Safety supersedes Santa

LYNN – Santa Island, instituted by Lynn funeral director David J. Solimine Sr. to help raise money for the Item Santa Fund, will have to be relocated because police feel the area is unsafe for solicitors while there is construction going on in the Wyoma Square vicinity.A member of the construction crew doing the work around the center strip that separates Broadway?s north- and south-bound side – which is where Santa Island is located – told Solimine Thursday that as long as work is being done there, it?s not safe for solicitors.?I don?t want to shoot the messenger,” Solimine said. “He felt terrible about it having to tell me. He certainly didn?t want to.”The median strip along Broadway, which begins in Wyoma Square and runs past Magnolia Avenue, is a popular spot for solicitors of all walks of life. It is a major thoroughfare, and traffic lights at the top of Parkland and Magnolia avenues allow solicitors to canvass the area for donations.Kevin F. Coppinger, Lynn?s chief of police, said Thursday that Solimine is the latest in a number of solicitors who have been affected by the ongoing construction.?We just feel it?s unsafe,” Coppinger said. “And God forbid something were to happen ? someone trips and falls into the street. It?s a safety hazard.”This is the second year that Solimine?s fundraising efforts have been affected by the Wyoma construction project.?Last year, because of the construction, the city closed off Magnolia Avenue and put a blinking light in there. That really affected us.”Coppinger acknowledges the timing is bad. He also said Solimine properly filed for a permit to solicit and was given one by the city.?It fell through the cracks,” Coppinger said.Coppinger said the decision not to allow solicitors on the strip was made in the “late spring or early summer,” and affected numerous groups who wanted to use it. And representatives of at least two of those groups, Coppinger said, contacted police when they saw the Santa Island setup, asking why soliciting was allowed for that, and not for them.Both Coppinger and Lynn City Council President Daniel Cahill have offered Solimine any other spot in the city to set up the island.?We are certainly not out to hurt any charities,” Coppinger said. “But we have to be fair. If you say ?no? to one group, you have to say ?no? to them all.”Solimine said Thursday he was not sure what plans he would make in light of the situation.