Boston mayor Michelle Wu made the North End, the city's Little Italy, an offer its restaurateurs couldn't refuse — and now they're fighting back.
Wu, a newly elected Democrat, has imposed a $7,500 outdoor dining entry fee as well as a monthly per-parking-spot fee on North End establishments only, arguing that the "the impacts of outdoor dining, on this neighborhood, are unique because of that density." She has also limited the hours and season during which they can operate outdoors — again, only for the North End.
When neighborhood restaurant owners began speaking out, Wu was initially unbending. "If a critical mass...
