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Some Businesses Clash With City Councilman

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Sep 4, 2009 10:27 pm US/Eastern

Some Businesses Clash With City Councilman

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― Pittsburgh City Councilman Bruce Kraus has waged a one-man war against public drunkenness and litter outside bars and restaurants on the South Side.

But several South Side businesses say Kraus has crossed the line.

Some say Kraus personally threatened to pull their license to operate.

Recently outside Folino's Restaurant, Kraus ordered the Public Works Department to paint a line limiting their sidewalk café and then complained the line was wrong and ordered another line to be painted to make it more restrictive.

"And I said, 'I'm in compliance with what the city did' and he said he was going to pull my café permit and I told him, 'Now you're just harassing me.'"

Just last week, Kraus came to a beer distributor at 10 p.m. complaining a sign was not properly permitted. Owner Bill Powell says Kraus caused a scene yelling, throwing things and then calling the police.

"Actually, I thought councilmen work for small businesses but apparently not because the way he acts is just … kind of scared me," Bill Powell, from Black and Gold Beer Distributors, said. "It was really off the wall there."

"They can frame that in anyway that they want to," Kraus said of the complaints from business owners.

Andy Sheehan: "[They say] that you come down and you threaten and berate and harass."

Kraus: "That's just simply not true. We get complaints in the office about any number of issues. When complaints come in from constituents we deal with them. We ask compliance of the city code."

The councilman denies that he has threatened anyone and says some of the businesses in question have a history of violations and that he in an advocacy position has merely marshaled Public Works and Code Enforcement employees to enforce city codes.

But Kraus himself operates an interior design business out of his home on 18th Street – a business listed on websites such as Angie's List.

But when KDKA's Andy Sheehan checked with the Zoning office, he found no permit to operate a home business as required by city code.

Zoning Office Worker: "I don't have anything on file for that."

KDKA's Andy Sheehan asked Kraus about the permit.

Sheehan: "If you operate a business out of your home, you're supposed to [have a permit]."

Kraus: "If I'm not in compliance, I'll come into compliance."

Sheehan: "Well, you're not in compliance now, according to the Zoning Department."

Kraus: "Perhaps, maybe - I'm not sure."

Sheehan: "Is it fair that you are haranguing these businesses?"

Kraus: "I'm not haranguing businesses and the interview's over because you're framing. You're not asking questions. You're framing them in the way you want them to be answered."

Despite not having a home business permit, Councilman Kraus did show Sheehan tax records indicating he has paid his business taxes.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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