Arts & Entertainment
On the road again
DC2NY adds summer Delaware service
Company owners and life partners Asi Ohana and Richard Green of DC2NY bus service parked in downtown Rehoboth Beach. (Photo courtesy DC2NY)
Tens of thousands of travelers have already experienced the convenience of going back and forth between Washington, D.C. and New York, complete with WiFi, complementary water and a first-class experience thanks to the DC2NY bus company.
Company owners and life partners Asi Ohana and Richard Green operate with a mission to provide an upscale experience based on comfortable buses with clean restrooms from convenient locations.
“Small businesses, especially when owned by a couple who are life partners, sometimes make formal goals and sometimes make informal goals. Our short-term goals were to be profitable within the first year of business, and we were very fortunate that we were profitable within 90 days,” Green says. “We are currently carrying about 120,000 people a year and are definitely ahead of where we thought we would be.”
The genesis of the company dates back five years to when Israeli-born Ohana was working dispatching buses from D.C. to New York for Vamoose, and quickly learned the ins and outs of the bus business.
His career was moving up and soon, so was his love life. Ohana met Richard Green, a hospitality veteran working for Marriott, and they started dating. It didn’t take long for the two to decide to share a life together.
Taking what he had learned, Ohana wanted to start his own bus business, complete with a better payment system, guaranteed reservations and seat, providing a bottle of water to customers and most important, on-board internet access. He convinced Green to join him in his venture (Green has a 20 percent ownership share because he continues to work for Marriott full time) and the rest is history.
“Asi was the first to figure out how to put Internet on the busses and he knew that would differentiate the company,” Green says. “My thought was to give a little extra, which is why we started with the cold water given upon boarding.”
The Dupont Circle Advisory Neighborhood Commission overwhelmingly supported DC2NY’s application for curbside pickup at Dupont Circle and in July 2007, Ohana and Green joined forces to start DC2NY, running routes between Washington, D.C. and New York City.
“We tend to be priced a little more than our nearest competition but that says that people are OK to expect a little more,” Green says. “We don’t let our clients touch their luggage once they put it on the curb, the drivers and dispatchers do it for you.”
The gay-owned company understands that the LGBT market is one of its niches—after all, its most popular stop is Dupont Circle—but to be a success it has catered to all people, young and old, different social classes, and multi-ethnicities.
“We are both gay, and like to think we’re the bus of choice for the community, but we don’t cater to it,” he says. “We had a bus in the Gay Pride Parade this year. We do sponsorship at certain events in Rehoboth, and put the brand forward for two dances that are fundraisers for Camp Rehoboth.”
The company has grown from three stops to a total of seven stops—one in New York, two in D.C., two in Virginia and two in the Delaware beach towns of Rehoboth and Dewey.
It started service to the Delaware beaches from D.C. a few years ago and just expanded service from New York City to Rehoboth. “The Beach Bus” runs from New York’s Penn Station to Rehoboth Beach in Delaware weekends beginning June 28 at 3:30 p.m., and includes one stop in Wilmington and drop-offs at the gay-popular Rehoboth and Dewey Beaches. Tickets are $45 each way from NYC.
“We’ve been doing the Rehoboth/D.C. route for four seasons and we started it because another company ran Rehobus, but stopped running it and we thought it made sense to pick up that opportunity to serve not only our gay clientele, but all people who want to go to the beach and not drive a car,” he says. “Our New York passengers started to request a bus that leaves out of New York, so we are running this as an experiment, and will run right up to Labor Day and see how we do.”
There will also be a stop at the Amtrak station in Wilmington to take advantage of the market in Philadelphia.
Separating their personal and business lives isn’t always easy, but Ohana and Green have found a way to make both a success.
“It’s fun to build something together with your life partner. Our board meetings often happen at the dining room table,” Green says. “We work off-hours, weekends, driving to the beach, vacationing. It’s hard to put boundaries around that. I look at it as I don’t have to put all my eggs in the small business basket and the rewards feed my entrepreneurial spirit.”
New routes that may happen in the next year include journeys from D.C. to Philadelphia and Boston and one from Baltimore to New York.
The DC LGBTQ+ Community Center is marking a milestone year in its new home with a vibrant birthday celebration, inviting the community, allies, and media to join the festivities on Saturday, April 25 at 1 p.m.
Since opening its doors in Shaw, The DC LGBTQ+ Community Center has become a hub of support, advocacy, and celebration for LGBTQ+ residents across the District.
The birthday bash promises a day of programming including Yoga (Center Wellness), Micro Bouquet Making (Center Social), Zine Making (Center Arts), and so much more. Guests can also enjoy tours of the Center’s expanded facilities, showcasing spaces for programs, services, and community events.
Since relocating, the Center has expanded its programs, providing critical services. The birthday bash underscores the DC LGBTQ+ Community Center’s commitment to creating an inclusive space where everyone regardless of identity, age, or background can find community and empowerment.
For more details, contact Paul Marengo at 202-705-2890.
Friday, April 24
Center Aging Monthly Luncheon With Yoga will be at 12 p.m. at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. Email Mac at [email protected] if you require ASL interpreter assistance, have any dietary restrictions, or questions about this event.
Lesbian Visibility Week will be at 7 p.m. at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. There will be a special screening of “Ahead of the Curve.” Enjoy an evening of film, conversation, and community, with cocktails and beverages available throughout the night For more details, visit the DC Center’s website.
Trans Discussion Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This event is intended to provide an emotionally and physically safe space for trans people and those who may be questioning their gender identity/expression to join together in community and learn from one another. For more details, email [email protected].
Saturday, April 25
Go Gay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Community Brunch” at 11 a.m. at Freddie’s Beach Bar & Restaurant. This fun weekly event brings the DMV area LGBTQ+ community, including allies, together for delicious food and conversation. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
Sunday, April 26
Nellie’s Sports Bar will host “Nellie’s DC Drag Brunch” at 12 p.m. Join Sapphire Blue, Deja Diamond and their team of drag performers for the most fun you’ll have all weekend. Tickets start at $58.51 and are available on Eventbrite.
LGBTQ+ Community Coffee and Conversation will be at 12 p.m. at As You Are. This event is for people looking to make more friends and meaningful connections in the LGBTQ community. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
Monday, April 27
“Center Aging: Monday Coffee Klatch” will be at 10 a.m. on Zoom. This is a social hour for older LGBTQ+ adults. Guests are encouraged to bring a beverage of choice. For more information, contact Adam ([email protected]).
Genderqueer DC will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a support group for people who identify outside of the gender binary, whether you’re bigender, agender, genderfluid, or just know that you’re not 100% cis. For more details, visit genderqueerdc.org or Facebook.
Tuesday, April 28
The DC Center for the LGBT Community will host “Candlelight Vigil” at 6:30 p.m. This is a vigil centered on reflection, support, and collective care. Attendees are encouraged to gather at 6:30 p.m., with the program beginning promptly at 7 p.m. and concluding by 8 p.m. The event will take place on the closed-off Wiltberger Street, providing a dedicated and intimate space for remembrance. Electronic candle lights will be available to participants. For those seeking additional support or who have questions ahead of the event, please contact [email protected].
Wednesday, April 29
Job Club will be at 6 p.m. on Zoom upon request. This is a weekly job support program to help job entrants and seekers, including the long-term unemployed, improve self-confidence, motivation, resilience and productivity for effective job searches and networking — allowing participants to move away from being merely “applicants” toward being “candidates.” For more information, email [email protected] or visit thedccenter.org/careers.
The DC Center for the LGBT Community will host “Movement for Healing” at 3 p.m. This trauma- and yoga therapy–informed class is designed to help guests gently reconnect with their body and their breath. Through mindful movement, somatic awareness, and grounding practices, guests will explore how to release tension, increase mobility, and cultivate a deeper sense of safety and ease within. For more details, visit the DC Center’s website.
Thursday, April 30
The DC Center’s Fresh Produce Program will be held all day at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. People will be informed on Wednesday at 5 p.m. if they are picked to receive a produce box. No proof of residency or income is required. For more information, email [email protected] or call 202-682-2245.
Virtual Yoga Class will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This free weekly class is a combination of yoga, breathwork and meditation that allows LGBTQ+ community members to continue their healing journey with somatic and mindfulness practices. For more details, visit the DC Center’s website.
a&e features
Memorial for groundbreaking bisexual activist set for May 2
Loraine Hutchins remembered as a ‘force of nature’
The Montgomery County Pride Center will host a celebration honoring the life and legacy of Loraine Hutchins, Ph.D., on May 2. People are invited to attend the onsite memorial or a livestream event. The on-site event will begin at 10 a.m. with a meet-and-greet mixer before moving into a memorial service around the theme “Loraine a Force of Nature!” at 11 a.m., a panel talk at 12 p.m., break out sessions for artists, academics, and activists to build on her legacy at 1 p.m. and a closing reception at 2 p.m.
Attendees are encouraged to register for the on-site memorial gathering or the livestreamed memorial. The goal of this event is also to collect stories and memories of Loraine. Attendees and others can share their stories at padlet.com.
An obituary for Hutchins was published in the Bladelast Nov. 24, where people can learn more about her activism in the bisexual community. A private service for friends and family was held in December but this memorial service is open to all.
Alongside her groundbreaking work organizing for U.S. bisexual rights and liberation including co-editing “Bi Any Other Name: BIsexual People Speak Out” (1991), she also integrated faith into her sexual education and advocacy work. Her 2001 doctoral dissertation, “Erotic Rites: A Cultural Analysis of Contemporary U.S. Sacred Sexuality Traditions and Trends,” offered a pointed queer and feminist analysis to sex-neutral and sex-positive spiritual traditions in the United States. Her thesis was also groundbreaking in exploring the intersections between sex workers and those in caregiving professionals, including spiritual ones.
In an oral history interview conducted by Michelle Mueller back in August 2023, Hutchins described herself as a “priestess without a congregation.” While she has occasionally had a sense of community and feels part of a group of loving people, she admitted that “I don’t feel like we have the shape or the purpose that we need.”
“I’ve often experienced being the Cassandra in the room, the Cassandra in the community. Somebody who’s kind of way out there ahead, thinking through the strategic action points that my community hasn’t gotten to yet, and getting a lot of resistance and hostile responses from people who are frightened by dissent and conflict and not ready for the changes we have to make to survive,” she said.
“For somebody who’s bisexual in an out political way and who’s been a spokesperson for the polyamory movement in an out political way, it’s very exposing. And it’s very important to me to be able to try to explain and help other people understand the connection between spirituality and sexuality,” she explained citing how even as a graduate student she was “exploring how to feel erotic and spiritual, and not feel them in conflict with each other in my own spiritual contemplative life and my own sensual body awareness of being alive in the world.”
“Every religion has a sense of sacred sexuality. It’s just they put a lot of boundaries and regulations on it, and if we have a spiritual practice that is totally affirming of women’s priesthood and of gay people, queer people’s ability to minister to everyone and to be ministered to be everyone, what does that do to the gender of God, or our understanding of how we practice our spirituality and our sexuality in community and privately?”
“There’s no easy answer,” she concludes, and she continued to grapple with these questions throughout her life, co-editing another seminal text, “Sexuality, Religion and the Sacred: Bisexual, Pansexual, and Polysexual Perspectives,” published in 2012. Her work blending spiritual and queer liberation remains groundbreaking to this day.
Rev. Eric Eldritch, a local community organizer and ordained Pagan minister with Circle Sanctuary who has worked for decades with the DC Center’s Center Faith to organize the Pride Interfaith Service, is eager to highlight this element of her legacy at the memorial service next month.
Community mourns passing of D.C. trans rights advocate SaVanna Wanzer
Why we need to recognize and celebrate Lesbian Day of Visibility
Prominent activists join ‘Living History’ panel at Freddie’s Beach Bar
How arts institutions built the city that politics couldn’t
DC Center marks one year at new location
Inside the lonely world of MAGA gay men
PHOTOS: Night of Champions
PHOTOS: National Champagne Brunch
Victory Fund brunch draws top LGBTQ officials, 2028 hopeful Andy Beshear
