Boston City Councilor Miniard Culpepper plans to go to court to enforce a subpoena against MBTA General Manager Phil Eng after Eng failed to appear at a Friday hearing on the Blue Hill Avenue redevelopment, escalating a dispute over a $163 million bus lane project in majority-Black neighborhoods that have lacked rapid transit for roughly 40 years, WBUR reported.
Eng skipped the Civil Rights Committee hearing despite a council-approved subpoena, with an MBTA spokesperson telling WBUR that Eng would not attend “due to a previously planned vacation with his family.” Culpepper canceled the meeting about a half hour after it was scheduled to start.
Culpepper Cancels Hearing After Eng’s Absence
The hearing, co-sponsored by Councilors Miniard Culpepper and Brian Worrell, was intended to examine civil rights and transportation equity concerns around the Blue Hill Avenue project, including the possibility of extending the Orange Line down the corridor instead of building center-running bus lanes. Culpepper told WBUR he had planned to put Eng under oath, allow councilors to make opening statements, and hear public testimony, all contingent on Eng’s presence.
“We had planned to put Mr. Eng under oath,” Culpepper told WBUR after formally ending the hearing. “All of that was based on Philip Eng showing up to testify at this hearing.”
The MBTA said Eng is willing to participate in a community meeting or meet directly with councilors, but Culpepper rejected those conditions. “We’re not meeting with him in community meetings or in closed door rooms where he tells us things that they don’t plan to commit to,” Culpepper said. “We need this to be in public.”
Legal Action Requires Council Approval
Culpepper said he intends to ask a court to enforce the subpoena, a step that requires approval from the full City Council. “We’re preparing to get ready to go to court, those are the next steps,” he told WBUR. The council approved the subpoena two weeks earlier by an 8-2 vote, according to the Herald.
Culpepper, who is an attorney, told the Herald that the council expects Eng to comply even if it means pursuing enforcement through the courts. “Court is an option to enforce a subpoena,” Culpepper said. “It’s not just disrespectful (to the Council). It’s illegal. He’ll be violating the law.”
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu pushed back on the subpoena approach, telling reporters Friday that the MBTA and Eng have a history of collaborating with the city. “There was a scheduling conflict, and I do not believe that subpoenas are a productive way to engage with the partners who are working alongside us every day,” Wu said, according to WBUR.
Bus Lane Plan vs. Orange Line Extension
The hearing centered on the city’s proposed plan to install a center-running bus lane along Blue Hill Avenue’s three-mile corridor, part of a $163 million project the Herald reported. City and MBTA officials say the rebuild would include new sidewalks, protected bike lanes, streetlights, trees and pedestrian crossings, and estimate Route 28 trips between Mattapan and Grove Hall could be 10 to 15 minutes shorter during rush hour.
Opponents, including some councilors and residents, argue the bus lane will worsen traffic. Councilors have advocated instead for an underground rail system along the corridor. Culpepper has framed the Orange Line extension as a civil rights issue, telling the Herald: “There was a commitment by the MTA when they took down the Orange Line that they would give us comparable transportation… The Orange Line went right through the heart of the Black community… and so the comparable transportation hasn’t happened in 40 years.”
A Rare Test of Subpoena Power
The Boston City Council rarely uses its subpoena authority, which is spelled out in both the Boston City Charter and council rules, the Herald reported. In October 2024, the council voted to issue what councilors called a “rare” subpoena to compel testimony from the local postmaster about late mail, but the U.S. Postal Service refused to comply, citing federal preemption over state and city law. The council chose not to pursue enforcement in that case.
This time the target is a state agency, which Culpepper told the Herald gives the council more legal options. The Herald also reported that Eng missed a similar council hearing last month, and that Culpepper first pitched the alternative subway plan to Eng in a private meeting in late June.
Questions Readers Ask About the Subpoena Fight
What happens if Eng continues to refuse? Culpepper says the council will need to vote to authorize court action to enforce the subpoena. If a court orders Eng to testify and he still refuses, he could face fines or penalties similar to those for defying a court witness summons, according to the Herald’s description of the council’s legal authority.
Why is this a civil rights issue? Culpepper argues the Blue Hill Avenue corridor through Roxbury, Dorchester and Mattapan has gone roughly 40 years without rapid transit since the Orange Line was removed, while other city neighborhoods received billions in transit investment over the same period.
What is the MBTA’s position? The agency says Eng had a previously planned family vacation and has offered to meet with councilors directly or participate in additional community meetings instead of a public hearing under oath.
The City Council must still vote to authorize the court action Culpepper is preparing, and the MBTA has not responded to WBUR’s request for comment on that plan.