Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Fund Says Pittsburgh Downtown Safety 'Declining'

PITTSBURGH (AP/KDKA) - A nonprofit arts organization is raising the alarm over what the chief executive calls a "declining level of public safety" in an area of downtown Pittsburgh that is being redeveloped.

The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust has focused for decades on the economic and cultural development of a once-seedy 14-square-block section of the city's downtown area.

But our partner, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, reports that CEO Kevin McMahon says in a letter to Mayor Bill Peduto that "alarming" recent problems - such as a July 4 shooting that wounded two people - threaten "to undo the reputation and the achievements created" over the past 35 years.

"Please do not mistake this recent incident as just another isolated holiday spike in crime in the city's Downtown area — it is NOT. I can assure you that the decline in safety in the Cultural District has been consistently coming to a tipping point with this recent double shooting," McMahon wrote.

Peduto, in a statement, said city homicides have been down every year since 2014 and the latest statistics show a 3% drop this year in violent and property crimes.

"Our new police command staff and increased officer base are working together to create new standards that have proven successful year after year after year after year, and we'll keep on working to make all of Pittsburgh safe for residents and visitors alike," said Peduto.

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Information from: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, http://www.post-gazette.com

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