Month: December 2005

Passed along from Jim who got it from Edmonds the Ward 5 Neighborhood Services Coordinator, which apparently is part of the Mayor’s office. Many neighbors have sung her praise before. Yet the thing is you got to go through the usual methods of trying to deal with whatever problem you have before calling on the miracle worker.

23 BATES ST NW (Another successful ending)
23 Bates St NW has been a suspected squatter’s location and illegal rooming house for a few years. There have been numerous complaints originating from neighbors, the mayor’s call center and the councilmember’s office regarding noise control, alleged drug use and prostitution. Self-proclaimed owner Mr. Terrence Proctor (Mr. Bishop) stated he was a legal tenant because he was in the process of purchasing the house from Bank of America, who is the legal owner of the house according to the deed. Bank of America has no record of Mr. Proctor or anyone else trying to acquire this property through any means. The property had been visited frequently by MPD and had become a well-known nuisance to those in the area.

On 12-15-05 the property was visited by MPD, DCRA, FIRE/EMS and ONS in response to the mounting complaints of illegal activity. Upon entering the property, with the permission of the so-called owner, there were 11 people present, 5 of whom said they lived there and the remaining 6 who said to be visiting. Those 5 (five) people claimed that they were paying rent to Mr. Proctor for living there and 1 (one) person provided a receipt for payment in the amount of $500.00, but with no name as to whom payment was made to.

It was discovered that WASA had turned off all utilities at a previous time, but were somehow reconnected illegally at the time of our visit on 12-15-05. A generator in the rear of the property was being used for electricity and had been the source of noise complaints from neighbors.

FIRE/EMS inspected and cited the property for the following violations: Exposed wiring in walls and ceiling throughout (Fire Code IFC 110.1, 605.1);Electrical Breaker panel door missing in the living room (Fire code IFC 605.1); No working smoke detectors visible throughout (Fire code IFC 9072.623; Breach in floor inside storage room on 1st floor (Fire code IFC 7041); Doubled keyed lock on rear door to outside (Fire code IFC 1003.1.8); Unsafe storage of combustibles throughout (Fire code IFC 304.2); Obtaining electricity through an illegal wire tap (Fire code IFC 110.1, 605.1); No fire extinguishers throughout (Fire code IFC 906.1); No C of O or license for a rooming house posted (Fire code IFC 105.1.1); Obstructed egress in rear with combustibles (Fire code IFC 1011.3); Breach in ceiling and walls throughout (Fire code IFC 704.1); Smoke detector not installed as to code (Fire code IFC 907.2.10.3). DCRA code violations was

On 12-16-05 an emergency protocol was called into effect to move the squatters of 23 Bates Street NW out by DCRA Theresa Lewis, after she met with DCRA Inspector Phillip Miller, DCRA Carol Washington and ONS to discuss the facts surrounding the case. At this time there were no utilities in the household and it was deemed uninhabitable. The residents whom could provide identification and said to be paying Mr. Proctor rent would be moved to the President’s Inn pending further investigations, while the others present would be sent to a homeless shelter. This final decision came about after a conference call outside of the property that included: DOH , OAG, ONS, DHS, DCRA, and Fire.

MPD, DCRA, FIRE/EMS and ONS once again entered the property on 12-16-05 and proceeded to inform the people inside that this property would be closed and boarded and that some would be going to a hotel while others would be going the homeless shelter. DC Humane Society/Animal Control was present and removed two dogs from the premises. Eight (4) residents provided identification and also stated they were paying Mr. Proctor (Bishop) rent was housed at the President’s Inn included four individuals who said they were paying rent to Mr. Proctor in amounts varied from $500.00/mo; $150/week; $125.00/week was housed at the Presidential Inn. The other 8 people present at the house, some who just walked away and at least 3 whom were directed to the Homeless Shelter.

Mr. Mike Robles from Bank of America made contact on 12-17-05 and stated they never received notices regarding any issues at the property. All notices and liens were being sent to the Bates St address which was on file with the Recorder of Deeds. Mr. Robles wants to cooperate fully with the District and to abate any housing code or other violations. Says that no one should be in the property and they never gave Mr. Bishop or any one else authority to lease or otherwise use the property. BOA is willing to sign a barring notice to that effect. BOA has also hired First Preston Company to secure and rehab the property. He will put them in touch with my office.

My commentary:
$500 a month! You could have fewer roommates at $500 a month. Living in a crowded condition with jerry rigged utilities, no. I swear the poor spend as much as the lower middle class in some cases! But worse, the quality is horribly substandard. My old roommate lives in a group house, with free internet and utilities included and pays less than $500.
Also President’s Inn. Out of frying pan…. I’m not going to even say what auntie says about that place. But it’s something, and I gather that’s better than nothing.

I wandered in yesterday to inform the owner, Taw, that the apparently Thai X-ing’s only on-line menu is going to go bye-bye fairly soon because I’m switching servers. The menu sits on a different server than the blog and I do get a few hits from folks looking for his menu.
It was a bit of a surprise to see that Taw has hired a guy. My earlier ventures into Thai X-ing were a Taw one man show. I blamed the solo job on the slowness of the food creation. It may have had something to do with it. But last night, there was a blue eyed assistant in the kitchen and behind the cash register helping out. I ordered and wandered out to drop my stuff back at the house. I came back with a book in tow and didn’t have to wait terribly long for my order.
Taw remarked that the neighborhood is growing and that he gets a lot of orders from my street. Well Thai X-ing was a topic of conservation at the Christmas party held by our neighbors K&J. The secret I was told, is that when you call up to order and you are told that it will be ready at say 6:00, 6:00 is when you leave the house to pick it up. And if you are in a hurry, don’t bother. Go-go rush-rush crackberry addicted patrons will just find it frustrating. Anyway, we all had a Thai X-ing story.
At some point I will update the menu as it has changed slightly. For one, the salmon red curry is $10 something, not $8 something. Also his hours have changed. Instead of being open for lunch and dinner, he’s just open for dinner. I guess there wasn’t a big enough lunch crowd in the hood to keep it open in the day.

…’cause it’s one way.

to the bastard who woke me up at 2am with the bass from your car… I hate you…
Anyway.
Just getting into Tim Bulter’s London Calling: The Middle Classes and the Re-making of Inner London and he seems to say globalization plays a part in gentrification. I’m just in the introduction and so this theory has not been explained well. There are a couple of other things he writes that are interesting and I can’t wait to get to them in the book, like when he says that gentrification is a middle class coping mechanicism. Then there are a few things that I think the author is dead wrong on. To me the middle class has ALWAYS been kinda psycho about their stability, it is not a new thing as Bulter seems to suggest. I got some dead Victorians I can dig up to prove this point.
Bulter’s book is the first time I’ve seen anyone link up gentrification with globalization. I’m sure he’s not the first but I don’t remember seeing such connections in stateside writings on the subject.

Bewteen P and something and New Jersey and something else. Date 1887.

…and they dig a hole, call a lawyer.
There is a good chance that your house is in danger.
I got an email about a building collapse in Shaw at 632 Q St, NW. The picture is of all the permits the builders had as well as a posted drawing of what they were trying to do. Anyway, the house next to the construction got damaged and the basement and 1st floor rear of the adjoining house is exposed.
There is a better picture over at DCFD.COM of the damage to the adjoing house.
Similar thing on 5th Street where a bad gut job ate the house next to it.
Same thing for Q & 9th St where bad construction ate one or two adjoining structures.

Well now I got myself one of them thar flickr accounts I guess I can post more because I’ve take a lot of pictures around the hood. Anyways, this is what the road of Richardson Place, NW looks like. I just like the picture.

Photo is of the property in questionIf you want details go bug Karl La Cour, the de facto (as none of the rest of us bothered to step up) spokesman of the Richardson Focus Group. If you want a completely me-centric view of the Zoning bored meeting, continue on.
I was hoping for a quick in/out as Mondie was supposed to ask for postponement of his hearing. I requested 4 hours off from my job, thinking that if it is supposed to start at 9:30AM and if postponements and continuances are handled first I’d be back at work by lunch, or after lunch.
No. The Board did not walk in until 10:07AM. They did touch Mondie’s postponement early but wanted to establish parties, which meant waiting till cases 17400 & 17405 were covered. Case 17400 went by quickly, and apparently Planning wrote up a lovely report, a must read. Case 17405, not so quickly. The property in question was in Foxhall Village or Canal View and there was an issue with the deck on the rear, a 4ft back yard, and a fence in lieu of an evergreen screen. Apparently the builder was at fault as the new owners (as of 8 months) inherited the builder’s renegged promises. The interesting aspect of this was the patients at the mental hospital on the other side of the fence have a habit of mooning the homeowners. See, one good thing about Truxton, I have never been mooned by mental patients in Truxton!
But enough of those people and their west of the park problems, let’s talk Mondie. At 11:37AM it was our turn. The board had Karl and a Richardson property owner who JUST found out about Mondie’s proposal join forces so there is just one large opposition party. Party status gives the Richardson Focus Group (RFG) the same status as the petitioner, Mondie, so things submitted to the Board have to be submitted to the RFG as well. Mondie wanted to make the next zoning hearing date as soon as possible. The board seemed more concerned with him being prepared by the next date, which is January 24th. By that date Mondie needs to work something out with the RFG. The board suggested that he do that, and find agreement by January 10th so all will be ready and already discussed by the ANC meeting on the 17th. Mondie voiced concern about an ever expanding list of questions.
Okay. I must have missed a meeting. I was at the meeting when Mondie and his lawyer did the bit where his lawyer would ask a question and Mondie would give an answer. I don’t know where the questions came from so I can’t speak to that. I gather there is some frustrations on Mondie’s part, as more people find out about the project the more inquiries he gets. It probably would have helped if there was a central place where all the info on the project was to save him from having to field so many enquires. Hell a blog costs nearly nothing (livejournal or blogspot), then there is flickr for pictures. I mean if you really wanted to, you could put the info out there and possibly answer 1/2 of the questions. When you hold information close to your vest expect people to bug you for it. Of course, there is the other problem of when you do answer the question and it’s not the right answer.
There is more to this but as I said, bug Karl, he’s the man.

via Jim
Neighbors,

On this coming Tuesday, December 13, 2005, between the hours of 6:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., the DC Office of Planning is sponsoring a public meeting concerning the “NoMa Vision Development Strategy and Action Agenda.” This meeting will be held at McKinley Technology High School, 151 T Street, NE, Room 150.

This planning work proposes a walkable, transit-accessible, dynamic and diverse neighborhood with a mix of uses. The plan will coordinate public and private investment and strengthen connections between new development, the new Metro Station and nearby existing residential neighborhoods.

For those of you who don’t know, NoMa stands for North of Massachusetts Avenue. Hence, this meeting represents an ideal opportunity to learn what is being contemplated and what is now being worked on — in terms of economic development activity for this area.

Best,

Jim Berry
ANC 5C