Pioneer or Oppressor?

The Globe takes a look at our quest for viable, quality-of-life enhancing uses for Harvard's vacant property in our neighborhood. Regretfully, the Harvard affiliates continue to show the "can't do" attitude that is an anathema to progress.

In Allston, Brighton, future uncertain for Harvard-owned parcels - The Boston Globe

"Pioneers get shot down by arrows," said Paul Conforti, co-owner of Finale and Harvard Business School MBA ’97.

If Paul isn't comfortable being a pioneer in this situation, that is certainly his right. His primary commitment probably is, and should be, to be to his employees and investors. He didn't help develop the North Allston Strategic Framework, Harvard did.

And because Harvard is our majority commercial landowner and pledged to create an "expansion of community-serving retail and other services, concentrated to form a walkable, traditional Main Street in the heart of North Allston," it is Harvard's obligation to be the pioneer or find reasonable ways to help other pioneer while protecting them from the arrows of financial risk, such as basing rent on a percentage of revenue or using Harvard's massive purchasing power to offset the unknown demand that would otherwise exist.

The "pioneer" analogy is an interesting one. Last year I compared Harvard's Allston expansion to the Louisiana Purchase, and moving into Allston will obviously require Harvard to make some investments. So Harvard's Lauren Marshall is absolutely right that Harvard's 450,000 sq ft building on Lincoln St requires "a lot of investment. It's currently not in condition to lease."

But that building wasn't in a condition to lease 2+ years ago when Harvard bought it at a 90% discount from the $120 million that it cost to build it. So either Harvard will make the investment that it has always known would be needed so the building can be leased, or it is holding back our neighborhood by holding onto an unusable property with a lot of potential that it has no intention to use in the foreseeable future.

Brighton student wins Boston spelling bee

Brighton student wins a spot in national spelling bee in May - The Boston Globe

Robber Hits Up Allston Bank

People Federal Savings Bank on N. Harvard Street was robbed on Saturday afternoon

Robber Hits Up Allston Bank - wbztv.com

A/B Little League registration is open

Join an Allston/Brighton tradition for children aged 5-16. New participants can find mail-in and on-line registrations at http://www.abll.net/ and there is a $10 discount for signing up on-line by Friday April 3rd.

Harvard GSD Dean talks about Allston, the future, and being radical

Mohsen Mostafavi, Dean of Harvard's Graduate School of Design, mentions Allston in an interview with Abitare magazine.

The development of Harvard campus in Allston is an incredible opportunity because it raises the question “What is the university of the future?” How is the formation of this new place also part of rethinking the concept of the university because we are not simply adding space, we are also using that to rethink how we relate to each other institutionally. That is a very interesting phenomenon.

This is an interesting question, and I'm not sure I ever heard it asked or answered by the Harvard planners and architects during all the meetings about the Science Complex.

We could also rethink how the institution relates to its neighbors, but the we heard more during those meetings about re-creating the Harvard Yard and the tradition of institutional buildings surrounding an institutional courtyard, than any new or interesting.

The whole scenario is very exciting. All of the things that you have said would not have been on the agenda only two or three years ago for the known reasons. Have you been involved in the Allston expansion as an advisor?

I am involved as a dean, with the other deans, but we ourselves have also been involved quite directly at a number of levels with the designers, giving them feedback about their design. One of the interesting possibilities for Allston is whether there could not be some things that are long-term master planning issues and some things that are shorter-term interventions, that are part of a more temporary, more experimental approach. Sometimes with those temporary things, you can afford to do more radical interventions.

Experimental? Radical? I wonder what he has in mind.

RadioBoston Harvard/BC audio now online

The 50 minute show can be heard at http://www.radioboston.org/shows/2009/03/16/university-development-in-boston/

There is also a transcript of David Boeri's interviews at http://www.wbur.org/news/2009/83782_20090320.asp

Mayor and BRA Director - "Harvard is not land banking"

On the WBUR program RadioBoston, the Mayor and Director of the BRA just were asked flat-out if Harvard is landbanking. They said no. Their Chief Planner thought otherwise a couple months ago when interviewed by ArchitectureBoston

Kairos Shen: It’s true that most institutions are landowners far beyond the boundaries of their actual campus. There’s a great deal of land banking going on. When you think about how much land Harvard owns, and that approximately only a third of it is part of its new campus, the biggest question that the community has is, what is Harvard, whose core mission is not real estate development, going to do with it? What kind of leases will it give, and how will it accommodate the existing patterns of land use?

The NASFP's promises from Havard and City Hall

Recently, people who haven't been following the Harvard-Allston story for the past several years have asked me to explain the history of this relationship. I think the place to start is with the commitments that Harvard and the City made to the residents of North Allston and North Brighton in the North Allston Strategic Framework for Planning. As the BRA describes on its website:

The planning process grew out of an agreement with Harvard University to engage the community in a planning effort to address the future of North Allston as it relates to land use, housing, economic development, transportation, and open space. The goal of the plan was to articulate a consensus-based, attainable vision for the North Allston neighborhood, including Harvard-owned properties.

Mayor Menino, in his letter than introduces the Framework, wrote:

The result is a set of ideas and goals that will shape North Allston’s future as
a strong residential neighborhood, a vibrant area of economic activity, and an exciting hub of intellectual teaching and research...

The principles set out in this Plan will provide a framework for the development of an Institutional Master Plan by Harvard University for the first stage of its North Allston campus. Harvard University has committed to work closely with the North Allston community and the City of Boston throughout the Master Planning process so that the goals of this plan are reflected throughout.

In the four years since the Framework was published, little progress has been made toward making the goals of the Framework become reality. For example, the Framework says,

The four-block stretch of Western Avenue linking Brighton Mills and Barry’s Corner will become North Allston’s retail Main Street, creating a new focal point for the neighborhood.

This hasn't happened in any way, and it seems further from happening now than it did four years ago as some business have left and Harvard has signed leases with Back Street companies in the heart of Barry's Corner. Obviously the promised transformation can't happen overnight, and nobody expects that it will, but in 4+ years we could have made more progress. Now that we are where we are, are Harvard and the City ready to start making it a reality?

A simpler project is described for Everett Street, one of the main north-south roads in our community.

The Framework identifies opportunities for two prominent community promenades to the river. The first, located between the two traditional neighborhoods, would be along a tree-lined Everett Street. It would provide new pedestrian-scale street lighting, and would connect, via a new park that replaces the salt pile north of Western Avenue, to an existing pedestrian bridge to the river.

A study of how to create a green corridor from Everett Street to the river will be an important part of the early efforts to begin meeting community and City goals for open space.

The intersection of Western Ave and Everett Street still has a big pile of salt at the Public Works yard, and Everett Street doesn't have sidewalks along most of its length - just a raised section of asphalt that slopes down into the street. Again, this is a project that will take more than a few months to plan and construct, but it isn't really that complicated or expensive to renovate a 1/2 mile of roadway. Adding a crosswalk and curb cuts at the Everett St / Soldiers Field Road intersection could be an easy place to start.

When Harvard and the BRA have asked, the community has agreed to depart from the next steps prescribed by the Framework. In 2006 Harvard told us that

For Harvard to maintain its leadership in the life sciences and compete effectively to attract preeminent research scientists and programs, it is critical that a state-of-the-art science complex be developed as soon as possible.

Initially, members of the community expressed reservations about this fast-tracked review of the Science Complex:

Ray Mellone (Task Force Chairman) disagreed with the idea of Harvard filing an amendment to its current IMP to include the science and culture programs because he thought that if Harvard is going to initiate these development projects then they need to be in the context of a long term plan. He also thought that the last time Harvard amended its IMP that it was agreed that there would be no further amendments and that rather Harvard would have to file a new IMP.

But later that month, Harvard began the process of amending their 1997 Master Plan and we went along trusting Harvard's assertion that it would be a constructive and "long-term, permanent resident" of our community. And for the last 3 years the almost exclusive focus has been on ensuring that Harvard would be able to build the Science Complex that it wanted to build.

It seems obvious that Harvard isn't going to be starting any new construction here anytime soon. So maybe now the pendulum of attention and investment might start to swing back at least to the center and some of the Framework's promises will take some steps towards completion.

Stimulus education funds skip Boston

Some poor school systems in Mass. denied stimulus funding - The Boston Globe

Wellesley is receiving $1.2 million, Belmont $1.4 million, and Hingham $955,000. Boston gets nothing.

The Phoenix features 2 mayoral candidates

Kevin McCrea - He's number three

Can Sam Yoon win?

Happy St Patrick's Day

Readers' urban limericks 2009 - Boston.com

A sale of two cities

Harvard started in Cambridge, not Boston
Then purchased huge portions of Allston
Allstonians were told
There'd be buildings and gold
But the Crimson, it seems, double-crossed 'em.

— by AndWat

Mayor Menino coming to North Allston

I don't know if the Mayor will come to the Harvard meeting on the 25th, but he will be in North Allston on Thursday morning at 11:00 at the Geekhouse Bikes headquarters (15 W Sorrento St.), just a few yards from the Science Complex construction site.

Speaking of the Science Complex, I heard this morning that some construction workers have already been fired as construction begins to slow.

Allston Looks for ‘Creative Solutions’

Today's Crimson has this story about Saturday's walking tour of North Allston and North Brighton organized by the Allston Brighton North Neighbors Forum, the Harvard student organization Sustainable Allston, and the Boston Chapter of the Planners Network to think about how Harvard could have a positive role in Allston and Brighton as a landlord and promoter of sustainable transportation.

Nonantum Road improvements

Nonantum Road improvements in Watertown and Brighton planned to start later this year are described in the Watertown TAB. Major changes include:

• Reduce the number of lanes on Nonantum from four ten-foot lanes to two eleven-foot lanes (one lane in each direction)
• A four-foot flush median running down the center of the road.
• Three-foot shoulders added to each side of the road to allow for safe vehicle stops and a safe place for bicycle commuters to ride
• Reconstruction of the shared use path - widening the space, installing a new guardrail along the entire length of the curbed side, installing a wood-rail fence along the embankment side, and replacing current lighting with more energy efficient and attractive historic lighting

Letter: Harvard should keep Allston from becoming a ghost town

The TAB publishes this letter by an Allston neighbor

A.D. Handy purchased - A/B property for sale?

SmartSource Computer & Audio Visual Rentals Acquires A.D. Handy Company

"The former A.D. Handy staff members, who currently serve in the company's headquarters in Allston, MA and Brighton, MA warehouse, will be integrated into SmartSource's current Boston-metro area office in Waltham by year's end."

A.D. Handy's current locations are 86 Franklin St and 84 Lincoln St

Two Allston stores closing

Marty's Liquors and Economy Hardware will both be gone this month. I hope those stores aren't empty for long, but in this economy, who knows?

http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/dishing/2009/03/closing_up_shop.html

Western Ave crash

A car that went up on the sidewalk across from Brighton Mills did some significant damage recently, first amputating the street tree along the curb and then a second tree in front of a Harvard parking lot.

I don't know if this will appear in any official statistic accident statistic, but it is scary as a pedestrian to think of cars so out of control in the neighborhood.

FDA warning on Genzyme Allston factory

FDA issues warning on Genzyme facility - BostonHerald.com

The Food and Drug Administration issued a warning letter to Genzyme Corp. after FDA inspectors found “significant deviations” at the biotech giant’s Allston manufacturing plant.

“The deficiencies described in this letter are indicative of your quality control unit’s failure to fulfill its responsibility to assure the identity, strength, quality and purity of your drug products and drug substances,” John R. Marzilli, the FDA’s district director for New England, wrote to Genzyme president Henri Termeer in the Feb. 27 letter.

At the Allston plant at 500 Soldiers Field Road, Genzyme did not establish or follow written sterility procedures, while making the drugs Fabrazyme, Cerezyme and Myozyme, the FDA found.

Globe editorial - Advisory needn't mean opaque

A Globe editorial calls for more openness and transparency from the BRA Task Forces that advise on university expansion. On that subject, it has been more than a year since meeting minutes were published for a Harvard Task Force meeting.

Adaptive Rowing Challenge @ Community Rowing

WBUR's Only A Game went to Community Rowing in Brighton for this week's show to report on the first Boston Adaptive Indoor Rowing Challenge held last month.

Crimson looks at Harvard vacant property

The Crimson gets the numbers behind Harvard's claim that 85% of its leasable property is leased. Harvard considers 892,317 square feet leasable and 790,000 not leasable. This means that only 45% of Harvard's Allston Brighton property is leased.

It's too bad that the Harvard professors interviewed - an urban designer and a real estate expert - offer no creative ideas and show no enthusiasm for taking even a small step toward the "main street" promised by the North Allston Strategic Framework. Their message shows a "can't do" attitude and tells us to wait 50 years for Harvard to bring some life to the neighborhood that it has mothballed for the last decade.

Globe questions conflicts in BC approval

Officials' ties to BC cloud expansion debate - The Boston Globe

Crimson joins Menino's call for fiscal transparency

The Harvard Crimson :: Opinion :: Some Explaining to Do

"Harvard cannot expect the community members of Allston, the city of Boston, nor our own university stomach such cuts without clarifying exactly why exactly the tens of billions of dollars that still remain are not sufficient to cover—at least what should be—the spending priorities of the school."

Bloomberg - H's endowment & bond sale

Yet another look at how Harvard has been (mis)managing its money, this one from Bloomberg

Harvard’s interest costs are set to increase as much as $550 million over three decades because the U.S.’s wealthiest and oldest university took advice from Goldman Sachs Group Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley.

Earlier, those same Wall Street banks sold Harvard -- then led by Lawrence Summers, now an Obama administration adviser -- derivatives that soured. When that worsened a cash squeeze, they recommended that the AAA rated school pay as much as 1.41 percentage points more than yields on identically rated corporate debt for a $1.5 billion Dec. 5 bond sale.

Were Harvard "mouths writing checks their brains couldn’t cash”?

Harvard, Private Equity and the Education Bubble - DealBook Blog - NYTimes.com

"In the short term, unless it boosts its liquid returns, Harvard is going to have to raise a lot in donations or eat up its liquid assets to fund university obligations and its private equity commitments. This results in a spiraling decline in Harvard’s liquid assets as each year they go lower to meet these needs and more and more assets become tied up in private equity."

Harvard's Allston fund - "all but wiped out"

The Harvard Crimson :: News :: Allston Fund Stretched Thin by Crisis

"The strategic infrastructure fund, an annual 0.5 percent levy on Harvard’s endowment created in 2002 to support capital projects in Allston, may fall short even of future expenses demanded by existing plans

Planned spending from the SIF had assumed a long-term average growth rate of 8.25 percent on the endowment

Last year, the SIF contributed $168 million toward projects such as land purchases, construction, and community benefits."

Biology prof displaced by Allston slowdown leaving Harvard

Add to the list of people unhappy about Harvard's slowdown in Allston the molecular and cellular biology professors being moved out of their long-time laboratory space in Cambridge. The Crimson reports that Tom Maniatis, one of the founders of modern molecular cloning, plans to leave Harvard to chair Columbia’s Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics. Other professors are also concerned about the disruption of a relocation and "the administration’s failure to consult them regarding the logistics of the move."

Harvard's Allston Problem (Allston's Harvard Problem)

The Globe runs 3 letters today about Harvard and Allston.

Two of these letters were written recently

• City must put brakes on institutional expansion
• Neighborhood of broken promises

And for a reason that I fail to understand, the Globe dug into its archives and reprints this letter from June 21, 1997.

• The more things change...

Gee, 12 years ago I thought it was pretty great that Harvard has bought so much land in Allston, too.

City: Faust must bargain

The Herald's Jay Fitzgerald summarizes the recent Harvard/Allston developments:

In response to neighborhood anger at the slowing pace of Harvard University’s expansion in Allston, Mayor Thomas M. Menino is putting pressure on the university to get its construction act together.

Menino, whose administration initially downplayed Harvard’s decision to delay construction of its new $1 billion science complex in Allston, has fired off a letter to Harvard President Drew Faust, demanding meetings with the city and explanations about Harvard’s numerous vacant buildings in Allston.

The mayor’s office initially expressed understanding of Harvard’s plight.

But neighorhood residents, fed up with abandoned buildings in the area across the Charles River from Harvard’s main campus in Cambridge, haven’t been happy with Harvard’s development plans.

Gatsby

Margaret Soltan, an English professor at George Washington University, compares Harvard to Tom and Daisy Buchanan and recalls this cartoon by Jeff Danzinger from when times were more flush.

City gets stimulus $ for Cambridge St

City awarded $40m for repair of roads from stimulus funds - The Boston Globe

The city will get $21 million to resurface significant stretches of at least a half-dozen deteriorating roads that serve the highway network. The work will include Blue Hill Avenue, Columbia Road, and Allston-Brighton's Cambridge Street, Gillooly said. The resurfacing work will be paired with improvements to make pedestrian ways accessible to people with disabilities

Menino is gravely disappointed

Why do newspapers get a copy of the letter from Menino to Faust before the residents of Allston and Brighton?

The Harvard Crimson :: News :: Menino Blasts Allston Slowdown

Regarding the content of the letter, Menino states that "the University may not make unilateral decisions." This is a new concept after watching Harvard act unilaterally for the last several years. On Monday night Harvard employees defended Harvard's intention to make unilateral decisions. It would be great if now the Mayor's Office and BRA start advocating for collaboration and joint decision-making.

But will we move from unilateral to bilateral or trilateral?

The Mayor's letter tells Harvard to meet with BRA staff to discuss the Science Complex and vacant property, but it doesn't explain what, if any, role he sees for the people who live here. We need a process that recognizes all stakeholders - City, Harvard, and community.

Harvard Menino Ltr to Faust

Comments on this blog

The tone of comments on this blog has gone downhill recently. If you have something civil and constructive to contribute I look forward to reading your comments on this blog. If you don't have anything nice to write, please don't waste our time writing it. Rude and nasty comments will be promptly deleted.

Support A/B with a letter to the Globe

The Globe has written a lot in the last week about Harvard's broken promises and vacant buildings littering our neighborhood. Please consider writing a Letter to the Editor sharing your thoughts. City Hall needs to know that that the voters and taxpayers of Allston and Brighton expect our elected officials to use the full extent of their power to protect and improve our quality of life.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/write/

The City has made considerable investments in neighborhoods such as Grove Hall in Roxbury. Meanwhile, we were told over and over that we would benefit from a Harvard-led renaissance. Now that Harvard is talking about spending its money elsewhere, it is time for the City to step up. This could be as simple as finally building sidewalks on Everett St or as drastic as using eminent domain to take property that Harvard refuses to develop.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/write/

So whether your letter is 25 words or 150 words, please write. The more letters they get, the more likely they are to publish some of them.

Allston: The State of Play in 2009

Perspective, Harvard's liberal monthly, interviews me in its current issue - Allston: The State of Play in 2009

Harvard's stake in Allston - coverage in today's Globe

Harvard's stake in Allston - A Globe editorial encourages Harvard to do some "deep thinking about engaging its neighbors"

"The university has a spotty record for leasing the retail and industrial spaces that it bought so eagerly, and stealthily, in the late 1990s. It might suit the university's long-term strategy to sit on empty or underutilized properties for 50 or 100 years. But it doesn't suit the city."

Also in today's Globe we hear from Harvard President Drew Faust...

Faust said the university is committed to renting out or sprucing up its vacant lots and buildings. "We certainly recognize that sentiment," Faust said.
She acknowledged that Harvard's slowdown in development across the Charles River should be accompanied by new efforts to make university-owned properties more attractive and useful to the community.

...and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino on Harvard's need to be a better neighbor

"He plans to send Faust a letter today, specifying conditions that he said would protect and advance the interests of both the university and Allston.
"We want to insure . . . that the actions by Harvard in the community are universally understood to be responsible actions of an institutional partner committed to the community, and not a series of ill-considered, opportunistic pursuits precipitated by the weakened economy," the letter says.
Menino is asking Harvard for a timeline for completing community improvements in Allston and a report on the condition of its Allston properties, along with plans to keep them in use while development is delayed.
"There's lots of abandoned property over there," Menino said in a phone interview yesterday. "What is Harvard's commitment to the neighborhood?""

Boston Magazine blog chimes in on Harvard & Allston

Harvard’s Allston COO - $587,172 in 2007 Boston Daily

Weekly Dig gives Harvard a -1

Here's how the Weekly Dig sums up Harvard's excellent Allston adventure:

"After starting a few major construction projects, purchasing and closing a mall's worth of small business, and releasing rats and a cloud of poisonous gas into the air, Harvard University has decided to slow down and possibly halt their massive development project in Allston. Thanks for not destroying the whole neighborhood, but do you mind cleaning up before you leave?"

Science Complex photos and where the Allston $ went

There are a few different meanings for "In the Hole", the brief story in the new edition of Harvard Magazine about the Science Complex. There isn't much new news in it (the article was written a few weeks ago) but the photos of the construction site are pretty amazing.

In a related story, Harvard Magazine explains why Harvard will have much less money for Allston activities:

Harvard moved promptly to borrow $2.5 billion. Public reports suggest the University will incur annual interest costs on this debt (before principal payments) of $128 million to $138 million, offset in part by the repayment of existing shorter-term debt. That substantial expense may be defrayed by using the “strategic infrastructure fund,” an administrative assessment on endowment capital now designated to offset costs for Allston campus development.

TAB story from last night's meeting

Neighbors push Harvard to lease vacant Allston properties - Allston/Brighton TAB

"Residents are pushing Harvard to find short-term tenants for its vacant properties in Allston as soon as possible and to implement cost-effective community benefits for the neighborhood. The demands came following Harvard’s announcement that economic realities would force it to slow down its development in Allston.

Neighbors packed into the Honan-Allston Library Monday night, Feb. 23 to voice concerns over the slowdown.

For nearly two hours, Chris Gordon, chief operating officer of the Allston Development Group, defended the university’s decision to slow down the construction of the First Science Complex because of the recent 30 percent decline in Harvard’s endowment."

Adrian Walker - A hole in Allston is a hole in the city

Stalled Allston project is an emptiness money can fix - The Boston Globe

If you recall, Allston never asked to be saved by its neighbor across the Charles River. Harvard bought up the property through a third party in the 1990s, then began a campaign to soothe the feelings of sandbagged residents.

...what has happened to Allston is jarring. The old Allston was fading away, and the new one is stuck on the drawing board. It is both less than it was and far less than has been promised.

News coverage from last night's Harvard meeting

Community Reacts To Slowed Harvard University Allston Project - WCVB

Residents Angry Over Stalled Harvard Projects - WBZ

Allston residents blast Harvard over slowed pace of expansion - The Boston Globe

The largely hostile crowd accused Harvard of sucking the life out of a neighborhood now littered with empty university-owned storefronts, and implored the school to impose a moratorium on buying property until it completes a state-of-the-art science complex originally slated to open in 2011.

"You shouldn't be able to land-bank in our city until you develop what you currently own," said mayoral candidate Michael Flaherty, to audience applause.

The Harvard Crimson :: News :: Allston Dwellers Fault Harvard

Residents erupted in anger at the Harvard Allston Task Force meeting last night as they responded to Harvard’s recent announcement to slow construction of its science complex. The criticism centered largely around the ambiguity surrounding planned uses for the University’s currently vacant properties.

The heated discussion that ensued involved residents both on and off the task force faulting Harvard for neglecting to seek community input in choosing tenants for its vacant holdings.

Community members clamored for Harvard to discontinue its buying of properties until the science complex is complete, but Christopher M. Gordon—chief operating officer for Harvard’s Allston Development Group—refused to make a commitment.

St. Elizabeth's president leaving after 2.5 years

St. Elizabeth's president is leaving post at hospital - The Boston Globe

Christopher M. O'Connor, the president of Caritas St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, is leaving the hospital immediately to pursue other opportunities, according to a spokeswoman for the six-hospital chain.

O'Connor, 38, who was head of the flagship hospital of Caritas Christi Health Care for 2 1/2 years, will continue in a limited consulting role at the Brighton institution. His photo and greeting to visitors were still on the St. Elizabeth's website late yesterday afternoon.

What Harvard pays to run its Allston project

At some universities, the football coach is the highest paid employee. Elsewhere it is a medical school professor or the college president. At Harvard?

The highest paid Harvard employee listed was Christopher Gordon, the chief operating officer of the Allston Development Group, which manages the school’s expansion into the Allston neighborhood. He was paid $587,172.

Source: Bloomberg.com

Also reported on Harvard's 2006 1099 form was $17.5 million paid to Behnisch Studio East Inc, the architect hired to design the Science Complex.

Today in the news

The editorial board of the Harvard Crimson writes that the Allston slowdown is "ill-advised" and that "Even in the current environment, these priorities of the school should not have been sacrificed."

The Globe reports on Harvard's landbanking and emptying of Allston.

Why Harvard really hasn't built and Allston art building (and a few other projects)

Some people are looking at Harvard's Allston slowdown and wondering why Harvard hasn't already built more than a hole for the Science Complex. For years, Harvard has suggested that major new museums will someday be built in Allston, but none of those ideas are close to reality today.

What happened to the art building originally proposed by Harvard in 2006? In November 2007, Harvard planners and HUAM director Thomas Lentz spoke with Boston Globe arts reporter Geoff Edgers about their decision to postpone construction of a building in Allston.

The Dow was over 13,000 back then, almost twice its current value, so one could think that money wouldn't have been a limitation for Harvard's ambitions. But financial limitations came into play more than once as Harvard's plans changed.

As Faust's Arts Task Force report makes clear, a year later Harvard is still working on answering the "big thorny questions" that Lentz mentioned to the Globe.

http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2007/11/03/harvard_opts_to_renovate_museums_as_allston_waits/

In February 2006, the university disclosed plans to renovate a former bank and add a second building on an Allston site 2.5 miles from the Harvard campus, at 1380 Soldiers Field Road. This site would temporarily house staff, store materials, and serve as a satellite museum while work took place on Quincy Street. Then in December, the university decided to change course because the Soldiers Field Road project was considered too expensive for a temporary home.

When asked whether the projects' costs were a factor in the delay, Spiegelman said, "The decision was driven more by the timing and the planning. But obviously the university is cost-conscious of everything we're doing."

Cost, Lentz acknowledges, is an issue with the Allston project. So are proposals for a range of other cultural facilities in Harvard's expanded Allston campus.

"I think a wider, overriding concern is how it is all going to work in Allston? How do the art museums relate to performing arts facilities or theater facilities or music facilities?" Lentz said. "Those are all big, thorny questions to grapple with."

So even though Harvard seemed publicly certain in its proposals to request zoning approval from the City of Boston in 2006, the Globe story shows that internally the decisions were far from final. This is consistent with Harvard's history of proposing projects that often end up not materializing.

Table 2-5 (page 2-13) of Harvard's 2006 IMP Amendment lists projects that Harvard proposed in its 1997 IMP. Of 8 projects that were proposed, 3 were not completed and not scheduled:

• Long-Range Executive Education Housing, 50-70,000 square feet
• Cotting Hall renovation, 15,000 square feet
• Storage & Locker Room Facilities, 10-15,000 square feet

That these projects were left on the drawing board is not a complaint but a recognition of the reality that plans made by Harvard (or any other large, complex organization) are highly subject to change for internal and external reasons. These three projects from the 1997 IMP weren't dropped because of vigorous community opposition. I doubt that more than a few people in the community knew about them or would have cared if they did know.

Harvard's proposals for the art building, the Science Complex, and many projects before them changed significantly after first being proposed. For an outsider to try to find a simplistic and singular explanation for these changes is a tea-leaf reading exercise at best.

How Allston planning hit Harvard's endowment

Endowment Director Is on Harvard’s Hot Seat - NYTimes.com

One she might not have anticipated was the intense pressure caused by the Allston expansion, according to one person with knowledge of the endowment. Several years ago, the university had envisioned an ambitious capital expansion program stretching for more than a decade. Lawrence H. Summers, then Harvard’s president, had raised the possibility of locking in interest rates that appeared to be at historic lows, a plan the university adopted, said several people familiar with the endowment.

All went well at first. But in the second half of last year, interest rates plummeted, and Harvard turned to the endowment to meet hefty collateral calls, which could rise to $1 billion if rates remain weak, according to a person with knowledge of the university. According to a statement Friday from James R. Rothenberg, treasurer of the university, Harvard has taken a series of steps to reduce the risk associated with the transaction.

Harvard's land + MIT's money

As Harvard slows down construction in Allston, MIT wants to build 400,000 square feet of office/lab space with ground-floor retail to replace the parking lot at 650 Main Street in Cambridge (just 1.5 miles from Harvard's hole in the ground). Harvard and MIT know how to collaborate on life sciences - they have been doing it for years at the Broad Institute.

If Cambridge neighbors don't want this new MIT building and Harvard alone can't afford to finish construction of the Science Complex, maybe Harvard and MIT could figure out a way to join forces to complete and occupy the Science Complex and everyone wins.

Now for some good news

Mahoney's Garden Center in Brighton expands - Allston/Brighton TAB

More on Harvard's Allston slowdown

Harvard slowing Allston expansion, Faust announces - The Boston Globe

Harvard slows Allston expansion - BostonHerald.com

Harvard Slows, Possibly To Halt, Project Plans In Allston (WBUR)

Faust: University Will Slow Pace of Construction in Allston Harvard Magazine

Allston update letter from Drew Faust

Summary:

Harvard will finish the foundation and below-ground portions of the Science Complex this year. They will review the design of the four-building complex and consider modifications to the design to reduce cost. After the foundation is complete, Harvard may decide to stop construction.

Harvard's long-term Allston planning will continue but at a slower pace. Harvard will develop plans for interim improvements to existing property.

Allston update letter - Office of the President - Harvard University

Your pet could be famous (and well-trained)

Boston Casting holding open call for Animal Planet show

On Saturday, Feb. 21, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Boston Casting, 129 Braintree St., Allston, will hold an open call for dog owners who want their pets on an Animal Planet television show.

This Animal Planet TV show wants to help you train your dog to do something spectacular right now! We’re not talking obedience training here. We’re talking about turning your dog into a frisbee catching, trick-doing, dead playing, back flipping, hand standing machine.

Don’t worry, your pet does not need to be professionally trained, just obedient.

If you don’t have a dog, but instead an amazing cat, bird, or heck...even a giraffe, you still qualify!

Please DO NOT bring your dog to the open call. You will be turned away. Instead, please bring pictures or videos (on DVD) of your amazing pets! If you are unable to attend but wish to be considered, e-mail photos of you with your pup at: dogtricks@powderhouse.net.For more information, call Aaron Kahl at 617-680-6038 or e-mail aaron@bostoncasting.com.

Join Team A/B for the Run of the Charles canoe race

Are you ready to get outside and enjoy spring when it arrives?

Sunday, April 26, is the 27th annual Run of the Charles canoe race, the largest canoe race in North America. It would be great to enter an Allston/Brighton team of 10 people (2 paddlers for each of 5 legs) in the relay race. After the race, which ends at Herter Park in Brighton, there is a festival with live music and refreshments.

Canoeing skill is not mandatory, but wanting to meet and have fun with your neighbors is! Last year there were 110 teams in the relay race from a wide range of Boston-area businesses, government agencies, and others. If a bunch of architects, lawyers, and engineers can do it, so can we!

A few people have already signed up, so we need another half-dozen to put together a team. The early-registration deadline is Thursday, so please email me if you are interested.

Body found in Allston Charles River

Body found in Charles River NECN

(NECN: Boston, Mass.) - A body has been discovered in the Charles River in the area of the Eliot Bridge. Massachusetts State Troopers assigned to the Brighton barracks observed the body after a jogger walked in and reported it shortly before 1pm this afternoon.
Signs of trauma or foul play were not immediately detected, though the state of decomposition could have hindered them.
More details are expected to be released, including gender and approximate age, after an autopsy tomorrow.

Allston Civic Association agenda for Feb 18

• New Balance: Re-use of building located at the base of the Everett St. Bridge.
• Sports Depot: Cambridge/Franklin Sts. Extension of hours until 2:00A.M.
• Sheesha Lounge: Cambridge St. Smoking Bar seeking extension of hours.
• Suvarnabhumi Kiri, 90 – 92 Harvard Ave. Request to extend hours until 2:00A.M.

Meeting is Wednesay at 6:30 at the Honan Library

Havard School of Public Health prepares to stay put

The Harvard School of Public Health has frequently been mentioned for several years as a leading candidate to relocate to Harvard's future Allston campus. But as Harvard's near- to mid-term plans dissipate, HSPH is growing deeper roots in the Longwood area. HSPH recently began leasing a 39,000 sq ft building formerly used as an elementary school.

“With the economic environment making the pace of Allston less certain, we did not feel as though we could pass up the opportunity to lease a significant amount of space so close to our main campus,” HSPH Dean Julio Frenk wrote in a letter to the HSPH community.

The Harvard Crimson :: News :: Cramped Spaces Burden HSPH

BPS new 5 zone proposal

Boston Public Schools are proposing to modify the current zone scheme used for K-8 school assignment. A/B would move from the North Zone (which spans from Brighton to East Boston) to a new "Zone 2" exclusively for A/B. The draft map and demographic information is online here.

Tom Palmer on Enrique Penalosa

Tom Palmer writes today about the recent visit to Boston by Enrique Penalosa, the former mayor of Bogota, Colombia. Penalosa's ideas about urban quality of life resonate for me and present important questions and goals for the future of our neighborhood and the impact of development by Harvard, Charlesview, and others:

Western civilization prevailed because of its emphasis on equality, Penalosa said. But what constitutes equality in today market economy?
Two things:
-- Public good prevails over private interest.
-- Equality of quality of life (as opposed to income equality).
Among his principles to achieve those goals, "if you really have democracy at work":
-- Waterfronts should never be private.
-- Road space should go first to public transport, and if any space is left over to private cars.

A good city is "where people want to be out of their homes," in public space. And shopping malls don't qualify under Penalosa's definition of happiness, though he suggested they're better than no public space at all.

Penalosa said that beyond food and sleep and security -- the basics -- people need: to walk, be with people, have contact with nature, to play, and "not to feel inferior."

His vision of an advanced society, as opposed to a backward society, is one where high- and low-income people meet in all kinds of circumstances. Where the physical space is good for children, the elderly, and handicapped. (More than 200,000 children a year are killed by cars worldwide, he said.)

"A good city is not one with great highways, but one where a child on a bicycle can go safely everywhere."

Upcoming zoning hearings

86-88 Colborne Road
Confirm the legal occupancy as a two-family dwelling and legalize the extension of living space into the basement and attic area. Floor area ratio excessive. Height excessive (there is a 2 ½ story height limit in this zoning district proposed renovations create a 3 story building.)

CVS Pharmacy - 207 Market Street
Change the legal occupancy from sales to retail sales, a pharmacy with a drive-thru

http://www.cityofboston.gov/ons/pdfs/allstonbright.pdf

Where's the hole?

I don't know if the City is using it as a reference, but Boston.com has a map of potholes where you can note the positions of potholes in A/B and beyond.

Harvard confims Allston slowdown

The Harvard Crimson :: News :: University Braces for More Cuts

University officials advanced budget cutting measures at yesterday’s meeting of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, suggesting a likely slowdown in Allston construction and preparing to distribute long-awaited guidance for budget reductions to departments and centers later this month.

“Although it is clear that Allston is Harvard’s ultimate future, that future is going to be arriving a lot more slowly than we’d thought,” she said.

Faust’s comment was the first public suggestion that construction in Allston will slow due to the financial crisis.

The Allston project has become a point of contention in recent months due to its hefty price tag and long-term nature, which some argue should make it subordinate to more immediate expenditures.

Faust said the administration hopes to make decisions “soon” regarding the specific timeline for Allston.

The Harvard Crimson :: News :: Faust Hopeful at Faculty Meeting

Though the University may not face the perils of disease or warfare, wrangling with a fiscal crisis may pose comparable difficulties, said Faust, a specialist in the history of the antebellum South.

“I think of Harvard living through all kinds of crises, ranging from the Revolution to the Civil War to the small pox epidemics,” Faust mused. “I think this moment ranks up there in Harvard’s historical challenges.”

Kids "Introduction to Sportscasting Clinic" next week in Allston

The Media Performance Institute on Braintree Street in Allston is offering an afternoon class next week during school vacation for kids 10-15 interested in TV and sports broadcasting.

Yoon the 4th canidate for Mayor

Yoon announces candidacy for mayor - The Boston Globe

Socrates Sculpture Park

Wondering how Harvard's empty North Allston/North Brighton land can be put to some use without spending tens or hundreds of millions of dollars on construction? Now that it seems that the chance of new development is receding into the distant future, some creativity seems to be in order.

One possibility would be something like the Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens, NY (map).

Twenty five years ago it was an abandonded landfill. Today it is home to a variety of public art installations, sort of like an urban version of the DeCordova. They host free Wednesday evening outdoor movie showings and art performances during the summer and a great variety of classes and special activities to promote fitness (yoga, pilates, tai chi) and arts and crafts workshops.

Of course all that doesn't come for free, and Soctrates' expenses in 2006 were $864,000. Certainly here in Allston we could start with much smaller. Regardless of scale, outdoor arts, events, and workshops open to all and of interest to a wide variety of people could be great.

"Socrates Sculpture Park is the only site in the New York Metropolitan area specifically dedicated to providing artists with opportunities to create and exhibit large-scale work in a unique environment that encourages strong interaction between artists, artworks and the public. The Park's existence is based on the belief that reclamation, revitalization and creative expression are essential to the survival, humanity and improvement of our urban environment."

Partnership Fund advisory committee named

The BRA announced last night the members of the committee that will give input to the use of the "partnership fund" that was established by Harvard last year as part of the Science Complex review process. They are:

Paul Berkeley
John Bruno
Dan Daly
John Eskew
Sister Rena Foley
Wayne McKenzie
Ray Mellone
Karen Smith

Applications should be distributed and and grant decisions made this spring.

Rangoli Closing Today

Rangoli in Allston Is Closing Today Boston Restaurant Talk

Throughout the years I've enjoyed many meals at Rangoli and many others have too. I'll be sorry to see it go and hope its is replaced by something of comparable quality.

15 years of aerial history

There's a new version of Google Earth! One of the cool new features is the addition of historical imagery that shows how our world has changed. The oldest images for our neighborhood are from 1995, and one of the largest changes visible from above since then was the demolition of the factories and development of the Brighton Mills shopping center shown below.

Harvard considers halting Science Complex construction

In November, The Crimson reported that "Though construction for the first science building in Allston, which began this spring, was slated to near completion in July 2011, it is unclear whether this date will be postponed as the University assesses current spending."

Today's edition of The Crimson informs us that Harvard administrators are moving forward with contingency plans in case construction of the Western Ave Science Complex is halted. Since the start of public discussion of the Science Complex, the star tenant for the buildings was to be The Harvard Stem Cell Institute and the immense value of their work was the primary rationale for Harvard's urgency during the City of Boston's Article 80 review and Harvard's request for the Phase One Waiver that was granted by the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act Office.

"Harvard provost Steven E. Hyman has asked faculty to consider the possibility of housing the department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology in existing University facilities in Cambridge...

the new plan would divert funds originally intended for the science complex in Allston to renovate Fairchild (map) for its new residents...

the Molecular and Cellular Biology department has been told to plan for an evacuation of Fairchild in six to twelve months, suggesting that the University will soon release a more definitive timeline for construction projects in Allston.

“It has to be clear that this is a ‘Plan B’ in case the Allston campus Science 1 building won’t be built or is delayed,” MCB department chair Catherine Dulac said."

The Harvard Crimson :: News :: Move to Allston Uncertain for Stem Cell Department

Newbury's loss - Allston's gain?

Would business owners who can't afford high rents in their existing locations be willing to consider relocating to Western Ave?

Obviously the foot traffic and cachet isn't comparable, but a Western Ave storefront would be highly visible to the thousands who drive through Allston and ample parking is available.

If the rent was thousands of dollars a month less, would anyone try this?

Wouldn't it be great if Harvard were actively trying to recruit some of these businesses to its many vacant buildings in Allston and Brighton?

Higher rents, slow sales oust merchants from Newbury St. - The Boston Globe

Upcoming zoning hearings

576-576A Washington Street: Change the legal occupancy from retail stores and three apartments to a martial arts studio and three apartments.

15 Converse Street: Create off street parking for one vehicle

More info at http://www.cityofboston.gov/ons/pdfs/allstonbright.pdf

Big date Thursday at City Hall

The BRA Board will vote tomorrow on the Boston College Master Plan. The room will be packed and, if nothing else, it will be quite a spectacle. The show starts at 2:00 in City Hall room 900.

On this subject, Ram Rao and Abigail Furey get into the Thursday Globe with this op-ed explaining why they think the BRA should reject BC's Master Plan.

And if you are wondering what BC is proposing, don't go to the the BRA website unless you want to read some comment letters. Instead you can try the website of VHB, one of BC's consultants on the project.

School registration blues

I'm at the Jackson Mann school this morning to register my daughter for kindergarten in the Boston Public Schools.

So far we have been waiting at least one hour, even after having taken the time to pre-register on the BPS website and there is nothing complicated or unusual about our application. I don't know exactly how long we have been here because the clock in the Jackson Mann auditorium is frozen at 7:45.

For some reason they require a utility bill as one of 3 proofs of residence, but they don't accept a water bill. How a phone or cable TV bill is more trustworthy I have no idea.

Globe readers agree: too much snow on Allston sidewalks

Snow plows are too slow to clear streets - The Boston Globe

"I go to Allston a lot and yes, it's awful. People are right to complain. It's like Boston has forgotten that part of the city."

"I live in Allston, and before the snow storms, I used to walk over the pictured bridge daily to go to the Allston Public Library.Unfortunately, the snow was never cleared from the sidewalks, and turned to ice. I was afraid I'd slip and fall in the street, so I haven't tried walking the route in a few weeks."

"Everett Street is a joy compared to Market Street/Leo Birmingham Parkway, which has no side shoveled or plowed. Allston feels like the ugly step child of Boston this winter. Shame on the city."

Pike now considering a smaller toll hike - adds fee for Fast Lane transponders

I thought the Pike was trying to encourage people to use Fast Lane.

Turnpike dials down toll hike plan - Local News Updates - The Boston Globe

"Board members said today they would consider next month an alternative plan that would raise tolls by 25 cents at the Allston-Brighton and Weston booths and $2 at the Sumner and Ted Williams tunnels.

In other action, the board approved a plan unveiled Wednesday to impose a monthly fee of 50 cents on all Fast Lane transponder users while at the same time offering new and replacement transponders for free. The transponders previously cost drivers $25.95."

Is the Mass Pike killing us?

We know how the tolls affect our wallets. How do the traffic emissions affect our hearts?

Study ties cleaner air to longer life expectancy - The Boston Globe / Press Release

Better late than never

The Everett Street overpass sidewalk (on one side) was cleared of snow on Tuesday or Wednesday, and the City has several workers on Lincoln Street this morning clearing snow, four days after the last snow fell. According to the City's regulations, "sidewalks should be passable within three hours after a snowstorm."

They apologize. . . sort of

Alex Beam writes today about A/B university expansion and this recently published report from H.U.

They apologize for their schools' problems . . . sort of - The Boston Globe

"What was that ridiculous Harvard study claiming that the World's Greatest University pumps $5 billion into the local economy all about? Dodging taxes, mainly. "We all release those studies just before we are about to launch a major expansion," an executive at another local university explained to me. "If it looks as if you have money to build, then Boston and Cambridge figure they can raise your PILOT - 'payments in lieu of taxes' - payments when you ask for the building permits." As the Globe reported, Mayor Menino and the City Council have been yapping about squeezing more money out of the city's nonprofits, meaning the universities and hospitals.

But that's all moot now. Boston University, MIT, Northeastern University, Children's Hospital, and others have announced cutbacks on new projects. "We have the money to finish what we've started," my man says, "but all the big projects - Boston College in Brighton, Harvard in Allston - are going to be stalled. We can't raise money on favorable terms. The Harvard study was a preemptive shot fired in a war that's over, for now.""

Shovels needed

You'd never know from the photo, but there is a sidewalk under all that snow on the Everett Street overpass that crosses the Mass Pike. Walking around Allston today with 3 kids was not particularly fun because the City and many private property owners did little or nothing to remove snow from the sidewalks adjacent to their property.

The person who answered the phone at the Mayor's Hotline (617-635-4500) politely took my request to have this sidewalk cleared. Hopefully it will happen before someone walking in the street gets hurt.

The city may have fancy new cameras to snap photos of unshoveled sidewalks, but I didn't see much evidence of stricter enforcement today.

Allston Civic Association agenda for Jan '09

The ACA meets is Wednesday, Jan 21st at the Honan Library, 6:30 pm

1320 Soldiers Field Road. The proposed tenant, Shin Nippon Biomedical Laboratories presentation of the proposed office and lab space uses requiring a Conditional Use Permit.

459-451 Western Avenue and 1360 Soldiers Field Road. Presentation by Mahoney’s Garden Center of proposed expansion plans. The expansion will require Greenbelt Protection Overlay District review.

Readings by Christine, 183 Harvard Ave. Allston, proposal for Fortune Teller's License to be exercised on the premises.

Sheesha Lounge, 417 Cambridge St. Proposal to extend hours of operation

Architectural beauty - more than "green"

The Globe's architecture critic Robert Campbell writes today about the The Genzyme Center winning the Parker Medal as the "the most beautiful piece of architecture, building, monument or structure within the limits of the City of Boston or the Metropolitan Parks District."

In Allston we know Stefan Behnisch, the architect of The Genzyme Center, as the architect of Harvard's Science Complex under construction on Western Ave. And like the Genzyme building, I am sure that Harvard's buildings will be lovely on the inside, with features that save energy and create a beautiful working environment.

From a distance, some people may consider the Genzyme building to be beautiful in a modern sort of way. But I think a crucial consideration when judging a building's aesthetic must be how the building appears to the pedestrian who walks past the building, up close and from the outside. I took a walk around the Genzyme building in the summer of 2007 to try to get a sense of what Behnisch might offer to the Allston public realm. Unfortunately, the building up close isn't much to look at.

You can walk around the building using Google Maps or look at these photos from my visit and see that street-level windows are covered with boring white shades and the interesting architecture elsewhere in the building is nowhere to be found.


This might well be the "greenest" building in Boston, but I don't see how the person who walks past it could ever think it beautiful. What is coming to Western Ave seems likely to be from the same mold.

(As commenter che9194 notes on the Globe website, the Globe is incorrectly using an image of 675 Kendall Street, the Vertex Pharmaceuticals building instead of the Genzyme Building at 500 Kendall, but that may be corrected on the Globe's site by the time you are reading this.)

Community Supported Agriculture comes to Allston

If you like vegetables and locally grown food, consider purchasing a CSA share for the summer of 2009 from Dragonfly Farms. Summer sure feels a long way away, but purchasing a share now provides the farm with financial stability for the upcoming season and gets you in the queue for a lot of yummy and healthy stuff later this year.


A full share costs $475 ($25/week) and a half share costs $270 for approximately 19 weeks of vegetables. After joining, you can pick up your box of veggies each week at the Allston Farmers Market (which is moving to Fridays). The Dragonfly Farms website describes what you can expect throughout the summer.

In the spirit of trying new and different healthy foods, I'm looking forward to trying some things I've never cooked before and that I always pass over in favor of more familiar foods. I don't know if my kids will enjoy garlic scapes but I'm willing to give them a try!

Let's support Mahoney's expansion

Mahoney's Garden Center, which I think is one of the best things happening on Western Ave, will be at the Allston Civic Association meeting next Wednesday to present their plans for the bigger and better garden center they want to create by expanding at their current location. I think we are lucky to have Mahoney's in our community and I hope we will do everything we can to support their success in our community.

Even more disruptive than a campus expansion

New Heathrow Runway Is Approved - NYTimes.com

"Britain’s government on Thursday said it approved contentious plans to allow the construction of a third runway for London’s Heathrow Airport."

New Heathrow Runway Would Erase a Village - New York Times

"If the government goes ahead with its plans to build a third runway for the overstuffed airport, the village will be wiped from the map. The 700 or so houses, the elementary school, the church, the pubs, the Indian restaurant, the hair salon — all those would be torn down

Naturally, Sipson, dotted as it is with “No Third Runway” signs, opposes the plans. But the village, already weakened by the exodus of longtime residents worried about the future, has become the symbol of an anti-expansion campaign that goes far beyond its borders."

A Silver Lining for Businesses in Inland California

Imagine Western Ave several years from now. What could it be?

A possibility envisioned by Chris Gabrieli is a busy and thriving business area symbiotically cooperating with Harvard's new campus with a variety of "hot new companies solving medical, environmental, and other challenges by turning great ideas into great products and companies."

Thousands of miles from Allston, the Inland Empire Center for Entrepreneurship could be a model for what could happen in Allston. The "inland empire" is the San Bernardino and Riverside counties east of Los Angeles, and a story in the NY Times yesterday describes the success happening there as a result of "the concerted support for small enterprises and start-up companies from the area’s universities and nonprofit organizations."

There already is a Center for Entrepreneurship in Allston and if it were interested in doing a bit of local thinking maybe some great businesses could be getting started sooner rather than later along Western Ave.

Comm Ave bike lane only for the advanced?

Looking more at the Boston Bike Map, I was amazed to see that Commonwealth Ave between the BU Bridge and Kenmore Square, home to Boston's first major bike lane, is rated as suitable only for "advanced" cyclists.

Is this a mistake on the map? Does City Hall think this bike lane is a failure? Because if a bike lane on a straight road with relatively few intersections can't make the road useful for at least intermediate riders, it is hard to imagine how Boston will become the "biking city for all other biking cities to emulate".

Comment on the Boston Bikes map

The City is compiling information about biking around Boston. The Boston Bikes map is a compilation of what the City has heard are the best (and worst) biking roads in the city. You can send your comments to the city using this survey.

Apparently you have to be an "advanced" cyclist to get much of anywhere in Allston and Brighton. I'm surprised to see Market St, Lincoln St, and North Harvard St in the middle tier of roads because of their steep grade, narrowness, and abysmal road conditions, respectively.

Unfortunately the map file is 14MB and I had to try a few times to download it from the City's website. You can see all of the A/B info by clicking on the image to the right.

Major brake problems found on Allston firetruck

Brake problems surface on another fire truck - Local News Updates - The Boston Globe

Mechanics at Arcand Springs determined this morning that Ladder 14, which is headquartered in Allston, has "linkage problems" that require immediate repair, city officials said.

Ladder 14 is a 1992 E-One truck with a 110-foot ladder and four-door cab, the same type and make as the truck involved in Friday's crash.

Ciommo to chair City Council Ways & Means committee

This news from The Phoenix could be good for Allston and Brighton.

Soliders Field Road improvements coming

This story in today's Globe describes this letter from the DCR about improvements planned for later this year along the Eliot Bridge and the River St/Western Ave area. A meeting Wednesday at 6:00 at the Copley Square Library will provide more info about these projects and larger bridge projects already underway.

New Pike off-ramp proposed for Brighton

To improve conditions at the Pike's Newton exit 17, the Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization is proposing the construction of a new Pike off-ramp in Brighton at the intersection of North Beacon St and Soldiers Field Road. The new ramp would keep 850 people away from Newton Corner during rush hour in the morning and 300 away in the evening.

Newton residents slam "Circle of Death" at Newton-Watertown Mass Pike exit - Watertown TAB & Press

Globe and Crimson report on Harvard's latest purchase

Harvard purchases another building in Allston-Brighton - The Boston Globe

The Harvard Crimson :: News :: Harvard Adds to Allston Land Holdings

Harvard purchases Brookline Machine

90 Antwerp Street in Allston, known as the Brookline Machine building, is finally Harvard University property. The 7/10ths of an acre property, assessed for $1,714,500 was sold by its former owner to Harvard on December 16, 2008.

As with many of Harvard's previous purchases, they created a short-lived holding company to purchase the property. This time they named it Crown Mechanic LLC, created it on 12/11/08, and merged it into Harvard Real Estate Allston Inc. on 12/26/08.

Harvard may be facing a hiring freeze and thriftier holiday parties, but money to buy up more of Allston continues to flow.

This property is particularly interesting because it abuts the Brighton Mills Shopping Center and where Harvard would like to see the new Charlesview Apartments built. It seems probably that it will be used to expand the Charlesview site which would be a good thing if it leads to a more diverse, mixed-income neighborhood. Hopefully it doesn't turn into another blight like Harvard's CITGO station.

Obama on Harvard

Transcript of CNBC’s Barack Obama interview - CNBC TV

John Harwood - CNBC : We learned during the 1960s that the best and the brightest don't always have it figured out right.

President-elect Barack Obama: You've got to watch out for those Harvard guys. They'll get you every time.

Harvard CAC meets tonight

The Citizens Advisory Committee reviewing the environmental impacts of Harvard's expansion is meeting tonight at the Honan Library from 6-8 to discuss transportation issues relating to Harvard's plans.

Jan 13 Zoning hearing

15 Ashford Street - Parking Lot Forbidden, Open Space Insufficient.
Increase parking from three vehicles to six vehicles.

More info at http://www.cityofboston.gov/ons/pdfs/allstonbright.pdf

Wishing Harvard and BC become better neighbors

Its great to see the issue of community-university relations included in today's Globe editorial "Nine wishes for 2009". The writers describe their "hope [that] Greater Boston's public institutions become better neighbors" and suggest that

"Boston College thinks twice about forcing an unwelcome dormitory expansion plan into residential Brighton; Harvard continues close dialogue with community leaders as it builds its life sciences campus in Allston"

But what "close dialogue" could the Globe possibly think Harvard is having with anyone in Allston?

Harvard refuses to talk about Charlesview. The master plan consultants that Harvard hired several months ago have given only one public presentation. Harvard's planners have sat quietly through several North Allston/North Brighton Community Wide Plan meetings during recent months.

Respected intellectuals like David Bohm and Peter Senge have written extensively about what they think meaningful dialogue should be:

"In dialogue, there is the free and creative exploration of complex and subtle issues, a deep "listening" to one another and suspending of one's own views."

Certainly it would be wonderful if Harvard were willing to do anything like this with anyone in Allston, but based on what transpired in 2008 the Globe is giving Harvard way too much credit.