Garfield advocacy group wants proof that Feb. 20 landslide not caused by demolition

The Bloomfield Garfield Corp. has asked the city for details of the demolition last year of a home on Broad Street in Garfield after four neighboring houses were condemned because of a landslide Feb. 20.

“It’s fairly clear the landslide started on the vacant lot” where the house once stood, said Rick Swartz, BGC executive director. “In the process of taking down the house, a double garage at the rear was also removed. We are not sure if demolition of the garage was part of the [demolition] contract.”

Mr. Swartz said his organization has hired a geotechnical engineer and will try to determine whether the removal of the garage was a contributing factor to the landslide.

The Pittsburgh Housing Authority also is conducting a geotechnical analysis because it owns part of the hillside that collapsed and the Fairmont Apartments at the bottom of the hill. Debris from the slide has resulted in the closing of the Fairmont’s parking lot.

The Garfield homes were among 11 affected by landslides throughout the city after heavy rains in February, including six in Spring Hill. A home in Duquesne Heights also was destroyed.

National Weather Service meteorologist Lee Hendricks said February’s 7.04 inches of rain was 4.65 inches above normal for the month. It topped an 1887 record of 6.52 inches.

Two of the Broad Street families are in shelters. The other two —

Frank and Sherrie Wadley and Charlie and Shirley McKinney and Charles McKinney Sr. — are staying with relatives.

“It’s by our blood, sweat and tears that we are under these roofs,” Mr. Wadley said recently of their homes. “It’s our duty to ourselves to protect them.”

They said their homes show no ill effects from the landslide. They also said the housing authority has been quick to respond and has met with them to discuss rebuilding a retaining wall.

Housing authority officials could not be reached for comment.

Mr. Wadley and Mr. McKinney spent their teenage years in the houses they live in, separated by a sloping driveway where Mr. McKinney parks his truck.

On Feb. 20, Mr. McKinney came home from work and found his truck on a tilt at the end of the driveway. There, he discovered the back third of the yard had slipped, taking trees with it. A fence kept the truck from plunging into the Fairmont Apartments parking lot.

“I heard Charles yell to us,” Ms. Wadley said. “At about 4:55, the lights flickered and went off. There was no warning.”

Sitting in the McKinneys’ cold house one recent afternoon, Mr. Wadley said the families have stuck together: “We’re besties.”

The placards of condemnation have been disconcerting, they said. One day, their homes were the ones their parents owned, the ones they played in and returned to from high school, the ones they raised children in. And the next day, they were in the dark, surrounded by plastic sheeting, anxious that they mightlose everything.

Insurance does not pay for damage caused by landslides, and the prospect of starting over is almost impossible to contemplate, Mr. Wadley said.

“I feel let down, but it’s not just us, it’s everywhere,” Mr. McKinney said. “What are we paying [insurance] for? Every time you do something new to your home, they want to know so that can raise your [premium].”

“It’s a tough spot for them and not one they created,” said Mr. Swartz of the BGC. “This is something the average person never has to confront in their lifetime.”