December Business Meeting

Happy December everyone.  Hope you've recovered form any turkey induced coma you may have run into over the long weekend.

Our next business meeting Wednesday, December 4th,  6:30-8:30 at the Boston Ballet 5th floor board room (Corner of Warren & Clarendon)

Usual meeting format:

6:30-7 - Neighborhood Networking.   Meet your neighbors in an informal setting.
7-8:30 - Business meeting.

On the agenda this month:

• 39 Milford st - request for support for a 2nd floor rear deck
• Committee agendas (see below)
• Open Member Discussion

Neighborhood planning continues this meeting!   We started forming committees at the last meeting.  We'll continue that effort - see what the committees have been up to in organizing themselves and continue discussion of ideas for the coming year.  As well as street captains, we started work on some committees.   The descriptions are listed again below.

• Neighborhood Improvements - How can we make our neighborhood shine!  Educate people about trash.   Organize cleanups.   Work with the city on hot spots for sidewalks/street repairs.  Maybe even start new beautification projects!

• Social Events - We had so much fun at the pot luck, you wanted more!  Bi-annual pot lucks.   neighborhood nights at local restaurants?  Dinner club?  Wine club?  Monthly 'stoop night'?   Maybe a welcome wagon for new residents?   What fin things can You think of??

• Safety - Work with the NA, BPD and street captains on neighborhood safety.   Attend BPD crime meetings.  Organize neighborhood walk-throughs with BPD on how to make doorways and alleys safer.   Maybe fundraise for alley lighting and numbering.  

• City Liaison - work with us as we meet with different city agencies and politicians to keep the NA/City connection alive and productive

• Membership - work with the Treasurer to help promote the NA and boost NA membership

• Local Business - help re-establish the NA relationship with local businesses.   Let them know who the NA is and how we can benefit from each other.  Welcome new businesses.  Maybe have businesses speak at the NA.   Work with local businesses to sponsor events and activities.

If any of their activities interest you, or you have more ideas, bring them to the meeting.    Let's get get our  committees going with ideas and members and plan for a great year!  And don't forget to bring a friend - the more people involved, the more things we can do!

If you haven't yet renewed your annual membership, or are looking to join us, head to the ESNA Membership Page.  There you can renew on-line with your credit card, or print out a membership form to mail in with a cheque.

Hope to see everyone there!

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Election Results

A PDF of full election results from the 11/5/2013 Mayoral and City Council races can be found here.
Eight Streets is part of Ward 3, Precinct 7.

WBUR made a cool interactive map that shows mayoral results precinct by precinct.   An interesting division of the city...

November Business meeting

Brrrrrr!

Our next business meeting Wednesday, November 6th,  6:30-8:30 at the Boston Ballet 5th floor board room (Corner of Warren & Clarendon)

Usual meeting format:

6:30-7 - Neighborhood Networking.   Meet your neighbors in an informal setting.
7-8:30 - Business meeting.

On the agenda this month:

• NA Planning - What do you want to do?
• Open Member Discussion

We had planned to have 80 East Berkeley come to the meeting, but they have cancelled.   We are trying to re-schedule.

Neighborhood planning continues this meeting!   We had a lot of great ideas last month, and we'll be building on these.

Street Captains - A great suggestion from last meeting.  Each street would have a 'point person' who would be the liaison for the street.   Get to know the neighbors.   Be a contact point for the NA.  Encourage membership and expand NA visibility.  Maybe coordinate events like street cleanups.    We already have a few volunteers.  Maybe you can help us out!

Committees!  Time to get some ideas and activities form you the residents!!  We've got some ideas for committees that will give you a chance to do more for the neighborhood and get involved!!    Some committees we'd like to form:

• Neighborhood Improvements - How can we make our neighborhood shine!  Educate people about trash.   Organize cleanups.   Work with the city on hot spots for sidewalks/street repairs.  Maybe even start new beautification projects!

• Social Events - We had so much fun at the pot luck, you wanted more!  Bi-annual pot lucks.   neighborhood nights at local restaurants?  Dinner club?  Wine club?  Monthly 'stoop night'?   Maybe a welcome wagon for new residents?   What fin things can You think of??

• Safety - Work with the NA, BPD and street captains on neighborhood safety.   Attend BPD crime meetings.  Organize neighborhood walk-throughs with BPD on how to make doorways and alleys safer.   Maybe fundraise for alley lighting and numbering.  

• City Liaison - work with us as we meet with different city agencies and politicians to keep the NA/City connection alive and productive

• Membership - work with the Treasurer to help promote the NA and boost NA membership

• Local Business - help re-establish the NA relationship with local businesses.   Let them know who the NA is and how we can benefit from each other.  Welcome new businesses.  Maybe have businesses speak at the NA.   Work with local businesses to sponsor events and activities.

Come to the meeting with great ideas as we kick off Member Involvement!!  Let's get some committees together and plan for a great year!

And a reminder, if you haven't yet renewed your annual membership, head to the ESNA Membership Page.  There you can renew on-line with your credit card, or print out a membership form to mail in with a cheque.

Hope to see everyone there!

Vote!!

Celebrate the end of those robocalls by going out to vote on November 5th.

Eight Streets (Ward 3 Precinct 7) votes at Cathedral High School, located at Waltham and Washington streets.   Polls are open from 7am-8pm.

This election we will not only vote for a new mayor, but a new city councilor for our district and new city councilors at large (vote for 4).   A list of candidate names can be found on this PDF from the city web site.  You can see the official ballot you will receive here.  

Happy Halloween 2013

Our neighborhood is looking pretty spooky these days - but in a good way!!   Halloween is almost
upon us, and Eight Streets residents are getting into the sprit(s).  Just because we're in a city doesn't mean we can't decorate our buildings!

On Halloween Night, Ringgold park will again host their annual Halloween party for the kids.  The event is free and open to anyone in the neighborhood.  Bring your kids, or just come and check out some great costumes!  4:30-6 on halloween night.

But an event like this doesn't happen on it's own.  If you can help out, they are looking for volunteers to help with the halloween festivities.  Please consider helping out if you have some extra time and help make this a successful event.   If you can't volunteer that day, Ringgold is having a Fall Cleanup this Saturday from 1-3pm to get the park clean and in shape for the kids.  No reservations necessary - just stop on by and give a hand!

After Ringgold, the kids start hitting the street for treats.   Given our townhouses, kids don't really go ringing doorbells.   Instead, we come to them.  Those giving out candy become porch sitters for the night, greeting trick-or-treaters on our front steps.

Aside greeting the kids, this is a great way to meet your neighbors!  Take this opportunity to say hi to the folks next door that you may only see in passing.   Or combine a few houses onto one stoop and make an evening of it.  (the kids just want candy, they don't care where you live  :)  Make a social night out of it!

Have a happy and save halloween everyone!!!

Let's Talk Trash

Trash collection in Boston is done by private contractors.  The city puts trash collection out to bid, and
companies make proposals for trash collection.   For many years now the City has continued the current contract which has kept the current company and trash pickup procedures in place for many years now.

In 2014, the contract for city trash pick-up is going out to bid.  And the city wants your input on trash collection.

We all love to talk about trash.  Now the city actually wants your opinion.  It's time to think outside the box and bring your ideas on trash collection to them.  

First, take this on-line survey.   It asks some basic question son trash and trash collection for the city.

Second, attend a trash meeting.   On Wednesday, Oct 9th, 6pm at the Boston Public Library (Copley Square).   This will be an open forum to discuss issues with the current system, and to see ideas of what we the citizens would want in a new contract.    Time to put on your thinking caps and bring your ideas!  Want more recycling?  Compost pick-up?  better collection hours?   This is your time to speak up.  

For more information, please see this city page.   It has an advanced copy of the presentation you can see, as well as dates of other meetings if you can't make the 9th.

October ESNA Business Meeting

Happy Autumn Everyone.

Our next business meeting Wednesday, October 2nd,  6:30-8:30 at the Boston Ballet 5th floor board room (Corner of Warren & Clarendon)

Usual meeting format:

6:30-7 - Neighborhood Networking.   Meet your neighbors in an informal setting.
7-8:30 - Business meeting.

On the agenda this month:

• 293 Shawmut - request to support an increase in occupancy
• NA Planning - What do you want to do?
• Open Member Discussion

293 Shawmut wishes to increase building occupancy from 5 to 6 by splitting one of the larger units to provide more housing.  Plans will be presented and a vote taken.

We'd like to spend a large portion of the meeting doing some neighborhood planning.   We had a great pot-luck, and met a lot of new faces, and and to know what you would like to do next.   How else can we make the neighborhood more social?   What things can we do to improve our community.   We want your feedback and ideas, and maybe even some volunteers,  so we can continue to keep our neighborhood a great place to live.


Hope to see everyone there!

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80 East Berkeley Street

New development is on our doorstep - don't forget to submit your comments.  The comment deadline is fast approaching (Sept 30th).   More details at the end of this post.

For those who are just hearing about it, 80 East Berkeley street is a proposal to put a larger commercial building at the corner of Shawmut/East Berkeley/Washington streets.  Currently this area is occupied by a public parking lot and an auto garage (which rents their parking out to Mings Market).

For an overview of the project, read this Globe article.

For complete project information, read the PNF.  This will download a PDF file of the Project Notification Form.   It's a real big document that contains everything about the project.  Drawings, renderings, traffic analysis, costs, Zoning, History, Environment Impact.  It's worth the read just to see what goes into the planning of projects.

The basics

The proposal is for an 11 story office building at the location.  The height is the maximum allowable height based on a re-zoning effort that took place last year.   Eight Streets Castle Square and Old Dover opposed the higher zoning for that block.  The city wanted a larger building on that corner, calling that corner and East Berkeley overall are a 'gateway' to the South End.   The developer has chosen to build an Office building rather than residential.   

There will be 2-4 commercial businesses on the first floor.  The building entrance is to be on East Berkeley, but the entrance to the garage will be on Washington street (which is planned to be a 2-way street)  There will be larger sidewalks on the E Berkeley and Washington sides, and a 'pull over' lane in front of the main entrance so daytime pickup-dropoff and evening valet service will not block E Berkeley traffic.   BTD says there are currently no plans to change any street parking availability on E Berkeley street.

What you can do

The BRA (Boston Redevelopment Authority) is seeking public comment until September 30th.  Everyone is going to have an opinion on the development.  The NA ha heard both positive and negative comments on the proposal.  If you have any comments on the project, your best way to share your thoughts are to write the BRA directly. The more letters they have, the more they will listen to the public.

Sending a US Mail letter or email are the best way to share your opinion.  A phone call may not be recorded as an opinion, but you are free to phone or email with any questions.   

Send all comments to

Casey Ann Hines

Project Manager

BRA

One City Hall Square

Boston, MA  02201

617-918-4244

casey.hines.BRA@citofboston.gov 

Eight Streets

We will also be sending a letter from the Neighborhood Association.  We certainly support all the construction going on in the East end of the South End.  An open and often barren area of our neighborhood will become a vibrant new area will many new stores and residents.  

But as with the zoning, we are concerned about the height of the building.   A slightly shorter building would ease the transition from the 4-story residential area into the new development.  A setback on the Berkeley edge would also help lessen the building's impact.   

Remember to get your feedback to the BRA by September 30th.

South End Trash meeting: W, 9/11

A reminder that there is a meeting this Wednesday (9/11) to discuss the trash pilot program.

As I've announced at several meetings, an area in the western South End has been doing a trash experiment.   They were not allowed to put trash out until 11pm the night before trash pickup.   In June there was a public meeting where those residents said the streets were a little cleaner, but 11pm was too late.   At that time, the pilot program was continued, but with the earliest time you can put trash out moved back to 9pm.

On Wednesday those residents will be allowed to comment again on how they believe the pilot program worked with 9pm pickup.   If the City/Public Works receives positive feedback from those residents, the 9pm trash put-out time program will be expanded South End wide.   At today's meeting of South End NA leaders, a vote was taken to support the extension of the 9pm time.   The city will take all these feedback into consideration when making their final decision.

If you would like to hear those residents' feedback on the pilot, or would like to comment on the change in put-out time, please join us at Wednesday's meeting.   (Everyone has many trash concerns, but this meeting will be limited to a change in put-out time.  The city is having a multi-neighborhood meeting on trash collection on October 9th - more information as it becomes available)

Wednesday, September 11
6:30pm
South End Branch library (Tremont & W Newton)

An article on the meeting was also in the South End News.

Follow us on twitter!   @eightstreets

September ESNA Meeting

Hope everyone had a good summer.   Hard to believe Autumn is around the corner.

This Wednesday brings the return of our monthly business meetings.   We meet the first Wednesday of each month at the Boston ballet in their 5th floor board room.   The agenda for the meetings is kept up to date on the web site, and is sent out in these emails/blog posts close to meeting time when all presenters have been finalized.     The meeting schedule for thour Google Calendar (if you use google, you can add our calendar to yours...
e rest of the year is below, and is also on

And don't forget our Fall Pot Luck this weekend (Sept 7th).   See web page for details.

Business meeting schedule:

2013:
September 4
October 2
November 6
December 4
2014:
January 8th   (2nd wednesday,   first wednesday is 1/1...)
February 5
March 5
April 2
May 7
June 4

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Business meeting Wednesday, Sept 4th.  6:30-8:30 at the Boston Ballet 5th floor board room (Corner of Warren & Clarendon)

Usual meeting format:

6:30-7 - Neighborhood Networking.   Meet your neighbors in an informal setting.
7-8:30 - Business meeting.

On the agenda this month:

• Boston Ballet
• 254 Shawmut Ave
• 80 East Berkeley
• Open Member Discussion

Boston Ballet, who has allowed us to use the meeting room for several years now, will tell us about their exciting program celebrating their 50th year, and a free event coming to Boston Common this month.

254 Shawmut wish to add onto the rear of their building and seeing support (non-opposition) from the neighborhood.  Plans will be presented and a vote taken.

Finally we'll update you on the public meeting that took place last week concerning the proposed development on the Shawmut/E Berkeley/Washington parking lots, known as 80 E Berkeley.  We'll blog about this after the meeting, but in the meantime, please read the PNF from this BRA link.


Hope to see everyone there!

ESNA Pot Luck!

It's hard to believe Summer is winding down, but September is right around the corner.

Come help us celebrate the start of the ESNA calendar year at a neighborhood Pot Luck & BBQ.  We'll have a grill with some burgers and dogs, but we're counting on you to make it interesting.   Bring your favorite dish to share with your neighbors!  

But most of all, bring a friend or a neighbor.   Meet your fellow Eight Streeters.   Learn more about the association.   Share ideas on how we can improve our neighborhood.

Join us on Saturday, September 7th from 4-6 in Ringgold Park.   Please RSVP to potluck@eightstreets.org to let us know you're coming, what you can bring, and if you can volunteer additional time for setup, cleanup, advertising and such.   Even if you can't RSVP or aren't a good cook, come on down and meet everyone!   

Complete details can be found on our pot luck web page.

Not sure if you're in Eight Streets?   Check out Neighborhood Map.

Meeting THIS wednesday

I can't emphasize enough the need for everyone to attend the BRA meeting THIS WEDNESDAY,
8/21, concerning the construction project at Washington/E Berkeley/Shawmut.   As you can see by the rendering to the right, this initial proposal is a massive building, and most folks will this this is a bit out of scale for the neighborhood.    (the 'small' brown building on the left is the Project Place building (Meyers & Chang) at the corner of Washington & East Berkeley)

Please come out and give the city your opinion - and bring your friends and neighbors.   If attendance at the meeting is thin, the city will think we don't care!!

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Please be advised that an Expanded Project Notification Form regarding 80 East Berkeley Street in the South End was received by the BRA on August 8, 2013.  The Druker Company, Ltd. (the “Proponent”) proposes an eleven-story building with approximately 290,000 square feet of office space on ten floors and approximately 18,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and/or restaurant space, as well as an underground parking garage containing a total of approximately 200 public and accessory parking spaces. The Proposed Project also includes an accessway connecting Washington Street and Shawmut Avenue.

A public meeting will be held on this proposal.  Details below:

Meeting date/time: Wednesday, August 21, 2013 at 6:00PM

Meeting location: The Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street

Shawmut/E Berkeley Construction Meeting

The BRA has announced a public meeting for the proposed construction at Washington/E Berkeley/Shawmut.  This parcel is the parking lot at Shawmut/E Berkeley and the adjoining auto shop lot at E Berkeley/Washington.  As part of the of the BRA re-zoning of the Harrison/Albany area, this area is zoned to be a maximum height of 150 feet.

This is a bit project that will have a huge impact on our neighborhood.   The official notice is below.  Once designs and a comment address are available, I'll post them in another blog entry.

I hope everyone can attend!!!

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Please be advised that an Expanded Project Notification Form regarding 80 East Berkeley Street in the South End was received by the BRA on August 8, 2013.  The Druker Company, Ltd. (the “Proponent”) proposes an eleven-story building with approximately 290,000 square feet of office space on ten floors and approximately 18,000 square feet of ground-floor retail and/or restaurant space, as well as an underground parking garage containing a total of approximately 200 public and accessory parking spaces. The Proposed Project also includes an accessway connecting Washington Street and Shawmut Avenue.

A public meeting will be held on this proposal.  Details below:

Meeting date/time: Wednesday, August 21, 2013 at 6:00PM

Meeting location: The Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont Street

Best,

Casey Ann Hines

Project Manager

Boston Redevelopment Authority

One City Hall Square

Boston, MA 02201

617-918-4244

Casey.Hines.BRA@cityofboston.gov

Mayoral Candidate Night

Our friends at the South End Business Alliance are hosting a Candidates Night right up the street at the Calderwood Pavilion.  All residents are welcome to attend.

"Join SEBA for a chance to meet with the candidates running to be Mayor of Boston. Boston’s South End houses over 25,000 residents and 500+ businesses who deserve the opportunity to personally meet with and hear the proposals of the person who will become their mayor. The candidates will be asked to focus on how businesses will be impacted by their administration and each candidate’s résumé will be posted on the SEBA website for all to view before the event."

Join us Thursday, August 29th from 5:30-7:30 at the Calderwood (Tremont, between Milford and Hanson).  Snacks are provided by Above and Beyond catering.

This is a great chance to meet the candidates at a venue closed to the neighborhood!!!

June business meeting

Our next monthly Eight Streets business meeting will be this Wednesday, June 5th in the Boston Ballet  (corner of Warren & Clarendon streets)

usual meeting format:

6:30-7 - Neighborhood Networking.   Meet your neighbors in an informal setting. 
7-8:30 - Business meeting.  

On the agenda this month:

• Request to support existing capacity for the Franklin Café.
• 10 Bond Street - seeking support for a roof deck on the real L.
• 294 Shawmut - returning to seek support for increasing height of rear L.
• Open member discussion.

The Franklin café is seeking a vote to support their current existing capacity.  Due to a paperwork issue, a capacity increase approved years ago was never filed.  This vote would be to support the capacity that you see today - they are not looking to increase or expand. 

294 Shawmut did not have abutter support when they visited us last.  Mr. Nurse has since met with abutters and is ready to bring a new design back to the NA.


This is also the last meeting until September.   Look for some events in the summer, and see you at the next business meeting in September!

Hope to see everyone there!  

8-10 Taylor Community Meeting (Rescheduled)

The city is holding a public neighborhood meeting concerning 8-10 Taylor street.   This is the community meeting that was postponed due to the Marathon events.

The meeting will take place Monday, May 6th, 5-6pm at the Franklin institute, 41 Berkeley street.

The agenda for the meeting is as follows:

• 5:00 pm Introduction Hilani Morales - Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services 
• 5:05 pm Ellen Lipsey - Boston Landmarks Commission Meghan Hanrahan - South End Landmarks District Commission 
• 5:20 pm Michael Cannizzo - Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) 
• 5:35 pm Bryan Glascock - Inspectional Services Department (ISD) 
• 5:50 pm Questions 
• 6:00 pm Wrap up

All are welcome to attend.  Please pass the word.

May business meeting

Our next monthly Eight Streets business meeting will be this Wednesday, May 1st, in the Boston Ballet 5th floor board room (corner of Warren and Clarendon streets)

6:30-7 - Neighborhood Networking.   Meet your neighbors in an informal setting. 

7-8:30 - Business meeting.  

On the agenda this month:

• 34 Dwight st
• 53 Dwight st
• Siena Farms
• Open Member Discussion

Two construction projects this month.   34 Dwight street seeks to add a rear balcony and a rear shed dormer.  53 Dwight is also seeing to add a rear deck and replace the current rear roof windows with a shed dormer.   Both projects will see our support for these changes.   53 Dwight will also update us on their groundwater plan, which is already approved by the city.

Siena farms is seeking support for a Stationary vending license.   This will allow them to sell produce on the sidewalk, similarly to what they did last year.  they'll also address sidewalk width requirements by the city, and their willingness to help strike a balance between a passable sidewalk and the open air market atmosphere the sidewalk presence gives us.

We will also be having elections at this meeting.   I've had some residents step forward and are willing to fill the vacant officer positions we have in the association.   I'm glad we have some neighbors willing to take on a greater role in the association, and grateful for the added help!!   We'll make it official by having our annual elections this month.

It's a busy meeting, and I hope to see everyone there!     And don't forget to vote in Tuesday's senate primaries!!

Alley cleanup this weekend

Boston Shines city cleanup is this coming Saturday.  The neighbors abutting the Milford/Dwight alley are getting together to clean up the alley, much like the Milford/Hanson folks did last year.  They hope to clean our all the debris, and to trim back vegetation to make the alley cleaner and safer.

This Saturday, 4/27, anyone interested in helping out should meet outside of Georgiana's at 8:30am.  

Boston Shines will be providing cleaning supplies at the BCA, and we're hoping to get DPW to pick up some of the larger debris that can't be bagged.

If you're interested in helping out, or for more information, contact Charles or Lewis.

For more information, see this flier.

8 Taylor meeting POSTPONED

Morning all,

I was finally able to contact city hall today, which gives you a hint they are still busy dealing with the events of this week.   Right now they are unable to confirm that all departments would be able to attend tonight's meeting.  

Since meeting with the 4 department representatives is the whole reason for the meeting, we have decided to POSTPONE the 8 Taylor community meeting.

I'll re-post once a new date is selected.

Thanks for your patience.

Mayor's coffee hour

Spring brings us the return of the Mayor's Coffee hour.   Stop by and chat the Mayor about anything that's on your mind!    All are welcome to attend.

Wednesday, May 29th, 9:30am-10:30

8 Taylor public meeting

NOTE - The meeting has since been postponed due to the events surround the Marathon.  We will re-blog once a new date is set.

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The City of Boston is holding a public meeting concerning 8 Taylor street.   The BRA, ISD, Landmarks and the Mayors Office of Neighborhood Services will all be there.   The meeting is to answer questions and discuss measures the city will put in place so this situation does not occur in future developments  A full meeting agenda will be posted when the city passes it onto us.

This is a public meeting, and we encourage all Eight Streets residents to attend.   Please pass the word.

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What: Community Meeting to discuss 8-10 Taylor Street

When: Wednesday April 17, 2013; 6-7pm

Where: The Benjamin Franklin Institute Auditorium located at  41 Berkeley Street, Boston MA 02116

In Attendance: representatives from the Inspectional Services Department (ISD), The South End Landmark District Commission, The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA), and The Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services. 

April business meeting

Our next monthly Eight Streets business meeting will be this Wednesday, April 3rd, in the Boston Ballet 5th floor board room (corner of Warren and Clarendon streets)

6:30-7 - Neighborhood Networking.   Meet your neighbors in an informal setting. 

7-8:30 - Business meeting.  

On the agenda this month:

• 294 Shawmut ave
• Open Member Discussion

The only agenda item is a building project for 294 Shawmut ave.   They wish to increase the building's L extension from 2 stories to 4 stories.  We'll have plenty of time during open member discussion to chat about neighborhood goings on.

Hope to see everyone there!  

And a reminder that the meeting schedule for the rest of the ESNA year is on line -  mark your calendars so you don't miss a meeting!

march business meeting

Our next monthly Eight Streets business meeting will be this Wednesday, March 6th, in the Boston Ballet 5th floor board room (corner of Warren and Clarendon streets)

6:30-7 - Neighborhood Networking.   Meet your neighbors in an informal setting. 

7-8:30 - Business meeting.  

On the agenda this month:

• Dwight/Milford alley update - Find out what's going on with the neighbor's gate, numbering and lighting effort for the Dwight/Milford alley
• Request for Waltham closure.  Barbara Lynch/B&G would like to close part of Waltham st on a Sunday for her annual patio opening/fundraiser.   Strong opinions on this via email.  hear the proposal and speak with Barbara on her proposal.
• Open Member Discussion

Hope to see everyone there!  

And a reminder that the meeting schedule for the rest of the ESNA year is on line -  mark your calendars so you don't miss a meeting!

Lights! Cameras!

Hollywood is going to do a bit of filming in our neighborhood in about 2 weeks.  ABC (network) is going to be filming inside a Waltham street home for a new TV series.

On March 13-15 and 19-20 they'll be setting up and taking down the location.  Only one or two trucks those days, so not too many parking spaces taken.  They'll basically be furnishing and then de-furnishing the building.

Filming will take place on Monday, March 18th.  For that day they'll be taking up the most parking spaces of the shoot.  Many of their production vehicles will be on Washington street or on Harrison ave (where they are also filming), so we won't have the whole 'fleet' of movie making trucks you usually see invading Waltham street.

Feel free to contact us if there any issues related to the filming.  We'll post any additional information as it becomes available.

Street sweeping delayed

Hi all.    Street sweeping, which was to begin on march 1st has been delayed.   There's still too much ice and snow on the streets to start an effective sweeping program.

There will be no ticketing or towing (or street sweeping) the week of

UPDATED - snow delay again - new potential start date is March 18th

We'll let know when sweeping will begin - DPW will evaluate road conditions week by week and let us know when they feel the streets are ready to be cleaned!

February business meeting

Our next monthly Eight Streets business meeting will be this Wednesday, February 13th, in the Boston Ballet 5th floor board room (corner of Warren and Clarendon streets)

6:30-7 - Neighborhood Networking.   Meet your neighbors in an informal setting. 

7-8:30 - Business meeting.  

On the agenda this month:

• 54 Dight st - seeing support for roof deck and balcony
• 290 Shawmut ave - seeking support for rebuilding dormer and adding roofdeck
• Open Member Discussion

Just a few local projects on the agenda this month.  We'll have plenty of time during open member discussion to chat about neighborhood goings on.

Hope to see everyone there!  

And a reminder that the meeting schedule for the rest of the ESNA year is on line -  mark your calendars so you don't miss a meeting!

Clear those hydrants

First off, two thumbs up to all fellow Eigth Streets neighbors.   Lots of clean sidewalks today, with the sun melting what little we had left.   Hopefully the rain won't flood the streets and sidewalks Monday night.

I did notice a few hydrants could use some more work.  Just begin able to see the hydrant isn't enough.  The photo on the left shows a hydrant not cleaned off well enough.

Fire fighters need to be able to connect a hose to any of the three connections.   That means you need 2-3 feet CLEAR on either side.   Enough for a fully equipped firefighter can get there and work to attach equipment.  

We also need a path from the hydrant TO the street.   Access from the sidewalk to the hydrant isn't enough.  The hoses need to run form the hydrant to the trucks.   if firefighters have to waste time digging their own way to the hydrant, critical firefighting time is lost.

If you see hydrants today that need more access around them, or need a path to the street, please do a little more shoveling.   We need to be prepared in case the unthinkable happens...

Snow Primer

Morning all,

It's been a while since we've had significant snow in the city, so here's refresher with some city and neighborhood information.

Your main source of information is the city's Know Snow web page.  It has snow emergency, school closing and other current information - as well as links to parking and snow removal resources.   The Parking Page will tell you the do's and don'ts of parking during snow storms/snow emergencies, as well as list garages that offer discount rates for residents during snow emergencies.   And face it, with 2+ foot forecast with lots of drifting, putting the car in a garage tonight might be your best bet.  The Snow Removal page has a lot of what I'll summarize below, with the do's and don'ts of snow clearing.

For snow removal, you have to:

• Shovel your sidewalk within 3 hours of snow ending.  (or 3 hours after sunrise, if the snow continues into the night).  If you've been through this kind of snowfall before, it's easier to shovel multiple times during breaks in the storm rather than shovel it all at the end.  But of course, be safe and use your best judgement
• If you live on the corner, you have to shovel both sidewalks
• If you live on a crosswalks, you have to shovel out the crosswalk and have a clear path to the street.  If you live on a corner, both crosswalks need to be done.
• When you shovel, the path needs to be at least 42" wide.   Having a path 1-shove wide down the sidewalk isn't going to cut it.
• Sidewalks:   don't throw snow into the street.  Cars: don't shovel snow into the street or back onto the sidewalks.  Snow 'officially' goes between the walking sidewalks and the curb, or between parked cars.  With the levels of snow, putting it somewhere will be a challenge.
• As mentioned in last weeks' blog post - after your sidewalk is clear, it's your responsibility to keep it ice-free all winter long, as snow can melt and re-freeze at night on the sidewalk.

Remember, tickets issued for not shoveling now have to be paid, or they will be attached to your property tax bill.   You can get a ticket for every day not shoveled.  Plus, with the citizens connect app people have on their phones, any pedestrian who runs into an unshoveled property is going to snap a photo and get the city on your case.  The fine is $50/day for residential and $200 for commercial businesses (although ESNA businesses tend to be pretty good about clearing their sidewalks).

For snow removal, it would be nice if you:

• Shovel out hydrants, even if not in front of your home.
• Help out a neighbor who might have trouble with snow removal.  And keep an eye on a neighbor whose only home entrance is a very deep stairwell.  (Yes, some people got stuck in their homes last blizzard)
• Shovel the sidewalk of a local pocket park.  With this snow, parks/BRA will take a long time to get to such things.
• If there's a big gap between cars, consider shoveling out a path from the sidewalk to the street.  Pedestrians, drivers, mail carriers, package delivery and garbage men will thank you in the weeks to come.
• If you can, shovel out the local catch basins/storm drain.   The forecast for Monday is 40 degrees and RAIN.   If snow is covering all the storm drains we'll have flooding, which will then freeze on us Monday night.

For this and future weather alerts, you can sign up for alert emails form the city at the Alert Boston page.  For those on twitter, you can also follow @NotifyBoston and @AlertBoston.  Both of those resources will get you literally up to the minute notices on emergencies and closings and other city changes (like the change in trash times today).


Stay prepared,  stay safe, and see you all out shoveling!

Keeping sidewalks safe

As we enter the season of warm days and cold nights, we'd like to remind everyone that we need to keep our sidewalks ice free for the safety of everyone.

While everyone knows they need to shovel their sidewalks after a snow, most people don't realize they need to make sure there's no ice on their sidewalks.   As snow melts or water runs off rooftops, it risks re-freezing on the sidewalk after the sun goes down and temperatures drop again.   It's the owner's responsibility to make the sidewalks safe by sanding, removing or using an ice melting solution on icy sidewalks and steps.  

Not keeping sidewalks and stairways free of ice can result in the same city fine that you get if you don't shovel snow.

The problem is compounded in our area due to a change in government rules.   Residents are no longer allowed to connect downspouts (gutters) to the storm drain system.  For the rear of houses, gutters can drain to the yards or to a groundwater recharge system.   But there's often not room for either of those options in the front of buildings, so the downspouts now discharge right onto the sidewalks.  While usually not a problem, in wintertime this can create havoc.  On days like today where just a bit of snow is melting, even a small 'drip drip' from your gutter will create a thin sheen or water on the sidewalk, turning the sidewalk into a skating rink once the sun goes down.  

Please, everyone, check your sidewalks in the evenings and make sure they provide a safe environment for you and your neighbors!

Snow Emergency parking

South End Patch put together some important tips on parking in the South End during a snow emergency.  

You can find the article here

If there is a snow emergency - even if you're not parked on an artery, you can park at a local garage at a discount rate (and save yourself from shoveling out!).   A complete list can be found on this city web page.

A bunch of other information on the city during snow times can be found on the city's Know Snow web pages.  Surf to find out Boston Snow information, including signing up for alerts to get emails when a snow emergency has been declared.  

For those in the twittersphere, you can follow @NotifyBoston, which tweets not only snow alerts, but trash, traffic and other useful city information.   Visit and follow!

January business meeting

Our next monthly Eight Streets business meeting will be this Wednesday, January 9th (2013) in the Boston Ballet 5th floor board room (corner of Warren and Clarendon streets)

6:30-7 - Neighborhood Networking.   Meet your neighbors in an informal setting. 

7-8:30 - Business meeting.  

On the agenda this month:

• Parklet discussion
• Open Member Discussion

HI everyone.   Some last minute changes to the agenda.  54 Dwight will be coming before us in February for roof deck and balcony.  

BTD will also be joining us to discuss the proposed parklet on Hanson at Shawmut.  I've discussed the parklet at previous meetings, but BTD hadn't been in touch with us since their initial presentation at a South End forum meeting in May.   At previous meetings some people have questioned the need for a parklet in that area.  There has also been a negative article on the parklet penned by an abutter that made the papers. (the letter can still be found here).

BTD will be at the meeting to present information about the proposal, and to see if the neighborhood is interested in having the Hanson/Shawmut corner still be a part of the city's parklet program.

Additional reading:

• Boston.com article
• PDF on parklets form the city's BostonCompleteStreets web site
• Google search on parklets for your own reading & research

Hope to see everyone there!  

And a reminder that the meeting schedule for the rest of the ESNA year is on line -  mark your calendars so you don't miss a meeting!