Turns out the Mayans were off by a year and ten days.
"Stressing safety for First Night" by Eric Moskowitz | Globe Staff, December 30, 2013
More police officers and firefighters will be on the streets Tuesday night as part of an expanded public safety plan for First Night, city officials said, as they prepare to host up to 1 million or more people for the first New Year’s Eve since the Boston Marathon bombings.
Mayor Thomas M. Menino and other officials announced the enhanced safety plan Monday but largely avoided details, instead stressing a standard annual appeal to revelers to celebrate safely and ride public transportation.
Let's hope there isn't a tube attack.
But Acting Boston Police Commissioner William Evans acknowledged even greater vigilance on the part of safety agencies in the aftermath of the April 15 attack, speaking on a day in which officials would unveil the first-ever Boston Marathon-themed ice sculpture, near the race’s finish in Copley Square.
“We’re always alert since what happened in April,” said Evans, who ran the Marathon that day, then helped command the scene as a Boston Police superintendent. “We don’t want to talk about specifics, but obviously since April 15 we’ve stepped up all our security.”
See: Tsarnaev and Friends
Speaking alongside the mayor at City Hall, Evans said more officers will be in place, particularly along the First Night parade route and on nearby streets, and that “plenty of bomb assets” will be on hand as a precaution.
A false flag for First Night?
He likened the preparation and day-of deployment to other events — July 4 on the Esplanade and the Red Sox World Series championship parade — that drew similar-sized crowds and that went smoothly and safely in the months after the Marathon.
Evans asked people to alert police if they see anything suspicious on New Year’s Eve....
At Copley Square on Tuesday evening, the noted ice sculptor Don Chapelle and the executive director of the Boston Athletic Association, Thomas Grilk, unveiled a 7-foot-high ice carving of the iconic unicorn logo of the association and the Boston Marathon. Chapelle, who has run the Marathon multiple times, once froze a pair of his running shoes into a First Night depiction of spring, but the piece he worked on Monday was the first Marathon-specific sculpture ever commissioned.
Grilk, who said the idea came from Menino’s office, called it a “celebration of the resilience of the citizens of Boston” while looking forward to April, “when the Marathon will be back better than ever.”
I'm tired of the endless mind manipulation and reinforcement of a staged and scripted crisis drill followed by a false flag down the block.
“The Marathon is kind of a harbinger of spring rather than a winter event, but this year we’ll remember that spirit of strength all year long,” said Grilk, standing before the ice sculpture by the bronze Boston Marathon marker inlaid into the bricks at Copley Square, not far from the finish line.
Earlier at City Hall, Menino gathered Evans and other officials to discuss safety while promoting the 21st First Night of his tenure, and the 38th since Boston gave birth to the modern arts-and-culture-based, family-friendly celebration as a way to end the 1976 bicentennial, an idea that soon spread.
The Boston celebration was nearly scuttled this year with the folding of First Night’s longtime nonprofit organizer. But Menino, in a final gesture, assembled a collection of foundation and corporate sponsors to reinvigorate First Night.
“We’re going to have a wonderful night, a night to celebrate the culture of Boston,” Menino said. “Public safety is a top priority. I ask everyone to enjoy the night but also be smart. . . . Take public transportation. No drinking — no public drinking — will be allowed during the celebration. The police are going to be out in force.”
Boston Transportation Commissioner Thomas J. Tinlin reminded the public that parts of Boylston, Charles, and Dartmouth streets, as well as Atlantic Avenue, will be closed to vehicle traffic around the time of the parade and fireworks displays, and that an array of Back Bay and downtown streets will be marked as not allowing parking, at the risk of a $75 ticket and $90 towing expense.
“So you can come in, park your car, and run the risk of $165, or [ride the T and] use that money to buy the kids the glow sticks and the horns and all of that stuff, and maybe even have dinner,” Tinlin said. “We encourage you to do that and stimulate the economy, as opposed to ringing in the new year in the City of Boston tow lot.”
Think I will stay home.
The MBTA will be free after 8 p.m. and will run with extended hours and “rush hour-plus” service, MBTA General Manager Beverly Scott said.
“We will be out there pumpin’ on the T,” she said. Rapid transit will run until 2 a.m. — though last-train riders should head to stations around 1:30 a.m. — while commuter rail and ferry customers should consult special line-specific schedules at MBTA.com.
Noting that it might be his last City Hall press conference, Menino was by turns nostalgic, self-deprecating, and grateful, holding court before about 30 reporters and photographers.
Related: Menino Moving On
Heading afterward for a groundbreaking for affordable housing on Archdiocese property in Dorchester, Menino joked that he was “looking for the blessings of the cardinal as I leave office.” And in an aside he whispered that all the tributes and handshakes he has received have made the last few weeks “the longest wake I’ve ever attended.”
See: Sunday Globe Special: $tuffed BRA
I'm not laughing.
Speaking off the cuff, Menino declared his love for Boston, extolled the local media for its spirit and diligence compared with that of other cites — “I’m gonna miss all you folks” — and expressed mixed feelings about the possibility of one last nor’easter at the end of the week.
“I think the snow gods are trying to give me a going-away present,” he said. Next week, “I’ll be someplace else, and the phone won’t ring,” he said. “It’s time to move on.”
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Little cold to be heading down to the Common, isn't it?
"A standing invitation to keep First Night going" by Shirley Leung | Globe Staff, December 26, 2013
When the nonprofit that organized First Night for nearly four decades was abruptly shuttered in June, Tom Menino declared the city would continue the New Year’s Eve tradition.
Everyone envisioned a stripped-down celebration: a little music, a few ice sculptures, and we’ll call it a night.
That’s not how this mayor rolls.
First Night, he made clear to his staff and anyone else who would listen, would be bigger than ever. Never mind he didn’t have a dime committed. Never mind he had only six months to pull off something that takes a year to plan. Never mind it would happen during his last week in office, when lame ducks are supposed to be packing up....
If you have never been or haven’t been in a while, this is the year to go, but Menino hasn’t saved First Night; he’s just done his part. The rest is up to us. Buy a button (only $10), show up, and support the festival as we never have done before. Afterward, if you want the celebration to happen again, someone out there needs to step up and carry on the tradition.
Agenda-pu$hing cheerleader!
That someone could be you.
Now a guilt trip.
First Night was born out of Clara Wainwright’s dread of making New Year’s Eve plans. It’s a night on which everyone feels compelled to be somewhere with somebody, doing something.
Speak for yourself!
She wanted to re-create the feeling of a magical Dec. 31 when she was 16, skating on a frozen lake at midnight with a boy she had a crush on.
So this whole thing is based on some disturbed woman's memories of what might have been?
New Year’s Eve celebrations could never measure up to that evening — until 1976, when Wainwright was turning 40. A group of fellow artists (and a psychiatrist) gathered around her dinner table in Arlington to cook up an idea for a party that wasn’t centered around alcohol or waiting for the stroke of midnight. The event would start earlier in the day, involve families, and engage artists to help us reflect on the end of one year and the beginning of another.
That is NOT supporting the Boston economy!
With a budget of nearly $35,000, the inaugural First Night, held in churches, halls, and subway stations around Boston Common, drew about 65,000 revelers, despite the subzero temperatures and an inch of snow on the ground.
First Night became a phenomenon. A million people come into Boston on New Year’s Eve, pumping millions of dollars into the economy. As with so many things we do here, other places followed our lead. Today, the First Night name is licensed to about 35 cities.
Ours requires a small full-time staff working year round, and a budget, at its height, of well over a $1 million. There were good and bad years, and the weather had a lot to do with it. The festival relies on sponsorships, but also generates revenue from button sales.
Outdoor events are free, but people need to buy buttons for admission to indoor programming (such as concerts). Many people decide whether to go at the last minute, depending on the forecast. Freezing temps, snow (think wintry mix), or even a prediction of bad weather can chill sales. You’ve got to feel for a business model subject to New England weather.
The finances began to unravel when you factored in weather, the Great Recession, and changes in giving. Corporate and nonprofit sponsorships began to dry up as organizations shifted their focus to supporting social justice and educational causes. The fete became more dependent on button sales, forcing organizers to raise prices to $18. Annual sales bounced between about $325,000 to $538,000. At its peak in 2007, First Night sold about 38,000 buttons and hit a low of under 15,000 in 2010. Last year, just 22,000 were sold.
As it struggled to break even, First Night cut its budget to $800,000, pared programming, and looked for new ways to make money.
Why even bother commenting anymore?
Not knowing what each year would bring, the nonprofit began shopping for a partner or someone to outright take over First Night, said Laura Roberts, chair of the organization’s board.
“Nobody expressed an interest in taking the festival on,” said Roberts, and “we didn’t think we could survive as a stand-alone.”
On June 11, after two hours of intense debate, nine board members voted unanimously to close the First Night office and leave the responsibility of the party to someone else. They didn’t know whether there would be a First Night this year or ever again.
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But Menino called in all his chits so he would have a fitting last hurrah for him and Boston. He raised nearly $500,000 in sponsorships from corporations and foundations, more than double the previous year’s.
The first to say yes was the Highland Street Foundation....
You’ll see the foundation’s name on the buttons, so what is it? It’s based in Newton and was set up by David’s late father, David J. McGrath Jr., founder and owner of TAD Resources International, a temp agency. He was one of Menino’s earliest supporters.
Getting that first pledge made it easier to unlock contributions — $50,000 each — from Bank of America, State Street, Liberty Mutual, and others.
But the administration had another goal: Sharpen First Night operations so they’re sustainable. Among the changes: cutting button prices nearly in half, making it easier to buy them through a partnership with CVS, and centralizing festivities around Copley Square.
Mayor-elect Marty Walsh hasn’t decided what role his administration will play, but a co-chair of his transition team is Joyce Linehan, the longtime spokeswoman for First Night. You can be certain she’s going to give him plenty of advice. “I know he is committed to this,” Linehan said. “He is motivated to make it work.”
Roberts, chair of the First Night board, told me it is prepared to hand over the trademark to the right person or group. And the founder, Wainwright, who at 77 is still going to the celebration, said she’ll open up her kitchen once again.
“I would be happy to invite anyone who has ideas and sit around my supper table,” she said. “They can bring whoever they want and drum up something new. I just hope it continues.”
Will this First Night be our last? It’s up to you.
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I've decided to decline the invitation.
Also see:
First Night Given Second Chance
For young and old, satisfaction that First Night lives on
First Night smartphone app to help revelers navigate attractions
Whitman residents will wait for cookie to drop on New Year’s Eve
New Year’s Day and the history of time
The futility of predictions
Tell the fart-misting global warmers about it because it is freezing out there! Time to get inside.
I don't know what tomorrow will bring on this blog, readers, but I once again apologize if I didn't get to your issue, region, interest, or concern. I'm sorry this is such a shit blog, although you would seem to differ considering the zooming hits lately (WTF?).
Happy New Year, readers!
