Flier slipped under wiper blades along Hanover today.
Kristina Rex posts a copy of a letter Mayor Wu sent to North End restaurant owners that says the proposed outdoor-dining fee is because the people who actually live in the North End are fed up with the disruptions caused by outdoor dining there and the money would try to make things a bit better for them.
But, Wu continues:
If a critical mass of restaurant owners also believe this program is unworkable as proposed, I am prepared to rescind North End outdoor dining before the start of the season.
North End restaurant owners are threatening to sue and have started sticking fliers on car windshields that take a bad St. Patrick's Breakfast quote out of context to make Wu sound like a virulent racist.
Two years ago, as the pandemic ruined restaurant business, the city created a program to let restaurants without private patios use sidewalks and, in some cases, parking spaces, to create outdoor patios. The city continued the temporary program last year and earlier this year announced its continuation this year. But unlike in other neighborhoods, the city proposed a $7,500 fee for North End restaurants - plus additional fees for the use of on-street parking spaces for tables.
Based on the experience of the past two years, this year's pilot program for the North End is different from that of other neighborhoods because of the unique impacts of outdoor dining on the quality of residential life. This neighborhood is home to the densest concentration of restaurants anywhere in the state. Last summer, this community had more than three times the number of on-street restaurant patios than the next highest neighborhood, the greatest loss of parking spots, and more 311 and constituent service complaints related to noise, congestion, rodents and street cleanliness from outdoor dining than anywhere else - by far. The North End was home to 77 outdoor dining patios (70 on public property) in just 0.2 square miles, compared to 51 patios in Back Bay (but only 21 on-street), 14 in the Seaport, seven in Roxbury, six in Charlestown, and just one patio in Chinatown. The use of public street space to expand restaurant capacity and liquor license seats is particularly significant in the North End, with many restaurants doubling their capacity through expansion into the street.
She continued that people who live in the North End have loudly called for the complete elimination of expanded outdoor dining in the neighborhood, that they were "at wit's end after two years of intrusion on neighborhood life" and that the fees were an attempt at compromise, with the money going to extra trash removal and the leasing of parking spaces in nearby garages for residents who once were able to park on the streets of the small, dense neighborhood.
She then offered to just cancel the outdoor program altogether, but in the meantime, said that restaurant owners have until April 10 to sign up - and pay the fees - if they want to participate.
Meanwhile, North End restaurant owners fliered cars along Hanover Street today with part of a quote from Wu at this past Sunday's St. Patrick's breakfast, which for decades has been a place for politicians to poke fun at each other with jokes that often just are not funny. Wu's complete "joke" went:
This past winter was pretty intense, trial by snow, trial by firefighters union. I’m getting used to dealing with problems that are expensive, disruptive, and white – I’m talking about snowflakes, snowstorms, snowflakes!
WGBH rounded up some of the other supposed jokes, including one from City Councilor Michael Flaherty:
"Someone told me she's on a vacation with her dear friend Monica Cannon-Grant," Flaherty said, referencing the prominent local nonprofit leader recently indicted for fraud. "They're the Boston version of Thelma and Louise," he said to a collective groan.
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Comments
Define "whim"
By brianjdamico
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 8:51am
please.
“governing by whim”
By berkleealum
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 9:32am
is when i don’t agree, of course
well..
By anon
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 9:39am
what's "whim" in Russian? Maybe he knows that.
Probably an autotranslate error.
I'm afraid your trollbot is glitching
By Pete X
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 4:08pm
To whoever runs "notfromboston": have you tried turning it off and turning it back on so you can get the new right-wing talking points loaded in? It should be something something "freedom of speech"
Surprised? I am not. This
By anon
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 7:52am
Surprised? I am not. This another fine example of the culture of Boston politics.
Medford, Malden, Marble-HEAD...
By J.R. Dobbs
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 8:06am
With very few exception, these BIG MAD owners are all fairly well-to-do suburban-ites and/or amorphous restaurant "Groups" where true ownership is hazy for tax purposes.
They're organ-grinding to our local bored hoard of perpetually aggreived and trying to frame this as some slight on their vague ethnicity.
Back in reality; these previously coddled goofballs are just experiencing consequences for their actions.
And like children, we're watching them lash out after being told "No".
Boston ugly battles
By anon
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 8:19am
The mask vs the unmasked, the vaccinated against the unvaccinated, the bikers vs the cars, the defund the police vs the refund the police, the renters vs the landlords, outdoor dining vs parking spaces, police in schools vs kick the police out of schools, free T buses in certain neighborhoods vs papers please buses in other neighborhoods, tent city at the methadone mile vs NIMBY shelters, exam schools eliminated vs keep the exam schools, the one battle we can all support is Dropkick Murphy's vs the neo-nazis.
Out of curiosity
By BostonDog
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 8:23am
How many people live in the North End neighborhood and how many on street parking spots are there without the dining?
There are at least three
By Donna F
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 12:54pm
There are at least three times more resident stickers than there are resident spaces. Many people who own cars in the neighborhood pay to park them. I won't go into the many reasons someone who lives in the North End might need to own a car. I'm not interested in being lectured by people who don't live here and have no idea about it. But, although parking is a factor in resident opposition to outdoor dining it is not the main issue. Ultimately, it is about quality of life issues - crowding, noise, the ability to walk on the sidewalk in your own neighborhood, etc. And please refrain from telling long-time residents to move - we were here before the the proliferation of restaurants. All you have to do is look at the figures provided in Mayor Wu's letter and you understand why there is a problem in the North End. Mayor Wu understands our situation and we are grateful to her.
No, the opposite
By BostonDog
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 6:13pm
My suspicion is that a vast majority of residents don't own cars or already pay for private parking.
So why is small group (owners who park on street) getting a cut of the restaurant fee when people who already pay for alternatives (including public transportation) not get the same benefit?
I understand the opposition based on noise and crowds.
Mayor Wu
By SamWack
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 8:47am
Michelle Wu is doing something many did not expect; acting like the Mayor of Boston. This is a dispute between two groups that both demand the right to use public property for private purposes. There are, however, large distinctions between the two groups. One consists of a large proportion of the residents of the neighborhood; the accommodation they demand is for personal convenience, and is customary going back to the invention of the automobile. The other group consists of a small number of business owners who want to increase their profits, and claim in perpetuity an accommodation extended to them during a public emergency. I have no problem with them making money, but I do have a problem with public resources being handed over to them gratis.
Wu’s balance between accommodation and confrontation in this matter seems to me to be brilliant. Decreasing the use of cars is a worthy end, and decreasing the amount of public space given over to parking is a step in the right direction, but doing it by turning over said space to private, profit-making entities, without compensation, is not the way to do it.
I am impressed at how carefully the case is laid out, with detailed statistics used to demonstrate why the neighborhood needs special treatment. This is the opposite of making it up as you go along. It is also the opposite of catering to one constituency and ignoring others, which is what Boston expects in a mayor.
You missed one group
By robo
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 8:56am
And it’s probably the most important - the people of Boston as a whole. Street/sidewalk dining is amazing in the summer. Wu is catering to the car owners and if you can’t see that, you’ve drank the Kool Aid like cybah.
Wouldn't that be
By SamWack
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 9:54am
"the people of Boston who dine outdoors in the North End in the summer"? Surely not more than 1 or 2 percent of the total population, and many of them car owners as well. Whereas the cars owners you are dismissive of constitute a good proportion of the residents of the North End. You may think they shouldn't have cars, but it's not really up to you, you know.
The idea that the age of the automobile can be ended overnight, by fiat, without any consideration of the degree to which modern life has been transformed by that invention, and is adapted to and dependent on it, is vapid. Revolutions that begin with mass executions of those thought to be impediments to the arrival of the New Age always create monstrosities, and this is analogous. People who drive and own cars are not lesser human beings, moral failures who can be held in contempt, and whose needs and concerns can be disregarded.
Car owners can do whatever they want
By robo
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 11:01am
I’m not saying residents can’t own a car. I love cars. Flip them all the time because I want the next best thing. My current car has 503hp and I love it! I’m saying no more free parking on Hanover St. If you want a car, figure it out - pay for parking, get rid of your car. I don’t care. They shouldn’t ruin outdoor dining because they ‘deserve’ free city parking. I have off street parking in Dot because I’m not a baby and demand the city provide free street parking. Additionally, I pay for parking in Somerville because I’m not a baby and demand free parking in the city.
The fact that Wu is punishing the restaurants and not the car owners is as clear as it can be - she supports cars.
The fact that Wu is punishing
By berkleealum
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 11:06am
i mean, there’s at least one other plausible conclusion: Wu would rather levy a tax on the business owners for the right to do outdoor dining, rather than to levy a tax on the residents… for the right of business owners to do outdoor dining.
FTFY
By robo
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 11:10am
Levy a tax on a small population getting free parking.
You’re missing the main point I’m trying to make - everyone benefits from expanded outdoor dining. The fact that Wu is attempting to punish the restaurant owners and not car owners is ridiculous.
i don’t think i’m missing the point
By berkleealum
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 11:44am
i’m saying that another term for car owner is Boston resident. i’m sure you can venture a guess as to how a new tax would be received in this climate.
none of this is to say i disagree with your point in the abstract.
How?
By Bob Leponge
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 12:32pm
How does Grandma who lives in the North End, who neither owns nor regularly eats in any Hanover St restaurants, benefit from an unbroken block-long line of jersey barriers and restaurant seating areas that make it difficult to cross the street? Or from sidewalks that are so crowded that she can’t wheel her little grocery cart from the market back to her home?
You’re right
By robo
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 1:06pm
One person should ruin it for everyone. That’s the way the world is progressing. If everyone can’t win, no one can win.
Solution: First, granny shouldn’t be jaywalking. The barriers don’t block crosswalks. The seating is in the street, not on the sidewalks so aside from more people on the sidewalks there’s no difference. Additionally, there are a lot of parallel streets. Use one of those instead of Hanover.
Really?
By Bob Leponge
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 2:43pm
And if, of course, only one person lived in the North End, you would have a point. You made the assertion that expanded sidewalk dining benefits everyone. It doesn’t. In fact, for the vast majority of North End residents, who do not own or dine in those restaurants, expanded sidewalk dining makes the world worse. It is a net transfer of value from residents to restaurant owners and tourists.
Any reasonable government process is going to take into account the interests of everyone; every solution is going to be a compromise. You seem to be arguing that the interests of the people who actually live in the neighborhood should be ignored.
Didn't you say you're moving
By CH
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 10:56am
Didn't you say you're moving to the South in a month? The actual people of Boston can handle this, thank you.
I am
By robo
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 8:39pm
Good luck. You’ll need it
Then why isn't this fee being applied to ALL
By roadman
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 9:56am
outdoor dining venues citywide. THAT'S the issue here - equity.
Newbury St restaurants don't commandeer narrow sidewalks
By J.R. Dobbs
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 10:41am
Or hassle you you to eat at Stephanie's while you're walking down the street.
The North End has become a sideshow of caricatures that overshadow some really, really good little restaurants. And it's a shame.
If anyone from out of town ever asks, I always tell them to avoid Hanover completely and head toward Paul Revere's house and just wander the alleyways.
Because residents in other
By CH
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 10:58am
Because residents in other neighborhood are not, by and large, upset about outdoor dining. This is a North End issue. Don't try to make it everybody else's problem.
For the same reason…
By Bob Leponge
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 2:44pm
For the same reason that street parking is free in W Rox and expensive downtown
Before COVID, all restaurants
By bibliotequetress
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 4:02pm
Before COVID, all restaurants with outside dining did pay fees-- and I assume they still do. As far as I can tell, the restaurants that have always had sidewalk dining still pay fees (or are back to it, if they were suspended temporarily); pre-COVID, it was $1000+ a month in most neighborhoods.
I'm looking up the pre-COVID fee info this afternoon-- will update.
Meanwhile, though, if equity is the issue, then sure, EVERYONE should pay a fee, no exceptions. If the North End restauranteurs succeed in making that happen, I wonder how popular they will be with the other restaurant owners around the city the next time they need support for a licensing or zoning change.
updated below
By bibliotequetress
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 8:55pm
.
People who live in downtown
By anon
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 4:15pm
People who live in downtown may need to drive to work or drop off kids at school. Boston does not have Neigborhood schools so that means stick your kid on a bus or drive them yourself. Also affordable day car. Not all people who live downtown are rich. If you really care about fumes get rid of bussing and eliminate huge politers and hours and hours of wasted time for kids on a bus to be driven to the other side of town to school. Look up how much is being spent on school transportation. It is about 1/3 of the school budget. Disgraceful.
Move
By pcannon
Sun, 03/27/2022 - 7:59am
If you really "need" a car, downtown is a dumb place to live; we shouldn't be catering public policy to these people. Move someplace where there's room for parking!
I expect her
By anon
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 9:25am
To charge businesses on Birch St and Blue Bikes for the same parking spots they occupy.
"Now if we only could figure out...
By J.R. Dobbs
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 10:53am
...exactly WHO owns Blue Bikes THEN we'd be able to blow this whole conspiracy WIDE OPEN!!!" I exclaimed, as both eyes rolled back into my skull.
Swing and a miss on the Blue Bikes dig
By tachometer
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 11:10am
"Bluebikes is jointly owned and managed by Boston, Brookline, Cambridge, Everett, and Somerville, and operates in 10 municipalities in greater Boston."
Quote from this site
There's a big difference between a privately owned business taking up public space and a government owned program that is run as part of the local transportation network.
Not all car owners got to tsee the fliers
By adamg
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 11:10am
lol those replies
By J.R. Dobbs
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 11:21am
a dozen angry boys barking how "WERE TOTALLY NOT MAD BRO"
Who do you think is more upset
By anon
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 1:31pm
The person spending 1 min writing an angry reply on Twitter, or the guy who spent 30 min+ walking around collecting flyers off of cars and them gloating about it on Twitter?
Cancel it across the City
By anon
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 11:22am
oh wait a minute, the only sections of the City who has this is South Boston and the North End.
I was gonna be sympathetic
By Italian food lover
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 1:36pm
I was going to be sympathetic to the North End restaurant owners but using that quotation in the flyer out of context is a really big turn off. Why should this be about race? It’s about the local residents vs the restaurants. So no thanks, North End business owners, I’ll go eat at the other Italian restaurants around Boston…bad move.
My two cents
By Sammy White
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 1:48pm
I agree with Wu and the intent but I think the cost is pretty high - compromising at maybe $3000 total would allow some good will vs making her look like more of a hard ass.
As for the breakfast. Have you ever watched it? Did you watch it in the 200s with black and gay jokes - and not just one liners like veiled rantings. So people just have to laugh because it is a joke right? All in fun!
Part of the city revenue are the younger folks who paid crazy for their tiny north end condos and pay high taxes, don’t forget that too. Restaurants did little to control people or trash or in some cases follow rules for Covid - even 2 months ago, a bunch of non masked Florida tourists in line inside Modern yapping loudly.
Yes the pandemic took a toll on restaurants, but well before then Giacomos was bulking tourists overcharging mediocre meals with large portions of store shelf pasta. Maybe some of these cash cows and - I say this as an Italian - goomba wanna bes, need to get their house in order.
Again I do think that the fee is high and punitive - then gain why would a police union whose members take a bulleti or firefighters who walk into fire refuse a free vaccine shot and PTO? Greed and power.
Mom always liked you better
By anon
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 2:23pm
It's a PUBLIC WAY, and no one has an inherent right to exclusive use. Real estate taxes are assessed based on values, and they differ from parcel to parcel, street to street, neighborhood to neighborhood. Make an economic decision. If you can't justify the expense, don't lease the property.
Pre-COVID, restaurants always paid fees for sidewalk tables
By bibliotequetress
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 9:05pm
Restaurants that use sidewalk tables have always paid fees-- even if they have space for it, like Stephanie's on Newbury-- and had to get special licensing and inspections. Softening requirements with the COVID pandemic was supposed to be a temporary exemption.
The $7500 for 5 months of sidewalk use is not far off of what the sidewalk cafe fee was back in 2010-- a pretty remarkable deal http://clinics.law.harvard.edu/tlc/files/2015/05/b... (scroll to last page)
If we are now at a point regarding COVID that restaurants can open at full capacity, then there is no good reason why they should not pay fees; allowing the "temporary" COVID outdoor dining soft rules regarding public roads & sidewalks to continue for another summer is a courtesy to restaurant owners who understandably want to increase their income after some tough years.
However, North End residents had a particularly difficult time with outdoor dining for many reasons that were obvious to anyone who went to Hanover Street for dinner last summer. All of the usual N. End problems (clogged sidewalks, impossible access for emergency vehicles, no room for wheelchairs, noise and garbage...) were exacerbated.
North End restaurants never appeared to lose business on the scale that Chinatown, DTX, or Back Bay did, but I don't know if anyone has done a hard comparison.
Regardless of that, the fee N. End restaurant owners are complaining about is still less than what they would likely have paid pre-COVID.
Of course some of them want it to continue for free. That's understandable. But North End restaurants have been able to greatly increase their covers and sales without having to pay the higher rent or construction costs that would be incurred if they did not have public property at their disposal.
Given that the city has to pay for North End residents to park in local garages to make up for the loss of spaces caused by outdoor dining there, it's reasonable to ask restaurants benefitting to pony up.
Two questions
By robo
Sat, 03/26/2022 - 10:00pm
1 - Why is it that only north end restaurants have to pay this fee? There are no tables on sidewalks. Also, who continues to pay this fee? South end restaurants?
2 - Why in the world(!) is the city paying for lost residential parking? If I provide something to you for free without a contract, I can take it away whenever I want.
You're long winded and looking for empathy. You’re not getting it from me.
North End Restaurant Owners
By Kaz
Sun, 03/27/2022 - 5:31pm
The only group of people who could seemingly convince me that the highway should go back up so I can go back to pretending they don't exist again.
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