jonetta rose barras: Dreaming of a DC reclamation after COVID-19

“It seems like August,” I said recently to a Lyft driver who was taking me to my retina specialist for yet another of those God-awful injections. “What do you mean?” she asked. Many drivers of for-hire services don’t live in the city; they don’t fully appreciate DC’s seasonal rhythms.

Native Washingtonians and folks like myself, who have been around for a while, know August is the month when the streets are nearly empty of cars. Politicians in the federal enclave — Capitol Hill and the White House — have left, returning to their home states or vacation resorts. Even DC Council members are on summer recess.

Tourists have abandoned the place, decrying the heat and humidity. Some residents who aren’t fond of those dog days have escaped to the Vineyard, Rehoboth Beach and other locales capable of providing an ocean breeze.

I love August in DC. It’s my favorite time to rediscover the city’s indisputable beauty and treasures. I visit restaurants with sidewalk seating, like Jyoti, my favorite Indian restaurant in Adams Morgan, or Lauriol Plaza, where my friends and I sip margaritas and sangrias. I rummage through bookstores like Kramer’s and take aimless luxurious strolls through neighborhoods like Shaw or Georgetown. 

The museums aren’t crowded; there is time to contemplate a piece of history or a work of art without being overly anxious about whether I’m delaying someone else’s enjoyment. The gardens and parks are less cluttered. 

When I listen closely, I hear the city humming its own song. 

Spring has been disrupted by the coronavirus. There is the threat it will destroy the entire summer. I worry about August. 

It’s true there are fewer cars on DC streets these days as a result of Mayor Muriel Bowser’s stay-at-home order. But no real pleasures are derived from the emptiness. Truthfully, I am in pain.

Recently, as I read the morning news about the spread of COVID-19 and the number of people dying — not just in this region but around the world — tears quietly crawled down my face. I don’t know anyone, thus far, who has died. Still, the sheer volume of people ripped from their families and communities without any warning, without time for any proper goodbye has left me traumatized and heartbroken.

Restaurants and businesses have experienced death of another kind. Workers are left without the jobs that provide them the opportunity to maintain their self-dignity. Undoubtedly, many wonder whether they will have enough money to pay rent or mortgage or find food to feed themselves and their children.

This week, the DC Council, in consultation with Bowser and Attorney General Karl Racine, stepped in for the second time in less than a month, hoping to bring some relief. Will it be enough? What happens after the virus has run its course? What is the District’s long-term recovery plan? We can expect some suggestions in the mayor’s budget proposal next month, but on Wednesday Bowser announced the creation of the District Economic Recovery Team (DERT) — to be headed by John Falcicchio, her chief of staff and acting deputy mayor for planning and economic development — to begin developing a recovery course. 

“The DERT is proactively engaging and coordinating with public and private sector partners to prepare for our economic recovery,” said Falcicchio in a prepared statement. “Our community is full of leaders and thinkers who care deeply about our city and our residents, and the DERT will be leveraging their expertise and engagement.” 

For now, elected officials appear to be doing everything practical to provide assistance. They unanimously approved the COVID-19 Response Supplemental Emergency Act of 2020 on Tuesday. It is comprehensive legislation that, among other things, extends the mayor’s authority to extend the public health emergency; waives certain rules related to graduation requirements for District high school students; prohibits debt collection during the emergency; and synchronizes local unemployment insurance regulations with the federal CARES Act.

“This is not something that is a perfect bill or that every one of us supports in every way as being best and complete. But this is a consensus document, and that is important,” Council Chairman Phil Mendelson said about the local emergency bill during the legislature’s first virtual meeting where members connected through Zoom.

More specifically, the bill increases the weekly amount of unemployment benefits paid to eligible workers affected by the COVID-19 public health emergency. An earlier draft of the legislation had included help for workers not eligible for existing relief programs, including those described as undocumented. That measure was removed because the projected cost of $75 million was considered prohibitive for a city facing a projected revenue shortfall of more than $600 million for this fiscal year, according to government officials.

“There continues to be discussion about how we can find relief for undocumented workers,” said Mendelson. 

During a conference call on Wednesday with council members and Bowser administration officials, Falcicchio noted that the mayor’s office was pursuing  philanthropic avenues to secure funding to help undocumented workers.

The COVID-19 emergency bill mandates that employers with between 50 and 499 employees provide at least two weeks of paid leave. It creates a $25 million grant program for hospitals — an expenditure that DC officials believe can be reimbursed by the federal government based on the declaration of DC as a disaster area. The law expands small retailer tax credits and authorizes advance payments for certified business enterprises while raising the mandated minimum subcontracting amount for construction and non-construction contracts entered into during the public health emergency from 35% to 50%. 

“This helps to ensure that the limited District funding will be targeted to residents of our city during this critical time,” said Council Chairman Pro Tempore Kenyan McDuffie, who took credit in a prepared statement for that provision of the law.

Additionally, the council’s action prevents rents from being increased during the health emergency and up to 30 days after it is lifted; requires mortgage companies to offer a 90-day deferment program; permits the delay of mortgage payments without fear of foreclosure; stops utilities, telecom and cable companies from disconnecting basic services because of outstanding debts; and extends the deadline for approval or disapproval of various government programs and certain mayoral appointments.

Under the bill, Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey DeWitt is authorized to borrow up to $500 million to cover the immediate hit to the city’s cash flow. Earlier this week, he said his preliminary assessment is that the city will lose $607 million in revenue for this fiscal year. Bowser said she expects to roll back spending to the 2017 level. She has ordered a freeze on new hiring, salary increases and travel for this fiscal year with exceptions for the coronavirus response, public safety and schools.

Some aspects of the bill are, in my view, misdirected and superfluous. For example, I see no valid reason for the legislature to relax its own ethics regime or permit the Board of Ethics and Government Accountability (BEGA) to move the deadline for financial disclosure reports to July 15.

Ward 6 Council member Charles Allen, who has oversight of the BEGA, defended that action, however. In an email to me, he asserted that financial disclosures affect “thousands of District employees — both public and confidential filers.”

“The impact of closing so many offices, access to records, and telecommuting suddenly requires the extension of the deadline,” continued Allen, adding that “no requirements [are] being waived [nor is there] information that is no longer required, it just reflects the timing involved in the unprecedented crisis we are in.”

Allen’s reasoning is thin. Most of the managers and executives who file those reports have access to computers and to their government files. 

Equally troubling, legislators have waived ethics rules to permit council members to promote certain business, without first consulting the legislature’s general counsel. The intent, Mendelson said in an email to me, is to permit “council members to promote specific businesses that are hurt by the shutdown by publicizing who is open in e-newsletters and retweets.”

“I have asked our General Counsel to look at the language carefully,” he continued, noting that this is not like a council member promoting “say, EastBanc as a great developer.” Instead, it would allow, for example, “the Ward 6 councilmember to retweet a business-related announcement, or to include in his email: Help our local restaurants during the shutdown by buying carryout — from Mr. Henry’s on Tuesdays and Fridays and Ted’s Bulletin on Wednesday’s and Saturday’s. Or to put in an email: Trader Joe’s is open for seniors at 7am, while Giant Food on H Street opens for seniors at 6am. Stuff like that.”

That’s a slippery slope. It raises questions about whether council members were really concerned about ethics violations committed by former Ward 2 Council member Jack Evans or something else.

Nevertheless, for the most part, the council has taken a good second step in the fight against the impact of COVID-19. “There will undoubtedly be additional measures necessary, and as we consider those, it is imperative we work collectively to guide our city through this unprecedented time,” said McDuffie. Let’s hope more lives can be saved. Let’s hope, too, that their actions will help preserve the communities and places that make DC special.

I miss the city. I can’t wait to fully embrace it again.

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jonetta rose barras is an author and freelance journalist, covering national and local issues including politics, childhood trauma, public education, economic development and urban public policies. She can be reached at thebarrasreport@gmail.com.