Yesterday Mayor Menino and a phalanx of other locally elected officials came to Roxbury to tout the beginning of renovations to the Ferdinand Building in Dudley Square. I was honestly excited for the first time in a while by our local politicians. The mayor talked about how the project would bring in new jobs and transform the area. Senator Wilkerson mentioned that it was 10 years ago that the state promised and then reneged on a commitment to redevelop the block. She also said that she was glad to see lots of construction workers of color at the site, a sentiment which was echoed by Representative Fox. The most passionate speaker by far, though, was City Councilor Chuck Turner. When he spoke, church was in session! Chuck was fiery and passionate about the importance of the community's benefiting from the project, not just in terms of having a revitalized commercial district, but also in terms of making sure that local workers were filling some of the construction jobs as the building is being redeveloped. As Chuck spoke, people in the crowd behind me were shouting "Tell 'em, Chuck" and "Go on, brotha!" It was a special moment in politics that I've never seen at a building renovation. Even Menino seemed to get a kick out of it.
I stood at the very front of the crowd as all this was going on. The nice thing about having a big-ass camera is that most people think I'm either press or connected to something official, so I get to move around and access places without much resistance. As the speeches began, I excused myself to the front, crouched down on the ground for a few minutes to look like a press photographer, and then stood up to get comfortable again. No one said a word. I never claimed to be a press photographer, but I was more than willing to let people think that I was. Why not, right? The only time I've ever explicitly said that I was press was when I took some shots at the Hip Hop Summit in 2004. If I hadn't, I would've had to pay admission and I wasn't trying to do that.
Anyway, after the speeches ended, lunch was had and free t-shirts were given out (oddly only in XL and XXL sizes). After lunch I started taking more shots of the building. A couple of construction workers asked to have their photos taken and I gladly obliged; I then asked if they could take/let me inside the building in return. They couldn't let me in, but they gave me a commemorative hard hat - it's white with a blue seal of the City of Boston on the front - and let me stand at the front door and walk around the inside of the safety perimeter. After all these years of living in Roxbury and around Boston, that was the first time I had ever seen the inside of the Ferdinand Building or it's annex half a block away. The annex has a large staircase and a decorative floor leading from the stairway to the doorway. The Ferdinand Building itself is beautifully ornate on the outside and has vaulted ceilings on the upper floors. It crossed my mind to enter the Ferdinand and talk to some of the other construction workers I could see walking around, but I figured I was already pushing things in the first place.
The city also released a flier of the Dudley Vision Project. The Ferdinand is literally central to the revitalization of the district. An artist rendering of the renovated building looks quite impressive, too. 
More information about the Dudley Vision Project and a community task force was released today. I received an email with a flier attached announcing the next task force meeting is Wednesday 4-6pm. While I'm glad to see that the community will have the option to submit feedback and input, what's up with a meeting during business hours? Who do they expect to attend when people will be working or commuting home? I try not to believe in conspiracy theories, but this does seem a bit suspicious. Sadly, it also ties in with the sentiments expressed in the video I featured in my last post.
Great work on your blog its really have a very interesting article. Thank you for sharing.
Posted by: Bygningsentreprise | Wednesday, October 14, 2009 at 05:54 AM