We demand that the City of Boston clean and remediate Morton Street, a public way in the North End of Boston, and also prevent the continued dumping and storage of trash on Morton Street, adjacent to the newly renovated Cutillo Park.  

The City, through its Department of Parks and Recreation, has invested millions of dollars and considerable time and effort in the planning and implementation of a full renovation of Vincent Cutillo Park, a public park between and abutting Stillman Street and Morton Street in the North End.  The City’s $2,000,000 plus renovation project is expected to be complete in the near future.  The pending re-opening of Cutillo Park, which includes among other features, a children’s play area, makes the deplorable condition of Morton Street even more concerning than ever.  Morton Street is, and has for years been a health hazard and eyesore, continually covered with trash, trash barrels, grease bins, compost bins and other garbage that the City of Boston is actively permitting local businesses to store along Morton Street, a public way, 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.  

Morton Street runs the entire length of Cutillo Park, from Salem Street to Endicott Street.  The trash saturated condition of Morton Street is continual and fosters an extremely large rat population.  The numerous rat dens are immediately apparent to anyone walking along Morton Street.  Both the trash and the rats spread throughout Cutillo Park, creating a health and safety hazard the City of Boston must now pay attention to in order to protect its investment in Cutillo Park and, more importantly, the users of the Park.  Because the renovated park includes a children’s playground and because residents will bring their pets to the park, the City will need to take great care in the methods it uses to control the rat population.  A key to this MUST be eliminating the trash dump on Morton Street.  Morton Street is a public way, and must therefore be maintained, cleaned and cared for by the City of Boston.  If the City permits the condition on Morton Street to remain as-is, its investment of time and money in Cutillo Park will be ruined.

In 2018, the City of Boston granted certain businesses the right to store trash receptacles along Morton Street, apparently for NO consideration.  This right was made expressly subject to an obligation to comply with City rules and regulations and maintain the area in a safe and sanitary condition.  The subject businesses have not complied with this obligation, and the City of Boston has not taken any steps to enforce the obligations of the benefitted businesses under the 2018 agreement.  

The 2018 agreement was not valid when issued and it not valid now; it does not reference any City of Boston ordinance(s) or regulations pursuant to which it has been entered into.  If the agreement ever was valid, it has been invalidated by the subject businesses’ failure to comply with their obligations thereunder as well as by the City’s failure to enforce the businesses’ obligations or comply with its own duty of inspection and enforcement.  

We demand that the Mayor’s office act to terminate the 2018 agreement and that the businesses storing trash, grease, and other refuse along Morton Street be required to make other arrangements and comply with City of Boston regulations, like all other businesses are required to do.  There is no reason that a few business owners should be given the right to dump trash on a public way at the expense of North End residents and visitors as well as a newly renovated City park.