Young women from the YouTube series “Youngstown Bad Girls Club” (YBGC) film an episode along East Carson Street as the clubs and bars shut down for the evening on Sunday morning, Aug. 14, 2022 on the South Side. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)
Long Pittsburgh’s premier nightlife destination, but also a proud neighborhood, the district dominated by East Carson Street is trying to shake off a post-pandemic hangover.
Later that night, catty-corner to the baseball diamond, a series of shots cut through the excited chatter and music of East Carson Street revelers. A young man ran along the streets bordering the park, leaving two trails of blood before collapsing nearby.
Summer saw multiple shootings on Pittsburgh’s South Side and the temporary closure of at least one major lounge because the neighborhood had become “unstable,” as Foxtail nightclub’s owners put it, at night.
Residents were angry and fearful of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Bar customers began to change their habits, opting to leave the area early to avoid closing time conflicts, some deciding to spend their Saturday night in other places, like the North Shore.
“I leave by 1:45,” said Keith Williams, 32, of Wilkinsburg, “Cause when everybody gets out [of the clubs] that’s when they start actin’ a fool.” A musician who goes by the name of Pittsburgh Hendy, Williams is seen here being let through the line at the club Enclave. He tries to get in and out of South Side relatively quickly. (Photo by Stephanie Strasburg/PublicSource)
The neighborhood also noticed efforts to improve public safety. Meanwhile longstanding community events such as the South Side Community Council’s seventh annual South Side Garden Tour and South Side Chamber of Commerce’s community potluck mixed with newer opportunities to gather like South Side Works’ Music on the Mon series. The neighborhood ends the summer a little tarnished but with hope for the future. An exploration: