Pittsburgh Democratic Mayor Ed Gainey’s record on crime and city-property oversight are receiving heightened scrutiny in light of conditions at Mellon Square Park.
In an email shared via Twitter by KDKA radio host Marty Griffin and Allegheny Councilman Sam DeMarco (R-At-Large) on Wednesday, Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy Chief Executive Officer Catherine Qureshi urged city officials to address violence and damage at the park. Located in Pittsburgh’s Golden Triangle business district, the modernist plaza that sits atop a parking garage has existed since the mid-20th century, and regional leaders have deemed it a major feature of their open-space preservation efforts. Qureshi noted that it reopened for the season about two weeks ago, and problems already abound.
“It has been a difficult morning at Mellon Square Park in downtown Pittsburgh,” she wrote. “Our staffperson witnessed a knife fight and immediately called 911. There is [sic] feces and urine throughout the plaza (especially on the terrace) and with no water, we are unable to clean it. There are about 30 people present who appear to be high/intoxicated.”
Qureshi made two requests of Deputy Mayor Jake Pawlak, Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt, Public Works Director Chris Hornstein, and Neighborhood Services Manager Rebekkah Ranallo: first, to turn on the facility’s water or assist in its cleaning and, second, to assign a public-safety officer.
She further stated, “Pittsburgh Police are responsive and helpful; and their continual presence there would be a great help.”
Her message characterized the state of the plaza as “grotesque and unsafe” and something that conservancy employees cannot rectify by themselves.
“…Conditions are worsening at an accelerated rate,” she wrote. “As you may know, the Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy staffs Mellon Square and provides overnight security but have very limited resources to do so and are completely tapped in that regard. Whatever assistance the City can provide in keeping this iconic investment safe and welcoming would be greatly appreciated.”
Neither Qureshi nor Gainey’s office returned The Pennsylvania Daily Star’s calls asking if municipal authorities are granting the requests.
Upon observing Qureshi’s message, the mayor’s critics took to Twitter to express their dismay at the downtown situation and connect it to what they view as Gainey’s laxity on crime.
“This is unacceptable,” DeMarco tweeted. “Mayor Gainey says he won’t criminalize homelessness. What about knife fights, open air drug markets, and defecating in our parks, plazas and streets? Can we do something about those?”
Griffin was similarly outraged.
“This is disturbing!” he exclaimed in a tweet. “This [email] is from a big shot! This is downtown Pgh!”
DeMarco’s comment about homelessness referred to Gainey’s speech at the Union Trust Building in February. Therein, the mayor promised to enhance the police presence around the Golden Triangle and to deploy eight “hospitality ambassadors” to assist residents with noncriminal concerns, particularly by directing resources to people with mental health needs. But residents responded to his remarks with complaints about various issues, including the persistence of homeless encampments in the city, despite the efforts of law enforcement to remove them.
As far as DeMarco is concerned, Gainey’s actions have been insufficient in lessening blight and violence.
“We need to establish a much less permissive environment here,” he wrote. “Lock up the drug dealers, get the addicts into rehab and the mentally ill into treatment. It can be done. Just have to have the will.”
Gainey (pictured above) took office on January 3, 2022. His first year on the job would become the city’s worst ever in terms of violence. The number of murders reached 71, surpassing the previous homicide record set eight years earlier.
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Bradley Vasoli is managing editor of The Pennsylvania Daily Star. Follow Brad on Twitter at @BVasoli. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Ed Gainey” by Ed Gainey. Background Photo “Mellon Square Park” by Steve Tiesdell Legacy Collection. CC BY 2.0.
