Tuesday night at the Barracks Row Main Street (BRMS) garden party, the Board of Directors introduced their new Executive Director. “Many of you know Brian beacuse he is our ANC Commissioner,” said BRMS Board Member Winfield S. Sealander as he introduced Brian Ready. “He as worked tirelessly on our behalf.”
Ready is a current ANC Commissioner for 6B03, which covers the western side of Eighth Street SE, between D Street SE and the overpass. He’s also the former chair of the ANC 6B Barracks Row Business Interest Working Group, which worked to ensure sustainability of the businesses along the row. (It’s now called the Capitol Hill Business Interest Group, and the task force focuses on businesses located throughout the Hill).
It has some simiarities to his ANC role, Ready acknowledged at the June 21 event. “I see [the role of ANC] as having two sides,” Ready said. “It’s supporting businesses, yes, but then there is all the work to do with residents –with public safety and historic and planning and zoning and all of that. This allows me to focus and do a really, really good job on one thing.”
Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen (D) appeared to congratulate Ready, making time before moving on to his own Primary Election watch party. In remarks, Allen noted the role of BRMS in visualizing the new Eastern Market Main Street Plaza park saying they were instrumental in its creation.
Allen thanked Ready and BRMS for “what BRMS does day in and day out and what it also will do as it continues its hard work, [and] as we think about our local businesses really come back strong, celebrating and supporting those who worked so hard the last couple of years to survive.”
At the garden party, BRMS announced that it has joined forces with Eastern Market Main Street (EMMS). The two main streets are now sharing offices in 700 Penn. There is a regular monthly meeting also attended by Capitol Hill BID to coordinate efforts. EMMS ED Ann Blackwell joined Ready at the event and it was clear that the two had already developed a comfortable rapport.
Ready said he will not seek re-election to ANC 6B in November, stepping down after two terms to leave the office open to a new candidate. Ready was first elected ANC Commissioner by acclamation in 2018 and re-elected in 2020 with 72 percent of the vote. In addition to his work on the Barracks Row Working Group, he has served as chair of the commission in 2020, and of the ANC Alcohol Beverage Committee in 2022.
The garden party was held at Little Pearl (912 Pennsylvania Ave. SE) and raised $50,000 for BRMS.
