Rebuilding Together Pittsburgh, a local housing nonprofit that delivers no-cost home repairs to qualifying low-income homeowners, is partnering with OPDC to repair homes in Oakland.
Check out the flier for more info.
Volunteering
09/17 2013
The Oakland Green Team – Next meeting will be on September 19th at 6:00pm at the Oakland Career Center, 294 Semple Street. There will be a special presentation from the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy on the Bates Street Hill project.
Wednesday, September 18th, 12pm, Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, 234 McKee Place, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. Please RSVP by contacting 412.621.7863 ext. 21 or oakwatch@opdc.org.
Oakwatch collecting disruptive party data: When there’s a disruptive party near you, make sure you call 9-1-1 and document what happened on this Incident Report Sheet. Please turn these forms into Oakwatch. You can email them tooakwatch@opdc.org, fax them to 412.621.5920 or drop them off or mail them to 235 Atwood Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213.
09/08 2013
We will update this post when we are able to sort through everything for some actual numbers, but we had well over 200 neighbors, students and friends attend our first collaborative Community Day with SONG and Oakcliffe Housing Club (OHC).
The biggest of thanks to all our hard working Planning Committee Members and Volunteers, and our generous Sponsors and Donors!
You can check out our pics of the event. Please email any more you have and we’ll try to get them all posted!
If you’re interested in a free tree for the sidewalk, click here to download the Tree Request form and bring it to the SONG meeting on Wed Sept 4, or give or mail it to David Zwier at 235 Atwood Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213. The deadline to have them as part of this neighborhood grouping is Sunday Sept 15. There will be a site inspection, because not all locations are suitable for trees.
You can also volunteer to help plant and maintain the trees. More info on TreeVitalize Pittsburgh’s website
Next meeting to plan for South Oakland Community Day (SOCD)
6PM Monday August 26 2013, Frazier Fieldhouse, Frazier St and Dawson St,
The festival is scheduled for Saturday September 7, 2013. More details to come.
If you know anyone that is interested in participating/volunteering for various planning, preparation and activities, but cannot attend the meeting, please use the contact page to give us their contact information so we can coordinate and plan for this event. The current subcommittees and general tasks and responsibilities:
- Marketing & Recruitment – Advertising/Media contact, Volunteer recruitment
- Operations & Activities – Event operation planning for games/activities/sports, food/beverage storage/prep/cooking/menu/cups/plates etc, setup & teardown, work with Finance subcommittee on budget.
- Fundraising, Sponsorship & Finance – Plan budget, set funding goals, secure donations, plan fundraisers.
Check out the SOCD Page for more details.
(still updating this post as links to sources are added and verified)
Oakland Planning & Development Corporation (OPDC) has put together a bag with some useful information about living in Oakland and being a “Good Neighbor”. OPDC is seeking volunteers to commit to specific blocks and days for the door-knocking campaign. Specifically Saturdays August 24 and September 7. They will provide lunch and supplies for volunteers. To get involved, please contact bnino@opdc.org or 412.621.7863 ext. 21.
Pitt will host community block parties on September 11th, 19th, and 26th in Oakcliffe, Central Oakland, North Oakland, respectively. OPDC will publish specific places and times as they confirm details. These parties are free and open to all neighbors.
Included in the bag are:
- Brochure on when to use 9-1-1 vs 3-1-1
- Oakland 2025 Sticker
- “Trash Talk” Magnet
- Trash Pickup Days In Oakland Neighborhoods
- Being A Good Neighbor
- Community Contacts
- Pitt Student Guide To Campus Life 2013
- Emphasizes Pitt’s expectation for all students to represent the university respectfully whether on or off-campus.
- Pittsburgh Refuse/Bulk and Recycling Pickup Schedule
- Local Neighborhood (South Oakland) Flyer
- South Oakland Neighborhood Group (SONG, the website you’re on right now)
- Oakwatch – The Oakland Code Enforcement Project
- The Green Team – Putting the “Oak” back in Oakland
- Important Note about new rules on disposal of TVs and other electronics.
- A map of South Oakland (No, Atwood street is NOT in South Oakland)
- For more info about OPDC
- “Party Right” Flyer
- If you’re gonna party… PARTY RIGHT! …don’t party foul!
- South Oakland Community Day Flyer
The people quoted in the article feel the reporter missed a few very important pieces of information in the below piece. If enough people comment on the article the Post Gazette might see there’s interest and consider doing a follow-up article. OPDC posted a comment about the omissions—how the university’s student guide is just one piece of a huge project, and the need for volunteers to help go door to door, the need landlord engagement, etc.
Please share this with neighbors and comment. Thanks!
OPDC is going to have a South Oakland photo shoot on Wednesday, August 7th at 5pm in Frazier Farms to get pictures of community member activity.
07/16 2013
In This Issue
- OPDC brings new homeowners to Oakland
- Oakland community to conduct good neighbor outreach campaign
- Residents, businesses beautify North Oakland gateway
- Newly single mother finds fresh start through JobLinks
- OPDC’s board seeks community input
- Families, employers gather to honor School 2 Career teens
- OPDC staff spotlight: Meet Elly Fisher!
- South Oakland hosting free lunch program for local youth
- Summertime in Schenley Plaza: Markets, yoga, waffles and more
- Eye on elected officials: An update from Representative Jake Wheatley
MAYOR ANNOUNCES APPLICATION PERIOD FOR FALL CIVIC LEADERSHIP ACADEMY CLASS
Sent 07/09/2013 @ 2:24 pm
(PITTSBURGH, PA) July 9, 2013 Mayor Luke Ravenstahl today announced that applications for the fall 2013 Civic Leadership Academy (CLA) are now available. One of the Mayor’s 10 servePGH initiatives, CLA is a free 10-week course that aims to educate residents about local government. Beginning September 18, and concluding on November 20, participants will attend 10 weekly sessions on Wednesday evenings from 6 to 8:30 p.m. to learn how different City departments work to ensure a safer, more livable City and to become more informed civic leaders. Applications are available at pittsburghpa.gov/cla and must be submitted by August 23rd.
Monday, July 15 the Green Team is partnering with Tree Pittsburgh to care for Oakland’s trees. We will be working from 5:30-7:30 pm at Frazier Field at Frazier St and Dawson St in South Oakland. Please sign up here http://treepittsburgh.org/events/tree-care-oakland-0 or email me to RSVP David at dzwier@opdc.org for this fun event.
· We will be taking a break from official Green Team meetings for July. The next meeting will be Thursday, August 15.
· Fall is approaching and with it the deadline for next spring’s TreeVitalize application. This fall we expect to plant over 100 trees in the Oakland neighborhoods. This feat would not be possible without the efforts you made to talk to your neighbors, friends, and co-workers, thank you. We want to keep this momentum going; if you’re interested in helping get the word out please email or call me. Let’s put the Oak back in Oakland!
David Zwier
Community Programs Manager
Oakland Planning and Development Corporation (OPDC)
235 Atwood Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Oakland Green Team Monthly Meeting Thur, June 20, 6:00pm – 7:15pm, Oakland Career Center, 294 Semple Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 (Use Louisa St entrance)
The Oakland Green Team seeks to put the “oak” back in Oakland, improving trail connections and creating attractive open spaces. The team will identify, guide and implement greening activities throughout Oakland. They meet the third Thursday each month–all are welcome!
Contact David Zwier at dzwier@opdc.org or 412.621.7863 ext. 14 for more information.
Next meeting to plan for South Oakland Community Day (SOCD)
6PM Monday July 15, 2013, Frazier Fieldhouse, Frazier St and Dawson St,
The festival is scheduled for Saturday September 7, 2013. More details to come.
If you know anyone that is interested in participating/volunteering for various planning, preparation and activities, but cannot attend the meeting, please use the contact page to give us their contact information so we can coordinate and plan for this event. The current subcommittees and general tasks and responsibilities:
- Marketing & Recruitment – Advertising/Media contact, Volunteer recruitment
- Operations & Activities – Event operation planning for games/activities/sports, food/beverage storage/prep/cooking/menu/cups/plates etc, setup & teardown, work with Finance subcommittee on budget.
- Fundraising, Sponsorship & Finance – Plan budget, set funding goals, secure donations, plan fundraisers.
Check out the SOCD Page for more details.
WalkPittsburgh is here!
On Friday, May 10, 2013 the three Southwestern Pennsylvania Transportation Management Associations – Airport Corridor Transportation Association (ACTA), Oakland Transportation Management Association (OTMA) and the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership TMA (PDP) – jointly launched WalkPittsburgh.org, a web-based initiative which aims to reduce the region’s carbon footprint, encourage individuals to stay healthy, and promote safe walking as a commuting alternative.
The fun and easy program allows users to participate by visiting WalkPittsburgh.org to create a user name and password and choose the neighborhood in which they currently reside and/or work. Once registered, participants are able to keep track of steps taken by downloading a free app that turns the user’s iPhone or Android Smartphone into a pedometer which count steps, tracks progress, and uploads the information (identifying you only by neighborhood) to WalkPittsburgh.org. Each time a participant signs in to WalkPittsburgh.org they can see their own private walking profile page, view and compare the progress of surrounding neighborhoods, and see how many gallons of gas has been saved by walking.
Check out their website