News
Residents turn out to support Pine Street by Linda Rodriguez
managing editorSunday Apr 6, 2008Around 50 residents, elected officials, and concerned citizens squeezed into a community room on Shawmut Avenue on April 2, to show their support for the Pine Street Inn’s proposal to turn three row-homes on Upton Street into permanent housing for formerly homeless and low-income individuals.
Over the last eight months, Pine Street’s plan to buy the three row-homes from Hope House, a temporary residence for men recovering from addiction, has upset and been opposed by some residents of the neighborhood ("Nightmare on Upton Street," March 20). Pine Street, which runs more than 24 permanent housing sites of this kind across Boston and Brookline and houses more than 400 people, is proposing to build a home for 37 people in single resident rooms, including one resident on-site case manager. The residents, most of whom would be formerly homeless, are screened -- as they are at all of the properties Pine Street runs -- for SORI and CORI background checks, as well as for suitability for permanent housing.
Some Upton Street residents opposed the proposal in part on the grounds that the housing would be too large for the neighborhood and would "define the street." The split in the neighborhood, between those who supported Pine Street and those who remained concerned about the proposal, contributed to the complete changeover of the Union Park Neighborhood Association’s board.
The issue is an emotional one for many of the individuals who attended Wednesday’s meeting. One woman, a resident of the Union Park area, said that her support of the project comes from a very personal place; her brother, a recovering alcoholic, had once lived in similar boarding house residences while getting back on his feet.
"These people need a chance and if they’re found to be responsible, we need to give them that chance," she said.
Paul Duffy, a lifelong resident of the South End, also voiced his support of the proposal, and said that growing up, he and his family were five people living in two rooms. "We were that far away from who we’re trying to help now. It breaks me up," he said. "Folks like you and these organizations are what make this neighborhood what it is."
The meeting was the first official meeting of the Pine Street Inn Welcoming Committee, an initiative started by Harriet Finkelstein, who lives at the corner of Upton and Tremont streets and has said she supports the proposal because she believes in diversity and that its residents should be given the opportunity to find permanent housing. In the spirit of good neighborhood relations, Finkelstein asked that everyone at the meeting introduce themselves and wear a nametag. Most of the people in the room, however, already seemed to know one another, though not all lived in the immediate Upton Street and Union Park neighborhood.
"There are days that running the Pine Street Inn is a really tough job," said Lydia Downey. "Today, it doesn’t seem like such a tough job." During the meeting, Pine Street Inn executive director Lydia Downie said that the questions raised by those residents opposed to the project have been answered, at multiple meetings over the last eight months, since the proposal was introduced the to neighborhood, and in a 17-page response to the Union Park Neighborhood Association’s questions.
"To say that people have not been given answers is not true," said Downie, also adding that the city has had no involvement in what is a private sale between two nonprofit entities. "They might not like the answers they’ve been given, but people have been given answers... I would like to dispel that notion, that people have not been given answers."
Those residents who have voiced concerns and questions have frequently done so to elected officials, including Mayor Thomas Menino, At-Large City Councilor Michael Flaherty and City Councilor Bill Linehan. Flaherty, who attended Wednesday’s meeting, filed an order on Feb. 26 asking for a hearing on Pine Street’s proposal, in response to the concerns he said he was hearing from the residents. The hearing has yet to be scheduled. Meghan Haggerty, South End liaison to the Mayor’s Office, which has said it supports the Pine Street’s move onto Upton Street, a representative of Speaker Sal DiMasi’s office, and state Rep. Byron Rushing were all in attendance at the meeting.
Rushing, whose district includes the side of Upton Street that would house Pine Street, said that he hasn’t heard from many opponents of the project and that he supports Pine Street’s proposal.
"This is an important meeting. It’s important that people who support diversity, which is, I think, most people in the South End, understand that maintaining these buildings as affordable is part of maintaining diversity," he said. "We should congratulate Hope House for making sure that the next housing is affordable."
The meeting was also an opportunity for proponents of the project to make their support clear and strategize about how to help the Pine Street, including drafting a supportive petition to circulate. During the meeting, organizers passed out pre-printed postcards addressed to city councilors and the mayor, as well as Aimee Coolidge of the Pine Street Inn, expressing their full support for the project. Many people in the audience took several sheets, saying they would take them back to their buildings and pass them out to friends.
That sort of positive response was heartening to Downie. "There are days that running the Pine Street Inn is a really tough job," she said. "Today, it doesn’t seem like such a tough job... The people who really believe in a South End that is welcoming and diverse really need to speak up."
Linda Rodriguez can be reached at lrodriguez@southendnews.com
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