Allston-Brighton Community Benefits Grants

[Anthony D'Isidoro]

On March 6, 2017, Mayor Walsh and Director of the Boston Planning and Development Agency Brian Golden, announced the recipients of the Allston-Brighton Community Benefits grants at the West End House in Allston per the agreement with the developers of the 2013 Icon project at 75 Brainerd Rd, Allston. Seven non-profit organizations were presented with a total of $100,000 in funding.

The recipients were:

Chandler Pond Preservation Society

Unbound Visual Arts

Brazilian Worker’s Center

Winship School Parents’ Council

Allston Brighton Community Development Corporation

Family Nurturing Center

West End House

Congratulations to all.

Tony

[Eva Webster]

Again, thanks Tony for posting this information earlier this month.

What was the process for awarding those grants?  To the best of my knowledge, it was not publicly advertised (please correct me if I am wrong).

How do would-be recipients learn about funding opportunities from Community Benefits associated with large development projects?

Who decides what the amount of Community Benefits should be?

Who makes the decision which applications are funded — and is it done in a public forum?

What are/were the amounts?

Who selects/appoints the decision makers?

Is there a transparent process through which the community can have a say in which applications are funded?

Thanks,

Eva

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[Anthony D'Isidoro]

Hi Eva,

This one was a little different in terms of awarding community benefits as the result of a development project.

As part of the approval process, the developer agreed to pay the BPDA $100,000 that would be distributed to the Allston/Brighton community for programs to support neighborhood improvement initiatives that benefitted the Allston/Brighton community.

In a public process, applicants were asked to go online and submit plans as to how they would use the funds to benefit the Allston/Brighton community and its people.

The decision making process was not publicly disclosed.

As a side note, I was told by residents of Brainerd Road, that additional assurances were given for neighborhood improvements to the direct abutters that never happened.

Tony

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[Eva Webster]

Thanks for responding, Tony (re. Brainerd Rd. development Community Benefits).

Just so everyone knows, I have no beef with Tony. I only asked him my questions yesterday because he is knowledgeable, and I thought he possibly knew more about the process than I did.  But it turns out, as I suspected, that the process was indeed shrouded in mystery.  So I think it’s good to have this conversation in the open.

I’d like to offer some clarifications. Tony wrote: 

“In a public process, applicants were asked to go online and submit plans as to how they would use the funds to benefit the Allston/Brighton community and its people.”

What “public process”, Tony?  Who asked the applicants?  Will someone please point out to a public announcement that those funds were available and people/organizations could apply?  I am a pretty keen observer of things in A-B, and I had no idea that there was any “process” for those Community Benefits.  For example, Councilor Ciommo’s office must have been aware of it — so why didn’t they post a short message about it on the neighborhood google groups?  I really would like to know why the neighborhood at large is not being informed about things like that.  (But don’t expect an explanation — it won’t come.)

 “As part of the approval process, the developer agreed to pay the BPDA $100,000 that would be distributed to the Allston/Brighton community for programs to support neighborhood improvement initiatives that benefitted the Allston/Brighton community.”

This was not some special payment.  These were just regular Community Benefits funds — negotiated (very poorly — the amount was ridiculously low) during the IAG process.  As such, these funds were deposited in an account controlled by the BPDA — but they were not for the BPDA or our elected officials to disburse solely according to their own judgment.  

“Community Benefits” means that the community should have a say in how the funds ought to be spent.  (For example, there is a much better system in place for Boston College Community Benefits — there is a process that is more transparent, and while the BPDA still plays a role, they are not the sole decider.)

As for the Brainerd Rd. developer’s intentions, I happen to know that he hoped for those Community Benefits funds to go for landscape improvements on Comm. Ave.   We are kind of used to it by now, but it’s a shame that this iconic boulevard that is so cherished in the Back Bay, becomes a “poor stepchild” when it crosses into Allston-Brighton, past the BU area.  It could look so much better and greener if there was a source of funds earmarked for making and keeping it beautiful.

I once approached Councilor Ciommo with a request that a special fund be established by the city for Comm. Ave. landscape improvements/maintenance (in Allston-Brighton) — so A-B development projects in the Comm. Ave. corridor (as well as wealthy owners of existing big buildings along Comm. Ave.) could donate money for keeping our Comm. Ave. top-notch.  Sorry to say, but the idea did not resonate with the Councilor – he blew me off.

I think that it is highly inappropriate for City Hall entities that support and approve large development projects to later have the sole discretion over how Community Benefits money from those projects are spent.  It creates an impression of a conflict of interest — since those entities are deciders (or strong influencers) in what gets approved — but they also benefit politically when they divvy up the Community Benefits monies to grateful recipients.  

Lastly, as I mentioned above, Community Benefits from the Brainerd Rd. development should have been much more that $100,000.  It was a huge project (3 massive buildings totaling several hundred units), and millions of dollars in profits were made when they were sold for $150 Million.

Fwd: Allston apartment buildings sale highlights hot real estate market - The Boston Globe

https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2014/09/16/allston-apartment-buildings-sale-highlights-hot-real-estate-market/bQsCPpfXJu5njGLLZHDTPP/story.html

But the hand-picked Impact Advisory Group (IAG members are nominated by A-B elected officials) was too weak to push for what was right for the neighborhood.

I’m sure I’m not making myself likable to some people by writing this. Oh well, as they say — it’s a dirty job, and somebody’s got to do it.

Eva  

 

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[Jean Powers]

I can answer a couple of these questions! I found out about the grant opportunity first through Tony's enewsletter, and then through the BRA (now BPDA) enewsletter. I subscribe to both.

The grant description and application were on the BRA website:
http://www.bostonplans.org/news-calendar/news-updates/2016/08/26/applications-open-for-allston-community-benefits-g?utm_source=BRA+Blog&utm_campaign=098680b73f-BRA_Blog_Mailer_9_9_2016&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f1dd6a69b7-098680b73f-151463645

The application is still up there, so you can see what their criteria were for the projects they considered.

I've applied for inclusion in community benefits packages in the past, and it's always been confusing. I really liked this system. It was straightforward and it separated the application process from any personal connections or involvement with the development.

Thanks for keeping us informed about these opportunities, Tony!

-- Jean

[Eva Webster]

Thanks for the informative message, Jean.  It did answer my question as to how people (applicants) may have learned about that funding opportunity.

This is not the first time I may have missed something that was buried among many, many other things in Tony’s newsletter — which I don’t mean to criticize because of course that newsletter is a godsend to us.  I think that Tony himself should be getting funding from the city for the tremendous amount of selfless work he is doing — for free — with his newsletter and updates.  

Where would we be without Tony?  What if Tony one day goes on strike — or missing like Richard Simmons?  I will never understand why none of the three or four people who are employed by Councilor Ciommo in his office, courtesy of the taxpayer-funded city payroll, cannot be bothered with setting up an on-line calendar of City of Boston events, meetings and initiatives pertaining to Allston-Brighton that all of us could just look up each Monday morning to know what is happening that week, or the week after, in Allston-Brighton.  Wouldn’t that be a service coming from our District Councilor’s office that everyone could use and appreciate?

I have no way of knowing if I ever received a BPDA announcement about those grants because like most people, I’m just drowning in email messages — and some just go unnoticed (which is why having on-line A-B calendar/newsletter would be great).

As for the grants process itself, Jean, your satisfaction with the process is understandable since the Winship School Parents Council (which you lead) has received funding from those Community Benefits — and no, I do not think there is anything wrong with it (you applied, you won — good for you; and good for the school, which I assume benefits from your Parents Council’s activities).

However, I am NOT happy with the process — and I tell you why.  People in power in City Hall should not be the ones who have total control over those Community Benefits grants.  Big developments have impact on the entire neighborhood, and the monies that are collected as Community Benefits should be subject to decisions by a properly structured “Allston-Brighton Community Benefits Committee” — a body comprised of representatives of all major civic groups and other legitimate/benevolent interests in the community (and the members should serve maybe 2-year terms, and then be replaced with new representatives nominated by the civic groups and organizations). Such a committee should vote on funding applications, and it should be done in public.

Letting the folks in City Hall to award those grants — with the community having no say in those decisions — weakens the system of checks and balances we should have.  How can someone who has a favorite cause that they want to see funded, fully participate in the community and political life of this neighborhood if expressing any criticism of powers that be may undermine their chances of getting funding?

I have seen folks like that in development review meetings, or on IAGs, and they are often either inexplicably in love with the project, or sitting quietly like a church mouse, unable to articulate any coherent critical thought about the development — clearly out of fear that this would make them less likely to later receive funding for their cause.

And if there is any matter on which our elected officials need to be challenged — a healthy and normal thing to do in a democracy — forget it, those individuals are almost always missing in action. In a neighborhood such as ours, weakened by transiency, we cannot afford to have that kind of passivity driven by self-interest.  It puts too much work on the shoulders of those of us who are willing to stick their heads out.

You, for example, could be a wonderfully eloquent and outspoken person on some important issues that need to change (like the deeply worrisome dropping owner-occupancy rate we have in A-B, for instance) — but we will never see you in such a role, because you would likely worry that it might jeopardize funding for the Winship School Parents Council.  

But in the grand scale of things, what is more important — a survival of A-B as a stable, viable neighborhood, or a periodic grant to one of its schools’ Parents Council?  For me it’s easy, I want a strong and stable neighborhood (though if I had a child in Winship School, maybe it would not be so black and white to me).

You mentioned that you applied for those grants before, and I am sure you intend to apply in the future — which is fine; I don’t blame you for it.  But shouldn’t the community have access to information revealing which entities get funded repeatedly, and which may never be selected for funding, and why?  I am not implying that there has been any hanky-panky going on — only that there is no full transparency, for whatever reason (it may be even unintentional).

By the way, the BPDA link that you sent says that the $100,000 in Community Benefits that was recently disbursed via those grants was just from one building, The Icon (75 Brainerd Rd.)  So there may be additional amounts in Community Benefits that were collected in connection with the other large buildings that were built on Brainerd Rd.

So where could one find centralized information about those additional Brainerd Rd., and other Community Benefits arrangements from all the large developments in A-B?  Are they earmarked for some specific things, or will they become available in the form of community grants? When will it done?  IN bots and pieces? I bet you would like to know it too.  But that information is not available.  (Of course, Tony could spend a month trying to find out — but is it fair to him?)

I simply would like to see some Brainerd Rd. Community Benefits (assuming there are any left) go to beautifying Comm. Ave. in the area where this development was built. There are neighbors there who now contend with increased traffic congestion and shadows on their buildings, but they have not seen any improvements to the public sphere in their area.  An area that is affected by a large project should not be shortchanged just so some other entities can get more funding.  It seems unfair to me.

 

Eva

[Eva Webster]

On 3/24/17, 6:05 PM, "Mary McElroy" <cleveland-cir...@googlegroups.com on behalf of mem...@comcast.net> wrote:

I thought the Comm ave mall in Back Bay was supported privately and with volunteer effort that raised money each year and did the beautifying. Is that not true? If so, I can understand that the City is not about to set a precedent of supporting beautification with city money. Would be nice though.

Mary McElroy

Mary — yes, there is a private entity that helps with maintenance of the Commonwealth Avenue mall.  I think this is the organization:

Fwd: Commonwealth Avenue Mall | Friends of the Public Garden

http://friendsofthepublicgarden.org/our-parks/commonwealth-avenue-mall/

But you misunderstood me.  I did not suggest that the City use city funds to improve esthetics and maintenance of green spaces on Comm. Ave. in A-B (although that would be nice).  I suggested that the City could just establish a special account for Comm. Ave. in A-B  to which private donations from developers and big landlords could be deposited.  Then the City could use those funds to do a better job maintaining the landscape.

This would be a similar concept to what is done in the Back Bay — the only difference being that it the Back Bay and Beacon Hill, a much wealthier area of the city than ours, they have the resources to support an independent private entity (Friends of the Public Garden).  The well-to-do residents make donations, and also use their contacts in the business world to get corporate donations. 

Our demographics in A-B are different.  We are too thinly spread, and can’t reliably support an independent privately-funded group that would focus on Comm. Ave. (partly because large stretches of Comm. Ave. are too transient).

So the City could just allow some Community Benefits from developments along Comm. Ave., and other donations that we could solicit from big landlords, to go to a special account just for Comm. Ave.   The account would remain under the City’s control — but the A-B community would be able to provide ideas/suggestions on how the money would be spent.

Comm. Ave. is the most important public space that sets the image for Allston-Brighton.  People who visit our neighborhood form their opinion of Allston-Brighton based on what they see on Comm. Ave. — and alas, parts of it are just shabby. In summertime, there are waist-high weeds in certain places. Many trees are either dead or in bad shape.  There is no ornamental, flowering vegetation. Some curbs are smashed or sunk into the ground.  Lamp posts are leaning.

I could go on, but I’m boring myself.  

By the way, sorry for several glaring typos in my previous posting — too much writing today.

[Jean Powers]

I'm not sure I'm following this, but just to clarify a few small things: I don't run the Winship SPC. It's a 501c3 with a governing board. I am not worried about speaking my mind on issues I about which feel strongly -- typically about topics related to education, open space, and environmental concerns. And I liked this grant process not because the Winship SPC was chosen -- although of course I'm incredibly grateful -- but because it was open and the process was clear. Anyone could have applied.

The money we received from the grant is mostly going towards replacing classroom furniture that was falling apart,some of which was obtained from another​ school's dumpster.

I do feel that creating strong schools creates strong communities.
If increasing owner occupancy is the goal, then presenting well-resourced schools should be a priority. It should be a priority regardless.

[Jean Powers]

Okay, I think i see what you were getting at -- that people will be hesitant to speak against a development because it could hurt their chance of being included in a benefits package. Right? That's why I liked this process. The project was completed before the grant was announced. There was an open and clear application process. And I hadn't met the people involved in the project, on the city or the developer side. The grants were awarded on the basis of merit. (One hopes that's always the case.)

But I never worry that anyone would be so offended by my opposition to a project that they would decide against allocating funds to children in need. That would be crazy. People aren't so petty, and even if someone can't stand me -- the grant isn't for me.