What's a Saturday night like on the South Side?

A recent uptick in gun violence along East Carson Street in Pittsburgh’s South Side has left some visitors and business owners on edge — though others said they were beginning to feel a bit safer this weekend as public safety increased efforts to curb the violence.

“You’ve got to push past the concerns and have your fun,” said Amya Tressler of McKeesport.

She enjoyed Saturday night with friends along the entertainment district, though she admitted to having some concerns about the recent violence. Still, she said, they visit the busy stretch of bars and clubs often.

For Tressler and her friends, the area feels a bit safer if they stay in a group. She also was comforted by the added police presence implemented after the recent violence.

“There are a lot of police around,” she said.

A Tribune-Review reporter observing a busy stretch of East Carson Street from around 11 p.m. until midnight saw police vehicles — both Pittsburgh police and Pennsylvania State Police — circling the span about a dozen times. Another officer walked the sidewalks on foot, joined by three men whose vests identified them as Pittsburgh firemen. An ambulance also seemed to roam the area, along with at least one unmarked law enforcement vehicle.

There are typically even more police around shutdown time, said Brian Lisovich of Monongahela. He said he generally feels safe on East Carson Street and credited private security workers stationed outside many of the businesses for also intervening when things get out of hand.

“They’ll jump in if there’s a fight or something,” he said.

Lisovich acknowledged the police presence Saturday night but suggested even more patrols.

“I haven’t seen a patrol in a while,” he told a reporter around 11 p.m. as he stood outside a bar observing the scene.

Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey and the city’s public safety officials said they were taking added precautions to ensure safety in the entertainment district as local business owners called on city officials to do their part in stopping the escalating violence.

Gainey joined City Councilman Bruce Kraus and other officials in a walk down East Carson Street late Friday night into Saturday morning to observe the scene firsthand.

I walked E Carson St with Chief of Staff @JakeWheatleyJr, Director of @PghPublicSafety Lee Schmidt, & Councilor @BruceKraus.

Thank you to those who talked with me tonight. I look forward to continuing to develop our plan for peace on Tuesday with residents & business owners. 2/2 pic.twitter.com/VtvlLMECE2

— Mayor Ed Gainey (@MayorEdGainey) June 11, 2022

“It was important for [me] to come down to the South Side to talk with residents and see what is happening on East Carson St.,” the mayor wrote in a Tweet. “This visit was important as we continue to build out Pittsburgh’s plan for peace to ensure that everyone is safe in our city.”

The worst of the violence seems to be concentrated around the 1700 block, according to Richard Polk, who works security outside of Casey’s Draft House on East Carson Street. There, he said, there are “more bars and younger crowds.”

“You hear gunshots all the time,” Polk said. “I’d like to see them do something.”

He acknowledged that added policing made him a bit more comfortable, and said he saw officers riding around a lot.

“It’s like Dodge City,” said one South Side resident who asked not to be named. He lives on East Carson Street and was nearby when the shootings occurred last weekend.

“It isn’t going to stop any time soon,” he said. “Gun control needs to be controlled.”

This weekend, he said, was a little milder than some recent weekends. He said that typically happens around this time of year, when students from the University of Pittsburgh and other nearby universities leave for the summer.

Sammy Obaid, who has owned Mediterranean Market on East Carson Street for 20 years, said the recent violence has impacted business.

“Safety isn’t my issue, the issue is business,” Obaid said. “Less and less people are coming to South Side.”

Obaid, who lives in South Side, said he loves the area and wants to see more people visiting again.

“It’s very fun,” he said. “It’s a nice area, close to everything.”

Obaid said he feels that more people would come to the entertainment district — and bolster business for small business owners like himself — if they felt safer there.

“More police, more safety, more people coming down again,” he said.

He said he has seen more police over the last few days. Patrols, he said, are now patrolling further down Carson Street than usual, as they had previously seemed to focus almost exclusively on the one or two blocks with the biggest crowds at night.

He called on the mayor to continue visiting the area and hearing from residents and business owners about what they want to see in regards to public safety there.

A business, Fudge Farm, closed its South Side location. Its owners said they couldn’t ask employees to continue coming to work in the midst of such violence.

Another business owner on the 1700 block of East Carson Street said she was taken aback by the mayhem along East Carson Street late at night when she and a partner opened their business a few months ago. They asked that their names and business not be published, as they feared they could be harassed.

The owner recalled the first nights the business was open.

“I was shocked,” she said Saturday. “The streets were crazy overcrowded.”

Their business recently decided to close an hour earlier than they’d originally planned to ensure potentially violent people weren’t lingering in their business after others had closed for the night.

Better crowd control, she believes, could help limit violence.

Police came to the business to speak with them about concerns and potential solutions, she said, something that helped put her at ease.

“There are a lot of (police) cars,” she said Saturday night. “They make you feel safer. We appreciate their efforts.”