The Harvard Crimson :: Opinion :: Let Them Eat Cake

A scathing piece by a Harvard junior in the Crimson about Harvard's Allston expansion - Let Them Eat Cake.

But how can a Finale kitchen with no retail component be a sign of gentrification? An actual Finale restaurant, maybe, but you'd never see a commissary on a main street of the South End, Back Bay, or other upscale neighborhoods of Boston. Instead of letting us buy and eat cake, it is more like "let us look at an unattractive little building where cake is made to sell to people elsewhere".

William Dawes riding through Allston today

Here is a map of his 1775 route (scroll down to the Brookline, Allston, Cambridge detail)
http://www.wmdawes.org/map3.html

A-B Community Notes (April 17) - Allston-Brighton, MA - Allston/Brighton TAB

Hill Memorial Baptist Church will once again be hosting a stop on Patriots Day morning for historical figure “William Dawes” on his ride to warn residents “The British are coming! The British are coming!” Dawes will dismount and recite a speech/poem before continuing his ride. The church will be open for those who wish to visit. There will also be a patriotic sing-a-long and refreshments will be available before Dawes arrives. All are welcome to join in this patriotic festivity. The church is at 279 North Harvard St. in Allston.

Charles River fire

A fire along the Charles River in Cambridge this morning was visible to many people in Allston and Brighton.

Video from WBZ

Photos from Wicked Local

Pothole magic

I was pleasantly surprised after filling out the City's pothole repair request form earlier this week and found it repaired less than two days later!

Upcoming zoning hearings

Should a zoning variance be given to put another check cashing business in Allston?
Also, the Boyne wants a 50-person outdoor patio.

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

BRA Chief discusses A/B housing at Harvard

BRA Director John Palmieri spoke last night at the Harvard Graduate School of Design in an event sponsored by Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies. Thanks to the BU newspaper for letting us know some of what he said.

The Daily Free Press - Low-income housing initiatives continue in Boston

Harvard Crimson overview of Harvard/Allston

The Harvard Crimson :: News :: Allston Community Deals with Development

Allston Civic Association agenda for April 15

Hess Gas Stations:

1. Cambridge St. Proposal to replace in-house coffee service with Dunkin Donuts.
2. Brighton Ave. Proposal to extend 24 hour "window" operation to in-store operation.

Deep Ellum, Cambridge St. (Union Square) Proposal to extend hours of operation.

SNBL, Soldiers Field Road/Western Ave. No. Brighton. Update on plans to occupy Harvard owned building for Laboratory space

Harvard needs to be part of the solution

A story about Harvard and a coffee company? No, it isn't about Harvard's quiet tenant on Western Ave, Espresso Express. It's Harvard grad Tom Keane in today's Globe decrying Harvard's contraction and lauding the expansion of the Swiss coffee company Nespresso.

It's an interesting contrast with what Keane wrote last summer when he criticized Boston citizens and government for "picking on higher ed" and claiming that local universities get "kicked around" by people "demanding things we wouldn't really ask of any other bird."

Keane is again contrasting universities and private businesses but now his pity for the schools (at least for Harvard) seems to have been replaced with a belief that Harvard should reverse its current trajectory in Allston and spend money, make plans, and move boldly forward.

The Way to Fight a Recession - The Boston Globe

"So when a company such as Nespresso spends money and makes plans, it sends a message -- the bad times will end, growth will resume. If enough companies behaved the same way, then indeed, the economy would turn. Harvard, too, is sending a message. 'If Harvard can't build, who can?' worried one construction industry publication. Perhaps, many will conclude, no one can, and, as a consequence, no one will.

This isn't to diminish Harvard's travails. But it's been around for 373 years and survived revolutions, wars, and other recessions. It's prominent and important enough that it needs to do more than play victim; it needs to be part of the solution. Nespresso, far newer to the scene, looks beyond today to the future. Harvard could learn something from the Swiss."

Womens Pro Soccer comes to Allston

The Boston Breakers open their season on Saturday at 7 at Harvard Stadium. Tickets range in cost from $25 to $13.

Crimson covers last night's ABNNF meeting

The Harvard Crimson :: News :: Allston, Brighton Forum Hosts Yoon

Bike revolution for Boston?

This Globe story gives a balanced and realistic look at bike sharing in Paris and its potential in Boston. Allston and Brighton would seem to be an ideal place for it, with many younger residents and many people in apartments, many popular destinations a short distance away, and multi-family houses where owning and storing a bike might not be convenient.

The manager of the Paris bike share believes that bike-share in Boston "must cover the whole city, not just the city center, with a station every 250 meters." That's a lot of stations - for example, Brighton Ave is 1,000 meters from Union Sq to Packard's Corner. Can you imagine 5 bike-rental stations in that stretch at the intersections with Allston St, Harvard Ave, and Chester St?

IS BOSTON READY FOR A REVOLUTION? - The Boston Globe

Learn racquetball at BU - April 16

Its nice to see BU opening its athletic facilities to the general public for an inexpensive ($5) introduction to racquetball.

Boston University Fitness and Recreation Center Programs and Classes Noncredit Classes Court Sports

Have you always wanted to learn the basics of racquetball but haven't had the time? Try Racquetball Express! A clinic will be offered on April 16 from 6-7 by World Champion Joanne Pomodoro. Please register at http://www.bu.edu/fitrec/programs/noncredit/court.shtml or for more details contact rfadams@bu.edu

Join the ABNNF and Sam Yoon on Thursday

Join the Allston Brighton North Neighbors Forum to meet At-Large City Councilor – and candidate for Mayor – Sam Yoon who will join us for a Q&A.

We will also discuss the upcoming planning effort focusing on the Brighton Mills Shopping Center, the Holton Street Corridor, and the future of the Charlesview Apartments.

Thursday, April 9
6:30 - 8:30 pm
Gardner School, 30 Athol St

Allston-Brighton Art Exposition

The Honan Allston Library is hosting the Allston-Brighton Art Exposition. Stop by to see a variety of art on display and for sale.

Green Strip Thanks

Thanks to the neighbors, folks from the Allston Brighton CDC, and the Brian Honan Fellows who volunteered their morning today to clean up the Lincoln Street Green Strip.

A lot of trash accumulates over the winter on the site, and it looks great after this spring cleaning.

Litchfield St getting 5(!) new townhouses

Courtesy of everyblock.com, I'm disappointed to see that the new housing on Litchfield St certainly won't be the kind of housing that will attract stability or permanence to our heavily transient neighborhood.


Instead it will be 5 townhouse units that will probably look a lot like the ones shown here that were built on Adamson St a few years ago by the same developer who bought the Litchfield lot.

Too bad the City allows this sort of development that contradicts the promises of the North Allston Strategic Framework to "preserve the essential character of North Allston’s residential areas" and "ensure the continued integrity and cohesion of the existing residential neighborhoods."

These might be nice places to live for a couple years but I don't think too many families will live in one of these for any length of time. Would you want to live with your family next to something like this?

http://boston.everyblock.com/building-permits/by-date/2009/3/2/201326/

cityofboston.gov down

The City of Boston's entire website (http://www.cityofboston.gov/) is not working this morning. Hopefully someone will fix it when the get to work this morning

Harvard May Cut Capital Spend by $500M/Year

There's going to be a lot less money for institutional expansion in Allston in the years to come. But partnerships with private developers for non-institutional projects (that don't require Harvard to spend anything) should, in theory, still be possible.

Harvard May Cut Capital Spend by $500 Million a Year (Update1) - Bloomberg.com

Harvard, the world’s richest school, may slice a four-year, $4 billion spending plan to $2 billion to help it weather the recession, according to a Moody’s Investors Service report... The cut, as much as $500 million a year, sets back the university’s plan, initiated 10 years ago, to expand its main campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, across the Charles River in Boston.

More A/B North infill development

This 7,767 sq ft lot at 90 Litchfield Street is no longer the open yard it once was. The property was only assessed for $185,000, but it sold in December for $600,000 to Larosa Development, who has been described as "a developer known for flouting construction rules and regulations."

I've written in the past about the City vastly under-appraising empty lots in our neighborhood, and it is a shame that as we are facing teacher layoffs and all sorts of other problems because of the city's budget problems the City continues to forfeit real estate tax revenue because it doesn't accurately assess property.

As the last few open lots of greenspace in our neighborhood disappear, I wonder how and where the City is going to fulfil its promise from the North Allston Strategic Framework to "expand the limited number of neighborhood parks by creating new parks."

Harvard cooperation agreement report

Harvard has submitted its first report on its compliance with the Science Complex cooperation agreement.

You can download it from the Files section of the ABNNF website at http://groups.google.com/group/ABNNF

Private development on university property

As the BRA prepares to work with the community and Harvard to figure out a productive future of the Brighton Mills shopping center and Holton St Corridor, it makes sense to look at precedents for how this development might be done. We've heard excuses about Harvard's tight finances ("we can't dip into our endowment", they tell us) and that Harvard is a university, not a real-estate developer.

One project we can learn from is the Radian, 179 units of housing above 44,694 square feet of retail. The University of Pennsylvania owns the property, but they did not develop the building or put up the $70 million that it cost to build. In fact, UPenn makes money from the project through a 65 year ground lease to Island American Communities Group. The university retains long-term possession of the land, makes a profit by leasing the land to a private developer, and the hybrid building benefits the university and community.

Leaving aside the Radian's height, which isn't going to be duplicated in the Holton St Corridor, there is a lot that can be learned about how projects like this can get done by a willing university.

Here is the Google map showing the site of the Radian while it was under construction.

Mayoral candidates raking in the $$$

Campaign fund-raisers feel tight economic squeeze, too - The Boston Globe

"In the first half of this month, the mayor's campaign stepped up its fund-raising, taking in $106,385, with about half coming from real estate development and construction interests, regulated businesses such as restaurants, or city employees, a Globe analysis shows. Flaherty said his campaign deposited $51,000 in the first three weeks of March."

You can find the finance reports for all candidates for citywide office at the State's Office of Campaign & Political Finance website. I've added a link above to Menino's report for March 1-15, but the other candidates reports for this period are not yet online. One thing that is interesting is how little money any of the candidates are getting from people in 01234 and 02135.

Keeping our Promises

It has been interesting watching how the four candidates for Mayor have dealt with the issue of university expansion in Allston and Brighton.

Mayor Menino wrote this strong letter to Harvard President Faust but has since backed off from the specific dates and requirements that the letter required.

Sam Yoon and Kevin McCrea have each attended a Task Force meeting. Sam also denounced the BRA's process on RadioBoston and joined A/B district councilor Mark Ciommo in calling for a hearing on the BRA's review of the Boston College Master Plan.

But it may be Michael Flaherty who has taken the most visible and strident position of any of the four. His letter to the A/B TAB called for Harvard to stop purchasing property in Allston. And over the weekend his campaign went door-to-door distributing the first flyer (shown here) that I have seen for the upcoming election. You can also read the text of the flyer on the Flaherty website.

Whichever of the candidates you support, if you want a revitalized North Allston and North Brighton with fewer vacant buildings and a better quality of life, it can only be good to see our situation becoming a campaign issue what will be the most vigorous campaign that Boston has seen in a long time.

Farewell to City Weekly

Today is the last edition of the Globe's City Weekly section, another casualty of the paper's declining financial status. I am sorry to see it go, as it has provided great coverage of events and issues here in Allston and Brighton and has been a venue for learning more about what is happening elsewhere in Boston and its closest suburbs.

Editor's farewell note - The Boston Globe

To a less selfish future

Robert Campbell, the Globe's architecture critic, considers what Boston may become in the next decade or two, with what I would say is an accurate description of the current situation and a worthy goal for what might become.

Into the future - The Boston Globe

in the city of the future, the universities will assume a more responsible role in the life of the place. Today they're selfish and isolated. I can't imagine, just for one example, why Harvard, even before the current slump in its endowment, wasn't eager to collaborate with Boston and Cambridge to help fund the Urban Ring, which could connect Harvard to its satellites in Allston and Longwood. In the future the universities won't be so separated off onto campuses. They'll begin marbling in with the rest of us. Town-gown distinctions will blur.

Call the cops?

At Wednesday's Harvard meeting there were 2 Harvard police officers standing quietly in the back of the room during the meeting. Anyone know why?

This Is Harvard

This Is Harvard, a new blog about Harvard's impact on our neighborhood, writes about finding an open door to Harvard's empty KMart building while walking down Litchfield Street. A bunch of comments about this are sprouting over at Universal Hub.

TAB reports on last night's meeting

Harvard says most of its ‘leasable’ Allston land is already leased - Allston/Brighton TAB

BU paper reports on last night's Harvard meeting

The Daily Free Press - Allstonians call for plan from Harvard

Globe story on Allston Village business closings

In Allston, 'Closed' is the sign of the times - The Boston Globe

"the offerings have become a little less diverse recently with the closing of Reef Cafe, Eats & Treats Creperie, Rangoli Indian Restaurant, and Burritos on Fire on Brighton Avenue. Kachi, a Korean video store, and Economy Hardware on Harvard Avenue are also gone."

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