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3/30/08 Boston Globe LTE re: Right To Public Assembly on Boston Common

PRESERVING Boston Common should mean much more than keeping the grass green ("Large events may become uncommon at city's beloved park," Page B1, March 20). The Common was America 's very first public grounds and the city should not regulate away the right of the people to assemble peaceably there for the sake of a greener lawn. If greener grass is what the city wants, they can achieve that by not allowing dogs to urinate on the grounds. Boston Parks Department maintenance people have told anyone who asks that dog urine, not peaceable assemblies, is what damages the grass most. more stories like this

The city's own website says, "Boston Common continues to be a stage for free speech and public assembly. Here, during the 20th century, Charles Lindbergh promoted commercial aviation. Anti-Vietnam War and civil right rallies were held, including one led by Martin Luther King Jr. In 1979, Pope John Paul II celebrated Mass." If large assemblies are prohibited that will have to be changed to, "Boston Common used to be a stage for free speech and public assembly."

That the Menino administration gives no value to the Common as a historic place of public assembly is no surprise. A justice of the Superior Court had to order the city in 1997 and 1998 to allow the Boston Freedom Rally permission to assemble. If not for MassCann/Norml, sponsors of the rally, and the ACLU of Massachusetts, the right to assemble on Boston Common would have been effectively prohibited years ago.

Anyone who cares about free speech rights should be alarmed by attempts to take away our right to assemble on Boston Common. That it may become necessary to defend that right on Boston Common again is shameful.

CHUCK ROSSINA Medford

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Comments

this guy could be The Zak's understudy.

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hemp? cannabis? What do either of those things have to do with this story? Norml may have fought for peaceable assembly, but their agenda has nothing to do with their fight and nothing to do with what you're trying to bring attention to. Instead, it just makes the rest of us, who have no interest in Norml's message, want to ignore your whole message. You should learn how to tag your story better. Most of what you've included are not directly related to your story.

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Replying to "Tags". What are you the "tag monitor"? If you have followed the story, it is about shutting down the Rally they don't like with new rules to target their event specifically. So "hemp" does have much to do with this story. You should learn "I don't give a care about what you support or don't".

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How about the fact that by blatantly copying a letter to the editor from the Globe website while barely attributing it to the Globe in your title, you've opened Adam (owner of this website) up to a realistic copyright violation if the Globe chose to persue it?

This is the internet. We have linking here (like I just did) and that then allows you to actually put your own ideas alongside the link (which is part of what we come hear to read, not just verbatim cut-n-paste from the Globe's website, this isn't the Globe).

Also, the controversy is not limited to Norml or hemp/cannibis activism. The suggested moratorium on large scale public assembly on the Parade Ground includes groups like Shakespeare on the Commons too. There's also the concerns from increasing the garage and MBTA services under the greenery. So, it's not about hemp. It's about large assemblies. It's not targetted to Norml and if you're a part of Norml: stop acting the victim, it's not endearing to anyone. The park director is the one that wants people to stop trampling all of the grass over and over again. That's why they shut down the Parade Ground. That may not be the right answer, since it is a good public space to hold large scale rallies, but it's the one he initally brought up at the State House.

If you're going to act like this is all about hemp/cannibis and selective exclusion of fringe political ideas or something, you're going to turn off a lot of people who would have come to your aid for the greater cause and instead brand you as just crying wolf over a conspiracy theory.

Also, I'd suggest Adam delete this whole thing because as I point out above, it's just a cut-n-paste from another website and that is a very obvious copyright violation that I doubt he has any interest in maintaining.

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So let see if I get what you're trying to say.

"Support free speech by banning dogs?"

Doesn't Medford have a park or two?

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I think Chuck was making a jab at the politically connected to menino boston common society crowd? A joke, a tit for tat, comedic bit. I am pro doggys!

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Town commons for hundreds of years now are for common use. Originally, you could graze and water you animals there. Later, it served the purpose of a public park, accessible to residents for most any purpose, a race, skating, wading, sitting on benches, playing tennis, softball, a concert, a rally. Now, land owners across Beacon Street and City government wants to call the shots on what the common can and can't be used for but they don't own, we do. The common as a common place for public gatherings and restricting that purpose is not for the neighbors or the city gov't to say.

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I agree, but let me play Devil's Advocate here for a second. The park commissioner's testimony is about the grass and the cost to continually rehabilitate the green space when large machinery and structures are established on the greenery (trucks, sound stages, and event tents). Basically, when something like Shakespeare on the Common sets up shop for a week or two and a whole stage and lighting rig is setup in one location and shades a lot of grass, the park suffers (yet the greenery of the park is the whole reason many of these groups want to be there to begin with).

Also, the commissioner pointed out in testimony that this doesn't affect the large majority of free speech rallies in the park. It is only to impact those that require large machinery and setup that ruins the park the most. It's not even the number of people as much as the equipment used to put together a large event like Shakespeare or Hempfest. I don't see them trying to stifle free speech as much as limit the sort of heavy weight abuse that ultimately destroys the park. It's not much of a Town Common if it's turned into a mud pit every time one of these events rolls through it once a year. In fact, the Parade Ground has been closed for a year to rehabilitate the green space and yet that wasn't an issue for some of the groups who had been part of the use problem (Shakespeare scaled down its stage and moved to the Parkman Bandstand instead).

Basically, I think that just because the Common should be used by the common man doesn't mean that any common man's event should preclude the rest of the common men from having a nice park to use themselves. Why should Hempfest or Shakespeare on the Common or any other large greenery-killing event be allowed to come in and destroy the park for their own purpose to the detriment of every other person who would want to use it? We all have to share the Common and the park commissioner seems to be interested in how best to do so without destroying the park after every such event.

By the way: I found this article in the City Pulse section of the Northeastern University's student paper to be one of the best written on the issue (not anything I've seen in the Globe). If it complains about your e-mail address, give it [email protected] and it'll be quiet.

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"Also, the commissioner pointed out in testimony that this doesn't affect the large majority of free speech rallies in the park."

As far as I can tell, only one group has ever been refused a permit based on free speech and they sued and won a settlement from the city of Boston for restricting their freedom of speech. It was Mayor Tom Menino against Mass Cann/NORML. Not a conspiracy theory. A fact.

I like the park rangers. I know them and work with them. We don't tear up the lawn with vehicles. It will be interesting to see how it does play out.

Your article mentions not one bit of the not so past history of restricting freedom of speech and the Boston Common. AKA Tom Menino vs. MassCann/NORML.

The Rally moved onto the Parkman Bandstand last year and would do so again if needed. The Common after the Rally cleanup done by MassCann is cleaner than before. They pick up all the trash. Every bit.

I don't see any damage at all from the event. I see lots of local bands, artists, vendors, people enjoying it.

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I think you're saying that the rally was at Parkman and cleaned itself up after the event at Parkman. Unfortunately, that's not the problem case. In fact, the commissioner agrees that adapting the large events to locations like Parkman with somewhat modified setups (like Shakespeare's smaller sound stage this past year) is agreeable to the impact that they can handle on the greenery. It's when vehicles and tents and large stages are on the Parade Ground area that it appears the damage is too great to the park according to everything that the commissioner mentions.

This isn't some sort of continuation of any past problems Norml et al had with Menino or the city. Yes, they've made problems for Hempfest before, but to claim this current issue is also a free speech problem is a red herring. It doesn't follow that because they've scrutinized a group before, then this current scrutiny is directly related. Previously, the city tried to impose illegal "disclaimers" on the speakers and organizers of MassCann and wanted illegal searches at the park entrances to the rally. That's not the same thing as wanting to limit the use to non-destructive setups on the landscape. They wouldn't let anyone hold a Burning Man rally in the middle of the grounds and they don't want people to park tons of metal and place dozens of tents to kill the grass and dig up the dirt.

Arguing that they leave it better than they found it (every year?) doesn't make sense in lieu of the fact that they had to shut down the Parade Ground for a whole year to recover the greenery and grounds properly after its past use by Hempfest and Shakespeare On the Common.

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I was there at the Rally for the last 7 years. The Rally has never ripped up the grass. But I can report, that some other group did though. Because the year or two before the last Rally was moved there were suddenly areas with large dead areas and it wasn't from the masscann rally. And MassCann didn't stage or have any people or set up anywhere near those areas. Like somebody had put down tables for days on end and killed patches. The Rally doesn't and hasn't done any damage like that. The staging they use doesn't hurt the grass even with a rain-out. I see it after it is over.

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Honestly, no offense meant, but I am more likely to take the word of the person in charge of the grass than the word of a participant in who's interest it is to claim his group's record is spotless in all ways.

You might even be mostly accurate in your assessment, but the park commissioner says that 100,000+ people do too much damage and she'd like to change the event (location, setup, etc.) to better use the space without the same sort of damage and cost that they had to close the park for once already. It's her job to look out for this sort of thing.

I'm sure you're fully ready to defend MassCann/Norml as a perfect group whose use has no more impact than a sunbather. I'm more apt to agree with the park commissioner who is assigned to handle these sorts of issues with the greenery. I don't think we'll come to any agreement here on the impact of the rally and other large events like it on the Common. As long as you're okay with the idea that this isn't a vendetta on your group and just related to the amount of damage left by superevents on the landscape, I'm okay with that.

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100,000+ people at the Rally? They might have had that in early 1990's with Letters to Cleo's video on MTV but for the last 10 years, the Rally has had no more than a few thousand people every year.

"As long as you're okay with the idea that this isn't a vendetta on your group and just related to the amount of damage left by superevents on the landscape, I'm okay with that."

Why should I assume anything? I know what I see with my own eyes. I have never seen any damage from the Rally. I admit I wasn't there for every year since the 1990's.

I know politics has come into play in the past with restricting 1st amendment rights at the Common. You seem to want to totally discount that and only because you believe the reasons given.

I am more skeptical. An unpaid skeptic that seldom takes any paid public official at face value. It has served me well. Because almost always it is closer to the truth of the matter.

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And thus we return to the crux of the problem I have: your response to what they say is just to tell others that it's all a cover to take away your first amendment rights.

Also, numbers are still estimated at 50,000 in recent years. I am assuming that over a certain number of people it doesn't matter if it's 50,000 or 100,000. The bigger problem on top of the foot traffic is all of the vendor carts, stage setups, vans, trucks, and other miscellany that are required to host that many people. Each one taking its independent and combined toll on the landscape. This could be reduced by using the Bandstand like last year. There are also more paths in that area for people to walk along and setup along.

In the article I linked above, the commissioner even mentions that this isn't to remove groups like MassCann or Shakespeare, but to have them adjust to better use the space without as much destruction resulting. She's looking for something agreeable to the greenery and the group, but you act as if she's out to screw you. You won't find "common ground" with that sort of attitude. Good luck.

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I hope it is exactly as you are pointing out. It is possible. MassCann has good people that work with the Park Rangers. We will see on that. I will report it as it happens. I hope that you are right. And I will give them all their due if it is the case.

But as of right now, the jury is still out on that. It will play itself out quickly because the Rally is being planned right now. I am surprised I haven't heard yet but I bet by the end of the week we will have something. You are probably right because they can get what they want and not stir people up. It's the smart thing to do.

For the most part no vehicles ever drive on the grass, they stick to the concrete paths and lug their stuff from there.
The staging doesn't rip up a thing. It's remarkable but true. You should see for yourself. If the Rally goes on this year, I will document it with pictures, video and present it here. Ocasionally a new renegade vendor will try to drive on the lawn, and the MassCann people, park rangers are on them like flies on you know what. It's funny to see the two groups converge on the newbs. I will record that.

I actually want to thank you for showing me the other side's view. It makes it clear what needs to be presented.

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In the last seven years, 50,000 is a fantasy. It's more like 10-15,000 for a great year and less in many years. The numbers they throw out in the newspapers come from the Boston Police, they reflect every person on the Common (even people not there for the event on one section of the Common, maybe just strolling through) over a six hour period and they are guestimates. The highest being 30,000 in the last say 5-7 years years but truthfully they are lucky if they get 5-10,000 at any one time. Last Rally event, I'd guess they had 6-7,000 at their peak and less than 10,000 total for the whole day and others might argue that I am probably high on my guess-estimate...

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Why do people love the Rally and get upset when it gets messed with again and again?

Biggest independent music political event in Boston every year. It's run by an all volunteer staff. The Rally books some of the best local music and they don't force them to sell tickets or pay to play for the great audience.

It's a free event with a nice crowd, people and national speakers, magazines, local radio, etc. And what does the event get every year from the local pols, media, fee chargers? Grief. Boston rolls out the red carpet for the big wigs and their bust DNC convention for tourism while running out the free, citizen run community event that helps local artists, vendors, citizen rights groups and tourism?

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"Honestly, no offense meant, but I am more likely to take the word of the person in charge of the grass than the word of a participant in who's interest it is to claim his group's record is spotless in all ways."

I'm a private citizen. I make no money or income from MassCann/NORML or the Freedom Rally. If that group does something awful I have no interest in claiming/or defending their record. Another local marijuana reform group has done some things that I don't agree with and I have made my criticisms. I'm calling it, how I see it.

Funny, how you give one the benefit of the doubt and another not so much.

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Kaz,

I recognize all of the points you raise as valid and reasonable concerns. Thank you for taking the time to present the essential issues.

We have recovered acres of new green way where the 93 was. What needs has it been prepared to meet?

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That's an interesting idea. The one downside based on comments already made by some dissenters to limiting the size and impact of events is that these events want to be directly in the view of the State House as a means of helping to stress their importance to state politics. Replacing them to the Kennedy Greenway may not appease their desire to be front and center even if it were better capable to handle their impact.

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The Greenway, how would one get there? By foot traffic crossing a major road not really equipped for several thousand people on foot even on a Saturday? Seems a recipe for disaster? Maybe I'm confused on the access part, is there a T station that brings one there without forcing thousands to cross a major artery?

The Common works because of the T station and parking garage below it. People can safely come in without disturbing the traffic. Bringing thousands of people in the street with cars trying to get somewhere doesn't seem like the best idea.

Correct me if I'm wrong. I'm still not sure where the Kennedy Greenway starts and ends.

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The roads surrounding the Greenway are three lanes wide, no bigger really than any of the roads around the Common. If it is necessary to close one of them, it shouldn't be too hard to put orange cones in the middle of the other one and make it temporarily two-way.

South Station, Aquarium, and Haymarket stations all abut the Greenway. So do a number of parking garages.

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I feel a bit disappointed by the much-hyped Greenway.

Is that all that there is?

A series of traffic islands in a sea of surface roads?

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There's always the Boston Museum.

Oh, wait, that's been scratched.

Well, there's the MassHort greenhouse.

Oh, wait, that's been scratched, too.

But, hey, there are those light fixtures that change colors (and the mini-park down by the Chinatown gate).

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Maybe they should have left the old throughway in place and just planted grass on it.

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That's the thinking out of the box, I want to see. That view and to sit up there in the grass would have been sick! Plant some apple trees and blueberry plants up there and your good to go.

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Yeah - with a canopy! That would have been a swell way to get to the financial/leather/sowhat districts from north station without getting very wet AND having a great view!

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That would have been really cool. We could have had all those annoying pedestrians overhead instead of fouling up traffic.

Better yet, I say we depress the Greenway.

"You call yourself a Greenway? I've seen better Greenways in my dead underwear pile. You should be ashamed of yourself!"

Suldog
http://jimsuldog.blogspot.com

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Make it possible to move these events to City Hall Plaza. Christopher Columbus Park has some possibilities, too.

I've been to a number of large events at City Hall Plaza, and I think there could be some modifications to improve the use of this space. Redesigning it with some festival amenities - restrooms, some shade, etc. - would probably cost less than repairing the common - and bricks don't die when trampled or shaded.

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Mike says the author sent him the letter and that it was OK to repost.

In the future, though, might still make more sense, as Kaz suggests, to link to something published elsewhere, then give your reasons for supporting/opposing/whatevering it.

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Chuck Rossina was a long time co-host on WMBR's (MIT) alternative news/opinion show. He currently produces/hosts a show at Tufts University's WMFO in Somerville.

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