NEWS RELEASE
For immediate
release: 2004 March 10
For more
information -- Glenn A. Walsh:
Daytime:
E-Mail < gawalsh@andrewcarnegie.cc
>
Evening:
Telephone 412-561-7876
CARNEGIE LIBRARY TO ABANDON
HISTORIC HAZELWOOD LIBRARY BLDG. SAT.
CITY IGNORES CITY RESIDENTS TO ABET SPECIAL INTEREST
Pittsburgh, March 10 – “Despite the
opposition of the majority of residents in the Pittsburgh neighborhood of
Hazelwood,
Carnegie Library has announced that the historic Hazelwood Library
building built by Andrew Carnegie in 1900, will close, permanently, this-coming Saturday, March 13 at 5:00 p.m.,”
according to Glenn A. Walsh.
In a
prepared statement
before Pittsburgh City Council on Wednesday morning, Mr. Walsh added, “What is even more disconcerting is that the pleas of these
City residents have fallen on deaf ears here in Pittsburgh City Council,
despite a well-attended City Council public hearing on this issue on November
5. This confirms the fears of many, that people living in a distressed,
inner-city neighborhood have no influence on
“This City
Council would rather ‘bend-over-backwards’ to accommodate a special interest, a
large bureaucracy in Oakland that pays no City property taxes—Carnegie
Library--rather than support the wishes of the majority of taxpayers of a City
neighborhood such as Hazelwood.”
Mr. Walsh went on to say, “Why do you think suburbanites are so against metropolitan
government? This is exactly the reason. It is not a race issue. Suburban
residents are afraid of losing control of their neighborhood, to a centralized
government that is more interested in special interests than in the wishes of
the local taxpayers.
“This is exactly
what has happened in Hazelwood. At two well-attended public meetings, the
majority of residents of Hazelwood made it quite clear that they oppose the
abandonment of the historic Hazelwood Library building by Carnegie Library.
Yet, this City Council looks the other way as Carnegie Library implements an
agenda that has complete disregard for the wishes of the residents.”
Mr. Walsh
concluded his remarks by saying, “The Hazelwood Library building is City
property. This Council can stop the abandonment of this City building by
Carnegie Library. Failure of this Council to do so will clearly show both city
residents and suburbanites that residents of this City do not count, unless
they are aligned with a favored special interest.
“Is this the
image this Council wants to project? The decision is up to you!”
-30-
Note to Editors and Reporters: Glenn A. Walsh served as a Life Trustee, on the Board of Trustees, of the Andrew Carnegie Free Library and Music Hall in Carnegie, Pennsylvania from 1995-2000, including the position of Library Treasurer from 1995-1996. The Andrew Carnegie Free Library has no direct affiliation with The Carnegie Library of