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!

Local crimes: remember to Call 9-1-1 when you see something

Sgt. Provenzano of BPD area D4 gives us an update on some neighborhood security issues (below).

This is a reminder for everyone to call 911 when you see suspicious behavior on our streets.  Even if it's not an emergency, call 911 and let them know something is going on.  (See this previous blog entry with more detail on how Boston 911 works.)

When calling, remember to give as much detail of the situation, and as details a description of the people as you can.   If you don't feel safe calling right away, remember the details and call when you feel safer.  Details like number of people, type and color of clothing, ethnicity and build can help police locate people if they've moved on from where you saw the suspicious activity.    Remember, if you're on a cell phone, 911 will connect you to the state police.   Program 617-3434-911 into your cell phone to be connected directly to Boston 911 dispatcher

From Sgt. Provenzano:

After two daytime residential burglaries on 12-27-12 (one on Milford Street & the other on Dwight Street), officers made an arrest of a burglary suspect on Chandler Street this morning(do in large part to the immediate 911 call by a witness & a great description as well as an officer being on scene as the call was coming in). It is unknown at this time if any of these incidents are connected. However, we would like to take this time to remind residents to be vigilant and to immediately notify 911 of any suspicious behavior that they observe. You are our eyes & ears and we need your timely 911 calls.

Xmas day - no trash pickup at all

An important notice about trash next week:

Tuesday the 25th, being the Christmas holiday, there will be no trash or recycling pickup at all.  Trash is often delayed a week during holidays, but for the 25th all trash and recycling pickup has been cancelled.

• This Tuesday the 18th is the last Recycling pickup of the year.
• Tuesday the 25th - no trash or recycling pickup at all
• Friday the 28th - trash pickup only.

• Tuesday January 1st - regular trash and recycling pick-up.  No holiday delay

Please pass the word about no trash collection on the 25th.  It would be nice if we didn't have trash put out on Tuesday, and then end up sitting curbside until Friday...


The City web site lists Christmas tree pickup for recycling/composting starting the 2nd week of January - so trees will be recycled for Eight Streets on January 8th and 15th.  Trees put out on other days will be picked up with regular trash collection.

December business meeting

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

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

7-8:30 - Business meeting.  

On the agenda this month:

• Social night - As suggested at the last meeting, we're going to make our Neighborhood  Networking more social.  Bring a neighbor with you tonight and introduce them to the association.   
• On the social note, bring your favorite beverage for yourself and a snack to share and we can make an evening of it!
• 54 Dwight st - Requesting support for change of occupancy form single family to 2 family.  A vote will be taken. upcoming project
• Discussion on alley security.  Office Rich Littor will join us to discuss how we can make our alleys safer.   Mike and Rob have also been investigating some improvements to the Dwight/Milford alley.  This will be an open discussion 0 everyone can participate and discuss security and crime in the neighborhood.

Hope to see everyone there!  

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

Blackstone has Friends

The newly formed Friends of Blackstone Elementary want everyone to know they're around, and are looking for people to get involved!!  Located at Shawmut & West Dedham, the school is home to almost 600 students and is exceeding expectations as part of a multi-year turn-around program.

Find out more about the Friends, and find out how you can get involved.

Trees & Tree lighting

It's getting close to that time...

Charlie the Christmas Tree guy is back in our neighborhood again this year. A great way to get your Christmas trees and wreaths without having to go far from home. This year they're across the street - still at Berkeley and Tremont, but in the fenced yard of the Franklin Institute. Look for the Christmas lights, you can't miss him. Open now - every day and evening.

Our South End tree lighting is around the corner as well! Join your neighbors ont he BCA Plaza on Saturday, December 8th for the South End tree lighting. The event is 3-5pm on the BCA plaza, (4:15 est trolley arrival) and includes activities and snacks for the kids. For more information, see the BCA Web site.

 Don't forget to take advantage of the variety of theater events available for half price on the Mayors Holiday Special web site!

no November meeting

Hi Everyone,

The November Eight Streets meeting is being cancelled, so you can now spend a quiet evening at home as we recover from Tuesday's election.    

In reality, we lost our regular room, and with no big agenda items, rather than reschedule for another day, we'll just resume on our next meeting date, Wednesday, December 5th.

Speaking of next meeting, someone had a suggestion to make our 'social hour' part of the meeting more social.   Is there an interest in making our December meeting 6:30-7 period more social?   Snacks plus a 'bring a friend' night?  Might be a fun way to end the year.  Anyone interested?

- John Mc

Happy Halloween

It looks like we'll have some decent weather for halloween night.  Barring a random shower, the kids will be out in force tomorrow night.

For those new to the city, since we're mostly town houses, the kids don't really go around buzzing apartments.  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 can be 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  :)

And if you have kids of your own, don't forget about the annual Ringgold halloween gathering, which takes place Wednesday from 4:30-6.  "Enjoy a potluck of savory refreshments and grab a glow stick before parading out of the park for trick-or-treating along adjacent streets. Please bring something savory to share and join in the fun."

In either case, have a fun Halloween, and make some new friends!!!

Aaron's Coffee Hour

This Saturday, October 13 brings the return of Aaron Michlewitz's Coffee Hours.   Stop by Berkeley Perk (69 Berkeley St) between 10am and Noon and char with Aaron.   "He invites all residents and neighbors to come and join in discussing neighborhood concerns, potential legislation for the upcoming session, who is going to win the election, or what’s going on with the Patriots!?"

This is your opportunity to chat about anything with your state representative.

If you can't make Saturday, you can catch Aaron on these other dates:

• Saturday, November 3, 2012 from 10:00am to 12:00pm at Mohr & McPherson 
• Saturday, December 1, 2012 from 10:00am to 12:00pm at the Appleton Café

October ESNA Business meeting

Our next monthly Eight Streets business meeting will be this Wednesday, October 10th in the Boston Ballet 5th floor board room (corner of Warren & Clarendon streets)

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

7-8:30 - Business meeting.  

On the agenda this month:

• 14 Milford - information on upcoming project
• 6 Milford street - request for support for parlor level deck and roofdeck
• 286 Shawmut - request for support for a roofdeck on read "L"

We have two voting items on the agenda this month.   

As you can tell this meeting is one week later than usual, but we will be in our regular meeting location.   

Hope to see everyone there!  

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

Old Dutch demolition

South End Patch reports demolition of the Old Dutch Candy building has begin.   (Corner of Tremont and Dwight).   Patch managed to get into Atelier and have some nice overhead photos you can see in this article.

The removal makes way for a new 6 story condo building, construction of which should begin as soon as demolition is completed.

Still time to get recycling carts

If you would like to get a recycling cart for your building, there's still time to request one from the city.
Carts are best for those abutting the Dwight street alley (PA705), or those that can store the cart inside their buildings.   Carts cannot be left on the sidewalk.    If you don't have space for a large cart like this, you can continue to use clear plastic bags.

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Nov 9 last day to request cart.  No winter cart deliveries.

Residents may request a big blue wheeled recycling cart until November 9th.  No deliveries will be made in the winter.  Deliveries will resume in the spring.

Public Works has a limited supply of recycling carts.  In order to be eligible for a cart, you must live in a residential builidng with 6 units or less.  You must have space on your property to store the cart, and you must bring it out to the curb by 7AM on your recycling day for collection, and return it to your property after it has been emptied. 

Please put your address on the cart.

Carts that are not being used properly will be removed by Public Works

If you need a recycling container but don't have space for a cart, you can still request stickers to convert trash barrels of your own.

To request a recycling cart or recycling stickers, please call (617) 635-4500, or visit www.cityofboston.gov/recycle.

Remember: Recycling carts are for recycling only!

NOTE: Only buildings with between 1-6 units are eligible for carts.  Landlords or property managers of larger buildings (7+ units) are required by law to provide recycling service to tenants.  If you are a tenant and would like to make sure your building sets up a recycling program, please call (617) 635-4500.  Thank you!

Fall Leaf and Yard Waste Collection

From the City - information on the Fall yard waste collection.


Fall Leaf and Yard Waste Collection: Oct 15 - Nov 30

Fall leaf collection runs for seven weeks: October 15 - November 30.  Leaf and yard waste is collected on your recycling day.

Place leaves in large paper leaf bags or open barrels marked "yard waste."  No plastic bags will be collected.  For free "yard waste" stickers, please call(617) 635-4500 or visit www.cityofboston.gov/recycle.  Two stickers are available per household.

Cut branches to 3' maximum length and 1'' maximum diameter.  Tie branches with string.

Place leaves and yard waste at the curb by 7:00am on your recycling day.

Leaf and yard waste in trash will not be collected during the two weeks before the October 15 start date.  Please save your leaves from October 1 to October 15, when collection begins.

Collecting leaf and yard waste for composting saves tax dollars, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and produces compost!  

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Eight Streets recycle days are Tuesdays - so yard waste can be out out on:

• October 16, 23, 30
• November 6, 13, 20, 27

Monthly meeting on Oct 10th

A reminder that our monthly Eight Streets meeting will take place one week later this month, due to room availability.  Current agenda can be found at http://eightstreets.org/next_meeting.html   I'll send a final agenda out before the meeting (things often change...)

See you NEXT Wednesday, October 10th.

Membership Renewals

It's time to renew!!

If you haven't yet, it's time to renew your Eight Streets NA membership!!   Our yearly memberships expire on Aug 31* so renewals for the upcoming year are now due.  

Becoming a member of Eight Streets lets us know you want your voice heard in the community. Membership grants you voting privileges at Eight Streets business meetings. Your dues contribute to ESNA support costs, as well as for projects ESNA takes part in throughout our neighborhood.

Renewing is easy.   Head over to our Membership web page.   You can renew right on that page using paypal (your credit card).   Or, on that page is a PDF you can print out and US mail in with a cheque.

Join us and make 2013 a great year!!!


*If you renewed in June or later, your membership will run through the next August.

Color hotel rendering

The Boston Globe has a story and color rendering of the planned hotel/residential building on the E Berkeley/Albany/Traveller lot.  

In the main photo, Albany St/93 is on the left, and Traveller st is on the right.

Power restoration work: Friday night 9/7

On Wednesday night part of Eight Streets and Bradford st NAs lost power.   This section of the neighborhood is currently on a temporary generator.

According to NSTAR, the replacement work will happen tonight (Friday night (9/7) - Sat morning) between Midnight and 8am.

If you lost power on Wednesday (9/5), then expect power outage during this time tonight as they perform the repairs.   They should complete all work by Saturday 8am.

September business meeting

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

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

7-8:30 - Business meeting.  

On the agenda this month:

• Change of occupancy for 257 Shawmut
• (potential) support for rear deck on 286 Shawmut
• Open member discussion.

We have two voting items on the agenda this month.   (Still waiting on confirmation from 286).   

The main focus this month will be during Open member discussion.   The the question is what do you want your neighborhood association to be?  Where do you want it to go?   What do you want us to do?  The Neighborhood isn't me - it's all of you.   We need to give out neighborhood direction and decide what kind of presence we want the association to have.  And we need you to do it - how do we engage more neighbors to come out and be a part of your neighborhood.    

Hope to see everyone there!  

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

2012-2013 ESNA Meeting Schedule

Time to dust off the doldrums and get your engines started for the new season of Eight Streets! (I'd make a back to school joke, but those sales seemed to have started on July 5th)

We're also happy the Boston ballet will continue to host us this year. Our thanks to them for being such a great neighbor! And thanks to Michelle at BB for letting us schedule and confirm the whole year now, so our reservations should be good to go.

The schedule for 2012-2013 is below, starting with our first meeting of the new year on Wednesday, September 5th. The agenda will be out as we get closer to meeting time. But here's the year laid out, so you can mark your calendars early.   The calendar can also be found on our Calendar web page.  If you're a google calendar person, you can also add our calendar to yours.  Enter eightstreets@gmail.com  in the "add a friends calendar" on the left, and Eight Streets events will be displayed on your personal calendar.

Please note that three meetings this year will be moved to the second wednesday due to room conflicts.

Eight Streets meeting schedule, 2012-2013: 

First Wednesday of each month, 6:30-8:30pm, Boston ballet 5th floor board room

• September 5 
• October 10 (one week later) 
• November 7 
• December 5 
• January 9 (one week later) 
• February 13 (one week later) 
• March 6 
• April 3 
• May 1 
• June 5

Neighborhood Night at the Gardener

The Gardener museum is having their third in a series of Neighborhood Nights.   Stop by this Thursday, August 9th after 5pm for free admission.   Families are welcome!!

This night's theme is Magical Journey.   For information, please click here.

August 9: Magical Journey
Explore art from Egypt, China, Japan and Spain, and imagine your own journeys. Join in a scavenger hunt to discover fascinating stories and art from around the world. Create your own artwork, and be enlivened by the spontaneous creativity of the Impulse Dance Company.

Streetlights Going Green

The city has informed us that beginning in August, all of our acorn street light fixtures will be replaced with energy efficient LED light fixtures.  This is part of a program to be greener throughout the city, as well as cut the city's energy bills.  All city street lights are slowly being converted.

As you can see from the image on the right, the new lights will look the same.  (Well, if you look close you can see a smaller internal lighting mechanism).  They should put out the same amount of light as the current lights, with less "light trespass" (it should shine in your apartment window a little less).   The light should be white in color - similar to what we have now, but the light son Shawmut will probably be white, rather than the current orange tint they have now.

The regular streetlights on the Dwight Alley (PA705) were replaced a few months ago, and you really wouldn't know the difference unless you looked up at the fixtures.

Update: Shawmut will not be changing at this time.   From the manufacturer: we will be converting only the high cost mercury vapor lights on the residential streets in the South End at this time. We do not have an LED solution yet for the Sodium Vapor lights on Streets like Shawmut Ave at this time. They are in developement and may be available by next year.

Dwight street closed Thursday

Dwight street will be closed Thursday morning, June 28 while a crane is brought in to do some private work.     Closure can begin as early as 7am and should be done by lunch time.   Please plan your travels/parking accordingly.

Bike Safety for Kids

Join BPD for kids Bike Safety Day - A day full of fun and events for families

Saturday, June 23, 11a-2p at 650 harrison Ave (D4 police station)

Bike safety kits and kids helmets while supplies last.

See this Flier for additional information

Milford/Hanson improvements continue

UPDATE:   Due to complications, the sones will arrive Monday morning, not Sunday as originally posted.

The residents abutting the Milford/Hanson alley are following up their alley cleaning with a stone laying effort.   Through group collections, they will be laying gravel/stone down the Milford/Hanson alley this weekend.    Stone will be arriving early Sunday morning, and the rest of the morning will be spent moving and laying the stone down the length of the alley.

Feel free to join them Monday morning to give a hand!   For more information on the project, please contact Michael or Lewis

The alley team adds:

Our plan is deliver and spread the stones on Monday June 11 @ 8.00a.m. onwards. It will likely take most of the day and any volunteers that would like join in the work are welcome, but of course there is no obligation. We will work in the direction of Bond to Tremont.

If you would like to level/grade the dirt in your alley lot please do that before Sunday, since we will spread the stones on whatever surface we find. Please also remove any debris that would get in the way of the spreading. As a recap, we will spread approx 1-2 inches of stones across each yard length, spanning the alley width between Milford & Hanson.

Happy Pride

Happy Pride weekend everyone.

This year the Pride parade has moved the start of the parade back to Copley square, after having started here on Tremont street for the past few years.    As a result Tremont street will not be closed as long this year as in the past.

Tremont from Union Park to Berkeley will be closed around parade time (around noon-2pm).   Please note any parking restrictions as stated on city parade signs posted.  Access to Waltham/Hanson/Milford/Dwight will also be limited during these times.

June meeting: 5th floor of Boston Ballet

Greetings, Boston Ballet has moved us back up to the 5th floor for tonight's (6/6) meeting, but will meet in the Lounge. Take a left as you get off the elevator, and the lounge is the open area near the big window. There will be folding chairs we can set up for the meeting. See you tonight!

June Eight Streets meeting

Our next monthly Eight Streets business meeting will be this Wednesday, June 6th in the Boston Ballet  (corner of Warren & Clarendon streets)

This month we will meet in a conference room on the 3rd floor.   Please see the ballet front desk for directions.

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

On the agenda this month:

• A short introduction by The Kitchen - the new restaurant that will occupy the old Pops location.  They're stopping by just to say hi and introduce themselves to the neighborhood
• 562 Tremont - presentation and vote on addition of rear decks.
• Safety and Community Policing - see below
• Open member discussion.

The main focus of our meeting this month will be Safety.  Our local community service office Sargent Provenzano will join us, as well as director of BPD's community watch unit Carolyn MacNeil.  We will talk about general crime and safety in the neighborhood, and things we can to to help make our neighborhood safe.   Included in this Carolyn will talk about the Neighborhood Watch program.

If we have enough interest, the neighborhood can start a Neighborhood Crime Watch program  (read more about the program at http://www.cityofboston.gov/police/crimeprevention/crimewatch.asp) 

Crime Watches are very neighbor based - so we wouldn't necessarily have a watch for the whole neighborhood, but probably start with a street or section of Eight Streets.  But we would need all neighbors to be involved to start any neighborhood watch program.  Come to the meeting if you can, and read up on the crime watch web page if you're interested in getting more involved.

Hope to see everyone there!  Actually I have other commitments, so I won't see you there, but hope you'll be as great for Jim as you are for me!

next Ringgold Park community meeting

From the South End News:


Wednesday, June 13, 6:30 p.m.
Blackstone Community Center 
2nd floor Computer Room, 
50 West Brookline Street, South End.

The Boston Parks and Recreation Department and the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Services invite the public to the third in a series of meetings to discuss upcoming playground improvements to Ringgold Park in the South End.  The proposed project includes improvements to the play areas.  For further information, please call (617) 961-3058

A Little History

The South End History blog does a little research on the history of the Old Dutch Candy building, slated to come down in the near future.