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
JR.’s hosts meet & greet for mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George
Event organized by Capital Stonewall Democrats, Queers for Janeese
D.C. mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George spoke to a crowd of LGBTQ supporters on June 1 at a meet & greet event held at JR.’s on 17th Street in the Dupont Circle neighborhood.
The event, organized by Capital Stonewall Democrats, which has endorsed Lewis George for mayor, with support from a group called Queers for Janeese, was followed by a “get out the vote” canvassing endeavor in which several of those attending the meet & greet visited the homes of nearby residents known to be Lewis George supporters.
The purpose of the canvassing was to remind Lewis George supporters to return their mail-in ballots or go to the polls on June 16 to elect Lewis George as the city’s next mayor, according to Matthew Kavanagh, one of the leaders of Queers for Janeese who attended the meet & greet event at JR.’s.
Local political observers consider Lewis George, a Ward 4 D.C. Council member, and former At-Large D.C. Council member Kenyan McDuffie, to be the two leading candidates in this year’s race for mayor. The two are among seven mayoral candidates competing in the city’s June 16 Democratic primary.
Lewis George told those attending the meet & greet, which was held on the JR.’s outdoor patio, that she has a long record of advocating for and initiating city polices and laws in support of the LGBTQ community. She said large corporate donors were backing her opponents and urged her LGBTQ supporters to help raise funds for her in the remaining days of the campaign.
Among those attending the meet & greet was gay longtime Dupont Circle civic activist Randy Downs who last November opened a nearby eatery called Protest Pizza. “I am queer and I am a Janeese supporter,” Downs told the Blade.
Stevie McCarty, president of Capital Stonewall Democrats, who also spoke at the meet & greet event, said his group would organize events in support of Lewis George in the remaining days of the campaign. Among them, he said, was an LGBTQ bar crawl in which supporters of Lewis George, including the candidate herself, would visit LGBTQ bars to promote her candidacy.
District of Columbia
D.C. kicks off Pride month with flag raising ceremony
Mayor, Council members join LGBTQ activists in 4th annual event
Members of the D.C. Council joined Mayor Muriel Bowser and a crowd of LGBTQ activists and supporters on June 1 for the city’s fourth annual LGBTQ Pride flag raising ceremony held outside the John A. Wilson Building, which serves as the D.C. City Hall.
Since its inception four years ago by Mayor Bowser, the event has served as the official kickoff of D.C. Pride month, which culminates this year with the annual Capital Pride Parade on June 20 and Pride festival on June 21, which takes place on Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. near the U.S. Capitol.
“As I like to say, we’re celebrating Pride month in the gayest city in the world,” Bowser told a crowd that included city officials and Council members joining her on the front steps of the Wilson Building.
“Fifty-one years of Pride in the future 51st state,” she said, adding, “And both movements are rooted in the same belief – every person deserves to be seen, heard, and fully represented.”
Among those who spoke at the event in addition to Bowser were Japer Bowles, director of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs; D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb; and D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large).
“This year is special,” Bowles told the gathering. “It’s special because we celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs,” he said. “For two decades this office has helped make Washington, D.C. one of the most welcoming and affirming cities in the world.”
He added, “We have expanded LGBTQ services across agencies, invested millions of dollars into community organizations, championing culturally competent care and training, supporting LGBTQ supportive businesses and workers and celebrated our history.”
Schwalb said his Office of the D.C. Attorney General continues to safeguard the city’s laws protecting residents against discrimination but expressed concern about “high court” rulings that he said continue to roll back civil rights, voting rights, and human rights.
He said, “We’re seeing cases limiting medical care for transgender youth while at the same time green lighting so-called conversion therapy.” He pointed to cases or policies “excluding transgender girls from participating in sports and excluding story books with LGBTQ characters from our school libraries.”
He said his office is committed to protecting all residents, including LGBTQ residents, from all forms of discrimination. “And that includes the right to be our authentic selves, to freely express our identities and ourselves to be who we are and to love who we love.”
Mendelson, who also expressed strong support for the LGBTQ community and for the upcoming Pride events, said 10 of the Council’s 13 members were attending the Pride flag raising event, including gay Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5).
“I’m just here with gratitude,” Parker told the Washington Blade. “There’s a lot to be grateful for and a lot more to fight for,” he said. “And so, raising this flag is a reminder that our government is here to serve all of our residents regardless of how you identify or who you love.”
Shortly after Mendelson spoke, D.C. Council member Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4), who is running for mayor in the city’s June 16 primary, arrived at the event, becoming the 11th Council member to turn out for the event.
Among those also attending the event were Ryan Bos and June Crenshaw, the two top officials of the Capital Pride Alliance, the group that organizes D.C.’s annual LGBTQ Pride events.
Bowser, who is not running for re-election this year and will be stepping down as mayor in January 2027, thanked those attending the Pride flag raising event for playing a role in an all-inclusive city.
“We speak with one clear voice – that D.C. is a welcoming city,” she said in her remarks. “But also, we know that our work has been robust, but it is not done. We fly this flag in front of the John A. Wilson Building because it tells a story,” she said.
“It tells a story of a city that takes care of itself,” she added. “And we take care of each other. We are a city that is diverse and welcoming.”
Serving as the event’s master of ceremony and who introduced Bowles as the first speaker was longtime D.C. drag performer Tara Hoot.
District of Columbia
D.C. Pride flag raising ceremony set for June 1
Mayor, council members to participate
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs is inviting the LGBTQ community and friends to attend the city’s annual Pride flag raising ceremony scheduled for 4 p.m. Monday, June 1, outside the John Wilson Building that serves as the D.C. City Hall.
Like in prior years, members of the D.C. Council and officials with the Office of LGBTQ Affairs were expected to join Bowser in delivering remarks on the front entrance steps at the Wilson Building before raising the Pride flag atop one of the tall flagpoles next to the building’s entrance.
Gaby Vincent, a spokesperson for the LGBTQ Affairs Office, said attendees of the flag raising ceremony will be invited to attend a reception immediately following the ceremony in the main lobby of the Wilson Building, which is located on Pennsylvania Avenue at 14th Street, N.W.
She said the reception will feature a DJ, dancing, and refreshments provided by the D.C. LGBTQ bar and café Spark Social House.
Vincent said the flag raising event will also mark the 20th anniversary of the opening of the D.C. Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs.
In its official announcement of the flag raising event the LGBTQ Affairs Office also announced it is hosting the 7th annual District of Pride Showcase event to be held Friday, June 17, at 7 p.m. at the Lincoln Theater.
The announcement says LGBTQ community members, families, and allies are also invited to walk with Bowser in the Capital Pride Parade scheduled for Saturday, June 20. It says the mayor’s parade contingent will assemble at 2 p.m. at the parade’s starting location at 14th and U Streets, N.W.
“As we also celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, we invite residents, community members, families and allies to join us throughout June for moments of pride, connection, visibility, and joy,” the announcement says.
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