Residents Take Complaints About Main Street Teens to Neighborhood Council

Why haven't members of the Charlestown Neighborhood Council intervened in the on-going dispute between local business owners and the teenagers loitering on Main Street?

That was the question posed at Tuesday night's council meeting by a few residents who were outraged by the . 

"What went down last night at Durty Harry's is a complete abomination of what should be happening in this town. This whole problem with what's going on … nothing seems to ever be addressed," said resident David Kenny, Jr. "You're not saying anything about in the Bridge, or the Patch. I want to start hearing what you guys have to say about it."

But the suggestion that the Neighborhood Council has not been involved was not taken lightly by some members of the council.

"I'm more than a little offended to suggest we're not doing enough with our volunteer time," said Mark Rosenshein, an at-large council member.

And George Morton, who represents Precinct 5, said, "don't accuse me of things
work too hard for this community and this council."

For months, . They say the teens have been disrespectful and discouraged or intimidated customers. Earlier this year, the owner of by a drunken teen who also broke the restaurant's window.

And this month, Michelle Fournier, owner at Durty Harry's, published a letter in Patch, dealing with the situation. She perceived the vandalism on Halloween as a targeted attack, in retaliation for the letter.

But several members of the Neighborhood Council said it was beyond their purview to get involved in addressing the problem directly.

"I think you don't understand the purpose of this body. We're not really community leaders. We don't initiate. We react. We have some ability to facilitate and negotiate. But we have no authority in an of ourselves. We get our authority from all of you," said Judy Brennan, from Precinct 1.

The council is a strictly advisory board to the mayor's office and City Hall. Although members are elected, they have no legislative authority

Getting involved, finding solutions

Members of the council pointed out there are dozens of organizations in the community that work to keep young people off the streets -- and that many of them are personally involved in that work, through coaching or mentoring.

If you coach them or mentor them or tutor, them they'll think twice ...," said Precinct 7 representative Michael Charbonnier. "If there's something you want to do … those kids really need help."

David Nava, another resident who spoke at Tuesday's meeting, thanked the council for the work it does and for the feedback, but asked the question -- if the Neighborhood Council is not authorized to address this issue, who is?

"Who do we turn to? We're not sure who to go to," he said.

The council did not provide a response, but another member of the audience did. He said he grew up in the neighborhood and personally knows several of the teenagers who hang out on Main Street. He offered to introduce residents to the teens with the hope of resolving the problem.

"If you want someone to reach out to them, it could make a huge difference," he said.