For the past four years, Boston has offered $750 grants to fund summer block parties. In 2024, the Office of Civic Organizing (OCO) awarded 52 grants totaling $30,000 to community groups to fill city streets with safe, family-friendly fun. On Wednesday, Councilor Ed Flynn said these grants must be eliminated to evaluate the program’s effectiveness and to make up for funds cut from other essential services, including special education and BPS teachers.
“We must demonstrate fiscal discipline, transparency, and accountability. Fiscal discipline requires us to immediately eliminate any program that is unnecessary during these challenging economic times,” Flynn said.
Councilor Enrique Pepen said he opposes Flynn’s resolution because, according to a hearing yesterday with OCO, funding for these grants comes from partners outside Boston and from private grants, not from the city’s operating budget.
“I have nothing but great experiences in my district with these grants because what I have been able to see is the activation of residents that don’t usually interact with one another,” he said.
Councilor and Chair of the Committee on Public Safety and Criminal Justice Henry Santana said the work the grants do to bring communities together makes neighborhoods safer by introducing residents, particularly youth and seniors, to one another.
Councilor Sharon Durkan said she disagrees with using legislative resolutions on matters relating to the budget, especially during budget season.
“We have power through the budget process to reallocate money and make decisions as a body. This just feels a little premature,” she said.
“The social, emotional, and mental well-being of our residents is a public safety tactic,” said Councilor Julia Mejia. “There is something to be said about the city utilizing resources to bring people together, especially when there is so much trauma that we are all experiencing today.”
She added that if the council is serious about fiscal responsibility, the body should reexamine the budget as a whole, not pick and choose things that feel like fluff. “If we’re not looking at how we’re spending money on White Stadium, but we’re talking about block party grants, I don’t understand where our priorities are.”
Councilor Gabriella Coleta Zapata said the funds are utilized in a way that serves to strengthen communities. She noted that during a previous CONMEBOL Copa América, the top Latin South American men’s quadrennial football tournament, East Boston’s bars and restaurants were overrun by fans. She said these grants provide a means of managing high-turnout events safely.
Flynn responded that he agrees that the block parties are a good time and do bring people together, but that during this challenging time, we do not have the money for them. He said it leaves a bad taste in the mouths of residents whose property taxes have been raised to see the city spend funds on parties.
This resolution failed to pass with councilors Flynn, Murphy, and FitzGerald voting in the affirmative and the remaining nine councilors present voting in opposition.
