Ahead of New Years Eve, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh warned would-be revelers that Boston police will be onhand to respond to calls for unruly parties.
Walsh, who was joined by Police Commissioner William Gross during a press conference at City Hall on Wednesday, said police responding to calls for loud noise or large gatherings will likely begin by asking hosts to “shut down.”
“I want to ask people to not have New Year’s Eve parties this year in order not to spread the virus,” Walsh said, pointing to the city’s latest increase of 569 new COVID-19 cases. He added that if the party violates the city’s current 10-person capacity limit, authorities will be notified.
“Hopefully people cooperate,” Walsh said. “If need be, we will have police knocking on doors and asking people to shut down. But I guarantee you the police will be giving those addresses to Inspectional Services, and we’ll probably be writing violations if there’s more than 10 people in that house.”
The heightened vigilance comes as Boston surpassed 1,000 COVID-19 related deaths since the pandemic gripped the city in the spring. The toll, Walsh said Wednesday, now stands at 1,008 lives lost.
Walsh said small gatherings are still a major source of increasing COVID-19 activity as more and more people have traveled to spend time with friends and loved ones for the holidays despite public health officials urging against such visits.
More people are hospitalized for COVID-19 now than in June, Walsh said, and to that end, residents have a role to play in protecting one another from further virus spread as the city rings in the new year and awaits public vaccine distribution.
“I know that a lot of people, all of us, are tired of living with the virus. It’s tempting to let out guards down during this holiday season, but the virus is still very much with us,” Walsh said, acknowledging the grim figure. “When New Years Day comes around, [it] does not mean the virus goes away.”
Gross said all 11 of the Boston Police Department’s districts will be fully staffed into tomorrow evening with reinforcements in anticipation of the party calls.
“We will be out there,” Gross said, explaining the extra staffing. “You will lose no coverage in your neighborhoods, and we just ask everyone to listen to what the mayor said.”
Walsh, who still has not officially declared a third term re-election campaign, also declined to state his intentions for next year when asked by reporters about speculation that he might leave the city’s executive seat for a spot in the Biden administration.
The mayor said he had not spoken to anyone from the Biden teamor the president-elect himself since shortly after the November election.
Asked whether his ambition might lead him to take a position within the Biden administration, Walsh flashed a wide smile and said, "I love being the mayor of Boston."
