HARRISBURG – Senate Urban Affairs and Housing Committee Chairman Senator David G. Argall (R-29) joined Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse and Representative Keith Gillespie (R-47) to tour the capital city’s blighted neighborhoods on Monday afternoon.
Argall and Gillespie, who serves as chairman of the House Urban Affairs Committee, participated in the listening tour to hear more about the city’s efforts to curb urban blight and abandonment, as well as receive suggestions on how the state legislature can provide more tools to communities, large and small, plagued with blighted neighborhoods.
“We saw some genuine progress today,” Argall said. “We visited three spots throughout Harrisburg with the city’s Department of Building and Housing Development to see, firsthand, blight removal. The city is utilizing many of the tools the General Assembly approved over the last few years, and I’m pleased to see these new laws providing dividends.”
During the tour, the Mayor highlighted his administration’s efforts to address decaying buildings and neighborhoods since taking the helm of the city at the start of the year.
Argall said he received a list of legislative initiatives from city officials to help municipalities across the state deal with the ongoing war on blight.
“These suggestions are exactly what we need – we need to hear from the experts on the ground, working day-in and day-out, to combat blight in our communities large and small.”
“The only way we will fight these eyesores plaguing economic and housing growth is by working as a team. I’m appreciative of Mayor Papenfuse and his team for giving us this informational tour. I’m looking forward to continuing our open dialogue with the city to continue our team effort to make our communities more vibrant,” Argall said.