May 24, 2007
Shiloh Properties Watch: Day 4
Still no sight of any repairs having begun on the condemnded Shiloh Baptist Church properties today. The church has until May 31 to complete a list of repairs to four rowhouses on 9th St. NW before the city claims it will do the work on its own and place a lien on the properties to pay for them.
There is however a truck belonging to the Dept. of Health's rat abatement program parked in the back alley today. No idea if it's there to take care of the rat problem in these buildings -- I'll continue to keep an eye out for the truck's driver to ask them.
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oh boy, only 7 more days to go! can't wait to see what happens.
"Working for a rat-free D.C."? How's that working out?
Anybody know if that stretch of 9th Street is zoned for sex workers? Because I hear the DC Madame needs a new stable for her hos, and doesn't Shiloh pride itself on helping fallen women of ill repute?
I love how a city vehicle has its window smashed in. That's so poetically appropriate for DC.
Love that decal. I want one!
Maybe the Rat Abatement Program truck had its window smashed by angry rats. They're tough.
Today the city council held a hearing on vacant/nuisance properties. Evans and Cheh headed it up. Not much groundbreaking stuff. A couple of Shaw ANC commissioners talked about how OTR and DCRA aren't anywhere near being on the same page regarding a database of vacant properties. Cheh will have a big hearing in early July on this same general issue. How about some DCist liveblogging??
That rat sticker is classic. Think how much the Rat Abatement Program could make by selling a modified version to the public.
Have the neighbors of the condemned buildings tried suing Shiloh for willful health endangerment? Hopefully the city lien won't be a way for the Shiloh to get a cheap repair job for their property.
Like a police cruiser stationed in a high-crime area, the truck simply being parked there is intended to intimidate the rats in this area, forcing them to move along.
thelogos - the neighbors are considering their options. Even with several lawyers among us, lawsuits can be expensive and time consuming. Hopefully the city's proper enforcement of the laws and regs on the book will alleviate the hardships and health and safety concerns these properties cause the neighbors and community at large.
The hearing of which Cranky speaks will be held on July 2 - it is a public oversight hearing. In order to live-blog, one merely needs to go to dc.gov and watch from your computer with live-streaming.
If someone wants to make a t-shirt from the logo, have at it:
occc.eom.dc.gov/occc/lib/occc/pdf/RATS_6-6-05.pdf
DOH Vector Control gives those stickers away- I've a stack of them.
Hey, ya figure some of the bigger rats tried to intimidate the DOH Vector agent by smashing the window?
How about doing this post every *other* day? Maybe you could just post if anything changes or happens to the buildings.
20 years from now, these homes will be dope condos.
You guys are all missing Shiloh's genius ,here. They are just keeping it REAL. They are preserving the "Ghetto Aesthetic", which is the essence of the black 'xperience in America. A visual holographic protest of acquiescence to the "Domestic Normal" which is the veneer which covers the ugliness and brutality of an Imperialistic, Warmongering, society whose wealth and "prettification" is rooted in it's exploitation of third-world peoples. Rock on Shiloh.! "A Chocolate City is no dream, it's my piece of the rock and I dig ya CC. God bless Chocolate City an' it's Vanilla Suburbs. Can y'all get to that?" ;)
Wonder how long they'll let the window stay broken like that until motor vehicles puts a lien on it?
I've been saying it for years, Chris. The 1500 block of 9th Street is a Ghetto Theme Park for reporters to use for a quick story on slum life in DC, for Shiloh to poverty pimp money for gubmint "programs," and for just all-purpose
"keepin' it authentic." Now that we have official historic slum status, we should charge people to take tours here. Lake Woodson, the big mosquito-filled pit, at the southeast corner of 9th and Q, would alone be a great natural attraction.
Lake Woodson is DC DEQ and EPA protected wetland. It's not ghetto, it's reversion to a pure natural state. For real ghetto recreation opportunities, see the Bruce Monroe Elementary recreation area- it's an expansive solid acre of asphalt.
What's the current word?