Allston Construction Mitigation Subcommittee 4/7/2026 Notes
Priscilla Anderson
Future meetings:
- Tuesday May 5, 2026 Zoom registration
- Tuesday June 2, 2026 Zoom registration
- Tuesday July 7, 2026 Zoom registration
Chaired by Harvard Allston Task Force (HATF) member Ed Kotomori, this subcommittee invites developer 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 construction and safety issues in the neighborhood. All are welcome to attend and contribute.
Notes
Police report, Officer Christine Marini, BPD D14 community service
- Shooting in Oak Square at the end of March; one person shot, stable condition; lots of witnesses, suspect turned himself in
- Numbers of lesser crimes are low
- 2 break-ins: Raymond St (2nd floor apartment, neighbor called it in right away); another in Brighton, had locked doors and a ring camera so they had photos of the suspect
- Several car breaks spread out across Allston/Brighton; all had doors unlocked, had items in the car that were tempting
- Cambridge St 7-11 robbery, Mahoney's florist theft
- Court summons scam: realistic looking card with QR code to pay
- Tax-related scams (emails, texts)
- Energy company representative trying to get you to switch companies (might be either a scam or just questionable business practice)
- Our own Officer Steve Borne saved a man that was choking at a restaurant
Harvard Construction: Ed LeFlore
Enterprise Research Campus
- Milling and overlay of Western Ave to take place in spring: 2 weekends during the day; city is dictating when it will happen;
- Greenway: planting, seeing what is coming up from last year
- Businesses coming into ERC: Phin's coffee shop at the Tree House; Harvard COOP at the Lab Buildings;
- Lease announced for the bio-techs: Roche Pharmaceuticals doubled its space
- https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2026/1/26/roche-increases-footprint/
- https://www.roche.com/media/releases/med-cor-2025-03-07
American Repertory Theater:
- Exterior is taking shape; Commissioning process for theater will take time but still aiming for early 2027 opening
- Residential building (100 Campus Dr) move-in goal is August 2026
- Scaffolding will come down once the weather warms up
Cambridge St hazard near intersection with Lincoln St at theI-90 overpass
- Occupants/trucks using the Harvard property going in and out caused some of the debris; residual debris from snow melt is also a factor; City of Boston street-sweeping moratorium during winter meant there was no cleaning; Harvard took on responsibility of cleaning the street this time; will coordinate with the City to make sure there's a protocol for cleaning it regularly in the future; Harvard will look at how to reduce amount of debris that comes from the area.
- Kendyl Maher-Trumble and Mark Handley are the connection to Harvard Real Estate for non-construction related issues.
- Official start of street sweeping was last week, typically happens a little earlier.
- 311 leaves a footprint of an area of high need; actively tracked by the electeds' offices even if it's not something they can do something about
Neighbor concern: 311 is not resulting in action; but even though it might not be getting action, it is a statistic that can get action on down the line
Send Jennifer Roberts your 311 case number if you're not getting action; part of her job is to follow up on them; Councilor Breadon's office follows them as well.
Calling in might not be as effective as online/app reports due to misunderstandings; photos are really helpful.
Neighbor announcement: Sunday September 26th, 2026 Honan Allston Library anniversary party
Elected Officials reports
Mayor Wu's office, Allston-Brighton neighborhood liaison Jennifer Roberts, jennifer...@boston.gov
- Mayor's youth summer employment application is open: guaranteed employment for any interested high school students
- Disability community forum: 5/5:
- Street sweeping announcement
- Office hours for Small businesses summer 2026 hospitality trying to get some of the action during Boston 250, Sail Boston, and FIFA events
- Block party grants will be open this week: contingent on closing down a street; some of the permits you might want have a cost (so if the grill isn't on the street itself, then you don't need the permits); so just have the party on the street;
- Two positions open in the civic organizing office
State Rep. Mike Moran's Office, Ben Tocchi, 617.834.0803 Benjami...@mahouse.gov
City Councilor Liz Breadon's Office, Alexand...@boston.gov
State Rep. Kevin Honan's office, Alex Camarena, Alejandro...@mahouse.gov
Tony D'Isidoro, Allston Civic Association