Dear PoPville

8th and Florida Ave, NW

“Dear PoPville,

I was looking at floor plans for The Shay and noticed so many of the layouts don’t have any windows in the bedrooms. (Including the corner apartment with 2 full balconies for a whopping $3,116 a month). Besides being an absurd amount of money for a windowless bedroom, aren’t these technically illegal? My understanding from living in NYC that in order to qualify as a bedroom, it must have two means for egress. NYC at least had the decently to paint things as a “home office” to appease the housing department. Wondering how the law shakes out in DC.”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Joe Flood

“Dear PoPville,

Anybody in Petworth switch to RCN last summer, with the promise of a $150 Visa gift card, and never received it? I have had all kinds of issues with them, and just wondering if anybody had the same experience”

You can see all forum topics and add your own here. If you are having trouble uploading your question please email me at princeofpetworth(at)gmail Please Note this is NOT an events calendar.

Photo by PoPville flickr user brunofish

“Dear PoPville,

My apartment complex is staunchly refusing to provide me with an extra key fob, for any price. They gave me a spare key to my door however, so this policy is a bit confusing (I can’t get to my door without being able to get into the building, duh). According to my management company, were I locked out and there no security person present, which is every night after 8pm, I would have to call an emergency management number to get in the building for a fee of $40. So that means I’m standing alone, at night, in who knows what weather hoping the maintenance guy answers and comes to get me. Ridiculous.

After a great deal of frustrating back and forth, I’ve decided my only real solution is to clone my key fob. I’ve seen mail-away services that do this, but since I only have one fob I can’t afford to send it out to be cloned. Does anyone know of a reliable fob cloner in the DC metro area I could use to solve this problem??”

“Dear PoPville,

Since I was stuck indoors for most of Snowzilla I decided to go ahead and do my taxes. I filed my DC tax return electronically as I’ve done in past years, however I received a letter from the DC Office of Tax and Revenue Refund Response Unit yesterday asking for a LOT of information in order to verify my identity. I assume this is part of OTR’s attempted to cut down on fraud/identity theft, but I wanted to see if anyone else has received a similar letter?”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Brian Mosley

“Dear PoPville,

Random question that I couldn’t answer via Google: Do you know why there are no retail outlets in DC metro stations? For a system that seems to be underfunded and in need of upgraded cars and greater police presence, among other things, it would seem like leasing retail space could provide a least a secondary source of income. This technique is employed to a great degree in Europe, where even small-town train stations resemble shopping malls.”