City Requires Enright Park To Stay Public
East Liberty park will remain publicly-owned and subject to further public processes
PITTSBURGH, PA (March 22, 2016) The
City of Pittsburgh directed the developers of Penn Plaza today to work
with the Department of City Planning to work on agreements to protect
Enright Park in East Liberty.
Under the City’s directions the park will remain
publicly-owned rather than transferred to Pennley Park South, the
developers of the adjacent site. The developers have agreed to pay for
improvements to the park, and all improvements would be subject to a
public process.
Any proposed changes to the configuration of the park would
only come after a detailed public process as well, led by the
Department of City Planning.
"There is an opportunity for a better park and a better project,” Planning Director Ray Gastil said.
All the terms will be included in a written agreement
between the City and Pennley Park South defining the process related to
the park going forward. The proposed terms were discussed with the
developer and several members of the community prior to today’s zoning
hearing before City Council.
“At the end of this process, residents are going to have an
Enright Park that is better than what is there presently,” said Kevin
Acklin, chief-of-staff to Mayor William Peduto. “Just as we took care of
the residents at Penn Plaza, we’ll take care of the park.”
Enright Park became part of the discussions with the
developer related to City efforts to find housing for more than 200 Penn
Plaza residents who faced evictions last summer to make way for the
redevelopment of the area.
Two buildings at the Penn Plaza apartments in East Liberty
are set to be demolished by Pennley Park South Inc. this year and next.
Through an agreement with Mayor William Peduto, state Rep. Ed Gainey,
City Councilman Rev. Ricky Burgess and other stakeholders, the owners
agreed to offer relocation assistance to residents, and agreed to phase
the development to allow residents more time to live in their
apartments.
Through joint efforts among the City, the developer, the
Penn Plaza tenant council and Neighborhood Allies, new homes have been
found for all the residents in the first building at Penn Plaza. The
next round of relocations will take place early next year.
This wasn't completely surprising - there was clear indication at the hearing from the Planning Director that the process to date had not addressed the community's concerns, and we had been told that the developers had been informed that the park would not be sold. And yes, we were the community members with whom "the proposed terms" had been discussed prior to the hearing. We just didn't realize at the time when or how they would formalized.
This is great news. This is fantastic news. THIS IS NOT THE END.
Someone asked yesterday if we felt that this was a victory.
It is not a victory, as the end goal is not merely to preserve the park. But it is certainly a good step in the right direction. We remain gravely
concerned about the eroding livability of East Liberty, via the loss of
affordable housing and the displacement of residents (both physically
and socially) who are being pushed further to the margins of our city.
Preserving Enright Parklet as a public park and community hub is only
one win in a much greater struggle to create a truly livable city for
everyone.
We are looking forward to many productive discussions and dialogues. Please stay tuned.
Natural properties like the parks, lakes and rivers should be kept open to the public as they feel free to visit them. In the same way Enright Park should be left to the public use as it creates enthusiasm among the morning walkers especially the old. Many walkers got the promo code for Writers Per Hour to walk in the park both mornings and evenings.
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