A melee outside of a Forest Hills roller rink has left those who were there frustrated and some local residents feeling like it's time to lock the venue's doors for good.
"I think they should close it down," Amy Gilbert, 26, of Forest Hills, said Sunday. "It puts the area to shame. There have been so many riots over the last few years. It just brings a bad crowd."
Five juveniles were arrested for disorderly conduct after several brawls broke out in the parking lot of Ardmore Roller Skating Palace around 10 p.m. Friday. A roller skating dance party attracted 800 young people to the rink, which has a capacity of 380.
The rink was temporarily closed Saturday by Allegheny County Judge David R. Cashman, acting at the request of borough officials. At a 9:30 a.m. hearing today to determine the fate of the rink, the borough will ask a judge to close the rink indefinitely.
The fighting erupted in the shopping-center parking lot after 300 to 400 juveniles were prohibited from entering the roller rink, already filled to capacity for the under-21 event.
The event was billed in fliers distributed to local high schools as the "Shake Ya Tail Feather Thanksgiving Freak Fest 2005."
Borough officials said the event violated an agreement signed in 2002 by rink owner Joel Aranson to quell violence at the roller rink, which has a history of trouble. Aranson could not be reached for comment.
In March 2002, a near-riot broke out among 600 youngsters. In March 1997, a juvenile was nearly crushed when 800 people surged against the rink's locked front doors.
The deejay hired to spin records for Friday's hip-hop party said he didn't get the feeling a fight would occur at the event.
"I've been in clubs where a shooting took place. You kind of get the vibe whether it will be negative or peaceful. This was peaceful," said John Galloway, 28, of Point Breeze, who spins records under the stage name John G.
Galloway said the crowd was mainly older middle-school students and younger high-school students, "the typical under-21 crowd."
Galloway said he was told shortly before 11 p.m. to stop playing music by a representative of the promoter, Never Enough Entertainment. Then police officers came into the rink, he said.
Galloway thought the event was heavily attended because there aren't many like it in Pittsburgh. "You need to have a venue for these kids to go to," he said.
A man who identified himself only as "H" at a phone number for Never Enough Entertainment declined to comment last night.
Angie Duhaylonsod, 15, of Turtle Creek, said she was at the party with her cousin when the music stopped and they were told to leave. She saw fights breaking out and police dogs.
"I was scared of the dogs," she said. "There were people pushing. I almost fell, and people were yelling 'Come on, come on.'"
One parent said she would like the rink to stay open.
"That place has been around forever," said Kim Lee, 38, of East Hills. Lee's 12-year-old daughter, Nikol, has been to the rink before but was not there Friday. "I think they need extra security, and shouldn't just shut it down."
