North End restaurants take a new turn in Wu
The battle between North End restaurateurs and the Wu administration over outdoor dining intensified further Friday, when angry restaurateurs amended a federal lawsuit to include 100 additional pages of grievances over the ” reprisals” that they claim to have been launched by the town hall against them.
Jorge Mendoza-Iturralde — owner of Vinoteca di Monica and one of the business owners involved in the lawsuit — led the speeches at a morning news conference at the Paul Revere Mall, blaming Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, for once again banning outdoor tables for the neighborhood’s 90th anniversary. some restaurants this summer.
“Mayor Wu is playing political bingo,” Mendoza said, standing next to a makeshift outdoor dining table with a black tablecloth, plates and two people pretending to eat dinner. “His policies have already put small businesses out of business. »
“(Wu) is using our tax money to defend himself,” he continued. “She seems to have very deep pockets when she plays with other people’s money.”
The original lawsuit, filed in January, challenged outdoor seating limitations in the North End in 2023; the impact fees the city charged businesses there in 2022; and a handful of complaints about Wu’s alleged “anti-Italian” behavior. (This closely mimics allegations in an earlier complaint that the restaurants pulled out in June.)
The amended filing demands additional compensation for losses suffered by the 21 restaurants due to the $7,500 annual fee and two seasons without curbside tables.
The North End is the only neighborhood where the city has been so restrictive on outdoor dining, which is partly due to the density of restaurants and complaints from residents. But some restaurateurs say they are singled out.
“We won’t accept anything less than any other neighborhood,” said Carla Agrippino Gomes, owner of Antico Forno on Salem Street. “It starts today because as you can see we are all united and we are fed up and we are not going to take this anymore.”
A second summer without outdoor dining will cause North End restaurants “a massive loss of revenue and revenue,” the lawsuit says. “This will drive away customers who prefer to dine out from the North End,” giving other restaurants “an unfair competitive advantage.”
When Wu In February announced that North End restaurants would once again be banned from outdoor seating, she relied on the city’s conversations with a small group of residents and restaurant owners named within the group of working on outdoor dining in the North End. City officials also released a letter stating their intention to rework the district’s outdoor guidelines based on the group’s suggestions, but were unable to develop them in time for this year.
The aggrieved restaurateurs countered the lawsuit, claiming the task force was nothing more than a “charade” and “a dog and pony show.” In fact, the amended complaint states that most members “strongly and unequivocally supported the resumption of outdoor street dining.” At Friday’s press conference, Mendoza said the task force “was a total sham.”
Two members of the task force, who declined to share their names for fear of retaliation, refuted that claim Friday and added that the task force never reached consensus on how to move forward .
At a breakfast celebrating International Women’s Day on Friday, Wu echoed her earlier sentiments about outdoor dining in the North End. The debate, she said, requires balancing the opinions of residents and the needs of businesses.
“We need a targeted solution,” she said, “and we’re not there.”
Esha Walia can be contacted at esha.walia@globe.com. Diti Kohli can be contacted at diti.kohli@globe.com. Am here @ditikohli_.
