Boston Councilors Seek to Shift Hero Square Approvals to Veterans Office

Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn and at-large Councilors Erin Murphy and Henry Santana have requested a hearing on whether dedications of hero squares and blue squares honoring veterans and military families should be handled exclusively by the city's Office of Veterans Services, Caught in Southie reported.

The request stems from a South Boston family's effort to create a Blue Square for a Navy corpsman who served in the Iraq War. In August, the Office of Veterans Services agreed to hold a ceremony with military honors, but the family was told the request would instead be managed by the Office of Neighborhood Services, which asked for 200 signatures, an abutters meeting, a community process and backing from the local civic association, according to the report.

Flynn, a retired Navy veteran, contrasted that with the Office of Neighborhood Services' recent decision to determine which development proposals must hold abutters meetings before going to the Zoning Board of Appeal, and with the Boston Landmarks Commission, where a petition can start with 10 signatures. He said the city has sent a message that veterans "are held to a different standard."

The councilors also cited a $900,000 cut to Boston Veterans Services approved by the council in 2023 and a proposed 14.6% reduction, or $724,000, in the fiscal 2027 operating budget.

This story was first reported by Caught In Southie.