South Side Crackdown Having Negative Impact On Some Residents, Businesses
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Some residents and business owners on Pittsburgh's South Side feel the stepped up police patrols in their neighborhood are negatively affecting the wrong people.
This Friday marks the fourth weekend of what Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl calls "The Blitz."
"We all wanted the same thing - the crackdown on urination, crack down on our doors being knocked on at 2 a.m., the screaming, the fights, of course, the shootings," Phil Laboon, a South Side resident and business owner, said. "But what they're doing is cracking down on what they can make money from."
Officials say 250 cars have been towed over the past month.
Some who've had their cars towed from spots they've parked in for years are frustrated as parking in the South Side is already tight.
In eight hours on Friday, South Side resident Dominic Garella racked up a $400 tab parking in the same spot he has for the past two years.
"Parking in the South Side in general is horrible, you can't find parking anywhere," said Garella. "And they're going to take away the few spots that there is."
The Mayor's Office says they have had few complaints and says the stepped up patrols will continue as long as the mayor sees fit.
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City To Begin Cracking Down On South Side Nightlife (1/18/13)
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