The Waterfront institutes new teen curfew— How do African Americans feel about it?

DENISE JOHNSON, with son, Aceton Hill, at the Waterfront in Homestead, Feb. 28. (Photo by Rob Taylor Jr.)

Like Pittsburgh’s recent weather, people who were asked by the New Pittsburgh Courier about the new youth curfew now in effect at the Waterfront in Homestead had varying degrees of opinion.

The curfew states that after 6 p.m., youth under the age of 18 will now be required to be accompanied by a supervising adult that’s 21 years of age or older who carries a verification ID. Youth who use public or other forms of transportation also must ensure that their departure time from the Waterfront is before 6 p.m., unless accompanied by an adult. The curfew also states that no one under age 21 is allowed on Waterfront property after midnight. People who violate the policy and who refuse to leave when requested to do so by Waterfront management, Waterfront security or local police may be prosecuted for trespassing.

“The Waterfront is committed to providing a pleasant, safe, family friendly and enjoyable shopping, restaurant and entertainment environment for all of our guests,” read a statement from Waterfront management, posted on its website. “For this reason, we are establishing the…curfew and youth supervision policy to promote a more family friendly environment and to deter disruptive activity. This policy is in effect for the entire Waterfront property….and will be strictly enforced by prop erty management, property security, and local authorities…”

Most people the Courier spoke with knew about the curfew, seeing as it’s been splashed all over Pittsburgh television since it was announced in early February. But Bernadette, an African American woman who did not want to give her last name, was not aware of it prior to her interview with the Courier. Bernadette, who lives in Beechview and has a 15-year-old son, is not in favor of the curfew.

“I think that each kid is different. Each child is different, they’re raised different; everyone’s not out to do some criminal acts,” she said. “I think that there has to be a balance between making laws on people’s lives.”

She said a curfew that begins at 6 p.m. is just “too early. There’s a lot of places down here for the kids to shop or eat, they need something to do, also. Sometimes parents have to work and kids are old enough to come down themselves. There’s always a situation where there might be a kid that has to come down (to the Waterfront).”

For Dana Wright, a Hill District native who now lives moments away from the Waterfront in Homestead, he told the Courier the curfew might “change the Waterfront itself, but it’s not going to change how kids act. The problem is a little deeper than just putting out a curfew. Until they address the real issue from the root, it’s not going to change.”

Wright said that teens travel through neighborhoods to get to the Waterfront, “so if the kids aren’t here, they’re going to be somewhere else…I’m sure they did studies and all that to see what was best suited for (the Waterfront) but I don’t know how much it’s going to change anything. I can’t see it.”

The news about the Waterfront’s curfew caught some residents by surprise. There has been talk about a youth curfew for the City of Pittsburgh, but so far the mayor’s office has discussed that it’s much more complex to implement a curfew than one may think, especially for an entire city.

Then came the news about the Waterfront’s curfew. The Waterfront is a private entity, a sprawling open-air shopping mall, met with huge fanfare in the early 2000s. Now, more than 20 years later, management has implemented the curfew, even though the Waterfront has not made news headlines of late for major criminal behavior. It was the scene of a fatal shooting in 2005 at the mall’s movie theater; a shooting in 2014 that left Imani Porter, the uncle of rap star Wiz Khalifa, dead; and a shooting in 2018, in what mall management labeled an “isolated” incident.

Glen Hazel resident John Brietkreutz, an African American man, told the Courier he thinks the curfew is “a great idea…with all the senseless violence that’s going on today at these malls and everything. It’s one of the best things they can do.”

Brietkreutz added that “violence is a dangerous situation and at any given time, these kids want to decide to pull the trigger, you just never know when that’s going to happen.”

And Denise Johnson, standing with her 7-year-old son, Aceton Hill, told the Courier she was in favor of the curfew, too. “Because parents don’t know where their children are at,” she said. “Then they’re just dropping them off, going about their business and letting kids wreak havoc down here. We want stores, we don’t want stores to close down.”

Johnson, a Hazelwood resident, then referred to her son: “He’s 7 and he’s never going to be down here by himself. And I have grandchildren, I already called and told them, ‘Y’all can’t be down here by yourself, ‘cause grandma ain’t coming to get you.”

 

 

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