quality of life

“it seems there’s plenty of bad in the city, but this woman’s utter compassion was a first-hand reminder that people really are pretty amazing”

By Prince Of Petworth

good samaritan
Photo by PoPville flickr user Jim Havard

“Dear PoPville,

Just wanted to share a story of a true good Samaritan. I was walking this evening around 6:30pm near Connecticut and M St NW and saw a girl in her 20s stumbling down the sidewalk. I thought she was probably intoxicated, but then realized something else was going on when she started running in and out of traffic on Connecticut and then fell, slamming into the sidewalk. As I got closer I could see she could barely breathe and was clearly panicking, experiencing some sort of drug effects. While my friend and I were trying to figure out what to do, a woman in her 30s walked by, saw what was going on, and approached the girl. She asked her name, crouched down next to her and started rubbing her back and breathing with her, calming the girl down. The girl began vomiting and the woman held back her hair, not flinching a bit. She continued to talk to the girl, breathe with her and reassure her while I called an ambulance. Once the paramedics arrived and had taken control of the situation, she wished the girl well and quietly went on her way.

I know sometimes it seems there’s plenty of bad in the city, but this woman’s utter compassion was a first-hand reminder that people really are pretty amazing. The woman said that she was a med student, and I have no doubt she’ll be an amazing doctor. It was incredible to watch. The girl could have had a far worse outcome if it hadn’t been for someone willing to jump in and help a total stranger.”

Ouch – Report Ranks DC 454 out of 474 in their List of Best Cities for Young Families

By Prince Of Petworth

worst city
Photo by PoPville flickr user Nathan Castellanos

Well we were on a roll… however since we are also one of the smartest cities in the USA – go destroy their methodology please!!

From an email:

“Apartment List recently conducted a study of the best US cities for young families, and we are releasing the results today. Here are some of the highlights:

  • Washington ranked #454 out of 474 cities in our study
  • It’s best category was housing cost, where it had a score of 41%
  • In the child friendliness category, Washington received a score of 5%
  • Nationwide, Allen, TX ranked #1 overall, with Indianapolis and Dallas suburbs performing exceptionally well

Our report contains data for Washington, DC and 473 other cities in the US (use the search box at the bottom of the article). See below for additional detail on our methodology. (more…)

“the liquor store- the blight of a NE DC neighborhood”

By Prince Of Petworth

liquor_church
just a stock photo of a liquor store sign I like because of the contrast with the church

the liquor store- the blight of a NE DC neighborhood

“I live in a row house in an otherwise seemingly quiet part of NE DC near Stadium Armory. The place is great except for the corner of 18th and D St NE where two businesses (the Parks Economy Market and Master Liquor) attract a crowd socializing in and around the outside area for hours into the evening.

Shattered glass, beer cans, food waste and food wrappers litter the sidewalks around the areas surround C St NE and D St NE from 17th St NE to 21st St NE. Cars pull up blasting music almost always with a heavy bass line. Other times men are shouting at each other incoherently about sports or news or whatever else is on their minds. Often this is accompanied by a haze of marijuana. Other times you might find someone slouched over the sidewalk completely drunk and on the ground. On the weekends things turn even more colorful.

Why does this matter? (more…)

“starts screaming expletives at me about how I’m not a Muslim or a brother and that I shouldn’t be wearing a “Muslim moon”

By Prince Of Petworth

cvs p street
1400 block of P Street, NW

“Dear PoPville,

Wanted to see if you or readers have any idea of what goes on in front of the CVS on P Street next to Whole Foods…

There’s always a man there who chants “help me if you can, help me if you can… help me if you can, only if you can… help me if you can, help me if you can… etc”. Oftentimes he’s joined by a group of other people, and they just lounge around. At some point they had a full set up with patio furniture and milk crates set up. I’ve always wondered why CVS hasn’t done anything about it… it’s been going on since I’ve moved to Logan Circle (back in August 2013).

I have one friend who offered to help last year… he asked her if she could buy him a few things at CVS… and she said sure, thinking that he would just get a bag of chips or something. Instead, he came to the register with over $100 worth of Tide detergent, and the friend – not wanting to be awkward – paid for it. I thought the story was funny, and always thought of the group as being pretty innocuous… until last night.

Last night, I was walking down P Street at around 11pm (from Whole Foods). The man is there, and as I approach, begins his standard greeting of “help me if you can young man, help me if you can. It’s cold I need a place to sleep”. I was wearing a Turkish flag tshirt, and he also says “As-Salaam-Alaikum” (standard Muslim Greeting)… and then starts screaming expletives at me about how I’m not a Muslim or a brother and that I shouldn’t be wearing a “Muslim moon”. I continue walking, and a man comes out of the alley adjacent to CVS, and starts following me, asking me why I wasn’t helping that “poor old man” and screaming other expletives at me. Luckily, by the time I got to the Dolcezza corner, there were other people, and he disappeared…

I guess question is, do you know the background behind all of this? It seems like he’s running some sort of an operation – he’s there everyday, and has furniture set up, and has friends who come over. How come CVS hasn’t done anything about it? I’m hoping that the man in the alley wasn’t connected, but it definitely rattled me a bit… especially given that I walk past him multiple times a day.”

Ed. Note: I can’t believe you’re friend paid for the $100 worth of Tide detergent that seems excessive.

“This is an article of affordable housing done right.”

By Prince Of Petworth

NYT

“Dear PoPville,

This is an article of affordable housing done right. I wish DC could get in contact with someone like this (or vice versa) to buy out some of their mismanaged public housing. When low-income people live in communities where they feel vested, and the community is properly managed so illegal or bad behavior is punished, then it is a win-win situation for the residents and the community as a whole.”

Both projects keep management teams on site, overseeing the properties, day in, day out. Neither project splurged on design, but in both cases, architecture mattered, to save energy, improve the neighborhood, spread dignity, add joy. They’re clear proof of concept for skeptical tenants — accustomed to betrayal, reluctant to give up parking lots or anything else — that change can be good.

Full story here.

Pretty Much

By Prince Of Petworth

pretty much
Photo by PoPville flickr user VJ Kapur

As a prolific pedestrian I’d say in my personal experience cars stop for these signs to let me cross the street about 1 in 50 times.

“Until then, I’ll continue to carry my mace.”

By Prince Of Petworth

mace
Photo by PoPville flickr user slatifolia

“Dear PoPville,

I went to the police station with a friend to make a report of the incident, but the cop unfortunately told me based on the story I’ve provided it was not sufficient (so my friend asked: what is “enough” to make a report?). Another friend of mine was disappointed with the lack of response from the cop and suggested that I reach out to spread awareness.

On Friday late evening/early Saturday morning at 3am, I was followed by a guy about 5’4″, 30-ish, Hispanic, from the intersection of Mt. Pleasant & 15th towards Harvard & 14th. At first, the guy followed by bike as I was heading down towards the direction of Irving. He tried engaging in conversation, but I ignored him as I kept walking. At one moment, the guy disappeared (between Irving & Columbia along 15th street) and occasionally I looked over my shoulder to make sure he wasn’t there. That’s when I took out my keys, along with my mace, so I didn’t have to dig for them while standing at my door. (more…)

Trouble with Trash Trucks on H Street

By Prince Of Petworth

trash truck trouble
Photo by PoPville flickr user Beau Finley

“Dear PoPville,

I am a neighbor on the 1100 block of H street NE and every morning a trash truck from Bates Trucking and Trash Removal number 175 or 176 comes to remove the commercial trash at 420-430 am. The truck is removing the trash from 1118 H Street NE (H&Pizza) who has their dumpsters located on public property without a public space permit. I’ve filed multiple official complaints with DCRA through the Trash Truck Noise Program as well as emailing and calling DCRA but they will not enforce the law in this case. Do you have any other suggestions?”

DE4EA2C0-1419-464E-BB8B-0B77A63A1525B2730DE3-536A-4AD0-B02E-758BF1849778

View More Stories