Thursday, May 1, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
23rd Annual JP Spring Clean-Up a Success
JAMAICA PLAIN – As Marie Turley cleans out one of the gutters on
The neighbors collected trash on Saturday morning in Laeier’s honor. It is something they say he was planning to do with them.
“He was the heart and soul of our neighborhood and did this clean-up every year,” said Marie Turley, a JP resident who lives on
JP Spring Clean-Up has been going on every third Saturday of April for 23 years. The co-chairs, Michael Reiskand and Bob McDonnell, started the event and still run it. Each year, neighborhood groups, crime watches and other organizations in JP sign up to clean specific areas of town. On the morning of the event, each group sends a representative to pick up the tools and garbage bags provided by the city of
“This year was very successful in large part due to the nice weather,” Reiskand said. “We got a great turn-out; probably 100-150 people participated. Groups cleaned Centre and South Streets, Johnson, Jefferson and
The Parks and Open Spaces Committee was one group that joined the Clean-Up this year.
“We’re trying to get all the parks and tot lots cleaned up,” said Andrea Howley, chairman of the Open Spaces Committee. “We’re hoping our group has 20 people.”
Other members of the committee seemed excited to be participating and hoped to maintain the work done throughout the day.
“We wanted to do something positive and we hope to clean up the parks a few more times throughout the semester,” said Sarah Freeman, a member of the committee who helped clean the parks.
Although JP was the birthplace of the Spring Clean-Up,
“Boston always helped us the last 23 years and then six years ago, they started Boston Shines and modeled it off of what we’ve been doing here,” McDonnell said. “They tried to get it out in the public and get more areas of Boston to participate in spring clean-up.”
Today, various areas of Boston participate in Boston Shines, although they all do it at different times as Public Works would be unable to keep up if all of the trash needed to be collected on one day.
On Saturday afternoon, Public Works picked up over 40 bags of garbage from the Union Avenue group alone.
“We ran out of the bags provided by the city and had to start using our own,” Turley said after the bags had been removed. “It looks really wonderful now. David would be really thrilled.”
Dominicans Prepare to Vote in Dominican Republic Presidential Election
By
JAMAICA PLAIN-- When Betty and Johnny Gonzalez emigrated from the
“My parents were sending their money back home to relatives, and they still do,” says Denise Gonzalez, 21, the Gonzalez’s daughter. “I don’t know one Dominican that doesn’t send money home to relatives and friends, and many of them feel like if they are supporting the economy, they should have a say in it.”
Denise says the cost of living in the
“Some people around here want a change because they see that their families would not be ok without their help and that is frightening for them,” she says.
This is the main reason why Dominicans continue voting in elections in their homeland.
“Ten thousand Dominicans living in
In Jamaica Plain, where an estimated 8,642 Latinos live, according to the 2000
Although the Gonzalezes no longer vote in the Dominican elections focusing instead on the upcoming
Dominicans will have to choose between current President Leonel Fernandez of the PLD, and Miguel Vargas of the PRD.
“Dominicans in
Many of the Dominicans in
“The PRD is a revolutionary party similar to the Democratic Party in the
Valerio says that the Dominican government has only spent 1.8 percent of the budget on education. Four percent of the budget is supposed to be spent on education, according to General Law in the
Regardless of Dominicans’ frustrations with the current president, he leads in the polls. In a recent poll of 1,000 Dominican voters nationwide in the
Valerio says Fernandez is using tax money to promote himself in a lavish campaign.
“Our candidate had a public assembly in
The Gonzalez family hopes Vargas wins, even if they aren’t planning to vote.
“Many of our friends in this area will vote,” Gonzalez says. “We hope for a change.”
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
El Oriental De Cuba Thrives After Fire
By Beth Wolfson
JAMAICA PLAIN—When El Oriental de Cuba was set on fire in July 2005, it was unclear whether owner Nobel Garcia would be able to reopen the restaurant.
Community members held a fundraiser and raised $20,000 and city officials chipped in $25,000 in grants to ensure that this neighborhood favorite could stay afloat. With an additional $70,000 in insurance money and a $100,000 loan, Garcia reopened in July 2005.
“We are here today because JP has been wonderful to us,” Garcia says. “It shows how much support the Latino businesses get here.”
El Oriental De Cuba is one of more than a dozen Latino restaurants in JP, but Garcia says it is the only Cuban restaurant in Boston. It was named the 2007 best Latino restaurant in JP by the JP Gazette.
“El Oriental De Cuba is by far the most popular,” says Alex Gordillo, a legislative aid in City Councilor John Tobin’s office. “It’s a little expensive but it is really good.”
Garcia, originally from Cuba, became owner of the restaurant in 1995 after his uncle retired.
The space has been reconstructed to have a larger dining area than the original with more seating and an expanded menu.
“Business is better than ever since the fire because of these improvements and because of the support of the neighborhood,” Garcia says.
Although the arsonists have never been caught, Garcia says he believes whomever did it was drunk. But he acknowledges that three or four businesses, some with Latino owners, were set on fire in a six-or seven-month period.
“I don’t want to promote the idea that this was racial,” Garcia says.
Diners are happy that the restaurant is still serving up favorites such as two chickens with potatoes in a mild red sauce or ropa vieja, a Cuban steak dish, and of course, the famous Cuban sandwich.
“I came here years ago and then there was the fire,” says Joel Pentlarge, a JP resident and frequent diner at the restaurant. “It’s really nice to be able to come back. People are pretty loyal to this place.”
Some diners come from neighboring cities to enjoy comfort foods that remind them of the flavors found in their homelands.
“We come here from Framingham at least twice a month,” says Melissa Nunez, as she sits with her husband, George, enjoying a plate of pork, rice and beans. “We’re from Puerto Rico and these foods remind me of where I’m from.”
After the fire, each of the restaurant's 14 employees also returned to their positions at El Oriental de Cuba says.
“We’re one happy international family here,” Garcia says referring to his staff’s diverse ethnic backgrounds.
Monday, April 21, 2008
JP Elementary Schools Don’t Make AYP Standards
By Beth Wolfson
JAMAICA PLAIN-- Public elementary schools in JP did not meet at least one of the two Adequate Yearly Progress expectations in English language arts and math, according to standards set by the Boston public school system. These expectations are in place to ensure that schools make improvements in the quality of education each year.
The standards are based on students' performances on the MCAS, Massachusetts’ state-wide standardized tests.
Louis Agassiz Elementary School is one of the six public elementary schools in JP. The school met the AYP requirements in English language arts in 2007 but did not meet the standard in math. Like the other elementary schools in JP, the administration and faculty at Agassiz is taking steps to improve students' MCAS scores.
The scores for 2008 have not yet been published, but Alfredo Nunez, the head master at Agassiz for 23 years, says students at Agassiz did not meet the annual yearly progress standard for english language arts for the first time in five years. They did meet the standard for math.
“It’s difficult because we have a large percentage of English language learners in our school,” Nunez says. “Once the students have been in this country for a year, it is required that they take the MCAS, regardless of how much English they understand. It makes it difficult for us to score well, because many of our students don’t even understand the questions being asked.”
City Councilor John Tobin says the state law mandating all students take the MCAS, regardless of their ability to understand English, is often debated. Tobin says the rules are unfair.
“There have been many attempts to reform the law but for now, if schools don’t administer that test to all students, they are shut down,” Tobin says.
Agassiz, like many of the public schools in the area, is introducing reading programs and training teachers to help students learning English as a second language.
“This year we’re doing an early intervention reading program before the third grade as well as teacher training programs so we’re looking forward to improvements,” Nunez says.
Tobin says Agassiz is one of the schools that have hired a parent-teacher coordinator as part of the Family Coordinator’s program, which was started two years ago to further communication between parents and teachers.
“Parental involvement is the key,” Tobin says. “This program puts someone in the school that can facilitate that connection between parents and teachers and principals.”
Agassiz has hired Linda Medina to be the parent-teacher coordinator. Her task is to educate parents about their children’s academic needs and MCAS testing scores as well as getting parents involved in the school.
“Many of these people have recently immigrated to this country and they have other issues,” Medina says. “Testing is not a priority for these parents.”
Medina also says many of the parents don’t understand how their children are getting positive report cards and still failing the MCAS.
“They don’t realize that these are two different measurements,” Medina says.
Medina says that Agassiz, along with many of the other elementary schools in the area, is considered a superintendent school. A school gets that title when it is unable to meet annual yearly progress standards and is then put on two-year probation. At the end of that period, the school is reevaluated.
“Most people think of JP as an affluent area, but the affluent kids go to private and charter schools,” Medina says. “We get the other kids and often we have to start teaching them English from the very beginning. We can’t compete with many of the Boston schools.”
Affordable Housing a Growing Concern in JP
JAMAICA PLAIN -- The JP housing and development committee briefed the JP Neighborhood Council Tuesday night about a construction project at 154-160 Green St. set to begin this year.
Maple Hurst Builders bought the parcel of land, which had been owned by the MBTA and vacant since around 1970, with the intention of building 4,000 square feet of retail space with 13 residential condos above and a 16-car parking garage under ground, according to the developer's website.
The housing and development committee, which promotes affordable housing in JP, has called on Maple Hurst to allot 25 percent of the units for those making 65% of the average median income in the area.
"The problem is that our guidelines are not enforceable," says Francesca Fordiani, the committee's chair. "The guidelines are a point of leverage for the community to negotiate with developers."
Fordiani says the Boston Redevelopment Authority and the MBTA have the authority to enforce the guidelines established through an invitation to bid, which is when residents' recommendations about how to develop a given parcel of land are accepted.
"As a council, we are all reluctant," she says. "We aren't excited that the BRA invited this bidding and then is not enforcing any of these recommendations."
Neighborhood Councilor Colleen Keller says that while the BRA would have more authority to enforce guidelines, Maple Hurst is not breaking any laws.
“The mayor has set guidelines that all Boston housing must be 15 percent affordable and Maple Hurst has agreed to make two units of affordable housing,” Keller says. “That puts this new development at 18 percent, which is legal.”
Originally, the highest bid for the land on Green Street was made by the Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation, whose goal is to "carry out community development projects that benefit low-income residents of Jamaica Plain," according to the JPNDC website. When the JPNDC backed out, Maple Hurst bought the land.
"Affordable housing is no longer being kept a priority and we believe it should be," says Richard Thal, the executive director of JPNDC. "Because we are working to be able to get several affordable housing projects under construction, we are not focusing on Green Street right now."
Other community members at the meeting said the parking garage, a new addition to the building plans, does not seem to be enough to alleviate fears among community members about traffic and parking.
Marie Turley, a member of the JP zoning committee, says that traffic is a concern because people will have to pull directly onto Green Street.
“We have been willing to work with the community and make concessions,” says Chris DeSisto, head of Maple Hurst Builders. “We’ve put the building back 8 feet and relocated the sidewalk. I’m not sure what else we can do to mitigate concerns and still make the project financially viable.”
Although the Green Street construction project has community members concerned, residents say something should be built on the land.
"We do want someone to do something with this land," Fordiani says. "But housing prices shouldn't drive people out of JP, and this has a big implication for a lot of land in JP."
Disabled Upset over Removal of Bus Stops
By Beth Wolfson
JAMAICA PLAIN-- Kathy Podgers walks slowly down Centre Street guided by her Siberian husky. She needs the dog to help keep her balance after health problems led to a spinal collapse. When she gets to the route 39 bus stop, she is excited to find a bench, which many of the stops lack.
“The busses are supposed to come every five minutes, but they don’t. I sometimes wait up to 40 minutes,” says Podgers, a former JP resident who represents Citizens for Feasible Compliance, a committee that works to ensure that public palces compy with disability laws and regulations.
When the bus arrives 10 minutes later, it does what Podgers calls “a nose dive” into the curb. Traffic prevented the driver from pulling up to the curb in a parallel fashion making it more difficult for the disabled and the elderly to access the steps to get on the bus.
Podgers stands and steadies herself against her dog and attempts to step off the curb. The bus doors open and the dog walks on first. Then with her right hand on the rail she climbs the steps, placing one foot in front of the other. She pays her fare and walks to the back of the bus, where open seats are available.
“This was easy,” Podgers says. “About one in four times I hear, ‘You can’t bring dogs on the bus’ from the bus driver, and not politely. Sometimes they call the cops.”
Podgers is one of many disabled individuals who struggle with the MBTA busses, especially those on bus route 39. She was at a transportation meeting on Feb. 25 when MBTA officials announced that some of the route 39 bus stops would be removed to save time along the bus route and curb bump-outs, which consist of extra sidewalk space at stops to ensure the bus driver can access the stops, would be put in place at the remaining stops.
“The bump-outs will be good, but having fewer stops is very bad," Podegers says. "These people (disabled and seniors) can’t walk that far to the bus stops."
For others, removal of bus stops will mean faster bus service.
“Some of the stops are a block apart, and it’s kind of silly,” says Sarah Wermiel, a JP resident and member of the Better Transit Without Trolleys organization. “Removing some stops would make the ride faster, which would be an advantage.”
Members of Better Transit Without Trolley Committee say that removing the right spots is key to its success.
“The proper approach to consolidation is outlining target spacing and picking the right locations to remove,” says Paul Schimek, JP resident and chair of Better Transit. “Stops near senior housing developments obviously need to be kept.”
Erik Scheier, project director of MBTA Operations & Service Development says a date has not been set for the stop removals and bump-outs.
“We need to have consensus within the community,” Scheier says. “If the people with disabilities, or any other group for that matter, don’t want these changes, it takes longer. And of course, there are always funding issues.”
Larceny in JP on the Rise
JAMAICA PLAIN -- When Eunice Dunham went to her car the morning after the Patriots lost the Superbowl, she found her driver's side-window shattered and her iPod missing. Unfortunately for Dunham, a Jamaica Plain resident who parks her car in front of her Spring Street apartment, it was the second time someone had broken into her car and taken her iPod.
“I was really angry and frustrated,” Dunham said.
Police reported 154 thefts in JP between Jan. 1, 2008 and Feb. 24, 2008, compared to 101 reports for the same period in 2007. Most other crimes rates have dropped or remain the same.
“All of that (larceny) is GPS and iPod, believe me,” said Civilian Community Service Officer for the BPD Wallace Tilford, who is also the coordinator for Boston Crime Watches throughout the city. “It’s been a citywide problem, but it’s bad in JP.”
As early as this summer, the police in JP and the entire Boston area plan to introduce a program to relocate GPS devices.
“We are developing something to track them,” Tilford said, though he was unable to give any details on how the new tracking device would work. “It won’t be out until this summer, but it’s something that is going to happen.”
Residents and police officers say criminals target JP because it is being an upper-class part of the city.
“It’s a crime of opportunity, and in a nice area like JP, people know they can find these high-end items in the cars,” said Officer James Kenneally, a police spokesman. “That has been the only crime of note recently in the area.”
Police are trying to spread the word to community members about removing valuables from their vehicles. Community members have formed neighborhood crime watches to look out for one another’s cars and homes.
“It’s very important that the community comes together so we can give them information on staying safe and so people look out for one another,” said Officer Antonette Ramsay, a JP police officer.
Since 2006, larceny in JP has been increasing and residents like Dunham are frustrated by the police's inability to make arrests.
“I reported the crime both times, and to my knowledge, no one has been found,” Dunham said. “I was coming home the other day and my neighbor was cleaning glass from his car off the sidewalk. I see this pretty often, and it makes me feel less safe in my own home.”
Transportation Meeting Sparks Debate in JP
By Beth Wolfson
JAMAICA PLAIN — A few years ago, the MBTA replaced its green line trolleys, which for decades ran up and down Centre Street with the 39 bus line. Since then, residents have called for the Trolleys' return.
At a transportation meeting at the Agassiz Elementary School Monday night, residents questioned whether the bus could substitute the Green Line.
MBTA project director Erik Scheier gave a brief presentation discussing plans to form an advisory commission of local residents, develop a traffic signal improvement program, consolidate bus stops and build curb extensions.
“I don’t think your plan for improvements is aggressive enough,” said Franklyn Salimbene, chairman of the Arborway committee, one of the main critics of the bus line.
When the MBTA discontinued Green Line service to JP, The Arborway Committee and the Better Transit without Trolley Committee were formed to discuss the transportation issue.
Arborway members hope the MBTA will reinstate the Green Line. Better Transit accepts the bus and is now looking to improve its flaws. Both committees were represented at the meeting.
“I wouldn’t mind if the bus took longer, if I knew what time it would get there,” said Jon Truslow, a member of the Better Transit Committee in response to the bus route’s unreliable nature.
“I agree with you,” said MBTA representative Wendy Stern. “What we all want to achieve here is reliability and punctuality.”
Others argued that the 39 route is unnecessary, because the Green Line tracks are already in JP.
“A Green Line from Brigham Circle is already in place and is a straight shot to JP without interruption,” Salimbene said.
Salimbene also suggested a study be done to track the number of bus riders with a follow-up study in 2009 or 2010 to see whether the proposed improvements increased ridership. He noted the number of people using public transportation in JP has decreased since the Green Line was removed.
Some residents voiced concerns over biker safety, handicap accessibility and the financial burden of making improvements to the 39 bus line.
“I flipped right off my bike at the area around Forrest Hill Station where the cobble stone path is,” said Curtis Claven, an active biker who crosses the old T tracks and cobble stone path on his way to work. “It needs to be changed if you want the busses to use it and if you want it to be safe for bikers.”
“I am concerned about removing bus stops,” said Kathy Podgers, an elderly woman who needs a guide dog to get around town. “Three hundred feet is a long way to walk to a bus stop, especially for the elderly and disabled.”
“When and how will we pay for this?” said Joy Silverstein, a JP native.
Stern said the cost would fall on the MBTA.
“It’s about ridership going up; we want people out of their cars,” said Sara Wermiel, a Better Transit committee member. “We want people to use public transportation.”
Colleen Keller: JP Neighborhood Coordinator and Active Community Member
JAMAICA PLAIN-- Colleen Keller, 22, sits in J.P. Licks sipping a latte as she reminisces about the original J.P. Licks, which closed years ago. The original storefront was at the corner of the block where she grew up and where she continues to live. “It was a staple of the neighborhood,” she said.
“When I was a little kid, I used to go to the pizza place on that corner and then to J.P. Licks every Friday during Lent because we couldn’t eat meat,” Keller said.
Keller, a 2007 George Washington University graduate, has served as the city's JP neighborhood coordinator for about four months now. The position, which she was appointed to by Mayor Menino, means that she speaks to people in the community and addresses their concerncs, answers any questions regarding building permits and attends community meetings.
“I think it’s wonderful she’s the coordinator, because I don’t think there’s been anyone in that position in the past who’s been a native. I think it gives her a better sense of how to help the community,” said Connolly Librarian Laura Foner, Keller’s former boss. Keller volunteered as a mentor at the library, keepinmg students focused and helping with their homework during her junior and senior year of high school.
Keller, tall and slim with long, silky black hair and dressed for winter in knee-high, black boots and a black sweater, is holding her weekly JP community hours at the newer J.P. Licks. She said the building used to be a fire station, and when she was a child, it was the Arts Studio for Kids.
“It was legendary among JP kids my age," Keller said. "We still talk about it.”
Like many other parents in the area whose children were involved, Keller’s mother, Susan Mahoney, volunteered at the studio. “I was the wardrobe mistress because I was a seamstress.” Mahoney says. “All of the parents contributed in whatever way they could. I think those kind of ties to this area are what made Colleen want to stay here and continue being apart of it.”
Keller, who has twice donated her black hair to charity and is growing it out to donate again, has questioned her decision to come back to JP.
“I’m like, what am I doing here?" Keller says. "But I know this place better than anyon. This job is a great combination of my interests in city government and social work, and it’s in my own neighborhood helping my own.”
Keller says her position is a quick burnout job because of the long hours and never-ending work. It involves attending all neighborhood meetings and mayoral events, as well as dealing with permits and zoning. Keller attends meetings almost every night and works all day to ensure that people's concerns and questions aboout JP are adressed.
“It’s a really taxing position because you’re on the clock all the time,” says Jay Walsh, Keller’s boss. “It’s not a nine-to-five job. But Colleen has been doing really well.”
Keller is the communication between many of the organizations and government officials in JP.
“I act as the communication between community members and activists and local city government,” Keller says.
Community activist and police officer Joseph Porcelli has worked with Keller on his recent Mug Project, which tries to convence people to carry palstic mugs to coffee shops in the area instead of using paper cups. “Colleen is a pro, you’d never know how long she’s been doing this,” Porcelli says. “JP is super duper lucky to have her…She genuinely cares about what I’m doing and what’s going on in the community.”
As her office hours end for the day, Keller piles up her papers and leaves the ice cream shop. On her way out, she waves at an old, white-haired man that she calls "old blue eyes," noting that he is one of the three or four homeless men in town.
She points across the street to a pizza place and says proudly, “I get free food from there all the time. I know the people.”
