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Penn Plaza demolition has begins Wednesday in East Liberty.
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Demolition begins at Penn Plaza site in East Liberty

Steph Chambers/Post-Gazette

Demolition begins at Penn Plaza site in East Liberty

Demolition has begun at the remaining Penn Plaza apartments in East Liberty, the site of a long-running dispute between the city and a developer that has grown into a flashpoint for broader issues of affordable housing in Pittsburgh.

A group of affordable housing advocates, and former Penn Plaza tenants and their families and supporters, will rally at the site, at 5600 Penn Ave., at noon Thursday. A planned redevelopment at the site displaced residents, many of whom were elderly and low-income.

Timothy McNulty, a spokesman for Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto, declined to comment Wednesday, citing a court-imposed gag order in litigation between the city and developer.

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The city is suing Pennley Park, affiliate of developer LG Realty Advisors, alleging it engaged in demolition activity at the site — in violation of a 2015 memorandum of understanding — while residents were still living there and failed to provide proper heat for residents who had remained.

Former tenants of Penn Plaza and others concerned with affordable housing in the city shut down Penn Avenue through East Liberty as they rallied and marched April 1.
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Pennley Park filed a counterclaim, charging that it sustained more than $10 million in damages after Whole Foods Market, which was to anchor a planned redevelopment, announced that it would pull out of the project because of concerns raised by the community and the mayor.

The last Penn Plaza residents moved out March 31.

Adam Smeltz contributed. Kate Giammarise: kgiammarise@post-gazette.com or 412-263-3909 or on Twitter @KateGiammarise.

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First Published: June 22, 2017, 4:23 a.m.

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Former tenants of Penn Plaza and others concerned with affordable housing in Pittsburgh shut down Penn Avenue through East Liberty as they rallied and marched April 1.
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From left to right, Peter Kaplan of Point Breeze; Myrtle Stern of Verona; Mable Duffy of Verona; Alethea Sims of Coaltion of Organized Residents of East Liberty; Crystal Jennings of Penn Plaza Support and Action Coalition; and O'Harold Hoots of Oakland protest against the Penn Plaza demolition on Wednesday at the offices of LG Realty Advisors inside the Oliver Building on Smithfield Street, Downtown. About 20 activists turned out for the midday rally, urging developer LG Realty Advisors to sell the former Penn Plaza apartment complex in East Liberty. The Penn Plaza Support and Action Coalition wants LG Realty to accept overtures from Pittsburgh Mayor Bill Peduto's administration to buy and restore the site as affordable housing. LG Realty has declined the offers to pursue a contested redevelopment project on the site.
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Penn Plaza demolition has begins Wednesday in East Liberty.  (Steph Chambers/Post-Gazette)
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Penn Plaza demolition has begins Wednesday in East Liberty.  (Steph Chambers/Post-Gazette)
Steph Chambers/Post-Gazette
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