When the Boston Red Sox won the American League Division Series last year, rioters burned newspaper sidewalk distribution boxes near Fenway Park. Anticipating similar activity during this year's AL Championship Series, police asked papers to remove the boxes. "We are in full compliance," says Boston Globe spokesman Maynard Scarborough. "This is larger than the sale of our newspaper -- it's a safety issue." Boston's Weekly Dig is also in full compliance, although publisher Jeff Lawrence supports "an organized riot where fans can be allowed to burn the street boxes in special areas." He maintains the Dig would gladly allow fans to destroy the boxes if it would help the team. "The least we can do is lose money for the Red Sox to win," he says.
Most publishers would like to soften New York's Local Law 23, which imposes fines for "dirty" news racks, and some contend the law is unconstitutional. Since last April, when enforcement began, the city's Department of Transportation has assessed more than 2,000 fines, totaling almost $1 million, Cynthia Cotts of the Village Voice reports. The burden is greatest for smaller businesses. New York Press publisher Charles Colletti says the weekly has received fines of almost $100,000 and has hired a cleaning contractor to comply with the law.
