District of Columbia
New D.C. LGBTQ bar concerned over delay in approval of city permit
As You Are operating since March with limited occupancy
A delay of more than four months by a city regulatory agency in approving a certificate of occupancy for the Capitol Hill LGBTQ bar and café As You Are has raised concern among its owners and customers that one or more D.C. government bureaucrats may be subjecting the bar to biased treatment.
Lesbian activists and businesswomen Jo McDaniel and Rachel Pike, the owners of As You Are, said they and the landlord for the building in which the bar is located at 500 8th St., S.E. have submitted all of the required paperwork to obtain a permanent Certificate of Occupancy needed for the bar to remain open.
They are currently operating under a temporary provisional Certificate of Occupancy, but if a permanent version of the certificate is not approved the bar will be forced to close under D.C. fire and safety regulations.
According to the two women, one or more officials with the D.C. Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA), which must approve the occupancy permit, have repeatedly said the documents submitted were insufficient but did not fully explain why.
McDaniel this week sent the Blade a copy of a July 22 email from DCRA supervisor and structural engineer Semere Hadera saying he was asked to help facilitate the approval process, but he could not find the documents in question and asked As You Are to resend them.
Documents McDaniel provided to the Blade show that the holdup is over two legal documents, an Access Easement Agreement and a Deed of Covenants, which must be approved by the owner of the building in which As You Are is located and the owner of the adjacent building in which the restaurant Trattoria Alberto operates.
The two documents specify that both building owners must agree to allow a door connecting the two buildings on the second floor of each building to remain unlocked so it can be used for the evacuation of the occupants in either building in case of an emergency such as a fire.
McDaniel said the two building owners fully agree, as they had when a straight bar operated in the As You Are building, to keep the door in question unlocked so it may be used for emergency purposes. She said DCRA did not appear to object to the two similarly worded documents used to approve the occupancy permit for District Soul Food & Lounge, which operated at 500 8th St., S.E., before it went out of business last year.
In response to a request for comment by the Blade, DCRA spokesperson Daniel Weaver sent the Blade a statement saying one of the documents sent by As You Are and the building owner was missing needed information. The statement says DCRA did not receive the Access Easement Agreement.
“The Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA) has worked diligently with the owner of As You Are LLC with the permitting process and to issue a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O),” the statement says. It says DCRA issued a conditional C of O to the building’s landlord on March 3, which allows a first-floor occupancy of 100 people and a second-floor occupancy of 49 people.
McDaniel said final approval of the occupancy permit will allow As You Are to have a total occupancy capacity of 180, which she said is needed to allow their business to reach its full potential financially.
“An Access Easement Agreement was submitted by the applicant on April 12, 2022, however, it is not dated or executed by the parties as required,” the DCRA statement says.
“A Deed of Covenants is also required and has not been provided, although DCRA did provide the template for use,” according to the statement, which adds that both documents must be reviewed by the Office of the D.C. Attorney General, which must give final approval of the documents.
“Regarding bias concerns, DCRA’s role is to provide all residents and businesses in the District of Columbia with great customer service in an equitable, transparent manner,” the statement concludes.
McDaniel said it was her understanding that all required documents had been submitted to DCRA. She said she was hopeful that DCRA official Hadera, who just became involved in As You Are’s months-long effort to obtain final approval of the C of O, will be able to quickly secure that approval.
District of Columbia
Owner of D.C. gay bar Green Lantern John Colameco dies at 79
Beloved businessman preferred to stay ‘behind the scenes’
John Colameco, owner of the popular D.C. gay bar Green Lantern, has died, according to a March 7 announcement posted on the bar’s website and Instagram account. The announcement didn’t provide a date of his passing or a cause of death.
Green Lantern manager Howard Hicks said Colameco was 79 at the time of his passing.
“It is with great sadness that Green Lantern announces the death of our beloved owner, John Colameco,” the announcement says. “Most of our patrons might have heard John’s name, but might not have known his face,” it says.
“He was a ‘behind-the-scenes’ kind of guy who avoided the limelight,” the announcement continues. “He preferred to stay in the back of the house with staff and team ensuring everything was running smoothly so that everyone out front was having a good time.”
The announcement adds, “As a veteran and businessman, John wasn’t a member of the LGBTQ + community, but he was one of the best damn allies our community has ever had.”
It says he “long provided spaces for the queer community to come together” since the 1990s when he owned and operated a popular restaurant on 17th Street, N.W. called Peppers.
According to the announcement, Colameco and his then business partner Greg Zehnacker opened the Green Lantern in 2001 in an alley off of 14th Street, N.W., between Thomas Circle and L Street, N.W.
The announcement points out that the Green Lantern first opened in the same location in the early 1990s before it later closed when the original owners decided to purchase and open other bars, one of which was the gay bar Fireplace near Dupont Circle. Colameco and Zehnacker were able to reopen the bar with the Green Lantern name.
“When Greg died unexpectedly in February 2014, John remained steadfastly committed to carrying on their vision and ensuring that Green Lantern remained part of the fabric of D.C.’s queer community,” the announcement says.
“Over the years, through Green Lantern, John has provided support to many community organizations, most notably Stonewall Sports, the Gay Men’s chorus of Washington, and ONYX Mid-Atlantic with Green Lantern serving as a gathering hub for their activities,” it states.
The announcement adds that Colameco’s family was planning a memorial for him in his hometown of Philadelphia.
“His Green Lantern family will celebrate his life by operating the bar as usual and we encourage you to stop by and join us,” it says. “Community coming together and having a good time – it’s exactly what John would want.”
District of Columbia
D.C. Black Pride theme, performers announced at ‘Speakeasy’
Durand Bernarr to headline 2026 programming
The Center for Black Equity held its 2026 DC Black Pride Theme Reveal event at Union Stage on Monday. The evening, a “Speakeasy Happy Hour,” was hosted by Anthony Oakes and featured performances by Lolita Leopard and Keith Angelo. The Center for Black Equity organizes DC Black Pride.
Kenya Hutton, Center for Black Equity president and CEO, spoke following the performances by Leopard and Angelo. Hutton announced this year’s theme for DC Black Pride: “New Black Renaissance.”
Performers for 2026 DC Black Pride were announced to be Bang Garcon, Be Steadwell, Jay Columbus, Bennu Byrd, Rue Pratt and Akeem Woods.
Singer-songwriter Durand Bernarr was announced as the headliner for the 2026 festivities. Bernerr gave brief remarks through a video played on the screen at the stage.
DC Black Pride is scheduled for May 22-25. For more information on DC Black Pride, visit dcblackpride.org.
In an official statement released at the reveal event Capital Pride Alliance described its just announced 2026 Pride theme of “Exist, Resist, Have the Audacity” as a “bold declaration affirming the presence, resilience, and courage of LGBTQ+ people around the world.”
The statement adds, “Grounded in the undeniable truth that our existence is not up for debate, this year’s theme calls on the community to live loudly and proudly, stand firm against injustice and erasure, and embody the collective strength that has always defined the LGBTQ+ community.”
In a reference to the impact of the hostile political climate, the statement says, “In a time when LGBTQ+ rights and history continue to face challenges, especially in our Nation’s Capital, where policy and public discourse shape the future of our country, together, we must ensure that our voices are visible, heard, and unapologetically centered.”
The statement also quotes Capital Pride Alliance CEO and President Ryan Bos’s message at the Reveal event: “This year’s theme is both a declaration and a demand,” Bos said. “Exist, Resist, Have Audacity! reflects the resilience of our community and our responsibility to protect the progress we’ve made. As we look toward our nation’s 250th anniversary, we affirm that LGBTQ+ people have always been and always will be part of the United States’s history, and we will continue shaping its future with strength and resolve,” he concluded.
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