Foxtail, Skybar temporarily close, citing South Side's 'problematic' customer base
Foxtail and Skybar on Pittsburgh’s South Side have shut down indefinitely, days after a video began circulating of a lewd act that allegedly took place at a private pool party at the venue.
Owners did not address the video and did not return requests for comment but noted in a message to patrons that the closure comes in light of continued unruliness in the popular entertainment district.
“The climate for operating a nighttime economy business in the South Side has regressed to the point of being unstable and has led to a customer base that is problematic,” owners of the nightclub wrote in a statement announcing the temporary closure.
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Pittsburgh police said they are investigating after the video, allegedly showing a woman and several others engaging in a lewd act at the rooftop Skybar.
“We look forward to rejoining the community once a solution to the issues plaguing our neighborhood has been successfully implemented,” owners wrote.
An early June shooting led the Fudge Farm to shutter its South Side location, with owners citing “uncontrollable shootings and violence as well as other circumstances.”
The closure came the same day as Mayor Ed Gainey and representatives from the Department of Public Safety met virtually with South Side business owners and residents regarding the mayor’s safety initiative for the East Carson Street corridor.
Zone 3 Cmdr. John Fisher said police have stationed officers outside of establishments that have been identified as problem bars.
“Keep in mind I only have 15 officers down there,” he said, according to Tribune-Review news partner WPXI-TV. “To give you a comparison, this time last year I had 30 officers working down there. Now I’m working with half, so we’re lacking in manpower.”
Christie Neff, owner of Twelve Whiskey BBQ on East Carson Street, said that increased police presence has made a difference.
“They are not letting people hang out in the streets or loiter,” she said, according to WPXI. “All of the loitering is gone, so it’s been a huge progress in just a few weeks.”
City and police leaders have been trying for more than a year to reign in unruly conditions on the South Side that began with overcrowding in the weeks and months after pandemic restrictions expired last year. Issues go back far beyond the pandemic, though, as East Carson Street has long been a hotspot for bars, clubs and other entertainment venues.
The summer has seen a spate of shootings on East Carson and several side streets, including one in the early hours of July 4 that left two people injured. Ten days earlier, three women were injured in an altercation that ended in gunfire near South 12th Street. Both of those incidents happened around 3:30 a.m.
In early June, a man was arrested after he allegedly used a stolen gun to open fire on another man around 2:30 a.m. The victim returned fire, injuring the alleged shooter.
Most recently, reports of a man wielding a gun led to an arrest about 2:30 a.m. Saturday.
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