And yet, I continued to wonder, as my husband was winding his way through this design-flaw filled space, how have we managed to do it again?  The Steelers have invited the very same developers, the same poor designers, to do their “magic” on a piece of public land central to our city’s north side.  Talking bad about the Steelers is kind of like insulting your mama in this town, but let me just point out that the Steelers are a privately owned commercial enterprise.  Why would a sports team have so much power and leverage in decision-making about public land?  After all, they are not elected, are they?  And why would this publicly owned land be sold for a song to a commercial enterprise with little to no public oversight or accountability?  Especially without any clearly defined benefits to people living in the surrounding communities the development will affect.  Aha!  you say what about about the over site boards, the Planning Commission and the Sports Authority– aren’t they publicly accountable?

Well, let’s just see:  The mayor appoints individuals to the Planning Commission, the Sports Authority, the Water and Sewage board, Port Authority oversight, and the Urban Redevelopment Authority, not to mention the the Zoning Board of Adjustment, the Historic Review Commission and the Shade Tree Commission. Millions, if not Billions, of dollars are in the hands of these individuals — not to mention the long term political and economic implications of their decision making.  Their appointments are supposed to be given rigorous scrutiny by City Council, and yet in the last July 2009 go-round, the Council gave the mayor 5-4 support without any hearings or review of his appointments.

At a May 2009 Planning Commissionmeeting, 170 people showed up, in the middle of a work day, to give testimony regarding the negative impact proposed development will have to their neighborhoods in Pittsburgh’s north side.  We are talking about the afore mentioned, Steelers proposed development designed by Continental Development of Columbus Ohio, the authors of the Waterfront.  Do you think the voices of 170 people made a bit of difference to the unelected, appointed members of the Planning Commission?  And do you think they made a difference to the mayor?  (who was essentially appointed and never has had to work his way through the rigors of an election campaign cycle, that is, be responsive to voters)  In the words of John Belushi, “noooooooooooooo”

I guess I shouldn’t be surprised by what we are capable of tolerating, myself included. But there is some part of me that has to beg the question to my fellow participants in democracy, “Why are we putting up with this condition as a city and as a region?” We won’t tolerate pushing aside the democratic process of public accountability in our national government.  We proved that as a nation in our last election cycle.  But somehow, when this top-down, Executive dominant way of doing things that we associate readily with Bush-Cheney is at our own back door, we easily hold our collective nose and look the other way.   Just why, oh why, are we putting up with this condition?

RSVP on Facebook!

Can’t attend on Tuesday but want to support the PAC? Please consider making a contribution to our challenge to raise $2009 in 2009 here. We have already raised over $2000 to give to our endorsed candidates please help up continue to raise money to support candidates in 2009 and beyond.

Come and bring your friends for some politics and cocktails on the Northside. A $10 contribution is suggested; all funds raised at this event will go directly to support endorsed candidates.

900 Cafe & Lounge is a non-smoking establishment. It is accessible by the following buses: 16A, 16D, and 500.

Who: YOU!
What: P2pac happy hour(s)
Where: 900 Cafe & Lounge (900 Western Avenue, 15212)
When: Tuesday, April 21st; 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Why: because you are the change you want to see

A week ago, the community group Pretty Up Beechview announced their endorsement of Natalia Rudiak.

From their endorsement:

It is not the time for petty squabbles, empty suits, empty promises, or bureaucratic pencil pushing. Politics as usual, or even worse, backsliding is what we will get unless we all step it up and support Natalia Rudiak for City Council in District 4. Natalia understands us – she knows who we are and where our communities need to go now, and in the future. She understands that the neighborhoods are the city and that the city needs to strongly support its neighborhoods.

Blogger Matt H–who is working for un-endorsed candidate Anthony Coghill–was upset that his candidate did not win this endorsement and took exception in the comments to their post:

Did you even reach out to the other candidates?

and

How have you publicized your events/meetings? I was disappointed that it didn’t seem any other candidate was even considered for this endorsement.

One-by-one, several Beechview residents piled on to defend their decision.  Here’s a sampling:

Max:

[...] It is the candidate’s job to reach out, and as I see it, my job to make a decision based on their actions and words.

Our group, simply put, picks up trash and plants gardens, and the only candidate that has come out and worked with us (on multiple occasions)is Natalia. [...]

Rachel:

[...] I am dissapointed that the other candidates haven’t made an effort to reach out to our group.

and

[...] Natalia is the only candidate to attend our PUB Crawls and events. She even brings her own crew. She comes on her own accord and supports our efforts and encourages other to do the same. [...]

Bethany:

[...] It’s an open invitation to anyone interested in volunteering and bettering Beechview. That’s how we have been pleasantly surprised and blessed to have community members such as Ms. Rudiak and police officers of Zone 6 and even people not from this community at all come out and lend a hand. Completely on their own accord. That speaks volumes.

And finally, Rivers…:

Simply put, it is not that we are against the other candidates, it is just that we are for Natalia. She has gone the extra mile to understand what we are interested in and where we would like our community to go in the future. She has shown us the motivation and energy that is needed to move Beechview forward. I am not saying that the other candidates lack this, only that they have not shown it to us, or the community at large. We want to work with ALL of the candidates. Above all else, we want to see our community, our district and our city succeed.

The P.U.B. members who posted here couldn’t be more clear.

The issues involved with digital billboards are as follows:

• Where should they be allowed? They have a greater impact on their environment than traditional billboards because they glow rather than being flat images.
• How many should be allowed? They are being used to replace traditional billboards because they bring in more revenue and cost less to operate than traditional billboards.

Please consider voicing your opinion on LED billboards on Wednesday, March 11 at 5:30 p.m. in the first floor conference room of 200 Ross Street. Think about is this way: would you want to see an LED billboard from your house?

For more information, see this post.

Image by PMAHCC via Flickr

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CITY OF PITTSBURGH
“America’s Most Livable City”
Office of Mayor Luke Ravenstahl

Dear Neighbors,

Over a six month period during 2007, I hosted 10 Neighborhood Forums throughout the City.  I, along with all City directors, engaged in dialogue with more than 650 residents during the forums.  I reported on the state of the City, while challenging residents to envision their neighborhoods 10 years ahead, laying the groundwork for future initiatives.  My Office of Neighborhood Initiatives collected and analyzed the feedback from each of the forums, highlighting the top three issues and concerns: 1) public safety; 2) blight; and 3) economic development.  My staff has attended community meetings and block watch events throughout the past year following the forums and has continued to analyze feedback on issues of high priority and concern with residents.   Public safety has remained a recurrent issue at neighborhood community meetings.

Public Safety remains a top priority for my administration.  It is important that our residents feel safe in our City and in their homes.  With this in mind, we are providing resources to neighborhoods to help them combat and prevent crime.  We have worked and continue to work with neighborhoods to implement block watches, to provide information on the services available, and the Police continue to work with us to educate neighborhood groups and concerned residents on crime prevention.  We want to encourage all residents to call 9-1-1 when they have been the victim of any crime.  The service is there, and we ask that you use it.  No crime is too small to report when it comes to you feeling safe in your homes.

By December, we will have our Nuisance Property Legislation in effect as well as our Rental Property Registry.  We will now have policy on the books that can help us hold absentee landlords accountable.  We will use these new policies to help clean up our residential communities.

In addition to my recent public safety initiatives, we are also addressing other quality of life issues that we all continue to face in our neighborhoods.  As part of my commitment to our neighborhood business districts, we have continued our Taking Care of Business (TCOB) Sweeps. I have visited our neighborhoods and business districts to understand first-hand what we can do to keep businesses open and to attract more.  Public Works cleaning crews – including hoky patrols, street sweepers, and graffiti cleaners – continue to work in each district from a list of action items delivered from your calls into 311. Inspectors from the Bureau of Building Inspection and Fire Department reported code violations.  Urban Redevelopment Authority development specialists talked to business owners about storefront renovation grants and other small business loans.  We will be continuing the business district Sweeps through late November.
Through my TCOB program, more than 100 street trees will be planted throughout neighborhood business districts this fall. The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources’ TreeVitalize initiative has made such efforts possible and will help the region reach the goal of planting 20,000 trees by 2012.  We will also be installing new garbage cans and other streetscape items during the winter months.

In addition to cleaning up our City, we have continued to transform our neighborhoods with my green agenda.  In September, I had the opportunity to meet with Green Up Pittsburgh community stewards to celebrate our new green spaces, urban farms and gardens.  It was great to listen to their heartfelt stories and share the food they harvested from their gardens.  Green Up Pittsburgh is not just about improving the look of our neighborhoods; it is also about building community within our neighborhoods.  The program has evolved into an educational and learning experience for residents and children.

With the community’s help, the assistance from the City of Pittsburgh’s Green Team and the Penn State Cooperative Extension, we have greened more than 50 lots and we have approved seven new sites for this fall and spring.  In addition to the individual, community-stewarded sites, we are greening up recently demolished sites, and are working to develop green strategies for our neighborhoods.  We have made great progress in turning what was blight in our neighborhoods into assets.

At the Green Up Pittsburgh Stewards Recognition Event, stewards asked for more engagement with the partners and one another.  In efforts to connect the stewards even further, we will be designing an online forum for stewards to connect with one another and to help share best practices for building their neighborhood green space.  It will also provide an opportunity for residents to find out where their local Green Up Pittsburgh site is located and ways to for them to get involved.

Pittsburgh has been called America’s Most Liveable City, and through the implementation of Green and sustainable initiatives, and by investing in our neighborhoods, we believe that we can keep this title and build a safer, and more clean and green Pittsburgh.

For more information please contact my Office of Neighborhood Initiatives at 412-255-4765.

512 CITY-COUNTY BUILDING 414 GRANT STREET PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA 15219
Phone: 412-255-2626     Fax 412-255-8602
www.pghgov.com

Chapter 2 is titled the Fear of Us.  I have had the opportunity to watch many pieces of this documentary over the past 2 years.  This is some of the stories of a neighborhood that aren’t often heard.  The first chapter of East of Liberty was screened in London last spring.

The Fear of Us will be at the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater Feb 29-Mar. 2.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNfhGhIgk8M[/youtube]

For more clips and footage about East Liberty and other Pittsburgh neighborhoods click here.

Tuesday’s article is also interesting in that it discussed potential City legislation to put more responsibility on landlords. Overall, it’s a great concept but there are some serious challenges to be considered with increasing evictions, like where do those people go? Pushing people around, like what has happened with the demolition and net decrease of public housing units, doesn’t solve social problems (like crime or drug use). This is evident in the problems that people associate with Section 8 housing, which would fall under the City proposal, because the program has picked up people formerly in public housing.

So, we need social programs to go with our housing ones and a regional approach to problems so that one place doesn’t suffer because of another place’s policy. What’s new?

Neighborhoods – we are working on compiling a list of neighborhood specific blogs, websites and list serves.  Is there a blog in your neighborhood?  How do you connect to others in your neighborhood?  P2 wants to know.  Please leave a comment below with the info so we can update the neighborhoods page.

Also if you look to the right you will see a new feature New in the Neighborhoods – this is a running list of new information on other neighborhood blogs.