Issues with noise, trash and parties have led Foggy Bottom residents to demand the city strip the operating license of the landlord for a 22nd Street townhouse leased to GW students.
A University official and neighbors said the townhouse, which has traditionally been leased to GW students, has been the focus of complaints from neighbors for years. The issue was brought up at an Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2A meeting in May by several neighbors who complained about the problems they said are associated with the house, including loud parties and excessive trash that they say has led to additional rats in the area.
Michael Akin, GW’s executive director of government, international and community affairs, said the University is trying to rectify the issues with the students that live there.
“Because of repeated complaints about this property, we have worked closely with the ANC, the D.C. government, Councilmember [Jack] Evans’ office and impacted neighbors to help landlords understand their responsibility and to bring such problems to an end,” Akin said in an e-mail. “We are committed to minimizing the impact on our neighbors.”
The townhouse, located at 1016 22nd street, received a $1,000 sanitation-related ticket from the D.C. Department of Public Works in February, according to a resident who declined to give his name because he did not want to be associated with the problems. In 2004, The Washington Post reported that the townhouse had been shut down for safety code violations, displacing the students who leased the space at the time.
Occupants of three nearby buildings say that despite the government action, problems persist.
At the ANC meeting, neighbor Mike Wascom, who also lives on 22nd Street, referred to the building as a nuisance and a health hazard, and said the issues date back for years.
Akin said GW has responded to the complaints quickly and “made sure the trash was removed.”
“We take these issues very seriously and have been working aggressively – in conjunction with the neighbors and the city – to make sure that any complaints are responded to immediately,” Akin said.
Though at least five people spoke or submitted letters at the meeting about the need to revoke the operating license of the landlord, ANC commissioners said there wasn’t enough information to make a resolution on the issue at that time and moved the issue to the agenda for the June meeting.
The resident who declined to give his name said that he and the other people who resided in the townhouse for the last year have had problems with the landlord.
“At the end of the day, the main problem is not that we’re crazy party animals, we’re just trying to live here,” he said. “The landlord is a jerk, and the trash issues aren’t our fault.”
The resident, who said he was a 2009 GW graduate and plans to move out of the building soon, said that the landlord hired a private service to pick up the trash. When the building was fined in February for sanitation issues, the landlord paid the ticket and took responsibility for the mess, the resident said.
The landlord could not be reached for comment.
Amy D’Onofrio contributed to this report.
