District 2 Candidates Debate

  The Neighborhood Forum (Eight Streets is a member) and South End News are sponsoring a "Candidates Night" for the District 2 City Council special election and we need your help in getting the word out.

  

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

6:00pm - 8:00pm

Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology

41 Berkeley Street

Free and open to all. Spanish interpretation provided. PDF flyer at  http://tinyurl.com/2564mh  

 

 

Don’t miss this opportunity to meet the candidates vying to represent YOU on the City Council. All of the candidates have been invited. Find out where they stand on issues that are important to the South End.

  

  The preliminary election will be held on Tuesday, April 17, and the final election will be held on Tuesday, May 15.

 

 

 

 

March meeting

Hi Everyone,

A reminder that this Wednesday brings our March Eight Streets
business meeting. We'll be meeting this

Wednesday, March 7th, 6:30-8:30

6:30-7 - neighborhood networking
7-8:30 - business meeting

This month:

Meet City Council district 2 candidate Susan Passoni, the only
candidate of the 8 running form the South End.

As you may have read the Dog Recreation Space at Peters Park has been
approved by Boston Parks Department. Come and see what the final
design of the DRS will be.

Hope to see you there!

Dog park Approved

The Boston Parks Commission unanimously approved the application for
the Dog Recreation Space in Peters Park. Construction should begin
in the Spring. A representative from the DRS will be at our March
meeting to show us the final design for the park.

For complete information on the DRS, please visit the park at

http://www.peterspark.org

Ellis fundraiser

Our neighboring Neighborhood association, Ellis, is holding a Casino Night fundraiser THIS Friday, Match 2, right at the Franklin Institute.  Casino games, DJ, Live Auction, complimentary hors d'oeuvres, cash bar.   $45 advance/$50 door.

Complete information on their web pages, at http://www.ellisneighborhood.org/

SELROSLT Lecture series

The   South End Lower Roxbury Open Space Land Trust wishes to announce their Spring lecture series.  (SELROSLT is the parent organization and land owner for our own Berkeley Community Gardens (www.berkeleygardens.org).

Wednesday, March 7: Seeding Solutions Indoors with Ellen Wells, horticulturist and writer

Wednesday, March 14: Window Box Whimsy with Lou Whitney of Twig Floral Studio

Wednesday, March 28: V is for Vegetable, Bringing the Garden to the Table with Roger Swain, People, Places, and Plants TV host

Wednesday, April 11: Trees in an Urban Environment with the Urban Ecology Institute and Arborway Tree Care.

 

All lectures are free and start at 7 PM at the Harriet Tubman House of USES, 566 Columbus Avenue (Columbus and Mass Ave).

During Snow Emergencies

The southend.org home page has information on parking rules & restrictions during Snow Emergencies.   Given we may get our first significant snowfall of the season on Wednesday, it might be a good idea to brush up on the rules for parking when a snow emergency is declared.

 

http://tinyurl.com/36j435

 

 

 

 

Plan your Parks

The City Parks Department has put a survey on line.   

 

They are creating a new Open Space Plan, and want to know how you use your local parks.   Visit their site to read the 2002-2006 plan, and take the survey so you can have some input on their next 5 year open space plan.  The survey will ask you question son how you use your local park (either the park closest to you, or the park you use most often).   Ringgold park is in Eight Streets, and Peters Park is our closest park neighbour.

 

Visit http://www.cityofboston.gov/parks/openspace_update.asp for more information and to take the survey  (tinyurl: http://tinyurl.com/28r2v2)

 

South End Buttery

The owner of South End Buttery has asked me to pass along this letter in advance of his presentation at our meeting this Wednesday.

Dear Neighbors,

The press of business this past week has kept me from getting in touch with you sooner regarding some important zoning and licensing matters related to the proposed expansion of the South End Buttery café at 314 Shawmut Avenue.  The exchange of e-mails regarding 550 Tremont Street over the past few days, however, has reminded me how very important it is to me -- and should be to all business owners -- to work with the community on such concerns.

As a Union Park resident for almost 14 years and a business owner on the edge of the Union Park and Eight Streets Neighborhood Associations for the past two years, I am committed to operating a business that serves our community's best interests.  To that end, the Buttery offers a unique dining experience in the South End, offering modestly priced food using the best and freshest ingredients (and organic ingredients as much as possible).  Recently, we have even started creating a number of vegetarian and vegan options to address our customers' diets.  Operating out of our small space, however, has become impossible for the long run and we are looking at increasing our size by expanding into the architecture firm behind us.  Among other improvements, the expansion will allow us to create a better system for waste disposal and will enable us to be more environmentally friendly by reducing the amount of paper and plastic products used to serve food in-house.  In this initial stage of design and planning, we would like to work in cooperation with you to create a space that best suits our neighborhood, as we have since opening a little over a year ago.

More extensive discussions regarding these issues were scheduled by my attorney last week and will take place this Wednesday evening before the Eight Streets Neighborhood Association.  At that time, I will be glad to share a sample menu with you and answer any questions you may have about the proposed expansion.  I welcome your comments throughout this process and look forward to working with you.

Best,
Richard Gordon
Owner, South End Buttery
617-549-2776

February Eight Streets meeting

Evening everyone,

This Wednesday, 2/7 is the next Eight Streets NA meeting. We'll be
at our regular location in the Boston Ballet boardroom, at the corner
of Clarendon & Warren.

We have two big items on the agenda this month.

The Franklin Cafe is looking to expand. They will not be opening a
second location on Harrison avenue, as they had planned. Given
this, they are looking to expand in their current location up to the
second floor. They will be presenting plans at the meeting, and
will be seeking a letter of approval from the NA

South End Buttery will also be before us at this meeting. Even
though they are just outside of our NA, they've been a good business
and want to reach out beyond their immediate borders. The sandwich
and coffee shop is seeing a Beer & Wine license. They are going to
be expanding at their current location and adding kitchen facilities.
As they add more dinner-like dishes to their menu, they feel being
able to serve beer & wine with dinner will enhance their fare, and
allow them to remain competitively with other small restaurants in
the immediate area.

join us 6:30-7 for our neighborhood networking social hour.
Business portion of the meeting will begin promptly at 7.

Hope to see everyone there.

Don't forget to visit our blog for more neighborhood news;
http://eightstreets.blogspot.com

If you're not yet a member, visit our web site for membership and
voting information. http://eightstreets.tripod.com

City Councilor Special Elections

Dates have been set for special elections to replace Councilor
Kelly's position - the Councilor for City District 2, which
encompasses South Boston, Chinatown and our slice of the South End.

Preliminary election - April 17th. All candidates on ballot

Final election - May 15. Top two vote-getters in preliminary
election get on this ballot.

It will be important for all of the South End to turn out for this
vote, and make our voices heard. More details as the election
approaches.

Meet your City Councilors

The Neighborhood Forum, of which Eight Streets is a part, is sponsoring the following two meetings with city councilors

----------------------

Councillor Arroyo (At-Large) is sponsoring his own community meeting to discuss what he has been working and what are his priorities for 2007.
Come and participate in bringing Boston together for good.
WHEN: Tuesday, February 20th
WHERE: United South End Settlement (USES) Harriet Tubman House, 566 Columbus Ave (Lincoln House Room)
TIME: 5:30-7:00pm

CONTACT: Calvin Feliciano, Director of Constituent Services at 617-635-3115

------------------------
The Claremont neighborhood Forum in partnership with The Neighborhood Forum, a program of USES, is sponsoring a community meeting with City Councillor Chuck turner. Councillor Turner, the District 7 councillor, represents part of the South End and Lower Roxbury.
Discussion topics will include:
   *       Councilor Role in Government
    *       How City Government is Run
      *       Property Taxes
  *       Youth Resources
*       BU Bio-Safety Lab
       *       Public Safety
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
7:00-8:30 PM
United South End Settlements

Harriet Tubman House, 566 Columbus Avenue

Dog park closer to approval

The proposed Peters Park DRS made their presentation before the Parks department yesterday.  Complete coverage in this Boston Globe article

http://tinyurl.com/28xkxz

Project Place near opening

The new home of Project Place, a new building at Washington and East Berkeley, is nearly complete.  Project place hopes to be occupying their new home by the end of February.

For more information on Project Place, visit them at http://www.projectplace.org/

Car break-ins

The neighborhood has had some car break-ins
recently. A reminder of car safety from BPD:

The Boston Police would like to take this opportunity to remind residents
that motor vehicle breaks are among the most easily preventable crimes. They
are typically crimes of opportunity, committed by thieves looking for
valuables left unattended. Taking a few simple steps can often discourage
these thieves. Here’s how you can protect yourself against motor vehicle
breaks.

DO NOT LEAVE VALUABLES IN YOUR CAR WHERE OTHERS CAN SEE THEM. Valuable
items, such as your laptop, iPod, etc. should never be left in the front or
back seat of your vehicle. Always take your valuables with you, or move them
into the trunk.

· Lock your doors and windows. Even if your window is only slightly open, it
makes your car an easier target for thieves. A thief will insert a wire into
a slightly open window to pop up the door lock.

· Replace your standard door lock buttons with tapered ones. Tapered door
lock buttons make it more difficult for a thief to hook a wire or device
onto the door lock button to pop it open.

· Invest in an anti-theft device. When you buy a new or used car, checking
to see if it has an anti-theft device is as important as checking the
engine. If there isn't one, you should have one installed.

If you observe any unusual activity or observe a car theft or a break-in,
call 911.

UPNA to Visit John Adams Exhibit

Eight Streets residents are always invited to the Union Park walk series.  This one looks especially interesting.

 

- John Mc

 

UPNA to Visit John Adams Exhibit

 

Join South End’s Beth Prindle, Lead Curator of the “John Adams Unbound” exhibit at the Boston Public Library, for a fascinating special tour to share her personal perspective on John Adams, his library and the Adams Project.  John Adams Unbound" features the 2nd President's 3,800-volume personal library and explores his life, legacy and passionate relationship with his books.  The John Adams Library has been held by the Boston Public Library since 1894 and this is the first public exhibit of the complete library.  The walk takes place on Monday, January 29, 2007 at 6:30.  Meet at the Dartmouth Street entrance to the main branch of the BPL on Monday, January 29, 2007 at 6:30 or join us at the corner of Tremont and Upton Streets at 6:15 and walk over if you would like to have a bit more exercise. 

 

Monthly indoor walks are sponsored by the Union Park Neighborhood Association during the winter months.  The walks are free and open to all.  For more information, visit www.upna.org or call Harriet at 617-262-1342.

 

 

 

 

January ESNA Meeting

Happy New Year everyone!

Now that the festivities are over, a reminder that it is January, and
it's time for our first meeting of 2007.

THIS Wednesday, January 3rd is the regular Eight Streets monthly
meeting. We'll be in our regular location in the Boston Ballet 5th
floor meeting room (Warren & Clarendon)

6:30-7 - Neighborhood Networking.
7-8:30 - Business meeting.

The main agenda item this week is the presentation postponed form
December. Athens II market (Tremont & Milford) wish to add beer &
wine sales to their new business model. They will make a
presentation and will ask for a letter of support.

Hope to see everyone there!

Sahara fire

The South End News reports of a fire at the old Sahara restaurant.   News story and pictures at http://tinyurl.com/ymgf3b

Second Forum meeting on Thursday

A reminder that the second Light Rail today forum is this Thursday, 12/14 at United South End Settlements (Columbus & Mass Ave), form 6:30 to 8:30.   Come see how light rail could be another option to provide service on Washington st to downtown instead of the Silver Bus.

For more information, please see the press release (earlier blog entry – scroll down)

Umbra out

Local eatery Café Umbra is closing down at the end of the month.  They’re on Washington, next to Morse fish market.

 

The North End eatery Sage will be moving into the location.    Current Sage restaurant info can be found at http://www.sageboston.com/

 

 

 

December Eight Streets meeting

Morning everyone,

 

A reminder that our monthly Eight Streets neighborhood meeting is This Wednesday, December 6^th.   As usual, we’ll be meeting in the Boston Ballet board room (corner of Clarendon & Warren).

 

6:30-7 – Neighborhood Networking

7-8:30 – Business meeting.

 

Agenda includes

 

- 7 Dwight Street Decks.  The owners at 7 Dwight st would like to erect decks on the rear of the building.  They will bring their proposal to us, and are asking for a letter of support for the project.

 

- Athens Market II Liquor sales.   Athens II would like to add beer and wine sales to their new store format.  They feel the lower level would be an excellent wine ‘cellar’, and wine & beer sales fit in with their new business model (as presented at a previous meeting).  They will present their proposal, and ask for a letter of support from us.

 

- Gateway Art letter of Support.   The Gateway Art project will be presenting the new art that is going in Peters Park (behind the ballfield).   They will show us the planned project, and ask for a letter of support form Eight Streets.

 

ALSO

 

A representative from City Councilor Sam Yoon’s office will be at our meeting (Councilor Yoon may also be there depending on his schedule).  Bring any City questions or concerns you may have to the meeting for some open discussion.

 

Hope to see everyone there!!!

 

- John Mc