A monumental decision is laid in smallest hands
A dog-eared page of political wisdom holds that, faced with controversy, leaders should turn decisions over to the people. And in this case, the city is giving it to children.
About a year after securing the 3-ton FAO Schwarz teddy bear statue from the bankrupt toy giant and all but declaring it a historic treasure, Mayor Thomas M. Menino announced a contest yesterday and opened a hot line soliciting suggestions from the residents who arguably would know best.
''This bear belongs to the children of Boston," Menino said at a press conference beside the statue at the corner of Berkeley and Boylston streets. ''The children of Boston should decide where the bear goes."
When FAO Schwarz filed for bankruptcy and announced plans to leave its Back Bay home of more than a decade, the question of the 12-foot bronze bear's fate touched off an outcry that might have rivaled the one over threats to the Citgo sign. Officials, faced with the emotionally charged question of what to do, are now hoping that children's ideas, expressed in five-line supporting essays, will settle the matter.
''This is an issue that requires creative thinking, and who better to do that than Boston's kids?" said Meredith Baumann, a spokeswoman for the Boston Redevelopment Authority, which is running the contest.
But in Boston, things are seldom so simple. Already, the contest appears to have touched off something of a storm, with lobbying efforts underway. Boston Children's Hospital sent a representative to the press conference and promised to start a full-fledged campaign to land the bear.
Hospital officials will distribute contest submission forms to its hundreds of patients. Shortly after word of the contest had spread, the hospital had won the backing of Councilor Michael Ross of the Back Bay.
''We think it's the obvious place for the bear to go," said hospital spokeswoman Michelle Davis.
The Children's Museum, which is setting up its own campaign, could be a formidable opponent.
''The thought here, because it is an election year, this is a great opportunity for children to take part in a democratic process," said museum spokesman Rick Stockwood, who poked around yesterday to determine his toughest opponents.
The museum had earned its own high-profile supporter by early evening: Menino's 5-year-old granddaughter, Samantha.
Menino said he asked her late yesterday where the bear should go. ''A museum," she replied. When he pressed her about which one, she told him, ''The Children's Museum."
''I couldn't believe she said that," he said.
There are no hard-and-fast rules for the contest. Entries will be judged on their creativity and appropriateness by a panel with representatives from the BRA, the Landmarks Commission, the Mayor's Office of Arts and Cultural Development, and the mayor's office. A winning site will have to be open to the public, handicapped accessible, child-friendly, and perhaps most important, able to physically accommodate the huge bear. The panel will pick a site based on factors like the number of entries favoring a particular spot.
''Certainly, that will hold weight," Baumann said.
After a location is picked, children who suggested it will be invited to a reception at the site with the mayor. The deadline for submissions is Aug. 15; the bear will be moved Sept. 1.
Yesterday children on Boylston Street had a variety of thoughts on the bear's future.
If the icon has to get the heave-ho, ''The Old North Church would be a good spot," suggested Andrew Penberthy, 8, a visitor from Colorado. ''It needs something exciting there."
A 14-year-old Duxbury resident, Jillian May, said she has been visiting the bear her whole life and has photos to prove it. ''I think the bear should be moved to the Children's Museum because of the kids," she said resolutely. ''They would get the most out of it, and it would look weird, like, at the Common."
