City Council President Ed Flynn is calling for a review of employee parking procedures at Boston City Hall, amid allegations that Councilor Kendra Lara was driving with a revoked license when she crashed into a Jamaica Plain home.
Flynn outlined his request in a letter to Boston Property Management Department Commissioner Eamon Shelton, and plans to meet with members of that department next week to discuss a potential review, according to documents obtained by the Herald.
“In light of recent events, please note that I am specifically requesting that the City of Boston Property Management Division review its current parking policies at City Hall to maintain consistency for all city employees and elected officials,” Flynn wrote.
Such a review should look into the application and registration process for every city councilor, staffer, and any City of Boston employee parking at the executive garage or at the Donnelly Garage, Flynn wrote.
This would be aimed at ensuring each driver is “required to provide verification of a valid driver’s license, copy of a vehicle registration, and insurance,” he said.
“These basic steps are to ensure everyone’s safety, for liability purposes of both operators and the City of Boston, and so that drivers utilizing city-owned garages abide by appropriate regulations,” Flynn wrote.
The letter was sent in response to an incident last week involving Lara, although she wasn’t referenced specifically, a City Hall source told the Herald. Questions remain over whether, or how often, Lara was driving to City Hall and parking in a garage with a revoked license.
According to a Boston Police report, Lara, 33, was driving an unregistered vehicle with a revoked license and “no insurance,” when she crashed into a Centre Street home in Jamaica Plain last Friday.
Authorities filed a 51A child abuse or neglect report with the Department of Children and Families, due to her 7-year-old son, Zaire, not being in a car seat as required. The boy was injured in the crash, and was treated at Children’s Hospital in Boston, the police report stated.
Lara is scheduled to appear in the West Roxbury Division of Boston Municipal court on July 19 for an open hearing. If probable cause is found at the hearing, an arraignment could be set up, NBC10 Boston reported on Friday.
Her charges, issued as part of a court summons and not an arrest, include operating a motor vehicle after suspension, operating an unregistered motor vehicle and operating an uninsured motor vehicle, the Herald has reported.
In an email, Flynn told his City Council colleagues that he would keep them “posted on any development” regarding his request for an employee parking review.
The request was made on the same day Flynn released a statement blasting Lara and Councilor Ricardo Arroyo, who admitted to a state ethics violation last week and agreed to pay a $3,000 fine, for drawing “negative attention to the institution of the Boston City Council.”
“The people of Boston deserve the highest standards of strong and ethical leadership,” Flynn said. “Moreover, they want elected officials who show maturity, take responsibility as adults, and demonstrate the ability to follow the same basic rules and norms as the people they serve when placing us in positions of public trust.”
