Livid about a weekend shooting on the South Side, Pittsburgh City Councilman Bruce Kraus on Tuesday accused Mayor Luke Ravenstahl of being indifferent to the dangers posed by drunken revelers and called for a public-private task force to address the entertainment district's problems before it's too late.

Council members Bill Peduto, Natalia Rudiak and Doug Shields joined Mr. Kraus in lamenting the neighborhood's travails and demanding change. In a jab at the mayor's work ethic, Mr. Shields said Mr. Ravenstahl should stop "hanging out in the VIP lounges" of nightclubs and take responsibility for the South Side's problems.

Mr. Kraus, who has long complained about weekend debauchery in the neighborhood, said the shooting of a club bouncer and two others early Sunday was another warning sign that the city cannot afford to ignore. During a fight outside Town Tavern, one of the brawlers pulled a gun and fired, wounding the bouncer in the groin.

Arrested was George J. Morgan, 27, of Baldwin Borough. The shooting came a week after three people were stabbed in two unrelated incidents in the neighborhood.

Mr. Kraus, who represents the South Side, said the weekend brings "a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach." He wonders, "How will we get through this weekend? Who will be shot? Who will be stabbed? How many drunken drivers will be on the road?"

But it isn't just the violence that troubles Mr. Kraus, who regularly snaps cell-phone photographs of empty cups, half-eaten food and other debris littering East Carson Street on Saturday and Sunday mornings. He said one resident leaves bags on her stoop so party-goers have an alternative to throwing up in her yard or the sidewalk.

"This can only escalate," a red-faced Mr. Kraus warned near the end of council's meeting, demanding that a task force be established before something "truly catastrophic happens." He said the task force should be made up of city and state officials, neighborhood leaders, bar owners and other business people.

Mr. Kraus plans to renew his plea Thursday during a meeting with city police officials about the East Carson problems.

He said the state deserves some blame because it has allowed new bars and clubs to open without regard for the community's welfare. He wants state police to help patrol the party district on weekends, in part because East Carson is a state road and partly because he believes the troopers' presence would have a calming effect.

Mayoral spokeswoman Joanna Doven disagreed with Mr. Kraus' charge that Mr. Ravenstahl has "a deliberate sense of indifference" to the neighborhood's concerns. She said the administration has provided garbage receptacles, deployed police bicycle patrols and taken other measures to help the community.

Mr. Kraus later suggested that Ms. Doven and Mr. Ravenstahl join him on East Carson at 2 a.m. Saturday to observe "the failure of their efforts."

Mr. Shields said Mr. Ravenstahl "needs to begin to answer" for the South Side's problems but instead will probably recruit somebody to run against Mr. Kraus in next year's election in an effort to silence the complaints.

"The personal attacks are counterproductive," Ms. Doven said, adding, "To call what's going on in the South Side a crisis is simply irresponsible."

She said "the real crisis" may be that Mr. Kraus needs an issue for his re-election campaign.

Ms. Rudiak agreed that the South Side's atmosphere has deteriorated in recent years, saying that the neighborhood's unflattering reputation has seeped "into the consciousness of Pittsburgh" and that some people avoid the area on weekends because of the parking problems and "obnoxious" party-goers. She said alcohol-fueled problems divert public-safety resources from other neighborhoods that need them.

Anthony Weinmann, president of the city paramedics union, suggested that an additional ambulance be placed into service specifically for the South Side so fewer medics have to be summoned from other areas.

Rick Belloli, executive director of the South Side Local Development Co., said the shooting was a sign that the South Side is "out of balance." He said his organization would be happy to join Mr. Kraus' task force.

In August 2009, Mr. Kraus released a comprehensive plan for managing the neighborhood's "nighttime economy," a report based partly on practices developed by the California-based Responsible Hospitality Institute. At Mr. Kraus' behest, the institute in June led a conference at Station Square that attracted neighborhood leaders and bar owners, creating good will but no initiatives.

Mr. Kraus on Tuesday said he plans to ask council to appropriate as much as $100,000 next year so the institute and local universities can work with a task force in implementing a management plan.

While a group of club owners agreed to pool resources to hire more police and clean-up crews, Mr. Kraus said that isn't enough.

He said a comprehensive plan includes public transportation, a parking strategy, late-night code enforcement and a district judge to adjudicate summary offenses curbside. Clubs, he said, should meet security standards so that their bouncers aren't "cousin Bubba's friend Joe."

Ms. Doven said Mr. Kraus "hasn't brought us anything by way of recommendations, solutions, a white paper" and questioned his willingness to work with the mayor's office. She said previous enforcement blitzes on the South Side yielded only temporary improvements.

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