Anybody live in East Liberty? (Pittsburgh, Lincoln: apartments, lofts, high crime)

[AnthonyJ]

Hi everyone, i have been a long time lurker here and decided to get on board with some posting.

I am a 25 year old white male (pitt grad) and I just moved to East Liberty. I would just like to hear others experiences who have lived there. Everyone I have spoken to in my building, which is across the street from the penn plaza apartments, has been very friendly. I am definitely a minority in the building, but I am fine with that. I walked through the parking lot and penn ave at night and was not uncomfortable at all.

Is it just me, or is crime in EL not as bad as many people make it out to be? I hope this doesnt offend anyone, but those who are used to a suburbia life seem to talk very bad about EL. Ive only been there a week so I will keep you up to date on my experience if anyone is interested.

Already have taken advantage of the target, trader joes, and urban active gym

[SuburbanPioneer]

It's not really a matter of perception, but rather a matter of reading statistical data.

Pittsburgh police 2010 crime report

East Liberty

Homicide 4
Rape 2
Robbery 61
Aggravated Assault 62
Violent Crime 129
Burglary 72
Theft 313
MV Theft 32
Arson 3
Property Crime 420
Total 549



Forgery 21
Simple Assault 227
Fraud 28
Embezzlement 0
Stolen Property 8
Vandalism 120
Weapon Violations 16
Prostitution 5
Other Sex Offenses 4
Drug Violations 69
Family Violence 5
Drunken Driving 10
Liquor Law Violation 1
Public Intoxication 0
Disorderly Conduct 32
Other 52
Total Part II Crimes 598

[wpipkins]

Originally Posted by AnthonyJ

Hi everyone, i have been a long time lurker here and decided to get on board with some posting.

I am a 25 year old white male (pitt grad) and I just moved to East Liberty. I would just like to hear others experiences who have lived there. Everyone I have spoken to in my building, which is across the street from the penn plaza apartments, has been very friendly. I am definitely a minority in the building, but I am fine with that. I walked through the parking lot and penn ave at night and was not uncomfortable at all.

Is it just me, or is crime in EL not as bad as many people make it out to be? I hope this doesnt offend anyone, but those who are used to a suburbia life seem to talk very bad about EL. Ive only been there a week so I will keep you up to date on my experience if anyone is interested.

Already have taken advantage of the target, trader joes, and urban active gym

My brother use to live in the artist lofts on Penn Ave just up from Babyland(Above the Dance Alloy). He painted alot of the murals in the neighborhood. (The one above the Quiet Storm Cafe and the one that was demolished for the glasshouse lofts) He has since moved to Chapel Hill NC. In 2000 the area was not as built up as it is today. Even then I loved the convenience. He had a 2000 square foot open art space. All of his neighbors were artist and when there was a party, there was a party. No murders, violence, muggings. Most of the time bad things only happen to bad people. If you are urban minded and mind your business nothing SHOULD happen to you.

[wpipkins]

Originally Posted by SuburbanPioneer

It's not really a matter of perception, but rather a matter of reading statistical data.

Pittsburgh police 2010 crime report

East Liberty

Homicide 4
Rape 2
Robbery 61
Aggravated Assault 62
Violent Crime 129
Burglary 72
Theft 313
MV Theft 32
Arson 3
Property Crime 420
Total 549



Forgery 21
Simple Assault 227
Fraud 28
Embezzlement 0
Stolen Property 8
Vandalism 120
Weapon Violations 16
Prostitution 5
Other Sex Offenses 4
Drug Violations 69
Family Violence 5
Drunken Driving 10
Liquor Law Violation 1
Public Intoxication 0
Disorderly Conduct 32
Other 52
Total Part II Crimes 598

Keep in mind that East Liberty stats are for East Liberty / Lincoln / Lemmington / Larmar / Belmar / Chadwick. This is a very large area and most of the violent crime does not happen in the area that most people consider East Liberty.

[SuburbanPioneer]

Originally Posted by wpipkins

Keep in mind that East Liberty stats are for East Liberty / Lincoln / Lemmington / Larmar / Belmar / Chadwick. This is a very large area and most of the violent crime does not happen in the area that most people consider East Liberty.

Nope. The police report has separate statistics for Larimer, Lincoln, Lemington, Larmar and other neighborhoods. This data is specific to East liberty only.

[wpipkins]

Originally Posted by SuburbanPioneer

Nope. The police report has separate statistics for Larimer, Lincoln, Lemington, Larmar and other neighborhoods. This data is specific to East liberty only.

According the the report. Lincoln Lemington Belmar had zero homicides. I cannot believe that. Since the 1990's I do not think a year has gone by without at least one homocidein that section of East Liberty.

[irishvan]

Thank you for the stats on forgery in East Liberty that has been something i've wondered about for a while now.

[Geeo]

You'll be fine. Years ago, it was kind of a forlorn area. It also didn't help that the major crimes unit was located there at one time, so when the reporters would do their stand-ups, they always said, "live from East Liberty," even though the crime could have been miles away.

I know many people who live in that area and it's really changed in the last few years. More people are moving in, there's an active street life, there's a restaurant row on Highland, lots of new stores and restaurants on the southern border, and lots of new housing.

[I_Like_Spam]

East Lib has sure changed since the mid 90's, that's for sure.

I stopped by at the Starbucks on Penn Circle South a few weeks ago, which is right on the site of the former East Liberty garage of Yellow Cab.

I chuckled as I seen how much the whole vibe has changed in that quarter out there since I quit hacking, reflecting on what the exact same area looked like when I might have been drinking a coffee in the cab lot in that very location.


That being said, there are still a fair number of bad actors out there, so you should definitely watch your p's and q's in that district. There is also still a high concentration of bums attracted by such amenities like the East Liberty Presby soup kitchen, the Orr Center, the welfare office, and the East Lib Family Health Center that caters to impoverished populations living on and off the street. I don't know if they still have the plasma donation center on Baum still.

[BrianTH]

East Liberty is one of those places that counts as relatively high crime by Pittsburgh standards, but would be considered just middling by the standards of many other large cities. Personally, I think it is obviously a viable option as long as you exercise ordinary precautions.