.-- Security alert: House-breaks on the rise ~PAGE6 -. •· . - = I Community Newspaper Company • wickedlocal.com/ auston-brighton FRIDAY, JANUARY 2, 2009 Vol. 13, No. 21 • 24 Pages • 3 Sections $1 • • • .. • ear In revlew - · . · - .... Right: Hightop, the cat who : lIved at the lmages.and Frame. : store In Packard's COmer, • celebrated his 21st birthday • before dying In May. Fll..E PHOTO BY KATE FtOCK Below: Circle Cinemas closed In September, reportedly because It was not making enough money FI.E PHOTO BY vALENTIN"- Zle Above right: A flre at the Greclen Yeamlng destroyed the popular diner, causing $2.5 million In damage. The restaurant had alreedy c_1or the day, so there were no customers there at the time of the flre. FILE PHOTO BY ANOREW FIRESTONE Left: AJ. Rourke of Quincy, who Is captain of Community Rowing's ellte'compatltlve .=. women's team, carries her scull to the water - at the new Community Rowing Inc. boatho.... - on Monday. Sept. 29. Fl.E PHOTO BY ~vtO GOROOH Afire destroyed the Grecian Yearning Diner in Allston. Circle Cinemas closed; The Boston School Committee voted to close Hamilton and Garfield elementary schools. Read about the TAB's top 10 stories ofthe year., . SEE~ E4 THIS WEEK Something For 8M ....... Get WIcked. CormuIIty notes 3 Everyone Dover fiNE ORllNTAL IIVG S &: (ARPlTlN(j Crime 7 FREE IN·HOME 0bItuartes 15 DESIGN CONSULTATION & Oak Squa~ YMCA RUG TRIAL 615 WoshinrtOfl 5t Brookline Brirhton. MA 02135 617-232-1900 Cambridge . 617·782·3535 ~ WWW.ymcObostOfl·orr Welle.ley 617-864-5757 8 LOMMUSITY NEWSPAPER COMPANY 781 -235-4510 I1age, 2 A1ls1on-Brighton TAB Friday, January 2, 2009 wickedlocal.comlallston-brighton REMEMBERING OLD ALLSTON-BRIGHTON • --- ' .' Bow Brighton Main 'Streets was born and what it's accomplished: , . -- By Uncia Mishkin LM: So, the community itself to convince people that a linle c0- closings created ghost towns. sentatives from Tokyo have''''so ' : BRIGHTQN.AlLSTON HISTORICAL SOCIETY fought the businesses? operation both from the residents That is how Main Streets pro­ been here twice. They featured..us : and the businesses could belp grams first started. Federal funds in a book about economic re': lnterview with Rosie RH: Not exactly, but restricted Brighton. came to help these cominunities structuring. We \Qere also toured . a lot of potential. It was DOl a bad So, that is how I became in­ withjohs and use for these beauti­ by a group from the Northemire. ~anlon, Excerpt 3 thing because in the end, we volved inBrighton Main Streets. ful old buildings that had pro- . land Assembly. , ended up with much better plan­ I went business to business and duced goods. , - . : Linda Mishkin: Tell us ahout ning. belped raise $20,000. That was So then the prograin moved to LM: How many Main Streets ~righton Main Streets and what Also, in the 1970s and 1980s, what was needed for the initial wban areas. In Brighton, we had a are now in Boston? - • ~ .. you feel you have accomplished we had bussing. That really desta­ buy-in for Brighton Main Streets. high crime rate. Our storefronts there. bilized our community. There [ wasn't the first director. The first looked awful. The business mix RH: There are 19. But, fe.ferni : was a lot of trnnsition going on at director of Brighton Main Streets was really poor. That situation ad­ funding is tighter now. And the~ , , Rosie Hanlon: Brighton Main that time. was Ann Griffin. Sbe did a great ven;ely affected the community. is the mindset that you put money Streets is definitely an accom­ A Iinle 1LC was needed in the job. Then sbe moved to the West So with the help of the mayor, the where the fire is. I disagree. I be- . plishment of this community. community. This great organiza­ Coast, so the position was open. federal government, local business lieve you go where the smoke is. , Back in 1996, I was the executive tion was formed. It was called the Tuning is everything. I felt that and the community, we have a You shouldn't wait until there is a , ~ for the Brighton Board Brighton Business and Commu­ holding that position would woll< great collaboration of effort. New disaster. ' ofTrade. At that time, I also wrote nity Collaborative Inc. Great pe0- well for my family. I got involved Balance is our corporate buddy Rosie Hanlon acolumn in the newspaper regard­ ple were part of it, including in 2000. So it was through the ini­ and keeps this program going. $3,500 for improved signage or LM: You said in our first partoC: ing business. I worl<ed to stabilize Charlie Vasiliades, Jean McK­ tial effort of the BBCC that storefront cleanup. So, if they this interview thai Brighton' fiild:' the business community. We were eigue of Boston College and An­ Brighton Main Streets came into LM: When did Brighton Main speod $7,000, they will get been a wonderful and safe place: DOl in a good way. Brighton busi­ toinette Rossi, who is still in­ existence. Streets open? $3,500. It worl<s. that encouraged people to wii!k. nesses were closing rapidly. We volved in it Toni is one of the around and shop. Then you saw a , Ijad 50 percent vacancy. past presidents of Brighton Main LM: So Mayor MeDino was in RH: We incorporated on Feb. LM: Have you encountered marked deterioration. Now;'aQ Streets. We had Bill and Sandy office at this time. 18, 1997. So we are II years old. any resistance to those offers? you feel Brighton is revitalii.ealQ ' what it once was? - -- ' LM: What do you think was Connors and Steve Wassennan, In that time, we have taken the .::, . the cause of that? who owns the building that RH: Yes. He ttuly is a neigh­ business community from 50 RH: Oh, sure I have. Some Brighton Main Streets is in. borhood mayor. He has done percent to 98 percent fully people are wary of help. You RH: That was my goal. wiire ; : RH: In the 1970s and I 980s, We had really great committed great things for the neighbor­ leased. We have brought in a re­ know - getting something for not there 100 percent, but we::are < there were a lot of malls being people who put this organization hoods tbroogbout the city of ally nice business mix. I estimate nothing. It seems too good to be getting there. You see peppl~ tiuill. The Arsenal Mall ~ame in, together. The next thing was to Boston. Boston Main Streets is that there has been more than true. But, I have to say that young and old, sitting and cwt- • and of course, we had the Chest­ reach out to the business commu­ the first wban Main Streets pro­ $40 million in private and public Brighton Main Streets is one of ting on .the many benches _:\I'e nut Hill Mall and the Natick Mall. nity and have them buy into the gram in the country. Now there investment into the community. the top prograIllS in the city of have had installed. You see ~ It was hard for a small business to Brighton Main Streets program. are many wban Main Streets pr0- That is a low estimate. That Boston. We have been noted in­ pie in wbeelchairs. You see ll.i\l>y , compete with this new trend. It did require buy-in. Pledges grams. doesn't include big projects like ternationally. Representatives carriages. You see kids aroulid: . Also, community activism was were needed. That is wbere I Main Streets programs, how­ the YMCA. from the Polytechnic Institute of You see flowers. People feel safet lIeightened, and for a business to came in with the Brighton Board ever, originally started 20+- years We have completed over 65 Torino, Italy, came and spent a here now. We have really helped ' request a license and/or variance of Trade. We brooght the idea of ago in rural areas wbere there bad storefront improvement projects. couple of days interviewing busi­ bring back the community ~I' was not an easy task. A lot of po­ the organization before the hoard. been factories that closed. Fabric The way this happens is that I will nesses and looking at our plans. I ing. I continue to try to enco~ge ~tial new business shied away For an idea that was so great, it is mills and shoe factories closed go to a business and offer 50 per­ was honored to be asked to be a business clusters, where one 9.Vfoi- , IWm- Brighton. amazing how much woll< it took due to imports. Some of those cent financial assistance up to speaker at their sumniit. Repre- ness builds on another. HISTORY HAPPENINGS . " .Heritage Museum - - Historical calendar on sale endars may be pun:based at the discount price of The.Brighton-Allston Heritage Museum, sitUated formed & Bull Marl<el. ., $75, which also includes shipping and handling. , 'The Historical Society announces publication of at the lower level of the Veronica Smith Senior Cen­ Guides are available, if desired, to show visitors,; Inquiries for home delivery of bulk order pur­ fifth annual Historical Calendar. The 2009 edi­ ter, 20 Chestnut Hill Ave., Brighton Center, is open through the collection. Group tours are welcome, ", .iis chases of 10 or more calendars at $7 each may be tion features photographs of "Women of Vision," a during the following hours: Admission is free. '" "l made by calling Nancy O'Hara at 617-782-8776. cOntinuation of the theme highlighted at the BAHS Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays If 'you have questions, call the museum at 6t7,rl For more infonnation, visit www.babistory.orgor from n00n-4 p.m.