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City unwraps North End outdoor dining plan: Part of Hanover Street to become one way, restaurants will have to pay $7,500 first
By adamg on Fri, 03/18/2022 - 11:11am
NorthEnd.page reports that, unlike in the rest of the city's neighborhoods, Boston wants restaurants to pay $7,500 to use sidewalks or street space for outdoor dining because of what it says are the unique issues related to keeping North End streets nice and tidy.
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Comments
Good for the city for making
Good for the city for making separate rules for the North End. The vast majority of these restaurants violated every covid rule on outdoor dining (as well as indoor) the city put in place during the past two years. Getting access to part of a (very congested) city street is not a right, it's a privilege. The restaurants are under no obligation to pay this fee. But guess what? After a few days (weeks?) of whining, they'll all capitulate, because they realize they're being offered low-cost, additional real estate is easily worth what amounts to only a few hundred dollars a week. Smart move also allowing good tenants to keep outdoor dining a few extra weeks into September, too.
Hanover is one of the most
Hanover is one of the most pointless streets from a driving perspective in the city. “Very congested” is just laughable.
$7500 to these Restaurant
$7500 to these Restaurant owners is pocket money , they can recoup that money in an hour on a hot summers night.
They shouldn’t be complaining!!
$7500 plus the cost of
$7500 plus the cost of private parking for the spaces they displace. And then residents will be allocated that number of spaces in certain lots, first-come first-serve.
This is a good way to institutionalize the idea that residents are entitled to all the free street spaces they have today, and that they deserve compensation if parking rules ever change to reduce the number of spaces.
The only parking that should be allocated….
…. are the handicapped/disabled spots, if any. But those need to be left where they are for obvious reasons.
Otherwise, this undeserved concession to drivers is ridiculous.
What does the City do in
What does the City do in neighborhoods such as Chinatown where the streets are also narrow and the number of restaurants also considerable? What about Newbury, and Boylston, and Charles streets?
The North End outdoor dining was chaotic - the city should have a standardized streetscape requirement so it looks more organized, and make sure sidewalks are clear for pedestrians.
A restaurant that fits 25 shouldn't have to pay as much as a restaurant that seats 50. And honestly the city should charge ALL restaurants that have outdoor dining using the public space a fee. Why is one neighborhood forced to bear an extra burden during covid because their streets are narrow?
I totally agree - In my
I totally agree - In my neighborhood its more sidewalk than street dining - a lot of restaurants while I wished them well and will do so again this season have a tendency to take over the sidewalk - places after the first year (last year) should all have a better plan in place that has to be submitted to the city (you have to do it for indoor dining with a capacity) instead of just plopping tables anywhere they feel like it with those illegal in Boston fire things for heat - you may own the restaurants but you don't own the sidewalks.
It’s all politics.
This administration is making it a point to penalize those that do not blindly support their policies.
Look at this wording….
Restaurants that have been "good actors" will be allowed to keep their patios open until September 30th.
Nothing but politics as usual
That entire neighborhood collectively dropped their Zubaz
And let the city and state know how they weren't gonna abide by any covid restrictions. Public health be damned.
A couple of them even parlayed that into a litte cult like twitter following of like-minded tanned cabbage heads.
So if you expect any rational person to have one iota of sympathy for that perpetually obstinate little corner of our town then you've got a lot of learning to do.
Sympathy has nothing to do with it
A political leader is going after “certain groups”
"blindly support their policies"
What does this even mean? If you don't comply with a policy set by the authority that has jurisdiction, should you not face consequences for it?
I've been blindly supporting the government policy against committing murder my entire life, should I have made my own decisions on the topic instead?
She’s going after certain groups
She is going after the people that did not vote for her and those who have the nerve to speak up in public if they disagree. She is literally holding grudges and making people pay with their wallets or civil liberties. It’s all very petty. And political.
Alright, that claim
requires some support. Some serious support.
It’s in the news almost every day
See attempting to shrink available protest hours and attempting to fine only the Italians in the North End. Plenty of restaurants were not “good actors.” She knows this group as a whole didn’t vote for her and currently do not support her and she is going after them. Similar to the people protesting outside her home.
It does not exemplify strong leadership and is petty.
Huh?
Are non-Italian restaurants in the North End exempt from the regulations?
And how can you support her claim that such people did not vote for her? Every voting precinct that makes up the North End went to Wu, did it not? https://www.wbur.org/news/2021/11/04/boston-mayoral-election-results-pre...
They did yes
They were split 50/50 or 60/40. The rest of the city districts she won were more like 75/25 give or take.
It is a district with about a 40% Italian population and many Italian owned restaurants.
No, non-Italian restaurants are not exempt.
Places like China House Restaurant or Legal Seafoods also have to pay. Indirect casualties to political policies.
She's politically punishing the
North End, where she won every precinct, because she didn't win it as overwhelmingly as some other neighborhoods she also won?
I guess by that logic, she must really be sticking to South Boston, where she actually lost a lot of precincts. (Hold on, getting new information: that is not remotely happening.)
What a strange world you live in.
She’s absolutely sticking it to the North End
We aren’t talking about South Boston. There is also plenty of time to go after other political opponents. Hopefully she doesn’t continue her trend.
Did you just move here?
The North End has done a bang up job sticking it to themselves.
No
I have lived in Boston for decades. Centuries if you want to get technical.
I saw many restaurants throughout the pandemic that were not perfectly following the rules. Many places with people too close to each other, no masks, etc. The only difference is they didn’t try and unite with other restaurants nearby to make a big stink and draw attention.
This is 100% politics.
Bostonperson, are you any relation to….
… NotfromBoston?
It’s just that your obsession brings to mind their motorcade posts.
Just responding to people with questions
No relation
What?
How does addressing the concerns of local residents,who have some reason to complain that the restaurants got a pretty sweet deal at their expense last year, constitute “sticking it to the North End?”
Here’s more support from Boston.com
Other changes to expect in the North End
The new fee, however, is not the only change the North End will see this year as outdoor dining starts up again.
Outdoor dining in the North End will have a shorter season than other neighborhoods.
The program will launch on May 1, instead of the April 1 start date in other areas. Romano said the program will wrap up on Sept. 5 for “bad actors,” while restaurants who comply with city regulations can have the potential to continue outside operations until Sept. 30, although that’s still well before the end for the rest of the city’s eateries in December.
And the new end date is also well before North End restaurants packed up their tables and chairs last year, on Nov. 1 — one month before the rest of the city.
Is the $7,500 per year, or
Is the $7,500 per year, or one-time?
"market garage rate"
What is the market car storage rate on the street that this is addressing?
Keep up! This is about
Keep up! This is about outdoor dining, sheesh!
Way to punish family
Way to punish family restaurants to insure only chains can survive.
Not enough money
and they should do this across the City. These businesses got a free ride the last 2 years and ch3ck their tax filings, nobody lost money during the pandemic.
"Nobody [in the restaurant business] lost
money during the pandemic"? You are disconnected from reality.