 |
| NNNonLine |
| FensNet |
| Fenway Civic Assn. |
|
Fenway Community Health |
| Fenway CDC |
| Fenway Action Coalition |
| Boston Red Sox |
| Fenway Skills Exchange |
| MASCO |
Red Sox Success Breeds More Parking Spaces
The Red Sox' miraculous success on the field is leading to some changes in the neighborhood. To the Trilogy Construction at Brookline Avenue and Boylston St. can be added the William McKinley School parking lot on Peterboro Street, with 80 spots for Red Sox fans. A Boston City Hall meeting to okay the proposed move got a thumbs up from the Fenway Civic Association, which withdrew its longstanding opposition after the School Dept. agreed to adhere to some conditions. Neighbors beefed about the resultant increased traffic, but to no avail. Local zoning prohibits parking, except in connection with Red Sox games. The Boston School Department has a temporary permit from the city's Dept. of Inspectional Services and will make it permanent. One concern had been that the parking would take over the basketball court used by students. New regulations will eliminate that problem by only setting aside half of the basketball area for parking and leaving the rest for students. The fee for parking will be $30. Times eighty equals $2,400, per space. That's not bad for a day's take. Would even be better if you could charge twice for a double-header.
More Housing on the Way--Above Former Laundromat
Many of the buildings still occupied in the Fenway were here seventy five years ago when I was a kid of ten. In those days fifty bucks a month was considered high rent. How times change. Today a four story townhouse on Queensberry Street will soon be on the market for $1 million-plus dollars. Construction, which started in April, is scheduled to finish by September. Originally a Laundromat with an apartment above, the building was purchased for a quarter million, after which a half-million was spent on renovations (including the addition of two floors). The building will have four stories with four bedrooms and one bathroom on each floor. According to Back Bay Courant reporter Daniel Friedman, another developer says building's odd shape will make it a hard sell. If I had a million dollars, I wouldn't buy it. That other developer ought to call to mind all the years that college kids gang together to pay rent that combined puts the price for rental on the high profit side. Four on each floor with one bath. That's 16 kids for four years and then a new batch comes along. This Alan Fox will be a multi-millionaire in no time if he keeps building places like that all over Boston. Just one thing though: put in soundproofing to keep the neighbors happy.
Summer Jazz Series Returns to Mothers' Rest
T his is the time of year that Mother's Rest comes alive with jazz music concerts. You're advised to bring blankets and picnic dinners and mosquito netting, especially if you consider yourself tasty. How do you find the place? Go to the intersection of Boylston and Fenway, The Bridge! Then follow the music.
Police Hold Off on Computer Sub-Station in Fenway
The ownership of Landmark Center offered the police an office so they could have more time to patrol the Fenway instead of having to travel to the District 4 Headquarters on Harrison Avenue. The office was intended to include computers for police to file reports without having to return to the South End, therefore giving them time to patrol West Fenway streets. Carolyn MacNeil, District 4 Community Service Coordinator, noted that the Boston Police Department found the wiring cost too expensive at the moment but added that it could be possible in the future. In the meantime, officers will be able to use center for filing incident reports at a location on Commonwealth Avenue near Boston University Bridge.
Fenway CDC Director Thanks Mayor for Housing Support
In a letter to the editor of the Courant, Carl Koechlin, Executive Director of the Fenway CDC, congratulated Mayor Menino for the city's financial and logistical support for helping maintain Fenway's tenuous economic and racial diversity by averting a crisis by preserving ninety-six apartments on Westland Avenue and preserving them as mixed income housing indefinitely.