The Boston Guardian

April 17, 2020 Vol. 4 Issue 42 When a "Square" Is Not a Square

Trinity Church choir

Celebrating Easter By Joe Walsh Rutland are small rectangular What’s in a name? parks. That phenomenon is not Geographically speaking, unique to Greater Boston, but this city might be more generous some of Boston’s most famous with the word “square” than With Virtual Prayers “squares” are anything but almost any other. By Joe Walsh congregants listened intently to another adjusted to working from home, square. Kenmore and Post This trend is no accident, This Sunday morning, pastors Easter Sunday service. but the last week’s Easter and Office look more like cubist experts say. Like many names donned their vestments and scanned But first, they adjusted their webcams Passover services introduced a new paintings than squares, Copley in Greater Boston, the word their sermons, choir singers flipped and pressed play. concept, worshipping from home. was triangular when it earned “square” was pulled directly from through their hymnals, and religious Many downtown residents have Continued on Page 6 its name, and Louisburg and Continued on Page 6 A Sign of the Times Fens Could See Major Facelift By Joe Walsh The Back Bay Fens could see a $7.5 million facelift over the next few years. Mayor Marty Walsh’s administra- tion is pitching an upgrade for the historic but aging footpaths that wind through the Fens, part of this year’s capital budget proposal. The City Council needs to vote on the Mayor’s budget, and a timeline for this work is still unclear. But park advocates are excited that a central part of the Emerald Necklace will eventually earn rebuilt and newly accessible pathways. “There is no one who visits the park and doesn’t use a path,” said Even the ducklings in the Public Garden are following the common Karen Mauney-Brodek, executive sense guidelines about wearing masks. They are having problems, director of the Emerald Necklace however, finding web footed gloves. Continued on Page 4 Downtown Boston The Boston Guardian 2 | April 17, 2020 Convenience Stores Are Not Thriving

By Dan Rabb there are few commuters. The Downtown Grocers and convenience stores across the store is also unique in that it does not country have been among the few industries contribute to the chain’s delivery business, to thrive during the COVID-19 pandemic. increasingly in demand as residents look to But Downtown, these businesses have seen avoid leaving their homes. Limited loading significant slowdowns, not the surge of zones and a lack of staging areas at the their suburban counterparts. Downtown store mean that even if nearby Even as unemployment has skyrocketed in residents order online from Roche Brothers, the wake of coronavirus related shutdowns, a study by career networking site LinkedIn those deliveries come from Quincy. showed that, nationally, supermarkets and Still, store management says they plan to Photos: Courtesy of the GBCVB convenience stores are hiring a wave of retain all their employees. workers as Americans stock up on essentials. “As a company, we’re doing well because According to the study, supermarket “store our base is in the suburbs, and those stores associate” is now the most in demand job are cranking,” the manager said. “Our store in the country. The company with the most is an anomaly. If we don’t have the working job openings in America is convenience commuter people here and the train traffic, store giant 7-Eleven. it’s real slow.” However, downtown convenience stores While Roche Brothers does not plan on and the neighborhood’s lone grocer have not followed this national trend. Employees any significant cutbacks in staff or services, of Downtown Crossing’s Roche Brothers things don’t look so rosy for the 7-Eleven and 7-Eleven say business has slowed to a at the entrance to the Park Street T station. trickle. Far from the spike in demand seen by other “It’s tough, but we’re keeping our 7-Eleven franchises nationwide, employees head above water,” said a manager at the at the Tremont Street store say business has Downtown Roche Brothers, who asked not been almost nonexistent. to be identified. “We’ve seen a dip in sales “It’s been very slow,” said Jamal, standing here obviously, but we haven’t had to lay behind the cash register on a recent Tuesday. anybody off, which is the most important “There’s almost nobody today.” thing.” While the residential population of The loss of daily commuter traffic out #LoveFromBoston Downtown has exploded in recent years, of Park Street Station and the departure many living in the neighborhood have of Suffolk students have been devastating, departed the city for vacation homes. said the clerk. The 24 hour store also relied Recognizes Heroes The area’s student population, one of the on late-night business, providing essentials By Dan Rabb fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. highest per capita in the city, has also in the wee hours. Now it shutters at eight After dark, Downtown residents may Along the Greenway, the park’s signature departed with the closures of Suffolk and to adhere to the city curfew, not that there “light blades” will glow red throughout other nearby universities. With no parking notice prominent buildings and landmarks was a lot of business anyway. April, as will the dome at the now closed lot, situated in the middle of a pedestrian bathed in red light or adorned with hearts Employees’ hours have been cut back, and Boston Harbor Hotel. Pedestrians walking only area, the Downtown Roche Brothers and inspirational messages. there has been talk that the store may close along the Greenway at night will also be able relies disproportionately on this now The coordinated light displays are part of a to see the Zakim Bridge, International Place depleted population. until restrictions are lifted. For employees citywide initiative called #LoveFromBoston, More than other Roche Brothers, the such a closure would mean no paycheck for organized by the Greater Boston Convention Towers and TD Garden lit with red light. DTX shop also caters to the workaday the immediate future. and Visitors Bureau (GBCVB) as a way to On the other side of the neighborhood, crowd, offering premade food and a café “That’s just how it works,” said the clerk, build civic unity and recognize healthcare City Hall will also be illuminated, with the style checkout near the store entrance. Now with a resigned shrug. workers and others on the front lines of the Continued on Page 6

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Paid for by the Committee to Elect Martin J. Walsh In the Fenway The Boston Guardian 4 | April 17, 2020 Fens Facelift ideas may be slated for future projects, she said, but advocates could begin studying Continued from Page 1 them now. Upgrading a historic park could pose Conservancy. “Investments in these things challenges, said neighborhood resident are timeless and will always provide benefits and Fenway Civic Association member to all park users.” Fredericka Veikley. She is excited to see this Revamping the Fens’ pathways is a key overhaul, but she believes designers should priority for some neighborhood residents. strike a cautious balance between making the Many of the park’s rustic footpaths are pathways more accessible and preserving the cracked, crumbled, eroded and frequently park’s rustic, bucolic landscape. In particular, flooded, making them challenging to traverse Veikley urged the city not to widen any for the thousands of commuters and visitors footpaths. who pass through the Fens every year. “I don’t want to lose parkland,” said Veikley. These pathways are even tougher to “We need to address all of these issues, and navigate for residents with mobility restric- at the same time, we want to make sure we tions and physical disabilities, officials maintain the old Olmsted vision for the added, posing an accessibility challenge in park.” some parts of the Fens. This project would arrive at a busy time for “It doesn’t make the park, in some areas, seem as welcoming to travel in,” said Ryan the Back Bay Fens. Federal officials hope to Photo: Joe Walsh Woods, Boston’s parks and recreation begin dredging the Muddy River and reshap- commissioner. ing its banks this year, the second phase in a The city has not redesigned any pathways long-awaited project that would restore the Sox Pushcart Vendor’s yet, Woods noted, but if this year’s budget Fens’ ecology and steel the neighborhood proposal passes officials hope to hire a against flooding. designer and start a community process next Meanwhile, the city has rebuilt some Life Has Become Nuts year. pathways in nearby Olmsted Park and By Joe Walsh Mauney-Brodek believes this redesign Jamaica Pond in recent years, and Charlesgate through the federal government’s new could extend beyond simply repaving paths Park could eventually see an overhaul. Every spring for the last century, a small business relief program, but the and improving their drainage. She hopes to Reconstructing the footpaths that crisscross member of Nick Jacobs’ family has application process is beset with red tape and crowded by other decimated investigate the park’s pathway network more the Fens would complete this string of dusted off an old-fashioned pushcart, businesses. comprehensively, noting that the park could improvements, according to Woods. filled it with bags of peanuts, and rolled “Every day this goes on, the line gets use safer road connections for cyclists and “It feels like the Fens is the next natural it onto Jersey Street in time for the Red Sox’s home opener. longer and longer,” he said. new entrances in some areas. Some of these step,” he said. But this year, Jacobs is staying home Over the decades, the stall has until further notice. Coronavirus has outlasted sweeping renovations, delayed the baseball season indefinitely, players’ strikes, competition from team 127 Saint Botolph St forcing Nicky’s Peanuts into hiberna- owned stands and occasional tangles tion for the first time since Fenway with ballpark management. This year, Park opened in 1912. Jacobs is no however, is a uniquely painful test. longer hawking peanuts to Red Sox fans But beyond the financial turmoil, and, like many workers, is now mired Jacobs is disappointed that his family’s in uncertainty. cart is now suddenly idle. Manning “It’s uncharted waters. It’s something the stall is strenuous work, but it has we’ve never seen the likes of,” Jacobs generated what Jacobs calls “a lifetime said. “I’m not selling nuts anymore, I’m of memories.” This delay makes him losing my nuts.” wistful for the pungent smells, frenetic Nicky’s Peanuts is one of the only noises and surprising camaraderie that independently owned concession once filled Jersey Street. stands that remains outside Fenway “It’s not just the money. I just like the Park, occupying roughly the same people,” he said. “I miss the crowds. I stretch of asphalt for 108 seasons and miss the personalities, whether they’re 11 World Series bids. Jacobs is the pleasant or aggravating.” business’ third-generation owner, and Jacobs is confident that his cart will for more than 30 years he has almost eventually return to Jersey Street, even never missed a home game. if he needs to wait an entire year. But Jacobs was prepared to return to after the shock of coronavirus, he Available for immediate move in Jersey Street once again this year, but wonders whether the street’s atmosphere 1 bedroom apartment, in unit laundry the threat of coronavirus forced Major will fully recover. $3,375 per month League Baseball to delay the baseball The virus could turn social distanc- season. League leaders have not settled ing into a new cultural norm, causing Situated between the Back Bay and South End, Saint Botolph on a path forward yet, and fans and the fans that once stampeded through Street is one of Boston’s most noteworthy streets. staff are bracing for either a drasti- Jersey Street to grow wary of mass Off Street parking available for rent. cally shortened season or a wholesale gatherings and tight spaces. Jacobs has cancellation. spent decades standing in the middle of This sudden stoppage has thrown those stampedes, and he hopes the same the peanut cart into financial peril. energy will eventually return. Nicky’s Peanuts is Jacobs’ primary “All of a sudden, the world is a differ- 617-247-3070 source of income, and he fears that a ent place,” he said. “I hope people’s [email protected] recession could simultaneously wipe way of life doesn’t change. I hope the www.thecopleygroup.com out his other job that he holds during crowds still come when this is all said the off season. He hopes to earn a loan and done.” Apri 17, 2020 | 5 The Boston Guardian In the South End 20% of Residents Are in Health Care

Two Road Projects In Mayor’s Budget By Dan Rabb and Herald Streets to two-way traffic. The A pair of long awaited roadway improvement other will reduce the number of lanes for cars projects in the South End’s newest neighbor- on Harrison Avenue north of East Berkeley, adding new bike lanes and wider sidewalks. Courtesy of BPDA hood may finally come to fruition, according to the 2021 capital budget released by the Walsh These infrastructure improvements will be By Dan Rabb Throughout large swaths of the South End, Administration last week. almost entirely funded through city mandated The South End has a higher concentration of more than one in every five residents works in The mayor’s budget allocates $2.45 million payments from the developers of projects healthcare workers living within its borders than healthcare or social assistance, according to data for two projects to improve traffic and pedestri- like Ink Block and 345 Harrison, who have any other downtown area, placing the neighbor- from a Boston Planning and Development an flow in the so-called New York Streets area. turned a former industrial area into a mecca of hood on the front lines in the city’s fight against Agency (BPDA) study on economic impacts of One initiative will open both Traveler and high-end housing. COVID-19. Continued on Page 6 Washington Streets between East Berkeley Continued on Page 7 The Boston Guardian 6 | April 17, 2020

Virtual Prayers “We’re physically separated, but we’re still deeply connected,” he said. Classifieds Call (857) 265-3022 Continued from Page 1 Meanwhile, local synagogues prepared Jewish Custom Flooring residents for virtual Passover. At the start of the As coronavirus forces religious institutions to eight day holiday, celebrants normally gather with & Millwork The Boston close their doors, congregations have taken to the their extended families for two evening seders, but –Wide Plank & Long Length Flooring internet. Livestreamed church services, interactive travel stoppages and stay-at-home advisories have –White Oak & Antique Heart Pine Guardian –Genuine Mahogany Decking discussion sessions and video conferenced Passover forced many residents to organize this year’s seders To Advertise seders are now suddenly the norm. online. T.S. Mann Lumber 978-249-2206 This transition is often painful for leaders and Conservative congregation Kehillath Israel (KI) www.MannLumber.com Call 857-265-3022 worshippers alike. But local religious leaders say offered help during this transition. The group their congregants are now craving human connec- organized online lessons and discussions before- tion more than ever, even if needs to take place hand, held a virtual community seder for some #Love this fight in Massachusetts and across the virtually. residents, and matched up congregants with local world. From first responders and healthcare “In these dystopian times, everything requires families willing to host them for an online seder. Continued from Page 2 professionals, to the sick and suddenly extra creativity and resolve,” said Rob Mark, lead The success of this shift has varied, said KI Rabbi unemployed, and to all those residing in pastor at the Church of the Covenant. “It’s really Elizabeth Bonney-Cohen. For some families, cooperation of the Walsh Administration. lonesome quarantine, this message is for hard when the body is forced to be separated, but Zoom-based seders transcended the long distances Elsewhere in the downtown neighbor- you,” said GBCVB President and CEO we’re embracing that.” that often keep people apart, allowing families to hoods, hotels like the Park Plaza, Revere Martha J. Sheridan. “And given how hard-hit Some local churches prepared elaborate Easter gather in larger groups. and the soon-to-open The Newbury have our industry has been by this pandemic, services for their congregations. Trinity Church “I think there were some unexpected moments illuminated their windows in the shape of it’s fitting that our Boston and Cambridge put together an intricate home isolation stream, of connection that it offered people,” she said. hearts or to form the word “LOVE.” In fact, hotels were the ones to initiate this. There Still, online services are not a perfect replacement complete with readings filmed from pastors’ and the entire initiative was inspired by a handful are now dozens of hotels participating across for face-to-face contact. congregants’ houses and a full choir over videocon- of Boston hotels that, finding themselves greater Boston.” The first nights of Passover are traditionally ference. And Church of the Covenant hired a small devoid of guests in the days following the Indeed, many of the hotels lighting film crew to record its Easter Sunday service a day observed without technology, meaning that virtual governor’s stay at home order, lit guest room windows and façades for #LoveFromBoston early, pairing a sharp video production with live seders were not an option for some congregants, windows in heart shapes that could be seen are currently closed for business, as are communion over Zoom. Bonney-Cohen noted. Plus, video conferencing across the city. roughly half the hotels across Boston as a Virtual church has extended beyond Sunday takes away the boisterous conversations that often The GBCVB amplified these scattered whole. With occupancy rates at the hotels morning services, however. Some local churches fill these events, and after they end, some residents have shifted their weekly bible study groups, youth return to loneliness and isolation. gestures into a regional effort, seeing it as that have remained open hovering around meetings, and evening prayer sessions onto video For some, virtual gatherings cannot replicate a way not only to thank at-risk healthcare 10%, the average cost of a hotel room conferencing programs like Zoom. These online human connections, even if they are the best workers, but as a rallying cry and show around Boston is now less than $20. offerings allow congregants to stay in touch with available option. of unity for the hospitality and tourism It may be a long road back for the tourism each other, fulfilling their spiritual needs while also “There’s a lot that’s lost when we’re interacting industries that have been devastated in the and hospitality trades, but those behind staving off the loneliness that has accompanied with people through a screen,” Bonney-Cohen virus’s wake. #LoveFromBoston hope that hearts and red social distancing, Mark explained. said. “We can’t smell the same food. We’re not able “This idea, #LoveFromBoston, is dedicated rooftops across the city will emphasize their to embrace our loved ones.” to all those individuals on the front lines of industry’s importance to Boston. Squares John Singleton Copley was the namesake for a square of his own, even though his Health Care we know exists in these parts of the South End,” Continued from Page 1 “square” was originally a pair of triangles Mues said. “So while we for the most part don’t Continued from Page 5 sliced by Huntington Avenue’s streetcar have giant buildings with elevators, we have a lot of the United Kingdom, where it marked a lines. people with a high risk of infection, even if they’re “Because the Back Bay was filled as an the coronavirus outbreak. In some South End public gathering place. And since colonial asymptomatic, still interacting with the neighbor- elite residential project … the names in the neighborhoods, these numbers are even higher. Boston’s street grid is notoriously tangled hood, grocery shopping and going to Foodies. You and windy, few of these early gathering Back Bay have a deliberately Anglo-Saxon As many as 36.3% of residents living in sections of etymology,” Nelson said. can’t tell if someone is a doctor or a nurse unless spots were actually square. Lower Roxbury and in the Worcester Square and Other parts of the city were made more they have scrubs on or wearing their embroidered “It has a lot more to do with the idea Blackstone/Franklin Square neighborhoods work of a common gathering space than with appealing through “garden squares,” Patagonia.” in healthcare or related fields. Even the neighbor- the geometric concept itself,” said Garrett tiny roadside parks maintained by the So why are so many medical and healthcare Dash Nelson, a curator at the Boston surrounding homeowners. The South End hood’s State representative, Jon Santiago, works as professionals clustered in the southernmost half of is dotted with these types of squares, which Public Library’s Leventhal Map Center. an emergency room physician at BMC. the South End? It’s more than just the presence of city planners tagged with rarified British Some of Boston’s oldest squares have Nowhere else in the downtown neighborhoods BMC. The area is an easy commute by either T or names like Rutland, Russell, Worcester purely functional names. Haymarket is there such a high concentration of doctors, nurses and Chester. Meanwhile, Beacon Hill private shuttle to most of the city’s major medical Square was designed as a public market, hosts Louisburg Square, one of the city’s and other healthcare professionals, a workforce that institutions, from the Longwood Medical Area to and Dock Square, unsurprisingly, was priciest corners. experts suggest is at the highest risk of contracting Tufts and Mass General. The changing economics near a dock. These areas were created In these neighborhoods, the squares COVID-19. Indeed, a Center for Disease Control of the healthcare industry mean that a growing for commerce, Nelson explained, so they were once again part of a sales pitch. They study estimates that healthcare workers make up number of professionals split time between were home to the types of gatherings that offered a grassy private meeting place between 10% and 20% of all coronavirus cases. different hospitals, making a central location ideal. “squares” typically offer. for surrounding residents, a perk that While residents who spoke to The Boston Relative ease of owning a car and proximity to both But in the Back Bay, where 19th has boosted nearby property values for Guardian all framed the disproportionate number century real estate developers hoped to decades. Just like the squares’ names, this the Mass Pike and Southeast Expressway are also attract upper class residents, roads and common garden idea was also borrowed of medical professionals in their neighborhood as strong selling points to doctors and nurses, who are commercial squares were named with a from Britain, according to Nelson. a point of civic pride, some are wary that the area often required to work shifts at suburban outposts salesman like zeal. After the neighborhood “They were laid out by the residential could turn into a COVID-19 hotspot. It’s a point of Boston’s major hospitals. was filled in, streets like Clarendon and owners that surrounded the square, as a echoed by resident Matt Mues, who helps run a “This is a location for people that need to be Marlborough were given English names sort of common space,” Nelson said. research laboratory at Mass General Hospital and mobile, and aren’t just going to places like Boston designed to appeal to wealthy Brahmins. So, is Boston’s obsession with the word serves on the board of the Blackstone/Franklin Children’s or Tufts,” said Mues. “The South End is The area’s squares were created with the “square” a classic case of untruth in same elite instinct, Nelson said. advertising? Square Neighborhood Association. kind of a central location where doctors and nurses For example, Kenmore Square was Maybe. But for some locals, a square by “Having all these carriers is a big concern can be in the city, choose whether or not to own a named after a place in Britain. And painter any other name would look as sweet. because of this density of folks in healthcare that car, and be surrounded by these institutions.” The Boston Guardian March 20, 2020 | 7

Road Projects earlier start date. Art Classes “They’re learning by making. They’re learning by In the past, city officials have expressed a designing,” she said. “This is really pushing creativity Continued from Page 5 Continued from Page 3 desire to wait for the completion of abutting and critical thinking and problem solving.” development projects like Related Beal’s The The classes are also designed to tackle social goals. ARCK’s classes are more than an extracurricular While resident groups and neighborhood Quinn before starting infrastructure improve- ARCK aims to teach empathy, teamwork, social activity, though. The organization is rooted in studies civic leaders have almost universally advocated ments. But many neighborhood leaders say the awareness and emotional management, all key areas showing that students perform better academically the redesigns of Washington, Traveler and opposite approach is necessary, that due to poor for which art is a proven aid, according to Demeter. if they have access to art classes, and its mission is to Harrison, they have also expressed frustration infrastructure planning the New York Streets That part of the curriculum is especially critical in the extend some form of art education to as many Boston that it has taken so long to bring the changes to has turned into an area with beautiful buildings schools as possible. coronavirus age, when students are isolated from their fruition. Both projects have been on the drawing but little neighborhood connectivity. Despite the shift to virtual learning, this mission is peers and gripped by uncertainty. Demeter believes board for years, detailed in the 2012 Harrison- Urban planner and development consultant still critical, Demeter says. Their classes still use art as a that ARCK’s classes will calm anxious students and Albany Corridor Strategic Plan that opened the Randi Lathrop helped draft the Harrison- vehicle to teach about subjects like science, history, and help them heal, even if the lessons are broadcasted from former industrial area to development. Albany Plan as the Deputy Director of social justice. Right now, some students are learning computer screens. As recently as April of 2019, city officials told Community Planning at the BPDA. She says about biology and gardening while others are learning “During this anxiety and fear and disruption, they a meeting of the East Berkeley Neighborhood the projects in this year’s budget are not the only animation, all from their homes. need art even more,” she said. “It’s helping them cope.” Association (EBNA), one of the major aspects of the plan that have been delayed for proponents of making Washington and years. She points to other recommendations, Traveler Streets two-way, that construction on such as opening East Berkeley Street to two-way that project would begin by the end of that year. traffic. The announcement was met with excitement. “It needs to happen now,” she said. “All the “It’s going to really improve circulation and recommendations from the Harrison-Albany traffic flow,” said EBNA President Ken Smith plan should be in place by now.” at the time. “This neighborhood association, Still, Lathrop added she’s happy that there amongst others, has done a lot of advocating for seems to be progress on the short-term horizon. this for years, so this feels really good.” The Harrison Avenue improvements, in partic- Yet a year later, work still appears to be months ular, will help make the area surrounding Ink away. City officials declined to provide a Block a true urban neighborhood, she said. timeline for construction for either Washington “You don’t need four lanes on Harrison and Traveler Streets or Harrison Avenue. But Avenue,” said Lathrop. “Going back down to expenditures for the project outlined in the two lanes is going to slow traffic, and widening city budget suggest the changes may not be the sidewalks is going to allow for outdoor cafes. implemented until 2021. Improvements to You’re going to add street trees. This is all good Harrison Avenue appear to be targeting an urban planning.”

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