Dear PoPville

“They are essentially using the motorcycle to reserve their very own personal neighborhood spot, at the expense of all of their neighbors”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user nevermindtheend

“Dear PoPville,

I’m wondering if you might be able to help me right a wrong in my neighborhood that has proven difficult to address. We park on the street in Lanier heights, which is nestled between Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights and mount Pleasant. It can be a pain depending on when you are looking for a spot. (As an illustration: a couple weeks ago my wife had a spot stolen from her by some guy who then verbally berated her for being angry that he had stolen the spot she waited 10 minutes for. It took her 20 mins to find another spot)

There is a large parking spot outside of an apartment building called the Chalfonte. The spot in question is on the south side of Harvard where it intersects with Argonne Place, and is big enough to fit a small car and a smart car, a REALLY big car, or a big-ish car like a Jeep SUV and a motorcycle.

The issue is that I’ve noticed over the last few weeks that it is ALWAYS the same black jeep and the same motorcycle parked there. (more…)

“I don’t normally narc on people, but I saved for years to get a large down payment to get a better loan rate, and these people are a real pain.”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user John Sonderman

“Dear PoPville,

I am on my condo board in DC. A couple bought a unit in the building almost 2 years ago. They’ve rented it out the entire time and never lived in the unit. Without going into identifying details, they’re bad landlords and owners, with bad tenants to boot. We’ve done everything we can under our Bylaws and DC law to enforce the rules, but nothing seems to deter the owners from being belligerent, or their tenants from not following rules.

Someone in the building found out that the couple used the DC HFA Open Doors Down Payment Assistance Program to buy the place.

Under the program, owners are supposed to make below a certain amount of money, and must live in the home for the first 5 years. (more…)

“Do people have experience with the Customer Choice options to Washington Gas?”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Rob Cannon

“Dear PoPville,

Do people have experience with the Customer Choice options to Washington Gas? We are moving and will have gas in our new home (woo hoo!), but am curious if we should go with the Washington Gas standby (which has awful reviews on Yelp), or opt for one of the other options available. Any advice is much appreciated!

From DC’s Public Service Commission website:

Currently, three competitive suppliers and WGL accept new residential customers. They are:

Gateway Energy Services (877-893-6374 or e-mail [email protected])
NOVEC Energy Solutions (888-627-7283 or e-mail [email protected])
Washington Gas Energy Services (888-884-9437 or e-mail [email protected])
WGL (703-750-1000 or e-mail [email protected])”

Does Exxon’s Gas Come with a side of Bacon or something?

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

Does anyone know why the Exxon station at the corner of Connecticut and Nebraska charges more than $1 more per gallon than the BP and Shell stations a block away on Connecticut Ave (on the other side of Politics and Prose)? I’ve wondered for ages.”

This has also driven me crazy. Anyone out there have any ideas?

“The stop work order was put up late last week. They have been there every day since”

By Prince Of Petworth


15th and Webster Street, NW

“Dear PoPville,

Attached are two photos. The first shows a stop work order. The second shows workers at the same house, working. The stop work order was put up late last week. They have been there every day since. DCRA has been called multiple times by multiple people, but nothing has been done.

By the way, the reason for the stop work order is that they failed to have critical inspections on interior walls done.”

“This has the potential to dramatically change a very deserving mother’s life for the better”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

“My name is Hal Brewster, and I am among a team of attorneys representing (pro bono) a survivor of domestic abuse in her divorce and custody proceeding. Our client is a wonderful mother to five well behaved children and is slowly getting back into the workforce. As a survivor of domestic abuse, she is eligible for a voucher through the City that will help cover her rent as she becomes financially self-sufficient. For three months, we have been searching diligently for a home or apartment for rent that has 3 or more bedrooms with a landlord willing to work with us, but we have hit one dead end after another. Our hope is that someone will have (or know of one) of a suitable property.

If you have any potential leads, please contact me at [email protected]. This has the potential to dramatically change a very deserving mother’s life for the better. We would appreciate any information you may be able to offer.”

“For us, its not so much the $25, as the feeling of being duped”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

On Sunday 9/24 we were hit by the ‘Neighbor Bruce’ [Also has gone by Gene] scammer at about 9:15pm at our home just off H Street, near the new Whole Foods. He introduced himself as our neighbor ‘Doug’, provided an address for where he lived and a few names of neighbors he knew. He said his employee just dropped him off and he left his coat with his wallet, phone and keys in the backseat and asked to use our phone. I initially was skeptical and tried to turn him away, but (as con artists do…) he continued on with his narrative and convinced my husband to call a number he provided. (more…)

Anyone know the status of the Eisenhower Memorial going up in the Southwest?

By Prince Of Petworth


via eisenhowermemorial.org

“Dear PoPville,

I was wondering if anyone else in the PoPville community has heard anything about the Eisenhower Memorial going up in the southwest? I work for the Federal Government in the Southwest, and while I don’t work in the Department of Education building, I work right by there. There aren’t really any lunch options in the area besides the food trucks by the L’Enfant Metro. Due to the limited options, my coworkers and I generally get lunch from the food trucks and eat at one of the tables set out in front of the Dept. of Ed. While there is one other spot in the general vicinity to sit and eat lunch, it’s very limited. I just heard about the Eisenhower Memorial that is going up in front of the Dept. of Ed. and over the spot where we, and many of the other Federal Government employees in the area, eat their lunch on a daily basis. While I fully support a memorial to President Eisenhower, I’m a little miffed by the fact that it will effectively wipe out our only lunch spot in the vicinity. Has anyone else heard anything about this Memorial? It seems like it has been in the works for a while, but I only just heard about it.”

Ed. Note: In May Curbed reported:

“Eisenhower Memorial design revisions meet Commission of Fine Arts largely with disapproval

…a revised final design of the planned Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial met with the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) with much discussion and largely more to be desired for. Still, the final concept of the design needs to be approved. This meeting was simply to approve the revisions to the design.”

“Looking for a local plumber or plumbing company that has experience working with PEX tubing”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Eric P.

“Dear PoPville,

Looking for a local plumber or plumbing company that has experience working with PEX tubing and fittings. I removed the drywall in my ceiling of my dining room and I would like to reroute the cold & hot line in a more efficient matter. Current water pipes are copper, 10-15 years old (1/2 in size), but I don’t need to replace all of it, only a portion the run across the ceiling. The current copper lines run below just below the floor joist and previous owner built a huge and ugly bulkhead (since removed) to hide these water lines. I estimate total amount of tubing that needs to be replace is 30 feet total, 15ft for hot and 15ft for cold. Does anyone know of anyone working with PEX? Thanks,

Owner of ColHgt Row House”

“this seems beyond callous and petty”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user bajidc

“Dear PoPville,

Thought this, GW Hospital says helipad needed to save lives, but some Foggy Bottom residents are furious, might be something worthy of discussion. Looks like the West End Citizens Association is opposed to a medevac helipad at GW (one of only two Level 1 trauma centers in DC) because of concerns “not only about the noise but also the the helicoper’s vibrations damaging their historic rowhouses.” For folks who choose to live within a mile of the White House (and near the flight path of the much larger helicopters that land on the South Lawn almost daily), this seems beyond callous and petty.

(For what it’s worth, I’m a Bloomingdale homeowner and my rowhouse–though likely less “historic”–doesn’t seem to mind the “vibrations” from the helicopters flying to Washington Hospital Center. And although helicopter noise is not ideal, I gladly accept it as an unavoidable consequence of living in DC. I wouldn’t dream of complaining that medevac flights for the critically injured disturb my beauty sleep.)”

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