You need to see my ID?

I was at the Red Derby last night talking to one of the regulars, C, on the patio outside. He was sitting at the table nearest the front door, and I was on the other side. As we were talking, a couple kids walked up and volunteered their IDs to C. C is black.

C politely brushed them off, informing them that he didn't work there. The girl who had first pushed her ID at him, embarrassed, turned to me and asked me the same. After they determined that there was no ID checker at the door (they just check at the bar when it's early) they went inside.

Soon thereafter, another guy did the same thing. After being told by C that he didn't work there, the guy quickly backtracked and said, "Oh, I'm sorry I saw your ID and I thought...". C had an ID badge hanging from his belt for his place of work.

C and I had a chuckle about these incidents and wondered aloud, would that keep happening if we switched spots? Probably. I've had this happen to me before if I've been sitting or standing alone by the door at a bar. C's a pretty big guy, too, which maybe gives him more of a bouncer appeal. On the other hand he was also a lot better dressed than the average bouncer.

We didn't test the theory. But what was funny about this was the reaction that the people had when they found out they'd assumed that a black dude by the door was checking IDs, when he was not.

The first girl immediately found the next closest person, me, and asked me if I worked there. She gets points for a fast recovery. If I ask the white guy next to him, it'll defuse the assumption that I asked him because he was black.

The second guy stuttered out some story about seeing his ID badge. Sorry - fail on that one. Have you ever heard of a bar that issues photo IDs to their staff? I haven't.

Both people quickly came up with a cover for their blunder, with varying degrees of success. This is not a story about racism. It's not about assumptions based on skin color. I'm white and I've had people shove their IDs in my face plenty of times when sitting or standing by the door to a bar.

Rather, it's a story about the mistaken-assumers being so embarrassed by their assumptions, that they tried to cover or explain it. I've never had that happen to me before after telling someone who's presenting me with an ID that I didn't work there.

There's no moral to this story or no judgment about the state of color-blindness in the world (or at least Columbia Heights) today. I think the most we can read into this is that people are actually really sensitive to the appearance of racism in their own actions. Their little foibles were honest mistakes. But their reactions showed that they were acutely aware of how it might have appeared once their mistake was revealed.

I found the image above on a blog called Tasty Booze while googling "bouncers" for this post, and was thrilled to discover it is our very own from the 9:30 club. What an awesome picture.

Happy Memorial Day, Welcome To Sarajevo

Washington, DC isn't well known for it's culture and traditions. We don't have New Orleans' Mardi Gras parades, or New Year's Eve in Times Square, or Boston's distinctive accents. And brawls. Actually it's hard to think of any really well-known uniquely Washintonian traditions here in "the city of Southern efficiency and Northern charm." Outsiders probably think mostly of the politics and the bullets when they think of DC. Oh wait, not the bullets, the Wizards. How ironic, that people were so concerned that calling our basketball team "The Bullets" was offensive because of the crime here. Nothing wrong with "The Redskins," though, that's just kind of racist.

But anyone who's lived here for a while knows this is far from the truth. Actually we have many wonderful traditions and cultural institutions. Like the half-smoke, and mambo sauce.

But one lesser-known tradition to outsiders is the annual July 4th celebration. I don't mean the one downtown where a million sweaty people stand for hours and get covered with ashes. I mean the Columbia Heights/Petworth July 4th celebration that begins every year on Memorial Day and ends sometime after July 4th whenever everyone's supplies are gone. Right on cue, on Monday night I heard a bang outside.

Now even though I am the first person to make an uncomfortable joke about all the crime that goes on in my neighborhood, I honestly don't hear gunshots from my home often. In fact, in two years, I don't think I've heard a single one. So my instinct was not to hit the deck when I heard the noise. Rather, it was to go outside and see what was going on. Sure enough, the sky was lit up. It was the beginning of the annual shifting of funds from DC to China, as my neighbor shot off some pretty impressive pyrotechnics.

But something was different this year. After a mere ten minutes had gone by since the first blast, I saw flashing lights as two cop cars blocked off the end of my street and proceeded to shut down the celebration. The show was over before it had even begun. Eventually they left, and I did hear one more get shot off later, but the police had pretty much put a stop to it for the night. It was a much different story than in years past, where such activities went largely ignored by law enforcement.

Honestly, I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. July 4th itself is an unbelievable show. From my back yard last year, I saw a nearly 360 degree display of rather impressive fireworks being shot off from the surrounding blocks. We talked with one of the "shooters" who excitedly told us of their annual pilgrimage to states south where you can buy big stuff that is not available around here. Three neighbors together had spent over $3,000 to put on their show last year. And it was quite a show. While obviously not the same caliber as what was going on at the mall, it was pretty impressive stuff, and having it right overhead is a lot more exciting than something blowing up a mile away. My alley was a war zone of smoke, flying bottle rockets and falling paper shreds. By the end of the show there was so much smoke you couldn't see fifty feet.

I am not going to lie - I like the show. It's fun, it brings people together because everyone's out on the street (at least, those brave enough to risk getting hit by a bottle rocket or roman candle), and it's a lot better than moshing at the national mall. At the same time, the month-long lead-in of firecrackers in a neighborhood where people are a little edgy about gunfire is not that cool. I'd probably be a lot more comfortable with the tradition if it was limited to July 4th weekend rather than the six weeks around it.

So I wonder what will happen this year. Police responded to the very first fireworks I heard, whereas last year I don't remember a single incident of them enforcing the fireworks ban. Without question it's a sign of the times. Columbia Heights is gentrifying rapidly with the completion of the DCUSA development and a massive influx of new, wealthier residents. And this process always involves a lot more vocal response to petty crime, and consequently a greater police presence. After all, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.

It's a mostly harmless tradition, and it's sure a lot of fun. But it's also a pretty uncomfortable one for a neighborhood that is dealing with gang and gun violence on a regular basis. While I'm not sad to see the police shutting down the routine jackassery of shooting bottle rockets and fireworks every night for a month, it would be sad to lose the spectacular neighborhood show that is such a neighborhood experience, and which I've thoroughly enjoyed for the last two years. Sure, it's illegal and maybe just a little dangerous, but it's also something uniquely ours and a rare DC tradition. We'll see what this year brings.

The System Works: Roof Part 2

The weekend didn't result in much home improvement.... though it did result in a great deal of pulled pork from the smoker on Sunday. But, with rain impending, I had to get up on the roof this week to figure out this leaking.

Using the measurements from Google Maps that I had made last Friday, I cut a little hole in the ceiling with a drywall saw and put my hand through. After pushing aside some insulation, I struck the hatch on my first try. Woo hoo! For my Google Maps next trick, I'll be bullseyeing womp rats in Beggar's Canyon. They're not much bigger than two meters.

So in ten minutes I was on the roof. The bitumen roof is definitely getting on in years, but there were no obvious compomised areas (like broken seams) on the surface. But as I moved towards the front of the house the problem became apparent. There is a metal roof covering the front facade where the dormer windows face the street, which joins the rubber roof that covers the much larger flat surface. The rubber had completely separated from the metal, so water was easily going directly under the roofing surface all the way at the front. Roof leaks rarely manifest themselves inside the house at the same place as the leak, because the surface tension of water will cause it to run along slightly sloping horizontal surfaces until something causes it to have nowhere to go but drip. In my case, the roof leaks were mostly apparent towards the back of the house, so most likely water has been going all over the place between the roofing surface and the roof itself. I don't dare look in the attic to see what kind of shape the roofing boards are in...

I shored up the problem for now with wet-patch roof tar and asphalt mesh. Longer term, the roof will probably need replacing, and depending on how much rot has taken place, probably the roofing boards as well. But at the same time, flat roofs can often be kept limping along for years if not decades if they aren't completely falling apart. I think this one falls in the "I can get ten more years out of it" category.

Though the roofing has tiny cracks in many places from long-term sun exposure, it's still basically in one piece. With a liberal application of silver roof paint (truly, a miracle product) and a couple more gallons of roof patch to hold the big seam together, I think it will be fine for the forseeable future.

WMATA, Why Do You Taunt Me?

Things started off badly this year for public transit in DC. WMATA decided, unceremoniously, to eliminate the 66 bus. Suck it, WMATA, for taking away my personal $1.25 taxicab to U Street and Chinatown. You see, this bus would stop at 11th and Monroe, a block from my house, and drop me off anywhere between there and, well, somewhere downtown, but I never went farther than E street.

What was so awesome about this bus is that nobody ever rode it but me. I guess I would get on pretty much at the north end of the line, so that makes sense. Maybe one or two other "tourists," interlopers who thought that this bus was for just anybody, might get on and off again somewhere between Monroe Street and U Street. But by the time you passed U street, it would be just me and Friendly McGee the bus driver. And let me tell you, there is no cab driver in DC that can hold a candle to a DC Metrobus with one passenger on it. It's a bullet train out of hell and it's going off the rails.

Some of you poor "shared bus line" riders might be used to stopping at every block, picking up and dropping off, precious seconds wasted as these entitled "passengers" would argue with the driver about their expired bus transfers. Not me. On my personal Route 66 extended-cab, pop-top limousine, we would zoom down 11th Street, with nobody to drop off and nobody to pick up -- unless it was me. Pedestrians and motorists alike fled in fear as the juggernaut would careen, unstoppable, towards the destination of my choosing.

But alas, this is only a lament for things past, as the 66 is no more. My friend Sara, who apparently believed she was allowed to use my bus when I wasn't on it, told me she waited vainly for my former corporate limo to pick her up a few days ago. But it never came. At first I assumed it was because they had heard I was out of town, but a visit to WMATA confirmed that the bus had been eliminated.

I broke out in a cold sweat, but being strong, I was able to regain my composure and tried to determine how I would get to U Street without having to walk a mile in the cold. Or pay $9 for a cab.

Effective Dec. 28, service between Georgia Ave-Petworth Metro station and Federal Triangle will be provided by new 63 and extended 64 buses.

Curious. What is this "64" and "new 63"? I was intrigued, so I dug further. I admit, I was highly skeptical of having to ride a bus occupied by other passengers, but it beats cab fare. So I choose "Bus Maps" from the menu on WMATA's web site to learn more about these alleged other busses. Below is an excerpt from the bus route map I downloaded.



The 66 is still there! And no sign of this mysterious 63 bus. Mock me, will you? Clearly, the map has not been updated. I proceeded to the "Bus" home page, and select the picklist under "Find a Timetable." There, again, I see the 66, laughing at me. Selecting it results in a blank screen. Damn you, WMATA!

Finally, grudgingly, I choose "64" and am presented with a PDF of the route. Well, at least it still goes down 11th Street. Of course, I will now be sharing the bus with all sorts of "Petworth" and "Fort Totten" people. I bet they don't even use the same money as us in this "Petworth" place. Hrmph. Well, maybe those people will be all right. I guess I'll give it a shot.

Week o' Plumbing

I have been a landlord for exactly 15 days. And I must say my two tenants at Club Petworth have been more than accomodating, since in that time, the heat only half worked and the upstairs bathroom never worked. But since I wish to keep these tolerant tenants, I took decisive action this week.

Situation #1: No Heat The heat only worked on the radiators in the back of the house. I guessed it was a broken circulator pump, but wasn't entirely sure. Normally I would never bring in a "professional" before trying to fix something myself, but since these freezing kids are paying me rent and some parts of boiler operation are mysterious to me, I called Magnolia Plumbing. $700 later, the pump was fixed.

I am not going to knock Magnolia. The guy they sent was professional and knew what he was doing, so I have no complaints. But at the end of the day, I paid over $400 in labor to replace a part that was held on with four bolts. Of the 3+ hours in labor at $120/hour, at least one of that was spent going to the store to pick up the replacement parts, and another one was spent draining and refilling the system, bleeding radiators, and generally waiting around to make sure everything was OK. Like I said - not knocking Magnolia, it's not like they could have done it any faster or better... but I could easily have done it myself.

Although it pained me to see how easy this repair was, I'm not bitter, but rather reassured that my diagnostic skills were on point. Next time something screws up on the boiler, I'm going in.

Situation #2: No Water I became aware about a week ago that I really had to re-do all the plumbing in this house. This revelation took place when I was trying to hook up a clawfoot tub shower conversion kit to the showerless tub in the primary bathroom. This task was an utter failure as a result of the ancient steel pipes being ornery and too tight to the tub for any wiggle room at all. And besides, the water pressure sucked (shocker) since typically 100 year old steel pipes are so corroded that the inside looks like a bad medical condition.

So my hand was forced- I had to replumb the house. That began at 9:00 AM yesterday. It ended at 11:45 PM with several significant cuts but otherwise complete success. The irony. I paid a professional plumber $700 to do a repair on my boiler that makes changing the oil in my car look complicated. I retaliated by ripping out every inch of plumbing in the house and replacing it with over 120 feet of new copper pipe in a single day. Cost of materials: approx. $450. Something is wrong with this picture...

Anyway, everything's working now. There were a couple dicey moments - like when I was trying to put a new valve on at the service entrance and I realized the first pipe connected after the old shutoff valve was cracked and leaking. It had to go. But I couldn't shut off the old valve completely because it, like many 100 year old plumbing fixtures, didn't really work any more. It was impossible to unscrew the old pipe because it was basically fused to the fixture, and I was afraid if I worked it too hard I'd either break the fixture, or worse, crack the soft lead water main to which it was attached.

I ended up having to cut the cracked pipe out from inside the old valve with a titanium carbide cutting bit. But if I had damaged the threads on the valve while doing this, I'd have been competely screwed since I wouldn't be able to attach a new pipe to it then. Once you mess up the only thing standing between you and thousands of gallons of high pressure water, there's nothing left to do but cry, or simply run fast and far.

Anyway, overall it wasn't as bad as what I had to do at House #1. And when I turned on the water, for once, there were NO waterfalls! Every time I've done a plumbing project in the past I somehow failed to flux ONE joint, which means it doesn't hold under any sort of pressure. And it always seems to be the one in the really hard to reach area. This is incredibly depressing because you then have to drain the system again to fix it. But this time I finally got it right on the first try.

House Fire near 13th & Quebec

I woke this morning to the sound of sirens. Not necessarily an unusual event, but the fact that I kept hearing more and more of them as I tried to snooze myself into an extra hour of sleep was a clue that this was not just your usual city morning.

The giant billowing cloud of smoke over the institution at 11th and Spring was another clue. A townhouse on the block of Quincy Quebec between 13th/Kansas and 10th Street was on fire. It was all smoke when I went by, and appeared to be mostly under control. Let's hope everyone was able to get out OK.

Here are a few pictures, more here on flickr.

Updates/links:

Prince of Petworth story on the fire.

WUSA-9 Woman Dies In 2 Alarm Fire

ABC News 9:59 AM, body found in the house.

WJLA-8, 11:56 AM Deadly Townhouse Fire in Northwest Claims One Victim

Washington Post 12:19 AM, Body Found in Northwest Rowhouse Fire

City Paper City Desk 1:11 PM Two-Alarm Fire on Quebec Place , NW

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Now even the Brits are talking about Petworth...

A couple other DC blogs have already noted this, but I thought it was worth pointing out here. Financial Times ran an article about Petworth on Saturday, noting in particular the good housing stock, central location, and bang for the buck.

“I like the size of the houses and I need all the outdoor space for my dogs,” [Angela Vassallo, a DC epidemiologist] says. “You get the most living for the price in DC.”
...
This mostly residential area in the north-west quadrant of the city is enjoying a boom as buyers flock to its tree-lined streets, still affordable stock of sturdy single-family houses and old-neighbourhood feel.

The article is pretty positive but also notes the problems, including crime and trash. I think it's pretty dead on. What is most interesting is that the description of the neighborhood reminds me a lot of Mount Pleasant when I first moved there in 1996. Vacant houses, crime, exactly the same problems. But Petworth has many of the same advantages that Mt. Pleasant has:

• It's close to, but not IN that action of the business district. In Mt. Pleasant, I could walk to Adams Morgan in about 15 or 20 minutes. My new house in Petworth is about the same distance to DCUSA and the Columbia Heights business district. But it's removed enough that you avoid the noise and traffic.
  
• It's residential with lots of trees and few apartment buildings. Whereas Mt. Pleasant abutted Rock Creek Park, a wonderful location, my Petworth house is steps from Rock Creek Cemetery, a large, beautiful, and tranquil space, perfect for running or reading a book, and the Old Soldier's Home.
  
• It's convenient for commuting. In Mt. Pleasant Rock Creek Parkway was right there, a great route out of town both to Maryland and Virginia. Petworth is similarly close to North Capitol Street -- driving to Silver Spring or Capitol Hill takes less than 10 minutes, it's a breeze to get in and out of town.
  
• Public transit is also pretty good - I'm only about 12 minutes on foot to the metro, about the same or even a little less than my walk in Mt. Pleasant to the Columbia Heights metro. Many bus lines also serve the area.
  

Now I don't think that Petworth homes will be selling for $800,000 any time soon. But at the end of the day, it's the physical characteristics of a neighborhood that make it a desirable place for people to invest, to fix up houses, to take an interest in making things better. It's because they want to actually live there for what it is. This is why Mt. Pleasant turned around in the late '90s and early '00s. When I moved there in '96 there were a half-dozen abandoned houses on my block alone. I bought a four-bedroom townhouse for barely over $200,000. Many houses in Petworth are selling for not much more than today -- pretty amazing considering that it's 12 years of inflation later, not to mention the dramatic changes DC has seen in desirability, with the result that the population had actually started increasing after decades of loss.

I think Petworth will follow suit over the next 10 years for exactly the same reasons Mt. Pleasant became so popular. It's got great houses, it's affordable (for now), you can walk to transit or services in 15 minutes or less, it's convenient for car commuting, it's got a great community and neighborhood feel, and it's got wonderful greenspaces and rich history that make it a pleasant place to live.

Back to Home Improvement... Petworth Edition

Ignoring the nagging doubts that festered in my gut like an undercooked McRib sandwich, I threw down half of my remaining cash for a down payment and bought another house. That's right, folks, while the stock market plunged to a place that had been forgotten seen since the previous century, and most people were buying gold and stuffing cash in their mattresses, I took out a second mortgage. The monthly mortgage payments on my two houses now equal 80% of my take-home income. Awesome.

But life is not without risks, eh? And the sucky housing market and economy are exactly the reason I decided to take this plunge. The house, a foreclosure, was a goddamn steal. It will be no trouble covering the mortgage with rent. At worst I should break even (which is basically making bank, since you have someone else paying the morgage on your house while it appreciates). At best I should clear a few hundred a month.

I put an ad on Craig's List yesterday to fill up the 3rd room in this house. Myself and a friend will be occupying the other two. I got two responses in the hour after I posted the ad. I got about 6 more last night. I think this will be a piece of cake to rent the room. The location is pretty good - 12 minute walk (about 6 blocks) to the Georgia Avenue/Petworth metro, residential street, and there's a little commercial strip a block away for picking up 40s.

Like any house I would buy it needs a little work, though this one is in WAY better shape than my current residence. It's perfectly livable as-is, though I will be taking care of some minor issues. Pictures below.

The Great Experiment

Because I am a super-green enviro-wizard, I have decided that house #2 or "PetProject" will be the subject of a great experiment in green renovating (and ultimate cheapness). My goal is to do all the work on this place -- and furnish it -- for less than $5,000 and using recycled fixtures, products, and building materials whenever possible. Since I'll be doing most of the work myself, that cost is largely materials, and if I need a new roof, the game is off. And I don't intend to do a crappy job - everything I put into this house must be of decent quality and in relatively good condition.

There are three primary components to this plan which, together, will make it possible:

• Freecycle DC
  
• Craig's List
  
• The Community Forklift and The Loading Dock
  

The first is an awesome mailing list where people just give stuff away. A lot of the stuff that comes across the list is lame-- I mean, does anyone REALLY want a used toothbrush? But there are plenty of finds to be had every day, like appliances, furniture, anything. The Community Forklift and The Loading Dock (in Hyattsville and Baltimore, respectively) are recycled building supply warehouses. People doing renovations can donate what they tear out and get a tax writeoff, and then people like me can go and buy the used stuff for pennies on the dollar. Great place for doors, windows, cabinets, tiles, you name it.

In just one week's time, I have already acquired the following:

• Washer and dryer - $140
  
• Toilet - approx. 1 year old - free. This will go into a new 1st floor powder room.
  
• Vintage sink with new, quality fixture - replace existing ugly bathroom sink with broken fixture - $60 from The Loading Dock
  
• Small sink - free - for powder room
  
• Eight bar stools - free
  
• Brass chandelier, 5-light, excellent condition - free
  

Sure - it requires a little running around. But almost all of the free stuff was within a 10 minute's drive of either work or home and required far less time than a trip to Home Depot.

I'm going to set up a page with a running list of everything I've bought or acquired and the cost for this house to see how it goes.


No, I don't plan to keep the fridge in the dining room.


The kitchen definitely needs a little TLC. And a dishwasher.


Bathroom? Check. Interesting note... there is no shower upstairs!! Apparently, everyone showered in the basement for the last 92 years. That is high on the list.

Voting begins... long lines in DC

The line outside the C. Melvin Sharpe school on 13th and Allison Streets NW, about 8:30 AM. My polling station is farther south on 13th Street where I will be a little later on this morning, when hopefully the lines are less frightening.

By the way... DO NOT vote for that Calvin Gurley chap who's flyer is taped to the Do Not Enter sign. That in itself is surely illegal, which is not surprising, because that fine citizen decided it would be a good idea to drop not one but THREE copies of that flyer on every single doorstep as far as the eye could see in my neighborhood. Even China Garden and Pizza Mart, who regularly leave their unwanted flyers at my house, have the decency to either stick them through the mailslot, or at least leave them somewhere remotely safe from wind. This fine specimen just threw them -- three copies of his 8 1/2 x 11 glossy flyer, so everyone in the household has their own copy to peruse, in case we didn't see 873 of them blowing around on the sidewalks -- on the first step of my porch stairs.

Guess what Columbia Heights looked like after the wind had been blowing for a few hours?

Obviously, this man represents the "trash our sidewalks" platform for City Council. Here's a big "eff-you" to Calvin Gurley. And hopefully a fine for violation of election and littering laws.

UPDATE: Since I didn't even read this idiot's flyer, I didn't notice before, but if you zoom the picture you will notice he's running for Ward 4 city council! I don't live in Ward 4. I live in Ward 1. Spring Road is the southern boundary of Ward 4. Great. So I have a jackass distributing flyers in my neighborhood to people who can't even vote for him. Furhther, he is not listed in the "DC Voter's Guide" as a candidate, which means he didn't even bother to submit a statement.

Oh yeah - also, please don't vote for Michael Brown for at-large city council. This jerk has been papering cars for weeks. His littering crimes are only slightly less than those of Calvin. And I hear he has been robo-calling people incessantly. I've luckily been spared that offense, but automated campaign phone calls are unforgivable.

JUST SAY NO TO ANNOYING AND ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN PRACTICES!

Fall is here

I am really busy and don't have time to say much, but this is about the longest I've gone without a post since this whole thing began so I wanted to drop by my own blog for a minute.

It's been a pretty crazy week in finance. It remains unclear what will happen in the long run, but it's pretty safe to say that the face of Wall Street is pretty damn battered and will probably never be quite the same. It's amazing that after all the bank failures and crises we've already been through, the end seems far from written.

I'm not here to make predictions of apocalypse. But it is concerning at a personal level, because I'm right in the middle of trying to buy my first investment property. I have a contract on a foreclosed house in Petworth. I won't give specifics because I don't want to jinx anything, but it was a great deal and is in good shape on a good street. But just as I came to a deal with the bank that owns the house, the shit hits the fan in the financial sector. Now, maybe this will have no effect whatsoever on my little transaction. But part of me worries, will I still be able to get financing? What if the loan that was no problem a week ago suddenly is a problem? I've said for years I wanted to invest in real estate for the long haul - not flip houses, but keep my eyes open and buy up good deals that come up once in a while, rent them, and then hold them for at least 10 or 15 years. This is to be my first step and the rent from this house should easily cover the mortgage right away. There are deals galore right now as foreclosures from the last round of bank agony are being sold off. So hopefully the current pain won't affect my ability to pick one up.

Anyway, that's been keeping me pretty busy for the last few weeks, as I've been house shopping, getting ducks in a row, that sort of thing. And enjoying the fall weather to be sure. So wish me luck. I have that stupid butterfly excitement feeling all over again, and this is my third house purchase and it's not even a house I'm planning to live in! But I just love these old houses and this one is cool...

Oh yeah, and have you noticed how awesome the weather has been the last couple days? I love changing seasons, and I especially love fall with the leaves and crisp evenings. I love change. I'm ready for it.

Track @ Roosevelt High School: You Don't Suck

I decided to post again today because I became vaguely aware that my last several posts have been of the extraordinarily cynical, ranting sort. Not that I don't enjoy relentlessly mocking those who deserve it, but actually there are things going on around my neighborhood and in DC that deserve being noted in a positive light. The balance must be restored; yin and yang cannot compete for space in a world they share equally. And besides, despite the excessive rain the last couple days, I've been having a great (if busy) week or so, and the tone of my posts has not reflected that. Therefore I wanted to share a couple pictures of the track at Roosevelt High School, at roughly Georgia Avenue NW and Upshur Street NW.

Roosevelt is only about a half-mile from my house, and I frequently jog a route that takes me right by it's front doors on 13th Street. Somehow, I had never noticed this glorious new track, with the paint barely dry on the "Rough Riders" logo at the end of the field.

I was there this morning at the ungodly hour of 7 AM to join my newly discovered Petworth running group. I've mostly been an evening runner lately, but history has taught me that I'm far more likely to stay honest when someone else is waiting for me. I'm planning to run another marathon this fall, so I am happy to have found them, even if they're typically on the morning schedule. Probably do me some good to learn to be in bed before 2 AM on any given weeknight... but anyhoo, this is where we met this morning to do some speed workouts.

The track is spectacular, as you can see from the photos. And despite the fact that it's been raining more than a typical New Orleans hurricane over the weekend, it was free from puddles or wet spots. Finally, there is something in DC that my taxes were spent on that actually makes me proud, and I can even personally get some use out of.

I'm guessing that the average Roosevelt graduate is probably about as prepared for the workforce in DC as an Aleutian eskimo dogsled driver*. But really, getting the facilities in order is a start, and is hopefully a sign of a new direction for the schools. This is a good thing beyond just being useful to my running group. Here's hoping they are maintained as time goes on and that the trend continues.

---

*You didn't think I'd let an entire post go without any cynical comments, did you? And actually, I think Roosevelt is among the better high schools in DC, from my quick survey of WaPo's "Fixing DC's Schools" report. Hell, with only 25% of students testing below basic reading skills, it's practically a magnet school in DC! Seriously - there are far worse. But that's a topic for another post.

How To Be A Good Neighbor

On Sunday afternoon, I was sitting on the front porch of my friends A & O when two men walked by with a clipboard. My initial reaction was to run away, fast. The only three scenarios I could think of were:

• I was about to be handed the latest edition of The Watchtower,
  
• I would be asked to join PIRG or the Sierra Club, or, worst of all,
  
• I would be guilted into buying some crappy product for an outrageous price to support a likely fictitious charity.
  

As it turned out, my fears were completely unfounded. One of the gentlemen in question was the owner of a building at Park Road and Sherman Avenue. The building occupies a rather prominent spot at the intersection where New Hampshire Avenue becomes Sherman Avenue, as pictured from above here. You can see it from well up New Hampshire, and there's an open park across from it.

This man spent at least a half an hour with us explaining his development plans. He was seeking a zoning variance in order to convert the former gas station into 8 high-end condominiums. As part of this process, he would be going before the ANC to explain the project, and was seeking feedback and signatures from the neighbors in support of his project. He discussed his architectural ideas, and seemed genuinely interested in the feedback from the residents in the immediate vicinity. He expressed the desire to create something that the negihborhood would genuinely appreciate and wanted the neighbors to feel as if they had been involved, rather than surprised, by the result.

Bear in mind that there are no historic regulations that govern construction in Columbia Heights and Petworth. A developer does not technically need to solicit any feedback, or get any support, from the neighbors. While I'm not 100% sure, I don't even think there's any requirement that the ANC be involved at all. A zoning variance is an issue with DCRA. Now certainly, there's a benefit for this individual to seek buy-in from the neighbors, because it could help reduce any possible resistance that individuals could mount. But this is far from the typical approach we see. Usually, developers come in and gut the building before anyone's heard the first thing. So while he certainly has his own interests and goals in mind as well, the fact that he was very open about his plans and the process was refreshing.

Only time will tell what happens with this, but the simple fact that a developer was taking the time to introduce himself, explain his plans, and solicit feedback is rare. If this man intended to build something cheap that would ruffle feathers, we'd have never heard a thing before the structure went up. I feel good about the exchange and wish that more builders would take the time to get some feedback from the residents. It would surely be better for the neighborhood, and would probably make for smoother sailing in any such project.