Save Long Wharf Park!

looking northeast through end of shade pavilion (that would become a restaurant) view of harbor from shade pavilion (that would become a restaurant) looking southeast through shade pavilion (that would become a restaurant) crowds on July 4, 2012 viewing plaza and shade pavilion (from Wikipedia) ..photo gallery

Long Wharf Park, at the seaward end of historic Long Wharf in Boston Harbor, is under threat.

Since 2006, the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) has been trying to lease the space to a private operator who will build a late-night restaurant and bar. Since 2008, the North End Ten have been fighting this change as unconstitutional: The Massachusetts Constitution requires a two-thirds vote of both houses of the legislature before public parkland can be converted to other uses. This vote, and the public debate it would require, has never happened. The BRA contends that it is not needed. A Superior Court judge disagreed.

Now the case, and the fate of Long Wharf Park, is on appeal before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

On this site you will find legal documents, photos, answers to frequently asked questions, and links to media articles.

What you can do

Contribute to the legal defense fund:

Thanks to generous contributions, we have raised $25,500 of the needed $35,000!

Point your friends and family, including journalists (print, blog, television) to http://savelongwharfpark.org

The legal proceedings have had three stages: an administrative appeal, a Superior Court lawsuit, and (pending) an appeal in the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. The documents are extensive, and the most important are included at the following link.

Legal documents

In the media

The effort to save Long Wharf Park has been in the media frequently. See these links.

Frequently asked questions

Here are answers to frequently asked questions.