Streets were blocked off by non-scalable security fences and Humvees were parked in the middle of roads — all to accommodate the dozens of European heads of state and thousands of other attendees for the first NATO summit hosted by the District in 25 years.
Some residents simply avoided the chaos.
“We live right on the border of this war zone,” Eric Lee, a 38-year-old government consultant, said Wednesday while working remotely with his wife at For Five Coffee Roasters near 10th and K streets NW.
D.C. hosted the high-stakes NATO summit from Tuesday to Thursday at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, with additional events at the Mellon Auditorium and the White House. With it came the closure of the Federal Triangle and Mount Vernon Square Metro stations. More than 20 bus routes were detoured. Some business owners in the Mount Vernon neighborhood near the convention center decided to close. Commuters bemoaned traffic and some joked about the need to “dismantle” NATO because of all the drivers honking.
But a biker said it was easy to navigate the city, calling the security perimeter “perfectly logical in how it’s designed.” A business owner lamented a drop in sales but conceded it was the price of opening up a restaurant near the convention center.
“There’s not much blame to go around,” said Gareth Croke, the owner of Fossette Focacceria and All-Purpose, both of which saw significant revenue blows this week. “It is what it is.”
This kind of disruption, many said, was part of living in the nation’s capital, where an unexpected motorcade or protests in the streets could make a commuter late for work. Getting around this week just took a little extra planning and a lot more patience, especially in the sweltering heat.
Still, Alexander Padro, a long-serving advisory neighborhood commissioner and executive director of Shaw Main Streets, said he heard from business owners complaining about how the security measures were significantly affecting revenue. Padro said it’s “way past time” for officials to create a fund to offset revenue losses for businesses.
“I wish I could say that it went better than the previous events, but the reality is that it was just as devastating as it has been in the past,” Padro said. “It’s very inconvenient for neighbors, but it’s devastating for businesses.”
Events DC President and CEO Angie M. Gates said she’s open to hearing suggestions from businesses on possible improvements, but said the city’s performance this week amounts to a “job well done.”
Gates said the security measures will be lifting on Friday, and she is looking forward to debriefing with residents and businesses. For now, her message to them is: “Thank you for your patience. Thank you for your grace. Thank you for your support during this historic moment in time.”
There were no threats or “significant security incidents” related to the summit as of 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, according to a statement from the National Special Security Event Joint Information Center. There were four arrests near the security perimeter that officials do not believe were directly related to the summit.
Gerren Price, president and chief executive of the DowntownDC Business Improvement District, heard mixed feedback from downtown businesses, including hotels that saw increased business with sold-out rooms; restaurants and retailers with employees that struggled to get to work because of the traffic; and others that were located far enough away from the security zone that they didn’t realize the summit was happening.
“There’s an unspoken cool factor in all of this,” Price said, adding that he watched people take photos of the presidential motorcade this week. “In some ways, I think it’s part of what makes us unique and what makes D.C. so special.”
At Pearl’s Bagels on Seventh Street NW, Oliver Cox, who owns the business with his wife, Allee Cox, decided to stop offering delivery. The manager hand-delivered four orders because delivery drivers and bikers were unable to get through the security checkpoints.
The summit, Oliver Cox said, was “catastrophic” for business. Revenue was down 42 percent compared with an average Monday through Thursday, he said.
Despite city officials urging residents to use public transit, Tasha Stiger, a 42-year-old event planner, said she saw many cars. While she was biking downtown on Tuesday, she said she thought to herself, “I feel like I’m going to get hit by a car.”
“Hectic,” is how Abraham Alexandria, 31, described navigating the city while pushing his two sons, ages 1 and 3, in a stroller alongside his wife. The family visited the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, and Alexandria said what should have been a 10-minute walk home turned into a 40-minute journey.
“It’s a hot mess out here, literally,” is how Rose Preston, 64, described it while standing near the corner of 10th an M streets NW on Wednesday afternoon after walking for nearly two hours trying to get to the Veterans Affairs office at Eighth and I streets NW.
Preston said she was in a car accident while in a taxi earlier that day, something she attributes to the road closures, traffic and drivers distracted by not knowing where to turn.
“I think they did a wonderful job accommodating NATO more than they did the residents,” Preston added, referring to city officials. “I can’t say how many people I saw walking around that were lost and live right here.”
