Local
Ward 2 redistricting plan would split Dupont Circle ‘gayborhood’
Activists call on Council to keep LGBTQ neighborhood intact
D.C. Councilmember Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2) has joined a growing contingent of her ward’s LGBTQ residents in calling on the D.C. Council to reject parts of three proposed redistricting plans for Ward 2 that would transfer portions of the North Dupont Circle neighborhood into Ward 1.
The redistricting proposals, which were released to the public on Monday, Nov. 1, were drafted by a three-member D.C. Council Subcommittee on Redistricting appointed by Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large).
The subcommittee members include Council members Elissa Silverman (D-At-Large), who was named as chair; and fellow Council members Anita Bonds (D-At-Large) and Christina Henderson (I-At-Large).
In an eight-page statement released this week, the subcommittee points out that a shifting of the city’s ward boundary lines is needed to bring the city into legal conformance with the 2020 U.S. Census count for D.C., which shows shifts in population within the city.
Gay Dupont Circle Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Mike Silverstein is among the activists who say the redistricting proposals would unnecessarily split Dupont Circle’s historic “gayborhood,” which has served as a safe space for LGBTQ D.C. residents for decades.
Silverstein noted that those in opposition to the proposals are members of ANC 2B, which represents the Dupont Circle area.
“Half of ANC 2B’s eight commissioners are openly gay,” Silverstein said in a statement. “2B represents the historic epicenter of D.C.’s LGBT community,” he said. “If any of these three working maps were to be adopted as presented, that would no longer be the case.”
Silverstein was referring to three maps that the Subcommittee on Redistricting released this week showing proposed significant changes in the boundary lines for Wards 6, 7, and 8.
The subcommittee points out that the population of Ward 6 grew by 17,699 residents since the 2010 U.S. Census count, and Wards 7 and 8 lost 5,628 residents and 3,370 residents respectively over the past decade.
In its statement, it says to balance the population of each of the eight wards, some neighborhoods in Ward 6 — most likely the Southwest D.C. waterfront neighborhood — must be moved to Ward 8. Neighborhoods in other wards that border on Wards 7 and 8 must be moved into those two wards to raise the Ward 7 and 8 population counts to “within range” that equalizes the population of each of the wards, according to the statement.
Silverstein points out that the subcommittee itself shows in its statistical findings that Ward 2 is currently “within range” of the census count requirements for equal representation for its residents.
A public hearing by the subcommittee was scheduled to take place on Friday, Nov. 5, to provide a forum for residents from throughout the city to voice their opinions on the proposed redistricting plans.
“Keeping communities together and not arbitrarily drawing lines through neighborhoods is an important consideration,” Councilmember Pinto said in a Nov. 1 statement. “This is one of the reasons why I am troubled to see parts of North Dupont Circle removed from Ward 2 in some of the ‘Maps for Discussion’ released today,” Pinto said.
“Excising this part of Ward 2 would arbitrarily cut off the LGBTQQIA+ community that has such a rich history and pronounced presence in North Dupont,” Pinto said. “I will be working with my colleagues to ensure that this community remains in Ward 2.”
The full D.C. Council was expected to make a final decision on the redistricting proposals sometime in December.
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Congratulations to Yadiel Meléndez, on their new role as Community Associate, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Meléndez is piloting a new role as a Community Associate at the Wanda Alston Foundation, where they support queer and trans young people in finding their footing, building independence, and experiencing a housing community where they are seen, valued, and affirmed. They are coming into this role with more than a decade of experience as a community organizer and operations specialist, supporting diverse communities through service, advocacy, and program coordination.
Previously they worked for Right Proper Brewing Shaw as a server and bartender and at Sephora, Washington, DC, and at FreshFarm, DC, in bilingual food access. They also worked freelance to build foundational structures for local queer BIPOC performance art coalitions, producing variety shows to curate space for marginalized performance artists in the community. They were a production manager for Haus of Hart Productions, a BIPOC centric performance art production. They also worked as field staff with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Stafford, Va.
Meléndez is bilingual, Spanish and English. Their work is guided by a commitment to dignity, safety, and trauma-informed engagement, particularly within LGBTQ and BIPOC communities.
Congratulations also to Ben Rosen LICSW, on his new role as program director, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Rosen previously worked with Fountain House’s OnRamps program, helping to build a new, innovative outreach program for individuals considered chronically homeless, and living with serious mental illness, in the Times Square area of New York. Rosen is a Psychotherapist, having worked with SG Psychotherapy, and as the psychotherapist with the Nest Community Health Center (URAM).
Rosen has a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts: Musical Theatre, Minor in Psychology (Cum Laude) from Malloy University Conservatory; and his M.S.W. in Clinical Practice with Individuals, Families, and Groups, from The Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College, N.Y. He is independently licensed in New York and Washington, D.C.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
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BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
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