^ that is correct. I don't think Jacobs will ever let that team go.
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Net Gain
Celtics' brilliant season has businesses near the Garden basking in the glow
By Rachana Rathi
Globe Staff / June 5, 2008
Everyone loves a winner - nowhere more than on Causeway Street.
Tips are better these days, lunch lines are longer, and the sun seems to shine brighter, people working in and around TD Banknorth Garden say. The difference in attitudes is like the difference between last year's Boston Celtics team, which had the longest losing streak in franchise history, and the squad competing in the NBA Finals this week (against their bitter rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers, no less).
A neighborhood overshadowed literally by the Green Line and old elevated Central Artery until 2004, and figuratively by the dismal performance of the Celtics, a prolonged hockey lockout, and the Democratic National Convention, is bright and cheery in June for the first time in 21 years.
The Celtics' deepest playoff run since 1987 has been more than an economic boon for the neighborhood, business leaders and residents say.
"It's symbolic of the rebirth of the area," said Robert O'Brien, executive director of the Downtown North Association, a business-oriented advocacy organization representing the downtown, North End, and West End community. "It's exhilarating for everyone."
In the years following the passing of the triumphant Celtics teams, this once-bustling corner of the city fell into disrepute, traversed primarily by commuters hastening in and out of North Station. Neighborhood advocates began working on a redevelopment plan.
"Ten years ago, there were junkies and hookers along Causeway Street," said Josh Davis, a manager and chef at DJ's at The Garden, a recently opened restaurant and bar on Friend Street. "Not only was it empty, but it was unpleasant."
A portion of the redevelopment plan came to fruition in 2004, when the Green Line and highway overpass came down. But a seasonlong professional hockey lockout kept the Garden idle many nights the following winter and perpetuated the atmosphere of a ghost town. And while the Democratic National Convention brought an estimated 35,000 visitors to the city, the lockdown it necessitated effectively kept people out, business owners said.
"The key to surviving here is getting through June, July, and August," said Matt Coleman, a bartender at Sullivan's Tap on Canal Street and a local resident who has seen the changes in the neighborhood firsthand for 22 years. "It was so bad for so long, a lot of people didn't make it."
In recent years, at least nine once-popular establishments have closed their doors, including Mulligan's, Burger King, and Paddy Burke's Pub. Not only was the Garden having trouble selling tickets, fans had trouble giving away tickets. Red Sox jerseys were prevalent. The restaurants and bars in the area were lucky if they were half-full, even during basketball season.
"It's turned around . . . the sellouts, the enthusiasm of the fans who are coming back, people wearing green. Even the streets look wider and brighter," said Derick Mains, a manager at Halftime Pizza on Causeway Street.
Mains said Celtics mania is even more intense now than it was in the 1980s because "it's been so long. Back then, everyone expected the Celtics to be in the finals. Now, there's more excitement."
Along with the excitement, there's tangible development. One million square feet of residences, hotels, office buildings, retail space, and a supermarket are expected to be built in the next three years in the triangle between Causeway, Merrimac, and Washington streets, O'Brien said. And $2 billion worth of development projects are underway in the downtown, North End, and West End.
"Like the Celtics, after 20 years, we are an overnight success," O'Brien said. "Twenty years of planning is now coming to fruition."
There are other tangible changes. Thousands of fans lined up at the arena, some camping out for two days, to get a crack at 1,200 finals tickets released Monday. Local bars and restaurants say their profits have jumped as much as 40 percent over last year. And bartenders and parking lot attendants say people tip more generously because the team's success puts customers in a good mood.
When the Celtics win, everyone wins.
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