Nuisance bars called burdens by neighbors

Prostitution, drugs, slayings, loitering -- nuisance bars are giving new meaning to Pittsburgh's shot-and-a-beer reputation.

You might not have heard about most of the bars, but they're neighborhood taverns whose clientele impact communities daily.

"Should I live in fear or what?" said Daniel Demarse, 25, who lives two doors down from the old Manteca Bar in the Mexican War Streets section of the North Side.

Manteca and Riverside Bar and Grill in Esplen voluntarily closed this month after recent shooting incidents outside the bars. But a dozen other establishments on Pittsburgh's nuisance bar list cause problems for those who live or do business nearby, their neighbors said.

People living by bars not officially labeled nuisances experience similar pains.

In the past seven years, the city's nuisance bar task force has closed 33 bars, said Detective John McBurney, the task force's coordinator.

"People in the neighborhood don't have the means to leave, and they shouldn't have to," he said. "People are being held hostage by a bar in their neighborhood."

Still, McBurney said, the bars on the nuisance list represent just 1 percent of the more than 1,000 licensed liquor establishments in the city.

Roosevelt Anderson, 75, lives across the street from the 7101 Lounge in Homewood, which is on the list for after-hours operations.

"It was a nuisance when they had under-21 nights," Anderson said. The community complained about the number of people -- many underage -- who were frequenting the bar, he said, and it has been quieter since.

Carol Haas has nothing but disdain for Riverside, where eight people were shot in February.

"It's been bad, really bad," said Haas, 70, who has lived a block away from the bar for 30 years. She said she frequently complained to the mayor's office and police about loud music and loitering when the bar was open.

The owners of Manteca and Riverside could not be reached for comment.

A bar that has its license renewal denied because of a nuisance designation often appeals to the state Liquor Control Board, said Sgt. John Kean, director of the Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement's Pittsburgh office. The bar is given a temporary license and allowed to continue operating until a decision by the LCB is made, he said.

At least one bar owner said she can't be held responsible for what happens outside the building.

"If people go outside and have arguments in the street, that's not our fault," said Marian Aboud, who, along with her husband, owns A4 Place in Penn Hills. While authorities have not officially named the bar a nuisance, two men were shot outside the bar late last month, and in October, former bouncer Darnell Tolliver was sentenced to 10 to 20 years in prison for fatally shooting Jerry McCrommon of East Hills and wounding three others outside the tavern on Dec. 29, 2005.

The Abouds are waiting for word on their liquor license appeal, which the LCB did not renew.

"We're taking a responsible stand to make sure that our bar is quiet and calm," Marian Aboud said. That includes searching customers for drugs and weapons.

Don McDonald, who owns Bodyworks Tattoo across the street, said he's pushed for the bar's closing. He said he has nothing against the Abouds, but when police pulled a bullet out of his front door, it was the last straw.

"We're just being disrespected on a daily basis," McDonald said. "It's pretty horrible having a bar in a nice neighborhood and you have to worry about bullets."

Additional Information:

Anatomy of a nuisance bar investigation

• Complaint received

• Investigation begins (from complaint to compliance or closure is about a year)

• Police assign nuisance bar designation

• Task force works with bar to correct health, fire or liquor code violations

• Failure to comply results in civil court nuisance bar proceeding, or ...

• Bar enters into consent agreement with the district attorney and sells license to third party

• Establishment closed, or opened under new ownership

Source: Tribune-Review research