Pittsburgh Dish

The novel arrives

The War Streets' Horacio Castellanos Moya's Senselessness hits the shelves

Renown Central American author Horacio Castellanos Moya's 2004 Novel, Senselessness has been published by New Directions and is available for purchase at Amazon.com. The great thing about this edition of the book is that it has been translated into English, a great relief for many North Side residents, including Dish.

His several other novels are widely available in Spanish. Moya is considered one of the strongest voices and best novelists to emerge from Central America.

Moya (pictured), left his home in El Salvador during that country's civil war. Since 1997, he has permanently resided abroad in Mexico City and Germany, among other places, working as a journalist and novelist. In addition to carrying on with his writing as a North Sider, Moya also teaches literature at the University of Pittsburgh.

Moya has resided in Pittsburgh for the last year-and-a-half under the auspices of Cities of Refuge, a program intended to protect artists under siege in their home nations. Locally, the program is run by Henry Reese.

Senselessness traces the ordeal of a not-particularly-sane writer hired by the Catholic Church to edit a 1,100-page report chronicling the torture and murder of peasants by government forces in an unnamed Central American nation.

One reviewer describes the novel as Kafkaesque. Mr. Dish thinks Senselessness is pretty damn funny, absurd, and horrifying (kind of like Kafka's work, eh?). It also features two highly amusing sex scenes (not that Mr. Dish was counting).

If you'd like a copy, head over to the right of this page. Right there. Look a little harder. See the Amazon.com ad for the book? That's it. Click and buy.

Breaking news: Barack Obama garners at least two votes

North Side sources say trend may be irreversible; Dish calls race (in ward 25, at least) for the junior Senator from Illinois

Around 8 a.m., two Central North Side residents entered the polling place at the intersection of Buena Vista Street and Sampsonia Way. They subsequently voted.

When they left, the interviewed themselves.

"I voted for Obama," said the one who called himself Mr. Dish.

"Me, too," said Mrs. Dish. "I also voted for the delegates pledged to him."

With that, they loaded their dog, Shirley the Gentle, into the car and Mrs. Dish dropped Mr. Dish off at work.

Upon returning to the neighborhood, Mrs. Dish took a drive up Buena Vista, across Armandale, and down Monterey before returning home. She saw that there were at least eight signs supporting Obama and just one for Hillary Clinton.

Therefore, Dish calls the Pennsylvania primary election for Barack Obama, projecting a 10-to-1 margin of victory.*

*Statistical projections may be rendered invalid and/or profoundly wrong by virtue of an extraordinarily small sample size, wishful thinking, omission of 99.9 percent of the Commonwealth's electors, poor math skills,
and an inadequate breakfast.

Nuisance bar closed

D.A. pressures owner to shut down

The owners of the Manteca Bar on Monterey Street in the Mexican War Streets has voluntarily closed the establishment. Sources say the bar's owners, Robert and Frances Lunsford, were pressured by District Attorney Steven Zappala to shut down the bar following public outrage and media attention. The Manteca made headlines last month following the fatal shooting of 27-year-old Dion McIntosh. A stray bullet pierced the front door of a neighboring house, where children were inside. McIntosh's killer has not been found.

A nuisance bar task force had been in place and Zone 1 detectives were collecting testimony from neighbors affected by years-long violence emanating from the bar. Police have responded to numerous 911 calls surrounding violence related to the bar.

Sources say Zappala was ready to issue a temporary injunction to force the bar to close but urged the bar's owner to voluntarily shut down so as not to delay a pending liquor license transfer.

Read about the bar's recent history of violence here.

For more information on the closing read crime reporter Jill King Greenwood's story here.

Potluck poetry & art

Bring a dish, dig some art

Dispatch from Beleza Community Coffeehouse in the Mexican War Streets:

This coming Friday, April 4th at 6:30 p.m., we will have our next art opening potluck:

Chronicles: Collages by Richard Schnap

Schnap's simple, thoughtful collages are sometimes social commentary, sometimes simply intriguing. Browse his work here. Come this Friday with food, family and friends to see some new art!

"I use surrealist and pop methodologies to create what I feel are like stills from imaginary films where viewers are encouraged to create their own impressions from the works ranging from the specific to the abstract," said Schnap.

Also, come this week to Beleza to experience a poetry BLITZ! April is National Poetry Month and thus, Beleza has poems covering her walls, tables and trash cans. Stop in and read your heart out.

For more information on our events, go to our website belezacoffee.com

Mayor, cop brass meet with North Siders

A cordial two-hour meeting addresses mounting violence

Friday afternoon, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl, along with Police Chief Nathan Harper and Zone 1 police commander Catherine McNeilly and several other chiefs, commanders and detectives met with about 40 Central North Side residents concerned about the deadly violence that has recently engulfed the neighborhood.

Ravenstahl pledged that the North Side will be the first of Pittsburgh's 90 neighborhoods to receive surveillance cameras purchased with federal grant money. He also announced, in concert with police brass, that Pittsburgh is near to filling all 917 police jobs in the city. At present, there are about 860 police covering Pittsburgh, but the numbers will be bolstered by graduates of two upcoming police academy classes.

An increased number of police, Chief Harper said, will allow each of the city's six police zones to increase the number of foot and bicycle patrols. Police also pledged stepped-up patrols of the North Side in random intervals.

Neighbors, police and Ravenstahl also discussed residents' need to be persistent in notifying police of suspicious activity in their neighborhoods. Any 911 call, said Chief Harper, could provide information needed to solve a case. He also said that District Attorney Stephen Zappala is working on a plan to crack down on street gangs believed to be responsible for most of the recent violence.

Police said that despite frequent and vigorous gunplay on the North Side, Pittsburgh, on the whole, has seen a significant drop in crime. In fact, Chief Harper said, Pittsburgh is the fifth safest city in America.

Ravenstahl had planned to walk through the Manchester and Central North Side neighborhoods along with residents, but the meeting lasted longer than expected.

In related news, reports indicate that Zappala may be ready to enact an emergency injunction in order close down the Manteca Bar, on Monterey Street, where a man was shot dead about two weeks ago. It is unclear if an injunction would interfere with Henry Reese's plans to transform the bar into a cafe.

Postal police sweep North Side

What happens when they leave?

Multiple postal inspector cruisers are saturating the Mexican War Streets this morning searching for leads on the whereabouts of two shooters involved in yesterday's attempted robbery and shooting of a mail carrier on North Taylor Street.

The United States Postal Inspection Service is offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the arrests. Anyone with information is asked to call the U.S. Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455 and select option 5, or contact the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police at 412-323-7151.

Yesterday's hold-up/shooting is the third gun-related crime in the Mexican War Streets in two weeks. Last Saturday, a thug held a gun to a woman's head in front of Beleza Community Coffeehouse on the corner of Jacksonia and Buena Vista streets at about 8 p.m. On March 13, 27-year-old Dion McIntosh was fatally shot in the chest after he and another man left the Manteca Bar on Monterey Street. No arrests have been made in any of the crimes.

Central North Siders want to know what will happen to the neighborhood after the postal cops leave and residents' safety is left to a financially strapped police department. Long-term solutions are being sought.

"It's not the fault of the rank-and-file cops," said a resident this morning. "The city needs to step in and support them. There's only so much they can do on a limited budget."

Many Pittsburghers are urging for the city to introduce a community policing program such as the one implemented by Nick Pastore, former police chief in New Haven, Conn. During his tenure in the 90's, he fostered outreach to the community, assigned officers to walk the beat in troubled neighborhoods rather than cruising by, established connections with civic, church and gang leaders. He also set up police substations headed by local district managers who met with the citizens of their district. His program became the model for police departments nationwide.

It worked. Until a few years ago when New Haven removed the program. Crime's back and citizen's there want community policing returned.

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl and Police Chief Nate Harper have dangled the community policing carrot, but Pittsburghers have yet to get a taste.

More shots fired

Police are responding to multiple shots all around the Central North Side stretching from Oliver High School down to Buena Vista, Armandale and Alpine streets. Shots rang out at around 3 p.m.

More details to come.

Postal worker shot on North Side

A U. S. Postal worker was shot on North Taylor Street in the Mexican War Streets this morning at around 10:30 across the street from Caruso Beer. Witnesses heard four shots and saw two males in puffy coats running down Palo Alto Street toward North Avenue. They were also said to have been wearing brown hooded sweatshirts and are described as being around 5' 2" or 5' 3".

The Postal worker was shot in the hand according to early reports and is expected to be OK.

For more information read Jill King Greenwood's story in the Trib.

Photo by Frank Kownacki

Imagery, not bar, to blame

El Gray, program director for the nonprofit One Vision One Life violence prevention group spoke to a small crowd yesterday at the site of the Central North Side's latest shooting death.

Gray would not focus on the issue of the nearby Manteca bar, rather he blamed violence in the streets, in part, on video games, television and movies.

Photo and reporting by Frank Kownacki

Rally cancelled

Patience counseled in Manteca case

A rally scheduled for this afternoon in front of the Manteca Bar has been cancelled, it was announced this morning. The protest billed as an action to pressure District Attorney Stephen Zappala to issue a temporary injunction against the bar after a fatal shooting last week. Last week, Zappala said he needed more evidence to proceed. The rally was spear-headed by North Side Safe Streets, a neighborhood crime watch group.

Kimberly Flaherty, coordinator of North Side Safe Streets, announced the rally was canceled after she was assured by the District Attorney's office that Zappala has made the injunction a "top priority" this week.

"Therefore, since the gathering tonight was, in large part, to get the DA's attention," Flaherty wrote in an email, "we have decided to cancel tonight's rally."

Several residents are relieved. Many feared race relations would suffer given that many of the protesters are white and the Manteca's patrons are mostly African-American. After the rally was announced last week, opponents warned against possible racial fallout.

Joan Kimmel, a longtime North Side resident and neighborhood activist, urged protesters to call the D.A.'s office instead of carrying signs in front of the bar.

"A large rally will seriously damage our inter-racial relationships for years to come and will not provide a specific solution," Kimmel wrote in an email. "I think this action would be far more effective and far less damaging."

A peace rally organized by One Vision One Life will take place tomorrow at the corner of Monterey and Jacksonia streets from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. The group has held peace events here in the past.

Ribilicious, indeed

Wilson's BBQ remains spectacular

Listen, Dish knows that Wilson's BBQ, at the corner of Buena Vista and N. Taylor in the Mexican War Streets, has been open for a very long time. Dish also knows that many people, including representatives of national, glossy magazines, have written about its meaty charms.

Nevertheless ...

Dish hadn't been by Wilson's in a while and, on Thursday, the Dish pantry was bare (the basic components of food were available, but there was no actual "food"). So, Wilson's. So, pork spareribs.

(Column intermission: Do you know why they're called spareribs? Do you? Well, it's not because they're an "extra" part of the animal. Rather, because they're "spare" in terms of the quantity of meat attached to the bone. It's like this, spare as in not lavish, abundant, or excessive.)

In any event, the ribs themselves were excellent--tender and smoky, largely due to the fruit tree wood Mr. Wilson uses in his hand-built oven. But what makes Wilson's a worthwhile ribbery is the sauce. That hot (very hot) sauce is the perfect blend of heat and flavor. A tomato-based concoction, its heat is enough to engender a bead or two of sweat on the brow, but there's a rich and slightly sweet undercurrent that caresses the not-quite-ignited palate.

In short, Mr. Wilson, you must bottle this stuff. Dish will be back for the ribs, but we'd also truly love to have a gallon of your hot sauce available for coating just about everything we cook at home when the larder is not bare.

A brief history of nuisance

The following are links to incidents surrounding the Manteca bar and attempts to shut it down:

Oct, 12, 2007 Shots fired in front of the bar in broad daylight

Oct. 24, 2007 Judge dismisses code violations against bar

Dec. 19, 2007 Task force forms to take on bar

Jan. 29, 2008 Neighbor announces plans to buy the bar

Feb. 5, 2008 Bar goers caught on tape stealing surveillance cameras

Mar. 13, 2008 Deadly shooting outside bar

Mar. 13, 2008 Judge submits transcript to PLCB in 1995 after murder trial involving bar

Mar. 13, 2008 Bar reopens hours after deadly shooting

Criminal reporting

Post-Gazette not quite right

From yesterday's Post-Gazette about neighbors attempts to shut down the Manteca bar:

"The bar has drawn the attention of the city's Nuisance Bar Task Force in the past, but crime in the area seemed to slow after a nonfatal stabbing about a year ago, police and residents said."

In a story with as many holes in it as the front door of the Manteca bar once had, yesterday's story by Wade Malcolm and Moriah Balingit boldly stated--with minimal attribution--that crime in the area has ebbed within the last year.

Au contraire, cub reporters.

If in the area you mean within blocks of the Manteca, there was this, this, this and these.

Sounds like paradise.

Business as usual

Manteca mourns Wednesday night death by opening Thursday afternoon. Discuss.

A history of violence at the Manteca

"I don't understand why that bar's still operating."- Judge  David R. Cashman, 1995

Brian O'Neill, North Side resident and esteemed columnist for the Post-Gazette, penned this story about another murder at the Manteca. It was published in the P-G on Jan. 16, 1995.

Punishment Should be Shared

Noble Hamlett, 72, and receiving chemotherapy for colon cancer, isn't getting much sleep these days.

"You have that on your mind constantly, all the time," he says. "You couldn't get no regular sleep."
It isn't his sickness that keeps Hamlett awake, though. It's the thought of going to jail.

Common Pleas Judge David R. Cashman sentenced Hamlett last week to a one year less one day to two years less two days. That's for involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of Kim Thrower 13 months ago. Hamlett could serve the time in the Allegheny County Jail.

Hamlett stood on his Central North Side stoop and fired eight shots from a small pistol in the early morning hours of Dec. 18, 1993. He hit three people. The outburst came only after one of Thrower's companions smashed both Hamlett's windows and another threw a bottle at the old man's head, drawing blood.

Meantime, a third man -- an 18-year-old who had accidentally shot Thrower in the leg in the Montego [Manteca] Bar next door, setting this chain of events in motion -- was firing a 9-millimeter pistol into the air.

Nobody was charged with anything but Hamlett.

The jury found him not guilty of two charges of assault against the men he wounded. But, following Cashman's direction, the jury would not let him walk for shooting Thrower.

"There was never any evidence (Thrower) did anything other than sit on his stoop," Cashman said.

"She is the totally innocent bystander ... You've got a 25-year-old mother of five who shouldn't be dead and you've got a 72-year-old man who shouldn't be attacked by a belligerent drunk.

"It's a tragic case any way you look at it," the judge said.

Hamlett, out on bail for the past year and living in another part of the city, can only hope his attorney, Ann Simms, can find the right words to keep him from going back to jail.

House arrest ought to be enough for this frail man who had never been in trouble with the law before. Judge Cashman sounds like a man who would like to cut Hamlett a break, but he needs a reason.

"Give me the proof the medical condition exists," he told me. "That may be a good enough reason."

Simms included a letter from his treating physician in her petition to modify the sentence, submitted Friday. The doctor says Hamlett's health would be endangered in jail, where the mass of people greatly increases the risk of infection.

Society would get no benefit from sending this man to jail. He should not have gone back to his stoop to shoot at people in the street. He went too far. He shot an unarmed, wounded, drunken woman. But Hamlett still seems less responsible for Thrower's death than others that night.

Hamlett might simply have gone to bed after decorating his Christmas tree, but he was frightened and humiliated into reckless actions.

If an 18-year-old hadn't been in the Montego Bar, drunkenly brandishing a gun; if someone in the bar had called 911 rather than banishing the wounded Thrower and her companions to the street, nobody ever would have heard of Noble Hamlett.

"You can put the whole responsibility for this sad tale right at the feet of that bar," Cashman said.

He has ordered a transcript of the trial to be sent to the Liquor Control Board and the State Police.

"I don't understand why that bar's still operating."

It's still in the neighborhood and Hamlett's across town, back with the family he tried to protect with his gun. He was the only man in the house that night when 6- and 7-year-old children slept upstairs. He was in jail a few nights later when some slimebucket shot up the house with an assault rifle.

Nobody was hurt. Nobody was charged for that shooting.

Deadly shooting outside nuisance bar

One dead, one injured at a bar the city won't close

Photos by Frank Kownacki and Sarah Higgins. Click photos for larger views

The Den of Violence otherwise known as the Manteca Bar on Monterey Street was the site of another shooting last night. This one ended with a bloody sheet left in the middle of Jacksonia Street.

27-year-old Dion McIntosh was fatally shot in the chest after he and another man left the bar. McIntosh was pronounced dead at the scene and the other victim, his brother, was taken to the hospital and is listed in stable condition.

The shooter fired from across Monterey Street, where multiple shell casings were found on the sidewalk. A home and a building owned by the Mattress Factory on the corner of Monterey and Jacksonia were hit but no injuries were reported. Neighbors said the shots sounded like "a cannon."

In January, North Side resident Henry Reese, co-founder of  City of Asylum/Pittsburgh announced plans to purchase the bar and turn it and a neighboring building into a performance space and cafe, but the bar has remained open despite years of pleas from the neighborhood to shut it down. A nuisance bar task force had been in place and Zone 1 detectives were collecting testimony from neighbors affected by violence emanating from the bar. Zone 1 Police Commander Catherine McNeilly reported last December that the Nuisance Bar Task Force inspection turned up very little "police-related" activity.

Last October, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's 311 Response Center coordinator Wendy Urbanic reported that Housing Court Judge Kevin Cooper quashed the Bureau of Building Inspection's attempt to close it.

Police are asking anyone with information about the shooting to contact the Homicide Squad at 412-323-7161.

Call these numbers to pressure the city and state to close down the bar:

Nuisance Bar Hotline - 412-323-7777
Tonya Payne, city council member - 412-255-2134
Mayor's office - 412-255-2626
PGH enforcement office of PA Liquor Control Board - 412-548-2050
311

Shots fired on North Side

Multiple shots were fired at around 11:15 p.m. on Monterey Street on the North Side. Police units responded within minutes of the shooting near or inside the Manteca Bar.

"There are shell casings right outside my door and my house is part of the crime scene," a neighbor said. She was sitting in her living room when she heard the shots.

911 was flooded with calls seconds after the shooting.

Police Chief Nate Harper is at the scene where a crowd of about 40 people has gathered. Two flatbeds trucks from McGann & Chester, a towing agency contracted by the city to remove vehicles involved in major crimes, are at the scene. The medical examiner arrived with two vans at around 12:15 p.m.

The shots may signal the end of a cease-fire brokered between gang members in February.

More details in the morning.

Neighborhood fixture moving

Movie Bob now Philly Bob

Dish has got to thinking
That something’s really stinking.
Movie Bob is leaving?
The War Streets are a-grieving.
So let’s send our old pal off with a night of drinking.

Yes, everyone’s favorite mustachioed film aficionado and crossword votary (how's that lexeme, Bob?) is leaving the friendly confines of the War Streets for some kind of job in Philadelphia. He’s says the move might be temporary and he’s holding onto his house and claims he’ll be back often, but whatever. Assemble at the Monterey Pub at 9:30 p.m., Saturday, March 8, to buy him multiple IC Lights for the road.

Illustration by Dan Wintermantel. Captions are welcome.

Mattress Factory cafe reopens

Noted chef heads up museum eatery

On Feb. 21, the Mattress Factory will host a grand opening of the BoxSpring Café, formally the Coca Cafe. Located in the lobby of the museum’s main building at 500 Sampsonia Way, the BoxSpring Café will offer selections created by chef Rich Rosenthal of M Catering. The vegetarian-friendly menu includes soups, salads, sandwiches, specialty entrées and flatbread pizza. Outdoor seating is available (weather permitting).

Rich launched his career at the The Carlton, and soon became a managing chef at Café Azure.

The BoxSpring Café Grand Opening party will be held on Thursday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. Selections from the Spring menu will be available as well as live acoustic entertainment and complementary wine. Admission is $10.00 ($5.00 for members/students). For more information and to download the BoxSpring menu in PDF format, visit the Mattress Factory website.

Say cheese, chump

Man caught on camera stealing camera

Three men, possibly peeved over the sale of the infamous Manteca bar, were caught stealing a surveillance camera mounted to a house across the street. On Jan. 24 at around 2 a.m one of the men shimmied up a utility pole and yanked down the camera seconds after his big close up.

The other two men appear on tape as if they were lookouts (video 1).

The robbery victim found one camera on the ground the next day. The other camera has not been found.

"On the tape [video 2] you can see they kept looking out the bar door and watching my house for two hours," the victim said. "A while after I turned off the lights my dog started barking. After I watched the tape I saw what happened."

The victim reported the incident to the police who took a report by phone.

The incident occurred within days of the LCB liquor license-transfer notice posted on the front of the bar. The troubled bar will be turned into a cafe and performance space.

Manteca sale on again

Reese releases plan to neighbors

Photos by Frank Kownacki

North Side resident Henry Reese, co-founder of the City of Asylum/Pittsburgh, is expected to finally purchase the troubled Manteca bar located at 1410 Monterey St. in the Mexican War Streets. Reese, a Sampsonia Way resident, balked at purchasing the property last year, leaving neighbors frustrated. A nusiance bar task force has been in place and Zone 1 detectives were collecting testimonies from neighbors affected by violence emanating from the bar.

Reese declared his future intentions for the Manteca and an adjacent building in a letter that he slipped through Monterey mail slots yesterday. The letter, along with a liquor license application posted on the front of the bar, affirms the impending demise of the sometimes violent bar. Update 3/13/08: Shots fired outside the bar

He thanked residents for their patience in the never-ending waiting game.

He calls his newly formed limited liability corporation "Ripen" a name chosen in the "hope that it can spur a surge of good things on the transformation of the Monterey Jacksonia corner begun by the Mattress Factory." The MF is located around the corner from the bar on Sampsonia Way, next to many City of Asylum owned properties that were rehabbed for visiting writers. The MF owns a building on the corner of Jacksonia and Monterey that is used for gallery space.

It is also the spot of a drive-by shooting last summer where the intended victim was seen running into the Manteca.

Reese plans to "create a complex with a bar-restaurant-bookstore and literary related activities." He will establish a "space for poetry, fiction readings, intimate theatre, small scale music and workshop spaces, etc."

His personal goal is to form a place "where all have access to ongoing cultural activity that can inspire and change lives." Reese also hopes to create a source of income to continue the City of Asylum project.

Details still being worked out, Reese wrote. No project schedules are in place at this time. Earlier, Reese purchased two properties north of the Manteca to be used as parking for Ripe. The homes were destroyed, upsetting some neighbors who say that city zoning regulations prohibit the property from being used for parking.

Update 3/13/08:Shots fired outside the bar and how city and state official's ignored a judge's warnings about the bar 13 years ago.

Scoop du Jour: Beleza & the Benedum

Art, food on stage

ART OPENING POTLUCK for Assemblages, this Friday, Jan. 18 from 6:30 to 10p.m. at Beleza Community Coffeehouse (1501 Buena Vista, North Side, 412-321-4210).

Assemblages will feature works from our neighborhood's very own Nathan Nissim, an avid collector-turned-artist who creates unique and often humorous assemblages from anything and everything. For those unfamiliar with the term, Wikipedia explains that "Assemblage is an artistic process in which a three-dimensional artistic composition is made from putting together found objects. Assemblage is the 3-dimensional cousin of collage." These pieces combine new and old, tacky and beautiful, strange and common; ultimately composing intriguing little works of art.

Bring food, friends and family and check out some great local art!

Read about Nissim here and here.

................................................................................................................................................................

Muriel’s restaurant (856 Western Ave., Allegheny West, 412-322-0476) will host their first Dinner & Theater event on Wednesday, Jan. 30, for "The Lion King" at the Benedum.
This package is less than the cost of an individual ticket. Check out the seating chart.

$125.00 per ticket will include:
1. Ticket to the show.
2. House salad
3. Choice of any entrée on the menu.
4. Coffee/tea Service.
5. No corkage fee.
6. Limousine to the Benedum
7. Pick Up after the show.
8. Coffee and dessert at Muriel's après theater.
9. All taxes and gratuities

The following seats are available…….
EE 21, 23(Sold)
FF 21, 23 (Sold)
H 101 (Sold), 102 (Sold), 103 (Sold), 104 (Sold), 105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110
M 113, 114, 115,116
P 115, 116

The tickets for this event must be pre-paid by cash or credit card when they are ordered. Muriel's will accept your phone order. Send Muriel’s an email with your phone number if interested.

Also, Muriel's delivers lunch to several North Side neighborhoods. Visit their website for details.

Be careful out there

Man robbed at gunpoint on Drovers Way

Photo by Frank Kownacki

Around 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 3, a man was robbed at gunpoint by two men in hooded jackets or sweatshirts. Though police responded, the man declined to file a formal complaint. He did give police a description of the event.

A little more than a week prior to the above incident, another man, employed by a local contractor, was likewise robbed at gunpoint by two men in a car near the intersection of Drovers Way and N. Taylor Street. He had been returning from Rite Aid.

On a date between these two robberies, a car parked on a nearby segment of Sampsonia Way was broken into. The radio was stolen and a screwdriver was left behind, shoved into the ignition.

Building may be saved from wrecking ball

City panel OKs structure for historic status

Photo below by Sarah Higgins. Click image for larger view.

Yesterday the Historic Review Commission of Pittsburgh (HRC) made a preliminary determination that the nomination of the Malta Temple Building at 100 W. North Avenue for city-designated historic structure status is "relevant" and not "frivolous."

The nomination means the building is protected from the intended demolition that the Salvation Army wished to carry out in order to build a new social service facility on W. North Avenue. The building will continue in the process in order to be declared a historic landmark.

The Mexican War Streets society nominated the building for historic status.

"The building is a landmark in the historic commercial corridor of North Avenue and Federal Street. The building was constructed in 1927 to be the social and meeting hall of the fraternal society Ancient & Illustrious Order of the Knights of Malta. Akin to the Freemasons, this organization was founded on Christian values and service.

The first floor was built for retail. The Salvation Army blocked in the plate glass windows after taking ownership in 1973. The fraternal society occupied the second and third floors.

"The Great Depression was hard on many social service and fraternal groups whose membership could not support the mortgage and operation costs. The organizations merged, consolidated or folded around the time of WWII,” said local historian David McMunn and member of the Mexican War Streets Society.

The North Side had a whole host of such groups--the Free and Accepted Masons (Masonic Hall next door, pictured left), the Loyal Order of Moose (vacant lot next to Light of Life), the Elks (still holding Lodge at 400 Cedar Ave.), the Independent Order of Odd Fellows (now the Letter Carriers Union Hall on Brighton Road), the Knights of Pythias (mid-block on E. Ohio Street), the Knights of Columbus (now The Parador B&B), the YMCA (still in operation) and the Salvation Army (still in operation).

When hard-work-ethic middle class men came home from the mill, the office, the bank, the shop, and then they spent more time in fellowship with club brothers or serving the less fortunate in a whole host of service opportunities, said McMunn.

Contrary to what the Salvation Army’s lawyer called a "smokescreen" for forcing out the group, McMunn stressed that the Mexican War Streets Society is not against the Salvation Army or its ministry.

"We are not forcing the Salvation Army out of this block or prohibiting construction or renovation of this block,” said McMunn. “We see the structure as a principal landmark in a whole row of buildings and wish that the Salvation Army will incorporate the historic building into its new construction plans. The Salvation Army owns 104 (Acme Window Cleaning Co.) and 110 (vacant lot) on W. North Avenue. We see no loss in the 104 W. North property for demolition, even though it is older and may be historic as well."

This is all about living in and appreciating the historic and historied neighborhood, added McMunn.

"In the 1960s, we lost way too much in the name of "renewal" and "forward thinking,"” said McMunn. “Most North Siders never wish to see that happen any time soon.”

Nuisance Bar Task Force to meet

More on the Manteca

The Nuisance Bar Task Force will meet Friday, Dec. 21, to discuss the status of the Manteca, the troubling bar located at 1410 Monterey St.

Zone 1 Police Commander Catherine McNeilly, whose officers cover the North Side, will be in attendance along with representatives from the city Bureau of Building Inspection, narcotics and vice officers, and Liquor Control Enforcement.

The meeting is not open to the public, McNeilly says. McNeilly reports that the latest Nuisance Bar Task Force inspection turned up very little "police-related" activity, but that building and fire inspectors may have found possible violations.

In October, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl's 311 Response Center coordinator Wendy Urbanic repored that Housing Court Judge Kevin Cooper quashed the Bureau of Building Inspection's attempt to shut down the bar.

Look to Dish over the next couple of weeks for more details on the city's new tack. And, in the meantime, keep calling the cops, Liquor Control Board, the 311 line, etc. each time something untoward happens related to the Manteca.

Nuisance Bar Hotline - 412-323-7777
Tonya Payne, city council member - Telephone: 412-255-2134
Mayor's office ­ 412-255-2626
PGH enforcement office of PA Liquor Control Board - 412-548-2050
Allegheny County Health Dept ­ 412-687-ACHD
Honorable Kevin E. Cooper, 566 Bruston Ave., 15208, 412-241-1165

You're invited

House party to showcase local musicians

The War Streets own Susanne Ortner & Tom Roberts

In concert playing a unique fusion of Klezmer clarinet & Harlem piano

At a House Party

1222 Resaca Place (North Side)

Phone: 412-321-4081

BYOB

Saturday Dec 29th

Party begins at 7 pm, with music from 8 to 10 p.m.

TICKETS: $10.00 per person/ Checks only!!!

Intensity, virtuosity and an instinctive sense of style characterize the artistic dialogue between the German clarinetist Susanne Ortner and the American pianist Tom Roberts.

Susanne Ortner is widely acclaimed in Germany, Israel, and Switzerland both as a soloist and as a member of the German Klezmer Quartett "Sing Your Soul." Her expressive interpretation of Klezmer music is noted for its authenticity, depth, beauty, and warmth. Besides her artistry in klezmer, Susanne is a well-known jazz musician in Germany and performs classical music both as a soloist and as a member of several ensembles. In November 2006 Susanne arranged and performed the music to "Mazelâ", an Amy Hartman play commissioned by the Jewish Theatre of Pittsburgh to tell the story of Holocaust survivor Jack Sittsamer.

Tom Roberts is one of the leading exponents of early jazz piano in the world today. Ricardo Sciavales named Tom as one of the top stride pianists in his recent book, The Heart and Soul of Stride, Blues, and Swing Piano. He has arranged music for the syndicated PRI show Riverwalk Jazz, Live from the Landing with the Jim Cullum Jazz Band, as well as a number of pieces for Wynton Marsalis and The Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra for a concert of the music of Louis Armstrong in October 2006. He arranged and performed the music for the soundtrack of Martin Scorsese's film The Aviator, as well as several titles for the film DeLovely.

Salvation Army drops church plans

Neighborhood breathes sigh of relief

The Salvation Army has withdrawn its plans to buy the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church on the North Side.

The announcement was made in front of a standing-room crowd last night at a Central Northside Neighborhood Council special meeting. Many clapped as they feel the North Side is already saturated with homeless programs.

The decision was published in the church bulletin earlier this month, a surprise to many at the meeting. The bulletin stated their decision was influenced by “untruthful statements” by neighborhood groups but the reason cited at the meeting last night was quite different.

Claudia Keyes, president of the CNNC said the agency backed out on the advice of program architects who said the church would require an addition that wouldn't be cost effective.

Instead, the SA will demolish its existing drop-in center at 100-104 W. North Ave. and build a new center. Keyes said the new building will not offer food or shelter, only Bible study, pre-school and programs for the elderly. Keyes said the SA “wants to transfer all homeless services off the North Side in 18 months.”

David Bugher, Executive Director of the Light of Life mission cautioned the crowd of feeling too relieved. “When they stop services there will be more people out on the streets,” said Bugher, a North Side resident.

He advised the crowd to stay engaged in the homeless issue and “demand that political leaders be involved as well.” He said he’s met resistance when he tried to move his agency’s meal program off the North Side.

“Require the mayor to be involved,” said Bugher.” “This is not over.”

Homeless issue on hot seat tonight

Salvation Army may back out; group still ready to rumble

The North Side Neighborhood Coalition (NSNC), a neighborhood group headed by North Side resident Paul Carson, plans to present a petition at tonight's Central Northside Neighborhood Council meeting tonight in opposition to the Salvation Army's proposed purchase of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church on North Avenue.

Since its recent formation, the NSNC has endeavored to organize neighbors opposed to the possibility of the Salvation Army offering services for the homeless at the church site. Residents who have signed the petition fear more services will impede development on North Avenue.

However, sources said today that the Salvation Army has decided to back out of the proposed $1.7 million deal with the church.

Tonight's meeting will focus on the fate of an agreement that has been drafted regarding the proposed purchase of the Greek Church by the Salvation Army. Though the church has not publically revealed its plans for the church, the NSNC is ready to fight.

Carson hopes to prevent the move using zoning laws, but some have said this approach can be interpreted as a NIMBY defense. The group has publicly stated its opposition against attracting more homeless to the residential area.

Meeting details: 7:00 p.m. at 1310 Arch Court.

Salvation Army says no homeless services at church

Army leader won’t commit in writing

Photo by Frank Kownacki

At last night’s community meeting regarding the Salvation Army’s plans for the soon-to-be-vacated Greek Orthodox Church, an Army representative said the organization plans to use the building for worship and social community services such as after school programs, bible study, etc -i.e. as a church.

However, a Mexican War Streets resident’s request that the Army pledge, in writing, to not use the facility for homeless services now provided from their building on North Avenue, nearer Federal Street—including food services, laundry and showering facilities—was not embraced.

The Salvation Army representative said he had made such a commitment in an e-mail, but the resident was looking for a more formal agreement written on Salvation Army letterhead and signed by Salvation Army leaders.

Assuming that the current leader of the North Side chapter of the Army has no plans to offer services to the homeless from the Greek church building, such a promise cannot be relied upon, as chapters change leaders every three years. A new leader may have different ideas regarding the proper use of the church building. Also, the Army seems dissatisfied with its current building, a situation that may incline Army leaders to opt to move homeless services to the church.

Another element of this is zoning and variances. It is unclear if the church site is zoned to permit the use of the church building for homeless services without going through city and/or legal hurdles. Any proposed zoning change can be opposed by neighborhood residents. There is widespread local concern that any addition of homeless services to North Avenue will have a negative impact on the Central North Side community.

Area residents as individuals and the Central North Side Neighborhood Council are encouraged to argue against adding another facility for the homeless to a neighborhood that already has two shelters.

Representatives from the Salvation Army will be meeting with the North Side’s city council member Tonya Payne on Thursday. Payne is also the Chairperson for the Committee on Planning, Zoning and Land Use. Her office phone number is 412-255-2134. Call to (nicely) express your views and opinions on the future use of the Greek Church's building.

Hey, asshat, that’s my Bobcat

Local moron swipes construction device

Photos by Frank Kownacki

A Skid Loader Super Boom Turbo construction device, commonly known as a Bobcat, was absconded with from the site of a Mexican War Streets home construction project. The Bobcat, which can be used in the manner of a front loader or forklift, was misappropriated around 7 p.m. Tuesday.

The thief didn’t get very far very fast. Despite the fancy, powerful-sounding name, the Bobcat’s (or, rather, the Skid Loader Super Boom Turbo’s) peak speed is approximately 5 m.p.h.

Upon discovering that his Bobcat has been removed without authorization, the equipment’s owner hopped into his pickup truck, found the Bobcat as it was being driven away, and called 911. He was told nothing could be done to assist him in the recovery of the Bobcat. “But it’s a $30,000 piece of equipment,” he responded. The dispatcher was not swayed.

He called the state police, still pursuing the Bobcat thief. Not their jurisdiction, he was told. State police connected him with a police station in Squirrel Hill. The dispatcher told him that though amusing (in an O.J. Simpson/Al Cowlings/White Ford Bronco sort of way), the situation could not be remedied by officers at his station.

Finally, after minutes of not-so-hot pursuit up Perrysville Avenue, the owner and friend located police vehicles near the Woods Run library branch. The law enforcement officers, notified of the crime in progress, sprung into action, surrounding the misused construction equipment and its driver. The driver and a companion were then arrested. The Bobcat was recovered and put back to work.

Photo: The Bobcat in happier times. Man in photo not said moron.

Mayor no show, again

Who's missing from this photo?

Photos by Frank Kownacki

More than 60 people attended a meeting at the New Hazlett Theatre on the North Side Tuesday night with numerous representatives of city government to discuss the concerns of residents.

Mayor Ravenstahl, though slated to attend, did not show. He was in Bloomfield, according to one of his representatives. This was the third meeting on the North Side (the mayor's neighborhood) that he failed to attend.

The meeting, sponsored by Pittsburgh City Councilwoman Tonya D. Payne, was titled "Keeping our Priorities in Order." Payne represents District 6, which includes the North Side and Hill District communities.

City representatives included various police department officials, a fire department chief and Pittsburgh school board member, the Executive Director of the Urban Redevelopment Authority and the Housing Authority for the City of Pittsburgh. In addition, the departments of public works, city bureau of building inspection and representatives from the Mayor's office and Allegheny County District Attorney's Office were in attendance.

Payne said the meeting was part of a campaign promise she made to hold community forums with each of the neighborhoods she represents. She passed out spreadsheets showing the number of calls to the Mayor's 311 response line for the areas she represents and the topics covered by those calls. Some of the main concerns raised during the meeting were the number of homeless people living in and around West Park and the elementary schools in that area, gun violence in the neighborhoods, building and zoning code violations.

Questions and concerns were raised by residents of the Mexican War Streets, Allegheny West, Fineview, Perry South, Perry Hilltop, Central North Side, the North Charles Street area and others.

Mary Fleming of the city's Bureau of Building Inspection said the office has received 1,041 complaints so far this year. Of those, 500 concerned building code violations; 438 involved overgrown lots; 40 were for abandoned or junked vehicles; 29 involved illegal dumping; 11 were for graffiti and vandalism and 23 for bad sidewalks. Fleming said 60 percent of those complaints have been resolved, and her department handed out an additional 610 citations for other violations while out investigating those called in to the office.

Payne said a meeting will be held at a date and time that is to be announced to discuss the plans of a developer to open a strip club near the Majestic Star Casino on the North Side. She said the meeting will be public and held at the offices of the Pittsburgh Planning Commission.

Claudia Keyes of the Central Northside Neighborhood Council, encouraged residents to support the programs at Jefferson Recreation Center to give positive activities to children in the area.

Mark Brentley, school board representative for District 8 - which includes the North Side -- said he will discuss with school officials and school district police about the concerns of residents regarding the number of homeless people living near the elementary schools along West Park and monopolizing the facilites and playgrounds meant for students and children living in the area.

Brentley also said he recognizes that there are far fewer school recreational sports and other programs for youth today than existed when his generation was growing up.

Not dead yet

The Manteca gets a reprieve

Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s 311 Response Center coordinator Wendy Urbanic reports that Housing Court Judge Kevin Cooper has quashed the Bureau of Building Inspection’s attempt to shut down the rattletrap den of violence (Dish’s description, not Urbanic’s) known as the Manteca Bar, 1410 Monterey St.

As yet, Dish has been unable to uncover Cooper’s rationale, but it has been told by Urbanic that the city has other plans in the works to shutter the Worst Bar on the North Side.

“Bad news. . . apparently the Housing Court judge (Kevin Cooper) dismissed the charges. .. .. we have to start back at square 1.  In the meantime, we are trying to approach this from a different angle.  I cannot mention it yet, but by next week I should be able to tell you something,” Urbanic emailed Dish.

So, look to Dish next week for more details on the city’s new tack. And, in the meantime, keep calling the cops, Liquor Control Board, the 311 line, etc. each time something untoward happens related to the Manteca.

Nuisance Bar Hotline - 412-323-7777
Tonya Payne - Telephone: 412-255-2134
Mayor’s office – 412-255-2626
PGH enforcement office of PA Liquor Control Board - 412-548-2050
Algh County Health Dept – 412-687-ACHD
Honorable Kevin E. Cooper, 566 Bruston Ave., 15208, 412-241-1165

Breaking News: You guessed it

Six to nine gunshots were fired today at 1:52 p.m. on Armandale Street between Buena Vista and Monterey in the Mexican War Streets. Police responded. No injuries were reported. More details to come. Hopefully.

Safe Streets?