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2024 Boys Tennis All-Scholastics and League All-Stars

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2024 Boys Tennis All-Scholastics and League All-Stars


BOYS TENNIS

Lucas Bikkesbakker (Concord-Carlisle)

Kiran Bhatia (Brookline)

Ravin Bhatia (Brookline)

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Tucker Catalano (Duxbury)

Peter Chen (Weston)

John DeAngelis (St. John’s Prep)

Dillon Denny-Brown (Bedford)

Deven Devaiah (Brookline)

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John Dickens (Milton)

Max Ding (Weston)

Mika Garber (Marblehead)

Boris Kouzimnov (St. John’s Prep)

Connor Liona (Westford Academy)

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Jack Prokopis (St. John’s Prep)

Luke Prokopis (St. John’s Prep)

Arvind Rajarajan (Lexington)

Evan Saptari (Lexington)

Lochlan Seth (Newton North)

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Bennett Stout (Duxbury)

Timothy Vargas (Duxbury)

HONORABLE MENTION

Oscar Andren (Haverhill)

Winston Chan (Brookline)

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Rishi Dasari (Acton-Boxboro)

Ben DiPesa (Scituate)

Luke Free (St. John’s Prep)

Luke Grief (Wakefield)

Neema Khosravani (Mansfield)

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Joe Krattenmaker (Hopkinton)

Charlie Lankow (Cohasset)

Saunak Manna (Westford Academy)

Jay Raj (Mystic Valley)

Charles Schepens (Swampscott)

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Parker Schultz (Hingham)

Ronak Wakhlu (Lexington)

Ethan Warhaftig (Hingham)

Julian Wong (Belmont)

 

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ALL-SCHOLASTICS

LUCAS BIKKESBAKKER

CONCORD-CARLISLE

The Dual County League Player of the Year went 16-1 playing at first singles during the season, giving him a career record of 41-9. The senior was a mainstay for Concord-Carlisle which went 14-4 and advanced to the Div. 1 state finals. He will play tennis and double major in economics and political science at Holy Cross.

KIRAN BHATIA

BROOKLINE

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The junior was 20-1 at first doubles and also won his only singles matches in helping his team advance to the Div. 1 state semifinals. For his career, Bhatia has a doubles record of 52-2. The two-time Bay State Conference All-Star was awarded the 2022 Jason Schreiber Award for Most Influential Freshman Athlete on the boys tennis team.

RAVIN BHATIA

BROOKLINE

A two-time Boston Herald All-Scholastic and Bay State Conference All-Star, Bhatia went 20-1 for a Brookline team that advanced to the Final Four in Div. 1. An excellent student with a 4.0 unweighted GPA, Bhatia’s long term goals are to study political science and journalism.

TUCKER CATALANO

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DUXBURY

The senior doubles specialist capped off a perfect career by going 21-0 including a deciding match victory in the Div. 1 state semifinal. Catalano ended his career by posting a 60-0 record. An excellent student, Catalano maintained a GPA of 4.05 or higher in each of his four years of high school. He will attend Connecticut College.

PETER CHEN

WESTON

The all-Dual County League performer earned his second straight All-Scholastic berth after posting a 13-0 record during the regular season, improving his career mark to 31-0. Chen competed in the inaugural USTA Massachusetts High School State Individual tournament, advancing to the second round.

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JOHN DEANGELIS

ST. JOHN’S PREP

The No. 1 player for the Div. 1 state champions was 18-3 on the season and reached the quarterfinals of the USTA Massachusetts High School State Individual tournament. The MVP of the Catholic Conference, the sophomore has lost just four matches in his career. He is a member of the Spanish National Honor Society.

DILLON DENNY-BROWN

BEDFORD

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The junior led Bedford to a 14-6 season and a berth in the Div. 3 state finals. Highly touted with a 7.2 Universal Tennis Rating, Denny-Brown reached the Round of 16 at the USTA Massachusetts High School State Individuals. His eventual aspirations are to play Div. 3 college tennis or Div. 1 at the club level.

DEVEN DEVAIAH

BROOKLINE

The No. 1 singles player for the perennial state tennis power helped Brookline reach the Div. 1 state semifinals. A former Boston Herald All-Scholastic, Devaiah has an unweighted 4.0 GPA in all honors and advanced classes. One of the top ranked players in the state, Devaiah is involved in USTA tennis.

JOHN DICKENS

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MILTON

The junior was nearly perfect during the regular season, going 15-0 and losing just one set in the process. The two-time Bay State Conference All-Star was MVP of the league’s Herget Division and team MVP for the second time. He has a career record of 48-3. An honor roll student, Dickens was the recipient of the Williams College Book Award in May.

MAX DING

WESTON

The senior was Dual County League Player of the Year after posting an 18-4 record at first singles for the Div. 3 state champions. A four-time Boston Herald All-Scholastic, Ding is a member of the National Honor Society and earned the Massachusetts State Seal of Biliteracy for proficiency in Latin. Ding will major in applied mathematics and finance at Washington University in St. Louis.

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MIKA GARBER

MARBLEHEAD

Garber battled through a hamstring injury to post a 15-2 record and helped the Magicians advance to the second round of the Div. 2 state tournament. The three-time Northeastern Conference MVP ended his career with a 60-9 mark, all coming at first singles. A high honors student with a 4.2 GPA, Garber will attend the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he will study computer science and play club tennis.

BORIS KOUZMINOV

ST. JOHN’S PREP

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The sophomore stepped up at first doubles, losing just one match as St. John’s Prep rolled to the Div. 1 state title. A high honors student, Kouzminov wants to become a professional in the field of dentistry. In the offseason, Kouzminov trains at Montoya Tennis.

CONNOR LIONA

WESTFORD ACADEMY

The winner of the first USTA Massachusetts High School State Individual tournament, Liona went 14-3 and earned MVP honors in the Dual County League. The three-time team captain ended his career with a 43-15 mark, all coming at first singles. A member of the National Honor Society, Liona will play college tennis at Sacred Heart University.

JACK PROKOPIS

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ST. JOHN’S PREP

The Catholic Conference All-Star posted a 20-2 mark in helping his Eagles win the Div. 1 title. A three-time league all-star, Prokopis has a career record of 56-9. He is a member of both the National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society and received an Academic Excellence Award in Religious Studies.

LUKE PROKOPIS

ST. JOHN’S PREP

Prokopis was outstanding at first doubles, posting a 20-1 record for an undefeated St. John’s Prep squad. The three-time Catholic Conference All-Star has an overall record of 54-6. A member of the National Honor Society and World Language Honor Society, Prokopis carries a 4.43 GPA.

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EVAN SAPTARI

LEXINGTON

A Middlesex League All-Star, the sophomore went 16-3 at first doubles as Lexington advanced to the Div. 1 state semifinals. The two-time honor roll student lists guitar, fishing, running, and skiing as his hobbies. Saptari trains in the offseason at the Thoreau Club.

LOCHLAN SETH

NEWTON NORTH

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The senior standout was one of the top players in the state, losing just one match during the season. The MVP of the Bay State Conference was a finalist at the USTA Massachusetts High School State Individuals. Ranked among the top three in New England and top-100 nationally, Seth will continue his tennis career at Colgate University.

BENJAMIN STOUT

DUXBURY

One of the premier doubles specialists in the state, Stout was undefeated at first doubles in helping Duxbury go 20-2 and advance to the Div. 2 state team finals. The junior trains in the offseason at the Weymouth Club.

TIMOTHY VARGAS

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DUXBURY

The MVP of the Patriot League as well as a league Scholar Award recipient, the junior played first singles for the eventual Div. 2 state finalists. An honor roll student, Vargas was a semifinalist at the USTA Massachusetts High School State Individuals and also won an L4 USTA clay court tournament.

 

LEAGUE ALL-STARS

BAY STATE CONFERENCE

John Dickens, Ethan Tran (Milton); Jack Rixner, Jack Wexler (Needham); Deven Devaiah, Winson Chan, Dhevin Nahata, Kiran Bhatia, Ravin Bhatia (Brookline); Lochlan Seth, Johnny Wastcoat, Warren Feldman (Newton North); Arthas Goutham, Griffin Jordan (Wellesley); Michael Boland, Stephen Jung (Walpole); Nadav Fuxman (Natick); Jordan Cohen (Framingham)

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MVP: John Dickens, Lochlan Seth

CAPE AND ISLANDS

ATLANTIC DIVISION: Zak Potter, Caleb Dubin, Otis Forrester, Kyle Levy, Tommy Flynn, Kert Kleeman (Martha’s Vineyard); Eric Arabadzhiev, Brennan Riley, Michael Higginbotham. Connor O’Reilly (Barnstable); Soren Jones Carlson, Salvi Cacciola (Nauset); Ryan Casey, Roman Pavluzhenko (Monomoy)

MVP: Zak Potter

LIGHTHOUSE DIVISION: Ben Catalano, Connor Hall, Garret Wilson, Ayden Naydenov (Cape Cod Academy); Henry Kathawala, Sam Iller, Fuller Holland (Nantucket); Colby Hall, Robert Muhov, Frandisco Garcia Raya, Thomas Nutbrown (Sturgis); Jack Flynn (Rising Tide); Ben Kowal (St. John Paul II)

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MVP: Ben Catalano

CAPE ANN LEAGUE

Max Clarke, Henry Stinson (Hamilton-Wenham); Roman Ton (North Reading); Dan Levin, Shea McCarthy, Russell Kasdon, Shlok Kudrimoti, Slate Lopilato, Kurt Rothermund, Matt Reinold (Lynnfield)

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Dan Levin, Max Clarke, Henry Stinson

CATHOLIC CENTRAL LEAGUE

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Max Comey, Kaya Yuceler, James Mallon, Nakul Bhatia, Casey Fennell (Bishop Feehan); Brian Ward, Thomas Clavell, Nicholas Hutchens, Noah Yetman (Bishop Stang); Sean Caldwell, Luke Nanopoulos, Gabriel Aljalian (Arlington Catholic); Steve Nason, Thomas Shea (St. Mary’s); Cole Schroeder (Bishop Fenwick)

MVP: Sean Caldwell

CATHOLIC CONFERENCE

John DeAngelis, Jack Prokopis, Luke Free, Luke Porkopis, Boris Kouzminov, Mark McDuffee, Alex Melville (St. John’s Prep); Chris Curran, Andrew Garofoli, Ethan Holson, Ryan Berns (BC High); Agam Kukreja, Andrew D’Angelo, Aarav Jain, Lukas Pannenborg (St. John’s Shrewsbury); Cam Peterson, Tripp Carven (Xaverian); Andrew Spagnuolo (Catholic Memorial); Nam Dinh, Matteo Peledge (Malden Catholic)

MVP: John DeAngelis

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COMMONWEALTH ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

CO-ED: Jess Campo, Isobel Callahan, Chloe Callahan, JC Luna, Brody Adkins, Aiden Gibson, Ethan King, Marc Taboucherani (Fellowship Academy); Annabel Senechiame, Julio Kuchuminski, Avery Dube, Sydney Geoffroy, Norah Rondeau, Abigail Honan, Luiggi Ferreira, Giovanni De Oliveira, Samuel Lucena (Greater Lowell); Katherine Xu (Mystic Valley); Riley Olsen, Khianna Ducharme (Nashoba Tech); Matt Cipriano, Victor Phan (Saugus/Northeast); Jasmine Johansen, Sarah Johansen, Ethan Hines, Faith Martin, Trevor Engel (Shawsheen)

DUAL COUNTY LEAGUE

ALL-CONFERENCE: Max Ding, Peter Chen (Weston), Lucas Bikkesbakker (Concord-Carlisle); Connor Liona, Saunak Manna (Westford Academy); Marti Sarquella, Rishi Dasari (Acton Boxboro); Dillon Denny-Brown (Bedford); Toby Kylberger (Wayland)

ALL-STARS: Jeremy Gu, Spencer Goss, Logan Cox (Bedford); Jeffrey Zhang, Josh Proctor, Henrique Abecasis (Wayland); Magnus Sterritt (Weston); Ethan Tran, Luis Bullock Gonzalez (Boston Latin); Nikolas Joannidis (Waltham); Benjamin Ostrovsky, T.J. Fahey, Pedro Nachbin (Concord-Carlisle); Siddhant Ganeshawaran (Acton-Boxboro)

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PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Max Ding, Lucas Bikkesbakker

GREATER BOSTON LEAGUE

Damian Mangino, Ethan Cross, Emmett Easton (Somerville); Mogos Ghile, Archer Ou, Illyes Ouldsaada, Steven Luong (Malden); Axil Ortiz, Victor Bun, Andy Ly (Lynn Classical); Edward Salazar, Eric Salazar (Lynn English); Leo Mantenuto (Medford); Bryant Jiminez (Everett); Nicolas Aguiar (Revere)

MVP: Damian Mangino

HOCKOMOCK LEAGUE

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Neema Khosravani, Nikhil Nain (Mansfield); Kyle Neuendorf, Tyler Rocchio, Luke Hinton, Brady Rosen (Attleboro); Bharat Ramanathan (Canton); Luca Meyer, Raj Jetty (Foxboro); Jay Gorgas (Franklin); Arjun Kollu, Luke Bailer (King Philip); Quinn DiFiore (North Attleboro); Nick Westerbeke (Oliver Ames); Alex Budovalcev, Sava Kassev, Matthew Lally, Isaac Chen, Jacob Slavsky (Sharon)

MVP: Neema Khosravani

MAYFLOWER ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

Connor Kennedy, Michael Larivee (Diman); Brett Brophy, Ajani Bunting (Wareham); Sam Van Saun, Jack Keane, Luke Coelho (Westport)

MVP: Sam Van Saun

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MERRIMACK VALLEY CONFERENCE

Oscar Andren (Haverhill); Nik Narina, Akarsh Janarthanan, Conor Rea, Sam Gomer, Peter Doan, Kian Keyhan, Hridai Dharan (Andover)

MVP: Oscar Andren

MIDDLESEX LEAGUE

LIBERTY: Ronak Wakhlu, Neil Keltcher, Ronnie Prasad, Sritan Devineni, Evan Saptari, Arvind Rajarajan, Darius Jin (Lexington); Sam Song, Jeff Chen, Thomas Andrews, Raffi Parseghian, Max Griffin, Carl Stredicke (Winchester); Omkar Adhiya, Elia Kikuchi, Yuta Kikuchi, Henry Ruderman, Leo Fritsch (Arlington); Charlie Osborn, Julian Wong, Ben Miller, Henry Moriarty (Belmont); Luke Zannino, Pip Balas (Reading); Anik Patel (Woburn)

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FREEDOM: Sohan Shah, Aditya Pathak, Andrew Perl, Abhay Jhunett, Krish Soni (Burlington); Luke Greif, Trevor Vellieux, Kevin DeGray (Wakefield); Anvi Ganghu, Said Karani, Ryan Weinstein (Wilmington); Daniel Teittinen, Nathan Chow (Melrose); Nash Goldstein (Watertown); Anubhau Thapaliya (Stoneham)

MVP: Ronak Wakhlu, Julian Wong, Luke Greif

NORTHEASTERN CONFERENCE

ALL-CONFERENCE: Julian Flacke, Lucas Bereaud, Charles Schepens (Swampscott); Jayden Janock, Leo Winocour, Mika Garber, Etan Farfel (Marblehead); Andre Payano Sosa, Shane Widtfeldt (Gloucester)
DUNN: TJ Kelly, Anthony Vizy, Ty Cooper (Marblehead); Nick Custer, Trevor Talebian, Sam Schepens (Swampscott); Anders Littman (Gloucester); Kai Hird, Jack Eaton (Masconomet); Luca Pasquarello (Beverly)

LYNCH: Jack Osburn, Nick Cirelli, Nathaniel Derosier (Winthrop); Finn Hangar, Rylan Workman, Eden McClain (Salem)

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PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Charles Schepens

PATRIOT LEAGUE

KEENAN: Tim Vargas, Peter Burnham, Taylor Bettencourt, Bennett Stout, Tucker Catalano (Duxbury); Parker Schultz, Ethan Warhaftig, Travis Rugg (Hingham); Will Bergendahl, Danny Stephenson (Plymouth North); Tristan Baker (Whitman-Hanson); Dylan Cicone (Silver Lake)

MVP: Tim Vargas

FISHER: Ben DiPesa, Shea Tinkham, Cooper McDonald, Jack Dalicandro (Scituate); Tom Duan, Philip Wang, Ian Ronan (North Quincy); Daniel Lyons, Charlie Ruggiero (Plymouth South); Alex Fredette (Hanover); Henry Wilde (Quincy); Jason DeBella (Pembroke)

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MVP: Ben DiPesa

SOUTH COAST CONFERENCE

Will Horton, Nathan Belmore, Ethan Clark, Ryan Abreau (Apponequet); Zach Costa, Jacksson Souza, Max Petit (Somerset Berkley); Abhi Patel (Seekonk); Jacob Hadley, Peter LeGassic (Old Rochester); David Anghinetti (Dighton-Rehoboth); Coby Yin, Kole Pinto (Fairhaven); Owen Borges (Case)

MVP: Will Horton

SOUTHEAST CONFERENCE

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Banks Beckwith (Bridgewater-Raynham); Luke Bloom-Glover, Shreyas Rathod, Owen Nielson, Charles Camisa, Isaiah Beckwith, Stephen Wei (Dartmouth); Will Rumsey (Durfee)

MVP: Luke Bloom-Glover

SOUTH SHORE LEAGUE

SULLIVAN: Connor McNaughton (Middleboro); Evan Petit, Aidan Gilmartin, Luca Moretti-Fuli, Matt Alabiso, Ben Garland (Norwell); Kaden Gestel, Nick Mesheau, Mo Asad, Lucas Cavicchi (Rockland); Andrew Emmel, Andrew Chanya, Kallen Kestenbaum (Sandwich)

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Andrew Emmel

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TOBIN: Nathan Ludlam, Will Wildfire (Abington); Eamon Maxwell, Charlie Lankow, Blaise Bastille, Tyler Henry (Cohasset); Colin Burdge, James Benners, Andrew Kelley (Mashpee)

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Charlie Lankow

TRI-VALLEY LEAGUE

Joe Krattenmaker, Rishit Shekhar, Ilian Grace, Sooraj Sambasivam, Kais Guessab (Hopkinton); Dominik Dwyer, Kevin Bojkov (Dedham); Max Glick, Dalai Xu, Yair Elman, Harrison DePaola (Dover-Sherborn); Warren Churchill, Alec Bormann, Nathan DePaola, Fisher Roberts (Medfield); Gunther Guleserian, Andrew Easton (Westwood); Sam Tavassoli Hojati, Matthew Weise (Norton); Partha Jammalamadaka (Norwood); Alex Menard, Tommy Stotz (Medway)

MVP: Joe Krattenmaker, Dominik Dwyer

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Boston, MA

Did you follow the local news this week? Take our Greater Boston news quiz.

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Boston nightclub where woman suffered medical emergency and died has license reinstated

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Boston nightclub where woman suffered medical emergency and died has license reinstated


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After hearing testimony from club representatives and the loved ones of a woman who died there Dec. 21, regulators found no violations.

ICON, a nightclub in Boston’s Theater District, had its entertainment license reinstated at a hearing Thursday. Lane Turner/The Boston Globe

A Boston nightclub where a woman collapsed on the dance floor and died last month will have its entertainment license reinstated after the Boston Licensing Board found no violations Thursday.

Anastaiya Colon, 27, was at ICON, a nightclub in Boston’s Theater District, in the early hours of Dec. 21 when she suffered a fatal medical episode. Following the incident, her loved ones insisted that the club’s staff did not respond professionally and failed to control crowds.

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City regulators suspended ICON’s entertainment license pending an assessment of any potential violations. During a hearing Tuesday, they heard from attorneys representing the club and people who were with Colon the night she died.

Anastaiya Colon, 27, suffered a fatal medical episode Dec. 21 while at ICON.
Anastaiya Colon, 27, suffered a fatal medical episode Dec. 21 while at ICON. – GoFundMe

As EMTs attempted to respond, crowds inside the club failed to comply with demands to give them space, prompting police to shut down the club, according to a police report of the incident. However, the club and its representatives were adamant that staff handled their response and crowd control efforts properly.

Kevin Montgomery, the club’s head of security, testified that the crowd did not impede police or EMTs and that he waited to evacuate the club because doing so would have created a bottleneck at the entrance. Additionally, a bouncer and a bartender both testified that they interacted with Colon, who ordered one drink before collapsing, and did not see any signs of intoxication.

Angelica Morales, Colon’s sister, submitted a video taken on her phone to the board for them to review. Morales testified Tuesday that the video disproves some of the board’s claims and shows that ICON did not immediately respond to the emergency.

“I ran to the DJ booth, literally bombarded everybody that was in my way to get to the DJ booth, told them to cut the music off,” Morales said. “On my way back, the music was cut off for a minute or two, maybe less, and they cut the music back on.”

Shanice Monteiro, a friend who was with Colon and Morales, said she went outside to flag down police officers. She testified that their response, along with the crowd’s, was inadequate.

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“I struggled to get outside,” Monteiro said. “Once I got outside, everybody was still partying, there was no type of urgency. Nobody stopped.”

These factors, along with video evidence provided by ICON, did not substantiate any violations on the club’s part, prompting the licensing board to reinstate their entertainment license at a subsequent hearing Thursday.

“Based on the evidence presented at the hearing from the licensed premise and the spoken testimony and video evidence shared with us from Ms. Colon’s family, I’m not able to find a violation in this case,” Kathleen Joyce, the board’s chairwoman, said at the hearing.

However, Joyce further stated that she “was not able to resolve certain questions” about exactly when or why the club turned off the music or turned on the lights. As a result, the board will require ICON to submit an emergency management plan to prevent future incidents and put organized safety measures in place.

“This plan should outline detailed operational procedures in the event of a medical or any other emergency, including protocols for police and ambulance notification, crowd control and dispersal, and procedures regarding lighting and music during an emergency response,” Joyce said.

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Though the club will reopen without facing any violations, Joyce noted that there were “lessons left to be learned” from the incident.

“This tragedy has shaken the public confidence in nightlife in this area, and restoring that confidence is a shared obligation,” she said. “People should feel safe going out at night. They should feel safe going to a club in this area, and they should feel safe getting home.”

Keeana Saxon, one of three commissioners on the licensing board, further emphasized the distinction Joyce made between entertainment-related matters and those that pertained to licensing. Essentially, the deciding factor in the board’s decision was the separation of the club’s response from any accountability they may have had by serving Colon liquor.

“I hope that the family does understand that there are separate procedures for both the entertainment and the licensing, just to make sure that on the licensing side, that we understand that she was only served one drink and that it was absolutely unforeseeable for that one drink to then lead to some kind of emergency such as this one,” Saxon said.





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Battenfeld: Michelle Wu should demand better security after Boston Medical Center rape

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Battenfeld: Michelle Wu should demand better security after Boston Medical Center rape


In the middle of Michelle Wu’s orchestrated inaugural celebration, prosecutors described a senseless hospital horror that unfolded at Boston Medical Center – a rape of a partially paralyzed patient allegedly by a mentally ill man allowed to freely roam the hospital’s hallways.

It happened in September in what is supposed to be a safe haven but too often is a dangerous campus. Drug addicts with needles frequently openly camp in front of the hospital, and in early December a security guard suffered serious injuries in a stabbing on the BMC campus. The alleged assailant was finally subdued by other security guards after a struggle.

In the September incident, prosecutors described in court this week how the 55-year-old alleged rapist Barry Howze worked his way under the terrified victim’s bed in the BMC emergency room and sexually assaulted her.

“This assault was brutal and brazen, and occurred in a place where people go for help,” Suffolk County prosecutor Kate Fraiman said. “Due to her partial paralysis, she could not reach her phone, which was under her body at the time.”

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Howze, who reportedly has a history of violent offenses and mental illness, was able to flee the scene but was arrested two days later at the hospital when he tried to obtain a visitor’s pass and was recognized by security. Howze’s attorney blamed hospital staff for allowing him the opportunity to commit the crime and some city councilors are demanding answers.

“This was a horrific and violent sexual assault on a defenseless patient,” Councilor Ed Flynn said. “The safety and security of patients and staff at the hospital can’t be ignored any longer. The hospital leadership must make immediate and major changes and upgrades to their security department.”

Flynn also sent a letter to BMC CEO Alastair Bell questioning how the assailant was allowed to commit the rape.

Where is Wu? She was too busy celebrating herself with a weeklong inaugural of her second term to deal with the rape at the medical center, which is near the center of drug-ravaged Mass and Cass.

If the rape had happened at a suburban hospital, people would be demanding investigations and accountability.

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But in Boston, Wu takes credit for running the “safest major city in the country” while often ignoring crimes.

Wu should intervene and demand better security and safety for the staff and patients at BMC.

Although the hospital is no longer run by the city, it has a historic connection with City Hall. It is used by Boston residents, many of them poor and disabled or from marginalized communities. She should be out front like Flynn demanding accountability from the hospital.

Boston Medical Center, located in the city’s South End, is the largest “safety-net” hospital in New England. It is partially overseen by the Boston Public Health Commission, whose members are appointed by the mayor.

BMC was formed in 1996 by the Thomas Menino administration as a merger between the city-owned Boston City Hospital, which first opened in 1864, and Boston University Medical Center.

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Menino called the merger “the most important thing I will do as mayor.”

When he was appointed CEO by the hospital board of trustees in 2023, Bell offered recycled Wu-speak to talk about how BMC was trying to “reshape” how the hospital delivers health care.

“The way we think about the health of our patients and members extends beyond traditional medicine to environmental sustainability and issues such as housing, food insecurity, and economic mobility, as we study the root causes of health inequities and empower all of our patients and communities to thrive,” Bell said.

But the hospital has been plagued by security issues in the last few years, and a contract dispute with the nurses’ union. The nurses at BMC’s Brighton campus authorized a three-day strike late last year over management demands to cut staffing and retirement benefits.

Kirsten Ransom, BMC Brighton RN and Massachusetts Nurses Association co-chair, said, “This vote sends a clear message that our members are united in our commitment to make a stand for our patients, our community and our professional integrity in the wake of this blatant effort to balance BMC’s budget on the backs of those who have the greatest impact on the safety of the patients and the future success of this facility.”

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