Vol. 5, No. 15
October 12, 2005
Contents
1) TELEPHONE TROUBLES: HAVE I RETURNED YOUR CALL?
Due to area-wide difficulties that Verizon was having with its phone system in the first week
of October, my own service was disrupted, and some calls that came through were rendered
unintelligible by clicking and scratching noises. I received some voice mail messages that
were overlaid with so much noise that I could not even hear who had called.
So, if you left me a message last week, and I did not return your call - please try again.
2) NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN ARMORY PROJECT
A) ANOTHER NEIGHBORHOOD MEETING SCHEDULED
Many people waited for hours to testify at the October 6, 2005, Planning Board meeting on
the proposed Arts Center at the Armory. Ultimately, that Board decided that one more
neighborhood meeting was needed before the case could proceed. The neighborhood meeting,
intended to forge an agreement between the neighbors and the developers of the Armory
project, will take place on Monday October 17, at 6:30 pm, at the VNA Assisted Living
Community Room, 259 Lowell St.
I have asked Somerville's Director of Strategic Planning and Community Development
(SPCD) to secure the services of a professional mediator for the October 17 meeting. The
last meeting was so filled with shouting, interruptions, and accusation as to be almost wholly
unproductive.
B) ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS HEARING POSTPONED
Consequently, the hearing on this matter scheduled to take place before the Zoning Board of
Appeals (ZBA) on Wednesday October 19, 2005, has been POSTPONED. The ZBA hearing
on the Armory project is now scheduled for Wednesday November 2, 2005, in the
Aldermen's Chambers at City Hall. Contact Maureen Liberatore
or visit the city website.
3) REMINDER: PUBLIC HEARING ON SUMMER STREET ZONING CHANGE
There will be a joint public hearing, before Legislative Matters and the Planning Board, on
the petition to rezone the properties at 339, 341, 343, 345, and 349 Summer Street, from
Central Business District (CBD) to Residence A (RA) zoning - this is the area of the MBTA
ventilation shaft on the eastern edge of Davis Square. The hearing will be held on Thursday
October 20, 2005, at 7 pm, in the Aldermen's Chambers in City Hall. Contact the Planning
Department for maps and details; 617-625-6600, or
emcgilligan@ci.somerville.ma.us
4) "OFF-LEASH" PROPOSAL FOR NUNZIATO - AND SOME QUESTIONS
Last Thursday's Community Meeting on the city's plans to create an off-leash dog area ("dog
run") in part of Nunziato Field revealed important design details. The off-leash area is
proposed to be located on the west (Putnam Street) side of the playing field, with an entrance
there, and another on Summer Street. The plan is to enclose a mostly rectangular 9,000
square feet of Nunziato Field's 42,000 square feet of land - I will attempt to obtain an image
of the design and post it on my website.
I would be interested in hearing from those involved in Youth Soccer, and other users of the
playing field, as to whether they have had input into this plan so far. I will be proposing that
the city mark the proposed boundary of the off-leash area in a visible way, post the plan on
the site, and invite comment. Since this would be the city's only off-leash area, it occurs to
me that it could become fairly crowded at times - has anyone any thoughts on what would be
a reasonable maximum capacity for the proposed off-leash area?
5) COOL SOMERVILLE HAPPENINGS THIS SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15
A) TOUR DE SOMERVILLE
A message from the Somerville Bicycle Committee:
"It's fall in the city, so Mayor Joseph Curtatone, the Somerville Bicycle Committee, and the
Friends of the Community Path invite you to the 13th Annual Tour de Somerville this
Saturday, October 15, 2005.
Join us on this all-ages fun bike ride as we explore "Arts in the 'Ville", in recognition of the
art, galleries, and studios that populate Somerville. A 4-hour tour of public art will include
murals and sculpture from west to east and back again.
Meet at Seven Hills Park, behind the Somerville Theatre in Davis Square at
10:00 AM. Refreshments are courtesy of Redbones, home of the bicycle valet.
Helmets are strongly encouraged.
If it rains, we'll postpone the ride to Sunday October 16, same time and
starting point.
For more information, call 617-625-6600, x2519.
Email: sbc@ci.somerville.ma.us"
B) PANCAKES FOR ART
After a morning of bicycling (or whatever), those in need of some carb loading
need look no farther than the basement of the Clarendon Hill Presbyterian
Church, 155 Powder House Blvd. ARTSomerville will be holding a Breakfast
Fundraiser to benefit its art space, the Nave Gallery, also housed in the
church. For $6, have all the coffee, juice, and pancakes you can eat, from 11
am until 1 pm. Halloween costumes optional.
For more information, go to the ARTSomerville website.
C) LAST UNION SQUARE FARMERS MARKET OF THE SEASON
It's truly the end of summer when the Farmers' Markets come to a close. Pay a
final tribute to the harvest with a visit to the plaza in Union Square. Who
knows? Besides the apples and pumpkins, there might be a last bit of fresh
corn....
6) ENVIRONMENTAL FILING FOR "NEW MAIN STREET" AT ASSEMBLY SQUARE
Federal Realty Trust, the new owners of most of Assembly Square, have filed an
Environmental Notification Form (ENF) for their proposed "New Main Street"
project with state regulators.
For your own copy of the form, contact Felipe Schwarz at Vanasse, Hangen,
Brustlin, Inc., at 617-924-1770, or fschwarz@vhb.com
Public comments are due Oct. 28, 2005. This $110 million project, overlooking
the Mystic River, is given a projected start date of March, 2008. Look at the
ENF to get the details.
7) "MEET AND GREET" NEW COMMISSIONERS
Meet the new Executive Director of Somerville's Human Rights Commission, Mary
Lu Mendonca; Multicultural Affairs Director Aru Manrique, and Women's
Commission Director Sonja Darai, at the Sherman Cafe in Union Square (257
Washington St.), on Wednesday October 12, 2005, from 4 to 7 pm. Members of the
respective commissions will also be present, and are interested in hearing your
concerns.
8) COMMUNITY MEETING ON RESPONDING TO HATE INCIDENTS
There will be a community meeting on responding to, and dealing pro-actively
with, hate incidents in Somerville. Some of us in the past organized "telephone
trees" and rallies to protest hate incidents, and the coalition group
Somerville United Against Racism still meets. But some in the community have
questioned how the City of Somerville itself might better deal with such
problems as racist graffiti and literature.
I was amazed to discover that the Somerville Police Department keeps no records
of hate incidents that do not rise to the level of crimes. At the last meeting
of the Board of Aldermen, I introduced an order that the police start keeping
such records, as a way of tracking the presence and activities of hate groups
before crimes occur. This idea and others will be discussed on Wednesday
October 26, at 6 pm, at the office of the Community Action Agency of
Somerville.
9) CAMPAIGN REMINDER: I NEED YOUR HELP!
The regular city elections are less than four weeks away, on Tuesday November
8, 2005. Please don't take the outcome of this election for granted!
You can make a difference to the outcome by your help. Please contact my
Campaign Manager, Judy Eisenberg
Material from this newsletter may be quoted freely, provided that it is
credited to Denise Provost, www.provost-citywide.org
copyright 2005 Denise Provost
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