Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-11-20
Violations of Building Regulations.

To the Editor of The Evening Star:
The article in Monday evenings Star
headed Attorneys opinion Sought has
| been read by residents of square 1o49, and
the remarks of the building inspector in re-
gard to the same must have caused surprise
to those who know the facts in regard to 1t.
VIII you be kind enough to give the his
tory of this case as the neighbors know it?
Mrs Barbara Clements house. on the
point of square 1919 made by the junction
of Maryland avenue, II street and 10th
street northeast, was built when much of
this end of town was a commons. The first
time her building line was called IN ques-
ton was when the big Florida avenue sewer
was built. Her house was in danger OF
going down into that sewer, and there was
a suit for damage against the District, that
went so far that the District surveyors
went over the ground, and found her house
was built twelve feet out on 10th street ana
five feet out on Maryland avenue. This
fact caused all talk of suit for damage to
! be dropped, she being content to let well
enough alone
The next property to the west of Mrs.
Clements belonged to the old German
(NentZeD who was murdered in the H
street car stables. The next lots to the
west of the Vented lot are improved with
a good class of buildings, and the owner OF
| these to correct the building lines, as
shown by his survey, bought the Vented
lot and gave twelve feet to Mrs. Clements
and Kept eight nlmSelI, SO ludl IL MIS-
Clements was moved back his property
would not be disturbed. have not the date
of this transaction, but the parties all live
| here at this time. and the fact can be
proved. Nothing more was done until Mrs
| Clements put up new house on the prop
erty given her. together with some of her
, own vacant ground. 1t was noticed that
she building out on the line of her old
house on the corner. The attention of a
| building inspector, a District surveyor l
am told was called to it, and he is reported
to have said: She puts that up on her own
risk; she knows she is out too far and
| that was the end of 1t, for the building
| went up. and is the one Mr.. Brady refers to
as permit No 16I1. and built in 1885.
After this no one was allowed to come
out on this building line Every time a
| kick would be made to the District surveyor
| about being set back five feet his answer
always has been: Mrs. Clements is five
| feet over the line and that had to go
When the mSterial hauled for these
| projections the writer called on the building
| inspectors office and wanted to know how
| it came Mrs. Clements was allowed to take
another five feet to which she had no claim.
q had also written to the Commissioners
stating the facts, and 1 suppose the letter
had been sent to Mr.. BradyD That pro-
lection has been ordered stopped" l was
told. On going home l found the projections
going up as fast the men could work:
but the building inspector had been out and
ordered work stopped but as soon as he
was gone work commenced at once. The
next morning. on getting out of bed, l saw
the men hard at work, although it was
scarcely daylight. l called at the police
station to see if the permit had been re-
voked they knew nothing of it, and, on
telling the case, l was told in good, plain
English that If the building inspector
wanted that work stopped all he had to do
was to notify that Office, and not another
nail would be driven 1t was never in
| tended that it should be stopped After the
suit against Mrs. Clements for doing what
she had permit to do, the work inside has
been finished. except the cutting of the wall
into the water closet, and this the builder
was afraid to do without special permit.
These are the facts in the case. These
two windowG that the building inspector
talks SO innocently about are an addition
of ninety square feet to a very small bar
room and water closet of about twenty
feet square to open out of the bar room. All
this ground is government ground and was
known to be such when the permit was
granted. This permit was refused at first
| but pressure being brought was granted.
There is a first-class chance that Congress
will take this matter up this winter, and
the Commissioners can tell what they
know about those innocent windows.
Let any citizen that wants to see this
gift of ground. with this bar-room on 10Th
street and Maryland avenue northeast, and
see the bar and all its fixtures on ground
that ought to be parking, and an Unlocking
water closet sticking out on the corner Of
18th street
The permit that Mr.. Bradley talks about
as No. 1911 does not apply to this wrong at
new building put up west of the old build
ing, having no projections, but coming out
FIVE feet over the building line, with plain
front.
and water closet a by 81 was granted this
summer. GEORGE K. JENVEY,
1410 Maryland avenue northeast