Mayor Corey O’Connor Builds Momentum on His Promises in His First 100 Days in Office
Pittsburgh, PA – Today marks Mayor Corey O’Connor’s 100th day in office. Since taking office on January 5, 2026, he has delivered early results on his promises to Pittsburgh through partnerships, attention to details, neighborhood investment, permitting reforms, growth and support for small businesses and by providing a safe, transparent, responsive and effective city government.
“From day one, my Administration hit the ground running to deliver a city that works for its residents where families can thrive, businesses can grow and we are proud of our vibrant neighborhoods,” said Mayor O’Connor. “We’re not just pointing out the problems, we’re working to find sustainable solutions – and we’ve come a long way so far in the first 100 days.”
Mayor O’Connor has built an intentional Administration, bringing together a diverse group of experienced professionals who share his commitment and vision to building success, growth and opportunity across the city.
Partnership Investments
In his first months in office, Mayor O’Connor has secured over $18 million in donations from corporate, union and nonprofit partners through their investments in shared goals and priorities. These include:
- $10 million from UPMC for the EMS vehicle fleet
- $5 million from the University of Pittsburgh for neighborhood parks, Main & Main business district initiatives and public safety programs
- $2 million from PNC for Department of Public Works (DPW) vehicles and snow removal equipment
- $750,000 from the Heinz Endowments for the citywide comprehensive plan, an investment that saved taxpayers over $1 million
- $300,000 from the Pirates Charities to update 20 baseball and softball fields citywide, including portable mounds, home plate tarps, MLB laser-graders and DuraEdge material
- $300,000 from the Pennsylvania Laborers’ District Council for new scoreboards at City-owned ballfields
“Pittsburgh is a supportive community and we have partners who share our vision and want to help invest in our neighborhoods and goals,” Mayor O’Connor said. “We are thankful for the generous donations from these partners, and we are continuing to have conversations with them and others about additional support.”
Details Matter
“Attention to small details in our neighborhoods help build pride and vibrancy,” Mayor O’Connor said. “Things like sidewalk repairs, patching potholes, fresh coats of paint and litter clean ups are the kinds of easy lifts that make a big difference for clean, safe communities.”
The O’Connor Administration has launched several initiatives to build momentum around proactive maintenance, including:
- Clearing 20 Hilltop properties in one day through a clean and lien blitz, where blighted private properties are cleaned by DPW and a lien is placed on the property for the work
- Patching over 550 potholes in just six hours with 92 tons of cold patch as part of the citywide pothole blitz
- Launching a demolition blitz in the Hilltop to demolish 23 long-neglected properties on residential streets
- Deployed an abandoned vehicle blitz, towing 151 vehicles, 99 of which had been reported to 311 by neighbors
- Coordinated painting the rusted railroad trestle that spans across the main roads connecting Downtown and the Strip District
- Removed over 100 old, unused news racks from around the city
- Led a Downtown walk on his first day in office with City directors and the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership to identify small but visible details to address like rusted old sign poles, graffiti, faded signage, clogged storm drains and more
“We’ve already built great momentum around addressing blight and safety concerns in our neighborhoods that we will continue to address,” he said. “We learn the most about our communities and their concerns by talking to our neighbors, so it’s important to me that my team and I are out in our neighborhoods learning from our residents.”
Mayor O’Connor has personally visited:
- 61 neighborhoods
- All six Pittsburgh Bureau of Police zones
- 13 EMS and Fire stations
- 10 Senior Centers
- 10 Recreation Centers
- 17 Local Schools
- 18 Neighborhood Business Districts
- Countless local small business shops
His Office of Community Affairs and Director of Community Impact regularly visit neighborhoods to connect residents, neighborhoods and community organizations to the Administration and City. The team has:
- Visited 75 neighborhoods
- Attended 115 community meetings
- Resolved over 400 community concerns
- Reestablished the successful Snow Angels program by matching 327 residents who needed help with snow and ice removal at their homes with local volunteers to assist them
In his first 100 days in office, Mayor O’Connor has worked to engage with faith-based and diverse communities through meetings, visits and open dialogue to build trust, listen to concerns, create collaboration and ensure their voices help shape the City’s priorities.
Permitting Reform
From his first day in office, Mayor O’Connor set the City’s commitment to a comprehensive permitting, licensing and application overhaul in motion. After his first Executive Order called for a 60-day review of all departments’ processes, Mayor O’Connor’s Administration has a roadmap for modernizing the system to provide clear, predictable and efficient applications.
“If we want to encourage growth, we have to make it easier to grow,” Mayor O’Connor said. “Permit reform is about removing the barriers to investing and doing business in Pittsburgh. We are making the process easier and more accessible for small businesses and homeowners.”
Some of the immediate changes in the works include:
- Launching a “fast lane” service for quicker permit approvals, offering more over-the-counter permits, reducing turnaround time for common permits and speeding up permit approvals for minor work
- Providing guided workflows and visuals, consolidated checklists, fee guides and other resources to applicants
- Optimizing pre-application meetings so that more applicants meet with all relevant departments at one time early in the review process
- Triaging projects by size so that the time it takes to review is proportional to the scope – smaller projects should take less time to review
- Investigating AI technologies to review applications for missing information before they are submitted
- Piloting virtual inspections on the OneStopPGH online portal
- Reducing the administrative burden on Registered Community Organizations by having the Department of City Planning schedule development activities meetings
An executive summary of the full reform plan can be found here.
Investing in Pittsburgh
Mayor O'Connor has taken a hands-on, people-centered approach to economic development to promote small businesses, attract new businesses and jobs, secure investment and promote overall growth citywide, including:
- Exploring 18 business districts on walking tours
- Connecting with over 135 local, national and international businesses across industries, ranging from main street retail and family-owned restaurants to robotics and AI, manufacturing and more
- Cutting ribbons to celebrate the opening of over 20 new businesses on main streets across the city
His office includes an economic development team to focus on growth, results and selling Pittsburgh as the most connected and livable city for businesses. To date, the economic development team has engaged with over 500 businesses, both local and from elsewhere, to discuss investing in Pittsburgh and inform Mayor O’Connor’s growth strategy.
“We’re building a city that says yes to investment, entrepreneurs, jobs and to the people who believe in Pittsburgh,” Mayor O’Connor said.
That includes continuing to build on the momentum around revitalizing Downtown, the region’s cultural and economic heart. Mayor O’Connor is looking at the long term, continued investment in Downtown after the Draft through some of the initiatives he's put forward, including:
- Progress towards establishing a Transit Revitalization Investment District (TRID), which would establish funding for community investments Downtown like small business support, facade programs, residential conversions and other types of assistance for main streets, business development and transportation improvements
- Issuing a call for artistic lighting design to illuminate Downtown
- Moving forward toward transforming the storefronts on Smithfield Street at Mellon Square into a destination restaurant with outdoor dining in the square to activate both the street and the park
In his first week in office, Mayor O'Connor announced Main & Main, a strategic investment plan to support main street corridors citywide. Recognizing that strong neighborhood business districts support housing, jobs, families, transit and growth, Main & Main develops tools and resources to meet the unique needs of business districts around the city to make them a place of energy, connection and opportunity.
So far, the Administration has responded to business’ needs by securing $500,000 to fund a Main & Main commercial facade grant program so that businesses can revitalize their storefronts. The Administration’s Main & Main initiative also helps get important projects over the finish line, like closing the funding gap for the Homewood Gateway Project, a development that will provide 44 units of housing – with 85% affordable for lower-income families – and 4,000 square feet of ground floor retail along the Homewood Avenue business district.
Mayor O’Connor has relaunched the City’s 2050 Comprehensive Plan, working closely with the Department of City Planning to reengage residents through community meetings across the city. Simultaneously, the Administration is advancing partnerships with external vendors to complete the City’s disparity study, ensuring a coordinated, data-driven approach to addressing historic inequities and promoting fair, accountable growth across Pittsburgh.
Every Family’s First Choice
Having grown up in Pittsburgh and now raising his children here, Mayor O’Connor wants to make Pittsburgh every family’s first choice.
“Making Pittsburgh every family’s first choice means investments in our neighborhoods, our parks, economic opportunities, housing and programs that support youth and families,” Mayor O’Connor remarked.
In working towards this goal, in the first 100 days, his Administration has:
- Announced a $600,000 total investment from the Pittsburgh Pirates and Pennsylvania Laborers’ District Council to upgrade ballfields citywide
- Expanded the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, where children in Pittsburgh, aged 0-5 years, get a free book in the mail every month
- Added funding to operate the Oliver Bath House after its seven-year renovation, so that families can enjoy year-round indoor swimming
- Hosted family and youth-focused roundtables with First Lady Katie O’Connor to learn about priorities and initiatives from service providers and experts
- Proposed a dedicated Office of Youth & Families in the Department of Parks and Recreation (CitiParks)
Accountability & Transparency
After a thorough review of the City’s 2026 budget, Mayor O'Connor publicly shared his serious concerns with the 2026 budget and 5-year financial projections to taxpayers. His honest, transparent and proactive report indicated the current budget would lead to a deficit in the tens of millions. The Mayor presented a series of amendments to City Council that address his concerns and begin the years-long process towards financial responsibility and stability.
“When I ran for Mayor, my promise to the people of Pittsburgh was to be honest and transparent about the City’s budget challenges,” Mayor O’Connor said. “The reality is worse than we thought, but my Administration is committed to working to deliver core services, collaborating with our partners and getting us back on track over the next several years.”
In addition to addressing areas of concern, Mayor O’Connor’s budget amendments propose investments to support his goals, such as:
- Increasing funding for the citywide fleet by $6 million for a total of $26.2 million, or more than double the fleet investment that the City has seen in decades
- Increasing funding for bridge maintenance
- Creating positions for community violence prevention, a head of the new Office of Youth & Families and a dedicated fleet employee for DPW
- Restoring the City Cuts program that provides grass cutting service for seniors, veterans and residents with disabilities
In addition to making difficult financial decisions, Mayor O’Connor has also taken steps to increase revenue by collecting outstanding police secondary employment payments and restructuring the payment process for taxpayers.
Mayor O’Connor’s transparency has extended into his social media, which he utilizes for direct communication with the public. During the historic winter storm in January, he provided constant updates on social media directly giving residents honest updates about the number of crews working, their progress, vehicle failures and how the City can improve and better prepare.
“The City’s Best Days Are Ahead”
After a productive first 100 days, Mayor Corey O’Connor is ready to build on the early progress and energy of his Administration and continually renew his promise to Pittsburghers:
“For too long, we’ve been a city of ‘no’ and from the first day I took office, we have started the work of getting to ‘yes,’” Mayor O’Connor said. “This isn’t about the first 100 days or the Draft or any one event. Our energy comes from building a Pittsburgh that works for you and that you can be proud of. We will continue to work every day and there’s no doubt that the city’s best days are ahead.”
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