West Roxbury Residents and Development Proponents Square Off
Boston - West Roxbury Civic Association Meeting Community Video - West-Roxbury, MA 02132
At a recent meeting of the West Roxbury Civic Association at St. Stephen’s church in West Roxbury, residents of Desoto and Edgemere Road and surrounding neighborhoods had their chance to let Chestnut Hill Realty know exactly how they feel about the proposed building of a 92-unit, four-story apartment complex on a vacant lot adjacent to Desoto Rd.–and the residents where not at at all shy about expressing their views on the matter. Also on the table was a proposal to re-route both streets as one-ways to accomdate the development and reduce the impact of traffic on the area.
Representatives from Chestnut Hill Realty, the Boston Redevelopment Authority, and local political representatives were present to deliver their positions on the planned development. Illustrations of the project, traffic impact analysis, zoning issues were addressed in an effort to convey the merits of the proposal to a skeptical audience. And then the residents spoke–in some cases shouted out–their concerns.
In the end, the community voted not to approve either proposal, and both the re-routing of the streets and a request for a variance on the height of the project from 35 feet to 60 feet were voted down. Although the meeting lasted over 2 hours, the video above was editied in an effort to succinclty capture the heart of what was discussed. If you’re interested in seeing the a community’s voice in action, watch this video (fascinating).
Also, A special thanks to the Olivia Weishak and the West Roxbury Civic Association for welcoming us to the meeting and allowing us to video tape the entire event. Hopefully it will be shared with those West Roxbury residents who were not able to attend. Comments are welcome.
The Swan Boats at the Boston Public Gardens
The latest O’Keefe family inexpensive outing was (oops, I was about to say my all time favorite, then remembered I already said that about Castle Island !) one of my very favorites–Boston’s own storied Swan Boats. The truth of it is, I truly love many of 
the things you can do in Boston -especially the ones for $$short money. I’ll take you all on many of these excursions throughout the summer. So, please, sit back and enjoy the FREE ride!
This past Friday my entire family (myself, sons: Paul (12) & Sean (10), my mom (Marion Connolly), niece Mairead (4), nephews: Tommy (7), and Patrick (5) went to The Swan Boats in downtown Boston. We packed a lunch and took the ‘T’, which was in itself an adventure since the kids are used to being driven everywhere. We got off the Orange Line at Downtown Crossing, walked across the Boston Common where we bumped into Ben Franklin giving tours of the Freedom Trail, passed by the Frog Pond and into The Public Gardens. We stopped by the famous statues of ‘Make Way for Ducklings’ based on the book by Robert McCloskey. The little ones all took turns sitting on statues finally making their way to the Mother Duck. Before we boarded the boats we had an absolute blast feeding the ducks…but sadly learned it is not allowed…and for good reasons…overpopulation and non-migration, among others.
The Swan Boat ride was extremely enjoyable. It was paddled by nice young man. Ducks followed along our merry water-way. We saw swans nesting and a large turtle sunning itself on a small island. My mom watched from the bridge to take pictures…thanks Mom! I do have to admit though that my 12 year old felt he was a little too mature for this outing…they grow up so fast!
After that we got ice cream and ate them by the little park in front of The Copley Library. I have been to The Swan Boats countless times in my life and the charm is always 
as fresh as it was the first time.
Talk to everyone soon. And here’s a hint about the next outing: Fire, Water, Peace.
Urban Coyotes
In my West Roxbury neighborhood, the wild turkeys were once a frequent summer visitor. The summer of 2007 seems to be the year of the coyote. Throughout the area, there have been coyote sightings. One recent afternoon, my neighbor watched and photographed a coyote make it’s way through our backyards and on to Lagrange Street. 
Last month, both the Boston Globe and the West Roxbury Bulletin reported that a family of coyotes were seen on Francesca St. in West Roxbury. For now, people seemed to be fascinated to see these animal up close. Experts remind us that attacks on humans are rare, though precautions should be taken with pets and young children. I wonder if the construction on the VFW Parkway may have driven the coyotes out of their leafy homes along the Parkway???
NEW BOSTON CHILDREN’S MUSEUM
I would like to follow up on Helen Coen’s recent article about Teachers Appreciation Month and the Children’s Museum. I haven’t been to the Children’s Museum in a while and just last week I visited the new remodeled Museum. A childhood friend of mine, Madeleine, was visiting from Cannes, France with her husband, Roberto, and her 6 year old daughter, Coline. So I got to play the tourist and we tried to find fun things for all of us to do.
The renovations are great and the most striking one to me is the labyrinth/climbing structure.
I remember how scary the earlier version was. I don’t really know then who was more scared: the adult or the child. You couldn’t really see where your child was except when he/she was screaming because of being stuck or lost. I tried one day to go inside and unfortunately I was too big!!
Now, everybody gets comfortable and it is a really nice time for all. There are tables, chairs and bunches outside facing the water and it is lovely to have lunch there.
The all time favorites are still there (the bubbles room and the golf balls room). The supermarket is better. There is rock climbing which is new. I didn’t remember the Japanese house and it is really interesting! Especially when you sell Real Estate as I do !
Coline had a blast! So did her parents who thought the world of this Museum. France has an impressive amount of Museums but not so much directed towards children and that is a shame!
So if you don’t know where to take the kids this summer, head on to the Children’s Museum! Make it a day trip and walk following the water to the Aquarium and you can even end your day by eating in the North End.
Parking was easy at the Museum with couple of parking lots giving you a great discount if you validate your ticket.
West Roxbury Literary Society of Loose Ends
The final meeting of the 20th year of West Roxbury Literary Society of Loose Ends came to a conclusion at Geoffrey’s Cafe at 4257 Washington Street in Roslindale Square on Monday, June 18th. Over a delightful dinner with appetisers and desserts we would all recommend Geoffrey’s to our friends and spouses. The desserts by Michael Aplin were worth every calorie. We all enjoyed the splendid service of Beau as well as Shari.. Keep in mind the kitchen is open until midnight!
The members of the book club are charter members: (President), Debbie Vinci, Kathy Cummings Tower, Kathy Cooke Wilmarth, Donna Miller, Maureen Hayes Rossi; also attending were (Secretary) Tanya Tower Newburg, Chris Conroy Kristeller, Jeanne Black Guidi, Beverly Sheehan and Maureen Hachey.
This month’s book was a new novel by Khaled Hosseini called A Thousand Splendid Suns. He also wrote, a few years ago, the wildly popular, Kite Runner. Most members had finished the novel within the past month and many described it as “brutal.” It felt more non-fiction than fiction since these are accounts of the war in Afghanistan that we have been assaulted with by the news media for well over a decade. The tragic lives of the women veiled and unveiled, educated and uneducated and how they were valued within their families. Most members rated the book between 4.77 (Our scale runs from 0 the worst to 5 the best).
Society reading list since 1987 here
Our 21st year will start 9/23/07. Stay tuned!
Parkway Soccer Family Day at Millennium Park in West Roxbury–What a Blast!
What a fabulous time! The Parkway Youth Soccer League and the Parkway Family Day task force organizations really outdid themselves this year in a combined community-wide effort that resulted in a very successful Parkway Soccer Family Day this past Saturday, June 16Th at Millennium Park in West Roxbury, MA. 
So many families volunteered, local businesses donated food, pastries, and other give aways. There were pony rides, two (2) moonwalks, a duck pond toss, a theatre production, patriotic songs, trivia games, and The Boston Fire Department allowed children to play on and learn about the fire engines. The Parkway Idol Contest was a big hit as usual…and so much more!
A cookout included burgers, dogs, slush, popcorn, cotton candy and much more-all free! 
My kids, Paul and Sean, and my husband Tom had a blast. They bumped into lots of friends and relatives. Many local politicians were also there which gave people a chance to meet them on a more personal level.
I would like to thank all who had a hand in this fabulous day…each year it gets better and better. Keep up the good work!
The Chicken and Egg of Boston Housing and Education
In in article by Tracey Jan in last Friday’s Boston Globe entitled ”S. Boston developer plans a private school,” a proposal was announced to develop 2,500 housing units within a 23 acre site in Boston’s Seaport District. A proposed site, which today contains nothing but parking lots, would be developed by John B. Hynes III into residential housing, a performing arts center, two (2) health clubs, a public garden and a private school.
The problem facing the Seaport district is not unique. Emerging neighborhoods have faced similar problems and addressed them in different ways. What is lacking in the Seaport District are the basic amenities that exist in most other neighborhoods and suburbs of Boston (e.g. schools, shops, restaurants, people, etc.). The concept of ‘build it and they will come’ has not worked well for the Seaport District. There are convention centers, museums, hotels, etc. but what is lacking are people, because there are little to no housing units in which people can live. The Seaport District will never be a neighborhood until people start living there–and people will not start living there unless there is sufficient quality education for their children. This in a classic example of the proverbial problem of which came first the chicken or the egg.
John B. Hynes III has proposed a simple solution to a complex problem: a school which will serve 1,500 children from kindergarten through high school. He hopes the school will help attract families to his development and to the area. City officials are not embracing his idea and are calling it “hair-brained,” and “catering to the upper end.”
By including a school with the development plans, Hynes is solving the age old question of which came first the chicken or the egg? He is proposing a solution by combining the Chicken and Egg.
Good education attracts families, and families attract everything else. Hynes has the right idea: offer good quality educational options and they will come.
West Roxbury–Robin Street Block Party…
On Saturday, June 2nd the second annual Robin street block party went off without a hitch–sort of. But even Mother Nature’s untimely thunderstorm did little to dissuade many Bellevue Hill neighbors from enjoying the line-up of food, games, music and fun-filled activities (sack races, chalk contest & bike and carriage decorating contests) atop the hill. 
“It’s a great neighborhood event,’” said Brendan White of 27 Robin Street, “where all the families, friends and neighbors have a chance to get to know each other better and have a lot of fun in the process. “I am already looking forward to next year’s block party,” he said
Special thanks go out to Mary Beth and Barbara for organizing the event this year!
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