the first floor — a 7,000 square foot space — of the Wah Luck House, the last remaining low-income apartment complex in the neighborhood. Roughly 98% of the folks living in the building’s 153 units are elderly Chinese-Americans, making up the majority of the remaining Chinese population in Chinatown altogether.��

The center’s top priority, Lee said, are the medical treatments it provides. It offers an array of medical assistance to the patients — from blood drawing, urine testing and nurses visits to transportation to and from specialists offices.��

With a roughly 20-person staff, including a doctor who comes in twice a week, nurses, a social worker, a mental health specialist, a nutritionist and other medical professionals, Lee said the adult daycare center also prides itself on the personalized support it offers to each patient.��

“You gotta have a heart,” Lee said. “All of my staff knows this too. If you are just here to make money and you don’t have a heart for the seniors, I tell them please leave.”

Yumg Yu Meng, 80, has lived in the Wah Luck House for six years. She said she feels the staff at the center are like her family. “They treat us so well. We live here very comfortable and happy everyday,” she said.

On a recent field trip to the Holocaust Museum, Meng said it brought her joy to see one of her friends, a 103-year-old woman who uses a wheelchair, tag along comfortably with the rest of the group.��

91���� that trip, Lee added “they were so happy — chatting, taking pictures with each other.”��

Staff at the center also manages and sorts each patient’s medication weekly, ordering prescriptions and filling in pill organizers by time of day to make it easier for patients to follow a medication routine.

The , a community service organization founded in 1883, funds and operates the adult day care center separate from the Wah Luck House, though the apartment’s leadership is as invested in giving back to the community as the CCBA is.��

Local businesswoman and real estate developer Yeni Wong and her business partner, Andrew Agetstein, purchased Wah Luck House in 2017, looking to turn a page on from the real estate company Aimco. Tenants have long known Wong as the owner of the nearby restaurant Chinatown Garden.��

Wong said when she bought the space it was important to her that she gave back to the community. Plus, Wong said “you have to take care of the elders.”����

But first, before the adult day care center could operate, the CCBA needed to prove to the Mayor’s office that there was a need for the center in Chinatown.��

So, they went unit by unit in the building and took a survey about age, any medical conditions and income status, among other things. The answer was resoundingly “yes,” Lee said.��

What makes Wah Luck so special, she added, is how different it is from other elder care facilities across the District.��

“We’re not a nursing home. We’re somewhere in the middle and that’s what makes it so great,” Lee said. “Because a lot of the time nursing homes can be so overcrowded. I can see first hand how we can benefit the seniors but still grant them their independence.”��

Starting the adult day care at Wah Luck House and in Chinatown was also a way to overcome the language barrier many of the seniors faced when seeking medical assistance elsewhere.��

Fostering community

Since the soft-launch opening last October, Lee said she realized the social aspect the center provides is crucial. Many of the patients have begun to take depression medication as a result of isolation and the pandemic, she said.��

“Some of the seniors will say to us, ‘you know I’m happy you’re all here,’” Lee said. “‘Before I feel sorrow, it was like hell, and now it’s not.’”��

She said before the center arrived, many of the seniors would spend entire days alone in their apartments. “It can be so lonely.”

Now, Lee said most of the seniors seem to be cheerier. She thinks it’s because they have something to look forward to every day, even if it’s just going downstairs to pick up lunch.��

Lee described a “sweet and bighearted” woman who comes to her office early every morning to sneak her candies and chat.��

“That’s the Chinese way,” she said. “Giving. It shows your love — gratitude.”��

On one occasion, Lee showed up to work late from a doctor’s appointment and missed the visit. That afternoon, Lee said the woman’s daughter called her concerned because her mother — who wasn’t sure of how to use the phone to check on Lee herself — was worried something had happened to her that morning.��

“It shows that we really care for eachother,” Lee said. “It goes both ways.”

Recently, she said, another lady made food for the whole staff — though it wasn’t the tastiest.��

“Of course we ate it and didn’t tell her. It would have broken her heart, she was so excited and did it out of love.”��

The center has been approved to provide for around 100 seniors who have a proven medical condition and use both Medicare and Medicaid. Right now, about 94 of those slots are filled and eight people remain on the waiting list — some of which are from within the building.

Though it is not required to live in the Wah Luck House to be treated at the daycare center, all of the current patients do.

Lee said she and the CCBA are hoping to eventually accept people from outside the building, but high rent prices in the neighborhood have made expansion plans difficult.��

She mentioned another affordable housing building on K Street that has a large older adult population.��

“They come over here. They’re looking for the opportunity,” Lee said. But, she said, “unfortunately we can’t accept them yet.”��

If all goes well, Lee said she also wants to invite school children to come and volunteer at the center so they can chat with the seniors and play games together.

In the meantime, Lee said she is looking forward to Jan. 3, and to more field trips, grocery trips and holiday or monthly birthday parties among the patients. She said at those events, it’s nice to see them “all dressed up and waving to each other, smiling.”��

“We try to do the best to talk to them and help them to bring that community value back to life,” she said.��

“That’s my goal.”

The post At Wah Luck House, Chinatown community takes care of its own first appeared on 91����.

“We always look to represent and incubate small businesses that need a leg up,” Mike Berman, organizer of the Downtown Holiday Market, said.

The market is located on F Street NW between 7th and 9th streets in front of the National Portrait Gallery, taking over the block with shimmering lights and holiday tunes. Since opening this year, the market has been bustling with visitors anxious to see the market and shop locally. When Vice President Kamala Harris visited to celebrate Small Business Saturday, she these businesses are “part of the civic and social fabric of the community.”

Me at the holiday market in DC: Why is everyone taking out their phones?

— Matthew Torres (@News_MTorres)

There will be more than 70 vendors present at the market, selling goods like D.C. artwork, glass-blown ornaments and other handcrafted goods. It’s open every day until 8 p.m., which allows visitors who work during the day the ability to peruse the market after.��

This market is an opportunity for businesses to create a presence in the downtown neighborhood without investing in a rental space. With high rents and low tourism numbers since the pandemic, small businesses aren’t racing to get into downtown storefronts.

“There is not a single small business that I deal with that could contemplate the rents that are charged for downtown storefront retail locations,” Berman said.��

��Jon Wye, a vendor at the Downtown Holiday Market who sells belts and other leather goods, said in 18 years of operation, he hasn’t even considered opening a brick-and-mortar store downtown.

��“I would have to have a greater selection of items and a much bigger brand… that would just be a lot more stress in my life,” he explained.

The transient nature of the DMV also helps vendors expand their consumer base at the market. Wye said regional customers who come to the market and then move away have “taken [his] brand with them.”��

Jodi Kostelnik owns and operates The Neighborgoods, a small gift shop, from her basement. Before the pandemic she had a storefront in Shaw but had to shut it down. Now, she is looking again for a place to rent, but says she has little hope for a place in downtown D.C. Though costs are top of mind as she is considering where to rent, she said that low foot traffic in the downtown also discourages her.

The holiday market attracts people from all over the DMV, not just D.C. residents. Small businesses get a high level of exposure from this market, since for many of them it’s their only reason to come downtown.��

��Sonda Allen, owner of jewelry business Turtle’s Webb, says this holiday market is the only thing that brings her into the area. She says downtown D.C. is much more friendly to larger, multinational businesses.

��“It’s all Starbucks and Louis Vuitton, it’s not feasible for small businesses.”��

��These larger companies dominate the city center of D.C., with multiple blocks scattered with luxury fashion companies and little presence of smaller ones. Allen says the businesses that operate in the holiday market focus on the art rather than profits.

She said she doesn’t have a storefront and doesn’t want one, “I’m not interested in being a machine, I don’t want the pressure of needing something on the shelves every day.”

��Allen also says that this market, with its focus on small businesses and artists, offers visitors a break from the professional culture of the city. Wye echoed this, saying the political and business presence in the city makes people lean more traditional in their tendencies. With all the “conservative dress and conservative attitudes” in the city, Wye celebrates the market for “inject[ing] some color into the city” to allow people to embrace “a kind of artistic side.”

Vendors and organizers expect sales to be high this year, but not as high as 2020. Last year set a record for many sellers, which Berman attributes to all the other stores and markets in D.C. being closed in 2020.��

“Folks flocked to us… Now, there’s a lot more open… tourism isn’t back… office workers definitely aren’t back yet… but we’re hoping to pick up where we left off in 2019,” Berman said.

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A high-slit mid-length denim skirt.

And a slinky peach gown with bell sleeves.��

These were among the 35 contemporary, ready-to-wear looks DMV-based designer Anifa Mvuemba debuted at the “Hanifa Dream” fashion show Tuesday night.

More than 600 people wrapped in boldly colored garb attended the soiree, held at the National Portrait Gallery.

In her opening monologue, Mvuemba paid homage to Washington, saying that “home is the place where we feel the most comfort and love.”

Her home, she said, is filled with memories of her youth and dreams of her future.

The 10-year-old brand has a dedicated following across the country and even around the world. But, show attendees resoundingly agreed that debuting the collection in the District was important for the city’s fashion scene — proving that the talent in D.C. is just as special as it is in New York.

“I love seeing people rep their home city, so I think it’s great to have people come to you here,” said Devine Blacksher, 28, who traveled from New York to see the show. “I think more people need to go home and do their s—. I stand for it.”

Two dozen models of varying curves sashayed down the runway in patent trousers, leather coats and shirt dresses that captured what some attendees called the “perfect silhouette.”

Backstage, Mvuemba said she thinks it is important to share this moment with the city.

“People just need to give D.C. a chance,” she said. “Give us a shot and we’ll show you guys what we’re made of.”

Mvuemba said she made it a point to hire as many local creatives for the show as possible, though it was difficult. “I like challenges,” she said. “And look — it worked out.”

Roughly 80% of the models who walked in the show are from the area, along with many of the other team members — like the DJ, members of the orchestra, photographers, videographers and makeup or hair artists.

The crowd was also packed with Washingtonians, many of whom were friends and fans of Mvuemba, as well as some editors and retailers from New York. Audience members showed off their own Hanifa originals: jewel-toned silk suits, ribbed-knit dresses and second-skin boots.

Fashion in the District has typically hinged more on practicality and office-appropriateness than on mix-matching colors or taking risks.

“When you talk to somebody, they’ll say ‘Oh, fashion and style doesn’t exist in D.C.’ But, that’s not true,” said Christine Brooks-Cropper, president of the , a non-profit supporting the fashion business community in the area. “It’s been a very private industry that was underground.”

Given the city’s reputation for hosting high end balls and galas, like the White House Correspondents Dinner, where attendees wear high-class couture, Brooks-Cropper said she doesn’t understand why more people don’t recognize the nation’s capital as a fashion city.

“Yeah, it’s a government city. But our style sense is no less than anywhere else,” she said.

Dawn Miller, 46, is a self-declared fashion enthusiast who said she owns just about every Hanifa piece that will fit her body. She said when she thinks about D.C., she doesn’t instantly think fashion. But, Miller said, “Hanifa’s show is giving me a whole different outlook on fashion in D.C.”

In 2008, Brooks-Cropper helped establish the , legislation that ​​advises the mayor, the D.C. Council and the public on the views and needs of the fashion and beauty communities in the District. She said the legislation allowed the local industry to have access to grants, marketing initiatives and other resources they never had before because “at the end of the day, those entities didn’t know that they existed.”

excuse me i’m sorry… did y’all see this??? this virtual runway show is

— LO (@LustforLo)

Before Mvuemba’s first show last night, she broke the internet a year ago with a 3D runway show, gaining the attention of celebrities like Gabrielle Union, Lizzo and Kylie Jenner, who have since worn her designs known for emphasizing and embracing femininity.

On Monday night, the designer was honored as the .

But Mvuemba said it wasn’t always easy. She said she held every job in the industry from sewing, styling and taking photographs to taking out the trash.

“If you perfect your craft — your passion and work will take you where you need to go,” Mvuemba advised other creatives in the DMV area.

Last May, the 31-year-old won $50,000 after being recognized as a Fashion Designers of America/ Vogue Fashion Fund Finalist. That money, Mvuemba said, helped her to fund the show, and helped her secure the National Portrait Gallery as it’s venue.

“The minute I walked in the space I knew I had to have it,” Mvuemba said. “This feels so grand and I feel like we can celebrate our evolution here and bring out a beautiful crowd.”

DC’s designers take fashion by storm

Fashion has long thrived in the District’s neighborhoods — specifically street or urban wear. Despite there being no shortage of talent in Washington, local designers or other creatives said they were still not being recognized.

“Each neighborhood of D.C. has its own fashion center, its own fashion scene, its own culture of its neighborhood,” Brooks-Cropper said. “That translates to the people and that translates to the style and it translates to the dress.”

Plus, numerous universities in the DMV area — like Howard and Marymount — host degrees associated with fashion design, merchandising and entrepreneurship. So, Brooks-Cropper said, the talent has existed in the city for decades. “Why push all these creative people away to New York or someplace else?”

, 50, is a fashion influencer, stylist and content creator in D.C. She said she thinks D.C. is elevating to become one of the major fashion cities.

“A lot has started in the urban communities where fashion originated and was often duplicated,” Delaney said. “But, being here today with Hanifa shows that Black designers have a platform and are standing tall on it.”

Mvuemba’s high profile fashion show, she said, was long overdue.

Around the time that Brooks-Cropper was writing up the 2008 legislation, she emphasized that fashion can be used for economic development. Today, she said the city’s fashion district in downtown’s , featuring household name designers like Gucci, Tiffany and Carolina Herrera in addition to local luxury or streetwear brands, is a testament to that.

Ean Williams, executive director of , said the fashion community in D.C. is burgeoning. “There are far more fashion businesses in D.C. than five to 10 years ago,” he said. “There are a few significant players, but there is room at the table for all.”

Brooks-Cropper said her main goal is to connect artists to the resources and the opportunities that they need. Now, with the infrastructure in place, she said “the industry will be able to thrive successfully for a very, very long time.”

Doncel Brown is another fashion designer in D.C. carving out space for himself in the industry.

He said living in the District allowed him to “see so many different parts of the world in one place” ultimately influencing his brand, . “I don’t think I would have got that same experience had I not been in D.C.,” he said.

 

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Brown said he hopes the District can build a brand that is unique to D.C., so that people have to come to the city exclusively to experience it.

Delaney agreed. “A lot of the fashion stylists, designers, as well as influencers that create impeccable content and work, deserve their due,” she said.

“It’s our time here in D.C.”

The post In a town of pantsuits and power ties, local brand Hanifa redefines fashion in DC first appeared on 91����.

The announcement comes after the reopening of Franklin Park because of their restrictions toward unhoused people in the park. Franklin Park had previously been home to many unhoused people before the renovations last year.��

The recent upgrade to this 5-acre space in the heart of the downtown neighbourhood��. It is a 10-minute walk from����metro stations, Metro Center, and has seating space, a children’s playground and will have a restaurant for residents and workers to enjoy.

Aaron Hao, a local advocate, said the restrictions against camping “are really separating the homeless people and homeless services” from the park. The park is also enforcing a rule that any gathering of over 25 people must apply for a permit, which limits local organizations in their ability to set up donation events.��

Amazon will sponsor Franklin Park’s Greenery and Beautification projects for the first year of operations. The company’s responsibilities include tree maintenance, lawn and turf care, seasonal plantings, and community programming.��

Despite repeated requests from 91����, the DowntownDC Foundation, the Franklin Park manager, and Amazon failed to provide a specific figure of what this sponsorship cost Amazon or any terms that were agreed to.

In the announcement, Rachel Rose Hartman, executive director of DowntownDC Foundation, said, “it’s the success of public-private partnerships such as this anchor support from Amazon that will ensure Franklin Park’s future for all to enjoy.”

Privatizing public spaces comes with . Many parks benefit from funds that otherwise the city would not be able to drum up on its own, and the parks are often better maintained and more frequently visited as a result. However, inviting private interests into public spaces can also mean they have their own expectations when it comes to recognition and accountability.��

Amazon has been criticized for the for long hours, warehouse employee injuries and insufficient pay.

“Amazon is bad. I don’t think we need any of Amazon’s money in our public spaces,” Hao said in an interview. They have also been vocal about this issue on Twitter, expressing outrage at the announcement.

DowntownDC BID Announces Amazon Sponsorship for Franklin Park

Privatized parks. Anti-homelessness. Aggressive security. Permits. No mutual aid. Sanitized consumption spaces.

This is the future they want. Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) are poison.

— Aaron the Anthropologist (@Anarchopology)

Some visitors are supportive of the project since it brings in investment to public spaces.

Anna Solidair, an Amazon user and Franklin park visitor, said, “I’m pro businesses coming and helping the community, especially underserved communities like there are here in D.C., Black, people of color… I think everybody should.”��

91���� Amazon, she said, “I know there’s good and bad like anything. But I mean, that’s a good thing that they’ve invested in the park.”

The supports the DowntownDC BID by connecting private interests with philanthropic missions in the downtown area. Amazon has been expanding its connection in the DMV since the to build its second headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. Jeff Bezos, the executive chairman of Amazon, also 91����ington Post, ��located directly across the street from Franklin Park. The Franklin Park sponsorship is the most recent investment that Amazon is making to strengthen their involvement in the DMV community.��

In the announcement, Brian Kenner, director of public policy at Amazon, said, “We’re growing roots here in the DC region and in partnership with the DowntownDC Foundation, we’re excited to support the improvement of Franklin Park for all the members of our community.”

Kenner in the mayor’s Planning and Economic Development office. The decision to build a second headquarters in Arlington , and Kenner was brought into Amazon in mid 2019.��

Hao, who has been a critic of BIDs in D.C., said it is unusual that a large company like Amazon is sponsoring a project like this; it is “normally local companies within the BID boundary” that are involved in deals like this.��

Park visitor Karen Mankin said she would have assumed investors in public parks would be local businesses, but it doesn’t change her mind about Franklin Park.

“It’s still to the benefit of the community, so I guess if they’re going to sponsor something, why not a park?” Mankin said.��

Private investment in public parks has been successful in other cities. Atlanta’s Piedmont Park with private investment. Before the investment, the park was serving only local residents. Since investment, visitation has gone up every year. In 2019, 4.3 million people from all over Georgia visited the park.��

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Before the pandemic, the Downtown and Golden Triangle neighborhoods that make up D.C.’s Central Business District were hubs for transit riders, office workers and tourists. Now that almost two years have passed, resulting in the loss of thousands of jobs as well as a steep decline in area foot traffic, the Central Business District is left with millions of square feet of vacant office space.��

At its root, Pinto said the Recovery Amendment Act of 2021 would help the Central Business District transform empty or underutilized office buildings into mixed-use developments, affordable housing and green spaces.��

The act is highlighted by three main pillars: incentivizing mixed uses, attracting businesses to the Central Business District and encouraging innovative entrepreneurship.��

If passed, it would provide for a real property tax abatement to promote “the conversion of office space to workforce housing, hotel, retail, sports, entertainment and cultural uses,” Pinto said . In order to receive those abatements, projects must agree to economic inclusion by empowering women, minority workers and businesses. Additional incentives would be offered for the development of family size residential units.��

In the news release, Pinto said the Recovery Act will generate jobs by offering two-year operational grants to businesses that come to or expand in the area.��

“It is imperative that we invest in our brick-and-mortar establishments, facilitate conversions of�� vacant office spaces to affordable housing, hotel, retail and green spaces,” Pinto said.��

The mixed use and other developments would also attract residents, workers and businesses to come downtown to “live, work and play,” Pinto said.

Vacancy is at an all time high in the District, according to a third-quarter office from Coldwell Banker Richard Ellis, the largest commercial real estate services company in the world. In the third-quarter alone, the District reported 321,000 square feet of occupancy loss.

“We must take bold action now to ensure the successful recovery of our Central Business District and build resiliency for the future,” Pinto said in a statement

At-large Councilmember Christina Henderson joined Pinto in co-sponsoring the bill, following her own of promoting equitable growth and affordable housing in the District.��

“We know that we’re going into a new normal, we’re not trying to go back to what was the norm prior to the pandemic,” said Amanda Farnan, communications director at Henderson’s office.

Farnan said the Recovery Act is a perfect example of an opportunity to reflect on what has been done in the past and change it for the better.��

“Maybe we could benefit from adding a little mixed zoning or mixed use development, affordable housing,” Farnan said. The Recovery Act could create “this kind of holistic neighborhood vibe, with Downtown being able to welcome more than just business people or just workers into this area.”��

Some of the prongs of the Recovery Act coincide with a 2019 goal from to deliver an additional 36,000 units of housing, including at least 12,000 units of affordable housing, by 2025.��

Nearly half, or 16,605 units, have been delivered as part of Bowser’s initiative thus far, according to . Of those, around 3,070 are deemed affordable housing.��

Between Downtown and Golden Triangle, roughly 28.7% of its affordable housing target has been met.“We have an opportunity to create more affordable housing in an area that is so accessible to other parts of the District,” Farnan said. “We should prioritize this.”��

In 2019 as part of the housing initiative, made DC the first city in the country to have affordable housing goals by neighborhood

The chart is how we’re doing so far in each planning area towards the 12,000 new affordable housing goal

— John J. Falcicchio (@falcicchio)

Historically, most affordable housing options in the District are in the far Southeast and Southwest quadrants.

“We don’t want to concentrate affordable housing in one area,” Farnan said.��

The Recovery Act, she said, would dramatically increase the number of affordable housing units available Downtown, a neighborhood that is currently full of luxury condominiums.��

But during an Oct. 20 discussion on housing justice in D.C. hosted by, Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George said that any efforts toward equitable and sustainable housing mean nothing unless those actually affected are involved in decision making.��

“We need programs to work for residents, to bring more actual affordability to those who are the most cost burden,” Lewis George said.

She said it is important to remember that “when we talk about numbers, we’re talking about human lives.”

Before D.C. Council begins revisions on the Recovery Act, Farnan said residents will be able to weigh in on the changes.��

“We look forward to hearing from residents on what they think needs to be prioritized Downtown,” Farnan said. “Is it affordable units? Is it retail? What do the businesses need to see?”��

The Recovery Act is set to be discussed in the fiscal year 2023 budget, though a hearing for it has not yet been scheduled in the D.C. Business and Economic Development Committee.��

Nonetheless, Lewis George said, the council is hoping to “bring human voices to the decisions that are being made.”��

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