Flynn seeks hearing on how a City Point block party got its permit

A block party on O Street in City Point has turned into a question for the whole City Council: who decides when a residential street can be closed for an event, and how are neighbors told?

On Friday, Oct. 23, City Councilor Ed Flynn asked Boston police to cancel the permit for a Saturday event called Good Neighbor Cafe, Caught in Southie reported. The organizer, a social media influencer, planned to turn the block into a pop-up cafe with free coffee and bagels, live music and local vendors, and said online that the city had approved the permits and that 200 to 300 people were expected.

In a letter to Police Commissioner Michael Cox, Flynn raised concerns about crowd size, parking, emergency vehicle access and whether neighbors got enough notice, the outlet reported. He also questioned the use of city grant money. The event was funded through the city's fall block party grant program, which offers up to $500 per event and is supported by a $25,000 contribution from the nonprofit Elevate Cities, according to the same report. The exact grant amount was not confirmed. As of that report, the event was still on.

If you live on a side street, this is about your block too: the same permit and grant process applies to any neighborhood gathering.

The new hearing order

Flynn has now filed an order for a hearing on the city's decision-making and permitting process for the event (docket 2047). It is on the agenda for the council's Wednesday, Oct. 28 meeting.

The order says the event was promoted to more than 125,000 online followers, well beyond the neighborhood, and that there was no signage notifying neighbors at least 48 hours ahead. It says residents raised concerns about a city street closure being promoted by a for-profit business and about public grant money potentially supporting commercial interests. It asks the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services and the Boston Police Department to explain how applications are evaluated, how neighbors are notified and what safety measures apply when an event could draw a large crowd.

What our records show

This is not the first time the council has debated block party money.

On April 29, Flynn and City Councilor Erin Murphy brought a resolution to eliminate the city's summer block party grants (docket 0879). It failed 3-9:

• Yes (3): John FitzGerald, Ed Flynn and Erin Murphy.
• No (9): Liz Breadon, Gabriela Coletta Zapata, Miniard Culpepper, Sharon Durkan, Julia Mejia, Enrique Pepén, Henry Santana, Benjamin Jacob Weber and Brian Worrell.
• Absent (1): Ruthzee Louijeune.

Flynn told colleagues the city was offering $750 grants for summer block parties and argued Boston could not keep paying for parties while cutting special education and teachers (watch at 3:14:57). Murphy said the vote was about sending a message to residents facing rising taxes, not a judgment that block parties lack value (3:29:19). City Councilor Enrique Pepén said a hearing had shown the grants were paid for by outside partners and private grants, not the city's operating budget, Caught in Southie reported at the time.

A day earlier, at a Ways and Means budget hearing, an Office of Civic Organizing official told councilors that the office's grants, including block party grants and the "spooky streets" grants, had been cut (watch at 1:33:59). Figures given at the hearing put the cut at $60,000 for summer block party grants and $10,000 for spooky streets (1:46:34). That is consistent with the fall program now running on outside money, as the city described it.

Two more South Boston orders

Flynn filed two other South Boston hearing orders for the same meeting: one on the city's process for building and then removing a bike lane on O'Connor Way (docket 2048; see our story, Flynn wants answers on O'Connor Way bike lane), and one on public safety and quality of life in Andrew Square, Fort Point, Broadway and Carson Beach (docket 2049).

What's next

New hearing orders are usually referred to a committee at the meeting where they are introduced. Once a hearing is scheduled, it will appear on the city's public notices page, and video and transcripts will follow on our meetings page.