Harvard the landlord in Allston & Harvard the landlord in Cambridge - Which would you prefer?

As we know too well, in Allston and Brighton Harvard keeps buying up property and has proven itself incapable of finding tenants that will create any significant, permanent jobs or any needed neighborhood services.

What a difference a mile makes! As the current issue of Boston Magazine reports, Harvard has leased space in a building and paid rent while the space sat empty while looking for a grocery store that would open there. This addition to Harvard Sq will bring a real benefit to the Harvard Sq community - unlike the Western Ave wasteland Harvard has given us.

Gown Feeds Town - Harvard paves the way for a new market

Harvard University owns 30 storefronts in Harvard Square, and almost all are leased to independent businesses. But this winter, when a new grocer opens at the corner of Brattle and Church streets, Harvard will have exerted an unusual influence over the area—by acting as landlord in someone else’s building.

While the school may have a bad rep for gobbling up and controlling land, the market is a welcome thing: People there have been clamoring for one since the 102-year-old Sage’s Market closed in 2000, only to be replaced by a Sprint PCS store. After Sprint left in 2005, Harvard worried the space again would be snatched up by a chain. So it leased it, paying rent on the vacant storefront while searching for a market to sublease to. New Haven grocer (and Tufts grad) Peter Whang signed on in June, and plans to open shop soon.

BRA Board meeting & vote on the Harvard Science Complex - Wednesday, Oct 3

On Wednesday, October 3 at 2:00 on the 9th floor of City Hall, the Board of the Boston Redevelopment Authority will vote on the Harvard Science Complex project proposed for Western Ave in Allston.

Please join members of the Allston/Brighton community to tell the BRA that a Final Project Impact Report must be required and the BRA should not waive further review of the project.

Here is a sample of what Allston and Brighton residents have said about this project:

"I encourage the BRA Board to send this back to Harvard for a "do-over" -- no fouls, no penalties. I think the City, if it truly cares about this neighborhood and getting this first phase of a 20+-year plan right, should follow its own rules and ask for a resubmission." "The Science Complex size is too tall for the site and unjustifiably violates the agreements of the North Allston Strategic Framework for planning" "A project of this size and scope deserves a review process that ends with a consensus opinion as to the process having been fair in its treatment of the community's concerns. That is not yet the case." "Our community has endured over the last 13 year Harvard's grab for more and more land that has resulted in shuttered businesses all along Western Ave. As part of approving the Science Complex development and before the next IMP is approved the BRA must insist that Harvard immediately start a Commercial District master plan process for their holdings along Western Ave and the Holton St corridor"

"We are concerned that the proposed transit network may be insufficient to adequately serve the Science Complex" "Many of the pertinent issues raised by the community have not yet been addressed adequately by Harvard" "It would be shortsighted to move forward with such a large development without having a broader transportation and public space plan" "I am opposed to the lack of attention and collaboration between Harvard and the community in adequately addressing community benefits, open space and public access to the river, traffic mitigation plans, and building heights. It is evident that that there are far too many unanswered or inadequately answered questions concerning the impact of Harvard's development plans on the community. Yet, despite this, and despite repeated requests for extensions, it appears as it all is poised for the community to be steamrolled by Harvard's plans." "The sheer size of the development will dwarf our neighborhood"

The complete set of comments submitted about the Science Complex and the related Master Plan Amendment are available online using these links. (note that many Amendment comments relate to an art building proposal that has since been withdrawn).

I look forward to seeing you on the 3rd.

After decades of delays, construction starts for South Boston's Fan Pier

As development starts on Fan Pier, the City and others are rightly proud of the significant planning done before construction started. The Fort Point District 100 Acres Master Plan and South Boston Waterfront Public Realm Plan are two of the impressive planning documents guiding the development of the City's second-largest ongoing development.

"The whole Seaport public realm plan was probably the best piece of planning the city has ever done," said Kyle B. Warwick, managing director of Jones Lang LaSalle.

This attention to planning sits in stark contrast to the award winning plan for our neighborhood that the BRA and Harvard remind us isn't actually a plan. Its is a 'framework for planning' that 'shouldn't be interpreted literally', they tell us.

Not only does South Boston get a plan that is actually being used to guide development, the projects that are being built will benefit that neighborhood in so many different ways.

Far from its gritty industrial beginnings, developer Joseph Fallon said, Fan Pier will now be a place not only to work, live, and shop, but also to have fun. "You can come to sail," said Fallon. "You can come fly a kite. If your spouse tells you to go fly a kite, come to Fan Pier."

Our plan, the North Allston Strategic Framework, promised that places to live, shop, and have fun would accompany Harvard's expansion. There isn't much of any of that in the 8 acres of the Science Complex, but soon we may be shifting our focus to Harvard's Master Plan. Our challenge will be to do better than a suburban office park/campus on the east side of Western Ave while Western Ave west of North Harvard St is left to further rot away. Fan Pier is setting a high standard for urban design. Will Harvard and the City decide to live up to that standard in Allston?

After decades of delays, developer to break ground for South Boston's Fan Pier - The Boston Globe

Fan Pier rising - Boston Globe Editorial

Tim Schofield endorses Mark Ciommo for City Council

“Allston-Brighton faces many challenges; from rising property taxes to institutional expansion,” Schofield said. “We need a strong and dedicated city councilor; one who will represent every resident of Allston-Brighton. That candidate is Mark Ciommo. Today I announce my endorsement of Mark because I know he will be the unifying leader that this community needs. I ask all of you to join me in supporting Mark Ciommo in the final election on November 6th.”

Tim Schofield is a veteran and homeowner in Allston-Brighton. He is also the Co-Chair of the Brighton-Allston Bicentennial Committee and owns a law-practice in Brighton Center. He finished 3rd in the Allston-Brighton city council preliminary election on Tuesday.

The winner in Tuesday's election - the vote not cast

13% of registered voters vote in City Council primary - Allston/Brighton TAB

Something in the neighborhood of 45,000 people who could have voted in the election on Tuesday did not cast a vote. So while Mark Ciommo topped the ticket with 31% of the vote (1,406 votes), he actually received votes from only 3% of the 50,000 possible voters!

While talking to people in North Allston on Tuesday it became clear that many people:

1. Didn't know there was an election
2. Realized there was an election but didn't feel they knew enough about any of the candidates
3. Didn't realize they were eligible to vote (Some confusion resulted from the Democratic primary special election held earlier this month to elect a new State Senator. One registered Republican I spoke with was turned away from the polls at that election and incorrectly assumed he also was unable to vote in Tuesday's election)

There are so many relatively simple ways that more could be done to help people learn about elections and make the relevant information more accessible.

1. The city puts a variety of pamphlets in our water and real estate tax bills. How about one with information about upcoming elections?
2. A few times a year the city hires people to go door to door to every home in city distributing information about winter parking rules (that don't ever seem enforced) and pickup of leaves and yard waste for composting. How about a reminder flyer the day of the election?
3. As I mentioned in a posting last week, the city's election website could be so much better. At the very least it could be very clear about when elections are happening, how to register to vote, who is eligible to vote (Dem/Rep), and have links to the websites of each candidate.
4. The WallUSA bus shelters all over the city are natural places to inform people about important civic events. These are highly visible billboards on city property that, for a few days a year, could publicize elections instead of the usual advertisements.

The total population of Allston/Brighton is 70,000 and 63,000 (85%) of us are old enough to vote. 14,000 (20%) Allston/Brighton residents are not US citizens. This means there are approximately 50,000 eligible voters who live here. 36,000 (72%) of those people are registered voters. (Some people who are not old enough to vote are also not US citizens, but that breakdown is not readily available from the census data)

US Senate questions tax-exempt status of university endowments

Inside Higher Ed :: Senate Scrutiny for Endowments

As tax-exempt universities expand in Allston and Brighton and our property taxes keep going up, people have been asking if all activities of these huge institutions should be exempt from taxes. Most people seem to agree that classrooms, laboratories, and other space directly related to education should continue to be exempt from taxes, but why should the tax treatment of an apartment building be different because it is owned by Boston University instead of The Hamilton Company?

With the recent news about Harvard's $35 billion endowment and the growth of university endowments across the country, the Senate is asking if it makes sense for these endowments to grow free from taxes (as opposed to the taxes on capital gains that you and I pay on our relatively minuscule savings).

“The taxpayers subsidize university endowments in two ways. One, the taxpayer’s donation to the endowment is tax deductible. Two, the endowment itself isn’t taxed. So big tax breaks make the big endowments possible, and taxpayers at large pay for those tax breaks,” Republican Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa said in a statement.

“Since tax breaks for charitable donations are supposed to contribute to the public good, it’s fair to ask whether the tax breaks that lead to big university endowments are serving the public. That’s especially true when low- and middle-income working families are struggling to pay college tuition.”

Our Senator John Kerry is a member of the Finance Committee. You can email your thoughts on this subject to him using this form on his website.

Overheard while voting yesterday

"Harvard has made Western Ave look like downtown Lynn ten years ago"

At-Large City Council candidates forum - Wednesday, October 10

The event will be at the Elks Lodge, 326 Washington St. Meet the candidates at 7 and the forum starts at 7:30.

Unofficial Election Results

1. Ciommo
2. Glennon
3. Schofield
4. Hanlon
5. Selvig

MEPA Special Review Produre document is now online

http://www.mass.gov/envir/mepa/pdffiles/certificates/091407/14069srp.pdf
This document describes how the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act office will conduct its review of the Harvard 20-year Master Plan. It includes:

Establishment of a Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC)
The existing Harvard-Allston Task Force, supplemented with a limited number of additional representatives to assist in the state's review of Master Plan impacts, serve the function of the CAC. To nominate yourself of someone else to be on the CAC, address your email to Secretary Ian Bowles and sent it to briony.angus@state.ma.us by October 9. It can only help to ask your State Rep and Senator to nominate you as well.

Third-party review of Harvard plans
Harvard has made a voluntary commitment to provide the CAC with financial resources to assist the CAC in obtaining third-party peer review of technical materials developed by the proponent that pertain to the issues of transportation, energy, and air quality.

VOTE!

The polls are open today from 7am to 8pm. You can use this form to find the location of your voting location. The Harvard Crimson has this article in today's edition about the election.

My support for Alex Selvig and emails over the weekend

Over on the Brighton Centered blog, Mike Pahre has written an entry about my support for Alex Selvig and some emails sent over the weekend that I and many other people consider inappropriate, unfortunate, and regrettable.

Publishing and analyzing the campaign finance reports of the City Council candidates was done to increase openness and transparency of the election process and to give the voters of Allston and Brighton insight into whose money the candidates are taking in their quest to become our City Councilor. Transparency and openness have been hallmarks of Alex's campaign and when he published his finance reports on his website and called on the other candidates to do the same, I saw a candidate that I would be proud to have represent me on the City Council and who would work hard to bring similar openness to many of the things that happen at City Hall that affect us but that are too often kept far from the public eye.

When I read the "BoughtPolitician" emails sent over the weekend I didn't think the tone was at all appropriate. In general, this campaign has avoided nastiness, name calling, or other things that too often happen in politics. I was dismayed when I found out that Alex might have been involved with them.

Is this in the same league as the anti-Fred Thompson website recently created by people related to the Romney campaign? Or the Swift Boating of John Kerry? Or the circumstances that led to Joe Biden abandoning his bid for President in 1988?

Regardless, I think the author of these emails could have found a better way to voice the concern that he or she shares with many others in the community about who is funding the Hanlon and Schofield campaigns.

Will this affect the outcome of tomorrow's election? I doubt it. If Alex (as a first time candidate) beats any of the 4 remaining candidates (who have all run for elected office in Allston/Brighton before) I think it will be a surprise to many, including myself. Six months ago, how many people knew the name Alex Selvig?

After all this, I still am supporting Alex. His lawn sign is still in my front yard and I look forward to seeing many of my neighbors tomorrow voting at the Honan Library when I will ask you to consider voting for Alex. There were times when I was horrified by things that Bill Clinton did that were much worse than a few derogatory emails. But on the whole I think he was a pretty good president and I think Alex would be a very good City Councilor if we are fortunate enough to have him represent us.

Do lawyers give tons of money to all the candidates?

An anonymous reader posted a comment writing "Lawyers have given tons of money to all of the candidates- this is a non-story."

But the campaign finance reports do not agree with this claim. According to these reports, attorneys contributed the following amounts to the campaigns:

Schofield	$13,950
Glennon	$700
Selvig	$250
Ciommo	$200
Hanlon	$200

It is worth noting that there are contributors to all campaigns who did not list their occupation and the occupation/employer information is not independently verified so it may be less than completely inaccurate. Finally, like everyone else, there are lawyers doing great work for society and lawyers who more motivated by money and power than the impact of their efforts.

In case you want a reminder about danger on our streets

Risky business at intersection / Cambridge-Franklin a hazardous crossing - The Boston Globe

A vote for Alex Selvig

A politician who stands quietly in the back of the room at our neighborhood meetings and avoids taking a clear stand on key issues is not what Allston and Brighton need. A wide range of challenges face our community and the real estate developers, universities, and others who seek to profit from opportunities in our community are not shy about using their money and influence to get what is best for them.

We need a City Councilor whose allegiance and commitment to Allston and Brighton is crystal clear. Someone who is going to stand up for the residents as much or more than the lawyers and hired guns stand up for their clients.

Alex Selvig is the candidate whose experience, skills, intelligence, personality, and determination make him worthy of support in Tuesday's election. He will never worry about the fate of the CITGO sign or support zoning variances and licenses that are opposed by the community. He will bring creativity and passion to the City Council on behalf of his constituents in Allston and Brighton.

I hope everyone reading this who lives in Allston and Brighton will vote on Tuesday and please consider voting for Alex Selvig.

Boston's top zoning & licensing lawyers support Tim Schofield

If you want a liquor license or zoning variance you have a good chance of getting what you want if you have a lawyer from the firm of McDermott, Quilty, and Miller.
If you are Tim Schofield raising money for your City Council campaign, apparently you also go to McDermott, Quilty, and Miller.

• William McDermott - $100 to the Committee to Elect Tim Schofield
• Dennis Quilty - $200 to the Committee to Elect Tim Schofield
• Stephen Miller - $200 to the Committee to Elect Tim Schofield

Why do lawyers like them give their hard-earned money to candidates for political office? A 2005 Boston Globe story about campaign contributions and City Council politics interviewed Michael McCormack, a Wellesley resident and contributor of $200 each to Hanlon and Ciommo:

Former councilor Michael McCormack, a lawyer and lobbyist, said people who do business with the city have a good reason for giving. "These are people who have an interest in seeing the city economically strong and sound," he said. "They also want to be in a position to pick up the phone and call someone if they have a problem. Sometimes the operative word is access."

"If you're the head of a significant company that does a significant amount of business in the city you want to know that you can pick up the phone and call the City Council president. Someone will listen and help."

The Schofield campaign did not respond to an email seeking comment on this issue.

Another view on the creation of the Brighton-Allston Heritage Museum

In the Globe's endorsement of Tim Schofield for City Council, the editorial board commented that "Schofield has proven his commitment by leading the effort to build a heritage museum to honor the neighborhood's bicentennial anniversary."

John Quatrale, Brighton resident and Executive Director of the Brighton-Allston Heritage Museum who is supporting Mark Ciommo writes in with the following viewpoint:

I am writing in response to the Globe editorial entitled “For council in Allston-Brighton”. I do not believe the editorial told the whole story.

I know Mark Ciommo and I worked closely with him on the creation of the new Brighton-Allston Heritage Museum. Mark immediately embraced the vision for the new Brighton-Allston Heritage Museum. Working cooperatively with the City, Mark’s involvement was essential during the planning, organizing, and implementation and we would not have met our goal of opening on the Bicentennial founding date of February 24th without his help.

Mark has strong roots in the community. The breadth and depth of his commitment to and knowledge of Allston-Brighton through his work with seniors, youth and families, is unsurpassed by any other candidate in the race for Allston-Brighton District City Council. That is why I am voting for Mark Ciommo on September 25th.

Tim Schofield, Mark Ciommo (the executive director of the Veronica Smith Senior Center which houses the museum in its basement), John Quatrale, Bill Marchione (president of the Brighton Allston Historical Society and a contributor to the Schofield campaign), and many others certainly deserve credit. Whether or not Tim "led the effort" is a question that I can't answer.

19,000 watch Harvard's first night football game

Harvard 24 - Brown 17 —Official Web Site of Harvard University Athletics

When I went down North Harvard St at 7:00 last night (1/2 hour before kickoff) the situation seemed quite good from a neighborhood perspective - minimal traffic delays and fans around the stadium not creating any problems. I have no idea where Harvard parked all the cars, and just a few days ago Harvard predicted that attendance at the game might reach 10,000 and they ended up with almost twice that. It will be interesting to hear from people who live on Franklin St, North Harvard, Rena, Hopedale, and elsewhere to see how they were or weren't impacted by pre- or post-game activities.

One of "Boston's largest and most notorious landlords" supports Rosie Hanlon

$500 of Rosie Hanlon's campaign contributions came from Leonard Samia. If you live in Allston or Brighton, chances are pretty good that he owns rental property near you. If there is any truth to these stories in the Boston Globe, this might be one check that Rosie should consider returning.

Landlord with Boston ties lashed for Katrina evictions

"According to former residents, housing advocates, and legal aid attorneys in Louisiana, Samia took advantage of the chaos that consumed New Orleans after the hurricane -- a lawless time when police, courts, and social service agencies were overwhelmed with emergencies -- to force out tenants. The tenants were among the city's most vulnerable residents, their lawyers said, lacking the money and know-how to fight the eviction pressure they faced."

Reputation among tenant advocates precedes magnate

"As Samia's real estate empire grew, he began to attract the attention of the city's housing, building, and code enforcement officials. In the past five years, he has repeatedly been hit with citations by the city's Inspectional Services Department for a litany of code and maintenance violations, including improper trash storage, unshoveled snow, and unlicensed flammable substances.
The 20 criminal cases that have been brought against Samia in Boston Housing Court since 1999 reflect more serious safety violations, such as uncertified fire escapes and unmaintained smoke detectors."

The Hanlon campaign did not respond to my inquiry about this Leonard Samia contribution.

Labor union support for City Council candidates

Only two candidates received money from labor unions.

Ciommo: Bridge & Iron Workers, Carmen's Union, Boston School Custodians, Carpenters, International Union of Operating Engineers, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, Pipefitters, Sheetmetal Workers

Schofield: Boston Teachers Union

Note: Other candidates received contributions from union employees, but these contributions were listed as being made by private citizens, not the labor unions themselves.