Neighbor Gavin shared a few tidbits from DDOT’s recent FY2026 budget oversight hearing.
LaSalle-Backus Elementary School Safety
Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George asked about LaSalle-Backus Elementary School, where parents have been advocating for traffic safety improvements. DDOT Director Sharon Kershbaum said she thinks that LaSalle will be on the list of schools to get a Safe Routes plan in FY26: https://www.youtube.com/live/0lLDVrQZRB4?si=bazkR_-2piRmHtVG&t=2723.
South Dakota Avenue Corridor Safety Study
Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker asked about the South Dakota Avenue corridor safety study. Director Kershbaum said that with the current budget of $1 million, DDOT only has enough money to complete the study and with the remaining balance of funds, install intersection improvements at the most problematic intersections. The agency does not have enough funding to make corridor wide improvements: https://www.youtube.com/live/0lLDVrQZRB4?si=OTpmAIRhqWJiCyi1&t=3365.
[Ed. Note: This tracks what Director Kershbaum said at the North Michigan Park Civic Association meeting on May 7, 2025. There she announced that DDOT will not be installing bike lanes on South Dakota Avenue and instead will only be making spot improvements at key problematic intersections because the agency does not have the money for a road diet. I have long suspected this was always going to be the result, and that is why I encouraged people to give feedback on problematic intersections during the public comment period. I suppose the South Dakota Avenue safety study website will be updated at some point.]
Met Branch Trail Fort Totten to Avondale Segment
Councilmember Parker asked about planning for the MBT Fort Totten to Avondale segment. Director Kershbaum said the agency already has its hands full with currently funded MBT projects and they want to get those segments done first. https://www.youtube.com/live/0lLDVrQZRB4?si=MOMxorN8pInJ61Ap&t=3666.
Metro’s Better Bus revamped bus network goes into effect June 29, 2025, meaning lots of changes to bus routes across the region.
Metro has some really handy tools and information to help riders get acclimated to the new changes, including maps, trip planner information, route information, and other resources. Visit wmata.com/betterbus for details.
Naming Convention
All bus routes will be renamed. Routes will begin with a letter to indicate the area served:
“A” for Arlington/Alexandria
“C” (crosstown) or “D” (downtown) for DC
“F” for Fairfax City, Fairfax County, and Falls Church
“M” for Montgomery County
“P” for Prince George’s County
Limited-stop Routes are indicated by an “X” at the end of their names
Metro has produced really handy neighborhood profiles, which provide a sort of crosswalk between existing routes and new routes. Routes serving the Riggs Park neighborhood are included in the Brookland, University Heights, & Fort Totten profile.
Bus stops being eliminated in and near the neighborhood.
Initial Riggs & South Dakota Park concept plan presented by DPR
On May 20, 2025, DC’s Department of Parks & Recreation (DPR) with their design-build contractor presented an initial concept design for the planned Riggs & South Dakota Park at the southeast southwest corner of Riggs Road & South Dakota Avenue NE.
The simple design consists of a 6-foot path between the row of trees where the slip lane used to be with four nodes of seating along the path. They presented a few different options for the path as well as for seating. They said more of an artsy walkway driven by the community could also be an option. There will be trash and recycling receptacles placed somewhere on the site.
Pathway optionsArtistic walkwaySeating options
The team acknowledged receiving more robust concept renderings produced as part of a collaboration between the Lamond-Riggs Citizens Association and EYA (EYA concept renderings). The team said they are starting with a simple walkway because people cut through the space as a shortcut to get from South Dakota to Riggs. They also said the extensive tree root system from the large mature trees on the site limits where they can excavate and build.
The design is underwhelming and it probably has more to do with the budget than anything else. The budget for the 1.5-acre site is only $337,000, the same amount as the 0.14-acre 19th & L Street NE site that will be transformed into a playground in Trinidad Carver-Langston. Even the examples of previously developed park spaces included in the presentation were of park spaces much smaller in size.
By way of contrast, the similarly sized 1.8 acre Cobb Park that DPR is developing in Mount Vernon Triangle neighborhood has a budget of $2 million. The concept plan for that park space is more robust.
Give Feedback
It is not too late to submit written testimony to ask for more funding. Submit testimony to the Council Committee on Facilities chaired by Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George by 5:30 pm on June 19, 2025.
Residents can also share feedback on the design with DPR outreach specialist Rasheed Jibreel at rasheed.jibreel@dc.gov.
I shared what I heard from residents at the meeting. We know a playground cannot go in this space. A dog park is supposed to be part of the second phase of Art Place at Fort Totten (unclear when that will get built). So at a minimum, it would be great for this park space to have the following:
A winding path so that people can wander or get their steps in if they so choose. I don’t think it is advisable to have a cobblestone for the winding path.
Curvy planting bed areas on the corner of the park space at South Dakota & Riggs so that that area can be used for native planting and a “Riggs Park” neighborhood sign.
A few other curvy planting bed areas scattered around the perimeter of the park site to help control storm runoff (particularly on the downgrade portion near the sidewalk on South Dakota Avenue) and provide some visual interest.
Design/planting for the treebox spaces surrounding the park space given that District government does not maintain those tree box spaces well at all.
A water fountain to fill bottles.
A water source with a hose bib so that residents can help take care of the plantings.
Black Washington globe lights in the park for lighting.
I know people have talked about public art, but that can probably be dealt with later depending on what people are thinking about.
I also think DPR’s process and communication could be a bit better. I think this project has suffered in part because of a change in project managers mid-stream and in part because of a lack of communication between DPR, DDOT, and the DC Council. For a while now, for whatever reason, the right hand did not know what the left hand was doing. Also, DPR was not able to have a site walkthrough with the community because of rain. DPR did not put out a survey to get input and had just one initial meeting with residents on September 24, 2024, at the Lamond-Riggs Library before taking months to then present this pretty underwhelming concept plan on May 20, 2025.
DPR is in the process of refining plans now. It is worth taking some time to share feedback with DPR and to let the council know that $337,000 for 1.5 acres is simply not enough.
Join the Lamond-Riggs Citizens Association Development Task Force* for an update & discussion of neighborhood development projects.
Fort Totten Square (Riggs Road NE Walmart) – New Owner LBX Investments
Art Place at Fort Totten (South Dakota Avenue NE between Galloway & Kennedy) – The Cafritz Foundation
Tuesday, June 17, 2025
6:00pm-7:30pm
Lamond-Riggs Library, Meeting Room 1
5401 South Dakota Avenue NE
For questions, contact task force co-chairs Julia Larsen (julia@lrcadc.org) & Keith Sellars (keith.sellars1@gmail.com)
*Hosted in conjunction with The Parks Main Street and ANC Commissioners Keith Sellars (5A01), Shelagh Bocoum (5A09), Garrett Moore (4B08), Danielle Geong (4B09), & Jinin Berry (4B10).
Every other Silver Line train will run to New Carrollton instead of Downtown Largo.
More Silver Line service during peak times:
Eastbound from Wiehle-Reston to New Carrollton in the morning.
Westbound from Stadium-Armory to Wiehle-Reston in the afternoon.
More Red Line service during peak times:
Trains every 4 to 5 minutes during the busiest portions of weekday rush hours.
Future changes effective December 2025
The extension of the Yellow Line, with half of Metro’s trains operating between Huntington and Greenbelt and half operating between Huntington and Mt. Vernon Sq., will begin in December 2025.
In-station signage maps will be updated in phases. Pay close attention to digital maps, as printed maps will be updated throughout the summer.
This Saturday, June 14, 2025 at 10:00 am, the Lamond-Riggs Library hosts a Special Juneteenth Storytime with the book launch for “Tell Me About Juneteenth” by illustrator DeAndra Hodge.
Free copies of the book will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Supplies limited.
If you have newly planted street trees in front of your house, please water them. Last summer was pretty dry and a bunch of the newly planted trees suffered. If we want a healthy tree canopy to help us breathe and provide shade in the heat, we need to take care of the street trees.
ANC 5A held its monthly public meeting on May 28, 2025. Commissioners present: Keith Sellars (5A01); Timothy Thomas (5A02) – Vice Chair; Emily Singer Lucio (5A03) – Chair & Secretary; Jack Hermes (5A04) – Parliamentarian; Derrick Holloway (5A06); Valeria Sosa Garnica (5A07); Elaine Alston (5A08); Shelagh Bocoum (5A09) – Treasurer. ANC 5A05 is vacant.
The meeting started about 10 minutes late (almost every meeting this year has started late). It was unnecessarily long, lasting until almost 10pm. A timer might be a good idea.
Queens Chapel Civic Association Grant Application (5A02) (Charlotte Lewis, Association President)
The ANC approved a grant for the Queens Chapel Civic Association – $2,300(?) for beautification and $4,700(?) to support their Community Day celebration. They will beautify the three entrance points to the neighborhood and the marker in memory of Rev. David Turner. They will not use grant funds on food for the community day.
Mundo Verde Public Charter School Holiday Construction Request (5A03) (Kristin Scotchmer, Owner-Representative)
The ANC approved a request for Mundo Verde to do construction on two holidays – October 13 & November 11, 2025. Ms. Scotchmer said they are requesting holiday work just in case they need those days because of weather impacts. The project is currently in the demolition phase. They will begin site work soon.
Washington Latin Public Charter School Holiday Construction Request (5A05)
A representative for Washington Latin requested ANC support for construction work on July 4, a Friday. The school is scheduled for substantial completion on July 24 so they wanted the extra day to make sure they hit that target date due to recent rains. This area does not have a single member district commissioner.
The school’s permit already allows for Saturday construction, but the ANC seemed to be confused about this point. The ANC took about 30 minutes to discuss this holiday work request before opposing (2 or 3 voted in support) so that residents were not faced with two days in a row of early construction noise over a holiday weekend.
Medical Cannabis Dispensary Application in North Michigan Park (5A08)
Clinical Health & Wellness has a pending ABCA application to open a medical marijuana dispensary at 4942 South Dakota Avenue NE (the strip mall next to the McDonald’s). The owners attended Commissioner Alston’s (5A08) single member district meeting the day before but did not attend the full ANC meeting.
Residents opposed the application. Residents who attended the SMD meeting thought the applicant was not fully transparent about their relationship with the former applicant or about their plans for the shop. There was a long discussion about what the process was supposed to be and what should go in the ANC letter. Also lots of displeasure expressed with the property owner for not maintaining the property well and for continuously seeking undesirable tenants. The ANC voted unanimously to protest the application.
The ANC also mentioned something about sending a letter of disapproval to the property owner with a copy to Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker, Mayor Muriel Bowser, DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb, and Congressswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton.
Ward 5 MOCR Manager Anthony Black discussed the mayor’s FY2026 budget, which was submitted to the DC Council the day before the ANC’s meeting. Mr. Black stated that despite the city’s budget challenges because of the $1 billion cut to the city’s budget by House Republicans, there will be no furloughs or layoffs of District government employees.
The Pride Parade is on June 7 so make sure you stay aware of transit impacts and road closures.
Ward Days are 10am-3pm on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday when the Ward 5 MOCRs are available to meet commissioners or residents around the ward.
The slide at the North Michigan Park Recreation Center has been repaired.
Mr. Black stated that he would flag concerns about the medical marijuana shop to leadership.
Commissioner Hermes (5A04), the commissioner for the Catholic University area and a Catholic U student, stated that many of his fellow students have lost jobs at neighborhood restaurants that have closed. He said he supports a repeal of Initiative 82 (tipped minimum wage initiative) because he thinks it has negatively impacted restaurants, leading to closure in some instances, and students rely on restaurant jobs to help pay for school. Mr. Black said he would relay those concerns to leadership.
Updated to add: Commissioner Sellars asked if there is anything the city can do to help the National Park Service cut the very overgrown grass at Fort Circle Park. Mr. Black said he would inquire.
Ward 5 Council Report (Andrianna Lovelace, Constituent Services Coordinator for Councilmember Zachary Parker)
CM Parker held a public safety walk in the Trinidad neighbohrood with CM Brooke Pinto who chairs the council’s Committee on the Judiciary & Public Safety.
Residents are invited to walk with CM Parker in the Pride Parade.
Commissioner Hermes raised his concerns about Initiative 82 again stating he supports a repeal becuase of all of the restaurants in Brookland that are closing.
Boys Town Redevelopment (5A02) (Vicki Davis, Urban Atlantic)
Urban Atlantic will be redeveloping the Boys Town campus on Sargent Road NE. The current plan for the 12-acre campus is for approximately 170 duplexes with 10 percent set aside for inclusionary zoning units at 80 percent of area median income.
They plan to open up the campus and build one mile of sidewalks throughout the campus site.
They will keep the 8,000 square foot main building. They have not decided what to do with it just yet. They welcome ideas. Some ideas include a daycare or affordable housing.
They plan to build a small playground that would be the responsibility of the HOA but open to the surrounding neighborhood.
The current zoning designation allows duplexes and triplexes. They thought about asking for more density but decided to stick with what the current designation allows. Because this will be a matter of right development, they only need to undergo large tract review. They are working on their traffic study now. They are aiming to submit their large tract review application in mid-June.
Commissioner Thomas (5A02) and Urban Atlantic will meet with nearby residents soon.
Urban Atlantic developed The Parks at Walter Reed and Rhode Island Row.
RiverSmart Homes (Skye Webster, District Department of Energy & the Environment)
The Riversmart Homes Program provides subsidies to install features to reduce stormwater runoff. Features may include a rain barrel, trees, native gardens, and removal of impermeable surfaces. (It’s a really great program & everyone should sign up.) There is a RiverSmart Maintenance Assistance Program.
Questions about the programs may be sent to Skye Webster at skye.webster@dc.gov.
Commissioner Updates
Commissioner Alston stated that residents at her SMD meeting on May 27 voted to request relocation of the bikeshare station on Decatur Street NE.
Commissioner Hermes stated that he would like to have the ANC’s June public meeting be in person. At this point things got a little hard to follow. Lots of discussion on this. Residents chimed in in the chat that they would like to have a virtual option to make it easier for people to attend meetings.
Then Commissioner Bocoum moved to have the ANC meet in July and August but did not really say why. (Note: The bylaws state the commission is to meet every month except July, August, and December. The ANC voted on a calendar at the beginning of the year). Commissioner Hermes sought to amend the motion to two separate votes, one to meet in July and one to meet in August. Chair Lucio raised the point that if the need arises to discuss specific issues, the ANC could always call a special meeting. By this point it was after 9:30pm. Discussion went on entirely way too long and a couple of the commissioners started being disagreeable with one another. Finally, at Commissioner Lucio’s prompting, Commissioner Bocoum agreed to withdraw her motion so that the ANC could discuss the issue at their next planning meeting.
Then Commissioner Holloway (5A06) wanted to move to have the ANC redo officer elections. He said when the ANC voted on officers at the beginning of the year, there were still a lot of vacant ANC 5A seats. He said that he did not think that Commissioner Lucio should be serving as both chair and secretary (Note: The commission had enough commissioners at the beginning of the year so that there was no need to double up on the chair and secretary position but that is what the ANC voted to do).
This discussion was a lot for residents to witness and went on way too long before Commissioner Hermes finally interjected to say that the issue could not be voted on that evening. He said an executive officer would need to place on the agenda removal of officers and a vote for new officers. Notice would need to be provided at least seven days in advance.
The next public meeting will be June 25. Unclear if the meeting will be in person, virtual, or hybrid. The ANC will provide notice.
The Fridays at Fort Totten summer concert series kicks off Friday, June 6, 2025. The series, sponsored by The Modern at Art Place & DC Fray, features a different artist 6pm to 8pm every Friday through September 5.
Bring a chair, hang out with neighbors, and enjoy live music, a food truck, and games.
Attorney General Brian Schwalb and the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) will be hosting a series of community forums in June and July. District residents will have the opportunity to learn more about the work of the office. Topics to be discussed include public safety, worker’s rights and OAG’s housing and policy initiatives. Mark your calendars for the following dates:
Northeast DC – Tuesday, June 10, 2025: Lamond-Riggs/Lillian J. Huff Neighborhood Library (5401 South Dakota Avenue NE)
All forums take place from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM. District residents can RSVP to their meeting of choice by visiting https://oag.dc.gov/forums.
[Updated 6/8/2025: Ms. Escobar Arevalo has been located.]
[Updated 6/5025 with Spanish language flyer from MPD]
A neighbor passed along information from MPD seeking help in locating Ana “Ceci” Escobar. Please share with neighbors. Hopefully, Ms. Escobar will be found safe and sound soon.
The Metropolitan Police Department is seeking the public’s assistance in locating 40-year-old Ana Escobar-Arevalo, who was last seen in the 5800 Block of 8th Street, NE on May 30, 2025.
Ana Escobar-Arevalo is described as a Hispanic Female, 5’5” in height, 142 pounds, with long brown hair, light complexion, and brown eyes. She was last seen wearing black pants, a black sweater, and black shoes.
She was last observed operating a blue 2008 Honda CR-V, DC Registration EB2261.
Anyone with information is asked to call (202) 576-6768 or (202) 727-9099.
El Departamento de Policía Metropolitana pide la ayuda del público para localizar a Ana Escobar-Arevalo, de 40 años de edad, quien fue vista por última vez en la cuadra 5800 de la calle 8 noroeste, el viernes 30 de Mayo de 2025.
Se describe a Ana Escobar-Arevalo como una mujer hispana de 5 pies y 5 pulgadas
(1.65 m) de estatura, 142 libras (64 kg) de peso, ojos castaños y cabello oscuro.
Fue vista por última vez vistiendo pantalones negros, un suéter negro y zapatos
negros. La última vez que la observaron iba en un Honda CR-V azul de 2008, con matrícula de DC EB22
Next Stop...Riggs Park 