Mayor Ed Gainey responds to Juneteenth organizers

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Mayor Ed Gainey responded Friday to Juneteenth organizers who say it’s the city’s responsibility to pay for security at the upcoming event.

Gainey said what the city and state are doing is something they do with all events like this in the city and they’re not putting roadblocks in the way.

At a Point State Park press conference this week, Juneteenth organizer William “B” Marshall made the following claim regarding security at the upcoming celebration of African-American culture and music.

“Right now, with the Gainey administration for some reason, they don’t want to send city police to protect the Juneteenth celebration,” Marshall said.

During a Facebook streaming event Friday, Gainey said that is not the case.

“It is on the private event promoters to comply with all regulations associated with the event,” he said. “For Juneteenth, this means hiring private security to secure bags at Point State Park in advance of a fireworks display.”

Gainey also said Juneteenth received $125,000 in support from the city to help pay for the event. Marshall claims they can’t use the money for security.

“The city gave us a $125,000 grant through the American Reuse Funding, and that grant was to pay for the artist,” Marshall said.

Another point of contention is electricity. Organizers say vendors are not permitted to use gas-powered generators, but they also aren’t required to use solar generators. 

Instead, the state says they can tie directly into the park’s power supply and use the electricity for free. Gainey also said Juneteenth organizers must do what other events do regarding requirements.

Both the city and the state say they didn’t cancel the event, and as far as they’re concerned these issues can be worked out before the event begins on June 16.