Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6B held a meeting via Zoom and in-person at 700 Penn (700 Pennsylvania Ave. SE) on April 8. On the dais: Tyler Wolanin (6B01); Gerald “Jerry” Sroufe (6B02); David Sobelsohn (6B03, Secretary); Brian Gorman (6B04); Samuel Pastore (6B05); Anna Krebs (6B06, Treasurer); Vince Mareino (6B07, Chair); Edward Ryder (6B08, Vice Chair) and Karen Hughes (6B09).
Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen (D) appeared before ANC 6B as part of his annual spring visits to all of the Ward 6 commissions. He largely focused his discussion on the District budget and the consequences to city services if the US House of Representatives does not a senate bill restoring a $1.1 billion reduction to the District budget. That reduction was imposed by the adoption of a Congressional bill that set federal spending to FY2024 levels but did not make the usual exception for approved District FY2025 spending. See separate article in this issue.
That question, augmented by mass federal firings and the potential for a recession triggered by tariffs imposed in March and early April, could have a domino effect on the city’s FY2026 budget, Allen said. The budget process has already been delayed, the Councilmember added, and residents could see steep and difficult cuts.
Allen also outlined legislation he has advanced in council, including the recently ed STEER Act allows the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) to take individual drivers with high outstanding fines to court. DC OAG has already brought at least three suits. The Plaza Act helps to streamline the process for block parties and asks DDOT to look at ways to create and activate pedestrian plazas. Additionally, Allen introduced a bill, the RESALE Act, that will put a price cap on resold concert tickets at face value plus 10 percent, forbidding “speculative ticket sales,” or sale of a ticket not yet acquired by the seller, and requiring any person or business selling more than 50 tickets annually to with the District. Finally, his Fair Swipe Bill would prevent credit card companies from including taxes and tips when they calculate fees, usually as a percentage of a total bill paid by a customer.
There was no vote related to Allen’s visit.
Gas Pipe Replacement Could Delay SE Library Reno
The ANC voted unanimously in favor of a resolution introduced by Sobelsohn asking Washington Gas to replace and relocate old gas lines that will interfere with the Southeast Library’s new sewer connection. The library does not require a gas connection and Washington Gas said prior to construction their drawings indicated that the pipes would not be a problem, the commissioner said. After construction began, the gas company indicated that the line actually lacks separation from the storm sewer mainline and must be moved but the utility will not do the work unless DC Public Library (DL) pays for it, a cost of $428,476, Sobelsohn said. The lines must be moved by early May 2025 or the renovation will be delayed. The resolution calls on Washington Gas to “do the right thing, and itself pay to relocate and replace its old gas pipes,” urging Mayor Bowser and Council to work with DL, Washington Gas and the Public Service Commission to facilitate the project.
Open Streets Coming to Capitol Hill
For the first time in Open Streets DC history, the 2025 event will take place on Capitol Hill, on June 28 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Closed to vehicles from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. will be North Carolina Avenue SE from Sixth Street SE to Lincoln Park and Massachusetts Avenue from the park to 17th Street. The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is trying to permit Lincoln Park for programming, neighborhood planner Paige Leddy told commissioners.
The purpose of Open Streets is to focus on community building and transportation safety. So popular activations often include free fitness classes, live music, safety demonstrations, bike giveaways or bike maintenance, Leddy said, although the specifics are now in development. The team will not have street vendors but will prioritize businesses within Ward six that focus on health and transportation. There will be bathrooms and water stations. There is no cost to attend.
Leddy said the team will work with the local community, the Main Street organizations and businesses and vendors at Eastern Market to ensure the event showcases priorities in the neighborhood.
The final program schedule will be posted on the website two weeks prior to the event. Residents in the area should pay attention to that site and street signage as vehicles will need to be removed from the route at midnight the night before. Volunteers are welcome. openstreets.dc.gov/pages/spring-2025
In Other Business
The ANC also voted to:
- establish an ANC working group to determine what to do with the $79,000 that the ANC holds in its bank s, including the restrictions around providing community grants.
- request that the commission’s Planning, Zoning and Economic (PZE) and Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis (ABC) Committees discuss ways to maintain diversity of businesses along Barracks Row at their next meetings. Commissioners said the idea is to ensure that businesses like cannabis dispensaries or fast food restaurants do not dominate the retail ecosystem. The committees would provide a proposal on what the ANC could do to encourage diversity. An attendee raised a concern about the use of the word “diversity” and noted that it is a period of economic challenge for business and customers alike. Commissioners clarified that they were interested in commercial variety, and that the goal was not anti-business but rather to a multiple types of offerings.
ANC 6B generally meets the second Tuesday of each month except August. The next regular meeting of the full ANC will be a hybrid online and in-person meeting held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, May 13. See calendar and get information on how to at anc6b.org
