By Gazette Staff
The Board of Directors of the Jamaica Pond Association (JPA) held its regular monthly meeting this past Monday, July 7, via Zoom. Vice-chair Peter Steiger presided over the session that included fellow board members Michael Reiskind, Rosemary Jones, Franklyn Salimbene, Tony Dreyfus, Kevin Moloney, Gerry Wright, and Peter Elmuts.
Also on hand for the meeting were Josh Ageloff from State Senator Mike Rush’s office; Caroline Peters, the liaison to Jamaica Plain from Mayor Wu’s office; Melissa Beltran from the office of District 6 City Councilor Ben Weber, and Michael Giordano from the office of State Rep. Bill MacGregor.
Reiskind, the JPA’s treasurer, reported that the board has a balance of $4851.47. He also noted that there are 29 household members of the JPA, an increase of three members.
Steiger spoke briefly about the JPA’s annual meeting that was held last month, noting that it was a huge success with a timely presentation by Ned Friedman, the Arnold Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University who has served since 2011 as the eighth Executive Director of the Arnold Arboretum, which is about 150 years old.
“I also thought it was a great success,” added Wright. “There were delightful and meaningful conversations. The speaker was extremely motivating. He spoke with such conviction about the way things are being done that could change the entire landscape around Jamaica Pond.”
“The speaker was absolutely riveting,” added Jones.
Boston Police Officer Scott Pulchansingh presented the Community Safety Report. He noted that residents who want a police response should call 911, not 311.
“It’s been quiet around the pond,” said Pulchansingh. “There has been a lot of construction in the area and so we have a lot of detail officers who provide a lot of visibility that serves as a deterrent to shoplifting and other criminal behavior. The CIT (Crisis Intervention Team) also has been working actively in the area.”
Off. Pulchansingh made note of some recent shootings in the Bromley-Heath area. He also added that overtime has been utilized to enforce the traffic laws, ranging from double-parking to speeding. He further added that police are enforcing the laws against dirt bikes being operated on city streets, noting that the police often follow intelligence leads to seize dirt bikes as they fill up at gas stations.
Moloney spoke briefly about the decision of the Boston Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) on June 24 to grant the variances for the four-story, 12-unit development at the former gas station at 561-579 Centre St. despite the united opposition of the the Jamaica Pond Association, the Zoning Committee of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Association (JPNC), and the full JPNC. Moloney added that the appeals process of the ZBA’s decision to a court can be an “onerous” task, which all but assures that the project will proceed.
“Rarely do we or the JPNC oppose projects such as this,” said Moloney. “No one was opposed to housing going in there. The issues were that it was too big, too tall, and it will affect the parking in the area.
“Something is wrong with the way that the ZBA is looking at the Jamaica Plain community and the community process. Something is grievously wrong,” Moloney added.
Residents of the Lakeville Rd. condos adjacent to the project were on hand for the meeting, with the head of the condo association noting that the association does not have the financial resources to undertake an appeal. She also noted that the condo association could itself be responsible for the $2000 cost for a survey of its foundation in order to be able to assess whether the construction of the new building causes damage to the condo building.
“I spoke before the ZBA, but I was rushed off,” she continued. “It seems like they did not want to listen to the community or those who will have to live in proximity to this project. We came out in favor of a smaller development project, but we felt like the city wasn’t listening to us and it did not feel good to have that happen.”
“I know this was a disappointing decision. The JPNC opposes very few projects,” said Peters, who added that the mayor’s office has a liason who attends the ZBA meetings to represent the communities’ interests.
“This seems to be the trend along Centre St.”, said Salimbene. “Opposition to four- and five-story buildings is not going to be entertained by the present administration even though it is deleterious to the neighborhood.
“I understand the issue of the need for more housing, but you want to build housing in comfortable and inviting environments,” Salimbene continued. “The example I come back to all the time is the ‘canyon’ that was created along Boylston St. at the Fenway.”
“I think it was clear that we feel a little disenfranchised after going through an honest effort to work this out,” said Steiger. “I remember vividly how they rushed everybody off at a ZBA meeting that I attended on a different matter.”
Dreyfus presented the report of the Parkway, Parks, and Open Spaces Committee. He initially noted that there are many safety issues pertaining to pedestrians on the Jamaicaway (a pedestrian recently was seriously injured on Arborway near the Forest Hills MBTA Station) because of speeding and the running of red lights.
Dreyfus spoke in-depth about the ongoing campaign for Jamaica Pond and Olmsted Park that is bringing together a wide range of stakeholders, from citizen groups to city and state agencies. He noted that the group is advocating for a $50,000 appropriation in the city budget in order to conduct a technical assessment of the maintenance needs for Olmsted Park.
He also noted that a $500,000 item was included in the city budget for an engineering study of the boathouse and the bandstand at the pond.
Dreyfus acknowledged the serious problem of bicyclists using the pedestrian pathways around Jamaica Pond. He said he recruited representatives from the Boston Cyclists Union to try to figure out why cyclists don’t stay on the designated bike paths.
They found that there are unsafe conditions on the bike paths, a lack of appropriate bike paths, and unclear signage, particularly at the Perkins St. entrance in Brookline.
Reiskind presented the report of the JP Business Assoc. He noted that two new businesses recently opened on Green St., Regenerate Movement at 5 Green St. and a fabric store, the Rainbow Nook, at 7 Green St.
He also noted that JP KidsArts Afterschool will be relocating from the First Church Unitarian to a new home in the former Hollow Reed School building on Sedgwick St. on historic Sumner Hill, which KidsArts recently purchased.
Giordano informed the members that a $300,000 appropriation from the Fair Share funds (a/k/a the millionaires tax) was included in the recently-passed state budget for projects along the Emerald Necklace. He said there also was funding in the budget for roadway improvements along Centre St.
After taking its usual break in August, the JPA will hold its next meeting on September 8.