Nightlife

What local officials and businessmen have to say

"Right now, if you want to get something to eat or drink in this city after one in the morning, you have limited options." -- Vivien Li, Executive Director, Boston Harbor Association

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Boston's after-hours scene
A no-BS guide to extending the city's hours of operation
Five reasons why extended hours of operation are a good idea

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"The [late-night] issue gets talked about in terms of tourists, and I think that's a mistake. The real issue isn't the tourists. It's us, the people who live here every day." -- Ken Reeves, Cambridge City Councilor

"The question is, how much do you want to enhance your competitiveness vis-à-vis other cities? Boston offers a tremendous amount of amenities. Do you want to add another amenity to the mix that would enhance the future appeal of the city to others around the world? If you don't, fine -- live with what you've got." -- Alan Eisner, Massachusetts Hospitality Association

"I think there's a specific lobby interested in this, and they have sold some image of the city that the mayor has bought." -- Shirley Kressel, President, Alliance For Boston Neighborhoods

"I'm not saying that we've ever lost a convention or a meeting or a major international event because our clubs and restaurant serving hours stop at 2 a.m. I'm not saying we have lost a meeting or convention or event because our public transit shuts down at 12:45 a.m. What I am saying is that if you don't listen to the customer and explore the reasons why the customer wants this service . . . then you have to realize there are some risks associated with being unwilling to take any action." -- Pat Moscaritolo, Executive Director, Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau

"The issue isn't cost, it's whether it's a good idea. If cost was the issue, we wouldn't have a public-transportation system. It's supposed to serve the convenience of the traveling public." -- Senator Robert Havern (D-Arlington), Co-Chair of the Massachusetts Legislature's Transportation Committee, on MBTA management's worries that late-night service will be costly

"I have not initiated the [late-night] proposal and I don't feel it's my role to advocate for it. What I said was that if a case could be made where it didn't negatively impact a neighborhood, then it's something that we'd look at." -- Paul Evans, Commissioner, Boston Police Department

"It's not about anyone, it's about the marketplace. The marketplace should speak. People should listen to the marketplace. If there was no demand, we wouldn't be talking about this. But there is demand." -- Patrick Lyons, President, Lyons Group Management

"We were really impressed with the ages of people who came. It was not just people you'd expect in the middle of the night -- like post-nightclubbing young people -- but older people. We had one guy who came up in his camper and slept in the parking lot so he could use his 4 a.m. ticket."

-- Sylvia Sukop, Public-Relations Manager, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,
on the museum's 24-hour John Singer Sargent show