Friday, July 11, 2014

Help Restore the Randyland Map on the North Side, Kickstarter Campain Til July 22, 2014


Randy Gilson is a great person who has done a tremendous amount to beautify the North Side for over 18 years! Help him renovate the North Side map on the Randyland Building!

This year, I'd like to focus on refreshing and restoring the map of the Northside on the Jacksonia Street face of the Randyland yellow building. 
This is one of the main attractions of the building and it has become outdated and has been worn down and beaten by the weather. Many of the labels have faded or peeled off. Much of the paint has worn off and many other pieces and markers have been lost. 


https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1406090564/randyland-northside-map-restoration

 
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1406090564/randyland-northside-map-restoration
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Eyes on Pittsburgh
Formerly the Pittsburgh Art Blog, Eyes on Pittsburgh focuses on cultural aspects of the region, including visual and performing arts, as well as locavore, development and environmental issues through original, analytical writing and interviews. Pittsburgh area galleries and art venues are listed at the sister site www.PghGalleries.com. The blog and website are volunteer projects from fine art photographer and Pittsburgh artist advocate rick byerly.

Tuesday, July 1, 2014

City of Pittsburgh Bureau of Building Inspection Threatens Lawsuit to Remove Lawrenceville Urban Garden Fence

So what happens when someone tries to construct an urban garden using existing pallets for the fence which would be otherwise be heading to a dump or a fire? Well, if enough people complain to the Bureau of Building Inspection it will get shut down with the threat of a lawsuit from the City of Pittsburgh.  

This happened specifically in Lawrenceville at the corner of 52nd St and Holmes across from the 52nd Street Market.  It appears that the Bureau of Building Inspection received "enough" resident complaints that the inspector cited "aesthetic" reasons and no other code violation along with a possible lawsuit if the pallets were not removed. My call is that "they" didn't want to deal with the complaints any more.

One of the complaints was a resident who called in and complained about a strong manure smell but none was ever used. It turned out to be a neighbor who let their garbage go rancid.

People are encouraged to complain via 311

Note: The owner of the lot was not involved in the construction of the pallet garden. The above photo was taken in the middle of deconstruction and as of now the lot has been cleared.

Rick Byerly


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Eyes on Pittsburgh
Formerly the Pittsburgh Art Blog, Eyes on Pittsburgh focuses on cultural aspects of the region with a critical eye.