Submitted by Omgitsjustdae t3_zx18wk in pittsburgh
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Omgitsjustdae OP t1_j1z73yo wrote
A Tale of Three Boroughs and Fighting Blight in the Mon Valley By: Chardae’ Jones
Communities Braddock, East Pittsburgh, and North Braddock know that they have a blight problem and after years of trying to attack it one angle at a time they’re going about things with a fresh approach. North Braddock alone has over 700 blighted properties. The numbers are estimates because the abandoning of properties is continuous but that isn’t stopping these communities from trying. Realizing that Braddock, North Braddock, and East Pittsburgh are plagued with blight, poverty, and feelings of hopelessness, several joint solutions are being put in place.
“We know that we must come at it from all different angles and it's not just one approach fixes all. Sure, money would solve most of the issues but after the money arrives, we still must figure out the use that best solves the problem,” North Braddock Council President Lisa Franklin-Robinson explained. “Remediating blight is a complex issue,”
Braddock’s code enforcer Dave Naylor concurs. “It’s a complicated issue, the future of blight remediation should include the code enforcement department. The code enforcement team should be the first line of defense against blight when done with effective communication.”
“We need to create our own program,” North Braddock Mayor Cletus Lee explained, and after speaking with Lisa I came to realize that the program that North Braddock initiated might be the thing that could remediate the blight and help to rebuild their town as well as neighboring East Pittsburgh and Braddock. The North Braddock Community Revitalization & Employment Initiative (NBCREI) developed by 15104 resident Ron Perkins, explores the possibilities and opportunities that support blight-free neighborhoods, job creation, partnerships, collaboration, and resource alignment that support residents and the community. The NBCREI and its certified training partners, and employers will provide the services necessary to help eradicate blight throughout the Borough of North Braddock.
The hope of this program, which was piloted last summer by tackling fifty lots, is threefold; to make lots attractive to developers for purchase, to make North Braddock clean and safe for the current residents, and to train a workforce that will continue this process. The program is looking for more funding because tackling blight is expensive. North Braddock recently received a $50,000 grant for the program and is looking for matching funds. While searching for funds the cleanup efforts will continue because ending blight requires a layered and continuous approach.
“We are looking at blight through several lenses to find the best ways to end it. Seeing blight as a health issue, as an element of crime, poverty, mental illness, and depression. Blight impacts a lot”, said Franklin-Robinson. Blighted areas are more susceptible to rodents, crime, accidents, and lower home values just to name a few. “We will see it through any lens that we need to get funds to address this issue. It’s so much more than just demolishing buildings. The Revitalization and Workforce Development Initiative is a collaboration that aims to raise the value, morale and hope in the region and create momentum for us and for our community partners." Franklin-Robinson explained with enthusiasm as she’s a huge advocate for the program.
North Braddock is also partnering with other neighborhoods like Braddock, Forest Hills, and East Pittsburgh and EOS Energy Enterprises, a company that produces zinc-powered batteries for clean energy solutions located in neighboring Turtle Creek Borough, in securing a grant through the Department of Energy to produce clean energy projects like solar farms and solar powered buildings in the community. These ideas may seem like pie in the sky but they’re very feasible and they’re not only hinting at a future that is green when it comes to energy but green when it comes to saving money in the long run. North Braddock hopes collaborations such as these will create a blueprint for other towns that need to tackle blight.
“We can’t wait for others to save us.” North Braddock Mayor Cletus Lee explained. There are so many projects happening in tandem with one another to create a better-looking Braddock and North Braddock.
“We’re tackling blighted properties where people live, first.” Council President Franklin-Robinson explained. North Braddock is also participating in a six-year neighborhood partnership program with Mon Valley Initiative that converts several blighted properties on Hawkins Ave, to new housing to keep up this momentum. The acquisition of the properties is almost complete as they are being acquired through the Allegheny County Vacant Property Recovery Program. Down the road in Braddock, the Braddock Business Community Initiative has been in the process of blight remediation for quite some time. It made a significant impact when the borough asked Allegheny County to purchase 51 properties along Braddock Ave and relieving them of the back taxes understanding that removing the back taxes was necessary for Braddock to succeed and for the resurrection of its business district, enabling Braddock to thrive. Most of Braddock Avenue sits vacant and to avoid gentrification, the initiative put together a committee (composed of residents, business owners, and community leaders who didn’t want any of the properties) to ensure that “Braddockians” have significant input in the look and feel of the future Braddock Ave. The Allegheny County Department of Economic Development liked this idea and they’re going ahead with it to create a better Braddock. Getting these properties on the tax rolls is a win-win for all parties.
Again, Braddock and North Braddock joined with East Pittsburgh to showcase that revitalization doesn’t have to be an elected official task either. The Revitalization Fellowship by the Center for Community Progress and Grounded Strategies has a Braddock, East Pittsburgh, North Braddock (BEN) Fellowship going on right now where the fellows have traveled to different places in the country to study blight remediation, vacant spaces, and creative placemaking. The group composed of residents from different boroughs will receive a grant at the end of the fellowship and determine where and what they want to develop on the vacant land. Braddock, East Pittsburgh, and North Braddock share a lot of similarities. Braddock and East Pittsburgh are towns of fewer than 2000 residents, and North Braddock is slightly upward of 4000. Blight and poverty plague all three. Finding ways for them to lift this blight-burden together is key. Working on sharing resources and developing shared values is essential. Creating towns where code enforcement is looked at like code engagement is a great start. It’s apparent that when one of these towns thrive the others are sure to benefit. These programs, fellowships, and initiatives are what is needed to revitalize the boroughs. Using the memory of what they used to be, to develop a vision for what they can be is also important.
Hopefully many years in the near future, people will drive through these three boroughs and write a different story than the one still lingering from the past. If this current council and the community advocates have anything to say about it, that drive will look very different, with eyes fixed on the future and a hope of never having to go through such an uphill battle again.
[deleted] t1_j1z70ym wrote
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threwthelookinggrass t1_j1y1e8k wrote
Who is the typical owner of a vacant/blighted property? The borough, bank, company, speculator or regular landowner?
a_waltz_for_debby t1_j1y1puc wrote
Usually the next of kin of a deceased relative. Sometimes folks lose their jobs and can’t keep up their properties. in most small boroughs it is not going to be a speculator, although, in very rare cases, it might be a large conglomerate out of state that has bought a bunch of houses and can’t move them, but that usually happens in neighborhoods that are “up-and-coming”. sometimes they are bank owned if a homeowner abdicates, and the house is worth less than the mortgage.
Omgitsjustdae OP t1_j1y2m5t wrote
That is correct.
sebileis t1_j1xxwmd wrote
Don’t worry, the Turnpike Commission will fight blight 1950’s style by plowing through these “undesirable” Mon Valley communities with a nice new highway in a few years! /s
JAK3CAL t1_j1z7z9l wrote
Honest question: would that be so bad
neverdowrong t1_j1z8urz wrote
I think so. Many of these communities have the infrastructure - a main business district, walkability, relatively close to Downtown - to be highly desirable places to live, but they lack the economic investment needed to bring them to life. Building a highway would simply allow middle and upper class people to flee further into the exurbs. That means fewer resources for these communities and the rest of Allegheny County. I don't want our region to be a soulless stretch of parkway in every direction, I'd much rather have a group of thriving communities working together to solve their problems rather than flee them.
sebileis t1_j1z8ilp wrote
Yes. There is no critical need for an express highway from Brownsville to Monroeville, especially when it is going to tear through so many communities. In a time where we are trying to be more environmentally conscious, building a new highway to nowhere that exclusively caters to automobiles is a huge waste of resources and taxpayer money, and is the absolute last thing we should be doing. Just for some context: nearly all of Port Authority’s long term expansion plans could be paid for with the money that is being used on the Mon-Fayette and Southern Beltway highways. I’d much rather see our money going to infrastructure that benefits the entire region and impacts millions of current and potential riders than unsustainable pet projects that will benefit a few thousand drivers on a good day.
JAK3CAL t1_j1zalq2 wrote
There is no highway from the south hills to the city. Brownsville to Monroeville would be pointless sure
sebileis t1_j1zavij wrote
The leg of the highway that would go to the city has been canceled for good. That is probably for the better. We do not need to tear out and destroy city neighborhoods so that suburbanites from the South Hills can have a faster drive into the city. I say that as a South Hills resident. Ride the T or some other form of public transportation instead if you don’t want to deal with the traffic. We don’t need to be building highways everywhere especially in this day and age. Unfortunately the Turnpike Commission is pushing full speed ahead with extending the Mon-Fayette to Monroeville despite there being few people who will utilize it and the Turnpike Commission themselves admitting the highway will never make enough in tolls to pay for itself.
meresithea t1_j1zhi3d wrote
The first leg of the extension will be built less than a block away from my neighborhood. I’m so angry about it. I don’t want to abandon my neighborhood, and I can’t afford to live in the city, but I can’t see that this will do anything bus destroy my home’s value.
sebileis t1_j1zhs6d wrote
Fight tooth and nail against it for as long as you can. I hope you and some others in your neighborhood can join forces to at least try to put a stop to this project. If we can’t outright cancel it, maybe we can at least delay it a few more years by tying things up in litigation.
meresithea t1_j1zhxjw wrote
We’ve been told it’s a done deal and there’s absolutely nothing we can do. Covid delayed it a bit, but the wheels have already started turning.
sebileis t1_j1zi0nn wrote
Nothing is a done deal if you can get a good enough lawyer!
meresithea t1_j1zi5hs wrote
This is true, but I also live paycheck to paycheck with the new inflation. I used to live under our means and save for emergency,but that’s not possible any more.
sebileis t1_j1zic59 wrote
That’s why you should try to get others in your community involved. By joining together, you have a better chance of fighting. A whole group or organization of people is stronger than one individual alone trying to make a difference.
sebileis t1_j1zihm2 wrote
Or at the very least contact your local state representative. I don’t know if it will make enough of a difference or if you have tried, but at the very least you can make it clear that this project is not wanted.
JAK3CAL t1_j1zcfol wrote
Lol you know the T doesn’t go anywhere useful
sebileis t1_j1zcrs4 wrote
Says the guy who wants half of the South Hills ripped up for a highway. The T does serve a purpose for people living in those communities and the fact that it doesn’t run to more places is further justification to invest in expanding it. I’m sure most of us would agree that a rail extension to Oakland/the East End or up the Ohio Valley would be far more useful than a toll highway to nowhere.
JAK3CAL t1_j1zdlfd wrote
Lol did I say I want half the south hills ripped up? Btw over 40k cars traverse 51 daily; the south hills pseudo “highway”. Seems to be a few more than you are indicating
sebileis t1_j1ze04l wrote
Without the leg of the highway into the city, most of the potential traffic for the Mon-Fayette will not materialize, so your numbers are incredibly skewed. We are not talking about that cancelled leg, we never have been other than you repeatedly bringing it up for no reason. Find me a statistic that shows 40,000 cars will take a highway from Brownsville to Monroeville, which is slated to be built.
JAK3CAL t1_j1zf3l9 wrote
Brownsville to Monroeville sucks ya, we agree
sebileis t1_j1zg2pn wrote
Good that we are in agreement there, that is why I am very critical of the project and made my sarcastic remark on this post. A lot of people’s lives are going to be disrupted and entire neighborhoods/towns will be destroyed if this highway is extended to Monroeville, and without the leg into Pittsburgh it will never be utilized enough to justify its existence. Thousands of people’s lives should not be disrupted so that a very small handful of suburbanites and exurbanites can have a shortcut to Monroeville.
ImplementBrief3802 t1_j213dgp wrote
I think you're really underselling the uselessness of this highway tbh. There's basically nothing in Monroeville that anyone is going to travel long distances to get there, and for most of Allegheny county that is going to end up near a 43 interchange going the ways everyone goes now will probably take the same amount of time without the $5+ toll
sebileis t1_j213o1o wrote
There are an endless number of reasons why the Mon-Fayette is a useless highway, but if we listed all of them we would be here until the T gets extended to the airport.
Jcs290 t1_j2062j5 wrote
It's not so much the people from Brownsville or Uniontown needing to get to I-376, since they have 43/I-70 and 119 to get on the Turnpike, respectively. It's southern areas of Allegheny County that need access to/from these businesses and communities. West Mifflin, Duquesne, Whitehall, Jeff. Hills, etc. Century III Mall could've benefitted from the Mon-Fayette, but it couldn't hang on long enough. Kennywood has came out in public support of the highway and has admitted it's held back major expansion plans, like an indoor waterpark and hotel by the old Kmart property, until it's complete.
sebileis t1_j215lkx wrote
Kennywood management has the wrong idea if they think a new highway is going to attract more visitors to the park. I know a lot more people who would like to have better bus service or some form of rapid transit serving Kennywood than for a new highway exit to be placed by the park.
JAK3CAL t1_j20ng8s wrote
This is my perspective, as a resident of finleyville / frequenter of west mifflin and aforementioned areas.
The infrastructure and road networks down here are abysmal.
pghdadbod73 t1_j20klz8 wrote
Depends on how you look at it Right now that highway is hardly used, and the money spent is astronomical…….
sebileis t1_j215g5j wrote
Exactly.
Cold-Resolve1923 t1_j204xv6 wrote
Come up to Brownsville, Charleroi, and MoTown, (monessen) if you want to see blight. That expresseway cost a fortune to ride. Living in Allenport I have ZERO need to go to Monroeville. Not many people I know work down there. In fact I know none.
boneman1982 t1_j20a4ep wrote
Streamlining the vacant property recovery program should help somewhat shouldn't it?
The process is byzantine, incredibly time consuming and has no clarity. Very difficult for investors or wanna be occupiers to use.
Omgitsjustdae OP t1_j20b4un wrote
I agree. It's so consuming and overwhelming that it's almost like no one wants people to purchase vacant property. The county does not make it easy and you can't cut them out because of the taxes.
Willow-girl t1_j242k93 wrote
I recall reading that Detroit was charging something like $10,000 for a permit to tear down a vacant derelict house. City's gotta make a buck somehow! :-D
IIRC, a philanthropist was willing to put up a big chunk of money to tear down dangerous vacant structures but when he learned about this municipal shakedown, he took his money to Oakland County and did his good deeds in Pontiac instead.
la-cockroacha t1_j1zpl70 wrote
The real answer is to get people into good jobs so they can revitalize their own houses and neighborhoods. The government has been trying to revitalize neighborhoods for 60 years and things are worse.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/09/04/ten-million-job-openings-labor-shortage/
Omgitsjustdae OP t1_j1zpzra wrote
Yes indeed. Braddock had an employment training center that was helpful in getting people jobs it closed down quite some time ago and now the average household isn't making more than 30k.
That tied in with the high concentration of low income housing is preventing people from getting and keeping such jobs making no room for upward mobility.
AO9000 t1_j21nwlt wrote
Nice article. Are most of these properties in conditions that ordinary people couldn't afford to fix? It would be ideal to help people buy homes they need and educate about the funding and grants available. While bringing developers and flippers will also help, that potentially leads to people getting priced out.
Omgitsjustdae OP t1_j22hojf wrote
Thanks. Yeah a lot of these properties even with the taxes removed, the reno would cost more than what they paid to purchase said property.
eanardone t1_j205cbg wrote
Really interesting article. Growing up north of the city I have been thinking about so many of these same issues in Aliquippa, Ambridge, Beaver Falls, and the list goes on.
I lived in Aliquippa for a few years and while I was there I kept thinking about how the blight was going to be solved. It is so small there is no tax base to speak of, especially with the average annual income below $36k a year. No industry now, except the prison.
Would any kind of Land bank or Community Land Trust work? Or will those people just need to wait for it to get so bad that its all bought up, demolished, and replaced by new housing for the growing Central Valley school district that will inevitably end up consolidating the schools as soon as it is economically beneficial?
Omgitsjustdae OP t1_j205zgx wrote
Land banking and Land Trusts would be great tools. Land banks help with getting the liens off the houses and land trust ensures that the price of the house won't be super high. In tandum they're effective.
eanardone t1_j20705b wrote
I agree, they could be great tools. But I just understand the basics in operation. How do these end up getting set up? How are they funded?
If you have any resources that I might be able to talk to I would appreciate it. This is something I have been thinking about for a long time, but haven't been able to actually move forward.
Omgitsjustdae OP t1_j207xdh wrote
I'm a part of a fellowship and we've been studying this very thing. We visited the Syracuse, NY Land Bank which is one of the best in the country and Pittsburgh has one of the worst and both utilized some of the same resources. There's one in the Mon Valley area but it's working on the lien portion of Land Banking.
"Typically, land banks are created as public entities by a local ordinance, pursuant to authority provided in state-enabling legislation. Land banking programs can also be developed within existing entities, such as redevelopment authorities, housing departments, or planning departments."
Center for Community Progress is an awesome resource that helps communities build land banks. https://communityprogress.org/resources/land-banks/lb-faq/
eanardone t1_j20bom2 wrote
Awesome, I will definitely check that out. I'm hoping that sometimes soon I'll be able to find time that I can dive into this a little bit more. Maybe one day, when I get something put together would love to talk to your fellowship.
Chihlidog t1_j20z5r1 wrote
Thanks for covering this!!! Its something that isn't talked about enough, and that has no easy solutions.
Strongbow85 t1_j237i95 wrote
U.S. Steel had proposed a $1 billion upgrade to its Edgar Thomson Plant in Braddock, political opposition played a role in their decision to build elsewhere. Ultimately they chose a site in the southern United States and built it with non-union labor. Fetterman was very supportive of the project, which I respect him for.
>Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, Jones’ predecessor as mayor of Braddock and current U.S. Senate candidate, said the news was “absolutely devastating,” and blamed unnamed local elected officials for the project’s failure.
>“We had the opportunity to make some of the greenest steel in the world right here in Braddock and secure the future of thousands of good paying union jobs,” Fetterman said, in a statement. “I will never understand why I was one of the only elected officials who pushed for this major project proactively and enthusiastically, while so many others turned their back on the working men and women of the Steelworkers and Building Trades in Allegheny County.”
We'll probably see another shopping plaza development with low paying service sector jobs. Perhaps some high tech industry will move in, sure it will generate some tax revenue but it won't do much to help the common people of Braddock.
I like the idea of building solar plants, that's a step in the right direction. It's too bad Pittsburgh/Braddock wasn't selected for one of the new chip production plants being built across the country. Arizona, New Mexico and Ohio were selected. [1]
Willow-girl t1_j23z9d3 wrote
Wow. Seems Fetterman does have a lick of common sense! Glad to hear it.
Omgitsjustdae OP t1_j24n8dm wrote
I was against said project because it included a fracking well which we didn't need and still don't need as our air quality is already messed up. We don't need to become an environmental nightmare of issues.
Strongbow85 t1_j25hs64 wrote
I'm sure that part could have been negotiated or a contract could have been made where if water contamination became an issue they'd not only be held responsible for the repair and cleanup but Braddock could sue them. A project that large should have enough oversight that US Steel would be wise enough not to cut corners.
Perhaps you could have gotten a deal to provide Braddock residents discounted gas prices, or Braddock could get royalties which could then be transferred to residents. Most fracking wells are on rural properties, usually owned by farmers, they collect royalties and are provided free gas. A similar deal could have benefited the entire community.
jsdjsdjsd t1_j22g914 wrote
Nice! I grew up in Homestead and have never seen a reason to read the Valley Mirror til now. Well done.
[deleted] t1_j20tkck wrote
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Sad-Program-3444 t1_j215j1d wrote
Yet they fear gentrification ...
Omgitsjustdae OP t1_j216j67 wrote
Gentrification can work if it's inclusive of the people there have a hand in the development decisions. I'm proud of Braddock for having a program such as that.
Strongbow85 t1_j238oh9 wrote
Gentrification more often than not pushes the locals out. Have you seen the home prices in Lawrenceville lately? It's nice to see an area improve, but the locals are usually an after thought. They'll get priced out unless they're fortunate enough to secure a six figure salary.
If you welcomed that steel plant, you could have struck a deal with the USW to have local youth go through apprenticeships. They'd of had good salaries and benefits.
Willow-girl t1_j241xym wrote
OK, so what is the alternative to gentrification? You let the neighborhood decline until it's so bad that everyone who can get out, leaves? Then the city (if it can muster the resources to do so) begins knocking down all of the empty derelict houses, or inept homeless people or teenaged thrill-seekers burn them down.
I grew up near Detroit. I saw this happen.
Look, you have got to bring in new money. It either comes through gentrification or you can wait until developers have big open areas in which all of the old houses have been razed. Your choice! But if you allow gentrification, some of the old neighborhood is preserved. Yes, some of the poor, especially renters, are going to be forced out by rising prices. This is a real problem and I don't mean to downplay it. But the flip side is that low-income people who own or inherit houses in the area will see their property values go up and their wealth increase as a result of gentrification. They will have the ability to borrow against this increased value to improve their properties, if they choose to do so, or they can sell and move elsewhere if they don't like the way their neighborhood is changing. Much better IMO than ending up with a nearly worthless, blighted house in an unsafe, burned-out neighborhood.
Strongbow85 t1_j25lr5f wrote
> OK, so what is the alternative to gentrification? You let the neighborhood decline until it's so bad that everyone who can get out, leaves?
The solution is providing middle class jobs such as manufacturing, which some local politicians chased out. Detroit is a perfect example of what happens when there are no blue collar opportunities. Clinton sold out to the corporations and signed NAFTA, which was a Republican proposal, that offshored all of the blue collar, particularly autoworker jobs. Sure Detroit had other problems, but this was the nail in the coffin.
You can attract high tech and other white collar positions as well but there should be diversity in employment. Not everyone is going to work in tech or another white collar field. Sure some Braddock residents may pursue a career in these fields but at the end of the day the majority probably will not, it's not practical. So instead of having the opportunity of a decent job with US Steel or a similar position they have the option to work at some lousy paying service sector "career" where you'll probably have to work two jobs just to get by, collect welfare or get involved in crime. That's the case in all of these blighted neighborhoods. The "new money" who were against the proposed plant are often the same people that fly BLM banners etc in their front yard while the local community (both black and white) is priced out and sent down the road, it's hypocritical.
Union USW and building trades jobs provide good pay and benefits without having to pay school loans. You'll serve an apprenticeship but it's essentially free, financed with union dues. Sure, someone working for Google might have a nicer house and car, but the locals could still live in the same community with decent living standards. The middle class continues to struggle in America, it's like a third world country.
Once again, this plant could have secured thousands of jobs so the unions would have all been willing to take in local Braddock youth and even middle aged people looking to start a new career.
Willow-girl t1_j27jhp9 wrote
I agree it would have been great to get that plant and it's a shame that didn't come to pass. I don't know the backstory on the issue well enough to comment on it, sorry. It occurs to me it's a bit of a chicken-or-the-egg question, though -- which comes first, jobs or housing? Obviously, a community needs both, but getting one without the other is still better than getting neither, I think.
Also, Detroit's problems go back a lot further than Clinton. The oil embargo of '74 and the lines to buy gas sent people scrambling for economical foreign-made cars. The Big Three had become a dinosaur that simply couldn't turn on a dime and adequately meet customer demand; they bled market share. Quality was an issue as well. When I graduated from high school in 1984, there were virtually no jobs for young people and skilled tradesmen were washing dishes and running cash registers to put food on theirs families' tables. Tough times!
chippersonofYork t1_j21hymz wrote
Braddock isn’t that where Senator-elect Frankenman was Mayor ?
Omgitsjustdae OP t1_j21jhlf wrote
Yes! I was the mayor after he became Lt. Governor.
chippersonofYork t1_j21kt8h wrote
Congratulations should be getting s shite load of federal $$ to paint the blight .
Omgitsjustdae OP t1_j21l236 wrote
You can't paint vacant lots and properties that are about to fall down. Thanks. I was mayor for 2 1/2 years and finished the rest of his term. It was frustrating and that's all I needed to see.
chippersonofYork t1_j21n7uz wrote
Well at-least it will be an upgrade for all the new Afghan refugees that are being settled there.
MyThrOHAcct t1_j1zn6u4 wrote
Guess former Mayor Fetterman wasn’t so helpful. I’m sure he’ll be equally inept as our Senator in the years to come.
sopmaeThrowaway t1_j1zw8nx wrote
My dad had a large hand in turning Lawrenceville around and it took decades. If you’re foolish enough to believe revitalizing Braddock is the job of 1 man, then why haven’t you stepped up yet? Too lazy and inept? :p
MyThrOHAcct t1_j1zygqx wrote
Sounds like you have some experience, why don’t you step up? Too inept? Too lazy?
Home flippers/Real Estate speculators turned Lawrenceville around but it’s not going to improve much more now that interest rates are up.
pedantic_comments t1_j206bqa wrote
Anybody who actually goes there can tell you John had a big impact on Braddock - his family still runs the free store.
I submit that you are trolling, stupid or both.
MyThrOHAcct t1_j206w5m wrote
I live minutes from Braddock and it’s still the same shit hole its always been.
Oh the Free store, that’s something to brag about. People who live nearby line up for the free stuff but keep voting for the same useless politicians who over promises and under deliver.
Big impact. Are you serious or just high?
pedantic_comments t1_j207o75 wrote
I can be high and point to the new businesses Fetterman helped foster at the same time, fam.
Sounds like you’re just mad at reality and having trouble coping with a process we call democracy.
MyThrOHAcct t1_j208s3a wrote
New businesses? Are you referring to the two restaurant or perhaps the closed/demolished hospital? Oh wait the Dollar General. Well I stand corrected.
Try as you might Fetterman did nothing for Braddock.
Regardless the politicians will not resurrect the mon valley. If the people who live there don’t care nobody else will.
pedantic_comments t1_j20bd40 wrote
Sounds like concrete evidence can’t compete with your precious feelings.
AO9000 t1_j21mwld wrote
I'm sure he'll be very good at doing what you don't want to do.
Steely_McNeatHouse t1_j1y1cxn wrote
I'd be fascinated to read the article. Is there a link somewhere, or is it just in the print paper?