Some residents say been another long, hot summer on Pittsburgh's South Side, whose notoriously rowdy bar scene sometimes gets out of hand as bar owners, police, and public officials argue over who is to blame.
But City Councilor Bruce Kraus — who has represented the area for 15 years — argues that another group should be part of the debate about the neighborhood's atmosphere: commercial property owners.
Many bars, after all, don't own their own buildings. And Kraus said that when a landlord's tenant presents a problem, “Most will say, ‘Councilman, I had no idea.’ Or, ‘Let me tell you what we're doing because we were embarrassed by the fact that we're part of this problem.’”
But that isn't always the case, he added. And he said one of his biggest headaches concerns TREK Development Group, one of the city's best-known developers.
TREK owns properties all over the city, many of which are residential or mixed-use. But it also owns a building on the 1500 block of East Carson St. which houses Oddballs, a bar Kraus considers one of "two or three problematic operators" in the area.
Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey's administration has a program that could be used to address such situations, but it has yet to be used. And Kraus said that TREK and its president, Bill Gatti, have an excellent reputation, which makes things all the more frustrating.
“With this extensive and staggering portfolio that TREK development has," Kraus asked, "what is the need to hang on to a tenant … that is going to slowly harm your reputation?”
'Almost like a stage'
According to Kraus, chaos surrounds Oddballs like a moth to a flame.
Security footage shared by several businesses as part of a public safety initiative depicts crowds spilling out of the bar and into the street late at night. At other times, he said, people are gathered out front for hours without going inside.
“You see these massive crowds gathered outside of Oddballs,” Kraus said, “[And] they are not there to participate in any productive way, in any licensed establishment.”
According to Don Berman of the South Side Community Action Network, those crowds cause traffic problems and fights outside of the business.
“It's almost like a stage in front of Oddballs,” Berman said.
Oddballs owner Matt Miklos said the bar maintains a six-person security staff to check ID and search patrons for weapons. He said those measures keep the bar safe.
“I get threatened at least once a week that I’m going to get … killed because I threw someone out or I didn’t let someone in,” Miklos said. “That’s why I have the security: so I can remove those people quickly.”
But once that happens, he said, the business can’t be blamed for what happens in the street. “Out front isn’t our problem," he said. "When they’re outside, it’s the police’s problem."
Kraus takes issue with that argument. “How can you then divorce yourself from the totality of the district?” he said.
Similarly, critics say that property owners like TREK, which has owned the property since 2004, can't distance themselves from the tenants who pay the rent.
“As a building owner, you have to be really cognizant of what's going on in your building because you may end up being accountable for it,” said Berman.
Gatti, TREK's president, declined to be interviewed about Oddballs. In a statement, he said the bar has not violated the terms of its lease but added, “We are in discussions with our tenant about ways to insure [sic] that their business operation is additive to the fabric and character of the neighborhood.”
Gatti said TREK is “ready to collaborate with the City of Pittsburgh, local law enforcement and the South Side business community,” to improve the South Side. But he declined to specify what that collaboration would look like.
Kraus, though, is anxious about the trend. While he said reports of violence don't paint an accurate picture of the South Side as a whole, it doesn't take much to spark a tragedy.
“There’s a golden opportunity to intervene … and stop this before it happens," he said.
And there has been tragedy this summer. A man in his 30s was found with gunshot wounds at 13th Street and Carson. He later succumbed to his wounds at a hospital.
Pittsburgh’s disruptive properties program
In an effort to thwart summer violence, the city has beefed up police patrols along East Carson Street. And at least on paper, city leaders do have a tool to encourage landlords to help curb public safety issues: the disruptive properties program.
The program allows the city to declare a property “disruptive” if owners receive three citations within one year for offenses that can include noise problems, alcohol sales to minors, or liquor consumption on streets or sidewalks. A property owner can dispute a citation in court, but once three citations are issued, the owner will be fined for future public safety calls to the address.
The program had been defunct until the Gainey administration pledged to review it last summer after a late-night tour of East Carson Street. But although City Council appointed the first disruptive properties appeals board members months ago, the program has yet to make an impact.
The program is housed in the just-launched Office of Equal Protection, which City Council formally authorized just last week. According to the director of the Office of Equal Protection, no properties are currently under review for the disruptive properties program.
Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt said one reason for that is that city leaders would rather see property owners make changes before the city acts.
Schmidt said that while no properties are officially under review, the city has had informal conversations with some commercial landlords.
“It’s like an intervention before we declare it, just to try to see what we can do before we take that step,” he said. “Some bar operators are willing to work with us a little easier than others, but the property owner has the ability to take eviction action.”
He said that officials had not spoken to TREK.
Some community groups are eager to see how the program could be used to solve their problems.
Lawrenceville Corporation executive director Sarah Trbovic said that while her neighborhood has its share of bars and entertainment venues, it hasn’t seen the same issues as the South Side. She said her neighborhood needs a way to keep short-term rental property owners accountable.
“A lot of times they’re not local and it’s hard to track them down,” Trbovic said.
But for now, the city’s disruptive properties program is focused on commercial properties, not the residential parcels that typically serve as short-term rentals.
In any case, with three citations needed before the city can bill a landlord, it’s not clear how much impact the program could have this summer.
East Carson Street's increased police presence — which includes officers from the county sheriff's office and other agencies — has resulted in between three and four dozen citations every weekend over the last month. But those have targeted individuals, for offenses like disorderly conduct, public urination, open containers, and smoking cannabis.
And Berman said the police presence shouldn’t be the only response to problems on the South Side.
“When anybody says … ‘Just let the police do their job,’ It's not that simple,” Berman said. “If it was that simple, we’d do it.”
