Save Green Street Park

03/08/2025

Cynically advertising the stolen park as a courtyard by a park

Explore our exclusive virtual home tours from the comfort of your couch. See every detail, ask questions, and find the home that’s perfect for you.

08/27/2022

This just in—Green Street Park is FOR SALE by Akator Construction, the developer who illegally purchased it in 2015!! How can we rally? What’s the plan? What resources are available? How can we reclaim this beloved community green space? PLEASE HELP SPREAD THE WORD!

Biddle's Escape Nine Mile Run Water Shed Association Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Borough of Wilkinsburg Wilkinsburg Borough OfficeWilkinsburg, Pennsylvania Wilkinsburg Youth Project Wilkinsburg Student Union Wilkinsburg Community Development Corporation Wilkinsburg Resident Community Group Penn State Brandywine Center for Ethics and Civic Engagement Mookshi Healing Arts Wilkinsburg School District NEXT Neighborhood Leaders Wilkinsburg Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Michael Rose, Wilkinsburg School Board Director Allegheny County Parks City of Pittsburgh Citi Parks-Community Recreation Centers

For sale This is a vacant land. It is located at 558 Mifflin Ave Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

01/11/2018

2018 Update on Green Street Park contention

December 11, 2017 – Judge Kathleen A. Durkin (Orphan’s Court Division, Court of Common Pleas Allegheny County, PA) filed an Order of the Court in our case opposing the sale of Green Street Park (Case Number 17-2825). The order claims that the court is unable to overturn a previous decision by Judge Alan Hertzberg allowing the Wilkinsburg School District to sell this property to Akator Construction, LLC. Among other reasons, Judge Durkin cites that the “Doctrine of Laches” prohibits this case from being appealed because we hadn’t asserted an adequate claim in 2015 before the sale had occurred. Laches is associated with the maxim of equity, "Equity aids the vigilant, not the sleeping ones [that is, those who sleep on their rights]."

Had Judge Durkin actually been vigilant enough to read the petition, she would have learned that it was the Borough of Wilkinsburg and the School District that were responsible to have properly reviewed their obligations to the public before selling property that the Wilkinsburg School District had already conveyed to the Borough in 1957. The failure of the Solicitor(s) at the time to record the deed transferring the property is not enough of a reason to ignore the public trust and responsibility that the Borough holds after maintaining the park for 60 years.

Also, the park was included in a 1981 monetary Land, Water and Conservation Fund grant received by Wilkinsburg through the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). The origin of the funding was the U.S. National Park Service, and the Borough had made an unsubstantiated claim to these state and federal agencies to let them know that the Borough was the owner of the property and was eligible to receive those funds. This was the second ignorant mistake made by a Solicitor and another clear failure of the public representatives to protect the community interests.

A current Solicitor again carried on the tradition of thinking no one would notice his mistakes. After the discovery of the error in selling this asset to a private party without properly notifying the community, the Commonwealth and the U.S. government (as required by the 1981 grant), the modern solicitor responded by asking the DCNR if they couldn’t just look the other way and pretend like the grant was for a different property. The DCNR said no to that request and asked the U.S. National Park Service to intervene. But no-one was telling the local residents that this was happening while the School District continued on with the illegal sale.

For Judge Durkin to now claim that we didn’t do enough to assert a claim that we didn’t even know about yet is ridiculous and she probably knows that. The entire process has been plagued with laziness at every level from the municipality through the county courts to the state and federal agencies that are supposed to be monitoring the use of public funds. Since there seems to be no government oversight, the only remedy is to continue on litigating – so it’s on to the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania

02/10/2017

Neighbors: Last, last call for your statements regarding the future of Green Street Park for inclusion in our petition to the Orphan's Court! We cannot accept any more after tomorrow, unfortunately. Details below.

02/06/2017

Green Street Park friends and neighbors, visit the link below for the full copy of the Opinion and Order of Court filed last Thursday by Judge James to reverse the Wilkinsburg Borough Council's ruling on Akator Construction's statutory appeal.

Please note the comment on page 2 which references the May 4th public hearing and states that Akator Construction "testified that a lot of neighbors seem excited and hopeful about the proposed development". See also the page 3 paragraph which claims that the Council's "denial letter failed to give any reasons why [it] denied the application", and that the testimony presented regarding the submitted plan meeting all criteria for approval was "unrebutted". We are disheartened to learn that the majority of the documentation provided was wholly ignored.

Please respond to these comments as part of the written statements we have asked you to provide this week. Let us continue to hold the Borough accountable for its commitment to natural resource preservation, sustainable urban planning, and green space access.

02/05/2017

UPDATE/URGENT ACTION NEEDED:

This past Thursday (2/2/1017), after no word from Judge James on Akator Construction's statutory appeal in almost three months since Borough Solicitor Witherel filed his brief on 11/16/2016, the judge filed his opinion reversing the decision of the Wilkinsburg Borough Council (SA-16-437). The only law applied by Judge James was zoning, and not public trust.

We, Friends of Green Street Park, are going to Orphan's Court to seek protection of our dedicated public space. We immediately need brief statements (affidavits) from neighbors of the park, each statement less than a page. Each statement should simply describe that neighbor's ongoing use of the park and desire to have the park remain a park. A statement could also include the point that City of Pittsburgh Frick Park across S. Braddock Avenue is not an acceptable substitute for our Wilkinsburg park. The attorney helping us advises that the statements of near neighbors must support that Green Street Park is "possible and practical."

Each statement should give the neighbor's address and mention proximity to the park. The statements do not have to be notarized. If you would like to submit a statement, please send it both by email to [email protected] and as an original document signed in blue ink to:

Kate Luxemburg
432 Rebecca Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15221

We need all statements by this Wednesday, February 8th. Thank you!

08/17/2016

Hey everyone,tomorrow is the hearing for the appeal. We plan on being down there so we will report on what happens. (Fingers crossed)

06/28/2016

Have ideas about the future of Green Street Park? Share them here! Responses will be collected through Friday, July 1st. Thanks!

Web survey powered by SurveyMonkey.com. Create your own online survey now with SurveyMonkey's expert certified FREE templates.

06/28/2016

198 "likes" as of today, everyone. Cool! Tell your friends and neighbors to check us out. Who will be our lucky #200?

06/28/2016

All of Pennsylvania’s incredible parks deserve protection. Take a minute now to tell your local rep that you're against HB 2013 and that parks are for the people, not private developers.

House Bill 2013 would create a board comprised of legislative appointees charged with soliciting, reviewing, and approving private development projects in Pennsylvania's state parks.

06/24/2016

A huge thanks to everyone who came out for the design workshop tonight with Lisa Vavro, Erik Boyer, and Joe Long from The Penn State Center: Engaging Pittsburgh! Incredible ideas were shared by the community, leaving us excited about the future of Green Street Park as an inclusive, public Wilkinsburg space. Stay tuned for details regarding presentation of the final design renderings and next steps in our efforts to preserve the park.

If you were unable to attend, we would still appreciate your input. Please share your ideas about the future of the park using this short survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MLH7K9R.