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Okay. So do you want to introduce yourself real fast? What's your name, where you're from, all that? Yeah. My name is Jay Waxse, I'm from originally Nebraska, I lived in Texas for 10 years, moved around in the west various places, but moved to D.C. last February 2021, and I've lived in Adams Morgan since then. Nice! So you've been in Adams Morgan since 2021? Yeah, In February

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So what does Adams Morgan mean to you? Like, what are your favorite parts of it? Yeah, to be honest, first my brother lived here back in 2013-2015, I visited him quite a bit and it ended up being the place that we went to have fun. We came, went to some of the bars, dancing, that kind of stuff. But then upon moving here myself it was one of the first neighborhoods that I really looked to move in—I also looked at the U Street area, Columbia Heights—but I found a couple of places, two different places in Adams Morgan and just love the community. I feel that you get a lot of eclectic vibes, you get a good mix of people, and me being new to D.C., that was a beautiful aspect of it. And yeah, I'm a little bit like the trees and parks and it's nice proximity to that. So you mentioned that there were places you would go with your brother before you moved, and also there are few that you frequent after you moved. Are those the same places, different places, what kind of places? Of course Adams Morgan is hard to beat in the entire city as far as interesting live music, good people, and you find that up and down the strip. I think we'd find different bars—Heaven and Hell would be fun to go dance. Bit over age for that, maybe. There and then we'd go to Tryst a lot for coffee, and then go to Rock Creek and some of those access points around the neighborhood.

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And have you noticed any changes in the places you go? Yeah, yeah, I think so. I feel like there's a little bit—I guess across DC, I talked to so many folks and this developer money, this large expansion of high income housing, it does unfortunately feel, especially from even just 2013—I've heard about much before these times—but even from 2013 it feels a little bit more—a little bit less character. You get these straight lines, you get these big, fancy, shiny buildings, that end up erasing a lot of the beautiful history and mosaic culture of the past. So it is what it is, it's unfortunately the system that we have right now, but I think folks are waking up a lot to how communities stay vibrant and to do what people actually would like to see. And are there any places that have stayed as mainstays for you or that you know of in the community generally? Yeah, for sure. I mean, Adams Morgan of course, I would say Tryst as well, I think I remember going back there 2013, but even since I moved from last February—like So's Your Mom, I can't not get bagels and sandwiches there. You know, other mainstays, I like Smash, the record store is great, my uncle and my sister are in music so they definitely tap that nerve for me. So, yeah I think there's been some changes but the core staples—that I remember at least—have stayed.

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So I guess more generally then, how do you view Adams Morgan as a community, going back to the question of our. whole display and everything. Who's Adams Morgan to you? I think that—this is such a good question. I think from the beginning, I think it is literally the people. The people that you see out on the street, people that you run into week-to-week, across the day. That's literally, who is Adams Morgan. Think of think of Ronnie, think of Nate, and Margo on the corner there 18th and Columbia before that ugly-ass fence got put up. But, you know, I think the people that I've met at the coffee shops, working behind the bar, people you run into, different friends who live in the area, run into them at the parks, or this and that. When I think Adams Morgan, I think it is a beautiful mix of people. I know it's always been diverse, you get a lot of cultures—that Latin aspect is beautiful, just a real eclectic combination going down 18th. I think that's hard to replicate anywhere else. Kind of that mix of old and some of the new pieces that have been coming in, which I've said my opinion about, but. And then, last question, where do you want to see Adams Morgan going? Where do you see it going in the future, and where do you hope to see it going in the future? Whether those are the same or different. Well, I'll start with the optimistic track. I think in general with our country and our society, we go up, we can confirm a lot of challenges around profit-driven motives. There's so much upside to developing this land, developing this spot. Have more, development for who? Probably just the developers and the owners, and what consent is there for the people, what kind of establishments would people would like to stay in place and not get pushed out, to not get priced out? I think that is something that, hopefully, we can come to. Even my optimistic take's a little dark, but just to give more power of democracy and consent and people's opinion to actually matter versus what our councilpeople, what our developers just decide and build. When in reality, we all want public space, we want access to education, the libraries, good good public meeting spaces where all types of people can come together. And so I think if we can get there, I'd love to see this, the corner of 18th and Columbia here, Adams Morgan Plaza, be returned to be a public space. The city of D.C. has said that there's a library gap in service here, so why not be a library or something like that? I think those kind of things protecting family, local businesses is a huge hope.

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And where I see it going? I think that people are waking up, I do see a lot of connection across community. People are saying, "okay, enough is enough," we have tried building up developments and trying to bring in a lot of money, and it only ends up staying in the hands of a few and the families of the few. I think hopefully, with with these elections, people waking up as we have in the last few years, we can get some representatives that actually listen to the people more and that matters to them more. But the trending has been just more power towards those with the deepest pocket books. I know people power can confront that, it's the only thing that can, and if we stay united then we'll have a bright future. Is there anything else you want to add about yourself, the neighborhood, anything that you just want to shout out? I just want to say thanks to Adams Morgan, because we've had a lot of opportunity to do organizing, to do activist work. People that really care in the community for just neighbors. Miguel Gonzalez, we had a vigil for him. We lost him earlier this year. He was living at the plaza before it got fenced off, and to see the community rally together for him, really large support for that. Shut down the street, walked down the street, and made that really clear. Thank you for that, and I know it's not going to go anywhere, that'll continue. And even though I just moved up to closer to the cathedral, this'll always be my home and I'm always going to keep connected and stay doing whatever we can to give people what they actually want. Fantastic! That's it on my end, thank you very much!

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Sweet. Yeah, thank you.