Boston Shines, the City of Boston’s annual cleanup event, will be held Sat., April 27. Organizations and individuals can volunteer to help spruce up city streets and public spaces. In JP, Boston Shines collaborates with a longtime neighborhood cleanup and is among the most popular local volunteer events. The City or local organizers can...
Owners: Homes rotting after 10 years
Owners of Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation (JPNDC)-constructed homes on Mission Hill’s Back of the Hill area are claiming that shoddy construction is responsible for a myriad of problems, including leaky roofs and rotting porches. They are considering legal action against the developers. JPNDC Executive Director Richard Thal denied any culpability, but said the...
Politics as Unusual: The tough path to electing a mayor of color
Despite their notoriously low voter turnouts in municipal elections, local communities of color are already buzzing over the mayoral madness sweeping Boston. As expected, important conversations are under way about the viability of certain minority candidates. Even outside of black, Caribbean, Latino and Cape Verdean enclaves, a discussion about race has surfaced front-and-center. Since...
BRA head backs Green Line extension
Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) Director Peter Meade is in favor of the concept of extending the MBTA Green Line to Hyde Square, according to a BRA spokesperson. “The BRA would be in support of the extension,” said BRA spokesperson Melina Schuler. She noted that it would increase the economic development of the area. But,...
City: Norbert School project still needs variances
HYDE SQ.—The City has again ruled that the plan to turn the Norbert School building into 21 apartments needs variances in order to proceed. The developer, Norbert School Associates, had re-filed the project after City said the initial proposal needed two variances. The City rejected the latest proposal, saying it needs three variances. The...
Curley principal resigns
The principal of the Curley K-8 School at 40 Pershing Road will not return to the school following vacation week. Principal Jeff Slater announced his impending move to California with a letter to Curley parents posted on the Curley School blog April 5. His last day will be Friday, April 12. According to the...
JP leaders reflect on Menino’s legacy
Mayor Thomas Menino announced March 28 that he will not run for reelection this year after a record 20 years in office. Menino’s move has left local leaders and residents reflecting on his legacy. “I doubt there’s been a mayor in the whole country who’s done more to advance a neighborhood development agenda than...
Mayoral race will open up City Council seats
With three Boston city councilors already in the mayoral race—including Jamaica Plain’s Felix Arroyo—there likely will be a domino effect of people running for council seats next year. Two JP residents who have run in recent City Council elections, Kosta Demos and Francesca Fordiani, told the Gazette they will not run for open seats....
JP’s history of mayors
With City Councilor Felix Arroyo joining the mayoral race, there is a chance for Jamaica Plain to be home to a mayor for the first time in nearly 50 years. At least five Boston mayors have hailed from JP, including the legendary James Michael Curley. Here is a list: John Collins (1960-66). Oversaw creation...
Menino’s JP years
Before Thomas Menino was mayor, he was a Hyde Park city councilor whose district long included a large chunk of Jamaica Plain. Councilor Menino’s district included Woodbourne, Forest Hills and the Stonybrook area along Washington Street. Gazette stories from the early 1990s show he had a reputation as a straight-talking, sometimes blunt, politically moderate...
Blessed Sacrament campus stirs controversy again
The Blessed Sacrament Church campus has been the source of recent controversy, as the proposals to turn the former Catholic church into 37 luxury condos and the Norbert School building into 21 apartments has drawn the ire of residents concerned about gentrification. The controversy has now ensnared two prominent Jamaica Plain organizations—the Hyde Square...
Residents don’t buy Martha Eliot change
Most attendees at a March 27 community meeting criticized Boston Children’s Hospital (BCH) decision to end adult services at the Martha Eliot Health Center (MEHC), saying that the community was never consulted, that information has been sparse and that the decision appears financial. “You have negated the whole concept of community health care,” said...
O’Malley talks Olympics, Casey Overpass
City Councilor Matt O’Malley, who lives in and represents Jamaica Plain, held his third annual town hall meeting recently where he spoke about past accomplishments and future projects, including the possibility of bringing the Olympics to Boston. More than 60 people attended the April 1 meeting at the Connolly Branch Library. But many attendees...
First Thursday members program begins
Centre/South Main Streets (CSMS) has started offering yearly memberships that provide special promotions and admittance to special events on First Thursdays to raise funds for the organization. Mary Hannon, president of the CSMS board, told the Gazette that the proceeds will fund storefront improvements in the shopping district as well as promoting stores and...
Jackson Sq. playground construction to start
JACKSON SQ.—Construction on a long-delayed playground in Jackson Square was scheduled to begin this week. Construction is expected to be completed by early summer and is planned for daytime, weekday work, though weekend work is possible, state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) spokesperson Conrad Crawford told the Gazette. The playground is a joint...
350.org Boston branch opens in JP
A Boston branch of the state branch of the environmental activist organization 350.org is making a home in Jamaica Plain. Following an introductory meeting on March 28 at the Nate Smith House at 155 Lamartine St., the Cambridge-based 350 Massachusetts has decided to expand to a second branch in Jamaica Plain. “It would be...
New ice cream store coming to Centre St.
FoMu, an Allston gourmet vegan ice cream store and café, is expanding to 671 Centre St. on April 16. The non-dairy ice cream is tailored to special diets that cannot accommodate dairy, and people who prefer Thai chili peanut ice cream to vanilla. “We use alternative bases and flavors to fill that niche that...
On the Police Beat: March 24 – April 7, 2013
The following crime 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. April 7: Hit and run (property), 669 Centre St.; assault with dangerous weapon, 2030 Columbus Ave.; vandalism, 180...
Casey team looks at park, bus mitigation
FOREST HILLS—The Casey Arborway project moved forward in its design process by reviewing a park and protecting a neighborhood from bus noise at a April 3 meeting. A suggestion to keep Toole Square—a small park between South Street, the Arboretum and Forest Hills station—as a “passive area,” was well-received. Toole Square is adjacent to...
Corridor ‘final draft’ plan announced
S. HUNTINGTON—The final draft of the S. Huntington Avenue corridor guidelines created by the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) was presented at an April 2 community meeting at the Hennigan School on Heath Street. The guidelines, expected to be formally approved by the BRA May 16, address the types of developments preferred by the community...
JP Tunes: New local music
Jamaica Plain musicians recently released the following albums or singles: Boston Cello Quartet, “Pictures” (self-released). Bostoncelloquartet.com. Gracious Calamity, “Double Indemnity” (Whitehaus Family Record). Graciouscalamity.bandcamp.com. Steph Barrak, “Words to Break Your Heart” (self-released). Stephbarrak.com. JP musicians can notify JP Tunes about new releases at news@jamaicaplaingazette.com.
JPNC-City links seen in early documents
The Gazette has discovered JPNC documents from the 1980s that may bolster its claim in a controversial lawsuit to be a government body. An April 10 court hearing in the dispute concluded without a decision by the judge. The documents include discussion of a contract between the JPNC and the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood...
City takes over some Charlestown council duties
The City of Boston has quietly taken over some Charlestown Neighborhood Council (CNC) zoning review duties after a private City Hall meeting with its leaders, the Gazette has learned. The move apparently was triggered by recent lawsuits filed against the council, and the plaintiffs say it bolsters their argument that the CNC—and other neighborhood...