Some outdoor cafes.

Outdoor cafes would be cool. Some of the businesses put tables out when the weather is warmer, but it would be nice to have a designated outdoor food space.

Well I think a bicycle lane would be nice for the young; a few water fountains; maybe ‘The City’ can buy via eminent domain a few houses that are not presently being used for business and build a small sitting park with chess and checker tables; an area for small vendors such as Hot Dog Stands, Pizza Cones Stands, etc.; video system for security purposes. How much money do you have to spend? I can see added businesses to Brookline Blvd. that would lengthen the business district if you added the above bells and whistles. What are your thoughts?

no , we don't need anymore privacy-violating surveillance cameras than there already are, now . (did you know they can recognize faces via the d.m.v. / driver's licenses ? yes . )
a bike lane is not just for "the youth" it needs to be there for everyone. too few people car-pool these days and hog the road and pollute the air . more people need to ride bikes / commute with them . i'd just like to see the blighted old store-fronts at the eastern end of brookline blvd be updated or demolished, entirely. it's just hideous at that end ...

Bottle shop with outdoor seating!

All those things sound wonderful, but I think we need to work on lowering the crime first.

Toni the crime is highly relative to the poverty in some of Brookline/surrounding areas and the unfortunate fascination of urban street culture on the part of a lot of the (white) kids/teens in the area. It's cool to them to be ghetto / thuggy . It's a bigger problem than just in Brookline. It's city-wide .

There looks to be some new places moving in to some of the old store fronts, including from what I can see an African Market and an Egyptian Cafe. The best way to improve the boulevard is to support the businesses that are there. In turn those business will continue to grow, while others will take notice and hopefully decide to open a business on the blvd as well.

Caleb yes good thinking but since part of the renovations happening this Spring/Summer are aesthetic-related - i'd like to see the building owners invest some of their own money in freshening their store-fronts & property up ... People from other/nicer neighborhoods are more likely to trek into Brookline to patronize those places assuming it doesn't look like podunkville as it does now ... I'd like to see more ethnic restaurants along the Boulevard... Las Palmas will be moving down the street to the corner of Flatbush & Brookline Blvd. sometime this year as they've signed a 10-year lease in that space/building ...

Great suggestion Caleb!!! Shop local! and especially try and make an extra effort to support the blvd businesses during this reconstruction...

I'd love to see some live music. There are several potential venues on Brookline Blvd.

regarding the bottle shop sub-discussion - yes - something like McNeilly Beer would be nice considering any "with it " neighborhood in PGH seems to have one, these days and it's a common want. McNeilly is frighteningly expensive / over-priced as far as i'm concerned, especially given its odd-ball location. It's owned by the same guy who owns West Liberty Beer & Tobacco distributor on Wes.Lib.Blvd. He also owns a handful of bars in the South side .

Yes John --- exactly what i'm sayin' .

How about starting with closing the nuisance bar (Brookline Pub) that refuses to pay the drink tax despite collecting it on every single drink? Nothing but trouble and drug sales in that place. As long as that thug hangout is open all the points above are useless. Start there and the neighborhood is already infinitely better, anything done aesthetically is just icing on the cake.

I believe they're paying it now after being shut down for a few days, recently. alcohol is a drug and there's 3 or 4 other bars on the Blvd. selling that drug. (moonlight cafe, gordon's, zippys...) It's perhaps the hardest drug there is with the most crime in direct relation to its effect on people ... at that rate, we might as well re-instate prohibition and see how long that lasts before we see Al Capone-style gangsters trafficking it under-ground the way we see with weed and cocaine and meth. I digress but , yeah . Only problem I have with the Brookline Pub is the cigarette smoke that hangs heavy in the air inside. Ruins it for people that don't smoke or care to inhale that toxic crap .

Tear the whole Blvd. down and start new- you cant hide falling down facades, busted sidewalks, over head wires and ghetto store fronts. Re-build with a brick lined street, bike lane lined with foliage and trees, store fronts all consistent with a "clean" old fashioned kind of feel....open green parks between buildings with benches and cafes with outdoor seating and a small area for a stage/seating and 24hr. security.

Sounds like a solid plan , B.

Again, Bob, not by the owners, I'm certain they have nothing to do with it, and I'm not implying otherwise. Just wanted to make that clear. Sounds like you're a fan of the place, and I wasn't trying to "hit a nerve" with you either.

vdfg

Sorry about above...mistake. I just wanted to post that I feel that the business owners perhaps have not been lax, but limited. I am sure the decade waiting for this plan they have been willing to renew/refresh their facades, but need to wait until they have the final picture to spend their hard-earned $$$. So far it has been The Boulevard of Broken Dreams. I like the plan B. envisions. Will be glad to see smoothly paved streets for a change.

Those help them prove lack of liability for certain cases and etc.

Hi guys,

I just want to be clear here—I have absolutely no proof of illegal activity at Brookline Pub, and I have never seen an incident of illegal activity there in the blotter I receive each week from Pittsburgh Police. My understanding is that the drink tax issue was resolved, and the establishment is operating legally on those terms.

Let's steer away from that topic, as it could be an issue of slander/libel to continue making those suggestions. As I don't have written proof of the claims made here, it's really just hearsay. Thanks!

Maybe we could raise some money to help the owner's update their storefronts in some kind of unified manner? Not to curb creativity, but just a few guidelines in place to make sure it doesn't get "tacky" and that the boulevard is sort of presented as a unified front to make the whole aesthetic better? Some fundraisers, maybe? It had occurred to me to ask someone about having a brick fundraiser, where the local families/business buy a brick for some of the areas that are being bricked, and have their name engraved in it. Then take the money to help make the boulevard even better! I was going to try to head it up myself, but not sure who to contact to see if it is even possible. I, for one, would be happy to buy a $25.00 brick with my last name on it!

We've lived in Brookline for 38 (count 'em!) years. Businesses have come and gone . . . miss some of them . . . good riddance to others . . . but the biggest problem for my husband and I over the years has been a lack of PARKING!! How many times have you had to swing around the block just to find a spot reasonably near the Post Office, Kribel's or Party Cake? Or near the State Store a day or two before a holiday? Even CVS's parking lot is inadequate . . . weekdays before noon or Sundays (when the new sale starts) . . people are parked everywhere . . . behind you . . squeezed in with a shoe horn beside you.

Absolutely, an outdoor cafe or upscale restaurant would be a terrific addition to the Boulevard . . . perhaps doing something similar to what's transforming Lawrenceville right now . . . but WITHOUT adequate parking facilities . . . I can only forsee more headaches. A multi-story garage could be the answer . . . but where?

I would like to see the places that cook outside clean the sidewalks at the end of the day. Summer mornings when it is hot and a walk past theese places it smells like a garbage dump from the grease ( I guess). Don't get me wrong i like the sidewalk venders. Also I am afraid if we don't scrub the side walks it might bring unwanted rodants.

Toni - The County Health Department watches those places for that. I know Las Palmas is trying very hard to keep it clean . Not sure about Pitaland's Gyro vending . THAT is some greasy food, there .

Build a real road surface on the blvd and the intersecting streets to make it more attractive and durable, clean up all building facades and a serious law enforcement increase.

Bike lanes is silly as someone would get killed on a daily basis. Remember the head in parking?

Oh yeah, make use of that parking garage If at all possible. Please get rid of the utility poles and plant some trees. While it will never be Shadyside it's one of the areas of the city that's not too far gone..

When they say they're putting in new traffic signals, I'm hoping that means a turning arrow at Pioneer and the Blvd. Las Palmas has been a blessing, and I think more ethnic places would be great. I think the aforementioned "thugs" need a place to go - kids wander about and get into trouble when they have nothing else worthwhile to do. So I'd say we need some kind of place that would appeal to older kids and young adults as a place to hang out - that way they're off the streets, safe, can have fun and still be themselves, while at the same time keeping the boulevard from looking like a trailer park overflowed onto it.

Question to Erin. What is the Patch going to do with all these thoughtful suggestions? The South Pittsburgh Development Corporation received a grant to hire a consultant to develop recommendations for making Brookline more attractive and desirable. Will these suggestions be forwarded to that group?

Also, on February 11, at 6 p.m., at St. Mark's Church (Brookline Blvd and Glenarm), the Chamber of Commerce will be hosting an open meeting for residents to discuss the upcoming boulevard reconstruction and to strategize how to keep the businesses viable during the construction. While many of the suggestions in this chat string aren't specific to that topic, the meeting on the 11th should be a good public forum for keeping the Boulevard alive and growing. Plan on attending.

If we're already going to have trashy woman walking up and down the blvd. can they atleast be hookers? Oh, and free ones if possible?

Only kidding of course, but really, we need additional fast food establishments. Las palmas must be cleaning up, because they are the only place on that whole strip where you can pull over and get a bite quickly.
First things first. Before we try to lure people from more affluent neighborhoods to Brookline with outdoor cafes and fancy restaurants that clash with the neighborhood clientele and successful or not probably do less for the residents of Brookline and more for the proprietors of those eateries. We instead provide the neighborhood folk a fine reason to walk to the blvd., or stop on there way through.

Like someone earlier said. Support local businesses. However instead of asking for support, give everyone a reason too. That's sustainable.