meeting

An article by Patrick Rosso for the Globe entitled “Residents in Roxbury raise concerns about relocation of Dominican Festival to Clifford Park”  covers a meeting between the  BPD, the Latino Liason to the mayor, and the residents and business owners of the neighborhood surrounding Clifford Park where the annual Dominican festival is set to take place due to construction at Franklin park, the festivals usual venue. The article opens summing up the meeting in these words: “Residents in Roxbury are not happy with the relocation of the annual Dominican Festival.” However, some Dominican residents are not happy for a different reason: “ridiculous, racist, and baseless comments” made at the meeting by Sheree Theall, owner of Victoria’s Diner and The Hen House and other people present at the meeting. In a response posted by a community member who would prefer to remain anonymous, a call is put out to attend the festival and to boycott Vicorias Diner: “I’m concerned for the safety of my customers and my employees,” said Sheree Theall, the owner of Victoria’s Diner on Massachusetts Avenue. “There will be people who will be there just to start trouble.” On August 13th, a meeting was held by the BPD and the Latino Liason to the mayor for the residents and business owners of the neighborhood surrounding Clifford Park. At this meeting, unlike what residents are quoted saying in the linked article, the concerns were not so much about the amount of people that will be attending the festival. Instead, the meeting was filled with with discriminatory and stereotypical comments. Residents and business owners, such as Sheree Theall, owner of Victoria’s Diner, do not want the Dominican festival to be held at Clifford Park NOT because there will be “too many people for the dense urban neighborhood to handle”, but because “THOSE PEOPLE”, as they constantly referred to Dominicans, will bring unnecessary violence to the area. They are worried that Dominicans will bring drugs, guns, knives, and other weapons and fill the neighborhood with mayhem. After the police tried to calm the residents’ worries by explaining that there would be sufficient police and emergency personnel present, the residents and business owners went as far as to say that “if the event was so safe, why is there a need for so much personnel?” Great logic there. Sheree Theall even demanded that the Dominican Festival committee pay for a cop to guard her restaurant against people who want to come in and use her bathroom, as if a a sign stating “NO PUBLIC RESTROOMS” is not enough. Residents even complained about how it is not fair that their tax dollars are being used to fund such an event, not realizing that this event is completely paid for by the Dominican Festival comittee. Residents even expressed concerns about Puerto Ricans being invited to the event. The residents and business owners of this Roxbury neighborhood do not want the Dominican Festival to be held in Clifford Park, but not because there will be too many people in an already densely populated area. They do not want the festival to be held in a PUBLIC PARK because they do not want Hispanics in their neighborhood. Please show support by attending the Dominican festival and parade on Sunday, August 18th to show the residents and business owners in this neighborhood that Hispanics are not savages they think we are. The days where only whites were allowed to have parades and festivals in Boston, are long gone. Also, please BOYCOTT VICTORIA’S DINER for the ridiculous, racist, and baseless comments expressed by owner Sheree Theall. In a comment posted in the comments section below Sheree Theall responds: I am responding to the accusations being made against me & the business I run, Victoria’s Diner. We run a family business here at the intersection of three great Boston neighborhoods, Roxbury, Dorchester and South Boston. We consider our employees part of our family, and they come from all types of ethnic backgrounds, many from those same three communities. My family, through love and marriage is made up of many ethnicities, one of them being Dominican. I have nieces and nephews of Dominican descent. My concerns were never about the group’s ethnicity – but about the short notice given to us and about the logistics of having such a large crowd – any large crowd – of people in such a small area, i.e.; traffic, parking, public facilities. Whatever the event to be held across the street – any that would draw such large crowds – would give us the same concerns. Imagine yourself the operator of a diner on a Sunday and because the Parks Department hasn’t informed us of public bathroom facilities that will be available, the concern of maintaining order with a mostly female staff. I myself have been pushed past because of our policy of “no public bathrooms”. We continue to welcome and are grateful to all of our customers for choosing Victoria’s Diner. We are proud to be part of such a diverse neighborhood. We wouldn’t have chosen another Diner/Restaurant in another area – because we wanted to be involved with this community in particular. It is disturbing our concerns were taken out of context and are being used to slander us when we have said and done nothing to deserve this backlash. State Representative Carlos Henriquez, echoed the same concerns and we have spoken many times since. I would be happy to sit with Representative Henriquez and concerned parties that may have been offended by my request for safety assurances for my patrons and employees. State Representative Carlos Henriquez, who was at Wednesday’s meeting, said he heard the remarks by those in attendance who spoke and could understand why some people took offense at some of the comments made at the meeting.  “There were comments  that rubbed me the wrong way” he said, but added  that his concerns about the comments were addressed in the meeting immediately by himself and several others and that it was clarified at the time