Community

07/27 2013

Oakwatch Meeting – Wed, August 21, 6pm-7:30pm

Oakwatch seeks to improve the quality of life for residents, employees and visitors by enforcing codes on negligent property owners, housing violations, parking violations, disruptive behavior, excessive noise and underage drinking in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Check their website to confirm time and location.
For more info and agenda, or to contact them, check out their website.

Next meeting: Wednesday, August 21st, 6pm, Oakland Career Center, 294 Semple Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213.

Call for volunteers: Oakwatch is partnering with the University of Pittsburgh this summer in a widespread campaign to educate incoming students about responsible living in Oakland. We need volunteer help! Supplies and meals will be provided.

Oakwatch collecting disruptive party data: When there’s a disruptive party near you, make sure you call 911 and document what happened on this Incident Report (click here). Please turn these forms into Oakwatch.

07/16 2013

OPDC E-Newsletter #18 – July 2013

Link to Newsletter

In This Issue

 

07/16 2013

Suspects in home invasion on Thursday 7/11/13

On Saturday 7/11/13 , 3 hispanic men allegedly robbed a family on Gorman Way around 1PM by distracting the owners outside while one went inside.

Here are several video stills of two of them.  If you click on them, they should display larger.  If you happened to see them around, or have any other info, please contact SONG for contact info for the detective investigating the case.

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07/10 2013

Bike Share station proposals

During the most recent OTF meeting which was held on Tuesday, June 11, 2013,  a brief review was provided for the planned installation of Bike Share Stations in Oakland. There were many questions being asked at the time of that discussion. Unfortunately we only had a DRAFT map of the City of Pittsburgh – Bike Station System plan showing the proposed installation locations of 50 stations throughout the City of Pittsburgh to reference for the discussion.

Since that time, we have been able to obtain more Detailed plans that provide:

  • ·         Station dimensions
  • ·         Optional station configurations
  • ·         Detailed station installation plans/street, and/or intersection, or sidewalk (location within public right-of-way, station size and dimension, abutment property owner)
  • ·         View of Station footprint/street, and/or intersection, or sidewalk

The proposed station locations for Oakland include:

1.       Atwood Street/Bates Street

2.       Bayard Street/Neville Street

3.       Carlow University (West side of Halket Street between Euler Way and Fifth Avenue)

4.       Cathedral of Learning (East side of Bigelow Boulevard between Fifth Avenue and Forbes Avenue)

5.       S. Bouquet Street/Forbes Avenue (East side of S. Bouquet Street, south of Forbes Avenue on sidewalk adjacent to Law school)

6.       Schenley Drive/Frew Street (West side of Frew Street, north of Schenley Drive)

7.       Zulema Street/Coltart Avenue (off-street location, North side of Zulema Street, west of Coltart Avenue)

Some plan diagrams available on request from SONG.  More info as it is released.

07/08 2013

Street Paving in Oakland July 9-11

The City will be repaving the following streets this week. Please note posted signs and be sure to move your car or it will be towed. On Tuesday, July 9th: Atwood Street, between Forbes Avenue and Dawson Street. Wednesday, July 10th: North Bellefield Avenue, between Fifth Avenue and Bayard Street; Wilkins Avenue between Fifth Avenue and Beeler Street. Thursday, July 11th: Tennyson Avenue, between Bigelow Blvd. and Parkman Avenue.

07/06 2013

Call For Participants To Be Interviewed About South Oakland For Student Documentary

Browne Leadership Fellows and CHS interns Samantha Levinson and Zeba Ahmed will be conducting video interviews with community groups and individuals active in the South Oakland community throughout the months of June and July in order to make a documentary about South Oakland’s past, present, and future. The documentary will be released at the Pitt Sponsored South Oakland Block Party this coming September 11, and will only be used for further educational purposes. No money will be made from the production of this documentary.

Please request contact info for Samantha and Zeba from SONG, or meet them in person at the CHS Socials  3:30pm every Wednesday The socials cost $1, and snacks and dinner are provided. This project is sponsored and backed by Community and Human Services at Lawn Street and the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work.

Questions for South Oakland Residents:

  • Please introduce yourself. It can be as little as your first name or it can include where you live, what you do for a living, things like that.  Whatever makes you feel comfortable but also conveys how you’d introduce yourself to a new member of the neighborhood.
  • How long have you lived in South Oakland? If it’s been for a long while, what have you seen change during your residency here?
  • Why did you move to South Oakland?
  • What made you stay here?
  • What do you prize most about the South Oakland community?
  • Where do you think it could see improvement?
  • If you could describe the South Oakland community in one word, what would it be?
06/22 2013

South Oakland Community Day Planning Meeting – Monday July 15 6PM

Next meeting to plan for South Oakland Community Day (SOCD)
    6PM Monday July 15, 2013,  Frazier Fieldhouse, Frazier St and Dawson St,
    The festival is scheduled for Saturday September 7, 2013.  More details to come.
    If you know anyone that is interested in participating/volunteering for various planning, preparation and activities, but cannot attend the meeting, please use the contact page to give us their contact information so we can coordinate and plan for this event.  The current subcommittees and general tasks and responsibilities:
  • Marketing & Recruitment – Advertising/Media contact, Volunteer recruitment
  • Operations & Activities – Event operation planning for games/activities/sports, food/beverage storage/prep/cooking/menu/cups/plates etc,  setup & teardown, work with Finance subcommittee on budget.
  • Fundraising, Sponsorship & Finance – Plan budget, set funding goals, secure donations, plan fundraisers.
    Check out the SOCD Page for more details.
06/07 2013

Juneteenth Jazz Night in West Oakland – June 22, July 27 and August 24

The Corner is hosting a Juneteenth Night Of Jazz and other art celebrating African American culture on Saturday, June 22.  The price is $5 for an adult, $2 for children; admission price includes entertainment and food.

The Corner is hosting a Juneteenth Jazz Night and other art on Saturday, June 22 starting at 6pm. More details to come! Our Summer Music Series will also host events on Saturdays July 27 and August 24 (fourth Saturday of each summer month). Save the dates!

The Corner Website

06/03 2013

June Employment Opportunities Newsletter June 2013

JUNE EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES NEWSLETTER
Sent 06/03/2013 @ 1:37 pm
Greetings,

The Employment Newsletter for the month of June is now available for viewing. Please click here to see the employment opportunities that are currently available throughout the City of Pittsburgh. If you would like to volunteer or participate be a featured sponsor at our upcoming employment/resource fair, please give our office a call at 412-255-2134.

Regards,

R. Daniel Lavelle

06/03 2013

Swinburne Street and Bridge Closure June 5 for approx 2 months

In Oakland, the Swinburne (Frazier) Street Bridge and Swinburne Street will be closed from Sestilli’s Nursery (3721 Swinburne Street) and Greenfield Avenue, starting Wednesday morning, June 5, at 9 a.m. and lasting approximately two months. Crews will conduct structural repairs on the bridge, which will eliminate the three-ton weight limit. The following detours will be posted:

Inbound: Second Avenue to Bates Street to Boulevard of the Allies
Outbound: Reverse of the inbound detour
For additional information, contact Chuck McClain, P.E., with the Bureau of Transportation and Engineering at 412-255-2034 or charles.mcclain@pittsburghpa.gov.

05/31 2013

Oakland now has its own Belkin Meter to test “phantom” power usage

Oakland now has its own Belkin Meter!

What is a Belkin Conserve Energy Use Monitor (Belkin Meter for short)?
It will help you to understand how much energy your electronic devices ruse—including, the cost of operation, the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) produced in generating the electricity consumed, and watts.

How does it work?
A Belkin Meter is a small device that you can plug into any household outlet and then plug in any electronic device into. Within minutes you will have a reading on how much CO2 the electronic device uses and how much money that usage adds to your electric bill (there are settings for both monthly and year calculations).

Why should you use it?
We should all be mindful of what we have plugged in, for how long and if it really needs to be plugged in for that long. Not only does wasted energy waste your money, but it also puts unnecessary CO2 into the atmosphere thereby contributing to poor air quality, hurting or health as well as the health of others (including plants and animals). Pittsburgh has the 8th worst air quality in the nation; if we all start making small changes in our energy efficiency you will not only have a happy wallet but a healthy environment too! Healthy environment = Healthy communities!

Where can I get a Belkin Meter?
You are in luck – Oakland has a Belkin Meter Sharing Program! It lives at OPDC; if you interested in borrowing it please contact Tara Sherry-Torres at tarat@opdc.org or 412-621-7863.

After I have this information, then what?
Oakland is one of 16 communities in Allegheny County which is participating in a program called ReEnergizePGH. ReEnergizePGH aims to educate people on reducing energy consumption in their homes through both simple and high level changes. Tara Sherry-Torres from OPDC is your Energy Ambassador through this program and can talk to you about simple ways to reduce your home’s energy consumption. Please check out ReEnergizePGH’s website for more information, http://www.reenergizepgh.org/.

The meter is available to be borrowed by Oakland residents for one week at a time, it’s on a first come first serve basis (but you can sign up for your week ahead of time). All borrowers must have an Oakland address to be able to participate in the sharing program.

Looking forward to loaning this out!

Take care,
Tara