Pittsburgh City Council approves appointments to city's planning, art commissions

Pittsburgh City Council on Tuesday approved new appointments to the city’s planning and art commissions.

Pedro Quintanilla, of Squirrel Hill, and Monica Ruiz, of Brookline, will serve on the Planning Commission. Ali R. Abdullah will sit on the Civic Design Committee of the Art Commission.

Abdullah is the disability compliance manager for the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh. He said he would aim to bring his focus on disability compliance and accessibility to the board.

Ruiz serves as executive director of Beechview-based nonprofit Casa San Jose.

Quintanilla is a senior associate at the Downtown-based firm Michael Baker International and serves on the board of the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership. He said he would recuse himself from votes that are relevant to Michael Baker or the partnership.

Quintanilla formerly served on the city’s Art Commission, but was dismissed from his post in November when Mayor Ed Gainey announced he was replacing all members of the commission. The commission was then reorganized and split into two committees, one focused on civic design and the other centered on public art.