
Ward 5 Family Bike Ride
May 17, 2025
10:30 am
Gather at North Michigan Park Recreation Center
1333 Emerson Street NE
Join the ride to Metrobar

DC’s Alcoholic Beverage and Cannabis Administration (ABCA) issued a new placard providing notice of a public hearing for Clinical Health and Wellness, a medical marijuana retailer seeking to open at 4942 South Dakota Avenue NE in North Michigan Park (the strip mall next to the McDonald’s). The property sits in ANC 5A08. ABCA rescinded the old placard. The new protest petition deadline is June 23, 2025.
From North Michigan Park Civic Association
North Michigan Park Civic Association Monthly Meeting
Wednesday, May 7, 2025
6:00 pm to 8:30 pm
FACE TO FACE only
Meeting Agenda
· Call to Order
· Opening Prayer – Silent
· Roll Call of Officers
Meeting Protocol
Community Update
GUEST SPEAKERS
MAYOR, MURIEL BOWSER Q & A
Community Leader Reports
Community Concerns:
Open to residents
Adjourn
From North Michigan Park Civic Association
North Michigan Park Civic Association Monthly Meeting
Wednesday, April 2, 2025
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
VIRTUAL ONLY
Virtual Meeting
Meeting ID 882 7345 2110
Pass code 930240
Call In 1-301-715-8592
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88273452110?pwd=dmZ3R1liOTRKY1FyS3hlYlBqWnBWUT09
Meeting Agenda
· Call to Order
· Opening Prayer – Silent
· Roll Call of Officers
Meeting Protocol
Community Update
GUEST SPEAKERS
Phil Thomas, Director of MOCR and Clean City
Robert Butler, Public Affairs Specialist
Q & A
Community Leader Reports
Community Concerns:
Open to residents
Adjourn
The North Michigan Park Civic Association is accepting scholarship applications for its 2025 Higher Education Scholarship. The Association plans to offer a $1000 scholarship to two students who live in North MIchigan Park. Applicants must be currently enrolled in (2024-2025) or accepted to an accredited college, university or trade program. The parent/guardian of the student must be a paid member of the North Michigan Park Civic Association (dues paid by March 31, 2025). Applications and required documents must be received or postmarked by May 2, 2025.
Link: North Michigan Park Civic Association 2025 Scholarship Application
Link: North Michigan Park Civic Association 2025 Membership Application
From North Michigan Park Civic Association
North Michigan Park Civic Association Monthly Meeting
Wednesday, March 5, 2025
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
VIRTUAL ONLY
Virtual Meeting
Meeting ID 882 7345 2110
Pass code 930240
Call In 1-301-715-8592
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88273452110?pwd=dmZ3R1liOTRKY1FyS3hlYlBqWnBWUT09
Meeting Agenda
· Call to Order
· Opening Prayer – Silent
· Roll Call of Officers
Meeting Protocol
Community Update
Guest Speakers
Jackie Reyes, Director Community Affairs
Edwardo Perdomo, Director Latino Affairs
Q & A
Guest Speaker
DPW- Inspector Darlette Sallie Comer
Community Leader Reports
Community Concerns:
Open to residents
Adjourn
Lots is happening around the neighborhood. Make sure you are on the distribution list for your neighborhood and advisory neighborhood commission (ANC) for meeting notices and updates.
Also, other elected officials and District government agencies have email lists to which you can subscribe if you like getting lots of information in your inbox. The mayor and council all have active social media accounts if that is your jam.
Lamond-Riggs
LRCA has a google group.
North Michigan Park
To join NMPCA’s distribution list, email NMPCA president Carmen Williams at carm8954@aol.com.
ANC 4B does a nice job of posting meeting notices & information on its website at http://anc4b.org. You can subscribe to ANC 4B’s email list via the ANC’s website.
ANC 4B also has several committees. Meeting notices for those committees are posted on the ANC’s website.
To join ANC 5A’s email list, fill out the form on ANC 5A’s website at https://anc5a.org.
Individual commissioners have their own distribution lists as well, so I recommend reaching out to your commissioner to find out if they have a single member district (SMD) distribution list. Find your ANC/SMD. Find contact information for your commissioner: ANC 4B; ANC 5A.
I know that these commissioners have SMD distribution lists:
Feel free to reach out to your commissioner to ask about the best way to get updates for your area.
Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George
Councilmember Janeese Lewis George distributes a weekly newsletter. Sign up at https://www.janeeseward4.com/newsletter.
Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker
Councilmember Zachary Parker also distributes a weekly newsletter. Sign up at ward5.us/newsletter. He also produces a weekly podcast called The Ward 5 Wave. A recent podcast featured Riggs Park neighbor Sia Barbara Kamara, a volunteer coordinator of the monthly mobile market at Faith United Church who has a remarkable life story.
DC At-large Councilmembers & DC Council Chair
Each of the DC At-large Councilmembers and DC Council Chair Phil Mendelson distribute a newsletter. I think it is helpful to also follow the councilmembers who chair committees that interest you, for example the committee on transportation, committee on business & economic development, etc.
DC Muriel Mayor Bowser & District government agencies
If you find yourself often having questions about certain District government agencies, it is a good idea to subscribe to the distribution lists for those agencies. Visit mayor.dc.gov to subscribe to newsletters and email updates for Mayor Bowser as well as a long list of District government agencies. You can also subscribe to individual agency newsletters by visiting the agency’s website. For example, DDOT distributes a weekly construction update newsletter that includes notice of sidewalk and street paving locations.
DC MOCRS (Mayor’s Office Liaisons)
DC mayor office liaisons (known as MOCRs) typically have a distribution list. There is regular turnover in the MOCR office, as each MOCR typically serves around two years. Reach out to your Ward 4 or Ward 5 MOCR to be added to their list.
Metropolitan Police Department (MPD)
The police department has a google group for the Fourth District. MPD 4D Sector 2 (which covers the neighborhood) meets the 2nd Tuesday of each month. Reach out to Officer Robert Hamrick for more information at robert.hamrick@dc.gov.
MPD’s 4D Citizens Advisory Council meets the 4th Thursday of each month.

The McDonald’s located at 4950 South Dakota Avenue NE in North Michigan Park will close on March 1, 2025, in order to be rebuilt with a drive-thru. The last day of service will be February 28. Their goal is to reopen in August 2025 with a grand reopening planned for around Labor Day.
Representatives for McDonald’s attended ANC 5A’s public meeting last night. Instead of waiting to do a recap for the entire meeting, I am sharing a few highlights now.
They said that on March 1, the entire perimeter of the property will be fenced off. It will be about six weeks before the building is demolished.

Construction workers will likely park in the side lot, but the team is still talking to Faith United Church about using the church’s parking lot.

The crosswalk on the southwest side of Delafield and South Dakota will be closed, but it is not clear when that will happen. They said that 72-hour notice will be provided before closing sidewalks. There was mention of jersey barriers being placed on Delafield (the utilities for the restaurant are located on the corner of Delafield) but again unclear when all of that will happen. This might impact parking on Delafield but again unclear. They said the bus stop on South Dakota will not be impacted.
They said there are four phases to the construction, but they did not specify what those phases are.

Since their presentation to North Michigan Park Civic Assocation, they have settled on a number of 22 seats inside the new restaurant, much less seating than the current restaurant. There will be two kiosks for ordering (not three as shown in the image).
I will share more in a meeting recap.
The ANC asked the team to come back to the ANC to provide a more comprehensive construction plan because they could not answer a lot of basic questions. That special meeting is tentatively scheduled for March 13.

Neighbor Shameek shared that on February 15, 2025, there was a house fire in the 600 block of Farragut Place NE. DC Fire & EMS reports no fatalities or injuries. One household was temporarily displaced. I will share any information about ways to assist the impacted households that I receive. As a reminder, DC residents can request installation of a free smoke alarm through 311.

At last week’s North Michigan Park Civic Association (NMPCA) meeting, McDonald’s gave an update on plans for the restaurant located at 4950 South Dakota Avenue NE.
McDonald’s Presentation to NMPCA (February 2025).
The restaurant has new owners. The Gavignano family owns McDonald’s restaurants between Baltimore and Richmond. The McDonald’s on South Dakota Avenue was the 40th McDonald’s built in the entire country. It will be demolished in the coming weeks. ANC 5A previously circulated a pre-construction update.

One change from previous plans is that the new McDonald’s will be one story instead of two. Cars will enter and exit from South Dakota Avenue. There will be a dual drive-thru lane. A pedestrian walkway along Delafield will provide pedestrian access to the restaurant. They said that the rebuilding should not impact the Route 80 bus stop in front of the restaurant.

They are still working on a seating plan. Because of how the new restaurant will be designed, there will be fewer seats, roughly a maximum of 28 seats. They said they may have room to add two to four more. They said the seating will be more comfortable and also ADA-compliant. They are also looking at having smaller movable tables that they could put out during busy hours to add a bit more seating. They are doing a seating audit to look at how customers are currently using the indoor seating during different hours of the day.


The construction manager was not aware of permissible construction hours. They could not really answer questions about where their construction workers will park, but the new pastor of Faith United Church next door offered to talk with them about reaching an agreement to use the church’s parking lot.
In response to a question about pest control, they said that they are required to have a signed contract with a pest control company for the entirety of the project. They said they already have a contract in place and that they will be prepared to check and empty traps every day.
In response to a question from a resident who lives across the street from the restaurant, they said that the speakers will in fact face Delafield Street. But they said that residents should not be disturbed because there will be landscaping that can absorb the sound.
In response to a question about possible damage to homes, they said they do not expect having to use the large equipment that is used for drilling into rock. They do not expect there to be loud, disruptive banging that residents encounter with large construction projects. I imagine the civic association/ANC will circulate contact information for McDonald’s for residents to report issues/emergencies.
The team said they want to support community events and asked about how to get access to neighborhood email lists and such.
Timeline
They have an ambitious goal to reopen by August 11, 2025. That date is dependent on getting their raze permits soon. They said it will take about 90 days to clean, prep, and demo site, so they expect to pour footers for a new store around May 15. From there they expect about another 90 days to construct the new building.
ANC 5A Chair Emily Singer Lucio (5A03) was on the meeting and invited the team to attend a full ANC meeting.
[Ed. Note: At last week’s North Michigan Park Civic Association meeting, NMPCA representatives noted that ICE has been in the community.]
Message circulated by North Michigan Park Civic Association
Please share this information with your neighbor. Everyone knows someone who may be impacted with the Immigration issues. There will be a representative from MOLA [Mayor’s Office of Latino Affairs] at the next NMP Civic Association Meeting to talk about resources.
MOCA [Mayor’s Office of Community Affairs] has a repository of grantees that do work with immigrants through the community.
Here is also a list of resources for immigrant communities: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1WHdkVxfEtBt9l_BPDrNPTqRpp2ojPBuj
As well as the Know Your Rights: https://www.cliniclegal.org/resources/protecting-your-community/know-your-rights/know-your-rights-guide-your-rights-when

ANC 5A distributed an image of a letter from McDonald’s to ANC 5A regarding the demolition and rebuilding of the McDonald’s located at 4950 South Dakota Avenue NE.
The image reads:
February 3, 2025
TO: Advisory Neighborhood Commission 5A
5171 South Dakota Avenue NE
Washington, DC 20017
RE: McDonald’s Restaurant Pre-Construction Update
4950 S DAKOTA NE, WASHINGTON, DC 20017
Dear Commissioners:
I am writing to advise the status and timing, as known today, of the upcoming rebuild of the referenced McDonald’s, specifically the project’s start date.
McDonald’s is in Final Plan Review with the DC Department of Buildings.
We are expecting the Building Permit to be released on or before Thursday, February 13th and our Last Day of Sales to be on Monday, February 17th.
McDonald’s will send a RELEASE TO CONSTRUCTION notice via email to the General Contractor, Mingle Construction, no later than Thursday, February 13th, IF those dates continue to hold.
I will personally ensure the Commissioners are copied on that Release, when it occurs.
Residents are instructed to send questions, comments, and concerns to ANC Commissioner Elaine Alston (5A08) at 5A08@anc.dc.gov.
From North Michigan Park Civic Association
North Michigan Park Civic Association Monthly Meeting
Wednesday, February 5, 2025
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
VIRTUAL ONLY
Virtual Meeting
Meeting ID 882 7345 2110
Pass code 930240
Call In 1-301-715-8592
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88273452110?pwd=dmZ3R1liOTRKY1FyS3hlYlBqWnBWUT09
Meeting Agenda
· Call to Order
· Opening Prayer – Silent
· Roll Call of Officers
Meeting Protocol
Community Update
Guest Speakers:
McDonalds Update – Introduction of New Owners
Community Leader Reports
Community Concerns:
Open to residents
Adjourn
From North Michigan Park Civic Association
North Michigan Park Civic Association Monthly Meeting
Wednesday, December 4, 2024
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
VIRTUAL ONLY
Virtual Meeting
Meeting ID 882 7345 2110
Pass code 930240
Call In 1-301-715-8592
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88273452110?pwd=dmZ3R1liOTRKY1FyS3hlYlBqWnBWUT09
Meeting Agenda
· Call to Order
· Opening Prayer – Silent
· Roll Call of Officers
Meeting Protocol
Community Update
Guest Speakers:
Susan and William Webster – Jubileaf Medical Cannabis
Community Leader Reports
Community Concerns:
Open to residents
Adjourn

Ward 5 Turkey Giveaway Pop-Up
November 20, 2024
1:30 pm
North Michigan Park Recreation Center
1333 Emerson Street NE
The Office of Ward 5 Councilmember Zachary Parker will host a popup at North Michigan Park Rec Center to give away a limited number of free turkeys. Turkeys will be distributed first come, first served.

Catholic Charities Child Development Center Open House
November 16, 2024
10:00 am-2:00 pm
801 Buchanan Street NE
Neighbors are invited to the Catholic Charities Child Development Center Open House. Meet the educators, tour classrooms, and learn more about affordable care program for children from six weeks to three years of age.
Information about the planned Kennedy Institute redevelopment is available at https://www.catholiccharitiesdc.org/program/conway-education-center. See Press Release on Groundbreaking.
From ANC 5A
SMD 5A08 AND 5A09 Meeting Agenda
Monday, November 18, 2024
6:30 pm
Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89800898352?pwd=0HYVHVdxpIgiavQliRaaqzT8QTJAdv.1
Meeting ID: 898 0089 8352
Passcode: 198733
SMD 5A08 and 5A09 Meeting Agenda
Conditional Medical Retail License Jubleaf 4942 South Dakota Ave NE
From North Michigan Park Civic Association (NMPCA)

The Wednesday, November 6, 2024, NMPCA Meeting will be in person at Faith United Church. The time is 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Guest speakers: Representatives from the Executive Office of the Mayor and Sharon Kershbaum, Director of DDOT (Department of Transportation). The guests will discuss proposed safety changes for South Dakota Avenue.

The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) approved the final design for the North Michigan Park-Fort Totten Metro station pedestrian path realignment on its consent agenda on October 17, 2024. This is the short path that will link Gallatin and Galloway streets NE between South Dakota Avenue and 4th Street NE. The National Park Service (NPS) had begun construction on the trail years ago when construction workers first found an unexploded ordnance and then later encountered the top of Metro’s green line tunnel. So, NPS had to design a new alignment for the trail about 20 feet to the east and get all of the necessary approvals for the new alignment. The CFA review was the last approval needed after the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) determined that NCPC review was not necessary.
I have not gotten my hands on the 100% design just yet, but this post discussing the NCPC report contains a link to the 70% design.
Even better news is that I have been told that NPS has identified construction funding for the project. For a while, NPS had been saying that the agency still needed to identify construction funding. Now it looks like construction will be funded in Fiscal Year 2025 barring any last-minute roadblocks. Once the project is out for bid, NPS will have a better sense of how long construction will take.
Neighbors know this project has been sitting around for roughly 15 years (decades if we’re including the time that North Michigan Park residents had been advocating for the path). It is amazing how long it takes to build a pretty short one-block trail. It will be nice to finally get this path constructed and the abandoned construction site restored. And hopefully Metro and NPS have learned some valuable lessons about working together better along the way.
[Note: Discussion with Mayor Bowser’s chief of staff and DDOT’s community engagement team is tabled until the November meeting that DDOT Director Sharon Kershbaum will attend.]
From North Michigan Park Civic Association
North Michigan Park Civic Association Monthly Meeting
Wednesday, October 2, 2024
7:00 pm to 9:00 pm
VIRTUAL ONLY
Virtual Meeting
Meeting ID 882 7345 2110
Pass code 930240
Call In 1-301-715-8592
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88273452110?pwd=dmZ3R1liOTRKY1FyS3hlYlBqWnBWUT09
Meeting Agenda
· Call to Order
· Opening Prayer – Silent
· Roll Call of Officers
Meeting Protocol
Community Update
Guest Speakers:
Community Leader Reports
Community Concerns:
Open to residents
Adjourn