A group of thieves wearing black ski masks robbed a man at gunpoint in Park View early on Thanksgiving, police said.
The armed robbery occurred on the 2900 block of Georgia Avenue NW about 3:30 a.m. Thursday.
The victim was walking about a block north of the Howard University campus when three masked men came up to him, according to authorities. One of the men then ordered the victim to hand over his belongings, but he declined.
A beloved Dupont Circle book shop now has a little more breathing room.
Kramerbooks and Afterwords Cafe (1517 Connecticut Ave. NW) unveiled its newly renovated space over the weekend. We first reported the shop was expanding into the former Willie T’s Lobster Shack space at 1511 Connecticut Ave. NW earlier this month.
The expanded space is stocked with dozens of tomes in all kinds of genres. Workers were busy putting the finishing touches on the new area when a Borderstan reported visited earlier this morning.
Before & after! Come and shop our new space! #shopsmall #indiesfirst pic.twitter.com/JbwX8bkkVK
— Kramerbooks (@kramerbooks) November 28, 2016
The shop is also adding new kinds of books, a coffee bar and more space for events, Kramerbooks owner Steve Salis told The Washington Post. Renovations are scheduled to continue at the store over the next 18 months.
“There’s so much history here,” Salis told the Post. “My goal is to bring back some of that flair and energy.”
Pedestrians can now help generate a little electricity by merely strolling through a new “pocket park” near Dupont Circle.
The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) and the Golden Triangle BID today unveiled the “the Connecticut Avenue Overlook,” a new park just steps away from the Dupont Metro station’s south entrance.
The panels, which are made by green energy company Pavegen, generate electricity via kinetic energy to power nearby LED lights.
From DDOT:
The plaza includes a pilot project that features Pavegen pavers, a pioneering flooring technology that converts kinetic energy from people’s footsteps into electricity. The energy is stored in batteries that illuminate accent lights in the park from dusk to dawn. Made from recycled polymer and truck tires, the pavers are both durable and eco-friendly. The pilot project was funded by a $200,000 DC Office of Planning Sustainable DC Innovation Challenge grant.
“[D.C.] is the first city in the nation to deploy this state-of-the-art technology in the outdoor environment,” said DDOT Director Leif Dormsjo during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the park.
PaveGen CEO Laurence Kemball-Cook also gave a short speech about the company’s new kinetic tiles.
“Our plan is to make this the same price as a normal sidewalk,” Kemball-Cook said. “Every major city in the United States will be able to use the energy of the millions of people walking around.”
The biggest moment in our history: ribbon cutting in Washington DC with @LaurenceKC, @UKinUSA , @DDOTDC , @GoldenTriDC #SustainableDC pic.twitter.com/DnX0u0PFZ8
— Pavegen (@Pavegen) November 18, 2016
Earlier this morning, a band of dissidents hoisted a banner over the side of an overpass just north of Dupont Circle.
“Trump & Friends, DC isn’t stupid. Good luck!” the banner read. The group that put it there calls itself the “D.C. Resistance.”
Despite the name, it’s not a resistance in the traditional sense. There will be no sabotage or midnight raids, for instance. But there will be lots of public art, said “J,” a group member who declined to give his full name. Borderstan was able to confirm his group made the banner.
“It’s an ongoing campaign against normalizing Trump’s policy,” J explained. “White nationalists and climate deniers come into D.C. to dismantle our community.”
President-elect Trump has frequently promised to “drain the swamp” in D.C., though exactly what that means isn’t totally clear. Since the election, Trump has set off a firestorm of criticism for his appointment of former Breitbart head Steve Bannon as chief strategist and his transition team’s reported consideration of a plan to create a registry for Muslim immigrants.
The D.C. Resistance exists to remind us that none of this is politics as usual.
“They’re coming in to run the government based on an ideology of white nationalism, climate denialism and a whole host of other values that aren’t lined up with the community we’ve created,” J said. “These people are not normal and they shouldn’t feel welcome.”
The group — made up of “dozens” of members — will resist normalizing the Trump administration through displays of “creativity, art, and solidarity,” which may mean more banners or public art in the coming weeks, J said.
“If the resistance had a message for the incoming administration,” J said, “it’s that the swamp is a great place to live and they’re in over their head.”
Those who want to keep track of the D.C. Resistance can follow its newly created Twitter account.
Photo courtesy of D.C. Resistance
Three men sought in a robbery and pistol-whipping in Dupont Circle last week have appeared in surveillance footage, according to authorities.
The armed robbery occurred on the 1700 block of N Street NW about 4 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 6.
Video police released today shows three men getting in and out of a light-colored sport utility vehicle and walking in an alley.
Four men were near the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle when three other men flashed handguns and ordered them to get on the ground and hand over their belongings, according to a police report.
The victims complied with the demands of the men, giving them money, cellphones, keys and other items. The men with the guns then took turns pistol-whipping a victim in the head before they fled.
Anyone who can identify these individuals or who has knowledge of this incident should take no action but call police at (202) 727-9099 or text your tip to the Department’s TEXT TIP LINE at 50411.
Video via YouTube/Metropolitan Police Department
There’s a new spot for chicken tikka masala and palak paneer in Dupont Circle.
An offshoot of Richmond’s Lemon Cuisine of India opened at 2120 P St. NW earlier today. The new restaurant occupies the space once filled by Crios Modern Mexican, which closed in February.
The eatery serves Indian fare “made from scratch,” said owner and chef Gurjeet Singh.
A walk through the restaurant’s menu reveals crowd-pleasers like chicken tikka masala, palak paneer and six types of biryani. Diners can also order tandoori-roasted lamb, shrimp and several types of naan.
“I’m using my own spices that I create,” Singh said. “All made from scratch, all fresh and healthy.”
Lemon Cuisine will also serve beer, wine and cocktails as soon as it gets its liquor license, Singh added.
This is the first expansion of the Richmond Indian restaurant, but likely not the last. A Lemon Cuisine of India branch is also scheduled to open soon in Los Angeles.
It’s official: Kramerbooks is expanding into the space next door.
Kramerbooks and Afterwords Cafe (1517 Connecticut Ave. NW) is building out the former Willie T’s Lobster Shack space at 1511 Connecticut Ave. NW, according to Kramerbooks COO Jamie Galler. We first caught wind of the expansion last week.
Galler talked about the company’s plans during a meeting of Dupont’s ANC 2B last night.
“We are expanding into the space next door,” Galler said. “We anticipate opening to the public… probably the week after next.”
The expansion will “give business, particularly the cafe, some more breathing room,” Galler said. As a result, the shop will have more room to sell a wider variety of books.
A representative for the book store didn’t respond to a request for additional details.
District residents in need of a post-election hug will be able to find one in Dupont Circle this evening.
A “solidarity hug-in” is scheduled to take place around the Dupont Circle fountain at 6:15 p.m., according to a Facebook event post.
Locals participating in the hug-in are instructed to turn on their phone flashlights when they arrive to show they’re in need of some TLC.
More information from the Facebook event page:
As an attempt to overcome the politics of hate and fear, let’s all get together and hug. If enough people show up, we’ll hold hands and sing, “This land is my land.” With some radical acceptance and love, maybe we can start understanding one another better and work together for a better world. I know a lot of us are feeling alone and distraught.
This is a simple way for us to remind ourselves that we are still here and we are still capable of love and hope. When you arrive, turn on the flashlight on your phone on so we know you’re there with us.
Those who can’t make it to the event but still want to participate can take a photo of themselves hugging someone and tag it with the hashtag #hugyourneighbor.
If Dupont Circle park looks a little less green these days, it’s not just you.
Workers hired by the National Park Service spent the morning and afternoon yesterday digging up rows of pyracantha shrubs in the circle. The plant removal work is part of an ongoing effort to help purge rodents from the park, said NPS spokesman Mike Litterst.
“With the shrubs removed, it will be easier to treat the rat burrows this winter, then the shrubs will be replaced in the spring with a variety that is less appealing to rats,” Litterst said.
So far, the rat abatement effort seems to be working, he added.
“In the first month of our agreement with [the D.C. Department of Health] to assist in treating national park sites, they report that the number of burrows at Dupont Circle went from 150 on October 1 to just 20 on October 29,” Litterst said. “Hopefully, between the D.C. Health efforts and the removal of the shrubs, area residents should be noticing a difference.”
A new dance club will bring Britney Spears, Coolio and Madonna to Dupont later this week.
Decades, a dance spot centered around “retro” music from the 2000s, 1990s and 1980s, is set to open in the former Midtown space at 1219 Connecticut Ave. NW on Thursday, according to managing partner Antonis Karagounis. The club had its soft opening over the weekend.
The club is meant to harken back to the days of D.C.’s long-gone club scene, Karagounis said.
“It’s supposed to bring back the old-school vibe of the multi-level, multi-DJ clubs that defined D.C. Nightlife in the ’90s and 2000s,” Karagounis told us in July. “Decades is supposed to recreate that vibe and atmosphere and give clubgoers a new weekend hangout where they can party and be part of various decades of nightclub music.”
Decades is scheduled to kick off its regular event lineup by hosting a “Throwback Thursday” event on Nov. 10 at 10 p.m. The party will feature three DJs, drink specials, games and “hip-hop from all eras and more blasting through the world class Funktion One sound system available on all four floors.”
(Updated at 11:36 a.m.) A fire erupted in a building under construction in Dupont Circle this morning, causing black, smoke and ash to billow from its roof.
The blaze started on the 1700 block of M Street NW about 10:45 a.m., D.C. Fire and EMS Department spokesman Doug Buchanan told Borderstan.
No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire also wasn’t immediately clear.
Working fire: 1700blk of M St NW – Units on scene, PIO enroute. 9 story bldg. under construction, no inj reported at this time.
— DC Fire and EMS (@dcfireems) November 8, 2016
Building at 17th and M is under construction and on fire apparently? Seems bad! @borderstan pic.twitter.com/b89kLFXv7p
— Travis Hughes (@TravisSBN) November 8, 2016
By 11:10 a.m., smoke no longer was pouring from the building’s rooftop.
Ronald Colbert said he saw the smoke from several blocks away and then rushed over to get a better look.
“It was brown smoke, Colbert recalled. “Then, it turned white.”
Employees at Caruso Florist, the flower shop across the street, said the foul-smelling smoke began pouring out of the building without much warning. The shop’s employees, along with a few hundred more people, lined the sidewalk across from the building for a better look.
The area may be closed for an additional hour or so as fire crews wrap up, according to authorities.
Glen’s Garden Market is slated to mix Thanksgiving food, alcohol and running this weekend.
The grocery store is set to have a “Chicken Crawl” 5K that will begin and end at its Dupont Circle location (2001 S St. NW) Sunday, with a beverage pit stop at its Shaw outpost (1924 8th St. NW). The run is scheduled to start at 11 a.m.
Tickets, which cost $10 online, include a local craft brew or a non-alcoholic local apple cider and help support Martha’s Table, which provides food to homeless locals and other people in need.
Glen’s also will have food samples from its Thanksgiving menu available after the 5K.
“Grab your running shoes and gather your friends for a little holiday mood booster,” the market says on its website.
Image via Glen’s Garden Market
A bar that a former Jack Rose Dining Saloon beverage director is bringing to Adams Morgan is slated to try out some of its cocktails in Dupont Circle later this month.
Trevor Frye’s Marble Alley is scheduled to serve drinks with sherry, whiskey, Chartreuse and other liquor at Hank’s Oyster Bar (1624 Q St. NW) Sunday, Nov. 20, from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m., the forthcoming bar announced on Facebook over the weekend.
The booze is set to include:
The event at Hank’s will be Marble Alley’s second research and development night. Marble Alley previously tested some cocktails at the restaurant in September.
Marble Alley is slated to open with a deli in the former Bardia’s New Orleans Cafe at 2412 18th St. NW in February, according to the Washington City Paper.
Images via Facebook/Marble Alley
The owners of D.C.’s new ice cream roll shop plan to dole out free samples to celebrate the store’s grand opening this weekend.
IcyCode (2029 P St. NW) is slated to hold a grand opening party with free samples this Saturday, Nov. 12, from 3-6 p.m. When the store opens, it will serve Thai-style ice cream rolls in flavors like cappuccino, baked Alaska, chocolate mousse and green tea mochi.
According to a Facebook event post, Saturday’s party will be a “free tasting event” for people curious about the frozen treat.
The shop’s employees were hard at work making last-minute preparations when a Borderstan reporter visited IcyCode earlier today.
“We’re doing a lot of fun stuff,” chef and store concept developer, Yuanchi You told Borderstan last month. “I will put a lot of my touch into it.”
Three thieves with guns jumped out of a sport utility vehicle in Dupont Circle and used their weapons to hit a man before they robbed him and three other men with him over the weekend, police said.
The armed robbery happened on the 1700 block of N Street NW about 4 a.m. Sunday.
The victims were just north of the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle when a newer model Ford Explorer or Jeep with tinted windows pulled up to them, according to authorities. Three men then got out of the vehicle, and all of them flashed handguns as they ordered the victims to get on the ground and give up their belongings.
