Nice QED report about Hamnett Place renovations

[BrianTH]

There is always some tension in cases like this, but they are trying to minimize it to the extent possible, such as through adopting a tax abatement program for property improvements, and also helping existing residents participate in buying and improving homes.

[PennHillsNative80]

I was just riding my bike there today, and was surprised to see that some of the streets aren't as far gone as I thought. I stopped and spoke to a woman that lived on Center St. (just a block away from the Crescent Apartments). She (a white women, yes, there are white people that live in that section of Wilkinsburg) said that some of the poverty is being pushed out of the area, and with it, some of the crime. She described the people coming into the area as "artsy types". I don't know if this area is becoming what Shady Side was in the 70's with the hippies, but that wouldn't be a bad thing judging by how Shady Side turned out.


Not to change the topic of this thread, but I went on the Wilkinsburg Historic Walking Tour sponsored by the PHLF this last fall and I too was very surprised at how many white people live in Wilkinsburg, especially the Hamnett Place area. I also thought it was very interesting to see that the majority of the people that went on the walking tour were also white. There was only a couple of black people that joined us for the tour - which I was actually kind of sad about...

I always thought that Wilkinsburg (Wilkinsburg proper - excluding Blackridge and Regent Square) was a totally black neighborhood, but I guess it isn't.

[Uptown kid]

I thought Hammelet Place was always relatively diverse... Also, wasn't Hammelet Place a part of Wilkinsburg that always stayed safe

[stburr91]

Originally Posted by PennHillsNative80

I always thought that Wilkinsburg (Wilkinsburg proper - excluding Blackridge and Regent Square) was a totally black neighborhood, but I guess it isn't.

Up until the late 1980's the majority of the residents in Peebles Square, Kelly West, Whitney Park, Hamnett Place and Franklin sections of Wilkinsburg were white.

The overwhelming majority of the residents in Hamnett Place were white. By the early 90's there was a major shift in the makeup of the neighborhood as poverty and crime entered the area.

County drug task forces swept through the Hunter Park area, and chased the drug dealer to the Hamnet Place and Franklin sections of Wilkinsburg. This had an immediate and devastating effect on the area. In less than 10 years, the area went from a decent working and lower middle class neighborhood, to an area infested with drug dealers, crack heads and gangs, to abandoned.

Originally Posted by Uptown kid

I thought Hammelet Place was always relatively diverse... Also, wasn't Hammelet Place a part of Wilkinsburg that always stayed safe

No, in fact it was one of the most dangerous areas in the county in early to mid 90's. The Swissvale Ave. area had more shootings than anywhere in the county, all gang and drug related.

[BrianTH]

There are parts of Wilkinsburg--basically north of Penn--that have very few white people. But to my knowledge there has always been at least a substantial minority of white people in the neighborhoods south of Penn (not just Regent Square and Whitney Park, which are majority white).

Frankly, I think the concept of neighborhoods that are majority black but not all black is so alien to some Pittsburghers that this possibility hadn't occurred to them.

[Uptown kid]

Ya know what I was thinking bout... Beacon Hill, Wilkinsburg

[groar]

nice story about the hamnett place community garden...

Community gardens help people, neighborhoods heal - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

[BrianTH]

Great article. The people behind the garden should be very proud of what they have accomplished, and it is going to be a wonderful amenity for the neighborhood.

[groar]

i love this story from the post-gazette today about people cleaning up and gardening in abandoned properties in wilkinsburg!

Man's cleanup efforts expand in Wilkinsburg

[BrianTH]

Here is a new article on the renovation projects:

Pittsburgh foundation wages war on dilapidated housing - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Apparently they are on track for completion in the fall.