Shaw Cleans Up on Earth Day
Two cleanup teams organized for trash clean up around the Shaw neighborhood on Earth Day, April 22. DC Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) formed one team of her staff and members of her political Green Team. They met at the Howard Theater, fanning out to clean up the blocks of northern Shaw.
Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto, Shaw Main Streets and District Cleanups, a community-building group that sponsors monthly cleanups around town, put together a second team at Bundy Field on the 400 block of P Street NW. After enjoying free La Colombe coffee, the group of volunteers and neighborhood residents swelled to over 100 people. From there, everyone got their orders to go through Shaw and pick up all the trash they came across. The effort ended at Seventh and Q, where the participants dropped off the bagged refuse they collected in the Shaw Main Streets Clean and Safe Team truck before take a well-deserved respite at Dacha Beer Garden.
Shaw Restaurants Get RAMMY Nominations
The Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington has announced the finalists for its 2023 awards and, as usual, a number of Shaw restaurants and personalities made the list.
The Causa/Amazonia restaurants in Blagden Alley are nominated for New Restaurant of the Year. Oyster Oyster and The Dabney are nominated for the best Formal Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year. Service Bar is nominated for Cocktail Program of the Year, and Lost and Found could win Beer Program of the Year, while Lulu’s Wine Garden is nominated for Wine Program of the Year. Jessica and Alfredo Solis (Anafre, Mariscos 1133 and Mezcalero) are up for the Rising Culinary Star of the Year Award, as well as Elias Taddesse of Shaw’s Doro Soul Food. Both Crescencio Martinez of All Purpose (Shaw) and Veronica Rodriguez of Truluck’s Ocean’s Finest Seafood are nominated for Employee of the Year. The Manager of the Year award could go to Christine Kim of Service Bar. Unconventional Diner is nominated for Service Program of the Year.
The RAMMYs this year also has a new category of awards where non-members of the association can be nominated, and awards are determined by a popular vote. Ivy and Coney, Shaw’s famed dive bar, could win the award for Best Bar. Seafood-focused FishScale is up for the Hottest Sandwich Spot. Votes can be submitted at the NBC4 Washington website until Wednesday, May 31.
The winners of the 2023 RAMMY awards will be announced on Sunday, July 9 at the Washington Convention Center.
T Street Taskforce Meets
The T Street Taskforce, a group of DC agency personnel, local businesses and Shaw neighborhood leaders devoted to arresting the deteriorating environment on the 600 block of T Street, held its monthly meeting on Friday morning, April 28. The meeting was conducted as a virtual conference.
Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau started by announcing that she was trying to put money in the new fiscal year 2024 budget that would provide social services outreach to people on the 600 block of T. These services would be similar to ones provided in Columbia Heights, which have shown progress in ameliorating problems there.
Commander Boteler of the Third Police District was asked whether the 600 block of T Street would get priority given the recently announced new community policing strategy. Boteler explained that the strategy was not just devoting resources to static designated hot spots, but was encouraging officers not on calls for service to get out of their patrol cars and engage with people in the community. MPD officers will be seen on T Street regularly, but they will not be permanently stationed there.
PEPCO’s Jamaal Jordan ended the meeting with a description of PEPCO’s Capital Grid Project and its impact on T Street. The project is building a new 10-mile underground transmission cable to provide reliable electrical service to the District. The project will reach the 600 and 700 blocks of T Street NW this summer. Construction will require the excavation of one lane of T Street.
Eat. Drink. Shaw. Scheduled for June 14
Shaw Main Streets will celebrate its 20th anniversary at its annual food and beverage showcase, Eat. Drink. Shaw., on Wednesday, June 14, at the Howard Theater (620 T St NW). At Eat. Drink. Shaw., the neighborhood’s renowned restaurants and bars show off what they do best. This year, 300 attendees will be able to enjoy unlimited samples of food and drink items from more than 25 Shaw establishments for two-and-one-half hours. For more information, visit www.eatdrinkshaw.com.
