Allston Construction Mitigation Subcommittee 8/5/2025 notes

[Priscilla Anderson]

The Allston Construction Mitigation Subcommittee met on Tuesday August 5, 2025. Please find notes below.

Future online meetings: 

• Tuesday September 2, 2025 Zoom registration
• Tuesday October 7, 2025 Zoom registration
• Thursday November 6th, 2025 Zoom registration Note: the November meeting is on a Thursday, not a Tuesday
  

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 8/5/2025

BPD D-14 Police Report: Sgt McMahon

• National Night Out good turnout last night
• Two shootings in Faneuil development. Detectives working on it, not a random shooting.
• Robberies: 2, 1 at CVS, 1 at 214 Harvard Ave, 1 at Brighton Ave and Harvard Ave
• Commercial burglary unarmed: 1 
• Res burglaries: 5 in Allston; multiple breakins by a masked man
• Peeping Tom, two suspects identified
• Larcenies of motor veh: 0 in Allston, 3 in Brighton (people are now locking their cars!); 1 scooter
• Larcenies: 4 shoplifting, package thefts, two bikes stolen (bring bikes inside/out of sight)
• Have an officer at the intersection of Brighton and Harvard Aves due to multiple incidents there; have put barriers to prevent double parking
• UHauls will be around at the end of August/early September.
• Neighbor concern: long-term out-of-state license plate parked on our street with a dicey looking long-term parking permit: Abandoned cars are handled by D-14, refer them to towing company
• All vehicles (with a sticker or not) are supposed to move after 72 hours
• Neighbor concern: Aggressive Verizon reps (someone with a Verizon t-shirt) entering property and trying door handles: Call 911, even after the fact if you have doorbell video to file a police report; in some cases they are multiple offenders and can be ID'd from the video.
• Neighbor concern: vehicles going the wrong way down Windom St., cars going down Hopedale: BPD is now posting an officer during day and evening shifts to enforce wrong-way drivers in the North Allston area

Harvard Construction: Ed LeFlore

• Neighbor request: who will be running the hotel, and when will they be hiring? Tishman Speyer is managing it and will give it a new name, will likely be hiring at that point.
• Midrise Residential: residents have moved in. Access off Western Ave on Trotting Ave. New management Graystar rep will attend an upcoming ACMS meeting.
• ERC delivery trucks have been told not to use Windom St. 
• ART residential building: windows almost complete; ART theater building progressing as planned, anticipate opening fall 2026
• NASDEP work is progressing

• Neighbor request: new sign at Rotterdam/Windom transition to replace old/faded sign saying No Trucks (Ed LeFlore, can you arrange this?)
• Repaving Western Ave in front of the ERC in fall 2025; but has to be before 11/15 (weather concerns)

City Councilor Liz Breadon's Office, Matt Costas

• Neighbor concern: Windom St sidewalks condition unacceptable at Rotterdam. Can this please be prioritized?
• Neighbor concern: Stop sign on W. Sorrento (@ Hopedale) is incorrectly located.  It should be on Hopedale Street. It is useless where it is now. Please move the stop sign to the other side of the Do Not Enter sign on Hopedale and paint a stop line stripe. 

State Rep. Mike Moran's Office, Ben Tocchi, 617.834.0803 Benjami...@mahouse.gov

• Neighbor concern: Neighborhood meeting with MassDOT was cancelled. When will it be rescheduled?

State Rep. Honan's office, Alex Camarena, Alejandro...@mahouse.gov

Mayor's Office--Frank Mendoza, francis.men...@boston.gov