After the whirlwind of holiday festivities that took up the December calendar, the South End Forum got back to business on Tuesday January 8 at a meeting at the South End Branch Library packed with hot-button neighborhood issues and a host of public officials present to address them.
The second-floor room at the South End Branch Library was standing-room only with residents and community activists ready for updates on tackling traffic safety and gridlock, the opioid crisis, the continuing off-hours, a community safety update, airplane noise and off-hours construction that have wracked the nerves of many neighbors. Chief of streets Chris Osgood; Inspectional Services commissioner William "Buddy" Christopher; Gina Fiandaca, traffic commissioner; waste reduction superintendent Brian Coughlin; and South End/Bay Village liaison Faisa Sharif. A panel of South End legislators including state representatives Aaron Michlewitz and Jon Santiago, the latter starting his first full week in office; and city councilors Kim Janey, District 7, and Ed Flynn, District 2, discussed their priorities for the coming year as well as sharing new developments on ongoing concerns. District 3 councilor Frank Baker was unable to attend due to a medical procedure to take place the following morning, but his aide attended to hear the discussion.
Inspectional Services commissioner William "Buddy" Christopher offered some follow-up to the well-attended and contentious meeting in October, where many of the approximately 100 residents in attendance told Christopher and representatives of Suffolk Construction about their frustration over frequent noise, vibrations and other disturbances due to weekend and off-hours work.
Addressing the permitting of off-hours, night and weekend construction, which has grown more contentious in recent months, Christopher said. Christopher said that off-hours permits for residential renovations are not being granted, and on some larger projects, "test projects" are being done to attempt to do off-hours work in a manner less bothersome to neighbors. Christopher also talked about the permitting of weekend crane work, explaining that approving cranes on weekends avoids closing streets during weekday rush hours and paralyzing traffic. Fox floated the idea of including the prohibition of night and weekend work into future Article 80 development approval, except to address dangerous structural problems.
Marijuana dispensaries raised a wide range of concerns and ideas. Janey called the development of the cannabis industry "A huge issue. We are trying to figure this out as a city. There are a lot of unknowns." Janey talked about a meeting on cannabis held in Roxbury late last year where the emerging industry was discussed In terms of equity as well as the heavy toll the war on drugs has taken on people of color and Roxbury residents.
Janey described a recent visit to a dispensary as being "like IKEA", and said that there were three checkpoints at which customers had to present ID: at the entrance, inside and at the point of purchase. The proposed dispensary at 633 Tremont Street raised logistical concerns regarding lack of parking and access for deliveries. Flynn concurred with those concerns and added that 633 Tremont is across the street from a daycare run by IBA. He said he supports the Friend Street location for the dispensary to be run by former Suffolk County sheriff Andrea Cabral.
"I'm ready to get to work," Santiago said as he introduced his priorities and objectives, talking about the many drug-related emergencies he sees as a physician in the emergency room at Boston Medical Center. He told the group that he knocked on 8,000 doors over his campaign, and problems surrounding the opioid epidemic were on the minds of many residents. Santiago talked about medically assisted treatment (MAT), which involves the use of methadone, naltrexone and suboxone.
Santiago said that increasing the prescribing availability of suboxone, which currently is prescribed to patients at practices such as the South End Community Health Center, would lead to reduced dependence on methadone treatment. Santiago also wants to see all of the correctional facilities in Massachusetts offer MAT. The newly-minted state rep spoke of a more holistic rehabilitative approach in Kentucky for drug addicted inmates that tackles the root causes of addiction and criminal activity. "We are not going to solve the problem if people are not able to be whole citizens when they come out of prison," Santiago said.
Michlewitz, whose constituents have been vocal about the disruption of very loud, early-morning airplane noise, announced the passage in the previous legislative session of H.B. 4101, which creates a South End seat on the Logan Airport Community Advisory Committee (CAC) and acknowledged state senator Sonia Chang-Diaz's support for the bill on the Senate side. The news was greeted with cheers from the audience. Michlewitz expects Governor Baker will sign the bill, but urged residents to contact Baker's office to express their support for prompt signing.
Two representatives of Orchard Park United, a parent/teacher group for the Orchard Gardens Pilot School, spoke at the meeting about the danger posed by the proliferation of needles scattered around the grounds of the school and the lack of resources to remove them. They said that the custodial staff is currently tackling disposal in addition to all of its regular duties, which is unsafe and burdensome.
Another thorny topic at the meeting was traffic congestion and possible remedies. Janey said, "Traffic is insane. There are just too many cars on the road. We need to improve our infrastructure and public transit...it's not just a matter of traffic, it also affects our environment." Janey, who does not own a car, uses transportation network companies (TNC) to get around, and said that while they do add to the number of cars on the road, they are also a source of economic opportunity. Janey expressed interest in exploring congestion pricing for TNCs to tackle congestion.
Santiago, who lives in the South End, said that he bikes to work every day, and claimed, "I feel like I am seeing cyclists who were hit by cars every day." Flynn advocated reducing the speed limit in Boston from 25 mph to 20 mph, and, with District 3 councilor Frank Baker, held a hearing of the Committee on Planning, Development and Transportation on lowering the speed limit. "Pedestrian safety is critical," Flynn said. Flynn also said he supports rebuilding the Long Island Bridge and perhaps providing ferry service in the interim to re-establish services there. He talked about visiting homeless clients on Long Island during his 10 years as a probation officer. Flynn wondered whether it would be feasible to have developers of large projects contribute to a fund to rebuild the bridge.
Fox ended the meeting with the South End Forum's signature topic, trash disposal. Some areas of the neighborhood grapple with trash strewn all over their blocks every trash day, and some groups of neighbors have resorted to hiring help to clean up the streets after trash pick-up.
Concurrently, residents in some areas such as the East Concord Street renovation site of the Cosmopolitan, formerly the Jesuit Urban Center at 771 Harrison Avenue, have seen a rise in the rodent population.
Fox announced a pilot trash disposal program for the South End to test the effectiveness of a new, collapsible polyethylene receptacle that would save space in homes with little storage and that could be used for trash and for recycling. Fox said the receptacles are available at Walmart for approximately $8.00, and the city is discussing whether to start out by providing them to residents or to require their purchase.
Coughlin spoke on a more far-reaching solution, finding ways to reduce output through recycling and reuse of materials, awareness and selection of products with less packaging, composting and reducing overall consumption. Asked whether the city will offer a composting program, Osgood responded that Mayor Walsh is "very interested" in bringing composting to the city.
Janey said she will be holding office hours in the coming year, starting on Saturday, January 26 at 11:30 AM at a joint session with Flynn at the South End Branch Library.