Mossfield St. in East Liberty (Pittsburgh, Cornwall: section 8, for sale, apartments)

[Quiet-T]

What is the housing on and around Mossfield St. near where it transitions from Black St. in E. Liberty?
I've never been through that area but from the aerial view on Google Maps it has a much more modern layout than is typical of the older city neighborhoods.
Is this some sort of new development? What was it prior?

[nuwaver88]

Originally Posted by Quiet-T

What is the housing on and around Mossfield St. near where it transitions from Black St. in E. Liberty?
I've never been through that area but from the aerial view on Google Maps it has a much more modern layout than is typical of the older city neighborhoods.
Is this some sort of new development? What was it prior?

That is mixed income including section 8. It has replaced a high rise housing project that was built in the 1960s. BTW, right across the street was the former clubhouse and first tee of the Stanton Heights Golf Club. It ran pretty much through that 1950s sub division adjacent to Allegheny Cemetery, all the way dwon to Buler Street where it turned around back towards Mossfield. There also used to be a shopping center where the clubhouse was. There is now a Jehova Witness Center.

[Uptown kid]

Your referring to the Garfield Commons Mixed Income Apatments. These apartments replaced the Garfield Heights Housing Projecrs when it was deemed unfit to raise a family... To be sprcific they recently razed Columbo/Cornwall Street, while the buildings on Fern/Mossfield Street were rebuilt in the mid 2000's.
The 3rd homicide that occurred in Garfield within two months was on Mossfield St.
Man, 20, killed in Garfield Commons shooting - Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A fair amount of the people from the Heights moved back to the Commons. And to my knowledge the apartments are currently still gang affiliated. However, that can change since mixed-income housing complexes have security cameras and at the drop of a hat will evict druggies that don't pay their rents because there's a fair chance that the new tenants will be eligible to pay market rent.

BTW: Mossfield Street is only in Garfield; it never touches East Liberty if you didn't pick it up by now.

[selltheburgh]

The plan on Mossfield is in Garfield. Part of Black St is East Lib.

The housing that replaced the projects is better than what was there and is newer. There was a homicide there recently and a few shootings on N Aiken at Columbo - which are all supposedly related. The rowhouses at the top of N Aiken have always been rowdy and that's where the innocent teenager was murdered when a guy shot into a house because his mother got into an argument with a woman who lived there. Otherwise, it seems pretty quiet up there.

The further you go down the hill, the better it gets. There are a number of good landlords who own on Black St close to the top, but there are also a number of vacant properties. Once you get to Chislett, it becomes more and more owner occupied mixed with houses converted to rentals. There are some nice renovations that have been done around there recently.

[selltheburgh]

Also, the apartments on Mossfield were projects before and also there was a suburban style shopping center that died off. Typical post-war development - no access to transit and not pedestrian friendly at all.

Here's an old article about the commercial development there. The projects that they demolished were only about 20 years old and were totally destroyed. The Pittsburgh Press - Google News Archive Search

I think a better use for that land would have been for sale housing. While the rentals are mixed income and seem to be well maintained and managed, lower income people would be better served closer to a business district.

[gg]

This area is interesting to me. I can say I have been about everywhere in the city and surrounding suburbs, but I have never been up on that hill on Black or that area. It doesn't look very good from Negley or Penn and the cars I see heading up there... well look like that area would be rough. There is no shortcuts for me on a bike or any real reason to go through there, but I have been on Mossfield where those projects are. Man, those look pretty bad. Road my bike past them a couple of times wondering if there was a good shortcut from Penn to 62nd Street or thereabouts. I think I will pass on that route.

[selltheburgh]

Mossfield is by far the best route in a car from East Liberty/Highland Park/Morningside/Stanton Heights to Bloomfield/Garfield/Lawrenceville. After the apartments it is like you are in the country. Deer and Turkeys all through the cemetery.

[gg]

Originally Posted by selltheburgh

Mossfield is by far the best route in a car from East Liberty/Highland Park/Morningside/Stanton Heights to Bloomfield/Garfield/Lawrenceville. After the apartments it is like you are in the country. Deer and Turkeys all through the cemetery.

It is an odd street. I turned around when I got past the projects because I noticed the road was going in a direction that I didn't want to travel. That area is sure a dump. Kind of a shame because it could be really cool if it wasn't for that nasty project sitting there.

[XRiteMA98]

Somebody I know was assaulted and mugged there a couple of monts ago. The police did not catch who did it.

[CaptainPittsburgh]

I had a friend who lived near that part of Mossfield for a while a few years back. The area was on the sketchy side then. Sounds like it still is.

I remember my Spidy sense tingling on a few of my nighttime walks through that part of Garfield, but I never encountered anything worse than some smack talk.