quality of life

Dear PoPville – What Would You Do?

By Prince Of Petworth

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“Dear, PoPville

What would you do?

I’d like to start this out by saying I have lived relatively peacefully in DC for the last 14 years and when I purchased my LeDroit Park home in June I received an enthusiastic and warm welcome from all my neighbors- some long time DC families and some new. I purchased a former college party house and have over the past year spent most of my time and money restoring it to the beauty it once was. Anyway, neighbors have recently witnessed kids (12ish years old) stealing Amazon packages off my front porch and some plants and landscaping have occasionally, and seemingly intentionally, gotten trampled. Yesterday, I was leaving the house with my boyfriend and three young boys (maybe in the 12 year old range) called us f@ggots as they passed. I thought to myself, “No, I must have misheard them” until one of the boys said, “He just called you a f@ggot, especially the one on the bike (me).”

Now I honestly didn’t know how to react because it’s pretty obvious I spend a lot of time at the gym and any 20-40 year old would never think to say that to me knowing I’d beat the living #$&! out of them. But what are you supposed to do with kids?! If it was me growing up, someone would have dragged me to my mother’s house by my ear and she would have publically beaten the fear of a thousand deaths into me… but right or wrong, times have changed.

Well, we let it go and kept walking till a minute or two later we realized we forgot something at home. We returned to the house to find the small fence in my tree box kicked over, bent, and trampled, along with some of the plants. Now we technically didn’t see the kids do it and I guess any random adult could have passed by and vandalized my property in those 120 seconds but let’s be real

Now, honestly I could care less what these kids are doing with their time and frankly I’ve got more important things to be doing with mine- but I’m not going anywhere and I don’t want to start a long annoying tradition of annoying neighborhood kids messing with my stuff.

So aside from maybe taking a photo of them, starting a police report, and/or trying to find the kids’ parents, what would you do? Try and talk some sense into them then come home to a brick thrown into my front window? Ignore them and hope they’ll stop stealing my stuff?”

Flooding Reveals Sad Sight on the Anacostia River

By Prince Of Petworth

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“Dear PoPville,

Took a walk along the Anacostia to check out some of the flooding. What a sad sight. The amount of plastic bottles floating down river, and collected along the river bank is mind boggling. It makes me very sad.”

So maybe that bag fee isn’t such a bad thing after all…

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Photo by PoPville flickr user Cheikh.Ra

Tons of Trash at Cherry Blossom Festival

By Prince Of Petworth

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Thanks to a reader for sending the photo above that was taken this morning:

“Trashy Blossoms on the Mall”

The Washington Post reported on Sunday:

“Officials, he said, “weren’t adequately” prepared for what he described as record crowds for the National Cherry Blossom Festival, though he didn’t have a precise number of visitors. Thousands arrived early, which caused a quick pileup of trash, and trucks had a difficult time getting through the crowds and to the packed sidewalks to pick up waste.”

Dear PoPville – “sometimes I just do not understand people”

By Prince Of Petworth

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“Dear PoPville,

We live in Mt. Pleasant. We have a very modest front lawn–some dirt, mostly grass. Hoping to spruce up our yard, as well as beautify the neighborhood in our own small way, my partner planted some flowers in our flower box. Three times over the past two weeks someone has ripped flowers out of the box and tossed them onto our lawn. Perfectly nice flowers, not harming anyone, and doing pretty well given the amount of direct sunlight they get.

Why would someone do that, again and again? Does this happen to other people who plant flowers in their flower boxes. Or is it just someone who lives near us who doesn’t like our flowers (or us)? Like I said, sometimes I just do not understand people.”

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MPD: “April is Litter Enforcement Month” Tickets Range from $50 to $500

By Prince Of Petworth

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Photo by PoPville flickr user johnmcochran2012

I’m told special attention will be focused on illegal dumping and littering from vehicles. Each police district will have patrols addressing these issues for the next month. There is a ticket for littering from vehicles that start at $50 and illegal dumping can be $500.

From MPD:

“To understand the purpose of Litter Enforcement, we must first have a working definition.

Litter consists of waste products that have been disposed improperly, without consent, at an inappropriate location. Litter can also be used as a verb. To litter means to throw (often man-made) objects onto the ground and leave them indefinitely or for others to dispose of as opposed to disposing of them properly.

Larger hazardous items such as tires, appliances, electronics and large industrial containers are often dumped in isolated locations, such as National Forests and other public land.

It is a human impact on the environment and is a serious environmental issue in many countries. Litter can exist in the environment for long periods of time before degrading and be transported large distances into the world’s oceans. Litter can affect quality of life.

Cigarette butts are the most littered item in the world, with 4.5 trillion discarded annually. Cigarette butts can take up to five years to completely break down. Statistics in 2003 showed metal/aluminum soft drink cans as the least littered item.

Litter can remain either visible for extended periods of time before it eventually biodegrades, with some items made of condensed glass, styrofoam or plastic possibly remaining in the environment for over a million years.

About 18 percent of litter, usually traveling through stormwater systems, ends up in local streams, rivers, and waterways. Uncollected litter can accrete and flow into streams, local bays and estuaries. Litter in the ocean either washes up on beaches or collects in Ocean gyres such as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. About 80 percent of marine debris comes from land-based sources.

Some litter that is collected can be recycled, however degraded litter cannot be recycled and eventually degrades to sludge, often toxic. The majority of litter that is collected goes to landfills.”

Farmers Market News: Petworth moving to Saturdays 9am-1pm starting May 3rd and Dupont Circle hours increase to 9am-2pm Starting April 6th

By Prince Of Petworth

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Photo by PoPville flickr user thelester

From the GEORGIA AVENUE BUSINESS ALLIANCE (GABA):

“MARK YOUR CALENDAR – PCM which operates between Upshur & 9th at Georgia Ave will become a Saturday market beginning May 3 to October 25, 2014 from 9am-1pm

Petworth Community (Farmers) Market (PCM) moves to Saturdays. Let’s support its Annual Fun-Raiser on April 16th for a Great Cause! Join PCM for a fun night and great cause at Chez Billy – 3815 Georgia Ave NW, on Wednesday, April 16 from 6:30-9:30 pm. Buy Tickets in Advance or at the door Online.”

and Dupont Circle [20th St. NW between Massachusetts Ave. and Connecticut Ave] hours are currently Sundays, 10 am to 1 pm (Jan. through Mar. 2014) but will increase to Sundays, 9 am to 2 pm (April 6th through Dec. 2014).

Dear PoPville – More Smoking Problems

By Prince Of Petworth

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Photo by PoPville flickr user johnmcochran2012

“Dear PoPville,

I’ve been living in a small, 4-unit, apartment building in Mount Pleasant for four years. At times over the last four years, myself and two of the three other units have worked to address the smoking of the 4th resident. This individual is a bit agoraphobic, avoiding all contact with neighbors, no matter the time of day. We are an otherwise friendly and sociable community. But the “other” resident is a heavy indoor smoker, preferring to smoke with the windows closed!

In addition to the utterly foul stench that permeates the hallway, the smoke filters into the other three apartments. It’s really bad. I’m recently recovering from radiation treatment, and the smell of smoke is more than I can stand.

We have all addressed the smoke problem with our landlord, a small private company, over the course of the years to no avail. What recourse do we have, if any, to take action against this individual to get him to stop smoking indoors. It’s a very small building, so it’s very noticeable when he smokes.

Any advice from the PoPville community would be immensely helpful. Thanks!”

Ed. Note: Last week we spoke about a similar situation in a condo.

New Noise Task Force Launches with unannounced visits to bars and restaurants between 10pm-3am

By Prince Of Petworth

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Photo by PoPville flickr user clif_burns

From ABRA:

“The Alcoholic Beverage Regulation Administration (ABRA) is encouraging ABC licensees of restaurants, taverns, nightclubs, hotels and multipurpose facilities to learn about and comply with D.C. noise laws.

District ABC noise laws (D.C. Official Code 25-725) prohibit on-premise establishments from producing any sound, noise, or music of such intensity that it can be heard in any premises other than the licensed establishment with a few exceptions, which includes areas that are in certain commercial zones.

The Noise Control Act prohibits individuals and businesses from generating noise outside their property that exceeds maximum noise levels of 60 decibels in commercial or light-manufacturing zones at nighttime. Other limits include 55-70 decibels depending on the area and time of day.

ABRA recommends ABC on-premise establishments regularly verify whether they are compliant with District noise laws by listening outside their establishment to ensure noise is not emanating from the premises.

As part of the campaign, ABRA has sent letters to on-premise establishments and posted information on its website about noise law compliance. In addition, officials from the Noise Task Force—a joint initiative between ABRA, the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA), and the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD)—will be increasing unannounced visits to establishments during the hours of 10 p.m. and 3 a.m.

During compliance checks, officials from DCRA stand outside of establishments with a sound meter and take a number of readings to establish the decibel level of the sound emanating from businesses. Businesses will be notified by officials if they are exceeding noise limits. DCRA will issue a warning for a first-time offense of the Noise Control Act. A second offense of the Noise Control Act will result in a citation from DCRA, which is a $1,000 fine.
In addition to these checks, members of the Noise Task Force will continue to respond to noise complaints. Members of the public can file a noise complaint about an ABC licensed establishment online or call (202) 329-6347. ABC licensees and the public can visit ABRA’s website to learn more about District noise laws.”

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