MORE LIQUOR LICENSES POUR INTO BOSTON

THERE WILL soon be more places than ever to whet your whistle in Boston. Certain areas of the city will receive 75 liquor licenses over the next three years after a Massachusetts Senate and House joint committee approved an economic development bill. The aim is to rejuvenate outlying neighborhoods by boosting their food (and drinks) industries. The bill also gives the mayor the power to appoint a three-person licensing board to determine in what areas the new licenses should be given. There will be 25 new liquor licenses each year over the next three years: 2O will allow restaurants to sell all alcohol beverages, and five will allow sales of beer and wine. Areas receiving the licenses include Dorchester, Hyde Park, Jamaica Plain, Mattapan, Mission Hill, and Roxbury, plus locations the Boston Redevelopment Authority deems “Main Street Districts”. The liquor licenses will be “neighborhood restricted”.