By: Maura McCampbell, Marketing & Community Programs Coordinator
Oakland residents know first-hand what it’s like to live near disruptive properties. But what exactly is a disruptive property as the city defines it?
A disruptive property is one that “places a substantial threat and burden on the common health, safety, and welfare of the residents of the City of Pittsburgh.” That “substantial threat and burden” means that police or city inspectors have had to respond to three or more complaints of disruptive activity within a one-year window.
Once a property is declared disruptive by the city, the defendant has the opportunity to appear before the Disruptive Properties Board in a scheduled hearing. The hearings are closed to the public but the complaining organization, citizen, police, or city inspector will be notified of the hearing and can attend in order to testify.
The list of violations that can lead to being classified as a disruptive property is long, and may sound familiar: noise, underage drinking, scattered garbage/litter, excessively tall weeds, public drunkenness, and disorderly conduct – just to name a few. The complete list can be found athttps://pittsburghpa.gov/publicsafety/disruptive-properties
Recently, OPDC sat down, via Zoom, with John Tokarski and Ian Reynolds, Pittsburgh Safer Together Coordinators at the city’s Disruptive Properties Office, to answer a few questions from Oakland residents.
How can residents report a disruptive property?
If you witness a dangerous situation, such as underage drinking, or if police action is needed immediately – call 911.
The best way to make sure complaints are tracked by the Disruptive Properties Office is to call the city’s helpline at 311 (online at www.pittsburghpa.gov/311 or tweet to @pgh311).
In addition, people can contact John Tokarski (412-225-2117 or john.tokarski@pittsburghpa.gov) to notify him of a disruptive property. Doing so allows him to pull all of the logged information on a specific property from 311 and the police. Find out more about landlords and 311 complaints in the following videos.
Who’s in the Disruptive Properties Office?
Safer Together Coordinators Ian Reynolds and John Tokarski represent Pittsburgh’s six zones, with Mr. Reynolds taking zones 2, 3, and 5, and Mr. Tokarski taking zones 1, 4, and 6. Since Oakland’s neighborhoods are in Zone 4, John Tokarski handles disruptive properties in Oakland.
The Disruptive Properties Board currently has several vacancies. Interested in being on the board? Disruptive Properties is looking for dedicated applicants who will help hold offenders accountable and advance the office's work. Email Ian Reynolds at ian.reynolds@pittsburghpa.gov to learn how to apply.
Learn more about the Disruptive Properties Board in this video segment.
OPDC is grateful to Mr. Reynolds and Mr. Tokarski for their time and consideration in talking with us.
If you want to learn more about the Disruptive Properties Office, please email John Tokarski at or john.tokarski@pittsburghpa.gov or Ian Reynolds at ian.reynolds@pittsburghpa.gov.
If you have an Oakland-specific complaint or observation, please contact Oakwatch via Lizabeth Gray at lgray@opdc.org or 412-335-0993.
Oakwatch Mission: The Oakland Code Enforcement Project works to improve the quality of life in Oakland by bringing people and institutions together to identify code violations, advocate for their remediation and monitor the outcomes.
For more on Oakwatch, including upcoming meetings and previous minutes, please click here.