NEIGHBORS OF
TRACE BREWING
Hello! We’re an organized group of neighbors who live on the same block as Trace Brewing in the Bloomfield neighborhood of Pittsburgh.
We’re a diverse, largely working class neighborhood, and the residential block behind Trace is home to immigrants, disabled folks, queer and BIPOC residents, families, and long-time Bloomfielders. We support Trace’s inclusive values and indoor events—but ongoing outdoor DJ parties in the alley directly outside our homes are harming our quality of life.
We believe that if “Trace was built to be a part of the Bloomfield neighborhood”, as they’ve stated, then they need to respect those of us who live here.
The Issue: Loud Outdoor Events That Disrupt Neighbors Lives
These aren’t typical city sounds. These are hours-long, amplified dance parties that shake our windows and disturb sleep, work, caregiving, and basic peace of mind. Kids have nap schedules, people have migraines, anxiety, ptsd, sound sensitivity, and other disabilities that are exacerbated by outdoor amplified events. It's common for many neighbors to leave their homes for an entire day when they find out an alley party is scheduled.
Neighbors (many of whom are Trace customers) tried to work with Trace management for over 2 years to address this issue, only to be gaslit and misdirected. In 2023, ~50 households from the neighborhood signed a letter asking for amplified outdoor events to be moved indoors. We were ignored and dismissed as a “vocal minority.” In 2024, the owner pled guilty to multiple noise violations for their outdoor courtyard parties. They then pivoted to exclusively hosting their amplified events in the adjacent alley, Clement Way—and the parties continue.
COMMUNITY ACTION:
In April 2025, nearly every household on the block directly behind Trace on Clement Way (what Trace refers to as “Graffiti Alley") formally petitioned the City of Pittsburgh to stop issuing event permits to hold these amplified parties in the street. Trace receives these event permits under the unregistered name "Clement Way Artists Inc."
We’re not asking for the events to stop—we’re simply asking that they be held indoors, where Trace has a great, climate-controlled space that can support vibrant programming without harming neighbors.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP
We hope you will join in by continuing to support Trace Brewing while also supporting us — the neighbors who live next to them!
- Support Trace—and support us, their neighbors! Continue going to Trace events, but tell them what kind of business you want them to be.
- If you DJ or host events at Trace, ask them to keep events indoors.
- Parking a car in our neighborhood is difficult, we get it! When attending large Trace events, please consider parking in the metered commercial areas rather than residential streets whenever possible. Please note that the majority of Clement Way is a No Parking zone, and parking along the buildings on Clement restricts access to many neighbors’ home driveways.
WHY THIS MATTERS
We love community events. But a neighborhood bar is not the same as an outdoor music venue. Families live here. Kids nap. Some of us have PTSD, migraines, sound sensitivities, or just need rest.
Under the name “Clement Way Artists, Inc”, Trace has plans to host huge outdoor parties in the alley behind our houses on almost every other weekend throughout 2025.
FAQ
Isn’t this just what it’s like living in the city?
Actually, no! Being in the city means vehicle noises, people talking on their porches or walking by, helicopters and planes, ambulances and fire trucks, sometimes personal music on your back porch, but it does not mean loud, amplified DJ dance parties that we can’t escape for 7 hours at a time next to our homes.
Also, because we live close together in a city, sound bounces off buildings getting louder as it goes up the streets. That’s why we have no issue with people talking and hanging out in Trace’s courtyard, but the outdoor parties are very disruptive.
Trace is holding inclusive parties, how can you oppose that?
We don’t oppose the parties! Our only ask is that Trace hold the parties inside their great, climate-controlled space so that the people that want to attend can, and neighbors that don’t want to attend can be at home without nonconsensually being bombarded by the sound.
What laws are they actually breaking?
Trace has pled guilty and paid fines for noise ordinance violations. Due to their continuing violations they remain under ongoing investigation.
What difference does a few decibels make when measuring noise?
Decibels are a measure of sound and are a logarithmic measurement, not linear. This means that for every 10 decibels, people perceive the sound as being twice as loud. So, when looking at numbers, 80 decibels sounds twice as loud as 70 decibels.
How has Trace responded to your group?
Since we organized in 2023, Trace management has refused to engage with us. More recently, they’ve tried to discredit our efforts by spreading harmful rumors about individual neighbors, misrepresenting our motives, downplaying the size and diversity of our group, and even portraying us as a threat to their patrons’ safety—an accusation that is completely unfounded.
It’s a disappointing turn, but we value honesty and truth, and believe that our actions and years of respectful organizing to advocate for a livable, inclusive neighborhood speak for themselves.
Have you tried working with management directly?
YES, many neighbors did try, even going so far as to offer suggestions to management for how to build good will in the neighborhood. However, nothing changed, and then once we became an organized group of neighbors, they cut off all communication.
Does Trace communicate with neighbors about the events?
While Trace provides the legally required notices of alley closures via a flyer in our doors, they do not provide any information about the actual event and do not invite their neighbors to attend. (see Trace's standard event notice here)
This was never a problem until your group started complaining!
Businesses that push the boundaries rely on people staying silent about any negative impact on their lives, and many people feel powerless to change their environments for the better. After it became clear that the vast majority of neighbors were upset and the extreme noise from Trace’s outdoor parties were seriously harming our ability to feel comfortable in our homes, we organized and made our voices heard.
Why did law enforcement get involved?
After Trace management cut off communication with neighbors, we could no longer address the issues directly, so over a dozen of us reached out to various municipal and state agencies. Since the issue deals with noise violations from a liquor licensed establishment, the various departments that manage outdoor events, liquor licensing, nuisance bar complaints, and local neighborhood quality-of-life issues came into the mix. Whether or not the neighbors agree with the them, we are not in control of the methods or outcomes of these investigations.
Our neighborhood embraces diversity and community—just like Trace says it does. We hope they’ll show it by listening to the people who live next door!