April 16, 2021 |
By Nichole Faina | Posted in: Duquesne News
Editor’s note: This is the second of two stories about In City Farms. The first may be found here.
An architect’s rendering shows what In City Farms’ Duquesne facility will look like. Construction is expected to begin soon. (Submitted image courtesy In City Farms)
When businessman Paul Schink learned that In City Farms aquaponics plant was slated to be built in Duquesne, he said it would mean “more customers and more traffic” for his store, Schink’s Hardware, and other local businesses. His father founded Schink’s Hardware in 1945 and he began working at the store in 1959.
Schink, who witnessed Duquesne’s industrial decline over the last few decades, is glad for new industry to come to the area.
This spring, In City Farms is breaking ground in RIDC’s Industrial Center of Duquesne business park, located on the former U.S. Steel Duquesne Plant.
The 25-acre development is a 175,000-square-foot aquaponic plant dedicated to growing vegetables such as bok choy, collard greens and mixed salad greens and raising fish.
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March 30, 2021 |
By Nichole Faina | Posted in: Duquesne News
The city of Duquesne will receive an estimated $550,000 from the federal government as part of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan.
At March’s city council meeting, George Doherty, the city’s Act 47 Coordinator, said one of the main purposes of the legislation is to help municipalities recover from funds lost due to the pandemic.
Doherty recommended the city use the funds to backfill revenue that was lost from lower tax collections in 2020, and to reimburse the city for one-time capital purchases such as police cars, public works trucks and major computer systems, and improvements to streets and water systems.
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February 09, 2021 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Duquesne News
No one was injured during a fire Monday night at Grant Towers Apartments in Duquesne.
City fire Chief Frank Cobb said an automatic fire alarm was activated just before 9 p.m. When crews arrived, smoke was showing from a seventh-story window on the front of the building at 100 Grant Ave.
A deputy fire chief turned in a second alarm and crews began battling the blaze using the standpipe system in the building, Cobb said.
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January 28, 2021 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Announcements, Duquesne News
A volunteer helps direct traffic during a drive-up food distribution at Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank in Duquesne in 2020. (Submitted photo courtesy Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.)
In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank continues to offer drive-up food distributions in the city, Duquesne, Glassport and other communities.
A spokesperson said the drive-up distributions are designed to comply with federal, state and county COVID-19 mitigation regulations that limit crowd sizes and recommend social distancing.
The next drive-up distribution is from 3 to 5 p.m. Feb. 1 at the food bank’s headquarters, 1 N. Linden St., Duquesne, followed by a distribution from 1 to 3 p.m. Feb. 11 at Queen of the Rosary Church, 530 Michigan Ave., Glassport, and 10 a.m. to 12 noon Feb. 20 at Founders Hall Middle School, 1960 Eden Park Blvd., McKeesport.
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January 11, 2021 |
By Jason A. Mignanelli | Posted in: Duquesne News
(Editor’s Note: This is the first of two planned articles. The second will explore community reaction to the project.)
An architect’s rendering shows what In City Farms’ Duquesne facility will look like. Construction is expected to begin soon. (Submitted image courtesy In City Farms)
Minnesota entrepreneur and businessman Glenn Ford is looking not only at creating jobs in Duquesne but also addressing the problem of food insecurity.
“Community engagement is much more than a marketing pitch for us,” said Ford, chief executive officer of In City Farms, which has recently purchased 25 acres of land at RIDC’s City Center of Duquesne, the industrial park where U.S. Steel’s Duquesne Plant operated until 1984.
“Our facility is being built literally a block away from where nearly 1,500 people waited in line at the local food bank during COVID,” Ford said in a recent interview with Tube City Almanac. “We want to be a part of fixing this food shortage.”
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January 11, 2021 |
By Nick Zurawsky | Posted in: Duquesne News
Duquesne City Council has approved a budget for 2021 that includes a boost in spending of about $73,000.
Increased expenditures will be paid for by a combination of a wage tax increase, a property tax increase, and improved water bill collections, city officials said.
Last year was to have been the first year since 1991 that Duquesne was not included under the state’s Act 47, the Financially Distressed Municipalities Act, where the state’s Department of Community and Economic Development assists municipalities that are experiencing severe financial difficulties to ensure residents’ health, safety and welfare.
However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the city’s participation in the program has been extended.
“We are anticipating that we should be out of Act 47 real soon,” Mayor Nickole Nesby said.
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December 21, 2020 |
By Submitted Report | Posted in: Duquesne News
The City of Duquesne will hold a public hearing at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday concerning a development proposed by the McDonalds Corp., a spokesperson said. The hearing will be held via Zoom and an invitation will be posted on the city’s website, http://duquesnepa.us.
Any owner, agent, lessor, lessee, mortgage holder, person or persons with a property interest may appear and be heard.
December 01, 2020 |
By Staff Reports | Posted in: Duquesne News
Mele & Mele & Sons crews pave an unidentified road following a pipeline construction project. The company is relocating to Duquesne and adding 20 new jobs. (Submitted photo courtesy Mele & Mele & Sons Inc.)
A Rankin-based construction company that has worked on projects at Allegheny County Airport and other prominent Pittsburgh-area locations is relocating to Duquesne’s industrial park.
Mele & Mele & Sons, Inc., has purchased a 14-acre parcel in the City Center of Duquesne for construction of a 16,000-square-foot office building and a 22,000-square-foot maintenance facility.
The firm will add 20 new jobs after relocating, a spokeswoman said.
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November 15, 2020 |
By Jason A. Mignanelli | Posted in: Announcements, Duquesne News
Christ Soul Saving Station Church, 1013 Kennedy Ave., Duquesne, will provide free Thanksgiving dinners to families in need on Nov. 21.
Bishop David Queen, senior pastor, said volunteers from the church will deliver the meals safely. To schedule a delivery, call (412) 689-3955.
Residents in need of a hot meal also may visit the church between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Nov. 21, Queen said.
November 15, 2020 |
By Jason A. Mignanelli | Posted in: Duquesne News
The closure of Duquesne’s only supermarket highlights the larger problems, caused by poverty, that plague residents of the Mon Valley, social justice advocates said on Saturday.
During a meeting outside the recently closed Save-a-Lot store on Duquesne Boulevard, advocates said the loss of the supermarket is having a severe impact on city residents who don’t have cars and must rely on public transit.
About 65 to 70 people gathered, with organizers repeatedly reminding those in attendance to wear a mask and practice social distancing.
Krystle Knight, an organizer with Pittsburgh’s Thomas Merton Center, said despite all of the hype around the recent presidential election, it will produce relatively little day-to-day change for Duquesne residents.
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