Dear PoPville

“Dear PoPville,

I walk down the 1400 block of R Street NW a few times a day. For the last 6-8 months I’ve noticed an older, dark conversion van parked just outside the Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church. It is always in the exact same spot. I’ve suspected that people are actually living in the van because the windows are always covered and there are often cigarette butts, empty beer cans, charcoal ash, and garbage strewn about the sidewalk localized to the van.

On Sunday I walked by with my dog and saw three men sitting with the doors open in folding camping chairs. They had a small campfire grill on the sidewalk (which explains the ash) and were playing loud music and drinking. They clearly made it a semi-permanent home because they’d also set up a green open-air canopy tent and attached it to their van.

It raises a few questions in my mind, including: has anyone else noticed this? How has it been allowed to go on for so long? Are they affiliated with “Hope and a Home” just down the street? Any thoughts are appreciated.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Mr.TinDC

Update on the, uh, Nick’s/Emma C. situation:

“Dear PoPville,

I am a friend of Emma C. from the Yelp saga. I was with her the night of the poop accident at Nick’s Riverside Grill. I have been helping her since she has broken English and do not want her to get taken advantage of more than has happened already. We are in contact with the owner of Nick’s Riverside Grill and he has agreed to meet with us in person so we can prove that Emma. C from Yelp is not the girl that pooped at their restaurant. We were considering having a lawyer present in case he is not willing to publicly apologize and set the record straight. The false claim that Emma C is the girl that pooped is affecting her life personally so this needs to be resolved. Please email JusticeforEmmaC(at)gmail.com if you know a DC lawyer to work with Emma C. pro bono. Thank you.”

Update 12:55pm:

“FYI The owner of Nick’s called Emma C. and admitted they were wrong and apologized for it over the phone. They are releasing a formal apology to Washington City Paper and confirmed it was not Emma C. because the girl who pooped had a tattoo on her shoulder and Emma C. does not. Feel free to use that information and look out for the apology email.

No need for a lawyer now.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Wayan Vota

“Dear PoPville,

Your Vault or Mine?

I am part of a group of condo owners in a condominium developed in 2012 in DC. The developer of this new building sold us a parking space, with a separate deed, along with our condo unit. We have all been paying taxes on both the condo unit and the parking space since purchase.

In 2016, the condo developer finally got around to filing the “plat and plans” with the city government. It is at this time that the city found a discrepancy with the “plat and plans” given to us at closing and the actual survey of the land underground wherein the parking spots sit. The discrepancy suggested that the city actually owns the land under these parking spots and they lie in what is known as “vault space.” The city now wants to take away our deed to the parking space and, instead of taxing us, rent us the space. There is obvious loss of value to any condo owner who bought one of these parking spaces.

The city government has wanted to enforce its interest in these “vault spaces” after a law was passed in 2015 by the city counsel. This is an obvious money maker for the city who has hardly ever enforced the city ownership on these vault spaces in the past.

A claim letter mailed to our title company proved useless because there was a handy clause that excluded them from doing anything about this. The attorney general for the city is looking into whether criminal charges should be brought against the developer for selling parking spots with what appears to be inaccurate plat and plans. Our only recourse now left for the owners is to try and legally petition the city to help us right this wrong. We need a very good real estate attorney that knows how to work with the city government and preferably has experience with vault spaces. My suspicion is that this will fast become an important issue now that the city government knows that money can be generated renting these vault spaces to home owners across the city.

PoPville: have you been in a similar situation or do you know of a qualified attorney who can help us navigate this?””

Photo by PoPville flickr user Nathan Castellanos

“Dear PoPville,

Looking for leads on places offering sugar-free desserts in the District? Cheesecakes, yogurt or ice cream, etc.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Christopher Schmidt

“Dear PoPville,

My dear friend and I purchased a condo in Langdon to rent out. It’s a spacious, light-filled 3br, 1.5 ba, on two levels. It’s about 1 mile from the Rhode Island avenue metro in a quiet neighborhood three blocks from Langdon Park. We’re looking to rent it for $2200 and are finding the only folks interested in renting it are part of DC’s Housing Choice Voucher Program (aka section 8). We have no experience with this and would love some advice about it all.

Advice, comments?

The website says DC pays up to 70% of the rent, with the tenant paying the rest. I’ve heard stories of tenants not paying their portion, leaving the landlord in the lurch. As it’s extremely difficult to evict someone if any payment is being made, I’d like to hear of others’ experiences with renting to Section 8 voucher holders.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user brunofish

“Dear PoPville,

Ever since I’ve had Netflix I’ve been charged a 10 percent sales tax. Every month for maybe 3-4 years I’ve been charged $7.99 (+$0.80 tax). I had thought that the only 10 percent tax in the city was for restaurants and I didn’t think that should include Netflix, so I reached out to D.C. government to see what the correct tax should be. They confirmed it should be 5.75 percent.

As per the D.C., code 475.1 ( information services), gross receipts from the sale or charges for information services shall be subject to the sales and use tax at the rate of 5.75%.

I have reached out to Netflix for a refund of the small amount of money they’ve been overcharging me, but so far I haven’t heard back from them (and I was just charged my next month’s bill with the same incorrect tax). What interests me, though, is if most D.C. residents are getting charged the incorrect tax. If that’s so, who pockets the extra cash? It’s a lot of money if it’s everyone with a D.C. address that subscribes to Netflix. Just wonder if I’m the only one and if I’m not who is making off with the extra money.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Victoria Chamberlin

“Dear PoPville,

We just bought a house in Petworth and are moving from Columbia Heights. We are currently in a 1 br apartment so we don’t have a ton of stuff (for two people) but our last move across town was enough of a nightmare that we aren’t doing it again ourselves. Could anyone recommend a small scale moving team who could move a small amount just a mile or so across town? We have about a month until move date so any and all suggestions would be appreciated.”

Swale rendering by mary mattingly

“Dear PoPville,

I sent this to Mayor Bowser. It is my hope that DC can offer a program such as the one described in the below article. I think it would be cool for High School Seniors to have an opportunity to earn their community service credit and do something human for the needy.”

People Will Soon Be Able To Forage For Free Food In This Floating Forest:

“New Yorkers will soon be able to pick apples, arugula and rosemary — for free — from an edible forest planted on top of a barge. The vessel and project, named Swale, will glide along New York City’s waterways, docking at locations like Brooklyn Bridge Park and Governor’s Island starting early this summer.”

watch the full video on Swale’s kickstarter here.

Lots of info from Swale’s kickstarter here and on their website here.