Pittsburgh Council Wants You

Last week, Pittsburgh City Council wandered around to Downtown, South Side, and Oakland for public hearings. Monday night, they will visit the North Side to share their side of the pension woes and the mayor's attempt at a stop-gap fix at the expense of the citizens.

As it currently stands, Mayor Ravenstahl is ready to give away the bank to the highest bidder. That means tripling most parking meter rates over the next 4 years, meter enforcement till 10PM everyday including Sundays. That means no more free ride in city downtown parking garages.

I attended last week's South Side hearing to voice my opinion and listen to others. The resounding responses? 50 years (the intended lease agreement length) is a very long time. One of the plan stipulations is that the City of Pittsburgh will pay the lessee if a parking space is out of commission for 22 days in a year. One speaker aptly asked "What if we had locked into a plan 50 years ago?" We'd be paying some company a fee for not using those covered-up trolley lines if you ask me.

Residents also fervently proclaimed that leasing the parking garages is bad business. The city is selling low right now because the city is at a disadvantage. And what is the lessee going to do? Make a steep profit off of higher rates that we've been too afraid to implement ourselves for fear of driving away business. Why not raise the rates, put the profit towards the pensions, and cut out the middle man? Pittsburgh City Council is leaning towards a plan that will issue a bond to increase the contents of the pension fund and retain control over the parking situation. They would continue to raise rates, but since the city would still ultimately be in control, they could respond to suffering businesses and residents if the rates became too unwieldy. That sounds like good business to me.

So why am I telling you this? In order to pull off this coup, 5 city council members need to stand up to pressure from Mayor Ravenstahl and our Harrisburg Legislators. City council is only willing to do this if we insist on this plan. So let your city councilors know that you support them standing up to Harrisburg and Mayor Ravenstahl. Let them know that it's bad business to hand away our assets and lose control of our streets. Will this still mean increased parking rates? Yes. But it also means that the increases will be with the success of the city in mind - instead of a big conglomerate that just wants to profit off of our residents in a time of need.

They're Back!

You've got to give it to Northside United. They're stubborn, yet they can also adjust their tactics. They started with angry gatherings at planned meetings regarding Continental's North Shore developments, followed by a bus tour of the North Side where they invited politicians to see the blight of the neighborhood first-hand. After multiple arrests from last weeks shenanigans at the Del Monte headquarters (a Continental Real Estate property), they've moved on to the Mayor's office. Next stop, the governor's house in Harrisburg? The White House? I admire their determination in this issue. They've said "Enough is enough." And at this point, no one can doubt they mean it.

Mayor Ravenstahl, can you do us a favor and listen to their cause? After being involved in the landmark Hill District Community Benefits Agreement, it'd be a shame to throw all that goodwill out the window. You want to be viewed as a brokerer of deals, not a stomper of human rights, right?

And if you don't, they could sure make a mess of things when Obama and friends come to town for the G20 in September. That'll make a bigger impression than potholes.

The Wheels On The Bus Go Round

Continental Real Estate has been charged with building a hotel and entertainment complex on the North Side.

"At a city planning commission meeting two weeks ago, Barry Ford, Continental's president of development, said "it's inappropriate to ask a project developer to meet with private groups and help resolve their problems."'

During a morning coffee break, local blogger Cara Jette of PghIsACity said:

"It's inappropriate for a project developer to take millions of dollars from the state and then refuse to talk with the local community."

Can't we find some other developer to throw money at? Time's up on Continental and they haven't even started building.

Thank you, Bill Peduto, Natalia Rudiak, and others for jumping on board the North Side bus tour and taking the time to listen to the concerns of the residents. It's nice to know there are some folks in our city government with a shred of humanity.

North Vs South

Here's a story of two amphitheatres.

North

• Millions of dollars of subsidies
• Delayed time and again since 1997
  
• Cost:$12 Million
  
• Causes outrage in community
• Broke rules set out by planning authority
  

South

• $0 subsidies
• Re-opened in less than 3 months after being forced to close due to casino issues
• Cost: $50,000
  
• Listened to community concerns ending concerts by 11PM
  
• Followed proper planning processes

Which do you support? The one which is now adding to city tax dollars? Or the one which may open next year and will continue costing the city and the community for years to come?

Don't even get me started on the concession riverfront amphitheater that the casino is offering up. Maybe we should encourage people to build something other than amphitheaters in Pittsburgh?

Too Close For Comfort

Yesterday, I headed over to visit the Mattress Factory (one of my favorite museums in Pittsburgh). I skipped their fabulous annual Urban Garden Party to attend their free Sunday Community Garden Party. Unfortunately, as I was arriving a 22-year old Wilkinsburg man was on his way to the hospital after being shot around the corner from the museum. He died at Allegheny General Hospital at 3:08pm. Respectfully, the museum closed its doors, and I walked past cop cars to get back in my car and head home.

I've questioned whether to publicize this sad event or to let it pass. I don't want to deter folks from appreciating the thought-provoking exhibits and fun parties that the Mattress Factory specializes in. However, it's important to realize that the North Side is a dichotomy. The lovely houses of the Mexican War Streets intermingle with the gang violence of Allegheny City. If we don't force ourselves to look at the problems, we will never deal with them. The most unfortunate of these monthly tragedies are when the victims are innocent, like 12-year-old Jolesa Barber.

These dichotomies are found throughout Pittsburgh, so I don't mean to single out the North Side. The Waterfront development contrasts with Homestead's problems. On the South Side we deal with the dichotomy of drunken college students and senior citizens, but at least both sides tend to steer clear of guns. East Liberty is being splintered into East Side which has even spawned a documentary, "East of Liberty." But appropriately, filmmaker Chris Ivey is moving onto the North Side.

And if you think that people on the North Side don't care, you need to watch this video:

Bright Lights, Big City

So the North Shore casino is looking for jumbotrons? And the city has an obnoxious legal battle with Lamar over electronic billboards?

I know I'm not the only one to think that some zoning compromise could come out of this if the right people sat down at a table together. Otherwise, the city is just asking for trouble (from Lamar) if it approves the jumbotrons on the North Shore.

Personally, it all sounds rather garish to me, but we are talking about a casino - a casino which stands to save taxpayers loads of money on property taxes if we're to believe Rendell and the Meadows hype.

According to the Rivers Casino website:

"Whether you prefer the exciting atmosphere of our gaming floor or the tranquil surroundings along our riverfront esplanade, our facility will be a premier destination for residents and visitors alike."

Their rendering of the casino is clearly of the tranquil side. They forgot to mention the light and noise pollution of traffic arriving at all hours and flashing electronic billboards. Who is that designed to appeal to? The greedy business owners who can't get enough?

New Rules

In recent economic times, there is a simple rule of thumb. Don't fly on private jets, give extravagant bonuses, or plan "lavish parties" while begging for money from the government. This is a lesson learned the hard way by automakers and financial whizzes alike. The auto executives learned to carpool. However, North Shore Constructors are a little slow on the uptake. Luckily(*), we have an executive-leaning Onorato to slap them around. Angry Onorato canceled their upcoming shindig to celebrate completion of the tunnels.

Port Authority's take? The party had nothing to do with them. They weren't even invited (which is pretty mean, don't you think?) In truth, Port Authority also doesn't have the clout to make a phone call to stop the party. However, the American public won't care about little details like that when judging us on the front page of USA Today. They'll care that this is just one more instance of wasteful spending during a recession when companies should be saving for the next rainy day instead of holding their hands out for yet another bailout. Thankfully, Dan Onorato decided to take up the mantle of leadership and rain on their party.

No party until AFTER we get the money. Cool? Thanks! In the meantime, how about a potluck?

(*) Yes, I never thought I'd say much positive about Onorato either. I'm glad he's proved me wrong.

Opposites Attract

In a surprise move, Station Square announced yesterday that they had an investor to re-open the Chevrolet Amphitheater previously closed because of confusion over the new casino. How much is it costing to re-open this venue? $50,000. That's a far cry from the $12 Million entertainment complex being planned on the other side of the city.

The North Side hotel-entertainment-dining fiasco has caused a lot of grief among North Side residents, but Governor Rendell is almost begging to add $4 Million to their pot-of-plenty in spite of this mind-numbing recession. I expect he'll recommend legalizing and taxing prostitutes to pay for this project.

Certainly seems suspicious to me that Rendell is so eager to hop on-board this latest North Side boondoggle. Is it because of pay-to-play politics? Is it because he's distracting us from the truly evil deeds he's playing over in Philly? If anyone knows, I'm sure they've been paid off. But I'd sure feel better about it all if there was some reform in Harrisburg ala the GOP. Maybe then we can have realistic projects like the Chevy Amphitheater that add value to the city while not costing the region an arm and a leg. In the meantime, we'll be subsidizing Toby Keith's new restaurant.

Don't get me wrong. I believe the more venues/hotels/restaurants the better. Let the people decide. But I also believe that if you can't afford it, you shouldn't build it/buy it/rent it - unless of course you're giving major kickbacks to the residents and raising their quality of life. Now is the time for Rendell to listen to the North Side residents and insist on a landmark community benefits package ala the new arena.