The following incident report is courtesy of District A-1 Boston Police:
Larceny
01/16/16 ~ 7:00am – 11:00am
A female victim reports that she was having maintenance work done in her Cooper Street basement apartment, when she returned her Comcast modem was missing from the apartment.
Vandalism
01/24/16 ~ 2:00pm – 7:45am
Victim reports that he parked his 2012 Toyota Tacoma on Endicott Street, an unknown person used a sharp object to scratch the hood, right fender, and left rear door. The suspect left a note under the windshield wiper that he had shoveled out the spot and that was the reason for the damage.
I am not condoning vandalizing somebody’s car, but when will some people learn the unwritten rule of city parking during snow storms. If somebody shovels out a spot I never ever think about taking it, whether I am in the north end, east boston, south boston, wherever. It is an unwritten rule that most people are aware of.
anthony – there is a person on my street who always puts a cone in a handicap space (for the record, his parents are handicap, but the driver clearly is not). one day, another handicap person moved the cone and parked in the space only to have all four of his or her tires slashed. i have a strong suspicion who did it. do you think that handicap person deserved to have his or her tires slashed? did that handicap person also break one of your unwritten rules? i bet i already know the answer.
Anthony, vandalism is Never justified.This ignorant practice needs to stop.A person was shot the other day over a “space saver incident. last winter an elderly man was beaten over a spot.Is the Mayor waiting for someone to be killed?The policy of the city is that a snow emergency must be declared before people can “claim’ a spot.Both you & I know that there was only 4 or 5 inches of snow last weekend & we both know that some people reserve a spot by placing an object on the street before a snowflake hits the ground. No one has a right to vandalize a persons property.
I do not believe in vandalism or violence. I would never vandalize somebodys car. I stated that clearly. There was no official snow emergency so this has nothing to do with the city or laws. IMO it has to do with common sense. As I stated earlier, if I am driving in East Boston and I see a shoveled out spot I do not take it. I know somebody probably spent hours cleaning it out and they deserve it for a day or so. I also know that something may happen to my car and I really dont need that aggravation. Common sense goes a long way.
They bottom line is that people in this neighborhood have no respect for others!!! If I see a spot being saved I don’t care if it’s the middle of the summer I don’t move it because someone may be in a jam and need a spot. People who don’t respect others deserve what they get. This person couldn’t drive around for 10 minutes and a find another spot???
vito – i am sorry, but your comment is a poor attempt to defend entitlement as opposed to promoting respect. a person thinking they have exclusive use of a public parking space is disrespecting everyone else in the community. the message in your comment exemplifies one of the major problems in this neighborhood.
Vito & Anthony, I’m old school & know the deal .There are some other “unwritten{ rules” here. If you see someone committng a crime or dealing dope in broad daylight your supposed to keep your mouth shut & look the other way.
Having respect for others means having respect for the law also. Space savers are for 48 hours only, and only in a snow emergency. We’ve hadly had any snow at all. But I pay to garage my car in winter months because I am afraid of parking anywhere. It’s ridiculous, everyone on the street has shoveled out a space somewhere. Parking shouldn’t be any different from the rest of the year, but it can’t be because of these stupid, unlawful “rules.” And the entitled idiots who insist on following them. I often chuckle at the number of churches in the North End. Such a pious lot, but WWJD? He sure would not condone keying cars! Share the streets, please.
The space saver logic is backwards and needs to stop. Space saving is illegal. True, the City turns a blind eye during a snow emergency, but that backwards thinking needs to change.
Anthony’s concept of “common sense” is backwards. Common sense is to NOT save a spot in the first place.
The unwritten rule should be NOT to save a spot in the first place. The unwritten rule should be to move cones and savers if you see them. The unwritten rule should be that nobody owes you anything, even if you spent hours shoveling a spot out. The WRITTEN rule (i.e., the law) is that citizens do now own the street and therefore cannot save spots. It’s too bad the Mayor does not have a backbone to do away with the silly “spot saving rule” and have the guts to enforce the law. It’s obvious that urban blight perpetuates due to this silly, small-minded rule. The South End is a good role model, they’ve instituted a program of no spot saving.
Vito’s concept of respect is backwards – you respect your neighbors by NOT saving a spot (and then being away all day). You respect your neighbors by not being selfish.
I never said I created the “rule”, I never even said I agree or like the rule, I only said that it is common sense that the “rule” exists in most boston neighborhoods. It most likely exists inmost neighborhoods in the northeast effected by snow.
When you move somebodys spot saver, right or wrong, you are taking a well known risk that your car will be vandalized. I personally do not want to take that risk.If you want to go on a crusade and move peoples spot savers and park in the spot then you have the right to do that, but there is a risk when doing that. Learning from last winter it can snow quite often, that is a lot of trips to the auto body shop!!!!!!!
Anthony – correct, when someone moves a spot they are taking a risk. But this shouldn’t be the case and such a risk should not even exist. It’s an upside down situation. This practice has gone on far too long and City Hall is hugely responsible for allowing it to perpetuate. The “rule” states that savers are allowed to remain up to 48 hours after a snow emergency is lifted. Aside from the fact that this “rule” violates the written law, we have all seen people put out savers before the snow even starts, and then keep savers on the street several days after the grace period ends (which is sometimes more than a week after the 48 hour period ends). It’s abuse of a rule that is a farce to begin with.
I understand your point, really I do. And I’m not criticizing you personally. It’s the whole mentality of the situation and engrained practice that have to change, and unless City Hall takes action to set things straight then nothing will ever really change.
I don’t care if the city does away with the rule or not… Don’t move my spot saver or else!!!!
Thanks, Vito, for helping me make my point that this is the exact attitude that needs to change 🙂
If I follow Anthony’s “rule” & backwards logic it would be ok to beat someone with a baseball bat if someone caught a person vandalizing their car or property.Spare me the BS about respect.
First of all it is not “Anthony’s rule”. I didn’t invent it, I have never enforced it, and I never stated that I even agree with it. However, this “rule” is well know around the city of Boston and has been for generations. When you move a spot saver after somebody shovels out a parking spot(A task that can be quite difficult in the city) you take the RISK that somebody may do something to your car. If you want to take that risk then that is up to you. The world isn’t always a fair place.
Once again, do you see why Property owners should have cameras on buildings, Especially when
these type of crimes take place. The City should make this MANDATORY, and it just may make
life less complicated for all of us. They also have Car Cameras that record, not only when driving
but while the car is parked. Remember, if it wasn’t for Lord & Taylor’s Cameras we might have
not found out who the Terrorist were during the Boston Marathon Bombing. Cameras might not stop all
crime, but it will leave one hell of a DENT, and possibly slow down crime.
The “space saver” situation could be resolved as Franky wrote earlier with some leadership fro Walsh & City Hall[don’t hold your breath waiting}.Yesterday I took advantage of the mild weather & no NFL to walk the neighborhood, my observations? parts of the NE are filthy the Prado or as I always called it the Parado was a disgrace & it’s been this way for too long. There was dog crap, vomit, dirt a green [filled ] trash bag left on the ground by the filthy fountain directly next to a trash receptacle that was empty.Loose or missing bricks everywhere. At Columbus park I found similar conditions, dogs running amok unleashed & mounds of salt from the storm of over a week ago at the base of the CC statue & the stairs.These are two places that attract tourists from all over the country & world & should be showcased but are left in deplorable condition. WHY.
Deplorable conditions? this sounds a little exaggerated. For a neighborhood in the middle of the city I feel the North End is very clean. Do you expect the city to clean every piece of dog poo in every single park? I always see city clean up crews in the parks, they usually do a good job. Maybe you saw it a little more messy because it was right after a Saturday night and crews probably didn’t get to it yet, I feel like the neighborhood has made some great improvements with Mayor Walsh.
As for the space saver rule, I find it unfair to put the blame on Mayor Walsh, or any other mayor for that matter. There is only so much a mayor can do regarding these instances,. The city of Boston is a big city with a lot greater problems than a car being keyed. Do you expect the city to send out special patrols to stop an occasional car being keyed? We need to be realistic. If somebody is caught vandalizing they will be charged according to the law.
How can someone who no longer lives in the North End comment about how clean or dirty the neighborhood is now? MIchael is not exaggerating. It is filthy. Nobody expects the CITY to clean up the dog crap but everyone (except the dog owners who leave the mess) expects that dog owners will pick up their dogs crap from the sidewalks and the parks and throw it in the trash. The streets are littered with little plastic bags full of dog crap and trash bags that people throw out whenever the mood strikes them instead of the night before or early morning of trash pick up day. As to space savers after a snow emergency, Mayor Walsh relaxed the rules last winter and saying that it is OK to key a car or otherwise vandalize it because someone parked in a space that was being saved when there was NO SNOW EMERGENCY and was therefore illegal is total BS.
Of course the city is not going to increase police patrols to prevent cars from being keyed. But there should be zero tolerance for space savers, year round. Trash collection contractors, parks department employees, and even police on normal patrols should be instructed to remove of them at first sight. It’s simple to toss an errant traffic cone (likely stolen from NSTAR in the first place) into the trunk of a car or back of a truck, and then dispose of it in a city owned dumpster.
Space savers are a scourge on the neighborhood.
We don’t live in Southie. There was 3 inches of snow. How much shoveling was there?
Brian – yes the Mayor can only do so much but the reality is he (and former mayors) did nothing but reinforce the ridiculous rule. So, yes, the Mayor has to take a lot of blame for the current state of affairs surrounding space saving. He continues to enable it. I look forward to the day when someone of authority has the backbone to do the right thing, rather than simply pander.
Brian, judging from your comments & defense of Walsh I’m wondering if you are a city employee.Much of Boston is filthy compared to other major cities & on the space saver issue your missing the point the city does not have to send out special police patrols a law must be put in place & of course the public must be notified that if they continue to place objects on the street DPW trucks & workers which the city has plenty will pick up & dispose the objects.Other major cities have much harsher winters than Boston but does not have this moronic policy where some people think that they own the streets.
Being favorable of mayor Walsh makes me a city worker? To be honest I don’t even vote. If you must know I actually work for a private insurance company, but that’s neither here nor there.
I am not sure where you get your information but compared to most cities its size Boston is grade A. Once again I do not work for the city, but to call the sanitation of the Boston deplorable, especially the north end, is crazy. We are better than a lot of major cities with crime, poverty, and property. By your description you would think we live in Flint Michigan!
I don’t know what their drinking in Flint Michigan bot I know your drinking the Mayor Walsh & the equally incompetent & incoherent Police Commissioner”s Kool aid. A man was shot & nearly killed after the storm over a space saver & if you think the City of Boston is safe take a stroll thru the Common &/or The Public Gardens ,downtown Boston or the T stations.
Every major city has areas that may not be the most safe. That’s part of city living. But compared to other major cities Boston is by far one of the safest. Our crime rate is far lower than nyc, Baltimore, Chicago, Atlanta, I could go on and on. I’m not drinking any kool aid just providing facts that this city is not “deplorable” and actually in good shape.
Brian , it isn’t fair comparing Boston to other cities.Boston is a relatively small city & this may not be politically correct but Boston doesn’t have the huge minority inner cities like Baltimore, Chicago or Atlanta.So crime statistics are not the issue here.Walk the streets of Boston particularly City hall Plaza, the courthouse near North station & I guarantee that you will find a beggar on every corner & intersection, or in front of businesses verbally & sometimes physically abusing customers who do not put $ in their collection cups.Winos sharing a jug in a paper bag , junkies, people sleeping in the streets right in City Hall Plaza.Trash, broken bottles & of course dog crap. Maybe you see a Boston through rose colored glasses that I don’t see. My last comment on space saver’s is how can a policy or “unwritten rule” that is based on fear, threats [that we have read here] & intimidation be allowed?
I do not see Boston through rose colored glasses. I am just realistic. You cannot expect Boston to be spotless. No major city will completely get rid of homeless, drug addicts, and dog poop. There is not a city in the USA that doesn’t not have these problems.
BRIAN M. I don’t care about other cities & I have been in other cities across the country & I have
also been to other cities out of the Country. I am not talking about HOMELESS, DRUG ADDICTS &
DOG POOP, even though there is not excuse for someone not to pick up their DOG POOP. The
City expects Landlords to clean their gutters, the gutters belong to the City not the Landlords.
We have more rats than I have ever seen in my life due to the fact there are so many restaurants in
such a very small area, why would these rats ever leave? The trash outside of the Buildings, trash
in the gutters, positively & absolutely NO EXCUSES. The City is NOT following up with
ENFORCEMENT. The new thing is people park their cars on the street, and 2 tires remain on the
sidewalk. Brian, needless to say, this City of ours is on an ALL TIME HIGH, buildings are going up
everywhere. Why should Hanover St., parts of Salem & Prince St. be the only streets that get
cleaned. The people that live in these problem buildings are PIGS, and are contributing to our
rodent problem by putting their trash out whenever & wherever they want. There was a gentlemen
who came in from another part of the country Menino hired & he was at a meeting & couldn’t get over
how filthy the Haymarket Area was, he didn’t last long. He could have had great solutions but if
you don’t follow-up and there is no fines issued for these violators, what good is it. The problems
have been going on for far too long, and I blame the City for not doing their job. Some of the
Societies in the No. End have hired prisoners to clean our streets, why isn’t that happening?
It is for FREE. I am not talking Murderers, Rapists, Child Molesters, or Bank Robbers. The
Seaport is clean & always has the best Snow Removal. Are you trying to tell me they can’t afford
to do this for the rest of the City? Real Estate is at an all time High & real estate taxes with it.
Where the hell is the money going? I don’t want to leave out another major issue, ABSENTEE
LANDLORDS, their buildings are CASH COWS & most of them live in the Burbs & could careless
about our streets. Now Brian, let us call an Ace an Ace & a Spade a Spade. This is the results
of no Enforcement, and Fines not high enough to Shake these Landlords up. Brian are you aware
of the Handicap Restaurant that is No longer Handicap & the Lies that went along with this &
City Workers saying they were never Handicap. Lies & corruption go hand & hand. You are
witnessing it first hand. I can’t be bought off and the Truth always comes out. Brian for your
information you can eat off of the streets of Switzerland, and I am sure the residents have a big
role in that. ‘By the way Brian, are you aware of the Payoffs people are getting? I am not
exaggerating, I am being truthful & so realistic.
Pretty sure this conversation has been going on for a very long time. Seems that it would be beneficial to start some sort of neighborhood initiative? I recall a while ago a family cleaned up the alleyway over on commercial street (there as a post here about it), and in the spring time, there are a few neighborhood cleanups. I feel like more events or groups like these, potentially sponsored by college aged students living in the North End for example would help out.
Generally instead of arguing, why not focus on some of the good that has been done in the past and what can be done in similar fashion in the future.
Greg. You are so right. I guess we are lucky they pick our trash up on Mon. & Fri., and we have street cleaning from April-
November. There are other countries that are not as fortunate as we are, but with the revenue brought in by both City and
State, and the rents people are paying, and the prices people are paying for condos, I think we deserve clean streets all
year round. I mean no disrespect Greg, I just call it the way I see it. Thank you for your positive outlook and I hope
somebody out there hears you, or I should say, sees your comment.
A couple of points Boston has been rated one of the most unfriendliest cities for handicap accessory.Dog crap is a delicacy for rats ,and yes Joan their are some PIGS! LIVING HERE. On Christmas eve on Hanover St. & Charter before the coffee shop a resident apparently was going away for the holidays & probably did not want to leave their trash in their apt. left 5 or 6 bags of trash right on the sidewalk knowing the next Day was Christmas & their certainly would not be a trash pickup. Of course all cities deal with drunks, junkies & homeless but what I described takes place in City Hall Plaza & the courthouse.There was even a uniformed on duty police officer assaulted in his cruiser in City Hall Plaza.
MICHAEL, Thank you so much for sharing that information, because I am certainly not exaggerating
when I say how filthy our streets are, and there is no NEED OF IT. The Trash Violations are a Joke.
The trash in the north end has gotten 10x worse over the last year. One of the problems is the scavengers. Seems like they rip open every garbage bag regardless if they think they are going to get their precious can or not. I have seen many garbage men just leave the trash as it spills out the bottom of the bag. It’s got to suck for them but it’s still their job to pick it up. As for the parking vandalism. It’s amazing that a grown adult can destroy someone’s belongings or physically hurt someone because they got their feelings hurt over a parking spot. Unwritten rule or not grow up. My car was keyed because i was parked by a motorcycle. After they left I guess it looked like I was taking up two spots so some nice neighbor keyed my hood and both sides of my car. Simply ridiculous.
anon, agree w/you 100% on both issues the biggest problem in this city is that there is very little [if any] enforcement of anything.