The annual Crystal Car show is returning this weekend to Crystal City.
The fourth annual Father’s Day Car Festival is being hosted by the Crystal City BID in the surface lot located adjacent to 220 20th Street S., on Sunday, June 19 from 2-6 p.m.
“This family-friendly festival will have a large variety of automobile categories including sports cars, electric vehicles, classic muscle cars, antiques and more,” the Crystal City BID said in a press release. “Along with the cars, enjoy live music, food trucks, and a beer and wine garden hosted by the Washington Wine Academy.”
Admission is free for guests and vehicles but cash is required to when purchasing beer and wine.
Those with cars they want to showcase can register online.
File photo. Disclosure: Crystal City BID is an ARLnow.com advertiser.
After the oil spill earlier this year that released 13,500 gallons of mineral oil into the Potomac River, Dominion Virginia Power has announced that it will conduct a dye tracer test this morning.
The test is being conducted to determine how oil traveled from Dominion’s Crystal City substation to the Roaches Run Waterfowl Sanctuary.
The dye will be a bright peach color and it is non-toxic; it’s expected to last no longer than a week and, according to Dominion, currents and sunlight will likely cause the dye to dissipate within a day.
Shark Tank Casting in Crystal City — ABC’s “Shark Tank” is holding a casting call today at the 1776 incubator in Crystal City. “Applicants will have roughly 90 seconds to make their initial pitches to casting producers, with about three minutes for a Q&A portion.” [Washington Business Journal]
Bill Clinton Visits the Pike — Former President and possible future First Gentleman Bill Clinton met with Virginia Latino leaders at Cafe Sazon on Columbia Pike over the weekend. [Facebook]
Arlington Man Is Suspected Serial Bank Robber — Police have identified a serial bank robbery suspect who was arrested Friday in Falls Church as 42-year-old Arlington resident Amin Huie. Police say Huie is the “Forever Loyal Bandit” who has robbed seven banks since 2014, including a Capital One Bank on Columbia Pike last year. [Fairfax County PD, WJLA]
More on Garvey’s Win — Arlington County Board Chair Libby Garvey’s “unorthodox, controversial” strategy of appealing to non-Democrats in the Democratic primary is “likely to alter future campaigns,” writes Sun Gazette editor Scott McCaffrey, in an analysis of Garvey’s decisive primary win last night. [InsideNova]
Repairs to Westover Branch Library — Work to repair water damage and install new windows at the Westover Branch Library will take place from mid-July to late September. The library will remain open during that time. [Arlington Public Library]
County Touts Increase in Trail Usage — “After a week of single tracking along the Orange/Silver Line between Ballston and East Falls Church, automated counters in the County’s Rosslyn-Ballston corridor show an increase of between 70 and 90 percent in bike ridership from the same period last year. Capital BikeShare use in Arlington is up between 20 and 50 percent.” [Arlington County]
A Gainesville man was arrested early Sunday morning after a bizarre incident in the Crystal City area.
It all started around 2 a.m., on the 2300 block of S. Eads Street, when three people walked up to the suspect’s car, thinking it was their Uber ride.
A “verbal altercation ensued,” according to police, and then the suspect, who was drunk and naked at the time, grabbed a hatchet from the backseat and “started swinging the object.” The three individuals managed to take the hatchet away from the man before he hurt anyone, police said.
The suspect tried to flee the scene but was soon stopped by a U.S. Park Police officer, according to an Arlington County Police Department crime report (below).
Michael Monroe, 64, now faces numerous charges in connection with the incident.
DUI(significant), 160612012, 2300 block of S. Eads Street. At approximately 2:20 a.m. on June 12, a United States Park Police (USPP) officer responded to the report of a suspect vehicle driving erratically and nearly striking pedestrians. Prior to police arrival, the subject vehicle entered a parking lot where three individuals approached the vehicle believing it was their Uber. A verbal altercation ensued and the subject, who was naked at the time of the incident, retrieved a hatchet from the backseat of the vehicle and started swinging the object. There were no injuries and the three individuals were able to wrestle the hatchet away from the subject. The subject then attempted to flee the scene and that is when a USPP officer initiated a traffic stop. Arlington County Police officers also responded to the scene and attempted a field sobriety test on the subject, who refused. Michael Monroe, 64, of Gainesville VA, was arrested and charged with DUI, refusal, and disorderly conduct.
W-L Soccer Captures State Title — The Washington-Lee boys soccer team defeated First Colonial 3-1 on Saturday to win the school’s first Virginia 6A boys soccer state title. Despite an injury, Maycol Nunez led the team with two goals. [Washington Post, InsideNova]
Ceremony for W-L Grad Killed in WW2 — A special ceremony will be held today at Arlington National Cemetery to honor the memory of Merrill Walter Hoover, a star athlete at Washington-Lee High School who was killed while serving in the Coast Guard during World War II. Hoover’s body was never found following a ship collision in which he worked selflessly to save his shipmates. [Falls Church News-Press]
Arlington RAMMY Winners — Clarendon’s Northside Social and chef Jonah Kim of Yona in Ballston were big winners during last night’s RAMMY awards, picking up “Favorite Gathering Place of the Year” and “Rising Culinary Star of the Year” awards, respectively. The awards program for Washington’s restaurant industry also honored major Ballston restaurant operator Mike Isabella Concepts. [RAMW]
Worker Rescued in Crystal City — On Saturday, a worker whose lift platform became stuck 30 feet in the air in Crystal City was rescued by Arlington County firefighters. [Twitter]
Cousins Tweets W-L Senior’s Yearbook Quote — “Best of luck at VCU this fall!” Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins told Washington-Lee senior Joseph Langley, in a tweet, after Langley used Cousins’ famous “You like that?!” moment as his yearbook quote. [ESPN]
More on Applebee’s Ballston Plans — Applebees is opening in Ballston with a “new, urban-focused design.” Why Ballston? “There are lot of Millennials in the area, and it’s an area that has a lot of office buildings as well as residential,” a company spokesman said, as quoted in a 1,070 word magazine article about the restaurant’s Ballston plans. [Arlington Magazine]
CPRO Names New Executive Director — The Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization has named its interim executive director, former Rosslyn BID honcho Cecilia Cassidy, as its permanent executive director. CPRO’s previous executive director, Takis Karantonis, resigned in January after five years on the job, and is currently working for County Board candidate Erik Gutshall’s campaign. [CPRO]
New Taylor Gourmet in Crystal City (Photo credit @shootjoec)
WeWork / WeLive in Crystal City, in 2016
WeWork / WeLive in Crystal City, in 2016
WeLive in Crystal City, in 2016
A decade ago, the picture for Crystal City looked bleak.
Despite its proximity to D.C. and National Airport, Crystal City was not seen as a particularly desirable place to live, work or go out. It was most commonly associated with blocky office buildings and an underground shopping center that was a useful passageway in bad weather but a somewhat sad place to be on a nice day. On top of all that, its aging office buildings would soon start emptying due to DoD offices moving out as part of BRAC.
“When the Crystal City BID was formed in 2006, many aspects of the neighborhood had already started to change, the perception, however, had not,” said Crystal City BID president and CEO Angela Fox.
While there’s undoubtedly still room for improvement, Crystal City has come a long way in the 10 years since the BID’s founding. At its annual meeting this week local business and government leaders detailed some of the ways the BID has helped Crystal City achieve a newfound vitality.
“We host literally hundreds of events each year — from 5Ks every Friday in April, to fun sipping and tasting events throughout September, weekly farmers markets, art markets and world-class theater,” Fox said. “We’ve brought hundreds of thousands of people to the area each year. We have shown that if you create a place that people chose willingly to spend their time, the businesses, residents and investment will follow.”
(Crystal City BID is an ARLnow.com advertiser and frequently advertises events on our site.)
There’s also behind-the-scenes work, helping with the marketing of Crystal City as a business destination. Recently, trendy restaurants and bars like Taylor Gourmet, Good Stuff Eatery and Highline RxR have opened, with the encouragement of the BID and local property owners.
Customers of such places include both long-time residents and workers and relative newcomers, many of whom work in Crystal City’s burgeoning tech and innovation scene. High-tech membership-based workshop TechShop, incubators 1776 and Eastern Foundry, co-working company WeWork and its residential living experiment WeLive all have set up shop in Crystal City within the past few years. In deciding to locate in Crystal City, many such companies cite what they view as an upward trajectory for the neighborhood.
There’s plenty still to come for Crystal City, said Fox.
“We envision Crystal City to be not just a place for tech and innovative companies to locate but also a place where new ideas, concepts, technologies and strategies can be actively tested and brought to market,” Fox continued, “a true innovative laboratory, as well as an awesome place to live, work, play and stay.”
Those heading to the bicycle races are encouraged to use Metro, despite the ongoing SafeTrack maintenance work on the Orange and Silver lines. On Saturday, Clarendon on the Orange and Silver lines will be closest station. On Sunday, the closest station will be Crystal City on the Blue and Yellow lines.
For those who decide to drive, there will be restrictions on street parking with temporary “no parking” signs being placed in the race areas.
On Saturday, the following roads will be closed from 4:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Wilson Blvd. from N. Fillmore Street to Washington Blvd.
Clarendon Blvd. from Washington Blvd. to N. Fillmore Street
Washington Blvd. from Wilson Blvd. to N. Highland Street
N. Highland Street from Wilson Blvd. to Washington Blvd.
N. Garfield Street / N. Fillmore Street from Wilson Blvd. to Washington Blvd.
On Sunday, the following roads will be closed from 4:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
Crystal Drive from 15th Street S. through S. 23rd Street
Wilson Blvd. from N. Kent Street to the ramp to Route 110
S. Clark Street from 20th Street S. to 23rd Street S.
20th Street S. from Crystal Drive to S. Clark Street
18th Street S. from Crystal Drive to Bell Street
23rd Street S. from Crystal Drive to S. Clark Street
Crystal Drive (west side) from 23rd St S. to the Century Center parking garage
The Cycling Classic will hold races for all levels of cyclists ranging from amateurs to elite.
The first day will take place in Clarendon and the second will take place in Crystal City. On Sunday, before the normal slate of races and rides, the event will honor the memory of a fellow cyclist and race competitor.
A ceremony will be held Sunday morning to honor former Navy SEAL and two-time Challenge Ride gold medalist Tim Holden, who was killed last summer after being hit by a car while riding his bike in Bethesda. A special presentation will be made to Holden’s wife, Pam, as part of the ceremony.
(Updated at 5:25 p.m.) Metro Transit Police are investigating a sexual assault that occurred last night on a Yellow Line train.
Metro says three men assaulted a woman, grabbing her inappropriately, after she refused to perform a sexual act.
The assault took place on a train near the Braddock Road Metro station. Transit Police investigated the incident at the Crystal City Metro station Thursday night, just before 10 p.m., prompting delays on the Blue and Yellow lines.
Late Friday afternoon, Metro released a press release (below) and surveillance images of the suspects (above).
Metro Transit Police are investigating a reported sexual battery aboard a Yellow Line train last night and are seeking the public’s assistance to identify three persons of interest pictured below.
The victim, an adult female, advised officers that she was approached by three males at around 9:30 p.m. aboard a northbound train from Huntington. As the train traveled between Eisenhower Ave and Braddock Road stations, the males approached the victim and asked her to perform a sexual act. When the victim refused, the suspects assaulted the female, including grabbing her body through her clothing.
The victim reported the incident to MTPD officers who broadcast a flash lookout and conducted a canvass of trains and stations along the line. The victim declined medical assistance and was subsequently transported to her residence by MTPD officers.
The suspects were described as follows:
1. Black male (medium complexion), age 18-30, height 5’8″-5’11”, weight 140 wearing red t-shirt with “aero” logo and blue jeans
2. Black male (medium complexion), age 18-30, height 5’8″-5’11”, weight 140 wearing black t-shirt with white shirt underneath and black jeans
3. Black male (medium complexion), age 18-30, height 5’8″-5’11”, weight 140 wearing black Nike shirt with yellow “P” Pittsburgh Pirates logo and blue jeans
Anyone who may have information about this incident is urged to contact Metro Transit Police detectives by calling (202) 962-2121 or by sending a text message to “MyMTPD” (696873).
Firings at Peter Chang After Receipt Incident — Three employees have reportedly been fired and the chef’s own daughter is also on the chopping block at Peter Chang restaurant along Lee Highway. The firings come after a server included the insults “i have a small penis” and “im a plad [sic] a**hole” on a customer receipt. Chang has promised to improve service at his restaurant. [Washington Post]
Arlington Restaurants on Cheap Eats List — More than a dozen Arlington eateries have been included in Washingtonian magazine’s list of the top 100 inexpensive restaurants in the D.C. area. Among them: Bayou Bakery, Cheesetique, Pupatella, Ray’s Hell Burger, Yona and Peter Chang. [Washingtonian]
Video of Track Issue at Court House Station — A video taken inside the Court House Metro station shows sparks and smoldering from the track area. The video comes after a number of well-publicized electrical issues at Metro. “It was kind of weird watching infrastructure fail before my very eyes,” said the man who took the video. [Washington Post]
Tech Company Saves the Day for Theft Victims — Course Hero, a Silicon Valley-based company that provides study materials, has paid for a scholarship for the Penn State student whose mom left her purse, with $10,000 in tuition money inside, in an Arlington Falls Church Dunkin Donuts. Police still have not found the woman who stole the purse. [NBC Washington]
Most of Crystal City Could Change Hands — Vornado, the property owner that owns more than half of the square footage in Crystal City, is considering spinning off its D.C. properties from those it owns in New York. [Washington Post]
D.C. Complaining About DCA Flights — D.C.’s attorney general has sent an email to the FAA asking that flights to and from Reagan National Airport be shifted away from the District. In 2015 the FAA received 8,670 noise complaints from those in the District, 6,500 of them from the same person. [Washington Post]
After some networking and refreshments, Sarah Fraser will host a discussion with Dave McLaughlin, WeWork’s General Manager for the Eastern U.S. and Canada. We’ll talk about the technology, design and the planning behind WeLive, and why it might be a future model for urban residential.
We’ll also be talking with Angela Fox, President of the Crystal City Business Improvement District and a current WeLive resident. The event is sponsored by Vornado and the Crystal City BID.
The annual Crystal Car show is returning this weekend to Crystal City.
