Vote Countdown

Less than a week remains before election day. Voting takes place Tuesday, November 3rd – polls are open form 7am-8pm. Put it on your calendar now so you don’t forget. This is a big election, as (in case you missed it) we will be voting for the Mayor of Boston. Also up for election are the City Councilors-at-Large. (Our city councilor, Bill Linehan, is running unopposed)

The city election pages can be found here. Here is a PDF listing the candidates in ballot order.

See you on Tuesday (And yes, I’ll remind everyone again next week…)

Community Safety Training - Repeat session

If you missed the previous session, D4 will have another round of it's "eyes and ears" community safety training. This session will be next Monday, Oct 26th from 7-8pm at the Blackstone Community Center. See the BPD notice below for complete information.


There will be an Eyes and Ears Training for interested Boston residents on Monday, October 26th at the Blackstone Community Center, 3rd floor, Childcare Room from 7 pm - 8 pm. The training/information session is designed to make residents more aware of what goes on in their neighborhood and what to do if, or when, something is happening. It is meant to provide information on the critical role of residents and their participation in their community. It will provide residents with a means to learn crime prevention methods. Your neighborhood safety lies in the combined efforts of all neighbors to look after one another and work with local police. Please contact Carolyn MacNeil, the Director of the Neighborhood Watch Unit of Boston Police for more information at 617-343-5682. Hope to see you there.

Ringgold Halloween party seeks volunteers

Please contact Tory if you can help out

The party is going to be a fantastic evening for the neighborhood but we are still in need of volunteers during the following shifts:

• AM Clean Up, 9 AM: Even a half hour of your time would be greatly appreciated to help make sure the park is sparkly clean for our trick-or-treaters!
• Set Up/Decorating, 2:30 PM: Lots of fun and kids are welcome, as we'll have a kid-friendly art project included in our decorating activities!
• Clean Up, 5:45 PM: Should be an easy process and any time you can spare is greatly appreciated!

We're also excited to announce a community jack-o-lantern contest, to be judged at the party by our generous business sponsors! Please bring your carved pumpkin to the party and we'll display it for all to see! We'll also provide a battery-powered light to avoid any candle danger.

Thanks in advance for your much appreciated contributions!

Movie filming, Oct 20

The movie The Social Network, a Columbia Pictures production, will be filming on Tremont Street between Clarendon and Union Park Streets on Tuesday, October 20th. The scene will be shot in front of 567 Tremont Street during the early morning hours and should wrap up by midday. Production trucks will be parking around the area, so please take note of no parking/parking restriction signs posted along Tremont, Union Park and Montgomery Streets, which will go into effect before the crew arrives early the morning of October 20.

Also, there will be a temporary relocation of the #43 MBTA bus stop that is at the corner of Tremont and Union Park Streets in front of Aquitaine Restaurant for the morning of October 20 only. The bus will still pickup passengers at a to-be-determined location nearby, which will be posted.

If you have any questions or concerns related to the filming please contact Lucas Nalepinski, the Assistant Location Manager for The Social Network at #617-283-3156.

Register to Vote by Wednesday

A reminder that Tomorrow: Wednesday, October 14th is the last day to register to vote if you want to participate in the November 3rd elections. Instructions on how to register can be found on the State Web Site.

Mayoral Forum

MassVote, together with numerous community partners, are sponsoringa Mayoral Forum on Tuesday, Oct 27 from 6:30-8 at Faneuil Hall. Due to limited space, they ask you RSVP in order to attend.

City Council candidate Forum

The Beacon Hill Civic Association, in association with several other downtoan NAs presents a City Councilor-at-Large candidates Forum on Wednesday, Oct 21, from 6-8pm at the Park Street School - 67 Brimmer St (Flat of Beacon Hill). All are welcome (and encouraged) to attend!

Harrison/Albany St Planning presentation

The BRA has been working on a Strategic Plan to coordinate development on Harrison Ave/Albany St. They have posted this notice on an Oct 28th public meeting will present a draft of their proposal. I hope you can attend.

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The Harrison-Albany Strategic Plan Advisory Group and the Boston Redevelopment Authority
will host a community meeting to discuss the

HARRISON-ALBANY STRATEGIC PLAN / South End
DRAFT VISION

Wednesday, October 28, 2009, 6:15PM
The Franklin Square House ( across from Franklin Square)
11 E. Newton Street in the South End

The BRA, in collaboration with a 30-member Advisory Group, has initiated a strategic planning process for the Harrison Avenue - Albany Street portion of the South End. The study area is bounded by the Massachusetts Turnpike to the east, Albany Street/Southeast Expressway/Massachusetts Avenue Connector to the south; Massachusetts Avenue to the west; and generally Washington Street/Harrison Avenue to the north.

The meeting will include a presentation of the draft vision and goals and objectives for the study area, and discussion will include feedback on the issues and opportunities identified as they relate to land use, urban design, transportation, and economic development.

Please come to learn more about the planning process and provide input about the study area. Upon its completion, the strategic plan will include recommendations to guide future development so that it meets the needs of the diverse community.

Translation will be provided.

Meeting notes and PowerPoint presentations from the Advisory Group meetings are available on the BRA website at: http://www.bostonredevelopmentauthority.org/Planning/PlanningInitsIndividual.asp?action=ViewInit&InitID=135

BRA Contact:
Marie Mercurio
Boston Redevelopment Authority
617-918-4352
Marie.Mercurio.BRA@cityofboston.gov

Silver Line changes

For those that take the Silver Line, some changes went into effect on Friday. An additional destination will be available on the Washington street line.

The MBTA has added busses from Dudley to South Station; stopping at a new bus shelter at the interseciton of Essex and Atlantic Avenue. This new stop is a short walk from South Station services (Red line, Commuter Rail, intercity bus and SL-waterfront). The T has 'added' this service - meaning there will be the same number of busses going to Downtown Crossing; the South Station busses are additional service.

As you catch the Silver Line, please keep an eye on the bus destination. SL5 busses will continue to go inbound to Temple Place/Downtown. The new SL4 busses will go to South Station. Both routes will stop at Chinatown station.

You can find a map of all SL service here. (pdf) and schedules on the MBTA Bus page.

Boston Living Center benefit

“Back 2 Basics” Tea Dance Party to Benefit the Boston Living Center

The new Verve Lounge in Boston’s South End will be hosting a tea dance to benefit the Boston Living Center, a local nonprofit organization that provides resources, services and support for people living with HIV/AIDS. The special event, geared to Boston’s GLBT community, is Sunday, November 8, 2009 from 4-8 PM. DJ Harrison will play his trademark music selections featuring retro and disco favorites from the 70s and 80s as well as top 40 dance remixes. Comedic drag queen Davina DelMar will also make a special appearance. The Verve Lounge, located at 811 Massachusetts Avenue is part of Rudi’s Resto Café and Bar at the corner of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea Cass Boulevard (at the Hampton Inn). Parking available in the public garage off Melnea Cass Boulevard (behind Quiznos). Admission is $10. Additional monthly Back 2 Basics Tea Dances for the GLBT community are planned at the Verve Lounge on the second Sunday of the month with the next dance on December 13. The Back 2 Basics monthly Tea Dances have been sell-out events in Roslindale for the past six months.

For more information contact: rickward51@comcast.net .

Community Safety training

As part of the 'crime awareness' effort going on in this part of the South End, Police area D4 will offer some safety training Tuesday Oct 6th at the D4 community room - The corner of Harrison and Plympton (A short walk from Foodies). Meeting notice is below. I hope you can attend!

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There will be, what the D4 police neighborhood watch unit entitled, an “Eyes and Ears” training for interested residents to be held in the Community Room at District D-4 on October 6th at 6:00pm. It will be about an hour long.

The training/informational session is designed to make residents more aware of what goes on in their neighborhood and what to do if, or when, something is happening. It is meant to provide information on the critical role of residents and their participation in their community. It will provide residents with a means to learn crime prevention methods. Your neighborhood safety lies in the combined efforts of all neighbors to look after one another and work with local police.

Please contact Carolyn MacNeil, the director of Neighborhood watch unit of Boston Police for more info at 617–343-5682. Hope to see you there.

No October meeting - OD Block Party instead

Evening everyone. As we suspected last month, we will not be having an October meeting.

However, Old Dover has extended a general invitation to their block party on Wednesday, Oct 7. It starts at 6:30 at the old trolley barn/power house (560 Harrison, where the Sunday open Market is held). Burgers & Dogs. Bring a dessert. Hopefully I'll see some of you there, and you can support our adjoining NA by buying some raffle tickets.

Our next scheduled meeting is Wednesday, November 4.

Friends of Ringgold Park Annual Halloween Party

[Friend of Ringgold Park] are excited to announce that the planning for the annual Friends of Ringgold Park Halloween Party has begun! It is already shaping up to be a wonderful night for the community. We hope you and your family will join us!

The festivities will begin on Saturday October 31st at 4:30 p.m. and the costume parade will worm its way out of the park and down Waltham Street at 5:30 p.m. We will have Waltham Street blocked off for the event so you can count on safe trick or treating for the little ones.

We are lucky to have generous neighborhood sponsors that donate delicious food, but we also need help from the community to fill out the menu. In light of the candy to come later in the evening, we particularly welcome savory treats. Veggie trays, hummus, chips, dips, pretzels, popcorn in small bags have been favorites in years past. We look forward to any fresh ideas as well.

Finally, we need volunteers to assist in the pre-event park cleanup, decorating, and post-event clean up tasks on Halloween day. Morning cleanup will begin at 9:00 a.m., park decorating and set up will begin at 2:30 p.m. and clean up can begin as soon as the parade leaves the park at 5:30 p.m., and will extend on into the evening. We promise it will be a fun and gratifying way to get involved and spend some time with your neighbors.

We can’t do it all on our own! If you can lend a hand with food, decorating, or clean up, please email Elfa Gretarsdottir at elfatholl@gmail.com. Please put “Ringgold Park Halloween: Food, AM Cleanup, Decorating, or PM Cleanup” in the subject line to help us keep track of volunteers.

Please direct any other questions to Becca Schulman at beccaschulman@gmail.com.

We are looking forward to seeing you and your family in all your Halloween glory!