Hi View Gardens tenant Santaris Porter, right, and his daughter, Avry Hays, 5, listen during a tenant council meeting outside Hi View on Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2023, in McKeesport. ”We have the big pest problem here and I want to see that addressed,” said Porter, who has lived at the apartment complex for a year and a half. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)
A year ago, residents of a McKeesport complex thought landlord PNC would bow out and write a check. They’re still fighting for improvements.
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On a late-September day, 10 tenants of Hi View Gardens in McKeesport clustered around a patio, smashing spotted lanternflies and planning next steps in their ongoing efforts to improve their subsidized apartment complex.
“You’ve got to voice your opinions,” urged Tanya Brown, a great-grandmother and leader of the Hi View Gardens Tenant Council, at its Sept. 26 meeting, which attracted residents and a handful of kids. “You can’t just watch the whole place fall apart and not say anything.”
Complex owner PNC Bank’s effort to sell its affordable housing complexes in McKeesport have stalled. As a result, pledged payments to careworn tenants — tentatively negotiated a year ago but tied to the proposed sale — have not materialized.
While much has improved at Hi View since PublicSource and WESA exposed conditions there and at nearby Midtown Plaza in 2021, residents continue to have serious concerns about maintenance and pests. For the second time in two years, a management company is being dismissed, meaning the residents will soon meet yet another new team of office personnel and maintenance workers.
“When the hell is our maintenance going to fix this shit up?” asked Brown. “It’s terrible, especially for women with kids.”
“And dads with kids,” added resident Devonte Doss, who said it’s difficult to decide whether to let his four children play outside in the complex.
PNC spokesperson Olivia Lammel wrote in response to questions that the bank is “fully committed to residents receiving appropriate service from those that operate the properties.”
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