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From YouTube: The Grant Street Experience: Leah Friedman
Description
On this episode of The Grant Street Experience, Grant Ervin and Rebecca Kiernan talk to the Office of Community Affairs Manager Leah Friedman.
A
A
C
A
C
A
I
I
was
I've
been
in
and
out
of
the
office
intermittently
over
the
last
month
month
and
a
half
or
so
and
like
you're,
exactly
right
about
the
time
capsule
like
I
walked
into
my
office
and
I
have
four
white
boards
and
they
all
had
stuff
from
like
2019
2020
on
them.
It
was
both
kind
of
bizarre,
but
also
at
the
same
point
in
time
I
was
like.
Oh,
we
got
that
done.
We
got
that
done.
We
didn't
do
that,
so
it
was
somewhat
uplifting,
but
also
like
a
good
reality
check.
A
C
Well,
so
we
had
eric
who's
in
my
office
we
had
these
giant
pieces
of.
You
know
the
giant
pieces
of
paper
that
you
can
stick
on
the
wall.
We
had
kind
of
manically
like
been
going
through
our
love,
your
block,
awardees
from
last
year.
There
were
54
of
them
and
we
had
to
choose
20
or
something,
and
there
was
just
all
of
these
scribbles
and
like
wild,
writing
and
notes
on
them
and
all
of
those
projects
that
have
happened
since
then,
but
they
happened
during
covid.
So
it
was.
A
A
And
I
was
like
wow
I
was
like
you
know
it
feels
good
to
see.
You
know
someone
like
yourself
and
kind
of
how
their
career
trajectory
has
grown
and
when
you
started
with
us,
you
were
an
americorps
fellow
right,
but
maybe
give
a
little
bit
of
background
on
on
who
is
leah
friedman
and
and
how
you
came
to
the
city
of
pittsburgh.
C
C
Pittsburgh
public
school
graduate.
I
went
to
kappa
high
school
and
I
went
to
the
university
of
pittsburgh
so
definitely
shaped
by
the
city
and
many
of
its
institutions
and
after
cult,
so
I
majored
in
urban
studies
in
college
and
I
got
really
interested
in
just
how
cities
work
and
what
cities
are
all
about.
C
And
after
college
I
went
to
an
americorps
program
called
the
national
national
civilian
community
corps,
and
so
I
got
the
the
opportunity
to
kind
of
travel
the
country
and
work
on
different
projects.
One
of
those
projects
was
a
disaster
relief
project
in
baton
rouge
louisiana.
There
was
really
severe
flooding
there
in
2016.,
and
so
we
were
mucking
and
gutting
houses
and
wearing
tyvek
suits
in
90
degree
heat
wow
yeah.
C
But
we
really
got
to
see
the
like
the
devastation
that
climate
change
and
severe
flooding
and
stuff
like
that
had
on
a
community
in
baton
rouge,
but
you
know
obviously
nationwide,
and
so
that's
when
I
sort
of
started
to
get
interested
in
resilience
and
resilience
in
communities
and
cities.
So
when
I
was
thinking
about
what
I
wanted
to
do
after
my
americorps,
my
first
americorps
year
ended.
C
A
That's
awesome,
rebecca,
maybe
run
us
back
a
little
bit
about
about
the
that
americorps
resilience
program
and
how
we
came
to
that
I
mean
that
was
a
pretty
interesting
time.
I
think
when
we
we
learned
of
those
resources
and
we're
trying
to
build
a
team
and
maybe
kind
of
a
little
some
of
the
back
story.
There.
B
Yeah
we,
when
I
first
started,
we
had
had
a
grant
through
cities
of
service,
which
I
think
had
spun
out
of
the
bloomberg
administration.
Is
that
right
into
its
own
nonprofit?
And
so
we
had,
we
got
two
years
of
americorps
fellows.
So
there
were
teams
of
two
leah
was
in
the
second
cohort,
but
they
were
focused
on
on
city
resilience,
so
they
kind
of
went
back
and
forth.
You
know
they
had
cities
of
service
contact
and
cohort
there
with
different
cities.
B
So
pittsburgh
was
one
of
I
think,
like
five
or
six
cities
that
had
these
vistas,
so
they
had
that
cohort
and
then
they
worked
with
us
on
on
different
projects.
So
leo
was
part
of
the
the
second
cohort
and
got
to
to
work
on
on
a
project.
So
we
co-opted
that
year
the
the
love
your
block
program
and
and
morphed
it
into
love
your
resilient
block
and
leah
got
to
take
that
over,
and
we
just
you
know,
super
fun
time
kind
of
strengthening
those
programs.
B
So
communities
you
know
normally
would
would
apply
for
a
love
your
block
grant,
but
we
would
work
with
them
to
try
to
strengthen
them.
So
that
they
were
achieving,
you
know
storm
water
management
or
tree
canopy
coverage,
for
you
know,
heat
relief
or
something
like
that.
So
yeah,
it
was
super
fun
and
it
was
right
when
I
first
started
and
leah
was
obviously
awesome
and
stuck
around.
So
it's
exciting
to
have
her
back
on
our
podcast.
A
What
was
it,
what
was
for
you?
What
was
that
experience
like
going
from
from
baton
rouge
right
to
pittsburgh,
but
also,
more
importantly,
I'm
interested
to
learn
about
kind
of
the
exchange
between
you
and
the
other
fellows,
and
also
you
know,
kind
of
having
that
experience
of
you
know
gaining
that
responsibility
right
off
the
bat
to
kind
of
run,
a
program
and
organize
activities.
C
Yeah
so
after
my
my
first
year
in
americorps
and
like
I
said
we
were
in
that
in
that
first
year
and
what
I
was
doing
in
baton,
rouge
and
other
communities
around,
the
country
was
very
hands-on,
like
field
work,
oriented
and
it
was
sort
of
like
the
problem
has
happened.
Somebody
has
figured
out
what
what
needs
to
be
done
and
then
that's
sort
of
where,
where
me
and
and
my
team
at
the
time
would
come
in
and
it
was
really
valuable
experience.
C
And
you
know
sort
of
be
part
of
maybe
preventing
that
or
learning
more
about
it
and
shaping
not
just
how
the
solutions
happen,
but
also
you
know
how
you
can
maybe
work
toward
a
world
where
there
aren't
as
many
natural
disasters
or
people
aren't
as
affected
by
them.
So
coming
in
and
just
being
like
a
listening
ear.
I
think
at
the
beginning,
with
your
team
was
exactly
what
I
was
looking
for,
because
that's
sort
of
what
you
all
are
talking
about
all
the
time.
C
So
it
was
eye
opening
for
me
as
a
young.
I
think
I
was
22
23
at
the
time,
so
that
was
great
and
then
so
our
the
program,
the
americorps
program
had
us.
They
flew
us
to
conferences
with
the
other
fellows
across
the
country
who
are
doing
similar
work
across
the
country,
and
that
was
really
valuable
too,
because
we
got
to
kind
of
talk
about
the
similarities
and
the
differences
between
our
city
like
pittsburgh
and,
for
example,
el
paso
texas
had
americorps
fellows
as
well.
C
So
some
of
the
shared
challenges,
some
of
the
differences
and
what
that
looked
like,
and
I
still
I
still
talked
to
some
of
those
fellows
today.
So
it's
kind
of
like
a
network
of
people
who
are
many
of
them
still
in
city,
government
and
yeah.
It
was.
It
was
a
great
opportunity
and
I
highly
recommend
americorps
programs
to
anybody
coming
out
of
college
who
aren't
sure
exactly
you
know
what
their
path
is.
C
B
B
C
C
C
Yep
yeah,
so,
for
example,
in
milwaukee
we
were
doing
youth-oriented
programs.
We
were
actually
teaching
little
cute
adorable
children,
how
to
make
maple
syrup
and
leading
that
program
and
then
something
totally
different
like
doing
trail
work
at
a
national
park,
or
you
know
they
had.
Everyone
in
this
program
is
on
call
for
emergency
for
disaster
relief.
So
that's
when
we
got
called
out
to
the
south
and
went
down
and
did
some
mucking
and
gutting
of
houses
that
were
completely
destroyed
by
flooding.
A
C
A
You
know
it's
interesting
just
to
call
back
to
a
prior
episode.
A
couple
weeks
ago
we
talked
with
paul
kendrick,
who
runs
an
organization
called
rust
belt,
rising
and
one
of
the
things
that
of
individuals
that
we
talked
about
he's
also
an
author,
and
he
brought
up
a
guy
by
the
name
of
harris.
Wofford.
Who
political
historians
here
in
pittsburgh
will
remember
that
he
was
senator
harris
wofford
for
the
state
of
pennsylvania,
but
he
was
really
instrumental
in
both
the
creation
of
the
peace
corps
under
the
kennedy
administration
and
then
the
americorps
program.
C
Which
is
like
the
program,
the
program
that
I
did
was
the
community
national
community
civilian
corps.
It
was
loosely
based
off
of
the
civilian
climate
corps
that
came
out
of
the
new
deal
and
so
like
as
part
of
this
big
infrastructure
plans
that
the
biden
administration
has
and
the
country
has
kind
of
looping
all
back
around
to
you
know
jobs,
putting
people
to
work
and
working
on
climate
change.
A
Super
important:
it's
a
it's
a
big
program,
that's
supported
by
our
friends
at
reimagine
appalachia,
a
little
bit
of
personal
history
too.
My
dad,
which
is
a
whole
you'll,
get
the
timeline.
You'll
ask
questions,
but
my
dad
was
a
member
of
the
ccc
back
in
the
new
deal
wow
and
so
such
a
kind
of
a
fundamental.
A
You
know
connection
in
terms
of
like
he
grew
up
in
in
rural
southeastern
ohio,
so
like
the
heart
of
appalachia,
and
you
know,
totally
formed
his
mindset
in
terms
of
service
and
kind
of
his
life
and
the
things
that
he
did.
You
know
whether
as
a
professional
or
volunteer
basis,
and
so
such
a
formative
program.
So
it's
so
great
that
you
were
able
to
kind
of
get
so
much
value
of
it.
C
So
you
know
that
sounded
great
to
me
and
I
was
really
excited
to
come
on
with
them
and
so
yeah.
That's
what
I've
been
doing
for.
I
think.
Three
years
now
I've
been
in
the
office
of
community
affairs.
It's
really
different
because
we
sort
of
talk
about
ourselves
as
the
people
in
local
government
who
know
a
little
bit
about
a
lot.
So
we
know
a
little
bit
about.
Basically
everything
that's
happening
in
the
city
of
pittsburgh
and
we
kind
of
convey
what's
happening.
A
And
it's
interesting
too,
because
you
guys
in
community
fairs,
many
cases
are
like
the
the
front
line
or
the
first
point
of
contact
for
a
community
organization.
Can
you
share
a
little
bit
about
like
that
in
a
normal
time,
we'll
get
into
the
covet
conversation
in
a
bit
but
like
in
a
normal
time?
You
guys
have
a
pretty
hectic
schedule.
Can
you
run
through
like
what
the
normal
day
in
the
life
is
like.
C
B
C
But
they
they
are
like
they're
real
neighborhoods
it
just
sometimes
you
would
just
think
oakland
is
a
neighborhood,
no
there's
south
oakland
west
oakland,
north
oakland,
oh
cliff,
which
is
small
but
yeah,
so
there's
and
and
each
of
these
you
know
every
neighbor
had
every
neighborhood
has
its
own
identity.
People
take
a
lot
of
pride
in
their
neighborhoods
in
pittsburgh.
C
That's
true,
citywide,
and
so
connecting
with
those
with
people
on
that
level
is
really
important.
It's
important
to
the
city
of
pittsburgh,
it's
important
to
community
affairs,
so
we
do
our
best
and
pre-paint
throughout
the
pandemic
as
well,
but
especially
before,
to
to
attend
their
neighborhood
community
meetings,
which
are
generally
monthly
and
they're
run
by
volunteers
and
hardworking
people
who
are
just
trying
to
you
know
doing
their
best
to
organize
their
own
communities.
C
So
we
just
kind
of
show
up,
and
we
have
a
lot
to
say
about
what's
going
on
at
the
city,
and
you
know
it's
an
it's
an
ongoing
conversation,
kind
of
like
an
open
dialogue.
We
talk
about
what
we're
doing
they
talk
about
what
they're
doing
we
bring
their
priorities
and
concerns
back
and
make
sure
it
gets
to
the
right
people.
C
But
that
means
that
we
go
to
you
know.
So
there
are
four
of
us.
We
may
have
a
community
meeting
every
night,
so
you
know
we
may
be
out
in
the
field
attending.
You
know
80
community
meetings
a
month
between
the
four
of
us
or
you
know
some
variation
of
that,
depending
on
the
week
and
the
month.
So
it's
a
lot,
but
we
get
to
meet
a
lot
of
people
and
and
learn
a
lot
about.
What's
going
on
in
all
the
corners
of
our
city,.
A
So
I'm
a
veteran
community-based
organization,
you
know
full
disclosure,
I'm
the
president
emeritus
emeritus,
now
of
the
morningside
area,
community,
council
and
and
so
those
organizations.
I
totally
dig
what
you're
saying,
like
those
organizations
are
so
critical
to
creating
connection
and
cohesion
within
the
neighborhood,
as
well,
as
you
know,
bringing
the
issues
of
the
neighborhood
to
the
forefront
of
the
city,
but
I've
always
been
amazed
and
valued.
A
The
community
affairs
team,
because
you
are
that
link
to
like
what's
happening
across
you,
know,
city,
government
or
different
programs
or
policies
as
well
as
being
kind
of
that.
You
know
that
transmission
system,
if
you
will,
from
the
needs
of
the
residents
to
the
you,
know
how
the
city
can
help
out.
What's
you
know
with
that
said,
is
there
some
and
you
don't
have
to
like
call
out
by
name
but
like
I
know
some
of
these
community
organizations
can
have
a
pretty
good
time.
A
Are
there
like
meetings
that
you're,
like
oh
yeah,
we
get
to
go
to
so
and
so
because
of
you
know,
they're
they're
having
a
potluck
or
you
know
something
like
that
that,
like
what
are
some
of
the
things
that
some
of
the
communities
are
doing
to
help
make
their
monthly
meetings
more
interesting.
I
guess.
C
C
C
That's
one
of
like
the
creative
ways,
an
example
of
a
creative
way
that
a
community
organization
raises
money
for
their
year
of
programming
and
events,
and
you
know
stuff
that
they
want
to
do
on
the
neighborhood
level
and
even
throughout
the
pandemic.
You
know,
we've
had
to
get
communities
have
gotten
really
creative
we've
tried
to
support
them
in
those
efforts
in
terms
of
maybe
meeting
outside
doing
more
walk-throughs,
you
know
walking
through
a
neighborhood
just
to
see,
what's
going
on
a
check-in
socially
distanced
masked
all
of
that
stuff.
B
Yeah,
I'm
interested
in
like
what's
the
difference
between
like
the
twitterverse,
where
things
feel
a
little
bit,
I
don't
know
angry,
sometimes
versus
like
what's
actually
happening
on
the
ground
and,
like
you
know,
going
on
in
communities
like
or
what
they're
asking
of
the
city
like
is.
Do
you
see
a
difference
between
like
some
of
the
social
media
versus
like?
Actually,
you
know
talking
to
people
about
real
issues
instead
of
you
know,
just
in,
however,
many
characters.
C
Yeah
yeah
absolutely
and
I
think
well.
First
of
all,
I
just
think
it's
a
lot
easier
to
say
certain
things
in
a
certain
way
on
the
internet.
I
mean,
I
think
you
know
we
can
all
agree
that
there's
there's
some
level
of
animosity
on
the
internet,
that
you
know
people
people
can
just
be
mean
and
that's
just
what
it
is.
C
C
For
me
in
my
daily
life
like
can
I
get
to
where
I
need
to
go?
Are
you
know,
are
these?
Is
the
trash
can
empty?
Do
I
feel
good
about
my
neighborhood
park?
Do
I
have
a
neighbor
neighborhood
park
et
cetera,
et
cetera,
and
so
people
can
be?
You
know,
I
think
it's
valid,
that
emotions
run
high
around
some
of
those
things,
because
there's
a
lot
of
history
and
things
that
go
into
what
that
looks
like
today.
C
But
I
think
when
you
show
up-
and
you
show
up
on
the
on
behalf
of
the
city
of
pittsburgh,
like
that
means
a
lot
to
people
and
they're
they're
willing
to
work
with
you
and
they
have
solutions
and
they
know
what
what
their
issues
are
and
and
they're
happy
to
have
their
voices
heard
and
and
to
sort
of
have
a
more
coordinated
relationship
and
on
twitter.
It's
sort
of
often
like
a
one-way
conversation
that
sort
of
spirals
and
get
you
know,
gets
retweeted.
A
B
What's
changed
like
from
pre-pandemic
or
even
like
when
you
first
started
until
now
like
is
there?
Has
there
been
a,
I
mean
you
talked
to
so
many?
I
remember
like
when
I
was
bagging
groceries
and
you
see
so
many
people
per
day
like
there
would
be
themes
that
would
occur.
Like
you
know,
one
day
would
be.
I
forgot
my
wallet
day
or
whatever
so
like
when
you
see
that
many
people
like
are
you?
B
C
You
know
some
some
pretty
intense
traffic
calming
programs
and
things
like
that,
and
we
as
that,
as
those
things
become
more
popular
and
more
known,
we
realize
that
people
are
addicted
to
traffic
calming
they
they
love
it
like.
I
think
that
that
department
has
I
it's
like.
Almost
thousands
of
requests
for
traffic
calming
on
on
residential
streets,
like
people
have
become
really
interested
and
invested
in
finding
ways
to
make
cars
go
slower
around
them.
C
A
C
A
C
C
Yeah,
so
I
think
you
know
people
who
spend
time
outside
of
their
cars
in
neighborhoods
are,
are
you
know,
noticing
that
and
and
being
con?
And
it's
later
confirmed
by
domi,
often
by
the
department
of
mobility
infrastructure,
often
that
cars
are
speeding
through
their
neighborhood,
it's
creating
unsafe
conditions
and
and
they
want
to
be
able
to
kind
of
live
their
lives
in
their
neighborhoods,
and
you
know
there's
so
much
education
that
goes
into
what
can
make
that
happen,
because
it's
not
always
just
a
stop
sign.
C
People
say
we
need
a
stop
sign
and
domi.
Will
you
know,
and
now
we
we've,
like
we've
been
at
my
team,
has
been
educated
by
the
department
of
mobility
and
infrastructure
to
know
how
to
kind
of
respond
to
that
at
first.
If
we're
at
a
community
meeting
like
we
know,
if
someone
says
we
need
a
stop
sign,
we
say.
Well,
you
know,
a
stop
sign
is
not
always.
C
Option
people
don't
generally
care
about
signs.
It's
like
the
environment.
That's
going
to
help!
You
know
help
people
slow
down
more
naturally
like
how.
How
can
we
have
traffic
calming
that
just
organically
works?
We
create
a
streetscape
that
makes
a
car
go
slower.
It's
not
just
a
stop.
Sign
might
not
be
a
speed.
C
Bump
might
not
be
a
crosswalk
all
of
these
things,
so
we've
been
educated
throughout
our
time
just
because
we
had
to
be
to
be
able
to
have
these
conversations
with
residents
and
neighborhoods,
and
then
we're
able
to
kind
of
guide
residents
through
the
process.
That's
set
up
now
to
you
know,
make
those
things
happen
in
their
neighborhoods.
A
You
know
it's
so
interesting
too,
because
this
goes
back
to
the
the
the
origins
right.
Like
the
the
bike
lash,
because
bike
lanes,
I
mean
they're
effectively
a
traffic
calming
a
type
of
traffic
calming
measure,
but
also
kind
of
an
inclusion,
inclusive
measure
to
allow
for
other
forms
of
mobility
right
and
so
now
what
we're
seeing-
and
I
think
this
is
I'm
going
to
make
a
statement.
C
Yeah
yeah,
and
I
think,
like
change,
is
hard
and
especially
in
pittsburgh.
It
seems
you
know.
People
like
I
said
people
have
a
lot
of
pride
in
their
neighborhoods,
a
lot
of
pride
in
their
cities,
and
I
think
they,
just
at
the
end
of
the
day,
like
really
want
to
make
sure
that
any
changes
that
are
happening
are
actually
going
to
benefit
them
and
the
people
around
them
the
people
that
they
care
about.
But
sometimes
we
compare,
you
know
our
lives
or
shenanigans
to
parks
and
rec.
C
People
caring
loudly
yeah,
and
so
you
you
know
we
have
to
remember
that,
and
you
know
it's
not
that
the
city
is
always
right
about
everything,
but
there's
there's.
Definitely
a
learning
curve
and
change
is
hard,
but
I
think
people
are
starting
to
come
around
to
some
of
the
the
changes
that
that
the
city
has
implemented
in
the
last
few
years.
A
You
know
it's
interesting,
just
a
couple
of
quick
reflections.
I've
had
two
two
really
interesting
interactions
on
this.
In
the
past
couple
days,
we
had
an
alley
party
with
our
neighbors
for
father's
day
and
my
one
neighbor
carol,
who
we
love
dearly
she
you
know
she
was
talking
to
me
about
different
stuff
and
she
was
like
grant
the
bike
lanes.
Let's
talk
about
the
bike
lanes
right,
which
I
think
every
pittsburgher
and
anybody
who
works
for
the
city
has
had
that
conversation.
A
One
of
the
things
that
came
to
mind
for
me
is
about
it's
and
we've
had
to
do
it.
I've
had
to
do
it
as
a
cyclist,
but
I
think
also
as
a
motorist
like
educating
drivers
about
how
to
drive
with
bike
lanes,
and
that
was
like
her
big
point
was,
like
you
know,
I'm
not
against
bike
lanes.
It's
just
I've
been
driving
down
negley
avenue
for
45
years,
like
how
do
I
learn
to
navigate?
That
was
one
point.
C
A
Yeah
like
creating
like
a
playground
in
the
street,
and
so
you
know
they
make
the
safety
measures,
but
then
they'll
put
up
like
water
features
or
hopscotch
or
like
all
kinds
of
sort
of
stuff
and
the
kids
get
to
play
in
the
street,
and
it
was
just
really
cool
to
see
and
I
was
like
oh,
we
can
totally
do
that.
So
future
love
your
future
love
your
block
project
application.
A
C
B
C
It's
usually
a
1500
award
to
a
neighborhood
group
or
community
organization
to
do
some
kind
of
beautification
or
some
kind
of
improvement
project
in
a
neighborhood,
and
so
we
found
that
like
a
lot
of
times,
it's
such
a
it's
such
a
small
grant,
but
sometimes
these
smaller
organizations
have
projects
that
sort
of
fall
in
the
middle
like
they
need
more
than
the
500
that
they
could
raise
from
their
local
businesses.
But
they
don't
need
twenty
thousand
dollars
to
do
an
entire.
C
You
know
a
blighted
lot,
that's
sort
of
sitting
there
and-
and
they
want
it
to
to
have
value
in
the
community
or
something
like
that,
and
so
we
do.
We
do
a
round
of
those
every
summer,
and
that
is
that's
probably
one
of
my
favorite
things
that
we
do
because
it's
it's
so
fun
to
go
to
all
the
sites
and
like
see
all
of
the
great
things
that
people
do
and
and
usually
it's
beyond
like
they
get
the
fifteen
hundred
dollars.
C
But
then
they
are
able
to
do
so
much
more
with
it
because
they
can
tell
people
hey.
We
have
fifteen
hundred
dollars
to
do
this
and
then
you
know
they
get
people
say:
oh
well,
I
can
donate
this
and
I'll
participate
I'll.
Do
that
and
oftentimes.
It
turns
into
like
a
much
bigger
thing
and
it's
yeah.
It's
so
fun.
A
It
always
turns
into
some
a
much
bigger
thing
I
think
yeah,
but
it's
so
much
fun.
I
mean
I've
been
on
multiple
ends
of
the
program
like
it,
it's
so
much
fun
as
a
community
member.
I
think
who
to
be
have
that
ability
to
be
creative
and
and
innovative,
I
mean.
Are
there
some
things
where,
like
when
you
guys,
you
don't
have
to
you
know,
give
a
specific
example,
but
like
it
has
to
be
so
much
fun
to
review
those
applications
and
be
like
wow.
A
C
Yeah
we
have
so
one
from
last
year
is
the
friendship
community
group.
They
have
been
working
sort
of
as
a
group,
but
also
as
individual
property
owners
to
have
pollinator
gardens
all
over
the
neighborhood
and
sort
of
just
like
encouraging
people
to
do
that
on
their
own
plots
of
land,
which
is
great,
I
mean
it
obviously
encompasses.
C
You
know
like
a
native
species,
it
has
some
climate
stuff
in
there
it's
beautification,
it's
like
all
of
those
rolled
into
one
and
then
for
love
your
block
last
year.
They
wanted
to
beautify
an
alley,
a
pretty
big
alley,
that
a
lot
of
people
spend
time
in,
especially
during
the
pandemic,
because
that's
kind
of
all
you
can
do,
and
so
they
put
like
pollinate
pollinator
gardens
along
the
alley
in
the
public
right-of-way
and
it
turned
out
so
beautiful
and
it's
it's
something.
That's
the
type
of
thing
that's
going
to
be
there.
C
You
know
forever
like
they
will
continue,
maintaining
it
and
it
also
got
people
interested
to
to
start
their
own
in
their
backyard
or
their
front
yard,
and
they
had
an
event
to
tie
it
all
together,
and
it
also
got
people
wanting
to
like
paint
the
back
of
their
garages
so
that
the
rest
of
the
alley
looked
good.
You
know,
like
it
kind
of,
was
that
motivating
factor
to
really
elevate
that
space.
That's.
C
A
A
Network
are
really
a
network
of
urban
trails
and
so
like
when
you
walk
along
them
like
I
particularly
started
to
walk
along
because
they
were
quieter.
You
know,
like
you,
let
you
have
your
headphones
in
and
you
listen
to
music
or
a
podcast
or
whatever,
and
and
so
it
was
there,
there's
there's
a
lot
of
serenity.
A
C
A
While
you
were
going
through
this
right,
yeah
one
one
question
we're
coming
close
on
time,
but
a
couple
more
questions
I
have
for
you
one
in
particular,
is
this
idea
of
like
community
engagement,
and
you
guys
lead
a
lot
of
those
efforts.
You
know
both
in
person
but
now
also
online
through
tools
like
engage
pgh.
A
Any
reflections
on
that.
In
terms
of
because
when
you
were
on
our
team,
you
were
helping
to
lead
and
organize
like
some
of
the
in-person
events.
What
are
some
of
the
new
things
that
are
where
you
see
community
engagement
going
now
that
we've
been
through
like
this
pandemic,
and
we
have
what
I
would
call
a
deeper
toolbox
right
with
some
online
tools.
In-Person
tools
like
what
do
you
see
next
for
community
engagement.
C
Yeah,
that
is
probably
what
I
spend
about
95
of
my
time.
Thinking
about
at
this
point.
Well,
yeah!
So,
like
you
were
saying
the
pandemic
sort
of
opened
up
a
path
for
creativity
in
a
lot
of
things,
so
like,
for
example,
like
the
the
streeterys
using
parking
spaces
for
outdoor
dining
and
things
like
that
closing
down
streets,
highland
park
reservoir
loop
things
like
that.
That
was
closed,
so
that
people
closed
to
cars
so
stuff,
like
that.
Definitely
the
pandemic
allowed
for
creativity
in
those
types
of
things.
C
Everybody
doesn't
necessarily
have
the
time
or
the
energy
or
the
knowledge
or
the
capacity
to
participate
in
a
community
group,
and
because
of
that
you
know
they
may
be
left
out
from
a
lot
of
conversations,
and
so
I
think
the
city
did.
A
number
of
things
got
very
creative.
We
started
engaged
pgh,
which
is
an
online
engagement
platform.
It's
engaged.pittsburghpa.gov
and
basically
it's
a
one-stop
shop
where
residents
can
go,
see
projects
ongoing
projects
that
the
city
is
working
on
and
provide
feedback
on
them,
and
that
sounds
really
basic.
C
But
that's
something
that
we
didn't
have
before.
We
didn't
have
all
of
those
projects
that
are
currently
happening,
that
are
we're
currently
seeking
feedback
on
in
one
place,
so
just
that
alone,
and
we've
we've
gotten
feedback
from
the
community
or
from
communities
across
the
city
that
that
has
been
really
helpful.
C
Obviously,
that
you
know
that's
a
website,
we're
missing
a
lot
of
people
with
just
a
website,
but
I
think
that
the
idea
moving
forward
is
that
this
is
now
a
tool
in
our
toolbox.
You
don't
have
to
come
to
a
public
meeting.
You
don't
have
to
go
to
a
community
organization
or
be
part
of
one
to
participate
in
the
public
process.
C
A
A
C
Yeah,
I
think
so
I
mean,
I
think,
just
by
nature
of
it
all
sort
of
being
in
the
same
place
and
standardized
in
a
way
makes
for
more
streamlined
data,
that
departments
and
staff
can
use
to
inform
their
projects.
There's
just
also
sort
of
been.
I
mean
one
of
my
goals
is
standardizing
public
engagement
across
the
city
of
pittsburgh,
so
you
know
one
department
may
sort
of
have
different
capacity
or
a
different
way
of
doing
things
than
another.
C
But
there
are
you
know,
there's
there's
best
practices
around
how
this,
how
this
stuff
works
and
hoping
to
get
the
city
in
in
a
place
where
a
resident
you
know,
no
matter
what
the
project
is.
No
matter
who
the
department
is
like
is
going
to
know
what
that
process
is
going
to
look
like
for
their
feedback
to
reach
the
right
place.
C
A
B
Used
it
a
little
bit,
we
used
it
internally,
also
just
with
our
own
staff,
for
like
some
staff
surveys
to
inform
our
sustainable
development
goals,
voluntary
local
review.
We
just
put
one
out.
We
used
it
for
a
climate
adaptation
plan
that
we
were
working
on
with
melanie,
who
was
a
former
guest,
but
then
we've
been
using
it
for
our
greenways
project
in
hazelwood.
So
what's
really
cool
about.
Is
that
there's
different
tools
within
the
tool?
B
B
A
Awesome,
that's
great,
hey,
so
we're
coming
up
on
time.
Typically,
we
ask
folks,
you
know
what
you're
listening
reading
or
watching
in
our
final
segment
here
on
the
grant
street
experience,
but
it's
the
summer
months,
and
so
I
know
that
kind
of
that
curled
up
in
a
nook
with
the
book
is
oftentimes,
something
that
is
a
a
fowler
weather
past
time.
C
Sure,
well,
I
know
that
la
I
think
last
night
was
the
grand
opening
of
the
allegheny
overlook,
which
is
it's
like
a
pop-up.
It's
a
pop-up
park
downtown
so
like
talking
about
closing
streets,
they
closed
the
street,
they
like
painted
the
street
and
there's
picnic
tables
and
the
trees
and
all
this
kind
of
stuff.
So
I
really
want
to
check
that
out.
C
C
C
A
A
A
B
B
B
B
A
A
Yeah,
I
was
just
just
talking
about
that
this
morning
I
was
like.
Oh,
I
don't
know
if
it's
open
yet
so
my
my
big
summer
events
summer
for
me
starts
tonight.
A
friend
of
mine
called
me.
We
haven't
connected
for
a
long
time
and
he
rented
a
boat,
so
we're
gonna
go
yeah,
so
I'm
gonna
go
out
on
the
river
tonight
and
start
start
summer,
officially
so
out
on
the
out
on
the
water.
A
So
we're
we're
looking
forward
to
that
and
then
it's
like
it's
going
to
be
like
a
weekend
of
water,
because
then
we
also
have
a
group
of
friends
and
I
we
get
together
and
we
every
year
we
go
up
to
the
kiska
menace
river
and
we
have
a
float
trip.
So
we're
gonna
do
some
kayaking
over
the
weekend,
and
so
I'm
super
looking
forward
to
that.
So
nice
followed
by
a
stop
at
the
infamous
salina
inn.
So
that's
if
you
ever
get
a
chance
to
it's,
a
must
must-see
must
do
place.
A
A
Awesome:
well,
hey
guys,
it's
so
good
talking
with
both
of
you,
leah
always
excited
to
get
together,
and
you
know
we're
so
proud
to
have
been
a
part
of
your
your
your
early
seeds
being
sewn
with
the
city
of
pittsburgh
and
great
to
see
the
work
that
you're
doing
as
the
office
of
community
affairs
manager
and
doing
some
great
work
with
our
neighborhood.
So
thank
you
so
much.