Tenant Cities Archives - PublicSource

Hi View Gardens in McKeesport is part of PNC Bank’s real estate portfolio. “The No. 1 issue in every single market that I’ve talked to people in has been the need for affordable housing, period, end of sentence,” said Richard Bynum, the bank’s chief corporate responsibility officer. (Photo by Ryan Loew/PublicSource)

In McKeesport and throughout Allegheny County, no quick fixes for rental housing woes

by Rich Lord and Kate Giammarise December 29, 2021January 3, 2022

Even PNC Bank’s resources haven’t cured all that ails two affordable McKeesport apartment properties, but 2022 may see new rental-housing initiatives by PNC, Pittsburgh and Allegheny County government.

Patricia LaChoppa of McKeesport fights tears as she considers the prospect of another winter without a working furnace. (Photo by Kaycee Orwig/PublicSource)

‘I have nowhere to go with my family.’

by Rich Lord and Kate Giammarise December 13, 2021December 20, 2021

Patricia LaChoppa sits on the front porch of the duplex she rents in McKeesport. While the Allegheny County Health Department has imposed $15,500 in penalties on her landlord, she continues to live without heat. (Photo by Kaycee Orwig/PublicSource)

Tenant Cities: Unpaid housing health fines leave some Allegheny County tenants cold

by Rich Lord and Kate Giammarise December 13, 2021December 20, 2021

ECONOMY & HOUSING

After finding a home in Pittsburgh, a paralegal helps others navigate housing difficulties

by Ryan Loew November 15, 2021November 17, 2021

City of Allentown Housing Inspector Modesto Medina shows an example of the certificate property owners receive when their buildings pass inspection. Unlike Allentown and Erie, Pittsburgh has no routine rental unit inspection program. (Photo by Rich Lord/PublicSource)

Expect the inspector: Unlike Pittsburgh, the state’s No. 3 city examines every rental home — eventually

by Rich Lord and Kate Giammarise September 7, 2021December 13, 2021

Beatrice Román, a tenant of Hi View Gardens whose former apartment was inspected by the Allegheny County Health Department four times this year — for mice and roaches, leaks, no heat and holes in wall — uses her phone's flashlight to show the inside of a kitchen cabinet. (Photo by Ryan Loew/PublicSource)

Hundreds of violations, few penalties: Allegheny County’s health enforcers frequently inspected — but rarely fined — two McKeesport properties

by Rich Lord and Kate Giammarise August 6, 2021January 12, 2022

State Rep. Austin Davis, D-McKeesport, stands in front of Hi View Gardens, an affordable housing complex purchased in 2018 by PNC Bank. “They need to address the safety concerns immediately,” said Davis. “After reading your story, my initial question is: Is it safe for the people who live here to live here?” (Photo by Ryan Loew/PublicSource)

PNC Bank pledges to address ‘completely unacceptable’ conditions as officials demand changes at its McKeesport properties

by Rich Lord and Kate Giammarise August 2, 2021January 5, 2022

Beatrice Román carries belongings to a new apartment in Hi View Gardens on June 10, 2021. (Photo by Ryan Loew/PublicSource)

‘We can’t sleep since then.’ How faulty heating and a bullet meant months of conflict and heartache for one of PNC Bank’s McKeesport tenants

by Rich Lord, Kate Giammarise and Ryan Loew July 26, 2021January 5, 2022

A resident of Hi View Gardens and her young son, seen through a gate, cross the main parking lot of the five-building McKeesport complex. One building — to the right — is empty following a 2020 fire. (Photo by Ryan Loew/PublicSource)

Facing roaches, rodents, leaks and balky heat and fire alarm systems, fed-up tenants of PNC Bank’s McKeesport complexes demand change

by Rich Lord, Kate Giammarise and Ryan Loew July 26, 2021January 5, 2022

Midtown Plaza, an 11-story apartment building, is one of two affordable housing properties in McKeesport that PNC Bank bought in May 2018. (Photo by Ryan Loew/PublicSource)

PNC tries to slow the housing market’s ‘runaway train’

by Rich Lord and Kate Giammarise July 26, 2021January 5, 2022