EDITORIAL – Businesses, city should team up in St. Patty’s cleanup

It’s the untold tale of St. Patrick’s Day weekend: Every year, thousands of Pittsburghers… It’s the untold tale of St. Patrick’s Day weekend: Every year, thousands of Pittsburghers descend upon East Carson Street in the South Side clad in feathers, beads and shamrock sunglasses to revel (translation: drink) in the traditional Irish holiday. But what happens in the days after, when broken beer bottles, food and a variety of green-colored accessories are left lining East Carson as by-products of the festive weekend?

Typically, city crews file into the South Side the following day as early as 6 a.m., inserting extra trash receptacles on East Carson and cleaning up the street litter, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Volunteers also typically help with the cleanup effort. Business owners must also contribute to the cleanup, according to a city ordinance that requires merchants, not city crews, to clean sidewalks in front of their establishments.

Some business owners and South Side residents are displeased with the level of city involvement in the cleanup, though, and are calling on city officials to require more city services on the South Side, including the responsibilities of cleaning up parking lots and community properties left littered by the St. Patrick’s Day festivities.

Penny Folino, owner of Tom’s Diner and a member of the Mayor’s Advisory Committee has raised the issue before, and plans to raise it again.

“I feel that this issue is not being heard – or it’s being ignored,” she said in the Post-Gazette.

While an increased city effort to clean up the South Side after St. Patrick’s Day weekend would certainly help expedite the cleanup process, business owners have a rightful obligation to take part in the cleaning up of their storefronts. With the exception of businesses that close during the bulk of the St. Patrick’s Day festivities, many South Side bars and restaurants make huge profits on St. Patrick’s Day weekend, offering drink specials and Irish-themed meal selections to visitors. They took part in the madness, even profited from it, and they must assume part of the responsibility of cleanup.

This isn’t to say that the city can’t do more. Cleanup of parking lots and community properties that don’t fall under the jurisdiction of a business owner shouldn’t be relegated completely to volunteers, particularly because the city also profits from the increased economic activity on St. Patrick’s Day weekend in the form of taxes.

And finally, those visiting the South Side to take part in the festivities should also take more responsibility by taking care to throw away their garbage and behaving responsibly.

Celebrating St. Patrick’s Day in the South Side is a Pittsburgh tradition, one that the city, businesses owners and Pittsburghers should take part in preserving.