Boston's sign police conduct a sweep
Shop owners bristle as Newbury Street sandwich boards get heave-ho
By Matt Viser, Globe Staff | June 15, 2006
Marilyn Tushman , in heels, sprinted after the truck, banging on the window and screaming at the men for taking her metal sign advertising ``fine Scottish cashmere for ladies and men at discount prices."
``You stole my sign!" she shouted.
The men didn't deny it. Not only did they refuse to give it back, they handed her a $200 citation for violating a little-known city law against sandwich boards and freestanding signs on public sidewalks.
Up and down Newbury Street's concourse of ritzy salons and purveyors of haute couture, five city Inspectional Services Department workers yesterday hauled away signs and heaved them into the back of the truck, often with highly agitated store managers or owners buzzing around them.
The two-dozen victims included a sale sign at Guess jeans and a chalkboard sign at Starbucks that had hand-drawn yellow bananas and inviting details about a new drink. Shops from Timeless Tea to L'elegance Coiffure were relieved of signs in the crackdown.
Such signs have been illegal for decades, but in the past the city has only occasionally handed out citations and has only rarely hauled away the offending advertisements en masse. Some business owners say they are a staple of urban life, adding character and life to the streetscape. But others say they are nothing but clutter and that complaints are on the rise. Under pressure from two neighborhood groups trying to improve the look of the Back Bay, the city launched yesterday's operation.
``This is the place people want to be -- it's the most beautiful neighborhood in the country and this is the top shopping promenade in Boston," said Meg Mainzer-Cohen , president of the Back Bay Association, which represents area businesses and is making a push to clean up the area in preparation for a marketing campaign. ``And there are sandwich boards littering it."
Sandwich boards are banned citywide, but in some neighborhoods, such as Mattapan, Dorchester, and Allston-Brighton, business owners are allowed to place the signs outside, as long as they do it on private property and get permits from the city.
But in the Back Bay, strict neighborhood codes specifically outlaw sandwich boards and any other freestanding signs.
Word circulated on several neighborhood e-mail lists alerting the businesses that the rules were going to be enforced more strictly, but yesterday's sweep still seemed to come as a surprise.
At each shop, five city workers huddled to decide whether a sign was in violation. If it was standing alone and advertising a business, it was hauled away. One of the city workers, a burly man with a bright blue ISD shirt, informed the owner of the violation. Another wrote out the $200 fine. One put the signs into the truck. One took photos to document violations.
``It's like, come on, get a grip," said Tiffany Clark , a passerby who was shocked to see the city removing a sign for a second-floor tea store. ``How bad is the crime in Boston? And this is the issue they're trying to enforce?"
Each year, Mainzer-Cohen said, complaints about the sandwich boards increase. Last summer, she said, there were about 15 complaints.
``Part of what makes this such an attractive neighborhood is that it is very strictly regulated," Mainzer-Cohen said. ``And at the end of the day, that's why people want to be here."
She said that some businesses, to get around signage restrictions, have resorted to makeshift alternatives, such as parking ad-covered cars in metered spaces.
Mainzer-Cohen said such things detract from the area's atmosphere. But some disagree.
``If you take away the signs, it will look like a generic mall," said David Thompson , who owns Eclipse, a hair salon and gallery. ``It will be a cookie-cutter Disneyland, and I don't want to be a part of that. Let it have a little funk to it."
Business owners predicted a backlash against the association, and some said they are considering leaving the area because of the hassles of doing business in the posh district: high rents, difficult parking and restrictions that strictly control their stores' looks.
``We're not 6-year-old kids who are going to be bullied because some big truck comes up," said Tushman, a manager at Best of Scotland Cashmere Outlet . She said that the store obtained a permit for the sign 18 years ago and that it was made in accordance with architectural guidelines.
Meanwhile, a man nearby walked around with a cardboard sandwich sign attached to his body that said fatpacking.com. Apparently, signs that move are not in violation of the city code.
``I figured I'd walk around and see if I could attract attention," said Steven Silberberg , whose business takes people backpacking to help them lose weight. ``My marketing acumen comes right out of the 1960s. . . . I guess I'm a rebel."
Matt Viser can be reached at
maviser@globe.com.