Editorial: South Side violence closes more doors as little changes

On Monday, Carson City Saloon announced it was closing its doors — at least temporarily.

A sports bar on the South Side doesn’t do that lightly. It isn’t a new business. It has been around for 17 years. It’s baseball season.

But right now crime season is taking the spotlight.

“After Saturday’s three shootings and the careless activity that continues to go unchecked on Carson Street, we have decided it’s best to shutter our doors until some action is taken by city leaders to support our desire to return the (South Side) to a safe and prosperous neighborhood and nightlife district,” the business posted on Facebook.

It isn’t a permanent move. Not yet. Whether the saloon is pouring beer during football season remains to be seen.

If this sounds familiar, it is probably because in June 2022, Fudge Farm closed its South Side location just one block from the bar on East Carson Street.

Those owners also closed on a Monday after a weekend of gun violence. They also cited that danger openly when announcing their decision, saying, “We can no longer ask teenage children or no one for that matter to work for us in this environment.”

A week later, Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey sat down with residents and business leaders to talk about what to do. He said public safety was his top priority and that he knew the violence was having an impact on the area. He walked East Carson Street on a Friday night to get an idea of what was happening himself and said changes would be implemented — but wouldn’t happen overnight.

But what about over the course of a year?

Gainey said a year ago that “violence destroys profit.” Violence does more than that. It destroys lives. It destroys the hard work of opening and running a business. It destroys the feeling that your hometown is someplace where you feel comfortable going to work at night or letting your kids do the same.

A year later, what has changed, Mr. Mayor?

Another establishment has acknowledged that the cost of doing business can’t be the cost of an employee’s or a customer’s life. Of the 62 Allegheny County homicides this year, at least 26 involve a Pittsburgh victim or location. There were 38 in the second half of 2022. That doesn’t count the crimes where no one died.

So what is being done?

“Public Safety officials including Police and the Office of Nighttime Economy are in regular contact with the Southside Hospitality Partnership on ways to mitigate violence in the South Side,” Public Safety spokeswoman Cara Cruz said in a statement.

“In regular contact” isn’t the kind of concrete plan of action that inspires confidence that change is on the horizon.

What are the new ideas? What are the new plans? What comes next, Mr. Mayor?

Because without that, violence stays the course. And another year will probably see more businesses joining those that close their doors when nothing changes. Again.