16 hours Ago By Gayla Cawley
Boston mayoral candidate Josh Kraft said Mayor Michelle Wu deserves some heat as well for the city’s failure to clear sidewalks of snow and ice after Wu said 1,200 citations were issued to property owners who failed to clear their walkways.Kraft, in a statement posted to social media that accompanied a photo of an ice-covered sidewalk near Boston City Hall, said the city’s failure to make its sidewalks safe for pedestrians this week shows basic city services “are simply not a priority” for the Wu administration.“On the heels of the mayor issuing 1,200 citations to property owners for failing to clear their sidewalks of snow and ice .
.. who’s holding Mayor Wu accountable for failing to clear city sidewalks and pedestrian walkways?” Kraft said Friday on his Instagram page.
“I appreciate the hard-working city employees that make up the public works department, but we also know that providing city services are simply not a priority,” he added. “As mayor, I would not settle for this, and it’s hard to imagine why people in City Hall are fine ignoring it.”Wu announced at the tail end of a Thursday press conference that the city had issued many citations to property owners who failed to properly clear their walkways, amid reports of injuries sustained by people falling on icy patches following last weekend’s storm and the bitter cold that has persisted this week.
“We have seen many instances where the storm hits and then there’s a freeze,” Wu said. “The temperatures drop for the next several days, so that whatever ends up not being cleared right away turns into a very dangerous, slippery patch of ice.“I’m told that our teams have issued, between Sunday and Wednesday .
.. more than 1,200 citations for sidewalks that were not cleared by property owners.
”Wu said it’s “everyone’s job to be part of taking care of our neighborhoods.”“The city and public entities are responsible for clearing the roadways, and property owners are responsible for clearing the sidewalks in front of and on their property,” Wu said. “We need to do a better job of this collectively.
“When we are the property owner for public space, public buildings and public spaces, we work really hard and hold ourselves accountable to that, whether it’s the plaza in front of City Hall or pathways through the Boston Common public garden and other public parks,” the mayor added.Wu’s office and campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Kraft’s remarks on Friday.The mayor and Kraft have traded jabs publicly since the son of the billionaire New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft and former head of the family’s philanthropic arm formally launched his bid to challenge Wu for mayor earlier this month.
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Injuries from those falls have “run the spectrum,” he said. Twelve people had fractured bones, from ankles and arms to ribs, and one person’s fractures were serious enough to require an operation. Others need stitches from lacerations to their face and legs, while another person suffered a head injury, Mostofi said.
One of the people was homeless and needed to be treated for hypothermia after remaining outside in the bitter cold after their fall, he said.“I don’t want to make things dramatic, “ Mostofi said. “New England gets ice and snow.
We get it every year ...
so none of this is new. I clearly think not removing ice and snow does increase the risk of having a fall. There’s no question about it.
”.
