PSA

“FYI for renters with Pepco!”

By Prince Of Petworth

pepco

“Dear PoPville,

FYI for renters with Pepco:

My roommate and I have had a problem with our Pepco bill being ridiculously high since we moved into our 2 bedroom 1,100 sq ft apartment in November. We moved from a 2,600 sq ft house with 5 people and 4 floors, and have been paying as much and sometimes more in our tiny place every single month. My roommate and I are rarely home on the weekends, turn off all our lights during the day, and sometimes are gone for weeks at a time, and our Pepco bill was continuing to rise. We even decided to turn our thermostat to “off” one month and sweated every night trying to lower the bill, and the bill went UP the next month. We also noticed we had an uncategorized amount charged on our bill each month called “Other” that didn’t fit into our energy usage categories. Three separate Pepco customer service agents were not able to tell us what this “other” category was and why we were paying $50+ a month for this uncategorized area. (more…)

“So heads up babies and be safe this summer of renting!”

By Prince Of Petworth

rental
Photo by PoPville flickr user Andrew Pasko-Reader

“Hello boys and girls, just want to do an annual Craigslist apartment awareness topic. So, I recently stumbled across this: http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/apa/5633523037.html, a SEEMINGLY too good to be true kinda deal, and after checking in with the “realtors” I received this ultra-shady e-mail:

Thank you for your interest in the property listed for rent. You were the second to reach out from the ad. The first prospective tenant no longer had to move because of his work situation. So we give the opportunity to you. We just finished all new renovations and are currently prepared to lease with flexible terms. We will work with you on move in date, lease length and security deposit.

I know you desire the precise address of the property but my husband does not want me divulge due to security reasons. We have had a string of break-ins, squatters and thefts at our other properties. We want to prevent that with this property due to the renovations that have cost lots of money. You will be the first to move in with the renovations. That is why we want to confirm you have your updated report before we schedule a tour.

All utilities are priced into the lease along with garage parking spaces. The appliances in the kitchen as well as laundry room were just installed. You have the option to choose your paint color and flooring before your arrival

When you want to come look at the place, then please visit the link below and grab your report. All of our tenants use this site because it is widely trusted. All you need to do is fill out the form and you get your report We aren’t interested in specifics of your report, it’s more of a formality to ensure you have rental history. Simply get your report by CLICKING HERE

Do not send me the report over mail, bring it to the tour. Once you let me know that you have your report ready, then I can personally schedule a walk through of the place.

So guys, what we have here is a website that collects “renter’s scores” by obtaining credit card information and an e-mail that now DEFINITELY seems too good to be true (pick your color? garage parking?? utilities all for $1250?!?!?!?). (more…)

Heads Up If You Use the 11th Street Bike Lane

By Prince Of Petworth

bike lane
Photo by PoPville flickr user sssdc1

“Dear PoPville,

I/m writing to let you know about a current hazard to bicyclists heading northbound on 11th St NW.

Yesterday when heading home from work (around 6 PM), I noticed multiple large piles of shattered glass (approx 6-7 piles in total) in the northbound bicycle lane on 11th St NW, all between Irving and Monroe streets. The piles of glass were very large– they each appeared to be from multiple broken bottles (large shards of green, brown, and white glass – larger than what you typically see from a smashed car window). Also, every pile of glass was in the bike lane, none in the road or sidewalk on that stretch from what I was able to observe. In hindsight I wish I had stopped to take a picture of one or more of the piles, but at the time it was not my first thought.

When I got home I immediately called 311 to report the issue, and the operator confirmed that she would send someone out to check it out and clean up the glass. Sadly, when riding southbound on 11th this morning, I was able to observe that most (if not all) of the piles from the previous afternoon were still there. Any suggestions on how we can get this cleaned up? (more…)

“I would like to ask neighboring friends and residents to keep an eye out for similar occurrences.”

By Prince Of Petworth

dupont
Photo by PoPville flickr user Josh

“Dear PoPville,

I wanted to inform you of a situation that happened Saturday night around 11:30 between 18th and 19th on S street NW. I was walking home from Adams Morgan when I turned left onto S Street, NW. After walking less than 100 ft west down the block, a Hispanic or Middle Eastern man maximum age 40 and max height 6’0 stopped when we made eye contact. He then proceeded to either masturbate or urinate in my direction and continued to do so for multiple seconds as I approached. I have a lot of trouble believing that it was not sexually motivated, due to his hand placement and movements. I felt very uncomfortable and crossed into the street immediately while readying my keys only to sprint to my door from the middle of the street. Once I was safely inside, I immediately called 911. After than 2 years living in the neighborhood, this is very disturbing because I have never felt unsafe walking home, even MUCH later at night. I would like to ask neighboring friends and residents to keep an eye out for similar occurrences.”

Scam Alert: “he tells me that I need to pull over, my tire is about to fall off”

By Prince Of Petworth

shady
Photo by PoPville flickr user Mark Andre

“Dear PoPville,

I recently had an experience that left me shaken. I posted this to my FB page and it seems that it’s happened to one other person, too, and perhaps even more who I may not be associated with in social media.

Below is that FB post:

So I’ve been debating if this information was relevant to share, but it’s left me a little shaken up so…here goes. (Consider it a PSA for single women who drive around by themselves)

On Sunday I was driving in DC – @ 11:30am. I was on Rhode Island Ave NE. A guy pulls up next to me an starts to frantically get my attention. I roll down my passenger side window and he tells me that I need to pull over, my tire is about to fall off, it’s really shaking. I immediately vier over into the right hand lane and pull into a BofA parking lot. The guy pulls off with me. He’s in a beat up red van and gets out. I get out, too. He proceeds to try and budge my tire. At this point I’m standing outside of my car on the passenger side. A second vehicle pulls up to my driver’s side – two guys in a truck. They seem to know each other. One starts to get out of the truck as the red van guy tries to get me to “get down on the ground” to see this “ball joint” that’s supposedly loose. I immediately circle my car, get back in, lock the doors and roll down the window to tell the red van guy that I’m going to head to friend’s place and call AAA, thanks. He get’s upset, rolls his eyes and tells me that I can’t drive with my wheel like this. The truck of two guys pulls off.

I take my car to VW yesterday and there’s NOTHING wrong with my car.

Just in case this ever happens, here are a few tips to know if you have a loose tire: (more…)

“H Street NE neighbors–hide your plants and remain vigilant!”

By Prince Of Petworth

Our poor plant!

“Dear PoPville,

It appears we have an H Street NE garden thief on our hands! Much to my surprise, as I left my home the other morning, I noticed that someone came along and cut the entire top off the dracaena plant in my front yard. This was not a simple assault either, clearly the horticultural pillager knew how to surgically remove the top of the plant in one cut. Why did this horror occur? Was someone just that envious of it’s beautiful green leaves, or was someone with a greener thumb than me sympathetic to its languishing? This plant had been with us for quite some time, so I’m very saddened by this!

I would chalk it up to kids, but the plant was not pulled out of the pot or broken. Clearly, as the picture indicates, someone precisely cut the top off. Has anyone else ever had this happen to them before? This is certainly bizarre. H Street NE neighbors–hide your plants and remain vigilant!”

“Spice of Bukhara, the food is fantastic”

By Prince Of Petworth

spice
204 Michigan Avenue, NE

Thanks to a reader for sending word:

“Spice of Bukhara (Best taste of Indian, Pakistani, Afghani and Irani foods) is getting all the buzz over in our neighborhood. Have you checked it out?
The food is fantastic.”

Check out their menu here.

Anyone else take a taste?

“Zika Virus is on the rise, and it’s only a matter of time before it comes to DC”

By Prince Of Petworth

zika
“Fight the Bite” Kit distributed by the DC Department of Health

From an email:

“As you may be aware, the Zika Virus is on the rise, and it’s only a matter of time before it comes to DC. Here is a map of the areas projected to be affected: http://www.cdc.gov/zika/pdfs/zika-mosquito-maps.pdf.

Here is a list of recommendations from the CDC on mosquito control, http://www.cdc.gov/zika/prevention/controlling-mosquitoes-at-home.html, which includes the following:

(more…)

“Please tell people to lock their doors, especially if they live in a group home and have roommates with varying schedules.”

By Prince Of Petworth

logan
Photo by PoPville flickr user Kevin Wolf

“Dear PoPville,

I was upstairs in my room last night on the third floor of my Logan Circle townhouse, which I share with 3 other people, when a homeless man walked in. I left the door unlocked because my roommate couldn’t find her key and was planning to come home shortly. When my roommate came home, she went upstairs to the third floor and saw a homeless man, African American and middle aged, with a hoody, hiding behind a bookshelf. We hid in my room and called the cops who promptly came. The guy had walked out before the cops got there though so he’s still on the loose.

Please tell people to lock their doors, especially if they live in a group home and have roommates with varying schedules. Thankfully the guy didn’t take anything or attack me, but it could’ve been a very bad situation.”

“After calling Comcast to confirm – we can officially say this is a total scam!”

By Prince Of Petworth

scam or not

“Dear PoPville,

Came home yesterday to a note left in the crack of my door. Upon getting this, I immediately messaged my upstairs roommate (who handles our cable) to find out what was up. The copy/paste Comcast label was an immediate red flag for me. After calling Comcast to confirm – we can officially say this is a total scam! The scammer left this in our mailbox on the front of our house, but to leave it at my door they had to get super creepy. They unlocked our back gate, came into our backyard, and walked down to my rear-entry basement apartment in a desperate attempt to see if someone was home – and most likely try to get inside. Luckily, we were all at work. Who knows what would have happened! We suspect if you call the number, they’ll try to extort you not to “turn off your cable.” Scary, and super creeps! This all sounds very much like the fake “Verizon techs” who were wandering around a few month ago. NoMa residents – beware!!”

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