The bike lockers are five cents/hour up to $1.00 a day.
Smart racks are free to reserve through the app. A credit card is required for verification only.
Park your bike for a maximum of 5 days at a time.
Some of the old U-racks have been replaced and are available for use. Old ones in the center median still remain with parked bikes. Bikes must be removed from the old racks by May 8.
Bike removal tag. Photo courtesy Gavin.Old bike parking Fort Totten station.New standard bike racks Fort Totten station. Bike repair station. Photo courtesy Gavin.Bike locker Fort Totten station. Photo courtesy Gavin.Bike parked at smart rack Fort Totten station.Smart bike rack parking instructions.Smart rack help number. Photo courtesy Gavin.Smart rack BikeLink app. Photo courtesy Gavin.
Plymouth Congregational and New Hope Baptist United Churches of Christ host a food pantry 10am-12noon on the fourth Saturday of each month at 5301 North Capitol Street NE.
As a reminder, there are several other food pantries in and around the neighborhood.
DC Bilingual Public Charter School Family Food Market (1st Friday monthly, October through June) 33 Riggs Road NE 11:00 am-1:00 pm Produce & shelf stable items For more information, email uejimofor@dcbilingual.org Sponsored by Capital Area Food Bank
Impact DMV Church(1st Saturday monthly) 5335 1st Place NE 11:00 am-1:00 pm Groceries
Faith United Church of Christ (3rd Wednesday monthly) 4900 10th Street NE 9:00 am (food usually runs out by 11:30 am) Produce market and diaper bank
For more information, contact faithuccdc@gmail.com or 202-635-7777.
LaSalle-Backus Elementary School Family Food Market(Typically 3rd Thursday monthly, October through June) 501 Riggs Road NE (enter on Madison Street side of campus) 3:30 pm-5:30 pm (people start lining up as early as 2:30) Produce & shelf stable items
Riggs-LaSalle Recreation Center(3rd Saturday monthly) 501 Riggs Road NE (enter on Nicholson Street side) 11:00 am Fresh produce, canned goods, & fresh quarter chicken Sponsored by Andre Lee (Lee Little League)/Feed My People Ministry
Mastiha Taverna, one of the vendors at the UDC Lamond-Riggs market, is looking for part-time counter help at their Union Market location, with the biggest need on weekdays.
Reliable, friendly, and food/hospitality-inclined individuals are welcome. If you know anyone who fits that description, please have them send an email to info@mastihataverna.com.
[Ed. Note: Neighbors near or interested in the 801 Buchanan Street NE project should join the distribution list for ANC Commissioner Emily Singer Lucio (5A03). That is the best way to get regular updates about this project. I am not following this project closely.]
From ANC Commissioner Emily Singer Lucio:
Now that the Conway Education Center is complete, the next project will be the demolition of the old Kennedy School building and the construction of the townhomes. The developer has asked to meet with us to give us an update and share a proposed change to the plan. I have scheduled a meeting for Monday at 7:00 pm.
Please encourage all of those within 200 feet to attend the meeting.
ANC 5A Office (ANC 5A) is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Motion to designate the Office of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions (OANC) as the sole agent for 5A solely for the purpose of completing the initial setup, account registration, and 3-year renewal of your supplier profile in the District’s DIFS and PASS systems. Including the Automated Clearing House (ACH) Direct Deposit Authorization Form.
Motion to approve AV/Communications Contract
Commission Action Items/Updates
Motion to amend letter for Boystown Public Space
DC 2050 Committee (co-chairs Keith Sellars 5A01 and Dyanna Weston 5A05)
Taylor Street Joint Committee
Reports & Presentations
The Office of Campaign Finance will give a brief presentation on the Agency’s Campaign Finance Programs.
Art Place at Fort Totten is holding a Pop-Up Art Market on June 20, 2026, and July 18, 2026. They are seeking vendors in the following categories: jewelry, crafts, candles, painting, artwork, body and skincare, baked goods and more.
Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb is seeking nominations for three trustee to run the DC Healthcare Access Trust. The Trust was established as a result of the Attorney General’s review of the sale of Providence Hospital, and it is intended to support the operation of an urgent care center on the Providence Hospital campus, or other charitable healthcare serving the community in the area around the Providence campus.
Nominations must be received by April 8, 2026.
Learn more and nominate a candidate via the online form: oag.dc.gov/Trustees.
OAG will hold two public meetings to share information about the DC Healthcare Access Trust trustee nomination process and answer community questions:
Virtual public meeting on 3/18/26 When: Wednesday, March 18, 2026, 6:30pm – 7:30pm Where: Online webinar (link provided after RSVP) RSVP:oag.dc.gov/ProvidenceMarch18
In-person public meeting on 4/2/26 When: Thursday, April 2, 2026, 6:00pm – 7:30pm Where: Lamond-Riggs/Lillian J. Huff Library, 5401 South Dakota Ave NE, Washington, DC 20011 RSVP:oag.dc.gov/ProvidenceApril2
A neighbor passed along information about an upcoming District Waterways Advisory Commission meeting and survey.
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The District Waterways Advisory Commission invites District residents, partners, and waterway users to participate in shaping the future of our rivers and waterways.
District Waterways Advisory Commission Virtual Meeting April 22, 2:00–4:00 PM This meeting will focus on: • Boating and recreational use of District waterways • Environmental restoration and longterm waterway management
This meeting is open to the public and interested stakeholders are welcome to join as Commissioners begin the work of identifying goals and strategies to promote the diverse uses of the Anacostia and Potomac River, the Washington Channel, and adjacent land.
Share Your Experience Through the Waterways Survey The Waterway Commission wants to know how YOU use the waterways to better understand how residents and visitors experience the District’s waterways and what improvements they have in mind. Whether you boat, paddle, cycle, stroll, or fish along the waterfront, or simply value our rivers, your feedback is important.
Location: Faith United Church, 4900 10th Street NE
Faith United Church is holding its free monthly mobile market on April 16. Fresh fruit/produce, canned goods, protein available, as well as some adult/baby diapers.
In addition, student doctors from Georgetown University Foot Clinic will be on hand to provide foot care. For information and to put your name on the list for the foot clinic, contact (202) 635-7777.
OP estimated the number of additional new homes necessary to keep housing cost increases below the inflation rate. With the Draft FLUM, OP seeks to quantify the number of housing units that would be created by each of the changes.
Draft Ward 4 Neighborhood Proposal
CHANGE AREA 4.4
Location: New Hampshire NW and Riggs Ave NE
Changes in this area include:
· Small-scale residential neighborhoods to moderate-scale residential neighborhoods
These changes are estimated to add 1,050 housing units and 100 jobs.
Draft Ward 5 Neighborhood Proposal
CHANGE AREA 5.1:
Location: South Dakota Ave NE
Changes in this area include:
· Small-scale residential neighborhoods to moderate-scale residential neighborhoods
These changes are estimated to add 60 housing units and 50 jobs.
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I attended the spring workshop and I find OP’s draft changes for Riggs Parks (Change Areas 4.4 and 5.1) to be a bit random. If the goal is to say that we need additional housing units, I think we can look to where we know large institutional properties are going to be developed into new housing, such as the Boys Town and Providence campuses, rather than looking at random parcels of existing semi-detached homes, which is what the Draft FLUM is proposing.
OP Director Anita Cozart explained that they are targeting areas near Metrorail and high-frequency bus routes (I get that). She said the idea is to make way for gentle density like small apartments. When I pointed out that Faith United Church has been trying to build on its property for decades but no change is being proposed for that property, she said OP also wants to keep the areas with proposed changes contiguous and not do one-off changes to individual lots. I get that as well, though I suspect that is exactly what will end up happening for reasons.
I still think that if there are institutional properties that will likely be redeveloped into new housing in the future, then to me it makes sense for that to be reflected in the Draft FLUM. I guess the only reason they are not doing that is that theoretically the institutional use reflected in the FLUM would not preclude developing housing.
For example, Boys Town is shown as institutional on the existing FLUM but it is zoned R-2 which will allow development of semi-detached housing by right. Developer Urban Atlantic is planning to build 166 semi-detached homes there. And 166 homes is already more than the 60 that OP is showing for the random draft change in Change 5.1. Realistically Change 5.1 is not going to result in an additional 60 housing units and that is probably fine. We already have 166 semi-detached homes going in at Boys Town and hundreds more housing units going in at Providence eventually. Furthermore, we know that the 8,000 square foot Main Building on the Boys Town campus will likely need a zoning change or exception in the future for anything to be done with it. It is not going to be torn down. So I think there are missed opportunities here.
It is worth looking at the draft changes elsewhere in the city. I participated in one of the breakout meetings. One of the questions was where to build affordable housing (I assume they were referring to income-restricted affordable housing). Mysteriously one of the assumptions they made when asking the question was that if they continue to build affordable housing in areas well below the median family income, then somehow amenities would follow by adding more low-income households to the mix. I think if the goal is to provide access to amenities, then it makes sense to build/maintain affordable housing in amenity-rich neighborhoods like neighborhoods west of Rock Creek Park and to be very intentional about providing amenities in areas lacking them. Assuming that amenities will somehow simply follow with no thoughtful intentional action does not make a lot of sense to me.
Anyways, be sure to take the opportunity to review the draft map and submit your feedback to OP by April 30.
LRCA will award Academic Excellence Scholarships of up to $2,000 to eligible graduating high school seniors and eligible college or trade school students who demonstrate academic achievement, financial need, and a commitment to community impact.
We asked for this information because we have been asking for the dimensions of the park space and planting areas for some time now and we knew they would have been submitted as part of the public space application. The construction set has a bunch of other useful information like planting, mulch, and watering schedule.
Thanks to reader Connor for passing along info about the upcoming closure of the 7-Eleven by Fort Totten station on May 6. This store has been around for close to 20 years. Another is not too far away at South Dakota and Kennedy.
UDC College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability, and Environment Science (CAUSES) kicked off the farmers market season at the Lamond-Riggs campus on April 3. It will take place very Friday 4pm-8pm at 5171 South Dakota Avenue NE. The market is part of the college’s urban food hub concept at the campus.
There are a few opportunities for residents to get more involved with CAUSES. A couple of highlights:
AgPod Volunteering
Every Friday from 2-5pm o Harvest produce from vertical farm container
Location: Lamond-Riggs Food Hub o 5171 South Dakota Ave NE
Contact: Andy Blunk, andrew.blunk@udc.edu
Participate on the CAUSES Ward Advisory Council
The advisory council for Ward 4 and Ward 5 has space for additional members (2 for Ward 4 and 3 for Ward 5).
The goals of the Ward Advisory Councils are to facilitate communication and collaboration with Ward-specific stakeholders, gain understanding of community needs, and provide guidance on CAUSES program offerings.
Explore! Museum began offering pilot programming at Art Place at Fort Totten in summer 2025. Now they are inviting artists, educators, parents, and neighbors to get involved to help develop a long-term vision for the permanent community institution. They are looking for:
Volunteer instructors
Lead a workshop, share a skill, or test an idea
Artists & makers
Help shape the creative direction of the space
Parent advisory board
Provide feedback to guide programming and priorities
Next Stop...Riggs Park 