NON-PROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID PITTSBURGH, PA Permit No. 2403 Volume 33, No. 2 Serving Bloomfield, Friendship, Garfield, East Liberty and Lawrenceville since 1975 February 2008 Contract for Penn Avenue Revitalization NOTICE OF PUBLIC Signed, Sealed, and Delivered MEETING In a triumph for our neighborhoods, By Paula Martinac tubes attached to counters that record the revitalization of the two-mile The Bulletin average daily traffic. Krul stressed stretch of Penn Avenue between that people need to "respect the Doughboy Square in Lawrenceville tubes," because vandalism could dam- and Negley Avenue in East Liberty The bulldozers, though, won't be age the count and set back data collec- SAVE THE DATE! has officially kicked off. On rolling in any time soon - actual con- tion. In the spring, when traffic pat- December 6, the city's Department of struction will probably not begin until terns are heavier and more people are Public Works Bureau of Transporta- 2010, with the first steps involving out on foot and on bikes, Krul said, a Tuesday, March 11, 6:00 P.M. tion and Engineering transmitted a extensive research and design. For manual count will supplement the St. Lawrence O’Toole signed "notice to proceed" to engi- example, there will be a full year of ATR data. neering and architectural firm L. data collection by means of traffic In the next 12 months, two more Activity Building Robert Kimball & Associates, which studies, sidewalk investigation, pave- public meetings will occur – the first N. Atlantic Ave. in Garfield will oversee the physical transforma- ment surveys, and parking analysis, on March 11, 2008, at St. Lawrence tion of the corridor over the next sev- which will allow Kimball & O'Toole Activity Building in Garfield To present the scope of the eral years. Associates to create a list of recom- (see sidebar), in which residents and "It's a new day," said Aggie Brose, mendations for prioritizing the vari- business owners will learn about the revitalization project for deputy director of the Bloomfield- ous projects. Those may include scope of the Penn Avenue project and PENN AVENUE, Garfield Corporation and chair of the everything from big jobs, like have a chance to ask questions and from Doughboy Square to Penn Avenue phasing plan committee, revamping the infrastructure, to small- have them answered. A second meet- made up of city and state officials, er design questions, like what style of ing will occur early next year, at a date North Negley, and to take staff of community development street lights to install. to be determined, to present the final questions from residents organizations, and other community According to project manager Brian plan. and business owners. Look stakeholders. "We should congratulate Krul of Kimball & Associates, resi- Patrick Hassett, assistant director of for more information in the the community for staying focused dents and business owners will soon the DPW's Bureau of Engineering and and rallying around this issue. It took see automatic traffic recorders (ATRs) March issue of The Bulletin. years, but persistence pays off." on the avenue – a series of thin rubber See CONTRACT, page 12 Buyer for Penn Avenue Bar Pledges Makeover; License Transfer Challenged A long-established By Rick Swartz representatives of bar in the 5100 block The Bulletin the Bloomfield- of Penn Avenue could Garfield Corpora- see its clientele tion (BGC), Friend- change dramatically if the state ship Development Associates, and approves the proposed transfer of its Garfield Jubilee Association that he liquor license to a new owner. wants to attract a “broad cross-sec- Pap’s ‘n Us, a family-run tavern for tion” of customers who are looking for decades at 5106 Penn, is seeking to a “safe, clean, and friendly place to sell its business and building to Zamir gather with friends, co-workers, or Zahavi, who once managed the now- family members.” defunct Buff’s Bar near N. Fairmount Pap’s, which was brought to the Rick Flanagan/BGC and Penn. Zahavi, a 47-year-old resi- attention of the city’s Nuisance Bar SIGN IN THE WINDOW AT PAP’S ‘N US ON PENN AVENUE, INDICATING dent of Ellwood City, recently told THE APPLICATION TO TRANSFER THE LIQUOR LICENSE. See BAR, page 5 MARCH The FINAL DEADLINE for the MARCH 2008 issue of The Bulletin is FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 2008. This includes ALL classified ads, Bulletin Board announcements, story submissions, and ad space reservations. All content is accepted on DEADLINE! a space-available basis. For more information, call 412-441-6915. Page 2 • The Bulletin • February 2008 PUBLIC SAFETY TASK FORCE REPORT Public Safety Task Force Meetings Sign Up for Police Operations Training Want to learn more about the work- staff and training staff that serves The Public Safety Task Force - composed of community leaders, law ings of the Pittsburgh Bureau of them. All of this takes place in a safe enforcement officers, and public officials - meets on the second Police? Twice a year, the bureau spon- and entertaining training environment. Wednesday of each month in Garfield to share information on communi- sors a Citizens Police Academy (CPA), Instructors are law enforcement pro- ty safety issues and to review progress being made in the area of crime giving the public an opportunity to fessionals who teach all levels of prevention in our neighborhoods. The first 15 minutes of each meeting are learn more about the training our law police officers, from recruits to veter- set aside so that business owners and residents can raise specific concerns enforcement officers receive and how ans. Students leave the training with a or present concrete information about criminal activity to the Task Force. they perform their duties. The next greater understanding of the police The next scheduled meeting is: CPA begins on February 25, 2008, at mission and with increased ability to the Hazelwood Presbyterian Church, see how the police serve the communi- Wednesday, February 13 located at 5000 Second Avenue, Pitts- ty. Bloomfield-Garfield Corp. Community Activity Center burgh, PA 15207. The program will be Class size is limited to 30 partici- 113 North Pacific Avenue (corner of Dearborn) held each Monday evening, from 6:30 pants. All interested persons must give 4:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., for 15 weeks. This is part permission for the Pittsburgh Bureau of the on-going plan to offer the CPA of Police to conduct a background For more information, contact Aggie Brose, chair of the Task Force, at outside of the bureau’s training acade- check to determine if they have a crim- 412-441-6950 x15. my facility. inal record. All applications must be Participants receive three hours of received by February 18. Please con- training each week in the varied func- tact Lieutenant Jennifer Beidle at jen- tions of law enforcement. They review [email protected] or the basics of criminal law, search and 412-323-7844 with questions about seizure, patrol tactics, firearms, and the program or for an application. Action, Not Apathy, many other subjects. They learn about Applications are also available online the processing of a crime scene, con- at http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/ Gets Results duct a ride-along with an officer, see police. how police canines are used, and may Good news: By Deadra Keener activity. The even experience a traffic stop. CPA Note: This program is not an accred- Crime in Zone 5 Public Safety Coordinator commanders participants meet and talk with many ited certification course to become a is currently down stated that street officers as well as the command sworn police officer. about 12 percent. reporting gun- Bad news: Inclement weather is fire is important, as those reports are likely a big cause in the drop. Good used to verify that guns are in the The Traditional news: Systems are in place for the neighborhood and to determine how Martial Arts Society public to help track and deter crime. much police presence is necessary 5738 Baum Blvd. Bad news: These reporting methods in the area. are underutilized by citizens, mean- Ways to report: Adults Aiki Jujutsu: 7 - 8pm M-Th ing that the crime rate will almost Weapons: 8 - 9pm M-Th certainly rise with the temperatures. • 911: Call for emergencies HOURS At the January Public Safety Task Valentine’s Youth Atemi Force Meeting, both Commander • 311: For non-emergencies. Call or 11 to 6 6 - 7pm Tue, 9 - 10am Sat Day! Tues – Sat RaShall Brackney and Commander submit online at http://www.city. (412) 361-1080 Cheryl Doubt stressed the impor- pittsburgh.pa.us/mayor/html/311_re Sunday by appointment tance of reporting criminal and sus- quest_form.html. February 14 picious activity via 911, 311, a galleryon43rdstreet.com Silent Complaint Form, and/or the • Silent Complaint Forms: For WWW.TMAS-DOJO.COM Citizen Observer website. non-emergencies and chronic situa- 187 43RD STREET, LAWRENCEVILLE A common citizen complaint is tions. Pick up forms at the local that reporting does not seem to have police station or submit online at any positive effect. Admittedly, http://www.city.pittsburgh.pa.us/ results may not be immediate. police/html/police_tip_form.html. However, be assured that the com- plaints are compiled and can even- • Citizen Observer website: For tually produce results. For instance, non-emergencies. Sign up online a property and/or bar cannot be (it’s free) at www.citizenobserver. declared a nuisance until the city com to receive community crime receives several 911 calls about that alerts, with the ability to submit property/bar. Frustrating? Perhaps. anonymous and confidential tips to But if no one bothers to report that the police.