News

Who Got Reported To The County COVID-19 Tip Line?

By Jo DeVoe
Crowd at The Lot beer garden on May 29, 2020 (via Twitter)

From Clarendon bars to crowded gyms, unmasked store clerks to house parties, Arlingtonians asked the county to investigate more than 1,000 reported cases of COVID-19 non-compliance.

The reports came in through a form that Arlington County launched last year to report lax social distancing and masking.

ARLnow obtained the full list of reported instances from a resident who acquired the list with a Freedom of Information request. After removing incomplete or abusive requests, about 1,175 remained. Of those, around 200 were filed in 2021, with the rest — just shy of 1,000 — filed in 2020.

The entries provide a snapshot into the kinds of activities that worried Arlingtonians the most during the height of the pandemic. People reported facilities operating without authorization, restaurants allegedly exceeding 50% capacity and large religious gatherings, as well as crowded non-essential businesses, parks and county facilities. A final category, “other,” included home gatherings and complaints about little masking enforcement in apartment buildings.

Referencing a rowdy house party, one reporter asked the tip line, “can we lock everyone under 30 in a closet until this is over?”

Of the nearly 1,200 submissions, about 370 referenced restaurants exceeding 50% capacity.

Far and away, the most frequently reported establishment was The Lot beer garden near Clarendon, which racked up at least 100 reports. Many of these came the Friday (May 29, 2020) that The Lot reopened along with other non-essential businesses permitted to reopen with additional precautions.

The word cloud shows Arlington businesses that have been reported at least four times for not complying with COVID-19 guidelines. The size of each name depends on how frequently they were reported (via WordItOut.com)

The opening day went viral when Democratic strategist Adam Parkhomenko posted a photo showing a large crowd outdoors, with none wearing masks. The bulk of the tips came that weekend.

“People packed in like sardines. Minimal masking. Shut it down,” wrote one.

Board member Katie Cristol retweeted the photo, suggesting The Lot was out of compliance and included a link to the hot line. She later apologized for the suggestion in a tweet. Outdoor settings were later found to be much safer than indoor settings in terms of virus spread, though not without risks.

Some complaints about Clarendon’s day-drinking and nightlife continued into the fall and winter. In October a tipster said the crowding happens “every night.”

“Surely someone should be policing this — for years you have had extra police in Clarendon for the bars, so why not assign someone here?” the tipster wrote. “The line at the farmers market is better policed by volunteers than this one.”

Behind restaurants were “other” violations (about 330) and reports of public outdoor facilities not following guidelines (nearly 300). Of these, the most common were reports of social gatherings and complaints about enforcement in apartment buildings and gyms.

One tipster said their management company took four months to post signs saying masks were recommended and was not doing any enforcement: “I would estimate fewer than 50% of residents wear face covering in halls and elevators.”

A gym-goer said the building’s fitness center was “full of people” and “no one was wearing a mask except me.”

(more…)

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Local Man Awaits Word on Family’s Fate — “An Arlington, Virginia, man is one of many family members waiting for answers on the whereabouts of loved ones after a condo building collapsed in Surfside, Florida. ‘I would say yesterday was just a shock day. Today, a lot of us woke up hoping it was a bad dream,’ Alex Rodriguez told News4… His mom, Elena Blasser, and his grandmother, Elena Chavez were inside.” [NBC 4]

Chase Ends Near 14th Street Bridge — “A person is in custody after leading multiple police departments on a high-speed chase that spanned several county and state lines. It all started in Prince George’s County, Maryland, when a suspected carjacker fled police around 7:30 p.m. Friday… The driver evaded police several times, weaving into the City of Alexandria, until finally being stopped and arrested in Arlington County.” [WTOP, Twitter]

New Faregates at Clarendon Station — “Metro today began public testing at six rail stations of new, modernized faregates that will replace Metro’s aging faregate technology. The new faregates will include enhanced safety features, larger displays, and faster processing… As part of a month-long pilot project, test faregates have been installed at Clarendon, Dunn Loring, Gallery Place, Glenmont, Waterfront and West Falls Church.” [WMATA]

Hot Start to the Week — From the National Weather Service: “With an extended period of hot and humid conditions on Mon-Wed, here are some helpful reminders about car safety when it comes to heat. Also, take a look at the high/low temp forecast across the region. Shower and t’storm chances increase by mid-week.” [Twitter]

Demand for Food Help Falling — “AFAC’s count of participating families, which had spiked 49 percent at the height of the COVID crisis last fall, is down to being nearly on par with pre-COVID levels. One reason: Jobs that had been lost early in the pandemic are now coming back, which is good news all the way around.” [Sun Gazette]

DCA Is Getting Busier — From Reagan National Airport: “The airport is getting busier & so are our parking facilities! Parking Garages A and B/C may be closed at times, open to customers with advanced reservations only. The Economy Lot is open with plenty of availability. Book online to guarantee a spot.” [Twitter]

More Delays on Glebe Near Chain Bridge — From VDOT: “N Glebe Rd between Military Rd and Rt 123 in Arlington will again have alternating traffic in each direction via flagging, and the Glebe/123 signal will again have flagging Mon 6/28 from 9:30AM-3PM for Pimmit Run bridge project work.” [Twitter]

Reminder: Vote in This Week’s Arlies — Voting in the latest weekly edition of the Arlies closes tomorrow at noon. This week’s categories are favorite dog park and veterinarian. [ARLnow]

Construction on ‘The Highlands’ in Rosslyn Is Starting to Wrap Up

By Jo DeVoe
1/12

Developer Penzance is approaching the finish line for The Highlands development in Rosslyn, which includes a trio of residential towers, a fire station and a park.

One apartment building, named Aubrey, will be completed this summer, a spokeswoman said.

Early this fall, Penzance is set to deliver two residential buildings — apartment tower Evo and condo tower Pierce — as well as the new ACFD Fire Station 10, which is temporarily located at 1791 N. Quinn Street.

Construction on The Highlands started in October 2018. When finished, The Highlands will feature 780 luxury rental apartments, 104 condos and 40,000 square feet of retail space, in addition to the park and fire station.

Yesterday (Thursday), Penzance announced the start of leasing for apartments in Evo, a new milestone for the massive development. Leasing for Aubrey began March 1 and condo sales are ongoing for Pierce.

“We’re excited to begin leasing for Evo, the final residential tower coming to The Highlands,” said John Kusturiss, Penzance’s senior vice president of development and construction.

The 29-story building with more than 450 luxury apartments will feature a number of amenities, including a rock-climbing wall, a golf simulator, a dart alley and bar, a rooftop pool, grilling stations, and coworking lounges.

“Following The Highlands’ delivery, Rosslyn will also welcome the forthcoming Rosslyn Highlands Park that residents can enjoy,” a press release noted. The 26,000-square-foot park is set to be completed by the end of the calendar year, the spokeswoman said.

The Highlands is part of a flurry of construction in Rosslyn, including the recently completed Queens Court Residences affordable housing development (1801 N. Quinn Street), which will have its grand opening on Tuesday and which features a new playground on-site.

EXCLUSIVE: Pike Businesses Leaving Due to Parking Challenges at County-Financed Garage

By Matt Blitz
1/6

(Updated at 11:10 a.m.) A pair of Columbia Pike businesses say they’re planning to leave when their leases are up due to parking challenges at a county-financed garage.

Lost Dog Cafe and Joule Wellness Pharmacy both tell ARLnow that relatively high and confusing parking fees in the garage are costing them thousands of dollars a year in customer business. The owners of both say they will not be renewing their leases when they expire come 2023 and 2024, respectively.

“This parking issue has made it so untenable,” says Lost Dog Cafe franchise owner Jim Barnes. “We link this to our sales and our sales are not good. There’s a correlation with this parking lot.”

The parking garage, located at the corner of Columbia Pike and S. Walter Reed Drive, is owned by Ballston-based apartment developer AvalonBay. However, it was built based as part of an unusual 2006 agreement with Arlington County.

The county contributed $2.96 million to its construction with the promise of receiving 45% of parking revenue as a form of payback every month going forward, according to the “public parking development agreement” obtained by ARLnow.

It is one of only two parking garages in the county that has an agreement of this nature, county officials confirm, with the other also along Columbia Pike, at Penrose Square.

The agreement does not specify a duration for which the county will continue to receive the parking revenue and county officials declined to provide an “interpretation” of whether that could mean into perpetuity.

They also didn’t specify how much revenue the garage generated for the county in 2020.

The parking garage is owned by AvalonBay and was acquired by the company with its $102 million purchase of the since-renamed Avalon Columbia Pike apartment building — formerly the Halstead Arlington — in 2016.

While this agreement had been in place for a decade and a half, initially signed by a different developer, a majority of the issues for the businesses started in March 2020, just days before the pandemic began to hit Arlington.

That’s when, according to Lost Dog and Joule Wellness, the parking machines were turned on and enforced for the first time in years.

Lost Dog Cafe, a franchisee of the original in Westover, moved into 2920 Columbia Pike in May 2009. At the time, Barnes said that parking was free after 5 p.m. and on weekends, which he says was an adequate compromise. A large portion of their customer-base came when parking was free anyway, with the garage able to earn revenue at other times, he says.

When AvalonBay purchased the building, notes Barnes, those restrictions went away and the parking machines were turned off. Enforcement also stopped.

Then four years later, with little notice according to the businesses, the machines were turned back on, enforcement restarted, and parking fees were being charged 24/7. The machines require drivers to pay for parking in advance, and anyone who fails to do so — or who overstays the amount of time they paid for — gets ticketed or towed.

A sign outside the garage advertises a parking rate of $1.75 per hour, which can be paid via a cash-only machine inside the garage. Barnes claims the machine “has never worked” and “steals people’s money.”

Drivers can also use the ParkMobile app, but poor cell phone reception in the garage makes that difficult, and the app charges $2.25 for the first hour.

“Customers cannot use their phones to access it infuriating them and they simply choose to no longer come to our business as a result,” Barnes said.

Paid street parking is available nearby, but is limited. Parking on surrounding neighborhood streets, meanwhile, often requires a residential decal, and nearby parking lots are restricted to other businesses and their customers.

AvalonBay, in an email to ARLnow, disputes Barnes’ version of events, writing that parking was being collected prior to March 2020.

“Equipment had been in place and parking revenue was collected prior to March 2020,” writes a company representative. “In March 2020, an updated parking system was installed with the County’s approval.”

Barnes, however, says that he received “no notice whatsoever” about the change or any updates.

The management of Joule Wellness Pharmacy, which opened its Pike location in early 2014, said they did receive notice, but it was only two to three weeks prior to the change. What’s more, they said there’s no mention of paid parking in their lease.

“There was not no mention of that in our lease,” says manager Alex Tekie. “And in fact, we’re told parking is free for us and our employees and for customers coming on the retail side.”

Tekie and pharmacy owner Winnie Tewelde tell ARLnow they now shell out nearly $800 a month in parking, mostly so employees can park in the lot.

They’ve talked a lawyer about the situation, but grew weary of paying even more money to fight the parking changes against a large, publicly-traded developer.

“We got exhausted. Drained,” says Tekie. “It’s David vs. Goliath.”

(more…)

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Arlington is ‘Best City for Road Trips’ in Va. —  “In each state, there are some cities with particularly novel and exciting opportunities to soak up some of the local history and culture without breaking the bank. From underrated smaller communities to large metropolises, these are the cities you want to hit on your road trip this summer in 2021.” [Insurify]

Attempted Art Theft from Garage — “4700 block of 36th Street N. At approximately 10:32 p.m. on June 23, police were dispatched to the report of a burglary in progress. Upon arrival, officers located the suspect on scene and detained him without incident. The investigation revealed the male suspect gained entry into the victim’s garage and attempted to remove paintings.” [ACPD]

W-L Softball Wins Regional Title — “It’s hard to lose if the opponents don’t score much, and that was the successful formula for the Washington-Liberty Generals en route to winning the 6D North Region Tournament championship. The girls high-school softball team (13-5) won the crown with a 4-0 record, defeating the host Langley Saxons, 4-1, in the title game. The region championship was W-L’s first in program history.” [Sun Gazette]

Pike Library Renovation Celebration — “The public is invited to attend the grand opening and community celebration of the newly renovated Columbia Pike Library on Thursday, July 8, 4-6 p.m. Join members of the County Board and Library Director Diane Kresh in the ribbon cutting ceremony, followed by family-friendly events, music and ice cream, and a tour of the transformed Library Branch.” [Arlington Public Library]

F.C. Cemetery Full of Arlington History — “An array of Arlington’s historic notables are buried across our southern border in Falls Church City. I received a tour of the open-to-the-public Oakwood Cemetery just off Roosevelt Blvd. behind Eden Center… Don’t miss the marker for Amanda Febrey, who died in 1913 of tuberculosis at age 14, and whose ghost is said to have haunted the clubhouse at Overlee swim club.” [Falls Church News-Press]

Metro Is Electrifying Its Bus Fleet — “Today, Metro’s Board of Directors.. took a major step toward reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving local air quality with the approval of a new Metrobus fleet strategy that would create a 100% zero-emission bus fleet by 2045, with a full transition to electric or other zero-emission bus purchases by 2030.” [WMATA]

Commonwealth’s Attorney: Organized Carjackings Require Organized Response

By Jo DeVoe

Arlington’s top prosecutor said she is working with Arlington County Police Department to establish a multi-agency cooperative effort to tackle the carjackings and vehicle tamperings here and in the D.C. area.

“My philosophy has always been to focus on crimes that are a public safety risk,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti tells ARLnow. “Car tamperings and car thefts, I don’t look at those as simple ‘property crimes’ because those are things that make people feel vulnerable and set people up for dangerous situations.”

Dehghani-Tafti, who was elected in 2019 on a platform of criminal justice reform, said she has been following the theft and tampering trend and looking for patterns. She said she has also been encouraging early and constant communication between her office and ACPD, while the two are working with other Northern Virginia and Maryland jurisdictions and some federal agencies.

This coordination may turn into something like a task force. Talks about one began in February, and she said officials will soon be able to announce some kind of organized intra-jurisdiction response.

“ACPD has been working on the task force, and I’ve been promoting the task force,” the prosecutor said.

Property crimes from 2016 to 2020 (via ACPD)

Motor vehicle thefts have risen steadily since 2018, according to ACPD’s newly released 2020 crime report.

Dehghani-Tafti said that is playing out across the river in D.C., which saw five times more carjackings in the first quarter of 2021 than the same period in 2020. Similar sprees are occurring in Montgomery County, Prince George’s County and Howard County, she said.

“We’re seeing this across the country, whether or not a reformer is in office or the county government is progressive or not,” she said.

And Dehghani-Tafti said she has reason to believe the car thefts are organized. A few weeks ago, she drove around with ACPD detectives to see what they see and maintain the collaboration she said is needed to tackle more organized crime sprees.

“The carjackings started to look [organized] when a few people were arrested in February and March and the instances went down dramatically in all the jurisdictions in the D.C. area,” she said.

https://twitter.com/parisa4justice/status/1404745355330195456?s=21

Her office has one person whose job is to provide early assistance to ACPD and other agencies as they build carjacking and tampering cases. The sooner law enforcement agencies reach out, the sooner her office can support officers as they ask for search warrants, gather evidence and build cases.

Such a collaboration “adds value and context of a case” to investigations “so that we don’t take things that are serious insufficiently seriously and we don’t overreact to cases that are not within the organized pattern we are seeing,” she said.

“The criminal-legal system is a blunt tool, and what we’re trying to do is make it more surgical,” she said.

That approach does not mean she is “soft on crime,” she argued, but that she is going after the right people.

(more…)

Ballston Church Set for Demolition Auctioning Off Everything from Bibles to an Organ

By ARLnow.com
1/5

Central United Methodist Church in Ballston is auctioning off hymnals, furniture and various equipment ahead of a planned redevelopment.

The online auction kicked off this week, after the final service in the church’s current building was held last month. Services are now being held virtually as the property at 4201 Fairfax Drive, across from the Ballston Metro station, is torn down and rebuilt as an affordable housing complex.

The new “Ballston Station” development will feature 144 committed affordable housing units, a childcare facility for up to 100 children, and a church space for up to 200 people. Demolition is set to happen this fall and construction is expected to wrap up in the winter of 2023-24.

The developer — the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing — plans to take possession of the building on July 31, according to a church newsletter, and will begin hazardous materials work to remove asbestos. Auction items, meanwhile, will begin to close on July 13 so that things like bibles, tables, air conditioning units and even an organ keyboard can be removed by then.

Parishioners and other churches were given a chance to request items before they were put up for auction, according to the newsletter. The church also posted a farewell video, below, as a tribute to the “much-loved” building.

Arlington’s Covid Rate Remains Low Despite Gradual Return to Normality

By ARLnow.com

Anecdotally, at least, fewer people seem to be wearing masks out in public in Arlington.

While some remain cautious — or, perhaps, they are not yet fully vaccinated and are following health guidelines — locals seem increasingly comfortable patronizing local businesses sans mask.

And the lack of masks doesn’t appear to be noticeably impacting Arlington’s Covid infection rate, which fell as vaccinations ramped up in the spring.

As of this morning, Arlington’s test positivity rate was still a mere 0.6%, and the rate of net new cases over the past two weeks is less than one per day.

Only one new Covid-related hospitalization has been reported over the past two weeks. Total coronavirus cases in Arlington, net of suspected cases that later tested negative being removed from the Virginia Dept. of Health data, has ticked up by only four since the start of the month.

The county’s total case count currently stands at 15,296.

Vaccinations, meanwhile, have slowed, but Virginia celebrated a significant milestone earlier this week, with 70% of adults having received at least one vaccine dose.

Arlington is working on creative ways to encourage more vaccinations, including having shots available at local events and distributing coasters with QR codes to local bars.

As of today, 60.0% of adults in the county are fully vaccinated, excluding those who received vaccinations from the military or federal government agencies.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Fireworks Safety Demonstration — From the Arlington County Fire Department: “We want everyone to have a safe and enjoyable 4th of July by following some of these safety tips.” [Twitter, Twitter]

Undefeated Yorktown in Lacrosse State Final — “Yorktown will play at Battlefield in Haymarket after the Bobcats beat Cosby, 6-4, in the other Class 6 semifinal Tuesday… For Yorktown, the first steps toward Saturday’s state final were laid before this year’s players were born, and over 21 years the Patriots toiled and waited until they could play in a state semifinal.” [Washington Post]

Streaming Show at Signature Theatre — “The Signature Theater in Arlington, Va., is presenting an energetic full production of the revue ‘After Midnight,’ which ran on Broadway in 2013. Christopher Jackson (“Hamilton”) leads the cast through a whirlwind of jazzy Cotton Club-era songs, held together by Langston Hughes texts. The show has many pleasures, like the heavenly vocal harmonies in ‘Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea’ and a timely reminder that tap is exhilarating.” [New York Times]

Marymount Partnering With Netflix — “The world’s leading streaming entertainment service and a global leader in education technology are expanding their partnership and bringing Marymount University into the fold as they work to increase diversity in tech fields. Starting this August, Netflix and 2U, Inc., will offer three for-credit, fully online tech boot camps in Data Science, Java Engineering and UX/UI to Marymount undergraduates, all at no cost to accepted students.” [Press Release]

Ballston-Based AvalonBay Now Accepting Credit Cards — “AvalonBay residents will receive an invitation for the Bilt Mastercard, an extension of Bilt Rewards and the first credit card that allows users to pay their rent with no annual fee and without burdening the building owner with ongoing fees. With the card, AvalonBay residents can also earn points on non-rent purchases, enabling them to maximize rewards potential.” [BusinessWire]

Flickr pool photo by Bekah Richards

Carjackings, Assaults Rose in 2020, While Alcohol-Related Crimes Fell

By Jo DeVoe

As COVID-19 cases surged in Arlington County last year, so did carjackings, assaults, trespassings and opioid overdoses, according to a new annual report from Arlington County Police Department.

Meanwhile, alcohol-related crimes and vehicle crashes saw significant decreases.

Overall, the report paints a mixed picture of a relatively flat crime rate for those against property and society, or “Group A Offenses,” compared to 2019. It also shows a drop in the number of arrests for less serious crimes such as trespassing, loitering and drunkenness, or “Group B Arrests.”

But the report highlights a few key crimes that rose or fell, partially due to the pandemic. It also addresses at length the rash of carjackings — which started ticking up in 2019 and have continued in 2021 — and ACPD’s response.

“Group A Offense Totals” and “Group B Arrests” rose to 7,990 and fell to 956, respectively, from 7,985 and 1,324 the year prior, according to the report.

Crime rates from 2016 to 2020 by “Group A” and “Group B” (via ACPD)

While the Group A total stayed largely flat, “2020 was marked particularly by increases in vehicle-related property crimes including carjacking offenses, motor vehicle thefts, larcenies from auto and tamperings,” newly-appointed Police Chief Andy Penn wrote in the report.

Penn said these car thefts and tamperings are playing out across the D.C. area and nationwide. ACPD investigated 16 carjacking reports in 2020: eight were solved with arrests or with the identified suspect being held in another jurisdiction.

“Arlington detectives worked collaboratively with our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to investigate cases, identify suspects and apprehend those responsible,” Penn said.

Most of the carjackings were concentrated in Crystal City and Pentagon City. In response, ACPD poured more resources into these neighborhoods last year and earlier this year, which the department said in March appears to be working.

Crimes against property from 2016 to 2020 (via ACPD)

Thieves tend to target unlocked vehicles in neighborhoods, Toyotas and Hondas (for their parts) in open-air parking lots and those left running unattended or parked with keys inside, according to the report.

Assaults, meanwhile, reached a sustained three-month high from July through September before declining. They were concentrated in populated areas and in transit corridors, the report said.

“This temporal pattern was similar to other offense types this year, likely related to COVID-19 closures,” according to the report. “Domestic assault and battery offenses against a family or household member increased by 38 cases (14.6%) compared to 2019 and were a significant contributor to the increase in simple assaults.”

Although ACPD’s report does not specifically link domestic assault to the pandemic, at least one study does.

Crimes against persons from 2016 to 2020 (via ACPD)

While crimes against people have been increasing since 2018, Arlington’s violent crime rate continues to be less than half the statewide rate, the report said.

Lastly, ACPD investigated 20 fatal overdoses and 54 non-fatal overdoses in 2020 — more than any other year since it began actively tracking incidents involving opioids in 2014, the report said. The total, 74, matched the number reported at the peak of the opioid epidemic in 2017, and involved heroin and prescription painkillers mixed with fentanyl.

“While the investigation into these incidents revealed no direct evidence that the increases are fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is likely a factor given the timing, the loss of income and jobs and the isolation of stay-at-home orders,” the report said.

Opioid overdoses in Arlington County (via ACPD)

COVID-19 may partially explain the increases in assaults and thefts, but it may also have contributed to a sharp decline by 27% in “Group B” arrests. Leading that drop were drunkenness (42%), driving under the influence (13%) and liquor law violations (68%).

“These declines are likely indicative of COVID-19 business closures and reduced hours of operation, decreased public consumption of alcohol, success of increased enforcement, advocacy and better utilization of taxis, ridesharing and other transportation options in reducing DUI behavior,” the report said. “Alcohol-involved traffic collisions were reduced in 2020 to the lowest levels in recent years.”

Man Arrested For Firing Air Gun at Bird in Va. Square

By ARLnow.com

A man is facing charges after police say he fired an air gun at a bird yesterday morning in the Virginia Square area.

Police responded to the area of Wilson Blvd and N. Kenmore Street just before 8 a.m. Tuesday for reports of a man with a gun. Officers arrived and were told by a witness that the man fired an air gun “in the direction of a bird,” according to an Arlington County Police Department crime report.

The suspect, 69-year-old Ytiyti Ytity, was allegedly in possession of three air guns, which were taken by police. He was released on a court summons.

Ytity is no stranger to local police blotters, with arrest records stretching from California to Florida.

More from ACPD:

WEAPONS VIOLATION, 2021-06220034, Wilson Boulevard at N. Kenmore Street. At approximately 7:52 a.m. on June 22, police were dispatched to the report of a person with a gun. Upon arrival, it was determined that the witness observed the suspect allegedly pull an air gun out of his backpack and discharge it in the direction of a bird. Arriving officers located the suspect, he was positively identified and three air guns were recovered. Ytiyti Ytity, 69, of No Fixed Address, was charged with Discharging an Air Gun in Public and released on a summons.

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