Ed. Note: Message below is from National Park Service regarding the North Michigan Park-Fort Totten Metro Station Pedestrian Trail received on August 11, 2022.
From Kym Elder
Thank you for writing and/or contacting us. We understand the frustration with this closure and project.
The National Park Service (NPS) is finalizing the redesign of the trail, which includes protection of the WMATA Metrorail tunnels directly below the trail, which were uncovered when we re-started construction last year.
As previously noted, we have completed all our munitions testing and have not found any issues of concern.
The re-design work should be completed by late November with construction to resume early spring 2023 and completion in the 2023 summer/early fall season.
We are asking the neighbors refrain from moving the fencing or putting materials on the trail surface. Rather, we ask that users utilize the trail just to the east of the construction site, or walk around the block to get to the Metro.
If you have additional questions, please feel free to contact me, Kym Elder, Program Manager, Civil War Defenses of Washington at kym_elder@nps.gov.
We thank you for your patience.
Kym Elder Program Manager Civil War Defenses of Washington National Capital Area
Ed. Note: The message below is from Stefan Templeton, Senior Market Manager for the Van Nesss Farmers Market & Bertie Backus Farm Stand. The application form linked in the message below references April 2022 Van Ness Market deadlines and fees. Interested vendors for the Bertie Backus Farm Stand should still complete the application form. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Questions may be directed to vannessfarmersmarket@udc.edu.
By R. Stefan Templeton
Firstly, on behalf of UDC’s College of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability and Environmental Sciences (CAUSES), I would like to apologize for the cancellation of the Bertie Backus Farmers Market on the past two Saturdays, July 30 and August 6. Frankly, we have been searching for a reliable produce vendor to commit to servicing the market after 11th-hour cancellations by produce vendors.
We are very pleased to announce that Gray Lane Farms, a local woman & minority-owned farm has committed to maintaining the produce stand starting August 27 going forward until November 26. I should note that Gray Lane has been certified as a Produce Plus provider and will be able to accept DC’s Produce Plus cards.
We humbly request that community members come out to support our endeavor to bring quality produce and local vendors every Saturday from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at UDC’s BertieBackus campus located at 5171 South Dakota Avenue NE, Washington, DC 20017 (near the Fort Totten Metro station on the Red, Yellow, and Green lines).
In the interim period of the next 2 weeks, we will be working to collaborate with community members to better market this reopening. We have reached out to the local ANC members and hope to promote this opportunity to all comers.
Please note that any community members who are interested in becoming vendors, may complete the application here. We are actively recruiting vendors for the remainder of this season and for the next season of 2023. Please feel free to email me any questions or comments. We look forward to seeing you at the market.
The message below is from Lamond-Riggs Library Children’s Librarian Jesse Williamson. If you are interested in joining the library’s email distribution list to receive updates regarding children’s programming at the library, please send your name, email address, and children’s ages to jesse.williamson@dc.gov.
Hello families of Lamond-Riggs,
Thank you to everyone for your feedback on our survey. We appreciate your input and are looking forward to moving forward with children’s programming rooted in your families’ needs, wants, and schedules.
First, as part of our discover summer program, Lamond-Riggs will be hosting master storyteller, Diane Macklin, for Riddle Me This: Stories to Solve this Saturday August 13th at 11:00 am. This is an interactive program that features stories for the audience to solve and enjoy from around the world. For more details see https://dclibrary.libnet.info/event/6996167.
Family Story Time will return Tuesday August 16th from 10:30-11. We are also pleased to announce that we will also be adding a weekly Wednesday evening Family Story Time beginning Wednesday August 17th from 5:30-6pm. This date and time was decided based on the results from our survey and we are excited to be able to offer an additional story time for the Lamond-Riggs families.
Per the system wide story time calendar, story time will be offered every week Tuesday morning and Wednesday evening from August 16th-October 5th.
Additionally we will be offering an Art and Movement program aimed at families with children age 0-5 on Saturday Mornings beginning Saturday August 27th from 10:30-11:00. This program will alternate between Movement weeks and Art Weeks.
Movement Weekswill be similar to story time with songs, stories, movement activities, and dance.
Art weeks which will have stations with crafts, art materials, or sensory stations for families to explore.
More information will be available soon on this program and as always feel free to reach out to Jesse with any questions about this program. Please see the schedule below for each week’s focus.
August 27th: Movement
September 3rd: Art
September 10th: Movement
September 17th: Art
September 24th: Movement
October 1st: Art
October 8th: Movement
For our age 6-12 families, given the interest we saw in STEM in our survey, we will be starting a weekly STEM World program Thursday Afternoons from 4:30-6pm. This program will feature a guided STEM activity, experiment, or demonstration each week followed by a chance to continue the engagement through projects and crafts as well as moving through STEM stations (ex: Legos). The guided portion of this program will take place from 4:30pm-5pm with the STEM stations remaining open for self guided exploration from 5pm-6pm. This program will begin Thursday September 1st. We look forward to engaging with our young community members and fostering their love and interest in STEM.
Explore! Children’s Festival August 13, 2022 1:00 pm-3:00 pm The Modern at Art Place 400 Galloway Street NE Free
Activities
The Cowboy Barry Petting Zoo
Ice cream & snacks
Snowcones
Magician
Face painter
Balloon twister
Kid crafty hour
Story time (2:30 pm-3:00 pm)
Glad to see Explore! Children’s Museum return with children’s festivals in the neighborhood. They are always a good time for families with children. This will be a 4-week series of festivals on August 13, August 20, August 27, and September 3.
There is still time to pick up petitions to run for a seat on the Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) in ANC 4B and ANC 5A in the November general election. Petitions are due at 5:00 pm on August 10, 2022. Information about how to run for the ANC is available on the Board of Election website at https://dcboe.org/Candidates/ANC-Commissioners.
Each ANC commissioner represents approximately 2,000 residents who make up a single member district (SMD). Redistricting following the 2020 Census adjusted the boundaries of ANC single member districts. These new boundaries will become effective in January 2023. ANC redistricting opens the door for new ANC commissioners in ANC 4B and ANC 5A, the two commissions that cover Riggs Park. You can double check your SMD to make sure you are running in the correct SMD with the Office of Planning 2023 ANC/SMD locator.
For the SMDs covering parts of Riggs Park, individuals have picked up petitions for ANC 4B10 (Stefan Nagey), ANC 5A01 (Duvalier Malone), ANC 5A02 (Karlus Cozart) and ANC 5A09 (Zachary Ammerman). That leaves ANC 4B09 as one Riggs Park SMD without a candidate to date.
[Edited to add: The boundaries of Riggs Park generally are New Hampshire Avenue NE to the north, Eastern Avenue/MD-DC border to the east, Galloway Street NE to the south, & the Metro red line tracks to the west. So The Modern at Art Place and Aventine at Fort Totten are in Riggs Park. I don’t make the rules. Lamond is north of New Hampshire Avenue NE to Underwood Place NE/NW. Together, they make up Lamond-Riggs.]
ANC 4B09
ANC 4B09 includes Fort Totten Square, Riggs-LaSalle Recreation Center, LaSalle-Backus Education Campus, the few businesses across from Fort Totten Square, EYA’s Riggs Park Place, and lots of residents east of South Dakota Avenue NE and north of Kennedy Street NE. The second phase of Riggs Park Place is anticipated to break ground sometime in 2023, so it would be great to have someone paying attention to that project. If you live in that area and you have been thinking about running for ANC, there is still time to pick up petitions and get signatures in by 5:00 pm on August 10.
ANC 5A
Maps of ANC single member districts 5A05, 5A06, & 5A07, all of which need candidates to run for ANC.
Outside of Riggs Park, there are a few seats in ANC 5A that still do not have a candidate – ANC single member districts 5A05, 5A06, and 5A07.
Working from north to south.
ANC 5A07
With redistricting, current ANC Commissioner Sandi Washington (5A07) will no longer be in ANC 5A07 in January 2023, so that means someone in the northwestern part of ANC 5A will need to run for ANC 5A07. ANC 5A07 is just west of the Fort Totten Metro red line tracks. This area contains a few apartment buildings (some converted to condos), Mary’s Center Fort Totten location, Mamie D. Lee community garden, and DC Bilingual Public Charter School. DC Bilingual is currently undergoing a big expansion. ANC 5A07 will also include Metro property along 1st Place NE. Metro has revived plans to develop the long-term parking lot at Fort Totten Metro station. Depending on how quickly Metro moves on that effort, it would be useful to have a commissioner in place to help shape that project. The last time Metro sought to develop the long-term parking lot, Metro officials presented the bids they received privately to just the ANC 5A commissioners. That former plan ended up getting shelved but Metro plans to try again soon. In general though, it would be great to have a commissioner who can proactively work with Metro and the National Park Service about perennial issues with those agencies, both of which have properties with large footprints in ANC 5A that they do not do a great job of maintaining.
ANC 5A06
ANC 5A06 has a mix of single family homes and apartment buildings. A few of the apartment buildings have redevelopment plans. Current ANC Commissioners Derrick Holloway (5A06) and Sandi Washington (5A07) will both reside in 5A06 effective January 2023. I am pretty sure neither plans to run for election to represent 5A06, so if a resident was waiting for one of them to announce plans to run, now is the time to pick up petitions to make sure that area has representation.
ANC 5A05
Pocket of residents outside of the AFRH who could run to represent ANC 5A05
Beginning in January 2023, the residents who live in Park Place and The Cloisters, including current ANC 5A Chair Ronnie Edwards (5A05), will be in ANC 5E. ANC 5A05 will largely consist of the Armed Forces Retirement Home (which has large development plans in store), properties for MedStar Washington Hospital Center and VA Medical Center, and a couple of schools. There is a tiny pocket of residents in the northern portion of the SMD west of Hawaii Avenue NE in between Taylor Street and Varnum Street NE in the few single family homes and apartment buildings (including Brookland Ridge) who could conceivably run to represent ANC 5A05. So on the off chance that there is a reader who lives in that tiny pocket who may be interested in running for ANC 5A05, go ahead and pick up petitions to run. Lots of people will thank you.
Note this opportunity is open to residents of Lamond-Riggs, North Michigan Park, Michigan Park, Fort Totten, Pleasant Hills, Queens Chapel, & South Manor.
Lamond-Riggs/Lillian J. Huff Library Heritage Wall Scanning Session 5401 South Dakota Avenue NE
Fabric “Swatches” | Heirloom fabric patterns, textiles or quilts that were made by you/family members, clothing handed down that has special significance and meaning, or other fabrics and patterns that remind you of something meaningful.
Photographs | Photos that have connections to the neighborhood, historical family photos of Lamond-Riggs residents, family gatherings in the Lamond-Riggs area, celebrations, picnics, or loved ones that have a connection to the neighborhood are welcome. To be respectful of privacy, please make sure anyone pictured in the photograph is also comfortable having their likeness be part of the final, permanent, artwork.
How Can I Participate?
1.Bring Your Materials to an In-Person Scanning Session at the Lamond-Riggs/Lillian J. Huff Library
The Department of Public Works (DPW) Office of Waste Diversion is developing the Zero Waste DC Plan in pursuit of the Mayor’s Zero Waste goal of diverting 80 percent of the District’s waste away from landfills and incineration by 2032. We need input from YOU to help us develop programs and policies to reach this ambitious goal.
Starting August 1, DPW invites DC residents to attend virtual community engagement events to voice their concerns, share their ideas, and help us build a Zero Waste future. There will be one meeting for each of the District’s eight wards, one for the business community, and one for the government.
To learn more about this exciting plan, and to access the entire engagement schedule of events and corresponding public comment periods, please visit zero waste.dc.gov/zwdcplan.
Can’t make it to any of the meetings listed above? No problem! Additional engagement opportunities can be found here. You can also stay in the loop by signing up for our Zero Waste DC newsletter (coming soon).
Please take the Family Programming Survey being conducted by the Lamond-Riggs Library by August 7, 2022.
Library staff are seeking input on family programing options at the library for various age groups, including birth to 5 and 6 to 12. The survey asks questions about interest in evening story time hours, arts/movement classes, and other ideas for family programming.
Next Stop...Riggs Park 