CIVIC AGENDA Right by the “Grove”—The Brick Patio- • TUE, FEB
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FEBRUARY WWW.FENWAYNEWS.ORG 2021 FREE COVERING THE FENWAY, AUDUBON CIRCLE, KENMORE SQUARE, UPPER BACK BAY, PRUDENTIAL, LONGWOOD, AND MISSION HILL SINCE 1974 • VOLUME 47, NUMBER 2 • JANUARY 29 - FEBRUARY 26, 2021 FCDC Looks Set to Develop 72 Burbank Project BY ALISON PULTINAS original 32, and all will be income-restricted $1.8 million. The presentation BPDA THE OF COURTESY RENDERING EMBARC he small parking lot at 72 Burbank in perpetuity for households at or below 60 to the Trust estimated the total Street in the East Fens—owned by percent of the area median income (AMI). development cost as $15,117,028. Forest Properties (also known as The reduction in units translated into more Burbank Terrace is also Parkside Tower LLC)—could see units of larger dimensions. The unit mix is in line for low-income tax- a construction start this year. It would be now 8 studios, 7 one-bedroom apartments, credit funding from the state’s T and 12 two-bedrooms. Forest had proposed Department of Housing and Fenway CDC’s version of a proposal already approved for compact apartments. The CDC 13 studios, 12 one-bedrooms, and 7 two- Community Development and Forest Properties signed a purchase-and- bedrooms. (DHCD) winter competition. sale agreement in December; final transactions However, some aspects of the project Although applications were due are expected later this year. have not changed. The units will remain January 21, the CDC won approval When Attorney Marc LaCasse presented rentals and are still undersized, officially in November 2020 through the Forest Properties’ original plan to the Zoning meeting the BPDA’s special compact-living department’s pre-application Board of Appeal on June 25, 2019, the project, standards. The same architectural firm, process. Suneeth St. John from almost universally criticized in the neighbor- Embarc, has updated the previous design Fenway CDC declined to share hood, won support from Shanice Pimentel of but kept a 600-square-foot community room the specific amount requested the Mayor’s Office and Nick Carter from Dis- and a bike-storage room. The CDC also will from DHCD. “We are waiting to trict 8 Councilor Josh Zakim’s office. keep the promise of five years of Bluebikes clarify the protocol with respect At the ZBA meeting, only one membership as a free benefit for all residents. to publicizing our funding request person—Daniel Epstein, a trustee at 54-56 The entitlements from the previous with DHCD before awards are Burbank—raised objections. A memorandum approvals all carry over to the CDC, so made, the process being highly of agreement had been negotiated with the although a new round of public comments was competitive and all,” he said. CDC about access to nearby alleys. It included solicited, no votes are needed from the ZBA According to historic maps, a provision banning rental of the proposed or the BPDA. the parcel at 72 Burbank has apartments to undergraduates and a promise The CDC submitted an application in never been built on, an unusual to stabilize rents for two longtime tenants of DND’s fall 2020 funding round to secure condition in the neighborhood. another Forest property on Clearway Street. money from both the Community Preservation In response to a question about However, in 2020, the CDC took on the Act fund and the Neighborhood Housing Trust possible archaeological findings, challenge of adding more affordable housing (NHT), with a total request of $2,800,00. Joe Bagley, the City of Boston to the East Fens. It began negotiations with When the Community Preservation archaeologist, said that based Forest to acquire the parcel at 72, next door Committee met on December 7, its members on his review of the maps, Embarc Studio’s rendering of the CDC’s to the CDC’s offices at 70, and opened a approved a preliminary endorsement of the location (as well as any Burbank Terrace project at 72 Burbank Street. discussion with Boston’s Department of DND’s recommended $1 million allocation undeveloped parcels near the Neighborhood Development (DND) about for the project, one of only three developments Muddy River) is sensitive for financing. to secure CPA housing funds (the bulk of preserved native Massachusett archaeological soil testing shows extensive urban fill. Bagley So, what has changed since Forest affordable-housing grants go directly to city sites, given its proximity to the Muddy said that would make it very difficult for digs received its ZBA approval in June 2019? programs managed by DND). Likewise, River and Back Bay. However Suneeth John, conducted by volunteers. The CDC plan includes 27 units, not the the NHT on December 17 voted to approve FCDC’s director of real estate, says subsurface Alison Pultinas lives in Mission Hill PHOTOS: STEVEPHOTOS: WOLF Pushed Out of Kenmore, Post Office Finds A Home in Audubon Circle A new post office will open soon at 508 Park Dr. in Audubon Circle. It replaces the branch on Deerfield Street in Kenmore Square, which closed in June 2019 as Related Beal cleared parcels for its redevelopment project, now under construction (below). Despite multiple attempts, The Fenway News was unable to get the Postal Service to provide the branch’s opening date. AT CHARLESGATE, GETTING THAT SINKING FEELING On Jan. 17, a large sinkhole appeared on the east bank of the Muddy River CIVIC AGENDA right by the “Grove”—the brick patio- • TUE, FEB. 9, 6-9PM > Remote public type area between Charlesgate East meeting for 601 Newbury St. This will and the river at Beacon Street. By the be the only public meeting for the 19th, the hole measured roughly 5 feet project; registration required. Visit across and 8 feet deep, with water www.bostonplans.org/news-calendar/ visible in the lower right corner when calendar/2021/02/09/601-newbury- facing the river. DCR quickly enclosed street-public-meeting for details and the area with tape and barriers. to register. Unlike the sinkhole that appeared • FRI, FEB. 19 > Deadline for comments last year at Ronan Park—most likely on 601 Newbury St. project. Submit by an old well—this one sits on filled mail, or email to michael.a.sinatra@ land, and staffers at the Emerald boston.gov, or through www. Necklace Conservancy suspect it bostonplans.org/projects/ resulted from water undermining soil development-projects/601-newbury- as it ran through a flaw in structures street#comment_Form underground. DCR removed water from the sinkhole on the 25th and will continue to investigate. CORONAVIRUS VACCINATION AT FENWAY PARK! SEE P2 PHOTO: THE EMERALD NECKLACE CONSERVANCY 2 | FENWAY NEWS | FEBRUARY 2021 ARTS ACADEMY TAKES SHAPE ON IPSWICH Residents Continue O’CONNOR PATRICK PHOTO: Fight For The 55 Bus ore than a dozen West PHOTO: ALISON PULTINAS PHOTO: Fens residents, other Fenway neighbors, Robert Kordenbrock of the MFenway Community Center, and David Reedy of Fenway Health took the time to record two-minute comments opposing elimination of the 55 bus route for the Jan. 11 meeting of the MBTA’s Fiscal Management and Control Board. Many argued that it made no sense to cut the service to save money when Congress had just included money for transit agencies in the emergency relief funding it approved in late December. According to WBUR, the bill included $14 billion for mass transit agencies. A common theme of the messages was the importance of the bus connection for West Fens residents, especially seniors. The future home of the Boston Arts Academy—Boston’s only public high school for the performing and visual arts—has begun to assume a recognizable shape Kathleen McBride called the route “a as the $125 million reconstruction project on Ipswich Street continues. Boston lifeline to Back Bay and downtown.” As Public Schools projects that the building will be completed by January 2022. The some stated, even if it was necessary to state-of-the-art facility will include dedicated rehearsal and performance spaces, reduce the number of trips, eliminating gallery space, studios for music, visual arts, and fashion design, academic the service completely would be unfair classrooms, recreation areas, kitchens, and student commons. and hit elderly riders especially hard. Signage on the bus route, which FENWAY PARK OPENS FOR VACCINATIONS no longer runs to Park Street as it once Starting Mon., Feb. 1, Fenway Park will become a vaccination site, did during working hours, has been ultimately serving thousands of people Mon-Fri, 9am-5pm. Managed inconsistent. Since September, the by CIC Health, the clinic will have a set-up similar to the one used last route has ended at Copley Square, yet all bus signs remain present fall for early voting. You’ll need a reservation (slots will be released on downtown, like this one on Tremont Street at the Boston Common. a weekly basis) which you can make at www.cic-health.com/vaccines. Turn to page 4 for residents’ letters to the board about plans to The user-friendly site also spells out eligibility, required identification, eliminate the 55. and anything else you need to know. NU’s Fitzgerald Studies Building Equity into Climate Action BY KELLY GARRITY is often the largest or second largest In her recent research, Fitzgerald and pollution have a voice by including lhough the past decade has cause of emissions in cities. One of her looked at how cities were including a 10 representatives from frontline com- seen around a 1 percent annual main recommendations for cities is to focus on equity in their climate action munities on the city’s environmental rise in global carbon dioxide shift public transportation, including plans. She found that five cities— justice committee. emissions, policies put in place buses and taxis, from diesel to electric Austin, Baltimore, Cleveland, Portland, Boston has a distance to go Ato limit the spread of coronavirus have power.