2024 Year in Review
By • January 13, 2025 0 12
The following is a year-in-review roundup for Town Topics of 2024.
Crime
At the December meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E, the Metropolitan Police Department reported that crime was down in Georgetown and across the District — especially homicide, with no reported cases in recent months. Burglaries from homes and thefts from autos were also down in Georgetown and the District.
The Secure DC public safety omnibus bill, largely proposed and pushed by Ward 2 Council member Brooke Pinto, passed the District Council and was signed into law in March. Per Pinto’s office: “Violent crime is down 35 percent from last year, property crime dropped 11 percent and 911 call service speed and accuracy has significantly improved,” the latter thanks to the Office of Unified Communications oversight hearings led by Pinto. Also, the number of OUC call-taker vacancies has dropped from 36 in June to six.
Still, some Georgetowners don’t feel safe. Shoppers were traumatized by having to witness flash mobs that swiped shelves in CVS and Safeway clean of products as store salespeople and managers watched silently, in accordance with policy. To buy laundry soap, one still needs a staffer to open a cabinet.
Schools
Public schools in Georgetown are full of students, faculty have stayed on and reading and math scores have advanced. This is not the pattern in many D.C. public schools where, according to Washington Teachers’ Union President Jacqueline Pogue-Lyons: “The biggest challenge is the retention of teachers, due to working conditions.” Late in September, Pogue-Lyons told The Georgetowner she was especially proud that Georgetown’s one public elementary school, Hyde-Addison — where she taught and which her son attended — has a solid staff base and students from every ward in the city. That was verified when Hyde-Addison Principal Calvin Hooks received the Principal of the Year award from education publication K-12 Dive.
Hardy Middle School is also facing full capacity and bulging seams with planned renovations — especially expanded playing fields, an auditorium/cafeteria and possibly new classrooms — proposals that go in and out of the city budget. Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Kishan Putta, whose jurisdiction includes the school, advised the commission in December to expect a big push for these improvements in 2025. This year will also be the first when all June graduates at Hardy Middle School will be admitted to MacArthur High School.
The new high school is also doing well in its second year, according to Putta. The school’s population is growing as planned and new classrooms and facilities on the campus are being constructed on schedule, in preparation for a full high school program in the next two years.
The big news at Georgetown University: John DeGioia, GU’s longest-serving president, announced on Nov. 21 that he would be stepping down from his role and transitioning to the status of president emeritus. “After 23 years of service to the university — longer than most members of the graduating class of 2025 have been alive — DeGioia ultimately arrived at this difficult decision as a means of prioritizing his health following a stroke on June 5,” the university announced.
On another note, Georgetown University has been named in a class action lawsuit directed at a group of 17 universities that allegedly colluded to reduce the competition for prospective students and drive down the amount of financial aid offered — all while giving special preference to the children of wealthy donors. The case, involving antitrust issues, made the news in December, though the congressional provision allowing the collaboration expired a few years ago.
Business
Georgetown BID CEO and President Joe Sternlieb. Courtesy Georgetown BID.
As almost everyone knows, Mayor Muriel Bowser has claimed for months now that “Georgetown is hot!” Some of the credit could go to two very active business development organizations in Georgetown: the Georgetown Business Improvement District and Georgetown Main Street. The BID is intimately involved with the debates about the future of Georgetown’s streateries and widened sidewalks (see below).
Longtime CEO and President Joe Sternlieb will be stepping down in the first quarter of 2025 to become an executive fellow at the Federal City Council. A search for his replacement has begun. “This is an exciting opportunity for a forward-thinking leader to help shape the next chapter of one of the country’s most renowned and vibrant commercial districts,” said Terese Wilson, who chairs the BID’s board of directors.
Meanwhile Georgetown Main Street, a nonprofit that represents retailers and small business entrepreneurs, has been an increasingly festive presence in Georgetown under Executive Director Rachel Shank. During the holidays, GMS sponsored several events that may become town traditions, such as a Christmas tree lighting and carol singing at Book Hill Park and a cookie tour with more than a dozen participating retailers over two holiday weekends. Events are being planned for almost every month in 2025.
Streateries
As reported in The Georgetowner’s December ANC Report, the guidelines for permanent streateries — the expanded outdoor dining spaces fashioned out of the sidewalk and parking areas in front of many eateries — are being finalized. The approved standards are meant to make the streateries, which became popular during the pandemic, safer and more convenient for customers, while allowing access to the utilities under the sidewalks and former parking spots.
But the guidelines also touch on the aesthetics of the streatery barriers. It seems that the ugly concrete Jersey barriers are definitely out. So are the standard planking and steps. The new look will probably have diners on the sidewalk portion nearest the buildings, with pedestrians maneuvering the brick sidewalk area closer to the traffic. The Citizens Association of Georgetown is also involved in the town meetings and planning for the streateries, which will obviously be a major subject of The Georgetowner’s Town Topics in 2025.
