Hokey Patrols Back on the Streets

Pittsburgh Public Works crews are turning their attention to the city’s neighborhood business districts. Mayor Luke Ravenstahl says he will use a half million dollars in state money to launch a three-pronged approach to revitalizing the city’s 50 business districts. Teams will sweep through the districts one at a time, doing everything from cleaning the streets and erecting new signs to writing citations for fire code violations. Brookline Boulevard will be swept first. Ravenstahl says 16 of the city’s business districts will also have one of five so-called hokey-men assigned to them. Hokey-men are armed with a wheeled trashcan, brooms and shovels. The program is called “taking care of business” and will also include consulting help for a select group of districts.