December 2, 2020

Updates from Adams Morgan

Click Here to see previous updates in our newsletter archive

For the latest from the DC government, refer to: https://coronavirus.dc.gov

#HolidaysInAdMo

Join us in spreading some Adams Morgan holiday cheer.

After the year we've been through we all need a little extra holiday spirit, so this year we're stepping up our holiday game. In addition to decorating the kiosk at Columbia Rd. and Adams Mill Rd. again, we've decorated streetlights around the neighborhood and constructed an interactive, Instagramable holiday display in BB&T Bank Plaza.

Also, enjoy masked holiday caroling from a safe distance at BB&T Bank Plaza on the following dates (weather permitting):

• Saturday, December 5 from 12-2pm (rain date: Sunday, December 6, 12-2pm)
• Thursday, December 10 from 5-7pm
• Thursday, December 17 from 5-7pm
• Saturday, December 19 from 12-2pm

But to truly dress up the neighborhood, we need your help. Even if it's just a couple strands of lights in the window, we'd like everyone to participate in holiday decorations this year. Please let us know what you're planning on doing and we'll help get the word out about your lights and/or display.

"Shop in the District" promotes shopping safely at small local retailers

Attention restaurants and retailers in Adams Morgan: Shop in the District is a new initiative by DC's Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development and Washington DC Economic Partnership , aimed at promoting shopping safely at small local retailers throughout the city, especially during the upcoming holiday season. The website will connect consumers directly with local retailers (searchable by neighborhood or product type) and will feature gift guides curated by local DC celebrities. The site will be heavily advertised and promoted through all available channels over the next 2 months. They have also partnered with NEAR.delivery to offer free delivery services (as early as same-day) to deliver orders to DC residents through the holiday season. Download the one-pager for more information.

The website is now live and there are very few Adams Morgan businesses included, so please sign up now .

Streatery Winter Ready Grant Program Deadline Extended

In order to alleviate the concern about grant recipients not being able to exhaust grant funds by November 30, 2020, The Mayor's Office of Nightlife and Culture has extended the deadline to use funds until December 12, 2020.

DC's Bridge Fund application dates announced

• Hotel applications are open now
• Restaurant applications will open on December 7th
• Retailer applications will open December 14th

No date has been given yet for the application deadline nor when the funds will be disbursed (we have heard by the end of January, but that is not official).

Grants for restaurants will be awarded in amounts ranging from $10,000 to $50,000. Please use this time to gather documents to streamline your application process. Click here for helpful FAQs. Quick note, if you have gone into arrears on your sales tax, you should work out a payment plan with OTR NOW so you can get a clean hands certificate, and your application will not be delayed.

Click here for more information about the program and how to apply.

Phase Two Guidance Webinar

On Monday, December 30, the Mayor's Office of Nightlife and Culture (MONC), DDOT, DCRA, ABRA, DC Health, and FEMS, discussed:

• Permitting
• Tent and Structure Requirements
• Updated Phase Two Guidance
• Indoor/Outdoor Phase Two Guidance

If you were not able to attend, you can watch the webinar and slide deck presentations by clicking here .

Applications open for RCNA COVID-19 Relief Fund

The Reed-Cooke Neighborhood Association (RCNA) COVID-19 Relief Fund has just approved an additional $10,000.

 Applications are now open on the website.



Emergency Fund for Marie Reed Elementary School Families

Please join the Marie Reed Parent Teacher Organization in supporting families in our community affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Please help them meet their goal of raising $18,000 by December 22 to provide emergency financial assistance to Marie Reed families for the next three months. They have identified 30 families that are experiencing food insecurity, inability to pay rent, and are under tremendous stress due to extended job loss and the economic crisis, but the fund is open to all families in the school community that need emergency assistance. Every dollar helps! A donation of $50 sponsors a family for one week, and a donation of $200 sponsors a family for one month. All donations are tax-deductible.

Click here for more information and to donate.

Update from RAMW

From Kathy Hollinger, President, RAMW:

A quick refresher on the current operational allowances and rollbacks:

• In DC, on-premise alcohol sales and consumption must end at 10pm. Food sales can continue until midnight. Beginning on Monday, December 14th indoor dining will be capped at 25% capacity, and outdoor capacity remains unchanged. The Mayor noted that this date was chosen specifically to give restaurants time to adjust your operations and plans.
• The Alcoholic Beverage Control Board adopted emergency rulemaking incorporating the two modifications—and reducing the permitted period for alcohol carry-out and delivery hours by one (1) hour. Alcohol sales for carry-out and delivery have been reduced to 6:00 am-12:00 am.

On Monday, the DC Council held a Legislative Session and heard several bills which have potential to affect our industry:

• Bill 23-965, the “Displaced Workers Right to Reinstatement and Retention Amendment Act of 2020” passed in its first reading (there are two readings or votes before it becomes law). As drafted the legislation applies to restaurants with 35 or more employees as of March 1, 2020 who have reduced staff in any way and requires that the employer must offer positions first to those who were working at the business as of March 1, 2020, even if there are better candidates available. In addition, the proposed law has requirements for retention of employees upon a sale or transfer of a business and requires notices of an impending change in control. The legislation is overburdensome and harmful to our industry during a time when restaurants and small businesses are extremely fragile. The City has identified restaurants as one of the hardest hit sectors by the pandemic, and yet the Council is considering placing additional obstacles in its way that unnecessarily dictate the operational practices of restaurants during this precarious time. We have been working closely with the Council to amend or exempt restaurants from the legislation, and sent a call to action to our DC operators today. If you haven’t already, click here to reach out to the Council to say NO to the Displaced Workers Bill.
• The Zero Waste Amendment Act passed its second reading and our input helped shape the bill. We worked very closely with Councilmember Cheh’s office to ensure this legislation was not overburdensome to the restaurant industry, and were able to exempt restaurants from the separation of food waste requirement and the requirement of separating and hauling of glass materials. The legislation creates grant and rebate opportunities to support the adoption of more sustainable practices. The legislation requires that foodservice entities shall only provide disposable accessory foodservice ware upon request of the customer or at self service stations. And, when an order is placed through third party apps, the customer must opt in to receive disposable accessory foodware. We will keep you posted on implementation dates.
• The Cashless Retailers Prohibition Act also passed in first reading (must pass two in order to become law). We worked with the Council on this legislation to ensure restaurants are exempt and this only applies to retailers or restaurants that also sell merchandise. It requires retailers to accept cash as a form of payment for onsite transactions.

DC’s Phase 2 Distinctions: Outdoor vs. Indoor Dining

The 25% capacity limit applies to your Certificate of Occupancy for indoor dining. If you offer outdoor dining and you have two or more flaps of a tent or canopy down the space is considered indoors, and the 25% capacity limit applies to the capacity limit of the tented space. This is important to highlight as you may be unintentionally building a structure that is or will be considered as indoor dining. Also, as a reminder, heaters are NOT permitted in tents if any sides of the tent are down.

Two important items DOH shared in yesterday’s DMPED Roundtable:

1. Indoor spaces must have at least five air changes per hour and no more than 50% recirculation of air.
2. Igloos or other structures that are used for a single party of 6 or fewer guests are not required to reduce capacity to 25%.

Click here for winterization guidance and requirements. Click here for a tent and heater application guide. Click here to watch yesterday’s webinar on Phase Two requirements.

Food Safety Training. Food safety is a critical piece of your operations, now and always. To meet your needs during this unique time, we have developed an online review class for those who are seeking to refresh their knowledge before taking the ServSafe Food Safety Manager exam to recertify their license. The webinar is designed to review the key concepts covered in the certified Food Safety Manager exam and will review purchasing products to serve the customer to how contaminations occur biologically, chemically and physically and how to prevent contamination to help prepare you to ace the exam. The next training is Tuesday, December 15th from 9-10:30am. $30 per registrant. Click here to register.

Support Your Local Restaurants:

Donate to RAMW's Silent Auction

This year is not like any other year, and this industry is not any other industry. The restaurant and hospitality industry across the Metropolitan Washington region consistently stands tall as one of the strongest industries in our area, one of the top employers, and a training ground for so many to build careers and thrive.

PLEASE CONSIDER DONATING AN ITEM OR PACKAGE TODAY!

Don’t have a creative idea but want to help? Financial contributions to RAMW Worker Relief Fund are welcome as well and can be pledged for RAMW to use to purchase items of value for the silent auction. Click here to make a donation.

To make a donation today, click here to submit an item to the silent auction. The bidding goes live in December.

WMATA/Metro Update

In the face of a nearly $500 million dollar deficit, Metro is proposing drastic cuts to operations. Beginning in July 2021, WMATA is proposing:

• Eliminating weekend rail service
• Reducing rail service on weekdays
• Ending rail service two hours earlier, at 9 pm
• Closing 19 stations
• Reducing Metrobus service from 60 routes to 41

The cuts are avoidable if Congress passes a coronavirus relief package that includes dollars for public transit. The Metro Board will schedule public hearings and accept comments until February. A vote on the budget is scheduled for March. Click here to leave a public comment.

DC Chamber of Commerce Statement on Yesterday's Legislative Votes

From the DC Chamber:

We are disappointed to report that the False Claims Amendment Act of 2020 passed on its second reading. As you know, with the feedback of our members and business stakeholders, we proposed several amendments that would ensure responsible tax collection. While some amendments were made before it passed, they fell short of what we felt was needed to safeguard upstanding residents and local businesses in the District of Columbia.

On the brighter side, we do applaud the Council for unanimously passing the reestablishment of the Tax Revision Commission and as we shared in the hearing, we view this Commission to be integral in helping to build a competitive city. This Commission will eliminate the need for ad hoc fiscal policies which will encourage business growth and creation. Reestablishing the Tax Revision Commission every 10 years will help ensure that goal is met. We look forward to the Council actively engaging the DC Chamber and the broader business community on the establishment of this Commission.

Now that these bills have been voted on by the Council, they will move forward to the Mayor for her consideration. Once the Mayor reviews and makes her decision on the bills, they will be sent to Congress (bills disapproved via Mayoral veto will be sent back to the Council to reconsider) for a period of review before becoming effective as law.

We will continue to be the voice of the business community and we have a longstanding history of successfully advocating on behalf of our more than 1000 member companies. Thank you for your continued support.

District Strong Economic Recovery Mini-Conference

The Federal City Council , the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development and the D.C. Policy Center are proud to host the District Strong Economic Recovery Mini-Conference on Thursday, December 3rd from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm .

Please join us for this virtual event sponsored by PNC, Capital One, United Bank, Washington Gas and Boston Properties. The Mini-Conference is being organized along the themes of equity, resilience and innovation and it will explore the Foundations for an equitable recovery: health, transportation, education, childcare and downtown. For more details and to register, please Click Here.

US Chamber Event on Small Business Cybersecurity

Join the US Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, December 3, at 12pm ET for CO— Blueprint: Defending Your Business Against Cyber Threats, an interactive discussion focused on helping businesses navigate this new, remote environment where cybersecurity is more important than ever before. Host Jeanette Mulvey, Content Director at CO—, will lead the conversation that combines advice from experts with practical insights from small business owners.

Click here for more info and to register.

Capital COVID Survey: Planning for the Return to Worksites

The Capital Region needs your feedback to safely reopen.

In August, the first Capital COVID Survey was conducted to better understand how organizations were planning to reopen worksites. A coalition of public agencies, leading employers, business organizations, and non-profits is collaborating on a second edition of the Capital COVID Survey designed to provide an updated snapshot on the state of the region’s reopening plans and what factors most influence employers' decisions. This second round of the survey encompasses all of the Capital Region, from Baltimore, Maryland to Richmond, Virginia.

Please answer this brief survey about your organization’s reopening plans. Your answers will be kept confidential and only be viewed by the survey and research team at EY and the Greater Washington Partnership. Survey results will be reported in aggregate and your contact information will not be shared.

Please complete the survey no later than December 11, 2020.

Mayor Bowser Announces $10 Million in Housing Stabilization Grants

December Business Events

FEATURED EVENTS + TRAININGS

Click here for more information including a list of all the December events covering issues such as: Funding, Co-ops, Strategy, Contracting, Connecting with Government Agencies, Marketing, Operations

Register For Free One On One Business Phone Consults

At this session counselors from the D.C. Small Business Development Center (SBDC) will provide assistance on the fundamentals of business planning, market research and analysis, capitalization and legal structures. Technical assistance and services are available to help pre-ventures and start-up companies navigate through the processes for plan review, business licensing and certifications and other capacity building issues.

Click here for more info and to register.

Click here for more information and to register.

Submit your events!

List your Adams Morgan event on our webpage for free! Click here to go to the event submission form, fill it out completely, and click on "submit event." Event submissions are reviewed to ensure the events either take place within the Adams Morgan business district or are being put on by an Adams Morgan business, and once approved should appear on the website within 48 hours.

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Sponsor one of our community events! Partner with our community while reaching some of the city's most desirable demographics. For details, contact Kristen Barden at 202-997-0783.

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