Follow the Land Bank Conversation

Councilwoman Deb Gross, along with Councilman Corey O'Connor's office, have been working diligently to craft amendments to bill 2014-0025 that reflect the concerns they've heard from the community. The four major areas of focus relate to:

• The structure of the Board
• Community participation
• Owner-occupant policies
• Council control

For more information on the Pittsburgh Land Bank, see the following resources below. Land Bank Website:

Check out the many resources for those seeking to learn more about land banks on the City of Pittsburgh's website: http://pittsburghpa.gov/landbanking/

The City Land Bank website provides FAQs, recent news, updates on amendments, outside resources, and letters of support from organizations.

Housing Alliance:

Residents, stakeholders, and community leaders gathered at the August Wilson Center for the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania's Land Bank info session on March 26, 2014.  The info session included the following panelists:

• Liz Hersh, Executive Director, Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania
• Kyra Straussman, Director - Real Estate, Urban Redevelopment Authorirty
• Jerome Jackson, Executive Director, Operation Better Block, Homewood
• Ronell Guy, Executive Director, Northside Coalition for Fair Housing
• Irene McLaughlin, Attorney at Law, Mediator and Chair, Real Property Section, Allegheny County Bar Association
• Matt Barron, Policy Manager, Office of Mayor William Peduto

Please click here to see the handouts distributed at the land bank info session. For additional land bank resources from the Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, click here.

Also, be sure to read Liz Hersh's Op-ed in the Post-Gazette on the need for a land bank in Pittsburgh: "Say yes to a land bank."

Facebook and Twitter:

Councilwoman Deb Gross's Facebook page and Twitter (@DebGrosspgh) regularly post about updates on the Pittsburgh Land Bank. You can follow and participate in the Pittsburgh Land Bank conversation with the hashtags (What are hashtags? Click here.) #pghlandbank and #landbank on Twitter.