It’s Past Time
Dear Time Keepers:
In her Friday column in the Washington Times, Deborah Simmons
asked “A Burning Question: Whatever happened to zero-tolerance
policing?” (http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/dsimmons.htm).
Simmons wrote about Police Chief Charles Ramsey, “The chief has become
soft on crime. As a result, what the chief now has on his hands is
complete and utter disregard for law and order. Violent Hispanic gangs
are running rampant in the popular Columbia Heights and Adams Morgan
neighborhoods in Northwest Washington, and assorted other violent thugs,
many of them black men, are claiming lives, too. Not one quadrant of the
city is immune.
“How bad is it? In the Washington region, there are four major
Hispanic gangs wreaking havoc -- Mara R, MS-13, STC (aka Street Thug
Criminals) and Vatos Locos. The largest appears to be MS-13, with a
suspected membership of 3,000. Like other animals, they mark their
territory, leaving residents and shopkeepers to clean up their mess of
large and small graffiti. This summer alone, these brazen Hispanic gangs
have shot up several people and vehicles, and four of those victims in
the city died. The behavior is as deadly as it is disgusting. Shootings,
knifings, assaults, loitering, robberies, prostitution, hard-core
pandering and public drunkenness have become part of the daily fabric.
During one four-hour period overnight yesterday, five separate shootings
in the city left 14 persons shot — blessedly, only one of them
fatally. The bloodiest of the shootings occurred at 2:15 a.m. at a
nuisance night spot called Deno's, where bullets struck a group of women
and men. The youngest victim was 17 years old.”
How did the youth gang situation get this bad? Through deliberate
neglect. The easiest way to reduce crime statistics is to underreport
and refuse to report crimes, to let minor crimes — and even major
crimes, when they are committed by juveniles -- go. See Bryce Suderow's
posting, and the Washington City Paper article that he cites, for
a few specific examples of how young criminals are taught that the
police will let them get away even with physical attacks against people.
I'm sure that you can come up with your own examples; I know that I can.
After a public meeting about the youth gang murders in Columbia Heights,
Mayor Williams said in a television interview, “It's time to start
enforcement.” No, Mr. Mayor, it's way past time.
“Similarly,” Deborah Simmons wrote, “Chief Ramsey needs to get
the message that we are mad as hell about the violence and we are not
going to take it anymore. The chief needs to adopt a zero-tolerance
stand. He needs to stop shuffling and reshuffling the officers in his
ineffective community-policing plan called patrol service areas, or PSAs.
The pervasive violence proves that the plan does not work. Period. The
bottom line is that the chief needs to be told that he doesn't have to
wade through loiterers, public drunkenness and people, excuse my
bluntness, urinating in public just to get to his own front door, and
other law-abiding and hardworking taxpayers don't want to either.”
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
###############
Exactly five years ago, DCWatch took over publication of themail from
Jeff Itell, who began it as dcstory. The DCWatch web site itself began
publication a year before, in August 1997. Now we are expanding by
launching a new web site, DCPSWatch.com, to provide better and fuller
coverage of public education, public schools, charter schools, and the
school choice issue in the District of Columbia.
DCPSWatch, like DCWatch, will publish complete and unedited public
documents, and will host a variety of viewpoints and opinions. We're
going to need a lot of help, and we invite anyone who wants to provide
the public with the information it needs to help improve public
education to contribute to DCPSWatch. If you have documents that need
wider circulation, if you have information that people need to know, or
if you want to write a regular or occasional column, please let us know.
You can write to us either at dcwatch.com or at webmaster@dcpswatch.com.
###############
Scholars with Siestas, Riflemen, and Body
Electricity in Ole DC
Mark David Richards, Dupont East, mark@bisconti.com
Here are a few lazy summer tidbits for a flavor of DC in 1818: On
Tuesday, March 24, 1818, in Washington City in DC, the Daily National
Intelligencer ran a notice for the Washington Western Academy —
Classical Department. Nathan S. Read, Principal of the Washington
Academy, wrote: “By a late resolve of the Board of Trustees, the
Classical Teacher is permitted to receive English scholars into his
department, on the same terms as those on which they are admitted into
the English department. Notice is therefore given that a new term of
instruction will commence in the academy, on Monday, the 30th inst. when
the classical department will be open for the reception of English and
classical scholars. In addition to the common branches of an English and
Classical Education, will be taught Composition, Elocution, the higher
branches of Mathematics, History, and the elements of Natural
Philosophy. Books and Stationary may be obtained of the Teacher, at the
usual bookstore prices. Terms of Tuition — English scholars 6 and 8
dollars; Classical scholars $10.50. Hours of attendance from 8 until 12
a.m. and from 2 till 5 p.m.”
Georgetowners posted a notice for a Rifle Battalion, presumably for
security — perhaps people were still jittery as it hadn't been many
years since the federal buildings had been lit aflame by the British.
“Riflemen, Attention! An adjourned meeting will be held at Sims'
Tavern, on This Evening, 24 h inst at 7 o'clock p m. for the purpose of
forming an uniform Rifle Battalion. All those persons who are disposed
to join such an institution, will please to attend. Georgetown, Mar
24—”
And a helpful citizen wrote a letter to the Editors to suggest a
solution for ending the problem of powder explosions in the powder works
caused by “body electricity.” “I have noticed that the explosions
which so frequently take place in powder works, commence in the pounding
mill and almost invariably a few moments after the doors are open on the
return of the workmen from their meals. This lead to some conjectures as
to the cause. When the doors of a pounding mill are closed, (The mill
continuing to work) the air becomes charged with the light inflammable
particles of the composition which have escaped from the mortars. So
soon as the workmen enter, they throw off their outer garments to go to
work, and the electricity escaping from bodies in all probability
ignites the whole. This hint will suffice — if well founded it will
have its weight, if not, it can do no harm. Query, if instead of wearing
woollen, which is a non-conductor, the men were compelled to wear
something that would gradually carry off the electric fluid ; or, if
they were compelled to throw off their jackets before they go into the
pounding mill, would not the frequency of these dreadful explosions be
prevented? It is well known that electricity will explode powder, and
there are few who can doubt that the electricity which frequently
escapes from the body on taking off the clothes is fully sufficient to
ignite the inflammable atmosphere of a pounding mill. -P.”
###############
The Cost of Keeping People Down
Ed Dixon, Georgetown Reservoir, jedxn@erols.com
On Friday, Kojo Nnamdi said the Education Mayor and Chief Ramsey
seemed “bewildered” by the rise in gang activity in the city [WAMU,
DC Politics Hour, http://www.wamu.org/kojo/shows/2003/knarc_030811.html#friday].
The Education Mayor responded, “One thing that has become clear to me
is that we have spent an enormous amount of time on youth. . . . We've
done a good job of getting support out there to children in after school
programs. We've lavished a lot of time and money. The Mayor and the
Council working together on that and I'm proud of that. . . . There are
a group of kids, where the elected leadership of the city, and I take
responsibility as being head of the elected leadership, has not touched
these kids. And after school programs ain't gonna do it. . . . In
addition to providing alternative structures for these kids that get
them on the mend and towards a sound future. We got to be tougher and we
need to look at tightening up sanctions for juveniles.”
In contrast to the Education Mayor's account, Parents United has
reported for the last two years on the decrepit state of public school
athletic programs in the District (http://www.parentsunited4dc.org/unlevelplayingfields_sixmonthupdate.htm).
In many schools athletics are considered an after school program. In
DCPS, these programs are being funded at 40 percent less than they were
ten years ago. And that was before the Mayor and the Council refused to
fully fund the school system this year. This year no Junior Varsity
teams will be fielded because of budget cuts. The suburbs are
outspending DCPS 65-90 percent more per student in athletics. This most
basic after school (and in-school) program is not being properly funded.
According to the Education Mayor, Ward 3 Councilmember Patterson is
apparently working on a new Omnibus Crime Bill to get after these kids.
Also, a prison citing committee has been working on finding space to
increase the number of DC residents under police supervision (http://doc.dc.gov/newsroom/2003/jun/news061103.shtm).
There is at least one Florida corporation already to provide the
services in Ward 5 (http://www.thecommondenominator.com/060203_dw.html).
Per DC Department of Corrections statistics, 35 percent of the inmates
in March 2003 lacked a high school education and another 35 percent's
education level was unknown (http://doc.dc.gov/statsedu.shtm).
But, as any bean counter can tell you, it's cheaper to deny kids an
education and lock them up than the other way around . . . or is it (http://www.cjcj.org/pubs/higher/higherdc.html)?
###############
The MPD Is Indifferent to Crimes
Bryce A. Suderow, streetstories@juno.com
I don't know how many of you read the City Paper of August
15-21, but I hope all of you will. In his article “Pointless Pursuit:
Civilian Crime-Fighting Goes Awry,” Dave Jamieson recounts how police
took a suspect involved in a beating into custody, gave him a short ride
in their squad car, and then let him go. In the days that followed the
boy repeatedly threatened Evette McDowell, who had identified him. Many
people will probably find the failure of the officers to do their job
unbelievable, but it's all too common. In fact it happened to me three
times. I live on Capitol Hill and am served by the 1st and the 5th
Police Districts.
On the first occasion a thug who had just been released from Lorton
hit me in the face three or four times on 8th Street SE two blocks south
of Pennsylvania Avenue. I summoned the police from First District's
Substation #1. Of course by the time they arrived he was long gone. Far
from being anxious to pursue my assailant, the two officers told me I
was drunk and had started the fight. When bystanders told them that I
had not been drinking and had not started the fight, the officers
threatened to arrest them. Eventually, though, they did take a report of
the incident. Two nights later the thug was back on 8th Street. This
time he'd assaulted a white man in front of the 7-Eleven. Half a dozen
officers stood around unsure of what to do. When I told them that the
man had a warrant out on him for assault, they ignored me. I persisted,
however, and I persuaded them to take him into custody. They put him in
the car but let him out around the corner.
On the second occasion, two youths (one of them armed with a knife)
attempted to rob me near Capitol Hill Hospital on C Street, NE. I
flagged down a 5th District squad car and they caught one of the boys.
Two days later, he and a friend were sitting in front of my apartment
threatening me. Not long after, they robbed me at gunpoint on the front
steps of my building. When the police arrived an hour later, I told them
that one of the robbers was the boy who had been caught by Capitol Hill
Hospital. He was never arrested. On the third occasion, a teenager
knocked me down with a blow to the face and kicked me in the ribs half a
dozen times. This occurred thirty feet from the escalator of the Eastern
Market Metro. I phoned the police at First District's Substation #1. Two
officers eventually came. I insisted that we look for the teenager and
the five or six boys accompanying him. I saw one of the boys standing on
8th Street near the 7-Eleven and identified him. An officer got out of
the car, spoke to him, and returned to the car. “He says he saw you
get beat up but he doesn't know the boy who hit you,” said the
officer. Later I complained to their sergeant. He snarled: “What do
you want us to do? Beat a confession out of him?” I replied: “I want
you to do your job.”
###############
Money to Burn
Mary Vogel, MaryVogel at yahoo.com
Despite the city's budget woes, the DC police apparently have money
to burn. On Sunday, August 10, my new silver Cannondale bicycle was
stolen while locked with two thick steel cables on the easily visible to
DC staff ramp to Franicis Pool at 25th and N Streets, NW. When the
police car came about thirty to forty minutes after my call, it sat in
front of me for four to five minutes blowing exhaust in my face before
anyone got out. When the officer did get out, I introduced myself as the
victim and suggested he might want to turn off his engine as a thorough
report might take awhile. He asked me, “Why?” I said that leaving
the engine running was adding pollution to air that was already bad and
it was costing taxpayers (like me) money. He replied “That car is my
office and I need the air conditioning on.” “But,” I said, “the
windows are down!” “That's what they tell us to do — leave the
windows down while we run the air conditioner.” “They tell you to do
that — yee gads! What about global warming? Besides, it's now after 7
p.m., and it's not awfully hot.”
After a few minutes, he got back in his patrol car with my driver's
license to check me out (I thought I was the victim, not the suspect)
and made me stand by the passenger window. There I was struck with a
continuous wave of 95 degree plus heat coming from the engine.
“Whew,” I said, “it's hot standing here. You're wasting that
engine not to mention adding to the urban heat island effect.”
“These engines run like this 24/7,” he said. I then mumbled that my
father was with the MPDC for 27 years but he would never have stood for
waste like this. “By the way,” I asked, “what are the chances of
your finding my bike?” “Practically zero,” he said. He then
lectured me for not having it registered, despite the fact that I had
told him I had only been back in the district a couple of weeks and some
of that time I was out of town. My offer to call him with the bike's
serial number met with a shrug. I hope both Phil Mendelson (Chair of
COG's Air Quality Committee) and Kathy Patterson (police oversight) are
reading.
###############
Democratic Candidate Positions on DC Voting
Rights
E. James Lieberman, ejl at gwu.edu
[E. James Lieberman asked the DC for Dean campaign for Howard Dean's
position on DC voting rights and received the following response.]
“Yes, Howard Dean is in favor of granting voting rights for the
citizens of the District. He is still deciding which approach he thinks
is best. Pat Johnson, DC for Dean.” [Jim asks, “Do you have any
other candidate responses?”]
###############
[Dorothy Brizill wrote in the August 13 themail that Virginia
Williams is listed as a speaker with the Du Plains speakers bureau, and
commented, “Interestingly, Du Plains doesn't mention her son Tony's
job in her resume. It mustn't be a strong selling point.”] If she
isn't trading on being the mayor's mother, why shouldn't she speak and
command any fee she can get? Jeez. She's a woman using her talents to
make money — let's crucify her.
###############
DCPS Back-to-School Section
Kathryn M. Sinzinger, newsdc@aol.com
The Common Denominator's fifth annual “Back-to-School
Section,” containing information about the upcoming DC Public Schools
year, is now available all over town. Free copies are available at all
DC public libraries and police stations, as well as at most Laundromats
in DC The section also is included in the August 11th issue of The
Common Denominator, which will continue to be available through
August 24th in vending boxes on the street and in stores throughout the
District of Columbia. Some neighborhood groups also are planning to make
the section available at their upcoming back-to-school events. (If your
group is interested in distributing them and hasn't contacted us, you
may call us at 635-6397.) This year's section includes the traditional
“Message from the Superintendent,” the 2003-2004 school calendar,
and a schedule of special “Back-to-School Nights” at all DC public
schools.
###############
This is to advise that the August 2003 on-line edition has been
uploaded and may be accessed at http://www.intowner.com.
Included are the lead stories, community news items and crime reports,
editorials (including prior months archived), restaurant reviews (prior
months' also archived), and the text from the ever-popular “Scenes
from the Past” feature. Also included are all current classified ads.
The complete issue (along with prior issues back to February 2002) also
is available in PDF file format by direct access from our home page at
no charge simply by clicking the link provided. Here you will be able to
view the entire issue as it appears in print, including the new ABC
Board actions report, all photos and advertisements.
The next issue will publish on September 12. The complete PDF version
will be posted by early that Friday morning, following which the text of
the lead stories, community news, and selected features will be uploaded
shortly thereafter. To read this month's lead stories, simply click the
link on the home page to the following headlines: 1) “Dupont's
Advisory Neighborhood Commission, Joined by Area's Citizens Association
Unite to Oppose P Street Sidewalk Cafés”; 2) “Adams Morgan Day
Festival Set for Sept. 6 and 7; Art Music, Sports, Kids' Events to be
Featured”; 3 ) “Dupont North Graced by Temporary Outdoor Art from
Hirshhorn Museum.”
###############
Tenley Redevelopment
Michael Bindner, mikey b at yahoo dot com
It was interesting to see the issue of development in Tenleytown
raised so prominently in the last issue of themail. I recall raising a
similar issue in community meetings when I was on the previous Mayor's
staff. The similar issue is the National Capital Revitalization
Corporation. I predicted then, and I have no reason not to predict now,
that the weight of this entity will be directed at Tenley, including the
eminent domain provisions. Once the NCRC is fully staffed, just watch
the projects begin to stack up.
###############
Both Ed Barron and Lyla Winter were quick to characterize the
opposition to two residential projects in Tenleytown as NIMBYism. I
don't think that's accurate. First, the NIMBY idea is that there are
certain inherently undesirable but necessary kinds of land uses (e.g.
prisons, toxic waste dumps) that everyone benefits from but no one wants
to live near. They have to go somewhere, so the issue is how to locate
them so that the burdens as well as the benefits associated with such
facilities are spread throughout the community. Luxury apartment
buildings and condominiums hardly fall into the category of inherently
undesirable land uses. They represent types of development that would be
welcomed in some neighborhoods and resisted in others, and are
unobjectionable in many. In the NIMBY situation, where every
neighborhood has the same/equally forceful objections to the project, it
may make sense to insist that the development be located on a particular
site despite vehement objections from the neighbors. The ethics of the
situation are that there should be no “free riders.” But that logic
doesn't apply when the projects in question would be (and be seen as)
beneficial in some contexts and detrimental in others. Then the logic
should be put the project where it will be welcomed and where it will do
the most good.
Secondly, the missing (suppressed) element from so many discussions
of the Babe's/IBG and Martens/Donohoe projects in Tenleytown (and I'm
including every bit of media coverage I've seen in this generalization)
is that both developments are more than twice as large as the owners are
entitled to build on the sites in question. Imagine how the zoning
authorities would react if you, as an individual, asked to tear down
your house, eliminate your backyard, and build a house that had twice as
many square feet as the current zoning allows on a lot the size of
yours. You propose to do this either by building a house that is 27.5
feet higher than you're entitled to or by building one that's only
fifteen feet higher but that occupies more than 90 percent of your lot.
I'm betting that you wouldn't get nearly so sympathetic a hearing as
Donohoe and IBG are getting and that if you dismissed your neighbors'
objections to your plan as “NIMBYism,” eyes would roll.
As far as I know (and I've been involved in lots of these
discussions), no one in Tenleytown opposes residential development (or
condos or apartments) in the neighborhood. If Donohoe/Martens planned to
build the 87 apartments that they estimate they'd be entitled to build
as a matter of right on the site of the car dealership, no one would or
could object. Then they'd just be property-owners doing what they are
entitled to do with their property. But when owners/developers claim
that they should be granted a variance from the zoning code because they
plan to build an exceptional project that is clearly in the public
interest, then the public gets the right to weigh in.
Frankly, I don't understand why the neighborhood's interpretation of
what's in the public interest is usually seen as more suspect than the
developer's. We know that the developer's goal is to make as much money
as possible. And that zoning laws are designed to limit the power of
individual profit-seekers to advance their own interests at the expense
of their neighbors and the community as a whole. Zoning restrictions are
meaningless if they can/will be lifted anytime a developer wants to
build something bigger than they allow. That's why it's incumbent upon
neighbors to insist that government officials enforce the limits that
have been laid down. And when lots of neighbors get vehement about
particular projects, I listen to them because I know that they (unlike
the developers or the zoning officials) will have to live with the
everyday consequences of these projects. Local knowledge should matter
in these situations -- which doesn't mean it should always be deferred
to, but it does mean that it shouldn't be dismissed out of hand (which
is what the knee-jerk application of the NIMBY label asks us to do).
Finally, with regard to retail. These are both projects that are
primarily residential and they are explicitly justified on the grounds
that they perform a public service by transforming commercial space into
residential space. These are not projects designed to increase or
improve retail. And the kind of upzoning these projects ask for will
continue to drive retail out of Tenleytown. Martens already believes
that he can make more money building 191 apartments than he can running
a car dealership on that site or by building 50,000 SF of new retail
space there. It's not at all clear that the tradeoffs would look the
same if he were limited to the 87 apartments the existing zoning allows
him. In general, I think it's a fallacy to believe that more residential
density automatically leads to more and better retail in the same
neighborhood (see Van Ness as a counterexample). In this case, I think
that any increased consumer demand that comes from letting residential
builders exceed the zoning limits in Tenleytown is more likely to
benefit Friendship Heights than Tenleytown. Friendship Heights has
vacancies, has parking, and is a successful/established/upscale
destination-shopping venue, and it's close enough to Tenleytown that you
can count on those new residents to head north to shop. And of course,
given Maryland's development policies, Friendship Heights will always
have substantially greater residential density than Tenleytown. Even if
you buy the argument that retailers will go where residential density is
increasing most, Tenleytown still loses. Why play the game this way? If
it's better retail you want in Tenleytown, fight for that. Argue that
the Office of Planning should treat Tenleytown as a “Business
Improvement District” rather than a “Housing Opportunity” area.
There are much more straightforward and effective ways for planners to
attract and improve retail than to build a few oversized apartment
buildings and cross your fingers.
PS re Bryant Park: Ed left out our family's favorite part — there's
an amazingly beautiful small carousel there. Not to be missed.
###############
Those persons who appealed their tax assessments last spring have
probably received their notices of first level decisions from the Office
of Tax & Revenue (OTR). You have the right to appeal the first-level
decision to the Board of Real Property Assessments and Appeals (BRPAA).
Such appeals must be filed by September 30. Necessary forms for such
appeals may be obtained from BRPAA's office at One Judiciary Square by
calling 727-6860. Reference materials, including CAMA sheets (computer
assisted mass appraisal sheets) for all houses in Cleveland Park, are in
notebooks at the Cleveland Park Library.
In theory, your property should be assessed at 100 percent of the
“estimated market value” of your real property as of the end of
2002. The market value of your real property is not to be confused with
the probable sales price of your property, because the sales price you
would receive also covers (besides real property) personal property
(movables), personal services connected with the sale (Realtor's
commission, fix-up costs, etc.) and the city's transfer tax, none of
which constitute real property. On the average, the market value of your
real property is 85-90 percent of its probable sales price if sold
through a real estate broker. In general, OTR's assessments are biased
against middle-priced and lower-priced properties. Thus, in “Cleveland
Park” (which OTR defines as the area bounded by Glover Archbold Park,
Mass. Avenue, the Cathedral grounds, Klingle Road, Connecticut Avenue
and Rodman Street) the ratio of assessments to market value (estimated
at 90 percent of sales price) was as follows: the top third (houses
selling for $950,000 or more in 2002) are being assessed on average at
86 percent of market value. The middle third (houses selling for
$654,000 to $927,000 in 2002) are being assessed on average at 105
percent of market value. The lower third (houses selling for $435,000 to
$650,000) are being assessed on average at 115 percent of market value
— some as high as 140 percent of market value.
The reasons for such discrimination are obvious defects in the
“market-oriented cost approach” being used by OTR, an approach which
is not authorized by statute or regulation. These defects include: 1)
Omission of lot improvements in costs. OTR does not calculate the costs
of lot improvements such as a) retaining walls and fill dirt, b)
ornamental trees and landscaping, c) driveways and roadways, d)
sidewalks and steps, e) patios, f) walls and fences, g) hedges and
flower gardens, h) ornamental ponds, i) outdoor lighting, j) lawn
sprinkling systems, etc. These are more likely to be found on more
expensive properties, but the cost of such improvements is left out of
all assessments. 2) Arbitrary grading system. The two primary drivers in
determining replacement cost of houses are a) the “effective area”
of the house, and b) the “grade” of the house. The system used by
OTR includes twelve grades — 10 for “low quality” houses, 20 for
“fair quality” houses, 30 for “average quality” houses, 40 for
“good quality” houses, 50 for “very good quality” houses and 60
for “excellent quality” houses. Then there are six more grades for
“exceptional quality” houses, ranging from 70 (Class 1) through 80,
90, A0, B0 and C0 (Class VI). There seems to be little rhyme or reason
to the grades handed out by OTR's inspectors. There are no houses at all
in Cleveland Park rated 10, 20, or 30. Houses pictured as examples of 30
(average) in OTR's manual abound in Cleveland Park. Yet such a rating is
never found in Cleveland Park assessment sheets.
3) Arbitrary land values. Analysis of sales in Cleveland Park show
wide variations in land values. Analysis of sales in 2002, for example,
showed lot values ranged between $900,000 (fronting on Rosedale) to
$100,000 (on the busiest streets). However, in making assessments, OTR
methodology varies lot value by one factor alone -- square footage. For
example, looking at sales in Cleveland Park in 2002, OTR determined that
the median sales price was $728,000 and that the average lot was 5,000
square feet. It then assumed that the value of the land for 5,000 square
feet was $328,400, or 40 percent of $728,000. Using this as a base, it
created a scale increasing or decreasing the value of each lot based on
its square footage alone. This results in an upside-down valuation of
land in Cleveland Park. By OTR's reckoning, the lowest land assessments
per square foot in Cleveland Park are in areas where properties bring
the highest prices and the highest land assessments per square foot are
properties in low areas or near busy streets which bring the lowest
prices on the market.
4) Arbitrary limits on depreciation. OTR's new methodology also
arbitrarily limits depreciation to a maximum of 20 percent for any house
in the District of Columbia. Even the most run-down house, on the verge
of collapsing, can have no higher depreciation under OTR's formula. In
contrast, OTR allows depreciation of up to 80 percent for commercial
property. 5) Outdated property records. Although OTR has been trying to
catch up with additions and renovations to houses in Cleveland Park and
elsewhere, it has not. Despite the legal requirement that OTR reassess
all residential properties for which building permits have been issued,
it has not done so. As a result, current assessments for many renovated
houses do not fully reflect the renovations made. 6) The “neighborhood
multiplier.” To each neighborhood, OTR also adds an across-the-board
multiplier. It carefully guards this ultimate weapon of mass assessment
from even the most persistent inquirers (such as myself). This
multiplier is derived by its comparison of the assessments under its
methodology with the sales prices for houses sold in 2002. The effect of
this multiplier is to add back to the value of real property those
elements in the sales prices which were not real property (personal
property, services, taxes) and also to shift values which belong to
higher value properties (see 1-5, above) to all properties in the
neighborhood.
Given the shaky legs on which OTR's “market-oriented cost
approach” stands, it is not surprising that a record number of people
complained about their assessments this year, or that a high percentage
obtained some reduction on their first-level appeals. Usually this
occurred by the assessor reducing the “grade” of the house,
adjusting the “effective area,” adjusting the “condition” of the
house, increasing depreciation (sometimes over the 20 percent
“limit”) and/or providing some discount for being next to a busy
street. There was no consistency. Thus, I lost my former 10 percent
discount for being close to 34th and Macomb, but another neighbor on
Macomb Street received a 40 percent land discount for being close to a
busy street (Connecticut Avenue).
Even if satisfied with the results of first-level appeal, I would
encourage residents to appeal to BRPAA. There is one more argument to
use — “equalization.” Under the Constitution, you are entitled to
be treated as favorably as others in the neighborhood. The Supreme Court
has held that even where an assessment is at 100 percent of market
value, a property owner is entitled to a lower assessment if others in
the same area are assessed at less than 100 percent. In Cleveland Park,
where some residential properties are being assessed as low as 31
percent of market value and one third of all property sold in 2002 is
being assessed at 86 percent of market value, you are entitled to as
favorable treatment under the equal protection clause of the
Constitution. Also, by appealing to BRPAA, you are insured of a right to
go to court if you should want to.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
Sixth Annual National Press Club 5K Walk/Run,
September 6
Patrick Pellerin, pellerin@verizon.net
Runners and walkers will come together on Saturday, September 6 at 9
a.m. for the 6th Annual National Press Club 5K run/walk, which funds a
$20,000 scholarship for a minority student who plans to pursue a career
in print or broadcast journalism. The Ellen Masin Persina Minority
Scholarship Program, given in memory of an award-winning journalist and
an active member of the Press Club, offers the winning student a
$5,000-a-year stipend for four years of undergraduate education. Entry
fees, which include a long sleeved tee shirt and admission to the
legendary post-race hot breakfast buffet, are $20 for National Press
Club members and students and $25 for the general public if they
register before August 25. After August 25, the fees increase to $30 and
on race day the entry fee is $35. To register, go online at http://www.press.org
or pick up entry forms at the Press Club. For more information contact
Melinda Cooke at 662-7516 or E-mail 5K@press.org.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — FOR SALE
Eames Lounge Chair
Jim Lieberman, ejl at gwu.edu
Eames lounge chair with footstool, about 25 years old, well cared
for, original black leather, $800 or best offer. 362-3963.
###############
In the early stages of a moving process. I cannot keep all of my old
hi fi equipment. There's a number of pieces at reasonable prices. For
enthusiasts, I have Vandesteen, 2 speakers and stands; an Adcom
pre-amp/tuner and an Adcom amp; a Creek Audio integrated amp; other
speakers; peripherals such as a switch box, etc. Call or E-mail for
details, 966-9091.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — HOUSING
Environmentally Conscious Housemates, Capitol
Hill
Mary Vogel, MaryVogel at yahoo.com
Capitol Hill, 7th and A Streets, NE. $550 (11.5 x 10.5 BR); $400 (9.5
x 6.5 BR). One third utilities. Available mid-September. Seeking
environmentally conscious, politically progressive, activist types who
will sign a one-year lease. Prefer vegetarians over thirty. Please
mention which room you are interested in. Both have nice sized closets.
The landlord has agreed to re-insulate the attic and I hope to add other
energy/water conservation measures to keep energy/water use low.
Charming historic rowhouse on quiet tree-lined street with little
traffic, great neighborhood where people look out for each other. Brand
new central air conditioning and paint, DW, washer and dryer, fireplace,
gas stove, house plants, low E light bulbs, lots of windows, lovely
hardwood floors, front patio, back porch, front balcony, shower and
drinking water filter. Less than ten minutes from both Eastern Market
and Union Station Metro rail stations and to YES! Organic Foods.
I am a land use/environmental planner and community activist,
vegetarian woman over forty, into yoga, massage, natural history, and
gardening/landscaping. Active in the new urbanism and green building
movements and Dean campaign. Passionate about native plants and
ecological restoration. You can reach me (Mary) at 547-8925 (preferred)
or reply to CraigsList. House photo available! I will be the tenant of
record and I must rent both rooms before I will sign a sublease
agreement with you because, if I am unable to rent the small room, I
will have to adjust the prices on the other rents (mine included) to
cover it. What I’m looking for in a housemate: new best friend -- time
in your life for someone else; shared interests; shared
values/lifestyle; mutual support, helpfulness; sense of consideration,
responsibility, fairness; excellent references from previous housemates
and landlord; willingness to set aside time for household tasks --
including finding third housemate; willingness to set aside time for
occasional evenings out together; strong resource conservation ethic and
resourcefulness about conserving; assertiveness when something is
bothering you — willingness to get in touch with your feelings and
communicate them; community-mindedness, e.g.: participating in
neighborhood association, ANC, block or precinct activities with vision
and altruism, picking up litter in the neighborhood, watering and
weeding street trees. I would love to find someone who is well-connected
in my field or a related one. Prefer housemates in their 40’s or 50’s
in excellent health — like me!
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — REWARD
Stolen Bike, $50.00 Reward
Mary Vogel, maryvogel at yahoo dot com
On August 10, between 3:30-6:30, my bicycle of the following
description was stolen from in front of DC Parks and Recreation's
Francis Pool at 25th and N Streets, NW: Silver Cannondale Comfort 400,
Size L, Serial # N 026 361. Hybrid bike with 26"
mountain-bike-style tires and upright style handlebars, with shifters in
handles. Black Blackburn rack with bright red bungie cords; silver
Blackurn water bottle holder with white WABA Bike-to-Work day water
bottle; Cateye LED white front light; Cateye handlebar-end mirror.
There were also two bright red bungie cords stolen with the bike. I
believe there was also an REI sticker on the bike, as that is where I
purchased it only three months ago! It was locked with two steel cables.
Bless you for whatever energy you can put into helping me recover this
bike -- my major means of transportation! Contact Mary Vogel, 547-8925,
maryvogel at yahoo dot com.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — RECOMMENDATIONS
Please don't consider throwing these things in the dumpster! There
are plenty of shelters that would be thrilled to have the clothes
(Martha's Table comes to mind; I think they're not far from you), and
there is at least one group in the area that will revamp the bikes and
distribute them again in the city. I don't know offhand, but chances are
good there are other organizations that will be happy to have some of
the other items. Granted, the shelters will generally ask you to deliver
the clothes, but please do consider them; if nothing else, call the
Salvation Army or Goodwill — they'll often pick up. Please, if anyone
else has good resources for used items, let us know who takes what and
how!
###############
Another source to unload items, especially large things, is Levey's
List, managed by Washington Post columnist Bob Levey. Call
334-7662 and leave a message with your name, phone, and what you're
getting rid of. He E-mails or faxes the list to requesters, some of whom
get it weekly. We listed a freezer and gas stove recently and got
several calls, a number from nonprofits. Just remember to let Levey's
List know when an item is no longer available.
###############
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