Biker war on Shrewsbury Street

A series of blunders by city government have some neighborhood residents up in arms over a proposed Harley-Davidson rally

By Chris Kanaracus

It's amazing how many headaches a single night can cause if you're not careful. For it's just one night, on Shrewsbury Street, to be precise, that a motley coalition composed of the Worcester County Convention and Visitors Bureau, city officials, the Shrewsbury Street Merchants Association (SSMA) and an estimated 10,000 members of the Harley-Davidson Owners Group (H.O.G.) want. As the culmination of a three-day national rally dubbed "Mass Gathering 2001," the city plans to block off a one-mile stretch of Worcester's most heralded boulevard to throw a "street party" from 6 p.m. until about 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 2. Rally attendees will park their chopped-and-loaded labors of love by the thousands along Shrewsbury Street, hang out, schmooze, and rock-out to live bands at Cristoforo Columbo Park. H.O.G. holds similar events worldwide, and has received widespread acclaim (see sidebar).

While not currently hurting for business -- one to two-hour weekend waits for a restaurant table on Shrewsbury Street are common -- the SSMA is looking to gain from the event as well.

As planned, the SSMA, as a non-profit organization, can apply for a special one-day liquor license that would allow them to set up a beer tent. They hope to raise enough money from the tent to match a $70,000 grant pending from a local charitable organization, which SSMA treasurer Paul Giorgio, president of Worcester Publishing Ltd. (publishers of Worcester Magazine and Worcester Business Journal), declined to name. With the grant, business owners would beautify Shrewsbury Street's median strip, a project that would complement the just-announced $1.7 million state highway grant that will repave the street and repair its medians, among other things. That work is scheduled to begin next spring.

Along with the beer tent, some bars and restaurants may apply for an "extension of premises" license that would allow the serving

of alcohol outside, in parking lots or on sidewalks.

Sounds like a plan. But as regular readers of the Telegram & Gazette know, until last week, no one officially informed the people who live on and near Shrewsbury Street. A number of residents told the newspaper in an April 3 article that not only are bikers and brew a bad mix on Shrewsbury Street, but that the entire event was dumped in their laps without warning.

The event's backers say that until recently, a finalized plan for the event wasn't complete: hence, no notification until now. Residents, though, counter that they should have been part of the planning process from day one.

Right now, the phrase of the moment is "damage control." License Commission chairman Jordan Levy has scheduled a public hearing on the matter for April 12, where along with citizens' concerns, a decision will be made on the beer tent. But city officials and event backers, scrambling for some traction, are pre-empting that somewhat with a hastily organized meeting, set for 6:30 p.m. on April 11 at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, the same day this article is to be published.

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H.O.G. Heaven Boozing and schmoozing, while sure to be in plentiful supply, actually aren't the main focus of the Mass Gathering. Other happenings include a massive trade fair at the Convention, a "jousting" event and family activities at Higgins Armory, group rides around Worcester County, and a tour circuit to 10 Worcester-area diners. According to the group's Web site, H.O.G. was founded in 1983 and has more than 450,000 members and 1,100 chapters worldwide. As a result, H.O.G. rallies are often as big as the animals their name invokes, providing not just a weekend of fun for bike lovers, but millions upon millions in economic spin-off -- cash made even more valuable by virtue of its mostly non-local origin. In cities like Milwaukee, Harleys rule. The city signed on with H.O.G. in 1999 for three consecutive annual rallies. The first one was held last June, drawing about 15,000 riders. But that's nothing compared to 1998, when the Harley-Davidson company's 95th Reunion party attracted a staggering 150,000 bike fans to town. But economic spin-off and increasingly mainstream status aside, for many people the word "Harley" still conjures an image of a pack of ne'er do well, long-haired, leather-clad outlaws, riding in packs and looking for sin. These days, however, to own a Harley you need a certain level of means: at least $15,000 for anything decent. Indeed, as Harley dealers will tell you, their customer base has changed. Sheldon Orville, proprietor of Sheldon Harley-Davidson in Auburn, has been selling Harleys since the 1950s. His grandfather started the business, which until recently was located on Southbridge Street in Worcester, in 1920. "[The notion Harleys mean trouble is] completely unfounded. Our customer today is a lot more mature," says Orville. According to Orville, the average Harley buyer is 42 and male, a key age, given a typical bike's price tag. "These people have a lot of disposable income. Once you get the last kid out of the house and off to college, you've got a lot more money." But what about the rally? We decided to make a few calls to Milwaukee to see how things have gone. We hit the jackpot right away with Angela Welcher, spokesperson for the Greater Milwaukee Convention and Visitor's Bureau. "In my opinion, Harley owners have hearts of gold. They do so many benefits for charity," said Welcher, pointing to an annual H.O.G. Muscular Dystrophy ride that occurs in her city. "I mean heck, the former governor of Wisconsin, Tommy Thompson, he rides a Harley," added Welcher. Welcher kept gushing, pointing to the esprit de corps shown by H.O.G. members. "People just lined the streets everywhere. The locals got involved, too, according to Welcher, who says "H.O.G. Watching" is a favorite local pastime for non-bikers. Sure, everyone likes a parade, but what about all the boozing? Like the planned Worcester event, Milwaukee's features a street party, held on Water Street, a major downtown boulevard. Doug Hissom, metro editor of the Shepherd-Express, a Milwaukee weekly newspaper, said things have gone as smoothly as the libations of Milwaukee's many brewers. "The city just generally sits back and leaves them alone. Never any problems at all," says Hissom. He would know. Hissom's newspaper's office is located on Water Street. Did all the ruckus cause he and his staff to miss deadline? "No, not really. It's just a bunch of people in their 40s and 50s donning leather for the weekend. They're out there hanging around, buying Miller Lite beer with their gold cards, and they're in bed by 10 o' clock," chuckled Hissom. "There's tons of cops around, anyway." Not that they're necessarily needed, according to Karen Pride Garvin, public relations manager for the Milwaukee Municipal Police Department. "There's never been any incident of any magnitude. I mean, the majority of them aren't what you might think of when you think of Hell's Angels," said Pride Garvin, echoing the sentiments of Welcher and Hissom. Pride Garvin stopped speaking at this point, seeming to grasp for the right words. Finally, with a perceivable shrug, she concluded: "They spend a lot of money." -- C.K.

Expected at both meetings are city officials, residents, police officials, event promoters, and area business owners. District Two councillor Michael Perotto, the Mt. Carmel meeting's official organizer, hurriedly mailed invitions to about 500 abutters last April 5. He says he's confident residents' concerns can be resolved before the License Commission meets on Thursday. Among the issues to be covered include a comprehensive parking plan, the control of traffic on surrounding residential streets, and police presence.

Businessmen like Giorgio are finding themselves somewhat caught in the middle of the controversy. While Shrewsbury Street is a fairly large neighborhood, it's also extremely tight-knit. A merchants-versus-neighbors feud could not only be ugly, but practically incestuous. Giorgio is aware of the stakes. "Look, I grew up here, and have worked and lived down here all my life. [Merchants] are concerned about this neighborhood. . . we think it's the best place in the city. These are all legitimate concerns expressed by the residents. We've been working very hard with the city for a while now to address them."

Perotto adds: "This is a case where some information got out [to the media] before it should have," referring to a March 29 Telegram & Gazette article that first broke the news about the street party. Perotto says that while mostly accurate, the article implied that plans for the event were further along than they actually were, giving the impression that residents had been ignored.

While Perotto and other individuals contacted for this article stressed that all would be worked out in short order, revisiting how we got here in the first place is a story all its own.

It all started last November, when after about seven months of negotiations, the city and Worcester County Convention and Visitors Bureau (WCCVB), reached a pact with H.O.G. to bring a rally to Worcester.

Although technically a private agency, the WCCVB is employed by the city as well, via a contract to book and promote the convention center portion of the Centrum. For the WCCVB, scoring a H.O.G. rally was a big deal: not only is the struggling convention center responsible for the Centrum's $1 million-plus net loss last year, but also the estimated economic spin-off from the rally is tremendous: a whopping $5.8 million, much of which would come from outside the Worcester area.

As part of the deal, the city of Worcester was contractually agreed to provide a location for a street party, which are a feature at most H.O.G. rallies.

Charged with organizing the street party was Worcester marketing director Susan Black, who settled on Worcester Common. On the surface, the Common was a good choice: it's close to the convention center, which is set to serve as the nexus for the rally. And few private residents live in the downtown area.

Everthing was set until an unforeseen problem soon cropped up. Black hadn't realized that a long-planned, $1.88 million rehabilitation of decrepit City Hall Plaza would still be ongoing by the event date, requiring much of the Common area to be fenced off (parts of it already are) and thus unsuitable for a massive street party.

But a deal is a deal. The city needed a new spot for the street party, and fast. Which is where Shrewsbury Street comes in.

That, at least, is the version you'll get from everyone else but Black, and strictly off the record. Black herself, while possibly the unwitting victim of a whispering campaign, is less forthcoming about how it all went down. "We haven't been conceptualizing Shrewsbury Street for that long, no. I don't know how long it's been. We've got our plans in place now and we're going to work with the community. That's all I want to say."

Regardless, the Phoenix has determined that talks with Shrewsbury Street business owners began one month ago, when Black and her boss, development officer Phil Niddrie, attended a SSMA meeting. Phil Palmieri, co-owner of 172 Shrewsbury Street, which houses Anthony's Restaurant and the offices of Worcester Publishing Ltd., was at the meeting. According to Palmieri, Niddrie was presented as a guest speaker. "Phil started off by saying he could only stay for two minutes. Then he spent some time praising all the merchants." Abruptly, says Palmieri, Niddrie then revealed the street party proposal.

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Café olé Along with a beer tent near Muzi's Funeral Home, some local businesses are expected to apply for "extension of premises" liquor licenses, which in theory, would allow them to serve alcohol in parking lots or on sidewalks, in a café-type setting. Such an arrangement, while de rigeur in Europe and common in many American cities, is perfectly legal but fairly unprecedented in Worcester. Some restaurants, though, offer enclosed patio and deck seating. License Commission chairman Jordan Levy says he proposed a standardized permitting process for extended premises licenses in January, well before any talk or even knowledge of the street party. Complicating its passage, says Levy, is the fact that several city departments, such as Public Works and Health and Code, need to be consulted. Levy hopes the system can be in place by June. As envisioned, the arrangement would have some constraints, allowing outdoor seating during only summer months, and with limited hours. Levy, who has taken his share of heat from the public over liquor licensing issues, most recently from his well-publicized battle with the Bijou Cinema, could win back some friends with the proposal. Not that he's thinking of himself. "It would be nice to see this happen. I think it would be good for Worcester. Every other city in the country does this," says Levy, who expects an update on the matter from the city manager's office at the April 12 License Commission meeting. -- CK

"So I raised my hand and asked Phil a question," says Palmieri. "Had the city informed the residents? [Niddrie] says, "Uh, I guess they will."

After Niddrie left, says Palmieri, Black talked about the extension of premises licenses. Palmieri found Black's preparation on this issue and others unsatisfactory as well. "I asked her if the city would allow only restaurants with parking lots to serve alcohol? Would the permits be granted free of charge? Would the liability be assumed by the city?" According to Palmieri, Black couldn't answer any of his questions, leaving him less than impressed, and somewhat worried.

"I'm not against this [event]," insists Palmieri, who is a potential District Two city council candidate. "I'm just critical of the process by which it was brought before us."

Of course, not only business owners are steamed. Influential neighborhood activist and probable District Two city council candidate Gary Vecchio has repeatedly said that he plans to vigorously oppose the event. In last week's Worcester Magazine, the outspoken Vecchio was even quoted as saying he'd "rally the troops." Vecchio and several other residents complained in a Telegram & Gazette article as well.

While perhaps not able to form an actual army, Vecchio has proven himself an ardent defender of the Shrewsbury Street neighborhood over the years. He led a two-year fight against a proposed McDonald's restaurant at the eastern end of the street, eventually forcing the project's planners to revise its traffic plan. Also, in 1999, Vecchio helped battle back a planned nightclub on the street, and his concerns over traffic congestion forced Locobazooka concert promoter Dan Hartwell to provide more satellite parking lots for the annual Green Hill Park event.

Vecchio's telephone number is non-published, and he could not be reached for comment. But his close friend and fellow Shrewsbury Street neighborhood resident, state representative Vincent A. Pedone (D-Worcester), says Vecchio is taking a wait-and-see approach. "I think Gary's cooled down a bit, because now he's getting some answers," says Pedone, referring to a meeting Vecchio had on April 7 with Niddrie, Giorgio, and Perotto.

It seems Pedone is still pretty hot, though, particularly at Black. "Susan Black committed Shrewsbury Street without talking to anybody. If they had come forward before they committed to Shrewsbury Street, they could have cemented this deal with our caveats in place. It's the arrogance of people who don't live on the East Side who think they know what's best for this community. What if we sent this thing up Salisbury Street? How would that be? And then we could throw the after-hours party over at Assumption College until two or three in the morning," says Pedone, only half-jokingly.

Among residents' remaining concerns, says Pedone, is when the event will end. "[Black] says the event in the park is going to go until 10:30. Well, the park closes at 10. What time are people going to be moving out and going on their way? We don't want a secondary parade, with 5,000 bikers blasting their quad pipes at one or two o'clock in the morning."

Black, reached at a business expo in Providence, says those concerns will be addressed at Wednesday night's meeting. As for the timing, "We included the SSMA right from the beginning. We couldn't include the residents from the beginning because we had no plans set into place. Now that we have them more set, we have a better idea of what's going on."

In any case, says Pedone, what matters now is what happens on June 2. "This has the potential of being a great event. A real success. But it also has the potential of being a real failure. A failure not only for Shrewsbury Street, but for the [WCCVB] and the city of Worcester."

Despite all the infighting and bad blood, it seems fairly likely that the party will go off without much more trouble. Yet if you talk with city officials like Niddrie, you get the sense he wishes June was already here. "It was never our intent to let people go walking up and down the street drinking beer," he says with a sigh. Niddrie stresses that from now until show time, the city will be communicating closely with neighborhood residents. "We could have done better to let the public know about this. We could have done a better job."

Yet even if the matter of the H.O.G. rally is settled, judging by the comments of people like Pedone (and off-the-record remarks by a number of others), marketing director Black may not come out unscathed. After all, Niddrie didn't come on as development officer until January. Whether the whispers and gripes against her are valid or not, the street party is on Black's plate.

For her part, Black says, she's taking the high road. "I'm not going to get into a pissing contest with anybody . . . I'm not going to respond to it."

Chris Kanaracus can be reached at
ckanaracus[a]phx.com.