This week Mayor Thomas Menino retaliated against a Downtown Crossing business organization that is evicting pushcart vendors from the shopping district.
The Downtown Boston Business Improvement District, a group of landlords in the 34-block area, pay a combined $3.2 million each year to enhance the shopping district. Last week, they voted to shut down the Downtown pushcart program, which has operated for 30 years. The group is working on launching a smaller program next year. The vendors were asked to leave the district by the end of March.
Mayor Menino had harsh words for the group and attacked their moral standards.
“These guys have been struggling, and now the good days are coming and the association wants to bring in other vendors from elsewhere? I want to take care of the vendors who kept Downtown Crossing alive in the difficult times,”Menino said (Boston Business Journal).
Menino even extended the eviction deadline to 60 days, up from the previous deadline set at about 30.
However, president of the BID, Rosemarie Sansone, claims there is space for the pushcart vendors in nearby areas and that the group stands by their decision to evict the current pushcart vendors.