As acronyms go, NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) sounds stupid and is not terribly descriptive, but it does provide pretty commonly accepted shorthand for those who are opposed to change in their neighborhoods. It’s just that there are a lot of different species of NIMBYs out there, and this doesn’t tell you which is which.
The easiest to understand are those who simply hate to see their neighborhood changing. Everyone can understand that on some level; some changes are indeed quite bad, like leveling East Carson Street for a giant riverside freeway (which was once a possibility). Other changes are good, but it’s sometimes hard to tell which is which until after they happen.
More pernicious are the NIMBYs who want to maintain the status quo of unaffordable prices above all, and will cynically use any means available to keep those numbers rising. Sometimes those things are pretty transparent, like complaints about parking, traffic, zoning laws, or “preserving views.” Other times, it seems like a more sophisticated bad-faith ploy ostensibly aimed at historic preservation, or “preserving character,” things most people (including me) usually support — unless weaponized to block housing. No argument will sway these NIMBYs; they don’t actually want to help their street/neighborhood/city to get better, because skyrocketing housing prices benefit them.
So, we need some new acronyms. Any ideas? Some nameless wit coined the term BANANAs (Build Absolutely Nothing Anywhere Near Anyone), which is pretty hard to top.
This column has inadvertently blurted out a few slogans that sound like they could be something: “Everyone Who Arrived After Me Is A Gentrifier,” and “Build Affordable Housing (Just Not Here), and “Save My Historic Parking Space” — but the acronyms are just gibberish. If you think of any clever ways to arrange those (or others entirely), let us know.
For sale: 2037 Lautner St. Troy Hill, $99,000.
“Get into Troy Hill before it’s too late!” says the ad. Um, that sounds like a threat. Or what, you’ll be left with the pecan sandies and other obvious store-bought counterfeits at the cookie table? Or Penn Brewery will run out of beer and you’ll have to drink Ohio River water? Or your parking chair will be mistaken for garbage on bulk trash night, and not the essential tool for communication that it truly is? Look, I don’t know why a quiet, stable neighborhood like Troy Hill still has homes with these kinds of prices, but it probably needs a lot of work (no interior photos are shown, which is usually a tip-off).
For rent: 816 Cedar Ave., Deutschtown, $1,150/month.
A historic home in Deutschtown for sub-$200K? Yeah, only if you want something with a tree growing through the floor. But for rent? Yeah, there are still some decent rentals in historic homes around here, like this one. No frills, dated kitchen, and I bet that ancient heater makes some unearthly sounds late on a winter night. But the location is outstanding, and most people can make a few compromises with a price like that.
For sale: 31 Claus Ave., Brentwood, $165,000.
A long time ago, I was given the job of newspaper restaurant critic because no one else was doing it and I happened to eat food. Then I promptly got in trouble for getting food poisoning at a restaurant in Brentwood and writing about it in detail (which was apparently a bad thing). I’ve studiously avoided Brentwood ever since, even though that restaurant went out of business years ago, and there seems to be nothing wrong with the place. Pittsburghers can hold grudges; we even broke up with Franco Harris for a bit when he left for the Seahawks. This is yet another reminder that there are still some leafy, bucolic suburbs like Brentwood with affordable houses to be found in the region, if you are persistent and don’t mind yellow brick.
For rent: 1950 Lowrie St., Fl. 2, Troy Hill, $1,395/month.
More spacious Troy Hill goodness, this time for rent. I’m not going to complain again about the sad-greige color palette because that’s getting boring, but it’s still weird to come across it in places like Troy Hill, which should be a bastion of defiant Olde Pitttsburgh yinzer weirdness. This apartment is the second and third floors of the house.
For sale: 203 Chesbro St., North Side, $2,750,000.
No, not a typo. That’s almost two million bucks. I mean, you can sign a flamethrowing relief pitcher for that, or buy everyone in East Liberty a macaron (I’m guessing, don’t make me do math). Why break our “Affordable-ish” mission for a garage/scrapyard combo in a part of the North Side that’s so vacant that nobody really knows what to call it? The possibilities. The company is moving, and the listing is spitballing: “zoned for industrial/manufacturing,” but it could also “make a FABULOUS nightclub!” or “could be converted to residential building lots.” Or, instead of buying a boring old McMansion in South Fayette, you could inhabit a weird garage with a legendary name.
For rent: The Flats at SouthSide Works, 2635 E. Carson St., South Side, $1,650/month.
The Southside Works seems to have finally found its footing after some massive economic shifts (mall retail: out, unique-to-market dining, entertainment: in) and missteps. I’m going to eat there tonight, actually (hot pot!). But then I’ll turn a corner and see this corner vacancy that was once a big independent bookstore, then a Spirit Halloween, then nothing for the better part of a decade. The housing and office components at the Works have always been stronger, even if some retail spaces are still looking for a reason to exist, so that didn’t drag the entire development into deadmall territory.
This article appears in Aug 13-19, 2025.
