Executive garage tightens up rules in wake of Lara crash
Proof of valid driver’s license, registration now required
Amid revelations that Councilor Kendra Lara “regularly” drove to work at City Hall with a revoked license, new policies are being implemented that will require councilors to provide valid documentation to park in city-owned garages.
City Council President Ed Flynn said elected officials who do not submit an application form that requires proof of a valid driver’s license, vehicle registration, and insurance information by end of day on Friday, July 21, “will have their access denied to the executive garage by Property Management.”
Enforcement will begin on Monday, July 24, Flynn wrote in a Friday evening email to his fellow councilors that was obtained by the Herald.
The changes were the result of a meeting Flynn held this week with Property Management Division Commissioner Eamon Shelton, Chief of Operations Dion Irish, the City Council’s central staff director and his own team, he wrote.
“We discussed the City of Boston and Property Management’s current review of parking policies in both the Donnelly and executive garages, and the critical need to maintain consistency for all employees and elected officials in terms of the application process,” Flynn wrote to his fellow councilors.
“Again, 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 cityowned garages abide by appropriate laws and regulations.”
Prior to the changes, city councilors had not been required to submit documentation to park in the executive garage, where only the city clerk, city councilors and mayor’s office cabinet members have parking privileges and there is no parking attendant, according to Flynn’s email and the application form.
City councilors were simply able to swipe the pass card they use to get into their office to access the executive parking garage, atLarge Councilor Erin Murphy told the Herald on Friday.
By comparison, Murphy said, city employees seeking access to the Donnelly Garage have to submit that documentation to obtain a parking placard.
Councilors usually park in the executive garage, and designate their one allotted space in the Donnelly Garage to their chiefs of staff, Murphy said.
The policy change comes on the heels of a Thursday confirmation from a city spokesperson that Lara regularly drove to City Hall and parked at the executive garage, despite not having a valid driver’s license for the past decade.
Lara, 33, is facing charges in connection with a crash on June 30, when she drove an unregistered and uninsured car into a Jamaica Plain home. Her driver’s license, which was first suspended in 2013, is revoked, according to Boston Police documents, which revealed that she was going twice the speed limit prior to the collision.
She is due to appear in the West Roxbury Division of Boston Municipal Court on July 19 for a court magistrate’s hearing.
Flynn had requested a review of employee parking procedures amid questions that Lara was also driving to City Hall and parking at a garage with a revoked license.
On Thursday, a city spokesperson confirmed this was the case, telling the Herald that in response to a public records request from the Boston Globe, city officials reviewed camera footage of the executive garage, “and confirmed that Councilor Lara drove a dark gray Honda Civic into and out of the garage regularly.”
The car’s description matches the one described in a police report for last month’s crash that was previously provided to the Herald.
Lara issued an apology for the crash in a statement last Saturday, but declined to comment on the revelations that she was also driving to work. She did not respond to a Friday night request for comment on the new employee parking procedures.
“The reality is that this is a case that’s being heard in court and I’m not going to make any comment about an open case,” Lara told the Herald on Thursday.
Flynn urged his fellow councilors to fill out the parking application “in the coming days.” He said this would allow them to “provide the necessary documentation in a timely manner, so that the city and its employees are in compliance with lawful practices and mindful of basic steps regarding liability concerns.”
Murphy said she understands the changes were made based on her colleagues “breaking the law,” and intends to “just fill out the form and follow the rule.”
“It’s unfortunate to me that we would have to question whether or not elected officials are driving registered or insured cars,” Murphy said. “But I understand that it’s now required to make sure that people are following the rules.”