‘Southie Rules’ family says show is more comic than crass

Jon Niedzwiecki has watched enough reality TV to know why some of his neighbors are worried about “Southie Rules.” But he hopes people will reserve judgment at least until A&E airs the first episode Tuesday. The show, which the network has said is focused on a South Boston family battling the “relentless gentrification of their neighborhood,’’ follows Niedzwiecki’s family, living in traditional Southie fashion all together in a triple-decker. “I think the community is naturally split because of the speculation that this is like ‘Jersey Shore,’ ” he said, referring to the MTV show with Snooki and JWoww. “But it’s not. We live in this town. We don’t vacation in South Boston like it’s the Jersey shore, we live here.” (Newcomers to the neighborhood might take issue with the show’s intro, which includes someone saying: “Whoever said change is good isn’t from Southie.”) Niedzwiecki, who’s 28 and the owner of a tattoo parlor in Framingham, credits the show’s producer, Somerville-based Powderhouse Productions, for trying to capture the comedic quality of the family, not the crass. (Jon’s brother Matt’s a bit of a slacker, and his underemployment is a bone of contention.) “We don’t have any control over the editing of the show,” says Niedzwiecki, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Pats tight end Aaron Hernandez. “What we were told is whatever you don’t want on TV, don’t do on camera.”