Brookline residents contact Channel 11 about parking lease increase

PITTSBURGH — Public housing residents in Brookline contacted Channel 11 after receiving notice that their parking leases are about to increase.

“I hit the ceiling,” said Michael Crisanti. “We’re low income here and that’s a big hit for people like us.”

“Everybody lost it,” said Valerie Liadis, who showed Channel 11 a letter that was sent this week by the Public Parking Authority of Pittsburgh. The letter states that their lease is about to increase from $60 a month to $90.

The parking garage, located on Brookline Boulevard, is a public lot that’s connected to their apartment building, the Frank H. Mazza Pavilion.

The residents told Channel 11 that parking is hard to come by in town, and they rely on the garage. Several of them, including Crisanti and Liadis, use a wheelchair and need an accessible spot.

Liadis has multiple sclerosis, and her vehicle is equipped with a ramp that requires a wide space for her to enter.

“I’m on feeding tubes, and I go through a lot of medical situations, testing, going to doctors,” she said. “I’m never not going in and out so even if I got a space out there, I couldn’t keep it, because I’m always going.”

Liadis said the parking increase will impact her ability to pay medical bills.

“None of us can afford $90,” she said.

The letter sent by the parking authority states that the increased price will allow the authority to “continue to maintain our garage and lot facilities at the same level of service and technology the authority provides today.”

Channel 11 reported on updates the garage received in 2021, when it was shut down for construction. At the time, residents reached out to us, upset that they couldn’t park for several months when the work was originally slated to last one week.

The garage opened at the end of the year. But, now, some fear they’ll lose their spots yet again, from being outpriced

“We don’t know what to do, is there anyone who can help us in this situation?” Liadis asked. “We need to try to rectify this before it gets out of hand, before July 1.”

Liadis claimed that other public housing communities do not have to pay this type of fee to park. Channel 11 has reached out to the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh to ask about that. At the time this article was published, we had not heard back.

We also posed that question to the parking authority, among other questions. At the time this article was published, we had not heard back.

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