DC Government

“People run and bike on the islands on a regular basis, so it’s a matter of when, not if, someone gets hurt down there and needs help.”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Jim Havard

“Dear PoPville

This is a long story. The important part is at the end, with the asterisks.

I regularly walk my dog on Heritage and Kingman Islands just off the RFK parking lot at Benning Rd. and Oklahoma Ave NE.

This evening at about 6:45pm I happened upon some kids at one of the clearings on the west side of the gravel road that runs down the center of Kingman Island, the larger of the two islands.

This clearing has a small curved sidewalk and some large boulders; it’s the second area like this north of the Pennsylvania Avenue bridge.

The kids were standing next to a wooden trash can, which had a good sized fire burning inside it.

I looked away for a second, then looked back up, and they were gone.

As I got closer to the clearing, I saw a large amount of grass had also been burning – I’d estimate about a 30′ x 30′ patch. The perimeter of the patch was still on fire, flames about 4-6” high. (more…)

“Folks parking there would have had every reason to believe that any “snow emergency” was long since over.”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by Tammar Berger

“Dear PoPville,

I live on 9th St, which is a designated snow emergency route. Yesterday [Wednesday], starting about 3pm and continuing for a few hours, there was a veritable army of (mainly private) tow trucks that were towing any car parked up and down 9th St. Yet, by that time, it was done snowing, the roads were dry, and there was nothing left to plow. Folks parking there would have had every reason to believe that any “snow emergency” was long since over. (more…)

“I’m curious if DCers are ready for even more expensive dishes, perhaps less service staff and the likelihood of restaurants closing.”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Eric P.

“Dear PoPville,

I was wondering what folks thought of the proposed increase in wage to tipped workers?

Where I work, a lot of industry folks from restaurants we all love have been meeting to discuss it frequently.  Sounds like it has a lot of owners concerned about the potential downfalls.  I recall Sally’s Middle Name first opened with this model but regressed to a traditional tipping model.  The states and cities this has been implemented seem to be weathering the change, but I’m curious if DCers are ready for even more expensive dishes, perhaps less service staff and the likelihood of restaurants closing.”

“Neighbors feel that the old C of O from 1966 classifying the home as an apartment home is no longer valid because it has been over 50 years and the house was not used as an apartment home for 30 years”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

I live in Columbia Heights and a bunch of my neighbors are struggling with a renovation. There is a home on Kenyon Street that was a single-family home for at least the last 2 decades – and likely more. Many of us old timers in the neighborhood knew the previous owner and had been in the home on multiple occasions.

A developer purchased the property in 2015 for $900,000. It needed to be gutted and completely redone

He submitted drawing/plans to the city shortly after purchasing the home, showing the property was a 4-unit building with kitchens on every floor. These plans were false. Several people have signed affidavits stating that this was a single-family home and we submitted those affidavits to DCRA. One of these people lived there up until shortly before it was sold to the developer. The house was in no way a 4 unit building, but DCRA wrote a determination letter stating that since the property was always 4 units – the developer could rehab and renovate the property as such. (so he essentially lied to get permission to convert a single family home to a 4 unit building) He received permits to do this work in the summer of 2017. The interior of the home was been completely demolished and the back ½ is missing. Now there is no way to tell how many units there were.

As a side note – but deserving of a “bullet point” nonetheless….there is one electric meter, one gas meter and tax records show it was taxed as single family home.

DCRA issued a stop work order on September 17th, 2017 because they learned that the adjoining neighbors on both sides were not served any construction documents along with the neighbor notification form that is required by the city, to give both adjoining neighbors a chance to see the plans and make sure the structural integrity of their own homes are protected.

The crux of the issue lies with an old C of O from 1966 zoning the house as an apartment house. Neighbors want the developer to build 2 units, not 4 as the city granted him, and in January of this past year DCRA retracted their permission for him to build 4, but granted him the right to do 3, even though this is now a zone where a maximum of 2 units can be built. This was their explanation: (more…)

“Mayor Bowser Addresses District Preparation for the March For Our Lives Rally” All the Info you need including Street Closures

By Prince Of Petworth

From the Mayor’s Office:

“Mayor Bowser today hosted a press conference on the District’s preparation for Saturday’s March For Our Lives rally. March For Our Lives, which will address gun violence in schools and include a diverse program of student speakers, musical performances, guest speakers and video tributes, is scheduled to take place on Pennsylvania Avenue, NW between 3rd Street and 12th Street. The event will start at noon and go until 3:00 p.m.

“We’re going to have thousands of visitors in our city on Saturday and many of these visitors are going to be young people. Our number one priority is keeping every person in our city safe,” said Mayor Bowser. “As the young people from Parkland, Florida have been preparing for March For Our Lives, the District has been preparing to keep our residents and visitors safe.”

To prepare for Saturday, District agencies have created a comprehensive public safety response, a comprehensive reunification plan to ensure individuals separated from their travel groups can be reunited, and a coordinated District response to ensure residents continue to receive services as scheduled. The District has also created a website, marchforourlives.dc.gov, for residents and visitors to look up information regarding street closures, public transportation, hotels, reunification services, and bus permitting. Additionally, March For Our Lives attendees are encouraged attendees to sign up for free text alerts from the District on safety, weather, traffic, and transit by texting “MARCH24” to 888-777.

Chief of Police Peter Newsham emphasized the impact of the potential crowd size, “We encourage visitors and participants to utilize one of the many public transportation options available but also plan for an extended travel time due to the crowd size and closures.”

DC Homeland Security and Emergency Management Director Dr. Chris Rodriguez shared that the District’s Emergency Operations Center will be fully staffed with representatives from District response agencies, federal partners, and representatives from non-government organizations, such as the Red Cross, DC Water, PEPCO, and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. The DC National Guard will provide support with crowd control and other security measures.

A comprehensive list of updates can be found below. (more…)

One Lucky Mug

By Prince Of Petworth

A reader sends from the Unit block of 15th Street, NE:

“Pavers came on 3/16 and literally worked around this car, only one parked on the street scraping the old asphalt etc.”

D.C. Council Member Trayon White: “the Rothschilds controlling the climate.” But He Apologized So Let’s Just Pretend All is Well

By Prince Of Petworth

Last week in a post where I explained the meaning behind Jewish people giving/donating $18 (or multiples thereof), I jokingly mentioned that the Pentaverate was not real. I mistakenly thought that any part of that fiction was so far out there that in 2018 there is no way people in D.C. could believe it. Ahhhhhhhhh Ugggggggghhhhh Uhhhhhhhhhhh God damn it. Thanks to all who messaged me. It was also trending in my apple news alerts this morning:

From WTOP:

“As a few snowflakes fell in D.C. Friday morning, one D.C. Council member took to Facebook to vent about the weather, seeming to embrace an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory that a wealthy Jewish family is controlling the weather.”

I really am sad. I think some major educational outreach is needed. I do hope the apology is sincere but who the hell knows. In WTOP’s report they said:

“The Washington Post said they reached out to White for clarification, to which he wrote, “The video says what it says.”

So whether or not the apology is sincere or empty words remains to be seen.

But it’s not fun crying all the time so I’ll just laugh it off:

“Recently, the school gates have recently been locked, and we have been told that weekend access will not be granted”

By Prince Of Petworth


via Change.org

“Dear PoPville,

For the past four months, Powell Elementary playground in Petworth has been open to the community. The playground has been a great resource for neighborhood families, meeting one another, having fun, and getting exercise.

Recently, the school gates have recently been locked, and we have been told that weekend access will not be granted. We don’t know why that is the case, and we are asking Councilmember Todd to lend his voice to this issue.  (more…)

“Eleanor Holmes Norton on Guns, Elections, Statehood, Trump at Shaw ANC Meeting”

By Prince Of Petworth

The following was written by PoPville contributor David McAuley, founder of Short Articles about Long Meetings.


Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (Right) Photo by David McAuley

“I am having a ball now with Marco Rubio,” Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton told Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6E/Shaw at its regularly-scheduled monthly meeting last night (March 6).

Norton started her ANC talk by saying she had stopped three Congressional attempts to eliminate DC’s gun safety laws in the last year, after which she made the remark about Rubio. Norton then went on to say that she was accused of skirting Congressional practice concerning member-to-member courtesy and decorum in her criticism of Rubio. However, Norton said, she wanted to remind that Rubio introduced a bill (just prior to his 2015 Presidential run) that, among other things, would have overturned the District’s ban on assault weapons. Immediately after the bill’s introduction, Norton said, Rubio’s National Rifle Association rating went from “B+” to “A”.

“I’m simply calling him out,” Norton said. “The opportunism there is so raw.” (more…)

“if you think you might want to rent your place out in 6 months…start now and you *might* make it.”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Josh Bassett

“Dear PoPville,

When you apply for a basic business license to rent out your place, they give you a 45 day window in which to get the home inspected. Without the inspection, the license is revoked. I am moving out of the area at the end of the month, so I got my license on February 12th and and scheduled the first available appointment (I shouldn’t call it that because they can’t even give you a time the day before) for March 7th (tomorrow). I called this morning to confirm, and my “appointment” was confirmed.

I just got a call from DCRA asking to reschedule for April 3rd or 10th. I am moving March 30th and looking to start a lease for my condo on April 1…so I said no. (more…)

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