Organizers of Pittsburgh's South Side Street Fest defend event amid criticism from some businesses

The organizers of a plan aimed at making Pittsburgh's South Side safer are standing by their efforts.

Earlier this week, concerns arose over the new South Side Street Fest, with some people saying it's hurting business and supporting a petition to end it.

But others say they're seeing the opposite.

While some businesses say it hasn't paid off for them, others say it's been a positive change to the atmosphere. Some say they've seen a complete turnaround.

"I feel like there was shootings more, there was a lot of fights and things. We closed shop at 8 o'clock because we didn't want to deal with it," said Timothy Levy, an artist with Inspire Body Art.

Businesses like Inspire Body Art say the street festival has created a noticeable difference, even allowing them to stay open past midnight.

But after several weeks of the event, a petition began circulating, calling for it to end, claiming not every business is benefiting and attendance has started to slow.

"It's been very consistent. Every Friday and Saturday, we're getting around 2,000 people in," said Peter Margittai, president of the South Side Chamber of Commerce.

As another festival weekend begins, the Chamber of Commerce is standing behind the event.

"Nobody came into this thinking it was going to be a cure-all for everything; however, it's a bold big plan where we're taking to the most problematic block in South Side, we're making them the most safe, fun blocks in the city," Margittai said.

But not everyone is convinced. Earlier this week, KDKA-TV spoke to a business owner who supports the petition.

"[I] want this to end because it's suffocating the businesses down there. No customers can get in or out," Rich Cupka said. "The violence just goes on the back streets. It's not on Carson. Now it goes to Muriel, Bingham and down, places like that. The side streets are dead. The police stats are just not supporting that."

According to Pittsburgh Police's South Side Entertainment Patrol, enforcement activity appears lower during festival nights.

For example, during the week of July 9 through July 12, on South Side festival nights, there were three traffic stops, 10 parking citations, six tows, eight non-traffic citations and four arrests.

On non-festival days, there were 11 traffic stops, 16 parking citations, six tows, three non-traffic citations, two arrests and four firearm seizures.

While it's still a work in progress, one reason some businesses may not be seeing the same success comes down to an ongoing adjustment period.

"I think part of it may be an adjustment. You got this special opportunity, you got people on the streets trying to find whatever activities are going on, and if you put your business right in front of them, you're going to do great. If you just kind of open your doors and treat it like business as usual, you may not do quite as great," Margittai said.

The chamber says it's continuing to adjust based on business feedback and is going to begin themed weekends and promotions to draw festivalgoers inside.