Homewood (Pittsburgh, Allentown, Penn Hills: sales, crimes, magnet school)

[ocean2026]

I love old buildings and have wondered around areas in Pitt most wouldn't go to -especially Hazelwood, which was really pretty friendly. I really have to echo the rest here - Homewood is the worst. Hazelwood is just as inexpensive, but I like it.

Of course I prefer some of the river valley towns and started a thread about monogahela, Donora but many more people want to discuss Homewood- so you have my two cents.

[badguykc]

As a former resident of Pittsburgh, my opinion on Homewood is 50/50.

I've driven through Homewood/Brushton (one in the same to me) a large number of times (day and night), and nothing bad has ever happened to me there. I've met a lot of people of all races from all neighborhoods, including Homewood. And every one of them has been friendly and open-minded, so I don't think it's about what color your skin is. A white person could get by in Homewood, in my opinion. Pittsburgh is not an overly prejudiced city.

It's the crime that makes me very leery on Homewood. There are a lot of murders, and a lot of small-time, petty crimes. I'm not going to lie, it is unsafe in Homewood, but it isn't Youngstown, Detroit, or Compton. Hell, your house can get broken into ANYWHERE, not just in Homewood.

The homes? Homewood is a mixed bag as far as housing is concerned. In some areas you'll see well-cared-for houses with nice lawns, while a block away everything may be overgrown and boarded-up. The majority of the architecture is beautiful, even if the conditions of the houses aren't.

So, would I recommend Homewood? Certain parts of it, yes, I would. Just be aware of your surroundings, don't go wandering onto blocks that you have bad feelings about, and don't buddy-buddy with every Tom, Dick, and Harry you see on the street. You can be friendly without being too trusting, and your neighbors generally won't treat you like snot.

[badguykc]

Originally Posted by ocean2026

I love old buildings and have wondered around areas in Pitt most wouldn't go to -especially Hazelwood, which was really pretty friendly. I really have to echo the rest here - Homewood is the worst. Hazelwood is just as inexpensive, but I like it.

Of course I prefer some of the river valley towns and started a thread about monogahela, Donora but many more people want to discuss Homewood- so you have my two cents.

I agree with you on Hazelwood. There are only certain parts of Hazelwood that I feel are questionable. Most of it, however, is pretty decent. Just a little grimy.

[LandaJ]

Originally Posted by barneyg

Homewood is generally considered as the most dangerous place to live in the Pittsburgh metro area. Whether it's "truly dangerous" ultimately depends on your own assessment of what is safe and what isn't, but I think it is.

As for your other question, according to the 2000 Census, the census tract Monticello St is in is 96.1% black (out of 2,637 people). The census tract just south of it is 96.5% black (out of 1,913). The census tract just north is 96.3% black (out of 1,632). The larger census tract northeast is 84.4% black (out of 5,067), and the census tract just northwest is 93.4% black (out of 2,234). Finally, the census tract just west is 88.9% black (out of 1,274). Here's a link:

US census maps

Clearly, the answer is yes, other whites live in Homewood and around it, else the figures above would all have been 100%

Hey I am a Homewood native. My family was the forth black family to move into homewood. I am only 23 but I know that there are very dangerous people where ever you live. I have a harder time walking down the street in shadyside in fear of being mugged than in homewood or any other dominatly black areas. Pittsburgh has a major problem with lableing areas as bad. Homewood, sq.hill or two of the cleanest neighborhoods in the city. Read the paper! Most of the people that were raised in homewood do not ruin or bother other people. It's the miss placed families on low-income housing that damage homewoods image. There are various resturants, bars, churches, funeral homes, schools and auto shops in the area. And lets not mention the growing number of candy store. Homewood has many small business owners and alot of home owners. My family still and resides in there home and so do many of the other neighbors who have lived there for over 40 years. And some of their neighbors are white. There is a dominate white catholic church in the middle of Bennett st. And the students from CAPA found enjoyment walking the so-called dangerous streets of homewood. Honestly the locals were more freaked out by the outfits of the students than the students were of the so-called thugs. Homewood also host the annual bike and foot races every year. So really how bad is Homewood. Going by the news yeah Homewood is awful. Point breeze which cut itself from homewood when mass blacks left the hill and came to the area, bad media reports always says homewood when its point breeze. The so-called bad neighborhood also has one of the best PAT transit routes in the whole city. Homewood has more going on than many know. And as far as drug trades go. The neighbors of those who look down on this part of town are often spotted buying there goods from the same area they despies. I haved lived an many areas and still love the love and respect you recieve from the locals. Once you get to know your surroundings you will know who to deal with and who not too. Most so-called thugs will help anyone in need from and elderly lady trying to cross the street or someone needing help getting their car started. Before you judge goto the area and not with fear,but observance and an open mind. Stop being so Pittsburgh-ish and dumb!

[Drover]

Trying to read that gave me a headache.

[scottrpriester]

Originally Posted by LandaJ

Hey I am a Homewood native. My family was the forth black family to move into homewood. I am only 23 but I know that there are very dangerous people where ever you live. I have a harder time walking down the street in shadyside in fear of being mugged than in homewood or any other dominatly black areas. Pittsburgh has a major problem with lableing areas as bad. Homewood, sq.hill or two of the cleanest neighborhoods in the city. Read the paper! Most of the people that were raised in homewood do not ruin or bother other people. It's the miss placed families on low-income housing that damage homewoods image. There are various resturants, bars, churches, funeral homes, schools and auto shops in the area. And lets not mention the growing number of candy store. Homewood has many small business owners and alot of home owners. My family still and resides in there home and so do many of the other neighbors who have lived there for over 40 years. And some of their neighbors are white. There is a dominate white catholic church in the middle of Bennett st. And the students from CAPA found enjoyment walking the so-called dangerous streets of homewood. Honestly the locals were more freaked out by the outfits of the students than the students were of the so-called thugs. Homewood also host the annual bike and foot races every year. So really how bad is Homewood. Going by the news yeah Homewood is awful. Point breeze which cut itself from homewood when mass blacks left the hill and came to the area, bad media reports always says homewood when its point breeze. The so-called bad neighborhood also has one of the best PAT transit routes in the whole city. Homewood has more going on than many know. And as far as drug trades go. The neighbors of those who look down on this part of town are often spotted buying there goods from the same area they despies. I haved lived an many areas and still love the love and respect you recieve from the locals. Once you get to know your surroundings you will know who to deal with and who not too. Most so-called thugs will help anyone in need from and elderly lady trying to cross the street or someone needing help getting their car started. Before you judge goto the area and not with fear,but observance and an open mind. Stop being so Pittsburgh-ish and dumb!

Yeah.....lets not forget those candy stores, definitely a sign of a good neighborhood.

We live in Point Breeze and have drove through Homewood just to see what it is all about. One thing you cant deny is that over the years, particularly the 90's and 2000's, Homewoods murders have accounted for a large percentage of the total of the city. There are definitely some nice homes in the area that borders North Point Breeze, but as you go back further east, like Hamilton, the decay is obvious, and even more so following Route 380 towards East Hills.

Comparing Squirrel Hill to Homewood? Ridiculous.

[barneyg]

Originally Posted by LandaJ

Hey I am a Homewood native. My family was the forth black family to move into homewood. I am only 23 but I know that there are very dangerous people where ever you live. I have a harder time walking down the street in shadyside in fear of being mugged than in homewood or any other dominatly black areas. Pittsburgh has a major problem with lableing areas as bad. Homewood, sq.hill or two of the cleanest neighborhoods in the city. Read the paper! Most of the people that were raised in homewood do not ruin or bother other people. It's the miss placed families on low-income housing that damage homewoods image. There are various resturants, bars, churches, funeral homes, schools and auto shops in the area. And lets not mention the growing number of candy store. Homewood has many small business owners and alot of home owners. My family still and resides in there home and so do many of the other neighbors who have lived there for over 40 years. And some of their neighbors are white. There is a dominate white catholic church in the middle of Bennett st. And the students from CAPA found enjoyment walking the so-called dangerous streets of homewood. Honestly the locals were more freaked out by the outfits of the students than the students were of the so-called thugs. Homewood also host the annual bike and foot races every year. So really how bad is Homewood. Going by the news yeah Homewood is awful. Point breeze which cut itself from homewood when mass blacks left the hill and came to the area, bad media reports always says homewood when its point breeze. The so-called bad neighborhood also has one of the best PAT transit routes in the whole city. Homewood has more going on than many know. And as far as drug trades go. The neighbors of those who look down on this part of town are often spotted buying there goods from the same area they despies. I haved lived an many areas and still love the love and respect you recieve from the locals. Once you get to know your surroundings you will know who to deal with and who not too. Most so-called thugs will help anyone in need from and elderly lady trying to cross the street or someone needing help getting their car started. Before you judge goto the area and not with fear,but observance and an open mind. Stop being so Pittsburgh-ish and dumb!

Hold on here. I'm sorry if my original reply seemed racist, as it truly isn't how I intended it; the OP had two questions, 1) is Homewood dangerous, and 2) do any whites live in Homewood.

Most of my reply was statistics from the US census regarding the 2nd question. You replied to only the last part of my sentence related to the first question: "Whether it's "truly dangerous" ultimately depends on your own assessment of what is safe and what isn't, but I think it is."

How I implied this sentence was the *fact* that "truly dangerous" can mean a lot of things to a lot of people. For some it may mean "I don't feel safe there", for others it may mean "a lot of crimes happen there", for most (including me) it's a combination of both. There's no question that the homicide rate in Homewood is much higher than Shadyside, regardless of how anyone (including yourself) feels walking on Walnut St. I never said nor implied anyone was going to get shot if he/she walked through Homewood, but even if violent crime is rarely random, it sometimes is. Answering to someone wondering why property values are so low in Homewood, you *have to* recognize that some of it is based on the actual crime rate, whether or not it's worsened by media commentary.

Bottom line: my .02$ -- I live in Wilkinsburg. I hear the gunshots in the summer. That doesn't make me feel unsafe. Would I move to Homewood? I wouldn't. Others might assess it differently and move there. Blaming the media didn't help John McCain, it's not going to help Homewood residents improve their community.

[Drover]

The media wouldn't report on Homewood so much if there weren't so much to report about. Homewood has 1% of Allegheny County's population but is where about 10% of all Allegheny County homicides occurred in 2008. So I don't want to hear about how the media is unfairly painting Homewood. The place has earned its reputation.

[simetime]

Personally, I would not live in Homewood and I'm black, but before anyone starts putting up a hissy fit let me explain. I grew up on the Hill and have strong ties to it. There are very few people who grew up in either Homewood or the Hill rarely leave one for the other. Homewood has the same reputation as the Hill as far it being dangerous some of it is true but most of it is unfounded. The vast majority of murders/other crimes happens to people who are into illegal activities. In my 30+ years of living on the Hill I know of only one truely innocent person killed and that was because of mistaken identity. I say this b/c of the similiarities between the two areas. As a footnote my father bought a house on Hamilton Ave years ago (6 bedrooms, three baths, pantry, kitchenett, large yard and a garage) pretty cheap. I have just recently sold it for 5,000 b/c I could not manage it and I plan to move to Georgia. There are nice houses in North Homewood and it is quiet.

[Drover]

"Most of it is unfounded" my ass. There's a very good reason why Homewood has the reputation it has. The prevalence of "people who are into illegal activities" and the quality-of-life headaches they create for people who are not is a big part of it.