English High School Headmaster Sito Narcisse announced this week that he will not be returning to the school next fall. Narcisse is leaving English, located on McBride Street, because he was offered a “leadership position in a school district outside Massachusetts,” Boston Public Schools (BPS) spokesperson Lee Maguire told the Gazette. Narcisse was not...
Monthly Archives: May 2012
Gail’s Café opens
JACKSON SQ.—Gail’s Café and Grille, a new restaurant at 268 Centre St., opened late last month. The restaurant serves a wide variety of food, from fish to rotisserie barbecue to baked and deli-style goods. It is being managed by Bill Jordan, a Jamaica Plain resident who previously managed Hyde Square’s former Hi-Lo grocery store,...
Church organ rescued by movers
A moving and storage company will give First Baptist Church’s historic organ a free home for as long it takes for the church to raise funds and install it. Mark Silverman of Westborough’s Mark’s Moving & Storage also donated a free semi truck to move the gigantic organ from its longtime space in a...
First Baptist seeks church-sharing ideas
CENTRAL JP—First Baptist Church is looking for groups to share its still-unfinished sanctuary space in the hopes of one day worshipping there itself. The 633 Centre St. church, which is still rebuilding from a 2005 fire, last week issued a request for proposals from community groups to use the roughly 6,400 square feet of...
Councilors worry new school would move
Adding to the controversial Boston Public School (BPS) school-move plan process, city councilors have expressed concerns about BPS commitment to keeping the new Margarita Muñiz Academy at the former Agassiz School on Child Street in JP. As part of the BPS plan, the Mission Hill K-8 is slated to move into the now-empty Agassiz...
Arborway group seeks crosswalk, woods fixes
The Arborway between the Casey Overpass and Murray Circle could see an improved crosswalk and better woodlands if the local Arborway Coalition can raise enough funds for a state matching grant. The group aims to improve the Arnold Arboretum crosswalk across the Arborway. And it wants to make further improvements to the wooded hillside...
Hundreds clean up JP
About 580 Jamaica Plain residents from at least 29 community groups swept streets and picked up litter as part of the Boston Shines citywide cleanup event on April 28. “JP residents were up bright and early Saturday morning, making a difference one trash bag at a time,” said Jullianne Doherty, the JP coordinator for...
Whole Foods study to focus on Latino impact
HYDE SQ.—The academic study of Whole Foods Market’s local impact will focus on the Latino community and gentrification. The study is being called “Gentrification and Representation: Hi-Lo, Whole Foods and Latinos in Jamaica Plain,” according to Pablo Goldbarg, a spokesperson for the University of Massachusetts Boston’s Mauricio Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development and...