City council holding public hearing regarding concerns over Pittsburgh’s declining Black population

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    PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Pittsburgh City Council will hold a public hearing today to address concerns about the decrease in the city’s Black population.

The Penn Plaza Support and Action Coalition petitioned the council for this hearing.

The PPSA says 7,000 African-American residents left the city between 2014-2018 which is close to 9% of the Black population.

The group is urging community members to voice their concerns during the meeting.

Once they determine why people left, the PPSA wants the council to implement new policies to grow the Black population, called the “Right To Return.”

This would include creating affordable housing in Homewood and the Hill District.

To help build these homes and stop the displacement, they’ll ask Mayor Bill Peduto and the council to use some of the $355 million in COVID relief funding from the American Rescue plan.

The public hearing will take place at 1:30 p.m. on Zoom.

To register for the hearing, head to the City of Pittsburgh’s website: pittsburghpa.gov/clerk/council-meetings.

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