Dear PoPville

“any organizations that accepts vehicles and donates them directly to families in need?”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user James Crane

“Dear PoPville,

I was wondering if any of your readers could recommend a organization that accepts vehicles and donates them directly to families in need. I own a Honda Civic in decent condition with 120,000 miles, which could run for many years to come. Most organizations that I have researched sell your car to an auction or for parts and give the funds to the organization. I would prefer the car to be donated to a person or family for their use. Please let me know if anyone knows of a good organization that meets this criteria. Thank you!”

“The workers are less that friendly, often cursing or giving me the finger.”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Kevin Wolf

“Dear PoPville,

I live in an apartment on U St NW that shares an alley with town homes/condos on Willard St NW.

There is a home that has been purchased by a developer and is being remodeled. The work on the home has been going on for 3-4 months already and doesn’t look near completion.

EVERY work day this week, the construction vans have been blocking the alley. there is another entrance/exit to the alley, but the way my car is parked in my spot makes it impossible to use that entrance when leaving my spot. This week has been particularly bad, but I’d wager that they block the alley on a 3 day average.

The workers are less that friendly and have taken over 5 minutes to move their van, often cursing or giving me the finger. Admittedly, I’ve been pretty frustrated and rolled down my window and yelled “you can’t block the alley!”

They drive a van that is unmarked, I’ve looked at the house, and there is no company named. The permits are all ambiguous and do not have a contact number for each service (plumbing, electrical, windows, etc). I’ve called 311 several times to have parking enforcement or DDOT come out, since they do not have a permit to block the alley, but it can take up to 2 hours for service.

Is there anything I can do? It’s so frustrating to have our alley blocked. I know there are other issues with the construction, because there is a “work stoppage” sign on the building now. But that just limits the amount of work; the construction guys are still there every day. From talking with a couple neighbors, I’m not the only one who is frustrated.”

“Not sure what’s going on there.”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

This horse trailer has been parked on 10th St NE just North of K St for more than a week. It was moved once, but only a few feet. The truck towing it has DC tags, but the trailer has Maine tags. It’s taking up at least 2 spots (maybe 3) in an area with little parking to spare, but I assume it’s legal because enforcement MUST have seen it by now. I could see it being here for a day or two while someone moved in or out, but at this point, it seems they’re just storing it here, which is pretty obnoxious if you ask me. According to DC regs, it’s illegal to park a trailer on the street in front of a residence (18-2405.5). But a 311 report was rejected for no violation. Not sure what’s going on there.”

Who’s Your Preferred Dry Cleaners?

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

I live in an apartment building in DC where I send my dry cleaning out, but I have had several items ruined by the cleaner. After a few attempts at having said cleaner try again on these items, I still have stains on some of my favorite dresses and shirts. I am desperate to find a great dry cleaner in the DMV that can help me! Do you have any recommendations? Although I live in DC, I am willing to drive to somewhere in Northern VA or MD.”

“Trying to shed worthless HOA company”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Nathan Stewart

“Dear PoPville,

I own a condo in a 4-unit brownstone in Adams Morgan. There must be many, many folks in our situation, living on a single floor of a former single family home, slowly bleeding out a monthly fee to a property management fee for bare bones financial management and paying 3 monthly bills. In 8 years we have had changed firms three times due to very poor service.

They simply ignore or greatly delay any requests for scheduling maintenance work. And we pay the current firm $300 a month. Since it’s taken out of our HOA dues it’s a mildly hidden expense, especially so considering it’s split 4 ways.

Basically, we’re hoping to find someone with some sort of certification or insurance that has experience with extremely small HOA’s yet views their needs appropriately.”

“worth contesting the ticket?”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

I was out of town last week and the emergency/moving parking permit signs for trucks were posted on the 24th, for a move on the 29th. From what I’m reading they’re only required to be posted 72 hours beforehand. I was ticketed $30 and towed (Able Towing on Eldwin NE – towed Saturday, they’re closed Sunday, arrived and waited 1.5hrs for a tow truck to free my car from being boxed in in their lot) $160. Looking for anyone’s advice on avoiding this in the future… or if it’s worth contesting the ticket?”

“Help with new Flooring – During a particularly brutal heat wave last summer, the old laminate buckled in numerous places.”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Rukasu1

“Dear PoPville,

We’re having some trouble selecting what kind of floor to install in our condo and I was hoping the PoPville community could offer some advice. We need new flooring in the majority of our ground level condo. During a particularly brutal heat wave last summer, the old laminate buckled in numerous places. It was so bad that I was convinced there must be water under the floor, but once we pulled up a piece of the flooring we found the concrete sub-floor bone dry. This past month we had a shipment of bamboo flooring delivered and stacked to acclimate only for the installers to find out the material had bowed already and was impossible to install. Both of these failures happened during a heat wave, but we have central air conditioning which was on constantly so the heat and humidity couldn’t have been too bad.

Have other people in the area had similar experiences with laminate or engineered wood flooring? Are we just experiencing the consequences of poor quality materials or could something else be going on? Should we resign ourselves to installing tile so we can stop thinking about floors?”

“should we be investing in a sump pump?”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Jordan Barab

“Dear PoPville,

We have a condo in Shaw (townhouse conversion and we have the basement and first floor). During the past two big storms, we have had clear water come through the floors in one of the basement rooms. We have tile floors, not wood, and have mopped up the water quickly and ran a dehumidifier. I know the solution is likely $$ but two questions: 1) any recommendations for a contractor or plumber who we can trust to give an estimate and do a good job and 2) should we be investing in a sump pump?”

“Hoping that the collective wisdom and experience can help us answer a few questions about historic preservation”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

Hoping that the collective wisdom and experience can help us answer a few questions about historic preservation. In particular, it was just posted to our neighborhood listserv that our block has been nominated as an historic landmark.

As residents here for several years, the filing by the D.C. Preservation League is the first we or our immediate neighbors have heard of this. Though it was mentioned as an eventual possibility in the city’s Comprehensive Plan, we didn’t know there was any movement on this front and have a few questions. We’ll continue internet sleuthing, reach out to the DC Preservation League, and engage the ANC, but in the meantime we’re hoping readers could help us answer a few additional questions: (more…)

“I’m having a hard time deciphering DC’s recycling laws and was wondering if the PoPville community could help me out.”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Kate Conradt

“Dear PoPville,

I am trying to be better about my consumption of plastic, but have been having a hard time deciphering DC’s recycling laws and was wondering if the PoPville community could help me out. I read on the DOEE website that since styrofoam has been banned, all food containers must be recyclable or compostable. New regulations mandate organizations that sell or serve food or beverages in the District to exclusively use recyclable or compostable food service products. Are these containers still recyclable when they are soiled? Are all plastic food containers recyclable (such as plastic clamshells)? According to this chart, it seems like not all food service containers can be recycled. I have reached out to the DOEE but haven’t heard back.”

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