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December 16, 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
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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):
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Thursday, December 17 from 5-7pm
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Saturday, December 19 from 12-2pm
A special thanks to
Stream Realty
,
Bernstein
,
Fred A Smith
, Michael Sussman, Steve Greenleigh, and many of the AMPBID board members who made additional donations for making this holiday celebration possible.
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Snow Reminder for Businesses with Outdoor Dining
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Per the
Streatery Winter Ready Outdoor Dining Guide
, streateries and parklets within the public right-of-way are not to be used during inclement weather and/or when the outdoor temperature reaches 32-degrees Fahrenheit or lower. Sidewalk cafés and streateries on private property may continue to operate.
Streatery owners must clear snow/ice from the sidewalks and outdoor dining spaces within eight (8) – not 24 - daylight hours after the end of a storm.
Business owners should clear their sidewalks, parklets, and streateries within 8 daylight hours of a storm's end. If the weather prediction indicates a significant accumulation of snow, the Mayor may declare a snow emergency. An announcement of a snow emergency declaration will be made prior to the snow emergency going into effect to give businesses time to prepare their expanded outdoor spaces for inclement weather. Once a snow emergency is in effect, businesses may not utilize their streatery or parklet.
As such, please bring in all furniture and other elements within the outdoor dining areas, except for the barriers. As the business owner, you are responsible for clearing out all snow within the outdoor dining area and ensuring sidewalks are accessible.
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Bridge Fund Applications for Restaurants and Retail Now Open
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Applications
opened for the Restaurant Bridge Fund opened on December 7. The fund aims to provide competitive grants to eligible restaurant and food services establishments that have experienced significant economic distress due to the COVID-19 public health emergency and made plans to respond and adapt to these challenging circumstances.
The application will be open for three (3) weeks, and closes on Monday, December 28, 2020 at 5:00 PM/ET.
Click here for additional information
.
Retail Bridge Fund
applications
opened on Monday December 14, Entertainment Bridge Fund applications open on December 21
The Retail Bridge Fund aims to provide competitive grants to eligible retail establishments that have experienced significant economic distress due to the COVID-19 public health emergency. Local brick-and-mortar retail establishments, such as bookstores, clothing stores, salons, massage establishments, fitness studios, art galleries, and dry cleaners are eligible to apply. The funds will support general operational expenses (rent/mortgage expense, payroll, insurance, and/or utilities), as well as operating expenses related to COVID-19.
Click here for additional information and to apply.
To determine which Bridge Fund program your business may be eligible for,
click here
.
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Robust Retail Grant Applications Open
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DSLBD has opened
applications for their 2021 Robust Retail Grant
.
The deadline to apply is January 28, 2021 at 2 pm
. The purpose of the grant is to support existing DC-based retail businesses maintaining operations and viability during the current small business crisis.
How will grants be awarded, and for how much?
DSLBD intends to award up to $7,500 per business to 106 businesses from the total $800,000 in available funding for Fiscal Year 2021. This grant will be operated as a reimbursement grant, awarded via lottery, to DC retail businesses that have met all eligibility requirements by the final deadline.
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from Kathy Hollinger, president, RAMW
Throughout the region, numbers continue to increase and leaders are taking additional steps to protect the public health of our region’s residents. We know and completely understand that these rollbacks are not ideal as we head into Christmas and New Years, however, as always we must defer to experts in public health on these matters. Please make sure you have a plan in place to accommodate additional rollbacks going into effect across the region. In DC specifically, I have pleaded with the City to give us as much notice as possible to allow for needed preparations in the event indoor dining is prohibited. At this time, there is no indication to suggest that indoor dining will be closed. If that changes, we will notify you immediately.
On Tuesday this week the Council held their final Legislative Meeting of this session. The Council unanimously passed Bill 23-965, the “Displaced Workers Right to Reinstatement and Retention Amendment Act of 2020”. While we were not able to get all of the changes we were hoping for, the bill that passed today is friendlier to the small business community than what was initially going to be required. The legislation goes into effect on February 1, 2021. This is what you will be required to do under this legislation:
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The law applies to businesses which had 50 or more employees as of March 1, 2020 who have reduced staff in any way. These businesses must offer positions first to those who were working at the business as of March 1, 2020.
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The offer must be made to a former employee who filled the same or substantially similar position that requires the same skills as their previous position.
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The offer can be made through email, text or certified mail. If the offer is made through email or text, the former employee has 3 days to respond, and if the offer is made through certified mail the former employee has 7-days to respond. Initially it required 10-days and we were able to reduce the day count to 3 and 7, depending on how the offer is made.
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The employee must return to work no later than 7-days after the offer is made, unless the employer allows a later date.
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The legislation applies to the timeframe from the start of the Public Health Emergency through June 30, 2023. We worked hard to reduce the sunset date from 2024 and the law will now sunset June 30, 2023.
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These requirements
do not apply to a former employee who received severance or to a former employee that you could have terminated and provided demonstrative evidence of possible termination
.
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Initially the legislation applied to all instances of change in controlling interest, but now businesses are exempt if there is demonstrative change in operations upon a change in control. The example Chairman Mendelson gave is if you sell your full service restaurant and the new owner is a quick serve model, you are exempt. If there is no change in operations, employees must be retained for 90 days from the change in control date
Also in DC, if you haven’t already, we encourage you to take 3-minutes to fill out this important survey on the state of your business, which helps inform all our advocacy and relief efforts.
Click here
to take the survey.
Our partners at the National Restaurant Association, continue to refute claims that dining in restaurants and COVID transmission are linked, and are asking you to fill out a brief survey that will help form the national narrative on this point. The data gained will be used to make scientific-based decisions on restrictions instead of reflexive actions that punish restaurants without evidence. All responses will be kept confidential. The results of this survey could help us keep restaurants open.
Click here
to take the survey.
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Real Property Tax Suite Now Available at MyTax.DC.gov
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The Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) announced this week that the real property tax suite is now added to the list of tax types accessible at the online portal,
MyTax.DC.gov
. The addition of real property tax completes OTR’s five-phase modernization initiative for an integrated tax system. The portal has been updated with new features, and now includes individual income, business, and real property taxes and fees administered by OTR. OTR will be hosting trainings for lenders and other institutional users of the database -- we will pass that information along when it's available.
Click here
for more information.
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"Shop in the District" promotes shopping safely at small local retailers
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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
.
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Webinar: Necessary Steps Towards PPP Loan Forgiveness
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As the end of the calendar year approaches, many small business owners who accessed the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) may be wondering what records will be needed to apply for PPP loan forgiveness and the timelines involved. Similarly, recipients of Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) and/or EIDL advances may have questions around recordkeeping best practices.
To help address these concerns, Nirav "Nick" Rajpara (Economic Development Specialist with the SBA-Washington Metropolitan Area District Office) will serve as a webinar panelist this Friday, December 18, to discuss relevant reporting requirements, application deadlines and more
Friday, December 18, 12:00pm to 1:00pm (EST)
Click here
for more information and to register
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The Adams Morgan Farmers Market has a Gift for You
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Painting by Imelda Hackett-Felton (9/26/2013) as a barter.
From our friends at
Licking Creek Bend Farm
:
Dear Adams Morgan Customers,
Here is a holiday gift from the Licking Creek Bend Farm, Adams Morgan Farmers Market (See image, above. Printed cards of the image are being given away at the last farmers market of the season this Saturday from 8:30am - 1pm at SunTrust Plaza).
We started bringing down produce in 1973 from Fulton County, PA to the dirt lot at the corner of 18th Street and Columbia RD, NW, we believe to be one of the first, if not the first neighborhood farmers market. Dave Clarke, Chair of the City Council and a customer, entered the provision of our market into an amended City Charter in 1981. The plaza and farmers market were codified “in perpetuity” by Thomas Owens, President of Perpetual Savings Bank.
Since then, we’ve been loyally providing the Adams Morgan community with moderately-priced, pesticide-free produce from our farm, our own chemical-free Christmas Trees and fruit and apple cider from our partner orchards along with RavenHook Bakehouse and Remi’s Plants and Flowers.
Thank you for your support and patronage all these years. May this year bring an end to the pandemic.
Good health and joy to us all.
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Your Holidays at The LINE DC
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Click here
for good things going on this season at the LINE DC, from holiday plans and happy hours at Brothers And Sisters to public art and socially-distanced ways to support local biz.
New Year? Yes, please. They're ringing in 2021 with
cozy room offers
and some seriously epic add-ons: Chef Erik Bruner-Yang’s NYE picnic baskets were made for dining in, kicking back, and making the most of the final few moments of 2020.
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Ask Congress for Transit Relief for the DC region
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WMATA is facing dramatic budget reductions due to the pandemic, which means
severe cuts to services
in the next couple of years that could slow down economic and social recovery.
Several dozen DMV-area groups are sending a letter to Congress to ask for needed transit relief. If you'd like to add your organization to the sign-on list,
please add your name and your organization's name to
this Google form
.
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Applications open for RCNA COVID-19 Relief Fund
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The Reed-Cooke Neighborhood Association (RCNA) COVID-19 Relief Fund has just approved an additional $10,000.
Applications are now open on the
website.
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Equality of Opportunity In Action:
Strengthening Supplier Diversity
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This conversation will bring together corporations, minority-owned businesses, and policy experts to discuss and share best practices for improving supplier diversity. This event is the first in a series of deep dive discussions illustrating the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Equality of Opportunity Initiative. The Initiative is a partnership of more than 500 chambers and associations across the country, aimed at pursuing policy and private sector solutions to bridge underlying racial divides that contribute to broad, systemic inequalities in society. Through these conversations, we’ll gain the knowledge, skills, and understanding necessary to help all Americans earn their success, rise on their merit, and live their American Dream.
Thursday, December 17, 2020
12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Click here
for more information and to register
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ThinkLocalDC Business Relief Fund
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TLF's goal is to expand on the 2020 technical assistance we provided during the second round of the PPP application period with the installation of a
ThinkLocalDC Local Business Relief Fund
! The goal is to raise $25,000 and seek a match from institutions of like vision and mission.
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A business conference with soul – the 8th annual Good Business Summit is a two-day virtual event presented by Lowcountry Local First spotlighting ideas and workable solutions for building your company with profit and purpose. We convene the best and brightest business leaders to give you the tools and inspiration to grow, prosper, and give back while connecting you online with like-minded entrepreneurs.
Early registration is now open
with discounts available until January 15, 2021.
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Get COVID-19 Federal Resources on Tax Relief
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Click here
for up-to-date information on COVID-19 tax and filing requirements and benefits below.
Interested, but not sure where to start?
Click here
to connect with a local business advisor or mentor.
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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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©
Adams Morgan Partnership
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