In the comments, Jason claims I’m too sanguine about Beacon Hill classism. Probably. On one hand, the architectural value and historical significance of the neighborhood will mean, given class divisions, that Beacon Hill will remain an exclusive neighborhood for the foreseeable future. On the other hand, a quick look at the Boston blogosphere will suggest that not many people have warm, fuzzy feelings about Beacon Hill residents unless they themselves happen to live in Beacon Hill.
In places like JP, however, there is a real process of social exclusion going on today. Case in point: in my neighborhood, Fasika, the Ethiopian restaurant is coming up for renewal of its liquor license. However, since the restaurant doubles as a nightclub with a mostly Dominican clietnele on the weekends, it has generated a lot of ill will from local residents, who are now lobbying the Boston Licensing Board to revoke Fasika’s license. And there is some substance to their complaints - the club does bring traffic, trash and noise. But ultimately, the damage done is pretty minimal: there’s no crime or genuinely unsavory element brought in, and any noise is only on weekend nights. The subtext of this push isn’t hard to find: residents a) resent the lowerer class of Fasika’s clientele and b) want their neighborhood to be more suburban, less city-like. They want to push out perfectly law-abiding minority Bostonians from their slice of JP for a modest uptick in their property values. If you’re a Boston resident who resents this kind of neighborhood association bullying and intervention into the liquor licensing process, you contact the licensing board and tell them why Fasika should retain its license.
UPDATE: Original complaint letter added to comments.
UPDATE 2: Went by the restaurant last night and saw it shuddered up. And there’s this craigslister who has noticed it closed. Did the licensing board already have their way? Or is this related to the closing of the motorsports shop or the proposed residential building for S. Huntington? Does anyone know what’s going on?
UPDATE 3: Thanks to Jason who informs me that the JP Gazette has announced Fasika is closing. This notice in the Gazette suggests that the licensing battle may not be over, however:
Licensing Board, Boston City Hall, Room 809A, 635-4170. Wed., Jan. 11: 10am, Huntington Coffee House, Inc., dba Fasika Ethiopian Restaurant, at 23 S. Huntington Ave. seeks to transfer CV 7-Day All Alc. Bev. License to S and P, LLC, Paul Pagounis, manager, at the same location.
The date has already past. I don’t know who S & P, LLC are.
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