Allston Brighton Community Blog

Artistic yard sale on Franklin St

Lots of interesting art and miscellaneous stuff on sale at the corner of Franklin and Holton

Tweed Ride on Monday at Herter Park

Date:	Monday, May 31, 2010
Time:	12:00pm - 5:00pm

Spring is here and it's time for another Tweed Ride! A ride for ladies and gentlemen of leisure through Boston and Cambridge.

To keep in line with the Memorial Day holiday, we will be ending the ride with a picnic most likely at Artesani Park in Brighton. Bring your own picnic baskets (utensils, dishes), dish to share and grill-ums.

Prizes donated by:
Cambridge Used Bikes

Prizes will be given for winners in the following categories:
1 - Most enviable vintage ride
2 - Best decorated helmet
3 - Best facial hair- man or woman
4 - Most graceful mount and dismount
5 - Best common bike kitted-out in tweed
6 - Best pooch accommodations
7 - Slowest pace

Allston in Harvard's Year in Review

A few good stories about Harvard and Allston as The Crimson wraps up its coverage before summer vacation.

A Tale of Two Worlds The Harvard Crimson - Harvard employees living in Allston experience two sides of a heated debate

“It’s easy for an individual to point fingers at a large institution without understanding the University’s perspective, but it may also be helpful for University planners to walk a mile in local shoes,” says one Allston employee who wished to remain anonymous to protect his relationship with his employer and neighbors.

But despite their more balanced perspectives, several Allston residents employed by Harvard say they were not immune to the disappointment following the University’s decision to halt construction on the Science Complex.
“They promised us the world, a utopia,” Robert Alexander says.

Reimagining Allston The Harvard Crimson - Co-developing the Allston campus may be a solution to financial constraints

At this point, all options are open, and Harvard has not decided what type of relationship it seeks or whether co-development should even happen, University Executive Vice President Katherine N. Lapp says.
“We’re not sure what will come our way as we start to talk to outside potential partners, so we don’t want to say we’re going to do one thing and foreclose a possibility somewhere else,” Lapp says.
Allston Neighborhood Coordinator Daniel Roan writes in an e-mail that the City of Boston would be “open” to the idea so long as it promotes “the development of well planned and financially sound development in Allston that expands economic opportunity, improves the quality of life for the neighborhood and increases housing choice.”

A Temporary Relief The Harvard Crimson - Allston construction pause forces Harvard School of Public Health to find short-term solutions

With the promise of an additional 450,000 square feet of space, Allston would have lifted much of the pressure imposed by overcrowding at the school, which hampered its ability to expand its teaching and research facilities.

“We are at capacity—I mean, you should see schedules,” says Nancy M. Kane, the school’s associate dean of educational programs. “It takes a computer doing advanced linear programming just to figure out when to schedule a class, and you’re always going to conflict with someone.” “It’s a nightmare,” Kane adds.

“We’re in a state of overcrowding that’s really not sustainable in the
long term,” Dean Julio Frenk says. Though plans are not finalized at this point, Frenk says school officials have identified potential space to be leased in Longwood.

Lowe's @ the BCDC

The BCDC agenda for Tuesday contains this report about the proposed Lowe's

BOSTON CIVIC DESIGN COMMISSION
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
BRA Board Room, Room 900, 9th floor, Boston City Hall

5:20 - 5:35 Report from Design Committee:
Lowe’s Project

Brookline to fine party animals

Could this work in Boston too?

Brookline OK’s law to fine partygoers - The Boston Globe

"the law in Brookline will allow police to levy a fine of $100 against party hosts and guests for the first incident and increase the fines up to $300 for subsequent violations. Landlords would also be fined and held liable unless they are actively working to evict tenants."

Tolman, DiDomenico oppose illegal immigrant legislation

But it passes 28-10

Senate vote hits illegal residents - The Boston Globe

"The sweeping provision, if it makes it into law, would toughen or expand rules that bar illegal immigrants from public health care, housing, and higher education benefits.

The amendment would also clear the way for courts, the state attorney general, and even average citizens to get new tools, including an anonymous hot line, to report illegal immigrants or companies that employ them to the government."

Remember when Harvard Law was heading to Allston?

At Harvard, Kagan’s Sights Were Aimed Higher - NYTimes.com

Among the most contentious issues then facing Harvard was how to expand beyond the confines of Cambridge. The university had been buying up property across the Charles River in the Boston neighborhood of Allston. When Mr. Summers’s predecessor, Neil L. Rudenstine, suggested that the law school move, the law faculty responded by voting against it, 37 to 1.
“It’s rare that anyone here agrees about anything,” Professor Steiker said, “but everyone agreed we didn’t want our campus moved across the river.”
But when Mr. Summers was installed as president in 2001, he put the Allston move back on the table. With the faculty up in arms, the longtime law school dean, Robert C. Clark, asked Ms. Kagan to head a study committee; he thought she had the potential to succeed him as dean and wanted to give her a leadership role. Ms. Kagan, who had just been granted tenure, would be wading into perhaps the most fractious issue at the university.
She seemed to have an instinctive feel for how to build a case that would work with Mr. Summers. “Her approach was to give a rational basis, instead of just an emotional one, for the faculty’s reaction,” Professor Clark said.
She hired a consultant, and persuaded the university to foot the bill, producing a 101-page strategic plan that considered everything from future growth to dormitory space to the intellectual benefits of remaining near the arts and sciences buildings. She made no explicit recommendation, but the study strongly suggested that Allston was far better suited to the biomedical sciences than the law school. The plan was soon dead, and Ms. Kagan gained folk hero status.

Retail resurgence in other Boston neighborhoods

With the notable exception of the beautiful expanded Mahoney's Garden Center on Western Ave, this "retail resurgence" in Fenway, Dorchester, Roxbury seems to be passing by Harvard's Allston & Brighton property.

Fenway, Roxbury projects signaling retail resurgence - The Boston Globe

“We see the economy is getting a little better this year and people are thinking about expansions, new locations, and new concepts,’’ Menino said

Charles River bridge letter by Allston & Cambridge neighborhood groups

At the April ABNNF meeting we discussed the reconstruction of the Western Ave and River St bridges with Steve Miller from LivableStreets, Renata von Tscharner of the Charles River Conservancy, and others. From that meeting, and conversations with our Allston and Cambridge neighbors, the letter below was recently sent to the leaders of our State's Transportation department.

Please share your comments below about how you'd like to see these bridges and the area around them improved.

Larry Harmon on PSF

Larry Harmon has this well-deserved tribute to the efforts of the Presentation School Foundation in today's Globe and their need to raise $275,000 by June 10.

An urban paradox in Oak Square - The Boston Globe

In a brutal economy that has crippled sophisticated nonprofit groups, a cadre of volunteers from an unpretentious neighborhood find themselves a foundation grant or two shy of pulling off a redevelopment deal that represents the best of urban life.

The Impact of Harvard's Allston Freeze

Report critical of colleges’ risk-taking - The Boston Globe

The study suggests that by taking on too much risk universities added to the economic troubles of their communities rather than helping shore them up. “Allston is the worst-case scenario in terms of the social cost,’’ Joshua Humphreys, a Harvard history lecturer said

Link to the report -
Educational Endowments and the Financial Crisis: Social Costs and Systemic Risks in the Shadow Banking System - which contains the following:

The sudden postponement of planned construction projects, most notably Harvard’s ambitious Allston Initiative, translates into lost jobs, broken promises, and diminished opportunities for community economic development. Based solely on potential earnings from the anticipated jobs that fail to materialize from the Allston delays, the report conservatively estimates that more than $860 million in expected economic activity will be lost over the next three years. Longer delays will deepen community economic losses.
Harvard’s Allston Initiative promised to transform the neighborhood and create unprecedented economic, recreational, and cultural opportunities. Harvard’s decision to suspend the initiative will have negative impacts on the neighborhood and throughout the region due to the loss or postponement of expected jobs, stalled economic development, and the on-going underutilization of land Harvard the university has aggressively acquired over the last two decades. The Allston delay has also created considerable uncertainty among residents and area businesses and further soured already strained relations with the community.
we estimate that a one-year delay in moving forward with the initial Phase 1A projects would result in lost direct earnings of more than $85 million and a total economic impact for the region of approximately $275 million. A two-year delay would result in lost short-term earnings estimated at more than $170 million, and a total economic impact of approximately $550 million. With a three-year delay, the figures increase to more than $270 million in lost earnings and a total regional economic impact of more than $860 million over the first three years. These impacts are driven solely by the forgone earnings of construction workers and permanent employees; they do not include the impacts of the lost procurement spending for construction materials and equipment that would have occurred in the region. Our estimates are therefore conservative in nature.
Harvard’s neighbors in Allston will pay the highest price for Harvard’s thwarted ambitions, in lost community development, shuttered businesses, and a desolate landscape of under-utilized property.

Goodbye nachos, Hello thin salty pizza

A 300+ seat pizzeria? Is there that much additional demand for 'za in Allston?

It’s game over for Sports Depot - BostonHerald.com

Allston’s Sports Depot is in its final inning after 22 years.

The Cambridge Street sports bar and restaurant will close to make way for a Regina Pizza.

Boston Restaurant Associates, owner of the brick-oven pizza chain that started in the North End in 1926, will spend about $1.5 million to open a 300-plus-seat pizzeria in the former train depot in September.

Upcoming zoning hearings

11-13 Rushmore Street - Remove existing first floor addition and erect second floor
addition.

45 Allston Street - Confirm the legal occupancy as a three-family dwelling and
extend living space into the basement.

1958-1960 Beacon Street - Increase seating capacity of restaurant from one hundred and ninety-five patrons to two hundred and forty patrons.

232-244 Fanueil Street - Allow four family residential building to be built on same lot as existing two-family dwelling.

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

Cleaning up in Allston today

Hazmat release probed at Allston train yards - Local News Updates - MetroDesk - The Boston Globe

Tonight's Allston Civic Association agenda

Honan Allston Library, 6PM

33-47 Quint Ave. Proposal to create parking for church uses.
Sports Depot, Cambridge/Franklin Streets. License Transfer
Nile Lounge, 70 Brighton Ave. Proposal to add Wine and Malt license to Smoking Bar
Avenue Bar and Grille, Comm. Ave. Request to increase occupancy from 151 persons to 190.
Last 1/2 hour of the meeting to be spent on membership issues

Upcoming zoning hearings

50 Hobart Street - Extend living space into the basement of a two-family dwelling.

33 Wiltshire Road - Remove and replace the retaining wall.

72 Oakland Street - Demolish part of existing garage, change the legal occupancy
from a garage to a four family dwelling, erect a four family
residential building. Allow four family residential building to be built on same lot as existing two-family dwelling.

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

Jerry McDermott goes to work for Sen. Brown

McDermott to run Brown’s Boston office - The Boston Globe

US Senator Scott Brown will announce today the hiring of former Boston city councilor Jerry McDermott as the new state director of his Boston office.

Neighborhood Potluck this Thursday - Please join us!

A Western Ave Cycletrack?

On Biking: a cycletrack coming to Cambridge and maybe Boston, too - Cambridge - Your Town - Boston.com

"Cambridge and Boston are both looking at potential cycletracks on Western Avenue that would combine to stretch from Central Square to Allston Village."

Vote in Tuesday's State Senate election

Tuesday is your chance to be one of the few voters to cast a ballot in the special election to fill the State Senate seat vacated by Anthony Galluccio.

You can vote if http://wheredoivotema.com/bal/myelectioninfo.php reports:

Senate in General Court: VACANT - MIDDLESEX, SUFFOLK & ESSEX DISTRICT

Should Harvard buy this blighted neighborhood eyesore?

The Dewalt/Black & Decker building at the western end of Western Ave is for sale.

I wrote about this property here and here, and what happens to this building will tell us a lot about the future trajectory of our neighborhood.

In some parallel universe, we might want Harvard to buy it. As a first-class, long term investor in our neighborhood, we might be able to count on Harvard to develop the site for a use that would be mutually beneficial for all. But unfortunately Harvard doesn't seem to be in a position (for various reasons) to help redevelop this site.

The site is located in the Western Ave / Soldiers Field Road Community Commercial sub-district where the zoning allows a maximum floor area ratio of 1 which would allow at most a 15,000 square foot building on this 15,000 parcel. Existing zoning also limits the building height to 35 feet. But considering that Harvard and Charlesview both were granted City approval to build much higher in this area and the increased, it seems unlikely that nothing bigger than a 15,000 sq ft, 35 foot building would be built here.

But the neighbors in this area, and presumably any potential buyers, have no idea what type of new construction on this site might be warmly welcomed and what might be strongly opposed (either in the community or City Hall). Should this be a location for retail, housing, commercial space, or some combination thereof? If housing, should it be rental, condo, affordable, or high-end? Is a max height of 35, 55, or 75 appropriate?

Asking these questions brings to mind the North Allston / North Brighton Community Wide Plan that the community and BRA were once working on together. The CWP has been in hibernation for almost a year and when key parcels, with tremendous potential, in gateway locations come on the market, wouldn't it be great if the City planners and local residents had already agreed on what type of development is desired?

Instead, here we are in a realm of uncertainty, with no useful guidance existing for whoever might be interested in buying the property, and all we can do is hope that their goals and expectations match whatever might eventually come from any community/City planning that may (or may not) ever happen.

Here is the listing from Centre Realty Group

Unique Commercial Building For Sale. 50,000 + Average Daily Traffic. Four (4) way intersection with six (6) designated lanes along with traffic signal at Major high traffic intersection of Soldiers Field Road, Western Ave, Waverly Street and Arsenal Street. Building is approximately 4,000 square feet with expansion capabilities. Former Black and Decker retail store, with ample parking behind and around building. Charles River Views, and abuts Harvard Redevelopment Zone.
Assessed Value: $332,000
Property Tax: $4,500.26

2 Allston companies in Inner City 100

Congratulations to HDM Systems Corporation and PepperDash, who are both located on Lincoln Street were ranked 9th and 19th respectively in the 12th Annual Inner City 100 Ranking.

HDM designs and manufactures advanced power electronics, which enable clean technology for battery-based mobile and renewable energy applications.

PepperDash is a leading provider of control programming services, including energy management and graphic design, for educational, governmental, medical, commercial and residential environments.

Upcoming zoning hearings

50 Hobart Street - Extend living space into the basement of a two-family dwelling

33 Wiltshire Road - Remove and replace the retaining wall\

72 Oakland Street - Demolish part of existing garage, change the legal occupancy from a garage to a four family dwelling, erect a four family residential building.
Allow four family residential building to be built on same lot as existing two-family dwelling.

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

Allston Board of Trade dinner on Thursday

Harvard Political Review looks at Allston

Delayed Development, No Political Communication: Harvard in Allston « The Harvard Political Review

"Harvard effectively has no choseive political and communication strategy for its Allston project. This isn’t just hyperbolic writing, but an observation based on the University’s repeated failures to communicate with residents and inability to identify the needs of the Allston community and find a way to work to find a mutually amenable solution."

Harvard Ceramics sale starts Thursday

A couple times a year we get to see the amazing art of the Harvard ceramics studio. This season's sale starts Thursday and you can see some of the art here.

Harvard - no plans to buy more of Allston

Almost a year ago, Harvard announced a self-imposed 1 year moratorium on purchasing new property in Allston. According to today's Crimson, "Harvard does not intend to purchase more real estate in the neighborhood in the coming months".

At the same time, I'm not sure that it makes sense for Harvard to pat itself on the back too much for having "cleaned up the Citgo station". The new paint is nice, but forgive me for not being impressed by the state of this 1/2 acre property that Harvard has owned for 3 years.

Reminder: Allston bridge & transportation meeting tonight

6:00 @ in the Gardner School auditorium (30 Athol St)
Learn more about the upcoming reconstruction of the Western Ave & River St bridges and how we can have a better neighborhood in which to walk, bike, and drive.

Now is not the time for premature speculation

MCB's Moveout Paints Uncertain Future for SCRB and Allston Science Complex The Harvard Crimson

“It is premature to speculate on what departments or programs may or may not be settled into Allston and when,” wrote Faculty of Arts and Sciences spokesman Jeff Neal in an e-mailed statement.
“The general understanding is that Allston will someday come alive, but now it’s quite vague,” said MCB Executive Director Susan H. Foster. “We just are living for today.”

Lowe's meeting tonight - an incomplete and unfair playing field

The BRA is hosting another meeting about the proposed Lowe's tonight - 6:30 at the Jackson Mann.

If you want to read up on the proposal before the meeting, the Draft Project Impact Report is posted here. But the DPIR is a 687 page, 42.5 MB file. There is no way any Allston/Brighton resident in their spare time could ever come close to reading and analyzing the whole thing. Pretending that we can really have a fact-based discussion about the impacts of this project (such as transportation) does a disservice to the entire process. How much of the 206 page transportation section have you read?

Think this will be a net job creator and economic engine? Or will it take business away from the many businesses in Brighton that sell similar products? Has anyone with any expertise and independence studied this important question?

In other communities, developers have agreed to fund an independent study conducted by and for the community. Even Harvard agreed to fund a $150,000 independent study in exchange for the Phase One wavier from the State. This waiver allowed Harvard to proceed with the Science Complex construction without review of a master plan for what they thought would be the rest of their Allston build-out.

And all of this would be so much easier, less contentious, and more meaningful if the BRA had followed through with this idea for a neighborhood planning initiative. It sounded great 3 years ago, but then it silently vanished leaving us to these ad-hoc and uninformed debates.

Allston-Brighton Neighborhood Planning Initiative - Boston Redevelopment Authority
In 2007, the Boston Redevelopment Authority (“BRA”) held a series of
community workshops and meetings for the Allston-Brighton Neighborhood Planning Initiative ("ABNPI")...The ABNPI is a planning effort that will address various planning issues south of the Turnpike... The ABNPI will result in a report prioritizing short-term and long-term recommendations and serve as a guide for the City of Boston.

Oak Sq in today's Globe

It was a lovely day in Oak Square today with many dozens of kids and families starting the Little League baseball season with a parade and then picnic in the park next to the Oak Sq Y. Much more depressing is the story in the Globe about what Oak Sq has lost.

An ache at the core of old Oak Square - The Boston Globe

Allston Residents React to Purcell’s New Post - What is a "good tenant"?

Paul Berkeley raises an important point - what makes a "good" tenant? From the perspective of a generic landlord or generic neighbor one could list a variety of attributes that could be considered "good". When the specific conditions of Harvard and Allston are considered, those lists could be further refined.

Also, different definitions of "good" might arise from considering the situation more broadly. For example, an over-saturation of any one type of tenant might not be "good", even though each individual tenant when considered in isolation might be "good".

Allston Residents React to Purcell’s New Post The Harvard Crimson

"Great Appliance Exchange" not so great

What they say:

Patrick-Murray Administration Will Launch "Mass Save Great Appliance Exchange" Thursday, April 22
Starting at 10 a.m. tomorrow, Earth Day, federal stimulus-funded rebate program will reward consumers who trade energy-guzzling appliances for new, super-efficient models

What really happens:

Website (http://masssave.com/residential) hasn't worked since 9:45. Gives error:

403 - Forbidden: Access is denied.
You do not have permission to view this directory or page using the credentials that you supplied

Phone # (877-MA-SWAP-1) is constantly busy

Bloomberg story about Purcell's new Allston job

Harvard’s Purcell to Help Faust on Allston Expansion (Update2) - Bloomberg.com

And one from the Crimson too
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2010/4/21/purcell-allston-university-iop/

Harvard's indirect Allston approach

Harvard made yesterday what seems to be a major administrative change that will influence the future of Allston and Brighton where a few thousand people live alongside Harvard's many acres.

Allston learns about this presidential appointment because I got a Google Alert about a blog post from Tennessee that publishes an internal email from a Harvard Dean. I wonder if anyone at Harvard thought an email to residents of Allston and Brighton might be appropriate.

Considering that no such neighborly notice was sent, either it never crossed Harvard's collective minds to proactively and publicly share this news, or it was considered and decided not to be done. Either way, seems a shame.

Mahoney's - bigger and better

Great to see Mahoney's on Western Ave doing business on its expanded site. More room for more plants and more customers.

Harvard now has a Special Allston Advisor

New gig at Harvard for Bill Purcell « In Session: Tennessee Politics

Colonial times this morning on N Harvard St

No Senate recount after all

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/04/19/flaherty_opts_against_special_senate_race_recount/

William Dawes and his horse coming to Allston

American patriot William Dawes will ride through Allston on Monday morning and will stop at the Hill Church on N Harvard St at 10:00.

Honan Fellows - Thanks!

Thanks to the Honan Fellows, West End House Boys & Girls Club, and Allston Brighton CDC for yesterday's cleanup of the Lincoln Street Green Strip. It looks great!

Is State Violating Bridge Repair Law?

Below is a link to a great post about the State's planned reconstruction of the River St, Western Ave, and other bridges. Should the State repair only the bridge's structural deficiencies? Should the roadways and approaches to the bridges also be considered? How can we avoid ending up with bridges that are structurally sound but functionally obsolete?

Is State Violating Bridge Repair Law? Steve Miller's Blog

State Senate Unofficial Election Results

State Senate Unofficial Election Results (Middlesex, Suffolk, & Essex) « Cambridge Civic Journal Forum

Flaherty wins big (%-wise) in Allston/Brighton, but 293 votes isn't much of a prize. (I think he had almost 293 lawns signs in A/B).

Flaherty 293
Simmons 61
DiDomenico 41
Albano 36
Benzan 33
Hill 8

Online auction to support the Pine Street Inn

Sports tickets, restuarant gift certificates, golf, art, and much more, all at reasonable prices.
Bid to support the many programs of the Pine Street Inn.

Pine Street Inn - Auction Items - BiddingForGood Fundraising Auction

Flaherty wants a recount

Claiming "evidence of voting irregularities in Everett", Tim Flaherty is calling for a recount of the votes from yesterday's State Senate primary.

Congratulations to Senator DiDomenico

Everett city councilor claims win in state Senate primary - Cambridge, Massachusetts - Cambridge Chronicle

Voted yet?

I was voter 103 from Ward 22-2 at 5pm

Western Ave wall coming down

Wonder when it will go back up...

Another Harvard tenant in Allston

Silk Road To Move to Allston | The Harvard Crimson

The Silk Road Project, a nonprofit arts and educational organization created by world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma ’76, will move its headquarters from the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, R.I. to a Harvard property in Allston in July.

1.5 blocks of Harvard Ave bike lanes

Lanes were recently painted between Cambridge St & Comm Ave (southbound) and Comm Ave & Brighton Ave (northbound). The more the better, and hopefully more are yet to come.

Everett St in bloom and seed

Thanks to the Gardner Pilot Academy first graders who helped spread wildflower seeds on the Everett St slope this morning! And if you haven't been by the site recently, you might enjoy a visit to see the daffodils, hyacinths, and others in full bloom. Without a doubt it has never looked better.

Vote in Tuesday's State Senate election

Please remember to vote on Tuesday if you are eligible. To check, visit
http://wheredoivotema.com/bal/myelectioninfo.php. Links to the candidates' websites are on the right.

Ward 21 Democratic Committee endorses Albano for State Senate

The Ward 21 Democratic Committee recently interviewed all Democrats running for State Senate and voted to endorse Michael Albano.

Please remember to vote on Tuesday

A new look for the Science Complex site

Harvard Plans to Beautify Allston Construction Site The Harvard Crimson

Western Ave & River St bridge ABNNF meeting - April 27

The reconstruction of the Western Ave and River St bridges will be the largest infrastructure project in our neighborhood since the construction of the Mass Pike. It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to improve transportation and recreation for people walking, riding bikes, and driving. Interesting ideas are being proposed such as the addition of pedestrian/bike underpasses in this Globe op-ed by Renata von Tscharner, the founder and president of the Charles River Conservancy.

Please join us on April 27 from 6:00-8:00 at the Gardner School auditorium (30 Athol St) for a meeting with LivableStreets, the Charles River Conservancy, and others to discuss these important projects.

State Senate candidates raise $300,000

MassBeacon.com takes a look at the fundraising by the Middlesex, Sufffolk, & Essex Senate candidates.

Mansfield murder update from UHub

No bail for man charged with Allston murder Universal Hub

Harvard construction meeting on Wednesday

The next Harvard Construction Management Sub-Committee meeting will be Wednesday, April 7th, at 6:00 PM in the cafeteria of 114 Western Avenue (former WGBH building)

Possible homicide on Mansfield St last night

So I guess this is why I saw a cop walking on Lincoln St this morning between Mansfield and Franklin Streets.

DEATH INVESTIGATION AT 7 MANSFIELD STREET :

Last night around 11:58PM, officers from District D-14 (Allston) responded to the area of 7 Mansfield St. for a male that was assaulted. While en route, officers were advised that someone had been stabbed.

On arrival, officers observed a male victim lying on the ground suffering from apparent stab wounds. The victim was transported to the Beth Israel Hospital where he was pronounced.

Boston Police Homicide Detectives are actively investigating the facts and circumstances of this incident. Community members with information regarding this matter are urged to call Homicide Investigators at (617)-343-4470. Individuals who wish to provide information anonymously may do so by calling the CrimeStoppers Hotline at 1-800-494-TIPS or texting ‘TIP’ to CRIME (27463). The Boston Police Department is interested in your information, not your identity. The identity of individuals providing information anonymously will be strictly protected.

How Harvard & BC are planning and reorganizing

http://www.agcmass.org/event.cfm?evnt_id=1134

Insiders Insight Redux

During this tremendous downturn, colleges and universities have been busy planning and reorganizing their operations. Hear what they have been doing to streamline their processes and how this will affect the way construction business may be done in the future.

Presenters:

Pamela Delphenich, Director of Planning, MIT

Nancy May, Vice President for Facilities, Northeastern University

Maureen McDonough, Esq., Director of Program Administration for the Allston Development Group at Harvard University.

Mary Nardone, Associate Vice President for Capital Planning and Construction, Boston College

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

8:00am - 10:30am
$90 Members, $120 Nonmembers
Seaport Hotel, Boston

Cape Ann Fresh Catch sign up time

If you are interested in signing up for 3 months of the freshest fish that you can buy, and you are willing to make a quick trip to Cambridge once a week to pick it up, now is the time to visit the Cape Ann Fresh Catch Community Supported Fishery website and sign up for the Spring season.

Senate candidates pledge to be Allston-Brighton advocates

TAB story about last week's ABNNF Senate candidates forum

Senate candidates pledge to be Allston-Brighton advocates - Allston-Brighton, MA - Allston/Brighton TAB

Harvard Getting More Rational?

Allston Construction Pause Imposes Space Constraints on Harvard Science Schools The Harvard Crimson

But current efforts to make better use of the University’s property holdings have led some to question the original need for the Allston science building, especially as Harvard has already constructed two large laboratory buildings over the past decade—The New Research Building [525,000 square feet, completed in 2003] in Longwood and the Northwest Science Building in Cambridge [530,000 square feet, completed in 2008].

“Looking back on Allston... the mentality seemed to be ‘if you build it, they will come,’ and maybe we’ve in some sense moved back to a more rational plan,” [Timothy Mitchison, deputy chair of systems biology] said.

Union Admits That It’s in Schenectady

This NY Times article is a month old but the subject - a college trying to be a better neighbor and part of a better community - is a timeless one.

The story mentions that Union ranked 2nd on The Princeton Review's list of 20 schools with “strained town-gown relations” (Holy Cross was the only Massachusetts school listed). Princeton Review also list 20 schools where they think town-gown relations are great - Olin College of Engineering and Stonehill are the MA representatives.

Union, a liberal arts college that enrolls about 2,100 students, has also nudged the revitalization along by buying and restoring more than two dozen ramshackle houses across from its campus. It purchased a struggling Ramada Inn, turning it into a new dorm, and transformed a polluted site into new athletic fields.

A group of 16 students who are part of an independent study project led by an economics professor, Harold Fried, plan to open a combined boutique and coffeehouse downtown this year.

Good for Professor Fried! Note that this is not a story about Union dipping into its endowment (which was $292 million as of December 31, 2008 - approximately 1% of Harvard's endowment) to undertake massive capital construction projects that caused pain and suffering for the school. To the contrary, those 16 students might learn something interesting from their project that could complement nicely what they learn from a textbook like Principles of Microeconomics by Harvard Professor N. Gregory Mankiw.

What little Union has done in Schenectady can, of course, be a model for what Harvard can do in Allston.

If one of the 66 professors in Harvard's Econ department or someone at the Business School (which has 228 full-time faculty) wanted to, don't you think they could lead a project with a group of students to open a little business on Western Ave?

State Senate candidates in the area

If you missed the ABNNF forum last week or just want to see more of the candidates, they will be at The Red Line (59 JFK St, Cambridge) on Wednesday, March 31 from 7:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.

Networking Social & Evening with State Senate Candidates « The Fab Empire - Boston Fab

Faust Seeks Allston Trust

It is great to read in today's Crimson that Harvard President Faust wants to "work for a common solution because we all share a desire to have [Allston] be the most wonderful community and the best set of neighbor relations and the best context for all of us to live together."

I do wonder how she expects this to happen. It was nice that she and other Harvard leaders had breakfast with those of us on the BRA's Task Force. That was more than a month ago, and I wonder what Harvard thinks the next step is on the road to "the best set of neighbor relations". Seems like a good opportunity to repeat this great quote that I posted recently on the subject of trust:

"I’d say that trust is about reciprocity. About establishing a pattern of communication and then cooperative volleys that get coated by emotional and moral commitment."

New owners propose projects at St E's

A new Cancer Center and a new Ear-Nose-Throat Center lead the list of new projects planned for St E's by new owners Cerberus Capital Management.

Planned improvements at Caritas hospitals - Boston.com

State Senate Forum video

Thanks to all the candidates and neighbors who joined us last night for this event!

State Senate Candidates Forum from harry mattison on Vimeo.

Amazing Boston statistic of the day

City Hall’s weak compromise passes up millions in savings - The Boston Globe

"This year alone, city employee health insurance costs will top $275 million, making it the city’s second-largest budget account after the schools."

Harvard leases former 'GBH building

For 5 years to the Earthwatch Institute

Vacant Allston Property Leased | The Harvard Crimson

BPL community meeting at the Honan(?) library

Monday, April 5 from 6-7:30 there will be a meeting at the Honan Library to discuss the BPL budget.

Strange to have the meeting in North Allston, 2.5 miles from the Fanueil Library which is the one that many people think is on the verge of being closed. People who live near the Honan might be less inclined to take an evening to discuss the potential closing of the Fanueil which would have little direct impact on them.

A meeting in Oak Square would likely be much more popular.

April 7 there will be an online chat at www.bpl.org

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

Where is the Middlesex, Suffolk & Essex Senate boundary?

The district includes North Allston, North Brighton, and Union Square. In the map created with the MassGIS application it is labelled "Anthony Galluccio", the former Senator for this district.

Will Harvard campaign for Allston?

We will learn a lot about Harvard's future in Allston when it "identifies projects and themes that Faust said she hopes will excite donors".

"According to Faust, major capital campaigns are beneficial for the University not only because they raise funds but because the force administrators to set priorities"

University Plans Capital Campaign The Harvard Crimson

Brooks & Blond on our Broken Society

Sometimes I think NY Times Columnist David Brooks is nuts, like when he states that our government is too transparent.

Other times, I think he is so right. Case in point is Thursday's column about rampant skepticism and contempt and dysfunction in modern society. He quotes the British writer Phillip Blond who wrote:

"We are a bi-polar nation, a bureaucratic, centralised state that presides dysfunctionally over an increasingly fragmented, disempowered and isolated citizenry."

Maybe it isn't quite that bad, but his ideas for reform sound like good ones:

passing zoning legislation to give small shopkeepers a shot against the retail giants
reducing barriers to entry for new businesses
revitalizing local banks
encouraging employee share ownership
setting up local capital funds so community associations could invest in local enterprises
rewarding savings
cutting regulations that socialize risk and privatize profit
reducing the subsidies that flow from big government and big business.
reduce the power of senior government officials and widen the discretion of front-line civil servants
decentralize power, giving more budget authority to the smallest units of government
funnel more services through charities
increase investments in infrastructure, so that more places could be vibrant economic hubs.
rebuild the “village college” so that universities would be more intertwined with the towns around them.

I'm not holding my breath waiting for Harvard to realize that it can be both a global research university and a "village college", but it is all something worth thinking about.

Thanks to Rep Capuano for voting Yes

During my entire career I have been fortunate to have health insurance through my employers. So I have never had to worry about getting insurance or being dropped by my insurer. Just by staying employed I have had the benefit of regular and major health care whenever I or my family has needed it.

The idea that insurers can revoke a sick person's policy is revolting, and I appreciate Rep. Capuano supporting the health care reform bill to end abuses like this and help us move towards a more just and compassionate social policy.

Blue Mass. Group:: My Decision on Health Care by: RepMikeCapuano

Have a doughnut with the Mayor

Ringer Park, 9:30-10:30 on April 26

http://www.cityofboston.gov/ons/pdfs/coffee2010.pdf

Upcoming zoning hearings

33-47 Quint Avenue: Create off street parking for twenty-nine vehicles

25 Goodenough Street: Erect a roof over existing walls, allow use as storage for construction equipment, and continue use as storage for towed vehicles.

141 Nottinghill Road: Create off street parking for two vehicles

269R Everett Street: Demolish existing garage and erect a new garage

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

Does owning Allston make Harvard (or Allston) happier?

Derek Bok, the two-time president of Harvard, has just published a new book that asks "How might happiness research affect government policy in the United States--and beyond?" If happiness research should be applied to federal governments, let's also apply it to the governance of large corporations. How can Harvard shape its own policies and use its position in Allston and Brighton to maximize happiness in both the Harvard and Allston/Brighton communities?

If decision makers at Harvard spent a few minutes pondering 'What policies in Allston would produce the greatest happiness?', would Western Ave look the way it does?

Your questions for the State Senate candidates

Next Thursday (March 25), the candidates running in the State Senate special election to represent parts of Allston, Brighton, and several Boston-area towns will meet in a forum at the Gardner School from 6:00-8:00. What issues would you like to hear them discuss?

South Everett St cleanup on Saturday

Emerald Necklace Martial Arts is organizing a spring cleanup on the south Everett St slope (near Braintree Street) this Saturday at noon. More info is at Sensei Jason Gould's Ultimate Black Belt Test: Karate Students Plan "Spring Cleaning" Project in Allston Neighborhood

Art revolution opportunities in Allston

Local artist Dushko Petrovich think aloud in today's Globe about the possibilities for the arts in Boston. Harvard has done a lot of thinking about the arts at Harvard and below are some interesting ideas from Mr. Petrovich about how those ideas could be put into action.

How to start an art revolution - The Boston Globe

What if Harvard established a fine arts degree, offering teaching positions to internationally known artists and providing their students warehouse studios in Allston?

For a relatively small investment, the university could convert some of its holdings in Allston into a program that would bring in world-class artists (with their ambitious students), make better use of its soon-to-be-unified museum system, and put the school on par with Yale and Columbia universities, which already have highly influential masters of fine arts programs. This would not only transform a neighborhood and raise the cultural profile of the school, it would be exactly the kind of gesture that could rouse the city’s other players into action.

What if one of the universities helped the ICA secure a satellite location in a cheaper neighborhood, the way New York’s Museum of Modern Art runs the dynamic P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center in Queens? Imagine ICA Lower Allston.

Someone flew the coop?

A bird of a different feather joined the sparrows that usually visit our backyard

Another bridge railing

I was riding my bike over the Longfellow bridge and thinking about the Western Ave & River St bridges and alternate designs for the sidewalk and railings.

Longfellow, which is beautiful bridge, uses the configuration shown below that could also be used on the re-built Western and River St bridges - a strong barrier between the road and sidewalk with an artistic railing on the other side of the sidewalk.

As part of the Longfellow reconstruction that will start next year and is a "signature component" of the same Accelerated Bridge Program that will rebuild the Western & River St bridges, "the bridge's ornate pedestrian railings will be restored or replicated". Western & River have solid concrete walls instead of ornate pedestrian railings, and their reconstruction is the perfect opportunity to replace them with something more beautiful.

Activity at Harvard's CITGO

In the 2 1/2 years since Harvard bought the Western Ave CITGO station there hasn't been much good happening there, though a year ago it seemed that Clover Food Lab might move in and Harvard told us last summer that we might be on the verge of something.

Now, in what is hopefully a sign of much more to come, a contractor has been working on the building for the past couple days. The walls are freshly painted white and maybe something productive will happen there sooner rather than later.

River St/Western Ave Bridge meeting #2

Tonight MassDOT is hosting another meeting to discuss this important project. The meeting is just across the river from Allston at Cambridge's Morse Elementary School (40 Granite Street) at 6:30.

Sunday trip to Brighton for Gov Patrick

Governor Patrick was in Brighton yesterday for a house party hosted by Ambassador Charles Stith.

A/B Landlords in Boston’s "dirty dozen"

Boston will soon be able to put liens on property tax bills to force payment of violations issued by Inspectional Services. Maybe these landlords will decide to clean up their act now that the fines are more enforceable.

Meet Boston’s dirty dozen - BostonHerald.com

Samia Properties of Brighton, which owes $14,850 for 104 tickets

Landlord Joseph A. Ciliberti of Florida, whose multiple properties in Allston were hit with 203 tickets for which he owes $23,040.

Thanks to Rep Capuano

1) For sponsoring the Active Community Transportation Act to create a competive grant program with $2B to help communities build biking and walking networks

2) For filing the Shareholder Protection Act to require a shareholder vote before corporate funds can be spent on political activity.

In Harvard Can We Trust?

Rebuilding trust was a key topic at the meeting last week between the Harvard Allston Work Team (faculty appointed by President Faust) and the Harvard Allston Task Force (Allston & Brighton residents & business owners appointed by Mayor Menino). If you are interested in a discussion of trust, where it comes from, and how to create it, this Opinionator conversation between David Brooks and Dick Cavett is a good read. Brooks's definition below seems like a pretty good one with some relevance to the Harvard/Allston relationship.

In What Can We Trust? - Opinionator Blog - NYTimes.com

"I’d say that trust is about reciprocity. About establishing a pattern of communication and then cooperative volleys that get coated by emotional and moral commitment."

http://www.amazon.com/Rules-Break-Laws-Follow-Short-Termism/dp/0470227540
http://www.rulesandlaws.com/

http://www.amazon.com/Trust-Francis-Fukuyama/dp/0029109760

Allston 'work team' story in today's Crimson

Allston Work Team Seeks to Develop Allston Campus Despite Construction Halt | The Harvard Crimson

Meet the State Senate candidates - March 25

Boylston St is no Western Ave but...

Banker & Tradesman reports that a low-rise hotel on Boylston St (a Howard Johnson rather similar to the Days Hotel in our neighborhood that abuts Western Ave, Everett St, and Soldiers Field Rd). Replacing the HoJo on this 1.4 acre parcel is a proposed 350,000 sq ft of hotel, residential, and retail in two 12 story buildings.

Granted, Western Ave doesn't have the cachet of Fenway Park that they have over on Boylston St, but we do have the river and Harvard nearby which should be worth something. But these days Boylston has the momentum and Western Ave has a stalled Science Complex.

Upcoming zoning hearing

72 Nomantum Street - Change the legal occupancy from a two-family dwelling to a three-family dwelling, legalizing the basement unit.
http://www.cityofboston.gov/ons/pdfs/allstonbright.pdf

Springtime starting on Everett St

My trip to Everett St this afternoon found beautiful color on a witch hazel and dozens of spring bulbs working their way up through the soil. Thanks to the many volunteers - neighborhood adults, kids from the Gardner school and West End House - who help plant the bulbs last fall we should have an explosion of color in a few weeks.

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