Safety concerns shake Downtown Pittsburgh as businesses fear crime-related issues are threatening the city's core
Mark Belko
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
mbelko@post-gazette.com
Dec 18, 2022
6:00 AM
Downtown is a bit on edge these days.
Frustration over shootings, fights, panhandling, and open drug dealing boiled over during a recent meeting between Downtown business owners and merchants and top officials within Mayor Ed Gainey’s administration.
Some worried about losing commercial or residential tenants if the situation doesn’t change or how they can cajole workers back to the office given anxiety about safety. Another fretted about losing businesses or restaurants.
The concerns come at a time when some Downtown restaurants are experiencing some of their best business since the start of the pandemic; as developers are adding hundreds of apartments to meet the demand for city living; and as one prominent retail broker is doubling down on his commitment to the city’s core.
They also come against the backdrop of a spate of troubling incidents, including a shooting in October in the Cultural District that killed a man and a fight among teenagers last month that ended with a window of Cardamone’s hair salon on Wood Street being shattered. A city police officer suffered a hand injury last month breaking up a fight among teens in Market Square.
The Gainey administration reps stressed during the quarterly Downtown stakeholders meeting in early December that the statistics show crime is no worse now in the city center than it was before the pandemic and that the city is taking steps to address problems, including beefing up foot patrols.
But many of those who attended the meeting — and others who didn’t — insisted that city leadership isn’t doing enough, particularly to address issues like aggressive panhandling, fights, unruly youths, and loitering that don’t show up in crime stats.
It’s those types of things that are keeping office workers from returning Downtown or that are giving tenants pause about staying, some said.
“We’re at an edge right now with a number of major employers Downtown — some smaller, some bigger — who are saying that unless this changes very quickly, when our lease is up, we’re leaving,” Andy Wisniewski, asset manager of the PPG Place complex and EQT Plaza, said at the meeting, attended by about 40 people.
Kevin Wade, executive vice president, corporate real estate director for PNC Financial Services Group, said he has been hit up multiple times for money by aggressive panhandlers.
While the exchanges don’t bother him, he said those type of incidents and things like fights can impact others and affect their perceptions of Downtown.
And he maintained there’s a “philosophical difference” between the Gainey administration and business owners in terms of policing and how to deal with such situations, with the mayor’s office taking more of a hands-off approach.
“We can debate it all we want. But if you go up to a police officer and said, ‘Hey, that guy just accosted me,’ the police officer won’t do anything. Their hands are tied,” he told Gainey reps gathered at the meeting.
He stressed that “time is beyond the essence” in reshaping strategy to deal with such issues Downtown.
“We’ve got to stop kidding ourselves. We’ve got to stop fighting about it and just say go outside, smell it, look at it, experience it. It’s bad and it’s getting worse,” he said. “If you keep up this resistance, it’s going to be beyond repair.”
Perception vs. reality?
Mr. Gainey, who took office in January, did not respond to an interview request made by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette through his spokeswoman.
During the stakeholders meeting, his representatives insisted that perception isn’t always reality.
For one, overall crime Downtown is no worse now than it was before the pandemic, said Heath Johnson, who manages the city police bureau’s crime analysis unit.
“Downtown has essentially returned to the pre-pandemic levels of crime and disorder. While that may not seem great, I will say that the pre-pandemic levels of crime and disorder Downtown were at 10-year lows at the time when the pandemic started,” he said.
Crime Downtown this year through October was up in almost every category, based on statistics presented at the meeting. Mr. Johnson stated that year-over-year increases are “a little bit deceptive” because crime hit historic lows during the pandemic when businesses were closed and people stayed home.
About the only category of crime that is well outside the norm, he said, is the theft of vehicles. But he attributed much of that to vehicles left running by delivery drivers or residents or cars that have the keys still in them.
November did see an increase in property crime. Mr. Johnson said that may be in part because of the summer opening of the Downtown Target, saying that the retailer is often literally a target for theft.
Beyond the statistics, administration officials told the Downtown stakeholders that they are taking steps to try to
curb some of the very situations that merchants and business owners see as the most troublesome.
That effort won’t involve more police officers overall, at least not short term.
Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt acknowledged that he can’t promise more manpower right now, noting the number of officers has “diminished significantly” citywide over the last few years.
But the city has pulled officers from other zones to help out Downtown, especially during large events, and is trying to deploy the officers it has more strategically to cover potential trouble spots.
“We want them walking beats, talking to people, walking into stores, walking into the businesses making sure everybody knows who they are and what they’re there for and that they’re all nice people,” Mr. Schmidt said.
The city also is looking to supplement police with responders trained in other areas to help with calls involving issues like homelessness, mental health, and drugs.
In a new initiative, police are working with the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership to create a public safety ambassadors program.
The uniformed ambassadors won’t carry weapons or have arrest powers but will walk through Downtown to provide hospitality, an extra set of eyes and ears, to summon help if required, and to check in on businesses and merchants.
“They will be a visible presence,” said Jeremy Waldrup, PDP president and CEO, adding that as many as 10 such ambassadors could be deployed Downtown by March.
PNC is planning to provide a building it owns on Wood Street across from its Downtown headquarters for use by police and public safety officials, the ambassadors, and others working to keep the city core safe.
Engaging youth
To address issues involving youth, the city is talking to the U.S. attorney’s office about trying to find an indoor place where students attending school Downtown can go afterwards to hang out, get mentored, or have fun so they won’t have to congregate on street corners or elsewhere.
“There are reasons they don’t want to go home. They may not have the best home life so they want to be Downtown,” Mr. Schmidt said. “They actually feel safer Downtown even knowing some of the stuff that happens.”
He added that 95% of the youth who come into Downtown don’t cause any problems. At the same time, police have identified 10 to 15 kids who “need a little more attention” and are trying to engage them, meet with parents or guardians, and help get them on the right path.
Gainey officials said the opening of the Second Avenue Commons low-barrier shelter should help with homelessness. They also are hoping to expand the hours of a drop-in center on Smithfield Street.
The administration is reviving a disruptive properties appeals board to give teeth to an ordinance designed to crack down on nuisance commercial properties, Felicity Williams, Mr. Gainey’s deputy chief of staff, said at the meeting.
While such properties won’t be shut down or face criminal charges, they will be billed when police respond to the address.
“This is a way to kind of pressure property owners, business owners, to address what are challenges by passing the bill along to them for that,” Ms. Williams said.
She urged Downtown stakeholders to give some of the initiatives time to bear fruit.
“Because we are putting a lot of focus on Downtown and a lot of investment in Downtown. I know it’s hard to see the results of this. It’s not going to be immediate. But the activities and investments are happening. It does take time,” she said.
‘A lack of attention’
While applauding some of the steps, some merchants and business owners weren’t entirely sold on the actions — or the narrative.
Crime statistics can be misleading, Mr. Wisniewski said, not taking into account incidents that don’t rise to the level of a 911 call or police report.
“So crime looks like it hasn’t increased. But as a landlord, it’s not a week that doesn’t go by that one or two very significant customers of ours who call us with very specific incidents. So what’s not showing up is the panhandling, the drugs, the mental health, the people who are being approached,” he said.
“And those things are absolutely keeping our customers from going back Downtown. The reason you had to be Downtown before no longer exists, with virtual work, with hybrids.”
Ralph Falbo, who owns a condominium building on Fort Pitt Boulevard, said tenants get upset over issues like aggressive panhandling. “I got people calling me saying as soon as my lease is up, I’m gone,” he said.
“We have a great city here and we were in a great position before. There’s been a lack of attention to Downtown Pittsburgh. I hear all of those statistics and I hear all of the comments. I’m sorry, I don’t see it.”
Tom Smith, managing partner of the Pittsburgh office of K&L Gates, said the law firm has tried everything from pancake and bacon breakfasts to cornhole tournaments to try to entice people back to the office.
But it turned out that the event that drew the biggest crowd was when Pittsburgh police came to speak about Downtown, noting that employees “wanted to hear from the officers and raise their concerns.”
“It was very eye opening to me. The point someone made about perception is the reality. Certainly the perception is that things are really bad and that something needs to be done,” he said.
Mr. Smith pointed out that K&L Gates has been reviewing its options for office space Downtown. It hasn’t ruled out staying in the building that bears its name at Liberty and Sixth avenues despite some concern about a convenience store nearby where crowds tend to congregate.
“As we look at other potential locations, one of the things we’re really looking at is what’s the security in that location. Will a potential landlord provide that security because we’re feeling like we just might not get what we need from the city,” he said.
Merchants weigh in
John Valentine, executive director of the Downtown Neighbors Alliance, applauded Mr. Gainey for agreeing to hold a town hall meeting Downtown to hear from businesses and residents. It is tentatively scheduled for Feb. 9.
“I know how hard you’re trying, I know how much you care and that comes through. And I have faith in you. But I think we need a little bit of a short-term chit chat with residents, building owners, small business owners,” he told Gainey’s reps at the meeting.
At the same time, he raised concerns about potential business relocations and restaurant closings, saying “that scares the bejeebers out of me.”
In an interview, Julian Vallozzi, owner of the Vallozzi Pittsburgh and Talia restaurants Downtown, said it doesn’t seem as if the mayor’s office has a full grasp of the problems.
“From what I’m hearing and seeing, there seems like there’s a lot of deflecting or not really acknowledging that it’s happening and pretending like everything is fine,” he said.
Mr. Vallozzi, who has another restaurant in Greensburg, said he has heard from some customers who make the trek Downtown that they are less likely to come back because they feel unsafe returning to their cars after dinner.
Despite the challenges, Mr. Vallozzi said his business this month has been reminiscent of a pre-COVID December and that business overall has returned to 75% to 80% of what it was before the pandemic.
“There is positivity. There are signs of people returning to Downtown,” he said. “My concern is if there is an incident when they are Downtown, they’re not going to come back a second time. I think the window is closing to get Downtown back on track the way it was pre-COVID.”
Joseph Orlando, owner of Joseph Orlando Clothiers on Wood Street, echoed many of the concerns.
“All it takes is one or two shootings down here and then all of sudden, you have a bigger problem,” he said. “I think it all stems from the lack of people coming to town to work. When the workforce is in town, it creates a different vibe and energy that is lacking.”
He urged the city to add more police officers and to have them walk beats to help break up fights or people congregating at spots. Better lighting Downtown at night also could help people feel safer, he said.
Lisa Wolfson, owner of the 306 Forbes Boutique on Forbes Avenue, said she has many of the same concerns about kids congregating Downtown and in front of her store and issues like drugs.
“I don’t feel unsafe. It’s just an uncomfortable feeling. Some people will come in and say ‘Oh my gosh, how do you do this. I don’t feel safe coming down here.’ I always assure them, reassure them [about safety].”
She said her business has been affected more by the pandemic than any safety-related issues. But she urged Mr. Gainey, who has walked neighborhoods from Homewood to South Side, to make himself more visible Downtown as a way of addressing some of the problems.
“Just seeing him, shaking hands, you know what I mean, and doing things like that could be something that might help out with the people to know that he’s down here to see what’s going on,” she said.
Restaurant sales up
Despite the issues, Herky Pollock, a CBRE executive vice president and retail broker, said restaurant sales overall Downtown are well above pre-pandemic 2019 levels. Many dining spots are having their best years ever, including three with sales above $9 million.
Mr. Pollock is optimistic enough about the Golden Triangle’s direction that he recently spent $1.3 million to buy a building and vacant lot on Penn Avenue that he plans to convert into two restaurants and 11 or 12 upper floor apartments, aided by the construction of a two-story addition.
He also is preparing to open Ritual House, a restaurant that will be located in the Union Trust Building on Grant Street.
“I’m fully bullish on Downtown. It’s not just broker speak,” he said.
Not that Mr. Pollock is dismissive of the issues raised by others. He said there is room for improvement in addressing challenges like aggressive panhandling, fights, and unruly youth.
“We just need to be smarter in how we deploy police so that people feel safer coming Downtown. It’s not like Downtown is broken. It just needs to be tweaked,” he said.
He also believes that things like panhandling tend to stand out more now than before the pandemic because there are fewer people coming Downtown, particularly for work.
“We need to get more people Downtown and that will change the perceptions of security and safety,” he said.
A stronger Downtown
Overall, an average of 87,000 people a day are coming into the Golden Triangle to work, according to the PDP. That’s about 34% below what it was before the pandemic when about 131,000 arrived each day.
At the Original Oyster House restaurant, a Downtown institution in Market Square that has been in business for 152 years, owner Jen Grippo said she is having her busiest year since 2019.
She said she for one has never felt unsafe Downtown, adding that many of those who work for her are over the age of 60. If either they or the restaurant’s customers didn’t feel safe, “I wouldn’t be in business anymore. I would have to shut my doors,” she said.
During the stakeholders meeting, Maria Montaño, Mr. Gainey’s press secretary, said that more than 90,000 people attended Light-Up Night last month with no major incidents and no injuries.
“I think even just saying that we’ve returned to pre-pandemic levels of crime is a testament to the efforts that we’re putting in because we’re seeing crime rise across the country,” Ms. Williams added.
And while Downtown may face some challenges, it still is a very safe place for people to work and live, Mr. Waldrup said.
The initiatives being implemented in partnership with the city and other stakeholders will make for a “stronger, more resilient Downtown,” he emphasized.
“We’re rolling up our sleeves and doing everything we can to support everyone who’s interested in making progress on these fronts,” he said.
Mark Belko: mbelko@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1262.
First Published December 18, 2022, 6:00am
