yde Park Bulletin - The Bulletin Newspapers, Inc. - Home · She also brought up a 2017 article in The Boston Herald, which said that Dhanani was fined $843,000 by the state At-torney

Hyde Park’s 54th Regimentdiscusses future plans

Though the 54th cannot participate this year in its usual Memorial Day activities, that doesn't mean thesoldiers have been idle.

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Ariane KAriane KAriane KAriane KAriane KomomomomomyyyyyatiatiatiatiatiStaff Reporter

The 54th MassachusettsVolunteer InfantryReenactors in Hyde Parkhas had to put a lot of ac-t iv i t ies on hold due toCOVID-19 and social dis-tancing policies, but theyare still planning events forthis fall.

The 54th was the firstmilitary unit consisting of

black soldiers to be raised inthe North during the CivilWar. The Massachuset ts54th Regiment trained atCamp Meigs in the Readvillesection of Hyde Park; theywere the first black regimentof soldiers trained in a north-ern state to fight in the CivilWar.

“We have been on pausefor all our public events,which include parades (wemissed out on a couple), mu-

seum and library presenta-tions, and school presenta-t ions ,” explained BobVance, a member of the54th. “So we are strug-gling to keep the ‘lightson’ like everyone else.”

Vance said they havebeen taking stock of whatthey have and offering col-lections of older materialto allow for easy access.

54th R54th R54th R54th R54th RegimentegimentegimentegimentegimentContinued on page 10

BPDA approveschange of ownership

for 289 Walk Hill

The project manager from the BPDA said the plan is set to stay thesame as it was when it was approved.

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JefJefJefJefJeff Sullivf Sullivf Sullivf Sullivf SullivanananananStaff Reporter

In a tale of housing thatjust can’t seem to breakground, the Boston Planningand Development Agency(BPDA) Board of Directorsvoted last week on May 14to accept a change in owner-ship for the proposed 106-unit apartment plan for 289

Walk Hill St. in Roslindale.The project, originally

proposed by developerCharles Gill, was approvedby the BPDA about twoyears ago. Gill had statedpreviously that initial con-s t ruct ion costs for theproject had increased whenhe finally received approv-

289 W289 W289 W289 W289 Walk Hillalk Hillalk Hillalk Hillalk HillContinued on page 11

Meet Kevin Reed: FromHarvard to hard knocks toa campaign for the House

Hyde Park resident KevinReed felt as if he was standing ontop of the world a decade ago. TheSouth Jamaica, Queens, NY na-tive was being honored at the topof the Empire State Building asthe President of the U.S. CoastGuard Enlisted Association. Af-ter hearing him speak, a veteranscoordinator from Harvard Univer-sity encouraged him to pursue hisstudies at Harvard ExtensionSchool. This event began a seriesof challenging obstacles that Reedsaid has forged a deep understand-ing of the needs of people in the14th Suffolk District and hassparked his desire to run for StateRepresentative.

“I came to Harvard ExtensionSchool to pursue a degree in gov-ernment as part of the GI Bill,”Reed said in a recent interview. “Iminored in anthropology and his-tory. I believed that I had the op-portunity to go to Harvard for free,

Kevin Reed

MarMarMarMarMary Ellen Gambony Ellen Gambony Ellen Gambony Ellen Gambony Ellen GambonStaff Reporter

and I was wide-eyed. I thought theveterans coordinator was lookingout for my best interest.”

However, after he began hiscourse of study, Reed learned thatthe GI Bill only covered tuitionfor two semesters.

“I eventually had to leaveschool,” he explained. “This be-gan a series of unfortunate events.I couldn’t take out a loan. I wasnew to the Boston area, and I had PPPPPeace Gareace Gareace Gareace Gareace Gardendendendenden

Continued on page 8KKKKKeeeeevin Rvin Rvin Rvin Rvin ReedeedeedeedeedContinued on page 9

ESNA talks neighborhood,progress on Peace Garden

RicharRicharRicharRicharRichard Heathd Heathd Heathd Heathd HeathStaff Reporter

The Peace Park on opening day June 5, 2004. Finally, it looks like thegarden will be getting some much-needed updates.

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The Egleston Square Neigh-borhood Association (ESNA) isdetermined that everyday lifewill go on at Egleston Square,and it showed at its regularmonthly meeting on May 4 viaZoom.

Groups of motorcycles rac-ing through the Square, prob-lems at the Mobile station andprogress at the Peace Gardentopped the agenda.

Residents complained to theE-13 community service policeofficer John Dougherty aboutlarge groups of motorbikes andATVs taking advantage of thenear-empty streets to drag racedown Columbus Avenue andoften through Franklin Park.

One motorbike group tendsto congregate at the former beardens – cages from the Franklin

Park Zoo that, because of be-ing bear-proof, turned out to bea lot harder to take down thanthey were to put up. Doughertysaid that district is taking stepsto confront the issue.

“Boston has seen an in-crease this spring,” he saidabout illegal motorbikes.

“There will be extra officersassigned this weekend to tryand help reduce any illegal,unsafe operation of motor-cycles. One of the locations willbe around Franklin Park, in-

TheTheTheTheThe

May 21, 2020

Hyde Park BulletinVolume 19, Issue 21

Page 2Page 2Page 2Page 2Page 2 The Bulletin MaMaMaMaMay 2y 2y 2y 2y 211111, 2020, 2020, 2020, 2020, 2020

Licensing Board approves Burger King CV license despite oppositionMarMarMarMarMary Ellen Gambony Ellen Gambony Ellen Gambony Ellen Gambony Ellen Gambon

Staff Reporter

The Burger King will openat the Shops at Riverwood, asthe Boston Licensing Boardvoted 2-1 to grant a commonvictualer’s license to NortheastFoods, the nation’s second-larg-est Burger King franchisee, andfranchise owner-operatorShoukat “Zo” Dhanani, at itsmeeting on Thursday, May 14.

This is the climax in a multi-year saga that has pitted neigh-bors along the River Street cor-ridor against one another. It alsocalled into question the effi-ciency and validity of City’scommunity outreach processesregarding development. The fi-nal decision, according to theboard members, focused on“what is in the interest of thepublic good and the public con-venience.”

“While public sentiment isone of the factors considered bythe board, it’s not the only fac-tor,” member Kathleen Joycesaid. “We take into consider-ation the nature of the proposedoperation, the number of simi-lar operations in the immediatevicinity, traffic, litter and otherancillary factors at the board’sdiscretion. We evaluate eachapplication on its individualmerits.”

The closest chain restaurantsare about one mile away, shenoted, meaning the granting of

the license “would actually bein the interest of the public’sconvenience.”

Member Keeana Saxonvoted against the Burger King.She said she was influenced bythe testimony provided that therestaurant would be directlyacross from the Boston Prepa-ratory Charter School.

“I think it’s just a natural kindof magnet for these kids,” shesaid. “And so, I can’t vote in fa-vor.”

Liam Curran, the third boardmember, referenced a similarrecent case with a Popeye’s thatopened in West Roxbury, forwhich he voted in favor.

“I have to agree with thechair that I don’t feel that wehave the necessary level of satu-ration,” he said. “I think that thefactor about it being unhealthyis very clear. I just don’t knowif that’s really our purview toreally start saying that fast foodrestaurants can’t be nearschools, that it’s necessarilynegative... I think if we’re notvery careful with these factors,we’re getting pretty close to run-ning the risk of saying all fastfood restaurants should be de-nied because they’re unhealthy.”

This decision came a day af-ter the board held a 90-minutepublic hearing on the BurgerKing license on Zoom. Whilewritten testimony had been sub-mitted beforehand on both sides,the vast majority of attendees

spoke against the Burger King.They cited its proximity of sixschools; lack of community out-reach; and health concerns tostudents and communities ofcolor, on which the COVID-19pandemic has shed a spotlight.

Dhanani explained that hiscompany operates 100 BurgerKings throughout New Englandsince 2012, and has “been in theBurger King business since1993.” His company is the sec-ond-largest operator for thebrand nationwide, and it isranked the second-highest of alloperators in operation metrics.

Developer Todd Finard ofFinard Properties explained thathe has been involved withDhanani and the East RiverStreet Neighborhood Associa-tion (ERNA) since July 2016.He said the ERNA was desig-nated by the City as his impactadvisory group (IAG) when hefirst wanted to purchase the BayState Paper Mill and turn it intowhat is now the Shops atRiverwood plaza.

In January 2017, Finard saidhe received approval from boththen-District 5 City CouncilorTim McCarthy and then-HydePark liaison for the Mayor’sOffice of Neighborhood Ser-vices (ONS) Dave McNulty. Hethen followed the Boston Plan-ning and Development Agency(BPDA) and Inspectional Ser-vices Department (ISD) pro-cesses. A construction permit

was issued in December of2018, and the building was com-pleted within a year.

“When it got to the end ofthe year, the Belnel FamilyNeighborhood Association(BNFA) raised their hand andsaid, ‘Wait a minute, we didn’tknow what this was. You didn’ttalk to us.’ That created a bit ofa firestorm in terms of this pro-cess.”

Finard said he “got mired inthe politics of, what I believe is,how the neighborhood shouldspeak in one voice.”

Current Hyde Park ONS li-aison Bryan Flynn went onrecord in support of the license,saying the early process hadbeen followed and meetings thisyear did include multiplegroups.

Hank Cohen, who representscurrent District 5 City CouncilorRicardo Arroyo, requested a de-ferral on behalf of the BFNA.Dave Vittorini from Councilorat-Large Michelle Wu’s officeand Jessica Rodriguez fromCouncilor at-Large AnnissaEssaibi-George’s office bothagreed to request a deferral af-ter hearing Cohen’s request.Originally, each said theyplanned to testify in oppositionto the Burger King.

Helena Tonge, the presidentof the BFNA, said that, althoughshe had seen construction of arestaurant, she was unaware thatit would be a Burger King until

she received the LicensingBoard’s notice on Jan. 11 of aJan. 15 hearing. She then noti-fied other neighborhood groups.After the deferral, they all meton Feb. 6. A BFNA communitymeeting was scheduled inMarch, but was canceled due toCOVID-19.

Tonge charged that Flynn“dropped the ball” by not noti-fying the community, becauseaverage ERNA attendance isaround 20. Although her asso-ciation does not meet monthly,it has been around since the1970s and is active in the neigh-borhood.

She also brought up a 2017article in The Boston Herald,which said that Dhanani wasfined $843,000 by the state At-torney General’s office for 843alleged violations of child laborlaws at 30 of his 43 Massachu-setts restaurants.

Dr. Marilynne SmithQuarcoo, a resident and govern-ing board member of the Bos-ton Community LeadershipAcademy, said she wanted toaddress “the lack of culturallyresponsive community engage-ment and inequity” in this pro-cess.

“While the developer mayhave met the current require-ments to meet this stage in theprocess,” she said, “As a resi-dent, I believe the process that

Burger KingBurger KingBurger KingBurger KingBurger KingContinued on page 9

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Mount Hope Canterbury Neighborhood Assn. to return on ZoomJefJefJefJefJeff Sullivf Sullivf Sullivf Sullivf SullivanananananStaff Reporter

If all goes as planned, theMount Hope CanterburyNeighborhood Association(MHC) will be returning towork in June on the virtualmeeting platform Zoom.

Organizers Rick Yoder andLisa Beatman said despite thestoppage of meetings back inMarch the neighborhood grouphas been busy, and they arelooking forward to restartingmeetings for the neighborhoodin East Roslindale, Hyde Parkand Mattapan.

Yoder and Beatman saidthey have been followingclosely the case of 602 Canter-bury St., a proposed 14-unitrental property sitting on a thinrectangle of land between Can-terbury Street and AmericanLegion Highway. Beatmanand Yoder said the meetinghighlighted the importance ofneighbors taking an interest inas many local meetings as pos-sible.

While the Boston ZoningBoard of Appeals approved theproject in October of 2019, theproject still needed severalother approvals, including thatof the Boston ConservationCommission (BCC). In the in-terim between the ZBA ap-proval and that of the BCC,Boston Mayor Marty Walshsigned into law the Boston

Wetlands Ordinance (with aceremony in Roslindale by theArnold Arboretum and theRoslindale Wetlands UrbanWild) that greatly improvedthe BCC’s powers in terms ofwetland buffer zones and otherregulatory powers.

“The project at 602 Canter-bury is actually on a piece ofthe Canterbury Brook, open tothe sky. The owner wanted tocover it and put in a parkinglot,” Yoder said. “Initially, wesaid no and luckily a little laterI had run into (Boston Chiefof Environment) Chris Cookbefore a meeting and he said,‘in Boston, we do not cover upbrooks, period.’ And that wasvery helpful to have that au-thority. Subsequently, theowner backed off... That wasa victory and he came backwith a design for 14 residen-tial units.”

The MHC, along withmany neighbors, supported theproposal at the ZBA meeting,but Beatman pointed out thatsupport was contingent on thedeveloper testing the site forcontaminants and cleaningthem up. The site was origi-nally a car disposal and junkyard called Bob’s Disposal,and both Beatman and Yodersaid they and many neighborsfeared the site had contami-nants from car engines in thesoil.

“The problem is, or what I

have discovered is, that there’sno agency going through theprocess of who takes that test-ing on as a responsibility,” hesaid. “If the owner wants totest and do something about it,fine, but there’s no authoritywith jurisdiction.”

He said he spoke with theMassachusetts EnvironmentalProtection Agency, which wasless than helpful. The site wasnot on any lists for hazardouswaste, and since the area waszoned for single-family homes,the agency said it was unawareof anything like a car disposalsite on the property.

“I just want to emphasizehere that I do not know if it’spolluted, but I wanted a thor-ough examination,” he said. “Ifthere’s nothing there, then hal-lelujah, let’s move ahead.”

The proponent had com-missioned a 100-page assess-ment of the property, andYoder and Beatman said theyread every page and foundproblems with the proponents'representation of the site at theBCC meeting on April 15.

“It described this property’shistory as being an auto repairgarage with a paved parkinglot and that’s just untrue,”Yoder said. “Would you takeyour car to be repaired at Bob’sDisposal? It’s mostly graveland dirt.”

The point, Yoder said, wasthat pavement, while porous to

a point, is not nearly as porousas dirt and gravel, making itmore likely that chemicalscould leach through the soiland then into the brook.

“They claimed most of thewhole lot was paved, but mostof it isn’t,” Beatman said.

Yoder said the proponentdid one test in the center of thelot, and he said they foundminimal concentration, butthey would like a broader test,since most of the vehicles werestored around the lot’s perim-eter.

The pair said by attendingthe BCC meeting, they feltthey were able to play a vitalrole in the development of theneighborhood, and they saidresidents should be looking togo to these kinds of less-pub-licized meetings. Beatmansaid, for example, they re-cently went to a Boston CivicDesign Commission meetingfor the proposed developmentat 780 American Legion Hwy.at the Home For Little Wan-derers, where more than 100units are proposed, along witha complete rebuild of theHome’s offices and care facili-ties. Yoder said the map theproponents brought for design

review did not list the sur-rounding area as single-familyzoning, which he felt was mis-leading.

“So our concern is that dur-ing this COVID pandemic timewhen everybody’s hunkereddown, it’s very understandablethey’re focused on pandemic-related issues,” he said. “Butthe city’s development processhas been continuing andthere’s been less public accessand oversight and all of ourelecteds and appointed are un-derstandably focused else-where, and so there’s not beena lot of accountability andthat’s a major concern of mine.

The pair said residentsshould keep an eye on the Pub-lic Notice section of theBoston.gov website to stay up-dated on local issues(Boston.gov/public-notices).

The pair also highlightedthe planting of a new butterflygarden last week at the MountHope Park at the corner ofHyde Park Avenue and MountHope Street. The garden wasthe product of a Love YourBlock Grant applied for byneighbors Margaux Leonardand Sarah Lampka.

To advertise, call the Bulletinat (617) 361-8400


Dentists vs. professional athletes

My Kindof Town/Joe Galeota

Remember the old jokeabout a dentist’s favoritetime? No, it’s not five o’clockat the end of a workday as ref-erenced in The Vogues’ 1965song “The Five O’ClockWhistle,” nor is it the fiveo’clock mentioned in SheenaEaston’s “The MorningTrain,” nor the five in DollyParton’s “9-5.” The answer tothe joke is “tooth hurty [twothirty].”

If you’re looking for anyother feeble attempts at dentalhumor in this piece, don’tbother: there aren’t any.

During this pandemic itwas revealed that the typicalMassachusetts dentist makesabout $192,000 annually. Thisis a just income for someonewho had to spend years in den-tal school as general practitio-ner before possible specializ-ing. Of course, dentists andtheir co-workers have been outof work, for the most part, forlast several months.

When dentists as well astheir assistants and hygienistscome back to work, they are at

serious risk because of the veryclose quarters with their pa-tients, who still have to breatheby exhaling without wearingmasks.

The disconnect here is thatthe lowest paid professionalathletes in the four majorAmerican sports are compen-sated significantly more hand-somely. I don’t know aboutyou but the person who re-lieves mouth disfigurementand pain most in my life overthe years is not the one catch-ing baseballs and forwardpasses as well as shootingpucks and three-pointers.

The lowest wages in theNational Football League are$375,000; National BasketballAssociation $898,000; Na-tional Hockey League$700,000; and Major LeagueBaseball $563,000.

The next time anybodyyou know somebody who hasa mouthful of hurt or crooked-ness, watching sports on tele-vision or in person won’t domuch, if anything, to alleviatethe condition: it’s much bet-

ter to schedule an appointmentwith somebody who hasD.D.S. or a D.M.D. after theirlast name, even if they are paidonly a fraction of what the av-erage professional athletemakes.

Am I saying that profes-sional athletes—as well asmovie actors, television per-sonalities, and singers——areoverpaid when compared todentists? You be the judge.

Parks Parcel Priority Plansurvey now underway

The Boston Parks and Recreation Department is encouragingpark users and open space advocates to take part in the City ofBoston’s new Parcel Priority Plan (PPP) using an online survey.The survey results will be used in developing the open spaceacquisition Parcel Priority Plan, and the City of Boston encour-ages residents from every neighborhood to share their feedback.

Enhancing and enlarging Boston’s network of resilient publicopen space is critical, and the Parcel Priority Plan will identifyand evaluate lands in the city that should be acquired or pro-tected as open spaces. This will be used for the development ofthe update to the City of Boston’s Open Space and RecreationPlan.

Questions that are a part of the survey include:• Where would you like to see open space?• What should the City of Boston focus on when acquiring

or protecting open space?Residents’ responses will shape the future of Boston’s park

system.Survey responses will be combined with data modeling and

the City’s priorities to create the Parcel Priority Plan. This is anessential first step in understanding where the Parks and Recre-ation Department has opportunities to expand the open spacenetwork. Creating new open space and protecting existing openspace will move forward as opportunities and funding are avail-able.

The online survey is available in six languages in addition toEnglish. To participate, please visit boston.gov/parcel-priority-plan.

Interpretation and translation services are available at no cost. To access these services or learn more about the project, pleasecontact Maggie Owens at the Boston Parks and Recreation De-partment (617) 961-3025 or email [email protected].

Corrib Road Race update

The Bulletin Newspapers, Inc.

Boston Office661 Washington St,

Suite 202Norwood, MA 02062 Tel: (617) 361-8400Fax: (617) 361-1933

email: [email protected]

“Your Hometown Newspapers”

The organizers of the annual Corrib Road Race are currentlyplanning to hold the postponed race on Sunday, September 20 at12:00PM starting at Billings Field, West Roxbury. In this timeof great uncertainty, organizers are adjusting periodically just likeother event planners for large-scale Fall activities. With an aver-age of over 2,400 runners and hundreds more spectators and at-tendees, we must take every safety precaution.

The Corrib Charitable Trust (CCT) Board of Directors andthe Bligh family are closely monitoring regular updates from Cityofficials. Many factors are involved in the date move, includingconsultation with City and health officials, vendor availability,volunteer participation, and many more logistics involved in anevent of this large scale. We have tried our best to avoid anyconflicts with area races and other local events for the Septem-ber 20 date.

Typically, at this time, we would open up local and on-lineregistration. However, the CCT will delay this action until wehave better direction from all involved parties.

The CCT will keep you informed as soon as possible of fur-ther decisions through the Bulletin Newspaper, Corrib PubFacebook page, local social media outlets, and past participantswill also receive email notifications. We will direct you to theappropriate race registration web site shortly with these devel-opments. In the meantime, you can check corrribpub.com forinformation.

The CCT Board of Directors and the Bligh family are proudto have provided the Parkway community with fun and safe eventsover the last 28 years and donated over $1.2 million to local chari-ties. We certainly hope to continue this in 2020 on September 20.


Boston Trinity Academy Senior Symposiumproject shines despite Covid-19

On Wednesday, April22nd, and Thursday, April23rd, seniors from BostonTrinity Academy in HydePark, defended their year-long Senior Symposiumprojects via Zoom. Seniors atBTA spend part of the yearresearching and writing a 20-25 page research paper on a topic related to social justice.At the end of the year, theypresent portions of their pa-per and defend their positionsbefore a panel of invitedjudges.

In light of school cancel-lations because of COVID-19, BTA seniors were wor-ried that all of the researchand hard work they’d beendoing since the fall would besomewhat anticl imactic.However BTA faculty weredetermined not to let all ofthe students’ efforts go towaste. Senior SymposiumNight is a rite of passage forseniors at BTA. After schoolwas officially cancelled, se-niors continued their researchremotely, worked with theirfaculty advisors via Zoom,and finished their papers onschedule. Some of the topicsof this year’s papers were:

* “Gender Wage Dispar-ity: Are American WomenSwimming Upstream?”

* “The Humanitarian Cri-sis at the US-Mexico Border”

* “Free and AppropriateEducation for All: Injusticeswithin the Special Education

System in America”* “When the Wells Run

Dry: Analyzing and Address-ing the Water Crisis in Gaza” One BTA senior said,“...there are wrongs in theworld that make our heartsbreak, injustices few peopleseem to care about,longstanding inequities thataffect everyday people, hu-man dignity that is beingstripped from people. Mysymposium advisor, Dr.Milway, would always saythat when we present our top-ics, we ‘speak for those whocannot speak for themselves.’Symposium is a platform forstudents to become expertson an injustice, and share thatknowledge such that otherpeople not only understandthe tangible problem, but be-come as passionate and curi-ous as the student. In essence,social change happens whenmore people are passionate,curious, and knowledgeableabout injustices— making se-nior symposium the first stepon that path to change.”

Judges, who volunteeredtheir time to listen to studentpresentations, ask toughquestions, and give feedbackremotely, came from a widevariety of backgrounds.Among this years’ judgeswere attorneys, a professorfrom MIT, a professor fromBU, local ministers, profes-sionals from the non-profitsector, a psychologist, and

even a student from HarvardLaw School.

Judges were impressed bythe strength of the papers andby the composure studentsshowed during their presen-tations. One judge, a lawyerand college professor, re-marked, “The level of en-gagement and analysis was asstrong if not better presented,than the work of my under-graduates.”

Another college professorsaid, “I very much enjoyedlistening to the student pre-sentations and was quite im-pressed with their poise, pol-ish and content. Congratula-tions to BTA for offering stu-dents an opportunity tothink!” Boston Trinity Acad-emy seniors and faculty madethe best of a difficult situa-tion and are thankful for theopportunity to work withcommunity leaders on suchan important project.

Danielle McConnellCOURTESY PHOTO


Ways and Means Subcommittee reviews Parks and RecJefJefJefJefJeff Sullivf Sullivf Sullivf Sullivf SullivanananananStaff Reporter

The Ways and Means Sub-committee of the Boston CityCouncil met on May 15 anddiscussed the budget outlookfor the city’s Parks and Recre-ation Department for fiscalyear 2021.

Parks Commissioner RyanWoods has worked for the de-partment for 14 years and tookover the department last year.He said while he’s still find-ing his feet, he is satisfiedwith the budget. He said theproposed budget for the up-coming year is a 3.9 percentincrease since FY20.

“That’s an increase ofabout a million dollars to ouroperating budget,” he said. “Itincludes six new positions,four of which are in mainte-nance, one with Urban Wildsand one in our Urban ForestryProgram. We hope to utilizeanticipated funding for a sec-ond maintenance shift basedout of Franklin Park, whichwill help reduce overtimecosts, decrease response timeto off-hour maintenance issuesand emergencies, in responseto COVID-related issues,clean up etc.”

Woods said for the UrbanWilds position, they will be

hiring a dedicated gardener,which many residents and vol-unteers may be relieved tohear. Currently, the program isheaded by Paul Sutton, whoorganizes dozens of clean ups,invasive species removals andother volunteer-based pro-gramming throughout theyear. But almost all of thoseprograms are performedthrough the dedication of vol-unteers and not by city em-ployees.

“Urban Wilds is a programthat has been largely depen-dent on volunteer groups and,after this spring, we certainlylost a lot of volunteers forcleanups that were sched-uled,” Woods said.

For the Urban Forestry Po-sition, Woods said they wantto have a dedicated person tolook at increasing and main-taining the city’s tree canopy.

“We hope to create an Ur-ban Forestry Master Plan tobetter understand the areas ofpotential improvement in ourcurrent urban tree canopy anduse more staff to better main-tain the canopy and addresstree mortality, oversee war-ranty issues and quickly re-spond to downed-tree emer-gencies,” he said. “We’re alsoexcited that we’ll be able toplant 2,000 trees in FY21, dou-

bling our current volume,which is a $1 million increasein capital in FY21.”

Woods also said they arecurrently working on figuringout community processes formaster plan projects and play-ground improvement projects.

“We’re looking forward tomoving forward with designservices for Malcolm X Park,Crawford Street Park,Mother’s Rest, Edna BynoeOrchard Garden, MillenniumPark and the Ryan Play Area,”he said. “So this is an excitingproposed budget for us, andwe’re looking forward to mak-ing these improvements.”

District 6 City CouncilorMatt O’Malley advocated forthe inclusion of updates toBillings Field in West Roxburyduring the hearing.

“As a kid growing up, I canremember playing at BillingsField, and I remember thewooden structures at the play-ground, and I think Chief (ofParks Chris) Cook may re-member as well, and perhapssome older folks on this call,but we haven’t seen any realsignificant investment in Bill-ings Field itself,” he said. “Thetot lot and playground namedafter Firefighter MichaelKennedy and Lt. Ed Walsh issomething we really really

value and appreciate, but I’mtalking specifically about thefield itself.”

O’Malley said the field isthe “front yard” of WestRoxbury, and named themyriad of local youth sport or-ganizations, local charities,concert series and more thatutilize the field.

“The Corrib Road Race,which has essentially becomeWest Roxbury Day; I mean somuch happens at BillingsField,” he said. “Through no

one’s fault, other than somebenign neglect, through theyears we haven’t seen the in-vestment that the field needs.My number one capital requestgoing forward this year is mak-ing sure we can actually fulfillthe potential of Bil l ingsField.”

Woods said it is “a prior-ity investment area,” and saidthe Department is aware of

WWWWWaaaaays and Meansys and Meansys and Meansys and Meansys and MeansContinued on page 8



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CARDOOSMary (Jabbour) Of Quincy

May 11, 2020. Dear and devotedwife of the late Albert Cardoos.Beloved mother of CarolynFrench of Quincy, StephenCardoos and his wife Marie ofLittleton, Alan Cardoos and hiswife Rafca of Hull, and CharlesCardoos of California. Deargrandmother “Tata” of John andJustin French, Paul and MiriamCardoos, Nathan Cardoos and hiswife Emily Bethea, StephanieCardoos and her husband SamSakhai, and Amber Cardoos.Great-grandmother of CharlieCardoos. Loving sister of SamJabbour of West Roxbury, GloriaZahka of Hull, and the late NoraKhouri Barakat and Julia Jabbour.Also survived by many lovingnieces and nephews. Funeral Ser-vices will be private. IntermentFairview Cemetery. In lieu offlowers, please make contribu-tions in Mary’s memory to theChurch of St. John of Damascus,stjohnd.org 300 West St.,Dedham, MA 02026. Guestbookat www.KfouryFuneral.comKfoury Keefe Funeral HomeWest Roxbury 617-325-3600

FLAHERTYRobert M. Age 87, of West

Roxbury, passed away peacefullyon May 15, 2020. Beloved hus-band of 61 years to Noreen(Mitchell) Flaherty. Loving fatherof Robert M. Flaherty, Jr. andSean M. Flaherty and his wifePilar of Westwood. Adoredgrandfather of Erin, Jill, Laurenand Connor. Brother of the lateMichael Flaherty and his wifeEleanor and the late Ruth A.Gibson and her husband Clifford.He also leaves many cherishednieces and nephews. Robertworked as a crane operator andwas a member of I.U.O.E. Local#4 for 64 years. He grew up inSouth Boston and at the age of19 joined the US Army as a tankdriver during the Korean War.After the war, he married andmoved to West Roxbury to raisehis family. Robert was an activemember at his local gym, and en-joyed camping in North Conway,kayaking, taking care of his pooland trips to Castle Island in SouthBoston with his family. TheFlaherty Family would like tothank all the doctors and nursesof the West Roxbury VA and theBrockton VA for making “Bob”feel loved and cared for, and whofondly nicknamed him the“Mayor” of 2-North at the WestRoxbury VA. Burial will be at theMA National Cemetery, Bourne.Due to the COVID-19 gatheringrestrictions, all Services will beprivate. Services handled by theWilliam J. Gormley FuneralHome, 2055 Centre St., WESTROXBURY. A Memorial Massand gathering will be held in hishonor at a later date to be deter-mined. In lieu of flowers, dona-tions may be made in his name toThe Wounded Warriors Project,PO Box 758516, Topeka, KS66675. For guestbook,www.gormleyfuneral.com Will-iam J. Gormley Funeral Service617-323-8600

GATELYWilliam F. “Billy” Longtime

resident of Roslindale, formerlyof Jamaica Plain, passed awayMay 13, 2020. Beloved husbandof Theresa A. Gately. Devotedand loving father of James A.

Gately, Jessica Santos Rodriguez,Jamie, Joshua, Emily, MaryElyse, Christopher, Charles, andAlicia Gately. Loving grandfatherof A.J., Kaylee, Becca, Kayla,Omar, Orlando, Alexander, andEzelle. Brother of James B.Gately, Richard Gately, and thelate Diane Scully. Brother-in-lawof Robert Campbell, JamesSpates. Also survived by manynieces, nephews, and cousins.Faithful member of Calvary Bap-tist Church, Dedham.

Due to the pandemic, a privatefamily visitation and service willbe held at the P.E. Murray - F.J.Higgins, George F. Doherty &Sons Funeral Home. Intermentprivate. A public memorial will beheld at a future date at CalvaryBaptist Church. In lieu of flow-ers, (family allergy) donationsmay be made in Billy’s memoryto Calvary Baptist Church 42Needham St. Dedham, MA02026. Arrangements by P.E.Murray - F.J. Higgins, George F.Doherty & Sons Funeral Home,West Roxbury.

McCAULEYOwen Of Hyde Park, May 11,

2020. Beloved husband ofDeborah (Smith) McCauley. De-voted father of James W. and hiswife Justine of Randolph, andDeborah DeVeer and her husbandMichael of Dedham. Grandfatherof Justin and Jamie McCauley ofRandolph. Also survived by hisloving pets. Owen was the ownerand operator of D.A. McCauleyConstruction of Hyde Park for 54years. Private Funeral Serviceswill be held at the George F.Doherty & Sons Funeral Home,DEDHAM, followed by a privateburial in Mt. Benedict Cemetery,West Roxbury. In lieu of flowers,donations may be made toMedfield Animal Shelter, C/OJackie Waiters, 101 Old BridgeSt., Medfield, MA 02054. Onlineguestbook at gfdoherty.comGeorge F. Doherty & SonsDedham 781-326-0500

McMANUSJohn J. Of West Roxbury, May

16, 2020. Beloved husband for 65years to Joan (O’Shea)McManus. Loving father ofKevin, Michael, John, Jr., Stephenand his wife Gretchen. Grandfa-ther of John Patrick, Katelyn,Ryan, Stephen, Dylan, Melissa,Meghan, Lauren and Caroline.Brother of Anne Grealy, JamesMcManus and the late MargaretMcManus. Also survived bymany nieces and nephews. Johnwas a highly decorated Detectiveretired from the Boston PoliceDept., member of the Boston Po-lice Emerald Society, and Exec.Board Member of Cops for Kidswith Cancer. US Navy KoreanWar Veteran. A Funeral Mass willbe celebrated at a later date. Forg u e s t b o o k ,www.gormleyfuneral.com Will-iam J. Gormley Funeral Service617-323-8600

McNEILLRichard Alan Born in Boston

on May 8th, 1940 and passedaway on May 12th, 2020. Rich-ard was a beloved son of Dor-othy and Vincent McNeill andwas raised in West Roxbury withhis five brothers. Richard is sur-

vived by his brother, Bruce G.McNeill of Brookline. He wasalso uncle to many nieces andnephews. Richard graduatedfrom Roslindale High Schooland went on to enlist in theUnited States Air Force, fromwhich he was honorably dis-charged. After his time in the AirForce, he worked at Friendly’sIce Cream for many years. Rich-ard was a gentle soul and a kindman. Like his mother, he was anavid reader and enjoyed spend-ing time at the library. Richard’sarrangements are being handledby Gormley Funeral Home, 2055Centre St., WEST ROXBURY.Details are pending due to cur-rent events. In lieu of flowers, thefamily asks you to consider adonation in honor of Richard toThe Greater Boston Food Bankor your local food pantry. Forg u e s t b o o k ,www.gormleyfuneral.com Will-iam J. Gormley Funeral Service617-323-8600

MITCHELLPatricia A. Of Wellesley,

Watertown and Hyde Park, MA.Passed away peacefully after along struggle with dementia. Shewas 87 years old. Beloved wifeof deceased Donald C. Mitchell,mother of Carole Katz ofWatertown and Bruce Newmanand his wife Ellen of Walpole.Devoted grandmother of Kim,Jennifer, Katie and David. Great-grandmother of Kenzie, Seanand Tinsley. Patricia was the lastremaining of seven O’Brien sib-lings: Ernestine, Teddy, Bob,Jerry, Marie and Joan. She hadmany devoted nieces, nephews,grandnieces, and grandnephews.Patricia worked in the account-ing division of the MBTA formany years and later went on towork in banking at Baybank,Hyde Park Savings and DedhamSavings Bank. Her greatest en-joyment was in helping others,whether it was assisting custom-ers with their finances or help-ing to raise her four grandchil-dren. She raised Carole andBruce for many years on her ownuntil she met the love of her life,Don. With him she began to trulyenjoy life. They spent manyyears together as a family boat-ing, skiing, and traveling. AfterDon’s death, she continued toenjoy traveling with her sistersand later with her daughter. AMemorial Service will beplanned in the future. Patriciawill be interred next to her hus-band at Arlington National Cem-etery. In lieu of flowers, dona-tions can be made to the GrowClinic at Boston Medical,www.bmc.org/programs/grow-clinic Lawler & Crosby FuneralHome 617-323-5600

PHILBINNora Christine (Frazer) Of

West Roxbury and Dorchester,originally from Louisburg,County Mayo, Ireland. Age 88.Passed peacefully surrounded byher loving family on May 11,2020. Born on Christmas Day,Nora was the daughter of Patrickand Theresa (Hastings) Frazer.She was the beloved wife for 35years of the late James L. Philbin(1990), and devoted mother toMary and Stephen Kelly ofNatick, Kathleen LaShoto of

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Deaths continued from page 6Waltham, Lorraine and JosephTrapuzzano of Washington, PA,James and Elizabeth Philbin ofFoxborough, and Anne Johnsonof Southborough. Cherished“Grandma” to Katie (fianc?Aaron Yu) and Caroline Kelly,James and MaryAnn LaShoto,Kathryn and James Dlugos,James, Sean and Sally Philbin,and Daniel and ElizabethJohnson. So loved by Christo-pher, Andrew and PatrickTrapuzzano and their families.Nora was dear sister to PatrickFrazer of County Mayo, Theresaand James Corrigan of Burnley,England, and the late John, Mar-tin, Michael Frazer and MaryClarke. Sister-in-law to Josephand Patricia Philbin, Yarmouth,MA. Adored “Auntie Nora” and“Cousin Christine” to dozens ofnieces, nephews and cousins. Alongtime employee of Verizon,Nora loved cooking, reading,gardening, and walking atCastle Island, but it was alwaysthe quality time with her chil-dren and grandchildren that shetruly treasured. Our family sin-cerely thanks the teams at MaryAnn Morse Cedar Unit andBrookhaven Hospice (Natick)for their gentle care and empa-thy during Nora’s final days.Due to the Massachusetts stay-at-home order, the Funeral Ser-vice will be private with a Burialceremony at Mount BenedictCemetery, West Roxbury. Fu-neral arrangements by Robert J.Lawler & Crosby FuneralHome, 1803 Centre Street,WEST ROXBURY, MA 02132.A formal Celebration of Nora’sLife will be held at a future date.In lieu of flowers, donations inNora’s memory are gratefullyaccepted by: My Brother ’sKeeper, PO Box 338, Easton,MA 02356-0338, or AT-Children’s Project, 6810 StateRoad 7, Suite 125, CoconutCreek, FL 33073. Lawler &Crosby Funeral Home. 617-323-5600

RAEJohn L. “Jack” Longtime

resident of West Roxbury,passed away on May 15, 2020,five days after his beloved latewife Mary “Marie” Rae(Reardon) Rae. Devoted fatherof John C. Rae of West Roxbury,Mary Kapust and her husbandMichael, Jean Hurley and herhusband Brian all of Tewksbury,and Joanne Cullen and her hus-band Patrick of Walpole. Lov-ing grandfather of Michael,Kevin and Matthew Kapust,Timothy and Paul Hurley, John,Mary, and Brendan Reedy, andGrace Cullen. Great-grandfa-ther to Benjamin Kapust.Brother of the late EvelynBoudreau and the late RobertRae. Also survived by severalnieces and nephews. John wasa veteran of the U.S. Armyproudly serving in the KoreanWar. He was a mechanical en-gineer and retired from Johnsonand Johnson. Due to the pan-demic, a private family visita-tion and funeral service will takeplace at the P.E. Murray - F.J.Higgins, George F. Doherty &Sons Funeral Home. Burial willfollow at St. Joseph Cemetery.A Memorial Mass will be held

at a future date. In lieu of flow-ers, donations may be made inJack’s memory to St. JudeChildren’s Research Hospital,501 St. Jude Pl., Memphis, TN38105-1905. For onlineg u e s t b o o k ,pemurrayfuneral.com P.E.Murray - F.J. Higgins George F.Doherty & Sons West Roxbury617 325 2000

RAEMary M. “Marie” (Reardon)

Longtime resident of WestRoxbury passed away on May10, 2020, five days before herbeloved husband, John L. Rae.Devoted mother of John C. Raeof West Roxbury, Mary Kapustand her husband Michael, JeanHurley and her husband Brian,all of Tewksbury, and JoanneCullen and her husband Patrickof Walpole. Loving grand-mother to Michael, Kevin andMatthew Kapust, Timothy andPaul Hurley, John, Mary, andBrendan Reedy, and GraceCullen. Great-grandmother toBenjamin Kapust. Dear sister ofthe late Theresa Kindregan.Also survived by several niecesand nephews. Longtime faithfulparishioner of St. JohnChrysostom Church. Due to thepandemic, a private family Visi-tation and Funeral Service willtake place at the P.E. Murray -F.J. Higgins, George F. Doherty& Sons Funeral Home. Burialwill follow at St. Joseph Cem-etery. A Memorial Mass will beheld at a future date. In lieu offlowers, donations may be madein Mary’s memory to St. JohnChrysostom Church, 4750Washington St.,West Roxbury,MA 02132 or to St. JudeChildren’s Research Hospital,501 St. Jude Pl., Memphis, TN38105-1905. For onlineg u e s t b o o k ,pemurrayfuneral.com P.E.Murray - F.J. Higgins George F.Doherty & Sons West Roxbury617 325 2000

ROCKJohn M. Of Chestnut Hill,

formerly of Jamaica Plain, May11, 2020. Beloved son of the lateMichael & Bridgett (Moloney)Rock. Loving brother of AnneMarie Verrochi of WestRoxbury and the late JosephRock. Beloved uncle of KarenWright and her husband James,and Joseph Rock. Loving great-uncle of Elizabeth and EmilyVerrochi, Bridget Wright. Fu-neral Services private.www.lawlerfuneralhome.comLawler & Crosby Funeral Home617-323-5600

SHUBSTERRobert Also known as Rob

and Bob, of West Roxbury,passed away peacefully May 14,2020. Loving son of the lateMary T. (Ciskowski) Reppucci.Cherished brother and bestfriend of Joseph Shubster ofWest Roxbury, his brother RonReppucci and his wife Ann ofHingham. Uncle of JenniferSimpson and her husband Donof Hingham, AlisonDiBenedetto and her husbandJohn of Andover and KevinReppucci and his wife Anya ofHingham. Also survived by his

great-nephews Ryan, Jake, Tho-mas and Jackson, his great-nieces Kayla, Ashley and Ava.Rob was a faithful usher andparishioner at Holy NameChurch and an avid Red Soxand Bruins fan. Rob loved fam-ily events, birthdays, holidaysand celebrations. Due toCOVID-19 guidelines put inplace by the Commonwealth ofMassachusetts, Services will beprivate. To leave a condolencemessage for the family, pleasevisit: Gormleyfuneral.com Wil-liam J. Gormley Funeral Service617-323-8600

SITTIGRobert J. Of Roslindale and

Hyde Park, who recently retiredto Florida, passed away May 3,2020. Beloved husband of Lori(Tejada) Sittig. Former husbandof Leigh Donohue. Loving fa-ther of Lynne Donohue, KarenHamblin and her husbandJonathan, Brianne Sittig, all ofRoslindale, and the late BrianDonohue. Proud grandfather ofRay-Shawn, Debrah-Leigh,Tyanna, Isaiah, Dezzirae, Rylee,and Gianna. Loving brother ofWilliam Sittig and his wife Mar-garet, John Sittig and his wifeDonna, Kenny Sittig and hiswife Cheryl, Kevin Sittig andJoanne Reilly and her husbandPhil. Also survived by manynieces, nephews, cousins andfriends. A Mass of ChristianBurial will be celebrated at afuture date.lawlerfuneralhome.com

TARRISRichard R. “Dick” Of Hull

and Ft. Myers, FL, formerly ofRoslindale, passed away onMay 15, 2020. He was prede-ceased by his wife Edna(Stapleton) Tarris. Father ofChristine Tarris of Nashua, NH,Jeanne Horgan and her husbandStephen of Walpole, Leo Tarrisof Hull and Richard Tarris, Jr.and his wife Christine ofRoslindale, and Julie Elmendorfand her husband Kevin of FL.Grandpa of 12 ranging in ages2 to 32 years old; Nadine, Alex,Kelsey, Conor, Colleen, Shan-non, Emmy, Katelyn, Tyler,Abigail, Liam, and Ava. Alsosurvived by his sister BarbaraBaker of Needham and brotherStephen Tarris of Lowell andmany dear nieces and nephews.Dick was a life-long Bostonsports fan. He loved living bythe ocean and camping at MylesStandish State Park. He was alongtime member of TeamstersLocal 122. Due to the currentCoronavirus pandemic, a pri-vate family visitation and fu-neral service will be held at P.E.Murray - F.J. Higgins, GeorgeF. Doherty & Sons FuneralHome. Burial will follow atNew Calvary Cemetery, Boston.A Memorial Mass will be heldat a future date. In lieu of flow-ers, donations may be made inRichard’s memory to The Foun-dation for Faces of Children,258 Harvard St. #367,Brookline, MA 02446. Foronline guestbook,pemurrayfuneral.com P.E.Murray - F.J. Higgins George F.Doherty & Sons West Roxbury617 325 2000


Prayer to the Blessed Virgin(Never known to fail!)

Oh, most beautiful flower of Mt.Carmel, fruitful vine, splendor ofHeaven, Blessed Mother of the Sonof God, Immaculate Virgin, assist mein this necessity. Oh Star of the Sea,help me and show me herein you aremy mother. Oh Holy Mary, Motherof God, Queen of Heaven and Earth,I humbly beseech thee from thebottom of my heart to succor me inmy necessity (make request). Thereare none that can withstand yourpower. Oh Mary, conceived withoutsin, pray for us who have recourse tothee (three times). Holy Mary, I placethis cause in your hands (threetimes). Say this prayer for threeconsecutive days and then you mustpublish and it will be granted to you.

—P.F.

Prayer to the Blessed Virgin(Never known to fail!)

Oh, most beautiful flower of Mt.Carmel, fruitful vine, splendor ofHeaven, Blessed Mother of the Sonof God, Immaculate Virgin, assist mein this necessity. Oh Star of the Sea,help me and show me herein you aremy mother. Oh Holy Mary, Motherof God, Queen of Heaven and Earth,I humbly beseech thee from thebottom of my heart to succor me inmy necessity (make request). Thereare none that can withstand yourpower. Oh Mary, conceived withoutsin, pray for us who have recourse tothee (three times). Holy Mary, I placethis cause in your hands (threetimes). Say this prayer for threeconsecutive days and then you mustpublish and it will be granted to you.

—S.C.A.

cluding Walnut Avenue, Columbus Avenue and Sigourney Street.”Dougherty asked that neighbors call 911 if they see groups of

motorcycles in the park or on the streets.One resident lives on Atherton Street and was concerned about

the activities around the Mobile station on Columbus Avenue.“Can you keep an eye on the Mobile station?” she asked.

“There’s always gatherings and arguments at the station. Some-times there’s fighting. I’m concerned about suspicious activity.People soliciting. This has been a long-standing issue.

“I call 911 but it’s not working,” she said.Drici asked the police to put the Mobile Station up as a “hot

spot.” Dougherty said he’ll have extra police cars patrol the sta-tion area.

There was good news to report on the Peace Garden at Wash-ington Street and School Street from Dan Newman of the Friendsof the Peace Garden.

“This morning I learned that it’s happening,” he said. “The(Boston) City Council is reviewing the slate of proposed projectsto be funded by the Community Preservation Act. The PeaceGarden got a positive response.

“The signs are good that the Peace Garden will get funded,”Newman said. “There is a council hearing on Zoom scheduled.”

Member Caroline Royce said she was glad to hear this; shedescribed the process “like climbing a mountain.”

As late as September 2019,when applications were due at theCPA committee, the question of ownership was still up in the air;a new lease with the property owner Clear Channel had not beensigned.

But on Sept. 25, Denise Delgado, Egleston Square Main Streetsdirector, notified The Bulletin that Clear Channel had agreed to anew lease.

“This makes it possible for Main Streets and Greater EglestonHigh School to apply for community preservation funds thisweek,” she said.

Clear Channel agreed to a lease of an additional 15 years thatdid not include an early termination clause.

Who holds the lease is unclear; State Rep. Elizabeth Malia’soffice-which played an active role in negotiating the lease-wouldnot comment for the record and Delgado did not respond to twomessages.

But apparently the 15-year, no–early-termination-lease wassatisfactory to the CPA committee and they approved the $150,000request to go forward.

On May 5, the Community Preservation Committee of theCity Council, chaired by Councilor Mike Flaherty, reviewed 40proposals for housing, historic preservation and parks and recre-ation totaling $24 million.

Chief of Environment, Energy and Open Space Chris Cooksummarized the 14 open space projects totaling $3.8 million.

The Egleston Peace Garden plan was created by COG-De-sign which wrote a description of the schematic displayed on thezoom screen.

“It will have new enhancements to improve safety and stabil-ity and improve accessibility for those using wheelchairs andwalkers. It will beautify the intersection and [make] the park atrue oasis for the community.”

Cook went further in his support for the Peace Garden.“It’s an underwhelming space,” he said. “It’s a real opportu-

nity to do something special for the community.”Cook forgot to mention that it’s also been the location for the

annual Christmas tree lighting, attended by the mayor for yearsnow.

District 6 City Councilor Matt O’Malley always attends thetree lighting and he spoke in favor.

“Such a dedicated level of neighborhood support,” O’Malleysaid.” It’s one of my favorite places.”

Delgado testified by remote phone-in.“It’s been a volunteer effort for 20 years,” she said. “How

exciting that this day is finally here. People in the communityhave been working very hard for a long time on this.”

Delgado told The Bulletin the next day that Egleston SquareMain Streets would be the recipient of and disburse the $150,000grant.

In her introduction to the hearing, Chief Financial OfficerEmme Handy described the CPA funding program, and admitted that theCOVID 19 pandemic would affect the state match of the CPA fund; butmore than that.

“There are seven playgrounds in the list and other open spaces," shesaid, “should we be able to open them again.”

The full City Council approved the 40 projects at its meeting on May 13.

Peace Garden continued from page 1

Ways and Means continued from page 5

its high use, and said theyhave been contacted by Park-way in Motion many times onthe issues at the field, whichinclude poor drainage, needof field work, and leveling.

“Chief Cook will be ableto tell you that he sprainedhis ankle last week walkingout there, so that is even more

proof of the work neededthere, as well as electrical up-grades,” he said.

“It holds a central place inthe activity and vibrancy ofthe West Roxbury neighbor-hood, and selfishly it’s whereI start and end my days,”Cook said.

Cook said that, sprained

ankle notwithstanding, thepark is huge, and would re-quire massive spending. Hesaid they don’t want to ap-proach it in a piecemeal fash-ion, and so when the oppor-tunity presents itself in thebudget to allow the capitalspending necessary, it will beplaced as a line item.

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Good luck frGood luck frGood luck frGood luck frGood luck from Corribom Corribom Corribom Corribom CorribThe Bligh family wishing their senior high school employees the best of luck with a sign hanging on theside of their Corrib Pub building in West Roxbury.

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nothing. It was the beginning ofthe economic recession, and jobswere scarce.”

He joined the Navy Reserves,where he served with distinction,chosen as Select Sailor of theQuarter for the fist quarter of FY2011.

Reed then went from Harvardto homeless in a matter of months,and was homeless for eightmonths before his life began toturn around.

“For the first two weeks, I sleptat the Science Center at Harvard,”he said. “Then I slept at the U-Haul storage center for three daysat MIT. I then went to the NewEngland Center for HomelessVeterans and ended up at theSoldier’s Home in Chelsea forfour months. The Navy releasedme.

“I was down on my luck,” hecontinued. “Twelve months ear-lier, I had the world on a string. Atthat point, I had the weight of theworld on my shoulders. You don’tknow if you will ever see the sun-light again.”

Reed did see the proverbialsunlight in the face of his futurewife, a veterans rights activist. Sheadvised him on programs that ex-isted for veterans of color.

“We met over a bond of advo-cacy, and that turned into friend-ship, dating and then marriage,”he said. “When I met her, I was300 miles from home. Now myhouse is nothing but Red Soxfans.”

The one job that Reed said hecould find during this time was asthe manager at the Expressionsathletic shoe store on Hyde ParkAve.

In 2013, he reignited his pas-sion for government as an internfor the Massachusetts DemocraticParty in 2013. Two years later, heinterned for Mayor Marty Walshin the communications office.

Now, Reed works at BostonPrivate, a financial services com-pany in Boston He is also thefounder and CEO of R.E.E.D.Legacy Capital Group. R.E.E.D.,an acronym for Real Estate andEconomic Development, works toovercome past practices ofredlining by working with busi-ness owners and lenders. He alsovolunteers on the weekend at thePine Street Inn as a counselor forhomeless veterans.

“If people remember nothingelse during this race for the 14thSuffolk District State Rep seat, Iwant them to realize that you canreach your goals, brick by brick,”Reed said. “I understand theeconomy because I’ve lived it. Ican look neighbors in the eye andsay I was on no one’s payroll. I’mone of them. I get it.” One of hisgoals is to get a testing center forCOVID-19 in Hyde Park.

“We have a situation whereHyde Park is the number-onecommunity with COVID-19cases week after week, and wecan’t even get a dedicated testingcenter put up,” Reed said. “I have

a problem with that.”“The country and the state

were caught egregiously flat-footed,” he continued. “We can-not be dependent on foreign coun-tries for medical supplies.”

Having truly affordable hous-ing is another key goal, as is im-proving the district’s infrastruc-ture and overall public transpor-tation. He became an advocate foraccessible transportation after hiswife was shot and began usingThe Ride, the MBTA’s paratransitservice. An initiative of his is toadvocate for more WAV (wheel-chair accessible vehicles) to im-prove accessibility for all, sopeople with disabilities do nothave to wait sometimes more thanan hour for scheduled transporta-tion.

“More than ever, the time isnow for the equitable delivery ofservices,” Reed said. “This is notthe time for business as usual.Most public officials who makepolicies on the T and Uber don’tuse them.”

Reed is focusing on deliveryduring the campaign. He began avirtual food drive with fellow Repcandidate Craig Valdez from Ply-mouth and will be delivering fooddoor to door to those in need hehas called who cannot go out.

“Those in office have beenpaving the road to hell with goodintentions,” Reed charged. “I re-alized they will tell anybody whatthey want to do. Leadership hasto start with servitude.”

Kevin Reed continued from page 1 Burger Kingcontinued from page 2

Letter ToThe Editor

Please write to:THE BULLETIN

661 Washington St,Suite 202

Norwood, MA 02062 Tel: (617) 361-8400Fax: (617) 361-1933

e-mail us [email protected]

Tell ‘emwhat you

think with aPlease include your name,

address & telephone number.Unsigned letters will not be

published.

brought us here today is sorely misaligned to the espoused vi-sion of the City, and it did not reflect values associated withinclusive practices.

“It takes a village to maintain a village,” she continued.“We’re committed to that here in Hyde Park. And if not us, who?And if not now, when will we see a change in the way thingsoperate in our communities of color?”

Barbara Hamilton, the ERNA coordinator, spoke in favorof the development later in the meeting.

“We’ve been in partnership with the City and with thedeveloper to bring some positive things to the community,”she said. “When the economics of the country were comingback up, he (Finard) reached out to see if we would allow aBurger King to come in, because once we got a companylike Burger King, companies follow each other. And theydid.”

BFNA former chair Mukyia Baker Gomez said she hasbeen active on the Ward 18 Democratic Committee, whereall neighborhood groups are listed.

“And the fact that the only one that they went to is EastRiver is beyond anything I can comprehend as being a re-sponsible government leader,” she said. She also raised theconcerns to traffic, environmental impact and health.

“Todd (Finard) tended to bring in people from BurgerKing because somehow it was going to be a special BurgerKing, different from any other Burger King that has evercome to the community,” ERNA board member Patricia Odomsaid in support of the Burger King. “He was going to monitor itvery closely, the food would be much healthier and so forth.”


54th Regiment continued from page 1“We have not done any

virtual activities, but wehave been taking time put-ting together older videosand historical articles thatcould be developed into dif-ferent length programs,”Vance remarked.

The 54th Regiment’smain focus right now is to“obtain exhibit and officespace in Hyde Park that com-memorates the place whereover 3,000 African Americantroops originally trained andprepared to serve the Com-monwealth and country”.

“One of our focuses[right now] is on obtaininga permanent location for aneducational/tourist center inthe Camp Meigs area for thehistory of Camp Meigs, aswell as for the historic daysof Readville,” Vance said.“So we have time to do a lotof lobbying.”

The Regiment is main-taining a collection of his-torical artifacts related to theCivil War. These artifacts

have been shown at many li-brary and school presenta-t ions , but the Regimentwants a secure place wherethey will be cherished forgenerations to come.

“A permanent locationwill effectively preserve thisimportant part of the City ofBoston’s history. Creating anexhibition space would ex-pand our efforts to inspirecity youth with historicalrole models. As a landmarklocation of Civil War history,it will be a draw for touristsand educators from acrossthe nation. Finally, this willserve as a beacon to all of theneighborhoods and commu-nit ies of Boston helpingpeople to more readily con-nect with Hyde Park’s his-tory,” the 54th Massachu-set ts Volunteer InfantryCompany-A states on i tswebsite.

The future of manyscheduled events for the54th Regiment is currentlyup in the air. Mayor Marty

Walsh recently cancelled alllarge Summer events due tohealth concerns surroundingCOVID-19. These cancella-tions are planned to last un-til Labor Day. Normally, the54th Regiment would par-ticipate in Memorial Dayservices in Hyde Park andDedham.

“We often marched in theCambridge Memorial Dayparade but I believe all pa-rades are postponed,” Vancestated.

The 54th MA VolunteerInfantry, Company-A is anon-profit [501(c)(3)] orga-nizat ion of Union Armyreenactors. They are a “100percent volunteer organiza-tion committed to preservingthe history of the brave Af-rican American soldiers whoserved in the United Statesmilitary during the Civil Warand trained at Camp Meigsin the Readville section ofHyde Park." It first formedin 1990 when interested par-ties met and created the 54th

Massachusetts Glory Bri-gade. For 25 years, the grouphas used education, ceremo-nial activities, parade par-ticipation, and classroomvisits to bring history to lifeas “accurately and authenti-cally as possible." More than300 reenactors have beenmembers in the organization,and there are current lyaround 20 active members.

In the past, the 54th Mas-sachusetts Volunteer Infan-try Company-A has held anumber of events in Hyde

The group has been looking for a permanent, physical home for itsmuseum pieces and artifacts.

COURTESY PHOTO

Park and the rest of Boston -including a 3D art exhibitionat the Menino Arts Center,the raising of the Civil Warflag, parades, presentationsat libraries and much, muchmore. But due to COVID-19,the group has had to cancelmany of these activities.

For more informat ionabout the 54th Massachu-set ts Volunteer InfantryCompany-A, visi t ht tp: / /www.mass54th .org/ orhydeparkhistoricalsociety.org/54th/.


Legalsals for the project, and nolonger wanted to take it ondue to budgetary concerns.The development was put upfor auction.

BPDA Senior ProjectManager Lance Campbellsaid the original project willnot be changing, and that the106-unit project, with 122parking spaces, is expectedto stay the same as it wasoriginally approved back in2017.

“The current owner doesnot plan to make anychanges to the proposedproject, and staff recom-mends that the board direc-tor issue a certification ofcompliance executing a co-operation agreement and anaffordable housing agree-ment and any and all otherdocuments,” Campbell said.

The proper ty sold toJBBM Realty in June of2019 for $4.2 million at anauction held on the site. Noother attendees offered a bid.The project sits near the

289 Walk Hill continued from page 1Canterbury Brook, for whichthe original developer of-fered clean up services at thetime, as well as a new pub-l ic parkland area on theAmerican Legion side of thebuilding.

According to the originalBPDA release on the ap-proval of the project, it is es-timated to create 89 con-struction jobs, as well asoperate a shutt le servicefrom the property to ForestHills. The project will be118,815 gross square feet ofbuilding with 106 rentalunits, 12 of which have beenslated for affordable subsi-dized status under the city’sInclusionary DevelopmentPolicy (IDP). Each of thoseunits would be for peopleearning less than 70 percentof the area median income,and the agreement a lsost ipula ted a payment of$410,000 to the IDP SpecialRevenue Fund for 2.05 otheraffordable units.

The project also prom-

ised public realm improve-ments to the nearby side-walk, bike storage and re-striping of bike lanes on WalkHill Street. The developer atthe time of the approval alsopledged $50,000 to be usedtowards local NeighborhoodSlow Streets projects andother safety and traffic-calm-ing measures, slated to be duein full within 30 days after theproponent is issued a certifi-cate of occupancy from theInspectional Services Depart-ment.

Originally, the proponenthad made changes to the pro-posed project, making unitcount and massing reductionsto ease concerns of the localneighborhood, whose opin-ions were mixed on the issue.Many still opposed the projecteven after the BPDA ap-proval, saying it was too largefor the neighborhood, that theAmerican Legion Corridorhad too many apartmentbuildings already, and morehome-ownership was needed.


Documents

yde Park Bulletin - The Bulletin Newspapers, Inc. - Home · She also brought up a 2017 article in The Boston Herald, which said that Dhanani was fined $843,000 by the state At-torney