Now , most businesses have closed their doors , leaving only a handful to serve the community . A drive down Braddock Avenue , the main street , indicates the town has seen the bottom . The avenue is lined with crumbling offices and stores , boarded windows and empty lots where buildings once stood . But there is hope in the town . In 2005 , Braddock elected John Fetterman by one vote as its mayor . He is originally from York , Pennsylvania , and has lived in the area of Braddock for eight years . He has an MBA from Harvard and started a program that helped dislocated youth from the area receive their high school equivalency degrees . At 6 feet 8 inches and 325 pounds , he is an imposing figure . He chooses to dress in Dr Martens boots , baggy jeans and Dickies short-sleeved shirts because he feels he is able to connect with the people better dressed that way . He shaves his head and has a goatee . Possibly the most intimidating aspects of Fetterman 's appearance are his tattoos , clearly visible on his forearms , including the numbers 15104
BRADDOCK , Pennsylvania -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- What happens when business and government turn their collective back on a town and just walk away ? Braddock , Pennsylvania , is what happens . Braddock , Pennsylvania , has suffered since the steel mills went out of business in the 1970s and 1980s . When steel was king , the population of Braddock surged to more than 20,000 people . With its proximity to Pittsburgh and its location on the Monongahela River , it was an ideal location for a steel town . When steel mills began closing in the 1970s and 1980s , Braddock was not immune . In 1982 , Braddock 's main mill , the Carrie Furnace , closed its doors , putting thousands of people out of work . Throughout the 1980s and 1990s , residents left the town seeking work in other parts of Pennsylvania . The 2000 census put the population of Braddock at 2,900 , but it has dropped further , according to residents . Home prices have plummeted and real estate is as inexpensive as $ 6,000 for a single-family house . Historic pictures show a polished downtown and a bustling community .