Coronavirus & the Fenway
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MAY WWW.FENWAYNEWS.ORG 2020 FREE COVERING THE FENWAY, AUDUBON CIRCLE, KENMORE SQUARE, UPPER BACK BAY, PRUDENTIAL, LONGWOOD, AND MISSION HILL SINCE Nurses1974 • • EMTs • Doctors VOLUME 46, NUMBER 5 • MAY 1–MAY 29, 2020 Hospital Cleaners & Cooks It Wasn’t All Glamour: Hotel’s MBTA Drivers & Workers to Jamaica Plain, said that Grocery Clerks without Clague none of Closing Recalls Housing Clashes Restaurant Workers the organizing would have happened. Clague was BY ALISON PULTINAS Delivery Service Drivers the leader who wrote the hen the Buckminster Amazon Workers surveys, slipped notes under Hotel in Kenmore locked doors and connected Square announced neighbors to create the their closing in March, THANK YOU, tenants’ association. Tenants Wdaily rates had dropped to $104 on demonstrated outside TripAdvisor. Boston’s media focused Shamsi’s Newton home and on the hotel’s well-known history— ESSENTIAL taped “Shamsi Slumlord” the 1919 World Series gambling signs in the windows facing scandal, George Wein’s Storyville WORKERS! Fenway Park during the jazz nightclub in 1950, the basement 1986 World Series. Media radio station. All those stories are outreach was important, displayed on plaques on the exterior but Burrows and Clague of the Beacon Street hotel. But there acknowledge that support are no plaques celebrating the tenants PHOTO COURTESY OF THE CITY OF BOSTON PUBLIC WORKS ARCHIVES from elected officials was from the hotel’s rooming house years building at 75 St. crucial to their success. in the 1980s. Alphonsus St. in Dick Belin pf Foley, Hoag & Eliot In its 123-year history, 645 Mission Hill, where served as the pro bono lawyer for the Beacon St. only served as a hotel— there have been years tenants’ class action suit against Shamsi’s providing accommodations, meals, of controversy. In the Boston Kenmore Realty. Attorneys from and other services for travelers and Fenway, he owned Greater Boston Legal Services filed the tourists—intermittently and with The Buckminster Hotel in 1912. 1091 Boylston, initial case with the city’s Rent Equity frequent changes in ownership. In also a property he Board and supported the tenants for the the early 20th century, the Buckminster was Johnson’s Restaurant opened. The famous converted to condominiums in the 1980s. duration. Bob Van Meter, a staff organizer described as an apartment hotel, a common White Fuel billboard was installed in 1939 Shamsi’s impact on the lives of the people at the Massachusetts Tenants’ Organization, form of middle- to upper-class multifamily and taken down in 1982. who lived at the Buckminster in the 1980s, got involved with the Buckminster through housing. Many buildings in the Kenmore and From 1966 to 1977, the Buckminster was was unforgettable. During the period when the late John Blanchon of Audubon Circle. Audubon Circle neighborhoods were similar. a Grahm Junior College dormitory. After the owners were converting multifamily buildings Settlement of the class action suit took Apartment hotels housed small households, school’s bankruptcy in 1977, former Boston to condominiums, it was a familiar story of six years. A retired judge from Melrose, the typically couples and singles. University student and real estate investor landlord versus tenant. Boston’s economy was late John McNaught, served as the arbitrator After 1915, Sylvanus Stokes was Edward Shamsi bought the property at a in transition, with neighborhoods that had assigned to mediate. Although Shamsi had the owner who moved the building to the bargain price at auction. Shamsi’s name is been affordable undergoing gentrification. gone ahead with the condo conversion, it hospitality business. He also owned the Lenox familiar to Boston housing activists, he also Investors and landlords saw condo conversion was essentially just paperwork keeping the Hotel in Copley Square. In 1938, a Howard owned Back Bay Manor, a high-rise apartment as an easy way to profit from their properties. Registry of Deeds busy, as he never sold the The first tenant protections were enacted in condos. 1983 by the state legislature, but by then many In 1993, tenants won rollbacks in rent, New Trees Arrive on Park Drive renters had already experienced displacement. commitments for timely repairs and even The market pressure put pressure on single- some rent-free months. The arbitration room-occupancy residences across the city. agreement was a victory. Some harassment The Buckminster was the largest lodging continued, but the settlement conditions gave house Boston. In 1986 Shamsi filed a master residents financial security, and a 15-year PHOTO: STEVE WOLF deed for a room-by-room condo conversion. clause—a legal encumbrance attached to the Originally, some, but not all, units had land—protected 30 rent-controlled units until kitchenettes and some used shared bathrooms. 2008. Even if the property were sold, the Shamsi’s Boston Kenmore Realty was affordability of those 30 units was supposed notorious—there were reports of tenant to be preserved. According to a 1998 building harassment; evictions; code violations; and permit application, the Buckminster’s six permits and licenses that were nowhere to be floors included 96 hotel rooms and 30 found. This was a scandal that had residents lodging units, once again a mix, but legal this not only afraid of losing their homes but time. In 1995, Shamsi signed agreements to fearful for their safety. Brian Clague, who set aside units for timeshare ownership, but it moved to the building in 1984, said there does not appear that the contracts were ever were frequent fire alarms—it felt like 100 a executed. week. Red Burrows, a resident from 1986 to WHERE ARE THEY NOW? 1995, said the fire department often did not For Clague and Burrows, the lead show up. The City’s former Arson Prevention tenant organizers, the memories are still Commission investigated and issued a report, vivid. Clague even has an archive of but charges were never filed. saved documents. For both, advocacy for Tenants went door to door surveying affordable housing and tenant rights became their fellow occupants, documenting part of their lives forever. conditions and listening to people’s Thirty-four years later, many key stories. Burrows, who years later moved > BUCKMINSTER HOTEL on page 2 CORONAVIRUS & THE FENWAY Because of the continuing public Seventh-Day Adventist Temple health emergency, this month’s on Peterborough Street. Lifeboat Fenway News appears on-line only, continues on Thursdays. but with a key change: Most URLs • Last month the City added two are live links to the site mentioned. community health centers as • You can find a list of emergency COVID-19 testing sites: Whittier resources on page 4. In place of Street Health Center (617-427- our regular listings on page 8, we 1000), near Ruggles Station, and asked community residents how Dimock Street Health Center (617- they’ve made use of their time at 442-8800), on the Jamaica Plain/ The state’s Department of Conservation and Recreation has completed home as we enter month two. Roxbury line. Brigham & Women’s planting 41 young trees along Park Drive as it loops from the eastern end • In addition to the Lifeboat Food Hospital (617-732-5500, photo on of Peterborough Street (across from the Victory Gardens) around to the Pantry (see p4), Fair Foods has page 2), also offers testing. You street’s western end, facing the Muddy River. A mix of eight native species, resumed free produce distribution must call for an appointment at the trees include several types Frederick Law Olmsted included in planting plans for the Emerald Necklace. Some larger existing trees in this stretch for elderly and needy residents, any site, but testing is free for appear to be in failig helath. The Emerald Necklace Conservancy helped but with a new location and any city resident, regardless of choose sites and develop the planting list. schedule: Tuesdays, 3-6pm, at the insurance or immigration status. 2 | FENWAY NEWS | MAY 2020 Coronavirus Pushes FriendshipWorks to Retool How It Connects Seniors BY MARY ANN BROGAN matches made weekly. world,” and “How to set up structure in a meeting.” riendshipWorks is a local nonprofit dedicated While FriendshipWorks has had to suspend While large gatherings have been put on hold, to reducing social isolation, enhancing some programs, others have simply moved online. FriendshipWorks is still moving forward with its quality of life, and preserving the dignity The Friendly Visiting Program, for example, continues annual Walk-a-Thon. Walk to End Elder Isolation: A of older adults. It has been in operation for within public health restrictions. Instead of in-person Virtual Gathering will take place May 17. This event F 36 years and is the largest organization of meetings, contact is made through Zoom or Facetime, raises critical funds for programming and highlights its kind in the Boston area. As the new coronavirus with other options available. PetPal has also gone the persistent issue of social isolation and the continues to dictate how we navigate our daily lives, online, with committed PetPal volunteers making importance of connection. While the walking portion FriendshipWorks has shifted to virtual connections videos of their pets and connecting with their elders of the event will need to carried out independently between its volunteers and elders. through video chats. this year, the Walk-a-Thon will culminate in what the During the public health emergency, FriendshipWorks has developed live training group promises will be a fun-filled virtual meeting at FriendshipWorks continues to recruit volunteers and sessions to strengthen the volunteers’ ability to work 10am. match each volunteer with an elder in need of help virtually. Videos address topics like “What it’s like to Mary Ann Brogan lives in the East Fens. or who just desires companionship. There are new call and listen,” “How to set boundaries in the virtual > BUCKMINSTER HOTEL from page 1 individuals are still active in their 1980s Parks Deptartment Weighs Tree Removal at May 7 Hearing roles, such as lawyers Jay Rose and Jeff PHOTO: ALISON PULTINAS PHOTO: The Boston Parks and Recreation Purcell at Greater Boston Legal Services.