South Side community members meet with Mayor Ed Gainey to discuss violence
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- After walking Carson Street early Saturday morning during the height of the bar hours, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey returned to the South Side Tuesday night to discuss public safety concerns.
Gainey continues to search for solutions to the issues that have plagued the area recently. Everyone involved in trying to find solutions wants to reestablish the vibe that has drawn people to the area but without the current threat atmosphere.
Pittsburgh's South Side is much more than the bar-hopping, trouble-brewing Carson Street canyon that its image has become. It's an eclectic and diverse mix of more than 10,000 people and 600 businesses, and it's a truly unique part of the city that needs help.
"We're 20-plus years into this. It just isn't something that happened overnight," said Pittsburgh Councilman Bruce Kraus.
"All the people, signs, and businesses, all they want is peace. Law and order and peace. That's it," said Rich Cupka, the owner of Cupka's Cafe.
What has seemingly happened overnight against the timeline of history is the trouble the mayor saw as he walked Carson Street alongside Councilman Kraus.
"Did we see fights? Yes. Did we see underage? Yes. Do we see public intox? Yes. Did we see open fifths of liquor? Yes, everything, and he saw firsthand," Kraus said.
"Now, what we have down here, John, is we have kids coming in underage, selling alcohol and drugs out of their cars on the streets, you know, and nothing's been done about it," Cupka said.
Cupka says now that the mayor has seen it firsthand, he's going to hear a call for enforcement like there was last weekend.
"Friday and Saturday night was pretty quiet. There's a lot of police, a lot of state troopers, which was nice, Cupka said.
"That's one weekend. We have to sustain it now," Cupka added.
Both Kraus and Cupka say the South Side has a real problem with open containers of alcohol on the street. Cupka says the law isn't being enforced and advocates for a return to saturation patrols.
"If it continues this way, I'll move to a different neighborhood," said Dan Mills. "I love Pittsburgh but the lawlessness here is out of control."
Residents are speaking out after a surge in gun violence in one of Pittsburgh's most popular neighborhoods. They're taking their concerns directly to Gainey at a community meeting at the South Side Market House.
"I saw somebody light a t-shit on fire by the gas station down on 10th and chased people around with it at 2:30 in the morning two weeks ago," said Mills.
And that's not that bad, said Dan Mills, who has a birds-eye view of Carson Street from his loft. He regularly sees things far worse.
"I had to call the police because guys were gathering around a half-naked female who came out of a bar and she was screaming that she was going to be raped," said Mills.
The six-block stretch of Carson has seen reports of early morning fights, stabbings and shootings.
Most recently, a shooting left one Cambod-Ican Kitchen employee hospitalized and cause thousands of dollars worth of damage.
The same weekend, the Fudge Farm made the difficult decision to close its doors after that shooting and a vicious attack on one of its employees right outside the front door.
"It's a sad situation," William Fletcher of the North Side said. "South Side was normally a cool spot. You never heard of shootings and things like that down here."
Gibbs Kanyongo of McCandless agreed: "I don't even come down here anymore on the weekends."
Business owners hope Gainey's visit wasn't just for show.
"Unless you're implementing change, implementing things that are going to create change, what's really going to happen?" sad Charlotte Nieman of Illegal Global.
Illegal Global has been Carson for three years and is open until 10 p.m. Since the string of violent crimes has plagued the area, they said they've lost a lot of would-be foot traffic.
The consensus: everyone wants action.
"I hope he puts more of a police presence and has the establishments maintain structure and ordinance so people leave on time," said Mills.