News

South End Forum tackles...

by Michele D.  Maniscalco
Wednesday Nov 25, 2015

Leaders of over a dozen neighborhood associations, business groups and community centers and other residents convened at the South End Forum meeting on Tuesday, November 10 to discuss a range of shared concerns including park safety and maintenance, parking, winter preparedness and urban renewal. Frank X. Smith of the Mayor's Office of Neighborhood Services (ONS) addressed attendees on public works matters and Captain Paul Ivens of the Boston Police Department's (BPD) District 4, which hosted the meeting, updated the crowd on crime and drug-related issues, while ONS South End liaison Sam Chambers was on hand for questions and comment.

Steve Fox, who heads both the South End Forum and the Rutland Square Neighborhood Association, moderated the meeting, with representatives of the Concord Square, Hurley Blocks, Worcester Square, Chester Square, Blackstone-Franklin Squares (B/FSNA), Rutland Street, Eight Streets, Pilot Block, Ellis (ESENA), Claremont neighborhood associations, Washington-Gateway Main Street and South End Business Alliance, United South End Settlements and Boston Center for the Arts in attendance. In his opening, Fox said that the South End Landmark District Commission is looking for nominees and asked that neighborhood association heads encourage their members to come forward. He said that SELDC takes members from across the neighborhood and is looking for nominees with diverse backgrounds and skill sets.

B/FSNA president Eric Huang spoke of the ongoing use of Franklin Square as a homeless encampment in the aftermath of last year's abrupt closure of the Long Island Bridge, which stranded hundreds of homeless without a place to stay, and the ensuing decline in use of Franklin by other neighbors. Huang said that with homeless people sleeping, bathing, and engaging in drug-related activities in Franklin Square, many neighbors have felt "discouraged" from using the square, citing this year's poor attendance at the Boston StrEATS food truck festival in Franklin Square as an example. Huang said, "Our goal is by the spring or summer of next year to take Franklin Square back, if you will," and outlined a "multi-step process" beginning with this month's park clean-ups, which he called a "big success,", and continuing with hiring Project Place participants to supplement park upkeep year-round. Huang called upon residents and businesses to suggest "any idea you can think of for activities that we can bring into the park. Our thinking is that good activity offsets bad activity." Huang called Blackstone Square Franklin's "happier cousin because there is a lot of dog activity there. People are there day and night so bad stuff doesn't really happen there. We want to bring happier energy there." Huang solicited other neighborhood association leaders to ask their communities to bring fitness groups, lunch clubs, mothers' groups and "whatever activities would work under the trees" in Franklin Square, stressing that frequent and regular activity will be more effective in curbing illicit behaviors in Franklin Square.

District 4 police captain Paul Ivens reported on crime statistics in the South End, with 9 aggravated assaults, 14 burglaries, six robberies and three other offenses in the month preceding the November 10 meeting. "The good news is our crime stats are down citywide, district-wide and in the South End," he said. Capt. Ivens recounted a November 4 on-street robbery in the Milford Street area in which the robbers escaped with the victim's cell phone and tablet. Asked whether most of the robbery suspects come from public housing and Villa Victoria, Ivens replied that suspects are often shelter residents who became homeless after incarceration.

In his presentation, O'Brien talked about park clean-ups, new regulations governing the size and placement of advertising sandwich boards, parking-space savers. Fox said he would prepare distribution of no space-saver signs to be posted by the neighborhood associations, and Huang remarked that while last year's signs had an attractive appearance, the signs need to be more bold and eye-catching. O'Brien said that the city is getting ready for snow removal by purchasing new giant snow blowers and having salt, Bobcats and snowplows in place for the arrival of snow. O'Brien also noted that last year, the snow emergency tow-zone signs often lacked the time and date and that caused confusion. In the interest of increasing enforcement this year, O'Brien said this year's signs will have specific times on them and there will be increased notification, alerts and updates at 311. Recalling angle parking and other illegal parking seen during last winter's snow, O'Brien said such practices will meet with enforcement this year. O'Brien also talked about brick sidewalk maintenance, citing difficulties in repairing them such as cost and tree removal. There was talk of replacing old brick sidewalks with wire-cut bricks that stay level longer and possibly installing cement walkways bordered with brick.

On the subject of parking, Fox reported that the forum's South End Tax Force has been collecting data on parking needs, shared cars like Zipcar and unregulated spaces. He called for the task force meet once more before presenting to the whole Forum to work on proposals for Forum members to take back to their respective communities. Ideas discussed include fees for resident parking stickers, a household limit on stickers and a parking benefit district as a pilot program in the South End.

A proposal between the city and the state legislature to allow extended bar hours in some parts of Boston as a strategy for retaining young residents came up for discussion. Fox said the city proposes a pilot program in one section of the city, possibly the Seaport, in order to evaluate the plan. Fox said it is vital that legislation provide for neighborhoods to decide whether later bar hours are appropriate for their community. "We want to protect the right of neighborhoods to say, 'This is sensible for the Seaport, but not sensible for the South End'," Fox said. Fox and an attendee agreed that coordination with the MBTA is important to this plan, but Fox said, "The attitude of the MBTA toward this legislation is not to extend its hours because of the cost."

The Forum discussed urban renewal, a hot topic among South End neighborhood groups. Fox noted that he would be meeting with city councilors including Ayanna Pressley on the Boston Redevelopment Authority's (BRA) desired 10 year extension of urban renewal. Fox explained that in 2004 the council passed legislation to let urban renewal to expire in April 2016 if the council does not vote to reauthorize, and now some councilors want reauthorization only to be considered and approved individually for each of Boston's 14 urban renewal zones. Many South End neighborhood associations oppose the reauthorization, and the Alliance of Downtown Civic Associations (ADCO) would only support a one-year extension strictly to allow the transfer of land from the BRA to city land inventory. A representative of Chester Square said that her association is "conflicted" on the issue of urban renewal because of its location along Mass. Ave. adjacent to a number of parking lots and subsidized housing. "It's easy to see that some kind of change would be good, but we aren't voting for no plan, she said. Fox responded that the BRA's current community engagement process is through CACs or Citizen Advisory Committees, who hear plans from developers and architects "and then the BRA goes and does what it wants to do." Fox explained that placing properties in city ownership would allow the city to plan for them with a community input. Fox said the Forum would be sending a letter to city councilors within the week endorsing ESENA's and the South End Historical Society's opposition to urban renewal reauthorization.

There was some debate over the issue of the Forum's lack of participation from IBA, the agency that includes the Villa Victoria complex; Castle Square; the Barkley (formerly Cathedral) Apartments and Tenant Development Corporation housing. Fox mentioned that an IBA representative used to attend Forum meetings but stopped, and cited IBA CEO Vanessa Calderón Rosado's recent comments that IBA would be interested in discussing issues such as schools with neighborhood groups. Fox stated that the Forum first came together around issues such as trash removal, which are easier to tackle because they are more procedural and not as politicized as school governance. He also said his organization, Rutland Square NA, reaches out to Tent City leadership, that ESENA has a relationship with Castle Square and that Union Park Neighborhood Association makes overtures to Villa Victoria. Fox recounted past attempts to unite neighborhood associations and business associations into one South End group that failed to draw attendance even with enticements like serving dinner. Fox said the forum decided to continue working on matters common across the neighborhood, such as public works and transportation, and that solving complex issues such as the addiction crisis are beyond the capacity of neighborhood groups.

The next South End Forum meeting is scheduled for January 12, 2016.