To a visitor passing through, the borough of Verona almost looks like something out of a Norman Rockwell print. A slightly faded print, perhaps, as if it had been taped to the inside of one of the empty storefronts along Allegheny River Boulevard … but a Rockwell print just the same.
On a recent summer day, residents tended gardens or took shelter in the shade of their porch, greeting neighbors walking by. Over on South Avenue, a few blocks up the hill from the boulevard, three borough firefighters hopped out of a red “Rescue Squad” van, looking for a runaway dog. Over on Herron Avenue, a child pedaled his tricycle along the sidewalk, his mother by his side.
Lining Allegheny River Boulevard itself are purple signs that boast “Verona, Proud of Our Heritage.” At the intersection with Center Avenue, a mural repeats the slogan above a depiction of a large train — a reminder of Verona’s origins as a railroad suburb.
But just a block down the boulevard, at its intersection with Union Street, there’s evidence that Verona is prouder of some kinds of heritage than others.
Crudely painted on the side of an insurance building are the words “Fuck Niggers.”
“That right there is as plain as it gets about the racism in Verona,” says Troy Jones, 34, who has lived in Verona for more than two decades. The slur has been painted there for the past few years, he says: “You would think the borough would come and do something about it.”
But a lot has been changing in Verona in recent years. White and black residents agree the community’s African-American population is growing. Older residents, meanwhile, are dying or moving away, and family homes are being converted to rental properties. Increasingly, black residents are alleging racial bias by police, and even a church youth program has become a lightning rod for criticism.
If some of his neighbors have stereotypes of black men, Jones acknowledges, “I fit the part.” An aspiring rapper with gold teeth and a gold chain around his neck, he’s also been convicted of criminal offenses, including minor drug and assault charges. But he says that his family moved to Verona 20 years ago — and that he’s stayed here ever since — for the same reason many other families do.
“Verona was a place that you could raise a family,” Jones says. “It wasn’t city life, where you have to worry about being robbed walking down the street.”
But even in Verona, he says, “times change,” and residents need to get used to it.
“If you can’t keep up with the times, then who do you blame for that? The world’s not going to stop growing because you’re stuck in a time zone.”
Verona’s 3,000 residents live on a half-square-mile plot sandwiched between Penn Hills and Oakmont. Running alongside the Allegheny River and the Allegheny Valley Railroad, which was built in the 1850s, Verona is easy to overlook. For many, it’s the place you go through to get to the much larger Penn Hills — whose population is roughly 47,000 — or to the wealthier Oakmont. (Median annual household incomes in Oakmont are roughly $10,000 higher than in Verona.)
To Paradise Gray, a black Pittsburgher who ran a church youth group in Verona for more than three years, part of Verona’s hostility to new arrivals stems from a lingering inferiority complex.
“They always felt that they were second-class citizens to Oakmont,” Gray says. “With the black kids, their image is ruined.”
But the fact that black residents are attracted to Verona is a compliment to the community, say the newcomers. Part of the appeal is the Riverview School District, which Oakmont and Verona share and which Jones says is “excellent.” Inexpensive but decent housing is another draw: Celeste Jones (no relation to Troy) moved to Verona in May after being born and raised in Penn Hills. The reason: a spacious two-bedroom apartment for just over $500 a month. “You can’t get a place like this in Penn Hills,” she says.
According to the most recent U.S. Census, blacks made up just 3 percent of Verona’s population in 2000. But anecdotal evidence suggests the black population has been growing rapidly since then.
When Troy Jones first moved to Verona as a teen-ager, he was one of only a handful of blacks. But in recent years, he says, “I’ve noticed a lot more black families.”
Jones’ neighbor, Lori Berry, agrees. When she first moved from Penn Hills with her daughter and three sons three-and-a-half years ago, “We knew who the black people were,” she says. “Now I’m looking at the black people in the street like, ‘Who the hell is that?'”
White residents are asking similar questions — though they were wary of being quoted in a newspaper story while doing so.
“I’m not as comfortable as I used to be,” says one Verona resident of 47 years, sitting on her porch just a few blocks away from Berry’s home. “[I’m] a lot more frightened. …We have a lot of single mothers — a lot of black babies [are] being born.
“The kids are always hollering and whoopey-doing,” she adds. “They don’t seem to have respect at all.”
“The neighborhood has definitely changed,” says the woman’s daughter, who also requested anonymity. And while she says there is no overt racial conflict, “There is some tension” between blacks and whites.
“How would you describe the change, other than bad?” the daughter rhetorically asks. “I don’t like it.”
They aren’t alone. Herron Avenue, where Troy Jones and Lori Berry live, is frequently referred to as “Heroin Avenue.” According to statistics on file with the Pennsylvania State Police, there were seven drug offenses in Verona during the first six months of 2008, a rate essentially unchanged from the same period in 2006 (the earliest year for which the state has such data on file.) That’s a miniscule number when compared to the more than 1,300 drug offenses recorded in the city of Pittsburgh during the first six months of this year. And in recent years, crime rates have held steady: The total number of offenses in Verona, both minor and major, is actually down slightly from 2006. But in a town Verona’s size, even a small amount of crime makes a big impression: State data shows that per capita, crime rates in Verona are slightly higher than in Pittsburgh, though the vast majority of offenses committed in Verona are relatively minor infractions like vandalism, disorderly conduct and theft.
Berry says that, to some extent, she can “truly understand” the concerns of long-time residents. “A lot of people have been born and raised in this town. … A lot of people are not accepting [of] change.”
Berry admits the change wasn’t easy for her, either: A Penn Hills native, she “never … felt uncomfortable because of my race” when growing up, she says. Blacks make up one-quarter of Penn Hills’ population, and Berry says, “When I got here, just on the other side of Penn Hills, I figured, ‘What could be so different?’ I was just shocked. … Sometimes in this town they go too far.”
Like, for example, the time Verona police officers barged into her home without a search warrant.
On Jan. 17, Berry says, a Verona police and county probation officer searching for a 17-year-old suspect entered her home without her permission. Though the officers had no search warrant, Berry says they searched her home for nearly half an hour before leaving — without finding the suspect. The police officer said, “We don’t need a search warrant,” recalls Berry. “I said, ‘You’re violating my rights,'” but she was ignored.
According to the police report compiled on the incident, officers had an arrest warrant for the suspect, and entered Berry’s unlocked back door when their knocking at the front door went unanswered. “We stepped into the kitchen area and announced who we were and that is when Mrs. Berry came into the kitchen area,” the report reads. “We … informed her that we have good information that [the suspect] was inside her residence.”
“It doesn’t sound good,” says Bruce Ledewitz, a professor of law at Duquesne University. Ledewitz says it’s hard to judge the officers’ conduct just on the basis of a police report, and he says officers might have had the right if they had “credible evidence” the suspect was inside: “If there is a chase, and they see someone go in [the house], they can be there without a search warrant.” But the report makes no mention of such evidence; it says only that police had “good information [the suspect] was inside.” Berry, who is planning to file a lawsuit related to the search, says officers told her they’d seen the suspect with her son previously. But Ledewitz says that unless police have a more immediate justification, Berry has “a credible claim.”
Nor is this Berry’s only complaint with police. Like other black residents — and some whites — she believes black children are more likely to be cited than whites for violating Verona’s curfew.
Berry says that at one time she “literally had stacks of citations” — each of which costs $25 — for violating curfew, which in Verona requires kids under 18 to be home by 10 p.m. Her daughter, Alexis, says she’s been cited roughly a dozen times during the three-and-a-half years she’s lived in Verona. Her son, Allen, says the police “follow us” whenever he and his friends are out. He says he once heard an officer tell his friends, “If you’re out past curfew, we’ll Tase you.”
By contrast, “My kids have never gotten a citation,” says Melanie May, who is white and Jones’ girlfriend. Her daughters, who are now 15 and 18, have lived in Verona most of their lives, and May admits they’ve frequently been out after curfew. The violations are “motivated racially,” she believes.
Four phone calls to Verona’s mayor, Leonard Brennan, were not returned. (In a community newsletter published earlier this summer, Brennan wrote that he was taking an “extended vacation” in the American southwest.) Calls to Verona Police Chief Guy Truby’s office went unreturned. When a CP reporter visited his office, Truby refused to answer questions.
“No comment, sir,” he said, standing in the doorway to the department headquarters. “Have a nice day, sir,” he added before closing the door.
Verona police may not be the only ones paying special attention to black residents. Take, for instance, a widely circulated June 2006 e-mail sent from the Verona Community Action Group (VCAG).
VCAG organizes community events like neighborhood clean-ups and block watches, keeping members informed about potential community concerns. In the summer of 2006, VCAG founder LeaAnn Grill sent an e-mail advisory noting, “There have … been reports of several individuals from the Homewood area who are trying to rent or purchase property in Verona.
“If you should notice either a green Suburban with spinners on the tires, or a black Jeep Cherokee at a residence for an extended amount of time (8 hours or more) or see anyone fitting the description moving into a property, please call the police department with the address.”
“That proves how they do that racial profiling here,” says Berry. “It’s just ridiculous.”
“I don’t even remember that,” says Grill, a Verona resident of 18 years, when asked about the e-mail. The information specifying Homewood, and specific car models, “came from the police. What the police wanted to know is, ‘Are these people, in fact, truly interested in renting properties?’ … If that’s truly what they’re saying when they pull up, is that just a façade for why they are truly there?”
Even so, Grill says, far from feeling threatened, Verona welcomes the changes coming to it. “Verona is definitely improving,” she says. With its “quaintness” and walkable streets, “We could be another little Shadyside.”
When Paradise Gray first came to Verona four years ago, he didn’t have to look any farther than the local basketball court to see evidence of a racial divide.
Gray is a community activist with a long history of working with young people; in Pittsburgh, he’s perhaps best known as the organizer of One Hood, an anti-violence initiative targeting at-risk city youth. So when Rev. Don Dilley, the pastor of Verona United Presbyterian Church, inaugurated a youth program called “Almost Home” in December 2004, Gray seemed a natural choice.
Almost Home is a twice-weekly after-school program in which kids come for dinner, play video games and use computers in the church basement. They also make use of the basketball court and other facilities at Cribbs Field, a community park just across South Avenue from the church.
But shortly after he began working at the program, Gray noticed that instead of playing full-court basketball, kids played two separate half-court games: one for whites, the other for blacks. When the kids later took to the football field for a game, one of the kids shouted “Let’s play black kids against white kids!”
“There ain’t white kids and black kids here,” Gray interjected. “There are only kids here.” But once he started choosing — and integrating — the teams, the kids “started forming relationships with each other.”
But while Almost Home has helped bridge some racial divides, says its sponsor, it has reflected others.
“[Neighbors] wanted us to stop the program,” says Dilley. “[They said] it was affecting the Verona community.”
“Do you want the truth?” asks Jean Wynn, 74, a church deacon and program supervisor. “It’s racial.”
Not so, say borough councilors who’ve criticized the program.
“I’m not a supporter of the program because of the way it’s running,” says Councilor Earl Hendricks. “It’s not a racial issue. The founders of the program have made it a race issue.”
Council member Peggy Suchevich offers another complaint: The kids participating in Almost Home, she says, don’t have homes in Verona.
“I’ve seen those children getting out of a van,” she says. “I don’t know where they’re bringing them from, but they are not from Verona.”
Dilley says this is a widespread but false belief, promoted by members of VCAG who are hostile to the program. The program is roughly a 50/50 mix of blacks and whites, he says, making it much more racially mixed than the community as a whole. As a result, he says, some residents have “this vision of buses coming and unloading these black kids,” he says. “The kids had to be from outside [Verona].”
Dilley says he showed a list of the kids’ names and addresses to a VCAG member, but the response was: “Did you call each one of those kids to verify that they were from Verona? … How do you know they weren’t lying?”
Dilley acknowledges there have been problems with oversight. Once word of the program spread, it began attracting as many as 80 kids, some of whom merely popped into the church to grab food before running across the street to the playground. “We hadn’t anticipated that volume,” says Dilley. “And there was chaos between the church and the playground across the street,” he says. Finally, a fight broke out on the playground in June 2004, just after that day’s program ended at 7 p.m.
In that incident, four girls — two of whom were black, and three of whom were involved in Almost Home — beat up a young white girl across the street from the church. The girl was injured badly enough that she had to be taken to the hospital.
Dilley says he doesn’t know what the fight was about, and notes that the incident took place off church property. Still, he acknowledged that the program wasn’t perfect. He began making sure kids signed in, so they weren’t simply grabbing food and then leaving for the park. That change, he says, shrunk the program significantly — attendance now numbers around 30 — and made it easier for supervisors to monitor the kids. (These days, Dilley says, the program usually has one adult supervisor for every four or five kids.)
But four years after the June 2004 fight, criticism of the program continues.
Gray himself is a target. With his dreadlocks, connections to local leaders in the Nation of Islam, and a MySpace page that features a post-Katrina photograph of Gray extending the middle finger while standing beneath a FEMA sign, it’s no surprise his presence in a church program raised eyebrows. Dilley says some residents protested Gray’s involvement; Gray left this spring, believing his presence was becoming a distraction.
“We were under this constant attack,” Gray says.
For their part, the kids in Almost Home say criticism of the program goes too far. Sometimes kids act up and get loud, they acknowledge, but not having the program would be far worse. “People like the fact that there’s a building where kids can hang out,” says Chaze Monroe, a black 18-year-old who has participated in the program for the past two years.
The church program “keeps kids out of trouble,” agrees Drew Obenreder, a white 17-year-old who has been active in the program. Given the lack of things to do in Verona, he says, “There would probably be a lot of problems if the program wasn’t there.”
If anything, kids in Almost Home say their biggest problem is being hassled by police. Obenreder, for example, says Verona police have gotten “real racial” in recent years. On one occasion, he says, he watched an officer confront some black friends; the officer, Obenreder says, called his friends “black [and] illegitimate” and told them to go home.
Dilley has actually urged the kids in his program to write up accounts of their run-ins with police. That way, they would have a documented history of alleged harassment.
“I went into the newsstand to get a drink and so did Mike,” one letter reads. “Mike went out before me and I guess the police thr[ew] him on the ground. When I came out I tried to grab Mike’s hat … and wallet … and the police officer smacked the stuff out of my hand and started swearing at me and told me to leave or I was the next to get arrested.”
Grill and others say that, whether the subject is policing or community objections to the Almost Home program, it’s unfair to speculate about racism. Grill says VCAG’s main concern with the program was that there wasn’t enough adult oversight. While it has been better supervised lately, she says, “Without supervision, children are going to find trouble. It’s that simple.
“I don’t like to see a situation turned into a racial one if none exists,” Grill says. “I don’t like to see that twist.”
Borough Councilor Suchevich takes particular umbrage to criticism of the police department.
“I will vehemently deny that the police are doing anything wrong,” she says. “They are doing their job.
“Verona is not racist,” she adds. “That is just ludicrous.”
In fact, says Dr. Larry Davis, it would be too easy to chalk up such conflicts to outright racism.
For one thing, Verona is not an isolated case, says Davis, dean of the School of Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh. “This has been a legacy in America,” he says. Whenever a community’s racial demographics change, “We’ve always had pushback.” And the motive is not so much racial as economic.
A certain percentage of racists can be found in any community, Davis says, but most people don’t object to newcomers “solely because they’re black. … What they are saying is that, ‘Well, the black people will come and lower my property value.’ Whites perceive it as a threat to their way of life.”
In other words, white resentment is not motivated solely, or even mostly, by fear of other people’s race. It’s also motivated by fear of other people’s racism — the belief that other whites will move out, undermining the value of homes nearby. “We’ve been inclined to attribute all of this [racial strife] to just ignorance,” Davis says. If it was just ignorance, “we’d have solved America’s problem a long time ago. … [Race] is not as simple as people think.”
And Verona’s racial mix isn’t all that is changing. Anecdotal evidence suggests that many homes are being converted into rental properties — and an increasing number of rental properties are being occupied by low-income families. In recent years, there has been a sharp rise in the number of Verona apartments that qualify for Section 8 vouchers — financial assistance given to low-income families as an alternative to “warehousing” them in housing projects.
Section 8 has been an increasingly controversial program. A July article in The Atlantic magazine, for example, reported that in some cities, crime has followed Section 8 recipients as they followed vouchers out of city neighborhoods and into inner-ring suburbs — in part because those communities didn’t have police forces or social-service agencies equipped to deal with the new arrivals.
According to the Allegheny County Housing Authority, since 2006 the number of Section 8 vouchers issued within Verona has grown from 48 to 60, a 25 percent increase.
“If Section 8 moves in, it lowers property values,” Davis says. “It’s poverty, is what it is.” And for the people living next door, it’s not always easy to distinguish issues of race from issues of class. While Section 8 vouchers are extended to black and white households alike, “Welfare is stereotyped as being black.”
So far, there’s little sign that housing values in Verona have been hurt. According to RealSTATs, a Pittsburgh-based firm that tracks property sales, in 2007 some 28 Verona homes were sold for a median price of $59,750. That’s almost identical to the $59,700 median price for the 40 homes sold back in 2003.
But fears about unraveling property values and fraying communities can be self-fulfilling. Studies suggest that when a community’s black population reaches 20 percent, a “white flight pattern” can set in. Perhaps not surprisingly, Davis says studies also show that whites are most comfortable in groups where blacks make up 20 percent or less of the population. Blacks have a much higher tolerance for racial diversity, expressing contentment with a 50/50 racial balance.
Whites are so accustomed to being in the majority, Davis says, that “even when [blacks] are in numbers like 40 [percent], I argue that [whites] are psychologically outnumbered.”
And while Davis doesn’t excuse bias in policing, he says police behavior too needs to be considered in a broader context. “They’re there to protect and serve,” Davis says. And in a majority-white community, this means they “protect and serve white people. … They’re just doing what the community wants to be done.”
And local authorities may simply not be equipped to do anything else. Of the borough’s seven councilors, none are black. There are also no black officers on Verona’s police force, which consists of three full-time and seven part-time officers.
What’s the solution?
It would help to have at least some black representation in government, Berry says. But ultimately, she says, “There needs to be communication. People need to talk more.”
Could it be that simple? Fourteen-year-old Allen Berry sees evidence every time he attends the Almost Home program. “It gives a good name for this church,” he says.
Wynn, the church deacon, says the program has prompted some racial outreach among adults as well. One elderly parishioner, Wynn recalls, was shocked by Gray’s long dreadlocks and funky clothing. So she told Gray, “Go out there and be so sweet to that lady. She’s afraid of you.”
According to Wynn, Gray took the woman’s hand and politely introduced himself. And afterwards, “I went up to her and said, ‘See? Isn’t he nice?’ And she said, ‘He’s a lovely man.'”
Dilley says such acceptance may be taking root amongst the rest of the congregation as well. One church elder, he says, said that accepting Verona’s newest residents became easier once “We just sort of saw them as our neighbors.”
But not everyone may feel the same way.
Whether it’s because of animosity to the program, concern that they might be included in a lawsuit against it, or some other cause entirely, Dilley can’t be sure. But something has happened to his church’s predominantly white congregation: Where Sunday morning services once saw 60 worshippers, today there are less than 30.
This article appears in Jul 31 – Aug 6, 2008.
Maybe Chris Young should have spent more time in Verona to dig deeper into several other community issues. Racial tension is such a cliche topic for an alt weekly to cover. Why didn’t he look into the lame duck mayor who lives in Arizona for most of the year while his house in the borough is for sale? Why didn’t he examine the council president, (who’s brother is on county council), and how he doesn’t live in the borough either. What about council members that do “work” for the borough and get paid for it? No, there’s no conflict of interest there.
Of all the problems that little Verona has, this is the least of their worries.
Is there a bottom to the race reports in this country?Im really tired of the same song being played over and over.While racism is unfortunately very much alive in this country,it’s used as a scapegoat way to often to validate behavior and deflect responsibility. Why is it when it comes to the topic of race,it’s always whites that need to change and be more accepting of change?If I moved my family to Homewood would the residents welcome us in open arms?I highly doubt it.Im all for equality in this world but more importantly you can never underestimate the value of accountability.
i guess all of alleghney county must be racist.Chris young writes about grafitti on our buildings but what about those words posted on buildings in say North Side or Homewood?I guess its not racist there.Dont go writing an article on a town that you know nothing about. i have lived here all of my life know a good deal of people and race has never been an issue until now.What ever happened to there are two sides to every story.for example the church program:my son attended the program the problem with the program is not race but lack of adult supervision.my son had a severe concussion and did they call me to let me know??NO did they call an ambulance?NO what did they do ? they let him walk home to which he came in the door vomitted and fell. i later went to the church and asked. the adult in charge told me they knew nothing of it. meanwhile i had statements from six different kids who told yhe adult Next here is a point about the curfew issue. The police are not driving around going look lets give this kid a citation.I am sure they have much more important things to attend to.But if the berry children are seen that many times after curfew perhaps they should obey the curfew and then they would not get a citation.If miss berry would pay closer attention to what her kids were doing maybe she herself would be less judgemental.my children dont get them because they know the rules and are in by curfew.As for the statements made by Mr. jones i have known him for a long time and i would not take anything he says seriously and not because of his race but because you dont know troy.now maybe just maybe chris young should review more facts and hear the other side of the story before putting a lebel on a town he knows nothing about.
I totally disagree with this so called story!! Im soo sik of the race card being pulled!! this has nothing to do with color its about rules!! laws!! if your child is out past curfew then they are breaking the law!!! hell my kids get brought home all the time by the police ive been in the magistrate 5 seperate times this year is it because my kids are white?? NO!!! its because they are defient teenagers with nothing better to do!!! Its not the fault of verona or the law enforcement in verona!! Parents need to get a grip and quit blaming everyone else for theyre short comings!!!!
This article is trash! I have worked in Verona for 8 years, I know al the cops there is nothing wrong with them, they mind there own business, you do something “wrong” they will come after you, skin color don’t matter to them, obey the laws and this shit would not happen.
Maybe if the black race would not draw attention on themselves, this would not happen…
I support Verona Boro and there police 100%
Good job to them!
This article is a lie. I’m proud to be a black man in Verona.
This article lost all validity when it featured the feelings of TROY JONES. Give me a break. This guy has been selling smack for a long time and has been in and out of jail multiple times. Jones says he is looked at differently because he is a criminal. How many people can trust a guy who has been in and out of jail for drugs and theft his whole life? I agree that some racism exists in Verona. I am pretty sure you can say that about any town in which there is a majority race. That does not mean that most of the people who live there are racist. The isolated incidents described in this article are truly out to make Verona seem like these things happen on a regular basis. Black kids are certainly not the only ones who get citations for being out after curfew. Here is a thought. It’s VERONA. If you are out after curfew and see a cop maybe you should RUN. Plenty of white kids have received citations for being out after curfew for sure. I’m not saying racism doesnt exist in Verona. It certainly DOES. There were some fine examples of how it does in the article. (The 47 year old woman on her porch complaining the kids were WOODEWHOOIN. I would like to know what that is? Sounds like someone who just doesnt like black kids in her neighborhood. Also the complaints of Ms. Grill seem to show a racist agenda as well.) Those examples do not embrace the views of an entire community. I finally would like to comment on the graffiti showing racial slurs. Anyone white or black should be ashamed to have that kind of crap in their community. It is disgusting and needs to be addressed. GET ALONG PEOPLE!
this whole article is just bullshit. they are always pulling the race card but its not like that the kids complaning obout being judge for being black thats not the deal the deal is the kids in the article are trouble makers for instance they have been know to steal my kids have had there bikes stolen by shiquan jones ad one of the berry kids so i dont want to hear how they are getting a bad rap for their skin color its about how the are being raised and the lack of parenting
Not mentioned is the fact that a largely unrecognized percentage of white americans in this country support the efforts and advancements of black people.It’s insulting and enabling to continuously paint black people as every day victims of society.I know blacks who are embarrassed when this type of coverage surfaces in print for the public to read.Im sure you’ll get plenty of responses regarding this story,which was the intended purpose and sole motivation for your writings.Americans are addicted to any coverage of race relations.We eat it up.What’s sad is the people who have the platform to provoke thought through writing,waste their insight on trite topics such as this one.
First of all, why is everybody bitching about the boro taking care of that slur on the wall, that is a business, ask the business owner to clean it off the wall not the boro…….
Curfew violations happen EVERYWHERE and EVERY COLOR can be in violation, and as for “run” when you see a cop, well gee…..there you go as I said earlier, quit drawing the attention on yourselves.
The race card shit is geting old…..give it a break.
The sad thing is, this story has more online comments on it, than any other “main feature” in the last several weeks. I’m sure the CP loves that and that only means that they will try to dig up more garbage like this.
I live in the so called Verona area closer to Penn Hills. The tweens are out all night they never give citations in this area. When police are contacted the Penn Hills police show up not Verona Police. I wish they would give citations in this area now that new families are moving in a lot of vandalism is ocurring to property and automobiles. I agree with more supervision to your children would stop a lot of so called harassment. I am African American and I would like for changes to be made so our community won’t become a
statistic as a bad area to live in.
Race…it’s unfortunate but it happens in just about every state, city, and town. However in Verona I don’t think it’s the big issue. I have lived in Verona for several years and what I see to be the big issue is the structure of our council. This story should have been about how poor of a job some council members do their job, I mean come on who knows where our Mayor is and what’s really going on with council’s agenda. Their lackadaisical attitude about Verona forced some residents to try to make Verona a better place. There should be no fingers pointed at them for trying to make Verona a safer place. With a limited amount of police presence (I do respect and commend all of the police officers efforts by the way) the community needed to step up. It’s a shame we live in such a society where good people who try to do the right thing gets shit on. I
I have been a reader of the CP for a long time and this is the first time I couldn’t believe they would write such a lopsided story. What really shocked me was the one picture of a slur sprayed on the “public sidewalk”. I guess public means in the middle of the woods where kids hangout. It’s not like it was on a high traffic area such as our business district sidewalk. I drive through Verona everyday and I have no idea what building has a slur painted on. And something tells me that both been sprayed painted there for many many years. I’m not saying its O.K. that it’s there but what I’m saying is the media can put a spin on the truth. I wish the author would have did some more research before writing a story, but I guess that’s what you get from a paper who has more ads for in house “massages” than real true stories. Maybe one day a real paper can do the right story about Verona.
Jim in Verona is obviously a closet racist. That is fine. As a white male, I am ashamed to know guys like you live in my community. I think Verona is a great town with some history. Yeah we have our JIMS IN VERONA within our neighborhood. These are the people who need to be ignored.
I have been a resident of Verona for over ten years and spent my previous years in Penn Hills. When my wife and I moved our family into Verona, the inicidental crimes (vandalism, breaking into cars, petty theft, etc.) were not as prevalent. We could leave our front doors open, our car windows down with the doors unlocked. But, during the past two years, my car has been entered and someone had taken the change left on the console and the glovebox had been ransacked. I am not a racist by any standards. When my children rode the bus to school when they were in 7-9th grade, they did not appear to have any problems and there were black children on the bus. Unfortunatly a few “bad apples” moved into the neighborhood and began harassing kids on the bus. Unfortunately, this ended up becoming a race issue. Because of a few “bad apples” this neighborhood is being classified as a “racist” community.
I could care less who lives next store to me as long as they respect my property and family. I took down a fence that seperated the yards, so the next door neighbors (black kids) had more room to play and gave them access to my basketball hoop. After it being used daily, they inadvertantly ripped the net and without being told they replaced it. When the language became bad, I would let them know about it and they would stop the swearing.
However, I have witnessed some of these same kids shooting BB guns out of third floor windows into residential windows across the alley and throwing things out of the windows at my dog that was tied up in my yard. I have taken some of these young junior high kids to Tenth Street school for Junior High basketball practices and/or games because the parent was no where to be found. The home was left with no adult supervision. It is my personal opinion, that both of these problems were created because of the lack of supervision. If the parents would pay more attention to their kids, instead of letting them run around the neighborhood after the curfew, then maybe the older residents would not be acting the way that they do.
A closet racist??? Um…wow, thats funny…thank you!
You must be a black man to get offended, I apologize to you and MC Lovin if I offended you two…..
I have lived in Verona for 30 plus years. There has never been a race issue in this town. Some of my best friends in school were black. We didn’t recognize color. However, they also respected their friends, neighbors and the police department. Can Ms. Berry say the same about her children? I have heard from my children that her son has done nothing but cause trouble at the high school. Do you think it could be from lack of parenting? Maybe a parent that has no moral ethics? I think that we are experiencing reverse discrimination on her part. Maybe if she spent more time on being a parent and teaching them right from wrong they wouldn’t be getting curfew citations. That would be a new concept – following the law. Paradise Gray has tried to turn our town into a race issue for several years now. I give him credit for his perseverance. You can’t change something that doesn’t exist. As for Mr. Jones stating that we have to change – why? Obviously if he has been in jail he has broken the law. Why should we lower our selves to his standard. I know of very few people in this town that do not try to get along with their neighbors. Black or White, Red or Orange, the color doesn’t matter. What matters is how you conduct yourself as a person. If your children are out yelling and screaming and running all over the town at night, then you as a parent are being a bad neighbor. In Chris Young’s attempt to get news he portrayed a one sided opinion. The credibility of those in his article are less than favorable. Verona is a great place to live, but as in all towns you must respect your neighbors and the law. Maybe they should look at themselves and see what they are doing to intimidate others.
I live on herron ave. i have lived in verona for 16yrs and i remember moving on to the street and there was no problems like this. this is getting rediculious the police dont do there job and they dont care. i am not saying that (black people) are the problem but they do not care what happeneds in this town. i have to deal with this crap everyday. i have to listen to them sreaming at 2-3 ‘o’clock in the moring and it is just getting old. and another thing now you do have to worry about walking down the street and getting robbed at GUN POINT!!!! there was a group of kids that tryed to jump my other brother and the police came and slammed him agianst the cop car and put handcuffs on him and the kids that tried to jump him got placed in the back of the car and they where black………. so that is stating something right there that there is no raceist problem……….and do the police care NO!!! and i have to look at the kid who robbed my brother everyday. this is so old there is no raceist problem in this town but there are problems. like vandalism and car robberies. my car was robbed. it is time for change but if this is what comes of it then i dont even want to have change!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This article is a bunch of crap. I grew up in Verona and it was never like this. We could leave our house doors unlocked, the cars unlocked, be out on the street until the street lights went on and knew that it was time to go in. Why?………..because we had parents who made sure we were in our houses safe and that cared what we were doing. It is a lack of parenting for Ms. Berry in my opinion. Her children are always causing problems and where is she? What about all of the loud noise they make until 2 or 3 in the morning. Come on…..respect your neighbors and they will respect you. Its not about race. I am not saying that there aren’t racial issues in Verona but what town doesn’t have racial issues, white, black, oriental, hispanic, it is everywhere. Get over it Ms. Berry or move, and keep your children on a leash or something. That is all I have to say to you.
Troy Jones….hahaha! This article is the biggest joke. What it all comes down to is how people raise their children. It doesn’t matter what race you are, it’s about people of all ages and all races having respect for each other. I feel bad for the children who are only products of
their environment…
The real problem is that we are still slaves to SIN! None of us are good, for the Lord said there’s none good but God – so it is to no surprise that racism hits the community of Verona – infact, racism is everywhere. The million-dollar question is: Will you go to Heaven when you die? Here’s a quick test. Have you ever told a lie, stolen anything, or used God’s name in vain? Jesus said, “Whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Have you looked with lust? Will you be guilty on Judgment Day? If you have done those things, God sees you as a lying, thieving, blasphemous, adulterer at heart. The Bible warns that if you are guilty you will end up in Hell. That’s not God’s will. He sent His Son to suffer and die on the cross for you. You broke God’s Law, but Jesus paid your fine. That means He can legally dismiss your case. He can commute your death sentence: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Then He rose from the dead and defeated death. Please, REPENT (turn from sin) today and trust in Jesus alone, and God will grant you the gift of everlasting life. Then read your Bible daily and obey it.
I am a resident of Herron Ave and I see all the riff raff that goes on in our community( especially Herron Ave) Its not just our black neighbors its our white neighbors to. The childrenare all the same follow the rules of curfew and stay off the streets and you would not have this problem
PS Lori you need to get a day job if you cant control your children, dont try and make our neighborhood look like its racist because its not.
Do those of you who are black ever wonder why you are singled out?It is because there are major problems in the black communities and areas that are predominantly white want to keep there areas trouble free.You should be greatful they are trying to keep th rif raf blacks out!
some of this is right and some is wrong.i lived in verona 45years we allways had black families in verona but they where from verona. the ones moveing in from out of town dont like the way of life here.i see it every day in this town herron ave cops do nothing about the noise.they sit on the street and do nothing to the ones who are makeing all the noise till 2 or 3 am.all you see on the main street in verona is blacks groups of them this gives the town a bad name for everyone.verona has allways been a nice place to live lets keep it that way.i never knew of verona haveing a black cop or one on council its not like its a new thing.i my self am tired of the all thats goes on in verona.we have blacks in verona and we have niggers in verona white and black.look at blondies and dailys they bring in a lot of bad people to verona and they do not even live here.this is not pittsburgh or penn hills if you dont like it here move out.i will not change for the trash in town.lets clean this town up the way it should be.
I am a life long Verona resident that moved away to go to college. We always had Afr Am residents in Verona, whether it was at Verner or Riverview. There were almost no racial problems.
The town has a ton of potential. As far as Herron Ave, I could possibly see that as a problem street because most of the houses are not owned by the people living in them. Most of the houses are apartments or duplexes.
Typical modern day media at its best, except this time they are not using terrorism they are using racism.
I am from Verona and this one sided article by Chris Young is down right offensive to all the generations of hard working verona residents black or white.Why didnt Mr Young do better research and find out about business owners, landlords that are black to see if they have had a negative welcome wagon from Verona residents, I doubt it. Lets take a better look at this word Racist, has anyone ever denied Mrs Berry employment in Verona, or Housing. Its easy to say Racist when you are uneducated and ignorant and expect a community to raise your children. Im sure there are predjudice people in verona but thats everywhere. People in Verona want productive residents so that this town can grow, not people always looking for a hand out from someone. Black or White if you have never taken the time to get involved in your community ,then as far as I am concerned you just add to the problem why small towns end up the way they do. Its time to wake up people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just when i thought all was said i realized that it’s not. I am so sick of the race card being thrown out all the time to take the spot light off of the real issue which is that your kids mrs berry are trouble makers. Verona has a curfew that the kids are to follow, which yours have violated on many occasions. Last time i checked the cops werent out in the streets dragging your innocent kids out of the house just to give them a citation. Also to you Chris Young who wrote this ridiculous article, you have no basis or factual information in it. Since you have made this whole thing a racial issue why wouldnt you interview the black non convict residents of verona instead of the biggest trouble makers in town?
Furious–you hit the nail on the head…..
I grew up in Verona and have always been proud to say that to anyone.It has always been a great place to live. As kids we had a curfew and actually were afraid of being out after that time to be reprimanded by our parents and or the police.Its ashame that some kids just do not have a any respect for the law or adults. I see kids walking down the street after curfew at all hours ,where are their parents. Its hard to understand that as a parent others do not know what their children are doing at evening hours when they should be at home . I think that reporter did not do justice to Verona or the people in it.It certainly was not investigated. I would like to know who got him to do the article.
The problem is,Every time a black person gets arrested or chastised by the police,Out comes the race card and the police back off because they are afraid of being charged with violating their civil rights or discrimination.This causes two problems,police hands are tied because of this and certain blacks(the black criminal element)will push the envelope to get away with what ever illegal activities they can.Laws are set to protect everyone and curfews are there for a reason.The people complaining in this article,need to realize this and keep their kids off the streets or they are going to have major problems with their kids down the road.If this continues to be a problem and these parents don’t ta
ke responsibility,then Verona will turn into another Wilkinsburg,Homewood or another crime infested area.Shove the race card where the sun don’t shine and appreciate the fact that the people in this community don’t want this area to turn into another crime ridden area.I grew up in penn hills,very close to verona and as a kid we used to walk there.I like verona and am glad the good citizens of this town are standing up against this reverse racist garbage and I mean garbage.
Completely rediculous article. I’m not going to go on and on about the race issue in Verona b/c that’s already been hashed out. However, I do want to express my concern for the lack of journalistic integrity and the lack of due diligence here. Now I know that Pittsburgh isn’t exactly known for it’s investigative journalism but this is just flat out horseshit.
Chris Young certainly is no Bill Moushey (P-G) or Carl Prine (I cringe to even think about someone from the Trib as being a half decent investigative reporter but that would be a thousand times better than this garbage).
You know, it’s one thing to write about social problems, (whether they exist or not like in this case), but a good investigative journalist also suggests ways to solve that problem through his research.
After reading all of the posted comments it seems that the only ones making comments are those that are Verona residents or those living near Verona that care about this community. It is a shame that a transient like the Berrys, criminal element like Troy Jones, and activist like Paradise Grey would try to disrupt this community. Those of us that live here do so because we love our quaint little town. We enjoy the company of our neighbors (for the most part), and can live in our homes in peace. No, Verona is not a wealthy town, but we do have people who care about each other and work hard, we take pride in our homes. Most of our renters take care of their apartments and respect their neighbors. Those that don’t should move. The problem with Verona is absentee landlords that only care about profit. It would be to their benefit to screen tenants. There are those that need state assistance to raise their families, but most aren’t out disturbing their neighbors at all hours of the night. They are trying to better themselves and provide for their childlren.A community consists of people who care for each other. They raise their children to respect their neighbors and laws. Those who don’t care about our community, or feel they don’t fit in because of their desire to break laws or cause disturbances should move to where they will fit in. Verona is a town of many ethnic groups. The diversity of our town is what makes it special. I don’t understand how anyone who looks at the cultural makeup of the town can say it is prejudice.
Thank you again – Chris, and your partners in the drive by media. Ever vigilant with no agenda – just the facts.
Maybe next time you get a chance at the “Big Time”, you know, cover of the City Paper, you can try and guilt the people of Verona into going green and voting for Obama.
FYI: It would greatly improve your credibility if some of you could SPELL. Seriously.
I used to live in Verona, and I’ve known Troy Jones for about 22 years. He is the last person they should have interviewed for this story. You can’t even get gas at Get-Go without him coming up to you asking for money.
You have parents who willingly admit that their kids are out past curfew, then cry about who is and isn’t getting a citation. Perhaps the Verona Police Dept. should mail a few citations to Ms. May for her children so she doesn’t feel left out. The point is, you know your kids are doing what isn’t allowed, so do something about it.
What happened to respect for neighbors? Simple things, such as making your kids ask for permission before entering a neighbor’s yard to retrieve a ball, keeping things cleaned up, etc.
I had neighbors in Verona who let their kids and pit bull run wild. The one little boy would urinate from the 2nd floor window, and on neighbor’s cars. They’d pull flowers from flower beds, throw rocks at passing cars, the list goes on. The police were called repeatedly, and the parents cried racism. It’s called rope in your damn kids! The police quit responding to calls because the parents pulled the race card.
This comment if for ” AllInFavorOfJournalisticIntegrity”. Do you actually think that there are people in Verona who will not vote for Obama? Why would you even bring politics into this issue? I am voting for him and I live in Verona. Try to remember that Obama is 50% black and 50% white. But why should that matter? He is just the best candidate. What has our current government done for you? It really is time people look past color and look at their integrity.
HA HA HA !!!THE BERRYS,THEY ARE TRASH ..PERIOD !!!AND IF MS.BERRY WASNT A CRACK HEAD SHE COULD PAY BETTER ATTENTION TO HER CHILDREN.
Obama is a terrorist!
we dont need that trash in office!
I really resent that Mr.Young did not get all the facts. I have lived in Verona for 13 years. I personally met with Pastor Dilley and Mr.Grey at the church concerning my nephew , who is half black. My nephew and two of his friends were robbed at gun point by 3 black teens. Only one of these felons were from Verona. This teen did attend the program around the same time as my nephew. Mr.Grey approached my nephew at the basket ball court , without permission of his parents, and questioned his identification of the teens. He had no right. I did see the computers at the church but they were not hooked up. I stated my concern about the boys playing ball outside, one had ran into the street in front of my car. I was told by Pastor Dilley that once the children went outside they werent responsible for them. Are not the grounds part of the church? Mr.Grey was much more interested in stating the mistreatment of 200 black men after Katrina. What happened there was something this government/country should be ashamed of. That I agreed with! I had looked at Mr.Grey’s myspace page and was shocked. There is a picture of him standing in front of the Fema building with his middle finger up. That’s not how you educate children to right something that is wrong. I sent a request to be one of his friends, I am still waiting. He is the racist! Since Mr.Grey came from New York City , I contacted a black male friend of mine from Harlem to inquire if he was known there. I received an email back from him stating ” this guy is a clown, dispicable and a shame to our race”. Pastor Dilley is trying to do something great for the children but with the wrong person. Teach you children that to change things you get a good education, not break the law or stand in front of a government building with your middle finger up. Riverview is a great school system, use it to your advantage. Everyone has some racism in them, you can be white , black, yellow, red or any nationality and dislike the other person because he is different than you. It is when it clouds your vision and you let your ignorance show that it becomes dangerous. No one is perfect, nor are the police. If they make an racist statement they only make matters worse. I know about police, my brother is one and my cousin is the chief of police in Carnegie. If crime doesn’t follow Section 8 , why is there a need for more police or social programs? Have any blacks even applied to the Verona Police Department ?
As for Mrs.Berry , if your children have a stack of curfew violations, don’t you think it is time to make sure they are in? White children receive violations too. My daughter had to be in by curfew. We have had the curfew for years and it is to protect them not single anyone out. I have talked to other black people that have lived in Verona for a long time. One black women told me her grand daughters were followed in to her house by three other black girls that were trying to beat them up. The girls were not from Verona. She stated that Verona is changing and becoming more dangerous. Our concern is not that you are black but are you breaking the law?? I am a white 55 year old woman, with a black boyfriend, black nephew, grand children whose father is from India and a son in law from Nepal. I love all of them and I am not a racist. I really resent his portrayal of this town. The media needs to start reporting the news and not try to make it. I think this town deserves an apology from him.
Jim in Verona
You have no idea what you are talking about! Get use to it because he will be our next president
I have lived in Verona all my life 47 yrs to be exact. It has changed over the past 3 years. ALOT!!
First the curfew. I never remember Verona not having one. I never remember anyone I knew getting a citation BECAUSE our parents taught us to obey the law. Plus why would any parent want their young kids out after 10:00pm unless they didn’t care because it was easier for them to be out running the streets causing trouble AND that is what they do than have to deal with their bad behaviour at home.
(Does anyone one wonder if any of those citations were paid.I bet not.)
Cribbs field is not a place for any children unattened. Back in the day Verona paid to have a caretaker for the field and it was safe place for children. That was then and this is now. The few times I did let my son go there he came home because he and his friends were thrown off the BB courts by older kids. I take my daughter to the playground and the language is so bad we leave. This is from both white and black kids. The kids fight,bully,swear,and destroy the park. There definitely are more black kids than white kids most of the times but the trouble comes from both. If you are a concerned parent DON’T send your child there unattened. Better safe than sorry.
The After School program is a bunch of crap!! It is a place to drop and bus in “yes I said it” outsiders and I have I seen it on several occasion. It was not a figment in my mind Pastor Dilley. Most of these kids are trouble makers and are sent there to be babysat because their parents once again don’t want to deal with them. Unfortunately the Verona residents have to deal with them too. Swearing,spitting on cars,beating up kids,sitting on cars,throwing huggies at cars,unrinating on the sidewalk do I have to say anymore. Tuesdays and Thursdays have become nightmares in Verona because these kids run loose. If their parents can’t control them how can a group of a few adults conrol 30 to 40 of them?
Paradise Gray you need to get out of the past and get that chip off your shoulder. Any parent who would let you mentor there child must be crazy. Instead of trying to build confidence in these young kids you instill your own hate and racisim for whites in them. You need to get past the days of slavery and let these kids know they can reach any dream with hard work and staying focused.
Last is the absent landlords who don’t care about our community. They want that guarenteed government rent check. So they put whoever fills out the app and get’s the goverment ok in the apartments. Instead of a credit check how about a background check.That way all these Sections 8 losers stay out of our town. Then all the hard working,home owning,tax paying, citizens of Verona don’t have to be called racists for all of Pittsburgh to see.
~~To the Verona police!!KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!~~~
Ah… Verona. It was almost the birth place of flight. Stanley Kowalski was an inventor who owned Kowalski Motor Boats in Verona. He spent his free time building a small aircraft. Two weeks before the Wright brothers achieved infamy on the shores of the North Carolina Verona’s Kowalski took off from a field in Fox Chapel, crossed the Allegheny river high above his hometown, waved at the townspeople below, and crashed into the woods in Penn Hills. True story. He lived through that, but died a penniless and insane old man after wandering the streets of Verona charging ten cents a pop for a peek at the world’s smallest motor, another of his inventions. How does this relate to this article? Verona has shitty luck. I played the arcade version of “Mike Tyson’s Punchout” at a convenience store after school every day for months and an older kid, Troy “Binker” Jones, was always hanging around. We’d cheer each other on trying to beat Soda Pop Pinski or whoever and race was never a thing between us. Months later I grew tired of the game and stopped hanging out there and lost touch with my video game acquaintance. That year I heard that on Oakmont/Verona Kennywood day Troy and some other kid from our area dressed up like ninjas, broke into an elderly couple’s house, tied them up, beat them with a kendo stick and robbed them. While that probably wasn’t the whole reality there was certainly a grain of truth in it because they both got sent off to juvie… and 1980’s style ninja were big in this area. I was never intimidated or afraid of him for being an older larger black kid who hung out at a convenience store, but I was really freaked out as a kid when I found out that he was capable of violent crime. It definitely made me wary of black people. Yet I find myself campaigning for Obama as an adult. That’s education for you. This article really isn’t fair. The sheltered journalism major who wrote this probably didn’t see Verona 10-15 years ago before they lost so much commerce and identity. Is it a racist town? Yes. Is it wrong to be racist? Maybe. Is it illogical to fear what you perceive as a threat to your way of life? I think its just human nature. Where do we go from here? I don’t like black people any more than I do white people. Is there such a thing as gray flight?
I forgot about him being called Binker.
There was also a house he robbed with a few others down on East Railroad Avenue. It was a gray house, maybe the 3 or 4th one in from Grant Street. This was in the late 80s or so. He wasn’t alone, there were others with him, and I’m pretty sure they were all charged for it.
Looks like the City Paper doesn’t look into the backgrounds of who they’re interviewing before taking their word at face value.
As much as I think Troy Jones needs to hire a new image consultant I must acknowledge that the quote that he is credited with conveys an idea that is profoundly relevant; “But even in Verona”, he says “times change”, and “residents need to get used to it”.
“If you can’t keep up with the times, then who do you blame for that? The world’s not going to stop growing because you’re stuck in a time zone.”
He was never one to be stuck in a time zone. Troy used to rock a red leather Michael Jackson jacket with a pick in his hair and raise hell all over town, but… he’s right. The issue is that the town either cannot or will not adapt to change.
I do find it amusing that CP uses Troy Jones AKA ‘Binker’ as sort of a moral compass and expert testimony. Its especially ridiculous that they describe him as an “aspiring rapper with gold teeth and chains”. That image is just as damning as anything being said in Verona.
Not that I take writing “Nigger” or “KKK” or drawing swastikas in public places lightly. That sucks. Those are signs of an emergency situation.
Is there some model of successful integration in small towns? There must be some town somewhere proportionate to Verona that has had a successful mixing of black and white citizens. Off the top of my head there are plenty of examples of unsuccessful integration in small towns all around Pittsburgh. Verona doesn’t want to go down that same road, but it seems they may.
V-town needs a pick-me-up. The black people of Verona need a pick-me-up. The white people of Verona do too. Filled with empty store fronts and section eight housing the whole town needs a pick-me-up. But where will it come from?
Could the town declare a state of emergency once Lenny Brennan gets back from the Southwest and seek funding from the state to start some sort of program or initiative?
Maybe Oakmont, Verona’s wealthier and long time rival across plum creek can come to the rescue with some sort of neighborly support? Sounds doubtful? I agree. But they do share a school district, main drag, park, etc. and after all you can’t brush just one tooth.
It probably has to be a combination of efforts starting with the people who live there. That town has a strong core of loyal leadership, experienced elder statesmen, and hidden talent, but good luck getting them all on one page.
I live by the mentioned church that has the “Almost Home” program. And I drive by there daily. Is it so much better to have these kids handing out there causing trouble and smoking pot. And yes, I have seen this with my own eyes. I also have teenagers who have been there and witnessed the language and actions that are being used by these “church” kids. This program should be canceled and these kids need to go back to where they live. Its one thing if they live here but coming in from other areas because they hear the word “free” is another. People wonder why there is racism, its because people, white and black people, don’t want to work. Society and the government have made racism what it is today. Stop the welfare and food stamps for people capable of working. What are people teaching their children.
I am really unsure what Mr. Young was thinking when he had decided to write this article. It is not the article in which bothers me either. I just think that writing an article that depictes Verona as a racial town because of a racial slur painted on a wall, Mr. Young would have done his homework.
Verona is just Verona. A small quiant town like many small towns across America where everyone knows everyone and everyone’s business. Some people who live there need to mind thier own business and find more productive things to do for the good of the community.
I have family who lives on “Herion Avenue” and when I visit thier homes the first words out of my mouth is “I would move if I were you.” I invite Mr. Young to visit Herron Avenue at about 5-6 pm and see just what goes on there.
You cannot blame a community as a whole or a few bad streets for ignorance. Black people are so offended when the word “nigger” is used but, they call eachother it all the time. Don’t get me wrong. Im not trying to down-play the incident.
Nobody knows who wrote the racial slur or if they were white,black,hispanic,or jewish. But, if Mr. Jones claims that it has been there for years perhaps he would approach the business owner to remove it or agree to voulunteer his time and offer to remove it for the community. Lord, knows he isn’t doing much of anything else. People who are not productive citizens of a community love to stand back and point the finger and complain but, when asked to help assist the Police Department in an effort to get rid of the bad seeds they are at a loss for words they never saw a thing. But, if its a racial issue they have alot to say. If you see something you do not like speak up, change it,get involved or stop complaining.
I have lived in Oakmont/Verona my whole life and if the people of Verona, whatever skin color feel like second class citizens to thier neighbors, or other communities that does not say much of who you are. Respect eachother, do on to others as you would have done to you. It’s not rocket science. Take responsibility!
Ya know something I am only 20 something but have lived in verona all my life. I can remember being a kid growing up and running all over Verona till those street lights came on and I knew I had 5 minutes to get in my house or my mom was going to beat me till I couldn’t sit for a week. I am now raising my son here and it is nothing like when I grew up. I dont let him out of my eye sight for fear of him getting bullied by a bigger kid, or seeing something illeagal going on and I don’t mean by black people only I have seen alot of white trash doing stuff that is just not leagal or acceptable. Kids just running in and out of other peoples yards and taking whatever they want whenever they want. It is bullshit, excuse my language. I use to leave my bike and whatever else on my porch growing up and noone touched it, now adays I have to make my son bring in his bike and lock up his toys on the front porch with a lock. Its ashame. Me and my husband are looking to buy a house this year and sadly it will not be here in Verona due to the lack of discipline in children around here. If parents like Mrs. Berry would discipline their children and teach them right from wrong Verona would be the perfect community to raise a family. My mom lives right off of Heron Ave and there are many times I walk my son over to her house to visit and to play and Mrs. Berry’s children are running all over the place with no adult supervision what so ever. Where is she all day? Why isn’t she watching her kids instead of complaining that Verona didn’t pull out the welcome wagon for her. Instead of complaining about all the citations how about making sure your kids are in before curfew? I am white and when I was 16 I didn’t listen to my mom and was out past curfew, I got arrested none the less, had a huge fine, and community service. I didn’t whine that the cops were unfair, I put my head down in shame and served my community service cause I knew I was wrong. Was never out past curfew again after that. You would think she would of learned to bring her kids in for curfew after the first fine?
Ironically, A man was shot to death on Friday in Verona. I guess it was one the the back-woods, racist hicks who shot someone, right? I’m not from Verona, hardly ever been in Verona, but it’s the same story all over Pittsburgh. How could you waste the time writing an article about the People of Verona being scared, un-accepting, racists. Isn’t the bigger story the complete collapse of Pittsburgh neighborhoods one after another. Get a life and write about real issues.
F.
Check the address on the map. The shooting was in Verona by mailing address only, not the actual town of Verona that was in the paper.
Check the address on the map. The shooting was in Verona by mailing address only, not the actual town of Verona that was in the paper.
I have news for you, Mr. Young, you don’t know squat about Verona. I lived there for many years and I don’t believe the people of Verona are having a problem with Black families moving there. The people of Verona are kind, down to earth and very compassionate.
The problems in Verona began way before Blacks started moving there. You know, my father always told me “you get what you pay for” and that is what Verona has gotten, an inexperienced, young police force with a power hungry chief running the department. And if you think they are picking on the blacks you better look again. They harass anyone that is low income also, Black or White.
Herron Ave has been a problem for many years, NOTHING has been done to control what is and has been going on there. Why aren’t the owners that rent to the scum being held accountable? I worked in real estate for any years, let me tell you, credit checks and background checks are available to them. They love to rent to section 8 so they can collect great big checks from the County. And that goes for Lower Verona landlords also.
For those of you that feel you are being harassed, have you complained to Council or the ‘Mayor”? Maybe that where your answers are, maybe it’s time to replace them. I understand Verona doesn’t have the money for experienced police officers but they sure had the money to build that big beautiful police station, didn’t they? And what was wrong with the old one? Looks pretty good to me. It’s being used isn’t it?
At one time I lived on Center Ave. I watched drug deals going on in a parking lot on several occasions. One time the police drove past, slowed down, then went on to the next corner where they harassed 3 young boys, about 9 or 10 years old. PATHETIC!
I am disabled, I requested a handicap parking space for the front of my house. It was put in very quickly. I was living there about 6 months when the Chief of Police (not the present one) came to my door and asked why I needed it. I not only explained but I also showed him the scars on my knees from recent knee replacements. I used a cane to walk and have severe arthritis. It was almost impossible for me to go up even a few steps without rails. He decided it was not necessary for me to have the sign and had it removed. Did I mention I am a white woman? Two weeks before that incident, my friend had moved in with me temporarily, waiting for an apartment to open up in the SENIORS building in lower Verona. I feel it was because my friend was black and they didn’t like that. I believe this because my friend and I frequented the Veronians Club. Almost every time we left there one of the police officers would approach my car and ask me if everything was alright. This man, by the way, was born and raised in Verona and seeing us together was nothing unusual.
Speaking of the Veronians, that is another issue. It didn’t matter where there was a fight, be it Sylvans Bar or the Pub, the police showed up at the Veronians. I went there on and off for about 10 years and never witnessed a fight . Until 2 am, the only people in there were over 50 years old. The younger crowd came after the local bars closed and even then there was never a problem. But to read the papers you would think there were fights there all the time. And the fights that took place at the other bars were always between white men.
Now let me tell you about the day a Verona Police Officer had a warrant for my son. He didn’t even attempt to knock on the door, instead he pushed the screen in his living room in and sprayed mace on my 9 month old WHITE granddaughter. When I complained to the present Chief of Police he practically laughed in my face. He was proud of his officer.
Before I lived on Center, I lived on Penn St. Now we all know the “boaters” bring in revenue. But does that give them the right to abuse the law? In Verona it does. I watched them drive over the speed limit on residential streets, ignore stop signs, drive the wrong way on one way streets and nothing was ever done. They would walk their dogs, without leashes, allowing them to do their business in everyone’s yards. Again, nothing was ever done as we don’t want to anger the boaters.
No, if you think the harassment is over color, you are very much mistaken. What Verona needs are strong, experienced police officers, a chief that knows what he’s doing, a Mayor and Council that will force the scum, whatever color they are, out of town. We don’t need our children harassed, we need the adults that cause the trouble dwelt with.
Verona is and always has been a lovely town. It has wonderful churches, wonderful people and good businesses. What it needs is a strong Mayor, strong Council, and an experienced police department. Will that happen? Very doubtful.
Also, I guess it’s more of a hardship to live in a neighborhood with racist graffiti than one where other black people are trying to kill you every day (ex. Homewood, Wilkinsburg, Garfield etc. etc. etc. etc…..). You people at the City Paper have surpassed lame with this trash article.
I would simply like to state that I go to school with Allen Berry and he absolutely awful. He is rude to teachers, shows no respect for anyone, makes fun on fellow students, and thinks he owns the place. His sister Alexis is a wonderful child but unfortunately is never at school. Their mother lets them come and go as they please. Maybe that is why the police are at your doorstep so often. Where is their mother when this is all going on? What are you trying to raise here?
As previously said keep up the good work police officers!!!
I know for a fact that Allen and Micheal Berry are horrid kids. They have had the cops call on them when they are caught stealing from GetGo. Both Micheal and Allen are no longer allowed in Getgo. They stand outside begging for money saying that they are poor. They walk around the store and put things in their pockets. They were caught several times on video tape when I worked there. And I have been recently told that they were caught stealing from the new Dollar tree this week.
I just scrolled in to this article. It’s 12/29/16.
I could only make it through Ms. Young’s writing before I puked all over my keyboard. THIS is journalism?
Violence is on the rise, racism is on the rise, hate speech is now graffiti on walks and buildings YET, YET the black population is on the RISE.
What could Ms. Young possibly have missed in her deep compelling research?