Toxic hazard discovered at 3003 Van Ness

During the week of August 28, 2023, residents of 3003 Van Ness complained about the smell of gasoline in the G2-level garage and in a stairwell of the West building.

The DC Fire Department investigated and found a leaking drum in the loading dock of 3003 Van Ness. Efforts were made to soak up the leaking substance. The DC Hazmat unit has been notified.

Equity Residential management failed to remediate the spill prior to the long Labor Day weekend, during which the loading dock door was left open to allow fumes to escape the building. Management has not told residents whether the situation poses a fire safety hazard and has not announced its timeline for cleaning up the spill.

VNSTA sends second letter to Equity about fluctuating water temperatures

The Van Ness South Tenants Association today sent a second letter to building manager Josh Luper, inquiring against about residents’ complaints about water fluctuating between hot and cold.

In response to the tenant association’s first letter, Equity responded saying that the problems likely were localized to certain apartments. However, since then, repairs have been attempted in some apartments, but problems persist. In addition, residents note that complaints seem to come almost exclusively from apartments in the West building.

Read the new letter in printer-friendly format at this link.

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EQUITY’S RESPONSE

On Dec. 19th, two weeks after we sent our first letter to Equity Residential complaining about fluctuating hot and cold water in the West building, we received this reponse.

Dear Valued Resident,

We have had a number of residents inform us of hot water fluctuations in the West building over the past couple of weeks. During these reports we checked our building systems and at that time determined that these issues may have been from what we thought to be failed diverters in those apartments. Since these reports have continued our team has since completed an additional exhaustive inspection of all our complete building system. During this inspection we were able to find a pump that was in need to be rebuilt. While this pump was running we believe it to be the cause of the infrequent water changes. If you have previously reported this issue please monitor your hot water and let us know if you experience any more fluctuations.

As always, we appreciate your patience and understanding while we work to resolve this issue.

VNSTA begins releasing results of its maintenance survey

The Van Ness South Tenants Association today began releasing the results of its recent survey on the maintenance of individual apartments at 3003 Van Ness. More than 100 residents of 3003 Van Ness completed the survey.

The survey was conducted because of the large number of complaints the tenants association had received from tenants, who reported that they were experiencing chronic problems with poor ventilation, plumbing leaks, mold, rodents and other issues that Equity Residential had failed to fix properly. Most respondents did not blame the maintenance staff — many said that they believed that it was Equity corporate policy to devote few resources and staff to maintaining residents’ apartments.

Preliminary review of the survey results found that:

• Many people reported that they currently experience several maintenance problems. Some reported as many as 6 different problems.

• The #1 reported problem was poor ventilation, especially smoke from other apartments. 40% of respondents reported that they currently have a problem with poor ventilation.

• Almost 1/3 of respondents reported that they currently have problems with rodents.

• 1/4 of respondents reported that they currently have problems with mold.

• Almost one in nine respondents report that they currently have no maintenance problems. Of those, only one respondent reported that he has had no maintenance problems at all.

Many respondents wrote several paragraphs or more about the frustrations they have experienced. The tenants association plans to release representative samples of their accounts via Twitter.

DC requires full expert analysis of problems outlined in VNSTA report

Several weeks after the Jan. 5th release of the VNSTA report titled, “Structural Problems, Security Issues and Safety Hazards” and after the tenants association pushed hard for an expert analysis of the widespread leaks in the garage and other issues, Equity Residential wrote a letter to the tenants association stating that it would make progress and it had planned to do so anyway.

While this doesn’t completely ring true because residents had complained above some of the problems — for example, broken doors and locks — for a long time, we appreciate any constructive steps that Equity makes toward fixing some of the serious problems outlined in the report.

On Jan. 31, VNSTA was able to find out that DCRA would require some of the strong measures that the tenants association had demanded. For example, it has required the following reports by Equity Residential:

• An expert report on the causes of the large leaks in the underground garages, including plumbing and waterproofing

• Analysis by a certified structural engineer of possible damage to columns, beams, and other critical support elements in the garage

• Reports on repairs of all doors and locks

DCRA has required Equity to provide these reports by Feb. 15th.

This is a substantial although tentative victory for the tenants association. We plan to follow up to find out the content of those reports, to see if they fairly analyze the situation or if they are biased toward Equity Residential, and to push for repairs to the more serious damage described in the report.

VNSTA launches maintenance survey

In response to may complaints from residents about serious maintenance problems in their apartments — water leaks, rodents, poor ventilation, mold and other problems — the Van Ness South Tenants Association has posted a maintenance survey for all residents of 3003 Van Ness.

VNSTA plans to compile the survey data and share it with the DC Department of Consumer Affairs and with Equity Residential, so proper steps can be taken to fix current problems in individual apartments and address chronic problems that may be more widespread.

This effort follows the recent report by VNSTA, "Structural Problems, Security Issues and Safety Hazards," which documented extensive maintenance issues in common areas at 3003 Van Ness. The report was covered by the real estate business publication BisNow and by the Forest Hills Connection.

The tenants association urges all residents of 3003 Van Ness to complete the survey, whether they have current problems, experienced problems in the past, or have no problems at all. The goal is to produce a fair, comprehensive report that will help shed light on Equity Residential’s maintenance of individual apartments at 3003 Van Ness.

VNSTA asks DCRA to issue formal letter to Equity regarding expert analysis of problems at 3003

On January 20th, the Van Ness South Tenants Association sent a letter to the DC Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs, thanking it for its recent tour of glaring maintenance problems at 3003 Van Ness and also asking DCRA to follow-up with clear instructions to Equity Residential about next steps.

With regard to the substantial damage in the garages, the letter specifically requests that DCRA require a full analysis conducted by certified certified, independent experts in three areas: structural engineering, plumbing and waterproofing.

The letter from VNSTA to DCRA concludes:

“We respectfully request that DCRA follow up its inspection with a formal letter to Equity Residential, copying the tenants association, stating its expectations for a full analysis by certified experts, as well as specific instructions for Equity in the interim.”

— VNSTA letter to DCRA

Tenants association releases report on the deteriorating building at 3003 Van Ness

The Van Ness South Tenants Association today released an extensive report on the condition of the buildings at 3003 Van Ness, including vivid photos of likely structural problems, security issues and safety hazards.

The tenants association sent the report with a letter to the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs (DCRA), requesting an extensive inspection of 3003 Van Ness. DCRA has fined Equity Residential, which manages the building, many times. VNSTA calls on DCRA to investigate, and if it finds substantial violations, to assess Equity Residential with additional fines sufficient to deter such behavior in the future.