District of Columbia
ANC postpones decision on license for Capitol Hill queer bar
As You Are Bar in negotiations over ‘settlement agreement’
The Capitol Hill Advisory Neighborhood Commission ANC 6B has decided to postpone until Jan. 25 its decision on whether to support or oppose a liquor license for the queer-owned As You Are Bar, which hopes to open in a two-story building at 500 8th St., S.E. in a commercial area known as Barracks Row.
The postponement followed a Jan. 6 virtual community meeting organized by ANC 6B to obtain community input on As You Are Bar’s license application. More than 120 people participated in the meeting, with about an equal number expressing support and opposition to the license.
Lesbian activists and small business advocates Jo McDaniel and Rachel Pike, the founders and co-owners of As You Are Bar, pointed out at the meeting that they are actively taking steps to soundproof the building to ensure their plans to operate a dance bar with music from a DJ on the second floor will not disturb nearby residents.
The two have said the upstairs dance bar and a café they plan to open on the first floor during both daytime and evening hours will be an inclusive space that “welcomes anyone of any walk of life that will support, love, and celebrate the mission of queer culture.” McDaniel told the Blade in December that she and Pike, who are partners in life as well as business partners, will seek out “people of all ages, gender, sexual identity, as well as drinkers and non-drinkers” as customers of As You Are Bar.
Several people who said they live within the boundaries of ANC 6B as well as near the site of As You Are Bar expressed strong support for the proposed license during the virtual meeting, saying the bar would be an asset to the neighborhood. Others, however, expressed concern that opening a dance bar at a site close to nearby houses would result in excessive noise, parking problems, and other disturbances that have been caused by previous businesses operating in the same building.
ANC 6B Chair Brian Ready told the meeting he has called on his fellow ANC members to base their decision on whether to support the As You Are Bar license on its individual merits and not to hold As You Are Bar responsible for the bad actions of other businesses that operated in the building in the past.
Ready and other ANC 6B members said they wanted to put off their vote on whether to support or oppose the As You Are Bar license until Jan. 25 to allow more time for the ANC and McDaniel, Pike, and their attorney to negotiate a settlement agreement that would result in the ANC supporting the license.
Settlement agreements, which are widely used between bars, restaurants, nightclubs and other nightlife businesses and Advisory Neighborhood Commissions, often include restrictions related to the operating hours of bars and nightclubs. They sometimes ban dancing and live entertainment, which are activities that ANC officials claim would create a neighborhood disturbance.
McDaniel and Pike have said they would like their dance bar to remain open until the legal D.C. closing hour of 3 a.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. At least one nearby neighbor attending the Jan. 6 ANC community meeting said dancing should either be banned or required to end much earlier than 3 a.m.
McDaniel told the Blade on Tuesday that she and Pike believe a demonstration of their soundproofing renovations in the upstairs space where the dancing is planned will convince neighbors that noise from the music will absolutely not spill out into the neighborhood. But McDaniel said the nationwide supply chain problem caused by the COVID pandemic has resulted in delays in the delivery of soundproofing curtains that As You Are Bar will place over the upstairs windows. She said she’s hopeful that the curtains and other equipment will be delivered prior to the Jan. 25 ANC meeting in which a vote on the license is planned.
Although the city’s Alcoholic Beverage Control Board will make the final decision on whether to approve the license, a decision by the ANC to oppose a license through an official “protest” vote could delay the ABC Board’s final decision on the license by four months or more.
Local nightlife business advocates have said ANCs and residents of adjoining properties, who also have a legal right to a license protest, sometimes file such protests with the deliberate intention of forcing a bar, restaurant or nightclub into bankruptcy due to the extensive legal overhead costs associated with contesting a license protest.
“The outpouring of support for this establishment among 6B residents and city-wide is amazing,” As You Are Bar attorney Richard Bianco told the Hill Rag newspaper. “We know the ANC hears those voices and are confident that they will consider all constituents and not just the demands of a few loud naysayers,” he said.
District of Columbia
Campaign launched to elect more LGBTQ candidates to ANC seats
Capital Stonewall Democrats behind Queering ANCs effort
The Capital Stonewall Democrats, D.C.’s largest local LGBTQ political group, announced on July 7 it has launched a campaign to help elect large numbers of LGBTQ candidates to the city’s Advisory Neighborhood Commissions.
The D.C. local government is believed to be unique among U.S. cities in currently having 46 Advisory Neighborhood Commissions consisting of 345 single-member districts in neighborhoods throughout the city in which unpaid Advisory Neighborhood Commissioners are elected for two-year terms.
The commissions are charged with considering a wide range of policies and programs impacting their neighborhoods, including traffic, parking, recreation, street improvements, liquor licenses, zoning, economic development, police protection, sanitation and trash collection, and D.C.’s annual budget, according to the ANC website.
Although the ANCs do not have authority to set or reject policies or proposals, such as applications for liquor licenses, city agencies are required to give “great weight” to ANC recommendations, according to the law creating the ANCs.
Kent Boese, a gay former ANC commissioner, currently serves as executive director of the D.C. Office of ANCs.
“We are launching the most ambitious hyperlocal LGBTQ+ candidate pipeline initiative in the country,” said Stevie McCarty, the Capital Stonewall Democrats president, in a July 7 statement that announced the Queering ANCs campaign.
“As an ANC member, I know firsthand how these seats shape our neighborhoods, from housing and public safety to sanitation,” McCarty says in the statement. “I’m proud to lead this effort to ensure more LGBTQ+ Washingtonians see themselves as leaders in their communities,” he said.
The ANC Rainbow Caucus, which was created by LGBTQ ANC members, shows on its website that there are currently 38 caucus members consisting of elected LGBTQ ANC commissioners serving in the current 2025-2026 two-year term.
The website shows there are LGBTQ commissioners who are caucus members in each of the city’s eight wards, with six in Ward 1, eight in Ward 2, one in Ward 3, six in Ward 4, five in Ward 5, three in Ward 6, eight in Ward 7, and one in Ward 8.
The Washington Blade couldn’t immediately determine how many of them will be running for re-election in D.C.’s general election in November. But McCarty said Capital Stonewall Democrats hopes to recruit many more LGBTQ candidates to run for ANC seats.
The D.C. Board of Elections website shows the deadline for filing 25 required petition signatures to be placed on the ballot is Aug. 5.
A Queering ANCs website launched this week by Capital Stonewall Democrats provides details on how to run for an ANC seat and offers help for those interested in running.
“Think of someone in your building, neighborhood, friend group, community organization, or professional network who cares deeply about D.C. and would make a strong leader,” McCarty says in his statement. “Send them QueeringANCs.org and personally ask them to consider running,” he said.
The website can be accessed at QueeringANCs.org.
District of Columbia
Mary’s House founder, CEO retires
Dr. Imani Woody played leading role in opening DC’s first home for LGBTQ seniors
The board of directors for Mary’s House for Older Adults, DC’s first official home dedicated to providing affordable housing for LGBTQ seniors, announced on July 7 that its founding president and CEO, Dr. Imani Woody, has retired.
Woody, who holds a PhD in Human Services, is credited with playing a leading role over many years in arranging both city and private funding needed to construct and operate the Mary’s House three-story building located at 401 Anacostia Road, S.E., in the city’s Fort Dupont neighborhood.
The house, which opened in March 2025, with a grand opening ceremony held in May 2025, includes 15 single-occupancy residential units and more than 5,000 square feet of shared communal living space.
“It is with profound gratitude and hearts full of celebration that the board of directors of Mary’s House for Older Adults, DC (MHFOA) announces the retirement of our visionary founder, Dr. Imani Woody, from her role as president and CEO,” the Mary’s House board says in a statement.
“Dr. Woody’s journey with Mary’s House began with her vision and a kitchen table gathering of women with a bold, urgent, and loving vision: to create safe, affirming, affordable housing for LGBTQ/SGL older adults in Washington, DC,” the statement says.
It adds, “What started as a dream has grown into DC’s first affordable LGBTQ+/SGL affirming communal living space for adults 60 and over, a 15-room community residence at 401 Anacostia Road in Southeast Washington.”
The statement says Woody will continue to serve on Mary’s House board.
“The board will be sharing information about the leadership transition process in the coming weeks,” the statement continues. “We are committed to honoring Dr. Woody’s legacy by ensuring Mary’s House continues to thrive and grow in faithful service to LGBTQ/SGL elders experiencing housing insecurity and isolation.”
District of Columbia
SMYAL receives $25,000 award for ‘courageous acts’
D.C. group provides support services for LGBTQ youth
The D.C.-based organization SMYAL, which provides services for LGBTQ youth in the D.C. metro area, including housing for homeless LGBTQ youth, announced on June 30 that it received a $25,000 award for its “courageous acts” in support of the community it serves.
The award was a monetary grant from The Courage Project, which describes itself as a “national initiative investing in acts of courage and compassion that strengthens our communities and democracy.”
A statement on its website says it was launched in May 2025 and is funded and backed by leading national foundations in the U.S.
“At SMYAL, we are deeply grateful to receive support from The Courage Project and are inspired by their bold investment in LGBTQ+ youth at such a critical moment,” SMYAL CEO Erin Whelan said in a statement. “For queer and trans young people, simply showing up as themselves each day requires immense courage, and that courage is strengthened when organizations like The Courage Project stand behind them loudly, proudly, and without hesitation,” Whelan said.
In its statement announcing the award SMYAL says The Courage Project will recognize SMYAL and other awardees and their work on July 3 at the Washington National Cathedral as part of a special interfaith service marking the U.S. 250th anniversary.
“The Courage Project is a bold initiative honoring everyday acts of bravery – the quiet, often unseen acts of heroism that reflect the best of the American spirit and strengthen democracy at the community level,” the project states on its website.
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