Boston Police Department public meeting November 19 at 6pm

You are invited to join the Boston Police Commissioner and other Boston Police Department leaders to discuss current crime trends and patterns in South Boston and learn how the Boston PD coordinates their planning to strategically address them.

The BPD wants to give the public the chance to review critical information and to explain what they do and why. This is a great opportunity to give feedback to BPD on what the most important issues are, and where resources are most critically needed.

This is an in-person meeting at 1 Gillette Park, beginning at 6pm.

 A new experience will be opening this fall at 2 Northern Ave, the former location of the Daily Catch next to the Courthouse.

According to the owners:  

"Picture yourself growing up on the mediterranean, watching the elders craft the most wonderful flavors from scratch—wine, arak, syrup, and more—using the natural ingredients surrounding them. Imagine waking up to the smell of fresh fruit cooking outside your window, then peering out and watching people crush berries under their feet. Experiences like these become the soul of your past and inspire your present. That feeling is at the heart of the immersive craft cocktail experience here at Marcelino’s."

This will be the second location for Marcellino's. They currently operate  Marcelino’s Boutique Bar in Providence.

 WS Development reports that they:

"...are currently reconstructing Boston Wharf Road between Seaport Blvd and Congress Street as well as West Service Road (which is Boston Wharf Road south of Congress Street) south to Pastene Alley. This will culminate in the repaving and re-striping of this entire corridor later this month and significantly improve travel conditions for motorists and cyclists along this corridor."

This is part of their project that they refer to as the Seaport Roadways work, which involved the complete reconstruction of Seaport Blvd from the Moakley Bridge to Pier 4 Blvd back in 2017-2018 with the landscaped medians, trees, artwork, and bike lanes, as well as their reconstruction of Pier 4 Blvd (formerly East Service Road) between Congress and Seaport back in 2021-2022. 

A next phase of the Seaport Roadways project will involve the reconstruction of Congress Street from Boston Wharf Road east to Pier 4 Blvd. This scope will involve a landscaped median similar to the one on Seaport Blvd in front of 101-121 Seaport, as well as a revised condition at the I-90 off-ramps allowing for a proper left turn at that location. 

This next phase will be a great benefit to our neighborhood. Currently, drivers coming off of the I-90 East ramp and turnoff which leads into the Seaport, who want to head downtown, have to turn left on Seaport Blvd, adding to our congestion. The elimination of the small end of the median on Congress Street, pictured, will allow drivers to legally turn left on Congress and not have to continue to Seaport Blvd! 

We heard from residents who expressed concern about the “Open Container Zone’ concept which was described in a WGBH news story. 

Open Container Article

Two of our Seaport Neighborhood Association board members met Corean Reynolds (Director of Nightlife Economy for the City of Boston) to discuss the idea.  It turned out to be an excellent conversation.  SNA wanted to understand the basic idea and also the problem they are trying to solve.  The situation feels different than what was described in the article. A few highlights of the conversation:

· Corean’s role is much broader than night life (drinking, clubs etc)

· Corean is focused on all the elements that help a city maintain an effective economy at night including, safety, transportation, construction, etc, so that people can work and play in a safe environment.

· She said that the social zone concept would be a temporary area that might allow alcohol, but could also include music, art, festivals etc.

· There is not a proposal or plan for anything permanent.

· Permits would have to be applied for and the usual process would take place, including the involvement of neighborhood associations.

· The Seaport is not a priority for social zones.  City government recognizes that is a new area with tons going on.

· She did mention that the ‘pop-up’ concept could provide an opportunity to drive more diversity in the Seaport.

Corean described her role as a night-time economy specialist, a role that focuses more on how to safely impact vibrancy in Boston. She seemed appreciative of us taking the time to hear about her impressive background and her scope of responsibility. She has been in this newly created city position for 18 months. 

The SNA came away quite impressed with Corean Reynolds and we feel that a very good line of communication has been established.

 Don't expect to see a new bridge for a decade or so! Although in this case there are sound reasons. The project has been set back by the Army Corps of Engineers coming in to do a study on whether a floodgate could be placed at the opening to the Fort Point Channel. Ten percent of all stormwater in Boston drains into that Channel. When there is a high tide coupled with a large storm, flooding is caused in the surrounding areas because the stormwater drainpipes exiting into Fort Point Channel are lower than the high tide height of the Channel. A floodgate plan would close the gate at low tide when there is anticipation of a high tide storm. The result would be that the stormwater can drain into Fort Point Channel and then be released into Boston Harbor after the storm, with a lowering tide. The first question that the Corps will answer is whether this is a feasible and worthwhile project. After that, if the answer is in the affirmative, a study will be done to see if the floodgate could be incorporated into the Northern Avenue Bridge design. This is a multi-year study and project with a current price tag close to $1 billion.