In this edition: Singapore opens trade office in Mass., Faneuil Hall occupancy improves, Minogue unveils gubernatorial agenda
Jon here. Hard to believe it’s been 25 years since the 9/11 attacks. I’ll never forget it, and Boston never will, either, thanks in part to an effort to light up our buildings in blue as a tribute to that day’s heroism and sacrifice.
Last chance: The Globe’s Future of Medicine Summit is Tuesday, and Shirley is moderating a panel on cancer vaccines. Use code POWERPLAY at globe.com/futureofmedicine to unlock an exclusive price.
If someone has been sending you this newsletter, it’s time to get your own copy. Sign up at globe.com/powerplay.
Featuring: Gogi Gupta, John Civello, Ben Heller, Bryan Sparkes, Mike Simonelli, Don Chiofaro, Rachel Flor, Danny Lewin, Tom Leighton, Brooks Tingle, Seow Hui Lim, Maggie O’Toole, Edwin Tong, Lui Tuck Yew, Sumbul Siddiqui, Jesse Baerkahn, Mike Minogue, and more.
For one night each year, the Boston skyline takes on a shade of sky blue.
John Civello witnessed it a year ago after leaving work late. The drive across the Longfellow Bridge was one he will never forget. Civello heads up real estate at Akamai Technologies, which had just put up blue lights atop its Cambridge headquarters as a tribute to those who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. He stayed after hours to make sure the installation went OK.
While crossing the Charles, Civello was struck by what he saw in that postcard-perfect view. Tower after tower, lit up with blue. Only then, Civello recalls, did he realize how many others were participating.
This will be the third year Boston hosts our own version of the “Tribute in Light” that takes place in Manhattan each September. There will be more buildings aglow on Friday, the 25th anniversary of the attacks, than there were during Civello’s drive in 2025 — more than 30, in total.
It all began with a pitch from Boston marketer Gogi Gupta two years ago. The founder of Gupta Media emailed business leaders with an idea. The 9/11 Memorial & Museum in New York sends up two beams of blue light every year, an ethereal evocation of the World Trade Center towers, and nearby skyscrapers are lit up in solidarity. Boston, Gupta suggested, should join in.
Gupta was inspired after rereading an excerpt of Garrett Graff’s “The Only Plane in the Sky,” an account of the fateful day. Also, a college classmate from Cornell, Allison Blais, was then the 9/11 Memorial’s chief strategy officer. Mostly, Gupta worried the painful memories were fading as a new generation that only knows 9/11 from history books reached adulthood.
To find real estate contacts, Gupta turned to his leasing brokers at JLL, Ben Heller and Bryan Sparkes, and Mike Simonelli of Structure Tone, the firm that outfitted his Back Bay office.
That first year, it was short notice, less than two days in advance. Many companies need time to hire a contractor; it’s not like flicking on a switch for them. But several prominent tower owners, including BXP and the Chiofaro Co., made it happen.
For Don Chiofaro, there was no question he would light up International Place. He thinks about the firefighters who rushed into the burning World Trade Center, with 70 pounds of equipment on their backs, knowing they might not make it out. That kind of public service doesn’t get appreciated, he says, until it’s needed the most.
This year, the JFK Library illuminates its nine-story atrium overlooking Dorchester Bay. The blue lights went on at dusk on Tuesday, and are being rekindled each night through Friday. Foundation executive director Rachel Flor says it’s an important reminder of the service and sacrifice that we witnessed 25 years ago.
Many of Boston’s tallest office towers will be lit up. Among them: One Financial, South Station, the Pru, One Congress, 100 Federal. At 200 Berkeley St., aka the “Old Hancock Tower,” home to insurer John Hancock, the famous weather beacon at its tip will be lit in blue. CEO Brooks Tingle hopes it can remind people of the resilience, unity, and spirit of service that emerged that day.
For Akamai, it’s personal. Cofounder Danny Lewin, then 31, died in one of the two commandeered planes that took off from Logan. He’s considered the first 9/11 victim, believed to be stabbed after trying to stop the hijackers on American Airlines Flight 11. Lewin remains revered at Akamai; its highest employee award is given out each year in his honor.
Last year, Gupta emailed chief executive Tom Leighton, Lewin’s mentor when they were at MIT, asking Akamai to join. Leighton told Civello: Let’s see if we can make this happen. Civello got to work, and building owner BXP gave its blessing. Contractor Stagedge assembled 90 lights around the roof, echoing the blue shade that would appear on so many buildings across the Charles.
Word is getting out to other cities, too. More than 50 buildings outside of Manhattan — around half of them here — will be lit with blue on Friday night. The next highest concentration? Hartford, where Blais, Gupta’s college friend, now leads The Wadsworth museum.
Every July 4, fireworks light up the night sky in Boston.
Gupta hopes for something similar every Sept. 11, with building crowns alight in blue, sending a simple but powerful message: We remember.
SHIRLEY’S TAKE
What’s your take? Join the conversation in the comments here.
HEARD AROUND TOWN
SINGAPORE DOUBLES DOWN
Singapore is the latest country to put down roots in Massachusetts, announcing on Wednesday that it has opened a trade office at the Cambridge Innovation Center in Kendall Square. It’s the fifth US outpost for Enterprise Singapore, the economic development agency that helps Singaporean companies grow globally. The agency also signed an agreement with the Massachusetts Office of International Trade and Investment to encourage collaboration in key sectors including life sciences, climate tech, advanced manufacturing, robotics, and artificial intelligence. Singapore companies already operating here include defense firm MAK Technologies and air cargo handler Worldwide Flight Services. Because Singapore is geographically smaller than Rhode Island, businesses must look abroad to expand. “It’s a survival instinct,” explained Seow Hui Lim, who oversees Enterprise Singapore’s US division. Leaders gathered at a reception at Raffles Boston to celebrate, including Singapore Minister for Law Edwin Tong, Singapore’s Ambassador to the US Lui Tuck Yew, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, Cambridge Mayor Sumbul Siddiqui, Massachusetts economic secretary Eric Paley, and Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce CEO Jim Rooney.
HITTING THE BRICKS
We’ve been as disappointed as most Bostonians to see Faneuil Hall Marketplace struggle with an identity crisis and a backlog of repairs. But here’s some good news: The marketplace’s ground-floor retail occupancy is now 85 percent, up from 76 percent in 2024 when new owner J. Safra Real Estate took over. A spokesman says Safra remains focused on improving the site to reinforce it as “a vibrant and dynamic destination for locals and visitors.” Toward that end, Commodore Builders just wrapped up badly needed paving and masonry fixes, along with other exterior upgrades. And brokerage Graffito SP, led by Jesse Baerkahn, has been busy attracting new tenants such as Azul Mexican Kitchen and gift shop Cognitive Surplus.
BIG TECH VS. ANTHROPIC
First, OpenAI raised a stink about the state Senate’s proposed crackdown on artificial intelligence. Now, the complaints are coming from a giant trade group representing most of the biggest names in tech (Amazon, Google, Meta, et al). That group, NetChoice, published a 1,100-word treatise to Beacon Hill conferees on Tuesday about a measure under consideration for an economic development bill that would require large AI companies to undergo third-party evaluations of possible catastrophic risks every 120 days. NetChoice says this frequent testing, which is supported by AI developer Anthropic, is untenable — particularly with another provision spelling out the state attorney general’s enforcement powers. The group says it’s ready to work with lawmakers as they finalize the bill on guardrails that don’t put these big “AI labs” in legal jeopardy or harm innovation. Not the best timing for Big Tech: A day after NetChoice’s testimony came out, an Anthropic researcher announced to the world that he believes there’s more than a 10 percent chance AI could “kill all humans” within the next decade.
DOUBLE TAKE
The rap on Republican gubernatorial candidate Mike Minogue is that he has been light on details about his agenda. On Thursday morning, as he attended a rally at Shea Concrete in Amesbury, Minogue unveiled his much anticipated “Blueprint for a Better Future.” What caught our attention: the focus on energy costs, which is a big concern for residents and businesses alike. Minogue wants to cut state mandates from utility bills (which represent as much as a third of the cost of electricity), expand natural gas capacity, and evaluate nuclear energy options. He also would support enacting a gas tax holiday whenever prices at the pump exceed $4 a gallon, which they currently are. How to pay for these policies? One way: Cancel the state’s “net zero” mandate, a sustainability goal that he says costs taxpayers billions of dollars.
Producing more housing is another priority, and Minogue says he would incentivize towns to eliminate energy-efficiency “stretch” codes for buildings and reduce permitting times for single-family homes to 45 days or less. He also would not enforce the MBTA Communities Act, and instead work with municipalities that worry about the strain from new housing on infrastructure and schools.
The upshot: Minogue is staying on the Republican message of cutting taxes and government spending. Appealing to voters on affordability is a textbook political move, but we still don’t have enough details about how the math works out.
YOUR TURN
In Tuesday’s edition, we chronicled the fight over a new business improvement district in the Back Bay. Some of you have strong opinions about this. One reader, M.R. of Boston, didn’t mince words. “The Back Bay public properties suffer from neglect … [and] to not invest in nightly power washing and needle removal is basic neglect.”
ONE MORE THING
With meteorological summer over, we’ve made a big decision about the future of Power Play: No more Friday sends! We’re sticking to coming out every Tuesday and Thursday.
Turns out our readers prefer that schedule too.
THANKS FOR READING POWER PLAY.
Today’s edition was edited by Greg Huang, Tim Logan, and Aaron Pressman, and produced by Diamond Naga Siu.
Have a question for the team? Email us at powerplay@globe.com.
Delivered Tuesday and Thursday.
Jon Chesto can be reached at jon.chesto@globe.com. Follow him @jonchesto. Shirley Leung is a Business columnist. She can be reached at shirley.leung@globe.com.