SBOL_05_04_2023

Community Meeting to Discuss Off-Leash Dogs after 4 Year Old was Bitten

Council President Flynn and Councilor Flaherty to Host Community Meeting regarding off-leash dogs at M Street Park next Wednesday, May 10, 2023.

Following an incident in April in which a four year old girl was bitten by an off-leash dog at Medal of Honor Park, or M Street Park, Council President Flynn and Councilor At-Large Michael Flaherty will be hosting a community meeting in South Boston on Thursday, May 10th at 6pm at M Street Park to address the issue of off-leash dogs.

Boston Police C-6 Captain Joseph Boyle, Boston Animal Control Director Alexis Trzcinski, and officials from the Boston Parks

Department will also be present at the community meeting. The South Boston community is invited to attend and share their experiences and concerns. The meeting will also discuss potential solutions and enforcement to this serious issue.

“We all love our dogs and pets, but at the same time we have many families with young children who use the Medal of Honor Park. It is important for their safety, and the peace of mind of parents and neighbors, that dog owners and dog walkers please keep their dogs on a leash to prevent these incidents from happening,” said Council President Flynn. “We also have a dog park located nearby right down the hill on First Street at the Thomas J. Butler Park

that was built for this exact purpose. I strongly encourage dog owners and walkers to be a good neighbor and utilize this park for both the enjoyment of their pets, as well as the safety of our residents and children.”

“The safety of our residents and particularly our children is of the utmost importance and I implore dog owners to follow the leash law and utilize the dog park located on First Street. Let’s start the conversation about the potential for another dog park or dog run in the neighborhood given the increasing necessity,” said Councilor At-Large Michael Flaherty.

For more information, please contact Council President Flynn’s office at 617-635-3203 and Ed.Flynn@Boston.gov.

Lovin’

Several areas of South Boston received some love Saturday as five different cleanups took place, four of which were Love Your Block events. South Boston

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PUBLIC NOTICE: OPEN DISCUSSION ON THE FUTURE OF MCCA PARCELS ON D & E STREET

Catholic Charities Labouré Center Honored South Boston’s Tom

Tinlin at its 39th Annual Spring Reception

Tinlin, the former state and city leader, and a longtime Labouré Center champion, advocates for awareness, prevention, and research of brain aneurysms as a twotime survivor

Catholic Charities

Labouré Center honored Tom Tinlin, a two-time brain aneurysm survivor and former state and City of Boston leader, at its 39th annual Spring Reception on Thursday, April 27, at the Exchange Conference Center in Boston.

Tinlin, a longtime supporter of the Labouré Center, received the Jack Shaughnessy Service Award, which was established in memory of the late well-known Catholic philanthropist. The award is presented annually to someone who has shown exceptional dedication and service to the Labouré Center and the Boston community. Former Boston and US Secretary of Labor Mayor Martin J. Walsh, now the executive director of the National Hockey League Players’ Association, assisted the Shaughnessy Family in presenting the Jack Shaughnessy Service Award to Tinlin. Ken Casey of the Dropkick Murphys, who accepted the service award last year on behalf of the band’s The Claddagh Fund, and Boston City Councilor Erin Murphy, were also in attendance.

“Tom Tinlin is an inspiration and a dedicated community leader. We are incredibly grateful for Tom’s steadfast support over the years,” said Catholic Charities Boston President and CEO Kevin M. MacKenzie. “His hard work and dedication have been integral to the success and mission of Catholic Charities Labouré Center as it serves

Boston residents in need.”

“The Labouré Center has a long history of doing amazing work to help our community, and I’m proud to play a part in that,” said Tom Tinlin. “I am humbled and extremely honored to receive this award.” Tinlin, whose public service career for the City of Boston and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts spanned three decades, was instrumental in helping the Labouré Center undertake a massive construction project to move the center to its current location on West Broadway to broaden its scope of services. Tinlin continues to be a vocal champion for the center and a beloved auctioneer for many South Boston events, including Catholic Charities Labouré Spring Reception.

Tinlin suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm in 2017. After undergoing three brain surgeries in the last six years, he became involved in spreading awareness, advocacy, and support. Currently, he is Chairman of the Board of the Brain Aneurysm Foundation (BAF), founded 30 years ago in Boston, and is the world’s largest funder of private brain aneurysm research.

Tinlin is also one of the 15% of patients with more than one aneurysm. He had a second unruptured aneurysm treated on November 1, 2022. Until then, it was considered inoperable, but through fundraising and research, his life was saved again. In 2019, Tinlin and his family had their first annual 18 for 18 Tinlin Family Golf Tournament to benefit the BAF’s on-going awareness and support. As the tournament continues to grow, the gross amount raised will be over $1 million after this year’s game.

Tinlin, the former commissioner of the Boston Transportation Department, is

Labouré Center Advisory Board Chair: Matthew Wells, Labouré Center Advisory Board Member: Casey Shaughnessy, Former Labouré Center Director: Sister Maryadele Robinson, Event Honoree: Tom Tinlin and Former Mayor of Boston and Former US Labor Secretary: Martin J. Walsh

now an Associate Principal at Boston-based transportation consulting firm Howard Stein Hudson. He also serves as a Director of the City of Boston Credit Union, Zoo New England, The Shawn Thornton Foundation, and the Children’s Trust. Tinlin, his wife Heather, and their children Thomas and Grace live in South Boston.

For more than 100 years, the Labouré Center has been responding to the needs of the South Boston community. Programs include mental health counseling, adult education including English classes, nursing education and IT job training, refugee and immigrant services, childcare, as well as elder and addiction services.

Marty Walsh with friends Jim and Mary at the Laboure Spring Reception.

Summer Street Pilot Program Meetings Are Complete

by Rick Winterson

The third and final Summer Street Pilot Program meeting took place on Monday. It was held in the Seaport District Hall at 75 Northern Avenue. In general, it was a kind of Open House get-together, with a recorded presentation of the Pilot Program’s plans during part of the three-hour session. This is a major undertaking by a Transit Team assembled by the Boston Traffic Department (the BTD). We believe a review and a brief restatement of what will happen during the Summer Street Pilot Program are important.

It’s important for a variety of reasons. Among these are significant problems with Summer Street entitled “current safety and transit issues” in one of the displays put together by the Transit Team. First, they listed high speeds by cars and trucks all along the Summer Street corridor from downtown to where Summer becomes L Street between 1st and 2nd Streets. Speeds as high as 50 mph were mentioned. Clearly, this also increases the risks encountered by bicyclists and pedestrians along Summer. “Overcrowding” was another problem issue. This extends to

traffic problems caused by trucks from the ever-growing Conley Terminal, unreliable bus schedules made worse by blocked bus stops, jam-packing on the remaining buses, and just plain traffic jams. Obviously, these will stay the same or get worse without some action.

The Summer Street Pilot Program itself means taking different actions temporarily to see if any of these reduce actual traffic problems (“piloting” them, in other words). A segment of Massachusetts Avenue in Cambridge will be used as a model, which means assigned truck and bike lanes, turning instructions, and adjustable traffic lights will be tested under real, actual conditions all along the Summer Street corridor. The exact dates of the Pilot Program haven’t been decided

yet, but it will begin in a month or so, and last six months until the 2023 Holiday Season begins. Some positive news – the M BTA is studying its surface bus lines to see where a redesign might help traffic problems. For example, the “T” is proposing a more rapid, high frequency bus route called “T7” along Summer Street that begins at the City Point Terminal and might traverse the city as far as Somerville. Several other traffic studies

that concern South Boston are underway as well. Dorchester Avenue, the McCormack Development, Moakley Park and a major traffic analysis of the Seaport/ Waterfront are all involved. The residential area in South Boston, from First Street to Day Boulevard will also be studied soon. The South Boston Transportation Action Plan (the SBTAP) will recommend transit improvements that can be made immediately and over the next few years.

The Transit Team opens its final review in District Hall.

Summer Street southbound (to L Street).

Summer Street heading west to Downtown.

Bob Allison to Step Down as Historical Society President

coming October, the South Boston Historical Society will hold its Annual Meeting and the Society will elect a new President. You’ll be happy to know that Bob plans to remain an active member of the South Boston Historical Society, even though he and his wife Phyllis have moved to East Boston. Bob and Phyllis have two children, Philip and John, whom they raised while living here in South Boston from 1992 until 2020.

by Rick Winterson

Robert J. Allison, Ph.D., is a Professor of History and the Chair of History, Language, and Global Culture at Suffolk University in Boston. In addition, Dr. Allison is a prolific author, a skilled lecturer, and a contributing member of several historical museums and sites around Boston. Currently, Bob is the President of the South Boston Historical Society – a position he has held for the last 13 years.

Bob recently made the decision to step down. This

Bob moved to Boston from New Jersey in 1984. He then resumed his college studies at the Harvard University Extension and received a Bachelor of Arts. He pursued his graduate studies at Harvard as well, receiving his Doctorate in History of American Civilization in 1992. Since then, Bob’s excellent teaching has earned him several academic awards, both at Suffolk University and at the Harvard Extension School. His books include “A Short History of Boston”, “Stephen Decatur: American Naval Hero”, “The Boston Massacre”, and “The Boston Tea Party”. One of his books, “The American Revolution”, has been translated and published in Mandarin Chinese – the language spoken by more people than any other tongue in the world.

As you can see, Bob’s main area of historical interest is the War for Independence. He

claims he received his inspiration for this part of American history from a book entitled “The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution”, which was written by Bernard Bailyn in 1967 and went on to be awarded a Pulitzer Prize. Bailyn actually autographed Bob’s copy of his book when Bob received his Ph.D.

The South Boston Historical Society was founded in 1982 and has a membership of 100 at this time. Its mission is brief and emphatic: “To preserve and promote the History of South Boston”! The Society is among a number of historical organizations founded on or shortly after America’s 200th Birthday – July 4, 1976. Our own Castle Island Association was first begun in 1976. For your information, South Boston was founded in 1804; we passed our own 200th Birthday 18 years ago.

Before Bob’s term, the Society’s Presidency was occupied by the energetic Elaine Connolly. Prior to Elaine, its President was the legendary William “Doc” Reid.

Among the Society’s accomplishments was the publication of a South Boston History Map in 2004. This is an accurate, detailed map depicting five walking tours of South Boston that take in its various historic sites. The Map

has been updated since its first issue. It vividly shows how much history is right here, from the Dorchester Heights Monument commemorating Evacuation Day, out to Castle Island, to the St. Augustine Chapel, the Alger Iron Works, the Army Base site, and then to the Vietnam Memorial in Medal of Honor Park – the first such memorial in the nation. Many of the Society’s activities have involved bringing history to young students, like the classroom talks given by Archer O’Reilly (our own “Henry Knox”) and many other Society members.

For many years, the South Boston Historical Society office had been located in the Paraclete Center on E Street. The Center will soon be refurbished into apartments for the elderly, so at this time the Society’s books and files are in storage. Core Investments, who are constructing Washington Village at the Old Colony/ Dorchester Street intersection, have offered a new home to the Society – office, library, meeting room, and all.

The South Boston Historical Society is alive and well. Our nation’s 250th Birthday is approaching. And we are very grateful to President Bob Allison for all he has contributed to the Society and to South Boston’s history.

Pres. Bob Allison convenes the recent Historical Society meeting.

The South Boston Historical Society in session on Saturday.

Prof. Bob Allison (Suffolk)his book has been translated into Chinese.

The South Boston Branch Library: Read Books in Shade or Sun

provides a striking contrast.

by Rick Winterson

I

Branch Librarian Jane Bickford has opened this carefully landscaped area to the Branch Library’s patrons. Whether you prefer sun or shade, start your reading in the out-of-doors. Picture yourself catching up on the news, as a breeze rustles the pages of the newspapers the Branch Library provides its patrons. While you are reading, you’ll be sitting on approximately a half-acre of private open space surrounded by a tall brick wall that encircles and closes off this space.

f you are a patron of South Boston’s Branch Library, you probably noticed that the area in back of the Branch has greened up. The ornamental tree out there has burst into bloom; all the trees are approaching full leaf; white birch bark nowAnd watch for the following announcement: On one of the Saturdays later in June (perhaps the 24th?), Jane has arranged a concert that’ll take place out back. She tells us it will combine Irish folk music with bluegrass – shades of Bill Monroe and Beaverdam, Kentucky.

FUTURE YOU IS SO PROUD OF YOU.

REGULAR

4.18%

We’re off to see the Wizard!

The Edgerley Family South Boston Boys & Girls Club is presenting the Wizard of Oz on Thursday, May 4, and Friday, May 5. Doors open at 6:15 p.m. with showtime at 6:30 p.m. Tickets, which are complimentary, are first-come, first-served. South Boston Online stopped by a rehearsal this week to check out Ryan Bernier, Performing Arts Manager, and his young actors as they ran through their scenes.

The actors

Narrators: Tori Jones, Coco Cornell, Madeline Barrett

Scarecrow: Talayzia Gomes

Tin Girl: Maddie Quirk

Lion: Robbie Mallett

Gatekeeper: Milly Rich

Toto: Emma Henriquez

Wizard of Oz: Molly Browning

Wicked Witch: Alex Eissing

Glinda/Auntie Em: Olivia Parker

Dorothy: Bridget McGeever

Munchkins: Lucy Donlan (Bam), Harper Roderiques (Tam), Dante (Cam), Millie Keach (Sam), Kinsely Sheehan (Pam)

Trees: Harper (Woody), Millie (Shady), Lucy (Oaky), Dante (Barky), Olivia (Piney)

Flying Monkeys: Lucy (Chimp), Harper (Scamp), Millie (Rascal), Kinsely (Trouble)

Council President Flynn And Councilor Flaherty Announce $4 million in FY24 Capital Plan for South Boston Waterfront Fire Station

With the unprecedented development boom of the South Boston Waterfront over the last decade and more, Council President Ed Flynn, Councilor At-Large Michael Flaherty and the South Boston Elected Officials have advocated for several years on the critical need for more public infrastructure to accommodate this population expansion, including new public safety facilities. Last year, Council President Flynn and Councilor Flaherty successfully secured $13 million for the design and construction of a new EMS station, and this year, Mayor Wu’s Administration announced $4 million in the FY24 Capital Plan for the programming and design of a new Fire Station in the South Boston Waterfront.

Due to this rapid growth, Council President Flynn, Councilor

Flaherty, and the South Boston Elected Officials have long called attention to the need for basic city services and public safety resources in the area - such as Police, Fire, EMS and a public library; however, the omission of public safety resources has become exacerbated by dozens of life science and other proposals in planning stages throughout the District. Moreover, concerns about the ability of first responders to reach an emergency in the area during rush hour traffic have persisted. Mayor Wu, then a member of the City Council, joined Council President Flynn and Councilor Flaherty on a hearing order regarding basic city services at the South Boston Waterfront.

“We have long said that our neighbors in Fort Point and the South Boston Waterfront deserve the same access to basic city services as any other neighborhood. We are

Container Ship “EVER FAVOR” Docks at Conley

On Tuesday, the 2nd, the massive container ship “EVER FAVOR” arrived in South Boston’s Reserved Channel. She was docked at the Conley Terminal under its two giant unloading cranes. Prior to her arrival here, the “EVER FAVOR” had cleared the Panama Canal and then had docked at Savannah, Georgia,

and Charleston, South Carolina.

“EVER FAVOR” has an approximate container capacity of 12,000 – 13,000 units. She was built and launched last year, and she sails under the Liberian flag. “Monrovia”, the word on her stern, is the capital of Liberia - named for James Monroe, America’s fifth President. It is a major Atlantic Ocean port itself.

proud that there will be $4 million in the FY24 Capital Plan for a new Firehouse in the South Boston Waterfront,” said Council President Flynn. “Thank you to Mayor Wu, the South Boston Elected Officials, and our neighbors for your advocacy over the last several years on this critical public safety issue.”

“With the influx of new residents and visitors to the South

Boston Waterfront and Fort Point area, it was important to prioritize public safety with a new firehouse in order to provide the very best emergency services to the people of Boston,” said At-Large City Councilor Michael Flaherty. For more information, please contact Council President Flynn’s office at 617-635-3203 and Ed.Flynn@Boston.gov.

Virtual Public Meeting

617 Dorchester Ave f/k/a 20 Boston St

May 10, 2023 6:00 PM - 7:30 PM

Project Proponent:

Mark Little

Project Description:

Zoom

The information at this meeting is crucial to you as a City of Boston resident, and s takeholder. Interpreting services are available to communicate the content of these documents at no additional cost to you. If you require translation services, please contact the following:

Tyler.C.Ross@boston.gov. The meeting is scheduled for 5/10/2023. Please request interpreting services no later than 5 days before the meeting date. Meeting of the general public to review 617 Dorchester Ave f/k/a 20 Boston St.

mail to: Tyler Ross

Boston Planning & Development Agency

One C ity Hall Square, 9th Floor Bos ton, MA 02201

phone: 617.918.4214

email: tyler.c.ross@boston.gov

website: www.bit.ly/617DorchesterAve

Close of Comment Period: 5/15/2023

This meeting will be focused on the proposed 617 Dorchester Ave f/k/a 20 Boston St project. Please note that this is a Public Meeting. The meeting will begin with a 45-minute presentation of the project by the development team, followed by 45 -minutes of public Q& A. @BostonPlans BostonPlans.org

Teresa Polhemus, Executive Director/Secretary

SBCA News: Great Classroom Work 3rd Grade!

Learning about Fractions:

In Ms. Stephanie Olsen’s 3A Class, her students were introduced to fractions through an engaging game of Kahoot! They learned how to break a shape into fractions and new math vocabulary such as unit fractions, numerators, and denominators. Even better, at the end of the game the class broke out into a round of applause when their classmate won the game!

Writing Project:

3A also just finished up an opinion writing unit. In their project they read about the difference between cats and dogs to decide which one they liked better. They used graphic organizers to gather their thoughts. Then, they practiced stating their opinion, giving a reason why, and an example of their reasoning. Once they finished their graphic organizers, they wrote rough drafts. When editing their drafts, they focused on using transition words to make their paragraph cohesive! Ms.

Olsen is very proud of the consistent hard work and determination!

3B Store:

In Ms. Juliana Sammarco’s 3B Class, her students were given a task to make a product ONLY made of paper. They had to come up with a price for their product as well as a slogan and a short commercial as to why other students should buy their product. There were lots of items being sold and 3B had a wonderful time creating and doing this in class project!

Book Report:

3B did such a great job with their cereal book report. They created a title for their cereal based on the book. On the borders of their boxes they added the main characters, setting, problem and solution. The back of the box also had some sort of game or puzzle related to their book. 3B were so creative when coming up with their cereal boxes and enjoyed making them!

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Lovin’ Southie

Online hit four of the five sites to take some photos. The School Parent Council at the Condon K-8 School hosted a Love Your Block Spring Cleanup at the playground and adjacent turf

field and basketball court that included litter pickup, sweeping, gardening, and repainting some playground games. The West Broadway Neighborhood Association had teams out picking up trash, mulching tree pits, and planting flowers. More

than 70 people signed up for the event. The Andrew Square Civic Association had volunteers out in full force cleaning up the neighborhood while the Girls Scouts hosted a rock painting tent! The Friends of NoB (North of Broadway) and Friends of

the Boston Harborwalk held their third annual Earth Day Neighborhood Clean Up event. More than 50 people cleaned up the area. And Massport held a Love Your Block cleanup at M Street Park. Great job, everyone, for making Southie sparkle!