Articles

Letter to the Editor...Where are the beautiful people that used to live in Hill District?

Category: Opinion Published on Wednesday, 25 November 2009 10:12 Written by Courier Newsroom

When the New Pittsburgh Courier comes out once a week you see so many Afro-Americans that at one time you could see them in the Hill District on different streets, also in the Centre Avenue business district. Where are they now?

One place that you find a good many of them on Sunday is in the churches in the Hill District or in the Pittsburgh Courier smiling and looking beautiful on Lifestyles or special articles on men and women doing well in our society in the city of Pittsburgh.

But, what about our business district in the Hill District?

Go down Centre Avenue that once was Fullerton Street to Wylie Avenue and down to Sixth Avenue and Court Place; now what do you see? On the right hand side you see the Mellon Arena and on the left hand side you see the new Console Arena. Next to that a new 142-room hotel. All this on Centre Avenue, but what about coming up Centre Avenue to Kirkpatrick Street? What do you see?

This is supposed to the Afro-American business district like other neighborhoods have. We have more empty lots than businesses. Yes, we complain, yes, we march, but big business can’t hear us. Why? Because you need people with big money to back you. That is why everything is a slow process in the Hill. Everything is promised, but as you can see, nothing is done.

I want to congratulate our new city councilman Daniel Lavelle on his four-year term on city council and representing the Hill District. I know that you have the North Shore and Downtown to represent, but for once put the Hill District on your agenda. Our needs are far greater for our business district on Centre Avenue.

To all our beautiful people and business men and women, let’s try and find big money people that can back up our young entrepreneurs that want to open up businesses on Centre Avenue to sell and show off their wares. Also to eliminate all these empty lots.