Homewood’s National Night Out pushes for Frankstown Ave. closure during two-day event
PITTSBURGH —
Organizers of Homewood’s National Night Out are facing challenges with road closure plans as the city of Pittsburgh offers an alternative route for the two-day event starting Tuesday.
Sam Gibson, founder and CEO of ‘We the People 412’ and organizer of the event, said he requested to close a one-block stretch of Frankstown Avenue near Baxter Park, as has been done in previous years.
“This is something positive that the community, we’ve done it for the last past six years,” Gibson said.
Gibson said his permit request to shut down Frankstown Avenue was denied by the city.
“We’ve had the street closed every year, we’ve done this,” Gibson said.
The city has instead offered to close part of North Braddock Avenue, but Gibson expressed concerns about safety.
“As you can see, while we’re standing here now, cars is flying past, and there’s kids in the street every single day. There’s kids that come past. Cars do not stop,” Gibson said.
Children who attend the event each year also shared their concerns.
“I want to feel safe because things happen around here all the time,” said Clinton Valentine.
The mayor’s office said its permitting process was open from late May to July 24, but Gibson’s application was submitted on July 27.
“My application was in late, but their contact person was not available for none of us,” Gibson said.
A spokesperson for the mayor’s office said, “Tuesday morning, the special events committee met and decided there was not enough time for PRT to reroute buses from Frankstown Avenue, especially because it’s during rush hour on weekdays, but we offered to close down North Braddock Avenue next to the park.”
The spokesperson added, “The city has not denied the permit. We just asked to amend the road closure to one with no public transit lines.”
For the first time, the event will span two days, running Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. Baxter Park is expected to host up to 500 attendees, along with vendors and entertainment.
“We set up about 10 to 12 and it goes from 1 to 8 and we let the people just come. We got free food all day. We have entertainment for them, and we provide a lot of resources for them,” Gibson said.
“Every single year, everybody gathers around and just feels special, you know. I love coming out here,” Valentine said.
Gibson remains hopeful that his request to close Frankstown Avenue during the event will be granted. The two-day celebration begins Tuesday afternoon.