More than 100 Boston streets go car-free for Halloween. The council has not yet voted on the $25,000 grant for party stipends

More than 100 residential streets across Boston are closed to through traffic this Halloween weekend, Friday through Sunday, for trick-or-treating and block parties. Mayor Michelle Wu announced the Spooky Streets closures on Friday (city release). Each closure runs on a Play Street Permit, which lets residents close their block to cars for a gathering. The city posted an interactive map of every approved street at boston.gov/spooky-streets, so families can plan routes, the Dorchester Reporter reported.

"Some of our most cherished childhood memories come from knocking on doors with friends," Wu said in the release. The city says it has also made block party permits faster to get. Residents can now have potluck food, tables and chairs and 10-by-10 tents without extra permits.

The release says the nonprofit Elevate Cities provided $25,000 so residents can get grants of up to $500 for Halloween, fall and harvest block parties.

What our records add

The grant order is still in committee. On Sept. 21, Wu sent the council an order to accept and spend a $25,000 Elevate Cities grant, run by the Mayor's Office, "to support the neighborhood block party/community activation stipends and the Good Neighbor Day event" (docket 1788; order). Under section 53A of chapter 44 of state law, a city needs its council's approval to accept and spend a grant like this one. Wu's letter asks the council to act "expeditiously." The clerk read it into the record on Sept. 23 (watch at 1:04:35), and it went to the Committee on City Services, which City Councilor Ed Flynn chairs. It has been there 38 days with no hearing or report.

Our records do not show whether this weekend's stipends are paid from that grant, from partner money already in hand or from another source. The city's release does not say.

Why outside money. The city stopped paying for these grants from its own budget this year. At an April 28 Ways and Means hearing, an official from the Office of Civic Organizing told councilors that its grants, including the Spooky Streets and summer block party grants, had been cut (watch at 1:33:59). Earlier in the hearing, councilors were told that block party grants would come from "partnerships," not the operating budget (1:19:25). The next day, Ways and Means Chair Benjamin Weber told the full council the office would look to private funders for the summer block party and Spooky Streets grants (watch at 58:23).

The council's earlier vote. At the same April 29 meeting, Flynn and City Councilor Erin Murphy asked the council to back ending summer block party grants. Their resolution said the operating budget should go to basic services during "challenging economic times." It failed 3-9. FitzGerald, Flynn and Murphy voted yes, and City Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune was absent (docket 0879). In the debate, Weber said he had been told no city money would go to that summer's block parties and that the next year's grants would come from partnerships and private grants (watch at 3:26:47).

The South Boston party. On Oct. 28, Flynn and Murphy filed a hearing order on how the city approved a city-funded block party in South Boston that was promoted online to a large audience (docket 2047). It went to City Services too. Our earlier story has the details.

What's next

The closures end Sunday, Nov. 1. The grant order stays in City Services until the committee reports it back to the full council, which next meets Nov. 4 at noon. A committee can also bring a grant to a vote without a hearing.