Recycling Comments
Dear Recyclers:
In the last issue of themail, I wrote about the chaotic recycling
event for “hazardous” waste that the Department of Public Works
held last weekend at Carter Barron Amphitheater. One reader wrote that
he was sure that I had exaggerated the problem, since he had attended
previous events, and they had been well organized with no problems. A
while later, he had an Emily Litella “nevermind” moment. He wrote
again, and said that he had read the article in the Washington
Post, and now realized that I hadn’t made the whole thing up, as
he thought I had.
Aside from the unfortunate assumption that items in the Post
could actually be more accurate and reliable than messages in themail
(and I have no idea how a regular reader of themail could be under
that misapprehension), the exchange was useful, because it prompted me
to list more clearly what I thought the problems with the recycling
event were: “1) holding ‘hazardous waste’ recycling events only
twice a year, without convenient alternatives; 2) designing an event
that could handle only a low volume of recyclers; 3) not having the
ability to respond flexibly when more people showed up than they
expected; and 4) not responding promptly after the event with a plan
(or even a promise to get a plan) to do better in the future.
Predicting accurately how many people will show up to an event is one
of the skills an event planner should have, but mistakes can and will
always be made when attempting to predict the future, so I’m not
counting that as something for which I would blame DPW.”
I’m pleased, or at least semi-pleased, to find that the fourth
mistake that I listed has been corrected. Tom Sherwood writes in his
column today (http://www.nbc4.com/tomsherwoodsnotebook/16058942/detail.html),
“NBC4 reported this week that the Fenty administration has regrouped
and was planning to announce a ‘makeup’ session for this Saturday.
And it’s going even further. City Administrator Dan Tangherlini told
NBC4 that the city is looking at establishing a weekly drop-off site
or similar effort to make recycling more of a routine event, rather
than a semiannual haul-a-thon.” In her message below, Nancee Lorn
has the details of this Saturday’s event and news that DPW will
begin regular Saturday drop-offs starting on May 17.
The reason that I’m only semi-pleased is that DPW is late in
getting the word out about this Saturday’s event, and the recycling
event that is currently listed on the DPW web site is still last
Saturday’s. Lyn Stoesen points out, below, that the reason so many
people came to last weekend’s recycling event was that DPW actually
publicized it well in advance, and that past events have been poorly
advertised. Still, believe it or not, I want the administration to do
the right thing; I don’t want them to mess up just so I can
complain. This is one of the few times that I can say that the Fenty
administration has done the right thing, even though it was the same
thing I recommended, so it would be churlish not to commend them for
it.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
###############
DC Homeowners Being Robbed by DCRA Vacant
Property Office
Robert Stillwell, rob_stillwell_dc@yahoo.com
I am writing because I have become completely dissatisfied by the
DCRA’s Vacant Property Office. On November 28, 2007, my wife and I
bought our first home. We purchased a house that was in foreclosure
and immediately moved in. We were excited. We started saving some
money so that we could replace the windows, paint, and slowly renovate
our new house while we lived there. It wasn’t easy; the mortgage
payment is quite high as DC real estate is expensive; but we budgeted
things out and found that we could replace our windows by early
summer. That dream dies tomorrow.
Sometime after our purchase of the property DCRA reclassified it as
vacant. I’m not sure how they came to that decision. We had moved
in, painted, the utilities were on, we had an installer come in and
hook up satellite television, we purchased some furniture, dug up and
replanted grass and flowers in our front lawn, and came home everyday
to a full mailbox. Then a friend told us that we should take a moment
and pull up our house on DC’s web site. It was tax season and we
weren’t worried about real estate taxes because our mortgage company
was set up to pay them on our behalf. We had filled out the homestead
exemption forms at closing and told that our taxes would be just under
$4,000 a year. The total taxes for 2007 were $3,841.54, and we had
paid our portion of that amount at closing. Weren’t we surprised
when the first half 2008 taxes were reported as being almost $12,000!
Furthermore, the owner of the home was still listed as still being
owned by SV1 INC. (the company from which we purchased the property)
and the tax class was 003 - Vacant ***Not receiving the Homestead
Deduction. That was on April 8.
I had not received notice of this change. Nobody knocked on my
door, nobody sent me a letter, nobody talked to my neighbors, nobody
even sent me a tax bill. I called up the DC Office of Tax and Revenue
and they were able to locate us as the owners on one database and
noted that the database driving the online application needed to be
revised. They stated that they were unable to change the tax amount
until DCRA changed the tax class. On April 9, I found out that my
mortgage company had paid $11,808.40 to the DC Office of Tax and
Revenue on our behalf for real estate taxes. On April 10, I went to
the DCRA Vacant Property Office and submitted an application to change
the vacant status of our house. The application was brief and we
included a copy of our deed, electric and water bills that show usage
from the time of our purchase, and a satellite television bill started
in December 2007 (because nobody pays $100 a month for cable for
a house nobody lives in). I handed my application in and kept a copy
of the application for myself. The DCRA employee that I handed my
application to said that it would take about a week for this to be
resolved.
Since April 10, I have made a number of phone calls into DCRA’s
Vacant Property Office. My phone shows thirteen calls placed to their
number since April 16, although some of these only made it to an
answering machine. Every time I asked about the status of my
application I was told that they had not yet received it in the
approved pile, nor had it been placed on the rejection list. I became
anxious that they had lost it, and when I asked about that I was told
that the investigator was not in and that it was likely on his desk.
On April 28, my wife received a new mortgage booklet showing that our
monthly mortgage had increased by $2,000 a month, reflecting the
exorbitant amount that had been paid on our behalf and our negative
escrow balance. That bill is due by May 3.
On April 29, I called the DCRA Vacant Property Office to see if my
application had been processed. Finally somebody was able to locate my
application. I was told that my application could not be processed
because it lacked the appropriate utility bills for August 2007. I
said that we had not purchased the property until November 2007. I was
told that I would have to supply a copy of the deed if that was the
case. I said that they should already have a copy of the deed. After
some paper rustling and a minute or two I was told that they did, in
fact, have a copy of our deed. I then asked when it would be processed
and was told “not today.” Why not? Because DCRA currently has only
one inspector processing these applications, and he has “hundreds”
of applications on his desk right now. I asked if mine could be
expedited because I could not easily afford the extra $2,000 a month
for the mortgage. The response I received was entirely unacceptable,
“most people have been paying their usual amount until this is
resolved.” My wife and I had spent two years cleaning up our credit
so that we could purchase a home. We had spent a ton of time and money
to resolve issues in the past, mostly accrued from our college years.
Not paying our mortgage and having that reflect on our credit is not
an option for us, and DCRA should not be asking homeowners to ruin
their credit due to DCRA’s mistake. Furthermore, the worst case
scenario of not paying the full mortgage amount can lead to
foreclosure. I don’t want to ruin my credit and my wife’s credit,
and we definitely don’t want to lose the home that we work so hard
to get and to keep. The mortgage company paid out almost $10,000 more
than they should have on our behalf, they deserve reimbursement and if
DC will not give it to them, we are required to.
Today is April 30. When you check the DC web site, our home is
still listed as being owned by SV1 INC. We are still listed as tax
class 003 - Vacant. We are not receiving the homestead exemption. We
cannot buy new windows because the extra $2,000 being paid for this
month’s mortgage does not leave enough in savings to purchase them.
Our current windows do not open because they did not close when we
moved in over the winter and I had to seal them with caulk in order to
save our heating bill. Maybe if this is resolved soon we will not have
to pay into our real estate tax escrow for the rest of the year, and
maybe some of next year, but it will take us several more months
before we can get our new windows, so much for our AC bill.
I’m sending this letter to several persons associated with DCRA
and the DC council because I would like to see the system fixed. I
agree with the purpose of the Vacant Property Tax; it helps lower the
number of abandoned homes in the area. But it is being badly enforced
I believe that in buying our house we have been doing exactly what the
Vacant Property Tax set out to do, turn vacant property into occupied
property. We are not the only persons in the District facing this
problem. When I went into WASA to get a copy of my previous water bill
on April 10, I was told that a steady stream of people with the same
problem as my wife and I had been coming in for the past few weeks. I
know people who have renovated dilapidated buildings and are unable to
sell because they have to have the vacant property tax resolved first.
Residents listening to the advise of the DCRA and not paying their
full mortgage are ruining their credit; many will not find this out
until they try to buy a car or refinance their home. Others that are
already paying everything they can to stay out of foreclosure may be
pushed over that line. Some may lose their homes due to this mistake.
Others don’t know what to do, or how to do something about this.
Please fix the mistake and fix the system. Please get another
investigator working on this caseload. Please don’t make me pay
$2,000 more next month.
###############
While I’m on Metro topics (Dan Tangherlini still was the interim
general manager on a poster as of Monday), one other one: what have
other list members’ experiences been leaving Nationals Park via
Metro at the end of a game (as opposed to during a game)? We did this
on Sunday, April 27, and it was not a smooth experience.
Large crowds had to wait on Half Street for ten to fifteen minutes
before being admitted to the station (it was about to rain, which
could have been a disaster). Once in the station, it wasn’t clear
whether or when any trains would be going north beyond Mt. Vernon
Square. (We were told, incorrectly, the “next train.”) It was not
clear to us why Metro was running most trains only to Mt. Vernon
Square, not the entire Green Line, forcing people to change trains to
go beyond that stop. Bottom line was that it took us well over an hour
to get home in upper northwest DC.). We can get to Camden Yards in
Baltimore in less than an hour. Was this experience typical?
###############
Hazardous Waste Rush on Services
Lyn Stoesen, Park View, lynstoesen@hotmail.com
Thankfully I got rid of my hazardous waste last fall at Benning
Road, so I didn’t have to experience the crush and madness of last
weekend’s Hazardous Waste Disposal Day at Carter Barron.
There are many reasons for the chaos that ensued, but I think the
underlying cause was the fact that the District actually let citizens
know about the event more than a few days before it took place.
Previous Hazardous Waste Disposal Days have been poorly advertised and
people haven’t been able to plan ahead for them.
Clearly our fine citizens have been hoarding their hazardous waste
in anticipation of the big day. I hope the District follows through on
promises to expand hazardous waste disposal opportunities.
###############
A Better Way
Ed T Barron, edtb1@macdotcom
Though not related to Carter I, too, visited the hazardous waste
collection site on 16th St. last Saturday. I arrived at 8:20 a.m., and
was about one hundred fiftieth on a long line of cars inside the park
grounds. By 9:10, I was on my way out the exit. That was a bit of a
problem, since traffic was already backed way up on the south side of
Cater Barron Park entrance. Getting on to 16th Street heading north
was a real challenge. By that time the line on 16th Street was backed
up solid way past Military Road, where I exited to get back to
Tenleytown.
The Post called the event disorganized (implying that it was
organized at one point). In fact, there was some semblance of
organization, once the lines started moving at 9:00 a.m. The problem
is that DC residents, newly conscious of the need to recycle, simply
overwhelmed the collection facility. The solution that I propose is to
have at least four collection dates annually and to have four
collection sites, with one in each of the four quadrants of the city:
northwest, northeast, southwest, and southeast.
###############
I agree that it would have been good if Fenty did make a photo op
at Carter Barron, especially during Earth Week. He is visible
(sometimes ad nauseum) at other functions, but his presence
this time would have served as an endorsement for clean living in DC.
This is not meant to criticize, however. Even something small like
recycling Blackberry batteries could have been a good gesture. In
terms of the hazardous waste collection, several years ago, they had a
collection at the trash transfer station on Benning Road. With the
hours mostly the same as those at Carter Barron, there were indeed
lines, but the collection was efficient and relatively well run. DPW
staff and other volunteers were out in force directing traffic and
getting items (old TVs, computers, etc.) out fairly quickly. I don’t
know if this is in the plans for the future, but doing something like
this at Benning Road does two things: 1) the processing and
transferring of the items is done in a space designed to accommodate
it; meaning that you are not inconveniencing park grounds and small
lanes of traffic. 2) You get to see true effect of environmental
waste. The Benning Road trash transfer station is adjacent to the
Anacostia River in all its recovering putridness. Every oil leak,
overfertilized lawn, etc., has the potential to make it’s way to the
Anacostia. In other words, the hazardous waste (paint, oil, other
chemicals) that you donate won’t make it to DC’s waterways. 3) It
brings the residents of the Gold Coast and folks from other
economically affluent areas to a much-neglected part of the city. This
reason isn’t ecological, but socially environmental in a sense.
I say this because oftentimes I read about the activism for Ward 3,
Spring Valley, Tenleytown Library, Massachusetts Avenue, etc.,
especially in themail. However, there is another DC (using John
Edwards’ “Two Americas” metaphor) where circumstances are close
to dire, yet the economic conditions and activism have not reached a
level of pathos for others across the city. When 16th Street is a
bottleneck on an otherwise wonderful day is a problem, try dealing
with the several bottlenecks on Benning Road, Florida Avenue, and H
Street, NE, on a daily basis. Benning Road in particular hasn’t
fully recovered from the redirection of traffic last summer to support
the renovations of the Frederick Douglass Bridge, and now sports two
construction projects. The condo and housing boom downtown is almost
nonexistent in Ward 7, with exception of Capitol Gateway off of East
Capitol Street. The Tenleytown-Friendship Library is sacred ground,
but so are others. Where were the collective cries when Watha T.
Daniel-Shaw or Benning Library got demolished? Again, this is no
criticism, but I am reminded of a quote attributed to Rev. Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr., “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice
everywhere.”
###############
Don’t Rebuild Klingle Road
Tony Bullock, Ward 3, Bullocktony@hotmail.com
Jack McKay makes a lot of sense [themail, April 27] when he points
out that the growing number of retail opportunities in Columbia
Heights, Logan Circle, U Street, and other communities east of the
park make the need for reopening the unopened portion of Klingle Road
far less compelling than might have been the case a decade ago.
Also compelling is the fact that reopening this road now will cost
nearly twelve million dollars, three times the original estimate, and
more than twenty million dollars with interest. And the price tag is
likely to rise as the costs of concrete, steel., and heavy equipment
in the DC area continue to reach new heights. This is a road that
should never have been built where it was built. That is why it has
fallen apart. The steep slopes, curves, and poor lighting made it a
dangerous road to travel when it was open. Steady movements of
underground water and surface water runoff go under and over what’s
left of this abandoned portion of Klingle Road. ANC Commissioner Frank
Winstead has documented this with a dozen photographs — see his link
http://tinyurl.com/4ydo24.
There are a dozen other existing ways to cross the park. You can go
east or west, north or south. This project would cost more per mile
than Boston’s Big Dig — and it would probably take longer to build
it. DC’s limited highway funding should be spent on real priorities.
It is encouraging to see that a majority of the council is now
prepared to abandon this foolhardy project before more taxpayers’
money is wasted on a road that nobody needs.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
DC WASA Public Hearing on Lead Service
Replacement Program, May 1
Michele Quander-Collins, michelle.quander-collins@dcwasa.com
The District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DC WASA) will
conduct a formal public hearing to receive comments on its review of
the Lead Service Replacement (LSR) program. Thursday, May 1, 6:30-8:30
p.m., at The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments, 777 North
Capitol Street, NE, First Floor Training Center. DC WASA Board members
(District representatives), DC WASA personnel, Washington Aqueduct
representatives, George Washington University public health advisors,
and US Environmental Protection Administration Region III officials
will be present.
The DC WASA Board is reviewing options to continue or modify its
accelerated Lead Service Replacement (LSR) program. The goal of the
current program is to remove all 35,000 known public lead water
service lines in the District by 2016 at a cost of more than $400
million. The service line is the pipe that brings water from the main
in the street to the home. So far, DC WASA has removed more than
15,000 lines in public space.
In response to elevated lead levels found in tap water at many
District homes in 2003 DC WASA began an aggressive LSR program. For
the last three years, following a change in water chemistry, the
District’s tap water has met federal limits for lead and is in
compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act regulations. As a part of
its biennial program review, the Board is considering whether to
modify the current pace of the program. Oral presentations by
individuals will be limited to five minutes. Oral presentations by
representatives of an organization are limited to ten minutes.
###############
Additional Hazardous Household Recycling
Event, May 3
Nancee Lorn, nanceelorn@yahoo.com
The DC Department of Public Works will conduct an additional
household hazardous waste/E-cycling collection event to accommodate
District residents who did not get a chance to participate in last
Saturday’s semiannual event. “Last week’s event attracted more
than twice the number of people who came last year,” said DPW
Director William O. Howland, Jr. “Not everyone could stay until
their turn to unload their toxic items and unwanted electronic goods,
so we are offering this additional collection event to apologize to
residents and express our appreciation for their commitment to
protecting the environment.”
The collection will be held on Saturday, May 3, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00
p.m., rain or shine, at RFK Stadium, Lot 7, 2400 East Capitol Street,
SE. If driving west on East Capitol Street, stay in the right lane to
reach the Lot 7 Entrance Gate. If driving east on East Capitol Street,
make a left on 19th Street, then a right on C Street, and use the C
Street entrance.
On May 17, DPW will provide weekly HHW/e-cycling collections for
District residents on Saturdays at the Benning Road Trash Transfer
Station, 3200 Benning Road, NE, 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Later this
summer, Saturday HHW/e-cycling drop-offs will begin at the Ft. Totten
Trash Transfer Station.
###############
Kidsave Summer Miracle Information Session,
May 3
Anne-Marie Bairstow, abairstow at alum dot swarthmore
dot edu
On Saturday, May 3, at 1 p.m., Kidsave is holding an information
session for families interested in hosting a child for the Summer
Miracles program. This program brings orphaned children between six
and fourteen years old from foreign countries to the USA to enjoy a
summer with a family. They are currently seeking host families in the
Metro DC area to host fifteen orphans from Colombia for five weeks
this summer. The information session will be at the Kidsave offices at
5165 MacArthur Boulevard, NW.
For more information, visit http://www.kidsave.org
or call the Kidsave office at 237-7283.
###############
Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Station Open
House, May 3
Jerry A. McCoy, sshistory@yahoo.com
The Silver Spring Historical Society sponsors a free open house of
the historic 1945 B&O Railroad Station, 8100 Georgia Avenue (at
Sligo Avenue) in downtown Silver Spring, MD, on Saturday, May 3, 10:00
a.m.-3:00 p.m.
Bring the young ones to play with our Thomas the Train set (they
can also watch real trains go by outside)! Limited free parking is
available in front of the station (please do not park next door at the
fire station) with ample street parking and a parking garage available
nearby. The railroad station is also an easy four block walk from the
Silver Spring Metro station on the Red Line. Information 301-495-4915.
###############
National Building Museum Events, May 4, 8
Jazmine Zick, jzick@nbm.org
Sunday, May 4, 5:30-7:00 p.m., The Saarinen Legacy Remembered.
Landscape architect Susan Saarinen, daughter of Eero Saarinen, and
Mark Coir, director of the Cranbrook Archives, reflect on the lasting
legacy of the Saarinen family. $12 Museum and Finlandia Foundation
National Capitol Chapter Members; $12 Students; $20 Nonmembers.
Prepaid registration required. Walk-in registration based on
availability.
Thursday, May 8, 12:00-1:30 p.m., Shigeru Ban: Paper Houses and the
Architecture of Disaster Relief. Hear architect Shigeru Ban, Karen Van
Lengen, dean of the University of Virginia’s School of Architecture,
and architecture students from Japan’s Keio University and UVA
discuss their experience creating relief shelters made entirely of
paper. Presented in collaboration with the Meridian International
Center. Free. Registration required. Walk-in registration based on
availability.
Both events at the National Building Museum, 401 F Street, NW,
Judiciary Square stop, Metro Red Line. Register for events at http://www.nbm.org.
###############
Women’s International Religious Fellowship
Dinner, May 16
Vivian Henderson, VHende1886@aol.com
The Women’s International Religious Fellowship will host an
international dinner with entertainment, Friday May 16, 6:00-9:00
p.m., in the Fellowship Hall of Nineteenth Street Baptist Church, 4606
16th Street, NW. Come prepared to feast around the globe, enjoy
international entertainment, and meet new people. $15 per person.
Proceeds from the event support children’s charities of
participating countries. For tickets/information call 582-5920 or
723-3420
###############
Special Needs Kids Community Resource Fair,
May 17
Kristin Moe, moekoem@gmail.com
Find free information on programs and services for special needs
kids in DC on Saturday, May 17, 11 a.m.-3:00 p.m., at the Columbia
Heights Community Center, 1480 Girard Street, NW. There will be free
developmental screenings, on-site intake for the Child Care Subsidy
Program, on-site child care referrals, and information about legal and
social services and after school programs. For more information, call
Empower DC at 234-9119.
###############
CLASSIFIEDS — HELP WANTED
Experienced Legal Assistant/Paralegal
Jon Katz, jon at markskatz dot com
Silver Spring, MD. Highly-rated criminal defense and Constitutional
law partner seeks experienced legal assistant/paralegal to be his
right-hand person in fighting for victory for challenging misdemeanors
and felonies in numerous courthouses. Excellent performance gets
handsomely rewarded through attractive compensation and a
comprehensive benefits package (paid parking/Metro; full vacation/sick
leave/holiday pay; and health insurance contributions). Please apply
after visiting http://markskatz.com/jobs.htm.
###############
themail@dcwatch is an E-mail discussion forum that is published
every Wednesday and Sunday. To change the E-mail address for your
subscription to themail, use the Update Profile/Email address link
below in the E-mail edition. To unsubscribe, use the Safe Unsubscribe
link in the E-mail edition. An archive of all past issues is available
at http://www.dcwatch.com/themail.
