South End Forum Spacesaver Vandalism Victim Fund

The South End Supports Victims of Space Saver Vandalism By Making Them Whole Financially, Eliminating the Sting of VigilanteThreats

South End neighborhood associations and neighbors by a wide margin worked for years to free our part of the city from a winter scourge characterized by threats and acts of vigilantism/vandalism,  mean-spirited, angry, and menacing notes, and the sudden sense of entitlement which descends on Boston neighborhoods whenever it snows.

With solid support from the City, the good folks at Public Works and the city's contractors, the South End was officially declared a "Space Saver Free Zone" in 2017 after a one year pilot program that overwhelmingly demonstrated the positive impact of prohibiting space saver use at any time in the South End--improved utilization and turnover of limited parking inventory, no more nasty windshield notes, and a reduction in vandalism.

https://thebostonsun.com/2017/02/17/south-end-the-lone-exception-to-bostons-informal-space-saver-rule/ 

In our first formal year of a space saver free neighborhood, we knew that we might see a few incidents of vandalism by those who refused to accept the prohibition.  So we established a "VICTIM COMPENSATION" fund through contributions from neighbors and neighborhood associations, and even folks who didn't live in Boston but who believed that space savers were "uncivilized" and harmful to any neighborhood's social fabric. We collected close to $2000 for the fund and paid out 5 documented claims of vandalism to any victim of vigilantism on South End streets.

We have not needed to replenish the fund since 2017.

Regrettably in December of this year (2020) we had one incident of vandalism on Pembroke Street. The incident was posted on the South End Community Board FB page for those who would want the background.

A single mother with kids in tow parked in an open space with no space saver in sight, and came out to go to work early the next morning to slashed tires. Because of a high deductible, the out-of-pocket expense for the slashed tires of this victim is $300.

As we posted at the time of the incident, the South End Forum, on behalf of all the neighborhood associations of the South End, will reinstate our victim compensation fund and try to make any victim whole from any act of vigilantism and vandalism.  

Because Public Works crews, our trash contractor, and neighbors across the South End now routinely remove and discard any space saver found on any street at any time as nothing more than debris/garbage, no space saver user can possibly determine whether or not the car found in "their" spot has removed their space saver.

Any act of vandalism to "enforce" the "exclusive right" of a person to a public saved spot on a neighborhood street is meaningless lacking any actual warning or retribution. In the South End today, any space saver vigilantism is pure vandalism and every victim innocent of violating any purported social "custom."

Because we have only had one reported incident of vandalism related to the South End as a space saver free neighborhood this year so far, we are asking for donations to this fund so that we can reimburse our one current victim and any others in the future.

By creating the South End Forum Space Saver Vandalism Victim Fund and widely publicizing our efforts to help victims, we hope our  message will be clear to any would-be vandal:

Space saving is not supported or allowed in the South End, if you use a space saver anyway, it will likely be removed immediately either by the city or by neighbors, and any act of space saver vandalism will result in compensation for our neighborhood victims through the contributions of generous neighbors.

We ask South End neighbors to contribute to the fund. It will be managed and administered by the South End Forum and will be used exclusively to compensate documented expenses related to space saver acts of vandalism. Thanks to all for your support.