Grew Park Neighbors Meeting Notes: December 1, 2025
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Attendees
Joan Quagenti-Bahadir, Bob and Elaine Dynes, Pat Alvarez, Carol Antonelli, Kathleen Sferrazza, Karen B., Zoë Petty (ONS HP liaison), Dianna Bronchuk (Councilor Pepén’s office), Officer Conley, Sergeant Ivens, Officer Lucien
Police Report: 11/1–11/30/25
Assaults: 11/25 Gordon Avenue [one resident assaulted another]; 11/25 Deforest Street [child on a school bus threw a metal water bottle at the driver and hit him]
Breaking & Entering: 11/26: Ruffing Street [juvenile entered motor vehicle of friend’s sister]
Auto Theft, Ballistics, Drugs, Larceny, Robberies: 0
Guest Updates
Zoë Petty, Office of Neighborhood Services Hyde Park liaison
- Large construction projects are on winter hiatus.
- There are no code violations associated with 101 Summer Street project (the houses being constructed on newly created Kinsale Road between Summer Street and the railroad tracks). The previous contractor is in the process of being replaced.
- BPD E-18 officers will be informed of the ongoing problem of vehicles going the wrong way around the Myopia Road/Braeburn Road rotary.
- Ongoing utility work has moved to Metropolitan Avenue. [Joan gave a shout-out to the city for improving the crosswalks in our area and provided a reminder of the promised repaving of streets where utility work is complete.]
Q: Any change in status on Junior’s (1318 River Street) project?
A: Consult the Planning Department website (https://www.bostonplans.org/projects/development-projects/1318-river-street).
Q: How to report incidences of school buses parked facing the wrong way on a street/allowing non-students on board?
A: Report to Boston Public Scools (https://district.bostonpublicschools.org/Page/8665). Boston’s 311 service may also be able to take a report (https://www.boston.gov/departments/boston-311).
Dianna Bronchuk (covering for Gabe Cruz), Councilor Pepén’s office
Gabe: gabrie...@boston.gov; Councilor Pepén: enriqu...@boston.gov
- Projected time frame for next River Street bridge closure to allow for new bridge replacement is 2028. Joan emphasized that we want to make sure that the community is involved in the design.
- The Canterbury Street bridge project is in the design phase and construction won’t begin until the end of 2026. No information at present as to how long construction will take once it has begun.
- Dianna will check with Gabe for any updates to the 101 Summer Street project.
Hyde Park Neighborhood Planning Workshop III
Pat Alvarez provided a brief recap of the final workshop by and for Hyde Park community members on the city’s Squares+Streets rezoning plan. The workshop was held on November 15. She made the following comments:
- Participants in the planning workshops want taller buildings to be placed on the edges of Hyde Park’s business district, not in the center.
- Unresolved issues:
- Retaining/expanding tree canopy. Cleary Square is currently at the top of the chart for heat events. A formula requiring a building of size X to have Y amount of canopy would help address this problem.
- Parking requirements, especially for seniors and the disabled.
- An effective plan to limit displacement of existing residents.
- An AMI (area median income) based on income of community residents and not the metropolitan area to ensure true affordability.
The city will be hosting a small-area plan meeting for Hyde Park sometime in January. Zoë will clarify what “small-area plan” means (versus the plan for the whole district) and report back.
Next meeting is scheduled for January 5 at 6:30pm on Zoom.