North End Feast Organizations promise changes

Representatives from St Anthony, Fisherman, and St Agrippina societies attended the September Neighborhood Council meeting to discuss the security issues at their respective Feasts.

Jason Aluia from St Anthony's said his organization paid a private security firm $15,000 for additional protection after problems at the earlier feasts.

BPD can't search backpacks because of constitutional rights, so we hired private security. Some people wanted to take care of it the old fashioned way, but we didn't do that.

All the representatives commended the Boston Police Department and A1 Police Commander, Cpt Martin, but Dom Strazzullo, president of Fisherman's Feast, acknowledged that the situation escalated beyond even what the police anticipated.

They said that this problem isn't limited to the North End and that it's "Commonwealth-wide".

When the floor was opened for community comment, there were several suggestions for combating the crowds (require underage attendees to have an adult chaperone, station police at the T Stops). But two of the three attendees who spoke were more concerned with the leftover trash from the Feasts than any ruckus that occurred within or on the periphery.

One person asked if DPW could handle the clean up and another noted the large number of nips and broken bottles left behind, especially after the Fisherman's Feast.

Aluia stated that there was a St Anthony's Society meeting scheduled for later that night to discuss how they will address the problems at next years Feast and that "all options are on the table". The Council agreed to ask the Societies back to a meeting "around January" to discuss what changes would be implemented for next year.