Beltzhoover ???? (Pittsburgh, York, Arnold: crime, home, movies)

[TRO Z]

I did notice they moved the police station from the Southside on Mary St up into Allentown...Do you think that will possibly help bring down the crime rate down in these neighborhoods ????

I couldn't believe my eyes in Beltzhoover, we viewed 5 properties owned by the City of Pgh...You've heard the old saying " They stole everything including the kitchen sink" Oh yeah No furnaces, hot water tanks, copper, kitchen cabinets (In 2 of the buildings they even took the toilets)...These homes are shells...

I have great instincts and the entire time I truly felt on edge...Like something bad could happen at anytime (Thought it was just me, but now I see my instincts were justified)

[mr.davon24]

Originally Posted by COPANUT

Unless Pgh gets a ton of manufacturing/manual labor jobs in this area, Beltzhoover, Allentown, Carrick, Arlington are lost causes. Those areas are all going Section 8 or worse because the people that can move, move. Why do you think those areas are on the decline?

Replace the mills in Homestead with 10/hr BS jobs and that's what you get. Working poor. It's happening all over the country, Pgh is no different.

Where are these 10 hrs jobs? My wife has been working down there for 2 years and hasn't seen that.

[Herodotus]

Originally Posted by steindle

While I agree that Allentown is unlikely to see an upward trend for a long, long time...I don't see what housing stock really has to do with it. Lawrenceville has some of the smallest houses in the city and it's undoubtedly having a renaissance.

Simple, urban pioneer types love two types of housing, Victorians, and stoop fronted rowhouses. Lawrenceville is loaded with the later, while Allentown has neither.

[Herodotus]

Originally Posted by TRO Z

I did notice they moved the police station from the Southside on Mary St up into Allentown...Do you think that will possibly help bring down the crime rate down in these neighborhoods ????

I couldn't believe my eyes in Beltzhoover, we viewed 5 properties owned by the City of Pgh...You've heard the old saying " They stole everything including the kitchen sink" Oh yeah No furnaces, hot water tanks, copper, kitchen cabinets (In 2 of the buildings they even took the toilets)...These homes are shells...

I have great instincts and the entire time I truly felt on edge...Like something bad could happen at anytime (Thought it was just me, but now I see my instincts were justified)

The scrapyards are part of the problem. They know that these crackheads stole all this stuff, but they gladly pay for it, which of course, leads to more theft. I read an article once, where experts estimated that drugs were either directly, or indirectly responsible for over 75% of the crime in America.

[MarqueseGilmore]

The problem is the city of Pittsburgh doesnt care about little neighboorhoods like Beltzhoover! Why not fix this neighborhood up? Why not open up some rec centers for these hopeless young black people? Why not just make jobs for Beltzhoover? Why not claim back apart of your city and stop all the senseless killings in this area and areas like this? Who cares about young black men destroying themselves and their enviroment? Its alllllright until these self-destructive young black men start destroying neighborhoods like Mt. Leb,Bethel Park,Upper st. clair.....then Little Lukey wants to reclaim "his" city! Then he wants to remedy the problem......Ask Lukey why these rundown neighboorhoods are the way they are....... mayorcompl@city.pittsburgh.pa.us

[Herodotus]

Luke can't fix these problems. They go way deeper than a mayor. Also, Mt Leb and such are suburbs and not part of Pittsburgh. When a majority of children in a community are born out of wedlock, and too many boys grow up without a father in their lives, you get the type of nonsense that has me going to wakes several times a year, for men young enough to be my sons. Add in the glorification of violence, and the cesspool that hip-hop has become, and it's not so hard to understand. When the youth of a community hold thugs in high regard, and decent youth are dismissed as "lames", you can see the depth of the problems.

[MarqueseGilmore]

Originally Posted by Herodotus

Luke can't fix these problems. They go way deeper than a mayor. Also, Mt Leb and such are suburbs and not part of Pittsburgh. When a majority of children in a community are born out of wedlock, and too many boys grow up without a father in their lives, you get the type of nonsense that has me going to wakes several times a year, for men young enough to be my sons. Add in the glorification of violence, and the cesspool that hip-hop has become, and it's not so hard to understand. When the youth of a community hold thugs in high regard, and decent youth are dismissed as "lames", you can see the depth of the problems.

I totally disagree......You have to ask why the fathers left........Why these children are born out of wedlock? Theres a reason for everything!! Maybe The City of Pittsburgh just doesnt care and never did. Maybe neighborhoods like these are modern day plantations and are designed to contain the poor and "minorities". Why is there a liquor store on every corner in these type of neighborhoods.........Hiphop has nothing to do with these kids being hopeless....Actually Hiphop is the only thing that gives these kids hope!! No one else will.......You barely rarely see Little Lukey going to places like this and trying to find a solution......and this goes on in every city,usa and *we have no one that cares about trying to change things. I say we cause even though I'm not living in these neigborhoods and even though I'm not living in poverty.......I was there and I'm still riding with em!

[Little Mizz Pittsburgh]

Originally Posted by MarqueseGilmore

.........Hiphop has nothing to do with these kids being hopeless....Actually Hiphop is the only thing that gives these kids hope!!

I agree. The age old excuse of hip-hop being blamed for EVERYTHING is old and redundant. People need to move on. Hip-Hop is here to stay....let's get to the ROOT of these problems and try to find ways of fixing them instead of placing blame.

[steindle]

Originally Posted by MarqueseGilmore

I totally disagree......You have to ask why the fathers left........Why these children are born out of wedlock? Theres a reason for everything!! Maybe The City of Pittsburgh just doesnt care and never did. Maybe neighborhoods like these are modern day plantations and are designed to contain the poor and "minorities". Why is there a liquor store on every corner in these type of neighborhoods.........Hiphop has nothing to do with these kids being hopeless....Actually Hiphop is the only thing that gives these kids hope!! No one else will.......You barely rarely see Little Lukey going to places like this and trying to find a solution......and this goes on in every city,usa and *we have no one that cares about trying to change things. I say we cause even though I'm not living in these neigborhoods and even though I'm not living in poverty.......I was there and I'm still riding with em!

I'm not a fan of Luke, but to say that he is absent from these neighborhoods is just wrong and an easy scapegoat. I've actually been surprised by how actively he has participated in communities on the North Side in light of the shootings there, etc.

The "why is there a liquor store on every corner" argument is also a little played, isn't it? It's not even true. Look at where liquor stores are located in Pittsburgh: it's not poor neighborhoods. Beltzhoover certainly doesn't have one -- Mt. Washington does. The Hill District doesn't have one -- North Oakland or Downtown does. The closest liquor store to Northview Heights is in Brighton Heights. St. Clair Village, Arlington, Arlington Heights, Knoxville, Larimer, Manchester, Marshall-Shadeland....nothing in any of these neighborhoods.

A better argument is that there just aren't any stores in these places, and therefore no "legitimate" economic activity that could help the communities. Homewood and the Hill have some stuff still operating, but places like Beltzhoover or certainly St. Clair have literally not a single store. That's a serious problem. And then there are situations like Mt. Oliver where there are a lot of stores, but they're nothing but cell phone stores, furniture rental places, and payday cash-checking scams -- the sort of places that basically suck a neighborhood dry rather than helping it in any way. These places genuinely disgust me.

I agree that there are deep systemic problems that lead to the continued poverty and violence of Beltzhoover and similar spots around the city...but to pawn it off on some sort of conspiracy is misguided and totally counterproductive. The idea that the heads of the city don't care at all or even seek to perpetuate the problems is just absurd. Why would they? What would be in it for them? Don't you think that Lil' Luke would prefer that Beltzhoover be peaceful and productive rather than a warzone? Why would he actively choose the latter option? It makes no sense.

Also, regarding hip hop -- no doubt there's a lot of good and positive stuff out there, but don't tell me that the bulk of mainstream rap gives kids "hope." What's the hopeful message in "Always Strapped" or "Best I Ever Had?" I'd really like to know.

[MarqueseGilmore]

I'm not a fan of Luke, but to say that he is absent from these neighborhoods is just wrong and an easy scapegoat. I've actually been surprised by how actively he has participated in communities on the North Side in light of the shootings there, etc.

When your in a mayoral position its your job to make sure the city is safe. Thats his job and he isnt doing it.....I dont totally blame everything on Luke!

The "why is there a liquor store on every corner" argument is also a little played, isn't it? It's not even true. Look at where liquor stores are located in Pittsburgh: it's not poor neighborhoods. Beltzhoover certainly doesn't have one -- Mt. Washington does. The Hill District doesn't have one -- North Oakland or Downtown does. The closest liquor store to Northview Heights is in Brighton Heights. St. Clair Village, Arlington, Arlington Heights, Knoxville, Larimer, Manchester, Marshall-Shadeland....nothing in any of these neighborhoods.

Theres either a bar or liquor store on every corner in neighborhoods like these. Not too familiar with Beltzhoover but if you go on Larimer ave you'll see a bar and a Wine and Spirits right across the street from each other. Its a valid argument!!

A better argument is that there just aren't any stores in these places, and therefore no "legitimate" economic activity that could help the communities. Homewood and the Hill have some stuff still operating, but places like Beltzhoover or certainly St. Clair have literally not a single store. That's a serious problem. And then there are situations like Mt. Oliver where there are a lot of stores, but they're nothing but cell phone stores, furniture rental places, and payday cash-checking scams -- the sort of places that basically suck a neighborhood dry rather than helping it in any way. These places genuinely disgust me.

I agree that there are deep systemic problems that lead to the continued poverty and violence of Beltzhoover and similar spots around the city...but to pawn it off on some sort of conspiracy is misguided and totally counterproductive. The idea that the heads of the city don't care at all or even seek to perpetuate the problems is just absurd. Why would they? What would be in it for them? Don't you think that Lil' Luke would prefer that Beltzhoover be peaceful and productive rather than a warzone? Why would he actively choose the latter option? It makes no sense.

Also, regarding hip hop -- no doubt there's a lot of good and positive stuff out there, but don't tell me that the bulk of mainstream rap gives kids "hope." What's the hopeful message in "Always Strapped" or "Best I Ever Had?" I'd really like to know.

No one cares about poor black people destroying themselves especially a priveleged young white guy like Luke. It makes alot of sense when you've been on the other end and no what goes on. As far as hiphop.....you only want to see things in one light! Ofcourse you have music just like movies that use adult language but you also have artist like Nas,Jay,Krs1,Scarface who tell kids they can do better. Look at Soulja Boy,although I'm not the biggest fan of his music. He's the biggest example of hope that a kid can see. He's a teenage young man whom took his own destiny in his hands. NO you only want to point out one kind of hiphop and thats not balanced!