Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 8F met both in-person at 250 M St. SE and online via Zoom March 18. On the Dias were Commissioners Nic Wilson (8F01), Markita Bryant (8F02), Brian Strege (8F03) and Edward Daniels (6/8F04) and Liam Goodwin (6/8F05).
Samaya Lane from the DC Federation of Democratic Women came to ask the ANC to write a resolution in of a Friends of Diamond Teague Park organization, which she hopes will be able to rehabilitate the park and the unique pyramid artwork on the site. The park at 100 Potomac Ave. SE was dedicated in 2008 to Diamond Teague, a young man born and raised in Southeast. Lane said that Teague had a difficult time, living on the streets until he ed the Earth Conservation Corps and was able to turn his life around. Teague had a full scholarship to college, Lane said, and was doing well when he was shot and killed.
The ANC agreed to consider the resolution at their April meeting, which will also be attended by DPR.
Parking Woes
ANC spent discussed the perils of parking during events around Nationals Park (1500 S. Capitol St. SE), Audi Field (100 Potomac Ave. SW) and at The Wharf.
Johnny Gaither, a parking with the Department of Public Works (DPW) and District Department of Transportation (DDOT) Ward 8 Community Engagement Specialist Keith Jones appeared for a question and answer session with commissioners and attendees.
Gather provided insight into special event enforcement, as listed on street signs in Navy Yard. He said it only applies to baseball games at Nationals Stadium. It does not apply to DC United events or to concerts at Nationals Field, unless the event holder paid for it—then DPW would do parking enforcement and towing as during a game throughout the neighborhood.
Commissioner Daniels asked if the agencies were working on updating the 311 system so that citizens reporting parking issues can track whether their ticket had been resolved. Gaither said this was an issue with the Office of Unified Communication (OUC), which runs the system, and coordination between information in parking enforcement handheld systems, which he hoped would be resolved soon.
DPW has hired 12 additional parking officers who will be on the street after eight weeks of training; midway through that time, DPW will onboard another 12 officers, bringing another two dozen enforcement personnel to DC streets by the end of the summer, a total of about 280.
Responding to a question from Daniels, Gaither agreed that officers should ticket delivery drivers who are not parking in a safe manner and said he would address it with supervisors to ensure this would be addressed in officer training. Jones, from DDOT, added that his department was looking at additional curbside signage options to be announced shortly.
Commissioner Bryant asked about the new traffic pattern at I Street at South Capitol Street. The commissioners flagged a lack of signage indicating that turning is now forbidden left from westbound I Street SW onto South Capitol Street SE. DDOT agreed to address this.
Finally, Jones from DDOT said that a change in traffic pattern was coming to the Frederick Douglass Bridge. DDOT met with the residents in Buzzard Point a few months prior, and found they had concerns around the timing of traffic lights as vehicles travel around the circle onto the bridge. DDOT will be adjusting some of the lights over there, as well as making a lane change to facilitate traffic flow.
There was no vote on any part of the discussion.
Llama Bar
The ANC voted to an Alcohol Beverage Cannabis istration (ABCA) application for a Class C restaurant liquor license with entertainment endorsement for Llamabar Cafe (! Mst. SE), pending a signed Settlement Agreement (SA). The coffee and juice bar hosts daytime events with DJs but until now has not served alchol. Entertainment would be permitted from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. A representative for the applicant said that the establishment just wanted to have a DJ, noting they were willing to include limits on decibel levels. Commissioner Bryant said that lines to gain ittance are blocking entrances to parking garages. The representative said that while he was pleased to hear of the popularity of the establishment, he was also surprised and willing to create a barrier so that guests will not block entrances or public space. He also indicated that the ownership was willing to include language about alternate travel to Llamabar besides driving, as Circa has done on their materials.
Crime Down in Navy Yard
Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) Captain Adam Crist told the commission that there had been two robberies reported in ANC 6/8F since the last meeting. The first was an attempted carjacking on the unit block of N Street SE in early March. People were out celebrating a birthday, Crist said, taking photos by a rental car near Nationals Stadium. They were approached by suspects who attempted to take the car, but they got the wrong key and were unable to take it. The suspects stole jewelry from one of the victims and fled. The other robber was a smart phone snatched on the Unit Block of M Street Feb. 24. It was reported the following day, Crist said, making it more difficult to make an arrest.
There were no new assaults with a deadly weapon (ADW) nor any homicides, Crist said, adding that both ADWs committed in ANC 6/8F in 2025 were closed with an arrest as well as one of the two homicides. Crist said he was confident the other would also be closed given the excellent video of the suspect MPD had obtained from a nearby store.
ANC 8F generally meets on the third Tuesday of the month with the exception of August. The next meeting is scheduled for April 22 to avoid Tax Day. See the full calendar of meetings and instructions to at anc8f.org.
