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Join GPPNA

The Greater Park Place Neighborhood Association (GPPNA) is an all-volunteer organization dedicated to preserve, protect and improve the Park Place community and surrounding areas.

We are looking for community volunteers to become members and help the community take charge of its own destiny through proactive involvement on the issues that face us. We have several committees forming on various topics, and seek individuals who wish to help build up the neighborhood by getting involved in one or more:

  • Neighborhood Improvements
  • Safety Issues
  • School Issues
  • Events
  • Planing and Development
  • Street Cleaning & Municipal Services
  • Communications and Outreach
  • and others as desired and needed . . .

To become a member, you must:

Note: To vote in the annual board election, you must also live or own property or be the designated representative of a business in Park Place. Those not meeting these geographical criteria may become non-voting members.

Greater Park Place Neighborhood Association Boundaries

Here is a map of the current boundaries.

 

GPPNA Boundaries Map

GPPNA Boundaries Map

 

 

Board Member Bios

Mary Hupe
I have lived in Park Place since 1980 with my husband Ken. I began my community involvement by passing out Citiparks coupons and Zoo tickets with my toddler son. From there I helped get Park Place recognized as a city neighborhood, served as association president, took Community Festival training, and began hosting the Park Place Picnic. I have also served as a member and officer of the Zone 4 Citizens Public Safety Council for 20 years.
In the past, Park Place Association was an informal collection of Block Watch groups that gathered for meetings as issues arose, and at the annual picnic. Now we live in a time when our neighborhood association needs to be more tightly and formally organized so that we have a strong and recognizable voice in our future.
I welcome the talents and knowledge of our residents who have stepped forward to incorporate the organization, fight for neighborhood preservation and keep us all informed.
I would be honored to continue my involvement with Park Place by serving on the Board.

Jim Lenkner
The Park Place Neighborhood has been my home for more than twenty five years. It is the place where my wife and I purchased two different houses and raised our two children.
I believe GPPNA can serve to mobilize the strengths of our community so that we can respond to future challenges and opportunities as a chorus of different yet harmonious voices. In my professional life, I work with many non-profits, foundations and schools, mostly in the area of public education and technology. My interests are in the area of public education, safety, affordable housing and quality of life. Despite the large percentage of rental units in Park Place, it is not a transient neighborhood. I’d like to think we can keep our neighborhood a place where people stay.
As a member of the GPPNA board I will gladly contribute to the communications, outreach and organizational work of the association and I commend Stephanie, Mary, John, Jim and the many others who have diligently worked to establish the association. There is a lot of talent in this community. I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.

John Mayberry
A neighborhood resident and home owner for over 10 years, you may know my name from the parkplaceblog.com web site that I currently manage.
I am interested in being on the board for the neighborhood association because I wish to help make our community stronger, continuing down the path of improvement it has been on for the last several years.
I believe that to become a stronger community, we need to draw on the talents of our diverse community members and come together as strong advocates with a vision, guided by our individual strengths and unified under a common purpose.
Our neighborhood’s future is largely of our own making and will continue to be so as long as we do not cede that right to outside interests. I wish to have our community define our own direction for planning and development, and to have the community become its own best advocate in all matters related to it, including zoning, schools, redevelopment, and safety issues.
As a certified project manager with many years experience in electronic media communications, I can help build out some of the infrastructure helpful to those goals. I would also like to see the return of popular events such as the East End Event, and do what I can to make Park Place a destination neighborhood. I would like to see the organization seek grant funding for these efforts. To that end I have helped obtain official non-profit incorporation status for the organization.

Khrys Myrddin
I was born in Park Place, and, after a number of comings and goings, I have resettled in the home of my birth. My educational background is in ethics and political philosophy, and I am now the Associate Director of the Conflict of Interest Office at the University of Pittsburgh. Crime and safety issues such as speeding traffic, lack of crosswalks, broken sidewalks, and poor lighting are of particular interest to me. I also have a strong interest in environmental issues, including the health of the Nine Mile Run watershed, and urban organic farming. My hope is for GPPNA to be a vehicle that gives Park Place a voice in City affairs, and creates ways for neighborhood residents to work together for the betterment of our neighborhood. By organizing we can lobby for City services, help the police nip crime in our area in the bud, insure that the community has a say regarding development in the neighborhood, and improve Park Place ourselves with planned clean-ups and shared resources. We also will be able to network with other neighborhood associations to address issues that effect all of the east end. Not to mention we can have fun and get to know one another better! Ultimately, it is the diverse and wonderful denizens of Park Place that make our sliver of Pittsburgh a wonderful place to live (not to mention our fine cooking!). I want GPPNA to create opportunities for us to get to know one another, deepen those relationships, and care for the neighborhood we call home.

Marisa Osorio
I have lived in Park Place with my husband, Neal Sofge, and two year-old daughter, Maia, since July 2003. I first lived on East End Avenue and then purchased a house on South Braddock Avenue in July 2004.
A New York City native, I chose Park Place as my neighborhood because it’s within walking distance to the park and to the East End Food Co-op. Safety, thoughtful development and good schools are important issues to me. My family and I have participated in neighborhood gatherings from the moment we arrived, but became very active when developers for Walgreen’s announced their plans to tear down houses in order to build a new drug store.
Strong neighborhoods enrich a city and are vital to its growth. I want to help give the Greater Park Place neighborhood a more powerful voice to elected officials. I am a former newspaper reporter and also worked in public relations at major universities in Los Angeles and New York City. I used my public relations skills to call the media to the neighborhood’s protest of Walgreen’s developers last year. I look forward to using my skills on the board in order to publicize issues that are important to the neighborhood.

Deb Savelli
Savelli . . . Savelli . . . Where do I know that name from?! You may know my husband John Savelli. We have been investing in and renovating properties in the Park Place neighborhood for the last ten years. We have renovated many nuisance and vacant properties in our neighborhood and have been turning many multi-unit buildings back into single family homes. We are attracting young professionals and families to our neighborhood. We currently own forty units in our wonderful Park Place on South Braddock Avenue.
My name is Deb Savelli and I am running for a board position for the Greater Park Place Neighborhood Association. And now a little bit about me . . . I have been a teacher for the past sixteen years for the catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh. I am retiring this year and would like to devote my time to bettering our neighborhood.
I have worked hard to get the small things that help to keep a neighborhood great. I have been active in getting pedestrian crosswalks, no parking signs, street cleaning, removal of abandoned vehicles, etc.
I love park place and would like to serve you as a member of the board. I believe that Park Place is a very special neighborhood. I am specifically interested in the issues of crime and safety. My husband is a former City of Pittsburgh police officer and we believe that much can be done to make our neighborhood a safer place.
As a board member I will work hard and do my best to address your needs and concerns. I encourage you to take an active role in making our neighborhood a wonderful and safe place in which to live. If you decide to become a member of the Greater park Place Neighborhood Association . . . I would appreciate your vote and if elected I look forward to meeting you! Thanks and hope to meet you soon!

Henry Schumacher
Originally from New York City, I moved to Pittsburgh in 2002 and have been a home owner in Park Place since 2004. I am a plant ecologist by training and currently work as an environmental consultant. I have been a GPPNA board member since 2007 and have worked on street tree planting events, organizing Park Place community events, community clean-ups, and the Walgreen’s development issue.
I believe that active public participation is integral to a healthy democratic government and a strong community. Neighborhood associations can help to foster greater public involvement in government, more cohesive communities, and can help to improve quality of life by acting as a focal point to voice community concerns, organizing community events, and presenting the concerns of the community in a unified and coherent manner to government officials.