Restaurants in Boston’s North End Fight Targeted Outdoor Dining Rules and Fees | Eater Boston

"One of several North End restaurants that joined an open letter protesting a $7,500 application fee and a shortened outdoor-dining season restricted to May 1–September (depending on compliance). The letter calls the requirements harsh, exorbitant, and discriminatory, argues outdoor dining adds to the neighborhood’s cultural and tourist appeal and economic benefit, and requests fee removal and an extension of the season to September 30 without behavior-based restrictions; owners are also exploring legal action. City officials say the extra fees (plus a $458/month charge per parking space) are needed to offset trash, rodent control, and traffic problems and defend treating the dense neighborhood differently after past resident complaints about distancing, noise, smoking, and sidewalk/streets congestion that led to reprimands and truncated seasons in previous years." - Rachel Leah Blumenthal