Shiloh Baptist has one on it’s child care center buildings, and there are a few more I’ve spotted around the hood. This is one on the corner of 4th and Florida Ave. It replaces faded mural that advertised Coca-Cola. Off on the side is a statement one can read whilst relieving oneself in the alley, about how it was a city sponsored project.
Tag: city services
DC Archives Holdings, pt 2
See Part 1, and I take no responsibility for the accuracy of this catalog.
Mayor’s Office (and predecessor, the Board of Commissioners)
Minutes, Including orders, of the Commissioners. 1953-67
Records relating to executive session meetings of the Board of Commissioners(“Confidential Memorandum”), 1957-1966. (6 cu ft)
Photographic prints and negatives, slides, and other visual records from the Office of Communications and its successors, ca. 1946-1990. (22 cu ft)
General Correspondence of Mayor Walter E. Washington, 1967-1969. (18 cu ft)
Speeches of Mayor Marion Barry, 1979-1990. (12 cu ft)
Office files of Mayor Marion Barry, ca 1985-1990 (bulk) (2.74 cu ft)
Subject files of the Mayor’s Press Secretary, ca 1989-90. (4 cu ft)
Records of he 1978 & 1982 Mayoral Transition Committees; records of cabinet meetings, 1979-82; and “Pre-Policy” meetings, 1984-85; and Policy Discussion Group meetings, 1982. (9 cu ft)
Subject files of Mayor Walter Washington,, 1967-69 (ulk), 1961-70 (inclusive) (18 cu ft)
Subject files of Deputy Mayor Thomas Fletcher, 1967-69 (bulk), 1961-70. (inclusive). (17 cu ft)
“Chron files” Reading Files. Mayor’s Correspondence Unit, 1979-85. (8 cu ft)
Letters Received, Board of Commissioners, ca. 1908-28. 18 cu ft. [Estrays from the Letters Received in RG 351 in the National Archives]
Planning Office
Project files, re. to building the Convention Center, 1965-84; and correspondence and other records, 1985-87. (ca 13 cu ft)
Police Department
“May Day Report, 1971. (1.5 cu ft)
DC Archives Holdings, pt 1
Why this isn’t on the DC Archives website, I don’t know. This is 15 years out of date, so I don’t vouch for the accuracy.
District of Columbia Archives
Holdings – Mar. 1993 [ca. 4719 cu. ft]
Auditor’s Office
DC Auditor. Printed Reports, 1980-, (3 cu. ft)
Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, Dept of
Articles of Incorporation, 1870-1954 (40 cu ft) and related indexes (7 vols.)
Elections and Ethics, Board of
Board of Elections, “Voter Information Master” file. (1 reel of computer tape).
Emergency Preparedness Office (Civil Defense)
Records re. Demonstrations, Civil Disturbances adn Special Events, 1965; 1968-78. (25 cu ft)
Housing and Community Development, Dept of
Dept of Housing and Community Development. Redevelopment Land Agency Records, ca. 1965-1976. (11 cu ft)
Dept of Housing and Community Development. Redevelopment Land Agency. Shaw and H St. NE; 14th St.; Downtown; building survey forms, 1968-1972 (27 cu ft)
Dept of Housing and Community Development. Redevelopment Land Agency. Slides showing condition of houses in NE. (0.5 cu ft)
Dept. of Housing and Community Development. National Capital Housing Authority. Legal Division. Reading Files, 1943-54; 1964-71. Copies of NCHA minutes, 1954-68. Miscellaneous records. (6 cu ft)
Dept. of Housing and Community Development. Redevelopment Land Agency. Audiovisual materials re. to Washington, including films. slides, audio tapes, video tapes, ca 1976 (ca 12 cu ft)
Human Services
Dept of Human Services. Minutes of the Board of Health, 1822-78. (3 vols.)and Health Officer’s Scrapbook, 1920-25 (1 vol)
Dept of Human Services. Minutes and Other Records of the Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect, 1978-79. (2 in)
Dept of Human Services. Records of he Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Panel on Teenage Pregnancy Prevention, 1984-1985 (.33 cu ft)
Dept Human Service. Public Health Commissioner. Disinterment Permits (Applications), 1937-48 (3 cu ft)
Law Revision Commission
Minutes, correspondence, recommendations, annual reports, adn other records, 1975-1991. (10 cu ft)
Parts 2 and 3 and whatever to follow when I feel like typing them up
Things I’m so disliking
Archives-Navy Memorial Metro Station. The escalator to get on the platform is out. This wouldn’t be so bad if there were low carbon emitting stairs. But there aren’t. No stairs, so with one escalator out, the rush hour crowd gets to walk down one skinny escalator. Woe to you if you’re going against traffic. Your best bet sometimes is the elevator.
DC Public Library– I rarely check out books from the DC Public Library. I buy most of my reads, used books mainly. I wasn’t always like this. I loved libraries. I studied to become a librarian. But the lack of finding the books I want just encourages me to head for the internet or my own agency library. For example, I wanted Sudhir Venkatesh’s Gang Leader for a Day. DC Library did not have it, and does not have it. My old library, the Arlington Public Library has it. So does Alexandria’s Public Library. And Montgomery County. Heck, even PG County has it. When I was living in Arlington, I’d give the library a chance and see if they had the book I wanted. Here I don’t even bother most of the time. Well, at least the Washingtonia collection is good. Can’t check out anything from there though. But for books, to check out, no.
Because of that (and some thoughts I have about government in general) I am in no rush to get the DC One Card. I’ve already got a Smartcard, and there is another one in the house somewhere. I rarely use the rec facilities, and I just told you about my relationship with the library. I’m not school aged so I won’t be need it for DCPS. And I’ve only walked into an unemployment office once in my life, in Florida, and it was a most unhelpful experience.
In praise of business
Richard Layman’s Blog Rebuilding Place as well as DCist both posted the email sent out by Politics and Prose regarding a bench outside the independent bookstore targeted by ANC Frank Winstead. The first part of the email struck me as oh so true:
Every once in a while we get an abrupt reminder that we live in a jurisdiction where small business is not respected or encouraged. When we first opened across the street, there was no government agency that could advise us on what we needed to do. Then, after we made the applications we needed to, we could not get an occupancy permit, no matter how many times we called or went down to the office responsible for that. The process simply stopped somewhere in the Office of Regulatory and Consumer Affairs. We were fined and we started over again, but the certificate was never issued at our first location.
I’ve heard the grumbling of another small business owner, who is in the TC, about how they’d love to add more servies and amenities, but taking time off to get the run around from DCRA isn’t worth the trouble. Apparently change for the better (and in some cases, the worse) requires a permit. It would be helpful if things given by local businesses and enjoyed by the community were supported by the city and our political leaders.
Also another strain of thought that has occurred in this blog’s comments and some local listservs regarding small business. Some of you out there have a disdain and just plain hatred of business, regardless of the size. Businesses are no more evil than your regular Jo on the street. Many of them provide a service that is wanted and needed in the community. Small local business can be great neighbors, providing benches, free used coffee grounds, a place to meet and gather, and sponsorship for community, artist and non-profit ventures and events.
When someone asks what’s around here, in that what’s so great about this place kind of way, I point to the businesses. I mention the quickie mart, the dry cleaners, the coffee shop, the organic bodega, the liquor stores (the good and the mediocre ones, not the scary ones) and the bakery. The only non-business things I point out are the metro stations and the bus stops. I’m not sure what category to put the farmer’s market in, as I gather the farmers do drive in to make some profit, but the organization of putting on the farmer’s market is something else. I should mention there was one non-profit I use to point to, Chain Reaction, a wonderful bike sales and repair shop. It went “out of business”.
I am grateful for those business that have opened up in the past few years, and appreciative to those older businesses that have become more customer friendly (taking down the Plexiglas, unblocking/cleaning the windows). Also I welcome any new business that may want to take up residence on North Capitol or at the corner of R and New Jersey.
A bit more helpful than nothing, permits
I once complained that DC wasn’t particulary helpful when it came to making permits public. I compared them to the county office in Florida that linked permits to properties, so the public could see what permits were approved for a house and what was supposidly done. The information would be helpful in helping the citizens help the city monitor whats going on, and help home buyers know a bit more history on their house.
Well, I stumbled upon the DC permit database, while googling a contractor that will be doing work near me. And well, it is a good start. I plugged in an address of a problem property and saw permits going back to 2005, and saw that the owner of said problem house has applied for permits this year as well. I threw in my own address and saw my permits. Now, there is no detail to the permits, only the tracking number what kind of permit, the applicant’s name, and their approval status. I gather I might get more info if I had the projected cost and date. But this is helpful in answering the question if a house has permits or not.
I called animal control
Wasn’t the first time.
Around about 5 something in the morning, around about the time I wake up before the radio alarm comes on, I heard the low sorrowful howl of the dog across the alley. The howling didn’t wake me up. He’d been howling long since before I went to bed. So I opened up the window and spoke to him, which quieted him for about 2 minutes, and went back to bed. When I opened the window I realized it was raining.
It isn’t unusual for the people of the house across the alley to just leave their dog, a beige and chocolate husky of some sort, out side for the whole weekend, or several days on end. He sits on the deck, howling every time a siren wails. Howling at night. Howling in the rain. That rain we had a week or two ago, he was out in that. I don’t know how his fur works but he never seems drenched. He could be going under the deck periodically, but most of the time he just paces on the deck staring at the kitchen door.
Regardless, I called the city 311 number, who then transferred me over to the 24 hour animal control number. Apparently, I wasn’t the only one. I was told, I was the second person to call this morning about the dog.
Back during the flood watch, I called animal control and they did send someone out to check on the dog. By the time they showed up, it stopped raining and the dog was just sitting on the deck, all calm like. Nothing happened. I don’t know what to expect when several neighbors call because his howling is so loud and so sad. He doesn’t bark, but rather belts out a low deep ‘arrooogh’.
UPDATE:Animal Control called me back and said there was a call 2 weeks ago about the dog. They checked it out, contacted the owners, and told them they needed a dog house for the dog. Today, there is a dog house under the deck, and so animal control seems to be satisfied with the situation. Unfortunately, the dog doesn’t spend any time near or in his house.
Screw the children
I dedicate this posting to B. who gleefully gave me this title.
B. and I just stepped out of this month’s BACA meeting. He was happily recounting part of the meeting where a woman claimed that there really weren’t that many children in the community. Recounting this, as we watched about 3 kids from our street horsing around on the other side of the street.
A couple of things were brought up in the meeting that I’m going to touch on, community, and community services.
Community. Who are we talking about? I live here am I part of the community? When we, city employees, politicians talk about the community, are they talking about the community as a whole, certain parts, what? This is important because the city wants to (trys to) serve the community.
Which brings me to city services. It may have been the same woman who said there weren’t any children around needing services, who pointed out that no one in the room at the meeting needed drug councilling, or job training, or shelter, or housing services, mental health services, or any of the ‘community services’ that the young mayor’s rep was mentioning. The problem is the city will never offer me any direct services I will ever use in my neighborhood. Of the neighbors I associate most with, neither will they. They probably won’t put their kids in city aftercare, or send their kids to existing rec centers, and they sure as heck don’t go to the regular public schools. The only housing help I’ll take from the city (that I haven’t gotten already with the 1st time homebuyer prgs) is the homestead exemption.
Indirectly, the services are to benefit me by supposedly taking care of problem people , and if the people with problems are served then crime would go down, which serves me. The problem is that the people who use those services aren’t represented at the meetings. Most who attend meetings have little firsthand knowledge of the programs, which then makes me wonder about adequate feedback for the city. Also since there is no direct participation, I wonder how hard would those of us in the community who are more politically involved (the letter writers, meeting attenders, etc) will fight for these community programs/ dollars, as compared to areas of the city.
Lastly, I want to write about what I’m not saying in this. I’m not saying there aren’t any city services that can’t help me and others in my neighborhood. Good functional libraries with active reading/ storybook programs, popular books available, comfortable reading areas, and available internet terminals would be nice. I know I ain’t gonna get it, but it would be nice. And there are things the city and some local politicians do beyond regular services and problem targeting, that positivity impact my quality of life, such as business promotion, providing mulch, and co-sponsoring events.
I’d guess I’d be more gung ho for programs for children if I actually believed the kids on my street and the other neighborhood kids I know would actually use them.
Thursday-Friday Grab Bag
Warning for some of you car owners, traffic enforncement is now in tow. I’ve been seeing cars get moved by the city on a regular basis. Today I saw a truck taking away a car on New Jersey Avenue. The day before it was moving a car on R St. You’ve asked for city services, and well you got one.
With the housing problem we are surprised why? Remember oh, back to 2004, 2005, and 2006 when I said real estate agents were on crack and the houses were overpriced? So, what happened? We discovered the houses were overpriced. The bubble deflated. I can’t say burst because it’s not like the houses are worthless, just worth less. We knew people were taking out loans too large for them to handle. We knew this day would come. We knew a few years back that there would be a lot of foreclosures, and guess what? 2008, there are a lot of foreclosures. Who knew? Yes, there are people who are losing their homes, but where I am, so are a lot of developers and flippers and speculators who came into Shaw, looking for a quick buck. Some of them got out in time. A good number didn’t and so we are stuck, until the next housing uptick, with vacant, 1/2 done, or crapily done houses, and cut-up townhomes created into funny looking condos.
Central Union Mission is going downtown. And there was great rejoicing in Pentworth and some other NW neighborhoods. For lo, they moveth the men’s shelter to 65 Mass Ave NW, where they are not far from other homeless services. And someone remind me, wasn’t the Gales School (65 Mass Ave) used as a shelter before?
I’d support more harpsichord players. Because they are artists, performing artists. And tearooms? Since I don’t drink coffee, I’m stuck with loving Teaism, so if the landed gentry come in and put in tearooms, I’m all for it. Besides I spent most of my undergrad years studying the rise and fall of the British aristocracy, I’d be pleased to observe them up close.
Info Government May Provide
During one of the usual weekend calls I have with my mother, my mom was complaining once again about her property tax. Without getting too detailed, my parents divorced but Dad’s name is still on the land, and thus, Mom says her homestead exemption is not as great as it could be. So the other day I wandered over to her Florida county tax assessor’s website, which is embarrassingly amateur looking, to see exactly how Mom’s getting taxed.
I wasn’t expecting much, maybe just an assessment pulled out of thin air. What I got blew me away. I got the usual, the assessor’s idea of property worth, the homestead exemption, the tax, and a general description of the property. In addition, there were links to vital records like my parent’s divorce judgement. Clicking around, for other properties, there were links to PDF copies of death certificates (with SS#s blacked out), quit claims, certified titles, maps, tax deeds, and building permits issued if the documents were produced in the last 10 or so years. The public information about things relating to property was linked right on the assessor’s page.
This made me wonder, could larger cities have the same sort of traditionally public information (deaths, divorces, permits, quit claims) available on line? Links to permits would be exceedingly useful. Not even the copy of a building permit, but just even the building permit number, date issued, would be very helpful. Right now I can only find permits issued in the last few months.
But I realize this is only a dream because it would mean different agencies actually working together to serve the citizenry.
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Additional: I just dug deeper with the example permit, it shows the inspection. I would kill for this depth of detail with permits issued in the city. No more trying to read tiny writing on a stair of a rickty house.