Fall has arrived and there are some important civic events to add to your already busy calendars:
On Wednesday, October 16th, a Pennsylvania Historical Marker will be dedicated to honor Dorothy Mae Richardson who was a lifelong resident of the Northside. In the mid-1960s, Richardson and her neighbors enlisted city bankers and government officials to help improve their neighborhood. Together, they convinced 16 financial institutions to give out conventional loans to the community, which were used to finance the rehabilitation of dilapidated homes. This effort laid the groundwork for the new field of community-based development and led to the founding of Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) of Pittsburgh in 1968.
One of the projects made possible by NHS was the rehabilitation of a row of dilapidated houses on Western Avenue in Allegheny West known now as McIntosh Row. Allegheny West Civic Council still owns and has its office at 806 Western, in McIntosh Row.
The dedication will take place at 4:00 pm on the 16th at 1419 Arch Street and a reception will be held afterwards at The Mattress Factory. Everyone is invited to attend. It would be great to see an Allegheny West contingent joining the celebration of such an impressive woman whose work many years ago helped make our neighborhood what it is today.
Tuesday, November 5th is Election Day. Among the items we’ll see on our ballots is an amendment to the Pittsburgh Home Rule Charter to establish a dedicated Parks Trust Fund:
Shall the Pittsburgh Home Rule Charter be amended to establish a dedicated Parks Trust Fund beginning in 2020 to: improve, maintain, create and operate public parks; improve park safety; equitably fund parks in underserved neighborhoods throughout Pittsburgh; be funded with an additional 0.5 mill levy ($50 on each $100,000 of assessed real estate value); secure matching funds and services from a charitable city parks conservancy; and assure citizen participation and full public disclosure of spending?”
AWCC allocates time on every membership meeting agenda to discuss what’s happening in our park, Allegheny Commons. Please take some time to research the pros and cons of this ballot measure and make sure to vote on the 5th.
AWCC Membership will vote to approve the slate of officer nominations at the General Membership meeting on Tuesday, November 12th. The slate of nominations will be presented at the October 8th meeting.
Ann Gilligan
President, AWCC