Boston’s Back-to-School Crackdown on Building Code Violations, in One Heat Map

Image via Curt Savoie/City of Boston

Allston Christmas is upon us, and with it, all of the busted lamps, questionable sofas, and branded publicity stunts.

After generating a heat map of all the moving truck permits the city issued for this past weekend, Mayor Marty Walsh’s principal data scientist Curt Savoie whipped up a new data visualization revealing just what awaits some of these intrepid pioneers from New York and New Jersey.

Code violations!

The city is conducting its yearly sweep of havens for its transient student populations, cracking down on the kind of slums owned by Anwar Faisal, arguably the worst landlord in Boston, and highlighted in the Boston Globe‘s expansive Spotlight piece, “Shadow Campus.” The Globe ran a story Monday, in which members of the Inspectional Services Department descended upon Allston, finding one apartment with blocked exits, a dozen rat burrows, and a basement that smelled of urine.

The map, updated with fresh data this morning, shows where tickets were issued by city inspectors so far this week. Covered are large swaths of Brighton and Allston, with the biggest concentrations in the latter situated around Harvard Avenue. Mission Hill, meanwhile, is bright red, replete with violations.

Stay safe out there, Huskies.