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Commuters surprised by Blair Street closures, but organizers worked with Hazelwood groups to spread holiday cheer
By Juliet Martinez, managing editor
Arches of twinkling lights, fun and festive shapes and characters, a Christmas tree made of lights — why would anyone object to that?
When the drive-through display is set up on a public road, bus service is disrupted, a sidewalk and bike lane are closed for a month and people have to pay $25 per car ($5 for neighborhood residents) to drive through in the evening, it turns out plenty of people object to it.
The Merry Lights holiday event on Blair Street in Hazelwood Green drew criticism from Hazelwood residents who said they received no warning about the closures. Others got in on the fun with help from the organizers and community organizations. The event ran from the evening of Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 28, until New Year’s Day.
“[As far as I know], the neighborhood was neither notified nor asked about this,” wrote Hazelwood resident Eric Williams on the Dec. 2 Hazelwood Local Facebook post announcing the event. Hazelwood Local coordinates events for Hazelwood Green. “There’s nothing local about this, Hazelwood Local. You have no right to block the bike/pedestrian paths and charge for the use of a public road. This is infuriating.”
While Hazelwood Local helped publicize it, a company called Freedom Entertainment LLC brought the event to Pittsburgh. The company’s three owners hail from Pittsburgh and Ohio, according to co-owner Bradley Vaughan.
The idea came to them in 2020, he said, when they saw people looking for different kinds of holiday experiences.
“We saw a lot of people shifting from having stuff to creating memories, and creating things instead of having things,” he said during a Dec. 11 phone call.
The Merry Lights display has been mounted at the Butler County Fairgrounds and between Akron and Canton, Ohio. The one-mile course on Blair Street is the company’s first time charging people to drive on a public right of way, Mr. Vaughan said. The idea to hold it there came from the city’s Office of Film and Event Management.
But that office has no obligation to publicize events or warn people of street closures.
“Ultimately, it’s up to the organizer to give the neighborhood ample notification and a heads-up about events,” said permit coordinator Madison Ware on Dec. 11.
Late notice, no notice
The Facebook account Holiday Spectacular advertised the event starting on Oct. 25. But Freedom Entertainment informed Hazelwood Green almost a month later.
“About the week prior to Thanksgiving, we were notified that this company had secured a permit through the City to close Blair,” wrote Will Masters of Turner Construction in a Dec. 16 email. Turner Construction is building the University of Pittsburgh BioForge facility at the corner of Blair and Beehive streets.
Tishman Speyer Senior Project Manager Christi Saunders said she received notice of the installation at the same time. Tishman Speyer and Turner Construction met with Freedom Entertainment to ensure that the display would not interfere with the work or access to the site.
But frequent users of Blair Street did not know their evening commutes would be affected. The inbound sidewalk and bike lane were blocked, and the 57 Pittsburgh Regional Transit bus route was rerouted in the evenings.
Hazelwood resident Joy Dore wrote on Facebook that the transit detour left her stranded after an afternoon appointment on Hazelwood Green. The bus dropped her off but could not pick her up because of the closures.
“I had to walk a mile and a half back from the [Roundhouse],”she wrote.
Still, confusion and frustration were not the only ways the installation affected Hazelwood. It also brought bona-fide holiday joy to several neighborhood families.
A generous donation
Jason Abel, another co-owner of Freedom Entertainment LLC, contacted the neighborhood nonprofit People of Origin Rightfully Loved and Wanted, known by its acronym POORLAW. Mr. Abel asked for POORLAW’s help publicizing the event and was receptive to feedback about the lack of notice to the community, according to the organization’s founder and CEO, Saundra Cole-McKamey. POORLAW agreed to work with the organizers to rectify the situation.
The partnership had several parts. POORLAW agreed to email community organizations about the event and organize dates in December when residents could get free transportation and entrance through Merry Lights, courtesy of Freedom Entertainment.
The Arts Excursions Unlimited shuttle was engaged for the transportation and entrance on Dec. 13, 19 and 23. Co-founder Edith Abeyta drove the shuttle. The turnout on Dec. 13 was 33 youth, adults and seniors from Hazelwood, Glen Hazel and Glenwood, Ms. Abeyta wrote in a Dec. 18 email. The other dates offered transportation from Hazelwood Towers and below the tracks.
“Our initial thoughts were that the event could be improved with more light installations on both sides of the street and the trip was seemingly short.,” wrote Tameeka Cuff-Jones in a Dec. 20 email. She rode through the display with her husband and three of her four children on Dec. 13. But, she said, the family did enjoy the installation and appreciated being able to go for free in the company of their neighbors.
“Overall, The Merry Lights Drive-Thru at Hazelwood Green was a wonderful experience that brought out the child-like innocence and laughter in all of us. We hope to see more of it next year,” she concluded.
The company also donated $10,000 to POORLAW to distribute to families in need. POORLAW kept $2,000 and gave the same amount to Praise Temple Deliverance Church, according to Ms. Cole-McKamey.
POORLAW divided the balance to give $1,000 each to six other community organizations. These were Arts Excursions Unlimited, Cobras Youth Development Association, Autism Urban Connections, JADA House International, Hazelwood Café and Greenfield Baseball Association.
Each organization was tasked with identifying up to five families and using the money to provide gifts for them.
Ms. Abeyta praised the donation as an “atypical gesture of generosity.” However, distributing it was not simple.
“It's challenging to identify the families to receive this gift because everyone I know has wishes that need to be granted for themselves and their families,” she wrote.
Maximizing the positive
Ms. Cole-McKamey made clear that her organization did not agree with the lack of notice to residents about the street closure. She blamed the city for that failure.
However, “Working with Jason and Merry Lights has been a pleasure, having someone coming out in our community and reaching out to the residents to help in any way they can, it is different from what we have been experiencing from other developers,” she said.
There is also a chance that future special event permits in this area will be handled differently.
District 5 Councilor Barb Warwick wrote on Facebook that she asked the Office of Film and Event Management to give her a heads-up when issuing special event permits for this area. This will allow her to notify residents, solicit input and make sure people know about road closures ahead of time so the experience is a good one for all.
“Personally, I think it's nice to have new/fun events come to the District,” she wrote. “And having new people come through Hazelwood to see this light show is good for our local businesses. We just need to make sure the community groups and businesses are involved earlier, so we can maximize that positive impact.”
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