Northside United Delivers Letters to Governor's Office
PITTSBURGH -- Residents of Pittsburgh's North Side are hoping letters with 800 signatures will send a message to Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell.Close to a dozen residents from the North Side dropped off petitions to the governor's office on Tuesday morning, protesting progress on the North Shore development project.The petitioners are asking that no more public subsidies be made available to the developer.
Those who signed the petition argue the land was sold for less than what it's worth and they said the developer needs to provide good-paying jobs with benefits.
"If public money is going to be provided to any area of the city of Pittsburgh, it should come along with good-paying jobs that meet the needs of the people that live in our neighborhoods," said John Canning of the North Side United steering committee.The group gathered shortly after 10 a.m. Tuesday to hand the letters over to a representative from the governor's office."The physical size of the petition is symbolic. What would really matter to the governor is how many people are concerned about any particular issue," said Alan Kukovich, the director of the governor's office.The petitions will be sent to Harrisburg for review.