Community Corner

Regent Square Civic Association Establishing Block Watches, New Programs

New RSCA President Alina Keebler discusses the need for more volunteers as the neighborhood organization creates more activities and programs.

in January, the local civic association came together to create block watches in an effort to prevent crime and help neighbors get to know each other better.

“If they know each other, they will know who is in the neighborhood and shouldn’t be there, or they can also pass on information," said Regent Square Civic Association President Alina Keebler.

The new undertaking is just one of many committees the Regent Square Civic Association is establishing as Keebler leads the organization as its new president. Elected in January by the RSCA board, Keebler has been involved with the all-volunteer organization since 2001, when she decided to head the yard sale committee after another volunteer could not be found.

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The RSCA held its annual retreat in late January to evaluate each committee line by line. During that retreat, which occurred just days after several local robberies, a Public Safety committee was born, which includes a new block watch program.

“The goal is having one block watch captain per block in the Regent Square area,” Keebler said. “We have a volunteer who is coordinating it and she will be passing on the names of the block captains to the police departments in the four municipalities.”

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In addition to the new committee and program, both of which need volunteers from the community, Keebler said she would like to see collaboration between Edgewood, Wilkinsburg and Swissvale boroughs, along with the City of Pittsburgh, continue to improve.

“I would like us to have the four municipalities in the area working together more, Keebler said. “ and look how quickly they solved that problem. But I would like to see that happen with other things as well. That is what makes us unique here, but it is also a challenge.”

RSCA board member Kathie Meyer said the block watch is a great idea if the community maintains it.

“If it gets organized to the point where people make contact with their neighbors, it’s a great idea for any emergency, whether it’s a robbery, needing to go to the emergency room or help watching a child,” Meyer said. “It’s a good thing to do and hopefully it will have other implications, too.”

Keebler, who works as an architectural designer at a firm in Polish Hill, has previously been secretary of the RSCA board. She has lived in Regent Square since 1978. With recent experiences at work in running meetings between contractors and owners, she felt she was ready to be president.

“You have to be diplomatic,” Keebler said. “You have to finesse personalities because you always have this big range of personalities, all with good intentions, but they are all different.”

Upcoming activities coordinated by the RSCA include an egg hunt in April, the annual yard sale this spring and a Halloween house decorating contest in October. The RSCA also is planning to bring in bike racks to the neighborhood in the next few months.

With so many projects lined up for the year, Keebler stressed the need for volunteers in all aspects of the neighborhood. Many people have suggested creating a Facebook page for the RSCA or a local farmer’s market, but so far, the manpower just isn’t there, Keebler said.

“One thing we said at the retreat is we are not going to take on anything in the community if people don’t volunteer,” Keebler said. “If they don’t want to volunteer, it means to us that they don’t care about the issue and we just can’t do it all. So the idea is that someone on the board will head a committee, and it’s their task to find community volunteers to man that committee.”

In addition to current and upcoming projects, Keebler said she hopes the future of the neighborhood includes increasing its green reputation.

“I would like us to be the greenest neighborhood in the city, but again we need the manpower,” Keebler said. “I would like us to have the highest participation in recycling, have the most trees and I would like us to encourage people to remodel their houses with green materials and be the most energy efficient.”

For more information about the RSCA and upcoming events, e-mail contact@regentsquare-rsca.org. Click here for a list of available volunteer opportunities and new committees.

For those interested in becoming a Block Watch Captain, contact Patty Sims at blockwatch@regentsquare-RSCA.org or 412-371-2010.


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