News Around the Neighborhood
The Border is in His Blood
Francisco Cantú
Saturday, February 17th 3:30 pm
Author José Ángel N. will read from his memoir, the valiant story of a man living the American dream — illegally.“”A devastating narrative of the very real human effects of depersonalized policy.” – Kirkus Reviews (starred)Pushcart Prize-winning writer Francisco Cantú served as an agent for the United States Border Patrol from 2008 to 2012, working in the deserts of Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Parts of Francisco’s story were included in Best American Essays and were the focus of an episode of This American Life. In bestowing a 2017 Whiting Award upon him, the judges called his writing “an urgent moral report [that] shows us just how much there is to learn about this contested land…seldom does a writer of such depth and passion come along to explore the place he calls home.”
Francisco’s new memoir The Line Becomes a River interlaces his haunting personal experiences with ruminations on the nature of borderlines, grappling at once with some of the largest political and social questions facing America today and the intimate stories of the hopeful and desperate who set out on a perilous crossing that many will not survive.
Francisco challenges us to hear, absorb, and question the politics, policies, and ingrained ideas of borders that not only derail countless migrants’ lives and tear apart their families but do violence to the humanity of us all.
At this moment of rhetoric and fury around the border, a voice like Francisco’s feels essential and urgent.
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A Memoir Shining a Light on Undocumented Immigrants Living in the Shadows
José Ángel N.
Monday, January 15th
8:00 pm
Author José Ángel N. will read from his memoir, the valiant story of a man living the American dream — illegally.
“With great eloquence and pathos, N. draws on his daily life and references philosophers from Socrates to Kant to describe the netherworld of the undocumented.” — Booklist
Arriving in the 1990s with a 9th grade education, N. traveled to Chicago where he found access to ESL and GED classes. He eventually attended college and graduate school and became a professional translator.
Despite having a well-paying job, N. was isolated by a lack of official legal documentation. Travel concerns made big promotions out of reach. Vacation time was spent hiding at home, pretending that he was on a long-planned trip. The simple act of purchasing his girlfriend a beer at a Cubs baseball game caused embarrassment and shame when N. couldn’t produce a valid ID. A frustrating contradiction, N. lived in a luxury high-rise condo but couldn’t fully live the American dream. He did, however, find solace in the one gift America gave him – his education.
N’s story represents the triumph of education over adversity. He debunks the stereotype that undocumented immigrants are freeloaders, uninterested in education or opportunity for advancement. With bravery and honesty, he details the constraints, deceptions and humiliations that characterize alien life “amid the shadows.”
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Art in Context at The Warhol
Border Crossings
Friday, January 5th
7:00 pm
In a complex and contentious era of border closures, anti-immigrant rhetoric, and isolationism, what role do artists play in maintaining the free exchange of ideas across cultural boundaries?
Artists, scholars, and community members come together to consider creative expression in relation to timely political and social concerns. Explore shifting perspectives on historic and contemporary immigrant and refugee experiences in Pittsburgh and beyond.
Panel participants include Betty Cruz (Founder of Change Agency), Tuhin Das (ICORN writer-in-residence at City of Asylum), Anne Madarasz (Director of the Curatorial Division, Chief Historian and Director of the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum at the Heinz History Center), Grant Oliphant (President of The Heinz Endowments) and John Righetti (President of the Carpatho-Rusyn Society).
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Save the Date: One Northside Celebration
Music + Food + Community
Thursday, January 25th
5:30-8:00 pm
Heinz Field
Join us for a community gathering to celebrate and share progress of the One Northside initiative.
Formal invitation with RSVP & details to follow.
Passive Train Control Cabinets in Allegheny Commons
Hello,
As many of you may have noticed, Norfolk Southern has been working in Allegheny Commons near the Soldier’s Monument installing some cabinets. Please see some of the images attached (credit Jerry Green) and read the following information I received from Norfolk Southern regarding the work:
In 2008, following an incident in California between a commuter train and a freight train in which 25 people lost their lives, the U.S. Congress passed the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008, which called for the development and implementation of Positive Train Control (PTC). The purpose of PTC is to prevent train-to-train collisions, overspeed derailments, unauthorized incursions by trains into sections of track where maintenance is being performed, and the movement of a train through a main line switch left in the wrong position. PTC is generally required to be installed on main lines that are used to transport passengers or toxic-by-inhalation (TIH) materials by December 31, 2018, and to be fully implemented by December 31, 2020. Interestingly, when the Rail Safety Improvement Act of 2008 was passed, PTC technology did not exist, and over the past nearly ten years NS has spent $1.4 billion to develop, construct and implement PTC on 40 percent of its 20,000 mile network, including the rail lines through Allegheny Commons, which carry both TIH material and Amtrak passengers. The work within Allegheny Commons includes the installation of two aluminum signal cabinets in the vicinity of the former pedestrian bridge. Ultimately, these two cabinets will be relocated as part of the replacement of the pedestrian bridge, which is being funded by Norfolk Southern and PennDOT. Additionally, the large signal bridge and cases adjacent to North Avenue/Brighton Road will be removed.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you and happy holidays all!
Erin Tobin
Community Outreach Coordinator
Christmas Story Hour at City Books
Happy Holidays from City Books
Before the store closes for the Christmas Eve/Christmas Day break, join City Books for an hour of holiday literature, including local playwright and storyteller T. Scott Frank reading Clement Clarke Moore’s The Night Before Christmas. The event will be suitable for families & children of all ages.
Saturday, December 23rd, 4:00-5:00 pm. Refreshments available.
Introducing Free Association’s Word Cellar Series at Alphabet City
Word Cellar Readings
Sunday, January 21st
5:00 pm
The Word Cellar Readings is a new reading series co-curated by Pat Hart and Marc Nieson of Free Association, a literary organization highlighting established and emerging writers in Pittsburgh. Come meet and mingle with some of Pittsburgh’s most exciting local voices downstairs in our intimate stone “word cellar” located on Alphabet City’s bottom level.
This premier installment will feature Words Without Walls co-founder Sheryl St. Germain, author and photographer of Cutthroat: A Journey Through the American West Michael Graybrook, New Yorker contributor and Buzzfeed essayist Shannon Reed and writer/editor Geeta Kothari. City of Asylum @ Alphabet City is honored to be selected as the venue for this inspiring program of authors.
Seating for this event is limited.
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Did you know that there is a restaurant in City of Asylum @ Alphabet City? During these events, Alphabet City will be set up so that you can have dinner during the event (or simply order drinks).
[ebor_button style=”concrete” url=”https://www.opentable.com/r/casellula-pittsburgh”] Reserve a Table for Your Visit [/ebor_button]
When making your reservation,
please add that you wish to see the film under special notes.
Jazz Pianist Cat Toren Returns!
TMT Trio
Thursday, January 18th
8:00 pm
8:00 pm
JUNO award-winning pianist Cat Toren‘s concert at Alphabet City last May was a sell-out and a big hit with the audience. She returns to Pittsburgh and Alphabet City – but with a different group – for another evening of cutting-edge, full-hearted jazz.
The New York-based TMT Trio — a collaboration of Cat Toren (piano), Angela Morris (saxophone) and Anthony Taddeo (drums) — will play both original compositions and collaborative improvisations. TMT’s bass-free instrumentation showcases the multifaceted chamber music character of the piano and explores the extension of the roles of all three instruments.
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Did you know that there is a restaurant in City of Asylum @ Alphabet City? During these events, Alphabet City will be set up so that you can have dinner during the event (or simply order drinks).
[ebor_button style=”concrete” url=”https://www.opentable.com/r/casellula-pittsburgh”] Reserve a Table for Your Visit [/ebor_button]
When making your reservation,
please add that you wish to see the film under special notes.
Letter from the President – December 2017
So what are you doing on Tuesday evening?
Each month this is where we make decisions about our neighborhood—decisions that in ways both small and large will affect you. And we always have a good time socializing and enjoying refreshments — especially at our last meeting before the holidays!
Everyone is welcome – second Tuesday of each month, 7:30 pm, in the Calvary Church social hall, corner of Beech and Allegheny Avenues (use the Beech Avenue entrance). The meeting is usually over by 9:00 pm. It’s also a great way for newer folks to meet your neighbors and get involved!
We hope to see you on Tuesday evening!
Josh DeSantis
President, AWCC
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Free Tickets for Northsiders: Presence
Part of the CSA Performance Series
December 7th at 8:00 pm
Presence is the crossroads where jazz, classical and electronic music meet. It is a unique musical meditation on place, space and the human condition. Northsider John Petrucelli’s latest compositional endeavor combines three different musical genres into one original performance featuring a jazz quintet, a string quartet and electronics.
Featuring
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John Petrucelli
Peter Park
Gusten Rudolph
Paul Thompson
Brett Williams
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Ashley Freeburn
Melissa Hernandez
Katya Janpoladyan
Olga Taimanov
Angela Baughman
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You’re Invited
Thanks to the generous support of the Buhl Foundation, Northside residents and workers are invited to attend this performance for free. A limited number of tickets are available online, so reserve your seat today.
[ebor_button style=”pumpkin” url=”https://www.eventbrite.com/e/presence-tickets-40915774182″] Thursday, December 7 at 8 PM [/ebor_button]