BOSTON (WHDH) - City officials are discussing the possibility of increasing fines for large gatherings amid a recent uptick in loud, late-night house parties in South Boston.
During the pandemic, groups of people partying together were considered super-spreader events, but some Boston City Councilors are now calling them “quality of life issues” as the community works to fully reopen and return to normal.
Many residents in Southie have been complaining about the raucous gatherings with outdoor decks in the neighborhood positioned on top each other in many cases.
“The parties get bigger, they get louder, they get nosier,” Southie resident Julie Paradiso explained. “We’re exposed to profanity, public urination, and beer pong screaming matches.”
Fellow neighborhood resident Ingrid Gerdes says she is often “emotionally drained” because the partying has been “incessant.”
“It’s that startle response when somebody jumps up behind you and goes, ‘boo,'” Gerdes said. “All day, all the time.”
On one weekend, elected officials say Boston police fielded about 600 911 calls in Southie alone.
“They go to 3:30, 4:30, 5 in the morning,” City Councilor Michael Flaherty said. “We’re not New York.”
Boston Inspectional Services issued more than a dozen warnings this past weekend.
City Councilor Ed Flynn called for a hearing on increasing fines for unruly gatherings, citing “quality of life issues” for those who live in the area.
The proposed fines for property owners who hold large gatherings are $1,000 for a first offense, $2,000 for a subsequent offense, and $3,000 for a third offense, according to city officials.
“Maybe these young people will get the hint that we mean business,” Flynn said during the hearing on Wednesday.
The proposal will have to go before a committee and a public hearing before it can be voted on.
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