Archive for the 'Blight' Category

Unorthodox approach to punishing neglectful property owners

Monday, August 30th, 2010

Craig Cozza should be grateful he lives in Pittsburgh and not Cleveland.  According to a recent Great Lakes Urban Exchange (GLUE) post, Judge Pianka has taken a stand against neglectful property owners in his city. His goal is to discourage flippers and he’s gone so far as to order one man to spend 30 days [...]

Craig Cozza fined $8,000 for Grandview Avenue property

Wednesday, July 28th, 2010

Some will be satisfied with this decision, some will think it’s not enough. Here is the report from the Post-Gazette: District Judge Jim Motznik today fined developer Craig Cozza $8,000, the maximum for eight property violations at a site on Grandview Avenue that he has failed to develop since excavating for a condo project in [...]

Pop Up Pittsburgh on the Hilltop May 15th

Wednesday, April 7th, 2010

A community festival is taking place on Warrington Avenue (between Beltzhoover and Arlington Ave) on Saturday, May 15 from 1-5pm. Although Mt. Washington is not included in the list of Hilltop neighborhoods being featured, we’re on the Hilltop too and should stop by in the spirit of collaboration and support.  The festival is being planned by Leadership Development Initiative [...]

Smith, Cozza and MWCDC talk vacant lots on Grandview

Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010

Councilwoman Smith recently met with Mr. Craig Cozza of Grandview Avenue vacant lot fame and representatives from the MWCDC and was kind enough to share a synopsis of the meeting with us. (If you’re not familiar with Mr. Cozza’s role in the development story in our neighborhood, you can check out some of the media coverage [...]

The broken window

Monday, July 20th, 2009

I’ve been hesitant to write about the former Mr. Magoo’s Variety Store at 100 Boggs Avenue for several reasons. First, I know that trying to get the funding necessary to renovate a rundown building or construct something new on a vacant lot is difficult in this tight credit market. And secondly, we haven’t been privy [...]

People are talking

Thursday, June 25th, 2009

Typically I reserve this space for more newsworthy items and less Mountain Girl commentary because it’s the community’s forum, not mine. But today, I’m going to offer an opinion on two topics because they’ve been dominating the comments and message boards and crowding our e-mail inbox. The Edge A contentious debate seems to be going [...]

Show your support for the “One Grandview” Project

Monday, June 1st, 2009

It’s no secret that we here at 15211.org are 100% FOR the “One Grandview (The Edge) Project”. We also know that the majority of our readers are in favor of it also.  If you haven’t heard the MWCDC has created a petition to show support for this project. If you would like to sign it, [...]

There is hope yet! Graffiti vandals caught in Brookline

Wednesday, March 4th, 2009

From the Tribune Review: Pittsburgh and Dormont police have charged two teenagers suspected of tagging at least 31 Brookline homes and businesses with graffiti, authorities said today. The Brookline residents were taken into custody and questioned by Dormont police in February, and their tags — “Herme” and “Rens” — were entered into a graffiti tracking [...]

McArdle Roadway not worthy according to PennDOT

Thursday, February 26th, 2009

It looks like McArdle Roadway did not make the cut on PennDOT’s ambitious project list for 2009. Check out the bridges and roads that will be repaired here. I’d be interested to hear how these decisions were made. Perhaps McArdle Roadway repairs can be paid for via some other funding vehicle. For those of us that drive [...]

Postal Service stops anti-graffiti painters in Mt. Washington

Saturday, November 29th, 2008

Sandy Fundy thought she was battling vandals while sprucing up her neighborhood. Turns out, she and other Mt. Washington residents unknowingly were breaking federal law. READ MORE.