A proposal to earmark some future tax revenue to Golden Triangle developments was met Thursday with stiff opposition from residents.

“Right now, it seems like this approach is aimed more for developers than the benefit of the citizens of Pittsburgh,” Tim Stevens, founder of the Black Political Empowerment Project, told City Council members during a public hearing.

City officials are contemplating creating a special district that would allow 75% of new tax revenue from developments Downtown and parts of the North Shore and Strip District to go back into improving Downtown.

That money could fund transit upgrades, business district projects, economic development initiatives or new housing, according to Tom Link, the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s chief development officer.

The area, known as a Transit Revitalization District, would not cut into property taxes already being generated in the area. Allegheny County and Pittsburgh Public Schools would also need to vote on whether to allow their portions of property taxes there to be invested in the program.

The tax diversion could be worth up to $200 million, officials estimated. It would last 40 years.

Pittsburghers on Thursday urged council to reject the proposal.

They argued that the new tax revenue created by any Downtown developments should be equitably distributed throughout the city, not focused on Downtown. Several questioned whether it was appropriate for private developers to receive any cash from the effort.

“This is literally a project to grab money and rob people in the city for four decades, masquerading as a TRID,” said Andrew Hussein.

Danielle Wenner, of Polish Hill, said she’d rather see new tax revenue go towards replacing deteriorating bridges or buying new city vehicles instead of supporting Downtown developers.

“The tax revenue generated by development belongs to the entire city and its population,” she said.

Several people questioned how the district would benefit all of Pittsburgh’s 90 neighborhoods.

“That money rightly belongs to all city residents,” Greenfield resident Matthew Cartier said.

Some council members, however, argued that the Golden Triangle needs to do well for the city as a whole to be financially stable. About 25% of the city’s real estate tax revenue comes from Downtown, Councilman Bobby Wilson, D-North Side, pointed out.

“If we don’t have a strong Downtown, we can’t do anything anywhere else,” Councilman Bob Charland, D-South Side, said. “For me, anything we can do to stop the bleed in Downtown means that we don’t have to raise taxes on folks that live in Allentown, folks that live in Knoxville. We want a healthy Downtown that we can tax. This is a way to create a healthy Downtown for the future.”

Since the covid-19 pandemic shifted people out of Downtown offices, officials have been concerned about plummeting property tax revenue in the area. Mayor Corey O’Connor suggested the district as a way to spur economic growth in the Golden Triangle.

The city faces serious financial challenges and is on track to end the year with a deficit of roughly $24 million. Some council members during a preliminary discussion on the special district earlier this month questioned if the city could afford to divert tax revenue when money is tight.

“This is diverting 75% of tax revenue in a huge part of the city,” Councilwoman Deb Gross, D-Highland Park, said.

Councilwoman Erika Strassburger, D-Squirrel Hill, said the district would be “a lot of money we are not reaping as various bodies of government,” but she pointed out that money could fund much-needed projects like affordable housing.

“We’re being asked to give up income for the city of Pittsburgh at a time when we’re struggling to produce a balanced budget,” Councilman Anthony Coghill, D-Beechview, said.

Council scheduled a meeting to further discuss the proposal next Wednesday.

A woman from Armstrong County is accused of stealing nearly $300,000 from the Penn Hills refrigeration company that she used to work for. 

The Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday that Ashley Apperson, 34, of Leechburg is facing multiple charges after police she say she stole nearly $300,000 from Ventec Refrigeration.

According to the criminal complaint filed by police, detectives said that Apperson worked for the company from nearly four years and was responsible for things like processing payroll and other accounting duties and was terminated last month for performance issues.

Investigators said that the alleged thefts were discovered shortly after Apperson was terminated when an employee was looking up a check in the company’s computer system when a typo led to the discovery of a non-payroll check made out to Apperson in a large amount.

A further search of the computer system, according to police, showed that between January 2025 and last month, approximately 88 non-payroll checks were issued to Apperson. None of these checks were authorized by the business, police said. 

Police said they obtained a search warrant for the bank account where the unauthorized checks were deposited and learned it belonged to Apperson.

In addition to the unauthorized checks allegedly being deposited into Apperson’s account, police said purchases were made by Apperson on a company credit card at places like Dave and Buster’s, PayPal, and Amazon. 

Police said that when they questioned Apperson about the alleged thefts, she admitted to using funds for online gambling and that she wanted to take responsibility for wheat was stolen.

Investigators said they determined that the approximately amount of money stolen from the company by Apperson came to just shy of $300,000.

According to online court records, Apperson was arraigned and released on nonmonetary bail and is set to face a preliminary hearing early next month on charges of theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, access device fraud, among others.

PITTSBURGH — As first impressions go, the Hoffmann family went top shelf Thursday at the new owners’ introductory news conference at PPG Paints Arena.

They talked a big game without coming across as arrogant or filled with bravado, they opened the door for Mario Lemieux to join them, and they made it clear that they intend on investing in the Penguins — and Pittsburgh — for generations to come.

Here are 10 observations from a significant day in Penguins history.

• Geoff Hoffmann, who will serve as governor and the face of Penguins ownership, wanted to alleviate any financial concerns that the fans may have.

While the Penguins have been financially stable since 2007, when it was announced that a new building had been approved, the franchise has filed for bankruptcy multiple times and flirted with leaving for other cities on numerous occasions.

Hoffmann said those days are over.

“It’s a storied franchise in a lot of different ways,” he said. “There have been some ups and downs on the business side of the organization. I’m here to tell you that has come to an end. This is not an investment for us. This is a commitment to a city, to an organization. The Penguins are going to be in Pittsburgh, and they’re always going to be in Pittsburgh as long as the Hoffmanns are a part of it. And the Hoffmanns plan to be a part of it for generations to come.”

• Mario Lemieux had a very icy relationship with Fenway Sports Group, the previous owners of the Penguins.

The Hoffmann family is well aware of that and wishes to have Lemieux involved in the organization as soon as possible. Hoffmann has already spent time with the 60-year-old living legend. Lemieux owned the Penguins from 1999 to 2021 after becoming one of the greatest players in history during his time on the ice in Pittsburgh (1984-97, 2000-2006).

“He’s been as good as advertised,” Hoffmann said of his time with Lemieux. “Just a great, great guy. I’m really hopeful that he will be a part of this in whatever way, shape or form makes sense for him. We would love for him to be a part of this. We know what he means to hockey, we know what he means to the Penguins, to the city, and to the NHL. Everyone will embrace him with open arms.”

• It’s been rumored for quite some time, and it seems inevitable that the Penguins’ ECHL affiliate is heading south. Wheeling has been the ECHL affiliate for the Penguins since 1998. However, the Hoffmann family owns the Florida Everblades of the ECHL and will continue to.

David Hoffmann, the family patriarch, chimed in when it was asked if the ECHL affiliate would change.

“One hundred percent,” he said. “They would run me out of Naples if we didn’t. There’s already people (there) wearing Penguins jerseys.”

• As reported by The Athletic earlier this week, the Penguins will continue to have their games broadcast on SportsNet Pittsburgh — which is operated by NESN and owned by Fenway Sports Group — for the 2026-27 season.

At that point, the contract expires.

Geoff Hoffmann said it remains unclear what will happen to the TV rights at that stage.

• Kyle Dubas and Dan Muse were on hand for the news conference, and they received quite a vote of confidence.

“We have the best GM and the best coach in the league,” Hoffmann said. “That work is done.”

The appeal of working with Dubas was something that drew the new owners to Pittsburgh.

“Kyle, we think, is a particularly talented executive,” Hoffmann said. “It was one of the things that attracted us to making this investment. We fully support him and his vision. We are prepared to give him the resources he needs to be as successful as we can possibly be as an organization.”

• Hoffmann was asked about how he plans on conducting himself as an owner. The Penguins have a history of low-profile owners. Even Lemieux, likely the most popular and beloved athlete in Pittsburgh history, was very much behind the scenes during his ownership days.

“I don’t think we’ll be quite like Jerry Jones, from a number of perspectives,” Hoffmann said with a laugh. “But we will absolutely be present. We aren’t going to micromanage the team. We’re going to bring in a president of business operations.”

FSG, while relatively well-liked by numerous Penguins employees, was based in Boston, and the Boston Red Sox and Liverpool FC are its crown jewels.

The Penguins are the crown jewel for their new owners.

“We bought a house,” said David Hoffmann, talking about a new residence in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh. “It’s usually a good sign that you’re going to be here.”

Said Geoff Hoffmann: “We’re excited to be fixtures in the community here.”

• David Hoffmann was particularly entertaining and direct on the few occasions he spoke.

His son Geoff answered a question about the ongoing issues with development around PPG Paints Arena. The issues between the Penguins, the Hill District and the city of Pittsburgh have been going on long before PPG Paints Arena existed.

“Many stakeholders need to be heard and taken care of,” Geoff Hoffmann said. “We will have that discussion when the time is right.”

Then, his father took the microphone.

“Let me ask you something,” David Hoffmann said. “One of the things I notice coming here, the hotel situation doesn’t seem to fit with the demand or all of the great assets we have here. Greg (Geoff’s brother) runs our real estate portfolio and runs it very well. We’ve had lengthy discussions about it. Why isn’t there a better choice for more hotels here? A hotel close here, that’s maintained well, looks good, is an attraction where everyone wants to go? It just doesn’t seem with all you have got on — four sports teams, three colleges, a vibrant community — that you have enough hotels. We’re very interested in building a hotel here.”

• Expect some renovations in the near future for the 16-year-old PPG Paints Arena.

“We think with some improvements and modernizations, we can make it an elite fan experience,” Geoff Hoffmann said.

Hoffmann said he’s hoping that work will begin within 12-18 months, when, “we’ll start swinging hammers.”

David Hoffmann noted that the Penguins’ building was a strong selling point.

“This arena is a good deal for an owner,” he said. “It’s more than a fair deal. It would (cost) $1.2 to $1.4 billion (to build) today.”

It was built for around $320 million and opened in 2010.

“The least we can do is support it and make it as nice as it can be,” Hoffmann said.

• While the Hoffmann family very much intends to let Dubas do his thing, the word “winning” came up many times during the news conference.

“You (the fans) will win in Pittsburgh,” Hoffmann said. “We are committed to it.”

• Anyone can say the right thing at news conferences, so we will see how things unfold with the new ownership group.

I can tell you this much: I’ve spoken with a number of people in the organization who have gotten to know the Hoffmann family in recent days. The consensus is 100 percent positive.

As billionaires go, they came across as remarkably down-to-earth Thursday. Those in the Penguins organization who have been exposed to them are very impressed and believe the new ownership group is utterly sincere in its desire to win championships and impact Pittsburgh positively.