Improving access to parks with public art and temporary streetscape improvements - Recap of the community walk to Kingman Island

On a recent Saturday morning, I joined a handful of residents from DC’s River Terrace and Kingman Park neighborhoods on a community walk to Kingman Island. We were brainstorming ways to improve the connection from these neighborhoods to Kingman Island, one of two beautiful island parks lying between these two neighborhoods on opposite shores of the Anacostia River.

Read More
Meeting Alert - Proposed Bridge from Kenilworth Park to the National Arboretum - May 21 and 22, 6:30pm

The Department of Transportation and the National Park Service have been working on plans for a bridge that will connect the Kenilworth Park area across the Anacostia River to the National Arboretum.

This pedestrian and bicycle bridge would help connect the neighborhoods of Mayfair, Kenilworth, Parkside, Eastland Gardens and River Terrace get access to the National Arboretum much more easily. DDOT hopes to complete the bridge by 2021.

Do you have thoughts about the bridge design or location? Do you have other concerns? Attend a DDOT public meeting and share your voice on May 21 or May 22.

Read More
May 23 - Join APACC for a conversation with DOEE about supporting community efforts to improve our streams and rivers

Do you want to learn more about getting a rain garden or rain barrel installed on your property? Are you interested in grants that support projects to improve water quality? Do you want to learn more about the Chesapeake Bay watershed and what DC is doing to improve it?

The Anacostia Park and Community Collaborative is co-hosting a meeting this Thursday, May 23, from 6:00-8:00PM with Washington Parks and People (an APACC member) on these topics. The Department of Energy and Environment will be there to learn from you how their programs can best serve your community while cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay through its “Watershed Improvement Plan.”

Read More
Learn more about the Policy Innovation Lab on April 29 at THEARC

The McCourt Policy Innovation Lab is a graduate student initiative of the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown University, and the group is a member organization of APACC. The PIL is hosting a year-end presentation on Monday, April 29th from 4-5: 30 pm at the ARC Community Meeting Room (1901 Mississippi Ave SE Suite #101) on. The event is an opportunity for the Policy Lab to share their work and learn from the community as they continue their efforts to support racially equitable, socially just, and community-centric policies in D.C.'s Wards 7 & 8.

Read More
Small grants available for work in nine neighborhoods of Ward 8

Neighbor-to-Neighbor is a small grants program that was launched in 2019 to provide funding for community-based groups and organizations that are located in and/or serve in the following Ward 8 communities: Anacostia, Buena Vista, Fort Stanton, Garfield Heights, Hillsdale, Knox Hill, Stanton Oaks, The Vistas, and Woodland. The program’s design, implementation, and decision-making is driven by DC residents who either live or work in communities in Ward 8. Learn more here, and apply here by May 31, 2019.

Read More
May 11 - Explore the Potential of Placemaking on a Community Walk to Kingman Island

You are invited by the District Department of Energy and Environment on Saturday, May 11th from 10 am – 12pm for a Community Walk to Kingman Island to share your ideas for enhancing the journey from your backyard to the island. During the walk participants will explore pilot projects that can transform Ethel Kennedy/ Benning Road Bridge and the entrance to Kingman Island into vibrant social public spaces by adding temporary seating, plants, and art work to make the space more inviting and enjoyable.

Read More
Lights of Freedom (NEW DATE) - April 16

APACC member Washington Parks and People is hosting Lights of Freedom, an event where community residents and descendants will join with the National Park Service and DC Parks and Recreation to light over 2,000 candle luminaries in honor of thousands of African Americans who were buried in what is now Adams Morgan's Walter Pierce park after they gained their freedom during the Civil War. This event was rescheduled to April 16 at 7:00pm due to rain.

Read More
DC Water’s Expanded Assistance Program is Taking Applications

DC Water is encouraging residents and non-profits to take advantage of the new assistance programs that went into effect this year and which offer significant new opportunities for savings. The new expanded Customer Assistance Programs can help with water bills, including the increased costs of paying for the federally mandated cleanup of the Anacostia and Potomac River, along with Rock Creek.

Read More
"Reimagining the Civic Commons" - 9 Ways to Build Better Cities Through Public Places

The Anacostia Park and Community Collaborative is interested in the role that Anacostia Park and other open spaces in Ward 7 and Ward 8 of the District can play in improving our communities. We believe that the Anacostia River and its waterfront parks, as well as our other neighborhood parks, can provide immense benefits to residents if improved in the right way.

We aren’t the only people thinking like this. Four big foundations recently put $40 million into a project called Reimagining the Civic Commons that leverages “the power of the civic commons to produce increased and more equitably shared prosperity” in four U.S. cities. After working in several cities since 2016, this project has published some lessons-learned that apply very much to us here in the District.

Read More