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Also: Clean containers and flatten boxes before curbside pickup so they actually get recycled
By Juliet Martinez
Community meetings give Greater Hazelwood residents the opportunity to directly address developers, advocates and organizations working in Greater Hazelwood. At the Sept. 10 hybrid meeting, neighbors contributed a range of perspectives to a lively conversation about housing, the environment, events and more.
Woods Village
Jessica Allison and Krish Pandya represented Oak Moss Consulting, the developer of Woods House. They presented a revised and updated Woods Village housing development plan.
The townhouse development is planned for city-owned lots on Monongahela Avenue between Tullymet and Berwick streets. In response to previous community input, the developer has removed all studio and one-bedroom units, so the units will be either two- or three-bedroom. He also reduced the project’s footprint by lowering the number of units from 63 to 21. Each unit will have a one-car garage.
Ms. Allison said some of the units will be affordable for households earning 60% of the area median income, others will be priced for households earning 80-120% of the area median income. The rest will be market rate. While Mr. Pandya was vague on how the development could offer affordable and middle-income units while remaining financially viable with regular maintenance and updates, the Urban Redevelopment Authority will require this information at a later part of the process.
The team is working on the design, which is projected to be complete next year. They want to start construction in 2026, with completion and leasing possible in 2028.
Residents who support the development said they appreciated Mr. Pandya’s responsiveness to input from the neighborhood.
“He has gone back to the drawing board four to five times. He hires within the community,” said Saundra Cole-McKamey, founder and CEO of People of Origin Rightfully Loved and Wanted, a nonprofit based in Hazelwood. “We want him in our community.”
Another supporter said there used to be houses on that land, but it is now overgrown and used as an illegal dump site. Someone else added that to have a grocery store and other businesses thrive in Hazelwood, the population must increase. Building new housing helps that happen.
Some opponents of the project cited the climate impact of cutting down the trees now growing on the lots.
“The construction industry is a major emitter of atmospheric carbon,” said neighborhood environmental advocate Matt Peters. “That, with the loss of tree canopy represents a double whammy.”
Tiffany Taulton, who facilitated the planting of roughly 700 trees in Hazelwood from 2019 to 2023, praised the smaller footprint, but said the heat- and pollution-reducing functions of the tree canopy in the greenway make it all the more essential as Hazelwood Green develops.
Mr. Pandya responded by saying that dense urban housing is the most sustainable kind of housing, especially when it is located close to public transportation the way the planned townhouses will be.
A participant suggested making the garages EV-ready and equipping the units with solar panels. Mr. Pandya welcomed the suggestion without promising to implement it. When another meeting participant asked whether the units will be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Mr. Pandya said it would be addressed but did not offer details.
Oak Moss Consulting needs approval from the city and the Urban Redevelopment Authority to purchase the property and build on it. Getting that approval is a drawn-out process whose outcome will reflect input at several points from residents and District 5 City Councilor Barb Warwick.
Hazelwood Initiative executive director Sonya Tilghman explained that the registered community organization’s responsibility is to write a letter to the authority summarizing the discussion at the meeting. Neighborhood planner A.J. Herzog was also present, and said he took notes to present to the Planning Commission because the project will need a zoning variance as it goes forward. These notes will be available under Staff Reports at pittsburghpa.gov/dcp/dev-activities-meeting.
Residents wishing to give their input on the Woods Village development should contact URA Project Manager Gordon Hall at ghall@ura.org or 412-255-6598.
How to curbside recycle
Halena Procopio Ross, director of the city’s curbside recycling program, spoke about how to recycle responsibly.
In 2019, China stopped accepting recyclable materials from the U.S. because they were too contaminated, Ms. Procopio Ross said, causing recyclers to rely exclusively on domestic markets.
Contamination is a major challenge of single-stream recycling, in which the glass, plastic, paper, cardboard and metal all go into the same curbside bin. When food waste and trash are mixed in with recyclables, they can spoil the whole load.
Guidelines for recycling:
• Buy products with less packaging whenever possible.
• Wash and dry jars, jugs, cans and bottles before they go in your recycling bin.
• Only recycle plastics with the numbers 1, 2 and 5.
• Flatten cardboard boxes, bundle them in a box and keep them dry until pickup if possible.
• Recycle plastic bags and other plastic film ONLY in collection bins at Giant Eagle, Fresh Thyme and Goodwill.
• Never bag recyclables.
• Never recycle plastic caps under two inches in size.
• Never put electronics, straws, Styrofoam, plastic bags, rigid plastics, or plastic-coated milk or juice cartons in curbside recycling bins.
• Keep workers safe by placing medical waste and sharp objects in labeled hard plastic containers in the trash.
Ms. Procopio Ross said yard debris pickup will be Nov. 2. Find your curbside recycling schedule by visiting pgh.st online. Visit pittsburghpa.gov/dpw/
residential-recycling for more information.
Hazelwood Local asks for input
Event coordinator Nikki Martin discussed Hazelwood Local’s role in managing public spaces and events at Hazelwood Green. In 2024, the group put on a wide variety of successful movie nights, arts performances and cooking workshops, as well as the wildly popular dunk tank. They also help people who want to plan events on Hazelwood Green with permitting.
Ms. Martin invited ideas for future events. Attendees suggested ongoing yoga and exercise classes, and gave feedback on improving communication through the website and Eventbrite.
Participants urged Ms. Martin to make events more accessible for disabled people, and suggested drive-in movies, a fashion show for adults with physical disabilities, and a food festival showcasing Hazelwood’s restaurants and breweries. Email your suggestions to nikki@streetplans.org.
Zoning variance on Second Ave.
Jeff DiBenedetto of Hart Architects presented a use variance request for 5416 Second Ave., the building that houses Dylamato’s Market. The building is over 100 years old and has an occupied residential unit upstairs from the market. In the course of recent renovations, the owner found that no occupancy permit was ever issued.
The lot is zoned as urban industrial, so a use variance is needed to bring the building into compliance. The building will continue to be used exactly as it has since it was built.
“It’s just putting it down on a piece of paper formally,” Mr. DiBenedetto said.
Announcements
Safe Halloween: This family-friendly, no-cost event will be on Oct. 31 from 5 to 7 p.m. at 5125 Second Ave. See ad on Page 12 for more information.
Volunteer for Better Block by contacting You can become a volunteer by going to the website betterblock.org/hazelwood.
Hazelwood to Carrie Furnace Trail meeting on Oct. 8 at 5:30 p.m. at Hazelwood Brewhouse (5009 Lytle St., Pgh 15207).
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