Boston City Councilor Ed Flynn is calling for the cancellation of a block party scheduled for Saturday, October 24th, on O Street in South Boston’s City Point neighborhood.

The event, called Good Neighbor Cafe, is being organized by a social media influencer who plans to transform O Street into a pop-up cafe featuring free coffee, bagels, T-shirts, live music, and local Boston vendors.

According to a social media post promoting the event, the organizer says the city approved the necessary permits and expects about 200 to 300 people to attend. Over 1,400 Instagram followers responded “free coffee” to get details about the event, and the account has over 150,000 followers. The event is scheduled to begin at 10 am.

In a letter to Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox posted on social media Friday, Flynn raised concerns about the large crowd, parking, access for emergency vehicles, and whether neighbors received proper advance notice.  Caught in Southie did walk by the O Street block where the event will take place on Friday evening and did find flyers on residents’ stoops.

Flynn also questioned the use of city grant funding for the event.

The event received funding through Boston’s fall block party grant program, which offers grants of up to $500 to help residents organize neighborhood gatherings “to create a fun and traffic-safe environment for kids and families to enjoy community.”  According to the City of Boston, the program is supported by a $25,000 contribution from the nonprofit Elevate Cities. The exact amount awarded to Good Neighbor Cafe has not been confirmed.

The program is intended to bring neighbors together through free, community-focused events. Flynn questioned whether an event promoted on social media followers fits that purpose.

Flynn is requesting that Boston Police cancel the event’s permit and that city departments reevaluate the funding. For now, the event is still scheduled to take place on Saturday.

You can read the letter below: