Dear Neighbors,

Spring is here! The days are growing longer, the buds are on the trees, and the crocuses are popping up. I want to encourage residents to take advantage of the warmer weather and celebrate spring by helping to clean-up and green-up our neighborhoods.

This spring we will be continuing with new plantings as part of our Green Up Pittsburgh Program. Together with Penn State Cooperative Extension, the City’s Green Team and the community stewards we will have successfully transformed more than 100 vacant lots into urban farms, green palettes, and community gardens. If you are interested in greening up your neighborhood or becoming a community steward, please contact my Office of Neighborhood Initiatives at 412-255-4765.

Spring also means that there are many fun family activities surrounding Earth Day. On April 18, from 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Citiparks is sponsoring the 3rd Annual Earth Day Festival at the Frick Environmental Center. You’re invited to this day of celebration and stewardship of the earth with Park restoration projects, demonstrations, music, food, crafts, and nature exploration activities—fun for the whole family!

On April 24-26, the Clean Pittsburgh Commission, along with other local anti-litter groups, are once again sponsoring the annual City-wide spring clean-up. For this event, the City will be providing volunteers with gloves and bags. In addition, the Department of Public Works will be assisting in picking up the trash bags at the end of the day. I want to encourage you take part and volunteer in your neighborhood.

The City is also doing our part to clean up our neighborhoods. We took the first step in our plan to rebuild the Bureau of Building Inspection (BBI) from the ground up; we set up the first decentralized BBI office. Beginning March 17, two BBI inspectors began reporting to the Zone 5 Police Station. The purpose of this initiative is two-fold: to increase public safety by creating a direct line of communication between the Police Bureau and BBI, and to provide the community with better access to BBI personnel. The Zone 5 BBI office will make the neighborhood cleaner and safer and help our police prevent crime. We’re excited about this new way of connecting our inspectors to the community and we’ll be evaluating the process for the next few months. Once we get the program where we want it, we will roll it out into all the neighborhoods.

Along with cleaning up our neighborhoods, I want to invite you to come out and show your community pride by joining with me in celebrating the return of the Pittsburgh Marathon on May 3. Registration is at an all-time registration record high, and Dick’s Sporting Goods is not only sponsoring the marathon, but also sponsoring neighborhood festivals along the course. Come out and cheer on your neighbors and celebrate your community along the race course.

For more information on any of the events or initiatives in this newsletter, please contact my Office of Neighborhood Initiatives at 412-255-8680. I look forward to seeing you out at one of these activities to celebrate and show pride in your neighborhood.

Sincerely,

Luke Ravenstahl
Mayor, City of Pittsburgh