Arlington County Parks & Recreation said on Twitter that the park remained closed because the playground on the site could not be secured. Playgrounds across the region remain closed, with leaders in neighboring Alexandria suggesting they could remain closed until September.
Hayes Park was still locked up last night (Wednesday) but Susan Kalish, spokeswoman for the parks department, said the padlock has been removed and the park reopened this morning (Thursday).
“In our efforts to reopen park spaces for May 23, we had some bumps,” said Kalish. “The park spaces at Hayes Park are open for people to enjoy if they social distance. The playground and tennis courts, like all in Arlington, are off-limits.”
With parks back open for passive recreation and Arlington about to enter “Phase 1” of a regional reopening, county officials are hoping that locals abide by the remaining restrictions.
“Our park spaces are open and people should be able to access them now,” Kalish added. “We should have caution tape around the playgrounds and specific signage that the playground, shelter, field, court and other amenities are closed. If people are confused, they can connect with us on Twitter or Facebook or at [email protected] or 703-228-4747.”
A day before Arlington starts to reopen, hospitalizations in the county have hit a multi-week low.
Overnight, the Virginia Dept. of Health reported 51 new coronavirus cases, two new hospitalizations and no additional deaths in Arlington. That brings the total known cases above the 2,000 mark, to 2,039. Cumulative hospitalizations are now 373, while 109 people have died.
The seven-day trailing rate of new hospitalizations in Arlington is now 27, the lowest figure since at least May 1, after VDH started consistently releasing such data.
While new cases continue to rise at a weekly rate only about 10% off the peak three weeks ago, the rate of testing has also been rising. VDH data shows a big increase in testing over the past two days, presumably attributable to the county’s free testing event, at which some 1,000 tests were administered.
The latest reported test positivity rate for Arlington is 16.8%, down from more than 25% two weeks prior. The seven-day moving average of daily tests administered is 236 and rising.
With coronavirus cases increasing steadily, but not exponentially, and hospitals having sufficient extra capacity, local health officials say localities can start reopening relatively safely. (Much of the rest of the Virginia started reopening on May 15. D.C. is also partially reopening this coming Friday.)
Wearing masks indoors in public spaces will be mandatory in Virginia starting Friday, with some exceptions, and businesses will only be partially reopening, with extra safety precautions. More from a county press release:
Highlights of the Governor’s Forward Virginia Phase 1 – Effective May 29
Non-essential businesses can open at 50 percent capacity, with strict requirements.
Take-out and curbside pickup for restaurants and beverage services can continue and outdoor seating will be allowed at 50 percent capacity (see more on this below).
Gyms and fitness facilities can offer limited outdoor exercise options.
Outdoor swimming pools may be open for lap swimming only, with one person per lane.
Beauty and nail salons, barbershops and other personal grooming services can provide services by appointment only and must follow strict guidelines.
Places of worship can open for drive-in services or services inside at 50 percent capacity.
Spray parks, basketball courts, and racquetball courts must remain closed, as well as entertainment facilities such as movie theaters.
Social gatherings of more than 10 people are still banned.
There are mixed feelings about reopenings, in debates that have played out in states and counties across the country.
Some say reopenings will unnecessarily cause further disease and death. Others say the stay-at-home orders are no longer needed and are only causing more economic hardship. Still others are just happy to be able to get a haircut and spend some more time outside of the house.
In a word, how are you feeling about Arlington’s reopening?
Business Concerns About Mask Mandate — “Arlington County Board Member Katie Cristol says she’s heard concerns from businesses owners about enforcing the mask policy. ‘We’ve definitely heard from some grocers and some others that they don’t want to be in the business of enforcing and I think you’ve seen, nationally, examples of altercations between grocery employees and individuals who don’t want to wear masks and get belligerent about it,’ Cristol said.” [NBC 4]
More Local COVID Grants — “The Community Foundation for Northern Virginia has approved $280,000 in Round 4 grants from its COVID-19 Response Fund for Northern Virginia to five organizations, including ALIVE!, Arlington Thrive, CASA de Virginia, and Northern Virginia Family Service.” [InsideNova]
Interview with Gillian Burgess — “Why hasn’t Arlington closed some streets to cars, to make more room for pedestrians and cyclists? What can be done about overcrowded trails? Should the Arlington Way move mostly online? Those are a few of the things we discussed tonight with Gillian Burgess, a local civic leader and cycling advocate.” [Facebook, Apple Podcasts]
As Arlington prepares to move into Phase 1 of the reopening, some local barbershops and salons are ready to reopen with a different look.
Illusions of Shirlington (4033 Campbell Avenue) is planning to reopen this Friday, though its owner acknowledged that the new restrictions will make her work and that of her staff a bit harder.
“I’m very excited about reopening,” said Irma Wheeler, owner of Illusions of Shirlington. “We’ve been very anxious and have been getting ready since the beginning of the shutdown.”
Illusions has been open for 27 years, but when it reopens on Friday, Wheeler said things will be a little different. There are plexiglass shields at the front desk to separate customers and employees. No more than 10 people, including staff, will be allowed in the salon at any given time. Each appointment will be longer to allow plenty of time to clean stations and tools between clients. Wheeler said that will mean longer hours for her and her staff.
“It’s been difficult to find supplies, even disinfectant,” Wheeler said. “We have face shields and masks, and we’re taking the temperatures of clients and staff. We’re trying to take every precaution… it’s going to be difficult, but we’ll be ready.”
Wheeler said masks, gloves and face shields will be work by all the staff, while clients must wear a mask. (Face shields will be provided at the shampoo station to keep the masks dry.)
Like other Arlington businesses, Wheeler said Illusions of Shirlington struggled with the closure but was able to maintain connections with their clientele through online tutorials on how they could trim their hair at home.
“We’ve done a lot of social media,” Wheeler said. “We’ve had requests from clientele, so we sent out instructions on how to do things themselves. Stylists were available to help people through it, sometimes explaining things outside in person. We were able to keep in touch.”
Meanwhile, in Ballston, the Bearded Goat Barber at Ballston Exchange (4201 Wilson Blvd) is preparing to reopen for haircuts and hair washes but without the signature beard trimming.
Like Illusions, Bearded Goat Barber said appointments will be prolonged to allow for proper disinfection and sanitation between clients. The shop will operate at 50% capacity, with every other chair being empty to allow for social distancing.
Further east, Clarendon salon Urban Halo (2900 Clarendon Blvd) had signs on the front door saying it too will be reopening on Friday.
Crystal City Restaurant is opening an outdoor seating area in its front parking lot (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Crystal City Restaurant is opening an outdoor seating area in its front parking lot (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Crystal City Restaurant is opening an outdoor seating area in its front parking lot (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
(Updated at 2:35 p.m.) On Friday, as Northern Virginia reopens, local gentlemen’s club Crystal City Restaurant will be just what its understated name suggests: a restaurant.
CCR, as the club is known, is planning to open a new, 17’x24′ outdoor seating area recently constructed in its front parking lot. There will be six tables, 24 chairs and no dancers.
The long-time establishment along 23rd Street S., just west of Route 1, reopened for carryout on Friday, May 22, and will now — during Phase 1 of the reopening — serve its reasonably-priced prime rib, as well as beer and wine, to outdoor diners.
Owner Billy Bayne tells ARLnow that he’s eager to “get back in the groove, get my people back, try to get back to work.” CCR, he said, will as always offer “good food, good service, clean facilities.”
Bayne describes the gentlemen’s club as “a neighborhood restaurant, with dancers.” The dancers, however, will have to wait until the Commonwealth moves to a new reopening phase that allows indoor restaurant seating. Still, reopening even in a small way will help alleviate some of the pain of the shutdown.
“Everybody needs to open their doors, or they’re done,” said Bayne.
As for the potential name change to “National Landing Strip,” in honor of the area’s new identity, Bayne said that will also have to wait.
“Right now, I’m worried about survival of my business, about getting my kids through college,” he said. “I’m not worried about a name change.”
In addition to a two month closure, Crystal City Restaurant — and other nearby eateries — will be dealing with the coronavirus fallout for months to come. Crystal City is usually chock full of office workers, hotel guests and conference-goers. Now the offices are largely empty, with employees working from home, and hotels that would usually be 90% full are 20% full. Conferences have been cancelled through the end of the year and Rolling Thunder, which would have rolled into Crystal City this past weekend, was instead held virtually.
Bayne maintains his prediction that some 30% of restaurants will ultimately go out of business due to the pandemic. He said he’s grateful for the support he’s received from customers, even though business is way down.
“Restaurants are in dire straits,” he said. “We appreciate everyone out there who has come out and ordered from the local restaurants and helped us.”
As co-owner of the nearby Crystal City Sports Pub, Bayne said he’s also grateful to two individuals in particular: Freddie’s Beach Bar owner Freddie Lutz and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
During the spring, the Sports Pub would normally have been packed with nearly 500 paying customers during the NCAA basketball tournament and other high-profile sporting events. Instead, it’s doing only 10-20% of its usual revenue through takeout.
Freddie, Bayne said, helped give the pub a boost when he received a large takeout order from Amazon, for distribution to local first responders and Virginia Hospital Center, and then distributed large chunks of the order to other restaurants along 23rd Street S.
Bezos is “a class act for trying to help Crystal City… and the little local small businesses,” Bayne said, adding the Lutz is likewise to be commended for his generosity toward fellow local businesses.
Arlington County is likely to top 2,000 known coronavirus cases overnight, as infections continue at a somewhat steady pace.
As of Wednesday morning, the Virginia Dept. of Health reported 1,988 cases, 371 cumulative COVID-related hospitalizations, and 109 deaths. That’s an increase of 53 cases, four hospitalizations and five deaths overnight.
The latest demographic data for the county continues to show a dichotomy between young and old. Younger adults — those ages 20-49 — account for the majority of COVID-19 cases in Arlington and across the state, but those 60+ still account for the vast majority of deaths.
Younger adults are still getting sick enough to require hospitalization, state health department data shows, though hospitalizations skew toward the older population.
Statewide, VDH is reporting 40,249 cases, 4,385 hospitalizations and 1,281 deaths
Confusion Over Governor’s Mask Order — “At a briefing this afternoon, Gov. Ralph Northam emphasized that Virginia’s new indoor mask requirements weren’t intended to be criminally enforced. But the text of the order (released ~3 hours later) defines a violation as Class 1 misdemeanor.” [Virginia Mercury, Twitter]
Virus Hits Latino Communities Hard — “Fredys Medina, a diabetic construction worker from Arlington County, waved off his wife’s suggestion that he had the virus after he developed a cough and fever in late April, and he continued to work. Two weeks later, he collapsed on the living room floor. By the time paramedics arrived, Medina, 56, was gone. His wife, Leonor Medina, an unemployed hotel housekeeper, was left with an $8,000 funeral bill.” [Washington Post]
Clement Questions County Board Actions — “An independent candidate for the Nov. 3 Arlington County Board race contends that current board members are overstepping their bounds in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Audrey Clement says that the board’s May 19 vote continuing emergency operations gives the government far too much power for too long.” [InsideNova]
Volunteer Award Winners Announced — “Volunteer Arlington, a program of Leadership Center for Excellence, is honored to announce the recipients of the 2020 community volunteer awards which will be presented virtually at Arlington Cares on July 14.” [Volunteer Arlington]
Alleged Armed Robbery in Crystal City — “At approximately 2:56 p.m. on May 23, police were dispatched to the late report of an armed robbery. Upon arrival, it was determined that at approximately 9:30 p.m. on May 15, the victim was in the area of 18th Street S. and S. Bell Street when he was allegedly approached by seven suspects. One suspect displayed a firearm and threatened the victim. The suspects stole the victim’s phone and wallet then fled.” [Arlington County]
Man Rescued from Potomac Near Chain Bridge — “A man is in the hospital in serious condition this morning after being pulled from the Potomac River [early Tuesday morning] in a daring rescue operation. The incident occurred just north of the Chain Bridge in an area that is extremely difficult to access from land.” [WJLA]
With Arlington and Northern Virginia poised to begin a Phase 1 reopening on Friday, the Arlington County Board today took a first step towards allowing more business to be conducted outdoors during the pandemic.
A growing body of scientific evidence has found that coronavirus spreads primarily in confined, indoor settings. That’s why Virginia’s Phase 1 reopening only allows restaurants to reopen to “dine-in” customers outdoors, with physical distancing requirements between diners and other restrictions.
Outdoor dining space is limited, however, and restaurants that want to have sidewalk cafes in Arlington have to go through lengthy approval processes.
With many restaurants facing severe financial distress, after more than two months of only being able to offer takeout and delivery, the County Board took action Tuesday afternoon that may help.
The Board voted 4-0 to approve, on an emergency basis, a process that would allow restaurants to apply for a temporary, expanded outdoor seating area, on sidewalks or in parking lots.
The Temporary Outdoor Seating Area (TOSA) process for restaurants would allow rapid approval by county staff and does not have an application fee. With written permission in hand, restaurants can then apply for an additional, needed permit from the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority that would allow beer, wine and cocktails to be served in the new outdoor dining areas.
(Virginia ABC is allowing alcohol to be served in TOSAs between 6 a.m.-11 p.m., though County Board Chair Libby Garvey expressed concern about the early hours and asked county staff whether the county can restrict hours of operation. Existing rooftop dining areas, meanwhile, will be allowed to reopen under Phase 1 guidelines without additional permits.)
TOSAs could be created in on-street parking lanes, county staff told the Board in a presentation, but a more common use for parking lanes would be as “pedestrian circulation” zone, allowing people to walk around expanded sidewalk cafes. On-street parking spaces could be blocked off via rubber barriers or bollards, county staff said, though they noted that that might shrink existing, temporary restaurant pick-up and delivery zones.
“Where appropriate, repurposing parking lanes may add flexibility,” the presentation said. “[The] review process will prioritize proposals where [the owner has] consulted with neighbors.”
Reuse of parking lanes will be subject to review by Arlington’s Dept. of Environmental Services and must comply with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements. Vehicle travel lanes are currently expected to remain open.
The TOSA permits will be valid until the county decides to terminate them, either all at once as the pandemic abates or individually for restaurants “flaunting” the rules, officials said during today’s special online Board meeting. Violations could also be considered a crime — a Class 1 misdemeanor — though a representative from the police department told the Board that ACPD is “trying to educate,” not arrest violators.
County staff said that a TOSA-related page on the county’s website, including an application for restaurants, is expected to go live tomorrow (Wednesday). Arlington Economic Development and the Arlington Restaurant Initiative will be holding a webinar on the Phase 1 reopening and TOSAs for businesses on Thursday, while county officials are expected to address both during Arlington’s regularly-scheduled Friday online town hall for the general public on Friday.
The TOSA web page is eventually expected to include a map of approved, temporary seating areas and a form for submitting complaints, in lieu of complaints being phoned in to the county’s Emergency Communications Center.
County staff are now working on additional guidelines for bringing more activities outdoors, including religious services, fitness classes, farmers markets, brick and mortar retail, child care, and mobile vending.
“That’s the plan,” Gov. Ralph Northam said of the partial reopening during a Tuesday afternoon press conference. The region will be joining much of the rest of the state, which started its “Phase 1” reopening on May 15.
The first phase of the reopening will see non-essential businesses — salons, barber shops, restaurants, gyms, etc. — reopen with additional cleaning, safety precautions and social distancing. Among Virginia’s Phase 1 guidelines are:
“Retail establishments may operate at 50% capacity”
“Restaurant and beverage establishments may offer outdoor dining at 50% occupancy”
“Personal grooming services may operate with one patron per service provider”
“Fitness centers may offer outdoor exercise services”
In a letter to Northam sent over the holiday weekend, Northern Virginia leaders wrote that four key health metrics were pointing in a positive direction, making a reopening possible. Northam said today that statewide numbers were likewise looking good, though he emphasized that the coronavirus is continuing to infect people, making it necessary to continue taking steps to mitigate the spread.
“The virus is clearly still here, but the numbers are trending in the right direction,” Northam said.
The governor announced Tuesday that masks will be made mandatory in indoor public spaces, including businesses, starting Friday. The state’s mask requirement will have some exceptions, including for eating, children under 10, and those with health conditions that prevent them from wearing a mask.
“Science shows us that the virus spreads less easily when wearing a face covering,” Northam said. “I’m asking people to do the right thing, to respect one another.”
Enforcement of the mask requirement will done by the Virginia Dept. of Health, not police, the governor said.
“This is not a criminal matter… it won’t be enforced by law enforcement,” he said. Northam’s chief of staff said having police enforce the mask requirement could cause “tremendous equity issues,” adding that the governor is hoping that a special session of the General Assembly over the summer could approve a civil fine for noncompliance.
The state health department will have the ability to take action against “grossly negligent actors” — businesses that refuse to enforce the requirement. First would come a warning, then the state health department could seek a court order to rescind the business license.
Northam said the universal wearing of masks protects everyone, including workers, who “are especially vulnerable.” A mask could be something as simple as a bandana or “a piece of cloth and some rubber bands,” the governor said.
The efficacy of wearing masks was discussed by Virginia Hospital Center emergency room chief Mike Silverman, in a public Facebook post on Friday.
“We follow the CDC guidelines at work with masking both parties (provider/RN and patients when they can) and we’ve had a remarkably low rate of staff getting sick. Masks work… and work better when everyone is wearing them,” Silverman write. “Be smart. Social distance. Wash your hands. Wear a mask. And stay inside and away from others if you’re sick.”
The annual Columbia Pike Blues Festival isn’t exactly canceled this year, but with lingering concerns about large crowds during the phased reopening of the region, the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization is radically rethinking the event while hoping to keep the spirit intact.
Officially, the 25th Pike Blues Festival will be held in 2021, but in the meantime, CPRO is planning an alternative Backyard Blues Festival on June 20 from 5-7 p.m.
Arlington community radio station WERA 96.7 FM will play a curated selection of blues while various local restaurants will offer special discounts on food and drinks, which can then be enjoyed in one’s backyard or patio with the radio cranked up.
“The Blues Festival has always been such a wonderful celebration of our community and, as it was necessary to postpone it this year, we really wanted to find an alternative celebration that could still bring the community ‘together,'” CROP Executive Director Kim Klingler said. “All of us at CPRO have been eagerly anticipating the 25th Annual Blues Festival and were quite disappointed at the prospect of cancelling the festival completely. But, through our partnership with Arlington Arts, we were able to connect with WERA and come up with a creative way to keep groovin’ and show that defiant, hopeful spirit that truly exemplifies Columbia Pike.”
CPRO isn’t the first local organization to try to encourage Arlingtonians to jam out to music outdoors at the same time. The Crystal City BID launched a similar Front Porch Friday series in April. Klingler said the idea of playing music over the radio outdoors is “very retro.”
“The ColumbiaPike community really feels a strong sense of pride and ownership over the annual Blues Festival,” Klingler said. “It is hard to imagine summer on ColumbiaPike without the blues.”
Klingler said the festival will include giveaways and social media contests. CPRO is still working through the details of the specials on food.
“We are still working out a few details with our vendors, but we’re hopeful all of the local restaurants who have participated in the festival for years will participate this year as well,” Klingler said. “Most of our vendors are brick and mortar restaurants located near ColumbiaPike and S. Walter Reed Dr. where the festival typically takes place and we wanted to ensure we are supporting them through these difficult times in any way we can. Listeners can order their favorite festival foods and have their beer and wine delivered. New District Brewing Co. is even preparing a specialty ‘Blues Fest Brew’ for the occasion.”
“We hope everyone will drag their radios outside — or tune in online — and spend a couple hours filling backyards across Arlington with the best blues has to offer,” Klingler said. “I think we’ve all had the blues for a while now and a Backyard Blues Fest could be just what we need.”
Image via Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization
