The Greater Park Place Neighborhood Association (GPPNA) is an all-volunter organization deadicated to preserve, protect and improve the Park Place community and surounding 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 & Municiple Services
- Communications and Outreach
- and others as desired and needed . . .
To become a member, you must:
- Complete a membership registration form
- Pay the annual membership dues ($10 for 2007)
- Be 18 years or older
- agree to abide by the by-laws
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 at a 50% reduced membership fee.
Greater Park Place Neighborhood Association Boundaries
Here is a map of the currently proposed boundaries.
2007 Board Bios
Jim Hart
. . .is a Pittsburgh-born marketing/communications strategist and writer whose previous incarnations cover a wide range of improbable ground.
They stretch from traveling folk singer, to head of backstage security at the Woodstock rock festival, to broadcast commercial writer/producer/announcer, to Account Supervisor and Vice President of Production at Ketchum Advertising for clients such as Westinghouse, Rust-Oleum, Phar-Mor, Heinz, The Pittsburgh Pirates, etc.
He is currently working on a couple of feature film scripts and a few interesting business projects recommended by friends.
Jim and his family have renovated and lived in a 100-year-old house on East End Avenue for the past 16 years. He is committed to preserving the quality of life in our neighborhood – and protecting it against irresponsible commercial development.
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.
Tim Kauffman
My wife and I have lived in the neighborhood for nearly 11 years. In 1995 we purchased and renovated a home on Peebles Street, and are now doing the same on Abbott. We love the streets, the architecture, the diversity, the short walk to the park, and the easy commute to the city. Most of all, we love the family atmosphere of Park Place and want our daughter to grow up within a vibrant, urban community.
I have worked as a software developer in Pittsburgh for nearly 15 years in both the for-profit and non-profit areas. I have contributed to numerous grant writing efforts during this time, most recently for the University of Pittsburgh and Allegheny Intermediate Unit.
I am interested in serving on the Greater Park Place Neighborhood Association board because I believe that a unified voice is essential to represent neighborhood views when dealing with outside interests. I would be honored to represent the neighborhood and to work toward keeping Park Place the strong and vibrant community that it is.
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 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 have lived in Pittsburgh’s East End for twenty-one years of my life. I live in the building my parents bought the year I was born, and I have no intention of leaving. I believe that the strength of the City depends on the vitality of its neighborhoods, and that the way to make our neighborhoods robust is to create forums in which the people can express their concerns and celebrate their community. This is why I have been involved with the creation of the Greater Park Place Neighborhood Association, and why I want to serve on its Board of Directors.
The issues of particular concern to me are safety, crime prevention, and the environmental health of our neighborhood.
I love to walk in our neighborhood. I’ve come to know many of my neighbors as they pass by on their way to the Park, the Co-op, the bus stop, or to visit friends. Unfortunately, however, some of our streets and sidewalks are not accommodating to pedestrians. I am particularly interested in getting the City to implement traffic-calming initiatives on our end of Braddock Avenue. We need crosswalks and pedestrian signs on Braddock Avenue, and walk lights on the corner of Braddock and Penn. In addition, I would like to see neglected properties attended to and sidewalks cleared and repaired. Keeping properties maintained shows respect for our neighborhood and our neighbors, as well as increases our collective property value and discourages crime.
Maintained lots don’t provide inviting spots to lurk or litter. When our streets are well-lit and the residents are out and about, it shows that the people of Park Place care about where we live and watch out for each other. I am hopeful that with a formal organization we can expand the crime prevention efforts already under way and strengthen our ties with the police station on Northumberland to continue to ensure prompt service to our residents, increase street patrols, and provide regular feedback to the community about safety and crime prevention. I am also interested in exploring forming a formal neighborhood watch program.
I believe the health of Park Place is intimately connected to the health of the Park from which we derive our name. The viability of our neighborhood hinges on the Park being a safe, attractive place for people and their kids and pets to get respite from busy City life. What we do in our neighborhood has a direct effect on the Park. Taking care of the Park means encouraging people to care for the neighborhood by picking up litter, being more conscientious about how they care for their yards, and helping to reduce storm water runoff so that the sewers overflow less frequently, and caring for our neighborhood makes it a safer and more attractive place for people to live and work.
If elected to the Board, I will work to make GPPNA a forum for the people of Park Place to communicate with each other and find ways to work together to solve problems and plan for the future of our community and City.
I will bring to the Board a strong background in ethics, and a work history consisting of positions requiring confidentiality, problem solving, reliability, responsibility, and excellent communication skills. I hold a BA summa cum laude in Philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh, and I spent two years in the Philosophy graduate program at the University of Virginia on a President’s Fellowship. I’ve been working for the University of Pittsburgh since 2003, originally as the Assistant to the Dean of Arts and Sciences, and currently as a Compliance Coordinator for the Conflict of Interest Office. I am a member of: Nine Mile Run Watershed Association, Phipps Conservatory, Audubon Society of SWPA, Western PA Conservancy, PA Resources Council, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy.
I believe in Margaret Mead’s famous quote: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” I hope you’ll join me in working to make our neighborhood the best it can be.
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.
Indigo Raffel
I have been a neighborhood resident for almost 12 years. I live in the Wilkinsburg section of Park Place—South Trenton Avenue. I like the multicultural and ethnic diversity of our neighborhood. I would like to bring together these components through creative environmental and educational projects. My background is in Environmental Education and Art. I currently work in an environmental non-profit on the South Side of Pittsburgh and I am very connected to the Greater Pittsburgh Environmental Community.
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!