The Third Decade

Uptick in the economy?

The property tax revaluation assessments are out. To my surprise, my little condo has an assessed value higher this year than last year. Is this a sign that the economy/housing market is improving or did the city change its formula for assessing property taxes this year?

The Evisceration of Roxbury

Without any concrete evidence, I will stop short of claiming intimidation or conspiracy. But, how is it possible that nearly every major politician representing Roxbury (some of the few relevant local politicians of color, by the way) has been caught up in some kind of alleged scandal recently?! Wilkerson, Turner, and now Fox? The politicians representing Roxbury can't be any more corrupt than the pols in any other city or district around Massachusetts. So what's the deal? Are they being careless? Are they being targeted? Or is the community itself the battleground?

With Boston running out of large lots of land for new building projects, Roxbury is one of the few areas close to downtown with enough space left for major construction projects (Allston and the South Boston waterfront are two of the others). Mayor Menino's recent attempt to seize control of P3, the redevelopment plans for Dudley Square, resistance to institutional creep (such as Northeastern's campus expansion and Boston University's Bio Lab), and the community's demands for improved transportation are just a few examples of how competition for space in and control over the neighborhood are heating up.

With the community's senior and most vocal politicians knocked off their pedistals, it would be easy to pick apart the neighborhood bit by bit. That, of course, doesn't excuse our politicians of wrongdoing, if they've done something wrong. But, let's put everything on the table. If they've done wrong, let's see more than a few clips and allegations in the media. In the meantime, the community would be wise to keep its eyes on real estate trends and development patterns in the area. If Harvard was able to secretly purchase half of Allston, there's no reason to suspect that it wouldn't happen in Roxbury, too.

Legacy vs Legacy: Tom Menino vs Elma Lewis

It was only a matter of time before a large enough voice in Boston's Black community spoke out against Mayor Menino. There have been grumblings about his support for BU's Biolab for a while and his reputation for being vindictive against people who contradict his wishes is well known. I left Boston before he became mayor and returned 6 years ago. Upon returning, I heard that he enjoyed high ratings, but I could never understand why. Besides literally not being able to understand what he said, I didn't see what the big deal was about him. Yes he made appearances everywhere, but what was he really doing? Did I miss his golden years?

Anyway, the Bay State Banner's editorial opposing Menino is interesting. Has Menino finally bumped up against someone with a legacy bigger than his own? Elma Lewis isn't well-known by many Bostonians under 40. Further, her accomplishments and legacy aren't well known by many Bostonians under 30. Given the large number of young voters, I wonder how important the Parcel 3 project will be to young voters and new Bostonians. Using the Parcel 3 development is an interesting way to portray into the idea that Menino is out of touch with the community. But in order for that to take root on a wider scale, I feel that more examples and connections need to be identified.

Overall, this should be an interesting mayoral cycle. Many communities of color and liberal white communities were envigorated and galvanized by President Obama's election. I'm curious to see whether any fractions will appear if/when Menino formally announces his candidacy. If an anti-Menino movement takes hold in Boston, it'll also be interesting to see how the voting breaks down by neighborhood. Dorchester and Roxbury are two of the most populous neighborhoods, but I don't think they have the highest voter turnouts in any election. Will Menino bother courting voters of color and liberal white voters in those districts if more of these editorials appear? Or, will he pursue a George Bush-style divide and conquer campaign and just go for the safe districts? Unfortunately, none of the current candidates looks strong enough at the moment to portend an interesting campaign cycle. Hopefully that will change soon.

I saw Ben Affleck this morning.

A week ago when I heard that a movie would be filming on my street (at the house you see in the photo) I got a little excited. I thought it would be cool to catch a glimpse of a star or two and see what a production looked like in action.

Well, that feeling is gone. Filming began early this morning and it's not as wondrous as I would have liked. First I woke up to find my high speed internet crawling at the speed of dial-up. News sites took forever to load and trying to send and receive emails was a chore. I suppose no one told Comcast there'd be a sudden spike in usage in Roxbury.

Anyway, I took my camera with me to work figuring that I could at least get some shots of the filming and perhaps a star. When I saw Ben Affleck get out of a car, I pulled out my camera but was swiftly told that photography was not allowed. No explanation was given, but I suppose it's to prevent leaks. Still, aren't I allowed to take photos from a public street? I wasn't even sure if the street was still "public" since the crew was using both sides for two blocks. I live and work on the same street but had to ask to walk through since there was no space allocated as a public thoroughfare and no previous notice that pedestrians might not be allowed to pass through.

Boston could've been the 6th largest city in the world.

The world was a lot smaller in 1912.

Yesterday I came across a 1912 NY Times article (28KB pdf) about a bill filed by Representative Daniel Kiley which would have added 339 square miles to the City of Boston by annexing every city and town within 10 miles of the Statehouse (basically everything within Route 128 plus a little more). For comparison, that would have made the new Boston slightly bigger in area than New York City. Interestingly, the population of Boston was larger in 1912 than what it is now (670,000 vs. 590,000), and the larger Boston would have had a population of 1.5 million. New York City was already approaching 5 million residents in 1910, in roughly the same land area.

Unfortunately, the article doesn't explain why Rep. Kiley wanted to expand the size of Boston. I also haven't come across any follow up articles explaining why the bill didn't become law, although I suspect that old school machine politics scared off the other communities. Still, imagine how different Boston would be now if it had become a much larger city back then. Issues related to busing, school desegregation, housing patterns, and transportation would probably have been decided in completely different ways. Or, if it happened today, would people be fighting over relatively small parcels of land in Allston or tunnels through downtown when the overall city would be much, much bigger? Would Kiley's bill have increased efficiencies by eliminating duplication of services or would there just be a big blob of bureaucracy spread across eastern Masasachusetts?

Parcel Three & Elma Lewis Partners

I received this copy of an open invitation from the Director of the Museum of the National Center of Afro-American Artists only 45 minutes before a meeting regarding their plans for Parcel Three is scheduled to start. I already have plans for this evening, but if anyone else can attend and report back, I'd be interested in hearing how it goes.

Dear friends,

I am urgently asking that you come to tonight's meeting of the Roxbury Strategic Master Planning Oversight Committee at 6:00 at the Dudley Branch Public Library and that you express your support for the vision that the community selected and re-confirmed for Roxbury's Parcel Three. The director of the  Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) is seeking to end our tentative designation as developer. We do not believe that he has that authority according to our understanding of the governing documents. Only the Board of the BRA has such power, and the BRA board has not taken such action against us. The BRA director's action disrespects the will of the Roxbury Community, and should not be allowed to stand. Please come and express your commitment to the vision that won the respect and vote of Roxbury through a fair and open process. Elma Lewis Partners has been fully compliant with the requests of the BRA despite its claims to the contrary, and Elma Lewis Partners has made the best progress possible within the worst economic conditions since the great depression.

Please come an support your community's right to chose its own future.

Respectfully yours,

Barry Gaither

What are Mayor Menino's accomplishments?

The question isn't being posed to fault Menino for not doing something, I'm genuinely curious to identify the spaces and places which have been significantly improved due to his influence. The Strand Theater and the slow growth of the Seaport District come to mind, but I can't think of anywhere else in the bulk of the city which has seen major physical changes. I'm thinking about it for two reasons.

First, he might run for a 5th term. Does he deserve it? Has the city improved noticeably or are we stagnating in goodness rather than excelling to greatness? I don't know how what the candidates for mayor would do if they were elected, but I'm not opposed to seeing a new mayor in place either.

Second, recently I've been reading articles about grand visions other leaders have for their cities. Bloomberg has ambitious plans for New York and Sarkozy has his for Paris. We've also seen how Shanghai, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Dubai have been steered toward growth, with more cities can be expected to do the same once the economic downturn is over. So where is that going to leave Boston in the long run? Has Menino laid out any plans to keep Boston attractive?

Welcome, Neighbor.

I didn't realize that the Islamic Society of Boston mosque had opened until I saw today's article in the Globe. A couple of weeks ago I saw that the landscaping was finally finished, but I expected a grand celebration of the opening. Unfortunately, according to the article, any opening celebration is being held off until sometime next year. Still, it's nice to know that the building is complete and is finally being used, especially since that intersection could use a little more street life. Hopefully the grand opening will include a tour of the building, too. The images in the Globe video are beautiful and it looks like the view is amazing!

More on Melnea Cass Rink & Pool

Now that the word is out about Senator Wilkerson securing funds for the redevelopment of Cass Pool and Rink, her office is really making sure that local residents know about it. Call me a cynic, but the timing of the community meeting - just weeks before a primary vote against Sonia Chang-Diaz - feels rushed. I have nothing against Wilkerson and appreciate her efforts and her appearances at various events around the neighborhood. But what's up with having plans for the recreational center already? Even if the money was secured a month ago, how could she have plans? Usually there's a community meeting to develop ideas for the creation of plans. Perhaps it's not as insidious as I think and the "plans" are just a list of ideas for what could be built on the site with $.4 million. There may be no blueprints or formal sketches yet. Poor choice of words if that's the case, though. 

But, that image is certainly enticing! Who can say no to kids having summertime fun in a pool? The appeal of this ad reminds me of the one on the T about kids who can sell you tires with a smile, but questions whether they can do the same for...um...whatever it is that ad is really for.

Anyway, I'm also eyeing the whole RSVP thing skeptically. Since when do we have to RSVP to a community meeting? Those have always been a drop-in affair. Again, given the timing, this looks like a ploy to get us to provide email addresses for inclusion on a campaign mailing list. Umm...no, thanks. But I'll see you at the meeting anyway.

Kelly, Cass, and Community Centers

There's finally a glimmer of hope that the debate about what to do with Kelly Rink and Cass Rink will come to an end that benefits both sides. 

A little history: Jamaica Plain's Kelly Rink is a small, outdoor ice skating  rink built to replace an older rink that was torn down. Roxbury's Cass Rink was a semi-enclosed ice rink that was allowed to fall into disrepair so bad that it's become very expensive to rehabilitate. Whenever I pass by I can remember stories my elders told me about skating there. Anyway, with major construction planned for Jackson Square (on the Roxbury/Jamaica Plain border), supporters for each rink have been fighting to secure funds for their rink. Kelly Rink supporters wanted a new Kelly built in Jackson Square. Cass Rink supporters countered that their rink is an existing structure within walking distance of Jackson Square that could be renovated. The last time I heard anything about Jackson Square, it sounded like Kelly had the upper hand in the battle.

An article in this week's JP Gazette, however, shows that Dianne Wilkerson may have found a compromise. She's working on securing funds to have a new Kelly built in Jackson Square as an enclosed ice rink and to have Cass repurposed as an enclosed roller rink and pool. Wow! I like the creative thinking behind this effort and hope the state can pull together funding for both projects - from design to construction and maintenance. 

The next things I'd like to see are more restaurants and some music venues around Dudley Square. If we had those, I'd have almost no reason go anywhere else.