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IN THIS ISSUE IN THIS ISSUE
NEWS · 5 - 7
ABOUT THE COVER
Shown on Cecil Place: Darrell Johnson, floor lead, and Megan Norgan, assistant store manager and visual merchandiser, both of the Rapha bicycle apparel shop on Grace Street. Photo by Gregory “Fritz” Blakey of Fritz Photographics.
Town Topics
EDITORIAL/OPINION · 8 Editorials CAG Update Guest Column for Ad Tax
Bike Fever
Ins & Outs
REAL ESTATE · 13
A Place for Everything June 2020 Real Estate Sales
CLASSIFIEDS · 16 Service Directory
OBSERVATIONS AT LINCOLN PARK BY R OBERT D EVAN EY
The 1876 Emancipation (or Freedmen’s) Memorial. Photo by Bill Starrels.
Downtown News
Kitty Kelley Book Club
SENIOR WRITER Stephanie Green
PHOTOGRAPHERS Philip Bermingham Jeff Malet
CONTRIBUTORS Mary Bird Susan Bodiker Allyson Burkhardt Evan Caplan Didi Cutler Donna Evers Michelle Galler Amos Gelb Wally Greeves Kitty Kelley Rebekah Kelley Jody Kurash Shelia Moses Kate Oczypok Linda Roth Alison Schafer Mary Ann Treger
Allen Lew. Courtesy City University of New York.
DOWNTOWNER · 17 BOOK CLUB · 18
GRAPHIC DESIGN Troy Riemer
BY R IC H AR D SEL D EN
Artswatch
Everything But Water
FASHION & BEAUTY SENIOR DIRECTOR CORRESPONDENT Lauretta McCoy Peggy Sands
DISTRICT PLANNER AND BUILDER ALLEN LEW DIES
ARTS · 14 HAUTE & COOL · 15
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Robert Devaney
FEATURES EDITORS COPY EDITOR Ari Post Richard Selden
ADVERTISING & MARKETING Danielle MartinTaylor Kate Sprague Richard Selden
COVER · 10 - 11
BUSINESS · 12
PUBLISHER Sonya Bernhardt
DELI’S PLANS PERK UP STUDENTS, RESIDENTS BY C H R ISTOPH ER JON ES
Future Call Your Mother location at 35th and O Streets NW. Georgetowner photo.
1050 30th Street, NW Washington, DC 20007 Phone: (202) 338-4833 Fax: (202) 338-4834 www.georgetowner.com The Georgetowner is published every other Wednesday. The opinions of our writers and columnists do not necessarily reflect the editorial and corporate opinions of The Georgetowner newspaper. The Georgetowner accepts no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs and assumes no liability for products or services advertised herein. The Georgetowner reserves the right to edit, rewrite or refuse material and is not responsible for errors or omissions. Copyright 2020.
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TOWN TOPICS
NEWS
30+ Years Experience
Council Approves Tax Increases, Cuts to Police
BY PEGGY SA NDS A lively preliminary budget hearing on July 7, ending with a unanimous vote of approval by the District Council of D.C.’s redone $16.7-billion fiscal 2021 budget, did not, for the most part, follow Mayor Muriel Bowser’s guidelines. Against the mayor’s urging to hold off on tax increases until next year, the Council voted to raise an extra $63 million by increasing some business and other taxes, including a three-percent tax on all advertising. The Council also approved cutting funding to the Metropolitan Police Department by $15 million, which could result in a decrease of about 200 officers. The funds would be redirected mainly to social ser¬vices designated by the Council, including mental health assistance in schools, some $50 million for repairing public housing and $5 million for the
term — voted unanimously for the new budget, though Pinto had run on a platform of practicality and reluctance to increase taxes. They approved a gas tax increase of 10 cents per gallon and an $11-million reduction in a tax break for technology companies, as well as budget amendments that lowered the threshold for imposing estate taxes from $5.6 million to $4 million. In addition, a tax break for corporations was postponed. But the Council voted 8 to 5 to reject a tax increase on incomes higher than $250,000 proposed by member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6) — claimed by Pinto as a role model, incidentally. Some Council members were concerned that the three-percent advertising tax could hurt small newspapers operating on thin margins. Rebecca Snyder, executive director of the MDDC Press Association; Hal Schild, president of the American
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District Council Phil Mendelson. Georgetowner photo. cash assistance program for undocumented immigrant workers. On July 4, Bowser wrote to D.C. lawmakers that it would be “fool¬hardy to raise taxes this year,” given the uncertainty of the economy. She said that she would make up an $800-million shortfall in revenue largely by tapping D.C.’s still substantial reserves and freezing salaries and hiring. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson agreed. “Revenue projections are likely to shrink again when forecasters revise their estimates in late summer,” he said. “That will force the Council to revisit the budget and find new cuts or ways to boost revenue. The prudent thing is to wait and hold tax increases for that eventuality.” The Council will probably have to increase the unemployment insurance tax paid by employers, he noted. But other Council members, including Brooke Pinto — the Democratic nominee for the Ward 2 seat, recently sworn in to serve out the remainder of Jack Evans’s
Advertising Federation’s D.C. chapter; and Lisa Reynolds, executive manager of the Maryland D.C. Delaware Broadcasters Association, called the tax “devastating,“ writing that it “will drastically impact local media companies’ revenue streams and the ability of newspapers and broadcasters to serve as ‘first informers.’” Their statement continued: “Taxing advertising and advertising services will choke economic growth and create a domino effect. Ironically, less advertising — leading to fewer sales — could actually lead to reduced sales tax revenue and slow the District’s economic growth.” The budget hearing, held virtually via Zoom, was variously described as harried and chaotic. Critics of the new taxes objected to their being passed with less than 24 hours’ notice and without an opportunity for public comment. The final vote on the budget, which must be approved by the mayor, is expected later this month.
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TOWN TOPICS
Sidewalk Widening Plans, Concerns in Georgetown BY PEGGY SA NDS As Georgetowners cautiously leave their shelter-in-place abodes during the second of four phases of D.C.’s reopening, an inherent charm of the town has become a focal point for change: the narrow, crowded sidewalks. How can Georgetown’s attractive brick sidewalks be widened to accommodate diners, lines of customers, sidewalk sales, curbside pickups and drop-offs, merchandise deliveries and trash storage and collection in front of businesses — as well as space for pedestrians — all while following the District’s coronavirus social distancing restrictions? Even more of a Georgetown problem: how to maintain vital parking spaces that may be replaced by bike and scooter paths and corrals, parklets and streetside dining areas? “Time is of an essence to decide what to do,” said Jamie Scott, the Georgetown Business Improvement Dist rict’s planning and economic development director, at the June 29 meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E. “Not one size fits all. It will be more like a block-to-block approach impacting commercial side streets, M Street and Wisconsin Avenue up to probably Q Street. We are still in the planning process after numerous meetings, trying to find what changes each business needs and how to implement phased approaches for different options and different scales of change.” “No one is talking about these being permanent changes,” ANC 2E Chairperson Rick Murphy emphasized. “But our ANC requests to be a full partner in the development of this pilot program to ensure it is meeting the community’s needs throughout its life.” Some of those needs, identified in a
June 29 resolution sent to the District Department of Transportation, include: increasing bike and scooter parking locations that will not impede vehicular traffic, prohibiting scooter and bike use on the sidewalks, negotiating with private parking lots (including those of temporarily closed banks) for low parking fees, addressing unnecessary sidewalk impediments such as unused newspaper boxes and ensuring that curb cuts and tree boxes serve those with different mobility needs. “This all needs to be put on a fast track, especially for restaurants,” said Georgetown business owner and former Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Ed Solomon. “Needs of local diners, especially on N, P and O Streets, who drive should come first. They depend on parking on Wisconsin Avenue and 31st Street.” “We obviously want to be as supportive as we can for Georgetown business to survive and thrive,” said Bill Starrels, like Solomon a former advisory neighborhood commissioner. “One of my concerns is that the changes protect pedestrians from errant vehicles.” Starrels favors filling road barriers as full of water as possible and installing “Barnes Dance” signal timing at major intersections, so that all pedestrians cross at the same time, separated from all vehicles. “Parking for commerce is essential,” Starrels added. “We don’t want to force Georgetown customers and staff to park in the residential streets.” For now, however, parking meters and rush-hour parking restrictions in Georgetown are not being enforced, police officers told The Georgetowner on July 9.
Francis Scott Key Park. Georgetowner Photo.
Francis Scott Key Park Vandalized BY R OBERT D EVAN EY A Georgetown park dedicated to Francis Scott Key, author of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” and to the flag was vandalized during this summer of protests and unrest. The park, the bust of Key and the flagpole which flies the 15-star, 15-stripe American flag, officially known as the Star-Spangled Banner, was created by Georgetown residents and businesspersons with private donations. The acre at 34th and M Streets NW, next to Key Bridge, was given by the Francis Scott Key Foundation to the American people in 1993. It is part of the National Park System. Key lived in Georgetown, D.C., from 1804 to around 1833 with his wife Polly and their six sons and five daughters. Their land was across from what is now the Car Barn (3500 block of M Street) and their backyard went all the way to the Potomac River; the C&O Canal did not yet exist. A lawyer and an orator, Key was involved in his church and community in the town of 5,000 Georgetowners. He was the district attorney for Washington in the Jackson and Van Buren administrations.
Of course, he is best known for penning what became America’s national anthem during the bombardment of Fort McHenry in Baltimore during the War of 1812. Key is criticized in the 21st century for being a slave owner, yet he also represented a young Black man suing Georgetown College for his freedom in the 1830s. Over the weekend in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, protesters toppled statues of Francis Scott Key and Father Junípero Serra, as well as a bust of President Ulysses Grant. Coincidentally, a 1991 cross-country flag relay to Georgetown’s Francis Scott Key Park began in front of the Key statue in San Francisco. On June 23, the National Park Service’s Dana Dierkes, chief of interpretation, education and outreach for Rock Creek Park, told The Georgetowner: “The statue of Francis Scott Key at the Francis Scott Key Memorial in Georgetown was vandalized recently. The U.S. Park Police have taken a report of the vandalism, and Rock Creek Park staff plan to clean the statue this week.”
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TOWN TOPICS
GU Reopening Plan Unveiled BY KAT E OCZ Y P OK
or unrealistic for them to study from that location, a limited number of seniors and others whose graduation requirements make it necessary to be on campus and some resident advisors for the dorms. Students on campus can expect to see nurses, ROTC cadets and seniors in five-year master’s programs. Students will be living in residence halls and in single rooms. They will need to cooperate with current public health protocols in the midst of the pandemic — including being tested for COVID-19 upon returning to school. Students will also be provided with masks and personal protective equipment, reported student newspaper the Hoya. Community members are to report symptoms through a mobile app or a questionnaire. Those who are symptomatic or
working hard to enhance the online learning experience. Should the pandemic worsen, GU will transition back to all-virtual instruction. Regarding fall sports, the school has been in contact with the NCAA, the Big East and the Patriot League to coordinate plans. On July 13, the Patriot League Council of Presidents announced a conference-wide decision that student-athletes will not engage in fall sport competition; this decision affects GU’s football and women’s rowing programs. Details regarding other student activities and extracurricular programs will be announced closer to the fall opening date. “Student-led organizations and co-curricular activities play an invaluable role in fostering a sense of community and belonging,” DeGioia wrote.
John DeGioia President of Georgetown University. Georgetown University President John DeGioia posted a letter on the school’s Facebook page on Tuesday, July 7, reviewing the school’s plan for reopening this fall. The news comes on the heels of lots of frustration from students, including petitioning for reduced tuition. The plan is to reopen in stages, welcoming about 2,000 undergraduates to campus first. Those who will be invited back to campus include the freshman class of 2024, those whose permanent address makes it impossible
have been in contact with a sick person will be tested periodically. DeGioia’s letter also mentioned that, given any improvement with regard to pandemic conditions, the next phase would happen. That phase allows additional students back to campus, starting with the senior class of 2021. As of now, GU is planning for some classes to be taught virtually and some to be taught in-person. DeGioia reassured students that, since the school transitioned to virtual learning in March, educators have been
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CAG Report: Georgetown Together
EDITORIAL/OPINION
BY TAR A SAKR AID A PAR KER
Send Your Feedback, Questions or Concerns, Tips and Suggestions to editorial@georgetowner.com or call 202-338-4833
D.C.’s 2021 Budget: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly “Budgets,” theologian and activist Jim Wallis once observed, “are moral documents.” The founder of Sojourners was onto something. With their emotionless, seemingly objective numbers, they reveal who we are as a people by what they fund and what they leave out. D.C.’s multibillion-dollar budget is such a document. Written in uncertain times, it proposes, among other things, to freeze salaries and hiring, tap reserves and raise select taxes — all in the name of plugging revenue losses due to the pandemic’s impact on nearly every sector of the city’s economy. Everyone will find something to love or hate about the proposed budget. But for The Georgetowner and all other local publications, digital or old-school, the three-percent tax on advertising could be ruinous. Local media has never been more important — or more threatened. The rise of Facebook, Google and other
mega-platforms has sucked the lifeblood from our operations, leaving us to find other means to underwrite our work. With already thin margins and a hurting advertising community, this tax is a blow upon a bruise. We totally support the commitment by the Council and Mayor Bowser to raising taxes to fund the services and programs that help the District’s most vulnerable residents. We get the math. The money has to come from somewhere. But taxing advertising is akin to kicking the media when it’s down. We urge the Council to revisit this increase. And we urge you, our readers, to contact Ward 2’s new Council rep, Brooke Pinto, and make known your opinion on this and other budget issues. We also encourage you to support the Georgetowner Stakeholder Campaign to keep our presses rolling. To do so, visit georgetowner.com/stakeholder.
New Tax Will Devastate Local News, Ad Agencies BY R EB E CCA S NYDER , H A L S C H I LD A N D LI S A R E Y NOL D S With no opportunity for the public — including those businesses most affected — to share their opinions, the D.C. Council last Tuesday granted preliminary approval of a new, devastating, three-percent sales tax on advertising and sales of personal information, supposedly to help balance a budget ravaged by COVID-19. Part of the proposed 2020-21 budget, this new tax would be levied on the planning, creation, placement and display of advertising in print, broadcast and digital media. The Council released the new $18-million tax less than 18 hours before unanimously voting in favor of it. Where does this new repressive tax leave District residents and businesses? They’ll be left footing the bill for these additional taxes at the worst possible time. Small business owners across the District are facing multiple unprecedented challenges just to survive during the COVID-19 pandemic. Affordable advertising is vital right now for businesses as they begin to reopen, so they can carry their message to potential customers. Advertising connects consumers to products and enables businesses to grow. Adding a shortsighted three-percent tax will mean they have even fewer dollars to spend on advertising, which in turn will lead to further declines in revenues and rising unemployment. And the District’s consumers will suffer, too. It is fanciful to imagine that businesses 8 JULY 15, 2020
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can singlehandedly absorb substantial new taxes, on top of the devastation brought about by the pandemic, without passing along those costs to already hard-hit consumers. When the cost of advertising goes up, there is less advertising, which leads to less consumer demand. Lower consumer demand reduces revenue, creates fewer jobs, slows the economy and reduces the tax’s usefulness as a revenue source. What happens when advertising is taxed? The effects are sobering. Arizona, Iowa and Florida each passed broad advertising taxes years ago, and each state later repealed the tax. Since 1987, when Florida repealed its advertising sales tax, 40 states have considered and rejected the idea. Florida’s experience is instructive. There, dollars spent on advertising fell by 12 percent after the ad tax went into effect, and the tax was extremely difficult to administer. The tax was an abject failure; it was repealed in a special session just five months after it took effect. Experience closer to home also provides a cautionary tale. Maryland legislators this year passed a tax on digital advertising. The governor ultimately vetoed that tax, calling it “unconscionable” during the COVID-19 pandemic and economic crisis. In addition to everyday consumers, businesses and jobs will be dramatically affected by this legislation. Before the pandemic, advertising expenditures
Martin Luther King Jr. said: “Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’” I couldn’t agree more; it is the reason I am so proud to be serving as president of the Citizens Association of Georgetown — an organization that is of our community and for our community. We are living through a time when it is difficult to know how to help our neighbors and our neighborhood. Since the start of the pandemic, we’ve been told to do nothing, to simply stay home. Doing nothing is “helping.” But I know how much the people of Georgetown want to give back, and how frustrating it is to do nothing. I hope that part of the way you will help your neighbors and your neighborhood going forward will be through getting involved with CAG. The reopening and recovery of Georgetown will be a challenge. It will require teamwork. A strong citizens association, fully engaged with all community members, can serve as a powerful foundation for tackling the challenges we face. The Citizens Association of Georgetown was the District of Columbia’s first civic group. Like many historic organizations, CAG must work hard to connect with and include all residents and stakeholders. We must — and we do — welcome support and
volunteerism both from Georgetowners who have lived here for decades and from those who have only been here a few months. I have not called Georgetown “home” as long as many of you, but the people and work of CAG are why I felt at home here, right from the start. When Betsy Cooley recruited me to serve as a committee volunteer, in spite of the fact that I’d only lived here a short time, I knew I was becoming part of the Georgetown family. As CAG president, I want to send a clear message: The doors of CAG are open to all those who want to be involved in making Georgetown the best it can be. Our volunteer committees will be a pipeline for leadership in the organization, full of opportunities to help our neighbors and to create a culture of collaboration. For more than 250 years, Georgetown has been a vibrant residential and commercial community. There have been plenty of tough times along the way. History is full of pain, but it is also full of triumph and joy. I believe we have a chance, working together, to make Georgetown’s next historic chapter its best yet. To get involved in CAG, send us a message through our website, cagtown.org, and stay tuned for a website renovation in the coming months. I look forward to hearing from you! Tara Sakraida Parker is president of the Citizens Association of Georgetown.
What should be the new name of the former Washington Redskins? YOUR OPINION MATTERS. Post your response. Facebook.com/TheGeorgetowner accounted for $30.4 billion in economic activity in the District of Columbia. That represents 12.5 percent of the $244.2 billion in total economic output for the District, according to economic research for the media and advertising industries that applied a model developed by 1980 Nobel laureate Lawrence R. Klein. The research further shows that sales of products and services driven by advertising help support 149,579 jobs — nearly 20 percent of the 751,369 jobs in the District. The proposed ad tax would also have a crippling effect on D.C.’s local media organizations, whose businesses serve an essential public service role, especially at a crucial time like this. Advertisers provide almost all revenue for radio stations, the majority of revenue for television stations and a significant part of revenue for newspapers. While the public is constantly reading and watching and listening to their local and national news for the latest information, the companies that advertise in our papers and on our stations have had to make tough business decisions and are pulling their advertising dollars in droves. This is creating a domino effect as local media companies’ revenue streams
are drastically impacted, which puts great stress on newspapers’ and broadcasters’ ability to serve as “first informers,” all at the same time their newsrooms are serving the public virtually nonstop. Increasing the cost of advertising at this time would only make an already bad situation much, much worse. The sales and use tax is supposed to be a consumption tax imposed on an end product, not on an intermediate service such as advertising. Advertising is a communications process that helps produce the final sale of a product, which is most likely already subject to the state sales tax, thus layering tax upon tax. Ironically, less advertising — leading to fewer sales — could actually lead to reduced sales tax revenue. Taxing advertising and advertising services doesn’t make good business or economic sense. It will hurt consumers and businesses and slow the District’s economic growth. Rebecca Snyder is executive director of the MDDC Press Association. Hal Schild is president of the American Advertising Federation’s D.C. chapter. Lisa Reynolds is executive manager of the Maryland D.C. Delaware Broadcasters Association.
Inaction is not an option. Complete the 2020 Census to shape the next ten years for your community. The power to change your community is in your hands. We can help inform funding every year for the next ten years for public services like healthcare, childcare programs, public transportation, schools, and job assistance. And our responses determine how many seats each state has in the U.S. House of Representatives. But time is running out, so complete the census today online, by phone, or by mail.
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COVER
BIKE FEVER FIGHTING PANDEMIC STRESS, D.C. RESIDENTS TAKE TO 2 WHEELS BY CHRISTO PHER JO NES
Biking up Cecil Lane: Megan Norgan and Darrell Johnson, both of the Rapha bicycle apparel shop on Grace Street. Photo by Fritz Blakey. As the summer sunshine glows, a resurgence of bike fever has hit the residents of the nation’s capital. Renewed interest in biking in the bright open air, after months of pandemic lockdown, has spiked demand at local bike shops, which are struggling to maintain inventories as their global supply chains hit bottlenecks. Fortunately, for those seeking solace in the joys of recreational or commuter bicycling, Washington, D.C. — home to hundreds of miles of vaunted scenic bike trails — continues to shine as a world-class biking city, and D.C. bike shops, cycling advocates and the District Department of Transportation are all working to serve bikers’ needs. At Big Wheel Bikes in Georgetown, Manager Ilya Dreyvitser said demand for bikes and bike gear has been the highest it has been since 1971, when the store first opened. “Since you can’t really take a bus and D.C. is only about eight miles across, then biking is the best way to get across town,” he said, “especially for someone who doesn’t own a car.” Now, however, “there are no bikes left, factories are barely running, the shipping lanes suck and there are no components either,” he fretted. “It’s just impossible to get bikes.” When asked about the shop’s current inventory, Dreyvitser replied: “It’s what you see here, man. It’s like 30 bikes. I mean, we have five shops and each of us is holding on to what we’ve got. Everything you see is the ‘Last of the Mohicans.’ It’s like, once it’s gone, it’s gone.” What’s more, he said, “there are a lot of repairs I can’t even finish because there just aren’t the basic parts available.” On Grace Street in Georgetown, apparel shop, coffee bar and cycling club 10 JULY 15, 2020
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Rapha D.C., which specializes in highend, tailored bike wear, Assistant Manager Megan Norgan has “noticed a huge uptick in sales” since the summer began. “We’ve been talking with our friends in the biking industry and they’ve been so busy you can’t even imagine,” she said. “In the month of May last year, they may have sold something like 40 or 50 bikes, but this year they sold, like, 450 bikes,” Norgan shared. “It’s astonishing. The stores are literally running out of stock.” On manufacturers’ websites, “the chance you’re going to find a bike in your size is getting slimmer and slimmer.” For Norgan, this surge in demand is caused by residents looking for alternatives to public transit during the pandemic, along with the joys of summer riding. “People who had a lot of time on their hands and who were probably getting stir-crazy indoors … just want to get out and be free,” she said. Her daily commute by bike from Brookland to Georgetown is both the fastest commute around and the most refreshing. “You’re getting where you need to go, your blood is pumping and the oxygen’s flowing,” she said. Bicycling is a near mystical experience for Norgan, a longtime rider. “It’s really kind of phenomenal,” she said. “Cycling is definitely one of those things which is very singular.” She added: “It’s literally the farthest and fastest you can go using the power of your own body. There’s nothing like it. It’s really special in that way, kind of like a magical invention.” Meanwhile, the city is working to improve D.C.’s biking infrastructure. “The Bowser administration is very proud of our progress toward making the District a safe and inviting place for cyclists,”
said DDOT Director Jeff Marootian. “Just last month, we were honored with the distinction of fourth best bicycling city in the United States by the industry coalition group PeopleForBikes.” His department “remains committed to expanding our bicycling network while ensuring our entire transportation system remains safe for cyclists, pedestrians and all roadway users traveling through the District.” According to Marootian, the District has shown significant progress on bike infrastructure. The Capital Bikeshare system, which Marootian called “arguably the most successful bike-share program in the country,” just announced that 900 e-bikes are slated to deploy in the city by August, adding to the 5,000 bikes currently available at nearly 500 stations in the metro area. DDOT has installed 89 miles of bike lanes in the District since 2001. Twelve miles of cycle tracks, meaning separated bike lanes, have been constructed since 2009. By the end of 2022, said Marootian, DDOT is committed to building over 20 miles of cycle tracks throughout the city, an ambitious plan that “will create a network of protected bike lanes that will allow more people to access a low-stress bicycling experience.” Additionally, DDOT is committed to expanding bike-sharing opportunities to previously underserved communities in the city. “We are focused on making sure that Washingtonians from across all eight wards have access to Capital Bikeshare within one-eighth of a mile of their home or neighborhood,” Marootian said. “Over the next several months, we will continue to install Capital Bikeshare stations across the city with particular focus on stations in Wards 7 and 8.” Motivate, the company
(now owned by Lyft) that produces bikes for Capital Bikeshare, reported that 3,402,525 rides were taken last year. Greg Billing, executive director of the Washington Area Bicyclist Association, agrees that the District is on the right track. The Capital Bikeshare program has been a “game-changer for bicycling in the Washington region,” he said, providing “access to residents, for commuters, for visitors and tourists in the city at a scale that really no other U.S. city had had before Capital Bikeshare launched.” He pointed out that the system has “introduced a whole new circle of riders to bicycling.” Protected bike lanes, like those installed along 15th Street NW, help bikers and car drivers alike be more observant of safety concerns and of each other, Billing observed. With the return of e-bikes to the Capital Bikeshare fleet and the upcoming prospect of dockless bikes — allowing renters to return bikes anywhere — more residents will gravitate toward convenient biking options and away from automobiles. Billing also lauded DDOT’s recent efforts to reduce the cost of rentals for lower-income residents and to expand the program to disadvantaged communities. WABA’s recent “Let’s Get Rolling!” online outreach campaign targeted residents who are new or returning to bicycling, answering basic questions about bike maintenance, riding and trail etiquette. The goal is to keep those riders on their bikes for years to come, Billing said. Why is bicycling so beloved? “The cycle is the most efficient form of transportation ever conceived by man. I mean, nothing else gets like 25 miles to a sandwich,” ventured Dreyvitser of Big Wheel Bikes.
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Eric Brewer and Matt Moore of District Cycle Works on Grace Street, which creates one-of-a-kind bikes for its customers. Photo by Fritz Blakey.
Ilya Dreyvitser, manager of Big Wheel Bikes on 31st Street. Photo by Chris Jones.
STAYCATIONING BY BIKE BY SO PHIA D. MEROW With air travel curtailed, attractions closed, money unexpectedly tight, summer 2020 is shaping up to be the summer of the staycation. European holidays are out, cruises almost unthinkable, even hotel stays fraught with newfound concerns. But our need to escape, to disconnect, to relax — this remains, and is perhaps stronger than ever. We could all use a change of scenery, a headspace reboot. And bikes can help. Staycation plans could include transforming your bathroom into a DIY day spa or pitching a tent in your backyard. But if you’re keen to spend quality time away from the four walls and patch of lawn to which COVID-19 largely confined you all spring, look to your bike to enable a shortto-middle-distance getaway. Maybe you load your panniers with a hammock, a sleeping bag, and a camp stove and head out on a solo bike-packing adventure. Or perhaps you toggle on your out-of-office message and power through that self-paced century you’ve been meaning to tick off your bucket list.
Even for the less rugged and less intense among us, a bike ride offers much of what we look for in a vacation — novelty, a change of pace, opportunities for selfcare — and largely without the logistical nightmares or the expense. Doubtful? Whoosh down a steeply inclined street on a safety-checked steed and tell me that, with the wind in your face and the radar speed sign registering a record, you don’t experience a theme-park-level thrill. Complete a longer-than-you’ve-done-ina-long-time loop around your ’hood and tell me you don’t feel revived in body and spirit as you relish the sensation of well-earned exhaustion. Hop on your bike and take a spin around an area you typically traverse only by car or bus and tell me you don’t notice anything new or different. I bet you smell a scent (honeysuckle? barbecue?) or hear a sound (crows cawing? wind chimes tinkling?) or spy a sight (a wasp’s nest? a vegetable garden?) you would have missed, but for your bike ride.
Wind your two-wheeled way down one of the thoroughfares newly off-limits to cars to facilitate social distancing and you’re liable to discover a small business you’d like to check out or the perfect shaded spot to just sit and be for a moment. Yes, a bike-enabled staycation, whether it’s an extra-long lunch break or sunrise-tosundown in the saddle, is smaller, simpler, less ambitious in many ways than that exotic excursion you perhaps had planned.
But therein lies the beauty. Keen to banish bike-theft worry from your trying-to-chill brain as you vacation this summer? Consider packing one of Altor’s lightweight, foldable APEX locks. Stylish but sturdy, the APEX or APEX Ti will protect your ride while you’re picnicking or cloud-watching or availing yourself of newly permitted outdoor dining options. Be safe, staycationers, and secure your summer! GMG, INC.
JUNE 15, 2020
11
BUSINESS
INS & OUTS BY RO BE RT DEVA NEY
OUT: CHERUB ANTIQUES GALLERY’S LAST DAY IS AUG. 1
Bruce Marine, owner of Cherub Antiques Gallery at 2918 M St. NW, has decided to close up shop. He told The Georgetowner: “After great reflection upon my shop’s amazing history in Georgetown, up to present-day challenges, I have decided to close my M Street gallery storefront after almost 37 years.” The gallery will be open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m. through Saturday, Aug. 1, with the entire collection offered at 20-to-50-percent off. Marine is also available for private viewing appointments. Cherub’s collection includes sculpture, candelabra, art glass and artwork in the Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Arts & Crafts and Vienna Secession styles — with an emphasis on German, French and British examples — as well as an extensive collection of period cocktail shakers, bar accessories and wine accoutrements. To view most of the collection, visit cherubantiquesgallery.com.
OUT: AMERICA EATS, LPQ, PEETS, WSC, LUCKY
Georgetown’s business community, like many across the nation, is taking a hit during the pandemic — on top of the ongoing retail decline.
High-profile chef José Andrés and his ThinkFoodGroup have closed the America Eats Tavern at 3139 M St. NW after opening to much acclaim two summers ago. The news got picked up as an indicator of COVID-19’s lasting impact on the local economy. While eateries shut down in the first month of the pandemic, America Eats Tavern remained in operation to provide meals for the needy from its front door. Andrés continues his work at his nonprofit World Central Kitchen. As for the America Eats menu theme, the restaurant group says it is open to “revisiting this concept in the future.” In the bankruptcy circle or downsizing are the following closed or soon-to-close stores, all on M Street: Le Pain Quotidien, Peet’s Coffee, Washington Sports Club, Lucky Brand, Brooks Brothers, Johnny Rockets, Starbucks and Roots.
COMING: BLU DOT, BOZZELLI’S, DONAHUE, FOXTROT, LE LABO, LEVAIN, UBREAKIFIX, VERONICA BEARD, CALL YOUR MOTHER All is not gloom and doom for Georgetown’s commercial corridors. There is some good business news afoot in Washington’s oldest neighborhood. Set to open soon, according to the
Care For Your Smile And Let It Brighten Your Day! Our 1221 Massachusetts Ave. NW office is open for all treatments. Please call ahead to make your next dental appointment.
Angela Franco of the DC Chamber of Commerce.
Georgetown Business Improvement District, are: Blu Dot furnishings, 3333 M St. NW (the former North Face store); Bozzelli’s pizza and subs at Washington Harbour; Donahue restaurant at 1338 Wisconsin Ave. NW (the former Smith Point); Foxtrot Market at 1267 Wisconsin Ave. NW (the former Jonathan Adler); Le Labo perfume shop at 3005 M St. NW (the former Hu’s Shoes); Levain Bakery at 3131 M St. NW (the former Johnny Rockets); UBreakIFix at 1519 Wisconsin Ave. NW; and Veronica Beard women’s clothing at 1254 Wisconsin Ave. NW (the former Streets of Georgetown clothier). Also opening soon, with all its applications approved, is the Call Your Mother deli and bagel joint at the corner of 35th and O Streets NW, two blocks from the gates of Georgetown University. New stores that made their debut a few months ago include Allbirds and Rothy’s, both shoe stores on M Street, Georgetown Butcher on Grace Street and — both on Wisconsin Avenue — L.A. Burdick chocolatier and Paddywax Candle Bar. More good news: a pop-up opened on July 2 on the ground level of Georgetown Court at 3251 Prospect St. NW, in the SandboX eatery behind Cafe Milano. Bar Boteco offers Brazilian-style grilled meats in partnership with Claudete Sebben of MK Catering.
COMING IN GLOVER PARK: LITTLE BEAST BAZAAR
citydentaldc.com (202) 628-7979 12 JULY 15, 2020
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John Tsaknis DDS
Set to open early next year, Little Beast Bazaar, a food-hall creation of restaurateur Aaron Gordon, will replace the former Town Hall bar and restaurant at 2340 Wisconsin Ave. NW. It will include “multiple offerings found in the Gordon Food Group portfolio, as well as a new spot from pastry chef Naomi Gallego, formerly of Le Diplomat,
Blue Duck Tavern and Neighborhood Restaurant Group,” according to the Washington Business Journal.
ANGELA FRANCO NAMED DC CHAMBER CEO
The DC Chamber of Commerce announced on July 1 that Angela Franco will join the organization as interim president and CEO. In her new role, Franco will lead the largest and oldest Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C. She succeeds Vincent Orange, who is running for an at-large seat on the District Council. Most recently, Franco served as senior advisor at the DC Health Benefit Exchange Authority, where she supported the organization’s business development efforts and was primarily responsible for growing and strengthening relationships with the small business community. As a member of the senior team at DCHBX, she also worked with the federal and local governments. DC Chamber of Commerce Chair Ajay Madan commented: “This is the perfect time for Angela to lead the Chamber. She is an executive that understands the region from different dimensions — the private, public and Chamber sectors.” He added: “She will enable the Chamber’s board of directors to implement the ‘Chamber of the Future,’ an initiative that began in 2019, and is more necessary to our client members today. Capitalizing on the Chamber’s growth over the past few years, the Chamber is focused on providing more value to our members, ongoing advocacy on their behalf, working together to provide support, education, relevant programs and opportunities to expand their businesses in social-distanced and virtual environments and partnering with all groups and the citizens of D.C. to come back from COVID-19.”
REAL ESTATE
A Place for Everything EVERY INCH COUNTS IN THIS ARTFULLY TRANSFORMED BURLEITH TOWNHOUSE BY SU S A N BODIKE R
JUNE 2020 SALES
PROVIDED BY WASHINGTON FINE PROPERTIES
“I create spaces the way I imagine using them,” says architect, artist and native Washingtonian Chryssa Wolfe about her unique approach to home building and design. “I always like to leave a little something behind, to welcome the buyer on the first day in their new house.” In the newly renovated townhouse at 3721 Reservoir Road NW, the “little something” turned out to be a live-edge wood dining table and midcentury cloth chairs, nestled against a built-in banquette strewn with colorful pillows. “That way,” she adds, “when people move in, they can have a proper sit-down dinner, even if it’s takeout.” Built in 1928, the Burleith home has been thoroughly reimagined. It now boasts a progressive floor plan with over 3,600 square feet of living space on four levels. There are five bedrooms, four and a half baths, four balconies and a cobblestonepaved parking pad in the rear. There is also a charming front yard with a
private seating area and a fire pit — perfect for socially distanced gatherings — and a view of what will become a landscaped green space on the Georgetown University Hospital campus across the street. It is on the market for $2,275,000. One of Wolfe’s first projects as an architect was the design of a yacht’s cabin: “That’s where I learned never to waste an inch!” A similarly space-enhancing approach can be seen in the Burleith home, where every room tells a story and every detail contributes to its function and form. The main door opens into the living room, which features an expansive bay window, a beamed ceiling and sight lines into the back — and heart — of the house. Nicely balancing its culinary and entertaining spaces, the kitchen is fitted on one side with white Shaker cabinets, accented by midcentury-modern gold hardware and marble-veined quartz counters and backsplash. Appliances include an Asko
The kitchen is a blend of formal and functional, with high-end appliances and a little something extra gifted by the designer: a live-edge dining table. Courtesy Homevisit. dishwasher and a Sub-Zero refrigerator (both integrated) and a Wolf six-burner range and double oven. A two-toned island with a bar and a farmhouse sink faces the slightly more formal dining and sitting area, defined and anchored by a charcoal feature wall with classic wainscoting. Up on the second level, there are two large bedrooms, each with deep customfitted closets, balconies and elegantly finished en-suite baths with decorative marble flooring and tile. The third level boasts a venting skylight with a paneled shaft and a hall bath with a zellige-tiled shower and a double-sink vanity. Two additional rooms — one with an especially romantic balcony — can be
ADDRESS
SUBDIVISION/NEIGHBORHOOD
1405 34th St NW 4929 Rockwood Pkwy NW 3100 35th St NW 2029 Connecticut Ave NW #71 3218 Volta Pl NW 3329 Prospect St NW #PENTHOUSE 6 2718 32nd St NW 1310 Q St NW #2 3239 38th St NW 3401 Prospect St NW 3115 Normanstone Ter NW 3140 Highland Pl NW 3734 Chesapeake St NW 3722 R St NW 4433 Lowell St NW 3303 Water St NW #2M 3310 Rowland Pl NW 2204 Decatur Pl NW 1217 S St NW 1920 Biltmore St NW 2357 Ashmead Pl NW 4617 43rd St NW 1514 T St NW 1510 30th St NW 3130 Ordway St NW 3908 Hillandale Ct NW 919 S St NW 2314 20th St NW 3927 Massachusetts Ave NW 3911 Harrison St NW 3007 Albemarle St NW 3249 P St NW 3317 Cleveland Ave NW 1317 35th St NW 4358 Argyle Ter NW 5710-1/2 Sherier Pl NW 6626 31st Pl NW
GEORGETOWN SPRING VALLEY CLEVELAND PARK KALORAMA GEORGETOWN GEORGETOWN MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE HEIGHTS LOGAN CIRCLE CLEVELAND PARK GEORGETOWN MASSACHUSETTS AVENUE HEIGHTS CLEVELAND PARK WAKEFIELD BURLEITH WESLEY HEIGHTS GEORGETOWN CLEVELAND PARK KALORAMA OLD CITY #2 KALORAMA TRIANGLE KALORAMA TRIANGLE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY PARK SHAW GEORGETOWN CLEVELAND PARK HILLANDALE SHAW KALORAMA TRIANGLE CLEVELAND PARK CHEVY CHASE FOREST HILLS GEORGETOWN WOODLEY PARK GEORGETOWN CRESTWOOD PALISADES CHEVY CHASE
BEDS
FULL BATH
7 4 6 5 5 4 5 3 6 8 5 4 6 5 5 2 5 5 4 7 5 3 4 3 4 3 5 5 3 3 4 3 6 6 6
7 5 6 4 4 3 8 3 5 4 4 3 4 4 4 2 4 2 3 4 4 3 3 4 3 3 3 3 2 4 4 3 5 4 4
configured as offices (WFH in style!) or as a bedroom and a den. The lower level, which opens out to the driveway, includes a bedroom with a built-in platform bed, a window seat and bookshelves for maximum storage, a full bath with a patterned concrete floor, a family room with a kitchenette and a mudroom with custom built-ins. Offered at $2,275,000, the newly restored five-bedroom, four-and-a-half bath home at 3721 Reservoir Road NW is listed with Washington Fine Properties. For details, contact Nancy Taylor Bubes at 202-3867813 or nancy.taylorbubes@wfp.com. For a virtual tour, visit bit.ly/31u83MW
HALF BATH
LIST PRICE
4 $21,000,000 $5,950,000 2 $5,495,000 $4,500,000 1 $3,899,000 1 $3,995,000 1 $4,550,000 1 $3,250,000 1 $2,849,000 $2,998,000 2 $2,675,500 1 $2,495,000 1 $2,499,000 1 $2,375,000 1 $2,350,000 $2,195,000 1 $2,195,000 1 $2,250,000 1 $1,979,000 1 $1,795,000 1 $1,695,000 $1,695,000 $1,800,000 $1,795,000 1 $1,789,000 1 $1,865,000 $1,799,000 1 $1,895,000 1 $1,895,000 1 $1,530,000 $1,799,000 $1,725,000 1 $1,700,000 $1,595,000 1GMG, INC. $1,790,000 JUNE 15, 2020 1 $1,700,000 1 $1,695,000
CLOSE P
$17,250 $5,800, $5,150, $3,900, $3,700, $3,650, $3,500, $3,150, $2,765, $2,625, $2,550, $2,470, $2,400, $2,375, $2,350, $2,195, $2,195, $2,000, $1,930, $1,850, $1,850, $1,801, $1,800, $1,795, $1,789, $1,780, $1,770, $1,750, $1,745, $1,730, $1,725, $1,725, $1,700, $1,700, 13 $1,695, $1,675, $1,660,
ARTS
DC Artswatch BY R ICH ARD S E L DE N
NATIONAL GALLERY REOPENS GROUND FLOOR
The National Gallery of Art will reopen the ground floor galleries in its West Building — the floor below the fountain level in the museum’s original building — on July 20. Free passes for timed entry between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. will be released on Eventbrite on Mondays at 10 a.m. for the following week, subject to building capacity and safety. Face coverings are required and visitors are to practice six-foot social distancing. No passes are needed for the adjacent Sculpture Garden, also open daily from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
SIGNATURE THEATRE COFOUNDER LEAVES
Eric Schaeffer, 57, artistic director of Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia, which he co-founded in 1989 with Donna Migliaccio, left the company on June 30. Schaeffer’s retirement followed socialmedia posts by actors Thomas Keegan and Joe Carlson regarding alleged incidents of sexual assault on them by Schaeffer. The incidents, said to have taken place at events in 2016 and 2018, were the subject of a third-party investigation by Signature in 2018, which found the allegations “not credible.” At press time, a new artistic director had not been named.
IN-PERSON SHOWS AT BLUES ALLEY
Currently streaming shows, legendary Georgetown jazz club Blues Alley is taking reservations for a limited schedule of live, in-person performances in August, with face masks, social distancing and other precautions. Two shows per night are currently available on Aug. 4 (Unit 3 Deep), 6 (Jeff Kashiwa), 8 and 9 (Melba Moore), 11 (Got My Own Sound Band), 13 and 14 (Sy Smith), 15 and 16 (Art Sherrod Jr.) and 27 to 30 (Cyrus Chestnut).
The Atlas, A Joy of Motion location. Photo by Smallbones.
DANCE CENTER ROILED BY RACISM CLAIMS
Former Signature Artistic Director Eric Schaeffer.
Joy of Motion Dance Center — with locations on H Street NE, in Friendship Heights and in Bethesda, Maryland — is investigating claims of racism at the nonprofit, DCist reported on June 25. Among the examples were alleged racist
remarks made by longtime instructor Helen Hayes, who was named director of Joy of Motion’s Dance Institute in 2016. Earlier last month, former faculty member Lorianne D’Orazio launched a change.org petition calling for new leadership. The center was founded by Michelle Ava in Dupont Circle in 1976.
NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS THRIVE
Georgetown Village NEED A HAND? In this challenging time call to learn about our new membership payment plan - $50 a month. Friendly volunteers will grocery shop for you, drive you to medical appointments and pick up prescriptions. They’ll visit with you in person or on the phone. You’ll enjoy our regular Zoom program, “Covid, Cocktails and Conversation,” and many other social events. Members call Georgetown Village a “lifesaver!” As one put it, “Whatever you need, the Village folks just do not say ‘no.’ Always ready, willing and able!”
STAY IN CHARGE OF YOUR LIFE! (202) 999-8988 • www.georgetown-village.org
14 JULY 15, 2020
GMG, INC.
HAUTE & COOL
EVERYTHING BUT WATER BY A LL Y S ON B UR K H A R DT
As summer heats up, we find ourselves looking for ways to cool down, the most important of which is to hydrate. While water is the key to healthy skin — it detoxes and repairs! — it has a diluting effect in skin care. The growing trend in beauty is rooted in a wide variety of plant-based oils. These highly effective floras are hand-sourced in the most rare and pure environments. Sea Buckthorn is found in the highest of the Himalayas and the lotus leaf extract is grown in the mineral-rich volcanic island of Jeju. Their beneficial oils are used to create customized compounds that instantly hydrate and resurface the skin. Waterless formulas range from deodorant to shampoo to sunscreen and are earth-friendly. This next wave of beauty brands is using everything but water to create more effective, sustainable products. So let’s dive right in. Allyson Burkhardt is the founder of Let’s Get Dressed! Image & Style Services. Visit her on the web at letsgetdresseddc.com.
W I N D F I E L D FA R M
Middleburg, Virginia • $11,000,000
1
SWELL SKIN DRY BODY OIL MOISTURIZER
2
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OWA HAIRCARE MOONDUST HAIR WASH $29 credobeauty.com
MOONLIT SKINCARE MIDNIGHT SHIFT OVERNIGHT FACIAL OIL $34 yesshemay.com
DEERFIELD
Upperville, Virginia • $5,800,000
5
LIQUE COSMETICS CARE LIP BUTTER $10 Target
6
THE PURE LOTUS JEJU LOTUS LEAF ESSENCE $64 Peach & Lily
A R L I N GTO N FA R M
Marshall, Virginia • $4,950,000
221 acres | Brick manor house c. 1844 | 4 BR, lovely kitchen, multiple porches, pine floors, 7 FP, original mantels, large windows, detailed millwork | c. 1810 log cabin/pool house, guest house, 2 tenant houses | Equestrian complex on separate 40 acre parcel, 24 stall stable, indoor arena, outdoor ring, jump field and 3 BR cottage, sizable pond | 6 Parcels
296 acres of farmland off the Atoka Road | Working farm in crops and hay and improved with multiple large farm buildings and 3 cottages | Beautiful building site for a main house if desired | Conservation easement allows for 1 division and permits construction of an indoor area and additional equestrian and farm buildings | Mix of open land, creeks, pond, woods, pasture, crops and rolling topography
Paul MacMahon
Helen MacMahon
Helen MacMahon
(540) 454-1930
TATA HARPER HYDRATING FLORAL MASK $95 Sephora
c. 1853 colonial | House & property have been meticulously restored | 8 BR, 9 full BA & 3 half BA | 9 FP, antique pine floors, high ceilings, detailed millwork, gourmet kitchen | 466 rolling acres | Mountain views & frontage on Goose Creek | Guest house, office, 8 stall barn w/apt, 4 additional stalls, lighted sand ring, tenant houses, greenhouse, c. 1800 lime kiln cottage | Property is fenced, ponds, creeks & woods w/ trails
(703) 609-1905
3
(540) 454-1930
French Country home, recent renovations | 4 BR, 5 full & 2 half BA, 5 FP, hardwood floors, flagstone terrace | Beautiful drive to hilltop setting overlooking lake & mountains | Improvements include pool, 2-car garage, 2 BR guest house & apartment | Lovely boxwood gardens | 79.89 acres
Paul MacMahon Helen MacMahon
(703) 609-1905 (540) 454-1930
PHEASANT’S EYE
S TO N E B R I D G E FA R M
Solid stone home c. 1790 expanded to 5 BR | First floor master suite and large family room additions | 10 FP, antique floors and millwork | Extensive outdoor living spaces, large pool and terrace, multiple outbuildings | 2 car barns used to garage 20+ cars | Accommodates large scale entertaining
Main house c 1890 with total renovation & expansion 2003-2004 | Stone and stucco exterior | 4+ BR, 5 1/2 BA, 3 FP, exposed beams, vaulted ceilings, recording studio | Beautiful gardens, in-ground pool with spa | Terrace overlooking spring fed pond, 72.1 acres, 2 barns, totaling 14 stalls | Fenced and cross fenced, mature woods with riding trails | Close to Leesburg and Middleburg
Spectacular hilltop setting, bold mountain views and Paris valley views | Home updated in 2017 | 4 BRs, 4 BA, 3 FP, gourmet kitchen, vaulted ceilings, skylights, lovely gardens, walkways and terrace | Improvements include in ground pool with spa | 2 stall barn with tack room, room for horses, spring fed pond |13.37 acres next to parkland surrounded by large estates
Impressive and elegant home | Main level master suite opens to large blue stone terrace & private garden | Gorgeous finishes through out the home | Stunning living room opens to the dining room & a wall of windows and french doors | 2 wood burning fireplaces,
Helen MacMahon
Paul MacMahon
Paul MacMahon
Helen MacMahon
Middleburg, Virginia • $3,200,000
(540) 454-1930
info@sheridanmacmahon.com www.sheridanmacmahon.com
Leesburg, Virginia • $2,725,000
(703) 609-1905
(540) 687-5588
H I L LC R E S T
SPRING GLADE
Middleburg, Virginia • $3,900,000
Upperville, Virginia • $1,425,000
(703) 609-1905
4 CHINN LANE
Middleburg, Virginia • $1,295,000
new roof, new siding and updated kitchen and baths, lots of storage | Absolutely turn key | 2 car garage and greenhouse
(540) 454-1930
110 East Washington Street Middleburg, Virginia 20117
GMG, INC.
JUNE 15, 2020
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CLASSIFIEDS / SERVICE DIRECTORY NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS THRIVE
Georgetown Village NEED A HAND?
Our friendly volunteers offer help with everyday tasks. Whether it’s changing a light bulb or driving you to the grocery, Georgetown. Village volunteers help you! Stay in Charge of Your Life
(202) 999-8988 • www.georgetown-village.org
CHEVY CHASE FLOOR WAXING SERVICE
BUILD IT BETTER • Kitchens • Bathrooms
Polishing, buffing, and waxing to preserve and protect your fine wood floors, using old-fashioned paste wax. Family owned and operated for 30 years. Licensed Bonded Insured 301656-9274, Chevy Chase, MD
• Counter-Tops • Carpentry • Windows/Doors • Plumbing • Electrical • Tile • Shower Doors • General Repairs 301-779-8837 www.iBuildItBetter.com Licensed DC 3661- MD 41353 Servicing DC/MD for over 25 years
SERVICE
FOR RENT
PRIVATE TENNIS LESSONS
$25 for one hour private lesson in Georgetown and NW DC 202-333-3484 -Mark Harmonjacqueline47@yahoo.com
CONTINENTAL MOVERS
Moving hauling deliveries 25 years Int the business (202) 438-1489 (301) 340-0602 wmora52607@msn.com www.continentalmovees.net
FOR SALE DREAM HOME
$2,185,000 dream house for sale 5Bed/5bath parking for 5, elevator 4692sf DC house for family or Airbnb making $25,000 a month. Elizabeth Jessup 202-965-4369
THE POWER OF LOCAL.
The Georgetowner is mailed to all 7,700 RESIDENTS & BUSINESSES in Georgetown. CALL TO LEARN MORE 202-338-4833
Drive Thru Service Available Now To meet the needs of our neighbors! 202.333.8232
1310 Wisconsin Ave. NW, Washington DC 20007
1310KITCHENDC.COM
16 JULY 15, 2020
GMG, INC.
Located on Wisconsin in the Georgetown Inn
NEED IT? RENT IT?
Rent by the day, week, or month. Brooke Rental Center Vienna 321 Mill St, NE (703) 938-4807 JCB@brookerental.com www.brookerental.com
HANDYMAN SERVICES Carpentry Plaster & Drywall Doors/Windows Cabinets/Shelves Counter Tops Painting/Finishing And much more
Over 30 years our craftsmen do quality work: remodeling building or restoring Joel Truitt Builders, Inc. 734 7th St. S.E. (202) 547-2707 QUALITY SINCE 1972
ACE WINDOW CLEANING, CO.
Residential specialists inside and outside. Family owned and operated for over 30 years. 301-656-9274 Chevy Chase, MD • We also offer glass, screen, and sash cord repair service • Ask about our no damage, low pressure Powerwashing.
DOWNTOWNER
THOMAS & TALBOT REAL ESTATE Opening the door to Hunt Country for generations
Holly Hill BY KATE OCZ Y P OK
NAACP TO MOVE HEADQUARTERS TO D.C.
The NAACP, headquartered in Baltimore since 1986, will relocate to the Frank D. Reeves Center for Municipal Affairs at 14th and U Streets NW after the building is renovated. The Reeves Center was opened by former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry in the 1980s as a way to bring businesses to an area still affected by the 1968 riots. Prior to moving to Baltimore, the civil rights organization had been based in New York City for more than 70 years.
with the landlord on lease-renewal terms, Eater DC reported. Restaurants and bars can’t operate at full capacity until there’s a COVID-19 vaccine or cure, believed to be at least a year away. Other closures: Post Pub on L Street NW, after nearly 50 years, and the Source by Wolfgang Puck, beneath the former Newseum.
HOPKINS ADVANCES NEWSEUM BUILDING PLANS
Last month, Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University closed on the acquisition of the former Newseum building at 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, where the school intends to consolidate some of its D.C. offerings. The debt-ridden Newseum, which opened its D.C. facility in 2008, closed at the end of 2019 after its parent, the nonprofit Freedom Forum — which had been providing an annual subsidy of about $20 million — agreed to the sale.
NEW BAR COMING TO 14TH ST. CORRIDOR
MARRIOTT WARDMAN PARK TO CLOSE?
After 102 years, one of D.C. bestknown hotels may close its doors for good. Coming off a pandemic-related closure, the Marriott Wardman Park, off Connecticut Avenue NW in Woodley Park, is likely to cease operations on or around Aug. 21, reported WJLA, which was alerted by a hotel employee to an emergency Zoom teleconference at which John Boardman, executive secretary-treasurer of UNITE HERE Local 25, shared the proposed plans.
RESTAURANTS, BARS DROPPING LIKE FLIES
Dupont staple Eighteenth Street Lounge will close after 25 years. Co-founder Farid Nouri said he couldn’t reach agreement
Jane Jane, a new bar masterminded by D.C. hospitality virtuosos J.P. Sabatier, Drew Porterfield and Ralph Brabham, will settle into an 860-square-foot corner of 14th Street NW this fall with some pandemic-related adjustments. The bar, styled with a retro vibe, will specialize in traditional Southern cocktails. Its name is said to be inspired by Brabham’s mother, affectionately nicknamed Jane-Jane, who just so happens to live in the South.
Middleburg, VA ~ Gracious and elegant stone manor conveniently located just 2 miles outside the charming village. Historic property on 3 parcels has been meticulously renovated with luxury finishes and tasteful upgrades throughout. Four bedrooms, 4 ½ bathrooms. Master suite with rooftop deck, 2 bathrooms, paneled library. Formal dining room, large family room with stone floor. 6 fireplaces. Chef’s kitchen with Carrera marble and Lacanche range. Beautiful gardens. Guest house. 2 ponds. 2 barns. Dressage and jumping arenas. 1 hr from Georgetown. Conservation easement potential.
37+ acres
$3,299,000
Herringdon Farm
PEAPOD USERS SHIFTED TO NEW PLATFORM
After dropping the Peapod brand last fall, Giant has brought its grocery delivery service fully in-house under the name Giant Delivers. Former Peapod customers’ accounts are being shifted to the new shopping app and website. The site includes rewards, coupons and pharmacy and wellness items. Giant is owned by Netherlands-based conglomerate Ahold Delhaize, which bought Peapod in 2001 and also owns Food Lion and Stop & Shop.
The Plains, VA ~ Great country retreat. Beautifully sited for privacy and surrounded by larger farms. Charming Virginia farmhouse with parts dating back to 1880s. 5 bedrooms, 3 ½ remodeled bathrooms. New stainless steel appliances. Hardwood floors. 2 fireplaces. 3 covered porches. Sunset views. 75’ pool, spa and vine covered pergola. Separate 3 car garage with equipment storage building. Garden cottage. Back up generator. High speed internet. Excellent ride out potential. Protected by conservation easement. Low property taxes. 1 hr from Georgetown.
21.4 acres
$1,600,000
Emily Ristau 540-454-9083
Licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia
The Adams Morgan Business Improvement District has posted signs urging the use of masks during the pandemic to protect the life of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Courtesy Adams Morgan BID.
2 South Madison Street | PO Box 500 | Middleburg, VA 20118 Office: 540-687-6500 | thomasandtalbot.com Offers subject to errors, omissions, change of price or withdrawal without notice. Information contained herein is deemed reliable, but is not so warranted nor is it otherwise guaranteed. Georgetowner-Emily.indd 1
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KITTY KELLEY BOOK CLUB
‘Mary Todd Lincoln: A Biography’ UNSUNG OR UNWELL? REEVALUATING THE FIRST LADY THROUGH A FEMINIST LENS R EVIEWE D BY KIT T Y K E LLE Y “Mary Todd Lincoln remains America’s most provocative First Lady,” writes Jean H. Baker in the first sentence of her preface to the 2008 edition of her 1987 work, “Mary Todd Lincoln: A Biography.” Some might dispute her premise of “most provocative” by pointing to Eleanor Roosevelt, Nancy Reagan or Hillary Clinton, who all managed to set the country’s teeth on edge during their husbands’ presidencies. Yet, as provocative as the others were, none was ever institutionalized for insanity. Mary Todd Lincoln was committed to an asylum at the instigation of her only surviving son, years after her husband was assassinated while sitting next to her at Ford’s Theatre on April 14, 1865 — “When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom’d.” By then, the Lincolns had buried two of their four sons; she would bury a third a few years after the president’s death. Her dressmaker, Elizabeth Hobbs Keckley, wrote of the former first lady’s inconsolable grief: “[Her] wails of a broken heart, the unearthly shrieks, the terrible convulsions.” To show such raw emotion was considered unseemly behavior for a 19th-century woman, another blight on a battered public image.
Streaked with tragedy, she, like Queen Victoria, wore widow’s weeds for the rest of her life. With few friends and scant resources, she turned to shamans and seers and spiritualists for emotional support, and to health spas for relief from physical ailments. As a young woman, Mary Todd was smart and assertive, with a flair for drama. Highly educated, she spoke French fluently and wrote with grace. Born in Kentucky, a slaveholding state, she left her wealthy Confederate family to move to Springfield, Illinois, where she met Abraham Lincoln, whom she shrewdly predicted would rise to the nation’s highest office. Unlike other women of her era, she was politically astute. She relished being her husband’s career helpmate and continued as his political advisor in the White House, which prompted the men around the president — and the male historians who revered him — to brand her as “unwomanly.” She was certainly not a woman of her time, which is why Baker describes her as “among the most detested public women in American history.” Mary Todd Lincoln did not know her place. She was expected to present herself
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as a demure wife, concerned only with hearth and home. Later, as a presidential widow, she was expected to fade from public view, but she refused. She needed to be both acknowledged for herself and applauded as the wife of a great man. Always in financial straits, she haggled with merchants to get lower prices, frequently refusing to pay. She battled Congress over her pension, fought with her son over her inheritance and drew national scorn when she offered her extravagant White House wardrobe at public auction to pay off her debts. In 1996, the establishment of the National First Ladies Library and Museum in Canton, Ohio, convinced Baker that the study of presidential wives had been elevated from its “former status as a frivolous female diversion [to a] legitimate historical endeavor of social, political and cultural importance.” A professor emerita at Goucher College with three published works on the Civil War era, Baker was well equipped, with the reissuing of her biography, to present Mary Todd Lincoln with a new feminist sensibility. Previously, first ladies had been relegated to small dress-and-dish displays in their husbands’ libraries, but now, with their own museum, presidential wives could be considered seriously. So Baker sought to position Mary Todd Lincoln as a victim of unsympathetic patriarchal portrayals, rather than “a one-dimensional human being, a stereotype of the best-hated faults of all women.” On that, she succeeded. Her well-written biography — with its 2008 updated preface — presents the “most provocative First Lady” in all her messy complexities and confounding contradictions. Yet reviews
were mixed. The New York Times praised Baker’s study as “rich in new research” and “wider in scope than any published to date,” but faulted her for not determining decisively whether Mary Todd Lincoln was insane and deserved to be incarcerated or merely temperamental and difficult. The Christian Science Monitor applauded Baker for writing an “excellent, enticing book” and turning “biography into social history at its best,” but made no mention of the incarceration. Surprisingly, no reviews of the biography noted the treachery of Lincoln’s only surviving son, Robert Todd Lincoln, who was humiliated by his mother’s public displays and engineered a trial to have her committed. After managing to prove herself mentally competent, Mary Todd Lincoln left the asylum, saying she could never forgive her “monster of mankind son,” and would end her days “childless.” Mother and son never spoke again. Sadly, she, like King Lear, learned “how sharper than a serpent’s tooth it is to have a thankless child.” Georgetown resident Kitty Kelley has written several number-one New York Times best-sellers, including “The Family: The Real Story Behind the Bush Dynasty.” Her most recent books include “Capturing Camelot: Stanley Tretick’s Iconic Images of the Kennedys” and “Let Freedom Ring: Stanley Tretick’s Iconic Images of the March on Washington.” She serves on the board of Reading Is Fundamental, the nation’s largest children’s literacy nonprofit.
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