post request from a tenant

Does anyone know who owns the blue Celica that is usually parked in the lot across the street from the Jefferson at Half and I? This car has a very sensitive car alarm. I'm not sure the owner is aware of the frequency of the alarm going off. The building was built with very cheap windows and there is little to no sound protection. Couple that with a very loud alarm and people are not getting a lot of sleep at night. It has been a topic of conversation on my floor among my neighbors that live on the street-facing side. If you know this person or you are this person, can you please ease up the sensitivity on your alarm? Or just turn it off if you don't plan on monitoring it. Thanks you

Fire at 2nd and O SW

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/local-breaking-news/fire-breaks-out-in-apartment-b.html?hpid=newswell

Dog Walkers Wanted

Does anyone know of a good dog walker in the building or in the area?

A Note from a Former Tenant

Hello Thomas Jefferson,

Just a quick note from a former resident.  Please let your current residents know that they need to be well aware of their rights when it comes to getting their security deposits back from Jefferson at Capitol Yards (JCY).  Both the lease that the residents sign, and DC regulations state that JCY is required to notify the resident within 30 days of lease termination if there is to be any delay in the return of your security deposit. It also states that they must return your security deposit, WITH an itemized deduction list within 45 days. If neither of these are done, they must remit your full security deposit, plus interest to the resident. 

I moved out early November, and JUST received a check for my deposit (with deductions) as of yesterday, February 7th. The office is now processing a refund for the missing amount (I did not pursue the interest portion), but if I hadn't been aware, or contacted the office throughout this time, they would have just sent me the deducted amount. So be sure you know your rights as a resident. 

Here is a link to the DC regulations: http://www.dcregs.dc.gov/Gateway/RuleHome.aspx?RuleNumber=14-308

Are you into playing games?

If you haven't stopped into the new (since Thanksgiving) game store Labyrinth on Pennsylvania avenue you should check it out. They have an unparalleled selection of board games, puzzles, mazes, chess sets and other such things.  They also feature a game night right there in the store. You can check them out at http://www.labyrinthgameshop.com/ and on Facebook and Twitter.
I don't have any kind of connection to them, but thought maybe some of you would enjoy what this store has to offer.

Tired of playing Frogger

I don't know about you folks, but I'm getting mighty tired of of taking my life into my hands to exit and enter this garage. There is invariably a truck, a car, or some big honking SUV double-parked in front of the building obstructing the view coming out of the garage.

This causes you to have to inch out of the garage to peer around the double-parked vehicle looking for; oncoming traffic; tenants walking themselves and/or their dogs across the street; or heaven forbid, all three! It's tough enough just seeing around the parked cars in front of the building. How about a break folks?

I've almost had the front end of my vehicle taken off several times in the last couple weeks by someone speeding down I street, obscured by a double-parked vehicle. The postman seems to live out front from about 4:30 to 5:30. Fedex is another culprit, as are Peapod, Safeway.com, and every other Escalade and Navigator in Southeast.

If you're having a friend pick you up, tell them to park near the loading dock entrance or across the street. It's not going to kill either one of you to have to take a few extra steps--though the presence of their vehicle double-parked might!

A post request from a tenant

Has anyone else tried to pay monthly rent using the now-available online debit process?  I attempted to use what I thought would be a more convenient payment method...that is ,until I got to the actual payment site wherein a $40 per transaction fee would also be debited form my account --EACH MONTH. So ,by making it easier for everyone,including the Jefferson,we pay almost $500($480 to be exact) a year . Th leasing Office admitted that this doesn't make any sense. As a new tenant,any suggestions how the tenant association(is there one?) could do something en masse to remedy this idiotic fee?

The High Price of Putting up Pets

A tenant requested post:

The costs of owning a pet at the Jefferson include: a $250 fee, a $300 fee (only one of which is refundable), plus "rent" of $40 a month, per animal.  So if you have two dogs (under the not-actually-imposed weight limit of course), having a pet costs a grand total of $1,510 in the first year.  This is outrageous and unjustifiable.  The building does not have a no pets policy, which would be perfectly enforceable, but it does penalize the heck out of residents who choose to enjoy the benefits of pet ownership, not to mention those who would provide a loving home for adopted pets, which should be encouraged.  These fees are not reflective of the potential costs of repairing damage to an appartment caused by animals.  "Standard" as such fees may be among certain managment companies, it doesn't make this fee-gouging fair, necessary, or reasoned.  In fact, the reason the practice is "standard" is likely because companies have realized this is easy cash flow with no expediture.  In business, there is rarely something for nothing, but this is exactly what these fees represent.  We the residents pay rent, and in return, we get the use of our apartments.  We pay a security deposit, which provides recourse to the landlord in case we cause damage.  We pay a pet "damage" fee, which is justifiable because animals may cause unique damage to walls and carpets or require that the apartment be de-odorized.   The $40 per animal, per month fee and the other non-refundable fee, however, are truly "something for nothing."  This money lines the coffers of our corporate landlord completely gratuitiously. 

The fees are a penalty without purpose and they do not serve to benefit the residents of the Jefferson at all.  These fees are nothing like the amenity fee, which gives residents the benefit of using the facilities and paying for their upkeep, or even renting the pub room, because the resident pays for the benefit of excluding others from a community space.  If the purpose of these rip off fees is to discourage pet ownership for otherwise legitimate reasons of quality of life, building upkeep, tenant allergies, etc., then the building should enforce a strict no pets policy and leave it at that.  Gouging tenants for no reason is wrong way to go about things and breeds ill-will.  Animal adoption is a beneficial behavior, a public good, and one which should not be cost-prohibited by unexplained policies.  It's almost evident why petowners in this building let their animals piss all over the elevators...it would be an interesting demonstration in civil disobedience if it didn't gross out everyone else and, techically speaking, break your lease.

A resident requested posting...

Has anyone had any experience moving units in this building or cutting their lease early?

Awww Rats!!!

The state of the recycling area in the garage is pretty bad. Trash can regularly be seen overflowing from the single dumpster allocated for our recycling. Often the materials fill the dumpster, and also the small gray cart that is used for overflow. Often, trash is stacked on the floor surrounding the dumpster.
This will eventually lead to rats in the building. The rat population in DC is well known and it's probably not a good idea to tempt fate this way. When the garage door is often left open for large stretches of time it allows easy entrance for all types of critters.
Perhaps it's time for a second dumpster?

This is what the Mayor's office and DDOT have communicated to me...

Thank you for contacting the Executive Office of the Mayor regarding your concerns about the lack of Residential Permit Parking (RPP) near your home at 70 I Street SE. Although there is no RPP parking on this street, we are pleased to report that the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is reviewing the parking policies in this area.

For further questions regarding this issue, please contact Damon Harvey, Transportation Research & Technical Development Manager, at 202-671-0493 or at Damon.Harvey@dc.gov.

Dust Dilema

Proposed post question from Nimrod,

 

The question is one about dust.  I have an unusual amount of dust in my small one-bedroom apartment.  At times I can write my name in the dust on my end tables.  I have been doing some things to combat this and I still have a great deal of dust. 

 

I try to dust and vacuum every week. When I first moved in and for at least 8 months my vacuum canister  would completely fill up with dust and carpet fibers every time I vacuumed.  I now get about a half full canister per vacuum.

  

I change my furnace filter regularly and use a good hypoallergenic one instead of the cheap fiberglass ones the building folks use. 

 

In addition I only run the heating and cooling briefly in the morning and evening and shut it off during the day and night.  I live alone and leave for days and sometimes weeks at a time with the heating and cooling off.  I never open a window and I never drag dirt or dust into the apartment. I do not have any pets. 

 

I have checked out the dryer and it is vented properly and that little room is the most dust free room in the apartment.  

 

The only explanation for the incredible amounts of dust is that the building air intake is bringing it in (perhaps laced with the fine power plant emmitients next door) and/or the very cheap carpet is creating the dust situation.

 

Anyone else having an issue with large amounts of dust? 

 

Nimrod