NON-PROFIT U.S. POSTAGE PAID PITTSBURGH, PA Permit No. 2403 Volume 33, No. 6 Serving Bloomfield, Friendship, Garfield, East Liberty and Lawrenceville since 1975 June 2008 Four CDCs Collaborate on New East End Partnership Jonathan Cox enjoys By Paula Martinac the Partnership are working on old houses, The Bulletin physically housed including his own. In at Lawrenceville many ways, his job as Corporation on director of the brand- Butler Street, he is new East End Partnership – a commu- "a shared employee," he makes clear. nity development collaboration to "All four partners have a piece of work on revitalization strategies for me." four diverse East End communities – Before accepting his new position, dovetails perfectly with his hobby. "I Cox spent five years as Vice President like working with something that has of Operations at the Pittsburgh great bones, character, history," he Downtown Partnership, managing all Cortesy L. Robert Kimball & Associates Cortesy L. Robert Kimball & says, "and trying to bring it back to what it once was." That could be one CRACKING THE CASE house, or, in the case of his new posi- Gene Miller of L. Robert Kimball & Associates measures a pavement crack on tion, entire neighborhoods. Penn Avenue as part of the pavement condition survey for the Penn Avenue Cox just started his job in March, Corridor Phasing Plan. Kimball, the company contracted by the City of but the East End Partnership, he Pittsburgh to oversee the Penn Avenue infrastructure project, will continue its explains, "kind of jelled in late 2005," pavement survey through early June, along with an investigation of the existing stemming from conversations among sidewalks and an on-going analysis of traffic conditions along the avenue. leaders of four East End community development corporations – Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation, Makeover Planned for Community Center East Liberty Development Inc., Friendship Development Associates, The Bloomfield- By Freddie Croce through a three- and Lawrenceville Corporation. The Paula Martinac/The Bulletin Garfield Community Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation phase construc- four groups had been talking about Activity Center, tion schedule. engaging in a collaborative effort to JONATHAN COX TAKES A BREAK AT located at 113 North EDGE Studio on address economic change in their THE QUIET STORM ON PENN AVENUE. Pacific Avenue and owned and oper- Penn Avenue has completed prelimi- communities, and had received a ated by the Bloomfield-Garfield nary design work, funded by the $100,000 grant from the New York- public spaces and "keeping Corporation (BGC), will receive a Community Design Center of based Surdna Foundation to study Downtown clean and safe." Prior to much-needed makeover. Plans for the Pittsburgh. what a more structured process would that, he spent 17 years working in renovation will be unveiled at the cen- The large arched window openings look like. curatorial and administrative posi- ter during this year’s Art Cubed event on the exterior, which have been par- When it came time to apply the tions in museums and historical on Friday, June 6, from 7 to 9 p.m., tially covered for several years, will results of the initial Surdna study, it organizations in Harrisburg and and Saturday, June 7, from noon to 4 be replaced with new, full-size, high- was clear, says Cox, "that in order to Philadelphia. "History is the thread p.m. performance windows, while the move forward they needed a body." that runs through my career," he The building – which has played an main entry will be upgraded and made Surdna provided an additional observes. "But also, I've been a city important role in the community since fully accessible. The interior will gain $200,000 for implementation, and person all my life, and I like helping its founding as the Pacific Avenue a new high-efficiency (and quieter) Cox was hired to bridge the four cities thrive and become healthier." Methodist Episcopal Church in 1896 heating and air-conditioning system, organizations and help them pull their An East Ender himself – he lives with – will undergo a combination of infra- individual strengths to benefit the structure and cosmetic improvements See MAKEOVER, page 10 East End as a whole. Although he and See PARTNERSHIP, page 11 JULY The FINAL DEADLINE for the JUNE 2008 issue of The Bulletin is MONDAY, JUNE 16, 2008. This includes ALL DEADLINE! classified ads, Bulletin Board announcements, story submissions, and ad space reservations. All content is accepted on a space-available basis. For more information, call 412-441-6915. Page 2 • The Bulletin • June 2008 PUBLIC SAFETY TASK FORCE REPORT Clean Neighborhoods Promote Safe Neighborhoods The "broken window theory" ry," it’s no won- By Deadra Keener or online. Or call see how good Garfield can look, states that “at the community level, der that Garfield Public Safety Coordindator the Bloomfield- and hopefully start a movement to disorder and crime are usually has a serious lit- Garfield Corpora- keep Garfield looking good. inextricably linked, in a kind of tering and trash tion at 412-441- As Jennifer Quinio, a local resi- developmental sequence. Social problem! Yes, we could focus on 6950, and we will report it for you. dent and owner of Modern psychologists and police officers larger crime and safety problems; Formations gallery, said, “A clean tend to agree that if a window in a but let’s focus on the litter, as it is • Taking care of your property. neighborhood leads to less crime, building is broken and is left unre- part of the foundation that is allow- This is a sign to others that some- leads to business coming to the paired, all the rest of the windows ing bigger problems to build up. It one cares, and might even moti- area, leads to people having more will soon be broken. This is as true is also an issue that can be vate others to do the same. This job opportunities, leads to respect- in nice neighborhoods as in run- addressed by residents with little can be as simple as picking up lit- ing themselves more, leads to down ones…one unrepaired bro- effort and with no danger involved ter just in front of your residence. respecting each other more, leads ken window is a signal that no one – no snitching, no police action to respecting the environment cares, and so breaking more win- required. Another action is to participate more...it all goes hand-in-hand.” If dows costs nothing.” (Source: The Litter, trash, and illegal dumping in the Garfield Community that sounds good to you, then let’s Atlantic Monthly, March 1982) are currently a harsh reality in Cleanup, scheduled for Saturday, work together to clean up the Although other factors may also Garfield. But you can easily help June 14, from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. neighborhood – and keep it clean! affect crime, evidence supports change that! There are simple This is a different kind of cleanup, We can make a start on Saturday, this theory. actions that Garfield residents can where residents focus only on June 14. The theory also purports that take that have the power to create cleaning up their individual side- Note: Another Garfield cleanup event, whether crime is on the rise or not, lasting change. These actions walks/yards/porches. If you are sponsored by Garfield Jubilee the broken windows will create the include: motivated to do more, go for it! Association, is being held on June 7. perception that the neighborhood But the goal is really to help folks See page 15 for details. is unsafe. This perception leads to • Not littering. While it may not residents avoiding certain streets seem like your one piece of trash and even each other, leading to a will make a difference when so Garfield Community Cleanup neighborhood that is then discon- much more is already lying on the nected - just a place to live rather ground, remember that it does. than a home. Apathy and fear set Saturday, June 14, 10 a.m. - Noon in, and though it all started with • Educating others, particularly just a broken window, the window children (our future!), that littering This is a time for residents to clean up their individual is now open to allow more crimi- is not okay. properties (sidewalks, yards, and/or porches). Imagine nal behavior. how clean and nice Garfield can look if we all do our Now replace "broken window" • Reporting any illegal dumping or with "litter." Using the "litter theo- trash piles to 311, either via phone small part! Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation has trash bags (to fill Public Safety Meetings and put out with your regular trash) and gloves (to bor- row, if needed) - just stop by the office (5149 Penn The Zone 2 Public Safety Council Meeting is held the last Thursday of the month at 7 p.m. at Hill House, 1835 Centre Avenue. For more infor- Avenue) earlier that week. For more information, con- mation, call 412-255-2827. tact Deadra Keener at 412-441-6950 x17. The Zone 5 Public Safety Council Meeting is held the second Tuesday of each month, with representatives of the police department in atten- dance. Meetings start at 7 p.m. at The Union Project, 801 North Negley Avenue (at Stanton). For more information, call 412-665-3605. The BGC Public Safety Task Force - composed of community leaders, law enforcement officers, and public officials - meets on the second Wednesday of each month in Garfield to share information on communi- ty safety issues and to review progress being made in the area of crime prevention in Bloomfield, Garfield, and Friendship. Residents and busi- ness owners are invited to attend the first 15 minutes of each meeting to raise specific concerns, or present concrete information about criminal activity to the Task Force.