Group Raises Money for Victims of South End Tire Slashing

Some still use space-savers in the South End, even though there is a formal ban on them in that neighborhood. The Boston Globe

By Justine Hofherr @Jhofherr29

February 18, 2015

3 minutes to read

The South End has had a space saving ban since February 2014, but some drivers still feel entitled to their shoveled-out spots. In the midst of a very snowy winter, some have even taken to slashing people’s tires.

In response to the drivers’ drastic measures, the South End Forum — an umbrella group of 15 South End neighborhood associations and South End business associations that pushed for the space-saving ban in the first place — tried a new form of justice to aid the drivers whose cars have been vandalized this winter: an online fundraiser.

South End Forum Co-Chair Stephen Fox said the goal is for Bostonians to raise $1,500 by March 1 to replace the slashed and punctured tires of the three car vandalism victims who have come forward recently.

“This is nothing less than criminal vandalism,’’ Fox told Boston.com.

The YouCaring.com fund had raised $825 by 11:00 a.m. on February 18. The fundraising is currently capped at $1,500 and Fox said he’s optimistic there will be no more incidents.

“We hope to get out that this is not an effective tactic, but if incidents come to our attention, we’ll be happy to look at it,’’ Fox added.

The three victims who have come forward have filed police reports, which they submitted as proof, Fox said.

The Forum is also asking neighborhood members to take down the names and license plate numbers of anyone they notice illegally space saving.

Fox said if more vandalism occurs, this type of information could be brought to the police and investigated. Fox said they’re also asking neighbors with video cameras to see if they recorded the vandalism, and to bring any footage to the police.

One incidence of vandalism occurred on the corner of Columbus Avenue and Concord Square, another on the corner of Shawmut Avenue and Worcester Street, and the third reported instance on Worcester Street, according to Fox.

Most of the current donors have chosen to remain anonymous, but Fox said a few have left messages like, “Pay it forward,’’ or “We absolutely must stop [space saving] before it takes over our neighborhood.’’

South End resident Chris Busch was one of the three victims of car vandalism being helped by the South End Forum’s fundraiser.

On January 27, Busch said he and his wife shoveled out their white Honda CR-V and went on a family outing with their children. When they returned, their spot – which they hadn’t saved because of the ban — had been taken.

They searched for a new spot and eventually found one on the corner of Shawmut Avenue and Worcester Street.

“I came out the next day and my wife was directing me out because it was a tight spot,’’ Busch said. “And she said, ‘Oh, stop, I think your tires are flat.’’’

Busch said they called AAA and were told the front and rear right tires had been punctured and needed replacing. A mechanic later informed them their rear left tire was also punctured.

Busch cited the South End Forum’s fundraising efforts as “fantastic,’’ saying he still supports the neighborhood’s efforts to stop space saving.

“It’s a frustrating situation because it’s a no man’s land in terms of ways of enforcing it, but I think [the Forum] does an effective job promoting it. We just wish we could get everyone on board with it,’’ Busch said.

The South End is currently the only Boston neighborhood with a formal ban on the practice, and it’s unclear whether other neighborhoods will ban it in the future.

Signs in the South End remind drivers not to space save.

Fox said the Forum attributes the recent vandalism to the string of snowstorms that have hit Boston, obscuring parking spots and narrowing road space around the city. Public workers and the neighborhood associations the group relies on to monitor space saving haven’t been able to spend as much time as they normally would collecting space savers, Fox said.

“Talk about trial by fire,’’ Fox said. “There’s no way public works crew can pick up space-savers when they’re working 24 hour shifts to keep our streets open.’’

Mayor Marty Walsh allows for savers to be kept out for the first 48 hours after a snow emergency, but the Boston police and the mayor’s office have also said they “will not intervene’’ if someone moves a space-saver and parks in the spot.