The Jefferson & Axiom at Capitol Yards

That's all folks!

2011-07-25T15:38:00.000-04:00

I think between you and I we've made a lot of progress over the years. We created (in some cases forced) a lot of change in the building and in management's methodologies that many of the current tenants will never even know. I'm moving out of the building soon so I'll be shutting down the old blog after today. It seems that traffic on the site has slowed quite a bit, and maybe I'm just tired of bitching, what with my day job and a million other things to attend to. You know, life, just like you.

It seems Talib at the Axiom has things well in hand. It's a different kind of blog, but hey whatever. ;)

I want to thank all of the good people who have contributed to the blog and, ultimately, to making this building a better place to live. Enjoy the rest of your stay for however long you may end up living at the Jeff.
Take care.
T.J.

What's happening...

2011-05-24T13:21:00.002-04:00

Courtesy of Talib at the Axiom.

Tuesday, May 24

10am-2pm: Reading is Fundamental coffee, smoothies, cupcakes, etc. – Rayburn 2168 - rsvp

12-1pm: Assn for Competitive Technology IP Lunch Briefing – 2226 Rayburn - rsvp

2-4pm: Skin Care Awareness/ Samples Event - Rayburn Foyer - rsvp

1:30-2:30PM –Healthy School lunch chef samples – 1302 Longworth - rsvp

5/6-7pm – Women in Government Relations forum on health, energy, economy/ reception - rsvp ($$?)

5-7pm – Barnes &Thornburg LLP Open House, 1717 Penn Ave NW - rsvp

5:30-7:30pm – National Association of State Highway and Transportation Unions – H-137 Capitol, rsvp

5:30-7:30pm – Am College of Emergency Physicians reception, Hart 902 - rsvp

5:30-7:30pm – National Air Traffic Controllers Association, Rayburn Caf - rsvp

5:30pm6-8pm - DCYR May Happy Hour - 19th Bar, 1900 Eye St NW -RSVP

5:30pm – Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus/ Staff Assn reception/ panel, Capitol Atrium - rsvp

6-8pm: George Washington U reception hosted by Sen. Conrad and Rep. Stearns – SVC212 rsvp

6:30-8:30pm: Illinois State Society Mtg/ Reception/ Civil War Memorial – 900 17^th St. NW - rsvp

Wednesday, May 25
10am-1pm – USO Care Package Stuffing for Troops, Rayburn Foyer - info

12/1/2pm – Lunch, Film Welcome to Shelbyville, Panel w Asst Sec Schwartz etc. on Somali refugees – State Dept. Marshall Conf. Center,rsvp

5:30-7:30pm – High-Performance Bldg Reception, B-339 Rayburn - rsvp

5-8pm – Professional Beauty Industry free hair/ nail appointments- rsvp

6-7:30pm – Dredging Contractors of America reception, 2168 Rayburn - rsvp

6-8pm - 26th Annual Tim Russert Congressional Dinner - JW Marriot 1331 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest - RSVP

6-8:30pm - Best of Washingtonian Happy Hour - Whitlows, 2854 Wilson Boulevard, Claredon VA
6-9pm – Wine and Spirits Wholesalers Association – Sewell-Belmont House 144 Const. Ave NE - rsvp

Thursday, May 26
11:30am-1pm – Campaign for High School Equity/ Quad-Caucus briefing on ESEA – Rayburn 2456 - rsvp

5:30-8:30pm – Cornerstone Government Affairs – 300 Independence Ave SE - rsvp

5-9pm – New Zealand Embassy BBQ w Ambassador Moore, 37 Observatory Circle NW - evite

6-8pm – American Society of Landscape Architects green roof tour/ reception, 636 I St. NW - rsvp

6-8pm - Welcome Reception for the New Vietnam Ambassador - 815 Connecticut Avenue, NW - RSVP

Friday, May 27

10-11am – “We the Interns” Speaker Series w Terry McAuliffe – SVC201 - rsvp

5-8:30pm – Jazz in the Sculpture Garden! National Gallery, 7^th and Const. NW - info (free every Friday in summer!!)

6-8pm – Yards Park Capitol Riverfront Summer Concerts - info (free every Friday in summer!!)

Monday - Sunday - Free entry with federal staff ID: Museum of Crime and Punishment, 575 7^th St. NW

Save the Date: Friday, June 10, 2011 - Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice one-day conference at Howard Law School from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm on Intellectual Property v. Civil Rights.

Have you had a problem with your deposit being returned in a timely manner?

2011-05-24T13:17:00.000-04:00

A few former residents have and have written to alert me of the matter.
Here are the rules according to the DC housing authority.

http://www.dcregs.dc.gov/Gateway/RuleHome.aspx?RuleNumber=14-308

I just have to say this....

2011-03-27T12:55:00.000-04:00

How clueless do you have to be to constantly slam your door as you go in and out? It's elementary really.
You live in the building. You know what it sounds like. Have some consideration.

No Alcohol Policy in Pool Area…TOO STRICT

2011-03-22T22:07:00.006-04:00

a post request from 3rd Floor Rulez

I noticed that the JCI management recently posted the rules regarding guests and the pool area for the summer season. I commend them for trying to limit guests to 2 per resident, as well as getting after some of the smokers who tend to messy up the common areas. However, I am not pleased with the continuation of the “no alcohol” policy for the pool area. I think this is unnecessary and I propose a few, more livable options. The need to moderate alcohol consumption isn’t a bad idea, but to take it to forbidding alcohol near the pool is too much. This building is comprised of young, responsible adults for the most part, and having a beer by the pool is as American as apple pie. What is frustrating about the whole situation is one can look over the wall next door, to the Axiom, or across the street to 909, both JCI properties, and see no such policy in place. I suggest that the Jefferson--if an alcohol policy is indeed necessary--do one or all of the following:

Ban all glass containers, alcohol or otherwise, from the pool area. If a resident can’t use a plastic cup for beer or wine, then they shouldn’t have it on the roof. This will also preclude residents from bringing hard alcohol to the roof.

Ban hard alcohol from the roof area.

Charge an alcohol fee. If a nominal fee of, $5/day could be charged for a cooler of beverages, JCI could then recoup any costs of putting a full-time staffer on the roof, and/or for clean-up. Many residents pay the annual amenities fees, but these may or may not cover the cost of maintaining the roof. This could be a decent compromise. A ticket system could be established at the front desk or by an employee posted on the roof. Simply, if you bring a cooler up to the roof, you pay $5 and are issued a ticket. Same thing could be done for towels. Need a towel, pay $2. This could raise more money for the building to keep up maintenance on the roof. This fee could also detract from excessive drinking, and showing the contents of ones cooler to a Jefferson staffer could also detract from hard alcohol.

I think these are reasonable and workable suggestions, and a good compromise that would be a win-win for tenants and management. Perhaps these ideas could be brought to the attention of management.

8th floor garbage: the truth about things

2011-03-22T19:53:00.004-04:00

A post request from Nimrod.
When residents put recyclable items on the floor in this room they think they are recycling. Wrongo, because I (the garbage bandit:) simply pick the stinky stuff up and toss it down the shoot. Just like the dogs in this place the alleged recyclables stink and cause a mess. So I (the garbage bandit:) have taken the law into my own hands.

So if you want to be green take your recyclables downstairs or I will throw them down the shoot and you will have to live with the guilt of all the harm you have caused the environment. There is no guilt on my part because I don’t care.

The alternative fix is for management to put two containers in the garbage room, one for paper and one for bottles and cans.

Until that happens and I suspect it never will, when you put recyclables in this room, I (the garbage bandit:) will throw the alleged recyclables down the shoot with the regular garbage causing our earth great harm.

Leave your dog in here and he takes a ride too.

Do you need a valet as well?

2011-03-22T14:42:00.002-04:00

It appears that a few tenants are using the spaces immediately in front of the building as their own personal parking space in order to circumvent paying for parking in the garage or at one of the lots in the neighborhood. I would love to see everyone have free parking, but unfortunately it's just a few spaces. That's not fair to others who might like those spots for a reasonable amount of time themselves, and it helps create the pervasive double-parking situation that we have. The double-parking creates a big problem getting in and out of the garage

Perhaps this should be brought up with Ddot so that those spots can be used for a prescribed period of time, and so that their intrepid meter personnel can keep an eye on the parking squatters.

People who park in those spaces and feel that they can just leave their cars there for weeks on end are really selfish.
Me, Me, Me!

How about Management doing something about this situation to make it equitable for all and so that as we come home in the evening we don't have to swing around the mail truck, or UPS, or Fedex, or the guy in the Escalade, or the girl in the Honda civic, or the....Do you get the picture?

A letter sent to ANC David Garber

2011-03-22T10:31:00.000-04:00

Hello David. I trust you have settled into your new position as ANC rep.
I am writing you today to ask if something can be done about a dangerous situation that exists outside of the Jefferson and Axiom buildings.

Upon leaving leaving the garage from the Jefferson there exists an extremely dangerous situation where you cannot see oncoming cars coming from the New Jersey Avenue end of the street towards South Capitol. Cars are often moving much faster than the posted speed limit and it will only be a matter of time before a serious accident occurs there. I really don't want to wait until that happens to have something done about it.

My suggestion is a series of speed bumps across I street that will slow oncoming traffic enough that both vehicular parties will be able to see one another and react in an appropriate and timely manner. I think two in front of each building would do it

Exacerbating the situation is the prevalence of cars parked all the way to the end of the street leading to the mouth of the Jefferson garage. Ideally the spot closest to the garage should be eliminated or shortened. A crosswalk should be placed there instead.

Additionally, there are always pedestrians and their pets crossing the street, so that the driver leaving the parking garage is forced to play a game akin to the video game Frogger! Pedestrians are actually breaking the law by crossing where they normally do because the crosswalk is ridiculously misplaced. I think VERY few people actually use the cross walk near the Jefferson.

We're coming up on Baseball season and the foot traffic around our building will be increasing exponentially. Can we put something in motion soon, before tragedy becomes the motivating factor in acting?

Sincerely
Thomas Jefferson
The Jefferson at Capitol Yards blogger

Are you looking to sell some items from your home?

2011-03-21T16:12:00.000-04:00

At the suggestion of tenant I would like to offer this blog to tenants who are looking to sell, swap, or freecycle items to/with other tenants.

Just send an itemized or general list of what you have to offer and I would be happy to post them here.
Send your correspondence to capyards@gmail.com and include in the subject field "Please post--Items for sale (or whatever)"

The more things change...

2011-03-21T11:33:00.001-04:00

Below is a post that was originally posted in another thread, but I thought it was important enough to post as it's own topic. It seems that there are some points that are made necessary by the tenant roulette that is played by this building that need reiterating over and over.

Dirty Tenants

Dear residents,
Please clean up ALL YOUR DOG PISS AND POOP - not only outside, but INSIDE. I am REPULSED to have seen dog "accidents" inside and the owners WALK AWAY from cleaning it up!

I'm also repulsed that clearly tenants do not know how to throw their trash away. Our trash room is constantly a smelly mess. Who do tenants think they are NOT throwing their trash bags down the trash chute and just leaving bags on trash on the ground? This happens and trash stays on the ground for days! I am shocked at how lazy people are. This is already gross for other tenants, but it WILL cause rodents to make visits to our apartments.

And last, what drunk idiot stumbled in last night and left a pool of blood in the front elevator? CLEAN UP YOUR BLOOD! Is that too hard to ask? Its disgusting. Does this person not realize how incredibly disgusting and unsanitary this is? Does this person not realize there are children that live in the building?

Hey smokers! Clean up your butts! On the roof and in the front of the building! NOW! Its gross! And inconsiderate of others!

If management would actually do their job incidents like this would be addressed properly. Instead they just sit around all day and clearly do NOTHING.

--End of tenants post

I think most people do a pretty good job of cleaning up after their dogs, but there are always those who persist in not owning up to their responsibility as pet owners. I have witnessed some of them myself. To not clean up after your pet in front of the building is inexcusable and it makes one wonder what trailer park you grew up in. Still, there are others who think that if you take your dog across the street it's okay to leave the mess over there. I guess they don't walk to the Metro. That strip of grass is hazardous to ones...well, shoes at very least. Pet owners, if you can't be fully responsible for your pet, then you shouldn't own one. That goes for the person whose large dog barks out the window at the back of the building all night.

I'll go one better than the poster about cleaning their blood up out of the elevator. Get the hell out of the building jackass! Who knows what lurks in your nasty fluids?

IMO smokers have long been one of the most oblivious classes of people that I have ever seen (although the girl who threw her flossing instrument out the car window in front of the building yesterday kind of burns me up too. Have you seen these little plastic things on the ground before? New phenomena!) I HATE litterbugs. But smokers don't even consider their butts litter evidently, or maybe they just want all of us to enjoy their habit. I've got a new smoking tenant on my floor . How do I know? Because he or she is stinking up the whole wing of the building's hallway. Smokers should be required to have a door sweep to keep all that deliciousness to themselves.

The trash room can be a mess. People aren't mindful of how they dispose of their trash, and I can understand that--it's trash, but really in a building this large things can deteriorate quickly. There are those that also insist on leaving their recycling in the trash room too. It's true, vermin can be a problem in trash areas, but also bugs. People come into this building from all kinds of other living situations and to bring bugs from one building to this one is no great stretch. I've actually seen a cockroach crawling across the hallway floor. Welcome to the building!

It appears that management has done a little bit to make communication with them easier, such as the e-mail blasts, but are these are largely superficial gains. What do you think? Let me know what you think about the leasing office's recent improvements.

Tired of playing frogger part II

2011-03-13T16:55:00.000-04:00

I'm going to mention it again, because I think it's worth mentioning. I would hope that the building would be able to throw its influence behind having some speed bumps, preferably four, in front of the buildings. Having to creep out of the garage into the oncoming traffic is a very dangerous situation that could use the immediate attention of the leasing office and it's parent company Graystar. They have at least three large buildings in the immediate area and must have some leverage with the city.

How about it management? Can we get some speed bumps outside the building to slow down some of the oncoming traffic before someone is hurt or killed?

Does anyone attend the ANC meetings regularly? Perhaps Mr. Garber could be of some help.

Post equest from a tenant

2011-03-13T16:47:00.000-04:00

Since you reach part of the apartment's population, would you be willing to start a post that would allow for resident to resident offerings of items or sale or for free, such as tickets, furniture, or jobs available, etc? It could increase your readership. Thanks for your consideration.

Ok. Would anybody out there be interested in using this site for trade, barter, or sale items in the building? Sounds good to me..

post request from a tenant

2011-03-13T16:45:00.002-04:00

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

2011-02-27T09:22:00.001-05:00

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

Dog Walkers Wanted

2011-02-14T12:01:00.000-05:00

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

A Note from a Former Tenant

2011-02-09T08:36:00.002-05:00

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?

2011-01-29T12:06:00.000-05:00

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

2011-01-23T08:37:00.001-05:00

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

2011-01-23T08:19:00.000-05:00

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

2011-01-14T16:34:00.000-05:00

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...

2011-01-01T17:41:00.002-05:00

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

Awww Rats!!!

2010-12-29T18:46:00.003-05:00

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...

2010-12-21T16:45:00.000-05:00

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

2010-12-20T20:20:00.000-05:00

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

From a reader...

2010-12-14T10:19:00.000-05:00

There was a ton of dog piss in on one of the back elevators last night. It was there when I went down to the garage at 9pm and it was still there when I got home around 11:30.

Thank you irresponsible pet owner! I appreciate an unsanitary and smelly elevator!