Neighbors and the developer of a controversial residential project proposed at 57 Wachusett St. met June 23, but what happened at the meeting remains unknown. The developer has already started construction at an adjacent lot. Local resident Tess Pope said the developer, Stephen Ballas, has asked attendees not to speak with the press. But,...
The Footlight Club—America’s oldest community theater— is working on raising up to $186,000 to upgrade its fire alarm and safety systems as part of a massive renovation to its Eliot St. home. Maria Wardwell, Footlight Club board president, told the Gazette that, while the building is safe and has all its safety permits, the...
ARBORWAY—A suspect has been arrested in a June 25 sexual assault and robbery at the Arnold Arboretum, according Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. The suspect, 23-year-old Ashton Davis, was arrested the following day by the Boston Police Department (BPD). Data from a GPS bracelet that Davis was wearing due to another case helped lead...
Three different controversial plans to tear down existing buildings and replace them with denser development return July 16 to the agenda of the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council’s Zoning Committee. And another teardown project at 213 Lamartine St. goes before the Boston Landmarks Commission on July 8. The teardown projects on the Zoning Committee’s agenda...
HYDE SQ.—The City still hasn’t found a new location for Jamaica Plain’s parklet, months after it was planned to return. future of JP’s parklet. Boston Transportation Department spokesperson Tracey Ganiatsos told the Gazette that “BTD is still working to find a parklet location in Jamaica Plain.” Due to ongoing utility work on Centre Street...
The Emerald Necklace Conservancy (ENC) and its partners have sponsored an extensive census of the Emerald Necklace’s trees as a starting point for a long-term management plan. Co-sponsored by the Arborway Coalition, the ENC, the Friends of Jamaica Pond, the Friends of Olmsted Park Boston and Olmsted 2022, the census surveyed 7,000 trees and...
Boston has been shortlisted as a possible U.S. host for the 2024 Summer Olympics, along with Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Jamaica Plain-based City Councilor Matt O’Malley has been a supporter of exploring the possibility. “The U.S. Olympic Committee was very keen on Boston,” O’Malley told the Gazette last week. “There are...
The deadline for listings is noon, Tues., July 15 for the July 18 issue. Send listings to reporter@jamaicaplaingazette.com. Note: 617 should be dialed before numbers below, unless another area code is given. Special Events Summer Sundays in the Park, Sundays, 6pm, Pinebank Promontory, Jamaica Pond Park, Jamaicaway: July 13: Boston Landmarks Orchestra Ensemble. July...
The Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Council (JPNC) voted during its meeting last month to support the proposal to extend the Green Line to Hyde Square, according to JPNC member Michael Reiskind. But the MBTA said now is not the time to do such a proposal. “The MBTA is pleased that the neighborhood would like to...
Richard Kieffer Feeley of Jamaica Plain, known lovingly by his many friends and family as “Rich Nice,” died May 21, 2014, at the age of 34. A proud, lifelong resident of Jamaica Plain, he is survived by his parents, Thomas Kieffer and Patricia Feeley, and brother Luke Kieffer. Richard attended Boston Public Schools—the Trotter,...
The City has heeded Jamaica Plain residents’ concerns and will include South Street in the upcoming street redesign project that will now go from Jackson Square to Forest Hills, according to Rachel Szakmary of the Boston Transportation Department. The City will hold a meeting July 8 at the Kennedy Elementary School on the Hyde...
From a small-mill town to being a Boston Public Schools (BPS) teacher to the life of riches as a real estate developer and restaurateur, Jamaica Plain resident Rob White has led a well-traveled life. But at one point, White looked inside himself and felt spiritually empty. That sparked White on a journey of self-discovery...
The deadline for listings is noon, Tues., July15 for the July 18 issue. Send listings to reporter@jamaicaplaingazette.com. Note: 617 should be dialed before numbers below, unless another area code is given. Meetings Jamaica Plain South Hyde Jackson Design Projects, hosted by the Boston Transportation Department, to discuss history, design, engineering capabilities, street furniture and...
JP SOUTH—The St. Rose Street Garden is oriented so strongly toward its neighborhoods, it is a rarity even in the community garden haven that is Jamaica Plain. Located at a bend in the road on St. Rose, it now boasts community concerts, potlucks, gardening workshops—and loads of produce and other plants. “We’re actually a...
A Suffolk Superior Court jury on June 26 acquitted a man of murdering Brenda Pawlowski in Jamaica Plain three years ago, but found him guilty of possessing the weapon with which she was killed. A second defendant also charged with killing Pawlowski, Christopher Howard, is still awaiting trial, according to the Suffolk County District...
The following police incident reports are public records provided by the Community Service Office of the District E-13 Police Station, which is solely responsible for their content. All suspects are innocent unless proven guilty in court. June 29: Hit and run (property), 2044 Columbus Ave.; hit and run (injury), 2400 Columbus Ave.; larceny from...
Following a local group’s claim that the MBTA intends to sell its Arborway Yard land rather than ever build a planned bus facility, neither they nor elected officials seem to have had recent meetings with the MBTA to discuss the project. Meanwhile, the MBTA repeated previous statements to the Gazette, saying that the agency...
