Gawker Poll Says Lawrenceville is Pittsburgh’s Williamsburg

Readers vote Lawrenceville as the city’s hippest neighborhood.

Round Corner Cantina photo by Rob Larson
 

 

An abundance of skinny jeans and artisanal cocktails is getting Lawrenceville national attention. In a recent survey, Gawker asked readers to identify the areas of their cities that most closely corresponded to New York City’s Williamsburg and Bushwick neighborhoods, which have become famous as a sort of Mecca and Medina of hipsterdom’s faithful.

Voters chose Lawrenceville and Bloomfield as the ’Burgh’s equivalents, with Lawrenceville being the thoroughly gentrified land of single-source-origin coffee and live-work lofts and Bloomfield being the up-and-coming land of single-source-origin coffee and unrenovated apartments. This should surprise no one who’s crept up the Main Street hill behind a fixie.

We’re not so sure the analogy sticks. You could argue that Lawrenceville is more Brooklyn than Brooklyn at this point. Call us back when Lawrenceville has yupster mega-condos with a dog-grooming station and movie theater.

While Americans have been joking about which neighborhoods are the “hippest” for quite some time, Gawker’s list also mentions some international entries, such as Cape Town, Mexico City and Hong Kong.

— Gideon Bradshaw

 

 

#RIP: Pittsburgh Honors a K-9 Fallen Hero

Flags are being flown at half-staff throughout the city — and for good reason. Pittsburgh’s down a hero. As the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported, Pittsburgh Police K-9 officer Rocco unexpectedly took a downward turn last night, succumbing to a knife wound he suffered in the line of duty.

The German shepherd’s heroism saved the life of his partner, Officer Phil Lerza, in a violent struggle in Lawrenceville Tuesday evening. Rocco, who has been a member of the Pittsburgh Police force since 2008, was laid to rest with full police honors. An American flag was draped over his casket and bagpipes were played as fellow officers gave a last salute. Mayor Peduto has ordered flags to be flown at half-staff today in honor of Rocco.

No loss is an easy one, but Pittsburghers from all over — particularly the city’s canine unit — are mourning.

They say all dogs go to heaven. Maybe that’s true. We’re pretty sure at least one made it in.

Here’s Pittsburgh Tribune-Review cartoonist Randy Bish’s tribute.

— John Lavanga

 

#Obviously: ESPN player survey ranks Tomlin No. 2 most-popular coach in NFL

After overseeing a dramatic midseason turnaround for the Steelers, Mike Tomlin is among NFL players’ most-respected coaches.

An ESPN survey of more than 320 players asked which coach they would most like to play for. Tomlin came in second with 13.8 percent of the vote, behind the Seahawks’ Pete Carroll, who won with 22.5 percent.

ESPN’s announcement marked the second time this week when Seattle beat Pittsburgh in a popularity contest: On Tuesday, Andrew McCutchen lost to Mariners pitcher Felix Hernandez in the Face of the MLB Twitter contest.

It’s just lucky for Carroll that ESPN based the rankings on responses from players and not this happy crossing guard.

— Gideon Bradshaw

What's happening this weekend?
 

• East End Brewing Co. is making the most of this bitter winter with The Festival of Darkness. For $5, festivalgoers can sample all 12 of the brewery’s tantalizingly dark and malty beers, with all proceeds benefiting Light of Life Ministries. — Saturday
• In the spirit of the holiday, Habitat, located inside Fairmont Pittsburgh, is offering couples a class on cooking for two — and a guide to spicing things up with some aphrodisiacs. — Saturday, 1 p.m.