Seventeen-year-old best friends Tre and Byron would probably be the last people to attend a teen takeover. They say they aren’t drawn to crowds and keep their social circle small. To describe it using Byron’s words, they’re part of the pack of teens who “just be chilling,” not the ones “trying to do dumb stuff.”
The City Charter High School seniors said they don’t agree with the “disrupting the peace” nature of teen takeovers — planned large gatherings of youth that have occurred this year across the country in cities such as Detroit, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles and Chicago. The takeovers that make the rounds on social media are rowdy, and sometimes fights and petty crimes follow. A few have occurred in Pittsburgh, and in at least two cases police deployed pepper spray to break up crowds.
To discourage the events, the city and private entities enacted “chaperone policies” in several teen-friendly spaces around the region, including Market Square, city pools and Kennywood. The policies barred entry to people under specified ages without an adult. At the same time, concerns about disruptive teens factored into changes to neighborhood events in the South Side and Shadyside.
Mayoral Press Secretary Molly Onufer said most of the new rules fall within special events — not policies — and don’t indicate any rise in youth restrictions. She said the city has offered a “ton of programming” for young people and their families throughout the summer…