Boston Police officials and organizers of this Sunday’s Dominican Festival in Franklin Park briefed the media on Thursday about precautions they are taking before the large-scale event.
The festival has a long history in Boston. It includes a parade on Centre Street, Columbus Avenue, Seaver Street and into the park. In recent years, it has begun to draw much larger numbers and at times has overwhelmed surrounding neighborhoods during and after the festival. In 2024, five people were shot on the Playstead during the festival.
“The organizers have planned a family-friendly event this Sunday and we wanted to make sure the expectations for visitors and participants meet our expectations,” said Police Commissioner Michael Cox during a press conference at BPD headquarters in Schroeder Plaza. “There are going to be large crowds and people should know there is no parking. We encourage those coming to take public transit because parking will be very, very difficult to come by. We encourage people to come to the event, come and enjoy a family-friendly event. We want to make it clear so that everyone follows the rules.”
Dominican Festival President Luis Matos speaks about the festival, while Vice President Yoleney Ynio (left) stands by. Seth Daniel photo
The Dominican Festival begins at 11 a.m. on Centre Street in Jamaica Plain with a parade up Columbus Avenue and Seaver Street and into Franklin Park. The afternoon will feature performances, vendors, and featured acts through the evening.
Numerous streets will be closed off, including Circuit Drive and Franklin Park Drive. Ongoing street closures of Talbot Avenue and Old Road are also expected to remain in place through 6 a.m. on Monday. Other street closures have not yet been announced.
Cox said police won’t tolerate public drinking, illegal drug use, weapons, fireworks, or disorderly behavior. Cox discourage “any car meets or scooter meet ups.”
He also said officers will not tolerate the loud speaker cars coming to the festival. He said those using loud speaker cars will be asked to stop, they will be ticketed and possibly have their equipment seized.
“We will be ticketing and towing, so please listen to all instructions by police,” he said. “And at the end of the evening, we will ask people to leave immediately.”
BPD Commissioner Michael Cox. Seth Daniel photo
When questioned about incidents in past years that have marred the post-festival hours, he said he wasn’t aware of too many problems but was aware of the incident in 2024 where five people were shot.
But, neighbors in and around Franklin Park did complain about problems last year with large groups partying in the surrounding streets, playing loud music, and in some cases appearing to overwhelm police with sheer numbers. Entire portions of Seaver Street and Blue Hill Avenue were at times impassible due to the volume of people. Most of the problems unfolded shortly after the official festivities ended.
On Kerwin Street, residents reported that revelers took over their street for many hours playing loud music and partying until beyond 3 a.m. – with a shooting occurring on the street as well. For many neighbors, they said it is more about the large numbers of people who come to the Dominican Festival and the Caribbean Carnival (Aug. 28 and 29), and the inability to control that many people in a neighborhood setting.
Cox said the issues were not because of the Dominican Festival, but “a summer time issue.”
“Every year we’re trying to improve on problems from the year before,” he said. “We’ll be bringing in more people to address blind spots that were there before. We are working a lot more collaboratively in the city to address issues…We’re not a hopeless city. We identify problems and address them.”
He did point out they are doing things differently this year, including meeting with organizers and briefing the public.
“What is different about this year; well, this press conference didn’t happen last year. That’s new,” he noted, alluding to better collaboration between all parties and the public.
Organizers of the event, including Festival President Luis Matos and Vice President Yoleney Ynio, also addressed the media in Spanish.
