November 3, 2025 • 38 mins
The Last Gasp for Boston’s Combat Zone? Part 2
One of Boston’s two remaining strip clubs, Centerfolds Boston, wants to move from its current location, an out of the way side street to a main street in the heart of Chinatown. Some local businesses and residents are not so happy about that...for some this brings up memories of Boston's Combat Zone of the 60s/70s... How would you feel if a strip club or adult entertainment club were on a main road in your town or neighborhood? Is it that big of a deal? Do you think it would impact local business? For better or worse?
One of Boston’s two remaining strip clubs, Centerfolds Boston, wants to move from its current location, an out of the way side street to a main street in the heart of Chinatown. Some local businesses and residents are not so happy about that...for some this brings up memories of Boston's Combat Zone of the 60s/70s... How would you feel if a strip club or adult entertainment club were on a main road in your town or neighborhood? Is it that big of a deal? Do you think it would impact local business? For better or worse?
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's Night Side with Dan Ray WBZ, Boston's radio.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
For those of you who are just joining us, We
just spent an hour with Boston City council Ed Flynn
talking about a real issue in the part of Boston
that is called Chinatown. It is an area down and
now the Theater District used to be the combat Zone.
At Flen mentioned when his dad became mayor in nineteen
(00:28):
eighty four. I was elected in eighty three, there were
forty four we'll call them emporium of interpretive dance strip
joints in the combat Zone and it was a wild place. Now,
it had been very wild in the nineteen seventies. And
actually there was a real tragedy where a young Harvard
(00:50):
football player on the Saturday evening after Harvard had played Yale,
a group of the players apparently went to the combat
Zone and an individual named Andy Andrew Popolo was stabbed
to death. And that was really the beginning of the
demise of the combat Zone. People realized it was not
quite the body but innocent place. There was drug dealing,
(01:14):
and obviously there was violence, maybe not necessarily inside the clubs,
but that was what was going on outside the clubs. Anyway,
there are now two strip clubs in what was the
combat zone but it's now the Theater District. One of
them wants to move.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Well.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
The two of them are on a side street called
the Green Street, which is off the Beaten Path, and
one of them, Centerfolds, wants to move to Stuart Street,
the old Jacob Wirth restaurant on Stewart Street, which would
be a great location. And We've had an interesting hour,
and I'm going to continue the conversation, and I'd love
to hear from as many of you as possible because
(01:56):
Ed Flynn is trying to make sure that his constituents
in China Town he represents Chinatown, amongst other other communities,
are respected and are treated respectfully. I'm not sure that
he feels that the uh this, this relocation can be stopped,
but what he wants to do is set up some
(02:16):
protocols and procedures so that this will not open the
floodcads for a return to more of this so called
adult entertainment within what is now the Theater District but
was the combat zone. I hope most of you have
followed that part of the conversation. We will flesh it
out with callers. The only lines open right now if
(02:38):
you'd like to get through six point seven nine thirty
Our right little lines are full, and let us go
to them right now. Going to go to Bob down
in the Cape. Bob on Cape Cod Bob, appreciate you
holding through the news. Thank you for your patience. You
are on the Earbob.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
Hey.
Speaker 5 (02:54):
Thanks. I want to make two comments. First, I remember
the combat zone, as you know, when I was in
college in the seventies, so you know, frankly I didn't
know there's two other clubs in the area. But you know,
it's kind of disingenuous to call it the combat zone
or even the thought of rebirthing what was the combat zone,
(03:18):
which was lots of clubs and lots of street walkers.
The second thing is I liked the idea of mister Flynn,
you know, creating you know, an architecture that you could
have more community input. The question, if he was still on,
was you know, what's the bounds of that community input.
(03:41):
For example, let's say an Italian restaurant wanted to move
into China down. That's certainly a lot more digestible, no
pun intended, right, but it's different than the sort of
the trend of the kinds of things that are in
that area and throughout the DA district in general. Right
(04:02):
with with this initiative that he has allow existing businesses
and residents, is uh to uh discriminate against someone who
has opened up an Italian restaurant?
Speaker 2 (04:17):
No, No, I don't think so, because I can tell
you that I have been in the Stuart Street area,
which you know this the combat zone. There was a
guessing nation. I called it like an adult entertainment district.
But it has it has boundaries, and there are there
are other restaurants except more than just Chinese restaurants, and
(04:38):
they would I don't think uh that that a group
of well.
Speaker 5 (04:41):
You know, you you can pick you can pick the exception, right,
but you get my point.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
No, I don't understand your point.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
But but what he's saying, I think what I think
what he's saying is that to the families of Chinatown,
this is their neighborhood. This is where they live, this
is where their kids go to school in the early years,
this is where multi generational families live, and maybe many
of them moved into the area many years ago when
(05:13):
prices were cheaper, and he just wants to make sure
that the people who were there have some say and
some import over what expaniends and what arrives.
Speaker 5 (05:26):
Yeah, I think it's just that my concern is, really,
is there overage or is there some bounds and to
what he's proposing, and having not read the document, I
don't know.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Yeah, well, no, no, you asked the right questions and
there are concerns. But again with I think most of us,
if we thought that there was going to be a
strip club opening in our neighborhoods, most of us would
probably be a little concerned about the clientele that that
(05:57):
would draw late night clientele.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
And I'm not saying.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
That that it necessarily would would lead to criminal activity,
but certainly there was a lot of criminal activity going
on in the combat zone at its height in the steps.
Speaker 5 (06:11):
Oh sure, you know, you're one hundred percent right, but
let me let me let me give you an example.
I know there's a little bit out of context, but
you know, the town of Foulmouth, we must have I
don't know, ten dunkin donuts. There are a lot of
people that would like to say, hey, we should have
more community input that let's mix up a few less
(06:34):
banks and a few less dunkin Donuts and let's let's
encourage other mom and pops or other types of entities
to come into you know, that kind.
Speaker 6 (06:43):
Of a zone.
Speaker 5 (06:44):
Right, And so I get, I get the community planning
is good. It's just make sure it's not too discriminatory, right, Yeah, No.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
No one wants it to be discriminatory.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
But and again, you have, for example, up north of
Boston on Route one, uh, you have a lot of
well you have some very well known emporium of interpretive dance,
and that's a lot more acceptable there when it's not
within you know, a couple one hundred feet of of
(07:16):
of of a neighborhood.
Speaker 5 (07:19):
That's you know, see, that's the judgment I can't make.
I didn't know they were there. I didn't know the
tour in downtown Boston either. But you know, if I
was a property owner on the next street over, you know,
maybe I'd have same concern that some of the residents
in Chinatown.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
You could always have that if people want to open
up a prison, if they want to open a prison
or a waste treatment plant, you're always going to have
people who are going to say, why why did we
have to have it, and people will always argue, well,
that's a nimby reaction, not in my backyard.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
But there's a lot of this stuff that you don't
want in your backyard. I mean, you know you're in
your neighborhood.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Not necessary metaphorically in your backyard. Look, I appreciate Bob
the call. I assume you're in Falmouth. I hope you have.
Speaker 5 (08:09):
A great I'm I work in Boston. I'm on my
way home to the Cape. But thanks to taking my
call and have a good night.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Well you, thank you very much for calling, and thanks
for listening to Night'side. We're here Monday through Friday night
from eight and midnight. We'll get you home safe and sound.
Speaker 5 (08:23):
Okay here best, Thank you, sir, take.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
It easy, a great night.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Six one, seven, two, five, four, ten thirty, six one, seven,
nine thirty. I got an open line on each of those,
if you want to get in. We're talking about what
some in Boston's Chinatown district are concerned about in former
city or I shouldn't say current city councilor uh who's
standing for re election tomorrow ed Flynn is out speaking
(08:50):
spoke with us last hour. I thought, really eloquently to
defend the rights of the residents of what was once
the car that zone is now sort of thought of
more by people as the theater district, that they have
a right to express how their community evolves and whether
(09:11):
it evolves back words to where they were more strip joints,
probably the restaurants, or whether it moves forward and maybe
even changes from the point of view of the community
for the better. Cynthia from Boston joins us. Got Martin
in the South, then I got some open lines here,
(09:31):
so jump on board. The question is really simple. It's
easy to say, oh, it doesn't affect you were me
because we don't live in.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
That part of Boston. But it does.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
It does because if that's I thought the silliest argument
was made in the Global article by someone I forget
who it was, saying that we need more emporium of
interpretive dance or emporia of interpretive dance to to help
bring big conventions to Boston. You know, I mean, I
(10:06):
would hope people are not coming to Boston to go
to strip giants. I would hope there's a lot to
see in Boston, whether it's great restaurants, sporting goods, the
sporting events, theaters, whatever, or historically his history as opposed
to coming in and spending what few hours conventioneers might
have UH in a dark, dank uh emporium of interpretive dance.
(10:30):
We'll be back, but maybe maybe I'm being unrealistic. Six
one seven, two five, four, ten thirty. If you're in Chinatown,
love to hear from it for sure. Six one seven, nine,
ten thirty. We're coming right back on night.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
Side night Side with Dan Ray. I'm Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
We're talking about the quality of life in Boston's Chinatown
with us.
Speaker 7 (10:54):
Is Cynthia Can I speak? Can I speak?
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Yes, Cynthia, Yes, I'm about to introduce welcome.
Speaker 7 (11:03):
I was like, can I stay to the long commercial break?
I think it's funny everybody's talking about China Town and
I'm the only Chinese person. I can't get a word
an edge white that I also grew up in the
combat zone, and I'm also a writer I write about
I write a blog site called Hudson Street Chronicles. It's
about the displacement of one hundred Chinese and Syrian families
(11:24):
because of the Highway. The first I call that the
very first gentrification. The highway so people can get home
faster from bits downtown jobs to the suburban homes. And
I was displaced. I was thirteen. There's no real housing.
My mother didn't speak English. My uncle happened to own
a house, a Greek Revival building designed by Childs Bulfinch.
(11:47):
But it was in the middle of the combat zone.
Is on Knap Street if you're familiar, and Nap Street
is between Beech Street and Nieland Street. It's smack in
the middle of combat zone.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
Boston City Council or Flynn reference Knapp Street earlier this evening.
So obviously I assume you as a community activist. I
assume that if you're a writer and you have are
so steeped in the history, you must be a community
action child.
Speaker 7 (12:16):
I was a child, I am a teacher. I am
a writer. I just finished my I finished documentary subject
for a Breakwater Studio documentary. They just came out October seventeenth,
had its world premier called Love Chinatown. It's a it's
a letter to the world about who we are and
(12:37):
not allowing a narrative about us create a reality for
us that is unfair because I grew up in the
combat zone, So why so it was such a big
deal because mister Poppolo was killed right in violence. Right, Well,
it happened that a lot of the strip joints and
(12:57):
everything were owned. I'm not saying this to be an
ethnic but it was owned by an Italian Mantumte.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
Link in theo who was a student at Harvard.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
No, no, I'm not linking him.
Speaker 7 (13:11):
I'm just saying you mentioned it.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
I'm just saying that I think what I'd like to
focus on with you, because you do have some expertise
and a historical perspective here, What I'd like to focus
on is what is your understanding of how people who
are living in Chinatown now, how concerned are they about
the potential relocation of this one of these two clubs
(13:37):
on Lagraine Street to a much more prominent location on
Stewart Street.
Speaker 8 (13:42):
It may begin, it may begin a trend that it's
okay to put what they used to call the adult
entertainment district when it was at City.
Speaker 7 (13:53):
Hall, which they had was called Gulleige Square. And so
they moved it. They decided to move it. I have
found the paperwork that they found. They decided to move
it next to Chinatown because they said it was a
neighborhood of low vo to participation. So once you stop
that trend, I mean the combat zone overflowed into Nap Street.
I was only thirteen. That is a special kind of violence, Okay,
(14:16):
A thirteen year old girl had to walk walk around
the pimps and the prostitutes, walk around the street walkers.
That was the center of the garment district as well
historically so the Chinese.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
But what I'm trying to do here, I'm trying to
make the connection that when Rayflin became mayor in nineteen
eighty four and you were a young girl there there
were four lived.
Speaker 7 (14:44):
In the combat zone in nineteen In the nineteen seventies.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
There were forty four strip joints. Now, yeah, only.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Two strip joints, which sure, which I'm sure you perceive
as a positive development. Now, one of those businesses wants
to relocate itself in a much more prominent location.
Speaker 7 (15:13):
And I know it's worth.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
You know what, why don't you just go ahead and
I'm going to listen to you because I think you
have trouble listening to me, So why don't why don't
you just make whatever check I got? I got about
a minute and a half here into the news. So
let me just turn the microphone over to you. You
go right ahead, Cynthia.
Speaker 4 (15:32):
I'm all ears, Okay.
Speaker 7 (15:33):
I think I think that well. I think that it's
funny as I listened to the conversation so far that
the man previous to me was worried about discriminatory against
him opening an Italian restaurant. Chinatown's formed. That's so funny
that somebody's worried about Chinatown being discriminatory. China Town was
formed out of discrimination, okay, And we don't like any
(15:56):
trends with children. There's a school up the street and
jessio Quin's the school children walk through the area. I
lived in that area when I was thirteen, okay, all
the way to a high school and college. I'm very
familiar with combat zone activity, strip joints, prostitutes, street walkers,
and once something like that is allowed, what they call
the adult entertainment district, those recoins and called the combat zone. Okay,
(16:19):
please cause everywhere all lit up on Washington Street, Okay.
I wrote about that recently, And I think once that
trend begins, it becomes okay. Then businesses feel that it's
okay to expand that type of what they call adult
entertainment district. My concern is that I'm always concerned about
children because I am a teacher, children having and mothers
(16:42):
having to walk around that kind of activity like I
had to with my immigrant mother who didn't speak any English.
I had to learn how to walk.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Okay, Well, Cynthia, thank you for your eloquence. I do
appreciate all the information you provided us. But I'm up
on my newscast at the bottom of the hour. Next time,
perhaps we can have an even better conversation. Thank you
so much for you for your call. A great night,
good night. Here comes the news. If you'd like to
join us. The only lines open right now are six one, seven, two, five, four,
(17:11):
ten thirty. I think Ed Flynn is right. I wish
Cynthia had been able to give us more respective from
the community today. She's very interested in her own history,
her own experience, her own family history, which is interesting,
no doubt. But when she went off to talk about
(17:34):
Indie Popolo and related to the mafia, I got very uncomfortable,
and I was very uncomfortable when I kind of have
a conversation with a caller. I just want to have
a conversation. You can make whatever points you want. I'm
very respectful, but I when I've been interrupted for like
the eighth time in a call, at that point, I'm
going to shut the conversation down and give you a
(17:56):
chance to wrap it up, which I did.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
Now Here comes the news.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
I'll give you some conversationalists for the balance of this
half hour six one, seven, two, five, four, ten thirty.
I don't think it's fair to Chinatown. Whether or not
Centerfolds has the right to move into a better location.
That may be simply a legal issue, but they certainly
should not have the right to reverse the trend, which
is to have turned the combat zone into the theater district,
(18:23):
and hopefully it will continue to go in that direction.
We're back on nightside after this.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
You're on Nightside with Dan Ray on WBS Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
Back to the phones, you go. Let me go to
Martin near the South End. Martin, appreciate you. Call you
next on nightside, Sir.
Speaker 9 (18:42):
Hi Am Martin Cher. I'm calling from the south In.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 9 (18:48):
I opposed the Compact Zone expanding their Boston Chinatown because
there's two schools there, they Quincy Elementary School and the
Jessiquincy Upper School, and it's not safe for students and family.
Speaker 3 (19:05):
I think that's a legitimate concern.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
Now, what this club would say is again I did
not with us tonight, but I think what they would
say is that this is not an expansion. It's simply
a relocation for them to a better location. I'm sure
that that doesn't persuade you, that's for sure.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
But what would you say to them now.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
They're saying we're all They would say, we're already here.
We just want to move from the Grain Street to
to a better location with the old Jacob Wartz restaurant
on Stewart Street.
Speaker 9 (19:47):
I don't want them to open.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
I oppose Okay, but but and again I understand that
that position.
Speaker 3 (19:55):
But is there a specific you mentioned?
Speaker 2 (19:59):
It's it's bad for the neighborhood, any other argument that
you want to make.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
I just want to give you an opportunity to express.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
You say, no, okay, well, thank you then, thank you
for taking the time to call, sir, appreciate it very.
Speaker 9 (20:15):
Much, thank you, having good night, Thank you very much.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
Okay, all right, let me go next to George, one
of my favorite callers in reading.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
Hey, George, Geo, not George.
Speaker 4 (20:26):
Geo, otherwise known as Geo. It's a pleasure. Now I
have some details, so please don't stop me on number
four because I can go all the way to number eight.
First of all, Stuart Street is near the Common, so
this is the worst possible idea. Now a good idea
(20:47):
you may or may not know. On Route sixteen in Chelsea,
I met the Mayor of Chelsea at the opening of
the remodeled Mystic Mall, which had an expanded the biggest
market basket in the area. It is across the street
from a hospital complex in Chelsea with Mass General and
(21:09):
other hospitals and research facilities. But in the last twenty
years they have located eight high rise luxury hotels that
are within two miles of the airport in a five
minute cab ride. As opposed to the client, tell that
(21:30):
this club would like to entertain is people flying in.
Not only is it two miles from the airport, it's
two miles from the undeveloped former racetracks. Not only is
it two miles from there, but it's two miles to
the wind casino.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
You're trying to suggest, do you know just why I
understand where you're taking us here again interesting geography. What
you're saying is there are better locations for this type
of entertainment than in than in Chinatown, is what I
think what you're.
Speaker 4 (22:04):
Saying, Yes, by a factor of like one hundred to one.
You know, I did a lot of traveling throughout this country,
and we celebrated by going to nightclubs in New York
and strip clubs and places where you could get a
steak in Kansas City and they would cut your tie
off as when they put the plate down with a steak.
(22:25):
So there's all kinds of experiences that people want to have.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
If you want to understand that.
Speaker 4 (22:31):
Yeah, yeah, high rollers don't want to come to Stuart
Street when they can get off the plane in eight minutes,
they can pick up their bags in another eight minutes.
They're using their cell phone in a luxury room and
tipping somebody. And the fact that that that redevelopment of
all those hotels happens in a neighborhood of red brick warehouses.
(22:58):
There are no people on the street at night. There
is no possibility I'm.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
Gonna do GEO.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
I'm hoping that someone from the Centerfolds Club. The management
of Centifolds Club is listening, and maybe they will jump
upon your idea, your suggestion, and this will be a
good solution and everyone will be happier.
Speaker 4 (23:26):
The Wind Casino is a short cab right of about
six minutes. That's why the hotels are there. Because the
Wind Casino is up the Mystic River two or three miles.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
Yeah, no, I understand that. I understand that.
Speaker 4 (23:41):
And again just let me let me show out another thing,
because the Wind Casino is built on a former chemical
plant which made agent orange. But however, from the Wind
Casino you could take a shuttle boat down to the hotels,
and the shuttle boat could take you as well to
(24:02):
the airport down the Mischian River.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
Good to know.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
Good, So again, I want to get back to the
topic at hand.
Speaker 3 (24:09):
You know your geography, geo, you have you both.
Speaker 4 (24:14):
One final thing to my father. My father was a
lawyer for the telephone company, and in the nineteen sixties
he went to New York and he went to San
Francisco and he brought back a Chinese pagoda telephone booth.
Chinatown in the nineteen sixties had their own government in
order to cut up the streets and put in payphones
and not have them destroyed at night by people who
(24:37):
either didn't like the neighborhood or didn't like payphones. But
the payphones, my father wanted them because the people in
Chinatown did not have telephones. They had to walk to
another neighborhood, father away to get to a payphone. OK.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
Good history, a geo, great history, But I've got other calls.
I got to jump to this. I think was one
of our most productive conversations.
Speaker 4 (25:00):
Uh ed ed ed Flynn has offered something after the
horses have left the barn, an amendment after this, uh,
this abomination happens no one.
Speaker 3 (25:14):
You know what.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
I wish you would call that and maybe tomorrow you
could call his office and help him out.
Speaker 4 (25:20):
One night I ran back from the tech attorney to
city Hall with his father. Yeah, and he told me,
he said, what you brought back from the from the
uh uh A patent office today, I'm not going to
have time to deal with Tommy is going to take
that over the police department. UH stuff in cruises, facial
recognition uh. And he said, I need to pay more
(25:44):
attention to my family.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
I again, you're with your breath and with the knowledge
is breathtaking and I really appreciate you as a caller.
Thank you so much to you. Have a great night. Okay,
moving right along, gonna go to Raymond in Boston. Hi, Raymond, welcome,
you're next night's side.
Speaker 6 (26:04):
Hey, how are you? Maybe? Uh? You know, I don't
live in terna Time, but I I uh, I've been
to the Chinatown since since the seventy and I know
how hot we did to get the Combats away from Chinatown. Yeah,
and and at this time Chinatown is it's not like
(26:27):
they used to be tern of time used to be,
you know, because of the the cleanness, the the parking
and you know all the all the all the different
sture have a different like a variety of business. So
Chinatown getting like.
Speaker 5 (26:50):
It's more is more, you know, more.
Speaker 6 (26:52):
Chinese people move away from from Chinatown to like Quincy
to modern you know some sub suburban not sure which
is which.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
Normal you know, groups when they arrive here, they have
tended to sort of stick together, just like the Irish
were in South Boston and the Italians are in the
North End. And over time they uh, they got better
jobs and move to.
Speaker 3 (27:19):
Places that had more room. I think everybody wants the same.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
This is one of the themes of my show Raymond,
and that is that I think everybody, irrespective of their backgrounds,
wants the same thing. They want their children to live
in better circumstances than they lived, and they want to
have a home where their family can can feel safe
and sound and maybe a little bit of a backyard
where the kids can play.
Speaker 3 (27:41):
I think I think we're all similar. I think we're
all more similar than we are just similar.
Speaker 6 (27:46):
What I'm saying is Tanhan is still a ton of
time people like like like me. You know, I don't
live in Chinatown, but I always you know, I go
to you at least twice a week to do shopping,
to hang out with my friend. And they is like that.
And I'm sure for people a lot of Chinese family
like me, a lot of Chinese people like me, they
want to go to Chinatown and hang around and and
(28:09):
and get associate. But the thing is, like, I mean,
I remember I get involved with the UH the neon
light against the neon light, and I was saying I
was at the meeting against the UH the marijuana and
things like that. Yeah, now now we are talking about
even worse. I mean, Comebackstone, coming back this is.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
By the way, I don't think you know, to be
honest with you, I don't think it's going to come back.
Speaker 3 (28:35):
I think that that I don't know me.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
Yeah, I think that Ed Flynn is basically trying to say, Okay, UH,
this is a an alarm bell. The fact that UH,
this particular location wants to leave La Grain Street, which
is a kind of a little side street uh in
in in that in that neighborhood, and wants to move
out UH into the Jacob Wortz Restaurant, which in a
(29:02):
much more prominent location. He wants to make sure that
doesn't set a precedent and that all of a sudden, UH,
there'll be other UH clubs of this type trying to relocate.
I think that's I think that's where he sees the
battle needs to be fought. In my opinion, we're about you.
(29:22):
You were out of UH. Do you still live in Boston?
Are you outside of Boston?
Speaker 3 (29:26):
Raymond?
Speaker 6 (29:26):
Oh, outside of Boston. I'm Firmingham right now.
Speaker 3 (29:30):
In Firmingham, okay, So where you live or that where
you're passing through?
Speaker 6 (29:33):
No, No, I live I live in Birmingham.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
Okay, great, And I'm sure there are a lot of
people who once lived in Chinatown.
Speaker 3 (29:39):
Who have.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
Who have moved to various various suburbs and locations.
Speaker 6 (29:46):
You know, because I belong to a communities Social club
which is right and Turnata, and we have some we
have some leasing property, you know. For for some like immigrants,
especially people who who who have worked in the in
the nearby restaurant, they don't want to take too much
(30:08):
time they travel from Yeah, I know Quincy and Modern
is a nice time. But but a lot of restaurant
people they go to Chinatown and get together and then
they uh, they take a car pool or something to
to a different restaurants at different times, and and and
there's no there's not a great idea to have something
(30:30):
like so negative thing in Chinatown for for at least
you know, like, oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
I think if you listen to us to our hour
and a half on this tonight, you would you would
understand that that's pretty much the tone of most people
who are who are listening and calling in Raymond.
Speaker 3 (30:50):
Thank you very much for for taking the time to call.
Have you called my show before? Is this your first
time calling?
Speaker 6 (30:55):
It's my first one.
Speaker 2 (30:59):
Please get do need to call and continue to listen
and tell your friends thank you so much for joining me.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
Thank you, Raymond. Okay, we're gonna take a quick break.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
I can still handle a couple more calls on this
topic if you would like to. We'll change topics at eleven.
But the question here is has Chinatown and the people
who live in Chinatown have they really gotten the short
end of the stick for the last fifty or so
years and they are concerned, as his council of Flynn,
(31:30):
that this seemingly benign move of this club centerfolds from
the Grain Street to Stuart Street might not be as
benign as it looks.
Speaker 3 (31:40):
So rather ed Flynn is.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
He's not promising that he can stop this move, but
what he's saying is that he can stop this from
initiating much more similar activity in the Chinatown neighborhood. And
I think that is good representation, and it's him thinking
ahead and not being unrealistic, not over.
Speaker 3 (32:02):
Promising and under delivery. Uh.
Speaker 2 (32:05):
If you want to get a final word in before
the eleven o'clock news, here's some line six one seven, two,
five four ten thirty or six one seven nine three
one ten thirty. And I guess there's not a person
out there tonight that I can that I can imagine
who would say they would welcome this type of venue
(32:25):
in their community. If you disagree, and you would, I'd
love to know why. Back on Nightside.
Speaker 1 (32:31):
After this, it's Night Side with Dan Ray on w
Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
All right, let me go to Sandy in Hampton. I'm
not sure if that's Hampton Beach, Hampton, New Hampshire.
Speaker 3 (32:43):
Where about Sandy is.
Speaker 10 (32:44):
With Hampton Hampton, Hampton Beach, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
Hampton Beach.
Speaker 2 (32:48):
Okay, Rob didn't put up their beach, So I was guessing,
welcome to Nightside, Sandy, How are you okay?
Speaker 10 (32:56):
So I have two points. First, with Geo what Geo
had said. I don't think Centerfolds would go for that
because they're looking for an increase in foot traffic.
Speaker 3 (33:06):
Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
Geo has a lot of information, and sometimes that information
is right on the money, and sometimes it's a little
I would characterize it as extraneous, and I don't think
we're at the point where Centerfolds is likely going to
jump on that. But maybe if they do, Geo can
call back and.
Speaker 3 (33:25):
And claim that he played the idea.
Speaker 2 (33:28):
Now, I think Centerfold has an existing clientele and they
probably are looking to expand and move from a little
side street with Grain Street to Stewart Street, which is
I don't know if you're familiar with Stewart Street, but
it's right across from a Tought medical center and it's
a it's a prime location, you know. I mean, I'm
(33:51):
sure that there would be all sorts of fights over
how much electronic advertising were allowed and all of that.
I think people are just concerned and rightfully so that
that's going to change the you know, the the atmosphere
in that community in the wrong direction after so many
years of these these locations leaving. But yeah, I agree
(34:15):
with you. I think that they're very happy with where
they are.
Speaker 10 (34:19):
Yeah, But my point as for the combat. So I
used to go there when I was a kid, and
you never went there alone. You always had to go
with the friends. If we went to go visit, we
had friends in the area, and you had to be
real careful because of a young girl.
Speaker 4 (34:38):
Pimp should try.
Speaker 10 (34:39):
To pick you up that you you would sit down.
Your friend goes to the bathroom and somebody's swooping real
sweet and try to get you to go away with them.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
So let me ask you what so you're saying that
you as a as a young girl. When you say
young girl, you're talking like fourteen or fifteen or what
age are.
Speaker 10 (34:57):
You talking about, Yeah, thirteen, fourteen year all yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:00):
Okay, and you would go into Boston, into the combat
zone and you would go into some of these dens
of iniquity and observe Oh no, no.
Speaker 10 (35:08):
No, we would be like we'd go into a restaurant.
Speaker 3 (35:13):
I'm sorry, I thought for a moment you were going
in there.
Speaker 4 (35:17):
Okay, Oh no, no, I was.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
Worried about you, Sandy, Okay, you can't.
Speaker 10 (35:22):
You can go in in that area today and it
feels relaxed, you feel sank, Yes, but.
Speaker 3 (35:28):
It feels as a very different time, very different vibe.
Speaker 10 (35:31):
Then you couldn't you couldn't sit down alone because the
pimp would swip sweet swoop in as a young kid,
try to pick you up.
Speaker 3 (35:37):
Oh yeah, they would. That was yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:40):
And there were some girls who would who would succumb
to those entreaties and find themselves in some very difficult circumstances. Sandy,
I want to get one more in before the break.
Thanks for thanks for helping us wrap the hour. The
two hours here a really interesting perspective of a young girl.
Thanks Sandy, Thanks great down and go to Susan and
(36:01):
mald and Susan you and next you're going to wrap
the hour.
Speaker 3 (36:03):
Go right ahead, Susan.
Speaker 11 (36:05):
Hi, thanks for taking my call. I just want to
echo the sentiment of the prior caller. I also remember
going into Chinatown in the nineties and seeing after a
certain hour you would see like prostitutes on the street
and sort of like John's like lurking around. And it
definitely has changed a lot since those days.
Speaker 3 (36:25):
Would you want to go let me ask you, would
you go in to observe that or did.
Speaker 2 (36:29):
You go in not realizing that was what was part
of the scene, And and you'd say, hey, I'm not
coming back.
Speaker 3 (36:38):
Well, what what drew you in?
Speaker 11 (36:41):
Well, my family is Chinese, so growing up that was
really if you wanted to eat like authentic Chinese food
and get threes and stuff like that.
Speaker 3 (36:50):
So we're we're going in for the legitimate reasons.
Speaker 2 (36:52):
And then you found out that there was some peripheral
activity which was pretty dangerous.
Speaker 11 (36:59):
Yeah, an family that lived there, that lived there too,
that had to sort of like navigate through that in
the evenings, and it wasn't It wasn't pleasant. So I
just want to reiterate sort of the sentiment of other
callers too, that where the centerfold is now is very
different than the jacob Worth location. Yes, that location is
super prominent. It's on the main road. It's right down
(37:21):
the street with an eyeshot of two schools. There's a
bunch of childcare centers over there as well, versus like
right now, I'm like grund, I just sort of tucked out.
Speaker 1 (37:31):
Of the way.
Speaker 11 (37:32):
It's not close to like childcare centers, Like you wouldn't
really necessarily know it's there because it's on a side street.
Speaker 3 (37:39):
Yeah, you have.
Speaker 2 (37:40):
Been several people that have made that comment, and I
think that's the most important comment, to be honest with you,
as well as just the quality of the neighborhood.
Speaker 3 (37:48):
Sandy Susan Rather, I wish you had called early, but
I'm flat out of time, so I got to let
you run. Okay, thanks so much for coming. Have you
called before? Is this your first time?
Speaker 11 (37:58):
I called once? Probably many years ago.
Speaker 3 (38:00):
Well, come on back more often. Don't be a stranger. Okay,
thanks for joining us tonight.
Speaker 11 (38:07):
Thank you, every good evening.
Speaker 3 (38:08):
You too, have a great night. Good night. Okay, we'll
take a break.
Speaker 2 (38:11):
Coming back, I want to talk on the other side
about the sixty minutes interview last night with President Trump
and with Nora o'donald.
Speaker 3 (38:18):
It was good TV. It was a good interview.
Speaker 2 (38:22):
And Donald Trump gave as good as he got. And
we'll play some of the tape and also get your
reaction to it. Coming back on nights side,
It's Night Side with Dan Ray WBZ, Boston's radio.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
For those of you who are just joining us, We
just spent an hour with Boston City council Ed Flynn
talking about a real issue in the part of Boston
that is called Chinatown. It is an area down and
now the Theater District used to be the combat Zone.
At Flen mentioned when his dad became mayor in nineteen
(00:28):
eighty four. I was elected in eighty three, there were
forty four we'll call them emporium of interpretive dance strip
joints in the combat Zone and it was a wild place. Now,
it had been very wild in the nineteen seventies. And
actually there was a real tragedy where a young Harvard
(00:50):
football player on the Saturday evening after Harvard had played Yale,
a group of the players apparently went to the combat
Zone and an individual named Andy Andrew Popolo was stabbed
to death. And that was really the beginning of the
demise of the combat Zone. People realized it was not
quite the body but innocent place. There was drug dealing,
(01:14):
and obviously there was violence, maybe not necessarily inside the clubs,
but that was what was going on outside the clubs. Anyway,
there are now two strip clubs in what was the
combat zone but it's now the Theater District. One of
them wants to move.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Well.
Speaker 2 (01:33):
The two of them are on a side street called
the Green Street, which is off the Beaten Path, and
one of them, Centerfolds, wants to move to Stuart Street,
the old Jacob Wirth restaurant on Stewart Street, which would
be a great location. And We've had an interesting hour,
and I'm going to continue the conversation, and I'd love
to hear from as many of you as possible because
(01:56):
Ed Flynn is trying to make sure that his constituents
in China Town he represents Chinatown, amongst other other communities,
are respected and are treated respectfully. I'm not sure that
he feels that the uh this, this relocation can be stopped,
but what he wants to do is set up some
(02:16):
protocols and procedures so that this will not open the
floodcads for a return to more of this so called
adult entertainment within what is now the Theater District but
was the combat zone. I hope most of you have
followed that part of the conversation. We will flesh it
out with callers. The only lines open right now if
(02:38):
you'd like to get through six point seven nine thirty
Our right little lines are full, and let us go
to them right now. Going to go to Bob down
in the Cape. Bob on Cape Cod Bob, appreciate you
holding through the news. Thank you for your patience. You
are on the Earbob.
Speaker 4 (02:54):
Hey.
Speaker 5 (02:54):
Thanks. I want to make two comments. First, I remember
the combat zone, as you know, when I was in
college in the seventies, so you know, frankly I didn't
know there's two other clubs in the area. But you know,
it's kind of disingenuous to call it the combat zone
or even the thought of rebirthing what was the combat zone,
(03:18):
which was lots of clubs and lots of street walkers.
The second thing is I liked the idea of mister Flynn,
you know, creating you know, an architecture that you could
have more community input. The question, if he was still on,
was you know, what's the bounds of that community input.
(03:41):
For example, let's say an Italian restaurant wanted to move
into China down. That's certainly a lot more digestible, no
pun intended, right, but it's different than the sort of
the trend of the kinds of things that are in
that area and throughout the DA district in general. Right
(04:02):
with with this initiative that he has allow existing businesses
and residents, is uh to uh discriminate against someone who
has opened up an Italian restaurant?
Speaker 2 (04:17):
No, No, I don't think so, because I can tell
you that I have been in the Stuart Street area,
which you know this the combat zone. There was a
guessing nation. I called it like an adult entertainment district.
But it has it has boundaries, and there are there
are other restaurants except more than just Chinese restaurants, and
(04:38):
they would I don't think uh that that a group
of well.
Speaker 5 (04:41):
You know, you you can pick you can pick the exception, right,
but you get my point.
Speaker 3 (04:46):
No, I don't understand your point.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
But but what he's saying, I think what I think
what he's saying is that to the families of Chinatown,
this is their neighborhood. This is where they live, this
is where their kids go to school in the early years,
this is where multi generational families live, and maybe many
of them moved into the area many years ago when
(05:13):
prices were cheaper, and he just wants to make sure
that the people who were there have some say and
some import over what expaniends and what arrives.
Speaker 5 (05:26):
Yeah, I think it's just that my concern is, really,
is there overage or is there some bounds and to
what he's proposing, and having not read the document, I
don't know.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
Yeah, well, no, no, you asked the right questions and
there are concerns. But again with I think most of us,
if we thought that there was going to be a
strip club opening in our neighborhoods, most of us would
probably be a little concerned about the clientele that that
(05:57):
would draw late night clientele.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
And I'm not saying.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
That that it necessarily would would lead to criminal activity,
but certainly there was a lot of criminal activity going
on in the combat zone at its height in the steps.
Speaker 5 (06:11):
Oh sure, you know, you're one hundred percent right, but
let me let me let me give you an example.
I know there's a little bit out of context, but
you know, the town of Foulmouth, we must have I
don't know, ten dunkin donuts. There are a lot of
people that would like to say, hey, we should have
more community input that let's mix up a few less
(06:34):
banks and a few less dunkin Donuts and let's let's
encourage other mom and pops or other types of entities
to come into you know, that kind.
Speaker 6 (06:43):
Of a zone.
Speaker 5 (06:44):
Right, And so I get, I get the community planning
is good. It's just make sure it's not too discriminatory, right, Yeah, No.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
No one wants it to be discriminatory.
Speaker 2 (06:54):
But and again, you have, for example, up north of
Boston on Route one, uh, you have a lot of
well you have some very well known emporium of interpretive dance,
and that's a lot more acceptable there when it's not
within you know, a couple one hundred feet of of
(07:16):
of of a neighborhood.
Speaker 5 (07:19):
That's you know, see, that's the judgment I can't make.
I didn't know they were there. I didn't know the
tour in downtown Boston either. But you know, if I
was a property owner on the next street over, you know,
maybe I'd have same concern that some of the residents
in Chinatown.
Speaker 3 (07:35):
I don't know.
Speaker 2 (07:35):
You could always have that if people want to open
up a prison, if they want to open a prison
or a waste treatment plant, you're always going to have
people who are going to say, why why did we
have to have it, and people will always argue, well,
that's a nimby reaction, not in my backyard.
Speaker 3 (07:55):
But there's a lot of this stuff that you don't
want in your backyard. I mean, you know you're in
your neighborhood.
Speaker 2 (08:02):
Not necessary metaphorically in your backyard. Look, I appreciate Bob
the call. I assume you're in Falmouth. I hope you have.
Speaker 5 (08:09):
A great I'm I work in Boston. I'm on my
way home to the Cape. But thanks to taking my
call and have a good night.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
Well you, thank you very much for calling, and thanks
for listening to Night'side. We're here Monday through Friday night
from eight and midnight. We'll get you home safe and sound.
Speaker 5 (08:23):
Okay here best, Thank you, sir, take.
Speaker 3 (08:26):
It easy, a great night.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
Six one, seven, two, five, four, ten thirty, six one, seven,
nine thirty. I got an open line on each of those,
if you want to get in. We're talking about what
some in Boston's Chinatown district are concerned about in former
city or I shouldn't say current city councilor uh who's
standing for re election tomorrow ed Flynn is out speaking
(08:50):
spoke with us last hour. I thought, really eloquently to
defend the rights of the residents of what was once
the car that zone is now sort of thought of
more by people as the theater district, that they have
a right to express how their community evolves and whether
(09:11):
it evolves back words to where they were more strip joints,
probably the restaurants, or whether it moves forward and maybe
even changes from the point of view of the community
for the better. Cynthia from Boston joins us. Got Martin
in the South, then I got some open lines here,
(09:31):
so jump on board. The question is really simple. It's
easy to say, oh, it doesn't affect you were me
because we don't live in.
Speaker 3 (09:41):
That part of Boston. But it does.
Speaker 2 (09:43):
It does because if that's I thought the silliest argument
was made in the Global article by someone I forget
who it was, saying that we need more emporium of
interpretive dance or emporia of interpretive dance to to help
bring big conventions to Boston. You know, I mean, I
(10:06):
would hope people are not coming to Boston to go
to strip giants. I would hope there's a lot to
see in Boston, whether it's great restaurants, sporting goods, the
sporting events, theaters, whatever, or historically his history as opposed
to coming in and spending what few hours conventioneers might
have UH in a dark, dank uh emporium of interpretive dance.
(10:30):
We'll be back, but maybe maybe I'm being unrealistic. Six
one seven, two five, four, ten thirty. If you're in Chinatown,
love to hear from it for sure. Six one seven, nine,
ten thirty. We're coming right back on night.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
Side night Side with Dan Ray. I'm Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (10:49):
We're talking about the quality of life in Boston's Chinatown
with us.
Speaker 7 (10:54):
Is Cynthia Can I speak? Can I speak?
Speaker 3 (10:57):
Yes, Cynthia, Yes, I'm about to introduce welcome.
Speaker 7 (11:03):
I was like, can I stay to the long commercial break?
I think it's funny everybody's talking about China Town and
I'm the only Chinese person. I can't get a word
an edge white that I also grew up in the
combat zone, and I'm also a writer I write about
I write a blog site called Hudson Street Chronicles. It's
about the displacement of one hundred Chinese and Syrian families
(11:24):
because of the Highway. The first I call that the
very first gentrification. The highway so people can get home
faster from bits downtown jobs to the suburban homes. And
I was displaced. I was thirteen. There's no real housing.
My mother didn't speak English. My uncle happened to own
a house, a Greek Revival building designed by Childs Bulfinch.
(11:47):
But it was in the middle of the combat zone.
Is on Knap Street if you're familiar, and Nap Street
is between Beech Street and Nieland Street. It's smack in
the middle of combat zone.
Speaker 2 (11:57):
Boston City Council or Flynn reference Knapp Street earlier this evening.
So obviously I assume you as a community activist. I
assume that if you're a writer and you have are
so steeped in the history, you must be a community
action child.
Speaker 7 (12:16):
I was a child, I am a teacher. I am
a writer. I just finished my I finished documentary subject
for a Breakwater Studio documentary. They just came out October seventeenth,
had its world premier called Love Chinatown. It's a it's
a letter to the world about who we are and
(12:37):
not allowing a narrative about us create a reality for
us that is unfair because I grew up in the
combat zone, So why so it was such a big
deal because mister Poppolo was killed right in violence. Right, Well,
it happened that a lot of the strip joints and
(12:57):
everything were owned. I'm not saying this to be an
ethnic but it was owned by an Italian Mantumte.
Speaker 2 (13:04):
Link in theo who was a student at Harvard.
Speaker 4 (13:09):
No, no, I'm not linking him.
Speaker 7 (13:11):
I'm just saying you mentioned it.
Speaker 2 (13:13):
I'm just saying that I think what I'd like to
focus on with you, because you do have some expertise
and a historical perspective here, What I'd like to focus
on is what is your understanding of how people who
are living in Chinatown now, how concerned are they about
the potential relocation of this one of these two clubs
(13:37):
on Lagraine Street to a much more prominent location on
Stewart Street.
Speaker 8 (13:42):
It may begin, it may begin a trend that it's
okay to put what they used to call the adult
entertainment district when it was at City.
Speaker 7 (13:53):
Hall, which they had was called Gulleige Square. And so
they moved it. They decided to move it. I have
found the paperwork that they found. They decided to move
it next to Chinatown because they said it was a
neighborhood of low vo to participation. So once you stop
that trend, I mean the combat zone overflowed into Nap Street.
I was only thirteen. That is a special kind of violence, Okay,
(14:16):
A thirteen year old girl had to walk walk around
the pimps and the prostitutes, walk around the street walkers.
That was the center of the garment district as well
historically so the Chinese.
Speaker 2 (14:29):
But what I'm trying to do here, I'm trying to
make the connection that when Rayflin became mayor in nineteen
eighty four and you were a young girl there there
were four lived.
Speaker 7 (14:44):
In the combat zone in nineteen In the nineteen seventies.
Speaker 3 (14:49):
There were forty four strip joints. Now, yeah, only.
Speaker 2 (14:55):
Two strip joints, which sure, which I'm sure you perceive
as a positive development. Now, one of those businesses wants
to relocate itself in a much more prominent location.
Speaker 7 (15:13):
And I know it's worth.
Speaker 2 (15:17):
You know what, why don't you just go ahead and
I'm going to listen to you because I think you
have trouble listening to me, So why don't why don't
you just make whatever check I got? I got about
a minute and a half here into the news. So
let me just turn the microphone over to you. You
go right ahead, Cynthia.
Speaker 4 (15:32):
I'm all ears, Okay.
Speaker 7 (15:33):
I think I think that well. I think that it's
funny as I listened to the conversation so far that
the man previous to me was worried about discriminatory against
him opening an Italian restaurant. Chinatown's formed. That's so funny
that somebody's worried about Chinatown being discriminatory. China Town was
formed out of discrimination, okay, And we don't like any
(15:56):
trends with children. There's a school up the street and
jessio Quin's the school children walk through the area. I
lived in that area when I was thirteen, okay, all
the way to a high school and college. I'm very
familiar with combat zone activity, strip joints, prostitutes, street walkers,
and once something like that is allowed, what they call
the adult entertainment district, those recoins and called the combat zone. Okay,
(16:19):
please cause everywhere all lit up on Washington Street, Okay.
I wrote about that recently, And I think once that
trend begins, it becomes okay. Then businesses feel that it's
okay to expand that type of what they call adult
entertainment district. My concern is that I'm always concerned about
children because I am a teacher, children having and mothers
(16:42):
having to walk around that kind of activity like I
had to with my immigrant mother who didn't speak any English.
I had to learn how to walk.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Okay, Well, Cynthia, thank you for your eloquence. I do
appreciate all the information you provided us. But I'm up
on my newscast at the bottom of the hour. Next time,
perhaps we can have an even better conversation. Thank you
so much for you for your call. A great night,
good night. Here comes the news. If you'd like to
join us. The only lines open right now are six one, seven, two, five, four,
(17:11):
ten thirty. I think Ed Flynn is right. I wish
Cynthia had been able to give us more respective from
the community today. She's very interested in her own history,
her own experience, her own family history, which is interesting,
no doubt. But when she went off to talk about
(17:34):
Indie Popolo and related to the mafia, I got very uncomfortable,
and I was very uncomfortable when I kind of have
a conversation with a caller. I just want to have
a conversation. You can make whatever points you want. I'm
very respectful, but I when I've been interrupted for like
the eighth time in a call, at that point, I'm
going to shut the conversation down and give you a
(17:56):
chance to wrap it up, which I did.
Speaker 3 (17:58):
Now Here comes the news.
Speaker 2 (17:59):
I'll give you some conversationalists for the balance of this
half hour six one, seven, two, five, four, ten thirty.
I don't think it's fair to Chinatown. Whether or not
Centerfolds has the right to move into a better location.
That may be simply a legal issue, but they certainly
should not have the right to reverse the trend, which
is to have turned the combat zone into the theater district,
(18:23):
and hopefully it will continue to go in that direction.
We're back on nightside after this.
Speaker 1 (18:30):
You're on Nightside with Dan Ray on WBS Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
Back to the phones, you go. Let me go to
Martin near the South End. Martin, appreciate you. Call you
next on nightside, Sir.
Speaker 9 (18:42):
Hi Am Martin Cher. I'm calling from the south In.
Speaker 3 (18:47):
Yeah.
Speaker 9 (18:48):
I opposed the Compact Zone expanding their Boston Chinatown because
there's two schools there, they Quincy Elementary School and the
Jessiquincy Upper School, and it's not safe for students and family.
Speaker 3 (19:05):
I think that's a legitimate concern.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
Now, what this club would say is again I did
not with us tonight, but I think what they would
say is that this is not an expansion. It's simply
a relocation for them to a better location. I'm sure
that that doesn't persuade you, that's for sure.
Speaker 3 (19:27):
But what would you say to them now.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
They're saying we're all They would say, we're already here.
We just want to move from the Grain Street to
to a better location with the old Jacob Wartz restaurant
on Stewart Street.
Speaker 9 (19:47):
I don't want them to open.
Speaker 2 (19:49):
I oppose Okay, but but and again I understand that
that position.
Speaker 3 (19:55):
But is there a specific you mentioned?
Speaker 2 (19:59):
It's it's bad for the neighborhood, any other argument that
you want to make.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
I just want to give you an opportunity to express.
Speaker 2 (20:09):
You say, no, okay, well, thank you then, thank you
for taking the time to call, sir, appreciate it very.
Speaker 9 (20:15):
Much, thank you, having good night, Thank you very much.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
Okay, all right, let me go next to George, one
of my favorite callers in reading.
Speaker 3 (20:24):
Hey, George, Geo, not George.
Speaker 4 (20:26):
Geo, otherwise known as Geo. It's a pleasure. Now I
have some details, so please don't stop me on number
four because I can go all the way to number eight.
First of all, Stuart Street is near the Common, so
this is the worst possible idea. Now a good idea
(20:47):
you may or may not know. On Route sixteen in Chelsea,
I met the Mayor of Chelsea at the opening of
the remodeled Mystic Mall, which had an expanded the biggest
market basket in the area. It is across the street
from a hospital complex in Chelsea with Mass General and
(21:09):
other hospitals and research facilities. But in the last twenty
years they have located eight high rise luxury hotels that
are within two miles of the airport in a five
minute cab ride. As opposed to the client, tell that
(21:30):
this club would like to entertain is people flying in.
Not only is it two miles from the airport, it's
two miles from the undeveloped former racetracks. Not only is
it two miles from there, but it's two miles to
the wind casino.
Speaker 2 (21:48):
You're trying to suggest, do you know just why I
understand where you're taking us here again interesting geography. What
you're saying is there are better locations for this type
of entertainment than in than in Chinatown, is what I
think what you're.
Speaker 4 (22:04):
Saying, Yes, by a factor of like one hundred to one.
You know, I did a lot of traveling throughout this country,
and we celebrated by going to nightclubs in New York
and strip clubs and places where you could get a
steak in Kansas City and they would cut your tie
off as when they put the plate down with a steak.
(22:25):
So there's all kinds of experiences that people want to have.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
If you want to understand that.
Speaker 4 (22:31):
Yeah, yeah, high rollers don't want to come to Stuart
Street when they can get off the plane in eight minutes,
they can pick up their bags in another eight minutes.
They're using their cell phone in a luxury room and
tipping somebody. And the fact that that that redevelopment of
all those hotels happens in a neighborhood of red brick warehouses.
(22:58):
There are no people on the street at night. There
is no possibility I'm.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
Gonna do GEO.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
I'm hoping that someone from the Centerfolds Club. The management
of Centifolds Club is listening, and maybe they will jump
upon your idea, your suggestion, and this will be a
good solution and everyone will be happier.
Speaker 4 (23:26):
The Wind Casino is a short cab right of about
six minutes. That's why the hotels are there. Because the
Wind Casino is up the Mystic River two or three miles.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
Yeah, no, I understand that. I understand that.
Speaker 4 (23:41):
And again just let me let me show out another thing,
because the Wind Casino is built on a former chemical
plant which made agent orange. But however, from the Wind
Casino you could take a shuttle boat down to the hotels,
and the shuttle boat could take you as well to
(24:02):
the airport down the Mischian River.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
Good to know.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
Good, So again, I want to get back to the
topic at hand.
Speaker 3 (24:09):
You know your geography, geo, you have you both.
Speaker 4 (24:14):
One final thing to my father. My father was a
lawyer for the telephone company, and in the nineteen sixties
he went to New York and he went to San
Francisco and he brought back a Chinese pagoda telephone booth.
Chinatown in the nineteen sixties had their own government in
order to cut up the streets and put in payphones
and not have them destroyed at night by people who
(24:37):
either didn't like the neighborhood or didn't like payphones. But
the payphones, my father wanted them because the people in
Chinatown did not have telephones. They had to walk to
another neighborhood, father away to get to a payphone. OK.
Speaker 2 (24:52):
Good history, a geo, great history, But I've got other calls.
I got to jump to this. I think was one
of our most productive conversations.
Speaker 4 (25:00):
Uh ed ed ed Flynn has offered something after the
horses have left the barn, an amendment after this, uh,
this abomination happens no one.
Speaker 3 (25:14):
You know what.
Speaker 2 (25:15):
I wish you would call that and maybe tomorrow you
could call his office and help him out.
Speaker 4 (25:20):
One night I ran back from the tech attorney to
city Hall with his father. Yeah, and he told me,
he said, what you brought back from the from the
uh uh A patent office today, I'm not going to
have time to deal with Tommy is going to take
that over the police department. UH stuff in cruises, facial
recognition uh. And he said, I need to pay more
(25:44):
attention to my family.
Speaker 2 (25:46):
I again, you're with your breath and with the knowledge
is breathtaking and I really appreciate you as a caller.
Thank you so much to you. Have a great night. Okay,
moving right along, gonna go to Raymond in Boston. Hi, Raymond, welcome,
you're next night's side.
Speaker 6 (26:04):
Hey, how are you? Maybe? Uh? You know, I don't
live in terna Time, but I I uh, I've been
to the Chinatown since since the seventy and I know
how hot we did to get the Combats away from Chinatown. Yeah,
and and at this time Chinatown is it's not like
(26:27):
they used to be tern of time used to be,
you know, because of the the cleanness, the the parking
and you know all the all the all the different
sture have a different like a variety of business. So
Chinatown getting like.
Speaker 5 (26:50):
It's more is more, you know, more.
Speaker 6 (26:52):
Chinese people move away from from Chinatown to like Quincy
to modern you know some sub suburban not sure which
is which.
Speaker 2 (27:01):
Normal you know, groups when they arrive here, they have
tended to sort of stick together, just like the Irish
were in South Boston and the Italians are in the
North End. And over time they uh, they got better
jobs and move to.
Speaker 3 (27:19):
Places that had more room. I think everybody wants the same.
Speaker 2 (27:22):
This is one of the themes of my show Raymond,
and that is that I think everybody, irrespective of their backgrounds,
wants the same thing. They want their children to live
in better circumstances than they lived, and they want to
have a home where their family can can feel safe
and sound and maybe a little bit of a backyard
where the kids can play.
Speaker 3 (27:41):
I think I think we're all similar. I think we're
all more similar than we are just similar.
Speaker 6 (27:46):
What I'm saying is Tanhan is still a ton of
time people like like like me. You know, I don't
live in Chinatown, but I always you know, I go
to you at least twice a week to do shopping,
to hang out with my friend. And they is like that.
And I'm sure for people a lot of Chinese family
like me, a lot of Chinese people like me, they
want to go to Chinatown and hang around and and
(28:09):
and get associate. But the thing is, like, I mean,
I remember I get involved with the UH the neon
light against the neon light, and I was saying I
was at the meeting against the UH the marijuana and
things like that. Yeah, now now we are talking about
even worse. I mean, Comebackstone, coming back this is.
Speaker 2 (28:32):
By the way, I don't think you know, to be
honest with you, I don't think it's going to come back.
Speaker 3 (28:35):
I think that that I don't know me.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
Yeah, I think that Ed Flynn is basically trying to say, Okay, UH,
this is a an alarm bell. The fact that UH,
this particular location wants to leave La Grain Street, which
is a kind of a little side street uh in
in in that in that neighborhood, and wants to move
out UH into the Jacob Wortz Restaurant, which in a
(29:02):
much more prominent location. He wants to make sure that
doesn't set a precedent and that all of a sudden, UH,
there'll be other UH clubs of this type trying to relocate.
I think that's I think that's where he sees the
battle needs to be fought. In my opinion, we're about you.
(29:22):
You were out of UH. Do you still live in Boston?
Are you outside of Boston?
Speaker 3 (29:26):
Raymond?
Speaker 6 (29:26):
Oh, outside of Boston. I'm Firmingham right now.
Speaker 3 (29:30):
In Firmingham, okay, So where you live or that where
you're passing through?
Speaker 6 (29:33):
No, No, I live I live in Birmingham.
Speaker 2 (29:35):
Okay, great, And I'm sure there are a lot of
people who once lived in Chinatown.
Speaker 3 (29:39):
Who have.
Speaker 2 (29:41):
Who have moved to various various suburbs and locations.
Speaker 6 (29:46):
You know, because I belong to a communities Social club
which is right and Turnata, and we have some we
have some leasing property, you know. For for some like immigrants,
especially people who who who have worked in the in
the nearby restaurant, they don't want to take too much
(30:08):
time they travel from Yeah, I know Quincy and Modern
is a nice time. But but a lot of restaurant
people they go to Chinatown and get together and then
they uh, they take a car pool or something to
to a different restaurants at different times, and and and
there's no there's not a great idea to have something
(30:30):
like so negative thing in Chinatown for for at least
you know, like, oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (30:37):
I think if you listen to us to our hour
and a half on this tonight, you would you would
understand that that's pretty much the tone of most people
who are who are listening and calling in Raymond.
Speaker 3 (30:50):
Thank you very much for for taking the time to call.
Have you called my show before? Is this your first
time calling?
Speaker 6 (30:55):
It's my first one.
Speaker 2 (30:59):
Please get do need to call and continue to listen
and tell your friends thank you so much for joining me.
Speaker 3 (31:04):
Thank you, Raymond. Okay, we're gonna take a quick break.
Speaker 2 (31:07):
I can still handle a couple more calls on this
topic if you would like to. We'll change topics at eleven.
But the question here is has Chinatown and the people
who live in Chinatown have they really gotten the short
end of the stick for the last fifty or so
years and they are concerned, as his council of Flynn,
(31:30):
that this seemingly benign move of this club centerfolds from
the Grain Street to Stuart Street might not be as
benign as it looks.
Speaker 3 (31:40):
So rather ed Flynn is.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
He's not promising that he can stop this move, but
what he's saying is that he can stop this from
initiating much more similar activity in the Chinatown neighborhood. And
I think that is good representation, and it's him thinking
ahead and not being unrealistic, not over.
Speaker 3 (32:02):
Promising and under delivery. Uh.
Speaker 2 (32:05):
If you want to get a final word in before
the eleven o'clock news, here's some line six one seven, two,
five four ten thirty or six one seven nine three
one ten thirty. And I guess there's not a person
out there tonight that I can that I can imagine
who would say they would welcome this type of venue
(32:25):
in their community. If you disagree, and you would, I'd
love to know why. Back on Nightside.
Speaker 1 (32:31):
After this, it's Night Side with Dan Ray on w
Boston's news radio.
Speaker 2 (32:38):
All right, let me go to Sandy in Hampton. I'm
not sure if that's Hampton Beach, Hampton, New Hampshire.
Speaker 3 (32:43):
Where about Sandy is.
Speaker 10 (32:44):
With Hampton Hampton, Hampton Beach, Yeah.
Speaker 3 (32:48):
Hampton Beach.
Speaker 2 (32:48):
Okay, Rob didn't put up their beach, So I was guessing,
welcome to Nightside, Sandy, How are you okay?
Speaker 10 (32:56):
So I have two points. First, with Geo what Geo
had said. I don't think Centerfolds would go for that
because they're looking for an increase in foot traffic.
Speaker 3 (33:06):
Yeah, I think so.
Speaker 2 (33:08):
Geo has a lot of information, and sometimes that information
is right on the money, and sometimes it's a little
I would characterize it as extraneous, and I don't think
we're at the point where Centerfolds is likely going to
jump on that. But maybe if they do, Geo can
call back and.
Speaker 3 (33:25):
And claim that he played the idea.
Speaker 2 (33:28):
Now, I think Centerfold has an existing clientele and they
probably are looking to expand and move from a little
side street with Grain Street to Stewart Street, which is
I don't know if you're familiar with Stewart Street, but
it's right across from a Tought medical center and it's
a it's a prime location, you know. I mean, I'm
(33:51):
sure that there would be all sorts of fights over
how much electronic advertising were allowed and all of that.
I think people are just concerned and rightfully so that
that's going to change the you know, the the atmosphere
in that community in the wrong direction after so many
years of these these locations leaving. But yeah, I agree
(34:15):
with you. I think that they're very happy with where
they are.
Speaker 10 (34:19):
Yeah, But my point as for the combat. So I
used to go there when I was a kid, and
you never went there alone. You always had to go
with the friends. If we went to go visit, we
had friends in the area, and you had to be
real careful because of a young girl.
Speaker 4 (34:38):
Pimp should try.
Speaker 10 (34:39):
To pick you up that you you would sit down.
Your friend goes to the bathroom and somebody's swooping real
sweet and try to get you to go away with them.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
So let me ask you what so you're saying that
you as a as a young girl. When you say
young girl, you're talking like fourteen or fifteen or what
age are.
Speaker 10 (34:57):
You talking about, Yeah, thirteen, fourteen year all yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:00):
Okay, and you would go into Boston, into the combat
zone and you would go into some of these dens
of iniquity and observe Oh no, no.
Speaker 10 (35:08):
No, we would be like we'd go into a restaurant.
Speaker 3 (35:13):
I'm sorry, I thought for a moment you were going
in there.
Speaker 4 (35:17):
Okay, Oh no, no, I was.
Speaker 2 (35:19):
Worried about you, Sandy, Okay, you can't.
Speaker 10 (35:22):
You can go in in that area today and it
feels relaxed, you feel sank, Yes, but.
Speaker 3 (35:28):
It feels as a very different time, very different vibe.
Speaker 10 (35:31):
Then you couldn't you couldn't sit down alone because the
pimp would swip sweet swoop in as a young kid,
try to pick you up.
Speaker 3 (35:37):
Oh yeah, they would. That was yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:40):
And there were some girls who would who would succumb
to those entreaties and find themselves in some very difficult circumstances. Sandy,
I want to get one more in before the break.
Thanks for thanks for helping us wrap the hour. The
two hours here a really interesting perspective of a young girl.
Thanks Sandy, Thanks great down and go to Susan and
(36:01):
mald and Susan you and next you're going to wrap
the hour.
Speaker 3 (36:03):
Go right ahead, Susan.
Speaker 11 (36:05):
Hi, thanks for taking my call. I just want to
echo the sentiment of the prior caller. I also remember
going into Chinatown in the nineties and seeing after a
certain hour you would see like prostitutes on the street
and sort of like John's like lurking around. And it
definitely has changed a lot since those days.
Speaker 3 (36:25):
Would you want to go let me ask you, would
you go in to observe that or did.
Speaker 2 (36:29):
You go in not realizing that was what was part
of the scene, And and you'd say, hey, I'm not
coming back.
Speaker 3 (36:38):
Well, what what drew you in?
Speaker 11 (36:41):
Well, my family is Chinese, so growing up that was
really if you wanted to eat like authentic Chinese food
and get threes and stuff like that.
Speaker 3 (36:50):
So we're we're going in for the legitimate reasons.
Speaker 2 (36:52):
And then you found out that there was some peripheral
activity which was pretty dangerous.
Speaker 11 (36:59):
Yeah, an family that lived there, that lived there too,
that had to sort of like navigate through that in
the evenings, and it wasn't It wasn't pleasant. So I
just want to reiterate sort of the sentiment of other
callers too, that where the centerfold is now is very
different than the jacob Worth location. Yes, that location is
super prominent. It's on the main road. It's right down
(37:21):
the street with an eyeshot of two schools. There's a
bunch of childcare centers over there as well, versus like
right now, I'm like grund, I just sort of tucked out.
Speaker 1 (37:31):
Of the way.
Speaker 11 (37:32):
It's not close to like childcare centers, Like you wouldn't
really necessarily know it's there because it's on a side street.
Speaker 3 (37:39):
Yeah, you have.
Speaker 2 (37:40):
Been several people that have made that comment, and I
think that's the most important comment, to be honest with you,
as well as just the quality of the neighborhood.
Speaker 3 (37:48):
Sandy Susan Rather, I wish you had called early, but
I'm flat out of time, so I got to let
you run. Okay, thanks so much for coming. Have you
called before? Is this your first time?
Speaker 11 (37:58):
I called once? Probably many years ago.
Speaker 3 (38:00):
Well, come on back more often. Don't be a stranger. Okay,
thanks for joining us tonight.
Speaker 11 (38:07):
Thank you, every good evening.
Speaker 3 (38:08):
You too, have a great night. Good night. Okay, we'll
take a break.
Speaker 2 (38:11):
Coming back, I want to talk on the other side
about the sixty minutes interview last night with President Trump
and with Nora o'donald.
Speaker 3 (38:18):
It was good TV. It was a good interview.
Speaker 2 (38:22):
And Donald Trump gave as good as he got. And
we'll play some of the tape and also get your
reaction to it. Coming back on nights side,
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