The Boston Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) approved the replacement of the UPS store at the corner of Commonwealth Ave. and Lake St. with an artisanal liquor store. The store plans to sell craft beers, kosher wines, and spirits just across the street from Boston College.
Both BC and Newton officials voiced their concerns about the development and its implications for underage students.
“The prospect of adding a store adjacent to campus where alcohol, a ‘forbidden use,’ could be procured (and then distributed) is counter to the progress we have achieved for the neighborhood and residents in and around the Boston College campus in recent years,” Mayor of Newton Ruthanne Fuller said in a letter obtained by The Heights.
Fuller noted the efforts that BC and the City of Newton have taken to curb underage drinking and its effects on the neighboring communities.
“The City of Newton and my office specifically have worked diligently with Boston College over the years to address neighborhood issues in Newton associated with student alcohol abuse and the attendant neighborhood impacts,” Fuller said.
In a statement to The Heights, University Spokesman Jack Dunn said the University has plans to voice its concerns to the Boston License Hearing “in the hope of defeating a proposal that is counter to the best interests of the community.”
“Boston College has joined St. Ignatius Church, Secretary of State Bill Galvin, and many local residents in opposing the ill-advised proposal to place a liquor store on Commonwealth Avenue directly across the street from the BC campus and an Archdiocesan parish,” Dunn wrote.
At a public hearing, Joseph Hanley, the lawyer for Andrew Arbeeny, the owner of the proposed store, said that they are aware of the store’s proximity to BC and will take several measures to prevent underage students from buying or distributing alcohol.
“[Mr. Arbeeny] has spent a lot of time in carefully considering the appropriateness of this use, and also looking at different measures he can adopt to make sure that we are part of the solution when it comes to being near BC, but also serving the needs of the community,” Hanley said.
Hanley shared that the store will not sell nips, kegs, or tobacco products, nor will it offer third-party delivery services, which underage BC students have used in the past. The store will also use scanners for all IDs, he added, and out-of-state IDs will only be accepted with a secondary form of identification.
“We understand that we need to be on heightened alert and have a zero-tolerance policy,” Hanley said. “It’s really not a place that students would frequent.”
The store plans to have adjusted hours to accommodate Sunday family mass at St. Ignatius Church, Hanley said.
The project aims to fill a hole in the Brighton community, Hanley said. According to the ZBA report, there are currently no liquor stores in the area of the proposed store—the closest is one mile away in Cleveland Circle.
“We see that this local convenience, of which we are in, is not being provided as part of Brighton,” Hanley said.
At the same hearing, Massachusetts Secretary of State William F. Galvin, a Brighton resident, and BC ’72, voiced concerns for the impact increased underage drinking will have on nearby elderly residents and BC students.
“The idea that you could put a liquor store literally a few feet away from 5,000 dormitory students, most of whom are underage, is absurd,” Galvin said. “To suggest that this is addressed to anything else but the college-aged population is totally disingenuous.”
Tom Keady, vice president of governmental relations and community affairs, called the proposal “the worst possible idea.” Keady opposed the development, noting the amount of money that BC and the Boston Police Department already put into managing underage and off-campus drinking.
“We spend $100,000 a year for Boston College and Boston Police details to deal with off-campus behavior,” Keady said. “We also have a full time person who deals with off-campus behavior on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights, and that’s at our expense.”
Keady said that he speaks for all of BC when it comes to opposing the development.
“A liquor store right across the street from Boston College—it’s a bad idea,” Keady said.
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