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What We Do:
- Block
Watch
- Citizens Patrol
- Commercial Development
- Education Committee
- Long Range Planning
- Litter Patrol
- Parks & Open Spaces
- Residential Quality
- Urban Forest
Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition
5604 Solway Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15217
Telephone:
412.422.7666
FAX:412.422.8802
Email:info@shuc.org
Litter Patrol Steering Committee
Bicky Goldszer, Chair
bickylouinpgh@aol.com
412-521-2542
Barbara Grover
Groverbd5@comcast.net
412-521-9526
Ceci Sommers
somehow@aol.com
Peter Dworkin
peterdworkin@hotmail.com
Ann Rose
No email
Marsha Fuge
mfuge@fcbanking.com
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Click HERE to check out pictures from the 2009 Fall Redd-Up!
2009 Fall Redd-Up Recap
by Michael Jehn
The Squirrel Hill fall community cleanup, held on October 18th, was a successful and well-attended event despite the air's sharp autumn bite. 150 or more individuals participated in the event, including 43 people who signed up at the check-in table, around 90 individuals who volunteered as part of a registered group, and about 15 other volunteers who manned the tables, offering supplies and refreshments to everyone working so hard on a Sunday morning for the improvement of their neighborhood. The event, coordinated by the Squirrel Hill Litter Patrol—a subset of the Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition sponsored by the United Jewish Federation— was just one component of a larger, ongoing citywide effort to improve the physical well being and appearance of our neighborhoods. This particular cleanup, the second one held in our community this year, emphasized the neighborhood coalition between Squirrel Hill and Homewood. (Thanks very much to the Homewood residents who lent a hand on October 18th!)
As with past cleanup efforts, this event was designed not only to engage volunteers in a one-time sweep of their neighborhood, but to educate Squirrel Hill residents about the importance of taking responsibility for their streets, yards, parks, sidewalks, and other shared spaces. Ultimately, the Squirrel Hill Litter Patrol hopes to recruit more volunteers to make long-term cleanup commitments. The importance of organized community events such as this one must not be
underestimated, but the greater mission of recruiting citizens for regular, active volunteerism must not be neglected either. The Litter Patrol hopes that more individuals will take the time to occasionally monitor their immediate areas, no matter how small: the parking lot of an apartment building, a single front yard, a seventy-foot stretch of sidewalk, or simply one block’s length of street front. It is crucial that we teach our youth to embrace their communities, helping them to recognize and value the empowerment and sense of purpose that sharing
responsibility for those communities—including their cleanliness and appearance—can bring to our youth as individual citizens and to the communities themselves.
The Squirrel Hill Litter Patrol would like to thank the following groups and schools that participated in the fall cleanup:
- Academy Systems
- AmeriCorps
- Beth Shalom Synagogue (especially Rabbi Werbow and Sunday School teacher Carol Beth Yoffee)
- Colfax
- Community Day School (especially Mr. Lin St. Clair)
- Hillel Academy
- Linden Elementary
- Pittsburgh Job Corps Center
We would also like to thank those who sponsored the event: Dunkin’ Donuts, First Commonwealth Bank, Giant Eagle, and Congressman Mike Doyle.
Check out:
Upcoming Events:
If you’re interested in joining the attack on litter in our neighborhood,
contact: Bicky Goldszer at 412-422-7666 or fill out the volunteer
form to get your own litter beat.
Committee Chairman: Bicky Goldszer
*NEWS*
Squirrel Hill Litter Patrol members receiving their Bob Award March 19, 2009 . From left to right:Bicky Goldszer, Judy O’Connor,and Barb Grover. Judy O’Connor is Honorary Chair in the Redd Up effort that honors her late husband. Steel Valley Authority Grant May 2008
In May 2008, the Squirrel Hill Litter Patrol under the auspices of The Squirrel Hill Urban Coalition received a $7500 grant for Community and Economic Development from the Steel Valley Authority through Senator Jay Costa’s office. The grant proposal focused on three areas related to public safety, public health, crime prevention, and enhancing economic development in our local community.
Litter Clean Up:
We have about 25 regular volunteers who periodically (daily or weekly or somewhere in-between) pick up litter on various streets in the Squirrel Hill area. We also sponsor two Community Redd Ups each year. Minimizing litter helps environmentally because little or no litter flows into the storm drains and into our watersheds. Litter can become a hazard to wildlife and their habitats at these watersheds. In addition, our volunteers provide extra sets of eyes to maintain a safe neighborhood. As they patrol the streets on a regular basis, they observe activities (e.g., business vehicles parked for extended periods of time in one place, stray dogs wandering the streets) and possible violations of city codes (e.g., lack of trash pick up at an apartment building, dumpsters overflowing with refuse, accident debris on the roads). Calls to 9-1-1 or 3-1-1 alert authorities to these situations. The Grant allowed us to continue our Litter Clean Up work by funding the purchase of additional equipment, recruitment of additional volunteers, and building the capacity of the local community to sustain these efforts.
Cigarette Butts:
The Grant also provided the opportunity to continue our efforts to minimize litter from cigarette butts. We purchased 20 new cigarette butt receptacles and installed them throughout the business district. The Grant also provided funds to employ someone to regularly clean out these receptacles. We expect these efforts to enhance our relationship with the merchants and motivate them to be more active in maintaining a clean and litter-free environment that will attract additional customers and enhance local economic conditions.
Neighborhood Block Watch and National Light-up Night:
The Grant funds allowed us to continue our efforts with respect to safety in the community. The BlockWatch and National Light-up Night activities are designed to: 1) heighten awareness of crime and drug prevention; 2) strengthen neighborhood spirit and police/community partnerships; 3) and send a message to criminals letting them know that neighborhoods are organized and fighting back. Neighborhood Block Watches and National Light Up Night have proven to be an effective, inexpensive and enjoyable program that promotes neighborhood involvement and police-community partnerships in our fight for a safer community. These features make Squirrel Hill an appealing place to live and work and contribute to its economic development.
Banner Found!
Thanks to all who offered help in finding our banner. It was found and you will see it unfurled shortly on the Murray side of the Library publicizing our Fall Redd Up October 18.
Schools That Participated in the Fall 2008 Redd Up Events:
Colfax Elementary School
2332 Beechwood Blvd.
Pittsburgh, PA 15217
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Community Day School
2464 Forward Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15217
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Ellis Middle School
6425 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15206 |
Hillel Academy
5685 Beacon St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15217 |
Linden Elementary School
725 South Linden Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15208 |
Minadeo Elementary School
6502 Lilac St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15217 |
St. Edmunds Academy
5705 Darlington St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15217 |
Sterrett Classical Academy
7100 Reynolds St.
Pittsburgh, PA 15217 |
Taylor Allderdice High School
2409 Shady Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15217 |
Yeshiva Girls School
6401 Forbes Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15217 |
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