Newport Heights

I feel a little Awkward even asking this question, but what is the Newport Heights (aka Tonomy Hill) neighborhood really like these days. Is it a safe place to live? We%26#39;re from the Pittsburgh area and are probally moving to Newport in a few months. We have small children and really want to bring them up in a safe area. We were thinking of moving to Newport Heights if it has change since tearing down Tonomy Heights. Is there crime? Is it safe at night? Any info would help. Thank you, Kim preciouskimkimkim@yahoo.com

Newport Heights

App. 300 of the original 500 low (assisted) income families have moved back into the heights . App. 100 more highly employed families have moved in also . It is still primarily a black residential area . Employment opportunities are scarce . You can call the local police precint or city hall and request the crime blotter for the past year . They may be resistant , but the HAVE to give it to you for a small fee under the Freedom of Information Act .. ( maybe a $2. fee ) . I would compare this area to the Atlantic City Projects . There is still drug activity and small local gangs . If you can avoid this area I would .

Newport Heights

Newport Heights has become a primarily HISPANIC residential area. The crime rate in Newport Heights has been relatively low and minor. The crime rate in the former Tonomy Hill which a small area is still in extistence (the remaining should be torn down by next year) is still about the same as before. I don%26#39;t live in Newport Heights but believe you should be given accurate information. Newport Heights doesn%26#39;t seem to put up with the nonsense that Tonomy Hill did. They have actually evicted over 70 renters for non-compliance with their rules since Phase I and rumor has it they are already evicting tenants from the second Phase which was just last year. Of the actual former Tonomy Hill residents only 170 families qualified for housing in Newport Heights (well below the 300 number) there are over 175 residents paying market rent.

They were supposed to hold back 300 units for public assistance renters . Apparently Newport found away to get around this , just like they managed to elimate 170 or so public assistance renter units in the original plan .I guess once they evict a family for ';non-compliance'; , they can then rent some of the the units at market value . It is things like this that caused several organizations to accuse Newport of ';ethnic cleansing'; . I did mean to say ';minority'; as the area was , for the past 10 years or so a mixture of black, hispanic and other minorities . The 170 previous renters returning is somewhat deceptive . They made it dificult for people to return . Most people became settled in at their new homes and couldn%26#39;t or didn%26#39;t want to return . But they were replaced by other public assistance renters . The Newport Hights area is sort of like a buffer zone between Newport Resort and the remnants of old Tomony Hill area .

You have this same situation in Atlantic City .and other places . IF you don%26#39;t venture outside the Newport Hight%26#39;s section , and your children don%26#39;t have to interact with the outside element , it might be OK . Especially if they remove another 70 or so ';troublemakers'; for non compliance .I would take a midweek trip to the area and get a feel for the situation myself . Call up some renal agents and give a white sounding name like Johansen or McGarrify and ask their opinion .

If there are ';over 175 resident%26#39;s paying market rent '; , that would mean there are still about 245 families living there on public housing plans .

In hindsite , many people feel that it would have ben a better use of time , money and effort to simply have retrained , re-eduacated , and re-employed within the Newport Resort Plan , when these Tomony Hill Residents lost their jobs when the Navel Base Closed . Instead , primarily because they wanted , and got , a white resort , they had to , 30 years later , start evicticting renters on long term public housing assistance . They gave them a bit of moving money and told them to get out to make room for Newport Hights . I%26#39;m sure RI and Newport would have been happy if they moved to NYC , Atlantic City or even Boston .

Newport Heights is Tonomy Hill with window boxes.