Author Archives: BGC

Save a Public Park!

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Save a Public Park in East Liberty

Please donate to the Enright Park Legal Fund.This legal fund will allow groups to go to court & ensure, when the new retail-office complex at former Penn Plaza Apartments opens, there is an Enright Park sitting next to it, with unfettered access for the public

DONATE ONLINE

or via  check or money order,

made payable to Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation
for “Enright Park Legal Fund”,

can be mailed to our offices at 5149 Penn Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15224

 

 

 

 

 

 

The battle to preserve Enright Park in East Liberty continues!

This fall, the fight will shift to Orphan’s Court, a division of Common Pleas Court, as a judge hears the City’s petition to authorize the exchange of land with Pennley Park South, Inc., that will give them the final piece they need to construct their large office-retail development in East Liberty. But at what cost to the public?

Nowhere in the City’s petition will there be a guarantee that a new, reconfigured park will emerge as the first phase of the commercial development comes out of the ground. Nor will it ensure that when the park is finished, the public will enjoy unfettered access to it. And we’re still waiting to see when and how a community process is put in place to oversee the use of tax dollars generated by the new development in funding affordable housing nearby. It’s a complex set of terms and conditions the judge will be asked to review, and we, as community groups, believe we need to be in the room as those deliberations take place.

To be heard in that courtroom means hiring attorneys to represent the interests of the larger public, and that takes money.

The Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation (BGC), together with the Friendship Community Group and Enright Park Neighborhood Association, are creating a legal fund for just that purpose, and we need your support.

Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to the BGC so that the public is not left holding the short straw when all of the dust has settled.

For more background on what’s at stake with this fight, please visit the website,

www.enrightpark.org

Thank you in advance for your donation to this important cause!

 

the steps

To be heard in that courtroom means hiring attorneys to represent the interests of the larger public, and that takes money. Once the Money is in hand it will go directly to the attorneys who are briefed and ready for the case.

why we’re doing it

We are doing this because Parks are important. Nowhere in the City’s petition will there be a guarantee that a new, reconfigured park will emerge as the first phase of the commercial development comes out of the ground. Nor will it ensure that when the park is finished, the public will enjoy unfettered access to it. It’s a complex set of terms and conditions the judge will be asked to review, and we, as community groups, believe we need to be in the room as those deliberations take place.

The Bulletin: Remembering BGC co-founder Aggie Brose

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RIP Aggie Brose: tenacious Garfield advocate in memoriam

A Message from the Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation Board & Staff

Garfield native Aggie Brose stands proud in the neighborhood she always supported. Working with the BGC for more than four decades, she always nurtured a sense of community. Brose passed away peacefully, surrounded by family, on Wednesday, Jul. 17.  Photo by Rob Larson, NEXTpittsburgh.

Pittsburgh – In one sense, Agnes J. Brose is gone. The strong woman who, 44 years ago, co-founded the Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation, died on Wednesday, Jul. 17.

But the reality is that Aggie (on a first-name basis with her neighbors and the “powers-that-be”) is still with us, and she will forever be a part of Garfield – the neighborhood that raised her – and its evolution in the city’s East End.

Pittsburgh is famous for its distinctive neighborhoods, and the passing down of every local enclave’s lore and legend. Those who grew up in one of these little communities are familiar with the stories about its leaders, athletes, tough guys, business owners, teachers, ministers, and families of every kind – folks who give life to their histories and give each community its unique flavor.

So it is that Aggie will live on through Garfield’s lore for a very long time.

Most people will remember her as a force for good, helping to transform the community in which she had lived for decades from a hopelessly blighted area to a neighborhood filled with unlimited potential.

Aggie’s dream was to help create a community known for its diversity, one with better housing, safer streets and playgrounds, enhanced infrastructure, robust education and employment opportunities, a thriving arts district, a local grocery store and, hopefully soon, a new bank.

Those who knew Aggie best were amazed at how balanced her personality truly was. She was maternal and nurturing with family, friends, and co-workers – always willing to impart her life’s wisdom.

Yet, at the same time, she was also capable of directing outrage at the injustices she saw and the artificial limits imposed on the community by people in positions of power or influence. When she did go nose-to-nose with recalcitrant elected officials, bureaucrats, or business owners, she never stripped them of their dignity in the process.

It was a gift that enabled her to double back months or years later, and make it seem like there had never been a hard feeling or grudge of any kind in the first place. It was a graceful quality that left all of them shaking their heads. And ours, too.

May Aggie rest in peace, now that her many labors have ended.

Those who knew Aggie are encouraged to jot down their favorite Aggie stories and email them to AggieStories@gmail.com.

Check out the August 2019 Bulletin for more local stories.

 

The Bulletin: BOOM Concepts receives official proclamation, mayoral donation

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BOOM gets big financial boost from Mayor Peduto

Story by Andrew McKeon, The Bulletin

BOOM Concepts’ Darrel Kinsel (left) and Thomas Agnew accept an official proclamation from the City of Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Jun. 19. The Garfield art gallery celebrated its five-year anniversary on Juneteenth, in concert with a fundraising campaing. Photo by John Colombo.

Garfield – Over the last 20 years, the Penn Ave. arts district has come to be defined by the “Unblurred: First Fridays” gallery crawl. The monthly event provides visitors an opportunity to explore the avenue’s mainstay galleries and pop-up venues, while also letting them interface with traveling artists.

A regular Unblurred participant, Garfield’s BOOM Concepts (5139 Penn Ave.) has maintained a surgical focus over the last five years. Building on its alkaline momentum to foster a space for marginalized artists, the gallery is now celebrating its fifth anniversary with all of its supporters.

In March, BOOM co-founders Darrell Kinsel and Thomas Agnew launched a fundraising campaign to highlight their five-year watermark. They have designs on a possible satellite location in Oakland, called “BOOM-Craft,” to expand the gallery’s reach and broaden the scope of its mission.

Individual donors have already responded to Kinsel and Agnew’s call for contributions – to the tune of $5,000 – with a haste that speaks to the gallery’s growing network of artists.

On Wednesday, Jun. 19, BOOM received an official proclamation from the City of Pittsburgh. Kinsel and Agnew, both keenly aware of “Juneteenth” and its importance within the civil rights movement, were very particular about when they wanted to commemorate their accomplishments.

“We were super-intentional about selecting Juneteenth,” Kinsel told a crowd of supporters on Penn Ave. As the room buzzed with anticipation, Mayor Bill Peduto presented the gallery’s co-founders with an official document that declared Wednesday, Jun. 19, 2019 to be “BOOM Concepts Day” in the city of Pittsburgh.

While expressing his thanks for their support, Kinsel also reminded the audience that “it’s easy to come here during First Fridays, but it’s the everyday, in-house programming that keeps BOOM afloat.”

Mayor Peduto followed up on the City’s proclamation by pledging a personal donation, matching the $5,000 that BOOM already raised, to bring the gallery’s fundraising total above $10,000.

Referencing Alisha B. Wormsley’s installation in East Liberty, Kinsel concluded the celebration by complimenting BOOM’s loyal supporters. “This is proof that there are Black people in the future,” he said.

Check out the July 2019 Bulletin for more local stories.

 

The Bulletin: ECS hosts virtual tour of ‘recycled’ Garfield school building

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Students ‘virtually’ tour ECS ahead of first school year in Garfield

Story by Andrew McKeon, The Bulletin

Jon McCann (left), CEO of the Environmental Charter School (ECS), guides students on a virtual tour of their school building ahead of its opening for the 2019-2020 school year. Photo courtesy of ECS.

Garfield – On Friday, May 3, the Environmental Charter School’s (ECS) annual “Earth Night” event gave students a high tech preview of their new middle school.

After gathering at the current ECS building in Regent Square, students donned virtual reality (VR) headsets and were instantly transported to Garfield, where the old Rogers School (5525 Columbo St.) is currently being transformed for their arrival in August.

Students got a chance to tour the classrooms and experience what their new learning environment will feel like – complete with finishes, lighting, furniture, and technology.

In turning the old Rogers school into a high-performance green building, Wildman Chalmers Design Architects & Interiors essentially “recycled” the existing structure to reflect the ECS mission of environmental stewardship.

According to Chad Chalmers, he and his fellow architects wanted to preserve most of the school’s existing features: a large central assembly room, wide circulation corridors, and big windows in the classroom bays.

“We kept all of that infrastructure in place and borrowed a small amount of space at the ceilings, which allowed us to distribute a state of the art HVAC [heating, ventilation, and air conditioning] system, cables & wireless routers for connectivity, and LED lighting,” Chalmers said. “Each new component of the renovation considers the comfort level of the students in the classroom, including indoor air quality, thermal comfort, adequate lighting and acoustics.”

The school’s soothing colors and wood tones were chosen to help create a comfortable learning environment. Outfitted with furniture pieces that afford flexible classroom configurations for group work or break-out instruction, the school is designed to be adaptable.

On May 3, the VR headsets were set up so students could experience two of ECS’s specialty curriculum classrooms: the Thinking Lab and the Media Lab.

“The software showed both rooms completely finished, with the furniture that’ll be provided in each space,” Chalmers explained.

“We often use computer-generated renderings to communicate design concepts to our clients, but this was the first time that we’d used the headsets to create a truly immersive experience,” he continued.

“I think the students were just as excited to see their new classrooms as they were to experience an alternate reality.”
By making energy-efficient improvements to the building, like adding thermal windows, Chalmers and his team created alternate realities within the ancient structure; they overhauled its coal-fired basement furnace in order to install a complex HVAC system.

“We had to come up with a creative solution to get fresh air intake into each individual space,” he said. “Since we were already planning to replace them, we borrowed some space at the top of each window opening for an air intake ‘louver’: the building breathes through each of these locations to bring fresh air into each room, on demand.”
While the virtual tour could not demonstrate just how these new classrooms “breathe,” the sensory experience was enough to make every student eager for the coming school year.

Having received over 1000 applications for the 2019-2020 school year, ECS currently serves 635 students. For more info, visit the ECS website.

Check out the June 2019 Bulletin for more local stories.

 

The Bulletin: Waldorf School designs ‘living building’ classroom

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Breaking new ground: Waldorf classroom embraces ‘green’ design

Story by Ellen DiBiase, Bulletin contributor

ABOVE: Rendering of the Waldorf School’s new classroom building, looking west towards S. Winebiddle St. Read more in the September 2018 Bulletin. Graphic courtesy of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson.

Friendship – The master plan for the Waldorf School of Pittsburgh’s campus is driven by the maxim that “continued success requires expansion.” Comprised of four phases, the plan involves enhancing the main Victorian-era building at 201 S. Winebiddle St. to accommodate students in grades 1-8.
The plan also calls for improvements to the adjacent yellow building that houses the school’s childcare program, which serves children between the ages of 18 months and 4 years. Finally, the addition of a completely new structure at the rear of the school’s 2.4 acre property would be the final project under Phase 1 of the master plan.
Since 2012, Waldorf has completed six classroom renovations, as well as three grounds-related projects. The new single-classroom building, which is designed to house a class of 25 eighth graders, will help the school provide each grade with its own learning space (based on projected enrollments).
Founded in 1993, the Waldorf School of Pittsburgh began in a small rental property on the South Side – with an enrollment of approximately 90 students in pre-K through fifth grades – before moving to the Bloomfield/Friendship area later that year. Waldorf now supports just over 240 students each school year; its first eighth grade class graduated in 2014.
As the school expands, administrators are focused on aligning its physical growth with ideals of sustainability and place-based learning. Initially, their hope was to build a SEED (Sustainable Education Every Day) classroom for the eighth graders. Yet, after considerable deliberation, school officials decided that this type of modular classroom would not increase the value of the property and did not allow for enough aesthetic choices in the building’s design.
The architectural firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson (BCJ) was hired to design a new 1,000 square-foot space that not only adhered to sustainable building practices, but also harmonized with the main building’s architectural character. In concert with the natural green spaces on campus, the materials’ palette of the new building is muted and natural; an arced wall embraces outdoor green space that doubles as an amphitheatre for large school events.
According to Kirsten Christopherson-Clark, the Head of School at Waldorf, the project will break ground next year – early enough to get the classroom ready for 2019-2020 school year.
City Council approved the school’s Conditional Use application at a July hearing. In anticipation of the hearing, school officials hosted a public community meeting in May. Christopherson-Clark said she that most of the issues raised by the neighbors in attendance were inquiries about the structural details, energy systems, and how the community would be invited to share in additional uses of the building.
BCJ is pursuing both a Living Building Challenge Petal certification and a WELL Building Standard with the new classroom’s construction. Living buildings give more than they take, creating a positive impact when interfacing with the human and natural systems around them. Waldorf would be the first school in Pittsburgh to achieve this recognition.

The Bulletin: Looking both ways with ‘citizen crossing guard’ Rose Parker

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Volunteer crossing guard protects students from Penn Ave. motorists

Story by Andrew McKeon, The Bulletin

ABOVE: Volunteer crossing guard Rose Parker remains steadfast in the face of oncoming Penn Ave. traffic. She also remains skeptical of local drivers’ reaction time during rush hour. Read more in the August 2018 Bulletin. Photo by Andrew McKeon.

Garfield – Rose Parker keeps her head on a swivel as she looks up and down Penn Ave. The citizen crossing guard has lots of advice, both metaphorical and literal, for dangerous drivers that zoom past her unofficial post at the intersection of N. Millvale and Penn Aves.
“You’ve got to take the long view,” she said. “You’ve got to look ahead and slow down.”
Usually decked out in safety-signaling shades of red on most weekday mornings and afternoons during the school year, Parker stands guard for hours as Pittsburgh Public School (PPS) students like her grandson enter and exit various school buses. She regularly throws herself into traffic, as a mere volunteer, and hoists a hand-held stop sign while shepherding kids across the street – inviting all sorts of discourse with angry drivers.
“I’m trying to be reasonable, hoping that you see me standing there and realize that I’m there for a reason,” Parker opined to the hypothetical motorist. “If my shouting offends you, then you should ask yourself why I’m shouting. It’s not like I just woke up and said, ‘I feel like shouting at somebody today.’”
When The Bulletin last spoke with Garfield’s bravest community servant in May 2017 [“Citizen crossing guard provides safe passage on Penn Ave.” Vol. 42, No. 5], she was just wrapping up her first year of guard duty. Since then, things have obviously changed in the city’s East End, for better or worse.
A colossus of condominiums continues encroaching on Garfield from all sides, rendering Penn Ave. into a racetrack for some of the more inconsiderate condo-dwellers. As more people flock to – and commute through – the East End every day, the uptick in vehicular traffic puts a strain on Pittsburgh’s already problematic roadways. The City’s seasonal construction schedule does not help things, either.
“The City has been blocking off the bridges, so everyone’s looking for alternatives because they might miss that next light,” Parker said.
She jokes that her motivations for serving as a crossing guard are purely selfish; one of the students she saves from oncoming traffic “might end up becoming a doctor,” Parker noted. “Maybe they can help me live to be 135 years old. Am I being greedy?”
Garfield parents appreciate the crossing guard for reasons beyond her traffic-stopping heroics. Parker also goes out of her way to keep the lines of communication open between kids and their parents; whenever a student cannot call home for any reason, she offers up her cell phone to help them contact family members.
A bus driver for five years, Parker knows a lot about the safety protocols for both drivers and rider. In order to obtain a commercial driver’s license (CDL), she learned all the ins-and-outs of bus driving – from basic vehicle operations to more situational knowledge, like how long it takes the air-brake system to bring everything to a complete stop.
“I had to know the mechanics of the whole vehicle before I got my CDL,” she explained, “especially how to check the brakes before and after a stop.”
Parker said that, despite her conversations with elected representatives, no policy-makers have responded to her demands for safety cameras along Penn Ave. The City could just check the tape, she suggested, and make reckless drivers pay steep fines for their violations.
“Our Mayor says we don’t have enough money to pay for all these things that are so important to us,” Parker insisted. “Well, then how do we come up with fundraising for all this other new stuff?”
She questions how any visions of a “City for All” could include such bad drivers.
On the afternoon of June 8, the last day of school for PPS students, the crossing guard received well-wishes from students and parents who were eager to greet her again in the fall. Despite the satisfaction of finishing out the school year with no harmful incidents, the crossing guard kept the long view in mind while welcoming the last few buses to a safe stop.
“It just seems like [local politicians] are not paying attention to this dangerous situation,” Parker observed.
“Oh, they’ll take notice alright,” her friend, Darlene Summers, interjected, “when some kid gets killed by a car out here. That’s when they’ll finally do something about it.”

 

The Bulletin: Community Development in Garfield

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Community Development Updates by Rick Swartz, BGC

 

Council to consider bill allowing “granny flats”

City Council will take up legislation this month to allow a second dwelling unit to be added to single-family homes in a large portion of Garfield. Homeowners and homebuilders will have a two-year trial period to see if it is feasible to convert a basement, garage or third-floor attic into a second apartment, or tuck a “granny flat” into a newly-built house, as ways to make owning a home more affordable. The homeowner would need to remain the primary occupant of the house for as long as the unit is rented. The area of Garfield under consideration extends from Allegheny Cemetery on the west to N. Aiken Ave. on the east. Penn Ave. would not be included in the district. A public hearing on the bill is scheduled for July 25, at 2 p.m., in City Council chambers.

Modular home approved for lot in 400 block of N. Graham

The Garfield neighborhood could see the construction of its first modular home this summer on a lot at the corner of N. Graham and Hillcrest Sts. Module, Inc. received approval from the city zoning board in May to erect the house, which will be built in sections in a factory and shipped to the site. A homebuyer for the unit has already been identified. Brian Gaudio, a principal in the firm known as Module, has said he would like to build additional, for-sale homes in other parts of the neighborhood.

Open Hand Ministries ramps up activity in Garfield

Open Hand Ministries, currently renovating a single-family home at 208 N. Fairmount for a working-class homebuyer, appears poised to take on renovations projects at several other locations in Garfield. Pairing up with East Liberty Development, Inc. (ELDI), Open Hand has its sights set on re-doing houses at 4752 Kincaid St., 310 N. Fairmount St., 5521 Broad St., and 233 N. Aiken Ave. ELDI has managed to receive a commitment award of federal tax credits that will reduce Open Hand’s construction costs by as much as 20%, which will help keep their homes affordable to families earning under $40,000 per year.

Possible help from City Council for Fort Pitt School and Field

Councilman Rev. Ricky Burgess told two representatives from Garfield community groups last month that he will try to get the city to commit as much as $50,000 to seed efforts to plan for the future of Ft. Pitt School and an adjoining ballfield. The school has sat empty since 2011. A letter sent in March to school Superintendent Anthony Hamlet by Brothers and Sisters Emerging, Valley View Presbyterian Church, and the Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation requested collaboration from the school district in creating a facility that could be used by both the district and the community. The letter has gone unanswered. Brothers and Sisters, which organizes the Garfield Gators football program every fall, is concerned about the deteriorated condition of the field’s grass surface, and would like to see artificial turf installed in its place.

City says “no” to paying for remediation of Broad St. hillside

Mayor Bill Peduto’s chief of staff, Dan Gilman, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in June that a landslide which occurred in February behind a group of homes in the 5400 block of Broad St. was not triggered by what many residents feel was a poorly-executed house demolition the city oversaw last July. Four homeowners saw their houses condemned initially by the city after a portion of the hillside fell away from their homes. The occupants of two of those homes were able to return to them about a month later, but the other two owners have been forced to accept housing elsewhere. The point of origin for the landslide appears to have been the lot where the demolition work was done. The question remains as to who will take responsibility for reconstruction of retaining walls at both the top and the bottom of the hillside. The retaining wall that ran along the top of the hillside was knocked down by the demolition contractor the city hired last year to raze a house and rear garage that had been condemned at 5472 Broad St.

Garfield Land Trust moving forward with incorporation

After almost two years of planning and engagement of neighborhood residents, the Board of the Garfield Land Trust is readying articles of incorporation for filing this summer with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The land trust’s mission will be to find ways to create an inventory of housing in Garfield that is permanently affordable for lower-income individuals and families. A business plan is also being prepared that will have a variety of strategies the trust’s Board can use to achieve this goal. In a somewhat related move, City Council has approved Mayor Peduto’s nominees to the first advisory board for the Housing Opportunity Fund. The fund will have a stream of up to $10 million annually in city tax dollars that groups such as the Land Trust will be able to use to achieve their mission.

The Bulletin: “Taquitos” truck returns to Garfield

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“Taquitos”: same truck, new flavors for Penn Ave.

Story by Andrew McKeon, The Bulletin

ABOVE: Ray Quintanar (left) serves lunchtime customers from the “Taquitos” food truck at N. Winebiddle St. and Penn Ave. After waiting all year for good weather, Quintanar and his son, Fernando, brought the truck back to Garfield in March to unveil their new look and vegetarian-friendly menu. Read “Neighborhood Focus” on page 8 of the May Bulletin to learn more. Photo by John Colombo.

Garfield – The “Taquitos” food truck and its new paint job – which catches one’s gaze at the corner of N. Winebiddle St. and Penn Ave. – is not just a run-of-the-mill food truck, and its origin story is anything but ordinary.
When Ray Quintanar, his wife Elizabeth, and their son Fernando emigrated from Mexico in 2000, it was because Ray needed to undergo eye surgery that could not be performed in his native country.
The Quintanars ended up in New Jersey, where Ray’s grandmother lived, for the duration of his medical procedure. As Fernando recalled, “By the time my father was done with the surgery and recovery, we had already been in America for two full years. So it was kind of like, ‘we’re already here, so what do we do now?’”
Nearly two decades later, the Quintanar family is running its own mobile eatery in Pittsburgh. Ray opened up the taco truck last year with his uncle, Edgar Alvarez of “Taco Loco” and “Edgar’s Best Tacos” fame. While operating the truck under his uncle’s well-recognized brand for one season, Ray was able to get to know the local foot traffic and gather feedback on menu items before he re-branded the truck, complete with a whole new menu and paint job, for 2018.
When not stationed at its regular post in Garfield, the truck is set up for shop at various events and festivals throughout the city. Over the last year, while they have been learning how to drive the kitchen rig around town, Ray and Fernando have also been learning how drive more sales in a saturated market. “There are so many food trucks in the city and a lot of the trucks are almost the same thing,” Fernando said. “There’s a lot of taco trucks, so we try to be different.”
The driving force behind their new menu, which features more variety and lower prices, is a shift from six-inch to four-inch tortillas. Hence, the new name, “Taquitos”; the term refers to both a rolled, fried tortilla and also a mere “small taco” – both of which are available at the truck.
“A $3 taco is reasonable for some people, but not for me. I can usually eat six tacos at a time, so that price is too high for us,” Fernando explained. “When we went with a different tortilla size, it changed up the whole concept to help us offer lower prices.”
During an Apr. 21 food truck round-up in Millvale, Fernando and his father served over 500 hungry customers. Although the everyday numbers at their normal spot on Penn Ave. are not usually as robust, the Quintanars credit Garfield and its lunchtime palette for enhancing their business strategies.
“We first started going up to Penn Ave. with the truck on First Fridays. Then, as we became more popular and customers began asking for more, we decided to rent the lot [at N. Winebiddle St. and Penn Ave.] and it just picked from there,” Fernando explained. “Since then, our menu has changed dramatically because, in the Garfield neighborhood, we serve a lot of vegetarians and people who want to try new things.”
Last year’s menu featured primarily meat options but, after a winter sojourn to Elizabeth’s hometown of Guadalajara, Mexico, Ray and his son set out to bring the region’s rustic flavors and classic, meatless dishes to Garfield.
“One of the biggest surprises this year is how much people love the nopales, a cactus salad,” Fernando said. “A lot of people are now tasting it for the first time and loving it.”
As he opens up the taco truck window every morning, Fernando understands the greater importance of his family’s work. “We’re opening a window for people to try what’s outside of their comfort zones,” he noted.
Eventually, the Quintanars will open up their full concept of “Rincon Mexicano,” a little Mexican corner market featuring a dessert truck (think: “churros” and “tres leches”) and a stage for musical performers. “We want to provide an area where people can just come relax outside while they learn about Mexican culture,” Fernando said. “The best way to do that is through food.”
Most customers were not comfortable with the truck’s new look when they saw it for the first time this year. “At first, people thought we were a different truck and they got a little angry. So, we explained, ‘It’s the same truck. It just keeps getting better,’ Fernando said. “Our truck is just like the community here in Garfield. The past was rough, but everybody’s adjusting very well to the changes. We are, too, as we try to give back to our new community.”

The Bulletin: Penn Plaza Matters

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Neighbors rally for East Liberty residents displaced by developers

Story by Jason Vrabel, Bulletin contributor

ABOVE: Former Penn Plaza resident Randall Taylor (right, holding microphone) speaks to local community members at a Mar. 19 rally in East liberty. Taylor and other members of the Penn Plaza Support & Action Coalition voiced concerns about the redevelopment plans for the gateway site at Penn & Negley Aves. Photo by Jason Vrabel.

East Liberty – More than a year after the city’s Planning Commission unanimously denied a redevelopment proposal for the former Penn Plaza apartment site, the public got its first full look at a revised plan during a public meeting at Eastminster Presbyterian Church on March 21 [Read accompanying article, “Plans for Penn Plaza debated at contentious community meeting,” on page 5 of the April 2018 Bulletin].
A 2017 Consent Order between the City, developer, and other entities officially put to rest a number of legal disputes between them, and established conditions to guide the redevelopment. But critics of the Order raise the issue that the revised plan leaves many social and economic concerns unresolved.
Pennley Park South, a subsidiary of LG Realty Advisors, the owner of the property, is the developer for the project. Envisioned in their revised proposal is a mix of high end office and retail space for the site that previously provided several hundred units of affordable housing.
According to documents furnished by the property owner, the estimated $150 million project will improve the urban realm, enhance Enright Parklet, provide a range of job opportunities, and reaffirm a “commitment to East Liberty and Fair and Affordable Housing.”
In February of 2017, a lack of community engagement was cited by the Planning Commission as a primary reason for denying the plan. The Consent Order sought to correct this, but stated that the first of two public meetings must be scheduled within ten days of a “determination of completeness” by the City’s planning department.
The meeting was announced on March 14, giving everyone less than a week to review Pennley Park South’s 84-page plan. This slim timeline actually emboldened the advocacy group, Penn Plaza Support & Action Coalition (PPSA), which encouraged its members to attend. In a written statement, PPSA deemed the rushed timetable “a violation of democratic public process.” Still, the organization managed to attract over 200 attendees to the March 21 meeting.
“LG Realty and the City have refused to engage the real community,” former Penn Plaza resident and PPSA member, Randall Taylor, said following a March 19 press conference in front of the empty Penn Plaza site. “The more you involve the community and former residents, the more opportunities you have to make sure that days like this don’t happen.”
PPSA objects to other aspects of the order, including tax incentives for high-end development in the rapidly gentrifying East Liberty neighborhood.
The site is within a Transit Revitalization Investment District (TRID) that will reduce Pennley Park South’s future tax obligations. As part of its settlement with the City, the developer agreed to use 50% of the tax break for infrastructure investments like new sidewalks & sewer lines. The remaining 50% will help fund improvements to Enright Park and the creation of a local housing fund.
According to the developer’s plan, the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh has estimated that “Pennley Park South’s total pledge, upon completion of all phases of the Development, will amount to approximately $6 million of direct investment towards Enright Park and the [housing fund].”
Specifically, the plan states that the funds will “provide amenities such as (a) accessible roads and sidewalks, (b) bicycle enhancements, (c) community and recreational spaces; and most significantly (d) GAP Funding for Affordable Housing.”
The Order states that no housing will be built on site, and that replacement housing will be built “within one mile” of the intersection of Penn and Negley Aves. PPSA members argue that this distance will place people too far from job opportunities, public transportation hubs, and supermarkets.
The housing fund will target those earning 60-80% of the area median income ($817-$1,090 for a one-bedroom unit), which PPSA has stated will be far out of reach for low-income renters.
As Alethea “Lee” Sims, president of the Coalition of Organized Residents and another former Penn Plaza resident, said at PPSA’s press conference, “We need housing more than office. We need housing more than stores. We need places for people to live.”
PPSA members say that the Order was “negotiated behind closed doors” and, that by not including any representation for displaced residents, it sets a “dangerous precedent” for the city.
“It is okay for you to destroy a neighborhood’s affordable housing and create plans behind the community’s back,” PPSA member Dan Yablonsky said facetiously. “In fact, we will give you huge tax breaks – as long as you promise that, down the line, you use a portion of that tax break to fund housing in a different neighborhood, at costs that displaced residents can no longer afford,” he continued. “Pittsburgh deserves more.”
The group will use the Planning Commission Hearings to illuminate other aspects of the project that they deem unacceptable. The allocation of the housing funds will be determined by a “Housing Committee,” represented by the City and four community groups. PPSA sees this as part of an ongoing exclusion of former tenants, and has demanded that the committee add representation for displaced residents.
However, Taylor said that the future elements of the plan are not his primary concern right now. “We intend to stop their plan, so that stops all of that. I think we’re going to stop this plan.”
As per the Order, “All parties shall respond to issues raised [in] the first meeting at the second meeting.” On Monday, Apr. 16, the second community meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at Eastminster Presbyterian Church (250 N. Highland Ave.); it is open to the public.

The Bulletin: “Vacants” in Garfield

Posted on by BGC

Vacant, abandoned houses continue to dog Garfield neighborhood

Story by Joe Reuben, Bulletin contributor

Garfield – While many would say that conditions in the neighborhood have improved dramatically in recent years, Garfield remains saddled with a large inventory of vacant, seemingly abandoned houses. According to Rick Swartz, the Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation’s (BGC) executive director, his organization’s staff recently conducted a survey of most of the neighborhood’s streets, and it revealed at least 131 empty houses, many of them in deplorable condition.
“There were more ‘vacants’ than what we were expecting to find,” Swartz told The Bulletin. “While a number of them have been in that condition for a decade or longer, it’s alarming to find others that may have joined the list only within the past five years.”
Swartz pointed to four houses, all within two blocks of Penn Ave., that illustrate the plight the neighborhood faces when trying to eliminate the blight and potential danger such properties pose to neighbors. A single-family home at 5010 Dearborn St., owned by David and Marcia Grenick, is on the BGC’s list. Public records show reveal that the Grenicks use an address in McKees Rocks for receipt of their county tax bills, but evidently stopped paying years ago.
“The county has scheduled the property for Sheriff’s Sale on March 5th to try to recover over $18,000 in delinquent real estate taxes owed to the county, city, and school district,” Swartz noted. “Even if someone were to bid to buy the property, the deed they’d receive from the Sheriff’s office may not give them a clear title. There could well be thousands of dollars in liens owed to other parties who may still expect payment.”
He went on to say that, even if a private party were to pay $30,000 or $40,000 in the end to secure clear title, the house at 5010 Dearborn may need anywhere from $75,000 to $150,000 to make it a desirable place to live once again.
“That’s where the risk of gentrification comes into play, because a private investor will want to push the future re-sale price for the property as high as he or she can, in the expectation of making a profit of 10 to 20%, or more, after the renovations have been done,” Swartz contended. “That price could be double the price of what any other property in the block has sold for previously.”
The city has tried to contain the spread of blight in neighborhoods like Garfield by coming after tax-delinquent owners of vacant properties, he explained. The Urban Redevelopment Authority offers to “tag” such properties, if the community group so desires.
When they are tagged by the URA, the city must then decide if a public sale is warranted. If it agrees, then the property goes to what is known as “Treasurer’s Sale,” an auction held in City Council chambers once or twice per year; the next one is set for August. However, as Swartz cautioned, this may not be the solution to eliminating blight.
“On our list of vacant houses, there are eleven that the city took either at our request or the URA’s”, he disclosed. “But, it takes the better part of two years before the process of public taking has run its course. In the meantime, the property could fall victim to the elements and become so dilapidated that the chances of renovation become practically nil.”
Swartz pointed to three vacant houses situated at 4911, 5137, and 5349 Broad St. “We’ve seen the interiors of 5137 and 5349 Broad. To restore either of these homes could well cost $200,000 or more. If we were to take on either project, the subsidy we would need to make them affordable – for purchase by someone earning under, say, $50,000 a year – would be in the vicinity of $100,000. The U.R.A. does not have that subsidy to give to us or anyone else at this point in time.”
Ultimately, unless there are private investors who are willing to spend the necessary money on renovations, and then attempt to sell them for $250,000 or more, he said, what may happen is that all three homes will have to face the wrecking ball. Demolishing the structures would result in vacant lots. Even if a neighboring owner wanted to buy the property from the city, they might have to wait a year or longer to finalize the sale; “not exactly an encouraging prospect,” he added.
Although Mayor Bill Peduto promised late last year that a “land bank” would be operational by early spring of 2018, the city’s efforts to start the land bank have been stalled for almost four years. Proponents see the land bank as a mechanism to move vacant, abandoned properties that the city has already acquired in a much more expeditious fashion than the otherwise lengthy disposition process.
Swartz said the “jury is still out” on whether the land bank will fulfill those hopes, but acknowledged that a more effective land banking process could spell the difference between salvaging abandoned & foreclosed properties, and losing them forever.
He relayed that it is up to the BGC’s housing and land use committee, which is open to anyone who wants to help attack problems like these, to determine whether or not to try and acquire eight to ten of the most salvageable houses.
To obtain a copy of the BGC’s list of vacant houses, contact Tyler Wheeler at Tyler@bloomfield-garfield.org. To join the housing and land use committee, contact Nina Gibbs at Nina@bloomfield-garfield.org.