John Ruch
EGLESTON SQ.—A Friday night youth party at the YMCA’s Egleston Square Youth Center turned into a near-riot, with about 250 people swarming in the square, according to the Boston Police Department (BPD). Only one person was arrested in the Aug. 14 incident.
Greg Bienaime, the center’s director, was not available for immediate comment for this article.
The party at 3134 Washington St. was properly licensed and had BPD officers working a detail, according to BPD spokesperson Eddy Chrispin. But around 10 p.m., it started to get out of hand, with “200 or more [people] inside and even more trying to get in,” he said, including people climbing through a window.
Some people refused to leave as police officers and Y staff herded people out, Chrispin said. Many partiers stayed in the street, attracting passers-by until about 250 people were in the square. “Members of the crowd were fighting and also refusing to leave the area,” Chrispin said.
Officers finally cleared the crowd. A Dorchester woman was arrested on School Street for disturbing the peace and disorderly conduct in relation to the near-riot.
Another party is planned at the Y for tonight, Aug. 28, Chrispin said.