Updated June 20, 2025, at 6:28 p.m.

A local governing body approved a resolution in support of upping capacity of The Aston unhoused shelter from 100 to 190 tenants at a meeting Wednesday.

The Foggy Bottom and West End Advisory Neighborhood Commission urged D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto to supply “desperately needed” beds to unhoused neighbors in the District by raising the shelter on New Hampshire Avenue’s maximum capacity. The body also reviewed oversight resolutions regarding Initiative 82 and fare assistance programs for the metro amid both federal and local budget cuts.

Here are some of the meeting’s highlights: 

Commissioners approve resolution to up Aston capacity 

2A09 Commissioner Sean Youngstone introduced a resolution calling on Pinto to “communicate her support” to the D.C. mayor’s office for increasing capacity for The Aston unhoused shelter from its current cap at 100 tenants to the building’s full potential of 190 tenants. 

When the District expressed interest in converting the former GW dorm to a short-term, apartment-style housing model, D.C. Department of Human Services officials agreed to the requests made by Pinto and ANC 2A before D.C. Council greenlit the acquisition. Chief among the requests was the establishment of a community advisory team for the shelter and a tiered entry system for incoming tenants. 

In its first phase of opening, District officials agreed that the shelter could welcome its inaugural cohort of up to 50 tenants. A couple of months after The Aston opened in November 2024, D.C. officials evaluated how residents were adjusting to the bridge housing facility and raised the maximum occupancy to 100 in January 2025. 

Since the shelter opened late last year, local and Aston leaders have reported smooth operations — both from the community’s perspective and internally within the shelter. 

Youngstone said based on the success of the shelter’s first months of operations, the 100 tenant cap is “arbitrary.” He added that the lack of available unhoused shelter beds across the District, as reported by Street Sense Media in April, adds urgency to fully utilizing the physical capacity of The Aston’s space. 

“I don’t think there’s any real reason for us to maintain it and keep 90 valuable beds that are already owned by the D.C. government empty,” Youngstone said.

Some members of a local body overseeing The Aston and members of the public previously discussed bumping the shelter’s cap up to the building’s full capacity of 190. 

“It seems to me that based on all of the meetings that we’ve had monthly, that I think that we’re ready for the next group,” said Chris Labas, an ANC appointee to the Community Advisory Team to The Aston at the June meeting. 

A representative of Pinto said at the meeting that the councilmember is looking to continue working toward the 100-person threshold to ensure continued smooth operations. Aston officials reported 84 tenants at the shelter as of June 13 and said The Aston is unlikely to remain at exactly 100 people given the constant influx of participants moving into the shelter and transitioning out.

“We just think it’s wise to become a master at the number of people we have,” the representative for Pinto said. “Then as we become a master at that, then you can keep expanding.”

Scott Schenkelberg, the CEO and president of outreach organization Miriam’s Kitchen and member of the CAT, said he supports upping the capacity of The Aston at both the June CAT meeting and at Wednesday’s ANC meeting. He said as long as the shelter’s provider, Friendship Place, has the ability and budget to accommodate more residents, renegotiation of The Aston’s capacity is due. 

The resolution also urges the D.C. Council to allocate funds in the upcoming budget cycle to The Aston beyond the currently allocated $13.1 million, which will support additional staff, services and resources needed to support up to 190 tenants.

Save for one abstention by 2A08 Commissioner Jim Malec, the body approved the resolution unanimously.

Commissioners consider oversight and budget resolutions

Commissioners approved resolutions urging District lawmakers to carry out voter initiatives, asking the Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority to preserve access to MetroLift — a reduced fare program for D.C., Maryland and Virginia and urging the D.C. Council not to repeal laws protecting undocumented migrants.

All commissioners except 2A04 Commissioner Ed Comer, who abstained, voted to direct the D.C. Council to “respect the will of the people” and put Initiatives 82 and 83 into effect. Initiative 82 incrementally increases the tipped minimum wage until it reaches the District’s prevailing minimum of $17.50. The council paused the initiative’s effects for 90 days earlier this month, preventing a minimum wage increase from $10 to $12.

The resolution called on the D.C. Council to continue raising the minimum wage in accordance with Initiative 82, which stipulates a staggered increase by about $2 per year until it reaches the minimum wage. 

District voters passed Initiative 82 in 2022 with close to 75 percent of the vote.

Initiative 83 implements a semi-open ranked choice primary in the District, which the resolution states carries an estimated cost of $1.5 million over four years. Voters approved Initiative 83 by 45 points in 2024.

The commission near-unanimously passed a resolution directing the D.C. Council to strike down Mayor Bowser’s proposed repeal of the District’s “sanctuary city” laws, which prohibit local cooperation with any federal immigration enforcement absent a judicial warrant — one signed by a judge, rather than one produced by the agency itself. The House of Representatives voted last week to nullify the District’s law. 

With Comer’s abstention, the commission unanimously passed a resolution asking WMATA to allow users of MetroLift to remain on the program even if they lose access to federal food assistance programs like SNAP, which the authority currently uses to determine eligibility. 

The “Big Beautiful Bill” — President Donald Trump’s proposed budget currently working through Congress — would cut over $300 billion from SNAP, putting an estimated 7,000 people in the District at risk of losing access to the program.

2A03 Commissioner and Commission Chair Trupti Patel said the resolution urges WMATA to take steps, like grandfathering existing beneficiaries and streamlining enrollment, to retain users and insulate D.C.’s social safety net from federal changes. Just over 6,000 people are enrolled in MetroLift, according to the 51st.

Commissioners also narrowly approved a pair of resolutions asking D.C.’s Departments of Human and General Services to provide funding to purchase and install an emergency generator at The Aston. The resolutions cite a February 21 outage and state a generator ensures that “vulnerable” residents can “safely seek shelter during power outages.”

Comer and Malec voted no on both resolutions. Comer said he doubted another outage at The Aston would occur.

The Commission passed resolutions calling to bolster funding for the Office of the Attorney General for D.C. and the Office of the Tenant Advocate and the Emergency Rental Assistance Program. 

Commissioners make no change to mediation, approve Historic District renovation

The commission deadlocked on a resolution appointing Comer as representative in mediation on July 2 with Velvet’s, a Foggy Bottom smoke shop seeking support in pursuing a medical cannabis license. 

Commissioners voted in April to protest the license after legal concerns of the shop’s proximity to schools and community opposition. 

Patel is the commission’s default representation in 2A02 Commissioner May Yang’s absence. Patel said Velvet’s attorney, John McGowan, told commissioners the initial round of changes proposed by Yang over email overstepped the ANC’s legal ability.

Malec asked the commission to decide whether to appoint Comer to attend mediation in Yang’s place, which he said was appropriate given Comer’s history as a lawyer.

Commissioner Malec and Comer voted to approve the replacement, 2A01 Commissioner Keaton DiCapo and Patel voted to oppose the resolution, and Youngstone abstained. The motion deadlocked, and Patel remains the commission’s representation.

Commissioners also voted to support a project request by a resident in the Foggy Bottom Historic District to expand their living room and construct an additional bedroom on the rear of the house. According to the request, the applicant will move in after renovations are completed.

This post has been updated to correct the following:

The Hatchet incorrectly reported that 2A04 Commissioner Ed Comer abstained on the resolution regarding The Aston unhoused shelter. It was 2A08 Commissioner Jim Malec that abstained. We regret this error.