Street Performers Swept From Stage

By Ali Bhanpuri

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.

“The noise was so annoying,” she says.