Join the Office of Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George for their Constituent Services Pop-Up, 4pm-6pm at Riggs-LaSalle Recreation Center (501 Riggs Road NE) on November 13, 2025.

RSVP and learn more at janeeseward4.com/pop-ups.

The Office of Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George is once again teaming up with the Lamond-Riggs Citizens Association to host their annual Ward 4 Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway.

On Saturday November 22, from 11am to 1pm, they will be at Riggs-LaSalle Rec Center (501 Riggs Road NE) to hand out turkeys to neighbors in need. If you are planning to attend, make sure to bring proof of Ward 4 residency. First come, first served, and one turkey per family.

Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George is holding a constituent services pop up today, July 21, from 3 pm to 5pm at New Hampshire Avenue & Rittenhouse Street NE. Stop by to get your community concerns addressed by the Ward 4 team.

Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George is seeking a new chief of staff. View the Chief of Staff vacancy announcement.

For those Ward 4 neighbors who were not able to attend an in-person listening session, Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George is holding a virtual listening session tonight February 26 at 6:30 pm.

Bring ideas, budget requests, and thoughts about Ward 4 and your neighborhood.

Register for zoom link at janeeseward4.com/listen.

Ward 4 CM Janeese Lewis George Listening Session for Lamond-Riggs
February 22, 2025
2:00 pm-4:00 pm
Lamond-Riggs Library
5401 South Dakota Avenue NE

Register at janeeseward4.com/listen or call (202) 724-8052.

Help inform CM Lewis George’s legislation, budget priorities, constituent services, and community initiatives. These listening tour sessions have been useful in the past, so please attend a session if you can. There is space on the registration form to enter questions/comments in advance of the session.

A virtual session will also be held on February 26, 2025, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm for those who cannot or do not wish to attend an in-person session

Ward 4 CM Janeese Lewis George Listening Session for Lamond-Riggs
February 22, 2025
2:00 pm-4:00 pm
Lamond-Riggs Library
5401 South Dakota Avenue NE

Register at janeeseward4.com/listen or call (202) 724-8052.

Help inform CM Lewis George’s legislation, budget priorities, constituent services, and community initiatives. These listening tour sessions have been useful in the past, so please attend a session if you can. There is space on the registration form to enter questions/comments in advance of the session.

A virtual session will also be held on February 26, 2025, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm for those who cannot or do not wish to attend an in-person session.

Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George is hosting a public safety meeting with MPD on January 30, 2025, 6:30pm-8:30pm at Brightwood Education Campus (1300 Nicholson Street NW).

If you have any questions or accessibility requests for Thursday’s meeting, please send an email to Candace Nelson, Chief of Staff, at cnelson@dccouncil.gov.

From DC Department of Housing and Community Development

The DC Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) is hosting citywide Housing Listening Sessions to provide information on the District’s housing resources and programs and so residents can share their housing needs and concerns. DHCD is hosting the Ward 4 Housing Listening Session on Tuesday, November 26, 2024, at 5:30 pm at Lamond-Riggs Library (5401 South Dakota Avenue NE). For more information and registration, visit Ward 4 Housing Listening Session.

DHCD’s Ward 4 Housing Listening Session

Tuesday, November 26, 2024
5:30 pm
Lamond-Riggs Library
5401 South Dakota Avenue NE

Virtual Meeting Link: You can join the event virtually at this link here: DHCD’s Ward 4 Housing Listening Session

Topics:

• DHCD Updates and Affordable Housing progress
• District’s Housing Resources and Programs
• Housing Needs and Concerns

QUESTIONS?
If you have questions, contact DHCD’s Office of Communications and Community Outreach (OCCO) via email at DHCD.OCCO@dc.gov.

Ward 4 Turkey Giveaway
November 23, 2024
11am-1pm
Riggs-LaSalle Recreation Center
501 Riggs Road NE

The Office of Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George, with support from the Lamond-Riggs Citizens Association, will give away a limited number of free turkeys to Ward 4 residents. Turkeys will be distributed first come, first served. Bring proof of Ward 4 residency.

Last week, Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George submitted her fiscal year 2025 budget request letter to DC Mayor Muriel Bowser. The mayor was expected to submit her proposed budget to the council on March 20, but there may be a delay in the mayor’s submission.

Councilmember Lewis George notes that her requests are informed in part by her neighborhood listening sessions and CARE day events. The requests address “housing and health, investing in our educators and our youth, and investing in public safety and community needs.”

Items of note regarding the neighborhood copied from the letter and pasted below.

Add Capacity Near Whittier Elementary School for Swing Space and Relieve Nearby Crowding. Whittier Elementary School’s overdue modernization will begin in school year 2025-26, meaning students and staff will be learning in temporary swing space for two years. DCPS’ current plan is for Whittier to occupy the former Sharpe Health Campus on 13th Street, over two miles away from Whittier. That distance is likely to cause enrollment declines and staff turnover as families depart what would otherwise be a neighborhood school. Simultaneously, students at Ida B. Wells Middle School and Coolidge High School, who share a building across the street from Whittier, are experiencing severe overcrowding. Last year Ida B. Wells was at 119% utilization and Coolidge was at 125% utilization – two of the top five most crowded schools in the city. We can solve both problems by either constructing a temporary modular campus on District-owned land near Whittier, Wells, and Coolidge, or leasing/purchasing another building nearby. This additional capacity can be used first as proximate swing space for Whittier and then space to relieve overcrowding at Wells and Coolidge – supporting our Ward 4 neighborhood schools and community.

Retain the School Connect program at LaSalle-Backus Elementary School and Ida B. Wells Middle School. The fiscal year 2024 budget included funding for a Department of For Hire Vehicles School Connect route between LaSalle-Backus Elementary School and Ida B. Wells Middle School. Students living in the Lamond-Riggs community of Wards 4 and 5 do not have a direct or safe route from home to their neighborhood middle school, Ida B. Wells. This program is particularly important for students who are often late or even absent because they must accompany their younger siblings to school before their own classes start. The recently opened School Connect program helps eliminate this gap for a select number of students and families identified by each school’s administrators most in need of support. We must continue this Safe Passage investment.

Invest in our DPR recreation centers and programming. Parks and recreational activities are important for our communities. I had the opportunity to tour many DPR recreation centers and there are improvements needed throughout the District. However, there are numerous facilities in Ward 4 that are seriously overdue for modernization and need to be upgraded. Our families and seniors deserve clean and well-maintained parks. Ward 4 centers that need upgrading include:

• Riggs-LaSalle Recreation Center: a new environmentally friendly turf field; repair or replace the gymnasium roof

Fund Broad Branch Road, Eastern Avenue, and Grant Circle Rehabilitation Projects. DDOT has announced plans to rehabilitate Broad Branch Road between Linnean Avenue and Beach Drive; Eastern Avenue between New Hampshire and Whittier; and Grant Circle. Each project will bring critical infrastructure upgrades and traffic safety improvements to key transit corridors. I am asking for these important projects to be fully funded.

Metropolitan Branch Trail. Design a trail connection between the Metropolitan Branch Trail (MBT) at Fort Totten and the future Prince George’s County Connector. In 2023, the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission secured funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation to develop a shared-use path between the Northwest Branch Trail of the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail in Chillum to Avondale Community Park, which borders Eastern Avenue in the District. To complement this project, DDOT should begin planning its own trail connection to the Metropolitan Branch Trail along Eastern Avenue and Gallatin Street N.E.

Keep modernizations on time and maintain their funding. A number of projects in Ward 4 are scheduled for upcoming modernizations. It is important for all of the projects to remain on schedule and that the community is updated. The Ward 4 community is excited for these projects and it’s important that we continue to invest in our neighborhoods with modernized facilities.

• LaSalle-Backus Elementary Modernization

Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George is teaming up with the Lamond-Riggs Citizens Association (LRCA) again to give out turkeys for Thanksgiving.

From the office of CM Lewis George:

The annual Ward 4 Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway for Ward 4 families in need will take place on Saturday, November 18 starting at 11am at Riggs LaSalle Rec Center (501 Riggs Rd NE). The event will be first come, first serve while supplies last, and residents will be asked to bring proof of Ward 4 residency (DC ID, lease, utility bill, etc). To ensure we help as many Ward 4 families as possible, each family will be limited to one turkey. I am grateful to be partnering with the Lamond Riggs Citizens Association again this year to co-host this event. Please help us get the word out by sharing the flyer in English or Spanish — or by sharing the flyer on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. Another option for residents is the Destiny Church for All Nations Turkey Giveaway on Sunday, November 19 at 9:30am at 5209 Georgia Avenue NW (between Brightwood Park and Sixteenth Street Heights). If you want to spread the word about other Thanksgiving giveaway events in our community, please send them to us at teamjaneese@dccouncil.gov.

From the Office of Ward Councilmember Janeese Lewis George

Join Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George for the second annual Ward 4 Senior Jubilee on Friday, October 6 from 12:30pm-3:30pm at Lamond Recreation Center!

This will be an opportunity to gather together, celebrate community, and enjoy music, dancing, food, games, prizes, and important resources from District agencies.

RSVP online at https://janeeseward4.com/jubilee or by calling or leaving a voicemail with the council office at 202-724-8052 to save your spot.

For questions or requests for accommodations, please reach out to Barbara Rogers at brogers@dccouncil.gov.

Ward 4 Care Day – Riggs Park & South Manor Neighborhoods
September 12, 2023
4:00 pm-7:00 pm
Riggs-LaSalle Community Center
501 Riggs Road NE

Join Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George for Ward 4 Care Day for a resource fair with DC agencies, outreach to neighbors, and support with consitutent services. Information and registration at https://janeeseward4.com/care.

Ward 4 Councilmember Janeese Lewis George is hiring for three positions in her office. Visit janeeseward4.com/careers.

• Legislative Analyst / Policy Advisor
• Constituent Services Coordinator
• Executive Assistant / Constituent Services Coordinator

Click on each position for the full job posting, a description of the position, and instructions on how to apply. You can also find the postings under the DC Council’s list of job openings. If you have any questions about the openings, please email Chief of Staff, Kelly Hunt, at khunt@dccouncil.gov.