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Councilors push to settle vote lawsuit

Boston Banner
Jeremy Schwab

August 25, 2005

Just one week after community groups shot off a letter to Mayor Thomas Menino and the members of the city council demanding they settle a voting rights lawsuit, four city councilors joined in the call for a settlement.

Councilors Chuck Turner, Felix Arroyo, Charles Yancey and Maura Hennigan held a press conference Monday calling on Menino to work out solutions to the alleged violations of the rights of non-English fluent voters.

Menino has indicated he will fight the lawsuit in court, and his office has questioned the Justice Department’s assertions.

The lawsuit alleges that the city’s “elections standards, practices and procedures” negatively affected limited English proficient Latino and Asian American voters and seeks federal oversight of city elections until 2007.

Community groups reportedly supplied the Justice Department with information about voting rights violations they have witnessed in recent years in neighborhoods across the city. Alleged violations include a lack of bilingual election workers at some polls, voters from certain ethnic groups being told to produce unnecessary documentation and poll workers filling out limited English-speaking voters’ ballots for them or watching as political operatives pretend to be poll workers and tell voters who they should vote for. Activists had also notified the city of their concerns.

Some city councilors lashed out at their colleagues who are calling for a settlement, saying they should wait to hear what specific allegations the suit contains before taking sides.

“I think it’s a mistake to admit guilt until we have all the facts in place,” said Councilor Rob Consalvo. “Obviously in America, you are innocent until proven guilty. The city is working very hard to correct any problems that may have happened with people’s right to vote.”

The councilors calling for a settlement unveiled a list of changes they say the city should make in order to mitigate the Justice Department’s allegations.

“If an agreement could be reached with community groups, then the Justice Department lawsuit could be resolved,” said Turner.

Just days after the lawsuit was filed, Menino announced the establishment of a task force composed of members of groups involved in get-out-the-vote and community advocacy work.

Headed by Kevin Peterson, director of the New Democracy Coalition, the task force is charged with recruiting and training more bilingual poll workers for next month’s Democratic primary and November’s general election.

“We’ll also be looking at internal election department changes as well as public policy initiatives that will provide better access to the polls,” said Peterson.

The city’s chief of policy and planning, Michael Kineavy, said the creation of the task force was not in response to concerns over alleged voting rights violations.

But Lydia Lowe, the executive director of the Chinese Progressive Association, scoffed at his assertion.

“I think it is not a coincidence the task force was created and announced three days after the lawsuit was filed, and in fact it was announced in a statement by the mayor in which he directly talked about fighting the lawsuit,” said Lowe.

Lowe criticized the administration for failing to include her group, which has been the main group working on voter education and registration in Chinatown in recent years, on the task force. Many of the most egregious allegations of voting rights violations occurred in Chinatown during the 2003 elections.

“I think it shows a less than sincere effort to work on remedies to voting rights problems,” said Lowe.

Task force member Giovanna Negretti said she hopes the group, which is expected to meet regularly until mid-December, pushes public policy changes.

“My expectation is… we don’t just focus on this election, though it is an important one,” said Negretti, executive director of the Latino political group ¿Oiste?. “I would put on the table same-day registration, multilingual voting machines and other long-term measures.”

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‘We cannot be silent’
City Councilors ask mayor to settle voter rights lawsuit.

METRO-Boston

Christina Wallace

August 23, 2005

Boston Four Boston City Councilors publicly asked Mayor Thomas Menino yesterday to settle a lawsuit with U.S. department of Justice alleging voter discrimination, arguing that an expensive legal battle is wasteful and city officials have a responsibility to protect residents’ right to vote.

“Every citizen who wishes to participate in an election in the city has the right to do so without obstacles,” said Councilor Felix D. Arroyo, who was joined by Councilor Chuck Turner, Maura Hennigan and Charles Yancey. “We cannot be silent as a city and wait for a process that may take months and may take a lot of funds.”

In July, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the city of Boston, alleging that Hispanic and Asian voters were impeded in their attempts to vote. They cited inadequate numbers of bilingual poll workers, insufficient election material translated into Spanish, Chinese and Vietnamese, and improper coaching of voters with limited English proficiency.

“In order to fix a problem, you first have to admit there is a problem,” said Hennigan, who is running against Menino in the mayoral race. “For the city to fight this lawsuit is counterproductive to resolve this problem.”

The suit names all the Boston City Councilors, along with the mayor. Turner, Hennigan, Arroyo and Yancey have retained their own attorney. None of the other city councilors have taken their stances.

Councilor Jerry McDermott said yesterday he believes his colleagues are premature in asking to settle the case when the facts haven’t even been laid out by the federal government. He thinks Boston had a strong history of protecting voter rights and will prevail in the end.

“I’m surprised by their actions. I think they are unwittingly playing into the hands of a Republican Justice Department,” McDermott said.

McDermott, who represents the Allston-Brighton neighborhood, said he has never received complaints of voter discrimination.

A spokesman for Menino said the Department of Justice has not provided adequate information or facts to back up the allegations and, therefore, the city cannot settle the case.

“The legal complaint does not prove any specific examples of things that need to be remedied,’ Seth Gitell said. “For that reason the city cannot agree to sign any document.’

The city translates election materials into seven languages (two are required by law), and continues to recruit bilingual poll workers, according to Gitell.

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Council's division grows over alleged voting violations

Boston Globe
Adrienne P. Samuels

August 23, 2005

The City Council splintered further yesterday over alleged city voting violations, with one side pushing for a settlement of a federal complaint and the other accusing their colleagues of election-year posturing.

Councilors Felix D. Arroyo, Charles Yancey, Maura Hennigan, and Chuck Turner issued a wish list of actions they hope would mitigate Department of Justice allegations that the city has discriminated against voters with limited English skills.

At a City Hall news conference yesterday, they called for developing a plan that includes recruiting, hiring, and training an adequate number of bilingual poll workers; making translated elections materials widely available; providing a method of feedback for voters with limited English skills; and placing curtains at every voting booth to ensure privacy.

They also announced plans to work with attorney Nadine Cohen of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law to try to convince the city to work out an agreement with the Justice Department.

The Justice Department filed a voting rights lawsuit against the city last month, asking it to create a program providing the city's voters with limited English skills a chance to fully participate in the election process.

Cohen said she wants Mayor Thomas M. Menino and the rest of the council to discuss potential remedies to the lawsuit.

''The councilors are saying that it would not be in anyone's interest to have a long, drawn-out legal battle," said Cohen. ''It'd make sense for both sides to sit down and come up with an agreement."

But other members of the council say they want more proof before admitting to guilt.

Councilor Jerry McDermott said it's not surprising that Hennigan, Yancey, Turner, and Arroyo joined on the issue. McDermott and other councilors said they would be happy to talk with the Justice Department once they are given specific examples of election wrongdoing.

Councilor Rob Consalvo said the city is working on improving the situation for voters with limited English skills. The bigger issue, he said, is the election in November. ''I don't support what my colleagues are doing," Consalvo said. ''Bottom line is we should be rolling up our sleeves and getting the facts instead of politically grandstanding in an election year."

Turner said the issue is ''not about politics."

And Arroyo said the city has been working toward fixing some of the issues, but needs to erase even the hint of doubt in this situation. ''We cannot just be silent," said Arroyo.

Hennigan, who is running for mayor but says the voting issue is apolitical, said the city should examine itself. ''You have to admit there is a problem," Hennigan said. ''For the city to fight this lawsuit is counterproductive."

Department of Justice officials would not comment on the case, or on the tiff between the councilors. It is unclear what will happen now that four councilors have retained their own lawyer in the matter.

Adrienne Samuels can be reached at asamuels@globe.com.

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Four councilors set to ask city to settle US antibias voting suit

Boston Globe
Maria Sacchetti

August 22, 2005

Four Boston city councilors today are expected to urge the city to settle a federal lawsuit alleging discrimination against Hispanic and Asian voters with limited English skills, setting off a firestorm on a council divided over the issue.

The move is in response to a lawsuit filed last month by the US Department of Justice accusing the city and its poll workers of interfering with the voting rights of limited-English residents, treating them disrespectfully, and failing to provide adequate interpreters. All 13 city councilors are named in the lawsuit, along with Mayor Thomas M. Menino, but most did not support the effort to back down from the department's lawsuit.

According to Councilors Felix D. Arroyo, the only Latino on the panel, and Maura Hennigan, they, along with Chuck Turner and Charles Yancey, sent a letter to the mayor and the rest of the councilors last week urging them to abide by a set of recommendations by the Chinese Progressive Association, a Greater Boston nonprofit group that has raised concerns about the shortage of bilingual workers and election materials. Several community groups back their efforts.

The recommendations the group is expected to unveil at a news conference today urge the city to: recruit and train enough bilingual poll workers to help Hispanic and Asian voters; translate all ballots, voting instructions, and other materials into other languages; create a task force to monitor the translations and other changes; and set up a way for limited-English voters to provide comments or complaints.

''This is something you want done before the elections. The sooner the better," Arroyo said. ''What is in play here is the ability and the right to vote."

Turner and Yancey could not be reached yesterday for comment. Hennigan is running for mayor. Arroyo said that he is not taking sides in the election and that the concern over voters' rights should not be viewed as partisan politics.

Most city councilors did not back the effort. Some said they are still waiting for Justice Department officials to provide more detail about the allegations.

''I'm bewildered, to be honest," said John Tobin. ''This is America, after all. I think we're entitled to know who our accusers are."

Councilor Paul J. Scapicchio said it would be irresponsible to push for a settlement before the accusations are clear.

''When you are served with a lawsuit you don't agree with, the last thing in the world that any public official should do . . . is to admit guilt," he said. ''We don't have any specifics."

A Justice official had no comment yesterday. Department lawyers asked the US District Court in Massachusetts to order the city to come up with a plan to address the issues and to appoint federal examiners to monitor city elections through 2007.

City officials said yesterday that they have refused to settle the lawsuit because the Department of Justice has not given details on the alleged violations. After the lawsuit was filed, Menino named a task force to boost the number of bilingual poll workers in Boston.

Michael Kineavy, Boston's chief of policy and planning, said the city is already working to fix many of the concerns the councilors and the community groups have raised. This year, for example, voter-instruction signs will be in seven languages -- Spanish, English, Haitian Creole, Cape Verdean Creole, Russian, Vietnamese, and Chinese-- by the Sept. 27 preliminary elections.

The city is using fliers, community meetings, and e-mail to recruit as many as 500 bilingual poll workers to be included among the 1,500 workers needed for the coming elections. The city will for the first time set up a telephone hot line at each polling station to connect voters to interpreters, if one is unavailable in person. The services will also be available during the Nov. 8 general election.

''We always appreciate the council's perspective. But in this case, from the suggestions that we've seen via the list, most of them are in the works or are being attended to in some fashion," Kineavy said. ''We're working on them or we're talking about them. We've had discussions on most of those things."

The timing of the federal lawsuit and the local attention to it have spurred grumbling that people are trying to make political hay from it. But the Chinese Progressive Association, which has registered hundreds of voters in Chinatown, said concerns about voters' rights have simmered at least since 2003. Lydia Lowe, the association's executive director, said she has repeatedly expressed concern about the shortage of interpreters, especially for the elderly, who struggle to cast their votes on their own or to comprehend ballot statements.

''It's just crazy the way that this has unfolded into some kind of political struggle," Lowe said. ''If we all believe in ensuring voters' rights, that's what we should be doing."

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So greasy, but oh-so fuel efficient

West Roxbury/Roslindale Transcript

Carolyn McKibbin

August 4, 2005

At-Large City Councilor Felix Arroyo is proving one cook's used vegetable oil is another person's transportation.

     Along with his re-election team and a caravan of 10 alternative energy activists, Arroyo visited several restaurants in Boston Saturday, including Viva Mi Arepa and West on Centre in West Roxbury, in cars and a bus powered by this dark, caramel-colored liquid. On this "Tour de French Fries," Arroyo acknowledged restaurant owners for their contributions with an official City Council resolution.

     "It is an issue of the environment, of the ozone layer, and of respiratory diseases and their connection to pollutants and the gas that we use," said Arroyo. "And it is also about the economy."

     Arroyo converted his own 1985 Volkswagen Jetta to run on vegetable oil.

     "I just went to the Cape last night, all on grease, and tonight I'm driving back and I won't have to refuel," said Arroyo. "I ended up spending $2 on diesel and the rest was free."

     "Grease" is what Arroyo would like to see as the fuel of the future for cars, trucks, industrial vehicles and public transportation. It is an environmentally friendly, sustainable and cost-effective alternative to petroleum-based fuels, and he is proposing citywide use of recycled vegetable oil and its close relative, biodiesel fuel.

     Both types of fuel can only be used on converted diesel engines, grease requiring diesel fuel for a moment to get the engine started. Biodiesel is a combination of 20 percent diesel and 80 percent used vegetable oil, and is already becoming popular in Europe where more than two-thirds of vehicles have diesel engines.

     Possible drawbacks to the fuels are its limited performance in cold weather, and the fact that so few Americans drive diesel-powered cars capable for conversion.

     Jamie Merkle and Patrick Keaney, founders of the alternative energy conversion company GreenGreaseMonkey in Jamaica Plain (Keaney is also Arroyo's campaign manager), led the caravan, showing people how the process works.

First, they take the discarded vegetable oil and filter out any French fry pieces or doughnuts that may have escaped in the cooking process. Then they pour the recycled fuel into an over-sized, red plastic grease tank placed in the trunk of a converted car. Merkle and Keaney charge $1,200 to convert a car, and also offer help in finding and tuning-up old diesel cars for conversion.

     "There are three other companies in the U.S. doing this, and we cost less," said Merkle, standing in front of the green converted school bus adorned with Arroyo's campaign slogan. "Our mission is to get people involved."

     After the initial conversion expense, transportation costs dwindle to the price of a bit of diesel to turn the engine. Whereas regular, gas-guzzling SUVs may get 10 or 12 miles to the gallon - and right now the price of gasoline bounces around $2.30 - some converted vehicles can get 35 to 40 miles per gallon. The restaurants on Saturday's Tour de French Fries donate their oil for free.

     Hence Arroyo's thrifty weekend drives to the Cape.

     In a hot kitchen and smiling from the commemoration, Edner Trenteetum, owner of West Roxbury's Venezuelan restaurant Viva Mi Arepa, explained how he used to pay $50 a week to dispose of his used vegetable oil. (And if you know good Venezuelan cooking, its arepas, empanadas and fried plantains, you know this is a greasy business.) Now, every two weeks, he hands over 20 gallons of oil to Arroyo's cause.

     "I want to help the city and keep it clean," said Trenteetum, inside this cozy family establishment with canary-yellow walls, where the smell of fried cooking keeps the senses alert.

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What’s on tap for Beacon Hill?  Lead in the Water

Boston Metro

Greg St. Martin

August 4, 2005

Councilor Felix Arroyo to convene health and city officials to discuss the issue

Concerned about the amount lead running through water faucets in homes around Boston, City Councilor at large Felix Arroyo yesterday filed a hearing order to bring together health and city officials to discuss the issue.

Arroyo said even small traces of lead are potentially harmful, especially to young children and pregnant women, and he wants to take action including doubling the amount of annual water lead tests in Boston.

“There’s no reversal, the only remedy is to avoid it, so time is of the essence,” Arroyo said.

Dangerous lead levels

The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority serves 47 communities in the state, with Boston being its largest customer.  According to the MWRA, bi-annual testing samples collected in March and April 2005 show that 91 percent of the targeted high-risk homes in the state had lead levels equal to or below the Lead Action Level of 15 parts per billion (ppb), which meets the requirement of at least 90 percent.  In June 1992, state levels were at 71 ppb.

However, Boston samples were found to be above the required level.  Arroyo is recommending that MWRA customers be given water lead-testing for free, the number of MWRA annual water tests in Boston be increased from 50 to 100 and a map of known or suspected lead services lines be provided to the public.

Health officials agree that MWRA water doesn’t initially have lead in it, but rather the lead is picked up in the pipes on its way to homes.  Ed Coletta, spokesman for the state’s Department of Environmental Protection, said old plumping and infrastructure is one of the reasons lead deposits end up in the drinking water.

“The structures haven’t been updated in many years,” he said.

It doesn’t matter where it is coming from,” Arroyo said.  “The fact is it is there.”

A spokesman for the Boston Water & Sewer Commission could not be reached for comment.

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Celebrating Puerto Rican veterans

South End News

Chris Orchard

July 28, 2005

At-large City Councillor Felix Arroyo, among other things, can belt out the Puerto Rican national anthem with a remarkably pure voice. Standing at a podium at the corner of Washington and West Dedham streets on July 25, Puerto Rico’s constitution Day, Arroyo sang the anthem to a large crowd gathered to dedicate Puerto Rican Veterans’ Square.

              Arroyo, who is Puerto Rican, seemed touched by the dedication. Speaking in Spanish, he voiced pride for the sacrifices Puerto Rican veterans have made to the United States, and for the overall role Puerto Rican’s have played in the development of the country.

              ‘My father was a veteran of the Second World War,” Arroyo told  the crowd, adding that his father never accepted pension money for serving in the military because he felt, on principle, it had been his duty to serve. Looking at the newly installed street sign at this corner, which officially designates the corner at Puerto Rican Veterans’ Square, Arroyo said, softly, “Here father here is your square.”

              “It’s a proud moment for Puerto Ricans,” said Vanessa Calderón-Rosado, executive director of Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción, whose father served in Korea.

              A number of elected officials also gathered to celebrate the occasion. Mayor Thomas Menino, State Rep. Jefferey Sanchez, Elizabeth Malia of Jamaica Plain and Linda Dorcena Forry of Dorchester. District 2 Councilor Michael Ross, mayoral candidate Maura Hennigan and At-Large city councilor candidate Ed Flynn all attended. Hennigan distinguished herself by declaring, “Yo quiero ayudar la comunidad latina (I want to help the Latino Community)”and”…Viva Puerto Rico!” Flynn, meanwhile, who is the only city councilor at-large candidate to have served in the military said, “I have a lot of respect for the Puerto Rican community and their contributions to Boston and the country…they’re brave. They’re patriotic, and they love our country.”

              Speaking about Puerto Rican veterans, Menino said, “They went out and did their job to make sure we have the freedom we enjoy in this country.” Menino also thanked the leadership of the Puerto Rican community in Boston, noting the city’s diversity. “Boston is a different city than it was 20 years ago,” he said.

              Puerto Rican Veterans’ Square was officially creatd march 30, when the Boston City Council voted unanimously to dedicat the corner of Washington ad West Dedham streets to Puerto Rican veterans; the resolution was proposed by Arroyo.

              A bronze plaque now sits at the site, a small fenced-in prark ear the Balckjston Elembetary School. Written in Spanish, the plaque describes the history of the Army’s 65th infantry, an all-Puerto Rican unit, formed in 1899, that made a name for itself in the Korean War. In addition to the current plaque, the square caretaker’s are planning to erect flagpoles and a large base for the plaque.

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Puerto Rican veterans honored with square

Boston Banner

Yawu Miller

July 28, 2005

The bronze plaque commemorating the 65th Infantry Regiment at the corner of West Dedham and Washington streets was flanked by red, white and blue carnations in the shape of the Puerto Rican and American flags.

The plaque — dedicated to an all-Puerto Rican regiment — showed the duality that reflects the island’s sometimes conflicting status as a U.S. territory with a strong national identity.

There was profusion of hand-held Puerto Rican flags blowing in the breeze as emcee Gumercindo Gomez called for a singer to recite the U.S. national anthem.

When the singer failed to materialize, the crowd stood in with a spirited recitation of the Puerto Rican national anthem lead by the tenor voice of City Councilor Felix Arroyo.

While the event, was decidedly Puerto Rican, it was the sacrifice Puerto Rican service men and women made for the U.S. that brought several dozen mostly Puerto Rican activists to the street corner.

Above their heads a small blue sign marked the corner as Puerto Rican Veterans Square, the first square in the United States dedicated to the men and women from the Caribbean island who served in this country’s military.

“They represent our culture and a commitment,” Arroyo told the audience. “They risked their lives for our nation to be able to continue the experiment of democracy. Maybe some of the wars were unnecessary, but that doesn’t matter right now. What matters is that they answered the call.”

Arroyo, who has attended many anti-war demonstrations in recent years, recalled his own father’s service in World War II, underscoring the willingness of Puerto Ricans to serve a country that took their island by military force more than 100 years ago.

Vietnam veteran Tony Molina, who has lobbied for the monument and designation of the square, said people have often asked him why the square is dedicated Puerto Ricans as a whole, rather than to one heroic soldier.

“I tell them, out of 200,000 veterans, ‘which one do I select to put his name up there? They’re all heroes.’”

The ceremony officially kicked off this city’s Puerto Rican week, which will culminate with a festival Friday through Sunday in Franklin Park. On Sunday morning, a parade will make its way from Malcolm X Boulevard to Franklin Park.

Monday’s event brought out state representatives, city councilors and Mayor Thomas Menino.

“Those men and women gave of themselves,” Menino said. “We’re here today to say thank you.”

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Drop out problem has not been addressed
EL MUNDO Newspaper
July 7, 2005


Ten years ago when El Mundo Newspaper launched the first Latino Youth Recognition Day at Fenway Park, the major force in developing the event in collaboration with the Boston Red Sox was the fact that Latino students had the highest drop out rate in the Commonwealth. At that time there was much concern about this alarming statistic.

This past week, Boston City Councilor Felix Arroyo has, to his credit, put the issue back on the table by calling for public hearings to discuss what continues to be Boston's high drop out rate. Arroyo is seeking to put to the test the effectiveness of the Boston School Departments drop out prevention programs and to explore major reforms aimed at increasing the number of students who successfully complete high school and leave with diploma in hand.

In the past two years, the attrition rate of high school students in the City of Boston has risen to an appalling 36% of students between grades nine and twelve. This increase brings the number of students who drop out to the highest it's been in the past six years. Even worse for our community is the fact that the drop out rate is even higher for Latino students, and that it is not just a city problem, but rather a statewide epidemic. This disheartening situation is prevalent throughout the Commonwealth, and particularly in cities in towns that are predominantly Latino.

El Mundo supports Arroyo for bringing much needed attention to this severe problem. Holding public hearings on a citywide basis is not the only answer, but it is a very good beginning. We believe it is one that should be replicated and expanded all over Massachusetts. El Mundo encourages community activists and local elected officials such as Arroyo, to continue to focus on this problem and look for concrete measures to reverse this unsettling trend. We believe that this issue has been overlooked for far too long, and thus have done a disservice to our children.

As we prepare for the first of three Latino Youth Recognition Days (July 20th, August 9th and September 1st), we do so feeling proud of the hardworking and deserving public school students who have been selected for this honor by their teachers and principals. However we cannot ignore the growing concern that we feel for the educational system that is failing to meet the needs of too many of these brilliant students’ peers.  Ten years have passed since we first brought attention to the importance of excelling in school via our first LYRD ceremony. But way too much time has passed since community leaders, educators and politicians have taken seriously the growing problem of the increasing drop out rate of Latino students. You are right Felix Arroyo; the time to address this issue is long overdue.

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A push for ‘tenant’s rights’ spurs tenant rally

Jamaica Plain Bulletin

Will Jason

June 30, 2005

The owners of hundreds of housing units in Mattapan and Hyde Park agreed to meet with tenants following a protest on a sweltering Saturday in Dudley Square outside the office of property owners, The Mayo Group.

Three days later, four City Councilors met with Mayo representatives, who agreed to a future meeting with tenants. “I don’t know what will be the result of discussion but at least it’s an open door for dialogue,” said City Councilor Felix Arroyo, who joined Councilors Chuck Turner, Charles Yancey and Maura Hennigan, the Jamaica-Plain based City Life/Vida Urbana organization and the Mattapan Community Development Corporation (CDC) at the protest last weekend.

Organized by City Life, the protesters called on Mayo to negotiate long-term agreements concerning the leases of all its tenants. The tenants of six buildings owned by Mayo already have agreements in place, but at least eight buildings do not, a fact that the protestors hope to change.

According to Steve Meacham, a tenant organizer for City Life, the agreements are necessary to protect tenants from displacement in cases where their own work to improve their communities leads to increased property values and rents.

“Collective bargaining is one way to insure that the people who did the work get the benefits,” Meacham said.

Mayo president John McGrail argued before the protest that because only 13 out of the group’s hundreds of tenants have seen rent increases, negotiations should take place individually rather than collectively.

“Every case is different and I like to deal with them on a case-by-case basis,” McGrail said. Justifying previous agreements, McGrail said that the rental market has changed.

“Rents have decreased significantly from four years ago,” McGrail said.

However, according to Meacham, agreements could provide important protections before neighborhood improvements cause another spike in housing costs. “It’s exactly at the moment that the market is less hot that’s the right time to negotiate,” Meacham said.

According to McGrail only seven of the 13 tenants facing rent increases have not resolved their situations. At the meeting with City Councilors, he suggested that the seven tenants obtain legal counsel from a service based at Harvard Law School. It is unclear whether future negotiations will take place individually or collectively, but Councilor Arroyo emphasized the importance of bringing tenants together.

“When you are a tenant and you negotiate on your own you don’t know what’s going on and you might be intimidated,” Arroyo said. “Tenants are trying to establish a process in which they include their concerns and work with the concerns of the landlords,” he added.

All rent increases took place at 760 Cummins Highway, where a spike of at least $300 was reported. McGrail said that he was forced to increase rents in certain cases because of rising costs, including oil prices that doubled and natural gas bills that went up by 40 to 50 percent. “What happens to the market happens to us as well,” McGrail said.

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Access to Improve At Back Bay Station

Boston Courant

Daniel Friedman

June 27, 2005

              Advocates for the disabled met with city and state officials last Tuesday at Back Bay Station, winning promises of steps to improve handicapped access there and at other Boston transit stops.

              John Marshall, president of the residents’ organization at Tent City, an apartment building on Dartmouth Street that houses many disabled residents, told the group that taxis parked in bus zones frequently block buses from parking adjacent to curbs at Back Bay station, forcing wheel chair users to exit onto the street rather than the sidewalk.  They must then move through traffic to find the nearest curb cut to reach the sidewalk.

              Snow banks also often block disabled resident’ access to sidewalks, Marshall noted, as do newspaper boxes. A Boston ordinance prohibits news boxes from obstructing traffic or pedestrians at bus stops.

              Marshall said that accessibility improvements at Back Bay Station could serve as a model for Back Bay Station could serve as a model for upgrades at bus stops and major transit stations around the city, where similar problems exist.

              “No additional legislation is needed,” he added.  “It’s a matter of enforcement …  There has not been enforcement here on any these issues.”

              Tom Tinlin, acting commissioner of the Boston Transportation and Daniel Grabauskas, general manager of the MBTA, said the agencies would cooperate to prohibit cabs and news boxes from obstructing access to train stations.  Within hours of meeting, MBTA crews had moved about 20 news boxes in front of Back Bay Station and replaced a missing sign designating the bus stop area.  Transit officers also began prohibiting cabs from stopping in the bus stop.

              Jesse Perrier, executive secretary of the Independent Taxi Owners Association, said he would work with the city to ensure disabled access at transit stops, as did newspaper distributors from the Boston Herald and Boston Phoenix.  

              At large City Councilor Felix Arroyo, who organized the meeting, stated that he plans to hold a City Council hearing in July to establish a permanent task force to study disabled access in the city. The group would facilitate cooperation between agencies to fill gaps in enforcement laws governing disabled access, he said, and might also suggest new regulations.

              Stephen Spinetto, Boston’s disability commissioner, noted in a phone interview that the city is currently working with the MBTA to make train stations such as Charles Street Station accessible.

              Throughout the transit system, wheelchair users often get their wheels caught in gaps between the train and platforms, particularly on the Orange Line according to Helen Hendrickson, a project manager for the Boston Center for Independent Living, an organization for the disabled.  Yellow tactile tape used to mark the edges of train platforms also frequently does not extend all the way to the sides of the platform, endangering residents with vision problems, Hendrickson added.

              Grabauskas said the MBTA would survey yellow tapein the stations and repair it as quickly as possible.  He called accessibility for the disabled a top priority. “Hold me to my word,” he added.

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Arroyo to Explore “Affordability” of Affordable Housing

South End News

Political Notes

June 23, 2005

At a City Council meeting held June 15, At-Large Councilor Felix Arroyo filed a hearing order, signed onto by all other councilors, to discuss how affordable housing is defined in the City of Boston.  In defining “affordability,” Boston housing agencies have adopted the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development definition of “low income” as those earning no more than 80 percent of the $82,600 estimated “median family income for the Boston metro area.” 

However, using this definition significantly limits the effectiveness of the city’ affordable housing programs and their accessibility to truly low income individuals by failing to include non-family households (e.g. elderly residents living alone) and by including the entire Boston metro area (city and towns such as Newton, Lexington, and Weston) rather than limiting the pool to residents of Boston.

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Disabled Call for Enforcement

Arroyo to form task on accessibility

South End News

Linda Rodriguez

June 23, 2005

On Tuesday morning, At-Large City Councilor Felix D. Arroyo met with representatives of the disabled community, the MBTA, the Boston Transportation Department, the Independent Taxi Operators Association, newspaper distribution departments and the Boston Center for Independent Living at the Back Bay MBTA station to discuss ways to make the station more accessible for physically disabled and mobility challenged people.

John Marshall of the Tent City Residents United Association, himself in a wheelchair and the constituent who initially approached Arroyo with his concerns, presented the issue facing disabled people in front of the station.  In diplomatic terms Marshall detailed the lack of enforcement of traffic and taxi regulations on Dartmouth Street in front of the station, with taxis parking in handicap parking areas and making it difficult for buses to reach the curb and access areas; the over-abundance of newspaper distribution boxes ling the curb in front of the bus stop, forcing buses to let disabled passengers far from the curb; and the lack of accessible “curb cuts,” dips in the curb for wheelchair access.

“It’s a matter of enforcement,” he said of the taxis lined up in the bus stop’s space and in the handicap parking areas near the Dartmouth Street and Columbus Avenue intersection. “In the short time that we’ve been here today, you can see there’s been no enforcement.”

While there, the assembled group was able to witness first hand some of the difficulties mobility challenged individuals have in navigating the Back Bay station:  The Ride carrying an elderly woman was unable to find a space clear enough of newspaper boxes to let down the access ramp to the curb.  The driver got out of the vehicle and escorted her to the curb, walking carefully through a narrow gap between two banks of newspaper distribution boxes.

“It’s with these issues that we are asking for your assistance,” said Marshall gesturing to the bus and the newspaper boxes.

Though a number of improvements to the area have been made, including the traffic light at Dartmouth Street and the station being turned own six months ago, more is needed to ensure both the safety and access of mobility-challenged individuals, said Marshall.  While additional legislation is not needed, he said, enforcement is.

“We’re here today partially because there has been a tremendous cooperation on the part of the T and the City of Boston,” he said.  “We’ll be using this station as an example.”

Dan Grabauskas, general manager of the MBTA, Boston Transportation Department Commissioner Tom Tinlin, Jesse Perrier of the Independent Taxi Operators Association, and several representatives from local newspapers, including the Boston Herald, the Phoenix, and Bay Windows pledged their support to participate in a cooperative task force proposed by Arroyo.

“People who are physically challenged are often invisible to the rest of us in terms of access … I know that individually, each one of us cares to do our piece, but we need coordination,” said Arroyo. The proposed task force would attempt to organize the services represented by the assembled group and deal with issues presented by physically disabled constituents.

“Everything you say is not only reasonable by what we should be doing,” Grabauskas said in agreement.  “You have my personal commitment.”

“Hold me to my word,” Grabauskas told Marshall after the meeting.  (The boxes were gone and the taxis cleared of the area by the following day).

“Sometimes I wish people in authority would spend a week in wheelchair, looking at the word from the perspective,” said Marshall.

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Agencies can stay put, for now

Church won't close for six more months

Boston Globe

Christina Pazzanese

June 19, 2005

News that Holy Trinity Church will stay open six more months before closing permanently comes as a welcome relief for the two social service agencies operating from the building, while rekindling anger and apprehension among parishioners.

The Rev. Hugh O'Regan told worshipers last Sunday that the Archdiocese of Boston has decided to keep the parish open until Dec. 15 to give the Cardinal Medeiros Center and Bridge Over Troubled Waters more time to relocate.

Terrence Donilon, archdiocese spokesman, said the decision to postpone the closure to accommodate the two agencies was a compromise between contradictory interests. ''You try to balance the needs of the archdiocese with the needs of multiple entities," he said. ''These two groups provide an important social service function."

However, O'Regan, the church's administrator, warned that if the agencies move out before then, he will choose a new closing date. O'Regan, who said he has been given ''a certain amount of latitude" over the closing by the archdiocese, promised parishioners that the church on Shawmut Avenue would stay open through Christmas if the two agencies were still there on or close to Dec. 15.

''We kind of feel like this six months gives us a chance to really go out and look in the community for what we need," said Joseph McPherson, director of housing and homeless services for Kit Clark Senior Services, which runs the center.

McPherson said the agency needs close to 4,000 square feet to continue serving homeless people age 45 and over. The day center offers lunch, substance abuse clinics, mental health care, and other services. Most clients stay nearby at the Pine Street Inn or Long Island Shelter.

''Ideally, we'd like to stay close to the shelters," said McPherson. ''The South End is a booming area right now, and there's just not any space." The center, which has been paying only utility costs for the past 21 years, cannot afford market rents, he said.

Though grateful for additional time, Shiela Moore, who recently started as executive director, said that finding space for Bridge's transitional living facility for teens and young adults will be a major challenge. The agency has operated from the former church rectory since 1988 and pays only for utilities and upkeep.

Moore expects to need at least $1 million to acquire and outfit a 30,000-square-foot residence. The facility's 17 residents need to be close to schools, workplaces, and public transportation, she said.

''Historically, the South End has been a gateway for many groups, so seeing these kinds of services being closed, we see a loss of commitment to those people," said City Councilor Felix Arroyo, who helped broker the extension and is helping find new space for the programs. ''The South End needs these kinds of services."

Many parishioners leaving the church Sunday were annoyed to first hear of the extension from the media. ''I wish there was open communication," said Barbara Bridge. ''The essence of our sadness is that they don't talk to us."

Holy Trinity was established in 1844 by German immigrants and is the last Catholic parish in New England to regularly celebrate Mass in German, according to O'Regan and parishioners. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places last month, which parishioners hope will prevent demolition of the Gothic structure when it goes on the market Oct. 1.

Parishioners widely believe the church was the first in New England to celebrate rituals such as Christmas trees and carols.

''We are known as the Christmas parish. It would be horrible to close us down on Dec. 15," said George Krim, musical director for 50 years and now the associate organist and German choir director. Krim was skeptical the promise to stay open through Christmas would be kept.

The church also hosts a Latin Mass, drawing 350 people each week, according to Parish Council member Kathy Stone. Stone said many will not attend when services are moved to St. James the Greater in Chinatown because of insufficient parking.

Last Sunday, about 40 members of the Holy Trinity Drum and Bugle Cadets who played in the 1950s reunited outside the church to play ''The Lord's Prayer" and ''You'll Never Walk Alone." ''The church played a part in getting kids off the streets," said band leader Phil Martin. ''We just wanted to say thank you and goodbye."

Christina Pazzanese can be reached at cpazzanese@globe.com. 

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One Leg Can't Stop Him

The Daily Free Press

By Julien Pfyffer

11/12/04

 

A Peruvian native, who completed a 3,562-mile walk from Boston to Miami in June despite having a prosthetic leg, said at City Hall Wednesday morning that he traveled down the East Coast to prove disabled individuals can exceed public expectations.

Julio Montoya, 35, lost his right leg after walking over a landmine in July 1999 while on duty in the Peruvian army. Montoya walked the coast with no sponsors or medical assistance and said after years of rehabilitation he wanted to prove a disabled person can assume any challenge.

"For the first time in American history a physically challenged man attempt[ed] such a trip, not for trying to raise money or to improve his image," Montoya said. "I tried to make the best thing that someone can experience: to raise the power of people's spirit around the world."

Montoya, who left Boston on June 22 and reached Miami on Oct. 27, said society is materialistic and that a handicap such as his makes daily life much harder. He gained strength from the challenges he faced after his injury and increased his faith in disabled people's abilities.

"In our society, people are not living - they try to survive," Montoya said. "My two main goals are first to spread and to stimulate the spirit of achievement in our youth and the handicapped, and second, to motivate and encourage society to accept the handicapped as they are and value them for who they really are."

Montoya said accident victims around the world consider handicaps an end to their lives. He said many people considered his challenge "crazy" and "unrealistic."

City Councilor-At-Large Felix Arroyo said he thought the trip would be difficult, but that he had faith Montoya would complete his goal.

"We were not sure that [it] would be an easy trip," he said. "We knew he will face many challenges in America, but he was committed to do what became his challenge. He just had his will."

Montoya, who started his journey with $46, said his biggest problems were not financial, but rather with people along the journey who felt uncomfortable with his handicap.

"I was put in jail because I took off my prosthesis in front of a house - or some people who took me out from restaurants [because of the leg] or some people who did not like when I took off my prosthesis in front of them," he said. "[T]he hardest problem here is that people do not accept the difference."

When he arrived in Manhattan, Montoya said there was a distinct difference between those who understood his handicap and those who did not.

"I had an infection that had to be treated," Montoya said. "Mayor [Michael] Bloomberg paid me all the costs for three days in a hospital on Central Park, whereas people in the street did not even give some water. Without the help of the mayor, my trip was over."

Before walking the East Coast, Montoya had accomplished similar challenges by walking the coasts of Ecuador, Peru and Chile between August 2003 and February 2004.

"Julio is a hero," Arroyo said. "[He is] a humble hero, a determined hero, a real Latin American hero, a hero for the handicapped and for all of us, because his main thought of doing such a sacrifice was to make sure that we understand there is nothing that we cannot accomplish ... regardless of our handicap."

 

Five city councilors say they'll support new `rent control' bill

Boston Herald

By Jack Meyers

Wednesday, October 20, 2004

A proposal to put limits on rent hikes in Boston's high-priced real estate market - being formally filed today - has the support of at least five city councilors.

 

     The ordinance, a retooled version of a measure authored by Mayor Thomas M. Menino and shot down two years ago, also has the backing of some landlords who are alarmed at the exorbitant cost of Boston housing and the toll it takes on working-class families.

 

     ``Some of the increases being touted over the last couple years are unconscionable,'' said Mike Stella, a builder from Codman Square and a landlord with about 140 units in Boston. ``Wages for most workers just haven't gone up that much.''

 

     Stella said he had problems with Menino's proposal two years ago but supports the new plan.

 

      ``This is a pretty fair system,'' said Stella.

 

     The new proposal, backed by 70 tenant and community groups, would apply to existing landlords with seven or more units of rental housing. New construction would be exempt from the restrictions.

 

     Under the so-called Community Stabilization bill, tenants would be able to appeal rent increases of more than 10 percent per year to an administrative agency. Elderly, low-income and disabled tenants could appeal hikes of more than five percent per year.

 

     The measure is being filed by Councilor Felix Arroyo and co-sponsored by councilors Chuck Turner, Maura Hennigan, Charles Yancey and Mike Ross.

 

      Menino's spokesman was non-committal yesterday, but noted the mayor is aggressively pushing affordable housing.

 

     ``If the legislation passes, of course we'll take a look at it. It's remarkably similar to legislation the mayor filed two years ago,'' said Seth Gitell.

 

     Ted Jankowski, head of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, said, ``Trying to control rents is truly a vestige of the past.''

 

      Most big landlords are national companies, which will invest elsewhere if politicians start tinkering with the market, he said.

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Arroyo keeps pace with business

Allston-Brighton Tab

By Debra Filcman/ Correspondent

Friday, October 15, 2004

Last week marked Councilor At-Large Felix Arroyo's fifth walking tour of Boston's business districts. Following Arroyo's endeavors in West Roxbury, Dudley Square, Jamaica Plain, and Mission Hill, the councilor meandered down Washington Street in Brighton with his chief-of-staff, Jamie Willmuth, and Brighton Main Streets Executive Director Rosie Hanlon.

 

     "We're here today because we really want to offer ourselves as a resource to these businesses and to the neighborhood," said Arroyo. "And it's not a letter, not a phone call - we're here, face-to-face to talk to business owners to see if there's anything we can do to help them."

 

     The walking tours began this year as a way of reaching out to each community and seeing what sort of problems they are encountering, Arroyo said. "I'd really like to get a sense of what's common to each neighborhood and what's different, and see what we can do to improve things."

 

     And though each neighborhood has its distinctions, Arroyo found much in common in terms of business owners' concerns: construction; road conditions; lack of parking; and graffiti all ranked high on the collective list.

 

     With Hanlon playing the role of hostess in the neighborhood, Arroyo was ushered into more than a dozen Brighton establishments, where he noted the mix in ethnicity among businesses and their owners while observing the atmosphere with interest, both as councilor and potential customer.

 

     "My wife's birthday is coming up soon, and now I know where I can take her," Arroyo joked when he took a gander at Devlin's outdoor patio, where Hanlon pointed out the freshly grown herbs and recited the history of its creation and that of its neighbors.

 

     While most business owners were happy to see the councilor taking an active interest in their business and neighborhood, few made substantive complaints or raised any wealth of issues. Rather, Hanlon - who grew up in the neighborhood and is intimately familiar with all of its problem areas - was the one to utilize Arroyo's presence and ear, alerting him to issues of unkempt media boxes, street flooding and poorly lit parking lots, and suggesting ways to implement improvements.

 

     "City politics do not happen in offices, they happen on the street like this," Hanlon said. "I think this will be very productive. It's never really happened here before; we rarely see the officials that we elect, but we certainly encourage it."

 

     Added Arroyo: "And it's not even a campaign year!"

 

     After visiting a variety of businesses, ranging from Porter Belly's to Imperial Pizza, Platinum Insurance to Vanguard Realty, Arroyo noted that he was impressed with the condition of Brighton's commercial area. In particular, he noted the diversity in types of businesses and in the ethnicity of establishments and their owners.

 

     And, though Hanlon shares his pride and excitement, she harbors concerns about Brighton getting overlooked.

 

     "Allston-Brighton is always left out because people feel like we're doing so well," Hanlon said. "They always focus on inner-city issues, and I know that they are having a lot of trouble with gangs that I understand are reaching crisis level, but we, too, need to do something about our youth - keep them involved and active and off the streets."

 

     But, Hanlon concedes, that might be an issue for another visit. This Thursday was dedicated to the business district, which, Arroyo boasts, maintains local patronage amounting to between 70-90 percent of their business.

 

     "It's really important to me that our business districts recirculate the dollar," said Arroyo. "If these businesses do well, then the city does well, and that's why I want owners to know that my office is a resource to them, and so is Brighton Main Streets, which is doing an excellent job for the community."

 

     "But," he said, "on a day like today, walking around the neighborhood and enjoying the sun is a lot better than being in the office."

      

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Keeping the China in Chinatown

Tired of Being Dumped On, Chinatownies Mount Revolt

Weekly Dig

by Paul McMorrow

October 13, 2004

 

In the course of negotiating development deals with Boston's various neighborhood organizations, Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) Director Mark Maloney has made many promises to many communities. Concerned that some of these commitments may have been overlooked during the BRA's mad dash to dig and build, Maloney recently hired a deputy director of compliance, Christine Colley, who will be paid a reported $90,000 per year to act as a "promise-keeper" - essentially a walking, breathing post-it note - for Maloney.

Apparently wanting to give Colley a head start on her first day of work last week, a mass of Chinatown residents and city councilors greeted the promise-keeper at City Hall with a 16-foot-long scroll chronicling broken BRA promises. Joined by Councilors Felix Arroyo, Maura Hennigan and Chuck Turner (but not by Chinatown's district councilor, Jim Kelly), the Chinatown residents and their colleagues in the citywide anti-BRA Whose Boston? coalition showed that the promise-keeper has a good deal of work ahead of her by holding a press conference and then occupying the BRA's offices.

"I'm happy that the BRA is hiring a promise-keeper, because there are many promises that have been broken," said Henry Yee, co-chair of the Chinatown Resident Association (CRA). Standing in front of a sign that read, "Maybe it's our fault for trusting you too much," Yee said. "They have to start honoring what they commit to the community."

According to Lydia Lowe of the Chinese Progressive Association (CPA), despite the repeated insistence that the BRA wants to keep Chinatown working-class and affordable to longtime residents, Maloney's organization has repeatedly and consistently eroded the neighborhood's residential character, favoring institutional expansion and luxury high-rise towers (more than 3000 units and counting) that are pricing the Chinese out of Chinatown.

Ignoring a homeless man's vociferous request that the group "shut the fuck up," Felix Arroyo declared, "We cannot have an Authority making decisions on planning, because at the end of the day, they are not listening to the neighborhoods; they are listening to the developers, the ones who are funding the projects. It's about time that they realized they're not keeping their promises. We have a promise that we will keep: We will keep [Maloney] honest. We promise that we will not go away and will keep that promise."

Hennigan suggested that the BRA has been able to run roughshod over Chinatown residents because of a convenient marriage of the neighborhood's political impotence - few residents vote, and their district councilor seldom defends their interests - and the large profit margins created for both developers and the BRA (whose budget is comprised entirely of development fees, not taxpayer money) by extending the upscale downtown area at Chinatown's expense. The BRA's notoriously incestuous relationship with developers, Hennigan argued, pits the development authority against the neighborhoods it's supposed to serve.

"It is only by working together and demanding accountability from the BRA that we will succeed," Hennigan said, urging Boston's working-class neighborhoods to unite against unchecked development.

"The governmental system is supposed to protect the interests of all people, but that's very difficult in a world where money is king," Turner said. "If government doesn't make sure that the issues that affect the lives of ordinary citizens are dealt with fairly, democracy deteriorates into oligarchy."

Turner then laid siege to the BRA's lobby, leading the dozens of activists, many of them elderly, in a sit-in (and sometimes nap-in) designed to smoke Maloney and his promise-keeper out of their offices and force them to the table. Specifically, Turner and the CPA's Lowe sought a good-faith gesture from the BRA, in which the BRA would drop its opposition to the relocation of the CPA's offices to the new Chinatown mixed-use development The Metropolitan. The parcel had originally been slated for community space, but the BRA repeatedly backed bids (fought by the CPA) to construct a parking garage on the site. By allowing the CPA to move to The Metropolitan, Turner and Lowe argued, the BRA could signal new respect for Chinatown residents.

The problem was, Maloney was not in City Hall that day, and only a promise to meet the insurgents the next morning averted an all-night protest. However, Lowe and Turner emerged from their October 5 meeting with Maloney and his promise-keeper as disenchanted as they entered. In the world of the BRA, Lowe explained, a promise is a promise, except when it's inconvenient to the BRA.

"The whole community fought for this parcel under CPA leadership," Lowe said. "There was a longstanding vision for a community center on this site, and everybody in the community knew we would be a part of that. We're talking about keeping promises and showing respect to the community. The issue is respect. It's about not tricking and cheating the neighborhood; it's a question of whether a community organization can speak its mind about the BRA and not face retribution. We've been organizing people around defending Chinatown against gentrification, and that's why the BRA is not so supportive of us."

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Walk this way

West Roxbury and Roslindale Transcript

David L. Harris/ Staff Writer

October 7, 2004

Michael Barsamian, owner of Lord's and Lady's Hair Salon in West Roxbury, tipped City Councilor Felix Arroyo back in a sleek, black chair in his shop last Thursday morning.

 

     "It gives you a back massage," said Barsamian of the chair, designed specifically for shampooing.

 

     Arroyo, looking very relaxed, said, "I'm sold."

 

     Arroyo was at Lord's and Lady's on Belgrade Avenue in West Roxbury trying to understand Centre Street businesses inside and out as part of his citywide business district walking tour.

 

     Arroyo, wearing a dark pin-striped suit and tie, visited about 20 stores in what's slowly becoming known as the hotspot of West Roxbury, a part of the neighborhood that contains the former Decelle's store and the new art gallery, L'Essence.

 

     Barsamian told Arroyo that he invested $2 million into the building two years ago at the corner of Centre Street and Belgrade Avenue and was even contemplating about expanding into the Prudential Center.

 

     Arroyo explained that he supported neighborhood businesses like Barsamian's that hire neighborhood people. Arroyo not only visited a sample of the numerous small businesses that line Centre Street, he wanted to get the big picture.

 

     "What's going on?" he asked Kelly Tynan, executive director of West Roxbury Main Street.

 

     "Right now, there's a lot of change," said Tynan, mentioning the YMCA's recently announced expansion, recently announced development plans for the Decelle's property and the opening of Baby Belle, a children's clothing store on Centre Street. "We have a lot of stores opening up."

 

     Arroyo, a Hyde Park resident, nodded his head. "Small businesses give a vibrant sense to the community," he said. The day before, Arroyo toured Jamaica Plain's Centre Street business district.

 

     Arroyo was set to leave for Florida to help John Kerry's presidential campaign later in the afternoon, but on this morning, Arroyo's eyes were set on Boston.

 

     And so, Arroyo walked into shop after shop. From a hair salon to a tanning salon to a printing shop, he asked questions of the entrepreneurs, trying to get a feel for how the West Roxbury business climate was.

 

      He constantly praised business owners who pledged to hire mostly local people. "We're new here ... it's a new owner," said Vicky Nguyen of T&J Nails. "It's kind of slow this season for this kind of business."

 

     "You're lucky to be in this area," said Tynan. "This is the hotspot here."

 

     Arroyo then bounced into a lamp repair shop, chatting with Fix Masters owner Joseph Nikulin. Nikulin complained that there was inadequate parking, a nonstop topic on the casual stroll.

 

     "The parking's terrible here," said Nikulin. "The owners of the businesses on the other blocks park on my block, for example. They park [their] car not for two hours [the maximum time allowed], but eight or 10."

 

     Arroyo made note of the complaint and handed him a copy of a brochure with the city councilor's contact information.

 

     Frank LaPrise of Parkway Printing had similar gripes, but he was also frustrated with the tree in front of his storefront blocking his sign. "We advertised in the Yellow Pages and people can't find us," said the apron-wearing LaPrise.

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Walk this way

West Roxbury and Roslindale Transcript

David L. Harris/ Staff Writer

October 7, 2004

Michael Barsamian, owner of Lord's and Lady's Hair Salon in West Roxbury, tipped City Councilor Felix Arroyo back in a sleek, black chair in his shop last Thursday morning.

 

     "It gives you a back massage," said Barsamian of the chair, designed specifically for shampooing.

 

     Arroyo, looking very relaxed, said, "I'm sold."

 

     Arroyo was at Lord's and Lady's on Belgrade Avenue in West Roxbury trying to understand Centre Street businesses inside and out as part of his citywide business district walking tour.

 

     Arroyo, wearing a dark pin-striped suit and tie, visited about 20 stores in what's slowly becoming known as the hotspot of West Roxbury, a part of the neighborhood that contains the former Decelle's store and the new art gallery, L'Essence.

 

     Barsamian told Arroyo that he invested $2 million into the building two years ago at the corner of Centre Street and Belgrade Avenue and was even contemplating about expanding into the Prudential Center.

 

     Arroyo explained that he supported neighborhood businesses like Barsamian's that hire neighborhood people. Arroyo not only visited a sample of the numerous small businesses that line Centre Street, he wanted to get the big picture.

 

     "What's going on?" he asked Kelly Tynan, executive director of West Roxbury Main Street.

 

     "Right now, there's a lot of change," said Tynan, mentioning the YMCA's recently announced expansion, recently announced development plans for the Decelle's property and the opening of Baby Belle, a children's clothing store on Centre Street. "We have a lot of stores opening up."

 

     Arroyo, a Hyde Park resident, nodded his head. "Small businesses give a vibrant sense to the community," he said. The day before, Arroyo toured Jamaica Plain's Centre Street business district.

 

     Arroyo was set to leave for Florida to help John Kerry's presidential campaign later in the afternoon, but on this morning, Arroyo's eyes were set on Boston.

 

     And so, Arroyo walked into shop after shop. From a hair salon to a tanning salon to a printing shop, he asked questions of the entrepreneurs, trying to get a feel for how the West Roxbury business climate was.

 

      He constantly praised business owners who pledged to hire mostly local people. "We're new here ... it's a new owner," said Vicky Nguyen of T&J Nails. "It's kind of slow this season for this kind of business."

 

     "You're lucky to be in this area," said Tynan. "This is the hotspot here."

 

     Arroyo then bounced into a lamp repair shop, chatting with Fix Masters owner Joseph Nikulin. Nikulin complained that there was inadequate parking, a nonstop topic on the casual stroll.

 

     "The parking's terrible here," said Nikulin. "The owners of the businesses on the other blocks park on my block, for example. They park [their] car not for two hours [the maximum time allowed], but eight or 10."

 

     Arroyo made note of the complaint and handed him a copy of a brochure with the city councilor's contact information.

 

     Frank LaPrise of Parkway Printing had similar gripes, but he was also frustrated with the tree in front of his storefront blocking his sign. "We advertised in the Yellow Pages and people can't find us," said the apron-wearing LaPrise.

TOP

Walk this way

West Roxbury and Roslindale Transcript

David L. Harris/ Staff Writer

October 7, 2004

Michael Barsamian, owner of Lord's and Lady's Hair Salon in West Roxbury, tipped City Councilor Felix Arroyo back in a sleek, black chair in his shop last Thursday morning.

 

     "It gives you a back massage," said Barsamian of the chair, designed specifically for shampooing.

 

     Arroyo, looking very relaxed, said, "I'm sold."

 

     Arroyo was at Lord's and Lady's on Belgrade Avenue in West Roxbury trying to understand Centre Street businesses inside and out as part of his citywide business district walking tour.

 

     Arroyo, wearing a dark pin-striped suit and tie, visited about 20 stores in what's slowly becoming known as the hotspot of West Roxbury, a part of the neighborhood that contains the former Decelle's store and the new art gallery, L'Essence.

 

     Barsamian told Arroyo that he invested $2 million into the building two years ago at the corner of Centre Street and Belgrade Avenue and was even contemplating about expanding into the Prudential Center.

 

     Arroyo explained that he supported neighborhood businesses like Barsamian's that hire neighborhood people. Arroyo not only visited a sample of the numerous small businesses that line Centre Street, he wanted to get the big picture.

 

     "What's going on?" he asked Kelly Tynan, executive director of West Roxbury Main Street.

 

     "Right now, there's a lot of change," said Tynan, mentioning the YMCA's recently announced expansion, recently announced development plans for the Decelle's property and the opening of Baby Belle, a children's clothing store on Centre Street. "We have a lot of stores opening up."

 

     Arroyo, a Hyde Park resident, nodded his head. "Small businesses give a vibrant sense to the community," he said. The day before, Arroyo toured Jamaica Plain's Centre Street business district.

 

     Arroyo was set to leave for Florida to help John Kerry's presidential campaign later in the afternoon, but on this morning, Arroyo's eyes were set on Boston.

 

     And so, Arroyo walked into shop after shop. From a hair salon to a tanning salon to a printing shop, he asked questions of the entrepreneurs, trying to get a feel for how the West Roxbury business climate was.

 

      He constantly praised business owners who pledged to hire mostly local people. "We're new here ... it's a new owner," said Vicky Nguyen of T&J Nails. "It's kind of slow this season for this kind of business."

 

     "You're lucky to be in this area," said Tynan. "This is the hotspot here."

 

     Arroyo then bounced into a lamp repair shop, chatting with Fix Masters owner Joseph Nikulin. Nikulin complained that there was inadequate parking, a nonstop topic on the casual stroll.

 

     "The parking's terrible here," said Nikulin. "The owners of the businesses on the other blocks park on my block, for example. They park [their] car not for two hours [the maximum time allowed], but eight or 10."

 

     Arroyo made note of the complaint and handed him a copy of a brochure with the city councilor's contact information.

 

     Frank LaPrise of Parkway Printing had similar gripes, but he was also frustrated with the tree in front of his storefront blocking his sign. "We advertised in the Yellow Pages and people can't find us," said the apron-wearing LaPrise.

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Sit-in makes a tense first day for BRA's new 'promise keeper'

The Bulletins Newspaper

Matuya Brand

October 7, 2004

It wasn't a typical first day on the job: before the Boston Redevelopment

Authority's new deputy director for compliance, Christine Colley, even put

her coat down, the new "promise keeper," already faced a sit in led by City

Councilor Chuck Turner and a mob of angry Chinatown residents.

The sit-in began after the Chinatown Progressive Association, a

Chinese-American community empowerment group, decided to welcome the new BRA

staff member with a press conference and rally on the City Hall Plaza. Along

with Councilors Felix D. Arroyo, Chuck Turner, and Maura Hennigan, Whose

Boston Coalition, and other Boston community leaders, about 40 Chinatown

residents held signs with a laundry list of unkept agreements the community

had made with the BRA since 1988. "No more bad deals," read one sign, while

another said, "Maybe it's our own fault for trusting you too much."

Councilor Charles Yancey, who also supported the rally, was not present due

to an ongoing illness.

"We need to hire someone to remember the promises not kept of the promise

keeper to make sure not another promise is broken," said Councilor Arroyo.

Councilor Hennigan elaborated, stressing that unkept governmental promises

often take poor and non-native English speakers as victims. "They have to

fight twice as hard," she said. Hennigan worried that there would not be a

consensus regarding what "we think the promises are vs. the BRA's

interpretation. It's only by working together with democratic accountability

that we will succeed."

Henry Yee, co-chair of the Chinatown Resident Association and a member of

the South Bay Planning Study Task Force, was one resident who spoke up

through an interpreter, addressing the Chinatown Community Plan of 1990

which promised the expansion of affordable housing, and community jobs on

the Central Artery areas east of the neighborhood, promises which went

unfulfilled in exchange for luxury condominium and office space construction

in the area.

According to the BRA, the new position includes responsibility for following

through on all BRA promises made to the community since its inception in

1957.

Though the event was headed by angry Chinatown residents, the event was a

precedent for similar demands from other Boston groups in various

neighborhoods. "The BRA was created by the US Housing Act of 1949 to be sure that all

people residing in America have affordable, safe, decent housing, but it has

become exactly the opposite," said Shirley Kressel from the Alliance of

Boston Neighborhoods, citing an increase in gentrification and support for

the highest profit making uses of private and public land. "We've had half a

century of lies. Lets see if half a century of lies can be remedied," she

said.

Jamaica Plain's Mark Pedulla, a Tenant Organizer of City Life/ Vida Urbana,

and Luz Colon, from a tenant association on Terrace St. in Roxbury, had

their own list of unkept BRA promises. Pedulla addressed the group with

examples of these promises, including 25 Heath St., where the BRA approved

of zoning changes in an old brewery building allowing the owner to sell

luxury condos for a profit of $25 million and 319-321 Centre St., a property

which five community groups had negotiated 11 affordable housing units for

10 years, and which the BRA called the night of the deal saying that such a

level of charity was illegal and discriminated against high income tenants.

The BRA required that only two units were set aside for affordable housing,

as mandated by inclusionary zoning. "We disagree and our lawyers disagree

with this interpretation of the law," said Pedulla. "People don't deserve to

be forced out due to rising housing profits. We are here today to stand in

solidarity with Chinatown and other neighborhoods across the city."

Kathleen Devine of the Fenway felt that the demands made by Chinatown were

similar enough to her neighborhood that she could change the names on the

protest posters to Fenway and decry the same broken promises.

After unveiling a 60-foot banner highlighting 17 promises broken by the BRA

in Chinatown alone, the attendees at the press conference went up to the

offices of the BRA to deliver the broken promises to Colley and BRA director

Mark Maloney. Colley was putting her coat in her office and settling in,

sharing space with the residents before meeting her actual co-workers. The

group learned that Maloney was not in the office, and his special assistant

Tim Mc Gourtney greeted them instead.

"Different things have fallen into the cracks, but we will make sure this

does not happen again," he said.

Protesters remained skeptical. Chinese Progressive Association Members, City

Councilor Chuck Turner and others to occupied the BRA office until 6 p.m.,

demanding that the at minimum that the BRA comply with its most recent

promise to the Chinese Progressive Association regarding Parcel C, an area

proposed several times as a hospital parking lot but now a mixed-use project

known as the Metropolitan. The CPA was promised a below-market deal on a

commercial condominium space associated with a promised Chinatown Community

Center, one more promise the BRA is yet to fulfill.

As of Tuesday morning, discussions, and protests, were ongoing.

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After Five-Hour Sit-In, Chinatown Group and City Development Agency Still Butt Heads

Sampan

By Adam Smith

October, 2004

The Chinese Progressive Association and the city's development agency have yet to agree on how much the Chinatown-based association should pay in condo fees for space it hopes to buy at the new Metropolitan housing complex in Chinatown, but might be close to an agreement in coming weeks.

The association led a 30-person, five-hour sit-in at the Boston Redevelopment Authority's city hall office on October 4, hoping to persuade city officials to lower the condo fees. Top directors of the BRA met with a few of the association's leaders the day following the sit-in but neither group agreed on the other's demands.

The Chinese Progressive Association claims the BRA has derailed its plans to purchase space at the Metropolitan by "unfairly" requiring the association to pay condo fees for twice the amount of space it would actually own. This, argues the association, would force it to subsidize BRA-owned units. The BRA, however, said in a letter that the condo fees are fixed under state law and based on the value of the units, not on the size of the units. The city agency maintains that the Chinese Progressive Association's space would not be subject to the restrictions that BRA-owned space would be subjected to and therefore should be charged a higher condo fee. The BRA also pointed out the successes of the Metropolitan building, which has a high percentage of low and moderate income housing units.

But the Chinese Progressive Association said that the BRA had agreed to price the condo fee according to size when the group threatened to protest at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Metropolitan's grand opening. After the grand opening celebration -- and after the association agreed not to protest -- however, "the BRA reneged," said Lydia Lowe, the association's director.

Additionally, the association has said that the Metropolitan's developers had for years "verbally promised" low-cost rental space in the housing complex, but the combination of higher-than-expected condo fees and the sale price would be too expensive. The BRA has said it is "committed to finding a solution" to the dispute.

According to the Chinese Progressive Association's leaders, the day after the sit-in, the BRA offered to subsidize some of the condo fees for the Chinese Progressive Association for 10 years, but the association rejected the proposal, saying it would not be able to afford the fees after the decade is up. The BRA did not confirm or deny that the agreement was proposed.

Earlier this week, Lowe, the director of the association, said an agreement might be announced soon.

The Metropolitan's site, known as Parcel C, has a long and controversial history in Chinatown. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the Chinese Progressive Association, along with other Chinatown groups, had opposed putting a large parking garage on the site and had pressured the BRA to designate the site as a location for a community center.

The Chinese Progressive Association's sit-in at the BRA came after it held a rally the same day outside city hall. The group timed the rally, which included city councilors and Chinatown residents, to coincide with the BRA's hiring of a "deputy director for compliance," a position that has been called, the BRA's "promise keeper."

Accusing the BRA of a history of "broken promises" especially to Chinatown, the demonstrators charged they would closely follow to see that new promises will be kept and that old promises are met, and they said they will assist the new "promise keeper," Christine Colley, in doing her job.

Demonstrators waved placards listing the BRA's "broken promises" and said that the agency has a "half-century" history of breaking commitments with Boston's residents. Councilor Felix Arroyo insisted that the BRA be separated from it's planning function, and councilor Maura Hennigan called the BRA a "master at having a forgetful memory."

TOP

The Notorious BRA (Boston Redevelopment Authority)

Whats Up Magazine

October, 2004

by Dave Burt

The Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) is at the center of a storm of controversy. When Boston dissolved the city planning board in 1960, the BRA took its place, endowed by the City Charter with "the power to buy and sell property, the power to acquire property through eminent domain, and the power to grant tax concessions to encourage commercial and residential development." Now, a growing movement of citizens and a significant chunk of the city council are demanding that the BRA be replaced with an honest-to-goodness city planning department.

  How did this happen? In Boston, the city government is organized into departments, with the mayor at the head of them all.   In Boston's "strong mayor" system, the mayor's office runs the show, and appoints the staff that run each department, including the BRA. The head of the BRA is not elected, but appointed.

In many other cities the civil set-up is a little different. Take Cleveland; according to its charter, a separate city planning board is constituted to deal with city planning issues, which is partially appointed by the mayor. It includes an elected member of the city council sitting as chair of the committee.

Many other large U.S. cities (New York is one example) have city planning boards not under a "redevelopment" standard; they have some regulatory sway over what things get built and how zoning rules are interpreted. In Boston we do not have such a board, so when neighborhood development plans are attempted, developers and citizens work with the BRA apparatus.

In the past months, there has been a big outcry against the way the BRA manages development, and several community groups have filed lawsuits against it for its practice of guaranteeing minimal (rarely more than ten percent of new housing) new affordable housing in certain areas, while ramming through luxury condo high-rise apartments (called by some "Godzilla" buildings, perhaps in anticipation of a friendly monster coming to knock them down) in neighborhoods that don't need them and are not zoned for them.   Thus, a growing coalition of community groups around Boston has a dinosaur-sized bone to pick with the BRA.

In Chinatown, a coalition of groups including the community nexus of the Chinese Progressive Association, are challenging the character of BRA decisions and its lack of foresight around city planning issues. A Chinatown master plan was developed in 1990 when a group of citizens, the mayor's office, and a host of city planners created a vision for sustainable, community-friendly development, the kind that would enable to replenish itself, and enable developers to build and make profits, if not mega-profits. They were sick of the continuing luxury encroachments on the Chinatown neighborhood, and the various threats to keeping it affordable for its many moderate-income residents. They felt that people making $10,000-$20,000 a year ought to have a place to live and shop, and some sort of stability when trying to live on minimum wage or a bit above in Boston.

According to Serene Wong, a longtime Chinatown resident, the Chinatown master plan has been at best ignored, at worst used as a ruse to stifle the momentum of citizens who have a stake in the Chinatown development process.

"Whoever builds the tallest building gets their ear. They don't listen to what the community needs," says Serene, who works with the Chinese Progressive Association to organize Chinatown residents into a community force. Serene says developers working the mayor's office have done an endrun around any form of city authority. Others point out that too many developers are interested in mega-profits reaped from luxury construction in previously modest income neighborhoods, and the BRA lacks the will or the negotiating power to persuade them to create moderate and sensible developments.  

The city and the developers have what seems like a common interest in keeping things moving, so that they can both realize revenue from the deal.   But due to the regressive nature of current zoning law and the lack of regulatory authority vested in the BRA, the people on top are guaranteed the right to move capital investment in almost any direction, opening up the door to Godzilla buildings. Long-time residents watch empty castles go up around them as their favorite businesses are forced out by the rising rents.   

A particularly egregious example of this is the proposed Kensington Place development-a plan for a 300-foot tower of luxury residences in Chinatown. "Where are the public benefits?" asks Carlo Ng, a community organizer in Chinatown, noting that the community lawsuit was brought against the BRA because "they are counting public streets and public ways in the project area to come up with the numbers, to build a luxury apartment building that no one in the neighborhood wants or needs." (Under current zoning standards there is a one-acre minimum requirement for this kind of construction.)

This type of situation is not at all unusual in the city, and definitely not restricted to Chinatown.   From all across Boston come tales of sloppily authorized, BRA-related development tangles.  

The planned development at 319 Center Street in Jamaica P