Five owners of restaurants in Boston's North End have added a new allegation to their feud with Mayor Michelle Wu's administration over outdoor dining: discrimination. The restaurateurs argue that this year's plan, which drastically limits outdoor dining in the neighborhood, harms the competitiveness of their businesses and that the policy was implemented in violation of their rights to due process.

Additionally, they allege that Wu's decision singled them out "because of their sex or national origin/ethnicity." "It is commonly known that the traditional owner of a restaurant in the North End of Boston is a white male of Italian descent, and the North End is generally regarded (as) the last true ethnic Boston Italian neighborhood," the lawsuit states.