Topic
City Council
City code requires council to hold a public hearing on replacing a missing Market Square marker about workplace accidents. On Oct. 13, council received a petition from 26 residents asking for that hearing. According to the marker's text, the research it honored led to workers' compensation laws. The hearing isn't scheduled yet, and it doesn't guarantee the marker will be replaced.
City Council
About a half mile of trees along the Ohio Riverfront Trail were cut down without permission. A city arborist said a neighboring property owner did it and dumped much of the wood into the river. On Oct. 7, council advanced paying for an independent tree count there. The city forester said that's needed to seek restitution.
City Council
Neighborhood groups can again get paid back for projects that fight blight or create art. On Sept. 9, council advanced $20,000 for 17 groups through Love Your Block, which is back after a two-year pause. Still, two council districts got no money, one because no groups applied. A city official said his office is helping groups prepare for next year.
City Council
With a tap on their phones, city park superintendents may soon run ballfield lights. On July 29, council agreed to move forward with a $73,050 payment for the remote-control software. The system can time lights to a field permit and adjust their brightness. Residents can still switch on lights by hand at spots like basketball courts that aren't under a permit.
City Council
Violence prevention money could pay for programs at another rec center. Council advanced a request for $200,000 from the Stop the Violence fund for McKinley Recreation Center in Beltzhoover. On July 28, a similar request for Glen Hazel's rec center won final approval. The council president has backed these requests, but he said rec centers don't attract the youth most at risk of gun violence.
City Council
Right now, Saundra and James Cole run children's activities at Glen Hazel's Burgwin Recreation Center, but that's no longer sustainable. On July 8, 16 residents, including six children, came to council to back funding programs there. The area's council member argued the Stop the Violence fund should pay. Council held the bill two weeks to give the mayor time to work toward a solution.
City Council
Council is weighing whether the Stop the Violence fund should pay for youth programs at Glen Hazel's Burgwin Recreation Center. Until recently, volunteers ran afterschool and summer programs there, but that's no longer sustainable. Some council members were uneasy using the fund without following its guidelines. For now, council has held the request for two weeks.
City Council
Adopt a Lot, which leases vacant city lots to residents, started with gardening. A proposed bill would expand it to uses like public art, which a planning official said residents had asked for. The bill also calls the program temporary, since lots are meant to be sold. Still, the council president asked how that squares with gardens serving the community.
City Council
Neglected hillside lots could become permanently protected open space under a $25,000 grant to buy tax-delinquent land. However, a council member asked how the city would prevent dumping, which is common at some sites. A city planner said departments are looking to build a long-term maintenance plan. For now, council has held the related bills for one week.
City Council
Five years ago, the city supported only four gardens, and in 2025 it was about 60, a council member said. A proposed program would let residents and community groups garden and farm on underused city land like parks and greenways. Participants could sell up to $25,000 a year of unprocessed food or flowers off-site. Still, the package has to pass council first.
City Council
A bid last year to make Donny's Place, a Polish Hill gay bar, the city's first gay historic landmark failed. Now, council has advanced city planners' request for a $25,000 state grant to study Pittsburgh's LGBTQ+ history. A planning official said the bar's nomination lacked the kind of study historic nominations typically include. The grant requires a $7,500 city match.
City Council
Tree canopy covers less than 20% of some lower-income Pittsburgh neighborhoods, the city's forestry division says. On April 29, council advanced a 10-year deal for Student Conservation Association volunteers to keep working in parks. The group's spring plan focuses on the tree canopy, its program director said. State money pays for the work, and the city doesn't have to match it.
City Council
Drainage problems can stop play on city-owned youth baseball and softball fields. Now, a $300,000 Pirates Charities grant will cover upgrades, such as laser grading, at about 20 fields. On April 20, council also advanced a laborers' union donation for scoreboards at 10 fields. The city is still finalizing which fields will get the upgrades.
City Council
The Bloomfield Pool, the city's second most used according to a council member, relies on a long-closed recreation center. A $400,000 federal grant to study the center expires June 30, and a bill would spend it on demolishing condemned houses. On April 15, council held that bill for a week. Meanwhile, a council member asked the budget office to look for longer-term funds.
City Council
Gunfire from the police firing range can sound like warfare at a Highland Park playground, a council member said. On April 1, council advanced a plan to rotate the range, cutting decibel levels by up to 50%. She said residents have sought its removal for over 30 years. Still, the city hasn't found another site, though it'll keep looking.
City Council
Brookline Memorial Park's busy playground has broken equipment, some of it roped off, a council member said. Now, he wants to spend $415,000 in interest savings on playground upgrades and a garbage truck. Still, a 2023 controller's analysis ranked the park near the bottom of the priority list. Another council member said her district needs playground upgrades too.
City Council
The Three Sisters bridges, two pump stations, and Schenley Park are close to gaining historic protection. Council gave them preliminary approval, and final designation is expected next week. Separately, a pending nomination already protects the former Office of Municipal Investigations building, which council approved selling in June. Council plans a public hearing on it, though no date is set.
City Council
Some lower-income neighborhoods lack a city recreation center or a strong nonprofit offering after-school programs. A bill would let city staff run programs in Pittsburgh Public Schools buildings there instead. A pilot for kindergarten through fifth grade would start in October at schools in Lincoln Place, Sheraden, and Brookline. Details are still in the works, but it won't cost the city.
City Council
The city says its deer herd has outgrown its food supply, and car-deer crashes are up. This year, targeted culling expands from last year's pilot in Frick and Riverview Parks to all Allegheny Regional Asset District parks. Those parks close at night for the sharpshooters. Council advanced about $99,500 for one year of the program.
City Council
A 2017 bill let Norfolk Southern Railway use Allegheny Commons Park for equipment. Council is now weighing whether to extend it. A council member wants design standards for equipment storage and fencing so parks stay enjoyable for the public. From there, talk veered into unrelated questions for the Public Works director, like event capacity and park repairs.