Grace Emmerling, co-owner of the venue and bar Mixtape, looks out to the 4900 block of Penn Avenue from Mixtape’s window in Garfield on Thursday, April 10, 2025. Emmerling lives a few blocks away and Penn construction shook her home in the early mornings. “The cup. The table. It would vibrate from the equipment,” she says. “I barely slept, and it was already starting again.” (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)
Garfield’s and Bloomfield’s fragile, art-focused business corridor has been rattled by seemingly uncoordinated utility construction. The City of Pittsburgh says major reconstruction set for fall will be better managed.
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This spring, Penn Avenue is seeing a wave of construction from multiple agencies, each working on its own timeline. Peoples Gas is wrapping up work to replace pipelines that date back to the 1800s, focusing on the stretch between 45th and 39th streets. The Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority has additional work planned in the 4900 and 5100 blocks. And come fall, Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructures [DOMI] is expected to begin Phase II of its streetscape rebuild between Evaline and Graham streets.
Penn Avenue runs along the border between Bloomfield to the south, and Central Lawrenceville and Garfield to the north. Here’s an account of an April walk down Penn.
11:00 a.m. — People’s Indian Restaurant, 5147 Penn
The warm aroma of ginger, garlic and garam masala seeps into the street outside People’s Indian Restaurant. For over 30 years, the Pabla family has served this stretch of Penn, running both the restaurant and the Indian grocery store across the street.
But these days, owner Harpreet Pabla isn’t thinking about food. He’s thinking about water.
“Every morning, I ask myself: Are we even going to have water today?” he says.
In just the past three months, the water’s been shut off at least four times without warning, sometimes for hours, sometimes right before dinner service.
“You can’t run a kitchen like that. You can’t even wash your hands or clean a dish,” Pabla says. “It’s not just inconvenient, it’s unsafe.”
Outside, the sidewalk is a cracked, patchwork mess. “I feel a sense of déjà vu,” he says.
He remembers the early 2010s, when Phase I of the Penn Avenue Reconstruction dragged on for three years. Entire blocks were fenced off. Parking vanished. Storefronts shuttered.
Now, more than a decade later, Penn Avenue Phase II is slated to begin construction this fall, targeting the stretch between Evaline and Graham Streets. The upcoming project includes a full overhaul of the street, sidewalks, curbs, ADA ramps and traffic signals. The goal: to build a safer, more accessible, pedestrian-friendly corridor, while supporting long-term mobility and revitalization in the Garfield and Friendship neighborhoods. While the project promises long-term benefits, it also revives uneasy memories for those who lived through the last round.
“To eat at People’s, you had to hike two blocks past a trench,” he says. “Most businesses didn’t survive. We barely did.”
This time around, according to Pabla, it is worse. It’s overlapping utility work — gas, water, even storm lines — without any centralized coordination.
“They’ll dig up the same patch three times in a week. Why not just do it all at once? … This is dysfunctional.”
In a statement to PublicSource, Peoples Gas said: “Despite efforts taken to minimize the impact of construction, the process of upgrading infrastructure within the public right of way is unavoidably disruptive.”
Pabla has called around, trying to get answers. “Water authority says it’s a test. Then it’s a break. Then something else.”
So now, to stay open, they fill buckets from their storefront across the street and haul them over. “But that’s not a sustainable solution. That’s survival mode.”
In a statement to PublicSource, Rebecca Zito, senior manager of public affairs for Pittsburgh Water, said that their work removing lead lines between the 4900 and 5100 blocks of Penn is nearing completion. Some sidewalk restoration, landscaping and roadway repair remains.
Zito said Pittsburgh Water is coordinating “to the extent possible” with Peoples Gas but noted that terms of state funding limit their ability to enter into cost-share agreements. She added that they are working with Peoples Gas “to determine the best approach to simplify coordination and minimize impact to the businesses within the area.”
Olivia Ciotoli, co-owner of Black Cat Market, with one of the a cat café’s kitties up for cuddles and adoption, on the 5100 block of Penn. At right, a bulletin board of adopted cats greets new visitors to the space. (Photos by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)
11:30 a.m. — The Black Cat Market, 5135 Penn
A couple of doors down, The Black Cat Market, co-founded by Olivia Ciotoli and Indigo Baloch, was built on foot traffic and community. With vintage decor, adoptable cats from Frankie’s Friends, and a packed calendar of art shows and workshops, it became a beloved destination.
Then the construction started.
“It’s been a real nightmare,” Ciotoli says. One day last July, they were fully booked with cat appointments. The very next day, customers started canceling, one by one. “They couldn’t find a detour. It felt hopeless.”
The worst part? “The complete lack of communication. We’ve never gotten so much as a heads-up. We’re just guessing.”
When “Mayor of Kingstown” filmed near Ciotoli’s house, she got a full info packet in her mailbox with maps, timelines and detours. “It made things smooth and predictable,” and raised the question: “Why can’t this be done here?”
Ciotoli has pivoted hard to evening events like Painting with Cats and Construction Crawls with other businesses. Still, Ciotoli has had to cancel craft fairs, postpone projects and turn down opportunities because of parking and loading chaos.
“This business is my life,” she says. “And knowing it’s hanging on by a thread because of construction I can’t control is very isolating.”
In response to questions about coordination and communication, Peoples Gas said it had made efforts to notify residents and businesses before and during construction, including notification letters, automated calls, direct outreach, and participation in community meetings.
Ciotoli says those efforts didn’t reach them directly, or came too late to make a difference.
12:00 p.m. — Workshop PGH, 5131 Penn
Step inside Workshop PGH and it feels like a Pinterest board brought to life: shelves overflowing with zines, candles, prints and plants. But owner Kelly Malone says none of that can overcome the chaos outside.
“We started seeing sales dip as soon as the construction got closer. First Fridays used to be our busiest nights, packed with people walking Penn Ave, popping into shops, grabbing food. Last summer that started disappearing,” says Malone.
Once construction crossed Pacific Avenue, it felt to Malone like the Garfield end of Penn got cut off entirely. Sales at Workshop PGH dropped by up to 75% some weeks while their Wilkinsburg location remained steady.
“It didn’t even show up on Peoples Gas’s public construction maps.That’s how bad the communication was.”
For sole proprietors especially, Malone says, “economic disruption” is personal.
“I had to go on antidepressants, developed intense anxiety, and started seeing real health impacts. I know I’m not the only business owner on this stretch of Penn who went through that.”
Workshop PGH was formed a decade ago, but Malone knows other Penn entrepreneurs “who’ve built this up from scratch.” After disinvestment in the ’60s and ’70s and spillover effects from East Liberty’s “urban renewal,” the emergence of the Penn Avenue Arts Initiative in 1998 spurred artists to revitalize abandoned storefronts with galleries, events and creative placemaking.
Kelly Malone, owner of Workshop PGH, holds a Penn Avenue t-shirt with a design from local artist Jen Cooney.(Photos by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)
“It took years to make this a vibrant daytime and nighttime destination, and this construction just threw all that momentum out the window,” she says.
Looking ahead, Malone sees signs of more thoughtful planning in the Second phase of Penn Avenue’s reconstruction, slated for fall.
“Utility coordination is a key component of federally funded infrastructure projects and has been prioritized during the planning of Phase II,” Michael Panzitta, a spokesperson for DOMI noted.
But Malone is wary.
“We still haven’t recovered from this round,” she says. “It’s not just about surviving the next phase, we need space to breathe and rebuild.”
Still, some business owners are looking ahead with cautious optimism.
“At the end of the day, we all want to see the neighborhood thrive,” says Mike Onofray, co-owner of Two Frays Brewery. “If this project brings safer streets, better sidewalks, and a more welcoming vibe, then it’s worth the growing pains. We’re excited to see Penn Avenue become an even more vibrant and beautiful part of the city.”
12:30 p.m. — VaultArt Studio, 5100 Penn
VaultArt Studio, run by Achieva, provides a creative home for artists with disabilities. But lately, construction has brought more disruption than inspiration.
General Manager Stephanie Neary recalls one especially bad day without water. “We’re scrappy, so we went outside to the fire hydrant that was draining and filled buckets so we could at least flush the toilet.”
“Some of our artists don’t have the mobility to just leave and find another bathroom,” says Neary. “We had to close the studio a few times because of it, and that disrupted services.”
Sidewalk closures made it hard for artists to reach the studio. Sometimes drivers have had to stop in the middle of the street, or artists have had to navigate uneven ground. Even the main drop-off spot is often blocked without warning.
“For us and for our community, predictability matters,” she says.
For months, VaultArt heard nothing from the city or utility crews, until Project Manager Roy Holt showed up in person. He told her the pipes being replaced were from right after the Civil War. “So yes, it had to be done,” Neary says. “If that kind of face-to-face communication had happened from the beginning, a lot of confusion and stress could’ve been avoided.”
1:00 p.m. — Fifth One Ten Vintage, 5110 Penn, & Senseless Vintage, 5124 Penn
On this stretch of Penn, vintage shops Fifty One Ten Vintage and Senseless Vintage have long been neighborhood staples, offering everything from ‘70s leather jackets and flannels to fashion-forward thrift.
“The store is noticeably more empty on weekdays,” says Jennifer McIntyre, general manager at Fifty One Ten Vintage. “We’re lucky to have regulars who still show up. But if I didn’t already love this place, I don’t know if I’d walk in. The sidewalks are a maze of plywood and cones.”
Rome Watson, from Senseless Vintage next door, agrees. “Customers call saying they want to shop but can’t even get to us.”
Watson estimates a 25% to 40% drop in sales since the work began, a dip for which the business was unprepared. “The city never gave us any warning. Same with the water company. We were completely blindsided.”
2:00 p.m. — Bantha Tea, 5002 Penn
At Bantha Tea, the kettle doesn’t boil until noon, but the noise kicks in hours earlier.
“I get woken up at 7 a.m. every day to the sounds of construction,” says owner Jack Ball, who lives above the shop. “Banging, clanging, workers yelling over the noise. It usually stops by three.”
Some mornings, he looks out the window to find construction vehicles parked in Bantha’s private lot, without permission.
Go three decades back, and you’d find around three in four storefronts vacant on stretches of Penn. Now, nearly every building houses something. One poorly timed project, business owners worry, could unravel that recovery.
“People drive through to get to East Liberty, Lawrenceville or Downtown,” says Ball. Some stop and shop. “But now the construction makes it harder for anyone to stop and look around, even if they want to.”
2:30 p.m. — Kraynick’s Bike Shop, 5003 Penn
Since the 1940s, Kraynick’s Bike Shop has been a steady presence on Penn, known for its DIY repair bench, donation-based tune-ups and loyal cycling community.
Peter Cristobal, aka Rocky, has been part of it since 2011 and took over in 2017.
The shop weathered the first wave of reconstruction. But now, Rocky feels like it’s all happening again. “We finally got it rebuilt. Now it’s like we’re breaking it again.”
The city is trying to prevent exactly that kind of confusion in Phase II, slated to start in October. Panzitta said the city has already begun conversations with utility providers like Peoples Gas “to schedule upgrades in advance of or concurrently with the city’s construction timeline.”
Panzitta also pointed to Engage PGH, the city’s new public engagement platform, as well as a dedicated on-site construction manager, regular coordination meetings with the Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation, and full-time inspectors assigned to the corridor.
Nonetheless, business is down 30% at Kraynick’s this season. Rocky says the customer base hasn’t changed: same number of students, same influx of new residents. The drop, he believes, is tied to the construction, and he has limited time to make it up. “My season starts in March if it’s warm, and ends in the third week of October.”
His older customers — people in their 60s, 70s, 80s — have a particularly hard time navigating road closures, but he is hard-pressed to improve the situation. “I don’t feel like we had any power. Even being vocal doesn’t seem to matter. You can’t stop them. They’re going to do what they’re going to do.”
3:00 p.m. — Assemble, 4824 Penn
There’s a moment after school when Assemble should buzz with energy: art bins out, laptops open, kids building robots, painting murals, learning to code. But lately, that moment is harder to find.
“Sometimes the kids are late,” says Devon Dill, in-house programs manager. “Sometimes they can’t make it at all.”
As a community space dedicated to hands-on STEAM education in Garfield, Assemble was born out of the creative movement that revived this corridor in the late ’90s and early 2000s, when artists, makers and educators repopulated abandoned blocks and built community. But now, Dill says, that mission is being tested.
“The roads are hard to drive on,” Dill says. “Detours are confusing. Families can’t park near the building. The fumes from construction vehicles drift inside, and it’s not safe. Some of our kids walk here from nearby schools, and with the traffic patterns constantly changing, that’s dangerous too.”
The team has had to cancel after-school programs more than once due to unplanned water shutoffs, leaving families without childcare and kids without a safe place to spend the afternoon.
Donations have dropped. “We get large deliveries of food from volunteers, and now people can’t even get to our front door,” Dill says.
She wants city leaders and utility companies to understand that the damage isn’t only financial. “When a space like this isn’t accessible for long periods of time, we lose trust. We lose consistency. And consistency is everything in the kind of work we do.”
4:00 p.m. — Two Frays Brewery, 5113 Penn
At Two Frays, beer is just part of the story. The brewery doubles as a third place for neighbors, dog walkers and artists.
Onofray co-owns Two Frays with his partner, and they live just two blocks from the shop. They hear, feel and walk through the construction every day as business owners and neighbors.
“There was a weekend where they laid down big metal plates to cover a hole in the road,” Onofray recalls. “They didn’t secure them properly, and for three straight days, every time a car drove over it, it was just — bang, bang, bang.”
Onofray’s not anti-construction. Quite the opposite.
“The gas lines are ancient, like 155 years old. We want safer infrastructure,” he says. “But the way it’s being handled makes it feel like no one’s thinking about the people living and working here while it’s happening.”
What could’ve gone differently? “Simple things. Sweep up after work each day. Don’t leave loud, unsecured materials over a weekend. And just keep people informed. … What’s hard is not knowing.”
4:30 p.m. — Mixtape, 4907 Penn
Grace Emmerling co-owns Mixtape, a late-night venue known for its inclusive vibe, dancing and community energy.
Most nights Emmerling doesn’t go home, two blocks away, until 2 or 3 a.m. But during much of last fall, there was no real rest. “By 6 or 7, I’d be up again, making coffee, and everything would be shaking,” she says. “The cup. The table. It would vibrate from the equipment. I barely slept, and it was already starting again.”
A giant piece of machinery sat parked in front of Mixtape for weeks during the holidays, completely blocking the artist-painted storefront windows. “It was supposed to be something people noticed from the street. And instead, it was hidden.”
Even though her business operated outside construction hours, Emmerling felt the effects. “This is an ecosystem. If one business suffers, it ripples,” she says.
She’s quick to note that some city staff and utility workers were helpful. But the lack of coordination between Peoples Gas, the Water Authority and the city felt almost surreal.
“One of the guys from Peoples even told us, ‘We’re not talking to the water company.’”
Correction (5/6/2025): A previous version of this story incorrectly characterized Indigo Baloch’s current capacity with The Black Cat Market.
Aakanksha Agarwal is a wine, travel, and lifestyle journalist. Originally from India and a former Bollywood stylist, she now writes from Pittsburgh, exploring the intersections of food, culture and community from a global perspective. She can be reached at aakanksha.agarwal1988@gmail.com.
This story was fact-checked by Emily Briselli.
This article first appeared on PublicSource and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
