DOWNTOWN—Robbery, burglary, larceny and vehicle theft have declined in the last four years, shocking even police officers.
In the A-1 district—Beacon Hill, Charlestown, Chinatown, Downtown and the North End—robbery has decreased 11 percent, burglary 34 percent and larceny 9.7 percent between Jan. and Sept. from 2005 to 2008, according to crime statistics on the Boston Police Department’s blog. Vehicle theft has dropped the most, from 190 reported incidents in 2005 to 101 in 2008—a 47 percent decrease.
“There was a big push [for awareness] over the last couple years,” said Officer Johnson, a 10-year veteran of the department, who declined to disclose his first name. “We placed pamphlets and stickers on vehicles that have anything valuable in plain sight, letting drivers know to be more careful.” Carrie Perruzzi, 38, who parks her car at the Aquarium garage each morning, said she hasn’t seen a greater police presence, but an increase in private security companies.
“I think [the private security companies] increase was due to 9/11, not the city,” she said. “Private companies expanded their security budgets—mostly real estate owners and property management companies.”
Johnson said he doesn’t deal with vehicle theft incidents while on patrol because victims go directly to the station to file a report, but “on a given day—7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.—we usually get four or five calls” for larceny. The Macy’s department store in Downtown Crossing and the CVS Pharmacy on Cambridge Street are his most frequent callers, he said.
A detective at Macy’s loss and prevention department said shoplifting has increased since August.
“When I first started working in April, we contacted the police maybe three or four times a month,” said the Macy’s detective, who declined to say her name. “For the last two months, we have had about three incidents a week.”
The police department tackles theft with its Trace program, a collaborative effort by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Criminal History System Board, the National Crime Information Center, the FBI and Trace, a private company. The department extends stolen property information to different law enforcement databases across the country to help people find their stolen possessions.
DOWNTOWN—Shortly after returning from a 15-month tour in Iraq, Chris Vlahakis found himself engaged in a new battle.
Two months ago, Vlahakis, an army veteran and street performer from Somerville, arrived outside of the east entrance of Faneuil Hall, expecting to lay out his drawing materials and tip basket. As he crossed Congress Street, walking toward the Samuel Adams statue, he noticed newly erected metal barricades around the landmark.
“I knew it was coming,” says Vlahakis, 40, who has spent 15 years drawing caricatures at Faneuil Hall. “It was only a matter of time.”
Vlahakis says he knew “petty” bickering over workspaces and loud music from drummers and dancers would cause problems for all the performers in the Faneuil Hall area.
“There were two clowns who were always arguing with each other over the same spot,” he says. “It was really kind of ridiculous—there was enough space for everyone.”
In August, the Boston Globe reported that loud noises from street performers had irritated Mayor Thomas M. Menino and the nearby restaurant Houston’s to the point of action. According to the article, cabinet chief of property management, Michael Galvin, ordered the enforcement of new regulations for the area surrounding the historic meeting place to keep noise down. Houston’s, located across the street from Faneuil Hall, issued complaints because noise from performances were bothering customers. Menino’s office did not return calls. Houston’s general manager, Jennifer Achevarria, was unavailable for comment.
The regulations limited performers such as Vlahakis and Y.A.K.—You Already Know—dance member Jet Liem to a small square of cobblestones on the building’s western entrance.
Liem says the police have confronted the dance troop multiple times over the loudness of their music, even using decibel readers to track the group’s volume. After the group turned down their music, the decibel reader still showed their performance was surpassing the appropriate volume. To see how much their performance was affecting the noise level, Liem says they turned their music off completely. The reader still recorded noise over the regulation level.
“We could have used an alarm clock to play our music and we still would have been over the limit,” says 23-year-old Liem. “I was talking louder than the music.”
Liem says it’s hard to keep “his vibe when you’re always looking over your shoulder for the police” to interrupt each performance. He also finds it difficult to overlook the irony in metal barricades obstructing part of the Freedom Trail.
Vlahakis says the daily number of performers has dwindled from seven or eight to less than four since the barricades were erected.Both Liem and Vlahakis, who is a father of five, say their revenues have fallen by more than 50 percent since August.
The regulations also affect the businesses inside the building.
Kostes Rigas, 35, who runs the International News and Tobacco store inside Faneuil Hall, says he enjoys the noise reduction but not the drop in customers.
“The noise was loud, but you deal with it,” says Rigas, noting the number of people around Faneuil Hall has fallen since the new restrictions. “If you’re in business to make money, you tolerate certain things, even if they’re not pleasant.”
For some, the smaller crowds and lower volume have been a welcome change.
“Not only were they loud, but the crowds of people watching [the performers] would block the entrance to our store,” says Leah Laroque, a worker at the basement-level Faneuil Hall Heritage Shop.
Laroque says the drum players performed directly outside of her side entrance.
DOWNTOWN—Under the morning shadows of a 40-floor building, there’s a white push cart with red letters that read “Karo’s BBQ.” The cart’s owner, Harutiun Dermendjian, 55, hunches over one of three coolers, his New England Patriots hat exposing trench-like creases in his forehead. One of his two sons, Lester, 23, helps him unload lettuce, onions, peppers and tomatoes. “I get all my vegetables and bread fresh every morning,” says Dermendjian, who wakes at 4 a.m. to season chicken and dice vegetables at his kitchen in Peabody.
For the past 10 years, the Dermendjian’s have served Armenian-style food as an affordable alternative to the ubiquitous hot dogs and fries. Over the years, they have watched the neighborhood change.
“It was so quiet in the beginning,” Dermendjian says of the downtown area. “Then, they started a lot of construction.”
In January, he watched bulldozers and cranes demolish the old Filene’s Basement building in Downtown Crossing. He says the plans for future hotels, retail, and residential spaces, sent street vendors scattering for new working locations.
“I didn’t know if we were going to survive,” says Dermendjian, who was forced to move his pushcart from the Filene’s Basement sidewalk to the corner of State and Washington streets. “I’m not mad or bitter about [having to move locations]. They are making new construction, and new construction is always good.”
He added: “maybe 10 people suffer but 100 benefit.”
Rosemarie Sansone, president at the Downtown Crossing Partnership, says some vendors are benefitting from the recent construction.
“It all depends on the product, how they sell it, and how often they are open for business,” Sansone says. “Mr. Dermendjian seems to understand the market place, his customers, and what hours of operation make sense.”
Since taking over the business from a cousin in 2003, Dermendjian has opened another push cart—run by his wife Yegisapet and their eldest son, 25-year-old Andres—at the intersection of Hawley and Summer streets in Downtown Crossing.
Dermendjian prides himself on diligent preparation and what he calls a secret family recipe. He says his spices are “not too hot but add just enough flavor,” keeping customers like Vishal Wadhwa, 27, coming back at least once a week because of its “great taste and its hygienic quality compared to other vendors.”
Leslie Madden, 45, frequents Karo’s for lunch four times a week because “it’s convenient, consistent and clean.”
Dermendjian says maintaining a steady customer base has been difficult, but it has nothing to do with the quality of the food. He says offices have moved to new locations, stripping him of his regular customers.
Dermendjian says business slows when Christmas approaches, because the cold keeps many customers indoors. Between January and March, Dermendjian closes his cart and does construction work. For those three months, the Partnership cuts his rent by 50 percent.
As noon approaches, the cart’s red letters glisten in the sun, but few would seem to notice. The growing crowd covers the name.
creased since August.
