Allston/Brighton Bike Meetup on Tuesday

Local bike riders will be meeting on 5/27 at 7:00 at Smoken Joe’s BarBQ 351 Washington Street, Brighton. Please RSVP to cditunno@gmail.com

Proposed agenda: introduce ourselves, brainstorm, collect contact information. This meeting will be about 30 minutes, with time afterward to hang out for some refreshments /networking/socializing about bike issues in our community. (We expect to meet regularly with a more structured agenda in the future.)

Kinds of activities that have been proposed: local advocacy (racks, signage, lanes); rides (community, mountain, road); resources (information about inexpensive helmets, legal counsel with expertise w/r/t bike accidents and legal issues; other resources that may be helpful to the Allston/Brighton bike community); education (of bike community, business community, drivers, local EMS, fire and police). Specific activities/issues/priorities of the group will be decided by those who participate.

Smoken’ Joe’s Barbeque » Archive » Allston/Brighton Bike Meetup

Women's History Exhibition opens Wednesday

This new exhibit opens on Wednesday, May 28 with a reception from 6:30 - 8:30 PM. Mary Jane England, president of Regis College, will be the guest of honor. RSVP to 617-635-1436.

Model Hardware Urban Picnic today

Model Ace Hardware 3rd Annual Urban Picnic
11:00 am to 3:00 pm
22 Harvard Ave, Allston

Free hot dogs, burgers and drinks
Face Painting and Balloon Sculpture by Boston Balloon Events
Raffle to benefit the Holy Resurrection Church

Free water in public places

A Fountain on Every Corner - NYTimes.com

There is a lot of talk about making our neighborhood more sustainable, reducing our impact on the environment, and encouraging more walking and bike riding. Consistent with those goals, it makes a lot of sense to add public water fountains where people can get a drink without buying expensive and wasteful bottled water.

I have fond childhood memories of walks around Jamaica Pond and stopping at the large water fountain near the boathouse. The Benson Bubblers in Portland, Oregon (shown in the photo to the right) are another example of how this "street furniture" can be functional and attractive.

The Allston "skyline" in the New York Times

Click the link to see the Genzyme plant and One Western Ave as seen from the Charles River.
Faster, Higher, Stronger - Tips to Refine Technique From an Olympic Rower - Series - NYTimes.com

And that woman you see jogging along the Charles River in Allston might be Michelle Guerette, a two-time World Championship bronze medalist rower. http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/05/21/style/0522-FITNESS_11.html

Small changes on Everett Street

Almost 1 1/2 years ago, Harvard spent $16 million to purchase 176 Lincoln Street. The building still sits empty, and other than the rumor that Harvard might want to relocate the WBZ studios to this building, there is no suggestion that anything productive will happen in this building in the foreseeable future.

So my reaction is mixed to seeing Harvard installing large murals on the Everett Street side of the building. The images are nice and the historic factoids are interesting, but this project is sort of like the new trees and sidewalks on Western Ave. These modest improvements are improvements, but they don't address the larger and more fundamental problems that exist. The real problem with 176 Lincoln Street is that the building sits empty and adds to the neighborhood's ghost town feel. There is also the lousy looking "temporary" chain link fence along Everett St (that has been in place for years) and Everett St lacks a real sidewalk, bike lanes, and street trees, all of which makes the trip to and from the Stop & Shop or North Beacon St area less than pleasant.

As they say, you can put lipstick on a pig, but it is still a pig.

The Globe reviews Gitlo's Dim Sum Bakery

Anytime dim sum - The Boston Globe

Lovers of the tender, chewy snacks served at Chinese dim sum - dumplings, buns, and daikon cake - have been raving about Gitlo's since it opened late last year. The Allston shop serves dim sum made to order day and night, and it's fantastic stuff. You'll leave thinking you could live on the shrimp dumplings ($3.25) - fat nuggets that stop just short of being too cute to eat. But you could also make room in your all-dim sum diet for the homemade stir-fried glass noodles and countless other items. Owner Shi Liu (a.k.a. Gitlo), a former cab driver, knew there'd be an audience for all-hours dim sum when he opened the shop with his cousin. As a cabbie, Liu could never get dim sum when he wanted it. He was right - if your dim sum cravings hit at inconvenient times, head to Allston.

Gitlo's Dim Sum Bakery, 164 Brighton Ave., Allston, 617-782-2253

May 28 Library Park kick-off with a special guest

Next week the planning will begin for Library Park, a 1 acre public park to be built on Harvard property behind the Honan Library. Harvard has agreed to spend $3.5 million on construction of Library Park which is quite a chunk of change, so this could be one of the fanciest parks around.

Harvard has also committed to spend $220,000 each year for 10 years on maintenance of the new park. That's an average of $4,230 every week!

On Wednesday, May 28 from 5-7:30 Harvard is hosting a picnic at Library Park for all North Allston and North Brighton residents. At this event, Harvard President Drew Faust will make her first neighborhood appearance in Allston.

A Campus Centered on the Charles River

Stephanie Hurley, a Doctor of Design Candidate at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, wrote recently about Harvard's expansion into Allston. She believes that Harvard should be a steward of the Charles River and care for it as "one of its valued icons and landscapes".

"A Campus Centered on the Charles River"

Its pretty clear that the river where it passes through Allston and Brighton lacks a steward able to provide the maintenance that the river needs. The state will spend money to fix structurally deficient bridges elsewhere but there is no indication that the crumbling bridges here will be repaired any time soon. Repaving a path is nice but a small step towards what the river needs to be an attractive and well-maintained public resource.

Allston Civic Association meeting agenda for Wednesday May 21

City Year - Presentation on who they are, what they do, and are there things they could be doing for us

Japanese Sushi and Grille, 1245 Comm Ave - Request to extend hours of operation from 11:00P.M. to 2:00A.M.

Jo-Jo Taipi Restaurant, 103 Brighton Ave. - Request for Wine and Malt license

Globe wrong about Harvard's Allston property

Towns see mixed blessing in extra trains - The Boston Globe

This story, about increasing commuter rail service between Worcester and Boston, says that "Harvard University is considering purchasing the 48-acre Allston rail yards, which have become less useful to CSX in recent years."

Actually, Harvard spent $151 million to purchase these 48 acres from the Turnpike 8 years ago.

Traffic alert - BU commencement today

Boston University Commencement 2008 means a lot of cars and people on the BU campus which will make driving on Comm Ave an exercise in patience.