Dear Neighbors:
Pittsburgh is a city of 90 unique neighborhoods. The character of our neighborhoods is often defined by the business districts within. Neighborhood business districts are at the heart of many communities, providing a place for the exchange of goods and services, as well as a place for neighbors to meet and socialize.
As neighborhood revitalization and reinvestment remains one of my top priorities and we are focused on creating and maintaining vibrant neighborhood business districts. We want to maintain the long-time businesses that have served our communities for years, while also attracting new businesses. We want residents to see their business districts as assets, and not as things of the past. In addition to implementing programs to make the business district safer, cleaner, and more attractive, we are also crafting initiatives to attract and help small businesses grow and succeed. City living is convenient and enjoyable, and our reinvestment in neighborhood business districts ensures those benefits continue on into the future.
My administration is currently putting together a plan to clean up our business districts.This multi-faceted approach will include working with the numerous business districts in the city to find out exactly what they need, providing direction and consultation in terms of planning and redevelopment, and making neighborhood business districts a priority for City services and government. My staff has been working with business owners and community leaders in our neighborhoods to discuss this initiative and to find out what each business district needs.
Business districts will be given a menu of resources to choose from such as garbage cans, benches, and bike racks to help clean up and make the streetscape more attractive and appealing. We will also mobilize City teams to focus efforts on business districts in regard to graffiti removal, line/curb painting, sidewalk repairs and code enforcement. Finally, we will be competitively selecting a number of business districts to receive professional design and planning consultation to implement comprehensive redevelopment.
In addition to cleaning and revamping our business districts, we continue to implement programs that will attract residents and businesses. We are keeping our business districts safe through the beat cop program. Bicycle patrols as well as beat cops are working in our neighborhood business districts. Through the Storefront Renovation Program, we offer small business owners grants for façade improvements. This program sparks investment in neighborhoods, attracts positive attention to businesses and spurs other businesses to undertake needed improvements. Contact the Urban Redevelopment Authority for more information about this and other incentives, loans, and grants to small business owners looking to open up shop or complete renovations at 412-255-2566.
Please call my Office of Neighborhood Initiatives at 412-255-2566 with any questions regarding these programs. As the weather warms up, I encourage you to visit your neighborhood business districts, and to get out and enjoy all that your neighborhood and our great City has to offer.
