Special to the Gazette
The Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council (JPNC) held its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, September 24, via Zoom. Chair Renee Stacey Welch presided over the session that was attended by Caroline Peters, the liaison to Jamaica Plain from the mayor’s office; District 6 City Councilor Ben Weber, as well as Jordan Frias, the Director of Policy and Communications for Weber’s office; and Michael Jones from the Pine Street Inn, who is a residential program supervisor at 35 Creighton St.
JPNC members in attendance included vice-chair Bernard Doherty, at-large members Purple Reign, Sarah Freeman, Michael Reiskind, Luke Matthew, and David Baron; Area A members Willie Mitchell, Peter DeCotis, and Danielle Sommer-Kieta; Area B member Lorenzo Bartoloni; and Area C members Katherine O’Shea, Nick Chaves, and Carla-Lisa Caliga.
Baron presented the report of the Zoning Committee of which he is the chair. He noted that the Zoning Committee unanimously approved almost all of the applications (the lone non-unanimous vote had only one opposition vote) that came before it in the past two months.
The only matter that Baron discussed at length was the proposal for an eight-unit building at 336-338 Washington St. which was the site of a former bagel shop and bakery. He noted that area residents initially had opposed some aspects of the project, but the developer came back with revisions that met with the approval of the residents and the Zoning Committee.
The JPNC voted to approve all of the matters presented by Baron. The JPNC’s approval is advisory only and the applicants now must go before the City of Boston Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) in order to obtain their variances.
Reiskind presented the report of the Public Service Committee, which met on September 10. He said there was a license request by Bluefin Fish Market at 660B Centre St., seeking a Common Victualer license in order to provide seating for its patrons with hours from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. The Public Service Committee approved granting the license and the full JPNC did so as well. The owner now must go before the Boston Licensing Commission to receive the license.
Reiskind also noted that another matter that was approved by the Public Service Committee came from Pimentel Market, 340 Centre St., which was seeking to upgrade its present beer and wine license to a full liquor license. Reiskind noted that the JPNC’s Executive Committee already had ratified the Public Service Committee’s approval on an emergency basis in order to allow Pimentel to file its application with the city’s Licensing Board, which still must approve granting the license.
Katherine O’Shea, the chair of the Outreach Committee, reported that the primary discussion at its meeting centered around the request of the committee to post a color-coded map of the wards and precincts of the Jamaica Plain neighborhood that will make it easier for residents to understand in which precinct their residence is located. The full JPNC approved the posting of the new map on the JPNC’s website.
Chair Danielle Sommer-Kieta presented the report of the Housing and Development Committee. She noted that the committee voted to send a letter to the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) regarding the lack of community input into the BPDA’s decision to significantly reduce the parking for residents of the Forbes Building (from 30 to 15), including handicapped parking spots (for which there already are fewer spots than needed), per the plans for the renovations of the exterior of the Forbes site by the owner.
The reduction in parking spaces will force many of the residents of the Forbes, almost all of whom are elderly or who have mobility issues, to park off-site. Sommer-Kieta said that the purpose of the letter is not to ask the BPDA to change its decision, but simply to request that in the future the BPDA involve the community in the future when similar issues arise.
After some discussion, the full JPNC approved sending the letter to the BPDA.
Sommer-Kieta presented an update of the Arborway Yard Subcommittee, which is addressing the issues related to the proposed new garage for about 200 of the MBTA’s future electric bus fleet. She noted that Scott Hamway from MBTA responded to a letter sent by the committee to the T protesting the T’s decision to locate a 150-spot parking lot for employees within the eight acres of land on the parcel that has long been promised to be set aside for community development.
Hamway’s response defended the T’s position and also noted that the legislature did not earmark funding for the construction of the garage in the current budget.
City Councillor Weber briefly brought up the recent shooting at the Mildred Hailey housing complex in which a young man was killed and noted the steps that the city and community are taking to address the issue.
Weber made note of many upcoming community events and also mentioned proposed city ordinances that will provide protection for employees from excessive heat and for enforcement of the minimum wage law.
Weber mentioned the city’s efforts, which may include a vacancy tax on landlords, in order to promote small business development in the city with an eye toward filling the many empty storefronts that exist on Centre St., among others throughout the city.
Carla-Lisa Caliga mentioned what she described as a “tortuous, convoluted process” for small businesses to open in the city that needs to be streamlined if the city wants to encourage small business development.
Another speaker echoed that sentiment, stating, “If we want to have local businesses that thrive, we need to have a change at ISD.”
The last piece of business was an announcement by chair Welch that there are three vacancies on the JPNC, two in Area B and one in Area C.