quality of life

“I will smack you so hard you’ll call your mama and when she comes down I’ll smack her for raising you like this”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user angela n.

“Dear PoPville,

About 4:45 Friday afternoon I was riding the bus eastbound. At a stop in Mt. Pleasant about 10 Highschool kids (another person already on the bus later informed the officers who arrived later they went to Wilson but who knows) entered the bus from the back entrance (not paying) pushing passed people trying to get on. Their target was another student, a young lady, sitting with her friend in the back. It was clear from the body language and the egging on of the other students getting on that their plan was to jump this girl either on the bus, or ride it till she had to get off and do it then.

At this point two older women who were seated near the girl in the back jumped up to shield her and began loudly accosting the girls and boys who had got on – while the bus driver stopped the bus and went to flag down a nearby police car. While it took some minutes for the cops to arrive and kick the kids off, during this whole time these women stood up to the mob with various admonishments and threats of their own (such as “Why – I will smack you so hard you’ll call your mama and when she comes down Ill smack her for raising you like this.”) (more…)

“I wonder if there’s any way to mitigate this 24-hour cacophony?”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

The District has installed seven traffic lights that emit a loud beeping signal at the intersection of Irving St NW and Hobart Pl NW, at the edge of Wangari Gardens and a few feet from the gate to the Washington Hospital Center. It’s a quiet corner of a quiet neighborhood, and many days and nights I can hear the beeping from my house half a mile away. I imagine dozens of households closer to the intersection are even more disturbed by this racket.

I am sympathetic and concerned for the safety of my visually impaired neighbors, but I wonder if there’s any way I can get DPW to mitigate this 24-hour cacophony. [Ed. Note: I believe this is DDOT and not DPW] Few pedestrians use that intersection, and I wonder whether one visually impaired person crosses it in a week (I have no idea). Did DPW or another responsible agency study the matter before the installation? Can they turn down the volume so it’s audible only to a few feet away?

Has anyone had any experience with this issue?”

“DCRA no longer allows building wet bar in basement”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by Flickr user Trader Scott

NO!!!!!!! A reader reports:

“I am currently renovating my basement, and my contractor was at DCRA last week to ask some questions. While there, he heard that starting 2018, DCRA is no longer approving building permits, where the owner wants to renovate and add a wet bar in the basement. Apparently this is coming from the zoning administrator. The concern is people often turn them into kitchens after the fact. I don’t remember hearing any announcements or discussions to this effect in a public forum – and am curious what others think.

However, I find the idea that the city won’t let a homeowner put a wet bar in his or her basement outrageous. (more…)

“I am frustrated and sickened by the amount of litter people throw out of parked cars”

By Prince Of Petworth

“Dear PoPville,

I live on the 1400 block of Chapin St NW and am frustrated and sickened by the amount of litter people throw out of parked cars on the street that’s strewn around the curbs and sidewalks. Any suggestions from others about how to get people to stop throwing their trash on the streets? There’s a trash can on the corner of 14th so people wouldn’t have to go far to a trash can. Calling upon neighbors who want a clean street to clean up the trash would help – but only for a couple of days. In 2 days, we’d be right back to the same state of trash everywhere. Is it ridiculous to think signs would work?

Thanks, From a frustrated neighbor.”

“a demonstration of an innovative rat abatement tactic using dry ice”

By Prince Of Petworth

Hell, bring out the flamethrowers, whatever it takes…

From the Mayor’s Office:

“On Monday, December 18, at 3:00 p.m., Mayor Muriel Bowser will participate in a community walk in Ward 6 which will begin with a demonstration of an innovative rat abatement tactic using dry ice. The Mayor will be joined by Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen and Administration officials. During the walk, the Mayor will address neighborhood concerns and hear from DC residents and business owners in the H Street Corridor neighborhood. Starting location of the walk will be at Auto Zone, 1207 H Street, NE. (more…)

“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.”

“Waterfront ANC Joins War on Leaf Blowers”

By Prince Of Petworth

The following was written by PoPville contributor David McAuley, founder of Short Articles about Long Meetings.

At its regularly-schedule meeting December 11, Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 6D/Waterfront voted to support a ban on the sale and operation of gas-powered leaf blowers in the District. The vote was unanimous with one abstention.

As reported on PoPville, the bill would outlaw the sale and use of gasoline-powered leaf blowers in the District after January 1, 2022. It was proposed by DC Councilmember Mary Cheh (Ward 3) and championed by advocacy group Quiet Clean DC.

Cheh first proposed the bill in 2016. (more…)

“Just thought you should know what my night was like.”

By Prince Of Petworth


Photo by PoPville flickr user Brian Mosley

“Dear PoPville,

Last night around 8pm, the security alarm at the New Hampshire Ave Pharmacy in the small strip mall at Farragut Street NW and New Hampshire Ave started blaring. My husband and I went to go to bed later with it still going off, but we saw police cars there, so we assumed the sound would stop soon. Unfortunately, it did not. My husband called 311 to see if they would help, but once again, the alarm continued to scream through our neighborhood. I managed to fall asleep as the sound became like white noise to me, but at 1:45am I woke up and struggled to go back to sleep, because the alarm WAS STILL GOING OFF. (more…)

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