The D.C. Department of Transportation is rolling out a new set of regulations and new costs for restaurants that want to hold on to their outdoor space.

Streateries were once a critical lifeline, helping restaurants stay afloat during the pandemic. Five years later, many remain fixtures in their neighborhoods and still generate much-needed revenue.

“They’re going to charge us extra for that, and we can’t afford it,” said Raja Shaukat, who owns La Grotta in Adams Morgan.

Shaukat says restaurants are already struggling to make ends meet. When News4 visited, his dining room was empty, and he says business has been slow.

Under the updated streatery rules, restaurants would face a new $260 permit fee plus $20 per square foot, and they’d be responsible for buying their own jersey barriers.

“We absolutely said no to them because there’s no point in having a streatery out,” Shaukat said. “[…] Plus, with the economy and what we are going through right now in D.C., we can’t afford it.”

DDOT says the changes are meant to make outdoor dining more uniform, while improving safety, accessibility and overall aesthetics. But some News4 spoke with say they’re disappointed by the stricter rules.

“I think it’s a real shame,” said Gwendolyn Reece, an Adams Morgan resident. “This has been such a boon to the neighborhood and to D.C generally. It’s about the only good thing to have actually come out of the pandemic.”

“It’s really added to the public ambiance of spaces where people can come and sit even if they’re patrons of businesses or not,” said Adams Morgan ANC Commissioner Peter Wood. “It’s changed the dynamics of who’s using the public space and for what reasons.”

But others say they won’t miss them. Nadi Saleh, who owns Queen’s Cafe Hookah, says the outdoor seating was fine in the summer months, but overall, the streateries haven’t helped his business.

“Having parking places for the people, it’s going to help our business a lot,” Saleh said. “I’ve been 21 years in business. Since they started to do this, business is going down a little bit.”

Even though temporary streatery permits expired on Sunday in the District, DDOT says it won’t begin enforcing rules on non-compliant streatery structures until early 2026.

D.C. police are adding more dates for two juvenile curfew zones in Navy Yard and U Street that will be in effect to deter large gatherings of kids and teens.

The Navy Yard restrictions cover Interstate 695 to the Anacostia River and from 8th Street, SE, to South Capitol Street.

The U Street perimeter covers V Street to Vermont Avenue, NW, and from 9th Street at Florida Avenue to 15th and T Streets.

These two zones were in effect on Nov. 15 and 16 as well.

Both juvenile curfew zones will be in effect from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser recently signed emergency legislation to reinstate the summer juvenile curfew at 11 p.m. for youth under 18 years old.

Under the order, those under 18 are “prohibited from gathering in a group of nine or more in any public place or on the premises of any establishment” unless they are taking part in certain exempted activities, police said.

The youth curfew comes after a hectic Halloween night that brought hundreds of teens to Navy Yard.

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The family of a 25-year-old man who was shot and killed by a D.C. police officer last week is questioning the officer’s tactics and training after viewing the body camera video.

David Warren Childs, of Northeast D.C., was shot the night of Nov. 17 after police say he refused to obey the officer’s commands and appeared to reach for a firearm in his waistband. It happened near the Deanwood Metro station.

The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) says officers spotted Childs with a gun in his waistband and gave chase.

The body-worn camera video released by police this week doesn’t show the initial interaction. It begins in the middle of a foot pursuit that ended outside an apartment building on 47th Place NE.

It’s very hard to tell from the video, but the officer — who had Childs at gunpoint standing between a fence and the building — was without backup and alone for one minute and 23 seconds before the officer opened fire.

The video shows the moment the officer cornered Childs and said, “I’m gonna shoot you.”

“Why wasn’t the matter de-escalated?” Childs’ cousin Da’jon Mason asked. “If it’s the law enforcement’s job to de-escalate matters, why wasn’t the situation de-escalated? If you had 10 to 15 officers out here, why was there no other officer present to assist in the matter to de-escalate the situation? Why did you continue to escalate the situation, threatening to continuously shoot someone when they are telling you, ‘Don’t shoot me’?”

As soon as Childs was cornered near the fence line, the officer apparently got on the radio and said, “One at gunpoint” and “behind the building.”

“The officer used great restraint, gave multiple commands, multiple commands asking the subject to please, to raise his hands and not to reach for the firearm, and for some reason the subject did not obey those commands and reached for his firearm,” Executive Assistant Police Chief Andre Wright said.

It’s difficult to see on the video, but police say Childs moved his left hand toward his waistband and that’s when the officer opened fire.

After the shooting, other officers arrived and began to render first aid to Childs.

Police say this is the weapon Childs had in his waistband.

“The point where he was saying, ‘You know what, OK, if this is how it’s going to go, then do it,’ when we are the same amount of distance that we are now in this conversation, you could have taken him down,” Mason said. “You didn’t have to keep the gun pointed at him. You could have holstered your weapon and proceeded to take him down. You could have tased him. You could have used OC [pepper] spray.”

D.C. police declined to comment on the family’s concerns and referred News4 to the statement the police department made when the body camera video was released.

MPD said in a Nov. 18 news release in part: “The involved members have been placed on administrative leave, pursuant to MPD policy.”

The Internal Affairs Bureau’s Force Investigations Team is investigating the shooting, according to MPD.

“The United States Attorney’s Office will independently review the facts and evidence in the case,” MPD said.