Dear PoPville

“I am looking for a backyard or parking space for my tiny house”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

My name is Tri Trinh and I am looking for a backyard or parking space for my tiny house. My tiny house is 8 feet wide, 24 feet long, 13.5 feet high and it sits on wheels. I will need access to a garden hose and electricity. I can pay a monthly rent, cover utilities, help with outdoor chores and keep an eye on the property.

I am fascinated with minimalism, simple living and tiny houses! Minimalism has helped me rid my life of physical and mental items that no longer brings me joy. (more…)

“Reaching out to see what some ‘lessons learned’ are from folks who have recently gone through a similar process”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Rex Block

“Dear PoPville,

Looking to do some structural modifications to my condo this upcoming summer –taking down a piece of wall to open up a space, new flooring, new cabinets, etc. Aside from obtaining approval from my condo board, are there other requirements to follow/set out by the DC government? I am planning to hire a contractor. Reaching out to also see what some “lessons learned” are from folks who have recently gone through a similar process. Every time I deal with the DC government, I have to mentally prepare myself beforehand.”

“The alarm has been going off intermittently since Monday”

By Prince Of Petworth


A previous frustration articulated nicely

“Dear PoPville,

I would love advice on what to do about a car alarm in our neighborhood. The alarm has been going off intermittently since Monday. The timing seems irregular, which makes me think it’s passing cars that set it off. Unfortunately, we live on a busy street so that has meant waking up almost every night this week to the sound of the alarm. What’s best practice in a situation like this? I would love a night of uninterrupted sleep.”

“She then walked away.”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Joe Flood

“Dear PoPville,

This morning as I was unlocking a Jump Bike on the bike racks outside the Woodley Park Metro, a woman who was locking her own bike lectured me on how it was improper for bike shares to be left on the racks because the racks were for people like her who own their bikes. She went on to claim, as if she knew this for a fact, that the city would not give Jump Bikes a contract after the current trial period because their bikes take up rack space. She then walked away.

I have no idea if what she is saying is true, but I am a big fan of Jump Bikes since the electric motor makes my uphill commute tolerable. DC is a hilly city, and a muggy city for much of the year, so many of us stand to bike more with the electric bikes as an option. Bottom line, I would be very sad if Jump Bikes couldn’t get a contract. (more…)

“Is it normal that one of these pop-up/pop-back rowhouses would remain unfinished and unoccupied for over 2.5 years and counting?”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user María Helena Carey

“Dear PoPville,

I moved into my rowhouse in Park View about 2.5 years ago and both adjacent properties were under some serious construction: the facades of the houses were still up, but behind them were huge holes in the ground. Construction has moved super slowly over the past two years, with issues of homeless people sleeping in the unlocked/unfinished houses, and my roommates and I have seen other sketchy behavior (i.e., groups of guys on bikes go in during the middle of the night, girls in very little clothing going in as well) while construction on those two houses was seemingly at a standstill. At one point, maybe eight months ago, the developer contacted my house asking if we had any information about a robbery that took place the prior evening: about $15k worth of appliances were stolen. (more…)

“looking for a group that plays pickup basketball indoors”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Erin

“Dear PoPville,

I am really looking for a group that plays pickup basketball indoors somewhere. When I lived in Virginia, it was pretty easy to find an indoor gym or school that would play pickup basketball at night or on weekends, but have not had much luck finding anything here in DC. Any help from PoPville would be much appreciated.”

Would Washingtonians Lose Under the Republican Tax Bill?

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

Read this scary article about the potential economic impact of the Trump tax bill in the New York Times yesterday. Nobody ever mentions DC in these articles, but the situation here with local taxes is very similar to New York and California (high SALTs and high housing costs) Do you think you could post so people can comment? Maybe someone will allay my fears!”

It is also an economic dagger aimed at high-tax, high-cost and generally Democratic-leaning areas — most notably New York City and its neighbors.

The bill, if enacted into law, could send home prices tumbling 10 percent or more in parts of the New York area, according to one economic analysis. It could increase the regional tax burden, complicating companies’ efforts to attract skilled workers. It could make it harder for state and local governments to pay for upgrades to the transit system and other infrastructure. And it could force cuts in federal programs that help immigrants, the elderly and other low-income residents afford the region’s high cost of living.

Most significantly, the bil appearedl would eliminate the deduction for state and local income taxes, and would cap the deduction for property taxes at $10,000.


Read the full article here.

“$110 per move is also not cheap for a system that has failed me.”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

I moved back in April and again this past weekend (far too many moves for any 1 person). Both times I reserved parking, paying the $55.00 at each location fee to do so. Inevitably, someone is parking in the spot during the assigned time, which prevented me from moving the U-Haul into the correct spot. As frustrating as this was, I became even more frustrated when both in April and again this weekend, DPW Parking Enforcement was both rude to me and did nothing. The staffers at Parking Enforcement first require you to call 72 hours before your move to have someone come out and confirm the signs have been put up. In April, I called and they never sent anyone out. So, when I called on the day of the move, they told me I hadn’t had the signs verified so they couldn’t tow the vehicle.

This time on move day, I called 5 times over the course of a 12 hour period (I had the signs for 24 hours, so I could get things packed up the night before). They kept telling me they were sending someone out to ticket and then I would need to call back to have them towed. No one came even to ticket. I also was told to email a picture of my signs, but got no response to that.

I didn’t want to get my neighbors towed, but I also didn’t want to block traffic with my U-Haul. $110 per move is also not cheap for a system that has failed me.

Not normally one to complain about city services, but this is driving me crazy.”

Ed. Note: Wait a minute…

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