Renovation of Rumsey Pool Begins
The renovation of William H. Rumsey Aquatic Center (635 N. Carolina Ave. SE) kicked off Dec. 19 with a meeting in Eastern Market’s nearby North Hall (225 Seventh St. SE) attended by more than 125 people.
“You said you were expecting a smaller meeting,” a Hill resident in the front row told Tommie Jones, Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) Chief of External Affairs. “I hope this gives you some sense of how loved Rumsey Pool is and by how many.”
The pool renovation has a $37 million budget, making it the largest of the current nine DPR projects in Ward 6. The design-build team was introduced at the meeting, including WKM Solutions, JV HESS and iStudio Architects.
The plan is to demolish the current building and to build a brand-new facility. That complex will include a new pool, but also a senior center with technology hub, a business incubator space and an indoor fitness center.
Project managers took notes as residents attending the meeting offered their suggestions and observations. Some asked DPR to consider using a disinfectant other than chlorine. They asked that the team preserve the number of 25-yard lanes and consider a separate pool to allow for temperature regulation for lap swimmers and others doing water aerobics or walking. They also asked the team to consider future maintenance as they planned features. One proposed that money be taken from the construction budget and applied to future maintenance. “You say ‘state of the art’ and all I hear is ‘that’s going to break,” another neighbor told the team. “I want features that will work even after a rock is thrown at them.”
Jones said the team would be sending a digital survey in early 2025, likely in early February. That data would be used to create initial concepts expected to presented at the next community meeting, which is not yet scheduled. There will be a total of four to five community meetings on the design.
The team said the design process will take a year to eighteen months. During that time the pool will remain open for use. Once permits are obtained at the end of that process, the pool will be closed around January 2026 and demolished prior to construction. Demolition and construction are expected to take about 18 months. That brings us to a ribbon-cutting in approximately summer 2027.
DPR also assured residents that maintenance would continue on the pool for the last year it will be in use. One resident commented that while she appreciates and anticipates the new pool, the ADA access button on the current building door has been broken for two years, making it difficult for her to get in the building. “If you fix that,” she said, “that’s about all I need.”
See slides from the meeting and follow the renovation at https://dgs.dc.gov/page/rumsey-aquatic-center.
Café 8 Ups Age Limit to 30+ at Night
Café 8 wants an older crowd —and Elif Sam from Café 8 said they’re checking ID at the door. Since Nov. 27, the Barracks Row bistro, hookah bar and lounge at 424 Eighth St. SE has required that patrons entering after 8:30 p.m. be aged 30 or older.
The age limit came up during Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6B meeting on Dec. 10 as the commissioners considered a request from Café 8 for a substantial change to their current alcohol license, including an increase in seated capacity from 88 to 180. In 2022, ownership purchased their entire building, planning a slow expansion that is now complete.
Sam said that staff had experienced challenges with the younger crowd, receiving community complaints for instance that people leave the establishment to blast music and party in their car. “Right now, so many places in DC, after the gun situations and robbery, they are trying to push the age limit higher for their own safety too.” Sam said that Café 8 had announced the change on social media to overwhelming positive response. By the Dec. 10 meeting, Ellie said, they had been implementing this for about two weeks.
On Instagram, responses were generally positive. “I may just go back now,” read one comment. “Good call,” was another.
But there are detractors. The day the restriction was implemented, “Asante’ E.” wrote a Yelp review of Café 8. Identifying herself as a regular, she said she would no longer patronize the café. Staff are friendly and it is her favorite hookah bar, she allowed, “[B]ut now they put a 30 and up policy which is not right!” she said.
Asked about the legality of the restriction during the Dec. 3 ABC Committee meeting, Sam said an ABCA licensing specialist told Café 8 that because theirs was a private establishment, there was no objection to setting a higher age limit than 21.
Sam told the Dec. 10 ANC meeting that the café had later gotten similar from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
The District’s Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis istration (ABCA) said their counsel had offered no opinion on the restriction and referred questions to the Office of Human Rights (OHR).
DC’s Office of the Attorney General (OAG) opined on a similar case in 2008. But in that case, the question was of two different age requirements based on gender–women itted at a younger age than men.
OHR said it is not their role to interpret the law in individual cases. However, there is a provision in the law that allows businesses to set age limits under certain circumstances. ”Though the DCHRA generally prohibits businesses that serve the public from refusing to provide goods and services based on a person’s age (D.C. Code § 2-1402.31),” OHR wrote, “there is an exception if the age restriction is necessary for the business to operate effectively.”
DC OAG did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.
Eastern Market’s Maryland Seafood Up for Sale
by Peter J. Waldron
Southern Maryland Seafood owner Richard Glasgow has put it up for sale. The business has operated at Eastern Market (225 Seventh St. SE) since 1936.
The news was shared at the Thursday, Nov. 21 meeting of the Eastern Market Community Advisory Committee (EMCAC) in the North Hall (225 Seventh St. SE) and online.
The potential transaction could change the balance of the market. But that balance is protected by market regulations. Among the more difficult questions are what kind of business could replace the seafood shop.
Under the of its lease with Eastern Market, which is managed by the District Department of General Services (DGS), the type of business that takes the place of Southern Maryland Seafood will have to be approved.
That will be contingent upon having the product assessed as consistent with the purpose of the public market and balanced against offerings from the other South Hall merchants.
Chuck Burger, a member of EMCAC who professionally deals with complex lease negotiations, volunteered to sit in on the Operations Committee, appearing to signal an open mind. “The Market served as a grocery once and now it is more than groceries,” Burger said.
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