Wow! I knew JP’s Stonybrook neighborhood was active, but I was shocked when I moved to this dense, friendly neighborhood between Forest Hills, Franklin Park and Washington Street. I had heard and read about the issues facing my new neighbors, but I didn’t realize how large and complex they are until they were in...
Blog Archives
JP Observer: Bikes are nice, but there are limits
I like bicycles. I think it’s great we got a bike-share program in Boston, and bicycle rental stations came to Jamaica Plain last month. I am in favor of the tidy bike lanes and of drivers watching out for riders. But there are limits on what bikes can do for Boston. Bicycle use, at...
JP Observer: Three things to make JP’s great restaurants better
Jamaica Plain’s restaurants and cafes are really something, aren’t they? We have quantity, quality and great variety here. JP’s eateries help make shopping districts and sub-neighborhoods into destinations, so they increase and promote business and lively activity. The number of restaurants seems to be expanding. If you count coffee shops that serve food and...
JP Observer: How JP activists created the Southwest Corridor
No wonder Jamaica Plain residents speak and act as though they can have some control of what happens in the neighborhood. Starting 49 years ago, local people along the Southwest Corridor banded together to stop a highway from splitting the neighborhood. Then they persuaded government to move the elevated Orange Line from over Washington...
JP Observer: The secret of a beautiful parking lot
It took me a while to realize why going to Stop & Shop in Jackson Square put me in a good mood almost every Saturday. Finally, it occurred to me that it’s good to get groceries, but it’s the parking lot the supermarket shares with Martha Eliot Health Center that makes the experience remarkably...
JP Observer: Health policy advocate turns focus to mental illness
Attorney Steve Rosenfeld has had an incredible career spanning decades practicing law; working at the top levels of the executive branch of Massachusetts government; creating and working with ground-breaking nonprofit legal efforts and teaching law. The Massachusetts native and Harvard Law School graduate was chief legal counsel to Gov. Michael Dukakis and his chief...
JP Observer: Keeping business district clean requires group effort
Trash in public spaces has, no doubt, been an issue since cave-dwellers met in clearings to exchange goods and news. The issue of litter still exists in every business area in the world today. Discussion about what to do about dirt and litter can easily deteriorate to finger-pointing. After all, every member of the...
JP Observer: Popular history walks reveal marvels in many areas
Jamaica Plain has a rich and varied past, and people here seemed more fascinated with local history than residents of other places. For the past 17 years, local interest has been evidenced every spring by the appearance, not just of flowers and leaves on the trees, but of small crowds of people walking and...
JP Observer: Pond view in danger until the public owns it
The natural area that forms the backdrop of Jamaica Pond on its western side appears eternal. It’s true that Hellenic Hill’s history reaches back to the time when Native American Kuchamakin, Jamaica Plain’s namesake, ruled the area—even back to when the bowls that formed the pond were dug out by glaciers. The natural area...
JP Observer: My month with Wowl the owl
When I got up from my desk and turned around, I saw a face staring at me through the window a few feet away. I was especially startled because I live on the third floor of a Jamaica Plain three-decker. I felt like screaming, but something told me to run out of the room...