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Now city looking to shorten Dorchester, Charlestown parades as well
By adamg on Sat, 03/12/2016 - 4:05pm
Buried in a Globe story about how the Allied War Veteran's Council is looking to sue the city over the route of the St. Patrick's Day parade in South Boston (something they know quite a bit about) is this statement from the mayor's office:
Boston police are considering changes to the routes for the Dorchester Day Parade and the Bunker Hill Day Parade for public safety reasons as well, the statement said.
Neighborhoods:
Free tagging:
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Comments
It's because
These parades have turned into day-long drinking fests with an abundance of sloppy drunk college age kids. Just me but I personally believe gentrification's really starting to damage Boston's culture.
Dorchester?
Never been to the Charlestown parade, but we go to the Dorchester parade every year, and it's always just a bunch of people enjoying a fun parade. At least at Ashmont, where we tend to go. You sure you're not confusing Dot. Ave. with Broadway?
Savin Hill
It's when you get up towards Savin Hill on Dot. Ave where you start to feel a drunk-college age kid vibe.
Last year at the DOT Day
Last year at the DOT Day Parade, an officer called an OT (officer in trouble, the worst thing you can hear on the radio). The further you go down DOT Ave, the rowdier it gets. Last year we were also pelted with rocks in the Field's Corner area.
- a Boston Cop
Not what I experienced
I live in Fields Corner. Last year in Fields Corner the crowd was friendly and well behaved, mostly Vietnamese families.. Someone throwing rocks at cops? I didn't see it. I don't remember it being reported in the news. Yesterday after reading this, I a asked my next door neighbor who is a cop and he never heard anything about rock throwing or officer in trouble.
-Not a Boston Cop but my next door neighbor is
That's a first
Interesting POV that gentrification causes this sort of behavior
*Not a criticism; just an observation
Just my opinion
But because a good chunk of these neighborhoods (Southie, Charlestown, parts of Dorchester) are now occupied by kids in there 20s who don't give two sh**s about the history behind the parade but rather just about having an excuse to binge drink in public.
Because Boston has no history as a drinking town
before gentrification. Come on. The parades can be enjoyed by people with their families and grown ups knocking back a few (often times one in the same). We should be taking it a step in yhe opposite direction and making these events open container. Let the people peacefully having a few beers enjoy themselves and anyone acting like a jackass gets thrown in the wagon.
Oh that'll work....
Let's see, people are drinking too much at a public event, so let's ENCOURAGE more drinking by making the event open container!! Brilliant.
Works in New Orleans
so why not try it here?
The logic of prohibition
It only makes sense on paper.
Time for Boston to grow up and crack down on the stupidity of drinking, not legal adults enjoying legal beverages.
Not gentrification
Although I DO understand what you are saying about the neighborhoods now being occupied by transplants in their 20s with no sense of history, I'm not sure that constitutes "gentrification". If anything, as you have pointed out, it is having an opposite effect.
No complaint here
I won't knock / mock your opinion b/c how can I say, one way or another? I get your point; "new" Bostonians have no idea what "Boston" is about. No disagreement there, tbh.
As an aside, I remember driving in from UMass Amherst back in 1985 so we could attend the St Patrick's Day parade and "honor its history". Ended up at Who's on First (::sigh::) and left my fraternity brothers and snuck off to Avalon (or, whatever it was called) (::sigh::) because it was a Sunday night.
Charlestown
Isn't really filled by kids in their 20's like Southie or parts of Dot. The Toonies are an older bunch, more 30's and young families.
South Boston is the same
The 20-somethings have been priced out of the neighborhood now. The rents are too high now.
Only the 30-somethings that are further along in their careers can afford to live in SoBo now.
Tell that to all the thirty
Tell that to all the thirty-somethings standing on line outside Lincoln, Capo and Stats. You don't even live in South Boston, you troll.
Gentrification caused the
Gentrification caused the parades to get worse? lol and just when I was starting to get bored of the discussion.
Wuh? Huh??
Back in the day the Dot Day parade was a drunk fest from dot park to the end but things have toned down so much it is all families now. I think the gentrification has had a sobering effect on the Dot Day and Southie parades. Can't speak about Charlestown as when I was growing up a white Irish Catholic girl from Dorchester would get her ass beat if she showed up there without Townie pals to escort her around.
Dot Day
Dot Day 1976 the last day I ever drank a gin and tonic.
Revenue
The City of Boston is the biggest hypocrite. Parades, like GE and the Indy car race, will bring more revenue than the City will pay in expenditures. The bars and restaurants along the parade routes make more money on parade days than any other day of the year.
What next? Shorten the Head of the Charles Regatta?
The person advising the Mayor ought to get his head out of his ass before he gets fired.
Relative lengths of parades
I'm familiar with the Rosi parade route - how do these other ones compare in the length? That seems reasonable - not too long so it's relatively easy to drive around it, but big enough to accommodate a lot of spectators.
Zero drunks that I've ever seen though.
The Bunker Hill Parade could
The Bunker Hill Parade could be shortened a bit...it is a 3 mile parade through about 1 square mile and there is a looooot of standing around. Unfortunately since it is such a popular parade I'm not sure how you could shorten it without again cutting out the actual site of the reason for the parade.
I think it would just be easier to not allow so many musket salutes at the United States gate and maybe cut off a bit of the Main Street part and the doubling back around the high school...
fun parade though. We always get a lot of good interaction while we march in it, solo cups or not.
The shorter First Night parade
Wasn't that because First Night was run on a shoestring this year and was not using the Hynes as either an event location or a staging area?
Bunker HIll Day Parade
These days, the Bunker HIll Day parade is pretty family friendly and tame. It's popular and friendly amongst Townies and Toonies.
The issue with shortening it is that the route is pretty packed already with people; to shorten it they'd be hoping that fewer people show up.
This stems from Bill Evans
This stems from Bill Evans throwing a fit because Veterans for Peace are not being allowed to march in St. Patrick's Day Parade. A vote was held Veterans for Peace lost. Bill Evans is punishing Allied War Vets for trying to keep this political group of mostly non Veteran protesters out. By shortening the St Patrick's Day parade the city is now trying to cover its bases by considering shortening Dorchester and Charlestown. Notice there is no talk of shortening the most dangerous parade of them all, the Caribean Parade, that would not be politically correct!
Most Dangerous?
Have you ever attended the Caribbean Carnival? To call it the most dangerous parade of them all is a bit offensive to the many that attend the parade for the past 40+ years. As someone who has attended and participated in the Boston Carnival I will say this-- the parade itself isn't dangerous! Has there been issues surrounding the parade route--absolutely which is unfortunate for all those affected and we obviously wished people would stop the violence--but that is everyday within certain areas in the city of Boston.
I've attended the St. Patty's Day Parade and never witnessed the issues among the participants--but a lot like the Boston Caribbean Carnival the issues are along the route. So please don't coin a parade celebrating a culture that may be important to you; but is to many in the city as the most dangerous of them all.
Time to Start Parade Busing
I'm filing in Federal Court to demand that Boston start Parade Busing, to share the experiences equally in all neighborhoods. Next year the St. Patricks Day Parade will run from Grove Hall to Dudley. Caribbean Festival will run from Lower Mills to Cedar Grove. Bunker Hill will be in Allston. Greek Independence Day will be in the South End.
One parade already does that
The Columbus Day parade alternates yearly between a Downtown-North End route and another in East Boston.