A HUGE thank you goes out to the Department of Public Works Environmental Crimes Inspector Nathaniel Mines for all her has personally done to stop illegal dumping around the vacant lot and work with our organization to figure out ways to deter it.  To date, the dumping still occurs but it is FAR less frequent than it was and much of that is due to Inspector Mines.  Of course, without the continuous support from CM Graham, we never would have received this much attention from DPW leaders, so thank you again CM Graham!

3130 Park Place

Our struggle with 3130 is no secret. We've fought for years to get this nuisance property seized from its delinquent owners and finally with the help of CM Graham, the DC Attorney General is taking the case on because the owner has failed to register his deed in the specified time frame.  I'm sure this is only the beginning and it will be a long road if any movement happens, but we're crossing our fingers.  Nothing can be worse than a negligent owner!  Dumping, rats, cats! Oh my!  

Office of Attorney General in an email regarding the vacant lot at 3130 Park Place 31, "It is important to note that the community should expect that a limited amount of trash or waste will be present at this location fairly regularly, as it is the trash pick-up site for the immediately surrounding neighborhood"

Several Tags Removed!!! More appear...

Big kudos to Juan Camillo from the Mayor's Office and Jasmin Benab from the Columbia Heights Shaw Collaborative for removing all of the graffiti that covered the corner of Irving and Georgia.  Not only had it been painted on the retaining wall at the Bruce Monroe park, but also across the street at 3100 Georgia and 703 and 705 Irving, it was splayed across private businesses.  Thank you to all who helped to remove these dangerous tags.

Unfortunately, "Chung" tagged the second story of 3118 after it was just repainted.  Disgusting.  I wish these kids knew what a negative impact graffiti has on their neighbors and neighborhoods.  I've seen a rash of  "Chungo" appear within the last couple of weeks on several places in our neighborhood, but not "Chung."  Maybe he got spooked and didn't finish it.

There is also recent tagging on the abandoned building at 2827 Georgia Avenue, at the corner of Harvard and Georgia.  Many of the same tags we've seen up north are also located several blocks south.

Across the street from this building there is more tagging at 2901 Georgia.  I've seen this tag farther north as well--I believe on the side of Morgan's Seafood.

Explosion of Graffiti in our Neighborhood

The number of tags in our neighborhood has at least tripled in the last month.   I assumed that owners would quickly clean this mess from their properties, but instead this vandalism has remained.  By its very presence, it attracts more graffiti and fosters an environment comfortable for criminals.  Something must be done about this disturbing trend.  Not only do the taggers need to be caught but also the city needs to press property owners to clean up tagging on their property.

527 Irving St NW

709 Irving St NW

633 Irving St NW

 4. 3101 Georgia Avenue NW

3101 Georgia Avenue NW

703 Irving St NW

709 Irving St NW

700 block of Irving at Bruce Monroe Park

3101 Sherman on corner of Irving.  Tags are on back of building.

Last house on 700 block of Irving St NW

Last house on the 700 block of Irving St NW

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Couches dumped; Mattresses from weeks ago remain

Two couches, pillows, a lawnmower, a child's four-wheeler were dumped in our alley today.   I can only hope a resident put these out for bulk pick up and didn't attach a sign.  If not, that is the third instance of bulk items being dumped in our alley in the last two weeks.  If you check out the picture below, you can still see the other two mattresses in the background from two weeks ago!  We reported these twice to DC311, but they nevertheless remain in the alley.  Maybe the cat with the evil eyes in the photo was behind this latest offense....

If only we could figure out some way to profit from the dumping and trash!  I heard a story on NPR about a city in Maryland that burned its trash for energy.  Humm, maybe they are on to something here...smoke has never harmed anyone, right?

Dumping after the snow storm

There was more dumping in our alley last week. Four mattresses, drywall, carpet samples, and other items were left in two different locations in our alley.  DPW has picked up two of the mattresses and a dresser, but the other two mattresses, a bed frame, and the construction items remain behind 426 Kenyon.   This was reported for the second time to DPW.  The confirmation number is 11-00034302.  DPW has been delayed in picking this up reportedly because of the snow storm last week.