Strip District business owners say customers disposing of masks, gloves on ground

PITTSBURGH — Business owners in Pittsburgh’s Strip District said they are mostly happy with how things went starting on Friday when Allegheny County went to yellow, but when it comes to mask etiquette, Channel 11 is told there is still work to do, and it’s what customers left behind that’s a bit concerning now.

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“We are just trying to make sure when customers walk through our door they feel safe,” said Jimmy Coen, owner of Yinzers and president of the Strip District Business Association.

But according to several business owners along Penn Avenue, despite the obvious signs requiring masks to enter a store and limits on the number of customers, not everyone complied.

“The reason you’re wearing that is you don’t want to spread it to anyone else,” Coen said.

We saw lots of used masks and gloves discarded, not in trash cans but on the ground.

Another thing that business owners noticed was who was and who wasn’t wearing a face covering. They said it seems older people decided to wear masks but a lot of younger people wanted to forgo them.

“I think it’s about 50-50 because I’ve seen some people that don’t care, and then I’ve seen people who are very adamant about it,” said Bobby Vasconi, manager of Pennsylvania Libations.

Monday is always a big cleanup day in the Strip, but with heightened concerns about COVID-19, businesses here want the city to step up and help them do a deep cleaning of the sidewalks.

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