“That wasn’t our plan, you know. Our plan was to just put a few flowers in [Kalorama Park]” said Speirn.

Mariposa Garden sits in the middle of Kalorama Park near the intersection of 19th Street NW and Belmont Road. Although a volunteer gardener originally named the garden Jardín de Mariposas, the volunteers later decided to change it’s name to Mariposa Garden due to the lack of Spanish-speakers in the neighborhood, according to Speirn.

When describing  Mariposa Garden, Speirn calls it a guerrilla garden because the couple began planting without approval from the district, yet it receives support from the Parks and Recreation Department, visitors, and D.C. residents.

“The fact of the matter is that the whole community loves the garden. And so when you do something that everybody appreciates and it’s for the community, it’s not for ourselves,” said Aviv.

Today, Mariposa Garden has around 60 to 70 volunteers who participate in Saturday volunteer days, tending to the 60 to 70 varieties of flowers in the Garden, according to the couple. 

Along with the large quantity of volunteers, the garden has made huge strides this year: it launched its first official website, hosted multiple fundraising events, and featured its first wedding.

“It’s not just about Sterling and Diana,” said Speirn. “We would not have Mariposa if it weren’t for all of these volunteers.”

How the park began to flourish

Initially, Speirn and Aviv said they were the only two residents running and funding Mariposa Garden.

Their responsibilities included seeding plants at home, deciding how to arrange the plants in the garden, purchasing necessary supplies, and watering the plants weekly.

The community began approaching Mariposa Garden with interest in volunteering not long after they initially started planting, according to Speirn and Aviv.

“I felt that it was affirming, what we had started to create, that people wanted it,” said Aviv. “It also tells me that people want to give. People want to give and they want to do, and it makes them feel a part of something.”

ANC Commissioner Chairman Peter Wood said he started volunteering in the garden sometime between 2020 and 2021. He recalled a moment while working in the garden where he realized that city life had kept him from connecting with nature.

“When you can kind of detach from that (city life), it’s nice to just get your hands dirty and be touching earth. That’s a really important thing, and we kind of overlook it,.” Wood said.

Wood said it’s important for the community to support projects like Mariposa Garden because people develop trust with one another when they have a “shared investment in something.”

“It’s collectively ours as opposed to any individuals,” he said, “that’s what public parks, in my mind, are supposed to be.”

Enthusiasm from the volunteers eventually allowed Aviv and Speirn to delegate tasks to “stewards,” or lead volunteers, such as coordinating Saturday volunteer days and watering the garden during the week. 

Despite planting in a park owned by the district, the D.C. Department of Parks and Rec has never interfered with Mariposa Garden, according to Speirn. 

He said the garden and the district have a “symbiotic relationship” — the district provides the water, and the volunteers do the rest.

“It’s like we take care of ourselves, but the city gives us water, which is essential,” said Speirn.

Wood said there are other community-led projects designed to take care of the park and support the community.

One volunteer group has taken over maintenance of city-installed plants near the plaza staircase, and another group has cultivated a community garden, according to Wood.

“I think it’s an example of how the city government doesn’t always provide the services that taxes are supposed to pay for, but also that people in neighborhoods often want to make the neighborhoods more beautiful,” said Wood.

The Department of Parks and Recreation did not respond to specific questions from 91ÇŃ×Ó.

2025 – A year of firsts

This year has been the “year of first” for the Mariposa Garden, from fundraising, to volunteer involvement, to a new website, according to Speirn. He believes the garden will continue to have similar successes in the future.

From a fundraising perspective, this is the first year that Mariposa Garden gained a monthly donor and hosted events to raise money for the garden, said Speirn.

Speirn added that donations were generally healthy this year.

This is also the first year Mariposa Garden has its own , something that Speirn said he feels is a real game-changer for Mariposa Garden. The website features information about the Garden, a portal to contact Aviv and Speirn, and a donation tab.

“I think we’ve sort of hit a nice level of sustainability and dynamism now that we have a way for anyone to become a volunteer through the website,” said Speirn.

From a community gathering perspective, Speirn notes that 2025 is the first year Mariposa Garden hosted a wedding, and it’s the first year he has seen Marie Reed Elementary School bring students to the garden to learn about pollination.

Speirn added that Mariposa Garden has more volunteers and more sign-ups on the mailing list than in any other year. Aviv said she counted 100 volunteers who have worked in the garden at least once.

“We’ve just had such an explosion of interest this year,” said Speirn.

When thinking towards the future, both Speirn and Aviv said they see this year as a sign of continued success at Mariposa Garden for years to come.

“My hope is that the community feels more and more attached to it and cares for it. Maybe down the road somewhere, not for the next year or so, we can create a children’s garden if we can get enough volunteers to organize that,” said Aviv.

The post Mariposa Garden’s 2025 success foreshadows future growth first appeared on 91ÇŃ×Ó.

Adams Morgan PorchFest is a neighborhood music festival that sprawls throughout both the residential and commercial streets of Adams Morgan. The festival occurs twice a year: one in the spring, the other during fall.

According to the Adams Morgan BID , 26 porches and three main stages hosted 103 bands on Saturday from 2:00 to 6:00. 

Porches refer to mini pop-up performances outside of residential homes and businesses.

These numbers outrank participation in previous Adams Morgan PorchFests, according to Adams Morgan Partnership BID Executive Director Kristen Barden. 

She said this past spring, she believes PorchFest only had 20 porches.

The BID partnership has organized Porchfest since 2012, and it has grown immensely, according to Barden. That first year, she said she remembers PorchFest didn’t have any main stages, they didn’t close down 18th Street, and only 10 porches participated.

Long-time volunteer Mara Stewart also noted PorchFest’s growth over the years. She said that even four years ago, the event was a lot smaller. 

Typically, Stewart said she has enough printed flyers and wristbands to pass out throughout the entire event. This fall, she said, that wasn’t the case.

“We ran out of things by 3:00 p.m. Usually we wouldn’t be running out of our main stuff, like our wristbands, like our physical paper maps until the end [of the event].”

Because of this, she said she thinks that Porchfest Fall 2025 was even bigger than Porchfest this past spring.

Barden said that although they cannot yet confirm that more people attended PorchFest this year, the Adams Morgan BID partnership will have official data soon.

While looking back at the success of Saturday’s event, Barden also noted that Fall Porchfest 2025 was all about community.

“It’s heartwarming to see the community really embrace this event and really enjoy all of the music together,” she said.

Tommy Faulkner, a resident of Adams Morgan, also said he noticed the community vibes throughout the live performances.

“We were just crying about this. There was a woman on the bus waving. It just feels like we need community,” said Faulkner. “It gives me sort of faith in humanity again. Like I feel like I’m happy to be around people.”

Wristbands bring in the business

This past weekend, 52 businesses provided discounts and specials through the wristband program.

A couple of years ago, the majority of businesses that had specials for wristband wearers were restaurants, according to Stewart.

Now, all kinds of businesses participate, she said. Ace Hardware Adams Morgan, A Little Shop of Flowers, and Fleet Feet were a few non-restaurant names that partnered with PorchFest.

“Which shows just how broad it has become, and how many people want to participate in Adams Morgan,” said Stewart.

Despite the large crowds, those businesses came prepared, according to Barden.

Cody Ayala, the general manager of Andy’s Pizza, said Porchfest is one of the restaurant’s busiest days. In order to prepare, Andy’s people had to double their staff and their food prep, he said.

“We stay busy from start to finish,” Ayala said.

How a band hijacked PorchFest and has participated ever since

The Dellas, an indie/rock/pop band, said they hijacked Porchfest last fall. They performed for the first time as a group without formally signing up for the event, according to the band’s bassist, Andrew McArthur.

“We were lucky because there were no porches immediately around us that were also playing at the same time,” said McArthur.

Although The Dellas weren’t officially on the Fall Porchfest 2024 setlist, the turnout was a success, according to McArthur. He said that

Since then, the band has signed up to perform at the Spring and Fall 2025 PorchFests.

The Dellas celebrated their first anniversary performing together this past weekend, said guitarist David Vega-Pulido. 

McArthur and Vega-Pulido said they think this Porchfest’s audience is the largest the band has ever performed for.

Last spring, about 100 people RSVPed for a digital invitation the band sent out. This Saturday, McArthur said, about 200 people RSVPed.

Vega-Pulido said that there were “way more people” this fall in comparison to last fall. Both Vega-Pulido and McArthur added that the energy of Fall Porchfest 2025 was high.

“I’m excited that a lot of our friends came out and got to see us,” said McArthur.

School of Rock dominates the main stage at PorchFest

Nola Kenney (17), Ella Hartwig (17), Marz Marissell (16), and Marie McGarry (17) are School of Rock youth band members who took turns performing at Marie Reed Stage. 

They said that Fall Porchfest 2025 is one of the biggest turnouts they have ever seen.

“I would argue this is one of our biggest crowds out of the year because there are so many people passing through, and we are at the entrance,”  said bassist and singer Hartwig. 

Hartwig has been playing the cello since she was five, and the bass for about 8 years, she says.

School of Rock is a Washington, D.C music program that teaches students of all ages how to read music, play instruments, and perform live. The students perform at community-based events and local venues, according to their .

This year, for the entire event, the School of Rock Youth Bands took turns performing 20-minute sets on rotation, a system they call round robin, said Hartwig.

Marissell added that PorchFest is one of the best places to play in DC because of the high volume of attendees. Marissell has been playing the guitar for about five years.

“They all love music and they all just want to have a good time,” said Marissell.

The post Adams Morgan PorchFest continues to flourish first appeared on 91ÇŃ×Ó.

From new buildings, upgrades to existing facilities, and neighborhood expansion, the university has seen drastic changes, and officials expect more to come.  

“Bethune used to be a parking lot,” said Robert Mitchell, class of 1980.  “Anything past Bethune was the hood. You had to catch the shuttle unless you were from D.C. or a track runner,” he said.  

According to the university’s Real Estate Development and Capital Asset Management page, at least 10 facilities on the campus have received updates ranging from computer labs and conference rooms to new furniture and laundry facilities.  

One of the newest additions to the campus is The Oliver, a mixed-use facility on Georgia Avenue that is both a dorm for some students and offices for faculty and staff.  

“This is the only building where that’s allowed,” said Jenelle Howard, director of development, institutional giving, business and law. Howard is one of the administrators with an office housed in the new building.   

Directly behind The Oliver, Howard Manor’s revitalization delivered “80 permanently affordable homes capped at 60 percent of area median income for 99 years,” according to the development website. Units in Howard Manor are open to alumni and other community members. 

In addition, the university has entered ground-lease agreements with buildings such as Meridian, Slowe, and Carver Halls. According to the development website, these agreements allow the university to retain ownership of the land, while creating affordable housing options for the neighborhood that generate revenue for the school to fund scholarships and operations.

Earlier this year, the Miner Building reopened after a major renovation. Miner houses the School of Education and the Howard University Middle School of Mathematics and Science PCS. 

Also new this semester is Innovation Hub, a makerspace located inside Founders Library.

“There’s not a lot of traffic because people don’t know about it yet,” said Selah Allen, a junior who works at The Hub.  

Allen said that, at times, it’s better than the library for getting work done. “It’s another space for students to have on campus, which I think is very much needed.” 

Students still see issues.

Despite the progress, current students still see issues that the university needs to tackle. Access to healthy food options remains a continuing struggle for students, and choices are increasingly limited.  

“Eating on campus is hard, and they made it inaccessible,” said Steve Texas, a senior at the university. “The only things to eat are the dining hall, McDonalds, and Chick-fil-A.” He said that while progress has been made on campus in general, it’s not enough.  

 â€œIt feels stagnant,” he said.  

 Other students, such as senior Aniyah Genama, said that off-campus options are shrinking as well.  

 â€œChipotle, Subway, and Negril are all gone,’ she said.  

 For junior Janeen Louis, the lack of progress isn’t just limited to food.  

“I don’t like the new bookstore vendor because we have less books,” she said. “We used to have study spaces, I don’t see that anymore.” 

The university has added a cafĂŠ to the undergraduate library and upgraded kitchen facilities in some of the dorms. Overall, however, dining options are limited. “The food vendors are hit or miss,” Louis said.  

Even with these challenges, this week, the focus is on homecoming. 

“With everything going on in the world, HBCU homecomings are important,” Howard said. “Howard alum love coming back and pouring into the students,’ she said. 

H. Clay Smith, III, is one of those alum. Smith graduated from Howard in 1981, and from Howard’s law school in 1984. He stood on Fourth Street with three of his classmates reminiscing about his time at Howard.

“One thing about Howard, you can come back even 45 years later and still see someone you know,” he said.

The post At Howard’s homecoming, students and alumni note progress, continued struggles first appeared on 91ÇŃ×Ó.

The park’s half-century-old drum circle has become one of the District’s sustained traditions, with participants now extending their skills into classrooms and workshops.Ěý

The park overlooks the District perched on one of D.C.’s highest points. It was laid out in the early 1900s as Meridian Hill Park.

In 1804, President Thomas Jefferson first called the area Meridian Hill, named for the White House meridian line first surveyed by Andrew Ellicott and Benjamin Banneker, who mapped Washington, D.C.Ěý

Officially, it’s still Meridian Hill Park. To but to many Washingtonians, it’s Malcolm X Park.Ěý

In 1969, Angela Davis held a rally, calling for the park to be renamed Malcolm X Park following Malcolm X’s assassination. A few years later, the drum circle began meeting regularly.ĚýĚý

Ngoma’s legacy. Ěý

Kwame William H. Caudle Babalu remembers the early years of the drum circle vividly. He said he came up in D.C.’s revolutionary 1970s, when the District was known as Chocolate City.

Caudle said he learned drumming in the park from master drummer Baba Ngoma, the man he credits as the drum circle’s first leader. Ěý

“Baba Ngoma always went to Malcolm X Park,” Caudle said. “Right after the death of Malcolm X, Baba Ngoma was playing drum prayers early in the morning.”Ěý

On those Sunday’s, Caudle remembers waiting in silence until Ngoma finished playing. Only then, could a student speak.Ěý

“That’s how you learned,” Caudle said. “You watched. You earned your part.”Ěý

Ngoma was deeply tied to D.C.’s Black consciousness movement, Caudle said. Schools in the District sent him to Kenya, where he had a spiritual reading and came back as Baba Ngoma, and instructed at the African Heritage Dancers and Drummers — one of his students being Caudle. Ěý

Caudle said the circle first met on the Euclid Street side of the park before moving into the main lawn. The site once served as a Civil War fort, according to the National Park Service, which inspired regulars to call it “the sentry hub.”Ěý

“There was a sentry post,” Caudle said. “And Baba Ngoma would do prayer and libation for El Hajj Malik Shabazz (Malcolm X) and all of the ancestors.”Ěý

A libation is a ritual pouring of water in remembrance of the dead.Ěý

The circle grows.

Kevin Lambert said he started coming to the circle shortly after he moved to D.C. in 1990.Ěý

“It was a little more spiritual than it is now,” Lambert said. “It started in the 1960s with Black nationalism and movements, so there was a definite political and spiritual edge to it.”Ěý

He said he first stumbled onto the circle by chance after passing by one Sunday afternoon and hearing the congas.Ěý

“By gosh, there were about 20 guys playing drums. I figured that Chocolate City would have a drum circle, and I finally sort of stumbled onto it,” Lambert said.Ěý

At the time, the circle’s leadership centered around Barnett Williams, a master drummer and longtime percussionist who played with Gil Scott-Heron and The Last Poets, Lambert said.Ěý

WilliamsĚý“was a man of deep respect. He finally said, ‘Okay, guys, shut up — this man knows what he’s doing,’ and that opened the door for me,” Lambert said.Ěý

When Williams died in 2006, Lambert said he feared the circle would end.ĚýĚý

“We didn’t have anyone to keep it right,” he said. “But other people stepped into the breach — and then we realized the breach didn’t really have to be stepped into.”Ěý

Over time, the circle became more open and community –based.Ěý

Drumming as oral history.Ěý

Healing through drumming drives Yuma “Docta Yew” Bellomee, who founded the. The group brings African drum and dance traditions into workshops and schools across the D.C. area, Bellomee said.Ěý

Bellomee said he used to drum at Malcolm X Park but now spends his time teaching others.Ěý

“It connects us to the cultures that we were disconnected from through the enslavement process,” Bellomee said. “The vibration, the rhythm of the drum, it moves energy inside of the body. It helps with self expression… helps to alleviate stress.”

That continuation is felt deeply by Jordyn Pigott, a dancer who first learned West African dance as a child and later joined Ni Dembaya under Bellomee’s guidance.Ěý

“So physically and mentally, I feel a lot of healing coming to this space,” she said. “Get away from the D.C. hustle, the stress, the political climate.”Ěý

Across the DMV.Ěý

Drumming across the DMV extends far beyond the park. Afro-Peruvian artist AndrĂŠs ArĂŠvalo instructs dancers to sync to the rhythms of the cajĂłn and cajita, adding to D.C.’s drum culture.Ěý

“It’s about remembering our African roots, our history, our families,” ArĂŠvalo said.Ěý

The Peruvian percussionist said his drum of choice, the cajita, evolved from a church collection box, to an instrument.ĚýĚý

“It was creativity from the Afro-Peruvians,” he said. “They found a stick, and they started to make music.”Ěý

ArĂŠvalo runs the , teaching traditional Peruvian dance classes to his drumming.Ěý

“This music is enjoyable for everyone,” ArĂŠvalo said. “If I can teach two thousand people to dance together… to feel that rhythm … that is the dream.” Ěý

The post From Malcolm X Park to workshops: Rhythm and belonging first appeared on 91ÇŃ×Ó.

 The gala will be held Thursday, Oct. 23rd, from 6-10 pm at the Blackburn Center on campus. This first of a kind homecoming event, along with other major university changes, is part of an effort to support the university’s military-connected community, an effort spearheaded by Paris Adon, director of student services. 

Howard offers Army, Air Force, and Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) programs—students who participate train, study, and graduate to become officers in their respective military branches.  

The military-connected community, however, includes student veterans and military dependents using their benefits to attend school.  

Adon said, “80% of the students who use our services are dependents.”  

Adon heads six university offices, including the Office of Military and Veteran Services (OMVS), Advocacy and Support, Student Accessibility, Bison Intervention, the Pantry, and the Office of Interpersonal Violence Prevention (IVPP). Since he came to the university, there have been several renovations, the most recent being the Veterans Resource Center.  

Armed with a grant from the Department of Education and significant investment from the university, Adon has overseen major changes. The grant allowed for renovations to create the Veterans Resource Center, and the university added staff to help support the military-connected population, which has grown to nearly 700 students since Adon arrived.  

The success of the VRC is in large part due to the community being built within the space, Adon said. He said he takes pride in the fact that it’s a popular destination, even with students who have off-campus housing. 

“The students come down here to enjoy themselves,” Adon said. “The SVA meetings are packed.” 

The SVA is the Student Veterans of America, a student organization that uses the space for meetings and is made up of mainly military-connected students. Restarting the chapter was another win for Adon.  

Mentorship from the Ohio State University SVA chapter helped make the Gala possible. 

The Ohio State chapter suggested Adon pitch the idea to the school’s development office.

“Why don’t we do it during homecoming?” the development office asked Adon. 

The gala will honor Brigadier General Ronald Sullivan, an Army judge advocate general (JAG), graduate of Howard’s ROTC program, and the School of Business. There will be additional awards for cadets and SVA members. 

“A lot of campus partners don’t realize how connected this community is,” Adon said.  

For the students, the community is a huge draw.  

“If you come down here often enough, you’ll know everybody,’ said Xavier Rodriguez, a junior.  â€œIt’s a chill place where a lot can go on, and nothing can go on.”  

Adon said he has tried to attend the commissioning ceremonies for the programs the university offers. His constant effort to make more connections across the campus is evident whenever he steps outside of his office.  

“We’ve done so much under his leadership,’ said Senior Vice President of Student Affairs Cynthia Evers. “They’re doing amazing things, and now others call on them.” 

Adon said he is most proud of what the students are doing with the space that he has helped create.  Not only is it a place for them to hang out, it’s a place for them to get answers, he added.  

“Any resource that Howard has, someone here knows about it,” said Joshua Gaither, a sophomore.  

Armani Bostic is a third-year law student at Howard who visits the VRC often.  

Bostic said she completed a work study program with the Veterans Administration and has found both community, and mentorship opportunities.  

“I go to school on west campus,” she said. “This is a great way to interact with the main campus.”

Adon said the staff he has built in and around the center is just as focused on creating those positive outcomes.

“We want to be the number one Student Veterans of America chapter,” Adon said. 

Keshala Fluker, one of the VRC case managers said for her, it’s about helping the students when they’re navigating hard times.  

“Sometimes you don’t know you need something until you experience it,’’ she said. 

She also said, there are more great things to come.

 â€œI think the more traction the VRC gets, the more positive outcomes we’ll see,” she said.  

Tickets for the event, which start at $100, are still available, and can be purchased online.

The post Red, White, and Bison Gala is another Howard military community win first appeared on 91ÇŃ×Ó.

If you didn’t, you are not alone. It’s been 50 years since the first ANC elections, but D.C. residents are unaware that these neighborhood commissions administer community grants.ĚýĚýĚý

While a lot of confusion remains about the role and power of ANCs in the District, the community grant program can have visible impact, if you’re lucky enough to live in a neighborhood that offers them.ĚýĚý

ĚýAccording to the Office of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions FY 2025 , the role of the ANCs is “to advise the District government on matters of public policy,” which range from planning and social service programs to health, safety, and sanitation.ĚýĚý

The ANCs provide advice and recommendations to the D.C. Council, the mayor, and various agencies, boards, and commissions of government. Some ANCs also award grants to help their communities.Ěý

“ANCs do a tremendous amount of work,” says Executive Director, Kent Boese. “We are in a much better city because of them.”Ěý

The OANC oversees each of the District’s individual neighborhood commissions. When it comes to grants, both the OANC and the ANC receive the applications.ĚýĚý

The OANC reviews the grant for fiscal compliance and makes a recommendation on if they feel it would be an appropriate expense. The ANC can then decide if it still wants to support it, Boese said. Ěý

For community members who want to apply for a grant, there are rules, of course. Grants can be as much as $3,000 and are available to organizations, not individuals, based on D.C.ĚýĚý

Organizations can’t receive more than one grant in a year.Ěý

Can’t duplicate a city service.Ěý

Also, for a group to receive a grant, it can’t be for a program that duplicates a city service. Boese said that line is clear, but there is nuance.ĚýĚý

“For example, the city has a program where you can ask for free tools during the fall for community clean-up. However, the city doesn’t operate a program for that during the winter,” he said. A grant for a winter program would be allowed, but the ANC would need to retain ownership of the tools, he said.Ěý

Additionally, grants can’t be used for things such as food, must benefit the community (not a person or organization), and must be for a future event, Boese said. Ěý

Ward 1 resident Wendy Singleton, a board member and logistics coordinator for , has helped her organization get an ANC grant for the past five years. The organization, founded by Ransom Miller III, has used the money to support their annual Thanksgiving food distribution. This event, celebrating its 30th year, helps Project Giveback support over 5,000 families with bulk food distribution throughout the city.

“It’s not a hard process,” she said. “You have to get in early. The ANCs want to make sure their constituents are being served.”Ěý

ĚýNot all commissioners offer grants.Ěý

Since the ANC’s have final say if an organization or event gets funded, single member district representatives can sponsor a proposal for an organization that is based outside of their ANC. This is important because not all ANCs offer grants.ĚýĚý

For example, Anna Krebs, commissioner and treasurer of ANC 6B06, represents one of those districts.ĚýĚý

“6B does not currently have grants available, but it is something that we are actively working on,” she said. Ěý

She said her neighborhood commission is working with the OANC to see what kinds of grants have been approved for other neighborhoods.ĚýĚý

Before becoming an ANC commissioner, Krebs said she hadn’t heard of the grants either. However, she added that she does see the value of them.

Ěý“Part of why we want to bring back grants is so we can put money back into the community,” she said.ĚýĚý

So who decides if an ANC will offer grants or not? According to Boese, that’s up to the ANCs as well.Ěý

Ěý“It is important when reading the Code to pay attention to the words ‘may’ and ‘shall.’ ‘May’ means that a Commission is allowed, but not required, to do something. ‘Shall’ means that a Commission must so something,” Boese said.Ěý

Boese is referring to section 1–309.13(l)(1) of the D.C. Code, which says “Expenditures may be in the form of grants by the Commission for public purposes within the Commission.”Ěý

Some commissions have elected to start creating programs themselves, rather than issue reimbursements to organizations, Boese said.Ěý

According to the OANC Annual Report for FY24, ANCs receive an approved allotment in the D.C. budget by the mayor. For the last two years, that amount was $915,688, which comes to $1.327 per District resident based on the 2020 census.ĚýĚý

The OANC can also recommend that the Office of the Chief Financial Officer withhold a portion of an ANC’s allocation if that commission has spent money for something that is not allowed (e.g. a committee luncheon) or is not in accordance with the procedures for spending money (e.g. the expenditure is not recorded in the minutes, or the check does not have two signatures). It is the OCFO that makes the quarterly allotments to the ANCs.Ěý

ANC budgets are restricted to two main uses: administration and community support. Admin can be office supplies, business cards, signs, advertising, or rent for office space or community meetings. The commissioners themselves are not paid, however.Ěý

A common theme is a lack of awareness. “Even if people don’t get involved, they should know we exist,” Krebs said.ĚýĚý

Singleton said she found out about the grants from a member of her church.ĚýĚý

“They don’t publicize,” she said. “You need to be active in the ANC, and you need to go to meetings.”ĚýĚý

Boese said his office is working to fix the lack of awareness of the grant program. In addition to improving individual websites, his office is working on an initiative in conjunction with local libraries to bring more attention to the commissions, and the work they do, before next year’s election.ĚýĚý

The post ANC community grants: An underpublicized feature not uniformly offered first appeared on 91ÇŃ×Ó.

Over the past several weeks, more than 100 displaced residents of 1433 Columbia Rd have been picking up what remains of their belongings: children’s toys, mattresses, clothes and food.

A woman was seriously injured on Sep. 20 when her gas stove accidentally exploded, forcing the evacuation of the building. The explosion damaged multiple living units.Ěý

Many tenants have been staying at the Hotel Arboretum over the past month under a free city emergency shelter program.Ěý

However, the Wash has confirmed that after this week, the hotel vouchers are scheduled to end on Thursday, Oct. 17, and the residents must find somewhere else to live.Ěý

Tenants approached by 91ÇŃ×Ó were hesitant to offer comment about the housing issue, however, an member working on it said they are “not doing well.”

The building, without repairs, is in no condition to safely house anyone, according to the Department of Buildings (DOB).

Through an ongoing investigation, 91ÇŃ×Ó uncovered 37 Notices of Infraction recently filed against the owners of the Columbia Rd building. The fines total $45,675 so far.Ěý

The post-explosion citations include failure to provide a rented dwelling unit with a device designed to provide security for the occupants and property within, failure to tightly secure the lock on entrance doors to dwelling units or sleeping units and/or failure to maintain locks and building poses imminent danger to building occupants or those in close proximity due to explosives, explosive fumes.Ěý

“Landlords must obey District law by providing properties that are safe, habitable, and livable. Our goal is to work with property owners so they fix violations. DOB is ready to issue the permits to the Landlord to do the necessary repairs and until that happens, the building unfortunately must stay closed,” the DC Department of Buildings wrote to 91ÇŃ×Ó in an emailed statement.Ěý

Based on public records and confirmed by DOB, a safety inspection of the facility was not documented in the five years before the accident.

Carlo Perri, ANC Commissioner for 1A03, told 91ÇŃ×Ó that the living conditions were “really terrible” before the explosion. Perri said he based that on a conversation with one of the tenants. He heard sinks were clogged, tenants needed to buy five-gallon buckets to shower and use their toilets and plumbing was leaking from upper floors to lower floors,

“The building managers never fixed it, despite formal complaints from residents,” he said. “… It’s possible that this person willfully neglected preparing this property. If that’s the case, then an investigation will reveal those battles and prosecute them.”

On Wednesday, Oct. 9, in an ANC meeting for Columbia Heights, the committee unanimously voted to allow an investigation into the living conditions before the Sep. 20 accident.

The resolution will call on the D.C. Attorney General, “to investigate and prosecute any negligent wrongdoing and enjoin lawful property owner(s) and their agents to remediate the physical disrepair of the property expediently and provide any gap assistance required to the displaced residents.”

Until building owners fix safety issues, it will remain uninhabitable.Ěý

The , working with , has conducted testing and found leaks in the gas lines throughout the building. Neither gas nor electricity will be restored to the building until gas lines are fixed. Repairing the gas falls under the property owner’s responsibility.

DOB said that, generally, a property owner will have 60 days from the date of receiving the Notice of Infraction. In this case, several of the infractions are labeled “life safety hazards” and require immediate abatement.Ěý

DOB informed 91ÇŃ×Ó that the owner(s) acknowledged receipt of the Correction Order and informally told DOB that there was a plan to return the property to habitability. DOB has yet to receive a plan.Ěý

Until the facility undergoes extensive repairs, and the city signs off on them, residents will not be allowed to return.

The (OTA), the agency in charge of providing technical advice and other legal services to tenants regarding disputes with landlords, is supposed to be working to find the displaced tenants new places to live, but it has not specified what the relocation looks like. Perri said it has not been made clear to residents what will happen to their apartment as a result of them moving out; they have only been granted access to pick up their belongings.

According to records from the DOB, 1433 Columbia Rd has 30 inspection violations listed in 2018. These violations include failure to maintain all fire and smoke stop doors in operable condition, failure to install an approved carbon monoxide alarm in the immediate vicinity of the bedrooms in dwelling units, failure to correct cracked or loose plaster, holes, decayed wood, water damage andĚý defective surface conditions and failure to properly install and maintain plumbing fixture in working order. These are in addition to the dozens of safety violations handed out after the explosion.Ěý

91ÇŃ×Ó requested comment and information from the building owners listed in the citations, Herminia and John Steininger, but has not received a reply. Ěý

The OTA, has not responded to requests for comment, and the Arboretum Hotel has declined to respond.Ěý

According to Noah Gray, the Chief Communications Officer for DC Fire, the explosion occurred when the occupant turned on the stove, which had a known gas leak. Gray also stated that their part of the investigation is completed.

According to the fire officials, a woman inside the apartment was transferred to the hospital in serious condition. Due to medical privacy, the department was not able to verify if that condition has changed.Ěý

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