Allston Construction Mitigation Subcommittee notes April 26, 2022

[Priscilla Anderson]

The Allston Construction Mitigation Subcommittee met on April 26, 2022. Notes may be found below.

Our next meeting is May 24th, 2022. Please register in advance to receive the Zoom link.

Chaired by Harvard Allston Task Force member Ed Kotomori, this subcommittee shares information among Harvard University construction mitigation and community relations staff, Boston Police Department District 14, local and state elected officials and their representatives, and local North Allston neighbors to discuss issues surrounding neighborhood construction and safety issues.  All are welcome to attend and contribute.

Notes from April 26, 2022 Meeting

Harvard Allston Task Force (Ed Kotomori, member)

• Met with the Mayor about neighborhood concerns around Harvard development; awaiting response from Mayor and Harvard.
• Wrote letter to Harvard President Bacow and Katie Lapp
• BPDA is not scheduling meetings for the Task Force right now. 
• Cindy Marchando is the current chair of the Task Force. 

Nexus project got approval in October. Has not offered a mitigation plan yet.  Ed K will request Boston Neighborhood and Inspectional Services support on that site.  

Boston gas utility is doing something at Seattle and Cambridge Sts

Harvard Construction (Ed LeFlore)

• Ongoing renovation at 114 Western is a fit-out of second floor for Business School, will be done in July or August
• Ongoing NASDEP section of the pipe at the I-90 offramp: doing deep work (sheet and pile driving); a couple more weeks of this work; noise complaints, but unlikely to have vibration effects due to the distance.
• Upcoming: ERC Roadways, utilities, electrical vaults, pipe, might have some impacts on Western Ave going down to single lane, 2-3 weeks of work
• Upcoming: BTD Western Ave Utility crossings closer to Kresge Way, going through permitting right now, will take a while to cross Western (bigger and more complicated than the N Harvard work), 5-6 months of work once it begins
• Goal is to get utilities across Western before ERC work begins, so the street is undisturbed during that longer project.
• Other smaller renovations and deferred maintenance projects at Business School, Science and Engineering Complex, but shouldn't have neighborhood impacts.

Neighbor request for pedestrian gate at the end of Seattle Street onto the Rena Park:

• There will be more utility work in that area for the NASDEP; Harvard is not certain about what's possible there but will look into it

NASDEP: how to shut off large pipes when needed

• One way that this has been done is to blow up a giant plastic balloon to plug it up; do it during dry weather! For the NASDEP, there are devices installed as a part of the pipe that shut off flow without the need for a balloon.
• Mechanical system in place to prevent back flow at the outfalls during river floods; the pipe opens up and releases the water when the river recedes. Not all pipes have these systems.

Almay street:

• Drain connections and water line repairs (did one already this spring, then will do some other work, moving around catch basins); hooks into existing Rotterdam/Cambridge St system
• Neighbor concern: Cambridge BWSC stormwater pipe pitches up and needs to be leveled/repaired so it doesn't back up onto Windom St. BWSC put a flow device in front of 30 Windom St to monitor amount of water; Charles River Watershed folks want to see data from a year before recommending what needs to be done. Harvard advocacy with BWSC to get this addressed would be greatly appreciated. Ed L and Kendyl will investigate and respond. We can't wait for I-90 realignment.  Harvard to relay this concern to BWSC as this is their system.
• Historical basement floods on Windom St in 1963, 1994

Trash barrels to help control rodent situation

• A new campaign of distributing trash barrels to those who need them would be greatly appreciated by the community; Kendyl and Ed L will look into it

Plumbing Company/new development for home ownership

• Awaiting city decision
• Neighborhood would like to be part of initial planning

Payment In Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) discussion:

Tishman is going to build the conference center.  ("the Treehouse"). The  use will be primarily institutional and the spaces and activities that are institutional are therefore tax exempt. The amount of non-institutional use (taxable) of the building will not be determined until the building is built and operational.  Recent City Council news: https://www.boston.gov/news/city-council-supports-standardizing-pilot-payments-across-mass#

Neighbor request for funding to spruce up Roberts Park: apply for Harvard Flex Fund, need to team up with Boston Parks dept, design, implement it.

Non-Harvard neighbor concern: 7pm - 5am DCR trucks doing work from Beacon St to N Harvard; Ed K will work with Mike Moran's office to request rerouting the trucks off of N Harvard St to reduce disruption during the night.

Dead trees on Western Ave are depressing and dangerous.  They are city of Boston trees so Harvard can't touch them. But as part of ERC construction, there will be improvements made to trees as well as the infrastructure to help them survive better.  

Suggestion for Harvard Ed Portal event: Kendyl will reach out to the Sustainability Office for a presentation on how Harvard manages sustainability in new construction.