NorthEndWaterfront.com
News & Views for Boston's North End & Waterfront Community
A Superior Court judge denied a preliminary injunction requested by Boston by Segway (BBS) against a 2011 City of Boston ordinance that regulates Segway tours in the city. The ordinance was championed by District 1 City Councilor Sal LaMattina (North End, Charlestown, East Boston) in response to complaints about the safety issues related to Segways [...]
We last left the Doc’s Long Wharf case in Superior Court where a case review hearing was held in early May to consider issues previously remanded by the higher Supreme Judicial Court. At hand is (1) whether the North End citizens group (aka, North End Ten) have “standing” as plaintiffs, (2) an amended complaint by [...]
The Long Wharf legal case comes back to Superior Court this week. The action follows a March 2013 Supreme Judicial Court ruling against a North End citizens group arguing for open space protection, under Article 97. The ruling supported a 2007 Boston Redevelopment Authority lease for “Doc’s Long Wharf,” a proposed 4,655 square-foot waterfront restaurant [...]
Louis Costa will not receive a third trial in the 1986 double murder case where the bodies of Frank Chiuchiolo and Joseph Bottari were found in the North End’s Slye Park (now known as Copp’s Hill Terrace Park), according to a ruling Thursday by Massachusetts Supreme Court Judicial Court Judge Robert Mulligan. Last year, the the double [...]
An update on the disputes surrounding the Segway tour company at 420 Commercial St., Boston by Segway (formerly Boston Gliders), is featured in the March 18th Boston Globe. After numerous fines and violations of the city ordinance with back and forth lawsuits, the company voes to keep fighting: The company’s defiant frontman Allan Danley said [...]
A legal fight that started in 2007 over Long Wharf neared its conclusion on Friday as the Supreme Judicial Court rejected the open space and park protection arguments of a North End citizens group, paving the way for a restaurant or development at the site. The SJC supported the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) and Mass. [...]
Patricia Cornwell, celebrity crime writer and Battery Wharf resident in the North End / Waterfront, came out on the winning side of her own personal adventure. On Tuesday, she was awarded $50.9 million by a federal court jury against her former financial manager, Evan Snapper and his company, Anchin, Block & Anchin LLP. (Read the [...]
A Boston Municipal Court set bail at $5,000 today and ordered alleged church burglar, Richard Shiner, to stay away from St. Leonard Church in Boston’s North End. The Suffolk District Attorney’s office recommended $15,000 cash bail and an order to stay out of the entire North End, pending trial. Seen on video surveillance at St. [...]
There are some new developments in the Long Wharf legal case as the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) considers its decision over the next few months (See Case Docket). Oral arguments were heard last month in the environmental-protection and constitutional case of Sanjoy Mahajan et al. (i.e., aka “North End Ten“) vs. the Boston Redevelopment [...]
The drum of amicus briefs to the Supreme Judicial Court continues to beat in favor of the case put forth by ten North End residents to preserve the end of Long Wharf as an open park, under the protection of Article 97 in the Massachusetts Constitution. The case revolves around efforts since 2008 by the [...]
The Conservation Law Foundation has intervened in the Long Wharf legal battle to keep the open space as a park instead of a private restaurant under State law. On behalf of four environmental groups, CLF filed an amicus brief in support of the “North End Ten” versus the Boston Redevelopment Authority and Department of Environmental [...]
The battle lines continue to form over the fate of the Long Wharf Pavilion and the open space around it at the end of the historic wharf. On September 20, 2012, the latest reply briefs to the Supreme Judicial Court were filed by the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the State’s Department of Environmental Protection. The [...]
The Sierra Club has filed an amicus brief in support of the “North End Ten” regarding the Long Wharf legal case versus the Boston Redevelopment Authority and Department of Environmental Protection. The case revolves around efforts by the BRA and DEP to license “Doc’s Long Wharf,” a private restaurant and bar at the end of [...]
A boat named “Equity” docked at the Boston Waterfront Marina adjacent to Long Wharf went on fire twice Saturday afternoon. As shown in the photos, the damage appeared relatively minor with some burn marks on the side of the boat. Nearby boats were not evacuated although observers say there was a large response by the [...]
Plaintiff and defendant legal briefs were recently filed with the Supreme Judicial Court in preparation for an epic and precedent setting battle set to erupt this Autumn over Long Wharf “park,” the open space area at the eastern end of Boston’s famous Long Wharf pavilion on Boston Harbor. The SJC is scheduled to hear oral [...]
by Thomas F. Schiavoni Since 1989 an inscribed bronze plaque, embedded in granite beneath a towering flagpole, has clearly established the identity of a magnificent public space on Boston’s waterfront. Long Wharf Park offers panoramic views and serenity at the edge of the sea – a stone toss away from a bustling hotel, commuter boats [...]
If you are confused about whether the Segway tour vehicles legally belong in the street or on the sidewalk, you are not alone. About a month ago, the Mayor signed off on new regulations unanimously passed by the City Council banning Segway tours from sidewalks and parks. The rules would relegate Segway tours to the [...]
This January, Patron Spirits (Patron tequila) is teaming up with City Hall to target underage drinking. The North End is among the areas being targeted to communicate the message not to provide alcohol to minors. Above is one of the billboards that will be going up around town.
Chief Operating Officer John McDonnell is also a North End resident. Patron Spirits was recently a major sponsor of the gala fundraiser for Friends of Christopher Columbus Park.
A group of ten local residents challenging plans to locate a restaurant on the end of Long Wharf won the first series of court motions against the City and State. The court denied dismissal motions by the City’s Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) and the State’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Notifications of the court rulings [...]
In a legal filing to the Massachusetts Superior Court, a group of ten North End/Waterfront residents have turned to the court to challenge a proposed restaurant at the end of Long Wharf. Potential issues raised by the residents include excessive noise, damage to public open space/parkland and impairment of scenic quality on the wharf. In [...]
North End reporter, Fredda Hollander, lost her appeal to the Mass. Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) to dismiss a defamation lawsuit made against her by Steven Fustolo, a North End developer. Hollander sought protection under the Massachusetts anti‑SLAPP statute (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) which allows a party to have a case dismissed at an early [...]
The decision came down Friday to deny a challenge by local residents to stop a restaurant at the far end of Long Wharf, known as “Doc’s Long Wharf.” The action was taken by the State’s Department of Environment Protection (DEP) as it considered the residents’ challenge to the license it previously granted to the Boston [...]
The American Civil Liberties Union issued the following press release today in support of Fredda Hollander and her appeal that will be heard by the Supreme Justice Court on Monday, November 2, 2009. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………. SJC to Weigh Case on Rights of Journalists and Community Activists ACLU supports reporter’s appeal, argues community journalists should be protected [...]