UPDATED MEDIA ADVISORY: Keeping Pittsburgh Home: Homes for People, Not for Profit

WHO: Mayor Ed Gainey, Jala Rucker, HACP Board Appointee, Wasi Mohamed, HACP Board Appointee, Charlise Smith, HACP Board Appointee, Tammy Thompson, HACP Board Appointee, local officials, housing advocates, and community members

WHAT: Mayor Ed Gainey will lead a Public Housing Walk and Talk at Manchester Commons with newly appointed Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh (HACP) board members. This event highlights the administration’s commitment to centering residents in decision-making and ensuring HACP policies directly address community needs. Against the backdrop of Manchester Commons, a public housing site undergoing RAD conversion, the Mayor and board appointees will discuss the future of public housing in Pittsburgh, the challenges ahead, and the administration’s fight to keep public housing a resource for people, not a profit-driven asset for developers.

WHEN: Friday, March 14, 2025 at 10 AM

WHERE: 1131 Sheffield Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15233 (Manchester Neighborhood)

WHY: For the first time, Mayor Gainey has the opportunity to shape the HACP board with his own appointees—leaders who come directly from the communities they serve. These nominees have spent their careers fighting for housing justice, advocating for residents, and ensuring public housing is accountable to the people—not outside interests. Their leadership marks a transformative shift toward resident-led decision-making at HACP, ensuring that policies are created with and for the people who rely on public housing.

This shift comes at a critical moment—with the Trump administration threatening public housing through funding cuts, displacement policies, and attacks on tenant protections. Now more than ever, Pittsburgh needs leaders who will fight to protect and expand public housing, not sell it off to developers. Mayor Gainey’s appointees are committed to doing just that.