The quality of life in 2C02 is supported by BALANCE between the interests of residential and commercial stakeholders in our shared neighborhood. We, residents and businesses, all need to thrive together to have the vibrant diversity of services and opportunities that our business stakeholders provide. Vibrant urban life is what draws residents!
Resident needs are the ultimate foundation for the rebuilding and success of Downtown. Almost half of our roughly 2,000 residents live in the same apartment building at Scott Circle. Most of the other current residents live on one other block among six condo, apartment, and senior buildings between Thomas Circle and 13th Street, with the remainder living in smaller buildings on 16th Street, at MacPherson Square, and on 20th Street. Our resident population is growing to include the SEVEN residential office conversions in 2C02, currently underway or already completed since 2023, with more anticipated.
2C02 has a wide diversity of business stakeholders: commercial office buildings, hotels, embassies, medical and dental care facilities and office buildings, cultural sites and museums, properties of universities that house their DC-based programs, restaurants, and retail outlets of both local small businesses and national chains. I hear from business stakeholders about zoning and liquor licenses, about help with specific situations involving unhoused residents, and about their new initiatives that I am pleased to help promote.
I have excellent relationships with both Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) that serve 2C02: the Downtown BID east of 16th Street, and the Golden Triangle BID west of 16th Street. In addition to direct services to their businesses and commercial property owners, and public programming and activations in Farragut Square and Franklin Park, both BIDS employ street-level Ambassadors who pick up trash from sidewalk cans, remove graffiti and stickers and chewing gum, check in with local businesses, and engage unhoused residents to offer connections to case workers and resources. I am looking for ways to amplify and appreciate the Ambassadors’ work in direct service to our quality of life—hoping for a kickball game or picnic for both Downtown (red shirts!) and Golden Triangle (yellow shirts!) Ambassadors.
Serving a downtown SMD, I often “hear from” construction managers and permit expediters who need the Commissioner’s permission for after-hours construction permits. In DC, legal construction hours without a special permit are Monday through Saturday from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Work outside these hours or on restricted days requires an After-Hours Permit from the Department of Buildings (DOB), which requires a support letter from the applicable Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner. Moving a crane overnight, starting early to avoid summer heat, working weekends to make a deadline – in each of these situations I check Google Maps to determine nearby residences and hotels that could bear the impact, make sure the parties have coordinated with each other, and gather all reference details in my permission letter. From January 2025 to August 2026, I have done NINETY construction permission letters.
When elected, I will continue to work as a listener, connector, collaborator, and convenor. I have proven my responsiveness and effective coordination with many interested parties in our shared neighborhood.