Editor’s Note — Tysons Reporter is running Q&As with the candidates running for the open Falls Church City Council seat. The stories have been condensed and edited for clarity. 

Joshua Shokoor is one of three candidates — along with Debora Shantz-Hiscott and Simone Victoria Pass-Tucker — running for the open Falls Church City Council seat in the upcoming election on Nov. 3.

Tysons Reporter: Why did you decide to run? 

Shokoor: I decided to run because I believe the greatest policy issue facing our community is a lack of affordable housing and the pending loss of hundreds of affordable units, which will leave people of color, city staff, teachers and employees of small businesses with nowhere else to go in the Falls Church. I have worked in affordable housing for years, both professionally and as a veteran of the city’s housing commission and an author of the “Affordable Living Policy.” I have the public policy and private knowledge to mitigate these losses. But my fear is, without my voice on the City Council, not much attention will be paid to this issue.

TR: What’s your connection to the Falls Church community? 

Shokoor: I am a lifelong resident of the city and of course went through the K-12 school system. I am also a veteran on the housing commission and an author of the Affordable Living Policy. I was fortunate enough to intern with the city’s Department of Housing and Human Services while obtaining my master’s in public policy.

TR: What are your top three agenda items? 

a) Preserve the affordable housing in the City

b)  Increase access to the City through the creation of more affordable housing

c) Create a Racial Equity Commission to develop policies through the lens of making Falls Church more inclusive and welcoming for all families

TR: How do you plan to work cohesively with the other council members? 

Shokoor: I already know many on the City Council and we get along fairly well. Everyone on the council is volunteering many hours of their time a week because they are dedicated to making Falls Church a better place to live. Like any team, some people disagree with each other, but at the end of the day, you have to realize that the City Council shares a united goal and vision for this community, and it is no different than the one I have for Falls Church.

TR: Do you approve of how the city has handled COVID-19 so far? What would you change?

Shokoor: The City has done a lot to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, whether that is through strict social distancing, mask wearing, and initiatives to focus resident’s consumer purchase to businesses in the city which are still not back to pre-pandemic levels in terms of patrons and revenue. But I think Falls Church’s best response has come from the Department of Housing Human Services. Through their efforts they have provided rental assistance to 45 families since the pandemic began, many of which have been helped numerous. They have paid for utility expenses for over 50 families, provided masks to communities most at-risk, and supplied food to residents through donations to their programs. In a wealthy community like Falls Church, it is easy for some to overlook the struggles of many residents and families.

Photo courtesy Joshua Shokoor

Fairfax County to Receive an Additional $4.85 Million in CARES Act Funding— “Through this final allocation, Fairfax County will receive an additional $4.85 Million in federal funding to assist residents facing higher risk of eviction and help combat the economic hardships brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.” [Fairfax County]

3 F.C. Council Candidates Appear at First Joint Campaign Event — “A new breed of candidates for public office has surfaced in the race to temporarily fill a vacancy on the Falls Church City Council.” [Falls Church News-Press]

D.C. Restaurants Turn to Pop-up Concepts to Stay Afloat — “Bethesda’s URBNmarket is bringing a socially distant Oktoberfest event to Tysons on Oct. 9 and 10 with seasonal beverages in the pop-up biergarten.” [Washington Business Journal]

McLean Mom Plans Meal Packing Efforts During Pandemic — “Through her LiftLikeAMother​ Amplify program, McLean’s Alicia McKenzie coordinates meal packing efforts to help those in need.” [Patch]

Why More and More Families in Tysons are Calling High-Rises Home — “High-rise housing is often portrayed as places for the young and childless. Housing for transient young adults before they move out to the suburbs to start families. But Tysons shows that this stereotype leaves out a large number of families who live in high-rises.” [Greater Greater Washington]

No Car Decals in This Fall’s Tax Bills — “Falls Church Treasurer Jody Acosta reported to the F.C. City Council Tuesday that the personal property tax bills being issued this fall will not, as in the past, include decals to be placed on car windshields.” [Falls Church News-Press]

Creative Cauldron Director Wins Another Helen Hayes Award — “Matt Conner, the prolific composer, writer, director and performer for Falls Church’s own Creative Cauldron theater company won a highly prestigious D.C. Metro [region-wide] Helen Hayes Award for Best Director of a Musical for his work on the Cauldron’s production of “Beauty and the Beast” earlier this year.” [Falls Church News-Press]

Vienna Kids’ Friendship Bracelet Sales Feed Families In Need –“The sisters’ efforts making bracelets over the summer helps an initiative of restaurants feeding families during the pandemic.” [Patch]

F.C. Council Vote on Whole Foods Project to Be Delayed — “The News-Press has learned at plans at present are to delay a vote by the Falls Church City Council at its business meeting this Monday on the proposed Broad at Washington mixed use development process because there is insufficient support on the Council at present to move it forward for evaluation by City boards and commissions.” [Falls Church News-Press]

Improper Disposal Of Smoking Materials Cause Merrifield Condo Fire –“Units arrived on the scene of a four-story, condominium building with fire showing from a third-floor deck.” [Twitter]

Computer Hackers Attack Fairfax County School System –“Hackers attacked the Fairfax County Public Schools computer system and placed ransomware on some of its systems, a school district spokesperson said Friday.” [Washington Post]

Two Candidate Forums Set for Special F.C. Council Election — “The Falls Church Chamber of Commerce and the Falls Church League of Women Voters have each announced forums to hear from the three candidates running to fill the F.C. City Council seat vacated by the July passing of Daniel X. Sze.” [Falls Church News-Press]

FCPS Extends Breakfast and Lunch To Go–“Fairfax County Public Schools announced they will continue free breakfast and lunch to go starting Tuesday through December 31.” [Local DVM]

McLean Firm Wins $7.3M DARPA 5G Security Contract — “McLean-based computer and network security company Kryptowire LLC won a four-year, $7.3 million contract to help the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) conduct research and development services for 5G mobile network security, according to a Department of Defense statement released Tuesday.” [Virginia Business]

Kids of All Ages on What They Miss Most About Dining in Restaurants — “The flaming onion volcano wouldn’t make it through the car ride. Marcus, who is 8 and lives in Tysons Corner, misses dinner and a show at his favorite restaurant, Sakura.” [Washington City Paper]

Capital One May Find Its Way Into the McLean Metro Station’s Name — “Fairfax County is weighing a proposal to rename the McLean Metro station as “McLean-Capital One Hall,” which, if approved, would become the first station to include a company’s name in its title.” [Washington Business Journal]

Unemployment Claims Dip — “New claims for unemployment benefits filed by Northern Virginia residents fell last week to their lowest level since pandemic-related business shutdowns began, even as thousands of area residents continue collecting unemployment, the Virginia Employment Commission reported Thursday.” [Inside NoVa]

Capital One Fined for Data Breach — “Capital One Financial Corp (NYSE: COF) will pay an $80 million fine and enter into a consent order with its regulator, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, over issues related to a data breach in 2019 that exposed more than 106 million records of customers and credit card applicants.” [Washington Business Journal]

Two Activists Running for Falls Church Council Seat — “Two longtime City of Falls Church activists, Debbie Hiscott and Josh Shokoor, have been the only ones to announce so far they’ll be running for the now-open seat on the Falls Church City Council.” [Falls Church News-Press]

Construction of new Station 44, Scotts Run, continues to progress nicely! New station is being built as part of a development condition to meet growing needs for emergency services in Tysons area. Starting to look like a fire and rescue station! #FCFRD pic.twitter.com/lUJNwYaDjm

— Fairfax Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) August 7, 2020

The Virginia sales tax holiday is Aug. 7 – 9, 2020. Here’s what’s eligible for school supplies, clothing and footwear:

✅Qualified school supplies – $20 or less per item
✅Qualified clothing and footwear – $100 or less per item

Get more info: https://t.co/TFZ0jQC4vl pic.twitter.com/2snEv42INg

— Virginia Tax (@VaTax) July 29, 2020

Photo by Michelle Goldchain

Clothing Retailer Closing in Tysons Corner Center — “Five Justice stores are set to close in the D.C. area, along with two Lane Bryant locations, two Catherines locations, one Loft Outlet and the Lou & Grey store at Tysons Corner Center.” [Washington Business Journal]

Signed, Sealed, Delivered — “Fairfax County Planning Commission members on July 29 unanimously approved a comprehensive sign plan for the new Archer Hotel in western McLean on the edge of Tysons, after the applicant reduced the size of several proposed signs.” [Inside NoVa]

Local Man Drowned — “A 21-year-old Vienna man drowned in Lake Anna on Saturday, the Louisa County Sheriff’s Office reported Sunday.” [Inside NoVa]

Special Election in Falls Church — A special election to fill the late Daniel Sze’s council seat will be held as part of the general election on Nov. 3. [Falls Church News Press]

Photo by Michelle Goldchain

Plans for a proposed commercial building in Falls Church may soon move forward.

Fairfax One LLC wants to add a 12,000-square-foot building at 130 E. Fairfax Street — the current location of parking for the nearby Protestant Episcopal Church. The project, which is called Southgate II, proposes to house Scramble, a kids’ play gym that is currently located in Alexandria.

The developer told the city’s Planning Commission earlier this year that churchgoers would still be able to park there, along with space at an adjacent property.

While some of the Planning Commissioners had concerns about the location of the kids’ center and the project’s “suburban, strip mall feel,” some argued that child care is needed in that part of the city and that the building is an improvement from the site’s current conditions.

On Monday, the Falls Church City Council is set to move along the rezoning process for the site. Currently, the site plan for the project is on hold until the rezoning application is finalized, according to city documents.

Map via Google Maps

In response to demands for police reform in the City of Falls Church, the City Council is seeking residents to serve on its new Use of Force Review Committee.

The committee members will be responsible for meeting bi-weekly from August to November to rethink police force policies and procedures, engage the community for diverse perspectives, report findings and make recommendations, according to a press release.

Volunteer applications are due July 5 at 11:59 p.m.

Councilmembers are ultimately responsible for choosing the candidates, and upcoming committee members can expect to be officially appointed on July 27, the press release said.

Here’s more from the press release:

The recent killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the loss of many other Black lives, have left our nation anguished and outraged. The Obama Foundation and the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance have called on mayors and other city officials to pledge to take actions to review and reform police use of force policies and procedures. Mayor Tarter and City Council have committed to follow the precepts of the pledge and look forward to the UFRC’s recommendations.

People who want more information about the position can contact the city clerk’s office at 703-248-5014 (TTY 711).

(Updated at 4:45 p.m.) The Falls Church City Council is set to discuss two bus projects that would better connect the Little City to surrounding jurisdictions.

Planning Director Paul Stoddard is set to give presentations on the third phase of the Envision Route 7 Bus Rapid Transit Project and the WMATA Bus Transportation Project.

Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVRC) is evaluating costs to run buses from the Spring Hill Metro station in Tysons along Route 7 to the East Falls Church Metro station, before ending in Alexandria.

“Currently, the only corridor-long service is the 28A, which runs on 20-minute frequencies,” according to city documents. “Commonly 10- or 15-minute frequencies [are] considered the minimum for high-frequency transit.”

Falls Church staff are looking to get data on ridership estimates, turning movements, lane configurations and evaluate station locations to support planning for the rapid bus transit system.

The council is also set to provide feedback on WMATA’s bus project. The recently completed strategy and action plan are looking to change the D.C. area bus system for riders, providers and operators.

“Feedback is particularly needed on key elements that are applicable to the city and on coordination items to focus on during annual budget discussions, state of good operations service updates, and ad-hoc opportunities for transit service planning,” according to city documents.

The meeting is set to start at 7:30 p.m. in City Hall (300 Park Avenue).