National Disgrace

Pittsburgh City Council Testimony – October 20, 2009 Carlino Giampolo

For the past three weeks I have told you about the 30 month on-going quest of our community in South Oakland to have a clean and healthy environment, even though we have two of the wealthiest institutions in Pittsburgh, Pitt and UPMC, based in our community.

Could it be that nowhere in our country has two institutions taken so much from a community and given back so little?

Let me illustrate some reasons why this issue is a national disgrace for Pitt and UPMC:

1) It is a national disgrace that an unclean and unhealthy environment in South Oakland has been allowed to exist during the entire 13-year tenure of Pitt Chancellor Mark Nordenberg and 17-year tenure of UPMC CEO Jeffrey Romoff.

2) It is a national disgrace that the Pitt Chancellor believes “the litter problem is not the responsibility of the University,” even though this problem is caused mainly by those students of the University who care very little about our community.

3) It is a national disgrace that Direct Funding by Pitt to the five residential community organizations of Oakland for litter control is equivalent to only 10 cents of a student’s tuition fee.

4) It is a national disgrace that the amount of Direct Funding and In-Kind Funding by Pitt to these organizations is equivalent to less than $3 (Three Dollars) of a student’s tuition fee.

5) It is a national disgrace that the amount of money given by UPMC to these organizations is equivalent to one-tenth of the salary of its CEO.

6) It is a national disgrace that Pitt and UPMC have refused funding to a grassroots movement for a proposed program to end the litter problem in South Oakland when the cost of that program is equivalent to only $4 (Four Dollars) of a student’s tuition fee.

7) It is a national disgrace that faculty members who are aware of the environmental problems in our community have not offered support for such a program.

8) It is a national disgrace that no faculty member or top administrator at Pitt or UPMC lives in the community of South Oakland in an environment that they have helped to create.

9) It is a national disgrace that people from around the world who visit Pitt and UPMC facilities have to see an environment that some refer to as “ghetto looking.”

10) It is a national disgrace that Pitt is planning even greater expansion of its student housing into the community of South Oakland when numerous problems are not yet resolved.

11) It is a national disgrace that the administrators of Pitt and UPMC care very little how many elderly long-time residents of South Oakland will die before there is a clean and healthy environment in that community.

12) And finally, it is a national disgrace that billions of dollars in expansion and earnings by Pitt and UPMC have taken precedence over human dignity.

Let us not forget that courage is a three letter word — YES. YES you have the power and the strength to change the course of history. YES your voice matters and you can make a difference to end this injustice against the community of South Oakland. YES you can conquer your fears and restore the dignity to a great and historic neighborhood.