You are invited! 57 Readers and Writers May 9th

[lizbr...@aol.com]

57 Readers and Writers *

presents

 

Making Improvements

Original stories and song

 

 

6:30 PM Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Faneuil Branch Library

419 Faneuil Street

Oak Square, Brighton MA

 

 

*57 Readers and Writers: Named for the 57 bus route, this group writes on a selected topic

and presents to the community. (Don’t worry, there are not 57 readers performing.)

[Don Lubin]

Why is there major construction in Ringer Park in Allston? The West End
House / Boys & Girls Club is building an extension. Who would give them
permission to encroach even further into Allston's only sizeable park?
(except the riverbank and that space behind the library). The have
spared the top of the hill, with its uncommon volcanic outcrops, but the
whole east side of the hilltop is piled with large rocks and excavation
debris. Allston already has way fewer parks for its area than other
parts of Boston. Yes it's a shame that the West End community was
destroyed to make way for oversized apartment housing, but that is no
reason to deprive Allston of its little remaining open space.
- Don Lubin

[Joan Pasquale]

Don,

In 1970 the West End House purchased 3 acres of Ringer Park's landscape from the Boston Parks & Recreation Dept.

The WEH owns the entire top of the hill which stretches over to the top that slopes down towards the tennis courts.

The WEH also owns the top of the hill area to the left of their present building which faces Allston Street.

There's a flier showing the WEH's construction plans posted on the kiosk near the Allston St./Greylock Rd. entrance to Ringer Park.

I hope that this info helps.

Best,

Joan

---

From: allstonbr...@googlegroups.com <allstonbr...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Don Lubin <donl...@comcast.net>
Sent: Thursday, June 1, 2017 12:44 PM
To: AllstonBrighton2006
Subject: [AB2006] Ringer Park construction

 

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[Eva Webster]

The WEH does good things, but Don makes a good point about the shortage of green space in Allston.  It’s very acute.  I don’t even know where dog owners in Allston (not to mention parents of small kids) can take their dogs, except Ringer Park.

However, about 10 years ago the neighbors fought for and got a small park on the former St. John of God site — off Allston Street — it’s name is Brian Honan Park (though perhaps it’s technically in Brighton, but very close to the Allston border — if there is even such a thing as the Allston border).  The park is on private land, so I don’t know how tight the protections are.

Anyway, the WEH’s expansion is not a surprise to those who follow development issues in A-B — they came with this project to the BAIA about a year ago (I don’t know about ACA, but assume the WEH went there too to show their plans).

I just wonder — back in 1970, who were the people in office who allowed an institution to buy so much public parkland (beyond what was needed for the building back then)?  Allston south of the Pike was already mostly in the hands of landlords, so the community was weakened, I suppose.  Or maybe the thinking was that keeping kids occupied and out of trouble was more important than open/green space.

Even now, the needs of sporting teams always trump the needs of people who cherish the natural environment, vegetation and wildlife (Daly Field comes to mind).  If you go to a park in Boston,  you hardly ever see flowering species, and never butterflies or bees, because the Parks Dept. doesn’t like planting any perennial, shrubby and woody species that attract beneficial insects and birds.  I bemoan that.  I wish Boston had botanical gardens in every neighborhood.

[sarah correia]

Twenty years ago Stretch Walsh, then civilian head of Boston Parks told me that West End house owned fifteen feet around the perimeter of their building not the entire hilltop. He also told me that it had been a handshake deal with very little written down. Sarah Correia.

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[Joan Pasquale]

Sarah,

If the 15' is accurate, then the WEH extended that perimeter years ago with the 1st build out.

The 1970 date is a prominent memory because many residents picketed the WEH being built in it's present location.

About three years ago, the WEH land was re-surveyed and it's ownership/deeded borders were explained.

The WEH owns the entire area where the problematic hilltop fire pit is located and the flat area at the top of the hill towards Allston St.

Andrea Howard pointed out the WEH borders to Commissioner Cook and myself re: the Ringer Park Partnership Group's request to build a pollinator garden over the fire pit area, which we would pay for and install. We assumed it was parkland.

Best,

Joan

---

From: 'sarah correia' via AllstonBrighton2006 <allstonbr...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, June 1, 2017 4:07 PM
To: cleveland-cir...@googlegroups.com; Eva Webster; AllstonBrighton2006
Cc: cleveland-cir...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [Cleveland-Circle] Re: [AB2006] Ringer Park construction

 

[sarah correia]

This came up around the time of Orlando Benson's murder. But yes Stretch said fifteen feet and Bill Margolin agreed the dispute being over whose land the memorial tree stood on. As mentioned though he also said that it was a handshake deal and that there were a fair number of things promised by WEH that they didn't follow through on. I wish I knew more. Sarah.

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

[Joan Pasquale]

Sarah,

Do you remember if the Jackson Mann School and the JMCC are built on Ringer Park's landscape?

I can remember walking through Ringer Park and it ending at Cambridge St. directly across the street from Twin Donuts.

Best,

Joan

---

From: 'sarah correia' via AllstonBrighton2006 <allstonbr...@googlegroups.com>

Sent: Thursday, June 1, 2017 5:25 PM
To: cleveland-cir...@googlegroups.com; Joan Pasquale; cleveland-cir...@googlegroups.com; Eva Webster; allstonbr...@googlegroups.com

[Joan Pasquale]

Thanks Sarah!

I think that the school that was replaced is further down on Armington St. and the building was turned into condos.

If you walk a half a block past the present JM School towards Brighton Ave., you'll notice the brownish colored building on the right hand side.                

The building and it's driveway/parking lot, also stretch over to Higgins St.

Re: Ringer Park's Original Landscape

Ringer Park's open landscape was incredible to see and experience.

The A-B Little League used to hold all of their games in Ringer Park, and the hills were packed with spectators cheering the kids on.

The Gordon St. entrance area was grassy, providing a great flat location for picnickers and Frisbee players.

Best,

Joan

---

From: 'sarah correia' via Cleveland Circle Community <cleveland-cir...@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Friday, June 2, 2017 5:41 AM
To: cleveland-cir...@googlegroups.com

Subject: Re: [Cleveland-Circle] Re: [AB2006] Ringer Park construction

 

Yes. All built on park land. There was a school there which the Jackson Mann was built to replace. 

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

On Thu, Jun 1, 2017 at 6:30 PM, Joan Pasquale

[sarah correia]

Joan that's the school all right. Brian McLaughlin told me where it is as he went to it. Whether it's condos I don't know. The Jackson Mann was built that large because it replaced that school and another one near Harvard Ave that is now a parking lot for Headstart. At the same point in time Watertown (my hometown) gave park land away for a boys' club. Not sure how common that was. They seem to not have cared as much about greenspace preservation overall. Sarah

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

On Fri, Jun 2, 2017 at 1:23 PM, Joan Pasquale

<jpasqu...@hotmail.com> wrote:

[Joan Pasquale]

Hi Sarah,

What happened back then re: Loss of Park Land, might be the beginning of what sparked the Green Space Advocacy that we have now.

No matter what the reasoning it's a shame that Green Space was lost to begin with, especially when you take into consideration the amount of Brownfields that the City of Boston owns and the amount of vacant buildings in Boston and surrounding towns that could be transformed into usable citizen space.

Re: Ringer Park

It's an Olmsted designed open landscape park and it should be respected as such and preserved.

The City of Boston should have worked to improve Ringer Park's appearance, not build on it.

Ringer Park is Allston-Brighton's largest City of Boston owned green space. It's a neighborhood treasure.

Best,

Joan

---

From: sarah correia <sab...@yahoo.com>
Sent: Friday, June 2, 2017 1:55 PM
To: cleveland-cir...@googlegroups.com; Joan Pasquale; cleveland-cir...@googlegroups.com; allstonbr...@googlegroups.com

[Andrew Fischer]

A "hand shake deal” is not worth the paper it is written on.  

Under Massachusetts law (and the law in most, if not all, states), a transfer of land ownership must be in writing — no deed, no transfer and the handshake is not worth . . . 

Andrew Fischer
afis...@jasonandfischer.com

[Joan Pasquale]

Hi Sarah,

A friend forwarded the following Ringer Park school info:

The Andrew Jackson School was where the JM School is now. Probably not as large as the present school.

The brown (municipal looking building) down the street from the JM was the Frederick A. Whitney Elementary School which was turned into an apartment building.

Best,

Joan

---

From: Joan Pasquale <jpasqu...@hotmail.com>
Sent: Friday, June 2, 2017 3:43 PM
To: cleveland-cir...@googlegroups.com; cleveland-cir...@googlegroups.com; allstonbr...@googlegroups.com; sab...@yahoo.com

[Eva Webster]

[sarah correia]

Sent from Yahoo Mail on Android

On Sat, Jun 3, 2017 at 6:44 PM, Joan Pasquale

<jpasqu...@hotmail.com> wrote:

Hi Sarah,

A friend forwarded the following Ringer Park school info:

The Andrew Jackson School was where the JM School is now. Probably not as large as the present school.

The brown (municipal looking building) down the street from the JM was the Frederick A. Whitney Elementary School which was turned into an apartment building.

Best,

Joan

Ah. Glad to know. Thanks. Love the pollinator garden idea. Maybe somewhere else in Ringer. Joan I miss working on the park. Right now I am in a rehab with a newly replaced hip but would like to get in touch with you after so I can do whatever is physically feasible once I recover. Is that all right with you? Sarah.

[Joan Pasquale]

Hi Sarah,

The pollinator garden location to replace the fire pit area was chosen in the hopes of eliminating the fires, and so as not to interrupt/take away from the pedestrian use areas. A non-activity sunny area in Ringer Park is needed. If you think of one, let me know and we'll plant it.

Re: Assisting

Sure! We'll be planting flower bulbs and grass seed again in the fall. The large RPPG Spring and Fall Clean-Ups concentrate on plantings and raking.

Watering the gardens, weeding, and litter removal happens in between. Re: The bending issue - Planting supervisors are always needed.

Wishing you a speedy recovery! Good luck with rehab!!

Best,

Joan

---

From: sarah correia <sab...@yahoo.com>
Sent: Sunday, June 4, 2017 10:30 AM
To: Joan Pasquale; cleveland-cir...@googlegroups.com; cleveland-cir...@googlegroups.com; allstonbr...@googlegroups.com

[Eva Webster]

On 6/1/17, 5:54 PM, "Joan Pasquale" <cleveland-cir...@googlegroups.com on behalf of jpasqu...@hotmail.com> wrote:

Do you remember if the Jackson Mann School and the JMCC are built on Ringer Park's landscape?

I can remember walking through Ringer Park and it ending at Cambridge St. directly across the street from Twin Donuts.

I have looked up the historic maps on the BAHS website — and Ringer Park did not extend to Cambridge Street.

Have a look at this map (zoom in on the upper right quadrant):  http://www.bahistory.org/1925_Plate16_LO.pdf

You will see that the part of Jackson-Mann that faces Union Square (I’m not sure if this is technically the part of the school, or just the Community Center) was built on land that used to have a number of private residences — and some of them, judging from the shape of the buildings’ footprints and the size of the parcels, were large, fancy homes.

When you walked from the Ringer Park to Cambridge Street — and the area was empty — what year was it?  It may have been right after those buildings were demolished.  Did the City take that area by eminent domain? 

By the way, I also came across this very recent (3 months ago) review of the Jackson-Mann School that someone posted on the internet.  It’s saddened me (read it, and you will know why).  I keep harping about the need for having economically balanced neighborhoods — so public schools in Boston do not end up predominantly minorities/poor/immigrant (as the review mentions).  Unfortunately, the people who determine development and demographic trends in Boston (on the state and national level too) are not paying any attention to this issue — for it would require some politically sensitive thinking and conclusions, not to mention real planning. 

Fwd: Jackson Mann School in Allston, MA - Niche

https://www.niche.com/k12/jackson-mann-school-allston-ma/

The academics aren't exactly top tier but they do try to help you learn and the teachers really do care about you and want the best. There aren't really any clubs or activities in the school but the Boys and Girls Club isn't too far away and neither is the YMCA. The school culture is alright. They don't really have any sports. I think and the resources are there for the students. The school is mainly filled with minorities. The school is a K-8 so they don't really prep you for college. Some kids are iffy so safety is alright. The administration do their best but its not the easiest job to do. The food is absolute GARBAGE as most BPS lunches tend to be more often then not. Some of the classrooms didn't have doors when I went there and sometimes the hallways would get loud and rowdy, preventing the kids from learning. The parents are involved and do their best.

1. Middle School Student
2. 3 months ago
3. Overall Experience

[Eva Webster]

On 6/3/17, 6:44 PM, "Joan Pasquale" <allstonbr...@googlegroups.com on behalf of jpasqu...@hotmail.com> wrote:

The brown (municipal looking building) down the street from the JM was the Frederick A. Whitney Elementary School which was turned into an apartment building.

It’s interesting to know that another building in direct vicinity of Jackson-Mann used to be a school.  When did the Whitney School close?  The old maps show that it was Boston public school.  If so, was that building sold by the City to a private person when Jackson-Mann was built?  Also on a hand-shake? ;-)   Was the buyer a supporter of the then mayor?  So many questions — but as years go by, there are fewer and fewer people who remember old times.

I was also wondering who Frederick A. Whitney was.  I googled around, and found out that he was a long time Brighton minister who knew, and probably admired, Washington Allston (the painter) — and in 1867, 24 years after Allston’s death, it was him who came up with the idea of naming the eastern part of Brighton after Allston. 

He himself died in 1880 (born in 1812), and his deeds in life must have been greatly appreciated if a Boston public school (which first shows up on the maps in 1909) was named after him.  But perhaps it was an established private older school that just moved to a newer, bigger building that was built by the City — who knows?  No one who was around at that time is alive.

Does anyone know where the oldest houses in Allston still stand?  Which one is the oldest?

Report

[Eva Webster]

Probably, what the person meant by saying it was done on a handshake is that there was no proper/open public process (which should be a norm with privatizing public parkland), and the pols just did what they wished to do behind the scenes.

[Joan Pasquale]

Hi Eva,

How old is that map?

The map lists Webley St. as Webster St. = the side street that's in between Armington St. and the main entrance to Ringer Park.

If the map is accurate, what happened re: Webster St.? Another History mystery!

Re: Open Areas

It appeared to be open area in the early 1970's. I think that the new JM School was completed by 1974-1975.

Perhaps what was originally there was leveled to accommodate the buildings' construction, especially re: the size of the JMCC building and side parking lot, and the larger JM School building area.

Re: Eminent Domain - It's possible. It happened a lot back then.

Best,

Joan

---

From: cleveland-cir...@googlegroups.com <cleveland-cir...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Eva Webster <evawe...@comcast.net>
Sent: Sunday, June 4, 2017 3:02 PM
To: cleveland-cir...@googlegroups.com; allstonbr...@googlegroups.com

Subject: Re: [Cleveland-Circle] Re: [AB2006] Ringer Park construction

--

[Eva Webster]

It is possible that the City simply bought all those residential properties from their owners in a down-market, with the goal of enlarging the Andrew Jackson School parcel, so they would have more room to build Jackson-Mann.  I am just curious if those homeowners were coerced, or sold voluntarily.

The Historical Society has stacks of old local A-B newspapers, and among them, there is probably one issue that has this information — but I don’t know if those newspapers were ever scanned and made available for searching.  It would also be great to see the photos of those old homes that no longer exist (I’m hoping that Charlie Vasiliades may chime in to let us know if such photos are in the BAHS collection).

The map I directed you to is from 1925.  This is an official Bromley Atlas map (and earlier versions are also available for viewing on the BAHS website).  Unfortunately, Bromley Atlas stopped being published after 1925 — a great loss.  If they kept publishing it, we would know when Webster St. became Webley St., and we would know answers to so many other post-1925 mysteries as far as development in the neighborhood goes.

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[Vasiliades, Charlie (OCD)]

Eva and all-​

   Ringer Park did not come all the way to Union Square, or to present day Armington Street-  the old Andrew Jackson School stood on the south side of Armington, abutting the park and that former building came down for the school.   I've attached an old picture of the two houses that once occupied the spot where the Jackson Mann now fronts Union Square, but I don't know if they survived right up until the school's construction in the 70's, or if they came down earlier and had an intervening low-rise commercial building there.  Somehow my memory thinks that was the case, but not sure......

                             - Charlie Vasiliades

---

From: cleveland-cir...@googlegroups.com <cleveland-cir...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Eva Webster <evawe...@comcast.net>

Sent: Sunday, June 4, 2017 8:29 PM
To: AllstonBrighton2006; cleveland-cir...@googlegroups.com

[Eva Webster]

Thank you very much, Charlie — those are definitely the houses that stood exactly where Jackson-Mann faces Union Square, because their shape  corresponds with the footprints of the homes that are in that spot on the 1925 map.  Great homes… 

[Joan Pasquale]

Thanks Charlie!

Re: My moving into the neighborhood in January 1970, the area facing Cambridge St./Union Square where the JMCC is now, was probably cleared for construction creating an open continuation from Ringer Park's border to Cambridge St. Where there was a protest issue re: the West End House being built in the park and there was no visible school (that I was aware of) prior to the JM School construction, it was safe to assume that the school and JMCC might be built on park property also. Mystery solved!

Thanks again!!

Best,

Joan

---

From: cleveland-cir...@googlegroups.com <cleveland-cir...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Vasiliades, Charlie (OCD) <charlie.v...@state.ma.us>
Sent: Sunday, June 4, 2017 10:33 PM