Tuesday, July 06, 2010

120 S Street NW

See this message from a Randolph Place NW resident:

Does anyone know anything about an older black male who might be a squatter, thief, or some such, around S Street NW? I and a neighbor have seen him a few times in the last few months going into the backyard of 120 S Street NW, which was overgrown with weeds and abandoned (or nearly so). We're unsure of whether he's gotten into the actual house. The yard at the house was finally tended to this past Friday -- two guys were sent by "the bank" is all one of the guys would tell me (Hispanic, little English ability) , and this past Sunday about 5:00 p.m. I saw the guy in question try the basement rear door then go up the back porch and try the first floor door, to no avail -- maybe the bank also made sure the doors were locked. Anyway, this guy might be about 50, with grey scruff around the chin/face, and every time I see him he's wearing shorts, sneakers, and a powder blue Wizards baseball cap. He sometimes has a 10-speed with him. I'm just a little skittish, as my wife will be staying home with our two babies beginning in a couple weeks and I don't need him coming to my back door trying to get in.

Also, does anyone know the status of 120 S? I traced ownership to a guy in South Carolina, but that Hispanic guy said "the bank" had sent them to do the yard.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Uhh, mind your own business.

btw, if you're that scared. Move to the suburbs.

Anonymous said...

I think you'll be okay. I live on Q ST where there are several abandoned properties. Any given day you can find an older (homeless or drug addicted) man out front or inside. They are pretty harmless. The guy has probably found another property to squat in by now. If he wanted to break into your home he would have done so already. However, you should be concerned about the teenagers with nothing to do during the day now that school is out. Burglar bars or an alarm system would be a wise investment.

Anonymous said...

Uh, ignore Anonymous. Trolls like that are worth nothing.

Others can speak to getting the house categorized as vacant, but if you feel there is a safety risk I wouldn't hesitate calling the police.

Faye H.

Mari said...

Call the police. If you want get on the Yahoo groups for 5D and mention it. Yes, the house might belong to a bank, but report it as vacant to the DC tax office, just in case. Also talk to your neighbors and make them aware too.
Ignore the trolls and make empowering yourself and your wife so your don't live in fear.

Anonymous said...

Not sure what a "troll" is, but whoever told me to mind my own business and move to the 'burbs if I'm scared can kiss my ass.

Anonymous said...

say it to my face, pansy.

ElCarmean said...

As one of the neighbors of 120 S Street, I have heard from other neighbors that have lived within a few houses for 20+ years that 120 S hasn't been occupied for more than 20 years. These same neighbors talked to the men cutting the yard (and all my lovely peas and flowers that I had been training up the fence) and they said that the city was paying them to do the work.

Over the winter I saw a few people go in the front door, a couple of times, talking about renovating it, but they were always gone by the time I went outside to talk to them, and clearly nothing came of it.

There was a man (as you described him) squatting in the basement, propping the back metal gate in front of the door closed with a stick. The stick is still propping the gate closed, but I haven't seen him in a few days.