“Dear PoPville,
I saw this guy “Fiddling on the Roof” across from the Harris Teeter in Adams Morgan last night around 7:30. I chatted with his roommate who was down on the street, and he said he will be playing on his roof right before sunset every Sunday from now on, weather permitting. Pretty cool!”
Awesome.
A reader sends this, it would be funny if it weren’t accurate, city sign:
“This sign just showed up in an alley in Mt. Vernon Square. Needless to say there were repeated incidents of human waste.”
Photo by PoPville flickr user AWard Tour
Dear PoPville,
My apartment is on the third floor facing an alley. With all the beautiful weather we’ve had lately, I love sleeping with the windows open. But there is a streetlight directly on the same level as my window, and when I have the shades up it shines right in and makes my bedroom as bright as day. I know it’s important for safety, but I’ve seen other streetlights around the city that have the sides blacked out so they only shine down towards the ground. I’m wondering if any of your readers have had any luck requesting that the city do that to pesky lights near them, and if so, how?
From DDOT:
To prevent the notoriously unpleasant odor of the popular ginkgo tree (Ginkgo biloba) from overtaking city streets, the District Department of Transportation’s Urban Forestry Administration (DDOT Trees) will begin spraying the unsavory smelling female ginkgo fruits tonight. DDOT Trees will use the same spray that has been used for the past several years, Shield-EC (also known as sprout nip).
The spraying will begin in Wards 1, 2 and 6, where female ginkgo trees are most prevalent, and continue through Wards 4, 5, 3, 7 and 8. Spraying will occur overnight for the next few nights and there is no need to move vehicles parked on streets.
A map of the female ginkgo trees to be treated is available online here.
Dear PoPville,
My wife and I just put an offer in on a house in Brightwood and the offer was accepted. We’re going to be settling on the house in early May. I was just curious what you think of the neighborhood, if it’s safe, can you walk around at night and not worry about anything? Like I said, I hope this doesn’t sound too ignorant, I just have a lot of people saying, “what are you doing?” As for me and my wife, we are all about culture and mixing it up and getting to know everyone in any neighborhood we live. Currently we are in Dupont. I know it’s not nearly the same as Dupont as far as bars, restaurants, just being able to walk right out your door and get a coffee, etc… but is it “up and coming” in any way as far as retail and all goes? And more importantly, is it safe? Is there something I’m missing/not seeing? Because we don’t see any problems, but others are warning us for some reason. Saying a lot of drug dealing activity, etc…
This question comes up every month or so about a different section of the city. You can simply substitute Brightwood with Petworth, Columbia Heights, Hill East, SW Waterfront, H St, NE, Bloomingdale, Truxton Circle, Shaw, Mt. Vernon Square… My answer always remains the same. Everyone has their own comfort level.
The very first Dear PoP posted in Aug. 2007 addressed this issue. I standby what I wrote then:
“So how does one feel safe? Only you can answer that. Some people like to get a dog. Some have an alarm system. Some don’t walk the streets past a certain hour. But I really believe the best way to feel safe is to become a part of the community. Talk to all of your neighbors. Talk to people in the street. Attend community events. Street smarts are learned. If you are walking around late at night don’t have ear phones in, don’t talk on your cell phone, be aware of your surroundings and walk confidently. There are precautions to be taken but don’t obsess about it. It is important to find your own comfort level. By and large you are living in a safe and welcoming community. Enjoy it!”
In the almost 10 years I’ve lived in Petworth (knock wood, knock wood) I have not personally experienced any crime. Though I’ve seen and heard about plenty. In the nearly 10 years I’ve lived here the quality of life overall and retail options have increased. I expect they will continue to improve. If you had told me that something like Three Little Pigs would be in northern Petworth 10 years ago, I would’ve assumed you were high.
When I moved to Petworth most of my friends had never heard of Petworth and thought I was crazy. Hell, I had never heard of Petworth. I’m not saying I’ll live here forever but moving here was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made in my life. What I think is essential to feel that way, is to really like where you live right away. Because if you think things are gonna “change in 5 years” – well you’ll be miserable for 5 years or maybe longer. You should like where you are moving and if things are expected to improve in the future, well, even better. You just gotta recognize, as with life, there will always be ups and downs. The key is keeping things in perspective when the ups are way up and the downs are way down.
So, how did/do you guys determine if you feel safe in your neighborhood? How do you explain to your family and/or friends that you’re not moving to Baghdad? Did they think you were crazy when you first moved to your neighborhood. What are your tips for feeling, and more importantly, being safe in your neighborhood?
From WMATA:
Metro is introducing a public awareness campaign to combat sexual harassment of customers while using the system.
The first phase of the campaign, launched today, includes an online portal for customers to report incidents to Metro Transit Police, along with improved data tracking of incidents. In addition, new customer awareness posters will soon be displayed in train stations and onboard buses and materials will be distributed across the system.
The online reporting tool, located at wmata.com/harassment, allows someone who feels they were sexually harassed to report the incident directly to Metro Transit Police using a web-based form. Information submitted through the web portal is immediately transmitted to Metro Transit Police for follow-up action, and people who report incidents have the option of remaining anonymous. Metro has also established an email address ([email protected]) to allow victims to send photo or video files to assist an investigation.
The new posters, flyers and handouts, developed in English and Spanish, are intended to raise awareness about the issue of sexual harassment in public spaces and encourage victims to report incidents to police. The award-winning campaign was created by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (Boston T), who agreed to license the campaign materials to Metro at no cost.
“This purpose of this outreach is to let people know that it’s not okay to sexually harass people on Metro,” said Metro General Manager and CEO Richard Sarles. “We are encouraging anyone who may be harassed to report the incident to Metro Transit Police, and we appreciate the support of the advocacy groups in getting our message out into the communities we serve.”
Photo by PoPville flickr user available_photons
Dear PoPville,
I don’t drive, because I can’t drive, because I do not see well enough to drive. This has been true throughout my life and I’ve always accepted this as a fact of life. However not a day goes by when I spend more energy arranging transportation than I’m guessing most people do. And still my transportation is far less predictable, less convenient and yes less equal than most. Despite the generosity of others and the generosity of government subsidies I still find my choices in life constrained by my ability to get around. My choice of where to live, work, shop and socialize are determined more by my ability to get places than by any other factor.
From time to time I consider alternatives to my existing transportation options. Eleven years ago for example, I began using metroAccess, taxpayer subsidized transportation for people with disabilities. MetroAccess has served me well. But it’s not as convenient as I’d like, and it’s costly to the taxpayer. I’m thinking of an alternative but I don’t know how to go about making it happen.
I’d opt to use taxis more often, but calling a cab in DC is a real crap shoot. The day has to be sunny; the time of day has to be right and the neighborhood convenient to the taxi driver. Most cabs in DC are independently owned. So calling any one company, even Yellow Cab, reaches a tiny percentage of drivers. For example I live in Glover Park and work in Petworth. I’ve learned that taxi service by phone is nonexistent at both locations between 9:00 and Noon and between 2:00 and 4:00 PM on weekdays, weekend nights and anytime it rains. And we’re not talking NE or SE. These are affluent or central locations and still taxi service is unsatisfactory. People in the eastern half of the city must really have it bad.
I’ve actually had to resort to calling a Maryland or Virginia taxicab company to take me from DC, to their jurisdiction, and then turn around and drop me at my final destination in the city. Needless to say this is expensive and time consuming. I’m willing and able to pay for taxis out of pocket. I choose metroaccess instead because they are far more reliable than DC taxicabs.
Ideally I’d like one or two phone numbers I can call, a website I can goto or a smartphone app I can use to order taxi service. The two companies that come closest to providing this service are Diamond and Yellow. Yet these fall far short of my expectations. These include advanced booking, a taxi within 15 minutes of the scheduled pickup time and real time estimated time or arrival, cab location and identification. Better still all cabs should be required to participate.
I believe that a solution to this problem could be reasonably expected to provide adequate taxicab service to DC residents, increase business for cab drivers and cab companies and save taxpayers on services such as metroAccess. For me improved taxicab service would mean better choice and an improved quality of life.
It’d be nice, for all residents of the city, if the DC Taxi Commission would address this,. From what I’ve recently read the Commission may exclusively serve the hospitality industry.
I’m wondering if this problem could be fixed?
Dear PoPville,
I snapped this picture of a bat clinging to my bedroom window in Woodley Park yesterday afternoon. Is this normal for DC? Should bats be out during the day?
I poked at the screen from the inside, but instead of flying away the bat hissed at me and extended its wings. It wasn’t really causing any harm, so I let it be (i.e. my wife was convinced that if I kept poking at it, the screen would fall out, the bat would fly in, and we would both perish in a bat related incident). It stayed put for about 4 more hours, before flying off.
Maybe this would be worthy of an afternoon animal fix? There’s no rule that the animals have to be cute, right?
Anyone else ever see a bat in DC? In the daytime?
Photo by PoPville flickr user djdc in petworth
Dear PoPville,
Had a bad flood in my apartment. The sewer burst and backed up into my living room and kitchen. It’s a mess and my roommate and I don’t think we can live there anymore (the landlord has been cheap on any repairs and has already said he won’t replace the carpet. He’ll just clean it, but there’s no unsmelling this smell.). Is this grounds to terminate our lease? We really would like to just move April 1st or immediately to avoid paying rent for a sewage-filled apartment.
From an email:
“I’m working with Collective Action for Safe Spaces (CASS) to reduce sexual harassment on Metro. I just wanted to let you know that we’re having a forum to discuss the problem with WMATA staff on Thursday, March 22nd, starting at 5:30 pm at the American Association of University Women, 1111 Sixteenth St NW. The Facebook event has more details.”