By Gazette Staff
The Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council (JPNC) held its regular monthly meeting this past Tuesday, June 23. On hand for the session were chair Alcurtis Clark, vice-chair Bernie Doherty, secretary-treasurer Michael Reiskind, Willie Mitchell, Lisa Marie Caliga, Dave Baron, Purple Reign, Sarah Freeman, Lorenzo Bartoloni, Alessia Shelley, Bianca Terry, Adam Burrows, Renee Stacey Welch, and Chase Brewster.
Zavia Dickerson, the new Jamaica Plain liaison from the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services, also was on hand for the session, as was Melissa Beltran from District 6 City Councillor Ben Weber’s office.
The principal part of the meeting pertained to the proposed apartment building at 3326 Washington St., which presently is an empty building and a parking lot that had been the site of JP Auto Glass. The members discussed whether the council should send a letter (see full text of the letter accompanying this story), which had been drafted by the JPNC’s Housing and Development Committee, to city officials expressing the council’s disagreement about the affordable housing units being proposed by the developer.
The present plans call for the construction of a five (5)-story residential building totaling approximately 43,825 square feet and including approximately forty-six (46) residential rental units, nine (9) of which will be Inclusionary Development Policy Units.
The project has had a long and tortured history since its initial conception in 2020. The original developer proved unable to complete the project, which was assumed by the current developer in 2025. The new developer, Marc Kaplan, who bought the property at auction, changed the mix of affordable units from the original 2020 plan, citing the dramatically-changed construction environment, including higher interest rates and generally higher costs stemming from inflation in building materials and labor.
In response to community input earlier this year, Kaplan changed the mix of affordable units. However, as is clear from the JPNC’s letter, the members feel that more affordability is warranted: “While the developer’s current proposal represents an improvement over the original plan, the working group believes additional affordability is achievable,”
After a lengthy discussion, the council voted unanimously to send the letter to the various city agencies and officials.
Reiskind presented the report of the Public Service Committee. He reported that the committee heard license requests from two businesses. The first was from Gangnam Spice, which specializes in Korean fried chicken, at 225 Centre St. in Jackson Square for about two years. The restaurant is seeking three licenses: a full-alcohol license in order to serve Soju, a specialized Korean drink; an entertainment license for two large-screen TVs; and a take-out license.
The second was from Hinata Shokodu, a new Japanese restaurant at 610 Centre St., which is seeking a wine and malt beverage license, as well as a change of occupancy for the building to a restaurant use.
Reiskind said the Public Service Committee approved both applications. He asked the full JPNC to approve the Public Service Committee’s recommendations and the full JPNC unanimously voted in favor of both. The owners now must go before the Boston Licensing Commission to obtain their licenses.
Baron presented the report of the Zoning Committee. He said that the committee held two hearings in the past month pertaining to variance requests for properties at 11 Ashley St. and 27-29 Ballard St. (See accompanying story). The committee recommended that both requests be approved and the full JPNC did so unanimously. The owners still must go before the Boston Zoning Board of Appeals in order to obtain their variances.
At the end of the meeting, Ms. Dickerson said that she will be at a coffee hour with Mayor Wu this Thursday evening, June 25, at Curtis Hall from 5:30-6:30, and will hold her first weekly coffee hour next Friday morning, July 3, at 10:00 at Jadu at 767 Centre St.