The Board of Aldermen discussed the need to remove abandoned, damaged and unlicensed news boxes from both Union Square and throughout town.

By David R. Smith

When they’re maintained and kept fresh, they can put the world within reach, but when they’re left empty and open to the effects of time, weather and vandals, they go from being sources of information to eyesores.

The “they” are newspaper boxes, and the Board of Aldermen would like to see the city cleansed of the ones that are not kept stocked and/or properly licensed.

“I was in front of the Post Office in Union Square the other day, and it was absolutely appalling in terms of the number of news boxes there that are so old and faded with no stickers on them,” Ward 2 Alderman Maryann Heuston told her fellow board members at the April 10 BOA meeting. “The windows are broken on half of them, and the newspapers are probably I don’t know how old.”

The issue was brought up by Heuston and Ward 3 Alderman Bob McWatters as an order that the director of the strategic planning and community development office inspect the newspaper boxes throughout Union Square, especially in front of the Post Office, and remove any that do not have a valid city sticker or are in disrepair.

Heuston said that while grand visions are being discussed for the future of the square, it’s important to still focus on the now.

“We still need to keep it looking really good, and this looks horrible,” she said.

“It really is despicable,” McWatters added. “These newspapers want to do business in the city; at least the boxes should be respectable.”

Heuston said the issue had already been addressed through city ordinance, and those rules, she emphasized, need to be maintained.

“What I’ve noticed more and more is this stuff people might consider small is not being kept track of, so we have submitted this board order to make sure that throughout Union Square, at least, which is our neck of the woods, that there’s a total inspection of that square for all of these news boxes, that the ones that don’t have stickers are removed, per the ordinance, or are in disrepair, per the ordinance that we all worked on – granted, years ago –  but we had a purpose for doing that, and I would hope that this is also going to be done in the entire city.”

The order was approved, and the issue will be further discussed by members of the Public Utilities and Public Works Committee.

“I think it makes sense to have an in-depth discussion with the good director,” BOA President Bill White, who serves on that committee, said.