Month: March 2005

Just want to warn walkers. Yesterday night, some neighbors and their dogs were attacked by a loose pit bull near/on the 400 block of R St. One of the neighbors dogs was bitten so badly by the pit that the puncture wound could not be stiched up.
But that wasn’t the worst part of it. When the neighbors sought help from the city reporting the attack, they were met with useless unresponsiveness. One of the dog walkers who was able to grab her dog off the street called 311, while the other dog walker, bleeding, raced his wounded dog to the 24 hour vet. The 311 operator told the female dog walker that she couldn’t report it because she wasn’t the victim of the attack. Then she called animal control and apparently they were unresponsive as well.
She called the mayor’s office and apparently the 311 operator was wrong. You know it’s crap like that, that makes you disrespect the whole 311 non-emergency system. My own experience with 311 is hit and miss. Sometimes they will come right out other times the operator will be dismissive and seem to ignore you right off. I’ve been hung up on as well. And they blurt out their operator number off so fast sometimes you never get it.
Anywho, the police are called today to take a report. When the officer arrives and is told about the incident, upon hearing it happened last night says, “why are you just reporting this today?” Gawd. She called the police yesterday and apparently it wasn’t worth your time to come then and the guy who was attacked was busy taking care of his dog.
Don’t know which is worse the dog attack or the city.

I just like looking at their catalog. Renovator’s Old Mill sends me their catalog on a regular basis and I can fantasize about buying antique looking hardware, or wallpaper, or shower heads. But really, am I?
I don’t have anything from the 19th century showing in the house. Zip. Nothing. No cute historical details. All got ripped out, way before I showed up. So there is no pressure to keep a historical theme to any home improvements. I could go completely modern and it would look fine. But part of me wants to bring a little of the 19th century back into the house. I dream of Renovator’s slipper bathtubs.
The other old house supplier I love going to and just looking around at is The Brass Knob and their Back Door’s Warehouse up in Adams Morgan. I spend more time in their warehouse, looking at the tubs and the sinks, doors, radiators and what have you. It is just cool to wander around and dream.

Well some of my baby plants, have been placed in pots outside. I hope at least 1/2 of them live.
It is getting very crowded in the kitchen where they all have been sitting. I have had to transfer the tomato plants to bigger pots with bigger footprints. I will plant them outside on Tax Day (4/15/2004) which is supposed to be and I hope IS the last frost date for this area. And when we have 50F degree nights the picky citrus will be banished to the backyard.

I’ll post the grande weekend house tour later, but I have to talk about 1636 New Jersey Ave, which had it’s open house yesterday. Quick statement about the place, it would be an excellent opportunity for an investor with a lot of time, money, and vision. Or someone with a lot of time and money. What it could be is wonderful, what it is now is crap. The best thing about the place is the ‘ruins’ or the carriage house out back. Wandering inside I could envision a dance space, an artist’s studio, or two huge Hummers (the official car of SATAN). The other neat thing about the carriage house was that it had a loft area and there was this wonderful little bridge that joined the upper part of the carriage house to the 2nd floor of the main house (pictured above, thanks IT). So if you have $429,000 plus the extra $200-300K for renovations these beautiful ruins could be yours.

via James Berry
Neighbors,

It has come to my attention that wood chips/mulch will me available at
the locations listed below on Monday, March 21, 2005 until they are all
gone. Please note that these materials are for the use of residents for their
yards, tree boxes and in our community parks.

Best,

Jim Berry
ANC 5C

84 Rhode Island Avenue, NW Yolanda’s Cleaners
1743 lincoln Road, NE Harry Thomas Community Center
1st & Florida NW Park at R & Florida Avenue
N. Capitol & Fla. Ave. NW Park on NWcorner of Fla. Ave.
43 Adams Street, NW In the Rear of Adams

I’m just wondering out loud here, but I was thinking, when do you stop being transitional and just be? Shaw, by far, is not the first DC neighborhood to experience gentrification. Georgetown, that horribly expensive neighborhood with the obnoxiously expensive stores, used to be black and more economicly diverse. So was the West End which is Foggy Bottom. Now these are expensive, non-transitional neighborhoods, and so not diverse (Euro-trash of any shade does not count).
Then there are neighborhoods that seem to be continuously transitioning and have been transitioning for a forever and a half. Capitol Hill comes to mind. Of course the borders of Capitol Hill keeps changing and will include the parking lot of RFK, and the gates of Gallaudet University at this rate. And apparently, and I could be wrong, Adams Morgan has been transitioning for over 20 years.
So what will Shaw be? Well the borders are set by what was the Shaw Middle School district as it was in the 60s, and butts up to North Capitol a big dividing line, so it won’t be like Cap Hill. But even comparing the core of Cap Hill, we don’t have the same architecture, the same historical district pressures, or tourist pressures (thank G-d). It could be like Adams Morgan where the lower classes and fixed income folks are constantly in peril, in danger of losing their homes as the middle and upper classes improve the homes and define the commercial strips. Or will we be like Georgetown and Dupont, where the working class has been kicked to the curb?
Oh well, the only way to find out is to stick around.

This former In Shaw blog house of the week, is now up for sale after many, many months of off and on construction. The price, I’m sorry, I know I wrote that I accepted the prices around here but $575,000 is crack fueled. Yes, it is two units. However, it is ugly. Even with the new ulitarian staircase to the 2nd floor, still ugly and a lovely example of crackhead design.
Outside of the absolutely non-landscaped property were a few flyers about the property. The flyer tells me that it is 2 units and shows three ways to finance the purchase of this thing. No money down, with $3K in cash for closing and other costs, this bad boy will cost you $2,913.53 a month. The flier does tell you to go to a website where more info on the houses features is presented.
From the pictures the inside seems nice but I remember how this thing looked as it was getting built. It started off as a one level shop and they built up. As they were building I was confused by their logic and the upper level with no stairs confused me. Hated the vinyl siding. Then at times, for days, the property was unsecured, building materials left outside in the rain, and no activity for weeks, like all construction was abandoned. Then at points it looked like (and this is just my uninformed opinion) they gave up on the project and settled to sell it.

Frozen Tropics has been doing a great job documenting the changes over in the NE neighborhood of Trinidad and the H Street area. One of those changes has been the addition of the Joy Of Motion’s (JOM) Atlas Dance Studio which has it’s grand opening this week (March 14-26). As one who has taken classes at the JOM’s Bethesda and Friendship Heights locations, I’m glad to see classes a 90 bus ride away.
Until the Spring session they are doing drop in classes for now.
Tomorrow they are offering adult classes in Hip Hop, Modern dance, Yoga, Salsa and Social Ballroom. I’ve been meaning to take social ballroom… girl needs to know how to foxtrot when it’s too slow to lindy hop…
They also have their slew of youth dance classes so there’s something for the kids, Pre-K to 12, too.

If you can get home before 5pm or leave sometime after 8:30am, you might have used the post office at the very tip of Truxton Circle’s triangle (yeah, call it a circle when the neighborhood forms a triangle), the LeDroit Park Post Office at 416 Florida Avenue. Until recently the post office was manned by a very grouchy civil servant. She was impatient, belittling, and in some cases down right mean. Currently, the new woman in charge of the post office is more pleasant and customer friendly. My only complaint about her is she pushes the more expensive postal options (I just wanted to send it first class, not priority), but it is pushiness with a smile.
But I was thinking, this change in personnel, to a more customer service friendly person has made the post office visit more pleasant. I feel a bit better about my post office. Just add a few Saturday hours and it will totally rock, but I’ll take what I can get. Feeling better about my neighborhood post office, I feel better about the neighborhood.
Quality of life isn’t simple crime stats and economic indicators, it is how I feel about my block and my hood. I get excited when a retail or restaurant business opens around here because I hope that will improve my quality of life. Having the business in the hood, in this case the US Post Office, there is one plus, looking forward to going to the business and feeling positive about it, a thousand other pluses.