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NORTHVIEW HEIGHTS CALVIN M. HALL PUBLIC SAFETY CENTER RE-LAUNCHES PUBLIC-PHILANTHROPIC PARTNERSHIP THAT WAS CLOSED AT THE OUTSET OF THE PANDEMIC
Zone 1 Commander Introduces Zone 1 Cares Pilot
PITTSBURGH, PA – The City of Pittsburgh, in collaboration with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Zone 1, Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP), The Buhl Foundation, and One Northside, invites residents and the media to the relaunch and open house of the Northview Heights Calvin M. Hall Public Safety Center on Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 2:00 PM.
The Northview Heights (NVH) Public Safety Center first launched in 2018 and served as a model for relationship-based policing. Designed to improve community safety through a deliberate community-policing approach focused on proactive policing strategies and ongoing collaborative problem-solving between the public and law enforcement, the multi-use public safety center space serves as both a Zone 1 police substation and a community hub.
This open house event will provide the public with a glimpse inside the facility – where residents will have access to a full spectrum of programming and shared community space -- plus an opportunity to hear from City officials, community leaders, and Northview Height’s residents on their hopes for the relaunch of the Safety Center.
Zone 1 Police Commander Shawn Malloy will introduce his Zone 1 Cares initiative. Zone 1 Cares is an intentional effort to build relationships between Zone 1 police and residents of the Northside. The initiative will begin in the communities of Northview Heights and Allegheny Dwellings this fall with plans for a full-scale launch in spring 2023 across all 18 neighborhoods of the Northside.
“Zone 1 Cares is a way for officers to meet residents where they are. Officers will be visible within the community and working in partnership with residents to improve safety, improve resident relations, and rebuild trust,” Zone 1 Commander Shawn Malloy said. “We want residents to see us, get to know us, and work with us. To ensure safe and welcoming communities where all residents can thrive it will take all of us working together.”
The goal is to have all officers assigned to a designated Northside sector that encompasses three to four neighborhoods. Officers will attend their designated neighborhood community meetings and begin engaging residents on foot walking their assigned communities distributing door hangers with safety resources and a QR code connecting residents to the One Northside website with safety alerts, community events with officers, and important safety resources. Zone 1 Cares is funded through One Northside, the Buhl Foundation’s placed-based grant-making strategy to improve the quality of life for residents of the Northside.
In 2014, the Buhl Foundation chose to focus its grant-making approach on Pittsburgh’s Northside. Through a series of surveys, public meetings, and face-to-face meetings with residents, Buhl and their partners asked the public how they would change and improve their neighborhoods. In doing so, they identified several common themes, which became the pillars of their One Northside Initiative: Place, Employment, Health, Education, and Safety.
“I am grateful to the Mayor’s Office, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Zone 1, and the City of Pittsburgh Housing Authority for coming together again to reopen the Public Safety Center and work to meet the needs of our Northview Heights neighbors,” said Buhl Foundation President Diana Bucco. “We are excited to relaunch the Safety Center as the first step in re-engaging Northside residents following the COVID-19 pandemic. The Northview Heights safety center model is evidence that residents and police can partner for safer, more livable communities.
Efforts have been underway in Northview Heights since November 2021 to re-engage residents, and onboard new officers following the safety center’s COVID shut down in March 2020. As a part of the relaunch, 13 NVH residents have volunteered to serve as building captains to help engage residents, share information and rebuild community-based programming.
Community Day Scheduled for Sat., October 29 at 1:00 p.m.
A resident-planned community day is scheduled for Saturday, October 29 from 1:00 to 4:00 PM. Residents can enjoy free food, meet with social service providers, access a coat drive, have their children participate in fun activities such as Trunk or Treat, balloon animals and face painting. During the community day, residents and officers will pay tribute to Calvin M. Hall, the Zone 1 Police Officer fatally shot while off duty in July 2019.
“The Northview Heights Public Safety Center is a physical manifestation of the City’s commitment to the right policing,” said Mayor Ed Gainey. “Building a safe city requires deep community partnerships that focus on providing person-centered supports as detailed in our Plan for Peace. The residents of Northview Heights, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Zone 1, City of Pittsburgh Housing Authority, and Buhl Foundation’s One Northside initiative have exemplified this type of partnership with the relaunch of the public safety center in one of our communities in need.”
The Safety Center was made possible through a substantial investment of Housing Authority dollars to create a state-of-the-art facility to focus on resident engagement and community safety. The Zone 1 officers working out of the safety center volunteered for this post and are committed to the tenants of relationship-based policing.
“We have seen first-hand the powerful change that can happen when residents and police work together to take a proactive community approach to safety, said Housing Authority Executive Director Caster D. Binion. The Housing Authority welcomes the opportunity to continue to partner with the Buhl Foundation, One Northside, Bureau of Police Zone 1, and Mayor Gainey. We are excited to support Commander Malloy in launching his Zone 1 Cares initiative.
The Safety Center will result in tangible change, improve the quality of life for Northview Height’s residents, provide community-based programming, advance relations between police and the community, and make officers’ jobs safer and more rewarding as they focus on community outreach and connecting with people. This approach to police-community relationships is informed by both police officers’ and resident feedback through the One Northside Initiative and Pittsburgh’s Zone 1 Police. Officers and resident building captains recently completed a two-hour orientation to outline how they want to work together.
SPEAKERS (In order of appearance):
PBP Zone 1 Commander Shawn Malloy
The Buhl Foundation’s Diana Bucco
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey
Housing Authority Executive Director Caster D. Binion
Zone 1 Sergeant Mercucio
Northview Heights Resident Building Captain Keshia Stribling
One Northside’s Michelle Porter
About The Buhl Foundation:
The Buhl Foundation is a tax-exempt, non-operating, private foundation – organized under the regulations of the Internal Revenue Service – that exists to distribute, in perpetuity, the remainder of Mr. Henry Buhl Jr.'s estate. Those funds were set aside to help people – especially in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County – upon Mr. Buhl's death in 1927. The Foundation also administers Funds established by Henry C. Frick and Emilie McCreery. It is the mission of the Buhl Foundation to create community legacies by leveraging its resources to encourage people and organizations to dream, to innovate and to take action.
About the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh:
The Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) is a municipal corporation, formed under the United States Housing Act of 1937, charged with providing decent, affordable housing for low-income persons. The Authority is governed by a board of Directors, which establishes goals, approves policy and budgets, and provides general direction to the HACP Executive Staff.
HACP provides publicly assisted housing comprised of traditional public housing, scattered sites and Housing Choice Vouchers (Section 8) and currently house more than 20,000 Pittsburghers, manage more than 4,000 public housing units, and provide oversight of an additional 900 mixed-finance units. HACP's purpose is to develop and make available affordable, safe housing, and help families achieve independence.
