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There is an enthusiastic discussion going on here, on gentrification in Petworth. Ah the inevitable gentrification discussion.

I’ll just throw in my two cents on their discussion: some of them are idiots. I feel as though most of those people have never even visited Petworth let alone live here. They describe Petworth like it is some kind of crime infested slum. Ha! They couldn’t be further from the truth. We have a beautiful community filled with hard working mostly middle class good people. Most folks don’t realize that the majority of homes in Petworth are owner occupied. That means people have a vested interest in their community. Petworth is a gem. Sure there are some flaws, which I even discuss from time to time. But the fact that people talk about Petworth like it is a dangerous slum is simply ridiculous. We are very lucky to live here. All of us, old timers, new comers, immigrants, citizens…it is this combination of folks who love their community, which makes it such a special place to live. But I think my thoughts are pretty clear on this matter.

It arrived. For those who enjoy reading about real estate, like myself, we look forward to the Washington Post real estate chats every other Friday. We also look forward to the Sat. Post real estate section. Well, once a year the Post releases a “Mega” real estate section. This to me, is like when I was kid waiting fot the Sports Illustrated Swim Suit Edition to arrive. God I’ve really turned into a loser but we’ve already covered that. At any rate, according to the Post in 2006 Zip Code 20011 had 645 home sales (the most of any zip code in the city) with a median purchase price of $404,000. This is an increase of $29,000 from last year which is an 8% increase.

Reporter Julia Feldmeier wrote the overview of DC in the special section and in the last paragraph she focuses on Petworth:

“You can get a lot more house in Petworth than you can almost anywhere else in the city, except across the river,” said Eileen Garner, a Coldwell Banker agent. “So you have some people cashing in their condos down in Dupont and buying out here where they have a very low mortgage because of what they earned on their condo. You also have first-time buyers that can actually get a house with three or four bedrooms in the low $400,000 range.”

Sponsored by Ward 4 candidate RT Milligan. There will be an alley clean up tomorrow March 24, from 10:00 to 11:00 am.

From the announcement:
“Please gather at 125 Webster Street, NW at 9:45am for donuts, coffee, juice and assignments. Cleanup will occur in the north side alleys between 100 and 200 Webster Street.”

Wheely, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

Have you guys seen this car on 7th off New Hampshire? It has been like this all week. It looks like it has been frozen in time doing a wicked pop-a-wheely.

Check out this article in the Washington Post talking about the the poor conditions in the Old Soldiers and Sailors Home.

I read a very interesting article in the New York Observer about hipsters being proud of living or claiming to live in rough neighborhoods of Brooklyn. You can read it here.

I was talking to someone last night who said many “hipsters” from Mt. Pleasant have moved to Petworth. I am by no means a hipster, I am very hip mind you just not a hipster, but anyway I am very proud to live in Petworth for the positive attributes – beautiful neighbors, trees, houses etc. Are there people who moved to Petworth because it is “hip” to live in Petworth? Or is it a financial thing? I know I couldn’t afford to buy in many other neighborhoods 4 years ago. So talk to me about hipsters in Petworth. What is it exactly about Petworth that attracts hipsters?

As I have said many times I haven’t made up my mind yet how I will vote, or for that matter who I will endorse. But a friend of my wrote me today asking a very interesting question: Why did Muriel Bowser win her ANC seat so convincingly?

ANC FOR SMD 4B09 (1) 1/1 100.00%
0
Under Votes: 84
Over Votes:
MURIEL E. BOWSER 601 89.57%
Write In, if any 70 10.43%
Total … 671 100.00%

The above is from the DC election website. It seems Muriel Bowser won her ANC seat with 601 votes and only 70 votes were written in against her. It appears noone even officially ran against her. So where is the all hate from?

Interesting sign, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

I had to post this sign I encountered in front of a house near the Old Soldiers home. Unfortunately, I use a cell phone camera and couldn’t capture all 6 signs that were displayed on this poor house’s front yard. God knows what they had to deal before they came up with this solution. A beautiful sign though, no?

Take a look at this link about a guy who’s thinking about buying a house in Petworth. It is a pretty funny post where you can click on a link where he gives a video tour of the house. It looks like a nice house. Half a million bucks though that is wild. It got me thinking, which I know can be a dangerous thing. But as I’ve been interviewing prospective ward 4 councilmembers, many of them have brought up the affordable housing issue. I have to admit I haven’t given it too much thought as I already live here. So I’m just wondering: number one is there still affordable housing left in Petworth and number two aren’t we supposed to be happy when property values increase?

House o day Warder, originally uploaded by Prince of Petworth.

This is a nice renovation near Warder Street.