Will Hazelwood be the next neighborhood to be grentrified? (Pittsburgh: crime, townhouses) - Page 4 - City-Data Forum

ferrarisnowday · 07-05-2012, 12:02 AM

Does anybody know the story behind the green "I LOVE HAZELWOOD" stickers around Oakland?

Herodotus · 07-05-2012, 05:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eccotecc

Herodotus,

After a recent drive through back alleys and small side streets in Bloomfield and Lawrenceville adjacent to industrial areas, those locations didn't impress me as being much better than what is in Hazelwood. I grant you Second Ave needs some work but so did Butler St.

BTW....As a side note, I saw a group of Amish guys working on a place on the lower side of Butler St. I wish I had gotten their picture. It was very interesting.

Second Avenue was never as good a commercial strip as Butler, and it's full of holes now. The shortcoming that Hazlewood has vs Lawrenceville is the layout. Yes, many Lawrenceville houses are nothing special, but Lawrenceville has the classic stoopfront layout that true urbanists love. Hazelwood doesn't, nor does it have the Victorians, or proximity to a nice area, that would bring in gentrifiers.

BrianTH · 07-05-2012, 05:59 AM

Although I agree Hazelwood and Lawrenceville are not perfect analogs, one very important thing Hazelwood has is location, both for Oakland and Downtown. Of course a nice transit component to the LTC (Rapid Bus, if nothing else) would help emphasize that.

eccotecc · 07-05-2012, 06:16 AM

Herodotus,

What you say is true, but what I see in Hazelwood is an alternative for first time homeowners who've been priced out of the trendier neighborhoods, but its in close proximity to the amenities that are considered desirable. Being in the Allderdice school area seems to be important and I believe Hazelwood is. Driving up Hazelwood Ave to Brownshill Rd only takes a minute and a few more minutes a person can be at the waterfront or squirrel hill. A quick drive down second ave and you're in Oakland or the Southside, and a few minutes more and you're in town. Businesses will spring up along second ave quickly when people see the opportunity. It's all about having foresight.

Herodotus · 07-05-2012, 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eccotecc

Herodotus,

What you say is true, but what I see in Hazelwood is an alternative for first time homeowners who've been priced out of the trendier neighborhoods, but its in close proximity to the amenities that are considered desirable. Being in the Allderdice school area seems to be important and I believe Hazelwood is. Driving up Hazelwood Ave to Brownshill Rd only takes a minute and a few more minutes a person can be at the waterfront or squirrel hill. A quick drive down second ave and you're in Oakland or the Southside, and a few minutes more and you're in town. Businesses will spring up along second ave quickly when people see the opportunity. It's all about having foresight.

For those reasons, I could see it becoming a solid area, but not a gentrified area. I just can't see it becoming "trendy".

BrianTH · 07-05-2012, 06:43 AM

By the way, I also believe Hazelwood is in the new Allderdice pattern (split between Minadeo/Sterrett and Mifflin).

eccotecc · 07-05-2012, 06:54 AM

Herodotus,

Hazelwood may not become trendy but it has the potential for becoming desirable. Trendy neighborhoods usually have their own inherent problems. Young families and retirees look for convenience, stability, and a sense of community. These attributes aren't always found in trendy neighborhoods. They are nice to visit but may not be a place where families want to live.

Uptown kid · 07-05-2012, 08:13 AM

[quote]I was always confused, where does the term "Glenwood" come from? For instance, on a map you will usually 'Hazelwood' and the hilltop neighborhood "Glen Hazel" demarcated, but no formal designation of Glenwood.[quote]

No offense though what I Like Spam posted was incorrect... Glenwood is the predominately lower class-working class white section of Hazelwood that's furthest from the projects; its the residential section west of the train tracts off of Second Avenue. It contains two parks, Blair St Park and Elizabeth St Park, and it is also a section that's truly physically close to the river...

[quote]By the way, I also believe Hazelwood is in the new Allderdice pattern (split between Minadeo/Sterrett and Mifflin)[quote]

BTW this isn't new; most Hazelwood kids always went to Dice...

[quote]Hasn't Manchester already gentrified at least as much, if not more, than Lawrenceville? I mean, I know it's still like 85% black, but it has a large black middle class which has been more active than white transplants in terms of turning the area around. I spoke to someone active in Manchester community groups the other day, and he made it sound like the black elite (he lives down the street from the head of the African American chamber of commerce) have almost cleaned the neighborhood out now, and are more concerned with fixing up blighted properties than safety.[quote]

First off I'll admit that Upper Manchester has a lot of potential to get gentrified, but it ain't there yet!!! Manchester as a whole has definitely not gentrified has much as Larwanceville... In terms of neighborhood condition and criminal activity you can't even compare Upper Larwanceville (what many believe to be L'villes roughest section) to Upper Manchester (what's still Manchester's well known rough section). Upper Manchester has gotten safer because of the big gang indictment (among other little projects the city has done for it), although its still a gang neighborhood. Below is the link to that indictment...
29 gang members from Manchester indicted for drug and gun crimes - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
In the article its says "According to the FBI affidavit, Pittsburgh police counted 85 shootings, 317 drug arrests, 420 calls for shots fired and 26 firearm arrests in 2009 alone in the territories of the OGs and the Brighton Place set of Crips." Shoot stuff that is as deep seeded as that can not just go away in the course of three years...

On the other hand, Lower Manchester has extended to Decature Street and it is a safe, vibrant, up and coming majority black version of the Mexican War Streets... The black middle class and a relatively small amount (but growing) white population has largely taken over streets that used to be plagued by drugs and gangs, and the non middle class population is probably more of young people and hipsters then generations of riff-raff...
IMO because of Upper Manchester's current state you cant compare Manchester with Larwanceville yet.

BrianTH · 07-05-2012, 08:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uptown kid

This isn't new; most Hazelwood kids always went to Dice...

According to this (in particular pages 12-14), the older feeder for most of Hazelwood was Brashear:

http://www.pps.k12.pa.us/14311051817...esentation.pdf

Uptown kid · 07-05-2012, 08:46 AM

Some how some way a population of kids from Hazelwood went to Dice even before the feeder, and I'm affirmitve that I'm right so I'm also very confused. Examples besides that I personally met people that lived in Hazelwood and went to Dice: that big fight in 2009 was between Hazelwood kids and kids from the East Hills Projects that attended Dice, one of Wiz Khalifa's rap associates in that "Taylor Gang" went to Dice and lived in Hazelwood, and I'm sure there's more. However it inst news to me that there were Hazelwood kids attending Brashear because they always went there before this new stuff too. I'm just confused, I'll get back to you on this, yet either these feeders are relatively east to break through or a lot of people lied about where they lived to attend a better school...