Let's talk about Wilkinsburg! (Pittsburgh, Franklin: construction, elementary school, living)

[zip95]

Originally Posted by WPANative

I haven't been around in quite a while, but here's one of the greatest examples of you not knowing what you are talking about. The landmarks and businesses you mentioned are in North Point Breeze.

What's the difference???

Some line on a map has nothing to do with where residents feel neighborhoods begin and end. North Point Breeze starts a block or so past Braddock Ave. Everything West of that is Wilkinsburg... or at least that's how it feels to any person who even drives through the area. Her point is still valid.

[Uptown kid]

This thread is/was nothing but another tired attempt to verbally bash the people/community of Wilkinsburg. Why can't we just leave them alone? Why must we continually beat up this community? What is this psychological need to beat a dead horse?

I respect your sensitivity here. I enjoyed many memories living in Wilkinsburg, there's a sense of community in both the middle class and lower class parts. However, there's also a culture of young black male on young black male gun predation in part of the borough so prevalent it rivals the Hill & Homewood... For years young black men weren't safe wearing excessive red or blue in their attire, these days colors don't matter but its almost worse in other aspects.

I label low income majority African American areas the most on this forum (a bit shameful/hypocritical for a somewhat streety, young AA but I have a realist approach and am shaped by a culture/generation where good kids from the hood can be shot at 12)... I mean to only reference the gangsters, dope dealers, riff-raff & dope addicts that plague these areas. Since 2008, 28 out of homicides 32 Wilkinsburg homicides happen in the rough, gang territory portion of Wilkinsburg. 12 happened in the borough back in 2012, you simply can't ignore that. And like ATC shows with the crime stats, Wilkinsburg does have a lot of crime. But on the flip side, like 501 Carthage & others said living in a low income neighborhood claimed by x or y gang is nothing like living in Darfour.
Gangs only really claim: hangouts, absentee landlord owned apartments/public housing and certain street corners that have a long history of drug marketing within a select territory, rather than claiming everything in a neighborhood or turf.
Many non gang-affiliated residents: fearfully turn a blind eye to, unethically support/embrace, regretfully appease, or (out of lack of time and motivation) simply ignore/don't find a problem with the gang culture in their neighborhood. Yet then again there are many noble people who have zero tolerance for gang activity/drugs/crime. In some parts of Central Wilkinsburg you can even live perfectly oblivious to the whole gang thing.

Just like anywhere else in the World there are scumbags in Wilkinsburg- white & black; rich & poor; men & women; old & young... The thing is either Wilkinsburg's worst scumbags are like 'O Dawg' or Neno Brown who do violent things which make the news or riff-raff like Tyler Perry's bad characters or Precious's mother who are sometimes seen causing a scene on Penn Ave or Downtown. And have earned the borough a bad rep. Luckily, the borough has a majority of good, hard working people like Wpipkins, 501 and others have said. Plus given the location of the topic I think people didn't bash Wilkinsburg (a place that has had at least a murder every year for over 20yrs straight) too hard.

[501 Carthage]

Originally Posted by Uptown kid

Just like anywhere else in the World there are scumbags in Wilkinsburg- white & black; rich & poor; men & women; old & young... The thing is either Wilkinsburg's worst scumbags are like 'O Dawg' or Neno Brown who do violent things which make the news or riff-raff like Tyler Perry's bad characters or Precious's mother who are sometimes seen causing a scene on Penn Ave or Downtown. And have earned the borough a bad rep. Luckily, the borough has a majority of good, hard working people like Wpipkins, 501 and others have said. Plus given the location of the topic I think people didn't bash Wilkinsburg (a place that has had at least a murder every year for over 20yrs straight) too hard.

Word

[MountainDewGuy]

My wife and I considered Wilkinsburg when looking at houses. We looked at a couple of homes there in the $200k range where property taxes were around $9,000-10,000. This blew my mind. There are many similar homes in the city where property taxes total in the $3,000-4,000 range, so our decision was not a difficult one. I understand that the Wilkinsburg School District is poor and needs revenue, but with such a high tax rate you are pricing out more middle class folks who should be making up a significant portion of the community.

[ferraris]

Originally Posted by MountainDewGuy

My wife and I considered Wilkinsburg when looking at houses. We looked at a couple of homes there in the $200k range where property taxes were around $9,000-10,000. This blew my mind. There are many similar homes in the city where property taxes total in the $3,000-4,000 range, so our decision was not a difficult one. I understand that the Wilkinsburg School District is poor and needs revenue, but with such a high tax rate you are pricing out more middle class folks who should be making up a significant portion of the community.

It's a product of Wilkinsburg having such a wide range in property values. Most properties are valued very low, so tax rates have to be high to make up for that. They are definitely shooting themselves in the foot when it comes to their nicer neighborhoods, though.

[robrobrob]

Originally Posted by ferraris

It's a product of Wilkinsburg having such a wide range in property values. Most properties are valued very low, so tax rates have to be high to make up for that. They are definitely shooting themselves in the foot when it comes to their nicer neighborhoods, though.

I think the argument that many people make is that a home in Wilkinsburg is priced much much cheaper than a comparable home in the City of Pittsburgh due to the horrific taxes and school district.

[eschaton]

I'd bet anything if it were legally possible in Pennsylvania for part of a borough/city to secede you'd see most/all of Wilkinsburg west of the Busway either form its own municipality or join Pittsburgh.

It's totally impossible of course. Wilkinsburg could of course join Pittsburgh, or disband its school district and just join Pittsburgh Public Schools. I'm unconvinced an initiative of this sort could pass in either Wilkinsburg or Pittsburgh however, even though I think it would be a win/win situation in the longer run. There are many within the black community in Wilkinsburg who look at disbanding the school district (failed though it is) as basically surrendering a black school system to a white city. And I know a great many even progressives in Pittsburgh (my wife is one of them) who have the attitude that "our city has enough problems, why force us to take on one more troubled area."

[MountainDewGuy]

Originally Posted by robrobrob

I think the argument that many people make is that a home in Wilkinsburg is priced much much cheaper than a comparable home in the City of Pittsburgh due to the horrific taxes and school district.

You can get more in a house for sure, which is one reason why we looked at some homes there. However, with a difference in taxes of about $400 per month ($9000-$4000(/12)), one might as well just increase their home budget within the city by $80,000 - $100,000, and that extra $400 (or so) each month that would have been going towards taxes in Wilkinsburg instead goes into your home equity. My two cents, anyway.

With this being said, there is a certain appeal to living in a community that is having it's share of difficulty and knowing that you may contribute to a revival is a commendable aspiration. Many folks are doing this in the west area of Wilkinsburg, and I only hope that the revival spreads.

[MountainDewGuy]

Originally Posted by eschaton

I'd bet anything if it were legally possible in Pennsylvania for part of a borough/city to secede you'd see most/all of Wilkinsburg west of the Busway either form its own municipality or join Pittsburgh.

It's totally impossible of course. Wilkinsburg could of course join Pittsburgh, or disband its school district and just join Pittsburgh Public Schools. I'm unconvinced an initiative of this sort could pass in either Wilkinsburg or Pittsburgh however, even though I think it would be a win/win situation in the longer run. There are many within the black community in Wilkinsburg who look at disbanding the school district (failed though it is) as basically surrendering a black school system to a white city. And I know a great many even progressives in Pittsburgh (my wife is one of them) who have the attitude that "our city has enough problems, why force us to take on one more troubled area."

As a current city home owner, I would be perfectly fine with bringing in Wilkinsburg because I don't see how they will emerge from the spiral they seem to be stuck in.

[Coolsea]

Can anyone give me any information on the intersection of Edgerton and Peebles? Rebecca Ave also intersects here. I am driving to Pittsburgh this weekend and was considering some apartments here. It is two blocks west of Kelly Elementary School. I have already gotten some good information from this forum, but nothing on this specific block. Based off the information here, it seems to be just in the middle of the good and sketchy parts of town. It looks like it is only a few blocks from Regent Square, about which I have heard nothing but good things.