Too Many South Side Bars
Pittsburgh Council today unanimously, approved legislation to limit bars on South Side’s East Carson Street. This is good news to people who live on the historic street and are tired of the all the bars popping up.
Here is an except form the article in the Post Gazette:
“The legislation allows only one liquor license per 50,000 square feet of any local neighborhood commercial district larger than 2 million square feet. That would apply only to East Carson Street on the South Side, Butler Street in Lawrenceville and Penn Avenue in Bloomfield and Garfield.”
In the article it says that Carson St. is past the saturation point, which is clearly true. That’s about the only business on that street. In the past few months I have seen a lot of the shops down there close up. The pet store and the guitar store are just some of the places that have left.
As much as I hate government regulation I can definitely see where this is coming from. If the town I lived in was getting overrun with bars, I would be upset too.
Pittsburgh Council, Pittsburgh, Southside, Carson St, bars, goverment regulation, Lawrenceville, Penn Avenue, Bloomfield, Garfield
July 18th, 2007 at 2:59 pm
Wow, Mosley in favor of regulation!!
As a South Side resident for over 2 years I think this could only mean good things for my neighborhood. I would love to see some more unique shops and businesses move into my area, rather than just some other bar that will stay open for 6 months then close or be sold. It seems my end (12th St) of East Carson really is in need of a breath of fresh air. Then maybe people like Mosley wouldn’t call it the ghetto!
Also, I think the other neighborhoods included will benefit from this. I’m really excited to see what Lawrenceville and Bloomfield look like in a few years. They are really great places to visit!
July 19th, 2007 at 1:59 am
Yeah, I agree with limiting the amount of bars in the South Side, although that’s still not going to limit the amount of assholes that come down here, which is partially what the residents are hoping for with this legislation.
I understand it’s also to encourage other business’s to move in, but there will still be plenty of bars and idiots to make them think twice about it. I remember when the South Side used to have so many more stores and interesting things to do besides drink and I’m not just saying that because I was underage. It was eclectic then; now it’s just a convenient place to drink and hook up and it’s no wonder it’s turning into a dump. I can’t even fall asleep until 3am (every night, not just the weekends) because of all the fights on my street (I live on 15th right beside E. Carson), but the convenience outweighs the negatives so I’ll obviously stay. I’m definitely not living here for the bars, I’ll say that though.
Besides, I doubt any of the other places down here other than bars were able to afford the rent or keep up with the amount of money the bars rake in, so they just moved somewhere cheaper or went broke trying to stay as long as they could.
Places like Lawrenceville and Bloomfield have always had a nice charm to them; people that grew up here have always realized that. I just wish they would support them more, instead of when it’s trendy to. Ah, well.
July 19th, 2007 at 7:21 am
Ah…drunk people fighting…who would have thought that would be going on on East Carson Street? I suggest a nice fan, cd, or air conditioner. I admit that the main reason I moved here is because of the close proximity to bars I love. What’s better than being able to stroll down to Dee’s any time I want? There’s really not many unique advantages to the South Side other than the bars, to be honest. Buses, coffee shops, and a handful of unique shops really can be found in many other neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, for quite a bit cheaper. Also, there are cheaper (nicer) apartments off of Carson, away from the chaos, that are gems. Moving close to the action is the “trendy” thing to do, and people love it until they move here and can’t get to bed!
Lawrenceville may have had it’s “nice charm” at some point in the past, but having had friends that have grown up there, it is undeniable that it has vastly improved in the past few years. If that is because of “trendy” hipsters supporting it just because, then I think it’s great. Count me in as supporting ONLY trendy neighborhoods!! Friendship and East Liberty are next on my list. Thank god that area is becoming hip enough for me to support, I really didn’t want to look uncool for doing so.
July 19th, 2007 at 11:06 am
Oh I knew drunk people would be fighting; I just didn’t realize they would be doing it every night, but I guess there are a lot of people with nothing to do but drink down here. And I think there’s plenty of things to do besides go to the bars. I almost moved down here because of Crazy Mocha, but it was mostly the convenience of being able to shop, eat and go out that I love, because most of the time I am without a car. I couldn’t accomplish all of that in some of these other neighborhoods.
I usually leave the area on the weekends anyways, unless my friends want to go out here, just because it gets old after awhile. There’s plenty of other places in Pittsburgh to go out to. And I definitely didn’t want to move close to the action, whatever that means or else I would be part of it 24/7. And I’m only this close to E. Carson, because I got a really good deal on a cheap, very nice apartment. I looked for a long time in Bellevue, but it was actually cheaper for me to move here or else I’d still be living there.
Friendship and E. Liberty are soo five years ago too. haha I’m only being half sarcastic there. I guess I’m only being hard on you and some of the other non-local people, because the people that are native to Pittsburgh have always appreciated these neighborhoods for being alternatives to Shadyside, the South Side and Oakland; we don’t need a bunch of pretentious trendsters telling us so. If they build up the area for their own friends, fine, but it’s always fleeting. They’ll just move onto the next neighborhood when it’s not cool anymore, so why listen to them in the first place?
And I’m sorry, but I have to say this. Every time I go into Dees I think here is where all the wanna be cool people go, who like to think they’re better than everyone cause they hang out in dive bars. So you’d only find me in there if I’m with friends who want to go. I sense a review of this bar coming soon.
And I honestly wasn’t picking on you with my original comment. I just think it’s funny when people discover other neighborhoods that have always been here. I won’t even go in to the effect that trendy white people have on poor black neighborhoods when they try to take them over with bad art and a ’scene.’
July 19th, 2007 at 11:32 am
Listen you two if keep it up I am going to start deleting your comments. Just comment on the posts and stop “not” attacking each other. This is getting a little out of hand. Ever time I post something there is a debate and most of the time is not even about the content of the post. It’s just driving me nuts! So please for the sake of this blog and the readers that don’t understand this “invisible war”, keep your comments on topic.
July 19th, 2007 at 11:57 am
I am commenting on the posts! We are both residents of the South Side and are entitled to an opinion of what goes on here. Everything I said in those comments have to do with the South Side, so shush.
And I don’t know what this ‘invisible war’ business is about. People are allowed to have their own opinions; it’s only probable that at one point in time someone’s going to disagree with another person. It’s not my fault who she is in relation to you and that has never affected or slanted my opinion.
But you’re right in some ways, so I will try to act more professional on here, but I will continue to have an opinion whether it differs from the norm or not!
July 19th, 2007 at 12:58 pm
? I wasn’t commenting for any other reason than to debate a topic? I like debating, and I like people who can debate with me well. Emily is capable of communicating effectively, as am I, and I don’t understand why you would want to take down anyone’s comments.
There honestly isn’t anything “invisible” going on with me, and it’s pretty silly for anyone to assume that there would be. I enjoyed reading her last post, I didn’t find any of it personal, but I’m sorry if it somehow seems differently to other people. Just because you disagree with someone about a topic on here doesn’t mean that you have anything against them personally. I don’t know Emily well at all, but she has been nothing but extremely pleasant to me in person! I don’t judge “online communication” as a way to accurately get an idea of what someone is like. It makes me respect and like people more when I can actually discuss things with them without them getting offended. I hope I was doing that on here?
Oh well! I will stop if it’s such a huge deal. Blah!
July 20th, 2007 at 3:43 am
Yeah I wasn’t trying to be mean or anything. I also agree that it’s nice to debate and this leaves me with the question of what to comment on or what not to say. Kinda confusing.
July 20th, 2007 at 8:08 am
Comment away! Forget my last comment.
July 20th, 2007 at 8:43 am
FYI, Pittsburgh Guitar did not leave. They moved down the street.
I avoid South Side like the plague, personally. You couldn’t pay me to live in that area of town.
July 20th, 2007 at 8:52 am
Maybe I was just hopeing they would close.
July 20th, 2007 at 11:23 am
haha
July 21st, 2007 at 6:20 am
I like the Beth and Emily show.Great witty banter going on here.