Boston, MA
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, North End restaurateurs wait for ruling in outdoor dining fight
A federal judge presiding over the North End outdoor dining dispute has promised a ruling sooner rather than later after taking eight months to schedule an initial hearing.
Judge Leo T. Sorokin has yet to decide on a complaint from a group of 21 neighborhood restaurateurs and the North End Chamber of Commerce that Mayor Michelle Wu targeted their establishments due to an anti-Italian bias when imposing heavy outdoor dining restrictions.
The judge took the complaint and the city’s request to dismiss the argument under advisement before hearing from both sides in the Seaport late Friday afternoon, citing the “serious issues” raised.
“I want to give them their due,” Sorokin said. “I do apologize that it’s taken me some time to reach this hearing, but it won’t take me nearly as long to issue a decision. I am mindful that it is of great importance to the plaintiffs and of great importance to the city.”
The North End Restaurant Group – led by Jorge Mendoza-Iturralde, co-owner of Vinoteca di Monica, and Carla Gomes, owner of Terramia and Antico Forno – filed the complaint in January, alleging Wu has targeted their establishments unfairly and discriminatorily over the years.
City attorney Samantha Fuchs filed a motion to dismiss the restaurateurs’ complaint in federal court in April, saying the group’s argument is flawed on several fronts, in particular, failing to show how it deserves “any heightened scrutiny.”
In 2022, officials forced restaurateurs to pay a $7,500 fee for outdoor dining operations in a shortened season compared to other neighborhoods. In 2023, the city banned on-street dining, limiting the al fresco option to “compliant sidewalk patios,” a restriction which continued this year.
Restaurateurs amended the complaint in March, adding losses they anticipated they’d encounter in 2024, fees they paid in 2022 and lost revenue from 2023. Out of Boston’s 23 neighborhoods, the North End has been the only one hit with restrictions against their will
Attorney Thomas Frongillo, representing the group, argued Friday that the city is misframing the complaint, saying it didn’t identify the restaurateurs’ numerous claims. He walked through the history of the dispute including how Wu at a 2022 St. Patrick’s Day breakfast compared protesting restaurateurs to snowflakes.
Frongillo also blasted Wu and her administration for a lack of transparency throughout the years-long fight.
“Unlike prior administrations, what they did was that they kept everything under wraps,” he said. “The public had no idea what they were doing.”
Fuchs argued that the restaurateurs fall short in creating a suspect class and making a disparate impact claim that is backed with a discriminatory purpose.
“Discriminatory purpose means that the city enacted these policies because of a particular group, not merely in spite of,” she said. “There’s no evidence, your honor, in the second amended complaint to show the city enacted these policies in order to harm a (class of people).”
Fuchs also spoke about the factors that have shaped the restrictions in the North End: The city’s oldest neighborhood, peppered with historic buildings and narrow brick sidewalks, has the densest concentration of restaurants in the state, with roughly 95 eateries in a third of a square mile.
“We all acknowledge that the North End is different,” Fuchs said.
Restaurateurs have fought against the city’s attempt to compare neighborhoods as a whole, with data they’ve gathered through Freedom of Information requests showing restaurants on particular streets in other neighborhoods are comparable – Newbury Street in Back Bay, West Broadway in South Boston, etc.
“You can take Hanover Street and put it right inside Newbury Street where they have 24 restaurants on Newbury Street and 30 on Hanover Street,” Frongillo said, “and look at the remarkable similarities between the settings.”
“You have to look at what they actually did here,” he added. “They targeted the North End Italian restaurants, they represent 98% of restaurants in the North End.”
Florida State travels to Chestnut Hill to take on the Eagles this Saturday. Boston College has lost six in a row, including a disastrous meltdown against UNC last time out. FSU, meanwhile, is winless in its last three. Both teams need a win to get back on track.
Who: Boston College Eagles (9-11, 1-8 ACC) vs. Florida State (13-8, 4-6 ACC)
Where: Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA
When: Saturday, February 1st, 2025
Tip-off Time: 2:00 PM EST
How to Watch: This game will be broadcast on the ACC Network
The Boston Celtics’ Kristaps Porzingis shoots against the New Orleans Pelicans’ Javonte Green during … [+]
On Friday, the Boston Celtics looked to salvage their January with a road win against an injury-plagued New Orleans Pelicans team near the bottom of the Western Conference standings. They managed to win, improving their record to 34-15, but only after a far-too-difficult 118-116 nailbiter that required a Jayson Tatum game-winner.
It was a little over a month ago, that the Celtics lost back-to-back games for the first time all season. At the time, it felt like it would be an overreaction to be too concerned. After all, the C’s started the season playing like their dominant 2023-24 selves. If there were anything to worry about, it would emerge in the next few weeks when we would have more data to determine whether it was a mere aberration or a harbinger of things to come.
Well, the results are now in, and they haven’t been mixed at best. Throughout January, the Celtics suffered a string of brutal losses. There was a shocking 114-97 home loss to the Sacramento Kings, a 117-96 blowout road loss to the Los Angeles Lakers and a fourth-quarter collapse against the Houston Rockets, all of which competed for the title of Worst Loss Of The Season.
Boston hasn’t played its best even in its wins. The Celtics’ 117-113 road win over the Los Angeles Clippers featured them losing a late lead that forced them to play an easily-avoidable overtime period. They ended up playing an additional five minutes of basketball to seal the deal.
On CelticsBlog, writer Nirav Barman provided the most understandable explanation for Boston’s recent struggles: the team is not blowing out opponents like it did last season. The defending champions are facing their opponents’ best efforts on a night-by-night basis, meaning that it’s been a series of dogfights.
These close games mean that the team is playing fewer garbage-time minutes than it did last season, requiring starters to play heavier minutes in a more stressful environment. As a result, the Celtics are playing tighter basketball and expending more energy, meaning that this season has been more of a struggle.
It’s not like the Celtics have necessarily been playing terrible basketball in the new year, just that they now looking like just a good team rather than world-beaters. While January has seemed like it’s been a losing month for Boston, it put up a 10-6 record during a stretch that included their first West Coast road trip. They remain in second place in the East with the third-best overall record in the NBA.
However, that 34-15 record is a bit misleading, partly padded by the Celtics’ red-hot start. It also is disheartening that the team began playing its sloppiest basketball when Kristaps Porzingis returned from offseason surgery. In theory, Boston should have improved with its starting center back in the lineup for good. Instead, not only has its offense struggled in January but its defense has continued a troubling trend of allowing opposing players notch career nights against it.
While some of what’s going on with the Celtics is partly just a regression to the mean after they overperformed last season, it’s also clear that there is room for improvement.
Some of that could happen if the team gets healthier or if its three-point shooting returns to early-season form. It also might be time for the front office to roll the dice once again and break up last year’s roster by making changes at the February 9 trade deadline. (It should also be noted that the Celtics still have an empty roster spot to play with.)
Of course, a fall back to Earth was always inevitable eventually. Basketball was not as easy as last season’s Celtics team made it appear to be. The Celtics are still one of the NBA’s best teams and still should be one of the favorites to win the title, but they are learning firsthand why it’s so difficult for teams to repeat.
According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers are seen as “co-favorites” for All-Star third baseman Alex Bregman.
Nightengale adds that there has been no new movement on the Houston Astros front with regards to Bregman. Rumors circulated last weekend that Bregman could return to Houston, especially as the Astros moved money around by dealing Ryan Pressly to the Chicago Cubs.
While it seems almost inevitable that 1B Pete Alonso returns to the Mets, the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox loom as co-favorites for 3B Alex Bregman with no movement in Astros talks.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 31, 2025
The 30-year-old Bregman has had one of the more curious free agent cases of the offseason. Early reports indicated that he got a six-year offer worth $156 million from the Astros, but he declined it in search of last $200 million. However, those deals haven’t come and Bregman also seems resistant to taking a shorter-term deal, leaving him in a holding pattern.
The Tigers could certainly use his production at third base, and his leadership in the clubhouse, as they build upon a playoff season in 2024. The Red Sox could use an extra bat in the lineup, but they would likely play Bregman at second base in order to keep Rafael Devers at third.
The 30-year-old Bregman has spent the entirety of his nine-year career with the Astros. Lifetime, he’s a .272 hitter with a .366 on-base percentage. He hit 26 homers and drove in 75 runs this past year while playing in 145 games. Bregman is a two-time World Series champion, having helped Houston win the title in 2017 and 2022.
Spring training camps open up in less than two weeks.
SCHERZER SIGNS: The Blue Jays locked up the future Hall of Famer to a one-year deal on Thursday. Here are the rest of the contract details. CLICK HERE:
LYNN THE CLOSER: According to a report in The Athletic, veteran right-hander Lance Lynn is drawing interest as a high-leverage reliever. CLICK HERE:
ANDERSON TALKS STRUGGLES: Tim Anderson, who recently signed an MiLB deal with the Los Angeles Angels, spoke about his struggles over the last two years. CLICK HERE:
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