232 A Street

Project Proponent: Parcel 3 Ow ner, LLC

Project Description:

The project proposed a single-building comprised of 455,050 gsf lab/office/R&D development located at 232 A Street on G8 parcel of 100 Acres PDA plus waterfront park on adjacent G7 parcel along Ft. Point Channel.

The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the Proposed project and the potential impacts before the Proponent files their Project Notification Form ("PNF")

Close of Comment Period: 4/29/2023 mail to: Michael Sinatra

Boston Planning & Development Agency One Ci ty Hall Square, 9th Floor Boston, MA 02201 phone: 617.918.4224 email: michael. a.sinatra@boston.gov

@BostonPlans BostonPlans.org

Teresa Polhemus, Executive Director/Secretary the angle formed by Dorchester and Preble Streets? Are they simply too tall? If so, let ASCA know that you don’t approve of these development plans.

All these projects – both small and very large – reflect favorably on Andrew Square’s being an important part of South Boston. With five (very) busy roadways, a Red Line station, and a number of bus routes, the Square is a real transportation center as well. Perhaps the Square’s residents can take quiet pride in living in such a successful and attractive neighborhood, but with that comes an obligation to keep up to date on every new development plan. Yes, there’s no question that South Boston needs many more residences, but let’s be sure that Andrew Square remains attractive to its current residents.

Continued from Page 1 Moakley

Park

back to the community and enjoy the beauty of this waterfront park. The organizations provide the tools –including gloves, pickers, and trash bags.

The cleanup help is greatly appreciated by the four Parks Department workers who maintain all the South Boston parks. They are charged with cutting the grass and fields, lining the fields, weed whacking, emptying the trash barrels, and more …and they do a great job.

“But a little bit of help doesn’t hurt,” said laborer Mark Skerry.

Jaye Meakem, Community Engagement Specialist for Boston Harbor Now, understands the park staff needs some assistance. “We get to save them dozens of hours by helping them with 60 acres: we have 45 people, times one and a half hours of work.”

When people see others caring about the park, they tend to take better care of it themselves, said Rebecca Smerling, Director of Programs at BHN. She noted that every time there’s a cleanup, they get lots of thank yous from the community.

“We want to make sure that people can feel at home and welcome in a space that is theirs,” Jaye added.

Wallace Scott found out about the event through Boston Harbor Now. Taking care of the environment is important, he said. “If I’m out enjoying the parks all the time, we have to make sure that they stay in good shape.”

Kyler Hoogendoorn-Ecker, Nathan Johnson, and KC Kirby were volunteering through Boston Latin School. When out in the parks, “it’s so much nicer to me when it’s a nice clean space,” said Kyle. “It always brings you down when you’re out in nature and you see trash. So I think it’s really great that we’re here doing this.”

Nathan and KC Kirby enjoy going to the parks to take advantage of all they have to offer. “We really want to make the most out of it but we can’t do that if it’s littered,” Nathan said. Cathy Baker-Eclipse, who works with the Parks Department, was out with Willa Eclipse doing their part.

“It’s really important to get people out into the parks; if people are invested in making the park beautiful and successful, they’ll take pride in it.”

The next cleanup will be on Earth Day, April 22 (there will be a special celebration of flowers on May 13). From June through September, cleanups will be held every third Saturday. Visit the following link for upcoming Moakley Park cleanups

Micro Plants: An Artist with a Vision

By Carol Masshardt

The art of plants is displayed in the work of Julio Cesar Roman-Rios of Micro Plants on West Broadway, and the inspiration was formed through his experiences of both trauma and resilience. His path to the Museum of Fine Arts, followed by a Tufts University Master’s Degree in Public Policy , he has now been a business owner for the challenging past five years. His life and work is a testament to community, possibility and effort. Healthy plants and his uniquely designed pots create an environment of hopefulness and creativity, but the inspiration is decades old.

Originally from Puerto Rico, nature caught his imagination and spirit early and in what were often trying circumstances. The impact of domestic violence inflicted on his mother and the fear he, his mother and siblings experienced after a fire was set to his home in early elementary school became an undeniable trauma in his life.

“When you go through trauma,” he said “you have to find ways to re-direct yourself and to heal.” Given the frightening circumstances in Puerto Rico, the family relocated to Connecticut when Julio was in third grade. There is every reason that this young child could have closed down and turned sadness and fear into something quite different, but Julio had the ability to see beauty in people and plants, and others saw it in him. And his mother’s expressiveness and coping was noticed by her son as she sewed and cooked.

“In Hartford, I had teachers who noticed that I had a special gift in art. I saw kids drawing cars and I wanted to do that! My teacher was Mr. Hector Reyes, and he grounded me and taught me about belonging and identity,” he said. “And then, Mr. Rafael Perez-Saldano, an art teacher, showed us a painting of a garlic plant, and taught us about incorporating art into everything else we were learning. He took my drawing to a competition and it won,” he said. “Public education has had a huge impact on my life and without an amazing middle school art program I may not have reached this awesome age of 44!”

The awards would go on, and the number of teachers who made a difference could fill pages with his appreciation, each remembered distinctly by an accomplished man who could have been a lost as a boy.

A special teacher, Margaret Hayes, nurtured his education and portfolio development, and led Julio to understands better than most the importance of mentorship.

“She and her husband brought me to interviews, and that’s how I ended up in Boston,” he said. He graduated from the Museum of Fine Arts School, and then went to work earning a graduate degree in public policy, and years of successful non-profit leadership, including with the Boston Public Schools became part of a tapestry of how meaningful community, art, people and nature were to his view of life.

What may have seemed to be discordant paths are strong threads of a life woven by artistry, commitment, respect for nature and the complex world of all growing things.

“Everything I do I have to do well. I started this business on savings, and it encompasses a lot about my holistic view. Plants have to stay healthy, like people, and be cared for. I feel a need to bring nature to urban areas,” he said. Of course, it looks easy, and it is not, as he explains to customers the etiology of plants and the care they require to flourish. It is a specialty not shared in big box stores and even suburban garden centers. It honors the plants, the containers and the vibrant lives of his customers who get more than a plant or flowers. He shares his expertise wisely and gently.

Arranging beautiful lavender and white flowers in this just barely spring season, Julio was inspired yet again. “When people but flowers, it is their stories and my stories and the flowers. I particularly like “make up” flowers. Forgiveness is pretty cool, don’t you think?” he asked.

Ruben, a customer working in finance and living in South Boston for eight months stopped in for an exquisite bouget for his girlfriend, and left the artistry to the artist. “I like the ambiance in here. It is calming and Julio is friendly and meets your needs,” he said.

Overcoming adversity is not unfamiliar to this small business owner, but his focus seems more on adding beauty to West Broadway with his age-old talent and contemporary designs. It may just make your day to see what he has done to create a special space on a busy urban street.

COVET – A South Boston Success Story

for more consignment stores. Because of the particular nature of consignment shopping, simply expanding her South Boston location would not satisfy the desire for consignment shopping she foresaw elsewhere. So in 2019, she opened another COVET location at 109 Charles Street. This is the street that goes along the western boundary of Beacon Hill – a distinct neighborhood with its own needs, tastes, and nearby residents.

by Rick Winterson

COVET, the consignment store located at 391 West Broadway, is a true success story, both in terms of its successful business – COVET now has three busy locations – and in terms of its quality – COVET earned a welldeserved “Best of Boston” ranking in 2022. The Owner/Founder of COVET, Hanadi Hamzeh, began her consignment store enterprise just over eight years ago here in South Boston, at the original West Broadway site. Hanadi also lives in South Boston; she resides in the Thomas Park neighborhood.

About five years ago, it had become obvious to Hanadi that there was an urgent desire among potential customers

In January of this year, after weathering business factors that included a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, Hanadi opened her third COVET consignment store at 176 Newbury Street. This branch of COVET, situated between Dartmouth and Exeter, is spacious and has quickly become incredibly busy (the interview for this article was conducted at Newbury Street). Also, Newbury Street is not just another location – it is a distinct Back Bay neighborhood with needs, tastes, and residents of its own. And it appears that COVET’s newest branch fits in very nicely.

Hanadi is a quick learner and apparently possesses great powers of observation. She first worked in consignment shopping to earn some extra money. She soon found out she had an instinct for this sort of business – it’s always active and on-the-go. Furthermore, she quickly noticed that consignment stores have to become visible parts of their neighborhoods, and that these neighborhoods must have a residential component. The atmospheres around shopping centers and non-residential developments simply won’t do. In addition, consignment is really two businesses – incoming items, and then those same items for sale.

Hanadi Hamzeh was born in Texas. At age five, she moved here from Texas with her parents, who are engineers, and she was brought up in Weymouth. She’s quite versatile – her degree from Northeastern is in Medical Lab Science. She once thought of going on to Medical School, but instead she fell in love with consignment shopping. When time allows, she likes to travel and really enjoys cooking. And she has a pet dog named Olive. Like most rapidly growing enterprises in Boston, COVET could use additional employees, both parttime and full-time, especially now that their Newbury Street store has opened. We’ll quote Hanadi when she says, “Working here has a lot of variety.” Her technical education shows when she describes the work at COVET as having “so many moving parts.” We’ll close by quoting Hanadi once again – she says, “Jobs here at COVET are a lot of fun!” Feel free to drop in at any of COVET’s three locations (all are readily accessible via public transport) or go to the covetboston.com website to find out more. Please note that COVET is a real success story.

by Rick Winterson

South Boston Online has frequently written about the increasing number of arts you can find here in South Boston. This includes the Institute of Contemporary Art, the Distillery, Grub Street, the many Fort Point studios, and numerous other artistic endeavors. As you know, the Boston Lyric Opera (the BLO) offices and rehearsal space is now located at 15 Channel Center. Two months ago, we wrote about this addition to the South Boston arts scene.

Last week from March 22 to 26, the BLO performed a run of Bela Bartok’s opera, “Bluebeard’s Castle”, which was skillfully coupled with “Four Songs” by Alma Mahler. Perhaps most newsworthy about this fine musical event was that the performance run was performed here in South Boston – inside the Black Falcon Terminal at the Flynn Cruiseport.

A large empty space on the second floor of the Cruiseport was magically converted into Bluebeard’s castle by the BLO’s design and production crews. A thrust stage was constructed that allowed clear audience viewing from all seats. Dramatic stage lighting was a key part of the stage set’s effects. A full operatic orchestra was located upstage; an audience of approximately 400