Braddock PA article in Ready Made article

[Dorian]

Originally Posted by backin60's

Hi Dorian

Those are strong responses. Did or do you live there? I agree rats and roach extermination would be a part of the plan. I can't respond with regard to police
not being there for years but bulldozing in my opinion is an extreme measure that
Allegheny County takes way too often. The drug epidemic is Nation Wide. Bulldozing
the buildings won't eliminate drug sales or addiction. Being someone who has had a long career working with gangs and addicts the location change that would be caused by
bulldozing Braddock would not impact the social ills.
Not sure I understand the comment "build a wall on their border with Rankin LOL". By
the Rankin statistics it does not appear Rankin is faring any better than Braddock. So do
they bulldoze that too? And Homewood? How about the North side? I don't see a bulldozer as Braddock's answer.
Cheryl

The building a wall thing was a joke, but I said that because Rankin is a bad neighborhood and with all those neighborhoods together(Braddock, Rankin, North Braddock, East Pittsburgh, And The edge of Swissvale) like they are one can't turn it's self around without the others doing the same, so meaning if Braddock tries to change and Rankin doesn't they mind as well build a wall up because they will have the same problems. And no I don't live there but my girlfriend is from there and she lived there untill a couple years ago. Their old house sat on the corner of Corey ave. and center st. and there are always drug dealers on the corners and crack heads walking around trying to sell you things(like one time one asked if we wanted to buy hot dogs and toilet paper). And bullets from a drive by shooting went through their house and two of them went through her room, thank goddness she wasn't home at the time or she could have been killed. Another time a guy got shoot and died in a field(where a house use to be)right across from her house and some little kids found him while they were playing a couple weeks later. If you think there is hope for a that community drive through it and look at all the murals set up for people that have been killed. Almost every house has roaches and mice or is about to because of their neighbors, every other house has a member of the family who is either a drug dealer or a drug addict or both or more than one. The other neighborhoods you named have nice neighborhoods near by, Homewood(Point Breeze, Penn Hills, and Squirrel Hill), the North Side(Observatory Hill and Ross Township) Braddock on the other hand is in the middle of alot of bad neighborhoods. Trust me I have alot of experience with Braddock, it's not nicknamed "the Dirty Dock" for no reason. Alot of the kids from there drop out of school to sell drugs and thats all they know so it starts a trend that is hard to break.

[backin60's]

Hey mice sounds like a vast improvement from when I lived there. When I was a kid living on McCrea Way we had rats bigger than large house cats. I don't make light of what your saying. I think your right all those places would need to turn around. Living
where bullets without names fly through your window is no picnic. Been there done that.

But dope is killing people in Beverly Hills and upper middle class neighborhoods all over
the country. Your absolutely right when you state that kids are dropping out of school to sell dope, that is as you say all they know and it is easy to fall into it. In Suburbia
every other house has someone who makes their money off dope. The people in Braddock, or Rankin or East Pittsburgh are not the problem. Desperate people do desperate things. I am not making excuses for them. But how are you going to rehabilitate people who have never been habilitated in the first place??? The war on
drugs is a joke. I had DEA tell me once that if they ever successfully eliminated drugs
the entire American economic culture would collapse. So we see the marginalized in Braddock, East Pittsburgh, South Side Tucson, Los Angeles, California and every other urban setting where drugs dominate and equate the problem with those spiraling down in it's grip. They are the symptom of a larger problem. Two America's. Two sets of rules.

Ever ask yourself why drug addiction in Beverly Hills is a disease with treatment at the
Betty Ford Foundation? But in Braddock it is criminalized. If it is a treatable disease in
upper middle class America then it's a disease in Braddock too. Too often addiction is
not understood. Can we arrest and convict cancer patients and successfully eliminate
the disease of cancer? Of course not, and criminalization is not going to end the disease
of addiction either. So we bulldoze all these decaying cities, geographically move sick
people out and the disease process continues. Before you know it there is no place left.

To alot of people Mayor Fetterman seems strange. People think nice concept but he has
to be delusional. He is a visionary, he sees that there is hope. It isn't as much about the city of Braddock as it is about the people. He has the ability to dream a dream and share it. It is a powerful thing to believe for something you can not see. It is empowering to believe in people who have lost all belief in themselves. While I can not
predict what the outcome will be I can tell you that his investment in individuals is going to bear fruit. No investment returns void. I'll be a cheerleader on the side lines, wishing
him well, hoping and praying that Braddock can be revitalized. Everyone should wish him that much. Truth is when it happens in your neighborhood you are going to hope and pray for a visionary. There is alot of history in these old towns. Proud history. Today
they do not build anything like they once did. To bull doze it would be tragic.
Cheryl

[dabmoc]

I'm moving in 1 year. I inherited the house. 4bd 2ba near the cemetery.

Do you think I would have problems renting it while it is empty for a year? What is the rental and home sale situation like? I don't have a realtor so I'm wondering if any locals could chime in.

I'm so confused. There are those who say it is the most dangerous place ever and then there are those who say that it is not that bad. Hmmm...

[churchof1000]

I took my collection of articles about Braddock and the surrounding areas and made a PDF. It's still about 1.6MB. If anyone wants a copy, send me an email

churchof1000@yahoo.com

[aliceadams]

I hope to buy a store front on Braddock Ave. and live upstairs.I have a part-time job at UPMC Braddock and sell handmade purses and such too. Any information that will help me would be aprreciated. Thanks, Peace alice

[aliceadams]

back in the 60's , come back to the forum I need your in put.Peace ,Alice

[PeterRabbit]

Originally Posted by backin60's

In Suburbia every other house has someone who makes their money off dope.

Congratulations! You've told the biggest whopper ever seen in this forum. Where do you get such information? Telling lies will not get people to see your side of things even though most of your other comments are true. If you're going to make farfetched statements at least post a link to your source.

[Anthonycp]

I recently wrote to tony buba and did not receive a reply. It has been over a month now and I guess he doesn't want to respond. I asked him to give me some advice on how he goes about researching for the documentaries he produces. I too agree that they should be available to anyone willing to pay.