Menino Clashes With Rivals Over The BRA

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino is considering expanding the functions of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, even as his mayoral opponents call for curtailing the power of the agency.

Speaking on WBUR's Radio Boston Friday, the mayor defended the role of the BRA, and he said he was considering adding transportation to its purview.

"I even want to bring the Transportation Department into the Boston Redevelopment Authority," Menino said. "That's on my drawing board, to move forward on that in the near future."

All three of Menino's challengers - City Councilors Michael Flaherty and Sam Yoon, and developer Kevin McCrea - call for reforming or abolishing the BRA, which is responsible for overseeing all large-scale planning and development in the city.

"We ought to do away with the authority all together and replace it with a community development planning agency," said Yoon during Friday's show. "Right now, the BRA doesn't work for the community. It works for developers, and that's because that's where they get all their revenue."