►
From YouTube: Pittsburgh City Council Public Hearing - 4/20/22
Description
Bill #2022-0190: Historic Designation, The Tito House
B
A
Thank
you
for
the
record.
We
are
joined
by
president
teresa
smith
as
well
as
councilwoman,
erica
strasberger,
who
is
online
other
other
members
may
join
us
as
they
have
their
as
they
have
time.
Excuse
me,
our
first
order
of
business
will
be
an
introduction
and
comments
by
sarah
quinn
from
the
city's
planning
department,
followed
by
the
testimony
from
our
registered
speakers.
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
little
material
evidence
survives
to
document
ralph,
raphael
and
rose's
lives.
But
frank,
we
know
became
a
pittsburgh
police
officer
and
joe
continued
to
work
in
street
in
the
streets
selling
vegetables
by
1920
joe
had
married,
and
their
couple
was
living
on
a
rented
home
in
elsinore
place
in
south
oakland.
C
The
tito
brothers
began
making
headlines
in
1922
for
hauling
and
hijacking
liquor
in
december
1922
federal
agent
federal
prohibition,
agents
raided
four
penn
avenue
establishments
seizing
more
than
140
stills
and
other
bootlegging
paraphernalia,
including
trucks
observed
leaving
the
sites.
Frank
and
joe
tito,
were
the
people
arrested
joe
subsequently
petitioned
the
district
court
to
return
of
the
trucks
that
his
trucks
that
were
seized.
C
And
there's
quite
a
bit
in
the
nomination
about
syndicated
crime
in
pittsburgh
and
I
think
I'll
skip
over
some
of
that
today.
Just
for
the
sake
of
brevity
but
as
you
know,
council
members,
I
provided
you
with
a
staff
report
and
with
the
full
nomination,
so
you
can
certainly
go
back
and
read
on
that
more
fully.
Should
you
choose.
C
What's
interesting,
though,
is
that
after
prohibition,
the
tito
brothers
decided
to
go
the
more
legal
route
and
invested
in
latrobe
brewing
in
december
1932,
the
latrobe
bulletin
reported
anthony
tito
and
robert
zafi
bought
the
pittsburgh
brewing
company
assets
in
that
city.
Zafi
was
an
italian
immigrant
who
had
lived
in
westmoreland
county
for
several
decades.
C
Zafi
had
a
specialization
in
grapes,
but
that
didn't
necessarily
work
very
well
for
pittsburgh.
So
they
switched
to
the
brewing.
The
latrobe
brewery
company
got
its
license
in
early
1934
and
began
producing
and
distributing
legal
beer.
Anthony
tito
was
the
company's
president,
joe
tito,
its
vice
president
and
robert
tito.
Its
secretary
frank
tito
managed
the
company's
wholesale
beer
distributed
distributorship,
which
was
located
in
the
brick
garage
1818
colwell
street,
at
first
the
company,
brewed
latrobe,
old,
german
and
latrobe
pilsner
beers.
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
The
new
zoning
proposed
for
uptown
recognizes
the
need
to
preserve
these
structures
by
requiring
formal
review
and
engineering
study
and
providing
incentives
to
preserve
structures
with
new
development
by
offering
additional
density.
So
planning
planning
commission
doesn't
have
that
stringent
criteria
to
look
at
that.
The
historic
review
commission
does
so.
C
A
E
A
F
First
off,
I
want
to
say
good
afternoon
city
council
members.
I
am
the
executive
director
for
uptown
partners
and
as
the
leader
of
uptown
partners,
it
is
my
responsibility
to
put
the
best
interest
of
the
community
first
and
foremost,
followed
by
working
to
implement
the
city
adopted
eco
innovation
district
plan.
F
This
is
the
community
plan
for
uptown
that
simply
put
focuses
on
healing
the
environment,
supporting
the
needs
of
existing
residents
and
expanding
job
growth.
The
eco
innovation
district
plan
calls
for
preservation
and
strengthening
of
the
community
and
preserving
the
historic
nature
that
makes
uptown
so
unique.
F
The
title
house
is
the
last
single
family
home
of
his
kind
in
uptown,
and
that
was
you
know
noted
by
ms
sarah
quinn
and
unfortunately,
this
beautiful
building.
That's
right
on
fifth
avenue
has
been
left,
blighted
and
abandoned
for
decades
and
in
an
effort
to
remediate
that
blight
of
1817
fifth
avenue.
F
Uptown
partners
filed
a
conservatorship
petition
back
in
2019,
under
the
leadership
of
the
previous
executive
director,
now
to
go
back
to
two
of
the
questions
that
were
brought
up
during
the
historic
review
commission
hearing
we're
around
what's
best
for
the
community
and
what
was
more
important
regarding
this
nomination,
the
actual
buildings
or
the
story
behind
it.
So
to
address
the
first
concern
as
the
resident
as
the
leader
of
the
community-based
organization
and
the
nominator.
F
I've
been
able
to
hear
the
voice
of
the
community
with
respect
to
preservation
and
development,
and
we've
received
many
letters
of
support
from
community
members
or
legislators,
including
senator
wayne
fontana
historic
preservation,
experts,
scholars
and
descendants
of
the
tito
mechazisa
family
and
to
address
the
second
concern.
Both
are
important
to
this
historic
site.
As
the
history
tells
a
story
that
is
relevant
to
the
culture
of
the
neighborhood
and
its
past
times,
with
respect
to
1817
fifth
avenue
and
the
story
of
local
enterprise,
with
respect
to
the
first
rolling
rock
bear
distributorship
at
1818
caldwell
street.
F
Lastly,
I
want
to
touch
on
the
fact
that
our
council,
the
council
for
uptown
partners,
is
actually
talking
with
council
for
the
owners
regarding
the
importance
of
preserving
this
historic
site
and
to
resolve
the
historic
designation
for
the
title
house.
And
thank
you
all.
You
know
for
your
time
and
consideration.
G
G
You
have
a
more
complete
written
testimony
in
your
packet
and
I
would
encourage
you
to
read
it
as
well
as
the
complete
nomination
report.
I
don't
want
to
rehash
what
was
stated
during
the
the
staff
report.
I
do
want
to
under
score
the
fact
that
my
research
found
that
the
property
meets
at
least
seven,
perhaps
eight
of
the
city's
designation
criteria,
the
first
one
is
it
served
as
joe
tito's
home
place
of
business.
He
controlled
his
bootlegging
numbers
and
gam
numbers,
gambling
and
other
activities
associated
with
pittsburgh's
informal
economies
from
this
site.
G
He
also
in
the
early
years
of
latrobe
brewing
after
prohibition
ran
the
business
from
the
house,
while
the
brewery
itself
was
located
in
ligonier.
The
second
criterion
is
joe.
Tito
himself
is
a
historically
significant
individual
in
pittsburgh's
history,
both
for
his
involvement
with
the
city's
important
organized
crime,
history,
industrial
history,
beer
brewing
and,
of
course,
perhaps
even
more
significantly
for
his
role
in
negro
leagues
baseball
as
an
owner
officer
of
the
pittsburgh
crawfords,
he
was
a
longtime
friend
of
gus
greenlee.
G
They
were
business
partners
and
the
family
has
recounted
many
episodes
of
negro
league's
team
members
at
the
property.
The
third
criterion
involves
the
architecture,
as
you
heard,
the
preservation
planner
it's
an
example
of
queen
anne
architecture.
There's
an
argument
there.
The
fourth
criterion
that
I
found
it's
significant
under
is
it's
the
work
of
it's
the
location
of
important
or
cultural
aspects,
significant
in
pittsburgh,
regional
and
national
history.
G
Again
because
of
social,
historical
ties,
immigrant
history,
black
history,
economic
history
and
sports
history.
It
also
represents
a
pattern
of
neighborhood
development
during
the
late
19th
century.
This
part
of
fifth
avenue
gradually
built
out
with
upper
middle
class
families.
This
is
the
last
surviving
domestic
residence.
In
that
stretch
it
represents
a
cultural,
historical,
architectural
or
related
theme
expressed
through
distinctive
areas.
G
This
means
that
it's
related
to
other
landmark
properties
in
the
city
of
pittsburgh,
that
that
represent
a
theme
that
includes
the
guckenheimer
alcohol
warehouse,
the
crawford
grill
number,
two
national
negra
opera
company
house
and
other
properties.
Finally,
it's
a
distinctive
visual
site
in
the
fifth
avenue
corridor.
Also
in
your
packet,
you
have
letters
from
internationally
around
renowned
scholars
in
black
history,
sports
history,
pittsburgh,
history,
historic
preservation
and
other
fields
that
support
my
research
that
found
it
sound,
well
supported
and
recommending
that
you
vote
for
a
designation.
H
My
name
is
patrick
rega.
I
appear
here
today
on
behalf
of
the
current
owners
of
what
is
labeled
as
the
tito
property
located
1817
fifth
avenue.
Specifically,
I
represent
nicole
mcguire
and
her
brother
james
mcguire.
They
are
the
sole
heirs
of
the
original
owners
of
these
of
this
property.
James
maguire
and
his
wife
sandra
mcguire,
james
mcguire,
passed
in
2014,
his
wife
sondra,
passed
in
2019,
and
only
at
that
time
did
the
mcguire
children
learn
that
their
parents
owned
this
property.
H
H
H
I
Hi
sabrina
miller,
I'm
the
real
estate
and
development
manager
with
uptown
partners
of
pittsburgh.
My
address
is
89
sumner
in
bellevue
borough,
so
we
advocate
for
the
historic
designation
of
uptown's
historic
title
meccas
as
a
house,
as
its
preservation
is
imperative
to
a
neighborhood
that
is
both
deteriorating
culturally
and
also
experiencing
rapid
and
valued
development.
I
When
these
places
are
gone,
demolished
or
forgotten,
because
the
history
isn't
preserved
also
gone
is
the
stories
of
the
families,
the
values,
the
triumphs
and
the
mishaps
that
make
pittsburgh
unique,
we
lose
once
recognizable,
but
likely
forgotten,
intrinsic
nature
of
our
neighborhoods,
and
so
it's
our
goal
to
see
that
the
title
meccas
there's
a
house
and
the
garage
be
designated
and
restored
by
the
community
in
which
it
exists
as
research
and
expressed
by
dr
rotenstein
and
unanimously
determined
by
the
planning
commission.
We
believe
the
property
to
be
historic,
based
on
the
criterion.
I
Seven
out
of
ten,
where
only
one
out
of
ten
is
necessary.
Uptown
is
a
neighborhood
under
development,
consistent
development,
as
you
can
see,
if
you
travel
fifth
and
forbes
through
our
neighborhood
through
this
designation,
we
seek
to
preserve
some
semblance
of
the
unique
architecture
and
history
only
exemplified
by
an
existing
structure
as
uptown
grows
and
changes.
I
We
also
had
I
mean
we
had
a
very,
I
think,
it's
a
shared
and
common
but
difficult
experience.
Navigating
this
whole
designation
process,
one
that
we
thought
was
clearly
laid
out
did
not
turn
out
to
be
the
case,
but
we
navigated
the
process
as
as
as
best
as
we
could,
and
so
we
hope
that
we
we
hope
that
we
have
been
able
to
convey
our
perspective.
I
J
My
name
is
clarence,
my
nickname,
casey
steiner.
I
represent
the
owners
of
the
fifth
avenue
school
lofts,
located
1805th
avenue
across
the
street
from
the
tito
house.
I
live
at
120,
beech
street
pittsburgh
15218
and
for
the
record,
dr
mcdonald
states
that
she's
a
resident
of
our
building
and
just
for
the
record
she
moved
out
in
march.
So
I
don't
know
if
she's
a
pittsburgh
resident
now
or
not.
J
J
I
am
against
granting
historic
status
to
the
property
and
I
am
in
favor
of
the
approval
of
the
planned
development
for
the
following
reasons.
The
project
complies
with
the
stringent
eco
innovation
district,
zoning
that
the
uptown
partners
and
other
stakeholders
in
uptown
created
to
benefit
the
area.
To
argue
that
this
development
is
displacing.
People
is
a
red
herring,
since
there
are
no
legal
residents
in
the
plots.
Currently,
this
is
not
gentrification,
but
rather
sensible
and
much
needed
infill
development.
J
The
development
would
complement
the
extensive
and
expensive
bus
rapid
transit
project
to
the
benefit
of
both.
What
better
way
to
reduce
energy
consumption
than
to
have
city-based
housing
directly
on
a
rapid
transit
bus
route,
it
would
provide
much
needed
housing,
including
a
portion
of
affordable
housing,
which
was
a
goal
of
the
eco
innovation
district.
J
J
J
Indeed,
uptown
used
to
be
a
densely
populated
area
before
many
of
the
houses
were
turned
down
and
converted
to
parking
lots.
This
project
would
help
restore
the
area
to
its
historic
nature
of
a
densely
populated
area.
The
historic
designation
report
does
a
wonderful
job,
recording
the
history
of
the
family
and
the
property.
J
Let's
provide
the
history
center
with
this
report
and
erect
a
plaque
on
fifth
avenue
to
mark
the
title
house
location
in
the
meantime,
let's
provide
necessary
housing
for
pittsburgh,
maximize
the
effective
use
of
the
new
brt
corridor.
Let's
provide
amenities
to
the
residents
of
the
area,
which
is
currently
a
food
and
shopping
desert.
Let's
add
tax
revenue
to
the
city
to
allow
municipal
services
in
the
future
to
allow
the
historic
designation
of
this
house
to
get
in
the
way
of.
K
K
I
was
a
resident
for
16
years
and
I'm
also
a
former
board
member
of
preservation.
Pittsburgh
and
I
did
write
something
up.
I
see
I've
got
a
lot
of
things
that
others
have
said
so
I'll
try
to
cherry-pick
some
things,
but
like
600
other
others
who
have
signed
a
nomination
petition,
I
support
the
city
historic
site,
designation
of
these
two
properties.
K
K
One
of
our
two
negro
league
teams
in
the
30s
melissa,
marinaro
director
of
italian
american
program
at
heinz
history
center
says
that
nationally
distributed
rolling
rock
beer
is
a
successful
immigrant
effort
to
integrate
themselves
into
the
american
marketplace.
Please
read
their
compelling
letters
as
well.
In
the
last
century,
the
underground
economy
of
numbers,
gambling
and
bootlegging
was
ubiquitous
ubiquitous
in
the
region,
especially
the
hill
district.
It
was
an
opportunity
for
multi-racial
immigrants
to
support
their
families
when
traditional
resources
were
unreachable.
K
Parlaying
illegal
winnings,
big
fortunes
were
allegedly
also
made
by
a
few
notable
pittsburghers
from
mayor
mayors
to
major
league
sport
team
owners,
which
is
to
say
that
bootlegging
and
gambling
is
a
colorful
and
deeply
unrepresented
facet
of
our
city's
history.
Council's
vote
should
be
exclusively
made
on
the
merits
of
the
city,
historic
indicators.
K
This
should
not
be
a
discussion
of
whether
hypothetical
proposed
development
is
a
rationale
for
defeating
designation,
nor
whether
the
title
home
is
economically
viable
planning.
Commission
got
it
right
in
unanimously
approving
designation
and,
as
did
the
historic
review,
commission
preservation,
planner
miss
sarah
quinn
and
hrc
committee
chair.
I
have
serious
concerns,
however,
about
the
flawed
procedure
and
lack
of
professional
standards
evident
at
our
hrc
hearing
and
hope.
The
city
will
make
critical
adjustments
to
ensure
that
that
future
hearings
are
fair.
K
Over
the
past
15
years,
uptown
has
worked
with
the
city,
as
sabrina
has
mentioned,
to
discourage
unnecessary
demolition
jointly,
establishing
a
demolition
moratorium
through
the
eco-district
plan,
while
encouraging
thoughtful
development.
Note
that
the
ecosystem
plan
is
the
city's
first
adopted
community
driven
plan.
L
Hi
I
got
it.
Thank
you
so
much
good
afternoon.
My
name
is
ronna.
L
peckich
and
I
live
at
34250
sunset
way:
fort
bragg,
mendocino,
california.
I
am
testifying
today
on
behalf
of
myself
and
my
family,
the
tito
mechazissa
families
with
complete
and
unwavering
support
of
preservation
for
this
site.
I
was
going
to
read
a
long
dissertation
about
all
the
wonderful
things
that
happened
in
the
property
and
all
those
things,
but
I
think
that
it's
all
there
for
you
to
read
and
I
think
you're
hearing
a
lot
of
it.
L
But
I'd
like
to
comment
mostly-
and
I
think
to
me-
is
the
most
important
thing.
My
great
grandmother
who
lived
in
that
house.
She
will
be
passed
away.
It'll
be
50
years
in
1970
this
july,
1972.,
and
since
that
time
this
property
has
done
nothing
but
deteriorate.
It
has
become
a
horrific
eyesore
for
the
community.
It
is
an
embarrassment
for
for
myself
as
a
family
member
that
once
remembered
the
gorgeous
house
that
contributed
to
that
area.
L
So,
for
me,
the
most
important
thing
to
state
is
the
idea
that
property
owners
are
given
a
voice
in
this
process
is
completely
valid
and
warranted.
However,
in
this
case,
these
specific
owners
did
nothing
to
upkeep
the
property.
What
they
undeniably
did
was
allow
this
beautiful,
tiny
lot
in
uptown
to
become
an
embarrassment
for
the
area
as
well
as
for
local
drug
use,
prostitution,
homeless
and
other
cd
activities,
all
while,
knowing
they
could
just
sit
back
for
decades,
continue
continuing
to
neglect
until
someone
came
along
to
offer
an
inflated
value
for
the
land.
L
Aside
from
that,
they
also
did
not
pay
property
taxes
for
years
at
a
time
or
at
all.
These
owners
should
not
be
rewarded.
This
is
exactly
why
areas
become
so
run
down,
blighted
and
unlivable
and
to
add
complete
insult
to
injuries.
These
same
owners
who
completely
neglected
the
property
are
permitted
to
oppose
anything
being
done
other
than
them.
Cashing
in
this
needs
to
stop
pittsburgh
is
too
special
to
continue
this
community
decline
by
proxy.
M
Hello,
my
name
is
john
clayton
2626
coal,
avenue,
dallas,
texas,
75204,
I'm
a
representative
of
fountain
residential
partners,
we're
a
multi-family
developer,
who
has
this
property
plus
another
21
lots
over
there
under
contract
purchase
for
potential
redevelopment
for
a
multi-family
property
with
about
270
units
and
11
000
square
feet
of
retail
space.
This
would
be
an
89
million
dollar
project.
M
And
you
know
we
have
taken
the
new
eco
innovation
district
guidelines
into
account
and
designing
a
new
project,
and
you
know
I
feel
like
we
will
be
hitting
all
the
tenants
of
that
and
taking
the
neighborhood
character
into
account
as
we
bring
a
nice
new
development
to
the
neighborhood
and
something
that
will
increase
the
tax
base
by
about
10
fold
or
more
given
its
current
values.
And
excuse
me.
M
Sorry
so
just
lost
my
lost
my
place
there
I
apologize,
but
we
do
understand
the
criticisms
and
the
needs
and
wants
of
the
neighborhood
and
have
started
some
meaningful
dialogue
with
them
and
look
forward
to
in
the
future
working
with
them
to
bring
about
a
great
development
for
the
neighborhood
and
hopefully
we'll
have
the
time
to
do
that
here.
But,
as
things
currently
stand,
we
do
stand
opposed
to
designating
these
parcels
as
historic.
N
Oh
I
just
a
property
owner
at
20,
18
and
five
other
apostles,
a
few
blocks
up
town,
I'm
against
the
destination.
I've
been
following
the
saga
of
this
nomination
with
the
ups
and
downs
and
I
strongly
oppose
glorifying
a
mobster
and
murderer
or
whatever,
allegedly
just
for
historical
designation
purposes.
So
I'm
opposed
and
that's
all
thanks.
A
O
The
I
presume
that
fountain
real
estate
partners
apologize
if
I
miss
their
name,
need
to
understand
that
with
the
eco
innovation
district
and
the
zoning
development
review
process
which
they
applied
for
in
september
of
21
so
many
years
ago,
and
it
is
still
incomplete.
As
of
the
state
with
revisions
requested
in
october
21,
I
think
they
need
to
understand
that
uptown
partners
has
a
great
deal
of
say
in
the
successful
viability
of
whatever
is
approved
on
that
site,
which,
as
of
this
date,
seen
on
civic
central
and
one
stop.
O
O
O
I
think
it's
very
important
that
everybody
on
this
call
realize
that
everybody
can
win
in
this
situation.
Public
court
documents
have
stated
that
this
parcel
is
for
sale
under
contract,
rather
for
five
hundred
five
thousand
four
hundred
dollars.
That
is
an
entirely
reasonable
amount
that
the
owners
could
receive
if
a
better
and
more
considerate
developer
came
to
uptown
and
did
something
for
the
community
instead
of
for
their
pocketbooks,
which
is
an
interesting
dialogue
to
hear
about,
because
that
is
ultimately
what
owner's
rights
come
down
to
fighting
against.
O
The
idea
that
people
deserve
to
make
money
should
not
be
part
of
a
dialogue
about
saving
historic
community
assets
that
we
do
not
have
in
the
city
due
to
a
lot
of
issues
with
the
historic
nomination
process
and
how
the
department
of
city,
planning
and
pli
and
historic
review
commission
seem
to
without
elected
representation,
dictate
the
shape
and
future
of
our
communities.
Thank
you.
D
D
if
you
know
right
after
that,
the
pandemic
had
so
as
soon
as
my
brother
and
I
we
became
aware
of
the
property
we
did
whatever
we
could
to
rehab
it.
We
did
run
into
some
conflict
because,
again,
like
I
said
the
pandemic
headed
that
time,
but
we
are
very
much
against
this
domination
and
we
agree
with
the
historical
society
that
this
property
is
not
should
not
go
up
for
historic
nomination.
I
want
to
say
this
too.
D
My
family
is
very
much
against
the
history
of
the
tito
family
and
as
african-american
family,
the
discrimination
that
the
family
put
on
other
people.
We
are
very
much
against
that,
so
we
are
very
much
against
this
nomination
again.
Like
I
said,
I
lost
my
father
in
2014,
my
mom
passed
in
2019,
my
brother,
and
I
have
done
what
we
can
to
rehab
this
property.
One
of
the
efforts
that
we
got
is
that
we
did
find
a
buyer
for
this
property.
D
The
buyer
is
a
developer
and
that
developer
will
bring
in
something
good
to
the
to
the
to
the
neighborhood
it'll
have
housing
and
employment.
So
we
think
this
is
a
good
thing.
It's
not
that
we
did
this
for
money.
We
did
this
because
we
think
this
is
good
for
the
area
at
the
planning
commission,
one
of
the
one
of
the
commissioners
said
that
we
are
not
part
of
the
community.
D
My
family
have
and
I
have
lived
in
pittsburgh
off
and
on
since
the
70s,
so
my
parents
actually
want
to
see
this
neighborhood
brought
back
to
its
former
glory.
My
parents
had
actually
wanted
to
retire
in
this
area,
so
we
are
very
much
for
the
development
of
this
area
and
making
it
bring
it
back
to
its
former
glory.
So
again,
I'm
just
I'm
very
much
against
this
nomination
and
I
think
that
it's
something
good
can
come
of
this.
P
Thank
you,
members
of
accounts.
My
name
is
thomas
costello.
My
law
office
is
at
20
field,
stone,
drive,
pittsburgh
pa15220
and
I
represent
the
williams
family.
The
williams
family
purchased
this
property
back
in
2007
and
at
no
time
from
2007
to
did
anyone
request
anything
dealing
with
an
historical
designation
of
their
property,
which
is
1811
caldwell
street.
P
It
is
an
old
storage
warehouse
about
2700
square
feet.
Now
the
city
historic
commission,
which
presumably
has
been
charged
with
reviewing
these
applications
and
supposedly
has
the
expertise
to
evaluate
these
act
applications
refused
to
recommend
this
on
a
vote
of
eight
to
one
that
is
significant
since
by
their
vote,
the
commission
has
disagreed
strongly
with
the
presentation
that
was
given
today
on
behalf
of
the
presenters.
P
Nothing
was
said
about
this
property
until
the
williams
entered
into
a
contract,
a
multi-million
dollar
contract
for
the
sale
of
their
property,
which
includes
caldwell
street
and
18
other
vacant
lots
williams.
Family
is
not
a
nominator
for
this
designation.
They
were
never
asked
to
participate
in
it
and
were
merely
informed
by
a
letter
they
received
by
uptown
partners
in
september
of
2021
or
six
months
after
entering
into
the
agreement,
and
the
williams
family
vigorously
objects
to
the
taking
of
their
property,
which
they
lawfully
purchased
15
years
ago.
P
Furthermore,
my
clients,
who
are
of
italian
descent
seriously
question
the
glorifying
of
mr
tito,
who
was
alleged
to
develop
and
sustain
his
business
through
violence
and
intimidation.
My
clients
submit
that.
Mr
tito
is
not
the
kind
of
individual
we
should
be
glorifying
giving
his
violent
past
and
especially
at
the
time
same
time
that
the
city
of
pittsburgh
is
covering
and
removing
statutes
of
christopher
columbus.
P
They
strongly
disagree
with
the
characterization
that
the
tito
family
is
well
known
with
rolling
rock.
Instead,
if
you
google,
mr
tito's
name,
you
will
find
what
comes
up
is
a
story
of
a
hit
that
occurred
down
near
market
square
when
he
was
involved
with
getting
rid
of
one
of
his
competitors
by
the
name
of
john
volpe,
says
nothing
about
rolling
iraq.
P
It
says
everything
about
the
kind
of
man
this,
mr
tito,
was
this
proposed
development,
which
will
not
go
forward
without
1811,
caldwell
being
included,
will
greatly
enhance
the
local
community
and
beautify
it
from
what
it
is
now.
The
choice
is
either
a
haven
of
drugs,
blight
prostitution
and
crime,
or
a
beautiful
complex
for
med-ed
residents,
with
a
well-needed
grocery
store.
P
My
clients
hope
that
you
will
not
take
their
property
away
from
them,
as
the
king
of
england
did
many
many
many
years
ago
to
the
english
people,
which
in
part
resulted
in
the
english
people
fleeing
england
and
coming
to
this
great
country,
the
ownership
of
the
property
is
the
foundation
of
our
great
country,
and
my
clients
hope
that
you
will
not
defeat
their
interests
by
taking
their
property
away
from
them.
Thank
you
very
much.
Thank.
Q
Q
Q
A
S
T
Thanks
for
the
council
for
letting
me
speak
having
this
form,
my
name
is
john
fleenor.
I
live
I'm
a
resident
of
uptown
312,
gist
street
pittsburgh
15219.
I
support
the
designation
of
these
two
buildings.
There's
a
story
behind
it
is
interesting.
I
think
I
I
never
knew
anything
about
the
the
story
behind
the
buildings,
but
since
I'm
considered
a
newcomer
in
the
neighborhood,
that's
fine.
I've
only
lived
there
for
about
20
years.
I've
seen
many
buildings
in
uptown
torn
down
needlessly
in
the
20
years.
T
T
It
is
a
landmark
in
the
city
in
in
the
neighborhood,
I'm
an
inspector,
a
certified
home
inspector
in
pittsburgh.
I've
inspected
thousands
of
buildings
in
the
neighborhood
I
mean
in
the
in
the
city,
including
ones
for
the
ura
and
for
the
housing
authority,
and
I
can
say
that
this
building
is
is
completely
structurally
sound
and
it
is
completely
viable
to
renovate.
T
In
fact,
it
would
be
really
easy
to
sell.
I
know
a
building
on
fifth
avenue
that
sold
that
was
completely
gutted
and
needed
everything
and
had
major
structural
issues
and
it
sold
for
a
good
amount.
So
I
think
it's
just
a
matter
of
finding
someone
who
wants
to
renovate
it
and
shouldn't
be
hard.
Thank
you.
A
U
U
Oh
15
years,
or
so
I
moved
to
the
neighborhood
in
2008
since
that
time,
more
than
three
dozen
single-family
homes
were
demolished
and
and
then
we
got
the
eco
innovation
district
legislation
which
put
more
or
less
a
stop
to
that
and
much
of
what
was
demolished
was
replaced
with
just
vacant
lots
or
parking
lots,
and
all
of
all
of
them
are
blighted
so
getting
losing
more
single-family.
Housing
is
not
a
great
thing
to
have
a
community
to
have
a
neighborhood.
U
U
U
Many
many
people
I
know
have
tried
to
reach
out
to
the
the
deceased
owners
of
the
the
house
to
see
if
they
would
sell.
I
I
spoke.
I
myself
spoke
with
mrs
mcguire
twice
over
the
course
of
years
before
she
passed
and
you
know
asked
her
to
to
take
care
of
the
house
and
and
asked
her
if
she
wanted
me
to
help
her
find
someone
to
buy
it
and
she
she
didn't
really
want
to
converse
about
it,
and
she
didn't
give
me
any
indication
that
she
was
planning
to
move
back
here.
U
But
you
know-
maybe
maybe
that's
true.
I
don't
know
in
any
case
it's
it's
a
interesting
remarkable
property
that
can
be
saved
and
would
really
contribute
to
having
something
historic
in
the
neighborhood,
because
we've
lost
so
much.
We
have
so
little
to
cling
to
so
little
that's
left
and
it
still
provides
an
opportunity
for
other
types
of
development
and
new
construction
in
many
other
locations.
V
V
The
proposed
development
will
be
really
good
for
pittsburgh
and
for
the
uptown
neighborhood,
bringing
property
taxes,
wage
taxes,
tr
and
transfer
taxes
to
the
city,
treasury
and
jobs
and
amenities
to
the
neighborhood.
In
the
retail
space.
The
brt
is
receiving
federal
funding
because
it
is
intended
to
serve
a
high-density
urban
corridor.
V
V
V
V
V
I
hold
a
degree
in
american
history
from
george
washington
university
and
I
understand
that
historic
designations
are
subjective,
meaning
that
they
place
excessive
emphasis
on
moods
and
on
attitudes
and
on
opinions.
For
example,
a
child
will
be
taught
civil
war
history,
with
an
emphasis
or
a
bias
depending
on
the
geographical
location
of
the
school
district.
V
A
E
I
am
the
ceo
of
weapon
x
development
and
we
specialize
in
fixing
a
lot
of
blighted
houses
such
as
this
one,
and
we
are,
we
are
for
it
being
designated
a
historical
house
because
if
you
just
think
about
it,
I
mean
we
can't
have
a.
We
can't
have
a
lot
of.
We
have
to
keep
the
structures
as
they
are
like
you
know,
you
go
through
the
city,
pittsburgh
we're
a
neighborhood
city.
Each
city
has
its
own
unique.
E
You
know
niches
in
it
and
preserving
little
parts
of
it
like
this
house,
would
you
know
kind
of
distinguish
uptown
from
the
rest,
if
we
put
a
lot
of
five
by
ten
buildings
everywhere,
everything's
gonna
look
the
same,
and
the
neighborhoods
will
be
the
same
now,
regardless
of
whether
you
agree
with
the
historic
past
of
this
man
or
not.
His
end
result
is
undeniable.
E
The
fact
that
you
know
he
helped
contribute
to
the
negro
league
in
crawford,
which
is
the
crawford
greys,
are
a
big
part
of
pittsburgh's
history,
and
if
you
lived
here,
you
would
know
that
and
let's,
let's
not
forget
that
carnegie
and
frick
also
had
a
few
a
few
bad
few
bad
days
in
their
past.
But
yet
we
still,
you
know,
have
monuments,
and
you
know
they
contributed
a
lot
to
the
city
and
there's
a
lot
of
history
there.
For
them.
E
We
can't
just
have
plaques,
you
know
to
represent
structures,
because
you
know
we
could
we
could
develop.
You
know
for
a
pit
and
put
a
plaque
there.
You
know
I'm
sure,
there's
developers
that
would
like
to
do
that,
but
we
got
to
keep
history
of
this
city.
You
know
this.
This
house
meets
a
lot
of
the
criteria.
E
The
planning
commission
was
unanimous
on
it
and
the
last
building
that
we
designated
in
east
liberty.
They
were
actually
split
on
it
and
it
still
got
designated
as
historic.
So
I
believe
that
there's
precedent
here
that
this
should
be
nominated
and
it
just
it's
just
something
that
we
need
to
preserve
in
the
city.
E
There's
plenty
we're
we're
working
a
lot
with
the
blight
in
uptown
and
there's
plenty
of
places
for
them
to
put
their
student
housing
so,
and
I
don't
even
know
if
this
is
an
ideal
area
for
that,
but
that
all
should
not
matter
it's
just
a
matter
of
this
house
should
be
preserved
as
it
is
and
it
can
be
preserved
and
because
I've
done
worse
houses
than
that
and
pj.
Dick
does
not
know
that,
because
I
know
him
and
he
develops
large
structures
like
the
development
they'd
like
to
do
so.
A
Thank
you
that
exhausts
our
list
of
registered
speakers.
Is
there
anyone
with
us
in
chambers
or
online
wishing
to
speak
if
you're
online?
Please
raise
your
hand,
you
will
be
acknowledged
if
you're
in
chambers
please
come
forward,
provide
your
name
and
neighborhood
for
the
record.
You'll
be
given
one
minute
to
speak.
Okay,.
W
My
name
is
donna
brusco.
My
grandmother
was
anna
tito
mechazizza.
I
just
wanted
to
tell
you
it's
more
about
the
historic
beauty
of
this
house,
the
preservation,
but
I
have
to
say
something
since
I've
been
through
this.
What
do
you
call
the
historic
review
board?
I
never
experienced
so
much
anti-italianism
in
my
life
and
people
who
throw
out
like
bad
stories
about
my
great
uncle,
never
knew
them
and
certain
things
at
that
time.
W
Italian-Americans
were
just
pulled
in
on
everything
we
weren't
welcomed
in
this
community
and
the
reason
about
I
know
what
they're
talking
about
my
uncle
paid
for
some
man
who
was
killed
haircut
two
hours
before
so
they
questioned
every
italian-american
man.
So
I
don't
like
things
like
the
christopher
columbus
statue
brought
into
this.
I
was
there
when
they
unveiled
it,
that
wasn't
a
city
thing
that
was
the
isda
and
the
italian
columbus.
So
it's
just
too
much
insults
that
I've
taken.
My
grandmother
was
a
lovely
woman.
W
X
Hi,
melissa,
mcswiggan,
4131
bigelow,
one
five,
two
one
three.
I
really
wanted
to
show
up
today
for
uptown
partners
and
hope
that
city
council
will
also
show
up
for
them
as
well.
I
know
the
process
hasn't
been
easy
for
them.
From
my
experience,
doing
local
nominations,
the
process
isn't
easy,
and
so
people
don't
submit
these
nominations
for
local
designation
just
willy-nilly.
X
A
You
are
there
any
further
speakers
in
council
or
online,
seeing
none
I'll
simply
say.
One
of
the
last
speakers
mentioned
that,
hopefully
there
could
be
some
compromise.
I
do
know
and
understand
that
the
lawyers
from
both
sides
of
this
are
in
conversations,
and
I
also
wish
that
hopefully,
compromise
can
be
reached.
Therefore,
this
body
is
not
forced
to
choose
between
the
wishes
of
owners
and
wishes
of
many
within
a
community
with
that.
This
hearing
is
adjourned.