Resident Champion Feature: Miss D.

A resident of the Northview Heights community for the past twenty years, Joyce Robinson, known as Miss. D, is a positive force in her Northside neighborhood. She is known as a vocal advocate and champion for her neighbors and the families of Northview Heights, serving both as a building captain for her street but also the treasurer of the Northview Heights Tenant Council.

Building captains are community volunteers that support the work of the Calvin M. Hall Northview Heights Public Safety Center, a partnership of Zone 1 Police, Northview Heights Tenant Council, the Housing Authority of Pittsburgh, the City of Pittsburgh, and the Buhl Foundation through the One Northside initiative. The Public Safety Center, initially launched in 2018 and reopened following COVID pandemic in September 2022 was established to focus on proactive policing strategies and collaborative problem solving between resident and police officers. Building captains attend regular meetings and work first-hand with Zone 1 Police Officers at the Safety Center and One Northside Community Liaison, Cheryl Walker to organize community events, address community issues and help build a stronger community by keeping their neighbors informed. Miss. D enjoys serving as a building captain.

“I give the young ladies and gentlemen information that they need if anything goes on with them or if they need information about what we’re out here doing, trying to help the community. I enjoy being a building captain. I get to talk to the residents. I get to meet a lot of the children.”

This past spring, Miss. D, along with members of the Northview Heights Tenant Council, raised resident concerns about abandoned vehicles and drivers speeding and running stop-signs. As a result, more than a dozen cars were removed, speed humps were installed, and a crossing guard will be assigned by the City of Pittsburgh to serve at the corner of Penfort Street & Mt. Pleasant Rd. The first person to sign up to work as a crossing guard was Miss. D.

Soon, her warm and inviting smile will be the friendly face that school children see each day as they get on and off the school bus. As a mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, she knows first-hand the importance of family, community and being a good neighbor. Her hope for the Northview Heights community is “to see all of the residents get along.”

Watch the interview video and hear from the featured Resident Champion herself!