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Pittsburgh Courier NEW
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www.newpittsburghcourier.com Vol. 115 No. 49 Two Sections
DECEMBER 4-10, 2024
Gainey speaks to city residents, touts improvements on affordable housing Without affordable housing, city's Black population will continue to lessen by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
PITTSBURGH MAYOR ED GAINEY DELIVERED HIS STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS, NOV. 12.
Bakery Square...everyone knows where it is, but just in case you don't, it's a sprawling community of apartments in East Liberty off Penn Avenue, across the street from the old Nabisco (National Biscuit Company) factory, and near where the old Reizenstein Middle School used to stand. On its website, it invites people to live at Bakery Square. "Make Yourself at Home," is the slogan. Well, to "make yourself at home," it will cost at least $1,742 per month for a 510-square-foot studio apartment, according to shown figures on its website, Dec. 2. Have a few kids? A two-bedroom apartment at Bakery Square for 1,095 square feet will run you at least $3,127 per month, according to shown figures on its website, Dec. 2. Talk about making yourself at home. That is, if you can afford it. According to data compiled by PublicSource from 20122016, the median income for African Americans in Pittsburgh was $26,108, and that 34 percent of
Black residents lived below the poverty line. For most market-rate apartments like Bakery Square, Walnut on Highland, Coda on Centre and other newer locations in East Liberty and Shadyside, expect to bring an annual salary of at least $54,000 to the table to even be considered for a studio or one bedroom apartment. The lack of affordable housing in Pittsburgh does nothing but drive primarily African American residents out of the city proper, or to apartments that may not be desirable, such as the Mon View Heights Apartments (in West Mifflin), condemned in October by District Attorney Stephen Zappala as unkept and literally uninhabitable. He charged the owners of the apartment complex with causing or risking a catastrophe, a felony, as many Black residents have been fed up with the place. Housing is a complex topic. Most real estate developers want to maximize their profits by building an inviting SEE HOUSING A7
Why do you live in Pittsburgh? Why do a lot of Blacks leave Pittsburgh? African Americans encouraged to take the new survey by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
Compare Pittsburgh to places like Atlanta, Raleigh, Columbus, Washington, D.C., or Houston, and there’s really no comparison. African Americans, as a whole, seem to desire living in those cities rather than the Pittsburgh area. Now, there’s a survey out that African Americans currently in Pittsburgh, as well as Black Pittsburghers who have left the region, are being encouraged to complete. It’s all in an effort to answer the million-dollar question: “Why do you live (or no longer live) in Pittsburgh?” The survey’s official name is the “Black Pittsburgh Satisfaction and Retention Survey,” spearheaded by the Black Political Empowerment Project’s Corporate Equity and Inclusion Roundtable, along with the University of Pittsburgh School
of Social Work’s Center for Race and Social Problems. The survey is up and running now at blackpittsburghsurvey.org, or one can call 412-624-2883 during business hours to complete the survey over the phone. While technically anyone can take the survey, it’s geared towards Black adults, who either live in or used to live in Pittsburgh. “For Black and brown residents, there are significant challenges and barriers that create real issues to long-term residence here,” voiced Dr. Kyaien O. Conner, Director of the University of Pittsburgh Center of Race and Social Problems, at a news conference at the Kingsley Association in Larimer, Dec. 2. At the same time, however, the strengths of the region can be highlighted by survey SEE SURVEY A6
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KELLIE WARE, ESQ., DESCRIBES HOW TO TAKE THE SURVEY; AT BLACKPITTSBURGHSURVEY.ORG OR 412-624-2883. (PHOTO BY ROB TAYLOR JR.)