It was perfect weather for a leisurely, outdoor lunch and chat, with brilliant sun and a gentle breeze when South End/Bay Village Liaison Faisa Sharif and Boston Police Department (BPD) D-4 community service officer Richard Litto met with neighbors on Thursday, April 11 on the front patio at Chilacates, 275 Shawmut Avenue, at 1:00 PM to discuss new developments and neighborhood concerns.
A handful of neighbors attended, experiencing the month-old Mexican street-food eatery and raising topics such as the city's search for a new waste contractor, safety issues and security measures, the Alexandra Hotel redevelopment and more.

Among the attendees were Worcester Square Area Neighborhood Association president George Stergios; lifelong West Canton Street resident Claire Hayes, whose family has been in the neighborhood for five generations; and former City Council and Register of Deeds candidate Jeff Ross.

In conversation about the Alexandra Hotel redevelopment, talk turned to the Boston Globe's recent article about the plan that raised the question of whether the historic hotel is in the South End or Roxbury, and where the communities and the city consider the boundary to be, some recognizing Mass. Ave.
As the boundary, while some city departments and the former BRA reckoned it further west at Northampton Street or Melnea Cass Boulevard at different points in time. On the subject of a new waste disposal contractor, neighbors wondered whether the city would include needle collection as one of the services in the new contract.

When talk inevitably turned to crime and safety measures, Litto talked about his pet project, Operation Safe Alley, which Litto initiated over 10 years ago in the South End to encourage and aid neighbors in taking simple but effective safety measures such as placing lights and address numbers on the back-alley entrances of their homes to aid police in responding to calls; trimming bushes around backyards and alleyways, adding peepholes to back fences and cleaning up alleys, all of which help discourage negative activity and make it easier to identify suspects in criminal activity.

Operation Safe Alley, which has since expanded to other parts of the city, began with two inspirations: a course Litto took on crime prevention and environmental design and the comments of neighbors at a South End meeting about thefts and suspicious activity in alleyways. Litto has devoted many hours to helping neighbors do the necessary trimming, installations, and other steps, sometimes coming on Saturdays as well.

Both he and Sharif stressed the importance of neighbors reporting suspicious activity that they witness. Asked whether residents still call him for help with Operation Safe Alley, Litto said, "Not as a much. I'm still in the alleys sometimes, though. I think people are more involved now; they are paying attention. Another thing I like seeing is people taking control of their alleys, having barbecues. That actually works, too; showing that they are involved."
Thursday's gathering was a pilot, and according to Sharif, the next session will take place in a couple of months, on a weekend date to be determined. Sharif also announced this year's Mayor's Coffee Hour, which will be held in O'Day Park, 85 West Newton Street, from 9:30-10:30 AM on Tuesday, April 30.