Marty Griffin Show Hour 02 042326

Woman stopped by here and said, I get all my S-H-I blank from Marty. I swear she said that. A lover. If you listen, and I know you do because you can't help yourself, I'm a big critic of S-H-I-blank downtown. I just am. I think until we get rid of the sludge, until we address homelessness and alcoholism and drug addiction and mental illness, and I mean really address it and really help people, it will never be. that glistening castle on the hill that we wanted to be. However, comma, it's very hard to impress me because I just have seen it all twice. This, this, arch landing is insanely friggin' cool. It's Oz in the center of downtown Pittsburgh. And one of those responsible and it wouldn't be here without her is sitting here with me. I, Kendra, how are you? I am great. I am so thrilled that you are here with us, Marty. Kendra Whitlock, Ingram, you're the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. President. The boss. Yeah. Yep. This is, come on. This is crazy. I am so glad that you love it. We are so proud of it. If someone says they don't like this, they need to go home. And Pittsburgh's are cynical. That's true. We're like, this sucks, downtown sucks. This is cool. We have had so much good feedback about it. I think between having downtown's first public playground, which has been a huge hit, and this gorgeous lawn. People keep talking about that lawn. Imagine throwing your blanket out there for the Dollar Bank Three Rivers Arts Festival. It's amazing. You have a proper concert venue now. So we're thrilled. Hey, uh, The word transformative sounds cliche. It ain't. This is transformative. It is. I mean, this was four and a half acres of parking lots and a good year tire store. Yeah. And it is now green space and relaxation space. We're going to have... The first ever artist designed pickleball courts. Oh, that's so cool. Downtown's first playground. I get really, we're just so happy with how it turned out the design, the public art. Have you seen our public art? Unbelievable. All of this. It's, and. The demo here, little kids, old folks, middle-aged folks, black, white, green, yellow, everybody's here. Yes, yes. We want everybody here. It's completely free. It's meant to be really a public amenity that's privately owned by the Cultural Trust. Which makes sense. Yeah. Which, by the way, allows you to do certain things. That's right. Controlling the environment. Yes, the thing that's exciting, I think, for us is that since this is privately owned, you know, we really wanted to prioritize security and safety. So we have 65 new cameras installed throughout the site. We have 24-hour, seven days a week security right on the site. So in our visitor's center, behind us here, we have a 24-hour security presence. It's amazing. Yeah. And you have these...

Would this have been a couple more years if it wasn't for the draft? Yes. That helped us. There's no way this would have happened without the draft. People talk about the draft and like, you know, the economic impact it has and all the things. And that's great. We love that. But what really it brought to the city is an amenity like this that we would never have had. Exactly. if it wasn't for this deadline. Exactly. And it really kind of galvanized everybody to make it happen. Same with Market Square. Same with Point State Park. Yes. All of these things. The draft really was the goal. That's why when people whine about it, it's cool. And it's kind of fun too. Like being down here and now in this. There's a buzz. I'm excited. People feel good. It's a beautiful day, too. When's that? There are people on the streets sweeping up with little brooms and dust pants. Literally. It's hilarious. It's amazing. I saw people planning things in planners the other day. I'm like, it's cool. Pittsburgh is taking this seriously. Congratulations to you. Thank you. Thank you. I'm so glad you could be here. We will be living this large. This is wonderful. Thank you. Awesome. Rockstar. And this place, folks, is insanely cool. We'll be right back.

At the risk of being trite, cliche, redundant, whatever you want to say. In terms of coming down here today, it's really cool. Zero traffic, zero hassle. And then once you get in the heart of downtown, it's kind of weird. A couple things. You could eat off the middle of Penn Avenue. Everything's clean. And if you're expecting to get harassed. by panhandlers or to see folks passed out with all due respect to those folks and they struggle. I get that. There's none of that. Also, with respect to security, there are 700 cops every seven feet. It's very cool and they're very kind and they're very pleasant. My litany of things. There are folks from all over the country. I don't think we could have had a better day. I just don't. And you'll be cheating yourself. If you keep the same old Pittsburgh sucks mentality, because I think this is a massive step forward. As Kendridge has said with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, this is transformative. One of the major contributors to this region, obviously one of my favorite joints because I live it. It's part of my family, the Giant Eagle family. What do you think, man? Marty, good morning everyone. This is... Introduce yourself. This is Dan Donovan. Dan the man. She's a fine Irishman. And proud Giant Eagle 20 years, Giant Eagle team member for 20 years. Everything you said there about this experience right now walking through downtown is spot on. I have my 14 year old sons. Take your son to work day. Take your child to work day. So I brought him downtown to taking this experience. And it is everything you said in more, just a beautiful, beautiful weather, beautiful environment. Not at all yet, probably yet, not yet as crowded as, you know, I think the city hopes it will be later today. Yeah, yeah. But just a great moment to be down here. What about this, man? Oh, this Arts Landing. Holy cow. You know, the Giant Eagle Foundation has long been a sponsor of the former version of this space, what we call the backyard, the Giant Eagle Foundation backyard. So to see what has happened to expand the space and bring so much it, and make it really inviting for families, because we at Giant Eagle are all about families. Oh, yeah. So to make this a really welcoming space for families and to make them just another great reason to come downtown, we think is wonderful. Well, we're friends, so you kind of know how I bring it, and I'm very critical of. The crime, the scum, the stuff that really has screwed up many cities in America. What I like about this, they have 70 cameras, full-time security. they're ready to address any problem. In other words, they're going to make sure this stays wonderful. That's important, isn't it? I think that's incredibly important. You know, we say this at Giant Eagle all the time, safety's paramount. I think whether it's at your work, whether it's local supermarket, whether you're walking with yourself or your family downtown, that is most important. And I think you're spot on. I think the effort that's been put into this has been second to none. You've also deeply committed to this weekend.

Giant Eagle. Yeah, you know what? We've spent the past few months wondering, what is our role? How do we participate in the fun that is happening here? And two words, giant buggy. We have a comically sized, I'll say, giant buggy that on Tuesday was going to all the Pittsburgh hotspots. You know, a sentence I never thought I'd have to utter is, no. The video of the giant buggy going through the four pit tunnels was not AI generated. I actually had to say that to multiple people. And it fits. I was talking to the driver afterward. He said, well, it just fit. Oh, did it. But it fit. Yeah, there's giant eagle flags that come above it. And they had a little bit of scrape off the ceiling. But it got through. It made their lane change to get to the North Shore. So it did all the things. And it's just our social media teams that I think are really great job of just having fun with it. It was on Mount Washington. It went up Rialto Street. It went up Rialto Street. It got stuck. You know, just like where some of us have experienced this week, you think the street you're driving on is still open. Yeah, yeah, yeah. But as the cascade of closures happens in real time, it closes. So it had one of those experiences. So it had to make a five or six point turn, turn around, the giant buggy. And we've been so excited how well received it's been by folks in the Pittsburgh region, stopping to take pictures of it. We had, you know, we had reports of people, a car's following it for a mile or two until it stopped to take pictures. Now it's down here at PPG Plaza. So it had its fun hitting the road, seeing all the sites in Pittsburgh, all the beautiful sites you can see. Now it's at its home in PPG Plaza. It'll be here today through Saturday. Fun interaction, free, get your picture taken with it, lots of fun games too. Come down tomorrow, Friday at 1230, meet the big snack, Casey Hampton. So Casey Hampton's going to be at the Giant Buggy signing autographs. So that's just, we think it was a fun way for us to play a small part in the excitement. Well, you know me, and I love Giant Eagle. It's part of my home. All the folks there know our names. It's like going to see my friends when I shop there. And the big boss, you know, is one of my boys. Yeah. He's a firm believer in this sort of thing, isn't he? A hundred percent. You know, I say we, there's been a huge team for months planning for this. Bill has been actively engaged. Number one, a fan of our team. Wanted to know, want to hear big ideas, big buggy being, of course, a big idea. And really just... you know making sure that uh we feel that we're we're really having the impact we think we can have obviously we're hoping that people coming from out of town or coming into town we've got our cedar ab north side giant eagle nearby we've got our south side giant eagle nearby we hope those are destinations for people coming into the city but just to be able to have fun participate and um you know tell that giant eagle story in a fun way is a big part of what he wants to do dan donovan is a fine day lads see you at the buggy

Hey, thank you so much for having. Come on down, everyone. It's a wonderful time. All right, man. We're right back, folks. Arts Landing. It's absolutely gorgeous. It's absolutely so cool. Right in the center of the arts district downtown. And there are a lot of folks here from out of town. Sir, introduce yourself. My name is Kev Mahoney, and we flew in last night from New Jersey. Where in Jersey? Dead center of state, Belmar, New Jersey. So it's a bit colder there right now, about 20 degrees colder, and you couldn't ask for weather here. You have one, two, three, four, five kids with you. I do have five kids that are with me. They should be in school. It's all right. Skip school today because obviously it's a great environment, great downtown, explore. It's a life experience, man. Once in a lifetime. Hey, what do you think your vibe about this space right here? This is awesome. It's incredible. I mean, it's right in the downtown, beautiful space, really spread out. I mean, there's probably a couple hundred people here, and it's not crammed at all. So I'm sure it'll only get more packed over the next couple days, but this is awesome. The kids are having fun, stopping by, talking to everybody, so it's been great. It's kind of a once-in-a-lifetime experience for kids, isn't it? It should be. It better be. Yeah. I don't want to spoil them. This is awesome. I can see why people would do it year after year, but yeah, this is definitely a once-in-a-lifetime experience. And was the proximity, what brought you? Yeah, so we have friends that live in Pittsburgh. Nice. Love the city, and then obviously when this was here, we just figured we take advantage. So, this is great. Are you a Giants fan? I'm a big Giants fan. Nice. So. Skataboo. Scataboo. We have some big Scataboo fans here with me, two of my sons. Yeah, he came in, ran hard, got hurt, unfortunately. Sorry. So we're looking forward to seeing him back next year, but he's quite a personality. So is this an all-day thing with the kids? What's the plan? So it's an all-day thing. We started downtown. We're going to make our way closer to the stadium here. Yeah. Check out a lot of what do you have in town for the fans, for the kids. And then obviously stay for the draft tonight. You're going to stay. Yeah. So the first pick is until like 9 o'clock. They're going to be okay. Yes. They're going to be okay in nine hours. My man. Huh? Yeah, they're right at the perfect age, 12, 13, where they'll make it as late as we push it. Nice. As long as you feed them, but they do eat a lot. They've already made a couple stops for food just since we've gotten here. There's a lot of angst about traffic. and parking. You saw none of those issues, have you? No. We flew in, actually. We didn't hit any traffic at all. Had no issues with parking. Everything seems to be flowing really nicely. And then obviously where we parked, we're going to make our way through town, obviously through this area, the Arts Landing area, and then to the draft. So, yeah, this has been great so far. There's always concerns about security. I'm seeing cops everywhere, aren't you? A lot of cops.

A lot of cops, actually there's security getting into the areas, which is good. It's secure, but we just saw a whole parade of cops on horses. Yes. So, yeah, there's cops all around town, but yeah, I think everybody feels safe and we're having fun. Are you impressed with how clean the city is? I kind of knew in advance. Unfortunately, I think a lot more people are going to realize how great of a city of Pittsburgh is. You're digging it. Yeah. We come here once or twice a year. The reason I have five kids are two of mine and then three of my college roommates, so we come here a couple times a year and hang out with each other. What are the kids? All their names. All right. So I have Luke, who's in a Penn State jersey in the kids' arts district, but they're letting it slide. Sorry. And Colin, who are the two twins that came from New Jersey. Yes. Lena. And Owen, who are all-star athletes, Nice. St. Tears Valley. And Madeline, who's a fantastic dancer. I wish you could see it on the radio, but you'd have to believe me. We love you, man. We love that you brought your kids. We love that you're enjoying the scene, and we love Pittsburgh, just like you do. Yeah. The pleasure, man. It's great. Have a safe day. Have a wonderful day. You too. All right, man. See your kids. The moments are, whoa. That is what this is all about. People and their families. I just got a text from one of my boys. Check this out. A friend of mine just parked at Nova Place for 12 bucks. Nova Place, if you're not aware, is across the river. And from downtown, what do you think, Patrick? 15-minute walk? Maybe. Yeah, yeah. But 12 bucks. Hello, 12 bucks. Yeah, 12 bucks. Take that any day. Right, sir, come on and sit down. Sit down real quick, come on. We're soliciting opinions. Absolutely, man. What's your name? Rolling. What do you think? What do I think? Of this. It's awesome, man. It's awesome, isn't it? But this is cool, this arch landing. Absolutely. Kind of takes your breath away. Where'd you park? Well, I'm staying at the Homewood. Oh, nice. Yeah. Nice. Who came in from Columbus this morning and no traffic? None. Like better than I've ever come into Pittsburgh. It's true. Three hours and five minutes. No traffic at all. Nothing. Surprised? Yeah. What about how clean the city is? Oh, the city's awesome. It's crazy. It's incredible. Huh? Are you here all day? Yeah, we're here for Roque. We're here for... He's over there, like... He's a teenager, man. We're here until Saturday. Cool. Then we're going to see Luke Combs. Oh, cool. In Columbus. And so will you be, tonight the draft? Absolutely. Nice. We're in the Steelers stuff if you're looking for. What do you think about the city, how clean it is? It looks awesome. Yeah, and all the cops. Well, they're the best, man. They take care of us. They keep us safe. This was... This was a... Goodyear tire store and a parking lot. Look at it now. All right there at the courtyard. This is beautiful. Have a great trip. Thanks for stopping by. You got it. All right. Hey, folks, 12 bucks. 12 bucks to park at Nova Place. Wow. Folks, we're having a hell of a day. This is a wonderful, wonderful day. I'm begging you to come down because this ain't happening again. We'll be right back.

Was up Arts Landing I've had so much fun so far today this arts landing is gorgeous And I'm grabbing folks as they walk through men tell us your name I'm Dolores wine move up Dolores here with my husband Ed We came in on the tea which is free now that we have connect cards because we're old still cool though Oh, yeah, it was great. It was loaded. The team was loaded and people had their gear on and it's been exciting so far. What do you think about this park? Woo! We didn't have to see most of it, but it looks great. It's just, you know, we're going to, we just stopped here first and we're going to walk around and check it out. Downtown's impressive right now. Oh, yes. It looks great. I hope it stays like that. This is what everybody's saying. Let's keep it like this, right? I know, yes. Our son has businesses here and... He has three businesses downtown. He has three Jimmy John's restaurants in town. And let me be honest, in areas that have struggled in terms of crime and stuff. Right, right. So he wants the same things, I would guess. Oh, yes, definitely. Right? Yes, definitely. Yeah, we're hoping it stays good, you know. But this is impressive so far, isn't it? Yes, it is. It's great. How about how clean the streets are? Oh, it looks wonderful. He was impressed, too, because he came in early and he said, oh, it's so clean, you know. It's like, it's great. It's amazing. Thank you, folks. Ma'am, come over here and sit down real quick. I'm grabbing folks as they walk by, which makes this fantastic right in Arts Landing. Tell us your name. Cheryl Martin. Okay, so why are you here? Because of you. When I heard you say a previous call, you said, somebody said you should I go golfing or should I come down here? I'm like, I'm coming. And you were so advocating. This is my first stop. I got off from tea. It came right here because of you. This is an amazing campus here. I have a three-year-old grandbaby. I'm going to bring her here. I mean, there's stuff for little kids' play areas. So cool. But you encouraged me to come. You talked this up. This is my first step. I got off the tea. and i came right down here and i came to meet you and how clean it is oh my gosh yeah they did a good job the city did a good job it's important we had this right yep and it's important that people advocate thank you for what you do for talking it up you you could tell you love the city oh do but we want to we want to keep it this way well thank you for talking thank you sweetheart i'm here because you appreciate you hey i swear by it it's uh i had an epiphany we walked in here this morning And it's absolutely gorgeous. The setting. Uh-huh. One of my favorite people is walking up here. Come over here. He looks like a secret service agent, but he's not. He's better. One of my boys, truly one of my closest friends, Mad Max. How are you, brother? What's up, Marty? Get closer here. This is absolutely beautiful. There is no one more honest about downtown. There is no one more important to my show, and no one's going to tell you the truth more than Max. Give me your impression of this. This is great. This is fantastic. A little closer. This is absolutely beautiful. I remember I actually had my car service at the Goodyear Center. Did you? I had it inspected. So I was probably one of the last customers there before they shut it down. But yeah, this is absolutely gorgeous. It's amazing. It's amazing. And you know what, Max?

something you care about, full-time security, 70 cameras, they can speak to you. Like if you're jacking around, they'll yell at you. There's people here 24-7. In other words, they're going to keep it this way. How important is that? It's very important. So, I mean, I think right now we're at the tippity top. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So let's keep it there. All right, so you've been walking through town. It's a little weird how quiet it is. I know I talked to a lot of people that said they were taking today off and tomorrow. They just didn't want to deal with it. You know, typically ginsers. Yeah, of course. It's kind of cool. It's kind of cool. Yeah. But it kind of reminded you like pre-COVID. Yes. Coming down here. Like traffic, I shot straight down Green Tree, no traffic coming through the tunnels. Yes. My parking garage is lots of spaces. $100 a day to park. I have a lease. I posted your picture. So the other thing I did not notice. Any street people? Did you see anyone? I saw one guy panhandled by the target on Smithfield, but I mean It's it's way down Way down way down so they made sure didn't they and you know I'm one of the biggest critics I know you I know you will but yeah no it max It's nice. It's frigging clean too brother. Yeah, huh? It is there's dudes with brooms and bust us pants Downtown. Did you see Market Square? It's beautiful. I had lunch over there last week. It's amazing. Yeah, I ate at this place called Cockies. Yeah, really good chicken sandwich. My concern is yours. That's where all the homeless folks congregated on the chairs and stuff in the past. They've got to make sure that doesn't happen. Yeah. Right. So, I mean, we're kind of at a good spot right now. Right. Let's try to maintain that. Right, right. Let's keep this momentum. Right on. Let's keep making Pittsburgh cleaner. Right. Let's stay on top of the trash. Let's let it accumulate. Right on. I love it. Yeah, it's. I can't say anything. I have nothing bad to say about it. It's awesome. It's absolutely beautiful. It's gorgeous. Looking good, brother. Yeah. How's your wife? She's good. She had three chemo treatments. So she's handling it a lot better than what I thought. So day after the chemo, she's out at Ross Park Mall walking with a friend of hers. Good for her. So, but, you know, you know going through it. Of course. Probably three or four days after it, it kind of hits you a little bit and start slowing down. But no nausea. Still good appetite. So we're just taking it one day at a time. Man Max is one of my favorite people, one of my closest friends. Without him, we wouldn't have a show. And he's been a tremendous, tremendous asset. Thanks, brother. You got it, brother. See you. See you, Marty. He is. He's my man. Folks, loving it down here. Come on down. We'll be right back.