East Allegheny County Council president Randy Strothman is often forced to make decisions affecting neighbors living far outside of the advocacy loop. An independent creative consultant, he lives in an elegant home the EACC renovated several years ago and is one of the more affluent residents on his block. But when he looks beyond his backyard to the alley below, he sees a vista of unresolved issues. Yet he doesn't look away. Neither do his neighbors.
People pick up garbage on the sidewalks and streets.
They clean up vacant lots. Strothman does too. He points to his neighbor's garage. Once dirty and covered with graffiti, the door now has a clean, white facade. Nuisance bars on nearby East Ohio Street still fill up with underemployed locals who voluntarily produce litter.