(February 28, 2007)...Mayor Ravenstahl joined three-hundred concerned South Side residents in an effort to alleviate the growing problem posed by the dramatic increase in liquor licenses throughout Pittsburgh’s East Carson Street.

“Something must be done," said Mayor Ravenstahl. “I can tell you this, we’ve been looking into the problem and we will set up a task force composed of residents, city planning and public safety experts to come up with a long term solution. Also, I’ve heard many residents say that no one can imagine what it’s like for them at 1 a.m. on a Friday night, and they are right. So, next Friday, I will come down here at 1 a.m. to experience first hand what you have to go through.”

The Mayor was joined by Councilman Koch, City of Pittsburgh Police, and city officials who specialize in public safety, city planning, public works and community and economic development.

(February 28, 2007)...Mayor Luke Ravenstahl presented a check for $30,000 to the Homewood Better Block Development Corporation in support of new development in the Homewood South area.

“These projects benefit the community by erasing the much publicized blighted areas and provide tax producing developments for the neighborhood and City of Pittsburgh,” said Mayor Luke Ravenstahl. “We will continue to put ‘Neighborhoods First’ – to rebuild, revitalize and renew our neighborhoods street by street, block by block.”

The funds will be used to cover operating costs associated with Homewood Park Estates Phase III, which consists of five single-family Ryan Homes, and Fairfax Estates Phase III, consisting of ten single-family Ryan Homes.

All housing developments will be for low to moderate income families, according to Community Development Block Grant guidelines.

Press Release

(February 27, 2007)...Mayor Ravenstahl gave fifty third-graders from the city’s Northview Accelerated Learning Academy an ‘early’ inside perspective on what government is all about. The Mayor fielded questions from the third-graders, eager to learn about his role as a young leader.

One student asked if the Mayor “had to do ‘good’ in school” in order to get where he is. Mayor Ravenstahl replied, “Absolutely, while in school I always valued my education and made sure I made the honor roll almost every time, I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for working hard in third grade!” The Mayor gave the students a tour of the historic Mayor’s Conference Room, showing them all of the pictures of previous Mayors and explaining to them how long Mayors have been taking care of their city. Afterwards, students visited the Mayor’s desk and talked about the first-ever computer used in the Mayor’s Office.

The students were on an all-day tour of Pittsburgh entitled “Building Pride/Building Character”. The tour was offered by the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation in cooperation with the Pittsburgh Public Schools through the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development’s Educational Improvement Tax Credit Program.

(February 27, 2007)...Mayor Luke Ravenstahl today cut through red tape as he announced the new “walk-through permitting” procedure the Department of City Planning and the Bureau of Building Inspections will implement next week.

“This new permitting procedure is in response to numerous comments I’ve received, and continue to receive, from contractors, developers, elected officials, and organizations involved in development,” said Mayor Ravenstahl. “The constituents have been crying out for a change in the review and approval process. The walk-through permitting answers those cries by improving customer service and processing permits faster, which translates to shovels in the ground faster, and money into the economy.”

Beginning March 5, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, homeowners and contractors will be able to register and walk their building permit applications through the various departments and reviewers, obtaining a permit that same day, provided they meet zoning/building code requirements and their applications are complete. All applicants would be required to be registered at the Zoning counter no later than noon on the day of the walk-through to have the permit processed the same day.

Press Release

(February 21, 2007)...Mayor Luke Ravenstahl joined in on the 'Fat Tuesday' festivities at Brighton Heights Senior Center.

(February 19, 2007)...Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is taking a major swipe at the red tape currently binding Pittsburgh’s outdated development and job creation programs.

At a press conference today, the Mayor announced the creation of a position to directly manage the City’s economic growth and to oversee the renaissance of Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods– and that he has appointed a professional whose background combines both private and public sector development experience to fill it.

City Planning Director Patrick Ford will be appointed as the City of Pittsburgh’s first Director of Economic and Community Development. In this position, he will be challenged by the Mayor to “A.C.T.,” or, more specifically, to bring accountability, customer service and transparency to the City’s permitting and planning departments and to spearhead the Mayor’s citywide neighborhood revitalization strategy.

“We must treat our existing businesses and neighborhood developers as the City’s partners and customers, serving as an advocate, not an obstacle, to economic development,” Mayor Ravenstahl said. “We must be more proactive in reaching out to the business community, especially our small businesses, by providing the tools they need to grow and flourish, adding jobs in Pittsburgh. The new Director of Economic and Community Development will also be charged with working closely with our partners in local growth sectors, like those in the university and healthcare community, to ensure that the business opportunities that spin off from them find a home in Pittsburgh.”

Press Release

(February 19, 2007)...Mayor Luke Ravenstahl announced a new housing revitalization initiative aimed at eliminating blight and encouraging redevelopment in Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods. The housing revitalization initiative includes a residential tax-exemption program, a vacant upper floors financing program, and workforce/affordable housing buyer incentives.

“My administration is committed to creating strong residential neighborhoods with mixed income development and housing options,” said Mayor Ravenstahl. “The goal of the housing initiative is to stimulate the market for new residents, encourage private investment, eliminate blight, encourage redevelopment of vacant upper floors, promote workforce and affordable housing, complement proposed development activity and spin off new development.”

The Mayor proposed a 10 year, 100% property tax-exemption up to a cap of $250,000 per unit, for anyone who creates a housing opportunity through construction, conversion or rehabilitation of residential units. The program, available from 2007-2012, targets Downtown Pittsburgh and 20 other neighborhoods – East, West, North and South - that need an additional boost due to population decline, increasing crime and diminishing quality of life.

Press Release

(February 16, 2007)...Mayor Ravenstahl promotes three Officers within the Pittsburgh Police. The biography information of the Officers is as follows:

New Assignment - SDD

Officer Clarence Trapp has been a Police Officer for 24 years, the last 14 with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police. Upon his appointment to the PBP, he was assigned to Zone 3 for 7 years and then to old Zone 4 for 14 months. Officer Trapp was promoted to Sergeant in 2001 and was assigned to then Zone 6 which is now Zone 4 in Squirrel Hill. In January 2007, he was assigned to Major Crimes as supervisor of the Witness Protection Program.

In February 2007, Sergeant Trapp was promoted to Lieutenant and assigned to the Operations Branch where he is currently assigned to SDD. Lieutenant Trapp has received various awards including the Bureau Citation.

In his personal time Lieutenant Trapp is a member of the Syria Shrine Roadrunners who transport children to the various Shriner Hospitals where they receive treatment at no cost to their families

New Assignment - Zone 2

Police Officer William English was hired by the city on December 10, 2001. After graduating from the Police Academy, he was assigned to Zone 5 for approximately two years. Officer English was assigned to the Police Academy where he was certified to instruct firearms, physical training, defensive tactics, emergency driving, first-aid, CPR, taser and other general instruction. Officer English was promoted to Sergeant in February 2007 and has been assigned to Zone 2.

Sergeant English grew up in Bellevue and enlisted in the Marine Corp after graduating High School where he served as a Military Policeman for four years.

New Assignment - Zone 5

Police Officer Eric Holmes graduated from Slippery Rock University in 1993 and was a White House Intern for the Clinton Administration in 1992. Officer Holmes has been with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police for 10 years. He patrolled in Zone 1, was a K-9 Officer, worked Narcotics and Vice, acted as a Hostage Negotiator and has held various other assignments.

Prior to becoming a Pittsburgh Police Officer, Officer Holmes worked for the University of Pittsburgh Police and the Ohio Township Police Department. Officer Holmes was promoted to Sergeant In February 2007. Sergeant Holmes instructs at the Pittsburgh and Allegheny County Police Academies. He resides in the West Wood section of the city with his family and is current President of his Fraternity Alumni Association.

(February 14, 2007)...Mayor Ravenstahl visited Division 2 of Public Works to experience, first-hand, the hard job of ensuring the safety of our neighborhood streets during this week's winter snow storm.

(February 13, 2007)...Mayor Ravenstahl honored Steelers running back Verron Haynes for his involvement in the community through organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club of Western Pennsylvania.

The two young leaders talked about the importance of being a mentor- Mayor Ravenstahl makes it a point to stop at numerous schools throughout the city to listen and talk to students about achieving their dreams. Verron Haynes is a leader in mentoring children through the Boys & Girls Club. The two also talked about, of course, the excitement of Mr. Haynes’ new coach, Mike Tomlin- who is also a respected and accomplished young leader.

(February 12, 2007)...Mayor Ravenstahl greeted twenty-one Turkish local government officials today to show them the great improvements Pittsburgh has made in Urban Environmental Planning. The delegation belongs to the Turkish Association of Local Authorities, which has a broad membership encompassing a wide geographical and political range within Turkey.

The specific objectives for the group in Pittsburgh are:

• To explore industry’s role in the environmental history of Pittsburgh and to learn how the city is coping with environmental difficulties and a changing economic structure


• To obtain knowledge about environmental cleanup and brownfield development, which has occurred recently in Pittsburgh


• To examine methods of waste management, recycling, and water purification in an urban environment


• To meet with law enforcement officials and discuss traffic penalties in the United States. Traffic accidents are the number one cause of death in Turkey, so it is essential to change attitudes towards traffic safety and traffic law enforcement in Turkey at the local level.

(February 9, 2007)...Mayor Luke Ravenstahl signed the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement at a luncheon at Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Memorial, pledging to implement local global warming solutions that will save taxpayer dollars and reduce energy use.

The Green Forum luncheon, hosted by Senator Jim Ferlo, with County Executive Dan Onorato and special guest speaker Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Kathleen McGinty, was attended by three-hundred environmentally conscious citizens and organizations, including the Sierra Club, who praised the Mayor for signing the agreement and his commitment to reduce the City’s global warming pollution.

Press Release

(February 9, 2007)...Mayor Ravenstahl joined the Redd Up crew today boarding up nuisance vacant houses in Hazelwood after citizens called the Mayor’s 3-1-1 Response Line.

“Despite freezing weather, we will do whatever we can to ensure the public safety of our citizens,” said Mayor Ravenstahl.

With temperature hovering below zero degrees, the City of Pittsburgh Redd Up crew has not stopped ensuring that Mayor Ravenstahl’s public safety efforts are met.

The Redd Up crew boarded over a dozen nuisance vacant houses in Hazelwood. Afterwards, Mayor Ravenstahl and the Redd Up crew eliminated worries of a possible house-flood at the home of Beryl Powers by eliminating large sheets of ice caused by a water leak in a vacant home next door.

(February 9, 2007)...When Mayor Ravenstahl found out that students from the DePaul School for Hearing and Speech were learning about public safety, he decided to pay them a visit to show them ‘hands- on’ police technology.

Police brought a new bomb detecting robot and SWAT ladder. Mayor Ravenstahl hopes to teach students the importance of 21st century technology transforming public safety efforts.

(February 8, 2007)...Due to Mayor Ravenstahl’s successful efforts to buy back $64 million dollars worth of tax liens at a fraction of the cost, vacant properties in the hill district are now scheduled for redevelopment.

"This is a great example of a public, private and faith-based partnership in which ten vacant lots with over $85,000 worth of liens is transformed into over $1 million worth of investment for the Upper Hill community," says Mayor Ravenstahl.

The Milwaukee-Clarissa Street Phase II housing development at 714 Clarissa Street in the Upper Hill District was a long awaited revitalization project aimed at the elimination of blight in the city’s Upper Hill community. After Mayor Ravenstahl’s tax-lien buy back, the Pittsburgh Housing Development Corporation and Amani Christian Community Development Corporation were able to partner in the new development which will result in seven new homes on Clarissa Street.

[Mayor Ravenstahl Clears 11,000 ‘Lienfields’ Making Way for Neighborhood Redevelopment]

(February 8, 2007)...Mayor Ravenstahl visited students at the Ellis School encouraging the young women to become civically involved, and to take interest in local politics. He also challenged any of them to become the youngest female mayor of any city, and whether they pursue careerse in law, medicine, or politics, to do it with commitment, determination and confidence.

(February 8, 2007)...Mayor Ravenstahl and Chief Harper continue their goal of making Pittsburgh’s neighborhoods the safest in the country by increasing the amount of time police will walk neighborhood beats. “Increasing police visibility is essential in keeping our neighborhoods safe", said Mayor Ravenstahl. “We’re encouraging positive police interaction with residents by increasing police ‘park and walks’ by fifty percent.”

Along with increased “park and walks”, the number of Mobile Data Terminals (MDT’s) in police vehicles will be increased by over forty percent. By doing so, the amount of administrative work required by officers will be significantly decreased, ensuring that their time will be spent patrolling our neighborhoods. The time saved is equivalent to adding 50 new police to the force.

(February 6, 2007)...Mayor Ravenstahl was surprised by students of the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute today when they created an ‘iconic’ Pittsburgh birthday cake for the Mayor's birthday.

The cake included hand-drawn Pittsburgh iconic symbols such as the Heinz Ketchup bottle, Pittsburgh sports logos and the one-of-a-kind downtown view from atop Mt. Washington.

Afterwards, the Mayor toured the new Pennsylvania Culinary Arts Facilties. The cake will be on window display in the new kitchen facilities on Liberty Avenue.

(February 2, 2007)...Mayor Ravenstahl visited Brookline’s business district today, in an effort to raise awareness to the growing problem of graffiti vandalism. On January 21, brick walls, doors and windows were covered at more than a dozen businesses on Brookline Boulevard. This city wide problem can no longer be ignored.

“The vandalism of our neighborhoods will not be ignored,” said Mayor Ravenstahl. A Police Graffiti Task Force has been created to focus on this city wide problem; we’re taking care of it as fast as we can, but we need help from all communities. If you see someone vandalizing the neighborhood, you need to call police right away.”

The Police Graffiti Task Force will use a state of the art graffiti tracking system to take digital pictures of the reported graffiti. When graffiti vandals are arrested, they can match their graffiti tag with those in the database and can charge them for all reports connected with their graffiti tag.

Since November, the special task force has caught and charged five major taggers, clearing up more than 60 reported graffiti cases throughout the city.