Thanks to a commenter for bringing this to my attention. From the NoMa BID:
“Ambassador Escort Service – Upon request, NoMa BID Ambassadors will escort people to their vehicle or transit stop within NoMa BID boundaries. The program is offered seven days a week from 4 p.m. to 10:45 p.m. To request an escort, please dial 202-421-5090 at least 15 minutes prior to departure.”
Photo by PoPville flickr user sssdc1
Ever since last week I can’t get this one rant/revel out of my head:
“Rave: I bought a house!
Rave 2: Neighbor on the left is awesome – very welcoming and an expert on the neighborhood. Her kids go to my old high school and are very sweet.
Rant: Neighbor on the right shut the door in my face when I went to introduce myself after muttering “should have stayed in your neighborhoods, you’re messing up my f****** property taxes”.
Rant 2: Although I’ve lived here 21 years (born in Italy), went through DCPS, worked for the city gov and volunteer in the school system, I am still considered an “outsider” by most of my neighbors. I just wanted to be a homeowner and was priced out of most of the city :(
Rave 3: I have developed a master plan to win everyone over by inviting them to my house and cooking them delicious Southern Italian food :) “
The first rant is sad and frustrating to read but Rave 3 gives me incredible hope for our city. If I ever feel frustrated in the future I’m gonna think of this amazing PoPville resident. I hope you will too.
Nov. 2011
“Dear PoPville,
A while ago when you mentioned the opening of Domino’s Pizza on 14th St. [2701 14th St, NW] I was one of it’s supporters. Recently I noticed that by coincidence (?), the canopy and seat of the bus stop that was on the sidewalk in front of Domino’s Pizza, disappeared when the pizza place was built. While the Pizza place gets a lot more visibility from 14th Street, old people (and today a pregnant lady) have no choice but to sit on a fire connection while waiting for the bus. You can see the pregnant lady sitting on the connection and the difference in color of the sidewalk where the canopy was removed (by the man’s umbrella). I think this is unfair.”
June 2010 (You can see the Bench/shelter behind the bicyclist in the photo above
Photo by PoPville flickr user ewilfong
“Dear PoPville,
I live in a Columbia Heights row house with an alleyway that runs behind the house down the middle of the block. All summer and fall I kept finding my recycling bin at other neighbors’ houses (at least 4 or 5 different houses). My roommates and I have tried using markers and etchings to make sure people know the bin is not theirs, yet the problem kept reoccurring. Finally last week one bin was stolen entirely and nowhere to be found.
Is there a shortage of garbage/recycling bins in this city that I’m not aware of? Does anyone want to donate a new recycling bin to me?”
Unfortunately recycling bin wars have been going since at least aught nine. And before that garbage can wars raged in our alleys. Back in April trash can and recycling bins were no longer freee and replacement costs were set at $45 and $62.50 for a Supercan.
There was speculation that this could lead to an increase in thefts but I hadn’t heard about an increase in thefts. Anyone else experiencing problems?
“Dear PoPville,
I’ve had a strange morning over here in Shaw. I went out for my run and the neighbor next door told me he saw some “big raccoon” try to get into my front door and then it felt down into a window well where the basement windows are (I have no idea what that’s called). Thinking it couldn’t get out from there (it was a four foot climb – stupid me, I forgot opossums are pretty tactile little things), I called animal control. Well, within 20 minutes this thing is back on the street. My neighbor managed to lasso this thing with a little bit of clothesline. I called animal control back and they told me I should just let it go. I told them we weren’t really near Rock Creek Park or anywhere where a opossum should actually be, but she told me that raccoons and opossum have learned to adapt to an urban environment and I should let it go and that’s what they would do if they came there.
So my neighbor walked this thing down a nearby alley and let it go near an abandoned lot with some grass. What does PoPville think? Should animal control have taken this thing and set it free in a more appropriate environment? Or were my neighbors and I foolish to interfere with this majestic creature’s Monday to begin with? It mostly just amazed me that animal control said to let it go and offered no more advice than that. I’m also sorry in advance for whoever walks down that alley next and loses their shit when this thing scampers around.”
Photo by PoPville flickr user ekelly80
“Dear PoPville,
I live right on 18th St. in Adams Morgan. While the noise that comes with the neighborhood in the evenings is something that I have become accostmed to, the jackhammering and general construction noise that now begins directly outside my window at 7:30 each morning is not exactly the way that I like to start my day. My bedroom has 4 extremely large windows that look right over the street, and they arent particularly well sealed.
About a month ago I bought some sound-deadening curtains to help with the noise (before I just had wooden blinds), and that was fine when the works was down the street a bit, but now that the constuction has made its way to directly outside my front door, not so much. I am wondering if anyone knows of anything I can do myself to help reduce the sound making its way through the windows, or better yet, knows of a contractor that might have experience doing this kind of work. I have gotten the thumbs up from my landlord that she will cover the costs of any reasonable installations (my idea to install all new triple-pane windows is not quiet reasonable it appears). The windows are recessed from the wall, so there is plenty of room is put in some layers of protection – I was thinking maybe some large plexiglass sheets cut to size with insulation/foam around the edges might work well. I don’t think that I will be opening any of my bedroom windows until the spring, so removing that access isnt a big deal.
Thanks for the help!”
Photo by PoPville flickr user ekelly80
“Dear PoPville,
I am writing for some sage advise from yourself or an experienced reader. I recently purchased a house in D.C. I am super excited about making this house be all that it can, but sadly I have one neighbor that keeps his property in such a state that it will detract from all of my efforts. Both his front porch and rear yard are so littered with trash that I am considering calling the casting department for A&E’s Hoarders.
I haven’t lived in D.C. long so I don’t know if any systems are in place for such problems. How can I make this guy do what he refuses to do? Is there anything I or a city agency can do, or do I just have to try to hide his house with some shrubs come spring? (there is also a smell over there that I am sure can be little else than death – lets at least hope not human)
Thank you
Desperate D.C. Newbie”
Has anyone dealt with a successfully with a similar situation? If so did you have to involve a government agency like DCRA?
Photo by PoPville flickr user HLPinDC
“Dear PoPville,
On my way home from work tonight, I came across a lady sitting at the corner of New Hampshire and Randolph in Petworth. She was really bundled up, but looked confused and was sort of slouched over on the steps. Since there are not typically many homeless people in the area, and especially because she was carrying a suitcase, I was really curious about her situation. I stopped and asked her if she was alright, and she said yes. I asked if she had a place to stay tonight and she said no, she had been thrown out of her apartment building and didn’t have money to stay in a motel for the night. She was difficult to understand, but kept saying she hated shelters because they treat people so badly, but that she wasn’t sure where to stay. I asked if I could call someone for her, but she said there was no one to call. I went ahead and called 311 and they gave me a listing for an emergency shelter hotline, which I called too. They told me that every single shelter in DC was full tonight. I asked the man on the line if he had suggestions of what she should do for the night, but he told me that he “can’t make decisions for her” and hung up.
What is there to do in a situation like this? She didn’t ask me for any money, and she really didn’t seem like she knew what to do or where to go. She was an older lady, probably in her seventies, and really didn’t seem to be all there. I don’t have a place to offer for her to stay, but I gave her the twelve dollars I had in my wallet so she could maybe stay on the bus for a while or sit in a McDonalds or something. Do people have suggestions? More than anything, I wanted to share this story because it’s just so frustrating. Are there resources for temporary housing that someone can point a person like her toward?”
Photo by PoPville flickr user AWard Tour
“Dear PoPville,
I was at the Columbia Heights metro the other day and witnessed a few guys sitting out in the open clearly drinking liquor and beer right outside the busy metro in broad daylight. The more shocking thing is that there were police officers standing no more than 30 feet away. This occurs with more frequency and an apparent lack of fear for consequences all along fairly busy sections of Georgia Avenue outside liquor stores and sometimes just steps from the police sub-station on Park Road. They don’t even feel the need to use a Solo Cup (which is a joke but is a mild attempt to hide it).
I completely understand the challenges and ‘real’ crimes that the police have to deal with, but it seems that this low level of enforcement just breads larger problems where folks don’t think twice about breaking the law. Am I missing something here?”
Photo by PoPville flickr user Flicker Clicker
“Dear PoPville,
I’ve got a bit of a dilemma and I really don’t know how to handle it. I live in a row house with a tiny yard and have a small dog that I walk around the neighborhood. There’s an apartment building directly across the street from my house and a woman has been harassing me for walking my dog – she can see me and yells profanity at me, but I can’t see her. It’s unnerving, especially since she’ll be yelling at me as I walk into my front door, so she knows where I live. I’m a responsible pet owner – I clean up after my dog. Not to mention there’s no yard to her apartment building – just grass between the sidewalk and the street which is public space.
This evening I watched an older man walk two large dogs walk right by the building but as I walked by she started yelling at me about my f*** dog, and how would I like it if she let her dog s*** and p*** in my d*** yard. My husband has told her to shove it, I’ve responded that I picked up the poop and have a right to walk the dog along the street. I’ve now started to ignore it but it continues. What do I do to get this to stop? I’m pretty sure this is anti-gentrification blowback. Maybe I should just stop scooping the poop so at least her yelling is valid…”
I def. feel your frustration but I don’t think this situation is “anti-gentrification blowback”. I think it is more likely that the neighbor could be mentally ill. Or the neighbor may have simply been pushed over the edge by others not scooping that she is venting her anger on you. Though the fact she yells only at you and not others with dogs is of great concern. It sounds like a rational discussion is not gonna work here. How would you guys deal with this situation – alert the authorities or try to ignore it? Something else?