You Said It, JP!: 2014 in Quotes

“I was watching the Summer Olympics in London in 2012, and I thought, ‘Why not Boston?’”

City Councilor Matt O’Malley about the possibility of the Summer Olympics 2024 coming to Boston.

 

“The community response was exactly how one would expect it to be: outrage at all these decisions being made behind closed doors, and that it’s happening without our consent. At the same time, people seem ready to work within a really short time frame, which is promising.”

Anti-Olympics organizer and Occupy veteran Robin Jacks on the first meeting against bringing the Summer Olympics 2024 to Boston.

 

“A giant is gone from Earth, but he lives on in our souls. He gave his life to the city in so many ways.”

State Rep. Jeffrey Sánchez on the death of former Mayor Thomas Menino.

 

“There are longer lines for kids getting new sneakers than students getting diplomas.”

Darrell Williams, a 17-year old who is part of the nonprofit Teen Empowerment, during a public forum held by Mayor Martin Walsh transition team at English High School last January.

 

“The next step is to issue the Notice to Proceed to the contractor; following that, the contractor, MassDOT staff, local emergency response and other city officials meet to discuss scheduling, staging, and other aspects of the project that city officials need to be informed about.”

MassDOT spokesperson Michael Verseckes on approving the contract for the Casey Arborway project and the next steps.

 

“The MBTA has invested a lot of time and money over the years on designing a new bus facility for the 500 Arborway site. To go back to square one and start all over with a new site, new community, new engineering and site concerns will cause a major delay in the project and will increase the cost to construct this project.”

MBTA spokesperson Joe Pesaturo on moving the location of a new bus yard to American Legion Highway, which some Jamaica Plain residents had advocated.

 

“If this were the circus, it would be the funniest show in town. But right now it is not funny. For example, I’m late on a retirement filing because of misdirected mail.”

JP resident Richard Heath on mail delivery problems that hit the neighborhood.

 

“This year’s race will have special significance for me, as it will for all the runners and spectators. The words ‘Boston Strong’ have been overused in the past year, but this year’s marathon will make a strong statement about the strength and resiliency of our city.”

JP resident Harry Smith on running the Boston Marathon a year after the bombing.

 

“I saw how important relationships with the community are. Locking up offenders is just one part. They are eventually going to come back out into the community.”

District E-13 Police Capt. Alfredo Andres, who became captain last year, on the importance of community policing.

 

“The removal of Hi-Lo really represented a decimation of the cultural ecology in Hyde Square.”

Hyde Square resident and sociologist Dr. Glenn Jacobs on Whole Foods replacing the Latino-oriented market Hi-Lo in Hyde Square in 2011. Jacobs was involved in a study on gentrification around the replacement.

 

“I knew it was the time for me. My kids have other paths in their lives they want to follow.”

Mike Pavone of the family-owned Classic Cleaners on his decision to sell the store and retire.

 

“Why were we BRIC’s targets? What is the point of any of this? How did this monitoring help the city? BRIC’s silence on this speaks volumes.”

JP resident Robin Jacks, one of the activists who organized the 2011 Occupy Boston camp, on the Boston Regional Intelligence Center (BRIC) spying on peaceful protestors.

 

“Carlos was good folks. He was one of the few people who worked behind the scenes in JP. It was through him that I learned how to run a community organization.”

Former JP Business and Professional Association president Brad Brown on the death of longtime JP resident and activist Carlos Icaza.

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