Pittsburgh City Councilman Ricky Burgess (District 9), with Mayor Bill Peduto and community leaders, is attempting to ease displacement in East Liberty after years of redevelopment and gentrification through a projects funded in part by the affordable housing fund.

Announced last week, the proposal comes after a few years of fighting that’s turned the East End neighborhood into a model for what long time, often African-American, city residents fear from the city’s tech renaissance.

Affordable housing is dwindling in Philadelphia. But like in Pittsburgh, Philly’s city council thinks it has a solution.

Back in June, the council passed a construction bill that would tax all new development at one percent. That money is supposed to go directly the Housing Trust Fund, which supports the production and preservation of affordable housing in the city.

With the passage of a controversial deed transfer tax last year, Pittsburgh has its affordable housing fund. Entrusted to a board of 16 city leaders and advocates, the board met this week for its second hearing on how to use the $10 million pool.

But even as the listening continues, some members are already pushing to get the funding into the city’s 90 neighborhoods immediately to start addressing an 18,000 unit deficit in affordable housing.

City Controller Michael Lamb blamed the city’s increased realty transfer tax for sluggish revenue numbers in the first half of 2018 Tuesday.

“It was an unnecessary increase that has been counterproductive to affordable housing,” Lamb said at a press conference. “We’re fighting to keep families in this city and the tax is an added hurdle in the way of enticing new people into town.”

In response to growing concern from residents about displacement should Amazon make Pittsburgh its second home, Councilman Corey O’Connor (District 5) proposed legislation Tuesday placing deed restrictions on between 15 and 20 properties in Hazelwood.

With the former steel mill site of Hazelwood Green seen as a likely Amazon Headquarters location, O’Connor said the properties would be left to lower income residents to help keep them in the neighborhood.