Wednesday, February 26, 2025, 8:52AM |  35°
MENU
Advertisement
Masked pedestrians walk past The Harris Theater on Aug. 13, 2020, in Downtown's Cultural District.
1
MORE

Some property owners, residents sound alarm over crime in Cultural District

Post-Gazette

Some property owners, residents sound alarm over crime in Cultural District

Apartment owners and residents along Pittsburgh’s Riverfront walk are sounding the alarm on increasing crime, according to a property manager’s letter addressed to Mayor Ed Gainey and viewed by the Post-Gazette.

Kristin Presutti, the manager of the Aria Cultural District Lofts for the last eight years, wrote in the Oct. 11 letter that her residents are seeing a “huge increase in crime, pervasive homelessness” and “open-air drug abuse and sales.” Ms. Presutti did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Data collected and updated nightly by the Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center indicates police have responded to around 260 incidents in the Central Business District in the previous 30 days. They range from mental health and bench warrant calls to robberies and aggravated assaults.

Advertisement

“The frequency of crime, the volatility, the level of violence involved in some of the crime … is very, very alarming, and very, very concerning to many of us,” said Kevin Wilkes, chief security officer and vice president at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust.

The data, when mapped out, shows several incidents along Fort Duquesne Boulevard including an early morning robbery Sept. 30 and at least four thefts.

A 47-year-old man was shot and killed last week near the intersection of Maddock Place and Fort Duquesne Boulevard, directly next to Ms. Presutti’s building. Police responded to a late-evening report of shots fired in the area and found Perry F. Bagley in the alleyway. He was taken to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead.

Ms. Presutti said in the letter some of her residents witnessed the shooting and are “traumatized.” No arrests have been made.

Advertisement

“This neighborhood … used to be a place that people were proud to call home. It was clean, vibrant, exciting, sought after, and a wonderful place to live,” Ms. Presutti wrote. “It is no longer that way.”

Maria Montaño, a spokeswoman for the Gainey administration, said following the shooting, additional police forces were added Downtown during morning and evening commute hours.

“Is it everything?” Ms. Montaño said. “No, but it’s something we’ve already done in the South Side and we are constantly analyzing how to best allocate our police.”

Mayor Gainey and members of his administration were meeting with some residents in a private meeting Wednesday night to discuss the ongoing issues.

The city attempted to clean up the area along the Riverfront used by some people experiencing homelessness by putting up fencing in September. The fencing runs along Fort Duquesne Boulevard between Sixth and Ninth streets. It blocks in the grassy seating area separating the street from the sidewalk.

Signs state the area is closed for maintenance.

Ms. Montaño also emphasized that unhoused individuals are more likely to experience violence than they are to be perpetrators of violence.

A crime data analysis will be conducted by the city to look at the trends of violence downtown, she said. This will help determine if these are isolated incidents and the broader picture of the issue.

Additionally, Ms. Presutti said her residents have faced seven auto break-ins, a catalytic converter sawed out of a car, aggressive panhandling, and an incident in which a resident was followed into the building and was beaten, “resulting in thirteen staples in his head and five broken ribs.”

Ms. Presutti said she was happy about the city’s efforts to open the new low-barrier shelter, called the Second Avenue Commons. However, she wrote, “this is still weeks away and this neighborhood needs protection now.”

Public safety data shows reports of violent crime — homicide, rape, robbery, assault — reached an eight-year high in 2019 in the Central Business District, with 138 incidents. Like most crimes in most areas, reports dropped substantially in 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. There were 104 incidents reported in 2020, followed by a slight increase to 105 in 2021.

As of late June, the most recent update to the data, there had been 66 violent crimes reported in the district.

Prior to the pandemic, reports of such crimes had varied year over year: up one year, down the next. Since at least 2011, the only timespan that saw a year over year increase was 2017 through 2019, when reports in the neighborhood went from 83 to 127 to 138.

“As a professional in this city, and an advocate for downtown residents, I am pleading for more police presence,” Ms. Presutti wrote. Mr. Wilkes, of the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, agreed, but said he still approved of the mayor’s administration.

“We can't express how much we appreciate and we value this renewed partnership that [The Cultural Trust has] with the mayor's office,” Mr. Wilkes said. “Where we could possibly see some more help is at a more granular level… and more effective leadership from some of our senior leaders at a zone police level.”

First Published: October 12, 2022, 10:54 p.m.
Updated: October 12, 2022, 11:34 p.m.

RELATED
Comments Disabled For This Story
Partners
Advertisement
The two Franks worked with pizza legends Chris Bianco and Chad Robertson to perfect their craft.
1
life
A beloved pizzeria is expanding beyond Brooklyn. First stop, Mt. Lebanon.
Shoppers walk down Walnut St. near Filbert St. in Shadyside on April 9, 2024. Banana Republic, whose presence in the neighborhood dates back to at least 1995, will end its long run March 31, joining other longtime staples who have left the neighborhood.
2
business
After three decades, Banana Republic in Shadyside to close March 31
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 07: Alex Nedeljkovic #39 of the Pittsburgh Penguins makes a first period sav against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on February 07, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
3
sports
Penguins show shockingly little life as Flyers blow them out, hand them fourth straight loss
Superintendent Wayne Walters speaks in front of the school board at the Pittsburgh Public Schools Feasibility Report presentation meeting at the district administration building in Oakland Tuesday, Feb 25, 2025.
4
news
Pittsburgh Public Schools throws support behind proposed school closure plan
Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid shake hands after a game at Acrisure Stadium on Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, on the North Shore. The Kansas City Chiefs won 29-10.
5
sports
Jason Mackey: You expected to see changes with Steelers this offseason? Sorry about that
Masked pedestrians walk past The Harris Theater on Aug. 13, 2020, in Downtown's Cultural District.  (Post-Gazette)
Post-Gazette
Advertisement
LATEST news
Advertisement
TOP
Email a Story