Downtowner DC: Lewis George, Audi Field, Bigbelly, Flock, Ramsay
By • September 8, 2026 0 288
Lewis George Is Listening in All 8 Wards
On Sept. 1, District Council member Janeese Lewis George, Democratic candidate for mayor, launched a “Building the People’s Government” listening tour at Ward 8’s Union Temple Baptist Church. Remaining stops on the tour, which is visiting all eight wards: People’s Congregational United Church of Christ (Ward 4) on Sept. 8, Union Wesley AME Zion Church (Ward 5) on Sept. 10, Saint Sophia Greek Orthodox Cathedral (Ward 3) on Sept. 24, Luther Place Memorial Church (Ward 2) on Sept. 30 and Capitol Hill United Methodist Church (Ward 6) on Oct. 1. Lewis George has also been speaking with the like-minded mayors of Baltimore, Boston and New York.
Mayor Is Opposing Audi Field Expansion
Mayor Muriel Bowser made known her opposition to an expansion plan for 20,000-seat soccer stadium Audi Field proposed by the District Council in July. The $620-million project would add a new roof, 8,000 seats and ancillary facilities, while creating a maintenance fund and exploring housing development on the Buzzard Point site. D.C.’s $300-million investment, secured by stadium revenues, would be more than matched by D.C. United’s $320 million (plus any overruns). The mayor cited competing sports-related priorities.
DPW Is Trying Out Bigbelly Trash Bins
The District Council having allocated $200,000 to a pilot program, the Department of Public Works purchased and installed 26 sensor-equipped, ADA-compliant, rat-proof trash bins from Massachusetts-based Bigbelly. Interim Director Anthony Crispino told WUSA9, “what we have tried to do is look at the areas that are having the most 311 reports related to rodent issues,” such as the park at 14th and Girard Streets NW in Columbia Heights. Each bin goes for about $2,500. There are an estimated 7,000 bins throughout the District.
DeFlock DC Is Pushing Back on Cameras
A group calling itself DeFlock DC is seeking to quash the Metropolitan Police Department’s use of AI-enabled license-plate readers. MPD’s 67 cameras, made by Atlanta-based Flock Safety, scan roughly 400,000 vehicle tags daily, storing the information for three months. After District Council member Christina Henderson’s recent inquiries, MPD no longer allows other police departments direct access to the data. The ACLU claims that “companies like Flock Safety are quietly trying to build a nationwide mass surveillance system.”
Residents Are Blaming Ramsay’s Eateries
The condo association of Terrell Place, a 7th Street NW building housing Gordon Ramsay Street Pizza and Street Burger, is frustrated with the eateries’ and Douglas Development’s apparent stonewalling regarding odor and air particulate complaints by residents of six units, according to the Washington Post, which reported: “The particulate levels spike during restaurant operating hours, according to months’ worth of readouts of an in-unit air monitor … and an air quality report conducted at the behest of the condo association.”
