South Side businesses laud police crackdown on East Carson Street corridor

An ongoing police crackdown on the South Side is making the bustling East Carson Street entertainment district safer, police officials, business owners and local community members said Tuesday.

“It’s had a monumental effect on the (South Side) Flats since its inception,” John DeMauro, owner of Urban Tap gastropub on East Carson Street, said during a news conference at Mario’s South Side Saloon.

Since July, a special patrol has made 95 arrests, recovered 18 guns, made over 200 traffic stops and written more than 1,000 citations, police Sgt. Andrew Robinson said at the news conference.

Cara Cruz, a police spokeswoman, said the arrests “run the gamut.” They include serious crimes such as aggravated assaults, resisting arrest and drug and gun offenses, as well as more mundane violations such as false identification, disorderly conduct and crimial mischief.

The dedicated unit of officers, launched by police Chief Larry Scirotto, patrols the area during evenings and nights Thursday through Sunday.

While crime statistics have shown the area isn’t actually becoming more violent, some people have voiced concerns about safety on the South Side. Others have claimed that a “false narrative” about South Side being problematic has hurt businesses.

In addition to patrolling the area, the 10 officers and sergeant who make up the patrol also have worked to build partnerships with residents and businesses. Scirotto praised the joint effort.

“The common cause was to make the South Side Flats a safe environment for those that live here, those that operate businesses here and those that enjoy the entertainment here,” Scirotto said.

When he was sworn in as Pittsburgh’s police chief last summer, Scirotto said, he saw that the East Carson Street corridor had become “rather dangerous, not only for the businesses and the residents, but for our officers.”

Police didn’t have enough officers at peak times to control the large crowds the entertainment district draws on the weekends, he said. He described an unsafe, “anything-goes” environment marked by unruly behavior and violent crime.

The new patrol unit has made a difference, according to the chief.

“It’s changed behavior,” Scirotto said. “It’s changed and increased the safety within the South Side.”

DeMauro — who has owned a business in the neighborhood for over two decades and lived there for about 15 years — acknowledged there had been problems, especially before the most recent efforts to ramp up a police presence and crack down on crime.

DeMauro said business owners are now coming together to talk with law enforcement about problems and work toward solutions. Efforts include monthly meetings with business owners, ensuring businesses aren’t serving alcohol to people who are underage and working together to ensure that troublemakers aren’t permitted in any South Side business.

“It’s a collective effort,” DeMauro said. “It can’t just be a public safety solution. It’s a communitywide solution.”

Don Berman, with the resident-led South Side Community Action Network, voiced his support for recent efforts to make the area safer.

“Things are getting better,” he said. “In the past, there were lots of meetings without a whole lot of results. Now, all these stakeholders have their oars in the water rowing in the same direction.”

Despite the optimism, DeMauro said it’s important that everyone involved continues working to maintain improvements.

“We have to continue to trend upward,” he said. “We don’t want to have any setbacks.”

Related:

• Pittsburgh's South Side not getting more violent, crime stats show

• 'False narrative' on South Side violence is bad for the neighborhood and business, councilman says

• Officers begin added South Side patrols