Friday, September 18, 2009
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Barely a block from a parking lot where Pittsburgh will house protesters of the Group of 20 summit is one of the city’s most eclectic neighborhoods — a strip of mom-and-pop, homegrown grocery stores, restaurants and businesses that exemplify the kind of world the protesters say they want.
However, fears of violent clashes, property damage or simply a traffic nightmare are forcing some businesses in the city’s Strip District to close during the two-day summit — possibly even board up their windows — and miss what they say could potentially be a booming sales opportunity.
“We’re a small mom-and-pop business, and I’d rather lose business for two days than risk getting caught in something that could get violent,” said Lisa Karsenic, owner of Two Louie’s Market, a small deli and grocery store less than a block from the parking lot where protesters will gather.
The parking lot being leased by the city is the only area sanctioned for protesters that is within sight of the convention center where nearly two dozen world leaders will meet Sept. 24 and Sept. 25 to discuss the global economic crisis.
So while protests, marches and demonstrations could spread to all corners of the city, including to a riverfront state park where a federal judge on Thursday approved a protester tent city designed to reflect refugee camps caused by wars, most of the action will likely take place in and around the Strip District.
Thousands of people are expected to flock to Pittsburgh to protest everything from globalization, policies they view to be harmful to the environment, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and even mega-corporations, the types of businesses conspicuously absent in the Strip District.
The neighborhood is a microcosm of a what the world should look like, said Melissa Minnich, a spokeswoman for the Thomas Merton Center, a Pittsburgh activist group that cites peace and social justice as its agenda and plans to demonstrate during the G-20 summit.
The Strip District is “a very good thing, local independent business owners and not being made of big box stores” means the profits go back into the community, Minnich said, adding that the neighborhood is an example of what “go-local” campaigns around the world are aiming for.
Most Pittsburghers are familiar — and even proud — of the Strip’s authentic flavor, an organic atmosphere that is a unique mix of gritty and gourmet.
It’s the people coming from outside that concern Becky Rodgers, executive director of Neighbors in the Strip, and many other locals.
Some protester Web sites are mistakenly describing the neighborhood as a red light district or an example of urban decay, and Cindy Helffrich, spokeswoman for Neighbors in the Strip, has been busy commenting on such blogs in hopes of correcting the image before protesters flock to the area.
“They keep saying 95 percent of the protesters are peaceful,” Rodgers said. “I know this. It’s the outside protesters that make me nervous, the ones that damage property.”
Crystal Joseph, owner of Crystal, a Lebanese-American restaurant and bar, is closing because she is concerned about the safety of her employees — who are her relatives — and is unsure whether they will even be able to get to work since the city is imposing an almost complete vehicle restriction downtown during the summit.
Joseph is leaning toward boarding up the window at the front of her shop, even though it makes the city look unattractive during an event it’s hoping to use to showcase its transformation from a smoky steel town to a modern urban center.
Then there are the rumors: shop windows have already been broken; human feces has been left at different establishments; dispersing the crowd in the evening from the parking lot will lead to clashes; protesters have nowhere to go out at night so they will cause trouble.
Though all unconfirmed, some people based their decisions of how to operate during the summit on these rumors, including Karsenic of Two Louie’s Market.
Even invitations to a meeting for Strip District businesses owners and residents on Monday with Pittsburgh Police Chief Nate Harper were made in an unconventional manner to ensure protesters didn’t crash the party. Rather than the usual mass e-mail invitation, Rodgers and her staff personally called people or spoke to them face to face.
The security officials did ease some fears. But their inability to provide a concrete estimate of how many protesters are expected — latching onto 10,000 without giving a reason — has helped feed rumors that there could be as many as 50,000 demonstrators near the Strip District, Rodgers said.
In some cases, the lack of information is making people nervous.
Amy Rosenfield, owner of Mon Aimee Chocolat, a shop that specializes in artisan chocolates produced by people who work directly with plantations that grow organic beans, is concerned that broken store windows combined with autumn heat could — quite literally — melt away her inventory.
“We’re just unsure of what will happen next week. It’s just the unknown,” Rosenfield said, explaining the cause of her anxiety.
Still, she plans to open during the summit, hoping to do her part to showcase the city while preparing for the possibility that those plans could change at any time.
Alexis Shaffer, who along with her husband, Luke, owns 21st Street Coffee and Tea, is confident police will keep things under control. Their shop is staying open, and she believes business will be booming.
“The majority of the protesters are here to be heard and not to cause a problem with any of the businesses,” Shaffer said.