Burger Bar to Replace Shuttered GBD Eatery in Dupont — Red Apron Burger Bar from Neighborhood Restaurant Group is set to open in the former GBD space at 1323 Connecticut Ave. NW in mid-January. [Washington Post]
Where to Buy Last-Minute Gifts in Columbia Heights Area — New Columbia Heights has a roundup of local businesses to check out for last-minute presents for the holidays. [New Columbia Heights]
How to Fix a Holiday Hangover in Shaw — The New Yorker breakfast sandwich with pastrami, egg, cheese and hot pepper jelly at Smoked & Stacked (1239 9th St. NW) is a good meal “if you were a hot mess last night,” according to Washington City Paper. [Washington City Paper]
Streetcar Won’t Run on Christmas, But Will Go Late New Year’s Eve — The H Street corridor’s streetcar is set to have its normal operating hours over the next couple weeks, except on Christmas. [Borderstan]
Photo courtesy of Greg Nelson
An Elvis Presley birthday celebration with burlesque performers and unusual boxing contenders is set to return to Columbia Heights next week.
Elvis’ Birthday Fight Club is scheduled to bring “elaborately staged bouts, Elvis-themed burlesque, and below-the-belt commentary from co-hosts ‘Elvis’ and ‘Kittie Glitter'” to the GALA Hispanic Theatre (3333 14th St. NW) Dec. 31, Jan. 6 and 7, according to Astro Pop Events, which is putting on the annual tribute. All shows are slated to start at 8 p.m.
“Flim-flam fisticuffs make for a sexy and surreal celebration of The King’s birthday,” Astro Pop Events says on its website.
Astro Pop Events won’t reveal the identities of the boxers in Elvis’ Birthday Fight Club until the shows start. But past matches have included “Bridezilla vs. Godzilla,” “Congress vs. a Clown” and “Putin vs. a Unicorn.”
Tickets are $50 to $60 for the New Year’s Eve show and $25 to $30 on the other days.
Photo via Eventbrite/Astro Pop Events
The H Street corridor’s streetcar is set to have its normal operating hours over the next couple weeks, except on Christmas, the District Department of Transportation announced yesterday.
The streetcar won’t run this Sunday during the holiday. But it will make trips as usual from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. Saturday on Christmas Eve and from 6 a.m. to midnight on Monday, Dec. 26, which is a federal holiday.
Streetcar operations on New Year’s Eve also will go on as normal, with Saturday hours of 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. On New Year’s Day, streetcars will follow their Sunday service schedule of 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. As for Monday, Jan. 2, which is a federal holiday, streetcars will run from 6 a.m. to midnight as usual.
Streetcars arrive at stops on H Street and Benning Road NE every 10 to 15 minutes.
Post Examines Columbia Heights Convict’s Path to Prison — The Washington Post profiles a 24-year-old Columbia Heights man who ended up with a 22-year sentence after a murder conviction. [Washington Post]
Locals Fight Truxton Circle Co-Living Space — The Richardson Place Neighborhood Association is trying to prevent the construction of a co-living space at 410-412 Richardson Place NW. [Washington City Paper]
New TV Show to Follow Columbia Heights Real Estate Firm — HGTV at noon today is set to debut “D.C. Flippers,” which follows DC Home Buzz owners Ati and Rob Williams. [NBC Washington]
Condo, Apartment Owners to Join Downtown D.C. BID — The D.C. Council has approved legislation that will make condo associations and apartment building owners members of the Downtown D.C. BID. [Washington Business Journal]
A librarian at a Columbia Heights school is seeking donations to help buy books for her students amid budget cuts.
Jennie Tomlinson-Herr, the librarian at Chavez Prep Middle School (770 Kenyon St. NW), last week launched a GoFundMe page to raise money for the low-income school’s library, which received a 70 percent cut in funding. With about $7,000 less at her disposal, Tomlinson-Herr can’t get the books that she said her need and want.
“The library’s need for books is critical — I have a long, long list of titles that students have requested that I can’t afford to buy,” she said on the fundraising website. “It’s upsetting when I have to tell my students that the library can’t afford to purchase more books. I try to avoid this whenever possible by purchasing highly requested titles out of my own pocket, but the need is greater than what I can afford as an individual.”
Chavez Prep has more than 300 students between sixth and ninth grades. About a third of them check out books from the library every day.
Photo via Chavez Prep Middle School GoFundMe
If you listen closely, you might hear carolers in Dupont Circle. But they’re not singing traditional yuletide melodies, they’re belting out tunes about president-elect Donald Trump.
Singers with the caroling group “War On Christmas Carols” visited the circle Monday and Tuesday this week to spread holiday cheer and jeers.
Take a listen to “Tiny Hands,” a riff on “Jingle Bells”:
"Tiny Hands", to the tune of "Jingle Bells" pic.twitter.com/shc9e3ZL7I
— WarOnChristmasCarols (@WarOnXmasCarols) December 19, 2016
The group’s aim is to bring “songs of good cheer for this trashfire year,” according to its Twitter account. Follow along to see where they visit next.
D.C. Council Backs Park Morton Redevelopment — The D.C. Council yesterday approved legislation to replace the Park Morton public housing complex with a mixed-income community that won’t displace families. [Park View, D.C.]
Ten Kids Attack, Rob Teen in U Street Corridor — A group of 10 kids attacked and robbed a youth near 13th and U streets NW about 6:45 p.m. yesterday. [Washington Post]
CityCenterDC Eatery Closes — Mango Tree at 929 H St. NW shut down over the weekend. [Washingtonian]
Man Charged With Stealing Christmas Decorations Downtown — Floyd Sellers, a 54-year-old Southeast D.C. resident, was arrested and charged in connection with the Dec. 11 theft of a decorative reindeer, a wreath and a table lamp from the One Lafayette Center office building downtown. [Washington Post]
Three neighborhood running clubs are planning to don ugly holiday sweaters and along H Street later this evening.
The H Street Runners, Argonaut Running Club and the Big Board Runners are joining forces for the “H Street Ugly Holiday Sweater Run and Party” Tuesday, Dec. 20, according to a Facebook announcement. Neighborhood blog PoPville also posted about the event.
Tonight’s run is open to all community members and is scheduled to take participants about two miles down H Street. The event will begin at Driftwood (400 H St. NE) at 7 p.m.
“Let’s make this a great tradition for the whole H Street community,” an organizer wrote on Facebook. “It will be a fun, festive run up and down the H Street corridor and afterwards we have the upstairs bar at Driftwood Kitchen.”
Participants are also encouraged to bring along a medal to donate to Medals4Angels, a nonprofit “that collects medals from marathon and triathalon runners and donate them to those fighting their own battle with serious illness.”
Photo via Flickr / The Ugly Sweater Shop
Urban explorers are set to have the opportunity to check out a decommissioned streetcar station below Dupont Circle with the help of guides next month.
The Dupont Underground is scheduled to open again to the public on most Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in January, beginning Friday, Jan. 6, according to an online event post. The space, accessed through a stairwell near 11 Dupont Circle NW, hasn’t had tours since its inaugural “Raise/Raze” art exhibit wrapped up earlier this year.
“Since the success of Raise/Raze creative minds have been inspired by the potential of this 75,000 sq/ft space,” the event post says. “These tours will explore the living history and conceptual reinvention of a DC hidden gem. Each tour will consist of a guided hour long experience through the tunnels under Dupont Circle, that once served as the neighborhood trolley system over fifty years ago.”
Tours are limited to 30 people at a time. Tickets are $15 online.
Photo via Twitter/Dupont Underground
DOH Closes 14th Street Wine Bar — The D.C. Department of Health shut down Barcelona Wine Bar (1622 14th St. NW) yesterday after an inspector found live roaches, standing water on the basement floor and no hot water. [Washingtonian]
Cops Nab Man Wanted in Logan Circle, Downtown Burglaries — Police have arrested 54-year-old Floyd Sellers of Southeast D.C. in connection with burglaries on the 1500 block of Church Street NW on Saturday, July 23, and on the 1100 block of 20th Street NW on Sunday, Dec. 11. [MPD]
City Paper Reviews U Street Corridor-Area Eatery’s Japanese Sandwich — Washington City Paper took a look at the Katsu Sandwich from Izakaya Seki (1117 V St. NW), calling it a “superb midday meal.” [Washington City Paper]
Borderstan to Cease Publication (Again) — We have some bad news, unfortunately. Borderstan will cease publication this Friday, Dec. 23. [Borderstan, Washingtonian, DCist, DC Inno]
(Updated at 3:45 p.m.)
Woman Kidnapped, Robbed in Mount Pleasant — Three men forced a woman into a van on the 1600 block of Monroe Street NW about 3:30 a.m. Sunday, assaulted her and robbed her before abandoning her near Woodley Park. [WTOP]
Cava Grill to Open in Shaw This Week — Cava Grill is set to arrive at 1921 8th St. NW Tuesday, with free servings of its fast-casual Mediterranean food from 5 to 8 p.m. [Washington City Paper]
Fire Breaks Out in Shaw — A fire erupted inside an apartment near 8th Street and Rhode Island Avenue NW yesterday. No injures were reported. [Twitter/D.C. Fire and EMS]
Wydown Coffee Bar Comes to H Street — The Wydown Coffee Bar made its debut at 600 H St. NE Saturday. [Twitter/The Wydown]
City Tap House to Open in Dupont — City Tap House is slated to replace STK at 1250 Connecticut Ave. NW. STK closed over the weekend. [Bisnow]
Two weeks ago, the kiosk near 18th Street and Columbia Road NW became a chalkboard where locals could leave messages for outgoing president Obama. Now, the sign may have to be taken down for a deep cleaning.
Someone vandalized the sign with red nail polish earlier this week, according to the Adams Morgan BID. The organization tweeted about the vandalization Wednesday.
“Suppose it was bound to happen eventually,” the BID tweeted. “Some genius decided to leave a note in red nail polish.”
Though the group is brushing up on its “nail polish removal tactics,” a representative said the sign may have to be removed soon for cleaning.
Bloomingdale Bakery Grassroots Gourmet to Close — The bakery at 104 Rhode Island Ave. NW announced yesterday it plans to close after Christmas Eve. [DCist]
Teen Arrested for Fatal Shooting — D.C. Police have arrested an 18-year-old suspected of shooting 23-year-old Eric Garrett multiple times on the 2300 block of 11th Street NW on Sept. 12. Garrett later died of his injuries. Authorities arrested Bikila Kejella in connection with the crime and charged him with first-degree murder while armed. [Washington Post]
Metro Board Approves Cuts to Late Night Train Service — Metrorail service will now stop at 11:30 p.m. on weekdays, 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 11 p.m. on Sundays. Presumably, workers will use the extra downtime to perform more maintenance on the aging rail system. [DCist]
Shaw Bijou Nixes Plans for Membership-Only Bar — Though the pricey eatery originally planned to use its upstairs dining room as a private club, that has apparently changed. The restaurant will now be available to walk-in diners. [Washington City Paper]
(Updated at 12:38 p.m.) Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau is speaking out against an online room rental service after an apparent sting operation revealed an “illegal short-term rental hotel” in Columbia Heights.
Someone was illegally listing a rent-controlled apartment in Columbia Heights on Airbnb, Nadeau said today in a press release.
A recent undercover investigation conducted by several local advocacy groups revealed that the apartment was being run as an “unlicensed hotel” instead of being used to house people or families in need.
“We need to strike a balance between people who are trying to earn a little extra money by renting out a spare bedroom, and people who are using short-term rental platforms to support a commercial enterprise and undermining our efforts to preserve affordable housing,” Nadeau said in a statement. “This investigation shows that we need better rules and better enforcement so that these kinds of abuses are curtailed. In order to protect and expand affordable housing in the District, we need to do a lot more to police this growing problem.”
In response, Airbnb said it helps people in D.C. get “extra income that helps to cover their mortgage, pay down debt, repair their homes and make ends meet.”
The rental service added that it “collected and remitted over $12 million in tax revenue to the District of Columbia” since 2015.
“The vast majority of our D.C. hosts have a single listing on the platform and use home sharing to support their families and everyday expenses,” said William D. Burns, the company’s public policy director in D.C., in a statement. “The District has always been a leader in the innovation economy and any new rules introduced and adopted by the City around home sharing should be fair, progressive, and protect the economic benefits of all residents.”
Read highlights from the investigation in the full press release from Nadeau’s office:
BZA Decision Over Basements Could Mean Less Housing — An upcoming Board of Zoning Adjustment decision regarding the legal definition of a “basement” versus a “cellar” could mean fewer apartments and less affordable housing going forward. [Greater Greater Washington]
Writer Embarks on Sober ‘Jumbo Slice Pizza Crawl’ — Sure, those giant slices of pizza taste great after some drinks, but how do they taste when you’re sober? One intrepid local writer visited three jumbo slice eateries in Adams Morgan to find out. [Eater D.C.]
Meet the Man Behind Many of D.C.’s Viral Campaigns — His name is Erick Sanchez, and he’s behind many of the buzzy local stories that you might read online. To date, Sanchez has organized anti-Trump rallies, helped draw crowds to Comet Pizza and gotten hundreds of people to thank Joe Biden near the vice president’s home [Washingtonian]
Long-Vacant NoMa Building Finds Second Tenant — The D.C. government plans to lease 168,101 square feet in the 12-story building at 1050 First St. NE. [Washington Business Journal]
