Boston, MA
For Boston’s police intelligence gathering operation, more barbed questions – The Boston Globe
But the City Council must approve the city’s acceptance of the grants, and the legislative body has refused to act on them as councilors push for wider discussions on police reform. Indeed, some of the grants under consideration Friday were leftover from previous fiscal years, as far back as 2020.
Specifically, councilors and civil rights advocates have for years demanded more details about BRIC’s gang database, seeking to probe concerns that Black and Latinx city residents have historically been disproportionately represented in its rolls. Some progressive-minded reformists have called for its dismantling.
The pointed questions continued during Friday’s hearing.
“Where are we in terms of trust?” asked Councilor Ruthzee Louijeune, who noted that flaws with the operation of BRIC have been exposed in outside court litigation.
For instance, a court ruling last year called out BRIC’s gang database for “its reliance on an erratic point system built on unsubstantiated inferences.”
In that case, a panel of federal judges ruled in favor of a Salvadoran national who said law enforcement erroneously implicated him as an MS-13 gang member. Flaws with the gang database — specifically, problems the judges identified with how it was compiled — were central to that ruling, with the court finding that “the list of ‘items or activities’ that could lead to ‘verification for entry into the Gang Assessment Database’ was shockingly wide-ranging.”
“Many of us do not believe that BRIC is operating with the best intentions of Black and brown, and Muslims, and people of diverse experiences,” Councilor Julia Mejia said Friday. “We do not have that data … that makes us believe that you do … have our best interests in mind.”
Law enforcement officials and some city councilors defended BRIC. Council President Ed Flynn said BRIC does “very important work, work preventing heinous crime.” Councilor Michael Flaherty, who chaired the hearing, said that BRIC plays a role in solving homicides in Boston.
Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox said BRIC’s work is not about vilifying people of color.
“It’s really about … identifying the people who are driving the crime, violent crime in our city, and keeping track of that information,” Cox said.
City officials at Friday’s hearing emphasized that BRIC maintains compliance with the city’s Trust Act, which prohibits Boston police from getting involved in deportation matters. The police department has faced questions in the past about the scope of its collaboration with immigration authorities.
According to BPD, BRIC analyzes various police records and information to determine whether an individual fits the criteria for inclusion in its gang database. The center can still decline to enter people into the database who meet the 10-point threshold for inclusion but are determined not to be engaging in gang-related criminal activity.
Friday’s hearing stretched over four hours and featured animated testimony from advocates who railed against BRIC.
Alex Marthews, chair of the civil liberties organization Digital Fourth, accused BRIC of “mission creep,” saying the center has inappropriately surveilled protesters and activists and enabled “data-fueled harassment of young Bostonians of color.”
”BRIC is a hammer in search of a nail,” he said.
Fatema Ahmad, a Dorchester resident and executive director of Muslim Justice League, said the BRIC operation casts too wide of a net in its intelligence gathering and lacks transparency.
“This has harmed people,” she said. “It harms real people.”
Kade Crockford, who directs the Technology for Liberty program at the American Civil Liberties Union Massachusetts, said BRIC can collect and share information about someone without ever needing a criminal predicate.
“That is very troubling,” Crockford said via Zoom during the hearing. “The Boston Police Department is charged with investigating crimes, not people’s political views or speech.”
The council could vote on the various BRIC grants as soon as Wednesday.
Danny McDonald can be reached at daniel.mcdonald@globe.com. Follow him @Danny__McDonald.
With snow still falling in the Boston area Friday evening, early reports of the snowfall totals show that several inches have fallen in the city.
The winter storm hitting Boston Friday into Saturday was expected to bring up to six inches of snow, and some places have already seen nearly that much, including Needham and Boston’s Beacon Hill neighborhood, according to the National Weather Service.
The agency said that there were reports of 4-5 inches of snow in Dedham and Norwood as well.
[Winter Weather Advisory Update] We continue to see snow totals increase across eastern MA this evening with some reports of 4-5 inches between Dedham and Noorwood. Here is the latest storm total snow forecast update that includes snow that has already fallen this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/XnvdNmVIDy
— NWS Boston (@NWSBoston) December 20, 2024
PHOTOS: Snow blankets Boston area
We want to see your pictures of the snow in Boston! Send them to shareit@nbcboston.com.
For context, five inches of snow is already half the amount that fell in Boston all of last winter.
Here’s how much snow fell by late afternoon Friday, the most recent snowfall totals shared by the National Weather Service. Explore the Boston-area snowfall total map here.
City/town
Snowfall amount (in inches)
Needham, MA
5
Cambridge, MA
4.9
Beacon Hill, MA
4.8
Dedham, MA
4.5
Westwood, MA
4.5
Norwood, MA
4.5
Walpole, MA
4.5
Newton, MA
4.5
Boston, MA (not Logan airport)
4.4
Brighton, MA
4
Norfolk, MA
4
Allston, MA
3.3
Brookline, MA
3.2
Chelsea, MA
3.2
Rehoboth, MA
3.2
Harrisville, RI
3
Blackstone, MA
3
Somerville, MA
3
Millis, MA
2.9
Vernon, CT
2.8
Weston, MA
2.6
Lexington, MA
2.6
Lexington, MA
2.6
Warwick, RI
2.5
Tolland, CT
2.4
Mansfield, MA
2.3
Grafton, MA
2.3
Cumberland, RI
2.3
Chelsea, MA
2.2
Dedham, MA
2.1
Mansfield, MA
2
Richmond, RI
2
Milford, MA
2
West Warwick, RI
2
North Attleborough, MA
2
North Attleboro, MA
2
Franklin, MA
1.9
Holliston, MA
1.9
Westborough, MA
1.9
Sandwich, MA
1.9
Cumberland, RI
1.7
Lexington, MA
1.7
Providence, RI
1.6
Arlington, MA
1.6
Sturbridge, MA
1.6
Auburn, MA
1.5
North Kingstown, RI
1.5
Narragansett, RI
1.5
Cumberland, RI
1.5
Oxford, MA
1.5
Grafton, MA
1.5
North Reading, MA
1.5
Shrewsbury, MA
1.5
Barrington, RI
1.4
Reading, MA
1.1
Coventry, RI
1.1
Charlton, MA
1
South Kingstown, RI
1
Worcester Airport, MA
1
Snow continues to fall as a storm moves through, and with cold temperatures ahead Saturday, look out for icy conditions. Here’s your First Alert forecast.
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To wrap up the year, Eater Boston polled both local journalists and readers of this site to get their thoughts on the past year in dining: the good, the bad, and the most exciting things to come in 2025. The results have been collected in the following series of posts. (Check out the full archive here.)
Below, we ask: What was Boston’s most exciting — or most infuriating — local restaurant trend of 2024?
“Restaurants keep getting louder and louder, which I really don’t understand. Sure, if you go to a bar or nightclub, you expect them to be noisy, but if I’m out with friends, loved ones, co-workers, etc. to catch up on things while having a burger or a plate of pasta and can’t even hear what they say, what’s the point of even going out?”
— Marc Hurwitz, founder of Boston’s Hidden Restaurants and Boston Restaurant Talk, food/travel writer for NBC Boston/NECN
“A few years ago, I didn’t think Boston was a particularly good bakery town. We had our standouts, but there wasn’t a strong bakery culture. So it’s exciting to me that now bakeries just keep opening and expanding. I was thrilled to see La Saison will open in Charlestown, and to visit the new Sofra in Allston. And I love that so many specialists are arriving on the scene: Flake Bakery with its pastéis de nata. Valientes Bakery, serving Argentine specialties. French-Asian Niveaux Patisserie. Gluten-free Verveine. Bakey with its babka. And so on. I also think it’s really fun that Flour will open in the Boston Common Concession Pavilion. No knock on Earl of Sandwich, the former tenant, but this feels like a much better representation of this city.”
— Devra First, restaurant critic for the Boston Globe
“I was really excited to see local restauranteurs expanding. I’m thinking about Jamie Bissonette’s two new spots and the recently opened Kaia from Brendan Pelley, plus Baleia from The Coda Group I love seeing local chefs and restaurant groups doing so well.”
— Brian Samuels, Boston food photographer
“I’ll answer both. This has been happening for a couple of years, but for me the most infuriating thing is that almost every restaurant now has to have an Instagrammable “wow” moment. Maybe it’s a dish or a drink with an ornate presentation, or an over-the-top area of the restaurant. I totally get that these things drive diners into restaurants because they build excitement online, but I can’t help but think how annoying the showmanship might be for the staff (especially during a busy service) and designers and whoever else. For the most exciting, I really love that restaurants are embracing non-alcoholic drink programs. Especially with so many non-alcoholic beers and spirits, it’s great to see infusions and cool cocktails that aren’t just sodas.”
— Nathan Tavares, freelance writer and Eater Boston contributor
“Loved: The amount of one-night-only pop-ups, wine or cocktail events, and chef collaboration dinners that restaurants and bars around town hosted this year. It feels special and fun and is a great way to shake things up creatively every once in a while.
Hated: Neon signs in the dining room with souvenir-shop phrases like ‘It’s 5 o’clock somewhere’ or whatever. Is some vendor giving them out for free? I saw them at way too many restaurants this year.”
— Erika Adams, Eater Boston editor
Reader responses
Over 50 people took part in Eater Boston’s dining survey this year (thank you, all!). Below, find readers’ favorite — and least favorite — Boston restaurant trends in 2024:
- “I still don’t like the “forced tipping” that has become the norm from COVID times. While I understand the theory behind it, I hate feeling like a scumbag choosing the 0% when they flip the Square machine (or terminal) around in places that you never tipped at prior to COVID. While COVID may not be dead completely, the closures and overall hardships endured during that time are — so can we stop shaming patrons into tipping please?” — Greg
- “More special events — wine dinners, cocktail tastings, etc., etc. Yes, they’re sometimes more expensive, but they flex the skills of great restaurants, and they add some spice to a weeknight or weekend dining experience. I hope they help out restaurants. Love ‘em.” — Todd
- “Boston TikTok restaurant influencing. Really cool and niche spots that have been doing good business for years are being flooded with hoards of patrons who are seeking a viral experience, rather than a cool or good one.” — Annie
- “Infuriating — every new restaurant seems designed for Instagram pics of the aesthetic, sometimes at the expense of the quality of the food!” — Jesse
- “Glad to see QR codes are on the way out, something about flipping through a paper menu or drink list that just adds to the experience.” — Wes
- “Needlessly putting sea urchin on things. It’s not sourced ethically and the population has been decimated in Maine.” — Suzanne
- “I’m absolutely OVER speakeasies, they’re overplayed. Bring back swanky lounges with good music.” — Nicole
- “‘Everyone wants low-ABV spirits and $14 mocktails!’ No, we don’t. Who are you talking to?” — Rob
- “Can we please stop putting fake truffle flavor in every single menu?” — Jake
- “Love that more restaurants are offering special prix fixe menus!” — Leanne
- “Combined coffee/wine bar concepts! What’s not to love?” — Rupal
- “Can’t make reservations or have to plan too far ahead.” — Thom
- “Everything is run by massive hospitality groups now.” — Liz
- “[Love] upscale versions of Portuguese and Vietnamese food.” — Donna
- “Tepid bottles of water sitting on the table.” — Marjorie
- “Infuriating — covid-era patios going away.” — Juliana
- “Exciting to see orange wine by the glass.” — Emily
Boston, MA
Sticker shock: Boston drops $500K on EV Mustangs for city employees as homeowners face 10.5% tax hike
Boston homeowners bracing for a 10.5% tax increase may be shocked to learn some of their hard-earned tax dollars were spent this year on swanky new Ford Mustang Mach-E’s for city employees — at about $50K a pop.
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