Mayor Ed Gainey Statement on P*Town Compliance Check

"On the evening of Friday May 2, members of Pittsburgh’s Nuisance Bar Task Force (NBTF) conducted an unannounced compliance check at P*Town, a popular gay bar in Bloomfield. I have since heard from many members of the LGBTQIA+ community and their allies who have questions and concerns about this action that I want to address. 

I want first to acknowledge the way in which bar raids were used historically to harass and commit violence against members of the LGBTQIA+ community. It was not so long ago that police raids on gay bars were routine, and it was one such raid, at the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, that sparked the modern movement to establish safe places for people to be open about their gender and sexuality without fear of arrest. It is my intent that our actions as a city build upon, rather than undermine, that legitimate desire for safety. 

The NBTF, which our Bureau of Police oversees, is made up of representatives from our Police Bureau, the Fire Bureau, the Department of Permits, Licenses, & Inspections, the Allegheny County Health Department, the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office, and the Liquor Control Enforcement division of the Pennsylvania State Police. It was formed to allow the city to identify and mitigate hazards that can be caused by overcrowding, serving alcohol to minors, unsafe facilities and other building and health code violations. It is not intended to intimidate or cause harm to patrons. In the case of P*Town, Saturday’s compliance check was driven by a report to the city’s Bureau of Fire, specifically asking for a check on overcrowding; inspectors found that the bar, with an occupancy permit for 70, had 133 people inside. Liquor Control Enforcement, PLI and the Allegheny County Health Department identified a handful of additional violations.  

As Mayor, I want to ensure that patrons are not exposed to risk. This is our responsibility, and we need to enforce our safety rules.  However, we need to be thoughtful about the fear that the sudden appearance of multiple armed officers can cause. We also need to have safeguards in place that ensure that NBTF complaints cannot be used to target vulnerable populations. I’ve asked PBP Acting Chief Martin Devine and Public Safety Director Lee Schmidt to review not only this incident but the operation of the task force more broadly to ensure that we do our work with the greatest sensitivity to historical trauma and that we put any additional safeguards in place so that the process cannot be manipulated to harass any of our residents. Not only are they prepared to do this work, but they plan to participate in an upcoming discussion about their findings and how we can better address these incidents with the City’s LGBTQIA+ Commission.

I take personal responsibility for ensuring that our City Services are equitable, and we will continue to work to build trust and prioritize the safety of our most marginalized residents."