Note the family strolling by. Note how no one seems to take any notice. Note how the man in yellow is facing the corner. WOW.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Caught By Google Maps
Last week someone posted this in the comments and it's really too good not to share. Outside 519 H Street, the the middle of the day this was the scene.
Note the family strolling by. Note how no one seems to take any notice. Note how the man in yellow is facing the corner. WOW.
Note the family strolling by. Note how no one seems to take any notice. Note how the man in yellow is facing the corner. WOW.
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31 comments:
After the rail is in and the roads are repaired, does this city plan on installing new sidewalk pavers? Not because of the sh*t on the sidewalk, but because the sidewalk looks like sh*t?
Seriously, who sees this and says/does nothing? Folks if you see public defacation, drugsn drinking or other illegal activity,in you community CaLL 911!
I like how if you look at the right corner of the top image it says "Taste of Jamaica" right on top of the yellow man icon. haha
One man wages a lonely battle against gentrification.
Wonder if it's the same person who left a load on the sidewalk outside of the Autozone. I walked by a defecation point outside the bus stop in front of the store on Saturday.
I have caught one or two homeless guys (may have been the same guy) taking a dump in the alley on my block twice this year. What are we supposed to do? By the time the cops come he would be long gone
If this image surprises you, it shouldn't. Public urination and (less frequently) defecation is quite common along the corridor. I live along an alley immediately north of H (700 block) so I have quite a bit of experience with this behavior. And if you think it's just the homeless and less-well-off that are doing it, guess again; they comprise less than 50% of the offenders. Most of the time it's folks waiting for the X2 bus who need to go to the bathroom. Other times it's people who specifically park their car, get out, and head into the alley to do their business. Am I alone in seeing a need for public restrooms?
@ 2:10, CALL THE POLICE! If you can, take a picture. If he walks away, keep an eye on where he goes and hop in the car with the cop when he gets there, show him the picture, and go make sure he gets arrested. Seriously folks, if you see illegal behavior, call it in! Look out for yourself and for your neighbors!
You think I'm going to risk my life over a pile of sh*t? Chances are he could have a gun or just be plain crazy and start throwing sh*t at me.
The homeless have no place to go, if they're sent to jail they will be right back on the block or someone else's block when they're released.
@Anon 11:15: New sidewalks are being installed along the rail-- they look super nice...
Umm, I just see a guy facing a corner, no defecation...what am I missing here? I am wondering why it is remarkable that nobody noticed this guy just facing a corner.
massysett,
because his pants are around his ankles, and he's squatting? Surely you would find that a bit odd if you walked down the street. He also looks like he might be about to go #2 (to be completely kindergarten about it). This scene really looks totally normal to you? Because I tend to notice if someone starts disrobing in front of me, or children, on a public street. One might not make eye contact with the person disrobing, but I think we all at least notice it. And I never mentioned defecation in the post. That was a DCist writer (and others in the comments here) taking the next logical step. Come to think of it, he was probably just there to plant some flowers.
I caught a guy taking a crap in our alley last night around 7 PM. He didnt get away that easily. I made him clean up his mess and thoroughly hose down the area before leaving.
Should we really, as residents of the neighborhood, simply sit back and allow our alleys to be used as public restrooms for urination and defacation on a daily basis?
How about some public restrooms for the corridor? Makes sense doesnt it? I wonder if Tommy Wells has any thoughts on the matter.
Here's my new project: I'm going to start taking pictures of the folks "doing their business" in our alley -- wont take but a couple days and I'll have at least 10-15 snaps. Then starts the campaign to Mr. Wells' office for public facilities.
We shouldn't have to live like this. Im tired of hosing and cleaning out our alley ever day or every other day because people choose to use the alley as a bathroom because they have no alternative. And if you offer up that I chose to buy a house along an alley, that's a bullshit argument so dont even bother trying that route.
To me it doesn't look like he is squatting and about to plant some fertilizer. It looks more like he has some drugs on the window sill.
I know where this is because I live right around the corner form this. It is the south side of H Street on the 500 Block.
Had I walked by, I would have said something. I would have harassed him too. Is there a time when this was taken? It very well could have been a few years ago. Google doesn't go throw and update too often.
This is recent. Compare the pictures of construction work on other blocks of H (near 10th) and you will see that this picture was taken probably a couple of months ago.
Drove by the arguably-shat-upon building from the pic today and it has protective wrap around the outside, typically associated with construction/renovation. Does anyone know what's going on with it? Or are they just protecting it from folks like, say, The Man In the Yellow Slicker?
yeah, someone took a poop right behind my house. very frustrating and quite disgusting. i am not lucky enough to have a hose (or an outdoor faucet for that matter, bought this house as is)
but are public restrooms the real solution, because it seems to me that a reasonable person could find a bathroom somewhere they can use (at one of the local churches, at the safeway, etc, there are several places with public bathrooms up and down the corridor)? besides that, whatever happened to holding it? i understand that heroin addicts allegedly have some bowel problems, but i thought that was during withdrawal? i'm thinking even public restrooms might not help them, as if you're having a total loss of bowel control in the middle of a public street, you wouldn't make it to any strategically located public restroom
sigh.
Do what Giuliani did and round 'em up and ship 'em off.
disgusted on wylie-
doesnt cost much to install a water line - $250 tops. money well spent if you ask me. we didnt have an outdoor water line till i had one put in.
Poo Poo is that you???
@ 7th & H:
If you think things are bad now, put in some public restrooms. They'll be functional for about a week. then they'll be home to homeless people, drug deals and spots for Johns and the hizzoes. Public restrooms are not the answer. I don't know what is, but I know what isn't
Seriously, guys, the neighborhood is in transition. This is what you have to deal with. It's way better than it was years ago. Imagine how the decent people felt that lived in this area that didn't have the means of the internet to voice their opinion. They had to deal with it and couldn't afford anywhere else. That area is cheaper to live in for a reason.
The best idea would be to identify the folks who are in the worst shape, then set them up in a rent-free apartment, preferably somewhere where rent is cheap.
Like Dumfries.
Seriously, guys, the neighborhood is in transition. This is what you have to deal with. It's way better than it was years ago. Imagine how the decent people felt that lived in this area that didn't have the means of the internet to voice their opinion. They had to deal with it and couldn't afford anywhere else. That area is cheaper to live in for a reason.
IOW, "Stop complaining about vagrants shitting on your sidewalk! Don't you know ten years ago, folks didn't even have a place to complain about vagrants shitting on the sidewalks?!?"
Seems to me that's an argument in favor of complaining. After all, in a way it's a betrayal of those who came before us if we don't take advantage of all opportunities that technology presents us to bitch and moan?
It is through bitching and moaning that we honor their memory.
I'm sorry to say it isn't just the homeless. We live on an alley 2 blocks from H Street and for 10 years I have watched people literally pull up in nice cars to pee in it. They clearly could have gone to a nearby McDonald's or equivalent.
It is a cultural problem at this point that goes beyond economic situations. This behavior did not occur with such frequency in Boston.
When I confront people they are always "shocked" I think it is a big deal.
Bill Schultheiss
Bill-
You are exactly correct. Folks who think urinating in public (whether it be in alleys or out in more plain view) is limited to just the homeless obviously havent observed enough of the urination activity in DC. Ive seen well-dressed men get out of nice cars and pee in our alley; morning, midday, evening...doesnt really matter. And I've seen ladies squat and either pee or take a crap. What's the solution? Gate off all of our alleys so they cant be walked through anymore? Who wants that? Not me Public restrooms? Nobody's going to want that next to their home.
For now, we self-police the problem: catch offenders, run them off, and hose the alley regularly. And yes, I have hosed down one or two alleys-pee-ers in my 5 yrs here. Still, there's got to be a better way. Nobody should have to live alongside other people's product.
also, public defecation isn't limited to H street...I came into work on Connecticut downtown on a Sunday and saw a pile of clearly human poop outside the Farragut North station. Gross.
"Do what Giuliani did and round 'em up and ship 'em off."
To where?
If restaurants and bars didn't have "Customer Only" signs it might not be as much of a problem. Don't ask me why but it seems that some people would rather piss in in alley than to go in and get harassed by workers who want you to buy something.
I am very proud of those who stand up to people but really I'm not challenging some crazy guy to a standoff. Sorry.
To those who say people didn't see him did you ever think that maybe they pretended not to see him because often when you look a crazy guy in the eye it invites a verbal and possible physical altercation. Perhaps you're just ballsy or maybe stupid. I'm not sure which but you definitely haven't been around mentally unstable people for very long or you might just be tired of the confrontations by now.
I saw a guy do his business in a trashcan at the Anacostia metro station during rush hour. Not one person said a word.
Well it's DC so "no taxation without defecation!"
Taste of Jamaica, indeed!
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