2008 Woodie Awards
For the Common, man?
Parks Department calls for regulation of Boston Common use, a move some activists decry as constrictive.
Marc Larocque
Issue date: 3/27/08 Section: City Pulse
Boston Parks commissioner Antonia Pollak suggested last week that large grass-trampling gatherings should no longer be allowed on Boston Common, but should instead be held on the concrete-clad City Hall Plaza.
This came during a public hearing March 19, the first for the newly instated Special Committee on Boston Common, composed of City Councilors Mike Ross, Bill Linehan and Sal LaMattina.
The committee also discussed other issues like reducing property crimes and increasing drug arrests. Councilor Ross suggested commercial revenue could increase for abutting business with a lift on an alcohol prohibition placed on the area.
The proposed regulation of use of the Common, however, was a prominent issue discussed in local media, where city park officials and the Special Committee on Boston Common were urged to preserve the Common as a venue for freedom of expression and protest, for which it has been historically used.
Martin Luther King Jr. made a famous speech on the Common in 1965 after he led 22,000 people to the green in a rally starting in Roxbury. In the '60s, the Vietnam War drew tens of thousands out to demonstrate. Last year, the public grounds were host to scores of Darfur activists and antiwar protesters.
But Parks Department officials were quick to clarify claims that civil liberties would be stifled.
"This has nothing to do with free speech or antiwar protesters," Pollak said in an e-mail to The News. "In fact, there is an area specifically zoned for that purpose below the State House that requires no permit. That is also the most popular location for these groups due to its proximity to the State House. In fact, there were two rallies there this week, one both pro and con regarding casinos."
Unless the organizers of one of these events want to bring heavy staging and machinery onto the Common they will not be affected, she said.
At the meeting, the committee heard testimony from residents of the area who mentioned "concert-like" events such as Hempfest, the gay pride celebration and Shakespeare on the Common that brought in noise, litter and destroyed the turf.
This came during a public hearing March 19, the first for the newly instated Special Committee on Boston Common, composed of City Councilors Mike Ross, Bill Linehan and Sal LaMattina.
The committee also discussed other issues like reducing property crimes and increasing drug arrests. Councilor Ross suggested commercial revenue could increase for abutting business with a lift on an alcohol prohibition placed on the area.
The proposed regulation of use of the Common, however, was a prominent issue discussed in local media, where city park officials and the Special Committee on Boston Common were urged to preserve the Common as a venue for freedom of expression and protest, for which it has been historically used.
Martin Luther King Jr. made a famous speech on the Common in 1965 after he led 22,000 people to the green in a rally starting in Roxbury. In the '60s, the Vietnam War drew tens of thousands out to demonstrate. Last year, the public grounds were host to scores of Darfur activists and antiwar protesters.
But Parks Department officials were quick to clarify claims that civil liberties would be stifled.
"This has nothing to do with free speech or antiwar protesters," Pollak said in an e-mail to The News. "In fact, there is an area specifically zoned for that purpose below the State House that requires no permit. That is also the most popular location for these groups due to its proximity to the State House. In fact, there were two rallies there this week, one both pro and con regarding casinos."
Unless the organizers of one of these events want to bring heavy staging and machinery onto the Common they will not be affected, she said.
At the meeting, the committee heard testimony from residents of the area who mentioned "concert-like" events such as Hempfest, the gay pride celebration and Shakespeare on the Common that brought in noise, litter and destroyed the turf.
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