The mayor of McKeesport is calling a public housing high-rise a public safety emergency. Crime, filth and a fire suppression system that doesn’t work are putting hundreds of residents at mortal risk.
From the outside, the building looks to be falling down. Inside, there is mold, rodents and crime. There were 900 police calls just last year, yet there’s no visible security. People say Midtown Plaza has been declining for years. But now, the situation has become even more dangerous — potentially life-threatening.
The old building has no sprinkler system and firefighters depend on a standpipe to deliver water to the top floors, but the pipe has been disconnected for no one knows how long. In the event of fire, they’d need to hook up hoses to hydrants outside the building and walk them upstairs…