Boylston-Area Business Owners Eager to Reopen
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
The area surrounding the site of the Boston Marathon bombings is not quite back to normal, but it’s starting to get close.
City officials and inspectors have been leading business owners through their businesses within the still-closed-off section of Boylston Street Tuesday.
The FBI handed the crime scene off to the city of Boston Monday, but Boylston Street between Hereford and Berekley streets is still closed to the public.
Keith Shirley, owner of Meridian Realty Group at 46 Gloucester St. between Newbury and Boylston streets, said the lack of access to his business for the past eight days has made things difficult.
“We’ve had logistical issues,” he said from behind the blocked off gate on Gloucester Street. “We haven’t been able to write checks or process paperwork.”
He said he registered with the city’s database and has been told he could things could be back to normal in the area by Wednesday night.
City Readies Property Owners, Residents to Re-Enter Blast Zone
The blast zone along Boylston Street is still an active crime scene, but city officials are preparing a plan to let business owners and inspectors into the area on a “staggered schedule for limited access.”
The city emergency management team along with Mayor Thomas Menino met Sunday to devise a five-phase plan for re-entry to the Copley Square blast zone in the April 15 marathon bombings, according to a press statement April 21.
The phases include:
Phase 1: Decontamination and Testing
Phase 2: Structural Building Assessments and Utility Coordination
Phase 3: Debris Removal
Phase 4: Internal Building Assessments
Phase 5: Re-Entry, Communications, and Counseling
The plan will be implemented once the FBI clears the zone, according to the statement.
Items at a memorial at the intersection of Boylston and Berkeley streets and other area memorials will be temporarily moved to Copley Square Park. Boston Police will return personal items left at the scene that has not been retained as evidence by the FBI, according to the statement.