“B” is for Bloomfield
Surveillance video from Citizens Bank did not support Todd’s claims
Texan Ashley Todd probably doesn’t read Shopping Bloomfield, but she might have thought twice about her recent hoax had she read my post about surveillance cameras on Liberty Avenue. Maybe she would have at least stayed on the “right side of Pittsburgh”.
If you’re unsure which side of Pittsburgh is the right one, I’m referring to a post Todd wrote on microblogging site Twitter which stated “Pretty sure I’m on the wrong side of pittsburgh”, shortly before her faked attack Wednesday night in Bloomfield. A screen capture of Todd’s Twitter page was posted by The Smoking Gun:
Bloomfield became a Hot Political Topic on Twitter’s Election 2008; in fact, Bloomfield is a currently a hot topic in lots of media, including partisan blogs by both parties. But politics aside, how has the media portrayed Bloomfield?
Ryan Tate from popular news and gossip blog Gawker questioned the meaning of Todd’s Twitter post in an article titled ‘“Attacked” McCain Volunteer Was On ‘The Wrong Side Of Pittsburgh.’ Or Was She?‘. Did she just mean the wrong side of town geographically, or was she insinuating that Bloomfield isn’t safe? Despite referring to Bloomfield as “Bloomington”, the New York author does a good job of describing our Little Italy, using Wikipedia and Shopping Bloomfield as sources and citing our gourmet bistro, art gallery, antique store and farmer’s market. Tate writes:
The ATM is across from a church and some nice-looking houses and next to a sports supplements store, clothing shop and Italian-themed cafe. Across the street is a Thai place. Doesn’t look like too bad a neighborhood.
As a visual reference, the article included this Google Street View panoramic picture of the intersection where the attack didn’t happen (click the white arrows to move around):
I’ve walked down Liberty Avenue at all hours of the day and night, and never felt unsafe. In fact, I’ve used that ATM at all hours. I think Ashley Todd chose the wrong neighborhood in which to cry wolf. What do you think?
I grew up in Pittsburgh and still have lots of family there. She really picked a bad neighborhood to try and make up a distasteful story. (I still don’t understand the B part?) It’s sad that someone would go to so much bother for publicity- even bad publicity.
So is this a conspiracy or did she act alone???? The mystery continues…..
Ashley obviously didn’t do her homework. Bloomfield is a great place to eat, play, and visit. This makes me even more apt to go there and support the local businesses.
I don’t live too far from Bloomfield and love shopping there. Bloomfield to me is one of the communities that I love to visit and shop in – The food there is fantastic – They have some of the best burgers there, and it is just nice to wander down a great community with tons to offer.
[...] in the Columbus Day parade in Bloomfield (a neighborhood in Pittsburgh made famous for the recent polictical ATM mugging hoax). I vote that parades that circle are better than parades that are a straight [...]
Great comments!
There were a lot of great comments left on the Gawker article as well.
Great post. I admire your way of keeping your wits about you and emphasizing the beauty of Bloomfield for all of those who have clicked on to the site due to the negative press the situation generated late last week.
I’m really disappointed that someone would stoop to this level. This blatant attack on Pittsburgh as well as the political slander are upsetting. I’ve been living in the Bloomfield/Friendship area for almost two years and have never once felt unsafe.
I’m glad that the truth came out and Todd was exposed for her attempt to destroy a great reputation in Pittsburgh and upset a community.
The day the truth about Ms. Todd came to light, I spent some time over at Lot 17 (after proudly using the Citizens ATM in question.)
As a lifelong Pittsburgher, Bloomfield is one of the few areas I’ve yet to explore fully — but now, I feel like I must.
Members of the business community ought to sue Ashley Todd for defamation. Nothing like kicking a liar when she’s down.
[...] over Liberty Avenue cleverly disguised as surveillance cameras, you can read about it here. As Todd or the T1-20 tried to access the ATM machine we hacked into it’s mainframe and [...]
“Very informative stuff – keep up the good work!
I also wondered, which theme have you got on this site? It’s amazing and I’d love to know the name of it.”
We actually developed a custom theme for the site, based on an illustration that Dan Wintermantel created for our Little Italy Days poster.