Let's talk about Wilkinsburg! (Pittsburgh, Washington: crime rate, how much, neighborhood)

[Goodjules]

Originally Posted by wpipkins2

I will challenge you to attend a black mega church service, jazz dinner, black theater, or any function held by a major black organization. You will see a different side to black Pittsburgh.

Pick up a copy of the courier, soul pitt, or the black business times to find a function to attend.

Here's an opportunity: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1ScJ...requested=true

I went to a Pittsburgh newcomer's dinner last year and met a very diverse (age, race, ethnicity) group of people from Pittsburgh and around the world. I plan to attend and maybe even host a dinner again.

[JimboPGH]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

Even wpipkins2 acknowledged that stable middle-class and upper-middle-class blacks refuse to associate with the black underclass, much as how middle-class and upper-middle-class urban whites tend to shun their rural "Duck Dynasty"-esque counterparts. Educated and rational blacks don't want whites to associate the black underclass as being a part of their race any more than educated and rational whites don't want the blacks to associate our own redneck underclass as being a part of our race. Both subsets of each racial group are embarrassments.

For the record, Appalachia has a fraction of the institutional and economic racism that continues to exist in much of the deep south and northern cities alike. I'll put West Virginia's racism record up against Chicago's, Boston's, or Philly's any day.

Also, "Duck Dynasty" is a bunch of preppie dudes from Hilton Head putting on a Hillbilly Minstrel Show. Reality TV my ass!

Just a word of advice: any time you discuss any "underclass" of people, regardless of race, it's best to take into account the history and economics involved, and not just view them in a vacuum.

[JimboPGH]

Originally Posted by ryanm3685

I was looking for information on why Wilkinsburg left Pittsburgh after 3 years and could not find anything specific. Annextation seems like a good idea, and I'm surprised at what great improvements some residents have made to their houses considering the millage. I actually really dig Wilkinsburg and would move there if their property taxes came down significantly. I suppose more people have to move in so there is a larger tax base for that to happen, no?

From what I've been told/read, Wilkinsburg was home to may devotees of the temperance movement, and voted to leave the city so it could enact it's dry laws.

I haven't been involved in any community activism here because I'm a transient resident, but if I owned here I'd be pushing hard for joining the city because I can't see how the school and property tax situation can be solved by the borough itself.

[shogun221]

I've lived in one of the apartment complexes on Upper Penn for the past two years.

Wilkinsburg is a rough neighborhood. Easily the roughest neighborhood I've ever lived in. Gunshots are a regular fact of life. During the summer they are a nightly occurrence. For the most part the gunshots come from down in the valley (Park Triangle and Laketon), but then this happened:

Arrest Warrant Issued in Wilkinsburg Double Shooting - Police & Fire - Forest Hills-Regent Square, PA Patch

This was literally right outside our window. The guy was shot four times and I watched him get hauled away by an ambulance. Blood was all over the complex walls and parking lot. For a week afterwards if I wanted to enter my building through the rear door, I had to step over a giant pool of congealing blood.

Someone has attempted, multiple times, to break open that rear door as well.

I do not consider Wilkinsburg a safe neighborhood.

[wpipkins2]

The Ambassador apartments were once nice with an older population. The gun shots probably come from the Pauls Court area. The gun shots are heard from all around due to the hill top location. My neighborhood is on a hill top across the valley from you. On a quiet night I can hear gunshots in the distance as well. Its worse after the trees loose their foliage in the fall.

[eschaton]

Originally Posted by shogun221

I've lived in one of the apartment complexes on Upper Penn for the past two years.

Wilkinsburg is a rough neighborhood. Easily the roughest neighborhood I've ever lived in. Gunshots are a regular fact of life. During the summer they are a nightly occurrence. For the most part the gunshots come from down in the valley (Park Triangle and Laketon), but then this happened:

Arrest Warrant Issued in Wilkinsburg Double Shooting - Police & Fire - Forest Hills-Regent Square, PA Patch

This was literally right outside our window. The guy was shot four times and I watched him get hauled away by an ambulance. Blood was all over the complex walls and parking lot. For a week afterwards if I wanted to enter my building through the rear door, I had to step over a giant pool of congealing blood.

Someone has attempted, multiple times, to break open that rear door as well.

I do not consider Wilkinsburg a safe neighborhood.

As others have noted, Wilkinsburg is fairly large for a Pittsburgh-area borough (nearly 16,000 people) and has around a dozen different neighborhoods. Saying all of Wilkinsburg is bad because where you lived is bad is kind of like saying that Point Breeze is a bad place because you lived in Homewood and it sucked.

[robrobrob]

I spent a lot of time in Wilkinsburg from 1999-2001. It was amazing how many crimes were committed on a weekly basis. This was even after the LAW gang was prosecuted by the Feds. Back then the police always told me that there was really two Wilkinsburgs, daytime Wilkinsburg and nighttime Wilkinsburg.

The business district has always appeared to be functioning but I would never call it vibrant. To me Wilkinsburg and Mt. Oliver are pretty similar since they both have decent business districts that are sort of still intact.

[Copanut]

Originally Posted by wpipkins2

The Ambassador apartments were once nice with an older population. The gun shots probably come from the Pauls Court area. The gun shots are heard from all around due to the hill top location. My neighborhood is on a hill top across the valley from you. On a quiet night I can hear gunshots in the distance as well. Its worse after the trees loose their foliage in the fall.

Wow, not the sounds I hear at night in the Great White North.

My experience with Wilkinsburg back in the 60's was not great. I remember getting a knife pulled on me as we left the basketball court, scared the @02@02 out of me. Great housing stock, not sure about its future.

[PreservationPioneer]

Originally Posted by robrobrob

I spent a lot of time in Wilkinsburg from 1999-2001. It was amazing how many crimes were committed on a weekly basis. This was even after the LAW gang was prosecuted by the Feds. Back then the police always told me that there was really two Wilkinsburgs, daytime Wilkinsburg and nighttime Wilkinsburg.

The business district has always appeared to be functioning but I would never call it vibrant. To me Wilkinsburg and Mt. Oliver are pretty similar since they both have decent business districts that are sort of still intact.

Mt. Oliver's business district is much nicer than Wilkinsburg's. The whole neighborhood is nicer than central Wilkinsburg (that's not saying much), but good luck hearing anything about it here since it's not near the East End.

[zip95]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

You should be embarrassed by the nonsensical violence, foul language, and emulation of "gangsta thug" culture occurring amongst some black youths in this city

Embarrassed... What the???

Dude, unless you are blinded by racism you should be able to see that African American culture has probably been the strongest cultural force on planet earth for the past 100 years. The invention of jazz, rock, blues, r&b, techno. Some of the greatest poets ever to grace this planet with their presence have been rappers. Fashion. How much of our modern speech originated in the ghetto (you go girl). The countries most popular comedians. The worlds most popular athletes. Some of the most recognizable names in this world are products of your "gangsta thug" ghettos... The entire world flocks to American culture because the ghetto produces people like Beyoncé and Whitney Houston. The day you see a Korean version of Hill-billy style, instead of gangnam style is the day you can start telling black people to be embarrassed by their culture.