Outdoor dining restrictions have restaurant owners in Boston’s North End demanding millions in monetary damages.
Restaurant owners in Boston's North End continue to argue that it's unfair that the historic neighborhood faces more restrictions to outdoor dining than any other neighborhood in the city, and now they're escalating their battle in court with Boston Mayor Michelle Wu who they repeatedly called an "amateur" on Friday.
Twenty-one North End restaurant owners and the North End Chamber of Commerce have amended their complaint that was filed earlier this year, on Jan. 5, in federal court. They claim they've lost millions in revenue.
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"You have to keep in mind, in addition to losing funding, we are in a different position than the mayor. We pay for our legal advice, we pay for our PR advice. She uses our tax dollar to defend herself. She seems to have very deep pockets when she plays with other people's money, but we are financing ourselves. We are the little guy," Jorge Mendoza, the owner of Monica's Restaurant, said Friday as he spoke about the struggles North End businesses are facing due to Wu's decisions. "We are not a communist state. We are a democratic city. She was elected to manage our affairs, she was not elected to pick and choose who wins and loses. We want a right to compete, OK? The same rights that are granted to us by the constitution of the United States, the constitution of the state of Massachusetts..."
"This is exactly what happens the City of Boston and the few that vote elect an amateur. They elected an amateur. They elected somebody who is obviously in over her head. It's that simple," Mendoza said of Wu. "Why does she feel that it's necessary to stomp on the businesses of the North End, to put us aside, to neglect us?"
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Now, the group is demanding millions in monetary damages including compensation for losses of income for the outdoor dining ban in 2023 and 2024; refunds of the $7,500 in fees that North End restaurants were required to pay in 2022; and compensation for fees incurred for storage of equipment and furniture used for outdoor dining.
The lawsuit alleges that "the City’s conduct violated their constitutional rights under the Equal Protection and Due Process clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment, and its imposition of harsh participation fees in 2022 was an unlawful tax."
The mayor has argued that the fee helps compensate for people living in the neighborhood, who face further parking issues, more foot traffic and trash.
But the federal lawsuit alleges that this is "unequal, unfair, and discriminatory treatment of Italian restaurants” as the North End is the only neighborhood in the city to face restrictions limiting them to “compliant sidewalk patios” only, and banning on-street dining.
North End restaurant owners and employees gathered on Hanover Street on Friday to speak more about their grievances against Wu and the city's outdoor dining restrictions.
Carla Gomes, the owner of Terramia Restaurant, said the restrictions put the North End businesses at a disadvantage to hire and retain employees, and also put them at an economic disadvantage because they believe people will flock to other neighborhoods where outdoor dining is allowed.
"In 2022, the City of Boston not only required the North End to pay a $7,500 fee and a $450 parking fee, but they also required us and our neighborhood to start at a later date and to also end at an earlier date than any other neighborhood. You tell me where was the fairness in all of this?," Gomes asked to open the presser Friday. "In 2023 and 2024 currently, the City of Boston completely banned the outdoor dining program for the last remaining Italian neighborhood in the country for reasons that makes absolutely no sense at all and has caused our businesses an economic hardship where some businesses are barely hanging on."
Gomes says she lost over a couple hundred thousand dollars in revenue last summer.
"All we ever asked for was to be treated fairly and equitably. We do not want or expect anything more than any other neighborhood has," she continued. "However starting today we will not accept anything less than any other neighborhood has. This stops today because as you can see we are all united and we are fed up and we are not going to take this anymore."
Mendoza spoke next, and repeatedly criticized Wu, saying she debilitated the restaurants' abilities to sustain tough winters in Boston.
"Once again the North End restaurants are left out in the cold for the outdoor patio season. We are not welcome to participate in the commerce that outdoor patio bring to us during the summertime. We believe that the actions from the mayor handicap us in providing for our businesses, reduce our income in the fruitful season of the summer and devalue our indoor seats."
"This is a slap in the face to all of us. The Italian American community of the North End has contributed enormously to the wellbeing of the City of Boston and to the progress that Boston has made," Mendoza said. "We're being excluded by an amateur who decided to apply for a job that she's not capable of delivering. She has done several things to us and to other people in the great City of Boston..."
"This is a pattern and anybody who doesn't see this pattern doesn't realize that our city's at stake, the wellbeing of our neighbors is at stake," he continued. "When she attacks us because we happen to be of European descent, we happen to be an Italian American neighborhood with Italian American restaurants run by Italian Americans, she's not just hurting us, she's hurting all the people behind me, people who come from all over the world to take a piece of the American dream, a piece of the pie..."
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Mendoza went on to say that the North End gets no breaks, only abuse. He further claimed that they've done their own investigation and that none of the points made by the city are valid.
"She believes that by taking away from us, she can redistribute our wealth and our incomes by bringing those businesses to other people in other neighborhoods," he said. of Wu. "She's not a monarch, she's not an autocrat. She's an elected mayor of the City of Boston. the elected manager for the people of Boston. We deserve better. We deserve to be included in the picture. We have contributed enormously. we're one of the biggest attractions in the City of Boston."
"We want equal treatment for the people of the North End. And we like equal treatment for the people of Boston," he continued. "We are not asking for anybody to be treated less or anybody to treated more, we want to be treated equally."
Mendoza says the reason why they went forward with a lawsuit against the city is because they want the courts to engage in a conversation with them and the City of Boston to see what is the root of Wu's position.
"Why hasn't she taken the chance to meet with us, to talk to us, to realize how it affects us. And why are we electing officials to the City of Boston that don't know the first thing about the economy?"
When pressed on specifics around the restrictions, Mendoza responded, "We don't know what's allowed, OK? We don't know what's allowed because the mayor has done a very good job of sending a foggy message."
Mendoza went on to say this is all part of Wu's agenda to redistribute wealth.
"In whose interest is it to bankrupt the Italian neighborhood of the North End, Little Italy? In whose interest?"
Speaking to NBC10 Boston on Friday night, Wu pointed to the number of restaurants packed into the neighborhood, saying that the stresses faced by residents requires continued work to find a compromise
"There is no neighborhood or no area in the state that is like this particular one with 90+ restaurants in a quarter square mile with residents all packed in there as well,” the mayor said. “Resident have been very clear that with all of their streets taken up with all the traffic, with all the density and congestion in one very small area that has more per square foot than anywhere else, we need a targeted approach.”
Mendoza says the city asked for 45 days to review the case when they filed the complaint. He says the city is going to be asking for a dismissal of the case but they hope the court does not side with "big government and progressive agendas."
